Cloudfone Thrill 450Q Review

The Cloudfone Thrill 450Q is the follow-up flagship to the long-lasting Thrill 430x. However unlike its predecessor the new Thrill 450Q doesn’t have a monstrous battery packed into it. Instead it has a very sleek form factor, a quad-core processor paired with 1GB RAM, and a 4.5-inch IPS qHD display. Cloudfone was quick to realize though that battery life is a critical factor so they threw in a free 4,400mAh power bank inside the box of the Thrill 450Q. Nice freebie eh? Hehe.

We’ve had the Thrill 450Q for several days now and we’d like to share with you guys our full review. For starts here are the specifications.

Cloudfone Thrill 450Q Spec Sheet

• 1.2GHz Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor
• 1GB RAM
• 4GB Internal Storage, expandable up to 32GB via microSD
• 4.5-inch IPS Capacitive Screen, qHD Resolution
• 12.0-megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus and LED flash
• 3.0-megapixel front-facing camera
• Dual SIM, Dual Standby
• WiFi, WiFi Hotspot, Bluetooth, GPS/aGPS
• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
• 1800mah battery
• Comes with a free 4400mAh powerbank
• SRP: Php8,999

>>> SEE ALSO: Cloudfone Thrill 430x Review

Hardware: Bigger is not always Better?

Most manufacturers are making their flagship devices bigger and bigger. Heck, MyPhone even went the extreme with the MyPhone Iceberg. That’s why it’s interesting that Cloudfone decided to go against the tide and ship a flagship with just a 4.5-inch display. We kinda see why though. After reviewing so many 5-inch devices in the last few weeks, it was actually refreshing to get our hands on a smartphone that we could easily and effortlessly navigate and use with just one hand. That’s the main draw of the form factor the the Thrill 450Q. It has very competitive specifications but the form factor is still naturally a smartphone (not a phablet).

To add a little more personality to the Thrill 450Q you can actually buy a flip cover for around Php250. To attach it you take out the back plate and then clip it on. It looks pretty sweet and we think this is the best way to carry the Thrill 450Q around because other than the added protection for your screen it also makes it look stand out more.

All the usuals ports and buttons are on the sides. The placement of the micro USB port is a bit off though since they decided to put it at the top of the device (always hated it with manufacturers do this).

By the way, the Thrill has an LED strip at the bottom which lights up in different situations like when you’re charging it. It’s pretty cool and nifty to have. Adds to the pogi points of the device, hehe!

Display Quality: qHD

The Cloudfone Thrill 450Q doesn’t have a FULL HD display. Instead it has qHD which will still let enjoy 720p content. For the usual images, text, and video, they all look great. It will take a trained and probably spoiled eye to see the difference between FHD and QHD anyway. For videos though we found the 4.5-inch display lacking, especially since we’ve been spoiled by numerous phablets in the last few weeks. The quality is good though, it’s just the size feels “bitin”.

While it might be a little small for video, it’s fantastic for everything else. Mashing on the virtual keyboard on a smaller device like this feels more natural and comes out more efficient as opposed to bigger phones. At the end of the day your eyes will always want a bigger screen but your hands and your fingers will not lie. They will love the Thrill 450Q. 😛

Performance: It can handle almost anything you throw at it

When it comes to the software and performance side, the Cloudfone Thrill 450Q can pretty much handle whatever you throw at it. The Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor isn’t the latest but it’s enough to power through smooth and fluid basic core functions like transitions and animations. It’s also enough for your usual graphics intensive apps. We did encounter some issues though when the zombies started piling up on Dead Trigger (much later in the game).

We ran the usual Antutu Benchmark Test and it scored a little over 10,000. That’s definitely not the highest we’ve seen but that’s the standard score for smartphones running this particular Qualcomm Snapdragon processor model. It’s similar to the score we got with the Starmobile Icon which has the same processor if we’re not mistaken.

For other usage habits like reading and browsing you’ll get a near lag-free experience with the Cloudfone Thrill 450Q. It makes for a pretty good Instagram device since it’s easy to take out and shoot photos with since it isn’t too big.

>>> SEE ALSO: Cloudfone Thrill 450Q Unboxing Video

Speaking of photos let’s check out the camera on this thing.

Camera: Average Quality

The Cloudfone Thrill 450Q packs a 12.0-megapixel shooter as its primary camera. We took it around for some shots and we noticed that it takes pretty good macro shots but it does have issues dealing with subjects that are exposed to strong lighting. The washout is very noticeable.

Here are the sample shots:

Doesn’t do too bad in neutral or mid-level lighting though. It’s definitely good enough for hobbyist Instagramers out there and for those who just want to quickly capture memories with a simple photo.

Battery Life: Lacking. Thank You for the Free Powerbank!

As expected the Cloudfone Thrill 450Q didn’t too well in our battery tests, hehe. With just 1800mAh battery, this quad-core powered device just got us an average of 6-7 hours of mid-heavy usage. That’s below the usual 8 hours that we’ve gotten with other devices. Fortunately Cloudfone knew that this might be a problem for some people so they threw in a free 4,400mAh Power Bank. Problem solved, lol.

Note that we usually turn on everything when we do our tests. That’s 3G, Sync, Brightness at 60%, etc. If you’re going to conserve data usage, keep brightness lower, and turn off sync you’ll get more than 6 hours out of this thing before you need to start looking for the nearest wall outlet.

By the way, to get an idea of what the Power Bank looks like check out our initial unboxing post (with video) of the Cloudfone Thrill 450Q.

Verdict: Sleek, competitive, lightweight quad-core smartphone

So what’s the verdict? The Cloudfone Thrill 450Q is an excellent smartphone of choice for people who are looking for a slim, elegant, and easy-to-handle smartphone without breaking the bank. There are other alternatives out there but the main selling point here is the over-all hardware design of the device coupled with the free Power Bank and the competitive internals.

The Cloudfone Thrill 450Q is now out and retails for Php8,999.