Dragon Product Review: Cherry Mobile Fusion Bolt Quad Core Tablet (White)

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Gadget tragedy happened to my family last month. Raffy’s iPod 5 suddenly stopped working on the eve of her birthday and when I bought it to the Apple service center I was told that Apple will not replace products that are dented, even if it is still under warranty. ???. Raffy worked so hard to buy this and now this?!
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It was then I decided to get a reasonably priced Or budget tablet for her to use for the meantime, until she can raise the money for another apple product ?. I thought a nice 7″ Budget tablet would do just as well and I started my research on a nice credible budget tablet and my search lead me to the Cherry Mobile Fusion Bolt priced at 3,999php one peso shy of 4,000php.

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The Specs as stated in the box.
Released just March 2013. This 7″tablet boast of not single, not double but quad core! If you are like me and have no idea what this actually means go here. And since I am no techie I only cared if the tablet would be fast enough to play racing games and videos, has an expandable memory up to 32gig, I thought ok.
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I bought the white one which looks much cleaner than the classic black.

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Aside from the unit itself, a instruction manual, warranty card and this charger. Yeah I personalized it a bit. The charger tips reminds me a lot of my Nokia clamp charger. Lol
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Front and back view
The Fusion Bolt has a textured back that really helps when you hold it for a period if time. Although I have to say in a way it looks sleek at the front and not so much from the back. The Cherry Mobile logo looks like it’s going to come off after a few days. The screen protector it came with leaves a lot of finger prints when using, I could replace it but, I just can’t find one that actually fits the screen, so I left it on bubbles and scuffs as is. For that price I guess looks doesn’t really matter.
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The buttons of this 7″ tablet orientation is set horizontally which really puts me off since I did plan on using this as a reader more than a game player. The charger slot location seem a bit awkward. I didn’t know where to put the charger tip at first since the slots with that of the headphones are so close together.

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Shot side by side with my trusty IPad 2.
I do like how the screen is so beautiful.

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High definition videos look awesome while playing. But the camera 2mp camera it came with is a piece of junk not worth talking about. Scrolling through emails and social networking size is difficult and more often that not I end up opening files that I really don’t need to read.
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Raffy reading an e-book
This is my first android, so I needed time to adjust to how the Fusion Bolt works in comparison to an Apple product. The day after I got it I took it back to the store. Why? Coz i didn’t press the button properly it got stuck on the Cherry Mobile logo and won’t turn on properly. So the customer assistant have me a few tips. One of which is not to use the Fusion Bolt while charging. Which is great advice since I am so used to phone and tablets functioning well while charging. (Sigh) The battery life is not what thu promised. It last me with just browsing and watching short videos for 6 hours.

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My Jar involved with his smurfs
These are some I learned on my own while using the Fusion Bolt. I did not add anything special or charge the firmware of the unit. I don’t want to compromise the warranty and am too lazy to actually learn how. ?

1. When turning on the unit you need to press hard and when the logo FUSION BOLT appears and then disappears you can release the on button and the Cherry Mobile logo. This means it is turns on properly. Unlike the IPad which doesn’t really turn off but goes to sleep, the Fusion Bolt can be turned off.
2. Charge the Fusion Bolt as soon as the alert button sound off or at least 15%. Because in some units that shut off completely and never turn back on again after.
3. The Fusion Bolt will be hot when charged and when using wifi. This surprised me a lot since I use my iPad 2 all the time and it never gets warm or not noticeable enough. ( the Fusion Bolt growing warm has become a pet peeve for me).
4. Put the Fusion Bolt to sleep when not in use, turn off the wifi not only to conserve the battery and also so the unit won’t overheat.
5. The Fusion Bolt should have the camera at the right size when the orientation is vertical for better wifi signal. I made the mistake of flipping it over in the end I had shoddy wifi signal.

Plus:
Sturdy built
Nice Display and Screen Resolution
Lightweight
Mini-HDMI port
Expandable USB port up to 32g
Quad-Core processor
Budget Friendly Price

Minus:
There are times that navigation isn’t smooth enough
No Bluetooth
USB OTG is a hit and miss really
Low Resolution camera

Although I have a lot of complaints about the Fusion Bolt, I find that I can live with some of it’s flaws. I will be satisfied with this gadget if I it will survive my household for at least 3 years. Coz the kids will making full use of it.

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Until next time!

Muah! – joeydragonlady ?

For more info on the Fusion Bolt: cherrymobile.com.ph/products/smart-social/fusion-bolt/

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