FAEA F2 unboxing photos

Newcomers FAEA have taken the Chinese phone scene by storm this year. With phones like the FAEA F1 Penguin and FAEA F2 it is easy to see why. Check out our unboxing photos of first impressions of the FAEA F2 here.

If you have just got to this post thinking "Oh no, the review hasn't been completed!" don't worry the review is finished and will be posted this week. Before that though let us take a look around the FAEA F2 in these hands on and unboxing photos.

Chinese phones have gone through a very fast evolution. A few years ago Chinese handsets were poor quality knock-offs of popular brands, then came the iPhone clones, the Samsung era, and now we have landed at a time where Chinese manufacturers are finding themselves!

We've had great performing and affordable Chinese phones for a few years now, but we are now finally seeing really great design too! I've never really been a fan of the Samsung design, which is what most Chinese phone makers strive for, so when something like the FAEA F2 comes along it's a breath of fresh air!

FAEA haven't been entirely original with the F2 though, there is a definate nod towards the HTC One here and Meizu feature in the design with the pulsing capacitive home button.

The F2 is a very handsome phone especially this black model with red high lights! I will actually go as far to say that the FAEA F2 is one of the best looking Mediatek powered phones we have ever reviewed! And certainly one of the best of 2013 so far!

The FAEA F2 packaging is simple and stylish. The simple white design with red highlights and interesting angles is certainly a hint at what is lurking inside the box. It would have been nice if the black phone came in a black and red box, but were hardly going to criticise FAEA for that.

Lifting the lid we get to see the phone with protective screen cover (for shipping only) and a small instruction leaflet.

Removing the phone and foam padding we can also find the USB data cable, charger and NFC tag. No earphones are included.

Taking the FAEA F2 out and flipping it over shows us the removable plastic rear casing which also has a protective plastic film.

It's always a satisfying feeling to remove the protective film of a new phone and see the device underneath, it's even more of a treat when the phone looks this good!

The front of the FAEA F2 features a 5-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS, OGS display from Sharp. A pixel density of 441ppi is spot on for a phone of this size and resolution. Just above the display is 5 mega-pixel front camera.

There are no surprises around the phone. A 3.5mm headphone jack lives in the top.

Anodized red power and volume controls live along the right and left edges, and it's nice to see that FAEA have put have put more thought in to the physical controls of the flagship phone than they did on the F1 Penguin.

On the bottom we have a micros USB for charging and transferring data. You can also make out the arched design of the F2 which helps to create a comfortable grip in your hand.

A large external rear speaker and 13 mega-pixel rear camera and dual LED flash are the only details on the rear of the phone, along with the white FAEA printed logo.

The rear is removable and from the inside we can see the F2 has room for 2 x SIM cards, SD card expansion, and there is an NFC chip built-in to the removable back.

A 2300mAh battery provides enough juice of a hard day of phone calls, web browsing, photos and a bit of gaming, but if you are a heavy gamer you will want to carry a spare with you.

Booting the phone up brings the FAEA logo then your typical Android lock screen.

The FAEA F2 we have for review is running Android 4.2.1 which is pretty close to stock and very similar to the ROM which Zopo use on their phones.

When we first opened the phone up last week we were impressed with the look and feel. The screen is great and the rear camera is capable of some of producing excellent photos. Our only gripe is the flex in the handset! It is no worse than a Zopo phone however in the case of the FAEA F2 flexing the phone can actually result in the rear of the phone popping off! Rather annoying for such a great looking phone!

We'll post the full review of the FAEA F2 with video before the end of the week.

Thanks to FAEAmobile for sending us this review unit.