Cherry Mobile W900 launched; 4-inch, 1.2GHz for Php10k

Just hours before the SGSIII was announced last Friday, Cherry Mobile finally launched the Dragon Phone (we previously covered it here). Cherry Mobile Product Manager, Lonson Alejandrino explained the key features of the newly launched smartphone and answered questions fielded by the media.

While he was discussing the features of the handset, a model unit was passed around for everyone to have a closer look at the device. My first impression with the W900 is that it closely resembles the design of BlackBerry Storm as the top and bottom part of the phone is tapered with a flat back portion.

It comes in two colors, black with gold accent and white. The glossy all plastic design of the W900 is a fingerprint magnet, especially at the back. The Dragon phone runs on Android Gingerbread but looks totally different from the Gingerbread on the Magnum 2X that I had with me at the time of the event. On the right side of the phone, there’s a switch for what is called Eco-Mode that is basically a power-saving feature of the W900. We’ll discuss the other feature of the phone on our full review.

Also present at the launch was Qualcomm’s Regional Head Mr. Mantosh Malhotra to discuss some of the things that we can look forward from the processor manufacturer and answer some questions regarding their products.

He mentioned that the Snapdragon is not just a processor but is a System-On-Board dubbed the Qualcomm Single Chip solution (QSC). This means that Qualcomm has integrated numerous capabilities in one highly capable chip. According to him this is the reason why OEMs like Cherry Mobile was able to manufacture low budget smartphones with decent specs. Mr. Malhotra said that, Qualcomm takes the load off from manufacturers like Cherry Mobile by making sure that all the functionality they need to make a smartphone is on one chip instead of multiple chips from different chip manufacturer and putting it altogether. He also mentioned that Qualcomm plans to make 1GHz as a standard for all the chips in the future and would continue working with Cherry Mobile to come up with exciting new phones that fits the Filipino budget.

When asked about what sets the W900 apart from other Android handset in the market, Mr. Alejandrino said that there’s really nothing out of the ordinary about the specs of the Dragon Phone. As with our other products it really all boils down to competitive product pricing. For a 4 inch phone with decent specs, 10 thousand peso price tag is really a great deal for our budget-conscious market. But will the Php9,999USD 170INR 14,445EUR 162CNY 1,241 price tag of the Dragon Phone enough to reel in potential buyers?

We’ll soon find out if the phone is worth your hard-earned cash on our full review of the Cherry Mobile W900.