Category: Mobile Phone
Release: 2015
Price: P6,490
Bought at: Lazada (Deliver to House)
2015– And here I thought smartphones couldn’t get any better whilst getting cheaper at the same time- well they just did! Enter the Alcatel Flash Plus, where to summarize, you’ll be getting a phone almost equivalent to the Samsung S5 for just P6,490! Sounds too good to be true? Well, better read further and see for yourself. As a techie guy, let me say that this is a phone that’s at least worth discussing.
WHERE TO BUY
Unfortunately, it’s already phased out in Lazada. But good news! It has a better successor named the Alcatel Flash Plus 2, which is better in terms of specs, and almost the same price!
UNBOXING
What’s in the box?
- Unit (screen protector already installed- good job!)
- USB Cable
- Charger
- Earphones w/ pouch bag
- Extra screen protector
- Manual and warranty card
- The box is pretty reminiscent of the Apple iPhone 6 box. Lol.
The unboxing itself was kinda fun. Everything was neat, clean and placed properly. It wasn’t the least bit crowded in the box- meaning with the ample space given to each part, it’s implied that each has been properly thought of and has been handled with utmost care. Almost like there’s love there, yeah?
The headset / earphones, which have awesome sound quality by the way, are placed in a neat grey velvet pouch bag. The charger is what you would make of the average type, yet I find the USB cable a bit short.
So what’s so special about this phone anyway? What about it made me sell my 9-month old, perfectly working Sony Xperia M2 for cheap, to buy this? For starters, its score with AnTuTu Benchmark– an app that quantifies an Android gadget’s performance, is more than twice my old phone. As you can see in the diagram below, it’s just below the Samsung S5 and surpasses the Google Nexus 5, LG G3 and HTC One.
My Sony Xperia M2’s score was just around 18,000
Being just 8mm thin whilst sporting a 16M color 720p 5.5″ screen, it packs quite a punch with its 1.5Ghz Octa-Core processor, 16GB ROM, 2GB RAM, Mali-T760MP2 GPU, 13MP main camera, 8MP front camera, 3,500mAh battery and 4G/LTE capabilities. It’s also dual-standby dual SIM. It’s currently running on 4.4 Android KitKat but is said to have a Lollipop upgrade soon. That said, the phone is pretty responsive!
FULL SPECIFICATIONS
(Screenshot from GSMArena.com)
Right side: SIM 2 slot, Volume buttons, Lock button
Bottom: USB port
Left Side: SIM 1 slot, MicroSD slot
Top: Headset / Earphones slot
POST-USAGE COMMENTS
I’ve been using this for more than a week now, and I have a few things to say: I like it! Responsiveness is key for a smooth and fluid smartphone experience and it excels in that aspect. The large, bright and crispy screen makes for a wonderful reading and gaming time. Speakers are loud and proud. The earphones are good- it justifies the lows, mids and highs well enough for my musical taste.
Gaming and video playback? I’m pretty content because I can now play Final Fantasy: Dissidia smoothly with the PSP emulator! Basing from this, other high-end games are sure to be playable in this phone. I also tried loading and viewing my 1080p anime in the phone and it plays just fine. I might even be tempted to watch my anime here instead on long commutes.
Being the obsessive-compulsive person that I am, how the UI (user interface) looks and how much of it can be customized are very essential to me. The original launcher didn’t quite cut it for me, so I went back to my old favorite: the Go Launcher Z. You never go wrong with this launcher! That said, I also love the UI of the stock music player- it’s fast, minimalistic, yet it lets you navigate through your files with ease.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH IT?
Up until now, it’s all been praises for the Alcatel Flash Plus. But is it really all that? Well, like everything in this world, nothing is perfect. So what’s crappy about this phone, and what do I personally don’t like about it?
My number one complaint would be the camera- sure, it has great quality ONLY when there is good lighting. Otherwise, in really dark environments, it’s just pointless to use it. It also lacks features! Features I need e.g. main camera self-timer (it has front camera timer though) and REAL HDR feature. Its current HDR feature is a joke- its effect is just like adding more contrast and sharpness to the picture taken. And I’m missing my Sony Xperia M2 because of this.
It also doesn’t support long-exposure shots, manual control for shutter speed as well as manual focus, which makes the photographer in me really sad. Sigh. For the record, the Alcatel does focus faster and I like the front camera for group selfies- it’s wide and can hold a bit in low light conditions.
Other than that, everything is smooth sailing. And I really can’t complain much- it’s only a friggin’ PHP6,490 / $150 smartphone, for Christ’s sake! The phone really is more than enough for its price vs. all the others.
SAMPLE PHOTOS
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