Starmobile Flirt Initial Impressions: Looks Gorgeous, Has a lot of Potential

We go hands-on with the Starmobile Flirt!

Starmobile Flirt Initial Review and Hands-on

The Starmobile Flirt was announced yesterday and it boasted of having Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out-of-the-box as well as a 12-megapixel shooter with Backside Illumination technology (BSI). Personally my expectations about the image quality are high especially since the Starmobile Crystal had one of the best cameras we’ve tested for smartphones under Php8,000. People were quick to point out though that the 512MB RAM was dangerously lacking HOWEVER we can’t make that call without bunch of tests and real life usage. There are still a lot of factors including the processor, GPU, and over-all software optimization. We’ll know for sure after we’ve put the Flirt through the paces. For now though we’d like to share with you guys our initial impressions as we were able to play around with a demo unit for a little less than half an hour.

Here’s the complete and updated spec sheet:

Starmobile Flirt Spec Sheet

1GHz Dual-core MTK6577 Processor
Enhanced IMG SGX 531 GPU
512MB RAM
4GB ROM, expandable via microSD up to 32GB
4.5-inch IPS Display, QHD Resolution (around ~220 pixels per inch)
12.0-megapixel rear-facing camera BSI with LED Flash
3.0-megapixel front-facing camera BSI
WiFi, WiFi Hotspot, Bluetooth, 3G, GPS
Dual SIM, Dual Standby
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
Free with 8GB microSD card and Screen Protector
1,700mAh battery (extra battery to be sold under Php500)
Comes in Ultra Blue and Ultra Red colors
Pre-installed with apps
Price: Php9,290

Slim and lightweight profile

The first thing we noticed and liked about the Starmobile Flirt after picking it up was its form factor. The Flirt simply looks gorgeous! At just 9.5mm thick the Flirt is one of the thinnest local branded Android devices under Php10,000. Despite the “thinness” the Flirt still looked ever so capable and powerful due to the 4.5-inch IPS screen.

It's sezzy! Lives up to the "Flirt" name! — It’s sezzy! Lives up to the “Flirt” name!

Black glass flows seamlessly into the back shell.

For more personality and flavor, the Starmobile Flirt comes in two colors: Ultra Blue and Ultra Red. Obviously the Ultra Red is more for women since it leans towards more a pinkish shade. Ultra Blue looks promising for men (they just have to get over the fact that the name of the phone is “Flirt”).

Smooth and responsive user experience with basic functions

Based on our few minutes with it, the over-all user experience was smooth, responsive, and fast. However note that we barely scratched the surface. We didn’t try out games, live wall papers, and widgets. The core functions though like basic animations and transitions were all buttery smooth. Again this is mainly due to the dual-core processor and Android Jelly Bean 4.1.

Camera is very promising with BSI

Apparently the reason why the 8-megapixel shooter of the Starmobile Crystal stood out was because it had Backside Illumination technology (BSI) which helps a lot with lighting. Starmobile uses the same technology with an ever better sensor (12-megapixel) with the Starmobile Flirt.

12-megapixel shooter with LED flash and BSI at the back

What happened to Starmobile “D”?

Starmobile uses a standard naming convention for their products that follows the alphabet. They started with the Astra, Bright, and Crystal. They skipped “D” though and went with the Starmobile Energy and then now the Starmobile Flirt. It makes you wonder whatever happened to Starmobile “D”. Hopefully there’s a delay because it’s going to be kick ass. 😛

Full Review Coming Soon

We’re already in line to get a Starmobile Flirt. Expect the initial unboxing by next week followed by the full review (with tons of photos). It should be available in selected kiosks this Friday. They’re also going to offer it on the online shopping site, Zalora.