SKK Mobile Platinum Preview

SKK Mobile released their new flagship Phablet called Platinum. It is an additional to SKK Mobile "METAL" series which includes the Titanium and Silver. The Platinum can be your alternative to the Silver if you prefer a more compact phone without sacrificing  performance (Yes, they actually have almost the same innards).

The new SKK Platinum strengthens the company's Android line-up, however with the competitors already had 5-inch smartphone offerings by the likes of MyPhone A919i, Cherry Mobile Omega HD 2.0 and O+ 8.15 will it be able to appeal to local masses?

The SKK Mobile Platinum is equipped with Quad Core MT6589 processor clocked at 1.2GHz. It is running Android Jelly Bean 4.2.1 with 1GB or RAM for better multitasking.

Key Specs:

• Dual SIM , Dual Standby
• 5" capacitive IPS High Definition LCD (1280 x 720)
• Android Jelly Bean 4.2.1
• 1.2GHz Cortex-A7 Quad Core CPU, PowerVR SGX544MP GPU MediaTek MT6589 chipset
• 1GB of RAM
• 8GB internal, expandable up to 32GB via microSD
• 13MP auto focus main camera with LED Flash, 1080p Video Recording
• 5MP secondary camera
• GPS with A-GPS and EPO assistance
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi Direct
• 3.5 Audio Jack
• Stereo FM Radio
• MP3/MP4 Player
• Micro USB 2.0, USB OTG
• Bluetooth

DESIGN:

The design is similar to HTC, and many people say that it is in fact the HDC Butterfly (STAR X920) which is a copycat of the original HTC. I did my own research and I can safely say that it really resembles the HDC Butterfly though there are some differences like the placement of power key, volume rocker and the front camera.

The front boast a 5-inch high definition display which uses both IPS and OGS technology. The front camera is located at the upper right portion above the display. The capacitive back, home and menu keys are placed at the bottom of the display.

Front

On the left side you will find the volume rocker while the power key is on the right side.

Volume Rocker at the Left

Power Key at the Right Side

The 3.5mm audio jack is located at the top while the micro USB port  can be found at the bottom.

3.5mm Audio Jack at the Top

Micro USB port at the Bottom

The overall build quality is quite good, the two-tone black and red design is pretty neat. The bezels are thin enough and the thickness is kept at minimum.


INTERFACE:

The interface is a mixed-bag, the phone design looks a lot of an HTC phone however the interface itself is similar to Samsung Touch Wiz. The homescreen and apps icons really look like of the proprietary Samsung launcher. When I played with the display unit, I still see a lot of Chinese apps and even the boot logo is different. When I ask the person from SKK they said that the final product interface will be different with the demo unit.

Interface

ANTUTU:

The Antutu score is more than 13K marks, which is typical for the MediaTek chipset on a device sporting a 5-inch HD screen. When you take a closer look at the system info you will out that the model number is SA_i950 followed by Chinese characters.

Antutu, 13520

FINAL WORDS:

The SKK Mobile Platinum is a good device sporting a nice design and good sets of specifications. The question is, will it be able to compete with 5-inch offering from other local brands? The SRP is PHP 9, 999 which is a little bit higher than MyPhone A919i and CM OHD2.0 with PHP 9, 590 and PHP 8, 999 pricing respectively. The main advantage is having an 8GB internal storage which is similar to more expensive O+ USA 8.15 which is priced at PHP 12, 999.

This is a preview based on a demo unit, expect a full review once I have a retail unit.