Hankering for a Phone: Cherry Mobile W100

A lot has happened in the mobile phone industry since my last post. The success of Android OS phones for one has given people with less dough options to the iconic, and still ever expensive Apple iPhone. The way technology is moving, even those on a strict budget can purchase multi-touch screen capable, 1Ghz processor powered phones on the cheap. One of the latest to be announced in the Philippines is the W100 by Cherry Mobile. 

Cherry Mobile W100 Specifications: 
Dual Sim / Dual Standby
3.5-inch HVGA (320x480) IPS Display
Android 2.3 Gingerbread
Qualcomm MSM7X27A Snapdragon S1 1GHz Single-Core Processor
Adreno 200 GPU
512MB of RAM
512MB of internal storage
Micro SD up to 32GB
3.2MP Camera with LED flash (Main) VGA Camera (Front)
Quad band GSM 850/ 900/ 1800/ 1900
3G/ UMTS 2100
Motion Sensor / 5-Point Touchscreen
Bluetooth / WiFi Hotspot / GPS
MP3 / Multimedia Player / FM Radio
3.5mm Headset Jack / 2.0 Micro USB
Li-ion 1,400mAh Battery
Talk time: Up to 6 hours
Standby time: Up to 200 hours
117 x 62 x 12.9mm (dimension)

While I can't exactly post a user review, I've been able to handle the phone several times at the Cherry Mobile Kiosk in SM Megamall Cyberzone. Some comments:

• It feels plasticky. The housing itself seems to be made of a brittle plastic, which I guess is what you get for the price. The white version looks a little less plasticky though, but I guess this is really somewhat subjective. 
• The HVGA 3.5 inch screen, which on paper seems like a great deal, seems a bit poorly made. The icons are noticeably pixelated. My current phone, a Galaxy 5, which is only QVGA, handles photos and android graphics better. 
• When charging, the phone is effectively unusable. Touch screen is all over the place. Cherry Mobile sales people say that this is something inherent in all their Android devices, but honestly I've never heard of such a problem affecting any other brand of phone running droid. 

If you're interested in reading user reviews and other comments, follow the W100 user thread on Tipidcp.com here.

If you're not too picky about the build quality, and you're ok with the graphics that the W100 has, it promises to be a good buy for Php 3,499. Dual Sim, dual camera, with 3G capabilities, running Gingerbread. Not bad at all.