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MagyarZopo ZP1000 Smartphone Review
For the original German review, see here.
A smartphone from China dubbed ZP1000 by Zopo Mobile has now reached the European market. The devices are, however, only sold by selected online shops. Since they are normally dispatched from Germany, no additional import fees are due within the EU.
The ZP1000's configuration places it in the mid-range, but it is comparatively affordable and is available for prices starting at 190 Euros (~$259). In addition to an HD-IPS screen, it sports a swift octa-core processor from MediaTek. Though the 16 GB of internal storage is reasonably sized, it cannot be expanded.
The review sample has to compete with contenders such as the Wiko Stairway (starts at 219 Euros, ~$299), HTC Desire 500 (starts at 173 Euros, ~$236), Huawei G700 (starts at 191 Euros, ~$261) and the iOcean X7 (starts at 160 Euros, ~$218). Read in this report how the phone fares compared with its rivals.
Case
Zopo's ZP1000 is comfortable to hold due to its weight of 150 grams and is quite slim with just 7.2 millimeters. The back is partially comprised of metal and gives the phone some degree of quality looks. Unfortunately, the manufacturer also uses rather cheap looking plastic. The screen in the gold-colored model that we are reviewing is surrounded by a glossy-gold plastic bezel, which gives the phone a certain toy-like look.
The smartphone proves to be very rigid despite its slim build but also produces quiet creaking noises. Barely any pressure can be applied to the narrow edges because the bezel around the screen is only very thin. Consequently, waves are not seen on the screen in everyday use. The screen is protected by scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 3. Unfortunately, the manufacturer additionally covers it with a screen protector, which not only looks unsightly but is also unnecessary. The gaps between the display glass and bezel are not even.
The physical buttons are easy to find with the fingers and have a clear pressure point. The battery unfortunately cannot be removed.
Connectivity
Zopo's ZP1000 does not have a generous supply of interfaces. The micro-USB 2.0 port for recharging the device is on the smartphone's lower edge. It supports OTG so that external storage or input devices can be connected. MHL is not supported. The SIM slot tray is on the left and is easy to open with the included tool. Either a nano or a micro-SIM card can be inserted. However, only the former is 3G-capable.
Software
Google's Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system is pre-loaded. The manufacturer overlays it with its own UI that looks quite colorful and lively. Besides that, a few free apps are pre-loaded, but they can be deleted easily.
Communication & GPS
Zopo's ZP1000 connects to the home network via the Wi-Fi module. It supports the IEEE 802.11 b/g/n standards and consequently only transmits in the 2.4 GHz frequency band. The range is quite good. We still temporarily had a good signal even 20 meters away from the Fritz!Box 6360 router. Although the quality fluctuated strongly, it was always enough for Internet browsing.
Bluetooth 4.0 is also installed. The wireless standard functioned impeccably. We could easily share data with a PC. Music streamed from the Internet could be rendered via an external Bluetooth speaker without interference. NFC is not a feature.
HSPA+ is available for mobile Internet. Downloads with up to 42.2 Mbit/s and uploads with up to 11.5 Mbit/s are possible. The limited frequency band coverage could lead to a weaker reception in rural areas.
The GPS receiver was not convincing. Satellites were not found indoors, and it also took a moment until we were localized outdoors. Route tracking was weak compared with the Garmin Edge 500. We were off-road most of the time according to the ZP1000.
Telephony and Speech Quality
The speech quality of Zopo's ZP1000 is rather middling. The called person was always well-intelligible but a bit quiet. It was the same on the other side, only that occasional speech dropouts occurred. The speaker reinforced these flaws, but the headset made a quite good impression.
Cameras & Multimedia
Zopo Mobile uses the camera that other manufacturers install as a primary camera as the webcam. The front-facing camera has a rich resolution of 8 MP (max. 3264x2448 pixels). The lens thus has real selfie qualities. Pictures are slightly blurry and give the impression of a somewhat too strong soft-focus lens. That is not at all bad for selfies, but the effect is a bit too intense and cannot be disabled or optimized.
The primary camera on the back features an even higher resolution of up to 14.2 MP (4352x3264 pixels). While the center of the pictures is still nice and sharp, a clear loss in focus is evident at the sides. Details are only shapeless lumps in some places. A fairly strong image noise is visible in weak light, but useful pictures are possible using the integrated LED flash.
Videos can actually be recorded in Full HD, but the resolution of 1920x1088 pixels is a bit nonstandard. Besides that, the recording is only taken with 16 frames per second so that it is not smooth.
Accessories
The accessories included for Zopo's ZP100 are comparatively lush. In addition to a data cable and a modular power supply (5V, 1A) with an output of 5 watts, the SIM tray tool, a stylus, a car charger, extra screen protectors, and a small cleaning cloth are in the scope of delivery.
