Cherry Mobile Flare X Hands-on, First Impressions: Alcatel Flash Plus Killer?

Cherry Mobile Flare X Hands-on, First Impressions: Alcatel Flash Plus Killer?

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We go hands-on with the Flare X!

The past few months have been a good one for consumers, but not as great for local brands. Many international bang-for-the-buck phones have been released in the Philippines that have stolen the thunder away from local brands. After a few months of relative silence, Cherry Mobile has finally released their own true bang-for-the-buck phone that can go toe-to-toe with the many international brands currently out there, specifically, the Alcatel Flash Plus. Meet the Flare X.

Cherry Mobile Flare X

  • 1.7GHz MediaTek 6752 octa-core processor
  • 3GB of RAM
  • 5.5-inch full HD IPS OGS display, Gorilla Glass 3, 1920 x 1080 resolution
  • 16GB of storage expandable via microSD card
  • 13-megapixel rear camera, Sony IMX214 sensor, BSI
  • 5-megapixel front camera
  • 3G, LTE
  • WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC
  • 3000mAh battery
  • Android 4.4 KitKat with OTA for Lollipop
  • SRP: Php6,999

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Initial impressions: extremely well built with a fantastic looking display.

When you see the Flare X, you’re not going to mistake it for any other phone. The design is distinctly Flare, which may or may not appeal to you, depending on where you stand on the design language of the Flare series. The phone uses a plastic polycarbonate shell that surrounds the innards of the phone, similar to the ones that are in other Flare devices. The back of the phone is curved to facilitate better handling when you’re using the phone one handed.

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The volume and power buttons are located on the right side, are colored silver and are a little too small for our taste. The 3.5mm jack is located on the top of the phone, offset to the right side. The USB port is located on the bottom of the phone.

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Moving on to the display, the phone uses a 5.5-inch full HD display with OGS and Gorilla Glass 3. This is a big step up from the HD display on Alcatel’s Flash Plus, which only has an HD resolution display. We put the Flare X side by side against the Alcatel Flash Plus, and the display of the Flare X looks better in comparison, obviously.

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We couldn’t install AnTuTU thanks to the terribad internet in the venue, but we’re expecting the phone to go above 40K points in AnTuTu. In actual use, the Flare X felt really fast and zippy. While some people will hit the phone’s Android 4.4 KitKat OS, this was a conscious effort by Cherry Mobile to reduce bugs in the phone – if our experience with the Lollipop equipped Firefly Mobile Allure 64 LTE is any indication, the omission of Android 5.0 may be a boon rather than a bane.

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As for gaming, here’s our gaming test video.

And here’s our video initially comparing it to the FireFly Allure 64 LTE:

And that’s it for our hands-on. We have a review unit of our own to test, which we’ll be playing with in the near future. Also expect an unboxing video of the Cherry Mobile Flare X later tonight or early tomorrow.

Cherry Mobile’s Flare X is priced at Php 6,999, and will be hitting stores in July. The phone should have a nationwide presence by the end of July.

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