Review: Cherry Mobile Cosmos Z

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I received the Cherry Mobile Cosmos Z along with the other bunch of phones last December.

Sadly, I didn’t get to review it immediately with all the events that happened during the holidays. Well, better late than never, so here is the review of the Cosmos Z.

SPECIFICATIONS:

OS: Android 4.2 (Jellybean)
Processor: 1.5 GHz Quad-Core MediaTek MT6589 processor
Display: 1080 x 1920 pixels 5-inch IPS Display
Wireless Connections: HSDPA+, Bluetooth, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS w/ A-GPS, FM Radio
Memory: 8 GB Internal Storage, Expandable memory via MicroSD up to 32GB, 1GB RAM
Connectors: Micro USB port
Camera: 18.0 Megapixels with BSI Sensor & LED flash (Main), 8.0 Megapixels with BSI Sensor (Front)
SIM Card Slot: 1x Regular SIM, 1x Micro SIM required
Battery: 2,000 mAh
SRP: Php 11,999.00

 

THE UNBOXING:

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For the most expensive phone in the high-end Cosmos series, I expected something more, but no, it just came with the usual accessories. Meanwhile, the Cosmos X priced at Php 9,999 has a free flip case.

THE LOOKS

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So far, none of the Cosmos phones I’ve held or reviewed have disappointed me when it comes to appearance. They all have that premium look which is easy to distinguish from their mid-range models. The Cosmos Z has 2 color variants to choose from: black with a brushed metal look at the back and white which is the one I have here.

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The pearl white back casing is a nice touch to the simplistic design of the Cosmos Z. Anyway, you wouldn’t mind about its minimalist looks when you power on the Cosmos Z, and I guarantee you will like what you see.

THE FULL HD EXPERIENCE

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I am not certain if it matters to have a Full HD screen on a smartphone nowadays, but I kinda admit that it does make a difference. The screen resolution of the Cosmos Z is set at 1920 x 1080 pixels and this is the reason why I love staring at the Cosmos Z’s screen. It’s gorgeous, man! Just observe how sharp and vivid the colors on this large 5″ display.

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Of course I was compelled to watch HD videos on it, either stored on my memory card or played via YouTube. With a good pair of headphones, you can get lost track of time watching a Full HD movie on the Cosmos Z. That’s exactly what happened to me not only once, or twice, but thrice!

THE QUAD-CORE PERFORMANCE

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The Cosmos Z’s MTK 1.5 GHz MTK 6589 processor sounds like it has the fastest processor in the Cherry Mobile line-up. It does, but in real world usage, I was stumped to experience the noticeable lags while playing a graphic-intense game called Real Racing 3. It could play smoothly but there were hiccups, and it continues to interrupt throughout the game. Sometimes the game just stops all of a sudden. Maybe the HD game is just too much for the processor which also has to support the Full HD display of the Cosmos Z, or perhaps it needs a bigger RAM.

Other than that, the Cosmos Z performs pretty very well for ordinary use. HD movies stored on the Cosmos Z played smoothly though I wished it had louder speakers. Speaking of storage, why does the Cosmos Z only have 8 GB of internal storage and not 16GB found in the X2?

THE CAMERA

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Remember how disappointed I was with the Cosmos X2’s camera? The Cosmos Z, which also sports the 18 Megapixel camera found in the Cosmos X2 is better based on the photos I’ve taken. They look fine, as long as you don’t zoom in where you’ll notice some washed-out portions of the picture. That was my complaint in the X2, but at least it was lessened.

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Pictures aren’t bad, right? For ordinary users, they may find the camera good, even better for their tastes, but it doesn’t really wow me.

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The Cosmos Z also has a selfie feature. For the life of me, I  couldn’t make it work properly and I’m not impressed with the selfie I took indoors. As you could see in the picture, the colors seemed to be washed out.

BATTERY LIFE

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I apologize if I keep on comparing the Cosmos Z to the Cosmos X2, but I have to expect more for a smartphone model that is priced higher. My question is this: why does the Cosmos Z only have a 2,000 mAh battery compared to the Cosmos X2’s 2,200 mAh? It should have at least the same capacity, if not more. My usage wasn’t that heavy during my review, so I’m able to reach an average of 13 hours with automatic backlight, 3G/WiFi, several minutes of phone calls, emails and social networking. Multimedia usage on the Cosmos Z will absolutely make the battery life shorter, and during those days when I am tempted to play games for an hour or watch a full movie of an hour and a half, I was only able to stretch it around 8-9 hours.

DR’S CONCLUSION

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The Cherry Mobile Cosmos Z is a fine Android smartphone and I would recommend it for those who are willing to shell out Php 11,999.00. For that price, you can get a fantastic Full HD on a 5-inch screen display, a faster quad-core processor, and a high resolution camera that may (I hope) suit your taste.

YAYS:

  • 5-inch screen with Full HD Display
  • Quad-Core processor
  • Camera is better than the Cosmos X2

NAYS:

  • Only has 1GB of internal storage (Cosmos X2 has 16GB)
  • May need a bigger RAM to play HD games properly
  • Battery capacity is only 2,000 mAh
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