Warranty
Zopo Mobile includes a twelve-month warranty on the ZP1000. Thus, European buyers should make sure not to order the phone directly from the manufacturer. When purchased from a retailer within the EU, the buyer receives a two-year warranty.
Input Devices and Controls
The capacitive touchscreen is the main input component of Zopo's ZP1000. It responds quite well and detects up to five simultaneous inputs. However, tapping was occasionally not detected the first time so that we had to touch the wanted icon again. The swiping properties are quite good, but the screen protector is slightly inhibiting.
The Android stock keyboard does not use more than 50% of the screen's surface in either portrait or landscape mode. Typing messages in portrait mode is also quite comfortable. However, there is no additional row for number or frequently used special characters.
Display
The 5-inch IPS screen has a resolution of 1280x720 pixels. That corresponds to an aspect ratio of 16:9 and pixel density of approximately 294 ppi. Although it is only the small HD resolution, the displayed content is razor-sharp. We did not observe pixelation.
The brightness of up to 511 cd/m² is enormously bright in this category. Even the Nexus 5 (max. 471 cd/m²) does not achieve that. The illumination of 90% is also within a very good range.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 90 %
Center on Battery: 511 cd/m²
Contrast: 751:1 (Black: 0.68 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 7.72 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 6.47 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
Gamma: 2.98
The contrast ratio of 751:1 is quite good, but the black level of approximately 0.7 cd/m² is slightly increased so that black does not look deep black. The color accuracy is quite decent, and only cyan (dE 10) visibly steps out of line with a too dark reproduction. The blue hues are also primarily noticed negatively in the mixed colors. The grayscale exhibits a light bluish cast. The colors are a bit over-saturated and consequently very rich. However, that will displease few users because the colors thus look very lively.
Zopo's ZP1000 is quite convincing outdoors. The good contrast and the very bright screen simply predetermine it for outdoor use - if it were not for the intensely reflective surface. It makes it difficult to read the displayed content in direct sunlight. The smartphone copes easily with all other light conditions.
The viewing-angle stability of Zopo's ZP1000 is very good owing to the underlying IPS technology. Marginal brightness losses are only seen in flat viewing angles; we did not ascertain any changes in the color reproduction.
Performance
The performance of Zopo's ZP1000 is clearly superior to most contenders in its category. That is primarily owing to the swift MediaTek MT6592 octa-core processor that provides every of its eight cores with 1.7 GHz. An ARM Mali-450 MP4 from the upper mid-range serves as the graphics unit. It is an improved version of the Mali-400 MP4. 1024 MB of working memory might not be gigantic but, considering the device category and price, it is appropriate.
Consequently, the ZP1000 leaves all contenders behind in the benchmarks. However, we have to note that some devices have been on the market for a considerably longer time, and the successor models with faster SoCs are waiting for release. An exception is likely the Galaxy S Duos 2 that does not focus on performance but foremost on a compact build. Nevertheless, it is the only smartphone that can partially defeat the ZP1000 in memory speed. The review sample's memory is specified with 16 GB; only approximately 13 GB is available for the user.
Zopo's ZP1000 also beats the contenders in browser speed. We did not use Google's high-speed Chrome, and we only use the stock browser.
| AnTuTu v4 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Zopo ZP1000 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 GT-S7582 | |
| Huawei Ascend G700 | |
| 3DMark | |
| 1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Score (sort by value) | |
| Zopo ZP1000 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 GT-S7582 | |
| HTC Desire 500 | |
| Huawei Ascend G700 | |
| Wiko Stairway | |
| 1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Graphics (sort by value) | |
| Zopo ZP1000 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 GT-S7582 | |
| HTC Desire 500 | |
| Huawei Ascend G700 | |
| Wiko Stairway | |
| 1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Physics (sort by value) | |
| Zopo ZP1000 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 GT-S7582 | |
| HTC Desire 500 | |
| Huawei Ascend G700 | |
| Wiko Stairway | |
| 1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Score (sort by value) | |
| Zopo ZP1000 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 GT-S7582 | |
| HTC Desire 500 | |
| Huawei Ascend G700 | |
| Wiko Stairway | |
| 1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Graphics (sort by value) | |
| Zopo ZP1000 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 GT-S7582 | |
| HTC Desire 500 | |
| Huawei Ascend G700 | |
| Wiko Stairway | |
| 1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Physics (sort by value) | |
| Zopo ZP1000 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 GT-S7582 | |
| HTC Desire 500 | |
| Huawei Ascend G700 | |
| Wiko Stairway | |
| Geekbench 3 | |
