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This is a full review of the new Aquaris E5 HD Ubuntu Edition smartphone which was initially announced at the beginning of June and is now being made available for sale across Europe. The E5 is a bigger version of its sibling the E4.5, with minor upgrades while keeping the cost down. The E5 retails for 199.90 Euros whereas the E4.5 retails for 169.90 Euros. Both E5 and E4.5 are made by the Spanish smartphones producer, Mundo Reader under the BQ brand in partnership with Canonical Ltd.
What’s in the Box?
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[/double_paragraph] [/row]The Aquaris E5 comes in simple, sleek packaging with a black top cover and has the main specifications written on the back of the box. I must say, the overall packaging is minimalist and has a natural organic look and feel to it, which we really like.
Inside the box you will find the E5 device, an AC charger, a Micro-USB cable, a microSIM injector, accessories leaflet, user guide and warranty information booklet.
Design
The E5 looks smart and you can tell the device is well crafted. It has a solid build with an overall squarish shape, subtle round corners and a soft, matte back finish with the BQ logo and “Designed in Spain, Assembled in China” quote written at the back.
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[/double_paragraph] [/row]The device is a good size “Not too large, Not Too Small, Just right”. It is 8.65mm thin, 142mm in height and 71mm in width and weighs 134 grams. It fits nicely in your pocket or handbag.
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[/double_paragraph] [/row]All buttons and ports are well positioned in accessible locations, starting from the right hand side, you will find the power button and the volume rocker. At the top there is a 3.5mm Headphone Jack and a MicroSD slot. On the left hand side there is the Dual Micro SIM ports, and at the bottom, there is a single speaker placed on the right and the microphone on the left. The micro-USB port for charging the device sits in the middle.
The body frame is cleverly, very slightly raised.We are talking unnoticeable, a fraction of a millimetre, so when placing the device face down on a flat surface it doesn’t touch the surface, thereby giving the screen extra protection.
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[/double_paragraph] [/row]At the front, there is a multi-coloured LED notification light, a 5-megapixel front camera, proximity and light sensors and a headphone speaker for making calls. At the back, there is a generous 13 Megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash. Also, there is a noise canceller tiny pinhole at the back which is designed to block and reduce noisy environments during calls.
Display
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[/double_paragraph] [/row]The 5-inch HD IPS touch screen is surprisingly very bright and is a good size for reading or/and browsing the web. It provides a quick access to the 4 edges screen interface. The screen is viewable from all angles and in sunny conditions, we did not experience any loss of display quality when using the device. The screen has 720 x 1280 pixels resolution, 294 ppi, (that’s the amount of pixels density per inch), 178 degrees viewing angle and a 16:9 aspect ratio, delivering a very sharp, accurate and pleasurable display experience.
Performance
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[/double_paragraph] [/row]The device performed well considering its price. Playing games, opening Apps and browsing the web were all handled well. However on a few occasions we have experienced some lag when putting the device under extreme pressure, in particular when using the camera and other applications at the same time.This could be due to the on-board 1.3GHz MediaTek Quad Core Cortex A7 processor or the OS. Having said that, a moderate user may not experience the same issue. The E5 comes with 16GB of storage which is more than sufficient and the MicroSD option offers an extra 32GB of space if you ever run out.
In terms of battery life, the 2500mAh battery lasts about a day of moderate use, charging the device took about 3hr & 25mins which is not bad at all. You can also save some power by disabling the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS when not in use, also you can set the dual-SIM option for both SIMs to use 2G.
Dual SIM, More Freedom
The BQ Aquaris E5 is a dual Micro SIM phone, offering you the freedom to switch between your business and personal life, with the choice of having two numbers. With the dual-SIM option you can also reduce the cost of calls while travelling abroad by having a local SIM alongside your main SIM.
The micro-SIM metal injector provides easy access to the micro SIM slots. You can select SIM1 (2G) and SIM2 (3G) or both SIMs to run on 2G, a useful option if you want to conserve some battery power.
