Ever since I got the Galaxy Note, I had been searching for a beater phone that I could take with me on those midnight commutes and errands to places like Divisoria and Quiapo. After all, the Note has been an excellent phone for awhile now (made obsolete by the current wave of quad core phones), but it does tend to attract a lot of attention from potential pickpockets, snatchers and holduppers. Since then, I’ve had the chance to use the A818 and W100, but while both of them fit the “beater phone” description to a “T”, I always felt I was giving up a lot when transitioning from my Note to either of those phones. These days though, it’s the Cherry Mobile Flare that I bring with me on trips and errands where I wouldn’t be comfortable whipping out my Note. I have to say, it feels like my search for the perfect beater phone is over.
When I say “beater phone”, it’s the kind of phone that you wouldn’t mind taking a beating or being exposed to all sorts of smartphone hazards. It already came with a screen protector pre-installed, so all I had to do was cover the back with a carbon fiber sticker. Such stickers can easily be found at auto specialty shops, but they can be a bit hard to cut so they fit the Flare perfectly, so I bought one from an enterprising seller from an unofficial Cherry Mobile Flare user group on Facebook. Now I can put it in the same pocket that I keep my keys and spare change! Another thing I like is it doesn’t feel like I’m giving up that much performance when I switched from my Note to the Flare. Not only does it make a great phone for browsing the net, but it also plays most of my favorite games. Finally, it’s the kind of phone that I can confidently whip out on a jeep while commuting during rush hour. This is important, because I tend to get bored easily. With my Note, I’d be too paranoid about snatchers to use it on a jeep, but not so with the Flare.
That last part is what’s important to me. Since bringing the Flare with me on commutes, I’ve been able to watch movies, access the internet, and play the occasional game while passing the time on the way to my girlfriend’s apartment or to cover an event for NoypiGeeks. I guess it has to do with it being as affordable as it is. Of course, as much as I use it on commutes, I suppose I will eventually become a victim of snatching, but at least it’ll be the Php4k Flare rather than the Php20k+ Note. Still not decided if you want to buy this phone yet? Check out my Cherry Mobile Flare review over on NoypiGeeks.
81 Comments
Pwede din ba “bitter” phone? Haha =)
Haha. Oo nga eh. Andameng naka Ampalaya juice and diet.
ganda pala pag naka carbon sticker ung likod, very nice!
Yep, hehe. Nabili ko sa Flare user na may cutting machine. Php70 lang 🙂 Meron din mdameng design options sa Laptop Skin Manila on facebook
Sir baka pwede malaman kung san shop ng nabilhan nyo ng sticker 😀 baka malapit lang samit, bibili din sana ako haha
TY TY
May i ask po if bkit magkaiba ang home screen ng flare q sa inyo? may gnamit po ba kayong theme or wla? 🙂
Yes po meron. Madame 🙂 Apex Launcher with the stock background from Go Launcher. The Clock is from Beautiful Widgets using AOSP theme. The music widget is from PowerAmp. The app icons are from the Popout Icon Pack and the dock icons are from the Metro Station icon pack.
Hi. Paano po ifix ang ghost problem sa shadow gun at contract killer? Kasi everymovement doble doble character. Maffix po ba ng software update ang problem na to? Or magpapapalit ako ng new flare unir? Pla email me or comment below. Thanks master.
I think nasa chipset, particularly yung GPU, ang problem na yan. Other Flare users are reporting the same thing. Yung iba, may ginawa para solusyunan yan kaso hindi ko po kabisado yun. Try joining this Flare user group sa FB. Madameng helpful members and very accommodating ang mga admins. *link removed by admin
Hi. Pwede malaman knino mo nabili yung carbon fiber sticker mo??
Hi. Member po siya ng isang Flare user group sa Facebook. Kaso isang batch lang ginawa niya for meetups and wala pa siyang inannounce kung magkakaroon pa. You can try joining the group here. *link removed by admin
Okay. Thank you
tnx s info about s flare bbli kc aq ngyn ng unit!! it help me a lot on deciding kc wla dn naman aqng gnung budjet !! hehehe!
How about on battery issue po?
