We go hands-on with the Cherry Mobile Ace

One of the devices that we’ve (accidentally) ignored from local brand Cherry Mobile’s roster recently is the Cherry Mobile Ace. It wasn’t intentional of course – the literal flood of new devices from the brand meant that this quirky little ultra-affordable smartphone was pushed aside. Yesterday evening we made up for that by spending some quality time with it during an intimate dinner with the Cherry Mobile team and representatives from Mozilla. While some may already be dismissing it, know that for a limited time it’ll become the most affordable smartphone in the world, retailing for only Php 999.

Cherry Mobile Ace specs

• 1.0GHz single core processor
• 128MB RAM
• 3.5-inch HVGA display
• 256MB of storage, expandable via microSD up to 16GB
• 2G
• Dual-SIM
• WiFi, Bluetooth
• 1100mAh battery
• Firefox OS

Initial impressions: rock bottom specs made better with Firefox

One look at the spec sheet above will tell you that the Ace is probably the most basic smartphone that you’ll ever come across. And we’ll agree with you – the specs are pretty low, but then again considering the price point, we weren’t expecting a lot. From our previous encounters with Android devices with better specs, we can tell you that the Ace is woefully underpowered with a battery that, under heavy use, would probably won’t go past 4 hours.

That’s the reason why putting Mozilla’s Firefox OS on the Ace makes sense. See, Mozilla reps told us that the Ace is perfectly happy to run with only 128MB of RAM inside. The Firefox OS is quite different compared to Android wherein it’s capable of running well on even the barest of hardware. A Mozilla rep told us that it’s optimized extremely well that the 1100mAh battery on the Ace can keep the phone going for around two days without charging with light to moderate use.

The OS is sparse, and you navigate through the UI by swiping left and right. There’s no app drawer here, just all of your apps laid out for you to see. There’s a single capacitive key right below the small 3.5-inch HVGA display that acts as the home key. The controls are basic, which tells you a lot about the target market for the Ace as much as the price does.

Much like Android, Firefox OS allows you to install apps like Facebook and Twitter on it, as well as sync your Facebook and Google contacts to the device. There are a smattering of apps available on the Marketplace, Mozilla’s analog for the Play Store but truth be told the selection isn’t as good as the one in Google’s OS. Speaking of apps, they’re relatively lightweight considering that they’re all built with HTML5, so storage won’t be too much of a problem, especially for a device with limited space like the Ace.

That doesn’t matter though, as the Ace’s target demographic aren’t Android users. The Ace is built for people who are transitioning to smartphones for the first time from featurephones that want a basic, affordable device that they can hop on the internet on (through Facebook, naturally). The Ace fills this need, and makes it a perfect gift for people looking for a rather affordable first smartphone. Cherry Mobile will be cutting the price of the Ace from Php 1499 to just Php 999 from December 13 to 15, so if you’re curious about the Firefox OS and what it’s capable of delivering, now is your change to get one for cheap.