Cherry Mobile Omega HD 3s Review

There are many smartphones out in the market that will be either greater than or not than the Cherry Mobile Omega HD 3s and while we can do a comparative evaluation of those, what I will do here is I will focus more with my first-hand experience with the Omega HD 3s itself..

When you think Cherry Mobile, most would have “Flare” in mind which is the series that’s probably the most sought after for those in the market for a Cherry who like to look at specs and performance. But what about the “Omega” series? Just what is it about?

Background

As far back as 2014  the omega badge has already appeared in the likes of the Cherry Mobile Omega Aeon and the Cherry Mobile Omega Infinity at 15k.

Is the omega series the “premium” series? The “powerhouse” series the “entry-level” series? The best answer I can think of is that it is a “Mixture” of any of those.

The Cherry Mobile Omega HD 3s

It has an “S” which separates it from the omega HD 3 which was released December 2015.

So what improved?

Unlike the Omega HD 3  of last year this Omega HD 3S now runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow; if you ask me this is a considerable upgrade because the Marshmallow OS does “save” the phone a lot of battery juice when it’s on stand-by mode.

The camera before was 8-megapixel rear and 2-megapixel front. With the HD 3s it is now 13MP rear and 5MP front. 

It is now 2016 and the camera is not something special or amazing BUT it is decent enough especially for those times when your smartphone is the only thing you have whenever you are outside or something cool suddenly happens.

Here are Sample Photos without any edit:

They say the best camera is the one you have with you, and with this phone I can say it simply does the job, indeed not the best but it is "workable". and I'm actually happy when considering this phone is priced at Php 2,999

Take note: This phone was purchased for Php 2,999 (Cherry Mobile may have either slashed or increased the price as you read this).

Other Features

CPU 

The 1.3 GHz Quadcore  by Mediatek is a different feature compared to last year's HD 3 that runs on quadcore too but by Spreadtrum. Nothing to be too excited about  but it does the job, it is decent for a smartphone used for work.
Checking gmail or viber and reading news daily is easy for this phone.


BATTERY

The 2000 mAh Battery is nothing special too for the year 2016, but it is surely enough for a smartphone that can handle the modern day human being with moderate use. If you use this phone as your daily phone for text and calls, Viber, Email taking photos too you can survive a day maybe  if you turn off adaptive brightness.

Then if you set the screen brightness to low will complement it, the screen is bright anyway and I have had no problem using it outside in cool weather I can still type a message.

 and if you do reach the low  batt sign this phone charges pretty quick in just under 1 hour 40 mins. or a bit more depending on your charging habits and battery health. Stand-by time is excellent thanks to the 6.0 Marshmallow update.

5.0" HD IPS screen & 2.5D Curved Glass

This is where it got it's name, Omega HD 3s. So how is it? I can say it's sharp and I'm happy enough with it. I can watch youtube with ease using this phone and the resolution is good let's not forget this phone is under 4k but it delivers more than what you paid for.

Also, I have been using this phone for 3 weeks now without using any screen protector just because I wanted to try what will happen,. I used it daily with my Pocket as it's home every time I'm outside or commuting and wallah NO SCRATCH up to now. am I just lucky? or did Cherry make this phone good. 

Dual SIM Card

I never expected being able to have a slot for the old regular sized sim would be a BIG THING, my old sim card the one I use for work and everything is the old gold plated one, the Cherry Mobile Omega HD 3s is one of the only few phones they have that can accommodate a regular sized sim in the modern phone wars, the other one being the Flare HD 2.0, I did not have to run the risk of destroying my very important SIM card by cutting.

Speakers

Again nothing to brag about but it will do the job if you are going to watch a video at home or in your room as long as you will be indoors it's fine, you can always use the headset if you want better audio anyway.

Buttons

The volume and power keys are located at the right hand side with the power key below the volume rocker. Honestly the power button is  is snappy but you are just not sure if you pressed it already because unlike other phones where you feel a certain amount of click this one makes a very small clicking feel which may sometimes leave you wondering if you already pressed it or not

Call Quality

The microphone is good my caller can hear me loud and clear the ear piece is good too I can hear their words fine just don't use the loud speaker function because it's not that loud that you can't here it inside the living room for example. (NOTE: Call quality may also vary depending on your location and other external factors may be at play)

Design

This for me, is probably where the 3k local branded phone shines the most, when you see this phone you may forget it's only Php 2,999. Ok just to give you an idea, remember the Samsung galaxy note 3? it had that faux leather in the back, well you get it too with this phone that costs 3 times or more cheaper. 

The Edges are made out of either a light metal frame or a hard plastic, it's hard to tell thanks to a coating they used and also there is a texture to it which is one of my favorites with this phone.

The glass of the display is somewhat curved which is probably why it reminds me of many other higher priced phones. 

Charging port and audio jack are located at the top as well as the light proximity sensor and the front camera

For me, this phone is thin enough

Conclusion

This smartphone, is for the man or woman who just wants to be able to check viber, facebook, twitter, play a little bit of simple games but at the same time Not Break the Bank but also look stylish, this Phone looks good and is a proper phone for use with work or school for students.

Those who just want to "survive"in the modern day and age of social media etc. a smartphone that looks good and performs decently. A phone that....Will just be there for you when you need to check facebook because that's where the assignment was posted or check viber because your boss sent a sticker or something there...and then maybe play simple games while stuck in traffic...This phone is nothing special like an S7 Edge etc. but "do you really need that?" this phone is for those who think like that and still appreciate the beauty of a well designed phone.

PROS

1. Affordable 6.0 Marshmallow Phone.
2. Camera is not perfect but not too bad for a 2.9k smartphone.
3. Design Factor is a steal, this phone is absolutely beautiful to the eyes.

CONS

1. Battery needs improvement if you play a lot of games.
2. There has been some reports of a factory defect for some units that will have the back cover not close all the way.
3. If you are used to an octa-core you might not be happy with the speed of the phone.

Thanks for reading stay tuned for more Reviewer of things!