Cherry Mobile D15 Meets Half of My Expectations

The killer feature of most "China phones" like Cherry Mobile are their dual-sim (dual standby) capability. But is it really worth it? In this article, we're breaking down the pros and cons of this specific model, the candybar-type Cherry Mobile D15.

I was recently looking for a good backup phone. I was scrounging through some of the China phone models from Cherry Mobile, Torque and MyPhone. My initial criteria for a good backup phone were:

  • Dual sim (i.e., dual standby);
  • A good battery life (despite the dual sim capability);
  • Less bells and whistles – to support the long battery life;
  • Sleek, sturdy and small — that puts Qwerty phones out of the question (I already had a Qwerty phone);
  • A sub-P2K price;

[adsense250]

Having these in mind, I settled for the Cherry Mobile D15, features of which include:

  • Dual SIM / Dual Standby;
  • Camera;
  • FM Radio;
  • MP3 / Video Player;
  • Flashlight;
  • Micro SD Card up to 2GB;

At a price of P1,999, I guess the extra features (on top of my minimum requirements) including the FM Radio and MP3/Video Player make CM D15 worth it. And these features are basically what make up the pros.

Now, for the cons:

  • Meager battery life performance. That’s 3days for light use, 2 for moderate, and 1 for heavy use before recharging. It may be acceptable to many, but not for me who have experienced using the small and sturdy Nokia 1202 (the latter could last me 2 weeks on light use);

    UPDATE: Turning off one of the sims improved battery life dramatically. It took me 5-6 days before recharging when only 1 sim is active.

  • The keys are a little bit on the hard side;
  • Typing a message is faster than reading what you have typed. If you type real fast into its numeric keypad, you have to wait a bit for the screen to actually display your message;
  • Volume during mp3 playback is not adjustable;
  • Substandard voice-call-audio quality. Volume for voice calls are adjustable, yes. But the sound quality–it’s like listening from a tin can;
  • A headphone jack that often fails to lock into position;
  • An FM Radio where radio networks battle over one frequency. You tune-in to one station (that’s “spot on” in its digital frequency dial), and you’ll hear two network programs fighting for your attention;
  • The OS is proprietary, which I think is not optimized at all to extend battery life before recharging;
  • Picture quality of the camera, in a rate of 1 to 10, is 1;
  • The body is built of almost (if not all) plastic. But then, that’s what makes it lightweight;

Conclusion

I’m not one of those people who hop from one blog to another just to bash about the cheap cellphones’ lack of this and that “loser” features. Why look for a cheap phone when the features you really want don’t come cheap to begin with?

As the cliche goes “you get what you pay for”.

As for me, I’m half-satisfied with my purchase. At least I have my dual-sim phone and I intend to push it to its limits. For its price, I wouldn’t mind if it won’t get me even a year of extreme usage.

The upcoming release of the dual-sim phone from Nokia (the Nokia C1 or C2) is a welcome development. Hope it comes with the *needed* long battery life just like the Nokia 1202 and within the same price range.

P.S. Another insightful review of the Cherry Mobile D15: A good phone is a useful one: the Cherry Mobile D15.

No Comments

Mon September 2, 2010 Reply

You should have opted for the prototype Nokia E6300 dual SIM phone I presented to you before.

Forget quad band, etc. Just a rubber band and you’re ready to go! =)

deuts September 3, 2010 Reply

Of course, you must be referring to Nokia E6351, the first ever dual sim phone from Nokia (regardless of what they claim to be Nokia C1 and C2). I like the phone, including the dual body, dual screen, dual battery, and dual system, dual standby, etc., but I don’t like the idea of the rubber band! hehehehe

anthony March 30, 2011 Reply

helllo..can you connect tour d15 cp to a computer???….if yes how???..

deuts March 30, 2011 Reply

Yes you can, to charge the unit. But not to access or transfer data like mp3.

bernardo April 6, 2011 Reply

for charge battery unit…cherry mobile d15 si not good quelity because 3days use defective my cp im back for change my cp for warranty 1year as sales no return no exchange why?

CURIOUS101 April 21, 2011 Reply

does it have a GPRS Connection ?

deuts April 21, 2011 Reply

Obviously, no.

ivan June 16, 2011 Reply

mag kano po yung cherry mobile nyo 1,000 na lng po pls…. parang awa nyo na

deuts June 16, 2011 Reply

Actually nabenta ko na and you’re right at P1000. Hehe i suggest you get the Nokia C1-00. The best ang battery life. Or better yet wait for the release of Nokia C2-00 and X1-01.

janrie123 June 21, 2011 Reply

guys pwede pa help ang D15 ba ma downloadan ba ng Theme’s ? or ringtone? … pa help namn ? 🙂

deuts June 21, 2011 Reply

Ung ringtone, I think pwede ka gumamit ng any mp3 files you have in your micro-SD card.

Ung themes naman, no idea. In my opinion, indi cguro, although pwede ka magpalit ata ng wallpaper from pictures.

di ako sure hah, so don’t take my word for it.

janrie123 June 22, 2011 Reply

yong incoming call lang pwede . pero yong message tone pano ?… oo sa Wallpaper pwede pero hindi parehas sa NOKIA na malaki talaga sa cherry mobile di eh … may naka halo na white sa left at right side para bang may margin ?…. pa help namn sir 🙁

deuts June 22, 2011 Reply

I think I remember those limitations. Sorry, man. Wala na kc und D15 ko binenta ko na eh. Di na kita matutulungan.

janrie123 June 22, 2011 Reply

aw … can you tell your other friends that how can i Download Themes or Message Tone ??/… Please 🙁

janrie123 June 22, 2011 Reply

somebody can give me link for Download Themes in D15 in cherry mobile phone please …. 🙁

reynore July 18, 2011 Reply

Ung cherry mobile ang pangit china phone ung style wala pang bluetooth kakaasar

reynore July 18, 2011 Reply

ung headphone mabilis masira kakainis di ka makakakingi ng music

rhoniel m serenado July 28, 2011 Reply

saan po pwede makabili ng cherry mobile phone dito sa general santos city. bakasyonista po ako dito sa gensan, gusto ko po magkaroon ng cherry mobile phone

Emmanuel La Torre August 18, 2011 Reply

Sir Yung cherry mobile D15 ba pwede gamitin outside the philippines? Sa Laos Vietiene?

deuts August 19, 2011 Reply

@Emmanuel
I don’t know. and we wouldn’t know until you try it yourself. I brought this phone already in Singapore and it was working there. I think dual band naman sya, so if it’s Laos only, and within South East Asia, I think pipwede un. Pero di ako sure hah, don’t take my word for it.

Maricel D. Asirit February 12, 2012 Reply

Hi. I have the D15 from my husband he left it to me when he went to south korea..I dont know how to operate the flashlight function…can you help me how? thanks…..

angelica February 23, 2012 Reply

panu po i-open an flaslight ng D15 cherry mobile

Jenalyn August 15, 2012 Reply

para maopen po ang flashlight ng phone…kelangan niyo pong gawin is i press yung…. center function ng cp ninyo…..

Jenalyn August 15, 2012 Reply

Ganun lang…po kelangan ipress ng madiin….para mabukas ang flashlight ng phone mo… if gsto mung i off ang flashlight ganun din ang gagawin nyo and press exit….sana po may matutunan kau..sa suggestion ko…

Leave a Reply to Jenalyn Cancel reply