MotoG (8GB) vs Octopus S520: Which is a smart buy in Kenya?

Remember the times Motorola was a global Mobile maker and that too a leader at it? Well, the times have changed. The smartphone market is now flooded with newbies that are giving competition to the veterans. Bought by Google, Motorola has been trying hard to stay in the competition with mid-level and high-end smartphones, and has done well in the mid range category. One of the newbie in the market, Obi Mobiles, co-founded by Ex-Apple and PepsiCo CEO, John Sculley, ventured into Africa in March this year where as Motorola has a presence since 2013. Therefore, we decided to compare two of the best models from each of the companies, i.e. Octopus S520 of Obi Mobiles and Moto G (8GB variant) of Motorola.

DESIGN AND BUILD: Motorola Moto G comes in the dimensions of 141.5X70.7X6.0mm and weighs 149g where as Obi Octopus comes in the dimensions of 145X75X8.4mm (Obi’s official site doesn’t offer the weight of Octopus). MotoG is round edged and fits easy in hand and comes in multiple colours. You also get customised back shells that are interchangeable if you are looking for more colours. Obi Octopus S520, on the other hand, is a bar shaped, curved at all ends device that comes in a beautiful silver metallic cover.

DISPLAY: Motorola MotoG has a LCD capacitive screen with a 4.5’’ HD display that gives you a screen resolution of 720X1280 pixels. On the other hand, Obi Octopus S520 comes with 5” TFT IPS screen that feels more fluidic, thus gives Octopus an added advantage of better viewing angles over MotoG.

OS & PROCESSOR: Motorola MotoG runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean that is upgradable to Kitkat, where as Obi Octopus S520 runs on Android 4.4.2 KitKat, which gives Octopus a leg up. On the processor front, MotoG is packed with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 400 that clocks speed at 1.2 GHz supported by a quad-core CPU. Obi Octopus S520 is build with a MTk, MT6592 Octa-Core processor clocking speeds at 1.7 GHz. Moto G gets an edge over Octopus in terms of chipset.

RAM & STORAGE: Both, Motorola MotoG and Obi S520 have 1GB of RAM support and 8GB of internal storage that is expandable in Octopus upto 32GB via microSD card slot. MotoG misses on this feature that is important for people who like to store lots of music and pictures on their smartphones. However, the option of expandable memory is available for MotoG (16GB) variant.

CAMERA & BATTERY: It is the cameras where the Motorola MotoG takes the beating from Obi Octopus S520. MotoG sports a 8MP primary camera and a 2MP secondary to cater to your selfie needs where as Octopus S520 sports a 13MP primary camera built by Sony and a 5MP secondary camera for high quality selfies. On the battery front, while Motorola MotoG has battery capacity of 2070mAh that is embedded, Octopus S520 has a touch higher battery capacity of 2100mAh and is also removable.

CONNECTIVITY: On the Connectivity front, both Motorola MotoG and Obi Octopus S520 are 3G-enable devices with a WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and USB support.

  Comparison Chart 

Key Indicators	MotoG (8GB)	Octopus S520	Comparative Advantage
Battery Capacity	2070 mAh Embedded	2100 mAh Removable	Advantage Octopus
Display Screen Size	4.5’’	5’’	Advantage Octopus
OS	Android4.3Jelly Bean	KitKat 4.4.2	Advantage Octopus
Processor	Qualcomm  Snapdragon 400	MediaTek MT6592	Advantage MotoG
Expandable Memory	Not Available	32GB	Advantage Octopus
Camera	8MP- Primary 2MP- Secondary	13MP- Primary 5MP- Secondary	Advantage Octopus

PRICE: With decent specifications and nicely poised against one another, Motorola MotoG and Obi Octopus S520 are smartly priced too. Taking an indication from the Kenya market, MotoG is priced at KSh 22,499, where as Octopus S520 is priced at KSh 26,999 . Wondering why pay those extra bucks for Octopus? Because it beats MotoG on the camera, expandable memory, OS fronts and also has a lead over it when it comes to the display.  The choice is still yours.

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HTC’s Desire faces up to Obi's Octopus in East Africa

HTC Mobiles has been one of the established players in the East African smartphone market, where some ripples are being created with the entry of a rather new player, Obi Mobiles, a smartphone company co-founded by John Sculley, the famous ex-CEO of Pepsi Co and Apple. Both companies offer a range of products meant for a varied set of customers. In this review, we have picked up two models - HTC’s Desire 626 and Obi’ Octopus S520 – for a comparative review with the intention to help consumers make an informed choice rather than declaring a winner. 

At the very outset, let us understand that there are as many similarities as differences between the two models, which leaves the costumers struggling with the reworking of their smartphone priorities before making a choice. We start by looking at the overall physical dimensions. If HTC’s Desire, with dimensions 146.9x70.9x8.19mm, has a bit longish sleeker look, Obi’ Octopus, with 145x75x8.4mm, gives a more broader feel. However, in both devices the screen size (5inches) and the screen resolution (720X1280 pixels) are exactly the same. This means while the dimensions invoke different visual and holding experience of the devices, which is subject to once liking, the image or movie viewing experience for the users remains the same.

