The pachyderm punch: El Reg takes just-over-a-ton Elephone P8000 to tusk

Ideal for trunk calls, and so much else

Permission to tweak

The P8000 runs Android 5.1 with a skin that is strikingly similar to the Hola launcher. That is no bad thing as Hola is one of my current launchers of choice. There’s nothing in the way of bloatware. The only app that even comes close is one you can use to let Elephone know what you think about the device you've just bought. This is a very good idea assuming anyone at Elephone HQ reads the feedback.

Screen is good quality but there's no hardened covering. Slight ridge where screens meets frame is only minor design flaw

As is often the case with Chinese devices the only pre-loaded Google app is the Play Store, but once you have signed into your Google account you can simply download any of the others that you want. I've no idea what Elephone will be like when it comes time for Android to update. Probably no worse than many major Android OEMs.

The few additions Elephone has made to the Android ROM are worthwhile. First and foremost the facility to review app permissions and regulate them. No matter what the function you can set any app to either always allow, always ask or always deny access. Another handy feature is a scheduler to turn the device on and off automatically.

The 4,165mAh battery means the P8000 can deliver a two days of operation from a charge. Running the Google Now launcher in this image

How does that big old battery perform? Looping a 1080p MP4 file drained the battery in 9 hours which is good but not remarkable. The P8000 does better in more varied use though. When I pressed it into service as my everyday phone it consistently got me through 48 hours with at least 15 per cent charge left. The list of phones than can manage that trick is very, very short.

There are one or two thing missing from the P8000. There’s no NFC chip to start with. And there’s a marked lack of sensors. It’s easier to list what you do get rather than what’s missing. There's an accelerometer, proximity and ambient light sensors. And that's your lot. There’s no support for USB On-The-Go hosting either.

The Wi-Fi radio is a simple 2.4GHz b/g/n affair, the Bluetooth radio more current at v4.0. Lastly and most importantly the P8000 operates over the 800, 1800 and 2600MHz LTE bands, making it well suited to use here in Blighty.

Plastic back decorated with a faux carbon fibre finish. Looks and feels OK. Note fingerprint scanner below lens

The Reg Verdict

For the asking price the P8000 is an impressive amount of gadget. The MediaTek SoC provides ample power, the 5.5-inch IPS screen is easy on the eye if potentially fragile, the cameras are both perfectly serviceable, both SIM slots support 4G service, and there’s a microSD card slot to back up the built-in 16GB of storage.

The 4,165mAh battery is not the show-stopper I expected it to be but it still makes the P8000 one of the longer running phones you can buy. And all for £110. Android dev dabblers, form an orderly queue. ®

Thanks to GearBest for the loan of the review device.