MyPhone Rio 2 Now Official with Android Lollipop, More Internal Storage and More Battery Juice

After photos and marketing materias leaked a couple of days ago, MyPhone has finally and officially announced the newest and most anticipated Rio smartphones of the year. The MyPhone Rio 2 and Rio 2 Lite. But on this post we will talk first talk about the bigger brother, the Rio 2.

If you have read my other article about the device being leaked first together with the photo of the smartphone itself and another photo showing the specs, you will not be surprised to know the official specifications were all accurate.

First let's see what parts of the Rio 2 that remain the same from its first version. We are still looking at the same 5-inch IPS display with the same HD or 1280 x 720 resolution. However there are two new features that come with the display or the screen, the Full Lamination technology and a Gorilla Glass 3 layering. Full Lamination thing works almost the same as OGS or One-Glass Solution where its eliminates the air gap we see between the touch panel and the display. It's like the display and the touch panel are "laminated" together if you will. This means that the viewing experience should be better than the first wave of Rio smartphones. And since it also comes protected with Gorilla Glass 3, having the screen scratched and damaged are not going to worry you anymore.

Other things that remain here are the processor and RAM. The SoC is still at 1.3GHz quad-core clocking and most likely a MediaTek chip and the RAM still sports 1GB. Many fans and tech bloggers really hoped that MyPhone would atleast offer the Rio 2 with octa-core or 2GB of RAM and even a full HD display just like how Samsung upgrades their flagship devices year after year, but it is MyPhone and not Samsung they don't really have to copy other big players they just have to be themselves. Perhaps next year we'll see that. 3G and HSPA+ network connectivity support still the same without 4G or LTE joining the party.. yet.

Not let's move over to the new and enhanced specs we can find on the new second Rio smartphone. Of course I have mentioned before the addition of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, one of the most exciting features of this device is that it is now running on Google's latest mobile operating system, Android 5.0 Lollipop. No more Jelly Bean nor Kitkat, even the Rio 2 Lite is pre-installed with Android Lollipop right off the bat. If my memory serves me right these are the first non-Android One smartphones from local companies to offer running the newest Android Lollipop.

Also, looking at the promotional images of the device above and as I have already seen the MyPhone Rio 2 Lite in person, it is very obvious that MyPhone has slightly changed the design of the back panel. First the volume rocker and sleep/wake keys are all now on the right side of the device and then the edges of the back covers are now curved compared (again) to the original predecessor. LED flash on the back now sits below the now-rounded camera lens. One more thing is the navigation keys are no more found on the lower bezel of the screen but are now on-creen buttons since this is an Android Lollipop smartphone. It's so nice to see new things and changes on the MyPhone Rio 2.

Cameras have been upgraded too where the 8MP rear facing shooter is now powered by a Sony Sensor with Blue Glass technology. Front camera is now at 5MP which is a bump up from the original's 2MP.  The internal storage has been doubled on this one coming in at 8GB and still supports mircoSD card up to 64GB. And most of all, from 2,000mAh the battery pack now boasts 2,800mAh juice, that is 40% more power than the first Rio device last year.

So how much the MyPhone Rio 2 will cost users? It's Php500 more expensive than the original Rio at launch, it's suggested retail price (SRP) is Php5,499.

MyPhone Rio 2 specs:

- 5" HD IPS display with Full Lamination
- Gorilla Glass 3
- 1280 x 720 resolution
- 1.3GHz quad-core processor
- 1GB RAM
- 8GB internal storage
- Supports microSD card up to 64GB
- 8MP rear camera with Sony Sensor and Blue Glass
- 5MP front camera
- Android 5.0 Lollipop
- WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS
- 3G, HSPA+
- Dual-SIM, Dual Standby
- 8.6mm thin
- 2800mAh battery
- Php5,499

According to a post on YugaTech.com both smartphones (Rio 2 and Rio 2 Lite) will have free Globe SIM card which comes with free 100MB of data every month for one year.