Finally, the  long  awaited(1 month) and  anticipated alternative to the  Samsung Galaxy S5 & Note 3, HTC ONE 8 and Apple iPhone 5S has arrived. The  first knockout blow it has dealt all its competitors is its price. While all the  others  are selling between the price range of RM2,399 to RM2,599; the  Find 7 is selling for RM1,898. That’s a cool difference of RM500+ smackeroos. This itself, would blow the competition away for the price and budget conscious buyers.

What’s in the  package

Classy, impressive packing; in the  box,  there is  a good looking container, something like a box used for a jewellery set, which contains the Find 7, the  super speed charger, the charger plug, a USB cable, earphones, quick guides, etc. The 5.5″ phone is very slim and is narrower than the Note 3; making it more comfortable to be in the hand and my pants pocket, too. There are three buttons: the  power button is on the left, the volume control on the right.

It comes with a flip, “looking like” leather case which has an aluminium rimmed(somewhat like BMW’s metered dials in some of its vehicles) big window and a standard screen protector. I had to use a paperclip to poke through a hole at the side of the phone to release the  “looking like” carbon fibre back cover to clip on the flip cover in its place. The back cover could actually be made of carbon fibre, I’m not too sure because it feels flimsy. Using the flip case makes reaching for the power button a bit tricky.

Da phone, da phone

Anyone remembers “Kit” from the Knight Rider tv show? Oppo adds class to the Find 7 with this blue light that blinks slowly, starting from the centre of the bottom edge of the phone and spreading to almost the width of it. A bit like Knight Rider,  except the red light moves  from side to side in the middle of the grill. The blue glow contrasts well against the black screen in standby mode. The  light  also  blinks  when the phone is on charge.

The screen is beautiful. It does  look a bit dull when put next to the Note 3. The Note 3’s amoled screen is beautiful, too; very bright. It’s emphasis seems to be in the  reds and yellows which aims to capture our visual senses instantly when the  screen is on, but the colours are over emphasised or electronically modified, thus not natural when compared to the actual subject of the picture. In this area of natural colours, tones, hues; the Find 7 does very well.

Using the Find 7 – first impressions

Not one,  but two charging plugs. One is the normal charger; the  other is the VOOC(no idea what stands for) rapid charger. Oppo  has been “shouting loudly” about this rapid charging technology exclusively for the Find 7 and 7a(lesser spec model; cheaper, too) . 5min charging allows 2hr voice call and 30 min charging recharges up to 75%; 4x charging speed. By golly,  it works. This I like. Is this the beginning of the end for power banks? Now,  if this technology is sooooo good,  then why include the normal charger as well? It may be that rapid charging all the  time may not be such a good idea,  once in a while, ok. Will constant rapid charging damage the phone  or  battery or shorten the life expectancy of the battery more rapidly?  Only time will tell. The battery does hold out, giving decent usage. Charging once in 1 & 1/2 days and slightly over 45 mins for a full charge using  the rapid charger is definitely a plus point for the average user. The Find 7 needs a bit of getting used to. Perhaps it’s due to the “Samsung overdose” over the last two to three years. First of all, the flip case gets in the way of the power button. On the other hand, chances of accidentally switching off the phone are minimal compared with the Samsung (when reaching for the volume buttons which are just below the power button on the  Note 3). The  UI is good. So  much less clutter than the  Samsung. Creating  folders,  for  example; is so easy. Just drag an app over another app,  let go and a new folder is created. Cool  or  what?  With Samsung,  you  have  to  create  a folder  first,  then,  drag and  drop apps in it. A nice touch is the  shortcuts for use when the Find 7 is off. Draw an ‘O’ when the phone is off, turns the camera on for example. Double tap on the  home icon turns the Find 7 off. Double tap on the  screen, through the window when the flip cover is closed, turns the phone on. The  camera is another highly advertised feature –  ultra hd(high definition) : super sharp. It’s  supposed to take 10 shots simultaneously,  put them together for the best shot, which can have a 10sq metre print. It’s hard, really; to tell with a naked eye(mine’s not really naked –  I wear specs). Or I’m blind to details. Looking at the way the  Seven had been handling so far, I will take Oppo’s word for it  that the 10sq metre prints will be great. Grabbing a still shot from a movie is so easy. While the movie is playing, pull down the screen with two fingers, does the trick. Is the Find 7 a worthy contender to be in the upper stratosphere of  expensive  smartphones? After having used it for 7 days I should very much think so. It’s got everything going for it, many of which the mature smartphone brands can only watch.

PROS Price  : Its about  RM500 cheaper than most of its competitors. Comfortable  width to  hold. Great build Color OS is  good.

CONS None.

Blogged from my 5th Note