SKK Mobile Neo Review: Dual Core Reloaded

SKK Mobile Neo

INTRODUCTION:


Dual-core devices dominated the high-end smartphone market once, and they are ready for another conquest, this time the low-end segment. Introducing the SKK Mobile Neo, a dual-core device for an incredibly amazing price of Php1999.

The Neo's computing abilities are processed by the MediaTek MT6572 which has dual-core CPU clocked at 1GHz each, an ARM Mali-400 GPU coupled with 256 of RAM.

Key Specs:

• Dual SIM , Dual Standby 
• 3.5" capacitive HGA touchscreen display, 3-point multi-touch
• Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2
• 1GHz Cortex-A7 Dual Core CPU, Mali-400 GPU, MediaTek MT6572 chipset
• 256MB of RAM
• 256MB internal, expandable up to 32GB via microSD
• 5MP main camera without LED Flash, 720p video recording
• 2MP secondary camera, VGA video recording
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi Hotspot, WiFi Direct
• 3.5 Audio Jack
• Stereo FM Radio
• Multi Media Player
• Micro USB 2.0
• Bluetooth 
• Sensors: Accelerometer and Sound
• 1100mAh removable battery 
• Nice solid build

Main Disadvantages:

• Relatively low RAM
• No GPS
• Low battery capacity

UNBOXING:

The box is made of hard cardboard with blue motif, inside it are the unit with screen protector installed, USB-charger combo, wired headset, manual and warranty card.

SKK Mobile Neo Retail Package

The front housed the 3.5-inch screen, the earpiece and secondary camera above it while the 2-capacitive buttons and hardware home-key button are below it.

Front of SKK Neo

The 3.5mm audio jack and the micro USB port can be found at the top of the Neo.

3.5mm Audio Jack and Micro USB port at the Top of  SKK Neo

At the opposite part, there is nothing except for the microphone pin hole.

Mic at the Bottom of  SKK Neo

The left side has the power key button while the right side has the volume rocker.

Power button at the Left of  SKK Neo

Volume Rocker at the Right of the SKK Neo

The back cover is a textured plastic which we first saw on the SKK Titanium, it is not prone to fingerprints and smudges. What you can see on the picture below is not really the camera sensor, it is just a design on the back cover to make it look like one. The NEO branding is printed but the SKK mobile tag is a sort of sticker.

Back of SKK Neo

Removing the back cover will reveal the 1100mAh battery, micro SD and SIM slots. If you will notice the camera lens is a bit small for a 5MP sensor.

Battery, SD and SIM slots of SKK Neo

The build quality is nice and solid, the phone is built around a metal frame and does not look cheap.

INTERFACE:

The Neo supports multi-touch and has 3-point contact to be exact. The viewing angle is not wide, colors simply washed out once you tilt it.

3-point Multi-touch

It is running Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2 and has stock UI. In a lockscreen dragging the padlock icon to the right will unlock the device while swiping left will open the camera interface. If you have a missed notification you can drag it inside the circle to view it without unlocking the device.

Lockscreen

The Homescreen has five pages by default but you can reduce it or increase it up to nine. There are 5 shortcuts below, the middle always opens the app drawer while the remaining four can be customized the way you like it.

Homescreen

The apps are arranged in four rows by four columns while the widgets have 2x3 layout.

Apps and Widgets

The notification panel has collapsible info, for example you can directly call back or send a message for a missed called. The system settings shortcuts are also present.

Notification

BENCHMARKS:

The SKK Neo is based on the MediaTek MT6572 chipset which has dual Cortex-A7 cores clocked at 1GHz each. In Antutu, it scored 9547 which is quite high for a dual core device.

Antutu Device Info

Antutu, 9547

There is nothing spectacular in the quadrant score but it is quite notable that the refresh rate is more than 61Hz.

Quadrant, 2494

It scored 45.9 fps which is even higher than the Cherry Mobile Flare 2x.

Nenamark2, 45.9 fps

 
The Vellamo HTML and Metal results are great, even better than those with quad-core chipset.

Vellamo, HTML 1367 & Metal 464

The benchmarks results are more than expected especially that the device has 256MB of memory. However I just want to point out that benchmarks are just benchmarks.

DUAL SIM SETTINGS:

Under SIM management you can disable or enable the SIM cards and they are also color coded. You can also choose which SIM will be your default for calling, SMS and data connection or you can set it to always ask.

SIM Management

TELEPHONY:

The dial pad under telephony accepts both name and number inputs, for a faster way to call your favorite contact you can use the speed dial. The call log shows all your recent calls and can be filtered by outgoing, missed or incoming.

