Ding Ding Mobile is one of those few new mobile companies that prides themselves of quality and performance at a very affordable price. Now with the upcoming Iron series in the Philippines, they aim to take it to the next level by making ultra tough smartphones with great design and decent performance.
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| Meet the gorgeous and durable Ding Ding Iron 1 |
Yesterday, I was fortunate to get hold of their entry level Iron phone which is the Ding Ding Iron 1. It's arguably the most impressively built entry level handsets under PHP 4,500 I've seen. It also has a lot of special features that most of you will surely like. Check it out!
Unboxing / Accessories
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| The not yet final box of Iron 1 |
I won't talk about much on this as Ding Ding said that their packaging and accessories included is not yet final, but rest is assured that it will come with all the standard accessories. I'm quite optimistic though that they'll do what they did with the freebie packed SK3 Pro.
Build Quality / Design
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| The back of the phone showing the slightly curved back matte cover, ding ding mobile logo and the rear camera |
This is where Ding Ding Mobile prides themselves of and why not? The Iron 1 is a very well designed product. It looks great, doesn't have sharp edges and to my eyes and feel, this can compete even with the best of the world. It actually looks more premium than the iPhone 5 and etc.
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| The battery, sim slots and a look when you open the back cover |
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| The micro USB port, microphone and speaker grills here |
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| At the top showing the 3.5 mm jack, front camera and front camera flash |
Then the main highlight of this handset is it's toughness, one official from Ding Ding Technologies is even showing us videos that they're hammering this phone, using the phone as a hammer and cracking walnuts with the screen! The frame of the phone is made out of very good specialized metal alloy that appears to be tougher than the regular aluminum and magnalium bodies of other smartphones. When it comes to the screen, this device is not using the common Dragontrail Glass or Gorilla Glass protection, instead Ding Ding Mobile said that they're using their own specialized Ding Ding Glass and claimed that it's better than both of the two popular glasses.
See our nut cracking video here and see how hard JR slammed the phone!
Display
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| The side of the phone showing the good viewing angles, power button and volume rocker |
The Iron 1 uses an OGS IPS FWVGA resolution with the display of this phone. Some may say that an FWVGA is quite low (which I agree), but fortunately at just 4.5 inches it is not much of a factor. The screen viewing experience is decent, it has 5 point multi touch, fairly good color reproduction and has nice viewing angles.
Camera
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| Sample rear camera shot on good light |
The Iron 1 uses an 8 MP Sony sensor w/ dual LED flash. Based on the sample shot I took using the rear camera, it was able to capture acceptable photos with good tonal balance and very little grains. What I love is its "fastest shooting mode" capability which was able to impress me on how fast the shutter and focus is.
When it comes to the selfie camera, the Iron 1 uses a 2 MP Sensor w/ LED flash. The photo I took here in normal mode is quite acceptable, however when the subject is out of focus the blur is very noticeable (See JR's face). I also think that it won't be that good to use in low lighting condition. Fortunately, it is one of the rare phones that has front camera flash to provide enough lighting in very dark shooting spots. It also has beautify effects that can enhance your skin tone the way you want it.
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| Selfie flash! :) |
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to test the full performance of the camera, but I'm sure that both the rear and front camera will perform nicely outdoors with good natural light.
Other features
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| Heart rate sensor in action |
Another thing that I liked from what I experienced with the Iron 1 is the tons of features included. It has my favorite double tap to wake function, smart gestures, air gestures, quick transfer feature and heart rate sensor.
Initial Ding Ding Iron 1 Initial Specs
- Display: 4.5 Inches FWVGA 480 x 854 OGS Capacitive 5 Point Multitouch w/ Ding Ding Glass Protection (Philippine version will have Gorilla Glass 3 Protection)
- Processor: 1.3 GHz MT6582 quad core
- GPU: Mali 400
- RAM: 1 GB
- ROM: 8 GB expandable via microSD card up to 32 GB
- Rear Camera: 8 MP Sony Sensor w/ AF and dual LED flash
- Front Camera: 2 MP Sony Sensor w/ LED flash (Philippine version will have 5 MP)
- Battery: 1650 mAh
- OS: Android 4.4 KitKat
- Connectivity: WiFi, 3G, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS w/ A-GPS,
- Sensors: Compass, g, light, proximity
- Others: Dual SIM, Black, white, pink and gold colors, AAC 0916 speakers
- Price: PHP 4,399
As of the moment...
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| Over 20K via Antutu benchmark |
The Iron 1 is a clear testament that decent specs can be combined with good features and top notch design at a very low price. The build quality is the main highlight of this phone which is a very tough act to follow. I know that there are other handsets in this price range with octa core processor, but none of them is better built and more durable than this phone. I highly recommend this to anyone who looks for a decent smaller screened everyday phone with great durability under PHP 5,000.
As per SKK and Ding Ding Mobile this yet to be announced unit will be available in the Philippine shores 2 weeks from now for just PHP 4,399.
