Alcatel Flash 2 Review

Performance and Benchmarks

With its 1.3GHz Octa-core chipset from MediaTek plus 2GB of RAM, performance is great throughout. UI animations and transitions are smooth and multitasking is a breeze. Casual usage shouldn’t be a chore while intensive gaming is somehow mixed bag depending on the app. Compatibility is also not an issue here.

Here are the benchmark scores of the Flash 2:

• Antutu v5.7 – 34957
• Geekbench – 622 (Single-core), 2902 (Multi-core)
• PC Mark – 3843
• Quadrant Standard – 17190
• Vellamo – 2883 (Chrome), 1526 (Multicore), 940 (Metal)

Battery temperature gets warm during heavy usage. We recorded a 59.6°C spike after playing Asphalt 8 for about 30 minutes.

Connectivity and Call Quality

From using the Flash 2 as a daily driver for a week, I find the earpiece to be soft during calls but the microphone, thanks to active noise cancellation, is able to pick up voice clearly with no problems at the other end of the line.

LTE cellular connectivity is fully supported by local telcos. There’s also Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0 onboard. It lacks NFC chip but use of NFC is still rare in the Philippines.

Battery Life

Powered by a 3000mAh non-removable Li-ion battery, you can expect the Flash 2 to last for a whole day. As mentioned earlier, I did use the Flash 2 as my daily driver and my everyday smartphone use includes texting, short calls, mobile browsing whenever in traffic or the LRT/MRT, and constant Wi-Fi connection if at home. And for most of the time, I was able to last throughout a long day with enough juice to check out Facebook before plugging in.

With PC Mark battery test, the device scored 7 hours and 4 minutes while with our traditional battery video loop test with 1080p video, 50% brightness and in airplane mode, it was able to last approximately 10 straight hours.

Conclusion

For just Php 6,190, you’ll get an Android smartphone offering LTE, quality HD screen, and superb build. The camera might not perform well in all scenarios but it is acceptable given the price of the device. If you’re a first time smartphone buyer or looking for a new mid-range device for your awaited upgrade, the Alcatel Flash 2 is definitely a good buy. You can purchase it through Lazada only and it comes with a free flip cover, screen protector, and Smart LTE SIM.

Alcatel Flash 2 specs:
5-inch IPS LCS (1280 x 720 pixels), 294ppi
1.3GHz MediaTek MT6753 Octa-core processor
Mali-T720MP3
2GB of RAM
16GB internal storage, expandable via microSD up to 128GB
13-megapixel phase detection autofocus rear camera w/ dual tone LED flash
5-megapixel front-facing camera w/ LED flash
Dual-SIM / Dual-standby
HSPA / LTE Cat4
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth v4.0 w/ A2DP
GPS w/ A-GPS
3000mAh Li-Ion non-removable battery
Android 5.1 Lollipop

What we liked about it:

• Great build
• Quality display
• Smooth performance

What we didn’t like:

• Quirky touch response
• Slow camera performance
• Software bugs