Back in 2009, when I bought my first smartphone (Nokia 5800), mobile operators, for some unknown reason, did not offer all-in-one tariffs. Is it possible in 2021 to have an extra-compact smartphone capable of providing the owner with voice communication for the whole day, in which the interface does not make you want to smash it against the wall? At that time, it was already possible to purchase a dual-SIM smartphone, combining the functions of calls and everything else in one device, but … However, I was not eager to buy obviously very outdated devices with a small, even for such a small size, battery capacity, so I decided to take the XS12, although https://jiji.com.gh/bags/gucci this purchase turned out to be a kind of “dark horse” (or “pig in a poke”), but who does not take risks, he does not drink champagne. Inside the box, there was a standard set: the device itself, with factory films stuck on the front and back, instructions in English and Chinese, a paper clip, a USB type-C cable, a 5V 1A adapter with a Chinese (American) plug, a silicone case and a protective film on the screen.
Already when I got acquainted with the contents and was about to throw away the packaging of the parcel, I found a bag with gifts from the seller stuck between the air “pillows” – a combined (on the neck and on the finger) cord and an adapter for the euro plug, although the seller stated that the adapter is not included I decided to test it empirically. Is it capable of fully performing at least some of the functions that have long become familiar to everyone? Around the same time, the employer gave me a corporate SIM, the use of the Internet on which was blocked, so the issue was resolved by itself: there will be a second device. Delivered by Russian Post in 15 days, safe and sound. The device turned out to be good: small, compact, it required charging about 1 time in 3 weeks, it had sufficient volume of both the ringing and conversational speakers. Actually, the choice turned out to be small: Unihertz (good, but expensive), Melrose (seems to suit everyone, but Android 7 in 2021?), Servo (quite heavy and out of budget) and Soyes. I especially liked that the declared dimensions of the device were even smaller than those of my previous Digma Linx N331. Yes, it was louder, but otherwise even worse than the second Xenium – the battery lasted 3 days, the menu is even more confusing, and the 10-character limit for the subscriber’s name in
the notebook was generally depressing, forcing you to abbreviate “Petrovtsev Alexey” to “PetrAlex” and then wonder who it was, Alexei Petrovtsev or Alexander Petrov? What can we say about people who also need to remember their patronymic… He served me faithfully for about 5 years, until he began to "crumble". In general, I did not expect the “death” of this device, but to replace it as soon as possible. Including the coupons of the seller and aliexpress, the device cost me exactly 6000 of ours. Yes, there are no Xenium followers in this class, you can’t even count on a week of work without recharging, but if the device confidently keeps one day, that’s enough, recharging every night is not so difficult. It so happened historically that for more than 10 years I have been using two mobile devices at the same time: one smartphone for the Internet, navigation, photo / video and all that, and the second, “just a phone”, for calls. This is about how the need for such a device arose, so if you are only interested in the device itself and its characteristics, you can skip this section I decided right away that I didn’t want to pay too much for a call, so I limited my budget to $100 (maximum $120). Nevertheless, I used the second Xenium for several years, until it also fell apart.

Soyes XS12 mini smartphone. Indeed, eXtra Small

And so, I found out that there is such a category of devices as mini – (or even micro?) smartphones. I chose, of course, the version with 32 GB of memory, because for my purposes and this with a large margin. Buy something cheap on android? It is possible, but alas, in 2021, the sizes of such devices start from 5", and this is no longer what can be called "fits into any pocket." Oddly enough,
I’m used to two devices.

The agony of choice

This is really convenient: you can always answer a call without interrupting web browsing, photo editing and other activities. Here, having studied the range of “just dialers” that had become very scarce at that time, and realizing that nothing revolutionary had appeared, on the contrary, there were signs of regression, I decided to purchase something the cheapest, which had more or less positive reviews. Digma Linx N331 became such a device. At the same time, there were no two-SIM devices on the market (Chinese models with a retractable antenna and built-in TV do not count), so then I thought about purchasing a second device for calls. In general, when the life cycle of the device came to an end, I, without thinking twice, went to buy another one to replace it. The seller packed the device securely in a tube package, so even the factory box was not damaged at all. Moreover, if the interlocutor asks to make an appointment, then you can look at your calendar and choose free time without interrupting the conversation (I know about the presence of the speakerphone function, but this is not always and everywhere appropriate, plus everything, as a rule, when talking outside WiFi coverage area, Internet connection will be interrupted for the duration of the call). With Soyes, the situation is interesting: there are reviews on the 7S and XS11 models (and not always positive), but on the XS12 I did not find any reviews or reviews, but according to the characteristics, it seems to be what you need. The main thing is the absence of glitches, compact dimensions and operating time from a single charge. The updated Xenium turned out to be an average lousy Chinese, with a confusing menu, an uncomfortable and incomplete keyboard lock, a not very long-lived battery and a very mediocre volume level (it was sometimes impossible to talk in noisy places). Having formulated simple requirements (inexpensive, high-quality, and so that the charge lasts for a long time), I studied the offers of stores and settled on one of the models of the Philips Xenium line. Tariffs were either "conversational", with an acceptable cost of calls and SMS, but sky-high price of Internet traffic, or "for a modem", where the price breakdown was reversed. But what to replace? Buy another “dialer”, spend time dancing with a tambourine to transfer contacts and get disappointed again? No, I definitely didn’t want that. For obvious reasons, when choosing, I did not pay attention to such things as the camera, display quality, 4G, navigation, etc. Because Xenium suited me with everything, then I chose a device from this line again and … was disappointed.