One among the critical components that determine any smartphone’s performance is the processor. Obi’s Octopus, built on Android 4.4.2 Kitkat, is powered by MTK MT6592 1.7 GHz Octa Core processor, where as HTC’s Desire, which runs on Android, lags behind with a 1.2 GHz Quad Core Snapdragon 410 processor. Furthermore, HTC’s Desire comes with 1GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 32GB via SD card support. Obi’s Octopus too comes with 1GB RAM but has an internal storage of 8GB that too can be expanded up to 32GB via SD Card Support, which makes both comparable. However, a more advanced processor in Obi’s Octopus provides it an edge at the level of user experience, as it offers quicker and smoother movement while switching between various apps.

   

However, HTC’s Desire tries to make up for the processor disadvantage at other levels, which includes camera, battery life and talk/stand by time. While HTC’s Desire has 13-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front camera with flash, Obi’s Octopus draws its confidence with its 8-megapixel Sony IMX111 auto focus rear camera with 2.4 aperture and 2-megapixel of front camera. However, with a 2000mAh battery power, HTC’s Desire has a slight edge over Obi’s Octopus that comes with 1800mAh battery. HTC’s Desire also claims an edge over Obi’s Octopus on Talk/Stand by time. From the user point of view, the real difference reflects from the quality of pictures taken using the two devices.

Both the devices support a regular and Micro-SIM with 3G support, come with a WiFi standard support of 802.11/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and other features like GPS facility. However, you have an option of FM Radio in Obi’s Octopus where as in HTC’s Desire it comes as a 3^rd part application. Most of all, both the smartphones also have about the same price tag in the Kenyan market, which is around KSh 25,000. In the context of the aforementioned spec-to-spec match, the consumer is left wondering about making a choice between a device that promises high performance making time lag a thing of past and a device that claims to last longer. Of course, the choice is yours.

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Obi Mobiles’ Hornbill S551 is sure to enchant Africa

Obi Mobiles, co-founded by John Sculley, ex-CEO of Pepsico and Apple, has recently entered Africa, starting Kenya and Tanzania, with a range of eight smartphone models. One of the flagship models is Hornbill S551 which is among the front runners. What makes Obi’s Hornbill smart and indeed stylish are its features and sleek design that come at a very attractive price point too. The phone comes in black and white colours with the leathered texture back that makes the phone do the talking.

Talking about specs, Hornbill is packed with a 1.3 GHz Quad-Core- Processor from MediaTek with 1GB of RAM. This is where you might be thinking of wanting more on the storage front but the phone doesn’t disappoint as it is quick and sharp with its functioning. No hiccups whatsoever anywhere as you actually start getting work done out of your phone. This little beast in glass, metal and leather look alike is no let down.

Hornbill has a 13 MP primary camera with a flash and auto focus feature that is placed at the very centre on the upper end of the leathered texture back. The space for the camera has been nicely crafted-out to give it a very stylish look, something that really stands out. The smartphone also has a 5MP secondary camera in the front to fulfill your selfie clicking needs. You shall have a good experience clicking your photos.

Hornbill has a large HD IPS 5.5 inch touch screen with a resolution of 1,280 x 720 pixels. The space outside the touch screen is equally distributed on the two sides at the upper and lower end with 3 capacitive keys on the lower end of the phone. The earpiece, secondary camera and sensors are on the top. The bottom occupies just the microphone while as the top has the audio jack and the USB port. The right side has the power key and the volume keys are on the left side that is a regular on most phones. The smartphone has its branding on the back side on the lower end just above the speaker grille that is of a decent size. The back thus looks luxurious.

It is a dual-sim phone. The sim cards are placed just next to the memory card slot. Point to be noted is both the sim-cards support 3G, which is quite impressive for such a price. Hornbill is a 145g bar shaped device that is easy to carry in your hand in spite of a large looking screen. It looks compact and is light with your hands. The metallic band on the sides with seen screws is a good attempt at making the device look premium. The phone is slim at 7.9mm giving it nice sleek look and thus comes easy in hand.

The Hornbill supports Android KitKat 4.4.2 OS that shows the intelligence the phone gives you. You get equally good views of the screen from most angles. For lazy geeks, the features won’t disappoint them. You can launch searches, send texts and play songs by giving speech commands with the ‘Okay Google’ on the home screen. If you are fond of large screen phones that are easy to carry and keep in your hand, hornbill is just the thing that too at incredibly friendly price at a time when prices for other phones have been a touch higher. Hornbill just might give a solid competition to the competitors.

What more, you also get a royal looking, premium leather flap cover and an equally good scratch resistant screen guard if you opt to buy the Hornbill from Obi Mobiles. We are sure that Obi's Hornbill is bound to enchant the African customers.

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