Page 114 – Jam Online | Tech News & Reviews

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is the company’s next flagship chipset

News

-

October 26, 2023

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is the company’s next flagship chipset

Qualcomm has unveiled their newest flagship chipset in the market — the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Unlike their other chipsets, Qualcomm has focused on generative AI with this chip. Smartphone brands including ASUS, HONOR, iQOO, MEIZU, NIO, Nubia, OnePlus, OPPO, realme, Redmi, RedMagic, Sony, vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE are all in line for this chip for their flagship devices.

The new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 promises to be 30% faster and 20% more efficient than the predecessor and it comes with 1x Cortex-X4 Prime Core, 5x performance cores and 2 efficiency cores. The chipset also comes with AI engine that supports multi-modal generative AI and large language models that can help in the AI assistant response on the devices.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will also support gaming up to 240fps on 240Hz displays and it promises 40% better ray tracing as well for gaming.

Expect devices with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 to arrive in the coming weeks.

Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite Goes Official, promises to offer flagship performance

News

Jam Ancheta

-

October 25, 2023

0

Qualcomm has just unveiled the Snapdragon X Elite platform — the company’s take against Intel Core i7 chips and Apple M-Series chips. The Snapdragon X Elite comes with custom Oryon cores and they’re promising performance that can even beat the Intel Core i7-13800H single-core performance at a fraction of a power.

Qualcomm has also compared it with the Apple M2 chips and they’re promising a 50% better multithreaded performance versus the popular M2 chip. In their keynote.

The Snapdragon X Elite comes with twelve custom Oryon cores and they’re clocked at 3.8GHz with 42MB total cache, 8 channels LPDDR5X and a 135GB/s memory bandwidth. It also supports PCIe Gen 4 SSD and also USB4. For the modem, it comes with Snapdragon X65 which isn’t the newest one. The Snapdragon X Elite also supports 3x 4K UHD displays up to 60Hz or 2x 5K displays.

There’s the Adreno GPU as well that promises up to 4.6TFLOPS performance and also support for DirectX 12.2, OpenCL 3.0, and Vulkan 1.3.

They’ve already partnred with Microsoft, Lenovo, HP, and Dell to bring Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chipset in Mid-2024.

OPPO Find N3 Flip launching soon in PH

News

Ciara Alarcon

-

October 25, 2023

0

OPPO is all set to unveil the OPPO Find N3 Flip, the latest addition to its foldable smartphone lineup in the Philippines. Building on the success of its predecessor, the OPPO Find N2 Flip, the OPPO Find N3 Flip introduces several key upgrades, making it a standout in flip phone technology.

Versatile Cover Screen Functionality

One of the standout features of the OPPO Find N3 Flip is its cover screen, which has been enhanced for more functionality. This screen allows users to access multiple apps without having to unfold the smartphone. It can accommodate popular apps, including third-party ones like Gmail, Spotify, Twitter (now X), WhatsApp, and Google Maps. Users can easily scroll through social media feeds, check maps, switch music tracks, and compose quick emails, all with a simple tap on the cover screen.

Furthermore, the cover screen introduces more than 20 customizable screen styles and direct cover widgets for applications such as Messages, Camera, Battery, Recorder, Timer, and To-dos. It also includes an animated weather wallpaper and an Always-On Display (AOD) for real-time information. Users can pin up to three widgets or apps directly onto the cover screen wallpaper for easy access.

Premium Build and Design

The OPPO Find N3 Flip boasts a premium glass and metal construction, creating a sleek and comfortable design. Its curved form provides a borderless in-hand experience, making it visually appealing and comfortable. It will be available in two captivating colors in the Philippines: Cream Gold and Sleek Black.

Industry-First Triple Camera System

The OPPO Find N3 Flip is the first flip smartphone with a triple camera system. This setup, powered by Hasselblad imaging technology, includes a 50MP primary camera with an IMX890 Sony sensor, a 48MP ultra-wide camera with a 115-degree field of view, and a 32MP telephoto portrait camera with an RGBW IMX709 sensor. This camera system also enhances photography capabilities, allowing users to capture various scenes.

Selfies are also made more convenient and versatile, with the cover screen serving as a rear camera viewfinder, eliminating the need to unlock the device for quick shots. Meanwhile, unfolding the device activates the main display, providing a comprehensive photography experience. FlexForm Mode, which divides the screen into a preview section and camera controls, also offers the ideal setup for capturing high-quality shots from various angles.

