The Cherry Mobile Flare 3 Review

The Cherry Mobile Flare was released in 2012 which became a gamechanger in the local mobile phone industry. Its specs were unbeatable for its price: 4-inch display, Qualcomm Dual-Core Processor, 4GB Internal Storage with MicroSD expansion, 512MB RAM, and a 5.0 Megapixel camera for only Php 3,999.00. It ended the reign of the Samsung Galaxy Y which used to be the most popular sub-6k smartphone during that year. Since then, different variations of the Flare have come out, and I thought there won’t be a new Flare  to top-off the Flare 2.0’s specs. I was wrong.

CM Flare 3 02

Last month, Cherry Mobile held an event to introduce their Pinoy App Shop and Awesome 5 ng Bayan phones, and when they announced their 5th Awesome phone in their lineup, it dawned on me that once again, the Philippines’ number 1 local phone brand has a new phone model that would change the game again in the industry – the Cherry Mobile Flare 3, Ang Phablet ng Bayan.

 

CHERRY MOBILE FLARE 3 SPECS:
OS: Android 4.4 (KitKat)
Processor: 1.3 GHz Quad-Core MediaTek MT6582 processor | MALI 400 MP GPU
Display: 540 x 960 pixels 5-inch qHD IPS Display
Wireless Connections: HSDPA+, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS w/ A-GPS, FM Radio
Memory: 8GB Internal Storage expandable with a MicroSD up to 32GB, 1GB RAM
Connectors: Micro USB port
Camera: 8.0 Megapixels Auto-Focus with LED flash (Main), 3.0 Megapixels (Front)
SIM Card Slot: 1x Regular SIM 1x MicroSIM required
Battery: 1,980 mAh
Cherry Mobile Flare 3 Price: Php 3,999.00

 

THE UNBOXING

CM Flare 3 03

The package of the Cherry Mobile Flare 3 comes with the phone, USB Charging Cable, USB Charger Head, In-Ear Earphones, and the User Manual.

THE LOOKS AND FEEL

CM Flare 3 04

If you have owned the 2 previous versions of the Flare, there is no doubt you will find the obvious changes made on the Flare 3. The phone is bigger and a bit heavier than the Flare 2.0 but they almost have the same thickness (unfortunately I don’t have the dimensions of the Flare 3 and I couldn’t find my caliper to measure it.) Also noticeable are the reduced bezels on the screen of the Flare 3 which made it possible to fit a 5-inch display in a compact size. It perfectly fits inside my jeans pocket too! The back cover is slightly curved which makes it comfortable to hold, though the black matte cover that came with my unit is a fingerprint magnet.  The back cover is available in 4 other colors: Red, Blue, Silver & White. The Flare 3 still looks quite attractive despite of its basic looks, but the choices of back covers and flip covers will definitely give it more personality.

Here are some comparison photos among the 3 Generations of the Cherry Mobile Flare:

CM Flare 123 A

CM Flare 123 B

CM Flare 123 C

THE DISPLAY

Parang kakainin ni Louis Litt si Harvey Specter hehe #Suits

Parang kakainin ni Louis Litt si Harvey Specter hehe #Suits

The first reason why the Flare 3 is a game changing smartphone? A 5-inch display for under 4k! Previous generations of the Flare are stuck with 4-inch displays but there has been a demand for larger screen sizes now that smartphone users watch more videos on their smartphones than in previous years. Viewing pictures, playing games and watching videos is absolutely better on a 5-inch display, and to be honest, sometimes I forget that I’m doing these things with the Flare 3. What I’m trying to say is, the screen is pretty good for its price!

THE SOFTWARE

CM Flare 3 06

The Flare 3 runs on Android 4.4 KitKat without any special UI, which is good because it makes it faster to use. What I noticed “absent” in the Flare 3’s software is the Cherry Mobile Start, which can be seen in the Flare HD. Have they stopped implementing Start to the newer phones? You can also download homegrown apps from the new Pinoy App Shop. Most of them are free I believe, so I encourage everyone who owns or plans to buy a Flare 3 to download their apps. Support Filipino App Developers!

THE PERFORMANCE

CM Flare 3 07

The previous 2 generations of the Flare were powered by Qualcomm’s low-cost Dual-Core and Quad-Core processors. Other variations of the Flare have used MTK processors so it’s no surprise that they’ve chosen MTK to power the Flare 3. What I find interesting here is the use of MT6582 which is quite popular nowadays and as far as I know, this must be the lowest priced smartphone to use that processor. Let me remind you that the Flare 3 is powered by MT6582 and not a MT6582M which is different.

CM Flare 3 08

With 1GB of RAM and Android 4.4 KitKat as the choice OS of the Flare 3, performance is undeniably fluid. I played Real Racing 3 and NBA2K14 for hours and it didn’t show any hiccups. The sound from these games are okay, but in general, the quality is poor. I can rarely hear it ring when placed on top of my table and its alarm failed to wake me up for a few days. Aside from having KitKat as the OS, another game changing spec of the Flare 3 is the inclusion of a 8GB Internal Storage instead of the usual 1GB. I was able to install both games, each requiring 1GB on the device without a memory card.

THE CAMERA

CM Flare 3 09

Cherry Mobile also made some game changing adjustments in the camera department, swapping their usual 5 Megapixel with a 8 Megapixel camera. Photos taken outdoors may look okay with the naked eye, but a closer look would show some colors that appear to be washed out. Indoor photos with HDR isn’t quite impressive either.

Here are some sample photos:

Cherry Mobile Flare 3 Photo 1

Cherry Mobile Flare 3 Photo 2

Cherry Mobile Flare 3 Photo 3

Cherry Mobile Flare 3 Photo 4

The Flare 3 is also equipped with a LED flash, and though it can be helpful sometimes to other people, I actually found it weak:

Cherry Mobile Flare 3 Photo 5

I’m a bit disappointed with the Flare 3’s camera’s performance but that’s just me, a power user. Ordinary users might find the camera okay given its low price.

BATTERY LIFE

CM Flare 3 10

The Cherry Mobile Flare was equipped with a 1,450 mAh battery, and the Flare 2 was slightly improved to 1,600 mAh. The Flare 3’s battery got a big upgrade with a capacity of 1,980 mAh. Di pa ginawang 2,000! hehehe! It would be really silly to maintain a small battery capacity to support a 5-inch display so I applaud Cherry Mobile for making the adjustment.

So how did it fare during my review? Busy days that involve 1 hour of gaming, usual phone calls, emails, social networking, would drain my battery in 7 hours. Less busy days that involve social networking via WiFi could reach around 11-12 hours.

DR’S CONCLUSION

CM Flare 3 11

Despite of the low speaker sound and sub-par camera, the Cherry Mobile Flare 3 Phablet must be the most pleasant 3,999 smartphone I’ve ever reviewed. I love the large bright screen, it’s slick performance, it’s built-in storage all for only Php 3,999.00! I would recommend this to those who are new to the wonderful world of Android as well as Intermediate users, but Advanced users will definitely be disappointed with the speaker quality and camera.

YAYS!

  • 5-inch Display
  • Slick performance
  • 8GB Internal Storage
  • Android KitKat

NAYS

  • Low Speaker Quality
  • Sub-par Camera

 

 

2 Comments
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  1. Reply
    ann cristin granzore August 29, 2014 at 12:49 am

    i hope i win!!
    Gooo!!

  2. Bat po ang hina makasagap ng wifi phone ko? Cherry Mobile Flare 3. Pag lumayo ako ng konti sa modem humihina ng humihina. Patulong pls

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