O+ Ultra Price, Specs, Unboxing, Antutu Score : 5.5 Inch Android Lollipop Phablet with 4,000 mAh Battery Pack and 5 MP Front Cam with Flash

"I have a feeling that this will be another monster best-seller for O+. I mean, it has almost everything that a consumer would want from a 2015 midrange Android smartphone."

That's what I texted our friends from O+ USA after a few hours of playing with their freshly released O+ Ultra, which they sent me last Friday for an exclusive first look.

Currently priced at only Php 6,995 via a very generous back-to-school promo that will run until June 23, 2015, O+ Ultra is a Quad Core 5.5-inch phablet that doesn't only run the latest version of Android operating system but also has a 5 MegaPixel front cam with soft LED flash and an extra-large 4,000 mAh battery life, guaranteeing extended uptime. Talk about the perfect phone for students and yuppies who want to experience the latest version of Google's mobile operating system on a phone that lets them take good selfies and doesn't run out of battery in the middle of the day.

All of the handset's main selling points are listed at the bottom of the iconic red O+ box. Apart from the key features I mentioned above, the O+ Ultra also comes with O+ Factors or Innovations including the popular Air Shuffle Technology and Doodle Control that allows you to launch applications without turning on the phone's display simply by drawing characters on the screen.

This is O+'s standard packaging design for all new mid-level Android phablet models.

Lifting the cover, we are greeted by the O+ Ultra in its paper cradle.

This is the complete retail package, which has a regular suggested retail price of Php 7,395 -- but if you purchase this model on or before June 23, 2015, you get it for only Php 6,995! That's Php 400 less, if my math serves me right.

Let's check out the items inside the box, one by one. Of course, we have the unit itself, which has this on-screen sticker to protect during shipment. The sticker also shows a list of the phone's key specs and features for your quick perusal.

We have the travel charger.

MicroUSB to USB connector cable

Standard headphones with in-ear silicone buds in three sizes; Small, Medium, and Large

If you have more than enough time in your hands, read the rather thick user manual.

The Service Card - replete with contact details - guarantees after-sales support for your handset.

There's a step-by-step guide at the back of the card for O+'s home pick-up and delivery service should your experience problems on your O+ Ultra that need to be addressed by the company's repairs team.

You need this pin for releasing the SIM card and microSD card trays.

O+ USA generously included a free 8GB Sandisk microSD card in the package...

...as well as a free glossy screen protector.

;

This mini flyer explains one of the O+ Innovations on the O+ Ultra, which is Power Plus Mode which aims to extend the already long uptime of this handset by limiting its functionality and turning off WiFi, Bluetooth, and 3G Mobile connectivity.

You can turn on Power Plus Mode anytime you like to extend your O+ Ultra's battery life further. Simply click on the icon on the home screen and turn on the feature. In Power Plus Mode, you may only access your phone's Contacts, Messages, and Phone apps apart from three others of  your choice. As I've said, the device's connectivity features will be deactivated to prolong its uptime even more.

Now, let's take a close look at all the panels of O+ Ultra.

The face of the O+ Ultra flaunts its massive 5.5 inch HD IPS display panel, which is a joy to look at regardless of the viewing angle. Above that you will find the phone's 5 MegaPixel front facing camera with soft LED flash that lets you take selfies even in low to zero lighting conditions.

Notice the thin display bezels of the O+ Ultra, which give it a relatively small footprint for a handset with such large display. At the bottom, you will find three capacitive buttons (Menu, Home, Back) in a row for navigating the interface. Note that here are no virtual buttons below the display so you get the entire screen size to better appreciate all of your content.

The volume rocker and power button are both located on the right side of the phone for easy access using your thumb -- if you're right-handed. The tray for the two microSIM card slots is also found on the upper portion of this side.

O+ Ultra has a thickness of only around 9 millimeters, which makes it surprisingly thin for a handset with a non-removable 4,000 mAh battery pack giving it around two days of uptime with mixed usage.

There's a thin chrome-plated design accent running down the sides of the O+ Ultra that gives it a subtle look of luxury and corporate elegance.

Both the 3.5 mm audio jack and microUSB port are located on the device's top panel.

On the upper left portion of the back panel, you'll find the 8 MegaPixel camera module with its single-bulb LED flash. The loud speaker - from which, clear and bright sound emanates - is found near bottom. Note that the O+ logo and all the words on this panel are laser-etched and not merely printed.

Under the hood, O+ Ultra runs a slightly-customized version of Android 5.0 Lollipop with its 1.3 GHz MediaTek MT6582 chipset incorporating four ARM Cortex A7 cores and a Mali-400 GPU, handles multitasking with 1 GB of RAM, and has 8 GB of internal storage that you easily beef up using the free 8GB microSD card.

These key internal hardware give O+ Ultra an Antutu Benchmark Score of 18,850, which I got when I ran the app on the phone this afternoon. More or less, this score will tell you that the handset is capable of running pretty much any application and most 3D games that are available in the Google Play Store sans lags or stuttering.

Dual SIM Dual Standby and HSPA+ enabled O+ Ultra is now available at all O+ Concept Store and Kiosks nationwide. Off hand, I highly recommend recommend this phone to students and yuppies who are looking for a full-fledged phablet that runs on Lollipop, has an unusually big battery, and has a selfie cam with front flash to be their daily driver. If you ask me, I think those three features would be very attractive to many Pinoys given that we are country that always wants to be at the forefront of the latest and best tech updates. And not to mention we are a nation that's undeniably obsessed with selfies. With everything that we love do do on our phones, the O+ Ultra's 4,000 mAh battery pack will surely come handy regardless if you're using the handset mostly in school, at home, or in the office.