O+ Venti 4G Unboxed, First Impressions

O+ USA’s newest phablet dubbed as the Venti 4G packs modest internals and a sub-Php7k price tag, and here it is in the flesh! The folks from O+ were kind enough to provide us a unit for review, and here are our first impressions of the device.

Unlike previous smartphone releases where we’ve seen boxes and polycarbonate cases, the Venti is enclosed with a rather unusual-looking design that screams ‘I want to be hanged’ and a rubber-like packaging similar to how you’ve seen eggs being packed in trays.

For one, it’s quite a hassle because the box label is connected with a round head screw, and you have to take the flap of the label and twist it to reveal the content that it has — the device, a microUSB cord, a wall charger adapter, a 32GB Sandisk microSD card, a screen guard, and several other papers.

At the front is the 6-inch display surrounded by a thick black bezel, and speaker grilles that feature the call speaker at the top and the stereo speaker at the bottom. The front camera and several sensors are also noticeable at the top, while the LED notification light is seemingly placed at the middle-bottom chin part of the device.

The volume rockers and the power/lock button are all located on the right side of the device, covered in a chrome color. They are placed in a location where one hand would be able to access when doing a two-hand operation with the device.

The sides of the device are accentuated with a small faint of a gap that distinguishes the front panel from the back unibody. At the top, we have the 3.5mm audio jack.

Looking at the bottom, we have the microUSB port and the microphone slot. There’s also that small slit that can be used to pry the back panel open easily.

The device also employs a curved arched back that renders easier grip when holding the device. Flipping it over, we have the eight-megapixel rear camera centered at the top part and is really noticeable due to the stark contrast of the camera plate (a shiny black circle) and the rose pink polycarbonate back casing.

Inside the device, we have dedicated slots for two micro SIM cards and a microSD card.

O+ Venti 4G specs:
6-inch qHD IPS display @ 960×540 pixels pixels, 184ppi
1.3GHz Quad-Core Spreadtrum SC9832 CPU
Mali 400MP2 GPU
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
microSD card support (Free 32GB SanDisk card)
8MP rear camera w/ LED flash
5MP front camera
Dual-SIM (Micro)
4G LTE
WiFi
Bluetooth
GPS, A-GPS
FM Radio
Android 5.1 Lollipop
3,000mAh battery

This second-generation phablet for O+ USA costs Php 6,395 in stores. Does bigger mean better? We’re taking this device for a spin as we create a review.