Telephony Interface

 

The call quality is good, the Neo has no proximity sensor but the screen automatically turns off once a call is connected.

 
PHONEBOOK:

The phonebook contacts and groups can be synchronized with your online accounts such as Google. In the same manner creating a new contact or group will prompt you to where you want it to be saved.

Phonebook Interface

 

MESSAGING:

Under messaging app, if you have an unread message there will be a number appearing in the upper right hand corner and that number corresponds to the number of unopened messages. The message threads are color coded blue for you and gray for the recipient.

Messaging Interface

The recipient input also accepts name and number entries, if you will attach any file to your message it will be converted to MMS. You can assign a different ring tone for the message notification but it will be for both SIM cards.

EMAIL:

The email and Gmail apps are just stock Android applications which have the same functionality to the previous device we reviewed. Both accept multiple account and can be synced depending on your needs.

Email and Gmail

MULTIMEDIA:

Gallery:

Under gallery you can find your pictures and videos which you can arrange by Albums, Location or Times and can be shared via Bluetooth or online accounts like Facebook.

Gallery Interface

The photo editor app is pre-installed as part of Android Jelly Bean and it works just fine with SKK Neo.

Photo Editor

Video Player:

The Video department really amazed me, it played all the files I threw at it - .avi, .3gp, .mp4, .flv and .mkv. It can even play 720p videos without any stuttering (1080p videos are also playable but with some hiccups).

Video Interface

Videos with different file extensions

Music Player:

The music player interface is pretty much a Jelly Bean standard, musics can be listed by artist, albums or songs. It has an equalizer with presets which can be turned on or off. When you are playing a song and you minimize it, you will have a mini player under the notification panel.

Music Interface

FM Radio:

A wired headset is a necessity for the FM radio to work, you can automatically scan all available channels or do it manually. If you like a certain broadcast you have the option to record it.

FM Radio Interface

Camera/Video:

The camera and video share the same interface, at the left portion you will find the shooting mode. On the upper right the recent photo/video taken, below it are the shutter keys and settings button.

Camera Interface

Camera Settings

 

As indicated on the app info of benchmarks the camera can shoot 5MP still and 720p videos, I checked their details and as you can see below it has indeed that kind of resolution.

Image and Video Details

Sample Pictures

Sample Video

720p, Day

The camera and video performance are way below if compared other device with the same resolution. As you saw in the unboxing part of this review, the lens is small for the a 5MP. Therefore we believe that  software enhancement is made to reach the kind of resolution.

Browsing:

The browser is stock Android and it works just fine, website loads quickly even those with pictures or Flash. It supports up to 16 tabs but I doubt you would use that much, it also has Incognito Mode for untraceable browsing.

Browser

Opera Mini is also pre-installed if in case you are looking for a secondary browser.

Opera Mini

Gaming:

Games like Pou and Candy Crush works just fine. However when playing games like Temple Run 2 there are times you will encounter a hiccup which is probably because of low RAM.

Pou

Temple Run 2

I downloaded Dungeon Hunter 4 to test and it is playable but the FPS is way too LOW for you to enjoy the game.

Dungeon Hunter 4

The Neo has only 179MB of on- board storage for apps and games but the good thing is that if you have an SD card installed it will become the default storage.

Storage

CONNECTIVITY:

The SKK Neo does not have HSPA connection, the mobile internet speed will max out at EDGE which is a bit low for today's standard, so better use its WiFi connectivity.

 

WiFi Signals, Neo at the left, A818g at the right.

 

The Bluetooth is present for your file sharing needs and there is also a 3.5mm jack for private listening.


SENSORS:

The Neo has only Accelerometer and Sound sensors.

Sensors

PRODUCTIVITY:

There are productivity applications pre-installed and all of them are stock Android apps.

Calendar

Clock

Calculator

Sound Recorder

File Manager

ToDo

BATTERY:

It has a miniature battery with 1100mAh capacity but it just works OK when use as secondary phone.  We already know that with this size you can never expect it to last longer when you play games or watch videos.

Battery Stats

CONCLUSION:DUAL CORE RELOADED


The Neo uses the latest dual-core chipset from MediaTek, and it was able to perform well especially in the Video department. There are things you hope they should improve like the battery and RAM but it could mean a price increase.

The camera and video performance are below average, maybe they know that already since they do not put it in their marketing perspective. Overall, it is still a better option compared to device with the same price range (2000 pesos) and only has a single core chipset.