If there’s one thing I hate about local smartphones right now, it’s that all of them run Android 4.2 or earlier. For whatever reason they have, MediaTek has been withholding their source code, keeping developers from making custom ROMs and forcing MediaTek phone owners to be reliant on their in-house developed software. This is why the Cherry Mobile Urban could be a breath of Kitkat-infused air.
News of the Cherry Mobile Urban started to spread when images from a leaked brochure began circulating among the local phone groups. Based on the image, the Urban will have a 4.5 inch qHD IPS screen, 1.3GHz quad core processor, 1GB RAM and 4GB ROM. It will also have an 8mp autofocus camera coupled with a 2mp fixed focus front camera. To top things off, it will run Kitkat 4.4 out of the box!
Of course, there’s still some room for skepticism here as MediaTek has yet to release Android 4.4 software for its SoCs. We might see the Cherry Mobile Urban release delayed as it waits for MediaTek’s Kitkat 4.4 software. Still, it would be nice to see a locally branded Android 4.4 smartphone, wouldn’t it? The question is, will the Cherry Mobile Urban be first?
Cherry Mobile Urban Specs
- 4.5″ qHD IPS display (540 x 960 resolution, 245ppi)
- 1.3GHz quad core processor
- Android 4.4 Kitkat
- 1GB RAM
- 4GB ROM
- 8mp autofocus rear-facing camera
- 2mp front camera
- 3.75G/HSPA+
- WiFi b/g/n
- Bluetooth 4.0
- Price: Php4,999
a 4Gb phone with kitkat smells like a bad idea, but if they make a work around with the sd card, that would be good