Oppo R819 now available in Midnight Black variant


oppo-r819-midnight-black

Oppo R819, a super thin and compact offering from the Chinese company, is now available in a midnight black colour variant. We had reviewed the device earlier and found it to be quite nice for the price it comes at, but we were also wary of the device’s build, which was glossy and white. Seems like Oppo has fixed our complaints with the midnight black version which looks way more slicker than the original white version. From the looks of the press image, it seems that the black version will be matte, with the sides still sporting a nice chrome strip. In short, personally, I would have liked the midnight black variant more than the white.

Apart from a new coat of paint, the R819 is still the same, so here’s a quick look at its specifications –

  • 4.7 inch 1280X720 IPS LCD with OGS technology
  • 1.2 GHz MediaTek MT6589 Quad Core processor with 1 GB of RAM
  • 8 Megapixel Sony EXMOR BSI sensor with f2.0 aperture lens and a dedicated ISP, 2 MP front camera
  • 16 GB ROM, no micro SD card slot
  • Dual SIM (GSM), WiFi, WiFi Display, DLNA, FM Radio
  • 2000 mAH Battery
  • Android 4.2.1 Jellybean

From the review, this is how we summarized our experience with the device –

So, were we impressed with the device? Almost, we’d say. The R819 has a great display, a superb camera and overall, a thin and light build that is light on the pockets and great in the hands. It also has some interesting software features and options to change and switch the ROMs to your wish. But the performance is just average when it comes to games and other intensive tasks, with the build quality being slightly doubtful, at least on our review unit. The R819 is marketed as a “Convenience without compromise” device. While we are very sure about the convenience part, we are slightly doubtful about the compromise part, because lets face it, there are quite a number of compromises made here and it’s up to you to decide whether you can live with it, or not.

At $349 and prices close to this point, there are some excellent Chinese devices like the Meizu MX3 and the Xiaomi Mi3, which might make you think twice about the R819, but if you can live with the above said disadvantages, then the R819 might actually suit you best. If you’re still not convinced, here is a quick list of Pros and Cons that might help you judge the device better –

Pros

• Awesome display
• Great Camera Performance
• Excellent for music
• Thin and Light build
• Nifty options for Software + Customization

Cons

• Average performance for the price
• Build Quality issues on our unit – Bleeding backlight and flex creaks
• Default launcher is slightly overdone
• Average Battery Life
• No micro SD slot

You can read the full review here, if you are interested in the Oppo R819. The international version of the Midnight black Oppo R819 is available for sale here.


Author: Bharadwaj Chandramouli

Bharadwaj is a content creator who has been obsessed with technology since the early days of smartphones. He loves talking about tech, is a fan of good design and photography. You can follow him on Twitter @gadgetbuff_ to know what he's upto!