It looks like Cherry Mobile is about to have another hit on its hands when they announced the Flare 3. The “best Flare ever” features impressive specs to match its equally impressive low price. I was lucky enough to get a new unit during the unveiling, so I decided to unboxed it and give my initial impressions.
The Flare 3 comes with a 5 inch qHD scratch resistant screen using the One Glass Solution (OGS) technology. Its powered by a 1.3GHz quad core MeditaTek CPU and a Mali 400MP GPU. Lastly, the “phablet ng bayan” comes with a new memory combination of 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage, along with microSD support of up to 64GB. Again, I cannot stress how much of a welcome addition having 8GBs of storage is — because even with microSD support, limited storage can only go so far.
The Flare 3’s all-plastic construction gives it a light weight. It doesn’t feel cheap, but it’s not premium either. The glossy finish of the back cover gives it a nice car like aesthetic (I got the shiny red one). At the top you have the 3.5mm audio jack. The bottom has the micro USB port and mic. And the right side has the power and volume keys. The left side is devoid of anything.
One negative point is that I find the power button placement too high on the right side. On a 5 inch device, this is a bit of an inconvenience to reach, especially for those with small hands. It’s not a deal breaker though.
As soon as I turned on the device, I quickly noticed how bright and colorful the screen is. Quite impressive for a smartphone under 4k. The OS was surprisingly quick and responsive as well. No doubt, the quad core processor along with Android 4.4.2 KitKat have something to do with it.
Here it is besides the LG G3. I know it isn’t fair to compare a 4k phone to LG’s latest and greatest, but I just wanted to point out how much I’m impressed with the Flare 3’s screen. The two screens are far from equal. The Flare’s qHD screen cannot hold a candle against G3’s Quad HD, but it doesn’t look bad beside it. And that’s saying a lot, especially for a 4k smartphone.
A closer inspection of the qHD screen reveals it’s weakness. The icon’s don’t appear sharp, especially on the 5 inch screen. Not that it matters on a 4k phone. I guess I’m just nitpicking.
That’s it for my initial impressions of the Flare 3. Again, Cherry Mobile’s “best Flare ever” is looking to be every bit the best in its class and price range. Its specs and initial performance so far is as impressive as its equally impressive price of 4k.
I will be looking more into it’s performance in the coming days, so please stay tuned for my full review.
Cherry Mobile Flare 3 specs:
- 5-inch qHD IPS OGS with scratch resistant display (960 x 540)
- 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MTK 6582 processor
- Mali-400MP GPU
- 1GB of RAM
- 8GB of storage (+microSD up to 64GB)
- 8MP BSI rear camera
- 3MP front camera
- HSPA+, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, A-GPS
- Dual-SIM
- 1,980mAh battery
- Android 4.4 KitKat
- P3,999
