O+ 8.2 Unboxing: Touch and Type QWERTY Android Phone

O+ 8.12 is an android phone built with a QWERTY keyboard for people who want to stick with their Blackberry and Asha type of texting. Let’s face it, almost everybody wants to play those cute games but there are few who wouldn’t make the jump for the lack of a physcal keyboard which they are accustomed to. Good news, O+ 8.2 is here! Check out our unboxing photos below.

There have been a lot of android phones released lately but all of them sport a full touch type of operation only. It’s pretty much obvious that the android platform was built to be used on touch screen but there are people who enjoy the convenience of having a physical keyboard. And because of that, they wouldn’t want to switch from their Ashas and BBs. Hey, here’s one cheap android phone with a physical QWERTY keypad. Meet O+ 8.2, an affordable QWERTY android phone. Alright, let’s get started.

As always, the standard O Plus package greeted us as we opened the box. It’s the same contents like on the O+ 8.52. That’s what we expected and it met our expectations. The package is elegant looking and opening it up unveils the O+ 8.2.

The package contains the following: O plus 8.2 android phone, battery, microUSB cable, earphones, free 4GB Sandisk microSD card, and warranty card – that’s what I call a complete package.

First Impressions

O+ 8.2 is an odd looking smartphone at first but that’s okay since we’re not used to seeing such touch and type smartphones today. The design is nice but we didn’t really like the orange colored lining on the sides but that’s just a personal preference. It’s actually my favorite color but the reason I don’t like it is that others might find it disturbing because they will be ‘forced’ to like the color. The overall build is made of plastic but it still feels durable and it has a solid grip.

The performance is fine but there are signs of slowness at certain times when doing heavy tasks. It only has a 650MHz Mediatek processor and 256MB of RAM so it’s expected to deliver mediocre performance. Don’t be confused when I say mediocre, I’m not saying it’s bad, it can still give a decent android experience. It’s suprisingly smooth actually and is on par with the One Touch Glory 918N. Also, it runs Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread which is already sufficient for first time android users.

Since this is a touch and type device, I don’t think people will play a lot on this considering it only has a 2.8-inch QVGA (240×320) resolution. Casual games like Angry birds, Fruite Ninja, Glow Hockey, and others will run smoothly but don’t expect to play Temple Run 2 here. Fortunately, most productivity apps will run just fine in this configuration. Other notable features include a 3.2-megapixel rear camera, Wi-Fi, 3G, GPS , and Bluetooth connectivity. This phone has a 1500mAh battery to power it up throughout the day. It’s considerably high for the specs it has and we’re sure that it’ll last two days on moderate usage.

UPDATE: O+ 8.12 Hands-on Review

Texting is easy and both the touchscreen and physical keyboard are usable whichever fits your fancy. The screen size is just adequate for typing but if you have large hands, you’ll have a hard time learning it. The keypad was also soft and comfortable to press just like the late Nokia Asha 200.

We’ll be spending more time with the O+ 8.2 in the coming weeks so stay tuned for our full review. O+ 8.2 is already available in O Plus stores nationwide for a price of Php 3,795. If you have any questions about this device, please post it in the comments below.