Cherry Mobile Fusion Fire Unboxing: Quad-core Android 4.1 Tablet for Php7,999

Cherry Mobile Fusion Fire Unboxing: Quad-core Android 4.1 Tablet for Php7,999

Cherry Mobile Fusion Fire at the Unbox HQ!
Cherry Mobile Fusion Fire at the Unbox HQ!

Cherry Mobile Fusion Fire

The Cherry Mobile Fusion Fire was launched hot off the heels of the Cherry Mobile Fusion Bolt. It sported almost the same specifications including the 1GHz Quad-core CPU (ATM7028 chipset) but it had a bigger form factor with a 10.1-inch display. We were able to secure a unit for review last week and we’d like to kick things off by sharing with you guys the unboxing and our initial impressions.

Cherry Mobile Fusion Fire Spec Sheet

  • 1GHz quad-core CPU ATM7028 chipset
  • Vivante GC1000+ GPU
  • 1GB RAM
  • 16GB internal storage
  • 10.1-inch IPS Display
  • 1280×800 resolution, 149 pixels per inch
  • 2.0-megapixel rear-facing camera
  • VGA fron-facing camera
  • Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
  • 8,000mAh Battery
  • micro USB On-the-Go support

Packaging: Kinda like the Microsoft Surface

Nice box.
Nice box.

Unlike the Cherry Mobile smartphones which came in colorful printed carton boxes, the Fusion Fire tablet comes in a thin, big, and solid black box with a printed carton partial slip-on. The look and feel is definitely far more premium, cleaner, and sleek compared to the packaging of their smartphone products. Note though that the wall charger comes in a separate box so make sure you have that one if ever you buy this from a store in the malls.

Unboxing was straightforward. We pulled off the carton sleeve and we were left with the black box with the centered Cherry Mobile logo. We took off the lid and we immediately saw the Cherry Mobile Fusion Fire with a printed screen protector. Just below the device was a small rectangular compartment which hosted the cables and peripherals.

Different POV
Different POV
Without the carton slip-on
Without the carton slip-on
Cherry Mobile Fusion Fire is OFFICIALLY unboxed!
Cherry Mobile Fusion Fire is OFFICIALLY unboxed!

The style of packaging reminded us a lot of how Microsoft did it with the Surface Pro. That’s not necessarily a bad thing since we kinda liked how Microsoft did it, hehe.

Hardware Check: Thin, light, and feels premium

Gorgeous smooth black matte finish for the back
Gorgeous smooth black matte finish for the back

We were expecting the usual cheap plastic chassis for the body but we were pleasantly surprised with the smooth black matte finish they used for the Fusion Fire. It definitely didn’t look or feel like a sub Php10,000 tablet. As for the buttons and controls they were all located in their usual places at the sides of the device. The only noticeable difference was that there seems to be a dual-speaker set-up at the back which we haven’t tested yet (we’ll cover this in the review later on though).

What the back looks like
What the back looks like
Fusion Fire manages to keep a thin and slim profile
Fusion Fire manages to keep a thin and slim profile
Usual Cherry Mobile logo for the wallpaper
Usual Cherry Mobile logo for the wallpaper

At the front we have the 10.1 IPS display with 1280×800 resolution. Display quality itself is pretty standard and not something that will blow you away. The viewing angles are nice though thanks for the IPS technology.

Software Check: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

The Cherry Mobile Fusion Fire uses a quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM and those specs definitely powers through a decent Android Jelly Bean experience. Our only concern with the performance is the memory leak. The longer it’s turned on the laggier it becomes. We were able to address this initially by installing the Memory Booster app and setting it to Auto Boost. However it still slowed down after several hours. We were finally able to “fix” it though by manually managing resources by occasionally using the Task Killer feature of the Memory Booster app.

Memory leak sux!
Memory leak sux!

Initial Verdict: Good for browsing and watching videos at home

Given the 10.1-inch form factor and the feature set, the Cherry Mobile Fusion Fire is more of a media consumption device. It’s the type of machine you leave at home, pick up when you get back, and watch stuff on it and browse the web while you’re on the sofa or in bed. The expandable storage definitely lends itself for being a viewing and storing machine for your favorite TV series and movies.

The Cherry Mobile Fusion Fire is now available for Php7,999.

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