StarMobile OCTA first impressions, initial benchamarks

The first local brand to introduce Wireless Charging with NFC – features that are mostly found on high-end smartphones from international brands. StarMobile Octa was launched March 19, 2014 and will be available four days later in their SM North EDSA store and nationwide on April 2014.

StarMobile OCTA sports a 5-inch FHD with Asahi Glass protecting the screen to make it scratch-resistant. We called HTC One as the most gorgeous Android phone, but this time I guess StarMobile will replace that title in the local brand category.

Premium looks

The external finish looks really gorgeous that you will be reminded of HTC One that was priced at P32,990. The body is housed on an aluminum-finish and the 2,300mAH battery is non-removable. The micro-USB port is perfectly located at the button part, volume rocker on the right side, while on the left side is the tray for micro-SIM.

High-end features.

USB to HDMI connectivity feature will project whats your on OCTA to any HDMI-ready large display such as LED TV. NFC technology is one of the best feature of this flagship phone. With NFC feature, transferring of files from this phone to another with NFC and customizing your phone without having to manually do it from the settings menu. Config like “Metting Mode”, “Outdoor Mode” can be configured on NFC tags, and in one tap it changes to your required custom settings. NFC tags will be made available soon by StarMobile.

Wireless charging is awesome, this is the future of all mobile devices, and StarMobile OCTA has this feature. It does not charge as fast as your wall charger but it is always awesome when don’t bring wires with you. The bundled freebie is a 2-in-1 wireless charger and speaker worth P2,490.

Initial Benchmark

Antutu gave a high score of 27,952. It sits on top of Galaxy S5 and LG G2 but when we tried and initially tested the phone, and switching to menus and screens of Octa was very fluid and fast. We took a sample photo and we notice that it was fast,  as if it did not think twice and locked the focus and took the shot.

Sample Photo

Here’s one of the sample photo taken by the 18MP AF rear camera with BSI.

Hi-res copy is here.

Over-all the StarMobile is a promising local flagship brand. The features like NFC and Wireless charging will be the best selling point of the Octa, not to mention the 18MP and 8MP cameras which is pitched to take really good “group selfies”.

StarMobile OCTA specs is right here, and it will retail for PhP16,990 or about USD378.90.