Update: Cherry Mobile just posted that the Flare will be going on a limited release sale on November 17 at SM North Edsa and Robinsons Place Manila. First 50 buyers will get freebies along with their purchases. Sadly, I won’t be able to make it since I’ll be in Laguna at that time. TUNGUNUNG YUN
There comes a time when we should be satisfied with what we have. I upgraded my secondary phone from a MyPhone A818 to a Cherry Mobile W100 about a month ago because it had a faster 1GHz CPU and 512Mb of RAM while actually costing less. It seemed like such a good decision at the time too. Of course, Cherry Mobile then had to unveil the Cherry Mobile Flare: a dual core Android smartphone with a 4 inch IPS screen, 512Mb of RAM and Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 out of the box. How much? P3,999. Crap. This is the smartphone I should have gotten. By just adding P500 to the price of the W100, you get a dual core 1.2GHz CPU instead of single core 1GHz chip, a screen that’s bigger by half an inch and has a better resolution, 4Gb of internal storage instead of just 512Mb, and finally, a better 5mp rear-facing camera instead of the 3mp snapper that’s on the W100. That’s a whole lot more performance and functionality just by adding P500.
And it isn’t like it makes many compromises either. For example, the MyPhone A878 is another affordable dual core phone with a slightly bigger 4.3″ screen that sells for P6,999. It’s a pretty awesome phone in its own right,but it isn’t capable of 3G data or even a front-facing camera for video calls. These are the sort of shortcomings that often plague most budget smartphones. However, not with the Cherry Mobile Flare. In terms of specs, the Flare makes absolutely no compromises, often exceeding the specifications of other phones that are typically priced twice as much. Not only does it have an excellent base configuration of when it comes to the OS, CPU, RAM and internal storage, but it also covers everything you would want from a smartphone: Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS and support for 3G data.
Of course, there has to be some compromises, and there probably are. When I first opened up the W100 for testing before eventually buying it, it felt like a toy in my hands because it was made from such light plastic. I doubt the Cherry Mobile Flare will be any different, but for P3,999, I wouldn’t care that much about using cheaper materials so long as it’s solidly put together. Too bad I won’t be able to buy it and review it or else my girlfriend will kill me.. *sigh 🙁
Update: I bought the Cherry Mobile Flare! Check it out here!
Specifications
- Chipset: 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon Dual Core
- Camera: 5 MP (Main), VGA (Front)
- SIM Slot: Dual SIM
- Screen Type: IPS Capacitive
- Screen Size: 4.0 Inches
- Navigation: Touchscreen
- Dimensions: 123 mm x 62.5 mm x 11.8 mm
- ROM: 4GB
- RAM: 512MB
- Slot: Up to 32GB microSD
- Data: 3G/HSDPA, 2G/EDGE/GPRS
- Bluetooth
- GPS with aGPS
- Platform/OS: Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
- Color: Black
- Price: Php3,999
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