Flagship Performance and Battery

The OPPO Find N3 Flip has a MediaTek Dimensity 9200 chipset, ensuring fast, smooth, and consistent performance. Its 4,300 mAh battery also provides all-day usage, supported by industry-leading 44W SUPERVOOC™ fast charging.

OPPO is also setting a new standard in flip phone technology with the OPPO Find N3 Flip, offering an array of features and capabilities that cater to the evolving needs of smartphone users.

So, who’s excited about the OPPO FIND N3 Flip?

Let us know what you think in the comment section!

Smart partners with Google Cloud to personalize digital services for Filipinos

News

Ciara Alarcon

-

October 25, 2023

0

Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) has partnered with Google Cloud. The collaboration introduces Google Cloud’s AI-powered solution, Telecom Subscriber Insights, designed to gather data from multiple sources, offer contextual insights into subscribers’ service preferences, and deliver personalized recommendations for activation to their devices. The technical implementation support for this collaboration is provided by Searce.

Empowering the Digital Growth of the Philippines

The digital economy of the Philippines is expected to grow by 20% year-on-year until 2025, underscoring the increasing role of mobile connectivity in how Filipinos access essential services such as food, transportation, and daily shopping. With the integration of Telecom Subscriber Insights, Smart will gain a deeper understanding of how Filipinos engage with digital services, identifying pain points in their daily usage. This knowledge will drive the development of services aimed at enabling Filipinos to better comprehend, manage, and optimize their mobile data consumption.

Creating Inclusive and Streamlined Mobile Services

Smart’s utilization of Telecom Subscriber Insights will help design more inclusive mobile services by recognizing both connectivity patterns and gaps. Real-time insights from customer data can enable Smart to provide subscribers with personalized tips, such as optimizing data consumption while streaming content by adjusting video resolutions. Subscribers can also be prompted to top up their prepaid plans through integrations with local digital payment services, eliminating the need to locate physical stores for prepaid load purchases.

Empowering Mobile Users

Alex O. Caeg, Senior Vice President and Head of Consumer Business – Individual at Smart Communications, Inc., highlighted the collaboration’s significance, stating that it empowers the company to better serve Filipino mobile users. It aligns with their commitment to prioritize customer needs and provide a superior mobile experience supported by their extensive network.

Emmanuel C. Lorenzana, Chief Transformation and Customer Officer at PLDT Inc., acknowledged the growing anxiety among Filipinos about running out of data when they need it most. He noted that Google Cloud’s enterprise-grade AI solutions will simplify, expedite, and make data services more affordable, aligning them with the evolving digital lifestyles of subscribers and improving mobile connectivity throughout the country.

Future Integration with Gen AI Capabilities

Smart is looking to enhance subscribers’ interaction with agents and chatbots by integrating Google Cloud’s generative AI (gen AI) capabilities. These capabilities include Google’s foundation models for summarizing text and maintaining ongoing conversations. By integrating these models with Telecom Subscriber Insights, Smart aims to provide its subscribers with natural-sounding, virtual agents offering tailored insights into optimizing their data consumption.

Driving Customer Experiences with AI

Gabriele Di Piazza, Senior Director of Global Product Management for Telecommunications at Google Cloud, highlighted the increasing pressure on Communication Service Providers (CSPs) to deliver transformative, personalized customer experiences. He emphasized the critical role of complex data analysis in achieving this success and the potential of Telecom Subscriber Insights to extract real-time customer insights, enhancing digital sales opportunities.

Supporting National Digital Transformation

Malis Selamat, Country Manager for Philippines and Vietnam at Google Cloud, underscored the potential for CSPs in Asia to support national digital transformation efforts using AI in a secure, privacy-controlled environment. Smart’s deployment of Telecom Subscriber Insights is a prime example of how CSPs can contribute to inclusion and equity in digital access, empowering consumers to make more informed decisions about their data usage in a rapidly evolving digital world.

This collaboration between Smart and Google Cloud signifies a significant step toward personalizing digital services and enhancing mobile connectivity for Filipinos, aligning with the nation’s digital growth trajectory.

Apple announces Mac Event for October 31 PH Time

News

Jam Ancheta

-

October 25, 2023

0

Apple announces Mac Event for October 31 PH Time

Apple has just announced that they’ll be holding a new event this October 30. This is just a few months after the event announcement of the iPhone 15 Series but this time, the next event is focused on Macs.