It’s a bit worse than the typical Android smartphone. You can read about it here on my Flare review over at NoypiGeeks 🙂 http://www.noypigeeks.com/android/cherry-mobile-flare-review/
Sir pede mhingi name nung ngbebenta ng carbon fiber thanks
hi, try looking for mytattooskins and laptop skins manila on facebook 🙂
Hi, I cannot find where to buy a flare. They say it’s out of stock. Do you know where can I buy it except lazada.com… tnx
Sorry, I don’t have any idea 🙁
just got a flare from memoxpress.. ito ang link http://memoxpress.multiply.com/products/listing/10245/Cherry-Mobile-S100-Flare
Meron stock sa SM Marikina, that is, if you’re near that place. 😉
Wow! gumana ang 2,100 mAh Samsung Battery sa Flare!
http://androidtabletlover.blogspot.com/2013/02/cherry-mobile-flare-using-2100-mah.html
Compatible pala ang Cherry Mobile Flare sa 2,200MAH LG P970 OPTIMUS BLACK BATTERY (VIDEO)
http://androidtabletlover.blogspot.com/2013/02/cherry-mobile-flare-using-2200mah-lg.html
SIR, ASK KO LANG PO KUNG PAANO YUNG LOCKSCREEN NYO? ANG GANDA PO EH. 🙂
WidgetLocker Lockscreen po 🙂 Pwede maglagay ng widgets sa lockscreen, tpos pde mo gamitin mga lockscreen from different phones like iPhone, Motorola, HTC, pati na din lockscreens from different versions of Android
kuya ,,pwede po bang mka skype video calling dto kahit hindi wifi ang gm8?,,,kahitpoload lng ????/
yes po pwede, kaso kailangan mabilis ang connection or else baka maging slideshow ang dating ng skype call, or baka wala pang video feed na lumabas. make sure mganda ang coverage sa location mo before making a skype call or any other form of video call.
yung globe po ban na sim…????,,,okay po ba yun ???,,
at mkaka pag surf napo ba ako nun ?
yes po. just make sure tama ang APN settings before turning on data. minsan kc nakaselect ang postpaid APN imbis na yung pang prepaid kaya nde gumagana agad sa iba.
ah…thank you po 🙂
sir ano po bang unit ang pinakamagandang lagyan ng mga games like need for speed most wanted and asphalt 7?
Same configuration lang ang karamihan sa mga locally branded phones. 1ghz dual core, 512mb ram and 4gb ROM. So mostly same lang din ang performance. Piliin mo nalang kung alin yung mganda ang size ng screen para sayo.
If afford mo ang O+ 8.12, mas okay sguro sya kc 1Gb ram, kaso mahal.
? kasi po ayaw gumana sakin nung mga theme….
rooted po ba ang CM flare ninyo kuya JM? ayaw po kasi gumana sakin nung mga theme?? baka po kasi dahil hindi rooted ang CM flare ko ,, help namn po
hindi po rooted yung flare ko dati. ano pong theme? usually kailangan ng alternative launcher like Go Launcher, Apex or Nova before mag apply ng theme.
meron na po akong Go launcher..
isang tanung nlng po.. It is necessary po ba to root my CM flare…? I know naman po ung mga consequences..
concern lng ako regarding sa benefits…
kung talga po bang worth it if i choose to Root my CM flare..
Thanks po sa quick response…
it really helped… Sir JM
I don’t typically root my phones because I’m scared of the consequences too, hehe. But the Fusion Bolt that Cherry Mobile gave to bloggers and members of the press came with a rooted version of Jelly Bean, so I’ve been able to try out what a rooted device feels like. There are a bunch of benefits that I like, such as being able set the CPU’s clock speed to boost performance or conserve battery life. You can also delete bloatware that you don’t use and just take up space on your phone. You can even expand your phone’s internal storage for apps, so that you can install apps and launch them from your SD card. I think these are great benefits if you know what you’re doing.
Ang advice ko lang ay kalikutin mo ang phone mo habang hindi rooted and kung nakalikot mo na ang lahat at hindi ka pa satisfied sa phone mo, i-root mo na.
I just want to know kung rooting our CM flare is really beneficial for the users besides of its critical consequences… what are the things that we might get through upon rooting?. we will get 100% satisfaction po ba if we successfully rooted our CM?
Thanks Sir JM,
It really helped po talga..
