Cherry Mobile Flare 3 - You Get What You Didn't Pay For

Image courtesy of yahoo.ph

Local smartphone giant Cherry Mobile launched the third incarnation of their popular Flare series and this time they may just have a winner in their hands. The Cherry Mobile Flare 3, dubbed as the "phablet ng bayan" could be deserving of its monicker. People (myself included) who were terribly disappointed by the first Flare smartphone may find themselves wary of the Flare 3 but given its impressive price of just php3999 (for its high-end specs), it's difficult not to get tempted. The question is, should you?

Here my initial review of the device. Bookmark this page as I will update this entry with more observations as I get to spend time with the unit.

What's Outside

Image courtesy of yahoo.ph

Like the previous Flares, Flare 3 is primarily plastic sporting a 5 inch qHD IPS OGS scratch-resistant screen. OGS (One Glass Solution) is a technology that eliminates the thickness of the phone's touchscreen display. This is done by removing a layer of glass and replacing it with a thinner insulating material. This may sound technical but OGS simply makes the display thinner removing unnecessary weight and thickness. The OGS and the IPS technology transform the Flare 3s touchscreen into a beautiful work of art- texts and images look sharper, viewing angle is better, etc.

The Flare 3 is available in 5 colors; red, blue, white, and silver in high-gloss, sports car finish, and black in matte finish. The colors are limited to the back cover because the device will always have a black front display. Compared to Flare 1, the build feels better, not cheap but it's in no way premium. It feels very light and almost toy-like so depending on whether you like your phones paper-light or rock-heavy, that could be a pro or a con. It's worth mentioning that the phablet's rounded edges has a positive effect on how you hold and handle the device.

image from onetechavenue

You’ll find the power button and the volume rocker on the right side of the device, with the 3.5mm jack resting on the top, while the USB port is located at the bottom. The Flare 3 has 8 megapixel BSI rear camera and a 3 megapixel front camera. As mentioned, the phablet's display is nice and bright, the colors are vivid and the viewing angle is exceptional.

Under the Hood

The Cherry Mobile Flare 3 is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MTK 6582 processor and Mali-400MP GPU. Now, I'm a bit bias with Mediatek's processors but benchmark tests suggest that the phablet has a capable hardware combo. It carries 8GB of storage space and 1GB of RAM. I subjected the phablet into a series of rapid app launches and extensive browsing and there was no noticeable lag. I would have wanted to try playing some high-requirement games but I'm not a huge mobile gamer so that would have to wait.

Cherry Mobile Flare 3 has Kitkat version 4.4 out of the box so that's a good thing. What's doubtful is its 1980 mAh battery. My first Flare lasted only me around 4 hours of combined gaming and browsing so I'm hoping this one would last longer. Now, that most of us are very dependent on our smartphones, it would be a shame if the Cherry Mobile Flare 3 delivers the same battery power as the previous Flares.  One other thing I need to mention is that my Flare 1 would get hot really fast and I will update this entry should the same issue be present on this new Flare.

image from matt's cradle

Personal Thoughts

Overall, the Flare 3 is gearing up to be a capable device but only further usage will tell if that would be the case in the future. I'm not really a fan of its plastic built and most definitely not thrilled with the paint job (I have the Blue one). Of course, with its price, it's hard to nitpick because as it is, the specs are impressive. Buying the Flare 3 made me feel like I needed to pay more (not that I would) and huge props to Cherry Mobile for bringing the phone to the Philippines and hopefully, it continues to perform well.

I

Samsung Galaxy S5: Full Speed Ahead

The long wait is finally over.  Samsung officially unveils the successor to last year's Galaxy S4, the Samsung Galaxy S5!

First impressions?  It's powerful and it's feature packed but will Samsung's newest prove to be their greatest too?  We'll find that out soon but for the meantime, here are 10 things you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy S5.

1. It's waterproof

Not an entirely new feature since Sony's Xperia flagships already had a couple of waterproof smartphones in their arsenal. It is good to know that the Galaxy S5 is IP67-rated to withstand both water and dust.

2. It'll scan your fingers

Another not-so-new feature, Apple had this covered with their flagship iPhone 5s.  The Galaxy S5's Home button comes with a built-in fingerprint scanner where swiping your digit down unlocks the device, as well as protect sensitive files.

As an added benefit, you'll also be able to authorise all online PayPal transactions with the swish of a finger, perfect for that annoying and repetitive logging in. The Samsung Galaxy S5 definitely gives more power to your fingers.

3. It has a heart-rate detector

The Samsung Galaxy S5 has a heart-rate detector on its rear. Simply place your fingertip over it and it'll display your heart rate and save it in its newly updated S Health app.

4. Imaging - Reimagined

The Galaxy S5 has a 16MP camera with an ultra-fast 0.3 second autofocus. It also has a live HDR mode for both photos and videos, in addition to being able to record 4K video.

The S5 also supports post-shot refocusing with a feature called Selective Focus, much like Nokia's Refocus feature and what it does is to let you blur the background or focus on close objects after you've taken the shot.

5. It's more powerful

The Galaxy S5 is the first phone to arrive with Qualcomm's super-beefy quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor. It's got 2GB of RAM as opposed to the expected 3GB, but it should be enough to run Android 4.4 KitKat with little to no hiccups.

Samsung also bumped the display for easy viewing, the screen now measures 5.1 inches and that's enough to let you watch your favorite movie or play your favorite game with ease. There's no QHD resolution though, as 1080p makes a return.

6. Battery will last longer

The S5's larger 2800mAh battery should hopefully should be enough to last you through the day, of course depending on usage, you may still have to bring around a charger or your trusty powerbank.

7. It's a fitness beast

Samsung's updated S Health app incorporates the new heart-rate readings into an already comprehensive fitness app which measures your steps and tracks what you've eaten with a vast food database and barcode reader. It also plays nice with the new Galaxy Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit.

8. It downloads files fast, as in really fast

Download Booster uses some technological witchcraft to simultaneously utilise both 4G and Wi-Fi and therefore download large files faster than ever.

9. It has an Ultra Power Saving mode

If you're low on battery you can initiate Ultra Power Saving mode, which provides an alternative power-sipping home screen with black and white icons, disables apps but keeps messaging and phonecall features alive.

10. It has space – and lots of it

You can bolster the S5's in-built 32/64GB of storage with a 128GB microSD card if you like, making it the most capacious smartphone on the planet.

So are you ready to throw away last year's model in favor of Samsung's newcomer? Your guess is as good as mine.