Obi Worldphone SF 1 vs Samsung Galaxy E5

In this concise comparative review we take two mid range Android smartphones that entered the market this year, the recently launched Obi Worldphone SF1 and Samsung Galaxy E5. In an increasingly commoditized market, all emerging smartphone brands are vying to claim some differentiation and provide their best without challenging our pockets. In this contest, Obi Worldphone proudly claims a ‘Designed in San Francisco’ model with the best in line technology, while the veteran Samsung is already popular as a global smartphone leader that runs behind Apple. The slide below provides us with a quick comparative view on what the two devices have to offer.

If we look at the specifications, it is clear that Samsung’s E5 falls way short of Obi’s flagship SF1 on several counts. Both the devices are of moderate size, but Samsung E5 is a bit smaller and lighter. The two devices have the same screen size, however, it seems SF1 optimizes the screen better by providing a sharper view due to higher resolution and pixel density. Here Obi Worldphone has sincerely put up a great challenge in terms of innovation in gadgets. On the top, Obi also provides the protection of the latest Corning Gorilla Glass 4.

Also, beside making a difference through its Silicon Valley design, Obi SF1 has a well planned, latest in range OS and CPU backed by a good battery support and Quick Charge 1.0 that saves about 40% of the charging time. The multimedia experience in SF1 is also superior with Sony Exmor sensor camera (UBI Focus, Opti Zoom, Chroma Flash), 4G network, better resolution in display, Dolby Audio sound quality etc where surprisingly the old hand Samsung lags behind. Furthermore, both the devices are dual SIM. 

Considering the differences, it comes as a surprise that Obi SF1 costs lesser than Samsung E5. On the whole, Obi Worldphone SF1 can certainly win many hearts by proving that, if planned well, great design and high-end technology do not necessarily have to be expensive.

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Youth focused One Plus One can challenge Samsung S5 in Kenya

African smartphone market is bustling with competition due to the presence of many prominent players, which includes established players like Samsung, Huawei, Tecno and HTC and newcomers like Oppo, Obi Mobiles and One Plus. Generally, customers gain from competition, however, in the absence of right information, the multiplicity of brands and products can also create confusion. Therefore, in this review Brands Dialogue team is focusing on two smartphone models, including one of the established players, Samsung S5, and one of the new arrivals, One Plus One.

Design & Viewing Experience
Starting with the physical appearance, we note that One Plus One is clearly a relatively bigger but sleeker looking device with 152.9x75.9x8.9mm dimensions than Samsung S5 that comes with 142x72.5x8.1mm dimensions. This reflects at two levels: firstly, it makes One Plus One (162g) slightly heavier than S5 (145g) and secondly, the display screen size in One Plus One is slightly larger at 5.5 inch than Samsung S5 which has 5.1 inch screen, which is minor difference. 

Both smartphones share the same resolution of 1080x1920 pixels. However, Samsung S5 has a Super AMOLED capacitative touchscreen that could make viewing from certain angles a bit tedious. On the other hand, One Plus One sports a LTPS LCD capacitative touchscreen, which supports wide viewing angle and also makes outdoor viewing more comfortable. Essentially, other than screen types that lead to qualitative difference in experience, the difference in overall size, weight and form are only a matter of personal preference. 

Processing Power
To fire the performance, both Samsung S5 and One Plus One devices are supported by Qualcomm MSM8974AC Snapdragon 801 processor. If One Plus One devices are available with 16GB or 64GB internal memory, S5 devices are available with 16GB or 32GB internal memory. However, while Samsung S5 provides for an expandable memory of 128 GB through microSD, One Plus One does not. In terms of RAM, Samsung S5 has a 2GB RAM compared to One Plus One that has relatively larger 3GB RAM, which essentially means One Plus device could withstand higher activity than S5. Both the devices run on Android 4.4.2 Kitkat, however, key differentiator is that while Samsung S5 can be upgraded to Android 5.0 Lollipop, One Plus One can only be upgraded to Android 4.4.4 Kitkat, something that could influence the customer choice.

Additional Features

There are other differentiators too. While Samsung S5 has a superior rear camera with 16 megapixels, One Plus One follows closely with 13 megapixels, but S5 falls behind with only 2 megapixels front camera as compared to One Plus One’s 5 megapixels. In a generation where selfies are constantly overflowing in the social media, Samsung S5 does not seem to have appreciated that aspect enough. Furthermore, battery is another crucial aspect of any smartphone, and One Plus One with a 3100mAh battery capacity can outlive Samsung S5 that has a 2800mAh capacity. A longer battery life and the promise of better selfies make One Plus One acquire a leg up over Samsung S5.Samsung S5 and One Plus are available on 2G GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 and 4G (depending on the markets). For 3G, both are available on HSDPA: 850/ 900/ 1700/ 1900/ 2100. Also, both devices support Wi-Fi capabilities (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac), Wi-Fi Direct and Bluetooth.

The Price Tag

Finally, we look at the price in the Kenyan market. One Plus One 16GB is priced at around KSh31,000 and 64GB is at around KSh37,000. In comparison, Samsung S5 16GB is costing around KSh44,000, where as 64GB option is currently not available in Kenya. However, considering that even One Plus One with 64GB costs lesser than Samsung S5 16GB, there seems a clear price advantage One Plus One.

Concluding Remarks

While both the devices have superior features, there are obvious differences in strategic take of the two companies. One Plus has put together a device that has larger screen size and comes with better display to enhance the viewing experience at angles and outdoors, larger RAM, longer battery life, better front camera for selfies and, apparently, a better price too. On the other hand, Samsung has paid more attention to allow for upgrading the device to an even more superior level to enhance performance, along with expandable memory and a superior rear camera. However, it seems while Samsung S5 remains a great device, One Plus One has all that it needs to attract the youth attention. 

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