According to leaks, a brand new iMac is expected at the event with the M3 chip inside. Despite not being a year old, there’s also a chance that we might see a brand new Macbook Pro 14″ and 16″ at the event.

The Apple event will happen at California as always and it will be on October 30, 2023 at 5:00 PM at PT Time. This is odd as most Apple events happen at Tuesday at around midnight.

This time, it will be on October 31, 2023 8AM in Philippine Time.

SteelSeries launches Alias Series Microphones powered by Sonar

News

Ciara Alarcon

-

October 23, 2023

0

SteelSeries has revealed its latest gaming microphones, the Alias series, powered by Sonar. Unveiled at the ESGS 2023 event in Pasay City, Philippines, these microphones are designed to cater specifically to the needs of gamers and streamers, allowing them to have a professional-grade audio experience.

Gamers who also stream face unique challenges. While news anchors and broadcasters have entire crews to handle production, streamers often go solo. Recognizing this, SteelSeries embarked on a three-year journey to create a microphone system that makes it easier for gamers to produce and stream simultaneously. This combination of hardware and software empowers streamers to achieve professional-quality sound without being experts in audio production.

Sonar for Streamers

To power the Alias microphones, SteelSeries developed a high-performance software suite called Sonar for Streamers. This free software provides gamers with a comprehensive sound studio, offering essential tools for high-quality audio production. It includes features such as a 10-band Parametric EQ with broadcast presets, audio routing, tuning, mixing, and ClearCast AI noise cancellation. The software eliminates the need for additional audio programs or plugins and is compatible with standard video broadcasting software.

Meanwhile, the Alias microphone series powered by Sonar is available in two options:

1. Alias

Designed from the ground up for gamers, the Alias microphone offers broadcast-quality sound with a 24-bit/48kHz microphone. It captures every detail of a gamer’s voice with exceptional accuracy, elevating streams and content with pure, powerful audio. An LED indicator displays mic peak level information, and when muted, a prominent red “X” appears. Real-time mic monitoring is possible using wired headphones, and customizable RGB lighting adds a personalized touch to the setup.

2. Alias Pro

The Alias Pro is a broadcast-quality XLR microphone designed to capture the finest details of the user’s voice. It features a balanced XLR system with pre-amplifier and 48V phantom power, reducing noise and interference. It offers pure and powerful 24-bit/48kHz audio. Additionally, the Alias Pro introduces an innovative StreamMixer that utilizes two USB ports to support optional dual PC streaming for content creators. The microphone features Drag ‘n’ Drop Audio Routing, allowing streamers to route and mix up to five audio channels. It also offers customizable dial and button assignments, LED indicators, and ambient RGB lighting.

Availability and Pricing

The Alias and Alias Pro microphones powered by Sonar for Streamers are available at the following prices:

Alias Microphone: Php11,100.00
Alias Pro Microphone: Php19,555.00

The SteelSeries Sonar For Streamers software is available as a free download at SteelSeries.com/gg/sonar-for-streamers. The Alias Pro is currently available in the Philippines via Lazada and Shopee, with the Alias Microphone becoming available later in the month.

So, are you getting one?

Let us know what you think in the comment section!

Transcend Card Reader RDC3 Review

Reviews

Jam Ancheta

-

October 23, 2023

0

If you’re looking for a professional card reader that you can use for your hobbies and work then you might want to check out Transcend Card Reader RDC3. It’s designed to work with USB-C ports and it is equipped with USB 3.2 Gen 1 Interface for faster transfers.

Why do we need this?

While some notebooks these days now have an SD card reader including the ones on the Macbook Pro M2 Pro, the Transcend Card Reader RDC3 still gives you the flexibility to use SD or microSD card readers on other devices that doesn’t have a card reader like the iPad Pro and also the new iPhone 15 Series.

Design

The Transcend Card Reader RDC3 is ultralight and it’s very portable. It comes with a 40.8 mm x 40.8 mm x 10.4 mm dimensions and it only weighs 17g. It also comes with the reversible USB-C connector already in a short cable which means that if you plug it in to your phone or notebook, it won’t collide or bump with other accessories that are directly plugged to the adjacent USB-C port on the device. For the ports, this one comes with a microSD card slot and also an SD Card slot.

Performance

We tested the Transcend Card Reader RDC3 using our 32GB SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s SDHC UHS-I Card and also the 64GB SanDisk Ultra MicroSDHC UHS-I Card using CrystalDiskMark.

