The Cherry Mobile Thunder versus the Lenovo A800

Earlier this month we put Lenovo's A800 on our recommended list of low cost smartphones. Why? The A800 combined a MediaTek chipset with a PowerVR SGX531 graphics chip with a large 4.5-inch display with a lower FWVGA resolution (480 x 854), instead of the qHD (540 x 960) you find on most of its competition. Why is lower resolution a benefit. While MediaTek chipset with a PowerVR SGX531 is the performance king with the low cost handsets, it is not fast by todays standards. Mating it with a FWVGA display will give it substantially higher 3D performance than if it came in a phone with a qHD display. Basically, a trade off between a sharper image and performance.

The Lenovo A800 was also reasonable priced at Php6,999 and had a bigger battery than most of its competition.

What a difference a few weeks makes. Cherry Mobile launched its Thunder with a MediaTek chipset with a PowerVR SGX531 graphics chip with a large 4.5-inch FWVGA display at a price of Php4,999, which is 2K below the price of the Lenovo A800. 

The two phones have identical specifications, except:

1. The A800 has a 5MP camera with a LED flash. The Thunder has a 5 MP camera too, but no LED flash.

Camera performance of this low cost phones is marginal. Most smartphones, even those with better cameras perform poorly when you use the flash. Basically, it is nice to have the flash, but it is not a deal breaker.

1. The Thunder has a VGA front camera, while the Lenovo A800 has none.

Unless you never do video calls, you will want the front camera. 

2. The A800 has a dual core 1.2 GHz Arm Cortex A9 processor, the Thunder has a dual core 1 GHz Arm Cortez A9 processor.

Faster is better, but it 200 MHz does not justify a 40% difference in price.

3.  The A800 has a 2000 mAh battery, while the Thunder has a 1700 mAh battery.

The Lenovo should give you about 18% more battery life, that could mean 2-4 hours more a day, and that is worth paying more for. 

4. The Thunder is thinner a 9.9 mm, as compared to the 11.5 mm A800.

Thinner is better.

It is a close fight I think, but in next month buyers guide, the Cherry Mobile  Thunder will take the  Lenovo A800's place in my list.