Hands-on: Zopo ZP998 Octa-core Smartphone with 14MP Camera

ZOPO Malaysia was officially launched on 23rd July 2014 and introduced its flagship Android smartphone – ZOPO ZP998. I attended the launch event and had a brief time together with ZP998. Read on for ZOPO ZP998 features and my hands-on experience.

At first glance, ZP998 does not look like a flagship smartphone. The phone design is dull with rounded curve corners. 3 capacitive buttons at the bottom front display. The back cover is patterned plastic to improves hand grip.

It has a dedicated camera button at the right side, above the power button. The volume rocker is located at the left side.

The Yamaha speaker is located at the bottom of back cover. The sound output did not impress me. The speaker is not loud and the sound is muddy.

ZOPO ZP998 is powered by MTK6592 Octa-core 1.7GHz processor. It has 2GB RAM and 16GB phone storage and microSD card up to 64GB. It runs Android 4.4.2.

Asphalt 8, famous 3D car racing game, runs smoothly on ZP998, probably the game has been optimized for octa-core processor.

The screen size is 5.5-inch with Full HD 1920×1080 resolution. It is high sensitivity which allows you to use the phone with wet fingers but keep in mind that it is not water-resistant.

The phone support Dual SIM card, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA. Battery capacity is 2400mAh.

While the specs are quite common nowadays, ZP998 has equipped with 14MP rear camera with F/2.0 aperture and 5MP front camera. ZOPO claims that ZP998 is “the first Octa-core micro-SLR phone”.

What is a micro-SLR phone? We don’t know. Does it mean Micro Four Thirds? I do not think so. My hands-on experience tells me that ZP998 has no noticeable different from other smartphone’s rear camera. The shutter delay is longer than top smartphones, however.

ZOPO ZP998 supports “Smart Wake” which is not an alarm feature but unlock phone with gestures. Example: draw C on screen to unlock phone and launch Camera. However, the feature does not work smoothly.

Another interesting feature is “Tracking-Beam” which allows you to record voice with consistent volume level whether you are beside the phone or standing few meters away.

ZOPO ZP998 is a 3G smartphone, it is not 4G LTE. The ZOPO 4G smartphones are coming in later 2014.

ZOPO ZP998 price in Malaysia is RM 1,098 (~USD$348) with 1 year warranty.

ZOPO ZP998 photo gallery

About ZOPO

If you have not heard about ZOPO, no worry, you are not alone. I did not know the brand before attended the launch event, too.

ZOPO Mobile is another China smartphone manufacturer entering Malaysia market in 2014. The brand was launched in China in 2012 then become Alibaba’s strategic partner.

Instead of Asia, ZOPO entered Europe countries first, such as Spain, Italy, France, Ukraine, Russia and etc. It has over 100 experience stores worldwide now.

ZOPO Malaysia have setup 23 after-sales service point. They offer 7 days of 1-to–1 exchange and guarantee 15 working days servicing period.

Thoughts

Octa-core processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, 5.5-inch FullHD display, 14MP + 5MP cameras, Dual SIM… ZOPO ZP998 specs is up to today’s standard and most phones at the price do not have Full HD display. It is worth to consider if you are looking for a big smartphone with high resolution cameras within RM1100 budget.