Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Cherry Mobile's Terrible Trio

The Cherry Mobile Flare

I have been pretty impressed with Cherry Mobile's current offerings. Something just wanting a functional smartphone has little reason to look beyond Cherry Mobile Terrible Trio: the Flare, the Flame and the Titan.

Price. What makes this three so "terrible" insofar as the competition is concerned is the price. The Flame will set you back just Php3,999, the Flame is priced substantially higher at Php6,299 which in turn gives you a larger higher resolution screen and the Titan, is priced just a bit higher, at Php6,499, gives users a low cost monster phone option.

Operating System. None of the three phones run the latest version of Android, which is Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Instead all three phones run Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. I have devices that run on Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean, and I really don't miss Jelly Bean when on a Ice Cream Sandwich. Jelly Bean's most innovative feature is Google Now, a voice assistant is not all that useful in the Philippines. Running on Ice Cream Sandwich does mean you can run all the apps on Google Play, which I think for most users is good enough. A note, Google Now can actually run on Ice Cream Sandwich, it is just that Google has restricted its use to Jelly Bean phones.

Performance. The Flare, Flame and Titan all run on lower cost dual core chipsets. The Flare and Flame run on Qualcomm chipsets. The Titan on a MediaTek chipset. Low cost, does not mean poor performance. The three phones can score upwards of 6,700 points on AnTuTu benchmarks. Basically, it means that they can blow away anything built in 2010 in terms of performance, and are faster than most 2011 models, except for the dual core flagship phones. With a one year warranty, they are a better deal than looking for a one year old or two year old phone on the second hand market. These three will wreck havoc on the second hand market, attracting all except for brand conscious buyers.

These phones are fast enough except for the hardcore gamer, who really wont be satisfied with any of the options under 20K. 


Size options. With three sizes with the Flare at 4-inches, the Flame at 4.5-inches and the Titan at 5-inches, you should find one that meets your needs.  Cherry Mobile has also equipped the units with batteries that should make up for the increased consumption with the larger displays. The Flare has a 1500 mAh battery, the Flame a larger 1800 mAh battery and the Titan comes with a 2350 mAh battery. 

What you don't get. What do you loose by getting a low cost smartphone these days. When I think about it, the biggest feature you loose is a good camera. Getting a smartphone with a good camera will cost you 15K, and getting one with a great camera, about 25K. You also won't get LTE connectivity, but really there are only three smartphones officially launched in the country which currently support LTE, and those start at 21K.

For me the biggest problem with these phones is trying to get my hands on a Titan. I have not even seen one despite numerous visits to Cherry Mobile stores. But that does mean they are selling pretty well.

Now this is not a paid post by Cherry Mobile. This is a small blog. I don't get demo phones from any manufacturer and I have no control over the advertisements you see on this blog, so that does not influence my writing. I have for been a fan of low cost technology. Basically, it means more Filipino's can have low cost access to communications and access to information. Having this brought to us by a Filipino company is a bonus, and evokes a certain sense of pride. 

17 comments:

  1. Phil Here...
    I bought my CM Titan about a month ago. I would say that this phone is one of the best phone I’ve ever had. I know some would say it is just "Cherry Mobile" but I don’t care.....as long as its giving me the satisfaction I need. Buying this phone is one of the best thing ever happened to me. I loved it and i will continue loving it. I even asked almost all the stores here in Bacolod City if when they are going to have the Titan and they all have one answer: "nagkakaubusan sa market kaya hindi na nakakarating dito at marami pa kaming reserved kaya hindi na kami tumatanggap ng reservation, first come first serve nalang po" see it’s like the best seller Ice Cream. I still have a lot to say but better to let the people experience what I am experiencing right now with my baby Titan. Thanks to CM...Kodus!

    ReplyDelete
  2. just bought my titan a few hours ago..and would like to thank cherry mobile north edsa for it..the android phones of cherry mobile have improved significantly from there predecessors..they have improved to the point that they can now compete with the big boys..even though there is still a big room from improvement,price is still the biggest consideration why i chose cherry mobile. all i can say is that KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK CHERRY MOBILE!!if you keep on producing quality products like these units, i will keep on buying them

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  3. My boyfriend and I bought our CM flare at Robinson's Manila. So far, we're enjoying the specs. Dual core, sim, and cam, what more can we ask for? Whenever my friends would ask about the specs and get to "inspect" my flare, they are immediately impressed.

