Cherry Mobile Omega HD Nitro Hands-on Impressions

Box

Toward the end of last year, Cherry Mobile invited me and a bunch of other bloggers to an unboxing event where we got to play with a number of their newest smartphones. One of the most bang for buck of the lot is quite possibly the Cherry Mobile Omega HD Nitro with a large 5 inch HD IPS screen, quad core processor, ample storage and support for 4G/LTE. The best part is the price. For just Php4,999, you’re getting a 4G capable smartphone with decent specs.

What’s in the Box?

Box Contents

You get Cherry Mobile’s standard set of accessories that usually comes with every retail box.

Handset
Headset with in-line mic
Micro USB to USB cable
Wall charger
Cherry Fun Club quick start guide
User manual

Design

Aesthetically though, the Omega HD Nitro isn’t very pleasing. The phone is thick, hefty, and has large bezels. Thankfully though, it’s curved, so it settles well in the hand.

Guess who the dudes are in the background!

Top

Bottom

Back

Hardware

Battery and Back Cover

While it does have “Nitro” in its name, the phone’s specs are actually quite modest. The HD screen measures 5 inches across and you’re only getting a 1.1Ghz quad core processor under the hood. What’s surprising though is that it does come with a decent 2GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage, not to mention 4G/LTE. Okay, so maybe that’s where the “Nitro” comes from. Also, the battery is pretty respectable at 2,500mAh.

Software

Front

One thing a lot of Android fans will appreciate is that the Omega HD Nitro runs Android 5.1 Lollipop out of the box. It looks mostly stock too, with only the wallpapers really having been modified with Cherry Mobile’s own branded images.

Impressions

The Cherry Mobile Omega HD Nitro isn’t perfect, but then at just Php4,499, it isn’t meant to be. It packs all of the features 90% of the smartphone-using population would ever want to use, sacrificing mostly aesthetics to achieve its low price point.