The Cherry Mobile Flare has been the lowest cost phone I have recommended since November of 2012. This is probably when we can say the locally branded smartphones wars started to hit high gear. Since than, the 4-inch, dual core offering from Cherry Mobile has remained relevant, having received a operating system upgrade to Android Jelly Bean awhile back. It's price of Php3,999 is still as a bargain today as it was last year.
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| Arc Mobile 500D |
It does have more competition. The Arc Mobile Nitro 500D offers a 5-inch smartphone priced at Php4,199. The price between the Nitro 500D and Flare is so close, that cost is not going to be a relevant factor in decision making. While I kept the Flare in this months buyers guide, having been able to get some face time with he Nitro 500D, I am wondering if that was the right decision.
Display. Both phones have WVGA (480 x 800) displays. The Cherry Mobile Flare has a nice sharp 233 pixels per inch (PPI). The Nitro 500D, with it larger 5-inch display has a much lower 187 PPI. Still, it is much more comfortable for things like browsing websites and the like.
Battery. I would say in this regard both are about equal for activities like web surfing, video playback and other tasks when the screen is on. The Flare has a 1500 mAh battery while the Nitro 500D has a larger 2000 mAh battery. The large 5-inch screen is much more power hungry though. The Nitro should have a big advantage in terms of talk time and battery life when playing music.
Power. The Nitro 500D is has a dual core MediaTek processor with a PowerVR SGX531 graphics chip. This is a fair bit more powerful than the dual core Qualcomm S4 Play with Adreno 203 graphics on the Flare.
I think this are the three most relevant points of comparison. Of course, the Nitro 500D is a much bigger, and bulkier device.
So what do you think. With low cost full sized smartphones available, is it time to ditch the Flare from the top phones list? Or is keeping a small option on the list a good thing?
4199 is promo price for Arc Mobile 500D, the regular price is around 5k.
ReplyDeleteI'd know since some phone stores which I'd rather not name didn't follow Arc Mobile's discount. :-(
It seems that if it's not a permanent price cut like MyPhone's android invasion or published on print ads like Cherry Mobile it's up to the store's discretion whether or not they do a sale too, they don't follow posts on the Arc Mobile fanpage.
Hi! I just bought my own Arc Mobile Nitro 500D today. The specs are nice with a very affordable price. :)
ReplyDeleteHowdy! I'm at work browsing your blog from my new iphone 4! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the great work!
ReplyDeleteI just bought my nitro 500d. and the phone was really nice.it all.almost have the same settings as Samsung note 2. very affordable.
ReplyDeleteHi I bought my Arc Nitro 500d last week and this is much better that flare/2.0/2X it has a great quality, especially in graphics , the camera with flash is super amazing
ReplyDeletehi can u help me with the net using sun prepaid, it's hard to connect to net
ReplyDeleteArcmobile phones are garbage. No support on its own accessories. E.g. when ur battery is bloating dead you must dispose it off including your phone because their battery are all proprietary.. and never yiu can find one as replacement even in their own franchised booths. all are off-standard.
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