CloudFone Thrill Access vs HD vs Lite : Price, Specs, Key Features

Been hearing lots of good things from my readers about CloudFone's 2016 midrange Android smartphones since last summer.

"Sir Mark, check out CF's new Thrill handsets. They're noteworthy."

"It seems CloudFone has decided to make their mid-level devices far better in terms of design and specs."

"Have you CloudFone's new metal-clad smartphones, Mark? I'm sure you'll find them attractive."

Even my friends from competing handset companies tell me that CloudFone is doing rather well in the market these days.

Frankly, I haven't had the chance to play with CF's newer handset releases as I've been very busy working on my upcoming projects.

So a couple of weeks ago, at the SM Cyber Month kick-off event, I decided to swing by CloudFone's booth and checked out their new phone models.

"These are our best-selling midrange Android smartphones currently," the friendly CF sales staff told me.

"From the most affordable to most expensive (L-R), the CloudFone Thrill Lite, Thrill HD, and Thrill Access," he added.

All handsets feature a removable anodized aluminum back plate, which I found rather surprising considering their very wallet-friendly prices. Needless to say, the design and build of these phones are two of their main highlights or selling points.

Now, allow me to go through each of the handset's key technical specifications.

With price tag of only Php 1,999, CloudFone Thrill Lite sports a 5-inch FWVGA display, 5 MegaPixel main camera at the back with f/2.2 aperture and LED flash, VGA front cam, and a 2,000 mAh battery pack.

Inside the shell, this Dual SIM phone runs its Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS with a 1.3 GHz Quad Core MediaTek MT6580 chipset, has 512 MB of RAM, and comes with 8GB of expandable storage.

Like the Thrill Lite, Php 2,999 CloudFone Thrill HD also runs its Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS with a 1.3 GHz Quad Core MediaTek MT6580 processor, has a removable 2,000 mAh battery pack, and comes with 8GB of expandable storage.

However, this Dual SIM 3G-enabled handset has more RAM - 1GB, to be exact, a higher resolution 5-inch HD display, and more powerful dual cameras - 8MP f/2.0 at the back plus a 2MP f/2.8 snapper in front.

The most expensive and - for me - the most interesting of this bunch is the CloudFone Thrill Access, which was launched nationwide just last June.

This one sells for Php 4,999 and for that amount, you can already enjoy more than decent features and technical specifications.

This Dual SIM 4G-enabled smartphone features a 5-inch HD IPS display protected by scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass panel, 8 MegaPixel autofocus main camera with LED flash, 5 MP selfie cam in front, Full HD video recorder, GPS, and a removable 2,500 mAh Li-Po battery pack.

At its heart, it runs its Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS with a 64-Bit Quad Core MediaTek MT6735 chipset, has 2GB of RAM for multitasking (believe it!), and comes with 16GB of expandable storage.

To be honest, I left the booth that day fairly impressed with these smartphones. You guys are right. CloudFone has indeed stepped on the gas and accelerated considerably in giving its new handsets attractive selling points. Thumbs up, CF! Here's to hoping other emerging Pinoy handset brands would follow suit.