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    Replies
    1. They should be. Until two months ago, those specs would have cost you 3x as much.

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  4. Cherry Mobile phone are great for the price. They are not perfect, as this blog states. The biggest downside is the screen. While I have not seen the Flame, I do have a Flare, and seen a Titan. The Titan is non-ICS, so it doesn't have a wide viewing angle, before the image begin to wash-out. The Flare is touted to have an ICS screen, but it's inferior to most other ICS screen (including MyPhone's and Cloudfone's ICS), the image will wash out at an angle, though it's viewing angle wider than the Titan. If you are coming from a higher end Smartphone (ie Galaxy S2), then the screen is much inferior. But if this is your first smartphone, then, the experience is good, if not great.

    As said, for the price (especially the Flare - because it's also have the prefect size and weight), they are VEry good phones. Just wanted to point out the low-end ICS screen of the Flare, because no blog have stated it...

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the valuable feedback. Most lower cost screens have poorer viewing angles. Although I don't consider this too important as most users will view the phone head on.

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    2. I think you're referring to IPS screens, not ICS? Point taken, I've checked out a friend's Flare and while the phone is impressive, the biggest trade off is indeed the screen. It is not the IPS screen that they are claiming it to be. Then again, for the price, it is still a big bargain.

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  5. You do realize that this is technically not a Filipino product. I mean, I'm happy for a product and all, and actually want to get my hands on that Flare for my mom but this is not a Filipino concept.

    The Flare, for example, is just a rebranded version of the Karbonn A9+ from India. So, basically, they're OEM stuff from China plastered with their logo when they arrive in the Philippines.

    This is not much a rant as it is a suggestion to ease up on the "proud it's Pinoy" thing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The products are ODM rather than OEM. I am not sure that Cherry Mobile actually designs any of its own phones yet, and the examples you gave are ODM . Pretty much every smartphone is made in China, but this does not make Apple a Chinese company for example. A larger portion of the profits stay in the Philippines with local branded products than and foreign branded one.

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  6. cherry did a good job bringing to us these low cost yet decent smartphones...Actually FYI these 3 smartphones are rebranded models from India and China aside from CM Skyfire which is a Flagship unit of Cherry Mobile.I owned a CM Titan and all i can say is Brilliant it certainly meets my needs..Its fast and stable..Just like any other phones out there regardless its manufacturer,it has a few downside CM units are no different...cons of CM Titan..Yes its large its considered as a phablet but the screen isnt as pleasant as the Galaxy Note II..It lacks certain levels of ppi that gives more detail ,crispness to the display (in short better screen quality).It also lacks IPS technology that offers good viewing angles...One more thing If u own a Titan forget it even has a camera its gives poor picture quality even if u shoot outdoors much worst in low light, but considering the price,no doubt, Its a Must-Have phone....Though i dnt own the Flare nor the Flame ,i have had a chance to get a hands-on to this devices...The only disparity i noticed is, these two smartphones has better screens than the Titan...If u have Questions u can email me @ ilovenyc.rp@gmail.com...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Indian brand you are referring too got the phones from China. OSM designs. These phones are built by an original design manufacturer (ODM) which is a company which designs and manufactures a product which is specified and eventually branded by another firm for sale. This allows a brand firm to produce without having to engage in the organization or running of a factory. ODMs handle production for multiple clients.

      If you buy the Cherry Branded version instead of the Indian, Taiwan, Japan or US branded versions you essentially cut out the middle man.

      Delete
  7. thanks for the review sir. .

    I think Flame has better specs,but the only downside of it is the battery, its only 1800 mah :(. .

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    Replies
    1. 1800 mAh is not bad. But the additional size over the Flare will be used up making up for the additional consumption of the 4.5-incb screen as well as the hard working GPU (will have to work harder because of the qHD display)

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  8. You mean "IPS" screen @ "bill" (william) C...

    Thanks 4 d info btw.

    ReplyDelete

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