MyPhone Agua Rio’s Biggest Flaw–Installing Apps On SD Card Not Allowed; Limited Space

April 06 23:18 2014 by Alexei Rivera Print This Article

UPDATE: MyPhone has issued a software update for “old version” users updating them to a newer firmware with SD card installs. Read our guide on how to update here.

We thought we’d give you a heads up as early as we can – since most blogs will likely post a crappy one-day review of the MyPhone Agua Rio and tell you how amazing it is and how it’s the best phone ever such and such – but here on our blog we actually test stuff in-depth and tell you what’s what. So here it is. We found a huge flaw with the Rio’s software, and it will affect users planning to install at least one or two games with 3D graphics. MyPhone’s UI doesn’t allow the user to install apps or use the MicroSD as extra app space.

That means that games like Real Racing 3 can never be installed on a stock Rio, because the Phone Storage that’s left of the 4GB ROM is only 1.55GB. (RR3 requires 1.6GB) And since most games like NBA 2K14 require at least 1GB of space, you can be sure you’ll only have a max of 1 or 2 games installed on the system at the same time. To put things in perspective, games like Modern Combat 4 (1.92GB), GTA: San Andreas (2.38GB), The Dark Knight Rises (1.81GB), NOVA 3 (2.19GB), Gangstar Rio (1.98GB), and Gangstar Vegas (2.32GB) are all packing hefty file sizes that you can never install on a MyPhone Rio. In fact, there’s probably more 3D games you can’t fit into the 1.5GB space than games you CAN fit in there.

There are some workarounds to this problem, but they will require “Rooting” your phone and in essence void your warranty. While we think rooting is great and a decent amount of people know how to do it, there’s an even larger demographic who will likely never Root their device. What this means is that for a huge number of consumers, they will likely experience the terrible realization that they can never have more than one game installed on their MALI 400-powered device. Essentially making a “gaming” phone worthless.

Thankfully, a solution may be in sight for people who want to keep their warranties intact. Since the problem is only software, it can be fixed with an update. CloudFone did this before for their Thrill 530qx, giving it new life by allowing SD Card installs after a patch. Will MyPhone do the same for the Rio? We don’t know. Suffice to say if you plan on installing a lot of games and don’t want to root your phone, you’ll should wait a little longer before buying the Rio.

UPDATE: MyPhone has issued a software update for “old version” users updating them to a newer firmware with SD card installs. Read our guide on how to update here.

More information about the MyPhone Agua Rio:

• MyPhone Soft Launches Rio–5.0” HD Phone With Quad-Core Processor For Only P4,999

• MyPhone Agua Rio Tests–Gaming, Camera, & More–Constantly Updated (7 Videos So Far)

• MyPhone Agua Rio Rooting & Memory Swap Guide (How To Root & Allow Install To SD)