Cloudfone Next Review - The Next Smartphone in your Arsenal?

It has been over a week since I received my purchase of the Cloudfone Next from Lazada, which I feel is more than sufficient to navigate through the phone and go through the paces and see what Cloudfone’s latest flagship is capable of. The question remains, is it worthy of being labeled as a local flagship phone? This review just comes from the point of view of a user who took his chances and bought the unit when reviews were scarce and only available through an online retailer.

The Package

The Cloudfone Next comes with the standard phone-charger-cable-headphones ensemble, but they also threw in a few freebies like the jelly case, a screen protector, and a faux leather case [which I did not use], but that’s a matter of preference.

Before we go further, here are the specs:

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 octa-core processor

GPU: Adreno 505

RAM: 4GB of RAM

Display: 5.2-inch full HD display with 2.5D glass Gorilla Glass 3 protection, 1920 x 1080 resolution

Internal Storage: 32 GB Internal, expandable via MicroSD card [up to 128GB]

Main Camera:  16-megapixel rear camera with f/2.0 aperture, Samsung ISOCELL S5K3P3 sensor, PDAF and LED flash

Front Camera: 8-megapixel front camera with flash

SIM: Dual-SIM, micro

Mobile Data: 3G/HSPA+/4G LTE

Other Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, Fingerprint scanner

Battery: 3000 mAh with Quick Charge support

Android Version: Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow

Specs-wise, this is a really beefy flagship for a local phone with a nice look and feel to it. The phone has a metal back and the 2.5D glass is a nice touch. It doesn’t feel premium, the way you’d think of the iPhones, or the Note series, no. This is similar to how you’d consider the Zenfone line to be premium. In short, it has a midrange look, which is not a bad thing at all.

I have also dropped the phone once from about waist-high and I’m happy to report that it is still in one piece with no damage on the phone itself. This accidental drop test was not planned, since this is my own phone and have no intent to get it damaged, but was pleasantly surprised to a sturdy phone in that department.

Up top is the 3.5 mm audio jack for your earphones, while the right side of the phone has the volume rocker, and power buttons, respectively. Down at the bottom are speaker grilles and the micro USB port. Also, below the screen, instead of capacitive buttons, lies the fingerprint reader [more on that in a bit].

Audio and Video

The full HD IPS display on the Cloudfone Next gives it a very crisp and clear with good contrast. It has nice viewing angles, and it was a joy to go through my Facebook feed, play games, and watch YouTube videos. The audio is a bit too soft for my liking, and the speakers are a relative downer. Bring your headphones for a better experience.

Call quality is fair, nothing out of the ordinary in my experience, as the caller was audible when taking calls while I was heard fairly easily on the other end as well [cellphone signal notwithstanding].

General Usage

Navigating through the apps, and handling multiple apps at the same time is a breeze thanks to the generous amount of RAM on this model. It was smooth sailing switching between apps, and up to this point, has not triggered any lockups or lags in performance. Cloudfone used an almost stock copy of Marshmallow, just doing away with the app drawer, similar to MIUI, with their stock launcher.

Gaming

I’ve tested a handful of games on the phone and was pleasantly surprised at how smooth it was handled. From Asphalt 8, to Pokemon Go, VainGlory, NBA 2K17 and NBA Live Mobile, all these games work out beautifully. Even with a screen recording app in tow, playing on the Next was smooth, and did not show any difficulty in rendering the games even when set to their respective high settings.

See these sample videos for reference:

                                           

                                            

                                           

Camera Performance

I’m no photography expert, and I prefer to just show my samples and let you take a look for yourself on how the camera performed. For what it’s worth, it is a more than capable shooter outdoors, and in great light, and thanks to the LED flash on both front and back cameras, it is fairly decent in low light. Noise is a bit more evident on low light photos, but is definitely decent, especially in this range.

You can check out the samples on this link: Cloudfone Next Samples

 

Here's a sample video I took while on the road using the Cloudfone Next:

Battery Life

This is another area where the Next shines through quite well. While only sporting a 3000 mAh battery, it still manages to get an average of close to 8-10 hours of screen time, which is a term I use for when you regularly use the phone for social media, games, and web browsing. For the past week, I’ve been able to play with the phone, and have not been drained of battery even when I was walking around Eastwood during the Pokemon Go Halloween event [with data, GPS, and the screen constantly active].

This I feel is where Qualcomm's line of Snapdragon SoCs are still leaps and bounds ahead of the Mediatek SoC. Even when going against Mediatek's Helio X20, battery efficiency still is better on Qualcomm's end.

If you end up needing to charge, it is a pleasant surprise that this phone is equipped with Quick Charge 3.0 as well, and it goes from 10-100% from 45 minutes to an hour, 1 hour 5 minutes tops in my overall experience with it so far. The phone does get a little warm during this process, as common with a lot of phones with quick charge technology. Nothing blew up in the process.