CrystalDiskMark with the 32GB SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s SDHC UHS-I Card

CrystalDiskMark with the 64GB SanDisk Ultra MicroSDHC UHS-I Card

Unsurprisingly, the results that we got were fine and it’s on the same level as promised on the cards. There were not much heating on the card reader as well despite using the card for a while. The speeds were consistent as well even when I tried transferring large files from and to the SD card.

Verdict

If you’re looking for a card reader that you can use for your tablet, notebook, or your smartphone then you might want to consider the Transcend Card Reader RDC3. It’s lightweight, portable, easy to use, and the performance was definitely consistent in our usage.

Samsung aims to ship 20M foldable phones in 2024

News

Ciara Alarcon

-

October 23, 2023

0

Samsung aims to ship 20M foldable phones in 2024

Samsung is reportedly setting targets for the sale of foldable phones in 2024, with a goal of shipping 20 million units. This move comes as the South Korean tech giant seeks to expand its presence in the foldable smartphone market.

Shipment Targets for 2023 and 2024

In 2023, Samsung’s initial target was to ship 16 million foldable phones. Meanwhile, this year, the company is expected to reach a total shipment of 10 million units, comprising 3 million Galaxy Z Fold4 and Z Flip4 units and 7 million of the current two models.

For 2024, the focus appears to be on achieving a significant leap in sales with a 20 million unit target. This ambitious goal also encompasses sales of the existing models, including the Galaxy Z Fold5 and Z Flip5, along with the next generation of foldable devices, the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Z Flip6, set to be released in the coming year.

Design Challenges and Expectations for 2024

Samsung’s journey in the foldable smartphone market has not been without criticisms. The company’s foldable devices have often been noted for their creases and the aspect ratio of the cover display. Meanwhile, to address these concerns and to stay competitive in the market, Samsung is reportedly planning a major redesign for the Galaxy Z Fold6 in 2024.

Source: SAMMOBILE

Google Pixel 8 devices reportedly arrive with unlocked bootloaders, posing security concerns

News

Ciara Alarcon

-

October 23, 2023

0

Google Pixel 8 devices reportedly arrive with unlocked bootloaders, posing security concerns

Some Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro smartphone buyers have encountered an unexpected issue: their new devices arrived with unlocked bootloaders. This peculiar situation was reported on Reddit, although it appears to be relatively limited in scope, given that such matters usually gain widespread attention online.

The unlocked bootloaders on these Pixel 8 devices come with a warning message during the boot process. This alerts users to the situation’s implications for software integrity and data security:

“The bootloader is unlocked, and software integrity cannot be guaranteed. Any data stored on the device may be available to attackers. Do not store any sensitive data on the device.”

While an unlocked bootloader is not a significant problem for everyone, it does raise concerns about data privacy and security. Financial applications and services may refuse to run on devices with unlocked bootloaders due to security considerations.

Understanding Bootloaders

For those unfamiliar with bootloaders, they are small software components responsible for initiating the device’s boot process and loading the operating system (in this case, Android). To make advanced changes at the operating system level, such as installing patches, mods, or a different ROM, users typically need an unlocked bootloader.

A Limited Issue with Potential Solutions

The full extent of this issue is yet to be determined, but it seems to be a limited occurrence. In theory, the problem can be resolved by users through a computer and an ADB connection to the phone. However, it would not be reasonable for Google to require customers to perform these steps. According to reports, Google provides replacement units to affected customers, but this process involves lengthy support conversations.

This unexpected occurrence adds to the list of unique “quirks” that Google Pixel phones sometimes exhibit. It also raised questions about how such situations arise with these devices.

Source: Android Authority

OPPO Find N3 Flip First Impressions Video

Unboxing and Hands-On

Jam Ancheta

-

October 21, 2023

0

OPPO Find N3 Flip First Impressions Video

OPPO has just unveiled their newest smartphone in the market — the OPPO Find N3 Flip. This smartphone aims to compete with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip. The N3 Flip features a vertical cover display just like the previous generation but this time, it packs a more powerful Hasselblad-branded camera at the back.

Since this is a flip smartphone, it does have a pocket-sized design that is really portable and with its vertical cover display, you can do a lot more as more apps are now supported on the cover display of the smartphone.

There’s a triple lens camera as well specifically a 50MP wide-angle, 48MP ultra wide, and 32MP portrait camera with the Hasselblad branding. To know more about the device, head over to our first impressions video of the smartphone below: