UMi Rome X “The Best Camera of Entry-Level Phone”really?


umi rome x

UMi started promotion of their new low-cost Rome X model before the New Year and are now branding the device as having the best camera of an entry-level phone of 2016.

UMi have had a full year of working on their marketing and we are going to see their hype machine in full swing this year, in fact we already have with claims that their UMi Rome X will have the best camera of an entry-level phone in 2016.

For those of you who might have missed it the Rome X is a $74.99 5.5-inch phone that UMi hope could disrupt the market as such as their 3GB RAM UMi Rome did last year. The Rome X features a different screen and 3G support only to keep the cost low.

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UMi’s claim that the Rome X will have the best camera for an entry level phone sounds like the usual move a phone maker might make, and in honesty we expect nothing less. You see the sensor on the UMi Rome X is the same Sony IMX179 that the UMi Zero used back at the end of 2014, so UMi have well over a year to get the best out of this set up.

umi rome x

For those of you familiar with the IMX179 you will know that it is intact an 8 mega-pixel sensor, not a 13 mega-pixel sensor as UMi claim on their website (software is used to interpolate the image and create the 13 mega-pixel photos).

For those of you looking at sub $100 phones then 2016 looks like the year for you. The Rome X will compete against the Bluboo Xfire 2, Homtom HT7 Pro and phones from Elephone.

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64 Comments

  1. sai bhagavan
    January 4, 2016

    Why to interpolate and ruin a good sensor i have no idea…

    • balcobomber25
      January 4, 2016

      That’s easy to fix just download a camera app that gives you full control over picture size/resolution.

      • Muhammad Yasir
        January 4, 2016

        like that Lenovo Camera app ?

        • balcobomber25
          January 4, 2016

          Super Camer, Open Camera, Camera MX, FV-5 any of those allows you to change the resolution.

          • Muhammad Yasir
            January 4, 2016

            thx

          • Vanguard Vanguardd
            September 29, 2016

            Hello!
            I am sorry, I know it is an old post…but please can you help me with this locked resolution problem (13 mp). I have this exact phone and it does not allow me to change the 13mp res, it is the only choice, and all those camera apps that you mentioned above, I tried all of them and none of them allowed me to change it either. Thank you and please respond.

            • balcobomber25
              September 30, 2016

              That probably means 13mp is what the actual sensor is and they lied about the specs.

            • Vanguard Vanguardd
              September 30, 2016

              Thanks, but is there any other way to go past this, and lower the resolution from 13 to 8 mp?

            • balcobomber25
              October 1, 2016

              Why exactly do you want to lower the resolution?

            • Vanguard Vanguardd
              October 1, 2016

              I thought I lose image quality if an interpolated option is used instead of the real megapixel capability. Plus, there is the matter of file size. I know I can resize them later,..but that is not the point.

      • Riccardo Benzoni
        January 4, 2016

        or going into “settings” with stock app and doing it there!

        • balcobomber25
          January 4, 2016

          Not all stock apps have that option, i can think of several that dont

          • Riccardo Benzoni
            January 5, 2016

            all mtk I had from mt6589 onwards had this possibility, included some umi’s, but probably there could be some which use non-stock mediatek camera app which don’t allow to change it, I always try to switch to an AOSP as soon as I can, so I can’t tell this.

            • balcobomber25
              January 5, 2016

              The problem is a lot of these companies use their own app (or get paid to use some other companies app) for the camera, they don’t use the stock Android one from Google. And often times the stock app they use is terrible. The first thing I do with any new phone (with the exception of a very few) is change out the camera app.

  2. Tony Lee
    January 4, 2016

    wasn’t this model priced at only $49.99 ?

  3. jimberkas
    January 4, 2016

    “phone that UMi hope could disrupt the market as such as their 3GB RAM UMi Rome did last year”

    did the UMI Rome disrupt the market last year? must have missed it somehow…

    • Muhammad Yasir
      January 4, 2016

      it dint !

  4. Steve B
    January 4, 2016

    Once again Umi Zero had 13Mp IMX214 not 8MP IMX179.

    • Max
      January 4, 2016

      i’m starting to hate this site… all fake facts and advertising articles. anyone know another site? XD

  5. sai bhagavan
    January 4, 2016

    Why to interpolate and ruin a good sensor i have no idea…

    • balcobomber25
      January 4, 2016

      That’s easy to fix just download a camera app that gives you full control over picture size/resolution.

    • Guest
      January 4, 2016

      like that Lenovo Camera app ?

    • balcobomber25
      January 4, 2016

      Super Camer, Open Camera, Camera MX, FV-5 any of those allows you to change the resolution.

    • Guest
      January 4, 2016

      thx

    • Riccardo Benzoni
      January 5, 2016

      or going into “settings” with stock app and doing it there!

    • balcobomber25
      January 5, 2016

      Not all stock apps have that option, i can think of several that dont

    • Riccardo Benzoni
      January 5, 2016

      all mtk I had from mt6589 onwards had this possibility, included some umi’s, but probably there could be some which use non-stock mediatek camera app which don’t allow to change it, I always try to switch to an AOSP as soon as I can, so I can’t tell this.

    • balcobomber25
      January 5, 2016

      The problem is a lot of these companies use their own app (or get paid to use some other companies app) for the camera, they don’t use the stock Android one from Google. And often times the stock app they use is terrible. The first thing I do with any new phone (with the exception of a very few) is change out the camera app.

    • Vanguard Vanguardd
      September 29, 2016

      Hello!
      I am sorry, I know it is an old post…but please can you help me with this locked resolution problem (13 mp). I have this exact phone and it does not allow me to change the 13mp res, it is the only choice, and all those camera apps that you mentioned above, I tried all of them and none of them allowed me to change it either. Thank you and please respond.

    • balcobomber25
      September 30, 2016

      That probably means 13mp is what the actual sensor is and they lied about the specs.

    • Vanguard Vanguardd
      October 1, 2016

      Thanks, but is there any other way to go past this, and lower the resolution from 13 to 8 mp?

    • balcobomber25
      October 1, 2016

      Why exactly do you want to lower the resolution?

    • Vanguard Vanguardd
      October 2, 2016

      I thought I lose image quality if an interpolated option is used instead of the real megapixel capability. Plus, there is the matter of file size. I know I can resize them later,..but that is not the point.

  6. Liisess
    January 4, 2016

    wasn’t this model priced at only $49.99 ?

  7. jimberkas
    January 4, 2016

    “phone that UMi hope could disrupt the market as such as their 3GB RAM UMi Rome did last year”

    did the UMI Rome disrupt the market last year? must have missed it somehow…

    • Guest
      January 4, 2016

      it dint !

  8. Steve B
    January 4, 2016

    Once again Umi Zero had 13Mp IMX214 not 8MP IMX179.

    • Max
      January 4, 2016

      i’m starting to hate this site… all fake facts and advertising articles. anyone know another site? XD

  9. Bal
    January 4, 2016

    seem likes $49.99 is presale price

  10. Galindo
    January 5, 2016

    Low price to buy high configuration and quality of mobile phone, which is always a false proposition, you think it must be the result of a tragedy. Because they only give you see the most glamorous side, and cut corners in other
    areas.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPpOO1S5yNM

  11. Nilzie
    January 5, 2016

    I saw a multitouCH test of Umi rome at YouTube. It just supports 2 point touch

  12. Gal
    January 5, 2016

    Do yourself a favor people, buy Xiaomi , Meizu or one of the bigger brands. I had 2 out of 3 Elephone with faulty hardware, but my M2 mini and the Redmi Note 2 phones , so far, amazing. Right, its not 80$ but you will have less headache.

    • ماجد المغربي
      January 5, 2016

      i totally agree with you xiaomi, lenovo, meizu, huwaei are the best brands

  13. Bal
    January 5, 2016

    seem likes $49.99 is presale price

  14. Kieslowski
    January 5, 2016

    Low price to buy high configuration and quality of mobile phone, which is always a false proposition, you think it must be the result of a tragedy. Because they only give you see the most glamorous side, and cut corners in other
    areas.https:/

  15. Nilzie
    January 5, 2016

    I saw a multitouCH test of Umi rome at YouTube. It just supports 2 point touch

  16. Gal
    January 5, 2016

    Do yourself a favor people, buy Xiaomi , Meizu or one of the bigger brands. I had 2 out of 3 Elephone with faulty hardware, but my M2 mini and the Redmi Note 2 phones , so far, amazing. Right, its not 80$ but you will have less headache.

    • ماجد المغربي
      January 5, 2016

      i totally agree with you xiaomi, lenovo, meizu, huwaei are the best brands

  17. ferdi
    January 6, 2016

    the Umi Zero had the SOny IMX214, same camera as the Oneplus1, Any upcoming sun $100 models have fingerprint ?

  18. ferdi
    January 6, 2016

    the Umi Zero had the SOny IMX214, same camera as the Oneplus1, Any upcoming sun $100 models have fingerprint ?

  19. Lennald
    June 18, 2016

    Bluboo Maya vs Homtom HT7 vs Oukitel U7 Pro vs Umi Rome X comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOANYdVp5Tw

  20. Lennald
    June 18, 2016

    Bluboo Maya vs Homtom HT7 vs Oukitel U7 Pro vs Umi Rome X comparison:

  21. Sue Evans Noble
    August 19, 2016

    Just bought this phone today and I’m disappointed in the camera, at first the pictures were normal color but pretty dull now they have a green tinge to them. Any tips on what i can do to make it take better pictures? What do I set the settings too?

    • Vanguard Vanguardd
      September 30, 2016

      Hi, this usually happens under light bulb illumination… with natural daylight seems fine. I have the same problem: lower the saturation from mid to low, it does not completely removes the tendency to make yellow colors greenish, but it helps. Take care!

  22. Sue Evans Noble
    August 19, 2016

    Just bought this phone today and I’m disappointed in the camera, at first the pictures were normal color but pretty dull now they have a green tinge to them. Any tips on what i can do to make it take better pictures? What do I set the settings too?

    • Vanguard Vanguardd
      October 1, 2016

      Hi, this usually happens under light bulb illumination… with natural daylight seems fine. I have the same problem: lower the saturation from mid to low, it does not completely removes the tendency to make yellow colors greenish, but it helps. Take care!