When Cherry Mobile announced that they partnered with Qualcomm to deliver powerful yet energy-efficient smartphones, I feared that prices may fall beyond PhP9,000 mark. I was wrong. Cherry Mobile even made it even more outrageous when they announced Flare. Priced at only PhP3,999, the Cherry Mobile Flare is packed with Qualcomm Snapdragon Dual Core processor, each running at 1.2 Ghz. It has a 4-inch IPS capacitive touch panel for flawless navigation and runs on Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Check out our hands on video below.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfbLtbVm9UE[/youtube]
Look and Feel. The device feels very solid and robust even if it’s made up of plastic. Its matte finish made it look like a premium device. Just be sure to get the black one as I found the pink variant of this phone looks less appealing. The screen isn’t as bright and clear as the Galaxy S3, but it definitely looked way better compared to our Galaxy Mini. Thanks to its 4.0″ IPS Screen.
Speed. I really felt the speed and prowess of Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz dual core processor while using the device. It will definitely perform faster and more efficient if Jellybean is installed. Unfortunately, the OS installed is still Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0.4) and no announcement was made if it will be upgradable to Jellybean.
Availability. According to Cherry Mobile, Flare will be officially available by 1st week of November 2012.
We will talk more about Cherry Mobile Flare and Titan on our live video podcast this Saturday night at The Big Time Show. Be sure to like Gadget Pilipinas and Big Time Show on Facebook! [stextbox id=”info” caption=”Courtesy”]Cherry Mobile & Alex Rivera of TheTechnoclast.com for the review unit.[/stextbox]
Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.