Camera
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Overall, the cameras have easy to use simple menus and switching between the front and back is fairly easy. The 5-Megapixel front-facing shoots decent images and was capable of capturing Full-HD videos. The image quality of the 13-Megapixel rear camera was also good. Images were sharp and clear in well lit environments and the dual-LED flash is excellent when in low-light conditions.
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[/double_paragraph] [/row]The rear camera shines when taking close up (Macro) photos, it produces good quality images, full of colour and detail. Furthermore, the 13MP camera is capable of recording Full HD videos at 1080p at 30fps (video above) without any issues, you can also record videos at 720p or 480p.
Audio
Audio quality is excellent. The sound quality is clear and extremely loud, great for making hands free calls, listening to your favourite tones and/or listening to your navigation system whilst driving. The sound quality over the headphones was faultless, again very loud, rich and clear, especially if you are using a good pair of headphones to fully immerse in the sounds produced by the E5.
For calls, the noise canceller microphone, a tiny pinhole positioned at the back of the phone near the dual-flash, delivered clear audio calls and blocked unwanted background noise.
Operating System
The E5 runs Ubuntu 15.04 and the new Scopes. Ubuntu scopes serves up content in a unique way that frees you from the traditional app grid. It allows you to access everything from movies to music, nearby attractions and social media without having to go through individual apps. It is easy and simple to set up and use.
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[/double_paragraph] [/row]The E5 comes with pre-installed apps including; Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Instagram, HERE Maps, Amazon, eBay, Weather and Telegram. Additionally you can install more apps to add to your scopes, via the Ubuntu One app store. There are a fair amount of apps on the app store.
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[/double_paragraph] [/row]The screen is very easy to operate. There are no physical or visual home buttons on the screen. Things are controlled from the screen’s four sides. Gentle slide from the right to switch between open pages, whereas a longer slide will give you access to choose or close open pages and apps, you can think of it like a task manger. Sliding from the top will allow you to access your notifications with a single click whereas sliding from the left will allow you to control and access your app’s launcher. You can see open app, pin new apps or remove pinned ones from the launcher, a click on the Ubuntu logo will take you to your scopes. Sliding from the bottom will enable you to access your app’s and phone’s settings.
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[/double_paragraph] [/row]Additionally, double tapping on the home screen circle while the device is locked gives instant access to your daily information and status, such as the number of; calls you made, photos you took, videos recorded, text messages received, calls made, minutes spent on calls and so on. It is a great feature for quickly glancing and checking information, without having to unlock the device.
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[/double_paragraph] [/row]The Ubuntu launcher is also accessible when the phone is locked. Just hit the power button and slide from the left to quickly launch it.
The operating system is straight forward to use, if you are an Ubuntu desktop user you should feel right at home. If you are an Android or iOS user it should take you a day or so to get used to the intuitive Ubuntu ecosystem.
The Ubuntu mobile OS is fairly new and we feel that minor improvements and adjustments are needed, as with any other operating system.
To Buy or Not to Buy?
This depends on your requirements and needs in a device, so the decision is entirely up to you. However, if you a developer or just looking for something new away from the Android and iOS hype, something with a solid build that has most features you may need such as; dual-SIM connectivity, a decent camera, excellent sound quality and above all, something affordable at only €199.90, then we can honestly say the Aquaris E5 HD Ubuntu Edition is a good buy. It is a well rounded smartphone more than capable of handling all your moderate daily needs.
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PROS
Solid Build
Runs Ubuntu
Decent Camera
Excellent Sound Quality
Dual-SIM
Affordable
Unlocked
Great On-Screen Keyboard
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CONS
No 4G/LTE
Limited Choice of Apps
Only available in Black
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For those seeking something with more horsepower, then Meizu Mx4 Ubuntu Edition which is currently retailing for €299 is an excellent choice. You can buy the Aquaris Aquaris E5 HD Ubuntu Edition directly from BQ.com and the Meizu Mx4 Ubuntu Edition from Meizu.com
I tried installing Android OS on it instead. Another con, It drains battery so fast.