Fingerprint Reader

The Next's fingerprint module was quick and responsive, and did not have any problems enrolling and recognizing the fingerprints enrolled. As an added perk, you can unlock your phone while the screen is off from the fingerprint module. 

Verdict

The Cloudfone Next is well-equipped to be a daily-driver phone, with decent specs, good overall performance and excellent battery life, and a fairly affordable price tag for what it offers. This phone is definitely worth a look if you are on a fairly tight budget, but want good internals that would be relevant for games and most apps for about 3-4 years. Not bad for the price.

As of this writing, it is available through Lazada, which ensures availability and you can always opt for Cash on Delivery if you're a bit skeptical about online shopping, and/or divulging any sensitive banking/credit card information online.

Links included below for reference.

Cloudfone Next
Gray: http://ho.lazada.com.ph/SHIx0s
Gold: http://ho.lazada.com.ph/SHIx2G

Angry Birds released nth version and calls it Angry Birds 2

While looking around the Play Store, I saw a new game frim Rovio called Angry Birds 2. So, apparently all those versions and iterations are all considered to be part 1.

That sure rivals The Sims with the number of add-ons and versions.

Lazada Exclusive Cubix Cube initial look - cheapest phone with 2GB RAM

As more and more companies are joining the Android bandwagon, it is only to be expected that better specced phones are being offered for lower prices. This was initially introduced by local brands like myPhone and Cherry Mobile, but in recent months, even notable brands like Asus, Acer, Huawei, and Xiaomi have thrown their names into the hat, making the mid-range market an even more competitive market. This, definitely benefits us, the consumers. 

Not to let themselves get lost in the race is Cherry Mobile, who, after being part of the Android One initiative with myPhone a few months back launched two mobile phones to look forward to: The Cubix Cube, which is an online exclusive via Lazada, and the Flare X.

Here's a quick specification overview of the Cubix Cube:

Cubix Cube specs:
5-inch HD IPS On-Cell display, 1280 x 720 @294ppi
1.4Ghz MediaTek MT6592M octa-core processor
ARM Mali-450MP4
2GB RAM
Expandable 16GB internal storage
Supports up to 64GB MicroSD card
13MP rear camera w/ LED flash
5MP front
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
3G HSPA+
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS
2,000mAh battery

The first thing that pops out to me is the RAM. Cherry Mobile [along with other local handset brands] have released Octacore phones to much fanfare since last year. It is only now that someone upped the ante by raising the memory from the typical 1GB to 2GB. This helps out greatly in multitasking and memory intensive applications, which would mean that it would be a much smoother Android experience for the user. 

The screen is a pleasant surprise, as it is a 5-inch, IPS display, which guarantees fairly good viewing angles. Although it should be noted that none of the reference materials regarding this model indicates that this is a scratch-proof solution a la Gorilla Glass, so no practicing of car keys or dropping is recommended.

Internal storage is a pleasant surprise, as 16GB is an ample storage for your initial experience, allowing you to install many apps without worry that the internal space would run out, the latter being a common problem with budget smartphones. To help further, storage is expandable via the microSD slot [up to 64GB].

Not all is rosy out here though, as the glossy back cover attracts fingerprints and smudges. Also, some people might consider the dilemma that this phone does not have LTE, but that should only be an issue if you rely on data connectivity a lot and if your location has a good LTE signal. HSPA+ is fairly decent for the most part. Lastly would be the battery, which seem to be a bit on the low end at only 2000mAH. It would be interesting to see how optimized the software is to maximize the limited battery.

Pros:
- octa-core processor
- high RAM [2GB]
- good GPU
- good, clear display [HD IPS]
- default internal storage at 16GB [vs. typical budget phone storage of 2-8 GB]

Cons:
- battery is quite low for a relatively high-octane device
- glossy back cover is prone to fingerprint smudges
- no LTE [limited to HSPA+]

All-in-all, I think it is a very good deal considering the plusses it brings to the table, and for the price [P4,490]. It is a great offer to be had if you're looking for a new phone with decent specs without breaking your budget.

If you're looking at getting one, you can get it on this link, since as noted above, it is a Lazada exclusive item: Cherry Mobile Cubix Cube

How to Turn off In-App Purchases in Android Devices

1.)    Open the Google Play Store app.

2.)    Select “Menu” and then “Settings”.

3.)    Look under “User Controls” and select the option to “Set or Change PIN”.

4.)    Enter your preferred code twice and make sure to check the box next to “Use PIN for Purchases”. This would ensure that no one would accidentally spend money inside apps without knowing the passcode.