Shootouts

Shootout: Compact 4G LTE Smartphones under S$300 (Q4 2014)

By Sidney Wong - 5 Nov 2014

Oppo Neo 5: Design & Features

Oppo Neo 5

Oppo's smartphones are known to deliver great value for the specs they have, and the Neo 5 is the company's most aggressive move to enter the 4G market segment.

While the Neo 5 is easily the most affordable phone of the lot (at just S$219), it still boasts decent build quality. The chassis is made entirely of plastic, but thankfully it's not of the glossy nature like the Desire 510. The top and bottom section of the Neo 5 has a unique reflective pattern of tiny circles, which resembles the rear of the LG Nexus 4. However, the phone may be a little slippery at times due to its smooth feel. Interestingly, we felt the black edition to be more susceptible to slippery handling than the white edition. So if you don't mind a white phone, we would recommend you to get that over the black finish.

Like all the other phones in this comparison, the rear cover can be removed. The micro-SIM and microSD card slots are located above the 1,900mAh battery. To access them, you have to remove the battery first. As the Neo 5 comes with only 4GB internal storage, you are more than likely to use the microSD card slot if you plan on using its multimedia functions such as watching videos, listening to music and snapping photos. 

On the front, you get a 4.5-inch display with a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels which isn't flattering compared to other competing phone models. Together with the HTC Desire 510 and Samsung Galaxy Ace 4 LTE, the Neo 5 is ranked on the lower end of the scale where display sharpness and quality are concerned..

The Neo 5 runs on Oppo's customized ColorOS 1.4 based on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. As mentioned in our review of the R1, each ColorOS version is customized specifically to either enhance the user experience or rectify issues for different devices.

From our usage experience, we didn't notice any major difference in features on the Neo 5; you still get the Gesture panel for quick access to certain apps/functions via drawing out quick gestures (hit the link for more information on it as covered in the R1 review) and a suite of Security-related apps (App Encryption, Guest Mode, Permission Monitor). If you are looking beyond the near-stock Android interface on the Moto G with 4G LTE, and appreciate the nifty enhancements, Oppo's ColorOS is worthy of your consideration.

With the exception of the Samsung Galaxy Ace 4 LTE, the Neo 5 also uses the same processor as the other phones - a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core 1.2GHz processor. Supported by 1GB RAM, we experienced no hiccups in general use and navigating the interface.

This is the default home screen on the Oppo Neo 5. The Gesture panel can be accessed on the far left side of the home screen. You can draw custom gestures to launch different apps or functions.

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