O+ 8.15 Exclusive First Look! In the Flesh Photos, Complete Technical Specifications, Antutu Benchmark Test Score, Initial Impressions, Launch Discount Sale Details!

I'm not sure if I've already shared this with you before but, since I move around a lot - for events, meetings, out of the country trips, etc., my mom is the one who usually receives all gadgets and gifts that our corporate partners send me and TechPinas at her office in Quezon City.

Yesterday, as soon as she arrived home, she handed this curious, tightly-bubble-wrapped package that came from our friends at O+. "It's obviously a smartphone," she said.


I felt giddy as soon as I held it. "Could it be THAT phone?!"

Then she handed me this small note that came with the item, which confirmed my hunch. It was written by Fel, one of our dear friends from the American handset company.


"Hi Mark. :-) As communicated, here is O+ 8.15 Android that we are about to launch. This fresh from factory. It doesn't have charger or any accessories yet but you may charge this using 1 Amp USB charger. Thank you so much! :-) Fel"

TP Friends, I believe TechPinas is the very first tech blog or media outlet, for that matter, to get hold of and play with this much-anticipated flagship release. I'm just so, so grateful and humbled that O Plus USA trusts us this much.


Fresh out of the factory, check out O+ 8.15! (Click photos for full resolution view)


Like what I shared on TP last week, O Plus 8.15 is set to formally supersede the very popular and best-selling O+ 8.12 as the company's new flagship smartphone. As such, when O+ 8.15 officially hits store shelves this weekend, it will sport the best technical specifications on any O+ handset currently available.


Flaunting a gorgeous and massive 5-inch HD IPS display, running Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean with a MediaTek MT6589 chipset (with 1.2 GHz Quad Core ARM Cortex A9 CPU - that's according to O+ (We're well aware that MT6589 has an A7 CPU unless O+ got another variant of the chipset from MediaTek for this particular release. As of writing, TP is still awaiting final word from O+ regarding this.) - and PowerVR SGX 544MP GPU), and handling multitasking with 1 GB of RAM, O+ 8.15 features an 8 MegaPixel main camera with LED flash and back-illuminated sensor, 2 MegaPixel front-facing camera, HD video recorder, 8 GB (6 GB user available) of internal storage expandable via microSD card slot, and a rather large 2,000 mAh Li-Po battery pack for decent uptime. As for connectivity, the slim smartphone supports WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G.


Having such powerhouse innards allows the handset to deliver snappy and smooth performance as reflected by its rather high 13,365 Antutu Benchmark Test score. As shown in the comparative chart below, O+ 8.15 ranks higher than both the Quad Core powered Google Nexus 10 and Nexus 7 tablets and performs almost just as well as the very expensive HTC One X+ flagship release.


This, I think, is very impressive -- regardless of whether the phone has an ARM Cortex A7 or an A9 CPU.

The smartphone's power is perfectly complemented by its very attractive ultra-slim design and incredibly solid construction made possible by the use of premium materials.


Holding O+ 8.15, you will definitely feel the reassuring heft and flex-free build that only careful and masterful craftsmanship could have given.


The edge-to-edge glass face framed by metallic accent running down the sides of the device gives it an air of elegance and corporate sophistication. In terms of looks, I can honestly say that O+ 8.15 can stand shoulder to shoulder with Samsung Galaxy S4 or even iPhone 5 and not feel a bit shy.


O+ 8.15 will become available in the Philippines starting on May 11, 2013 -- that's already this coming Saturday. As I've mentioned in a previous TP post, the official suggested retail price is only Php 12,995, which I think is already low considering the premium build of the device and the hassle-free user experience that it gives. But if you're one of the first 100 people to purchase the smartphone at O+'s brand new Concept Store located at SM North EDSA Annex 4th Floor on May 11 from 10AM to 11AM, you can bring it home for Php 3,000 less, bringing the price down to just Php 9,995! Don't miss it! This is an amazing, amazing releasing; The best smartphone from O+ so far, bar none!


I'll be posting several other entries about my O+ 8.15 in the coming days to let you in on the other cool features of this handset including its unique Air Shuffle technology. But for now, you might want to be more familiar with its complete technical specifications.

TechPinas Smartphone Technical Specs Table (TSTST)
Name O+ 8.15
Type Slate Form Factor (Full Touchscreen)
Price Category Upper Midrange (Flagship Level)
Dimensions142.5 x 72.9 x 8.4 mm
Weight 102 grams (without battery)
Available Colors White with Chrome accents
Operating System Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean
Display 5 inch (~ 320 dpi, ~ 294 ppi) 720 x 1280 pixels HD resolution, IPS LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 16m colors
Processor Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 (as opposed to A7, according to O+) PowerVR SGX 544MP GPU MediaTek MT6589 chipset
RAM 1 GB RAM
Internal Storage 8 GB (6 GB user available), expandable via microSD card slot, supports up to 32 GB, ships with 8GB microSD card
Camera Main: 8 MegaPixels autofocus with LED flash and BIS, Front: 2 MegaPixels front camera
Video Capture 720p 30 frames per second, up to 1080p 30fps on lgCamera app
Audio and Video Playback WAV, MP3, MP2, AAC, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, MIDI, Vorbis, APE, 3GP, MPEG4, avi, rmvb
Ports microUSB v2.0, 3.5 mm audio jack
Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP, EDR, 3G HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps, HSPA+
GPS Yes, A-GPS
Sensors Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Gyroscope, Proximity
Network 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, 3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 (Quad Band, confirmed)
SIM Card Type Regular (Mini SIM)
Battery Li-Polymer 2000 mAh battery
Uptime Talk time 5.5 hours (2G) /3.5 hours (3G),
Standby time - 260 hours (2G) / 190 hours (3G)
Value-Added Features Dual SIM Dual Standby, Ultra Slim form factor
Announcement May 11, 2013, TechPinas Exclusive: May 7, 2013
Availability May 11, 2013
Price Official SRP: Php 12,990
Launch Sale: Php 9,990