| 32 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Zopo ZP1000 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 GT-S7582 | |
| Huawei Ascend G700 | |
| Wiko Stairway | |
| 32 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Zopo ZP1000 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 GT-S7582 | |
| Huawei Ascend G700 | |
| Wiko Stairway | |
| Peacekeeper - --- (sort by value) | |
| Zopo ZP1000 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 GT-S7582 | |
| HTC Desire 500 | |
| Huawei Ascend G700 | |
| Wiko Stairway | |
| iOcean X7 | |
| Sunspider - 1.0 Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 GT-S7582 | |
| HTC Desire 500 | |
| Huawei Ascend G700 | |
| Wiko Stairway | |
| iOcean X7 | |
| AndroBench 3-5 | |
| Sequential Read 256KB (sort by value) | |
| Zopo ZP1000 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 GT-S7582 | |
| HTC Desire 500 | |
| Huawei Ascend G700 | |
| Wiko Stairway | |
| iOcean X7 | |
| Sequential Write 256KB (sort by value) | |
| Zopo ZP1000 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 GT-S7582 | |
| HTC Desire 500 | |
| Huawei Ascend G700 | |
| Wiko Stairway | |
| iOcean X7 | |
| Random Read 4KB (sort by value) | |
| Zopo ZP1000 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 GT-S7582 | |
| HTC Desire 500 | |
| Huawei Ascend G700 | |
| Wiko Stairway | |
| iOcean X7 | |
| Random Write 4KB (sort by value) | |
| Zopo ZP1000 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 GT-S7582 | |
| HTC Desire 500 | |
| Huawei Ascend G700 | |
| Wiko Stairway | |
| iOcean X7 | |
* ... smaller is better
Games
Current games are usually no problem for Zopo's ZP1000. However, detail settings might have to be reduced in demanding 3D titles. Nevertheless, casual gamers will also have fun with the smartphone, particularly since the touchscreen and the impeccably functioning sensors ensure a good gaming experience.
Emissions
System Noise
Zopo's ZP1000 does not need a fan to cool its components and does not have any mechanical parts that could produce noise. Consequently, the smartphone is absolutely silent. However, the power supply emits a quiet buzzing noise that is audible even from several meters distance in quiet surroundings.
Temperature
The surface temperatures of Zopo's ZP1000 are within a harmless range. The phone reaches a maximum idle temperature of 34.5 °C, and it is comparatively warm. The rates climbed up to 37.5 °C during permanent load that we provoked using the Stability Test app. Both the iOcean X7 (max. 37.9 °C) and HTC Desire 500 (max. 39.1 °C) from the comparison field achieve higher temperatures.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 37.5 °C / 100 F, compared to the average of 35 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 56 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 31 °C / 88 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 29.5 °C / 85 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.
Speakers
The mono speaker's position on the back is not particularly favorable because it might be covered when Zopo's ZP1000 is held in portrait mode. That massively reduces the volume. However, that is tolerable since the sound quality extremely decreases when the volume is set over 50%. The sound is heavily distorted and blares clearly when the device's volume is turned up to maximum.
The sound is considerably better when using the included headset, though it is also very bass-heavy. Trebles thus sound quite muffled.
Energy Management
Power Consumption
The energy requirement of Zopo's ZP1000 stays within limits. 0.1 watts is drained from the battery in a turned off state. The idle power consumption ranges from 1.1 to 1.8 watts. The rates can reach up to 5.1 watts during load. The Wiko Highway is based on the same SoC (MT6592) and consumes roughly the same amount of energy with a maximum of 5.2 watts.
| Off / Standby |   0.1 / 0.1 Watt |
| Idle |  1.1 / 1.6 / 1.8 Watt |
| Load |
3.4 / 5.1 Watt |
    
| |
Battery Runtime
The non-removable lithium-polymer battery provides 2000 mAh. Although it is not exceptionally big, its capacity is sufficient. The practical browsing via Wi-Fi test is performed via a browser script that opens a different website every 40 seconds using an adapted screen brightness of 150 cd/m². All other consumers are disabled. The battery is drained after almost nine-and-a-half hours. That is a good result that the contenders, however, surpass. Huawei's Ascend G700 (2150 mAh, 12:49 h) and LG's G Pro Lite (3140 mAh, 11:35 h) last considerably longer. They not only have higher-capacity batteries but also weaker and more energy-efficient SoCs.
Verdict
Zopo's ZP1000 is a comparably affordable and high-performance dual-SIM smartphone. Buyers who want this performance normally have to live without a second SIM slot. The contenders featuring two SIM slots either have considerably weaker SoCs or lower-resolution screens. However, they usually offer a better build, and thus Huawei's Ascend G700 is likely the most serious contender for the ZP 1000.
The smartphone's primary weakness is found in the cameras; the picture quality could be better. This clearly proves that a high pixel count is not everything. The speaker is not a sound miracle either and is only compelling in low volumes. The speech quality is also only middling. Brief speech dropouts and a low volume will likely annoy frequent callers.
Nevertheless, Zopo Mobile has launched an interesting alternative with a good screen for a fair value-for-money ratio with its ZP1000.
