O+ USA unveiled last month the O+ 360 HD Android smartphone – one of their newest additions to the 360-Series of smartphones that feature a 5-inch HD display, a 5 megapixel front camera with flash, quad-core CPU, and the company’s 360 Touch Technology. Priced at under Php7K, is the O+ 360 HD worth the money? Find out by reading our full review.
Design and Construction
The O+ 360 HD flaunts a 5-inch display on the front of the device. Situated above it are the earpiece, 5 megapixel front camera, and the flash. Unlike its cousins, the 360 and 360 Extreme, the 360 HD uses on-screen buttons for navigation.
Found on the right side are the power/lock button and volume rocker. Right up top are the headset jack and the microUSB port. Then down at the bottom are pinholes for the mic and speaker.
Flip the 360HD on its back and you will find the 8 megapixel camera, the LED flash, the markings to show where the 360 Touch Technology is located, and the O+ branding.
Build-wise, the 360 HD is mostly made of plastic, save for the glass on the front. However, unlike its other two cousins mentioned earlier, the 360 HD is sexier thanks to the slim body with edges that curve from the front to the back.
The 360 HD feels good on the hands as well. It has a decent heft and easy to hold and put in the pocket. The glossy finish, though, is prone to fingerprints and smudges. It’s not really a dealbreaker but you’ll most likely find yourself wiping it from time to time.
Display and Multimedia
The 360 HD is equipped with a 5-inch IPS display with HD resolution (1280 x 720) or equal to a decent 294 ppi. Pixels are evident but it’s vibrant with good viewing angles.
Not much can be said about the speaker. It’s audible but the sound is far from great quality as it sounds tinny and lacks bass. That being said, the 360 HD is good for movies but you’re better off using a good pair of headphones or external speaker.
OS, UI, and Apps
Running the software department is Android 4.4.2 KitKat with some slight customization from O+. It mostly retained the layout and navigation of a stock Android except for the icons which look toyish.
It comes with a few pre-installed apps but mostly Google’s and O+’s. The BTNotification app is preinstalled as well for those who want to use O+’s smart devices like the O+ Tag and O+ Time. Storage-wise, the 360 HD comes with 8GB of internal storage with 6GB left for the user. You can expand it with a microSD card (the package comes with a free 8GB) or via USB OTG.
Other features of the 360 HD are the O+ Air Share which is for uploading and downloading data from the Cloud, Air Shuffle for music and photo navigation with just the wave of a hand, the 360 Touch for navigation using the 360 Touch Tech found at the back of the device, and Doodle Control which lets you launch apps by scribbling specific gestures on the screen while the screen off.
Speaking of 360 Touch and Doodle Control, we’re glad to report that both features work properly and are very responsive. On the downside, the 360 Touch is prone to accidental swipes. When we’re watching a movie we accidentally swiped on it and interrupted our viewing.
Camera
As for its imaging prowess, the 360 HD is equipped with an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front-facing. The front-facing camera should suffice for day-to-day selfies even in dark environments thanks to its LED flash and Beautify feature. The 8 megapixel rear camera, on the other hand, is capable of producing photos with acceptable details and colors. Take a look at the sample photos below:
As for video recording, it can record Full HD videos at 20fps in 3GP format. Watch the sample video below:
Performance, Benchmarks, Call Quality
The 360 HD is equipped with MediaTek MT6582 quad-core processor clocked at 1.3GHz, Mali-400MP GPU, and 1GB of RAM. Performance is good when it comes to basic tasks like UI navigation and when running basic apps. Gaming-wise, performance is not consistent as lags sometimes occur. It should suffice when it comes to light games but don’t expect stellar performance when it comes to heavy ones.
* AnTuTu – 18,188
* Quadrant Standard – 6,923
* Vellamo – 718 (Metal), 1,187 (Multicore), 1,663 (Browser)
* NenaMark 2 – 54.8fps
* 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme – 2,069
The 360 HD comes with the usual smartphone connectivity features like WiFi and Bluetooth, with support for two SIM cards (micro + regular). Call quality is good and so far we didn’t encounter any issues whenever we’re in a call.
Battery Life
This is probably one of the disappointing parts of the 360 HD. It has a 2,000mAh battery that you would often see in entry-level devices. It is below average considering that most of the 360 HD’s competitors at its price range are going for at least 3,000mAh.
We ran PC Mark’s battery test and we got a result of 4 hours and 20 minutes. As for our usual test which involves playing a 1080p video on loop in Airplane mode at 50% brightness and volume with headset plugged in, the result is 5 hours and 43 minutes of playback.
Conclusion
The O+ 360 HD is a decent Android that packs a good build, design, and camera. There are lots of other smartphones out there that feature those strengths as well so to make it standout O+ decided to equip this device with extra features like the 360 Touch Technology, Doodle Control and Air Shuffle. However, some users might find those extra bells and whistles as unnecessary or gimmicky.
Now for the 360 HD’s biggest challenge – the price. At Php6,395, this puts the 360 HD in the territory dominated by the Alcatel Flash Plus (Php6,490) which has double the RAM and internal storage, newer CPU, dual-LTE support, and larger battery. With that being said, do get the O+ 360 HD if you want the 360 Touch Tech, Doodle Control and Air Shuffle, but if you want a real bang for the buck phone, you know where to look.
O+ 360 HD specs:
5-inch IPS HD display @ 1280 x 720 resolution
1.3GHz MediaTek MT6582 quad-core processor
Mali-400MP GPU
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD (w/ free 8GB SanDisk microSD)
8MP rear camera with flash
5MP front camera with flash
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
3G HSPA+, 2G
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 3.0
GPS, A-GPS
360 Touch Technology
Android 4.4.2 KitKat
2,000mAh Li-Ion battery
What we liked:
* Good build and design
* Good display
* 360 Touch, Doodle Control, Air Shuffle are handy at times
What we didn’t like:
* Pricey considering the offering of other competitors
* Below average battery
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