Cherry Mobile Cosmos One Review: Orderly System

Cherry Mobile Cosmos One Review: Orderly System

INTRODUCTION:

Cherry Mobile celebrated their fifth year anniversary in the country by releasing the best ever Flare, but on top of that, they also launched a limited edition Cosmos One.

The Cosmos series has been the top-brass lineup of Cherry Mobile, but for the "One" it is a different story. Priced at only Php6,999, it has the most affordable SRP among Cosmos devices upon released.

CPU-Z

It sports a 5.5-inch high-definition touchscreen display with Corning Gorilla Glass 2 on top to protect it against the usual scratches. Under the hood is a 1.4GHz octa core processor coupled with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage.


 UNBOXING:

 Unboxing Video

Retail Package

The packaging looks nice, it contains the Cosmos One unit with pre-installed screen protector, charger, USB cable, wired headset and user manual. I was hoping to see a free case of any kind, but there none in the box.


HARDWARE:

Front

The front's major occupant is the massive display, below it is the usual capacitive keys while above you will find the hidden sensors, earpiece grille, LED notification and the 8MP secondary camera.

Back

The back has a leather-like finish, but it is completely made from plastic, the good thing about it is that it is quite resistant to fingerprints and smudges. The loudspeaker grille is center-aligned at the bottom part, directly above it is the cherry mobile marking. Meanwhile,  the COSMOS logo is boldly  printed in the center. At the upper portion, you will find the main camera and its accompanying LED flash enclosed in a metal frame.

Back without cover

Removing the back cover is relatively easy, once removed you will find the micro SD slot, micro SIM card slot and the regular SIM slot. None of them is hot-swappable since the 2400mAh battery blocks the access.

Left

Right

The volume rocker is located at the left side while the power button and the dedicated camera button are both on the right side.

Top

Bottom

The top holds the 3.5mm audio jack and the secondary microphone while the micro USB port and the primary microphone are placed at the bottom.

The Cosmos One has a good build quality, there are no unwanted gaps, buttons are tactile and easy to press, and there is no annoying sound or creak when in use. It has enough heft and it does not look cheap.


DISPLAY:

5-point touch

The One has a 5.5-inch display, it renders anything on its screen beautifully thanks to the HD resolution and IPS technology. However, the screen is a bit dim even if you adjust the brightness to full.


SENSORS:

Sensors

The accelerometer, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound and magnetic sensors are all working just fine. The light sensor is also functioning, however, it is less sensitive than usual.


BENCHMARKS:

Antutu, Old - 23543 & 26146

Quadrant - 11883

Vellamo

NenaMark2- 55.7fps

It is the first smartphone from Cherry Mobile powered by a 1.4GHz octa core MediaTek processor. In Antutu 4 it scored 3K++ less than the usual 1.7GHz MT6592, in the Antutu 5 it scored pretty much of the same level. Likewise, it also scored lower in other benchmark applications.


INTERFACE:

About phone

Interface

The Cosmos One runs on Android 4.4.2 KitKat with an almost stock interface except for the app skin.


BASIC FUNCTIONS:

Basic Functions

The basic phone functions such as telephony, messaging and email are all working well, no issue encountered.


MULTIMEDIA:

Gallery:

Gallery

The gallery is the place where you can check the photos and videos on your phone, you can view them by grid or filmstrip and filter them by albums, locations or times. Anything under the gallery can be shared locally or online. There are also built-in editing tools for photos and videos.

Video Player, Music Player and FM Radio:

Video player, music player & FM radio

This phablet can play videos of different types up to 1080p resolution, it renders them well and very smooth, watching your favorite shows or movies are enjoyable with its 5.5-inch HD screen. Meanwhile, the music player will list down all supported audio files which you can view by either albums, artists, songs or playlist. On the other hand, the FM radio needs a connected wired headset in order for it to work, channels can be searched manually or automatically, you can listen to the broadcast through the headset or via loudspeaker plus the option to record them.

Camera and Video:

Camera and video

Google Camera

Aside from the stock camera/video app, there is also a Google Camera pre-installed. Their interfaces are very much different, but their functions are pretty much the same except for the added feature of the latter, which is the lens blur. The One also has a physical shutter button, you can press and hold it anytime to access the camera even if the phone is locked or on sleep mode.