But your statement catch my attention
to ask another one..
in what way does the rooted CM saved its battery life on the go? it is the effect which embedded on the upgrades that you made by rooting your phone?
or it is an additional application which
can be install if CM phone successfully rooted?…
sana po may answer padin..
for this last question…
More Power and Salamat…
You need to install an additional application to manage your CPU clock speeds. I installed something called No-frills CPU Control, which requires root access so that it can overclock or underclock your phone’s CPU. If you overclock your phone, it speeds up performance but consumes battery faster. If you underclock it, it consumes less battery but your phone becomes a bit slower. What’s great is these adjustments can be made on the fly.
Be careful when messing with your phone’s CPU clock speeds. If you set it too fast, your phone might overheat, then automatically shut down if it gets too hot. It might even get stuck in a bootloop or it might not even start up at all. I would prefer not to exceed the max frequency that the phone is originally set to. I would just use something like No-frills to underclock when I want to save battery and then revert back to normal when I want to play games or something. I would never overclock, but that’s just my preference.
gud afternoon po sir…tanong ko lng po…pwede po bang manood ng HD VIDEOS from all sites kahit hndi wifi ang gamit…kahit load lng …??I
sir jm pwede po ba gimitin ang CM flare if nsa abroad ka na?
depende po sa country na pupuntahan nyo po. if sa US, hindi po.
please give an example of a website that you want to watch videos from so I can have a friend test it. Otherwise, there’s a YouTube app for watching YouTube videos and I’ve been told that Google Chrome can be used to watch movies from some websites.
Please check your email for a reply to your earlier query.
ung mga iwantv.com.ph videos po sir ?
Hello there Flare users!
I’m gonna be buying this phone as gift. Just one question though: I am very well aware of the release bugs of the handset. I’m also aware that a firmware update for the Flare was released just a month (or so) ago. Question: WERE THE PREVIOUS BUGS (ghosting in Dead Trigger, and battery drain specifically) SORTED OUT IN THE LAST UPDATE?
Thanks in advance!
pwede po bang manood ng HD videos from all sites at mka pagsurf sa internet kahit hndi wifi ,,,,i MEAN kahit po load lng ?//,,,,,pwede dn po ba akong mka skype video calling sa CM FLARE kahit wlang wifi …kahit load lng ?//
good day! i am a flare user for three months now and i am very much loving it.
however, ung problem ko is like this.
lahat ng apps ko na pwede itransfer sa sd card ay nasa sd card,. ang nangyayari kase bigla na lang magstop magsasabi si flare na SD CARD SUDDENLY REMOVED kaya lahat ng apps ko na nasa sd card ay hihinto at magcacrash. pero di naman ako nagtanggal ng sd card. it always happen when i am in the middle of playing or reading an e-book. nakakaasar sobra. so what i always do is i reboot my phone.
can somebody please try help me figure this out? ano po ba yung problema? may sira po ba yung phone ko or yung SD card lang ang may problema?
please help me asap.
thank you in advance!!! god bless us always!
ang sabi ng ibang flare users, madalas to mangyare sa low class cards. try using a class 6 or class 10 card. kaso i experienced the same problem using a class 6 card. ewan ko ba -_-
Good am po. Bakit po kailangang i-root yung Flare? Para saan po ba ‘yun?
Kasi para nakaroot na xa…. tpos makakapag install ng mga app… na d pde sa unrooted ana phone
sir,,ano pong mas betterv ?,,,,flare or magnum 2x ????????
magnum 2x has better build quality and storage, pero Android 2.3 ang version ng software nya. mas updated naman ang software ng Flare kc Android 4.0, pero maliit lang ang storage nya compared sa magnum. depende po sa inyo kung ano ang priorities niyo sa handset.
pero para po sa nyo…mas better po ang magnum 2x kaysa sa flare ?///////……sa skype video calling po….pwede po bang mka skype video calling at manood ng HD videos from all sites sa magnum 2x??/….kahit hndi wifi,,,kahit load lng >>>>>>>>?////
sir,,ano pong mas betterv ?,,,,flare or magnum 2x ????????
okay naman CM flare , pero wait nyu na lang Flame 2.0 or Omega Hd sa mga d pa nabile . 😀 mas ok ung dalawa, pili na lang kayu 😀 hahaha
pero para po sa nyo…mas better po ang magnum 2x kaysa sa flare ?///////……sa skype video calling po….pwede po bang mka skype video calling at manood ng HD videos from all sites sa magnum 2x??/….kahit hndi wifi,,,kahit load lng >>>>>>>>?////
Hello po. Is it just me or nakakaranas din kayo ng mainit na Flare? I mean pag ng ggames or pag live ang wallpaper. Umiinit talaga yung likuran ng Flare.
Di ko nga sure if it’s because of the jelly case(yung sa CM talaga) kasi nilagyan ko ng ganun or there’s something else. Other than the overheated feeling, all is perfect with my Flare.
Just incase you’re wondering, punong puno lahat ng Slides ko sa front. I have two email widgets (1 for each slide) and gReader on another and the last one has Friendcaster.. baka eto yung reason na pag dinagdagan ko pa ng moving wallpaper, umiinit sya.
Syanga pala, I also noticed overheating sa Myphone. Di pala pwedeng halimbawa nag lalaro ka ng game tapos patayin mo lang yung display. Yung battery ng MyPhone a818 duo ng pamangkin ko bloated at natunaw yung case sa likuran. Panic mode kami tuloy. Buti nga at naagapan pa.
good day. san po pwedeng mgpareplace ng screen ng CM flare. nabasag kc screen ng cp ko. pero ngfufunction padin naman siya. kaso pangit lang tignan ung crack sa screen.
sa main service center po siguro sa Pearl of the Orient Tower. Try nyo muna icontact ang support nila through their FB page at this link. http://www.facebook.com/cherrymobilesupport
pwede po bang manood ng hd videos like iwantv.com.ph sa flare ???//…..kahit walng wifi connection …kahit load lng ????
hey! good day! why is it my flare keeps on rebooting? i’d already reset it but still same problem occurred. it’s starting to piss me off actually. please please i need your answer on what should i do to fix it. big thanks in advance. God Bless.
is this a rooted device you’re using or are you using a custom ROM?
i don’t root. so i think i’m using the custom ROM.
If you didn’t modify the firmware and it’s still giving you problems after a factory reset then it’s best to have someone look at it. Try going to Facebook and looking for a Cherry Mobile Flare user group. After joining, you can start asking members for help. You’ll probably get more help at such a group than if you took it to a service center because CM’s service centers can be sloooow..
aww thanks. this morning I installed avg anti virus and i think it helps me a bit. i’m not experiencing the same issue as yesterday. though i’m still not comfortable for the sudden change of it so probably i’ll check the group that you’d suggested and see what they could help. But to be fair to Cherry Mobile Flare, the apps and the phone itself were user friendly though changes on some serious area should be fixed accordingly. But I could still recommend the phone to all mobile andriod users.
and thank you for responding. God Bless. 🙂
No prob, take care 🙂
hey yow… mga kuyas and ates .. pahelp naman po…pwede po bng savhin neo every details ng myglobe connect settings neo? na default po kasi sakin tapos na erase na lahat ng valid settings ko.kaya yun d ako makanet sa flare ko..
anu po pla pingkaiba sa rooted at hndi?
ok po ba sa flare ang viber o wechat? kung hindi po, ano po ba magandang model ng cm para viber o wechat? salamat po
ask nmn po bkt po pg ng gagames ako bgla nlng ng rerestart cm flare ko lgeng gnun wla png 5min games restart agd.. help plsss
May task manager ka? Try mo muna magclear ng RAM before playing a game and see how it goes.
Ask ko lang kung maganda ba update sa jelly bean to, oh mas hassle na gamitin, at baterry life mas humina daw?
Jelly Bean in general is better than ICS dahil sa improved functionality and software optimizations. Yun nga lang panget din ang feedback na nasasagap ko from Flare users. Wait nyo lang na may irelease na improved update. Pde ka din magjoin sa Flare user group sa Facebook and ask around if may alam sila na smooth JB firmware for Flare.
Hi. Just wanna ask if san mo po nabili yung black cover mo sa phone, ang ganda kasi tignan, super neat and clean. & whats the name of the clock widget that ur using? Thanks 🙂
Hi Lillie. Carbon fiber sticker po ang tawag jan. The dude I bought it from doesn’t seem to be selling them anymore, but you can find a few sellers on the Cherry Mobile Buy and Sell page on Facebook 🙂
anu pu ba maganda isubstitute na battery sa flare 2x? kasi ambilis super malowbat ee Thanks
Nde ko alam eh. Try nyo po hanapin if may Flare 2X user group sa Facebook. Baka may alam na possible replacement battery dun.
papano iflaflash yung flare?