Cherry Mobile got into some curious discussion when it announced the CM Omega Spectrum that is powered by a quad-core Broadcom chip. It's the first time the processor was used by the local handset brand so it was interesting to learn of its performance compare to the more popular Mediatek chips. Check out our full review of the Cherry Mobile Omega Spectrum.
Por solo Php4,999, con una pantalla HD de 5 pulgadas 1280 x 720 IPS, Dual SIM Dual Standby, cámara de 8 MegaPixel con enfoque automático y flash LED, cámara frontal de 2 MegaPixel, 1GB RAM y procesador de cuatro núcleos, ¿es el recién presentado Cherry Mobile Omega Spectrum un digno rival del MyPhone Rio?
We find out in this review.
Design & Construction.
Simple & elegant. These two words would probably best describe how the Omega Spectrum looks like. The all black color scheme, with shiny curved plastic framing the screen, and the matte rubberized back cover help make the phone feel more expensive than its sub-5k price tag.
El jack 3.5mm está ubicado en la parte superior, mientras que el puerto de carga USB está en la parte inferior. El lado derecho contiene tanto el botón de encendido como el control de volumen.
The 2MP camera, earpiece, and notification light are just above the 5-inch screen. The microphone is uniquely placed at the lower left of the screen. Probably to help lower the price of the phone, the Android navigation keys at the bottom of the bezel are not illuminated.
La cámara de 8 megapíxeles, el flash LED único y un altavoz están en la parte trasera. Como la lente de la cámara sobresale un poco, tenga cuidado con superficies irregulares para evitar rayones.
Display.
The 5-inch 1280 x 720 HD IPS screen is protected by Dragontrail glass. To further protect the screen, the unit also comes with a free screen protector.
La pantalla del Omega Spectrum superó nuestras expectativas, dado su precio. La calidad de la pantalla es buena, la reproducción del color es excelente y los ángulos de visión son sorprendentemente buenos. Las imágenes son nítidas y claras, y solo notarás los píxeles si miras un poco más de cerca la pantalla.
Although phone doesn’t have an auto-brightness function, just set the brightness to high and the phone works well outdoors.
OS, Apps & UI.
The Omega Spectrum’s UI is as close to vanilla Android 4.2 Jellybean as can be. This makes the interface look simple, really clean and well-done.
It comes with a few pre-loaded apps like Cherry Fun Club, eWarranty and Cherry Play. With apps like KakaoTalk, Pinoy App Shop, and YouTube, third-party apps were kept at minimum.
La navegación telefónica (incluyendo mensajería de texto y navegación web) y los juegos casuales (Text Twist y Candy Crush) son casi sin retraso. Pero cuando se trata de juegos que demandan mucho procesador como Dead Trigger 2, el procesador 1.2GHz quad-core Broadcom BCM 23550 no puede seguir el ritmo de la acción. Incluso cuando la configuración gráfica está en bajo, el retraso es realmente notable.
Multimedia & Camera.
As can be expected from an 8MP camera, the quality and resolution of both pictures and videos are pretty standard. It comes with a LED Flash, so taking pictures in the dark isn’t half bad. As for its 2MP front-facing camera, it will suffice for video calling and some selfies as long as you have an ample amount of light available.
La aplicación de cámara es tan básica como puede ser. Puedes ajustar la calidad de foto y video, la exposición, el balance de blancos, el flash LED, y eso es todo. Desafortunadamente, no hay opciones para HDR, detección de sonrisas, disparo multiángulo, e incluso algunos filtros.
Check out some samples below:
[fancygallery id="91" album="95"]
Por otro lado, la pantalla del Omega Spectrum es ideal para ver películas con un amigo (ya que el brillo y los ángulos de visión son excelentes). Simplemente use auriculares o un altavoz externo para el sonido, ya que el altavoz incorporado es bastante débil.
Performance & Benchmarks.
The Omega Spectrum is equipped with 1.2GHz quad-core Broadcom BCM 23550 processor and 1GB of RAM, most likely to keep the price down. It has a 4GB internal storage, can be expanded via microSD card.
We ran a number of benchmarks on the device and got these scores.
Benchmarks scores for the Omega Spectrum:
• Quadrant Standard: 3,460
• Antutu Benchmark: 13,708
• Nenamark 2: 33.7fps
• Vellamo: 1,175(HTML5), 441 (Metal)
• 3dMark: 3,504 (Ice Storm), 2,187 (Ice Storm Extreme)
Call Quality, Connectivity & Battery Life.
The Omega Spectrum handled calls normally as expected. We can be heard clearly on the other line and vice versa. 3G, wifi and tethering (mobile hotspot) all functioned well.
The battery is rated at only 2,000mAh. Standby time (with both sims active, no data/wifi, a few calls and texts) is a little more than a day and a half.
But in our usual battery test which includes playing an HD movie file in Airplane mode with volume set to 50% and brightness at 50%, the result is a below average 5.5 hours’ worth of movie playback. Uptime gets even lower to 4 hours with moderate/heavy use (wifi/3G always on, browsing, light gaming, messaging and around 5 1-minute calls). We expect this to go down further with processor-intensive apps/games.
The battery/phone temperature started out at about +34.40 C, and will normalize at +37.20 C (standby, web browsing, messaging). But as you increase the load of the phone (e.g. running benchmark apps and playing Dead Trigger 2), the temperature can reach as high as +48.40 C.
Conclusion.
With its affordable price, yet decent hardware and understated design, this may indeed prove to be a worthy challenger to the Myphone Rio. Despite its shortcomings, the Omega Spectrum does indeed give the most bang for the buck.
The Cherry Mobile Omega Spectrum is available in stores with a suggested retail price of Php4,999.
Cherry Mobile Omega Spectrum specs:
• Dual-SIM
• 1.2GHz quad-core Broadcom BCM 23550 processor
• 1GB RAM
• 5-inch HD IPS display, 1280 x 720 resolution
• 4GB storage (possibly expandable via microSD)
• 8-megapixel camera with flash
• 2-megapixel front camera
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, GLONASS, Miracast ready, USB OTG capable
• 3G / HSDPA
• 2000mAh battery
• Android 4.2 Jellybean
What we liked about it:
• Large IPS display
• Dual-SIM
• Solid build and construction
• Great screen at an affordable price
What we didn’t like about it:
• Below-average battery life
• Battery/phone gets hot fast
bakit po ung CMOS ko 2.5 gB lng ung total nya
ung system storage 820 mb lng tapos ung internal 1.5gb lng
eh sabi 4gb daw internal d nmn
d tuloy ako maka DL ng maraming laro
Root mo nalang pre.. at bumili ka ng 16gb sd card, at dl ng move2sd app
pre 820 mb ung storage ko eh 100 mb nlng ung free pano ba to ma eextend gamit ung internal storage magkahiwalay kasi eh ……..nagtataka ko bat pinag hiwalay pa ng CM….. kaya cguro gnawang 3,999php nlng kc pinaliit ung storage