Sample Shots:

Day_Normal

Day_HDR

Day_Normal 100% Crop

Day_HDR 100% Crop

Day1_Normal

Day1_HDR

Day1_Normal 100% Crop

Day1_HDR 100% Crop

Night without flash

Night with flash

Night_HDR

The sample shots above are taken using the stock Android app, the 14MP main camera captures great images with lots of details. If you take a look at the above photo, especially at the back hoe picture, you can still read the markings even if it is more than 100 meters away. The LED flash is also strong and can really illuminate the subject and the surroundings.

Using HDR mode helps improve the photos, but not that much and there are times that pictures are over exposed. The digital noises are also evident in pictures taken in low light conditions.

Sample Videos:

Sample Video

The main camera can shoot video of up to 1080p resolution and the output videos are really good.

Browser:

Browser

The Cosmos One only has the stock browser, pages load quickly, even those with lots of images and scripts. If you want to download another browser, just go to Play Store and download the one that suits you.

Gaming:

Despicable Me

Dead Trigger 2

Asphalt 7

Dungeon Hunter 4

Heroes of Order and Chaos

Any kind of games generally runs smooth in the Cosmos One, it can handle 3D games at ease and almost lag free. Although I still recommend to close other application before playing graphically demanding games for better experience.

Storage and Move to SD

The One has 8GB of on board storage, 6.03GB of which is accessible by the user as a unified storage. If this still small, you can use an external micro SD card up to 64GB to increase it and then set it as your default storage.


CONNECTIVITY:

Connectivity

This phablet has two SIM slots both of which can handle 3G/HSPA connection that you can share via WiFi hotspot, Bluetooth or USB tethering. The WiFi works great plus it also has a wireless display (cast screen) and wireless printing functions. Its micro USB port has OTG, flash drive and wireless mouse are both working properly when tested. It also has no issue when connecting via Bluetooth on other phones as well as accessories. Lastly, if you love using third party headphones you will be glad that its 3.5mm audio jack is CTIA compliant.


PRODUCTIVITY:

Productivity

The productivity tools are all stock Android applications, namely calculator, calendar, clock, file manager, sound recorder and to do. There are no acrobat reader and office viewer/editor, but you can simply download them for free when needed.

GPS:

GPS

The Cosmos One has GPS with A-GPS, with data pre-loaded it can get satellite lock in almost an instant while you need at least 45 seconds from cold start.


BATTERY STATS:

Battery stats

I did my usual video and gaming battery test, the Cosmos One lasted for more than 5 hours and about 2.5 hours respectively. If you are new to my site, battery test is done by looping a video and a 3D game (separate test for each) until such time that the battery percentage drops to 15% from 100%, volume and brightness are both set at the median.


OTHERS:

eWarranty, TouchPal & Wireless Update

The eWarranty pops up upon first boot and every reboot thereafter, unless you complete the registration. The TouchPal on the other hand is the default input method of Cosmos One. The Wireless Update worked too, last September 28 a push notification appeared on my unit advising me that a software update is available.

Anti-theft, Gesture Sensing & Smart Awake

The Cosmos One also has several cool features such anti-theft to protect your device when it got lost, gesture sensing for contact-less navigation of several apps such as gallery and the smart awake wherein you can unlock the phone with just a double tap on the screen.

Cherry Mobile Apps

The Cherry Mobile homegrown applications, namely Fun Club, Cherry Play and Pinoy App Shop are all installed by default.

Google Apps

Aside from Google Camera and Gmail, there are other Google apps also factory installed.


CONCLUSION:

The Cherry Mobile Cosmos One is truly a all-around smartphone, it has above average performance, very decent camera and good build quality plus additional useful software tricks such as gesture sensing and smart awake.

PROS:

5.5-inch HD IPS display with scratch-resistant glass
Octa core processor
Good build quality
Very decent camera performance

CONS:

Screen is a bit dim


Specifications:

• Dual SIM (regular+micro) dual standby, Supports HSPA+
• 5.5-inch capacitive IPS HD (1280x720) touchscreen display, Corning Gorilla Glass 2
• Android 4.4.2 KitKat
• 1.4GHz Octa Core CPU, Mali-450MP GPU MediaTek MT6592M chipset
• 1GB of RAM
• 8GB internal storage, expandable up to 64GB via microSD
• 14MP main camera with LED Flash
• 8MP secondary camera
• GPS with A-GPS and EPO assistance
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi Direct, WiFi Hotspot
• 3.5 Audio Jack
• Stereo FM Radio
• Multimedia Player
• Micro USB 2.0 with OTG support
• Bluetooth v4.0
• Sensors: accelerometer, light, proximity, gyroscope, magnetic
• 2400mAh battery
• Price: Php6,999