Obi Worldphone MV1 Full Review

WHAT IS THE OBI WORLDPHONE MV1?

It’s not uncommon to see companies introducing new phone ranges. But when Apple’s ex-CEO John Sculley burst onto the scene last year, launching two phones, pretty much the whole tech industry paid attention to him.

He’s the pioneer of the Obi Worldphone brand, which aims to create attractive but affordable smartphones targeted at younger buyers in developing regions across Asia, Africa and Middle East – as opposed to the US and Europe. Now, that’s quite a feat.

The company’s first phones, the SF1 and SJ1.5, were received well by techies right around the world and seen as viable alternatives to more known handsets like the Moto G and Honor 7. But that wasn’t enough for Obi.

Looking to achieve maximum impact on a global scale and to take advantage of the growing number of people wanting cheap phones, it decided it had to release another handset. Enter the MV1, an unlocked, dual-sim phone capable of running Android Lollipop or Cyanogen OS, and it’s available in the UK for a penny-pinching £119.

OBI WORLDPHONE MV1 – DESIGN AND BUILD

At first glance, the MV1 looks just like any other budget Android smartphone, struggling to fight for differentiation. In fact, no thanks to its slightly curved design and straight edges, it could be easily mistaken for an old Lumia or the Moto G. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn’t exactly vie to be unique among the crowd.

It’s not an ugly phone by any means, despite not looking overly different from its competitors. You’ll still be more than happy to show it off in public. The white version is particularly pleasing, as you can see the handset’s curves clearly, as well as the metal band at the top. It adds for a classy effect, and you certainly wouldn’t think it were a cheap offering.

What’s also great is that you can actually hold the phone comfortably, unlike some of the phablets out there. Don’t be fooled, at 145.6 x 72.6 x 8.95mm, it’s no baby handset. However, your hands don’t feel like they’re stretching when you use the phone. It’s not too heavy, either, weighing 149g. Just to compare, the 2015 Moto G is 159g, so they’re similar.

OBI WORLDPHONE MV1 – DISPLAY

The MV1 sports a reasonably sized 5-inch 1280 x 720 IPS display, which tends to be the norm for budget price point handsets nowadays. While that may be the case, if you look carefully, you can find bargains with even better displays. Budget phones like the OnePlus X and Vodafone Smart Ultra 6 all pack full-HD screens, and for well under £200.

You can get better, but I’m not overly disappointed with the display’s capabilities. With the brightness turned up, on the whole text looks crisp and stands out, and you don’t have to keep blinking in order to focus on detail.

The display has a tendency to make colours appear dull, but this is understandable at a budget price point.

OBI WORLDPHONE MV1 – CAMERA

As photography goes, the MV1 packs an 8-megapixel camera with a single LED flash on the back and a 2-megapixel snapper on the front. For the price you pay for the handset, the cameras are bottomline. The Willeyfox and Moto G both have 13-megapixel rear cameras, as well as 5-megapixel front cameras.

During my tests I found the camera take some decent photos. I’m impressed at the level of detail for a budget smartphone, with it picking up natural light well. If you want to brighten up your photos, you can choose from three auto-exposure modes.

When you take photos in darker environments, it’s worth turning the flash on or having it in auto mode, or your pictures will end up looking grainy and dull. Using the phone in the night with the flash on, I managed to take some detailed shots. The front-facing camera isn’t the best, but it’ll do the job. You just need to make sure you’re surrounded by light, and preferably lots of it.

Here are some pictures took by "Obi Worldphone MV1":

OBI WORLDPHONE MV1 – BATTERY

The phone doesn’t disappoint on the battery front. It serves up 2500mAh of power, which is decent for a budget smartphone. The Willeyfox Swift has the same size battery, and the latest Moto G has 2,470mAh.

On a single charge, Obi claims you get around 16 hours of talktime (2G), up to 28 hours of music, 8 hours video playback and 6 hours of web browsing, which is all fairly accurate. I was able to get through a full day checking my emails, surfing the web, taking photos, listening to music and watching YouTube videos.

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