Southeast Asia’s leading online cashback platform, ShopBack, recently held a media sit-down with members of its Philippine team to give a sneak peek into the brand’s exciting plans for 2023.
The company reported a successful 2022 fiscal year, with over Php1 billion in Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) per month and Php10 million in cashback withdrawals from users across the platform each month.
To continue this momentum and provide an even better shopping experience for its 5.5 million users in the Philippines, ShopBack plans to launch several new projects and features.
During the media briefing, ShopBack’s Commercial Director, Timothy Tuason, discussed how the company plans to improve its services for its diverse range of consumers. One of the most anticipated projects is the upcoming launch of the ShopBack Travel Club in May. This new addition to the platform’s in-app features will provide users with a smart and rewarding way to book getaways, a category that Tuason highlighted as one of the top categories users look forward to in terms of getting the best deals.
In addition to the ShopBack Travel Club, the brand also shared its plans for the ShopBack Travel and Lifestyle Fair and celebrated its 8th birthday from June 21 to June 28. With over 600 merchant partners across the country, ShopBack is well-equipped to cater to its growing user base and is confident that its latest ventures will only continue to drive its success in the coming years.
ShopBack’s commitment to improving the shopping experience for its users is evident in the company’s latest projects and features. With the ShopBack Travel Club launch and other upcoming initiatives, the brand positions itself to remain a top player in the Philippine e-commerce landscape. Stay tuned for more exciting updates from ShopBack in the coming months!
ASUS ROG Philippines has just announced the all-new 2023 ROG Flow lineup. Both devices — the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 and ROG Flow X13, are arriving in the Philippines and they’ll now come with a more powerful processor inside, the latest RTX 40 series GPU, and the Nebula display from ASUS with 165Hz refresh rate.
ASUS ROG Flow X13
ASUS ROG Flow X13
The ASUS ROG Flow X13 is the 2-in-1 notebook from the company, and it comes with a QHD 16:10 aspect-ratio panel with a 165Hz refresh rate, offering incredible immersion in every game with its pixel density and vivid colors. There’s AMD Ryzen 9 processor and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU inside the Flow X13.
What’s even more impressive is that the 2023 ROG Flow X13 is 10 mm smaller than the 2022 model, yet it packs upgraded hardware, retains its 15-inch keyboard layout, and even enlarges the touchpad by 56%. The battery was also increased to 75 Wh, providing more power on the go. Gamers can recharge the Flow X13 with up to 130 W charging via its lightweight and portable USB-C adapter when needed.
The exterior of the Flow X13 has also received a redesign, with a unique new wave pattern on the aluminum lid. The waves get progressively thicker, alluding to the “gravity wave” inspiration of the Flow series while also providing a texture that adds grip for easy carrying. The glass on the display has also been improved and now features the brand-new Corning Gorilla Glass DXC coating, increasing surface hardness by 40% and reducing glare significantly.
The ASUS ROG Flow X13 will come in Black color and with the following specs, bundle, and price.
Bundle: ROG Flow Sleeve, ROG Strix Impact Gaming Mouse, and ASUS Pen
Price: 119,995
ASUS ROG Flow Z13
ASUS ROG Flow Z13
While the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 is the world’s most powerful gaming notebook/laptop and it packs a 13-inch Nebula Display with a QHD resolution, 16:10 aspect ratio, and a 165Hz refresh rate and it’s protected by Gorilla Glass DXC.
Under the hood, the Flow Z13 is powered by up to an Intel Core i9-13900H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, which makes it a force to be reckoned with in the gaming world. The MUX Switch with NVIDIA Advanced Optimus ensures optimal frame rates when plugged in, and better battery life when untethered, with no manual intervention needed.
The Flow Z13 also remains deceptively quiet despite its small size, thanks to a custom vapor chamber and Thermal Grizzly liquid metal thermal compound on both the CPU and GPU. With a 170° kickstand, the Z13 is perfect for any scenario, whether gamers need a tablet, controller gaming machine, or full-blown battle station when paired with an ROG XG Mobile external GPU.
The Flow Z13 also includes Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, providing gamers with access to an ever-growing catalog of AAA and indie games. Despite all these upgrades, the Flow Z13 is incredibly thin and light, measuring in at just 12 mm thick and 1.1 kg in weight. With an included keyboard that doubles as a screen cover, the Z13 is the ultimate lightweight and portable traveling companion.
In addition, the Flow Z13 features a built-in 3DNR 5 MP webcam and 13 MP front-facing camera, making it perfect for capturing all the moments that matter most. With its impressive power and portability, the ROG Flow Z13 is the perfect companion for long plane rides and other places where gamers and creators are on the move.
ASUS ROG Flow Z13 GZ301VV-MU008WS
Specs: 13″ WQXGA 165Hz/i9-13900H/16GB/RTX 4060 8GB GDDR6/1TB PCIe 4 SSD/ Office Home and Student/ Windows 11
Bundle: ROG Flow Sleeve, ROG Strix Impact Gaming Mouse, and ASUS Pen
Price: 149,995
Both the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 and ROG Flow Z13 will be available this April 2023.
917Ventures and Gogoro Inc., a global tech leader and provider of battery-swapping technology in mobilities for cities, has announced that they’ll be bringing Gogoro’s electric two-wheelers in the Metro Manila by Q4 2023.
Gogoro Launch
This move marks a milestone towards a significant step towards sustainable transportation in the country.
Gogoro has revolutionized two-wheel mobility in Taiwan and has expanded its network to China, India, Japan, Indonesia, Korea, and Israel. The company aims to tackle commuter concerns over costly gasoline prices and carbon emissions, aligning with the Philippine government’s sustainable development goals and partners’ shared commitment to sustainability.
Gogoro’s success in Taiwan includes over 540,000 riders, more than 1 million smart batteries, and 12,000 battery-swapping stations. Gogoro riders have completed over 450 million total battery swaps, saving more than 627,000 tons of CO2 since the company’s inception.
Samsung recently launched its latest mid-range smartphones, the Galaxy A54 5G and A34 5G. Samsung’s latest A series devices boast cutting-edge photography and videography features, impressive 120Hz refresh rates, and eco-friendly design crafted from recycled materials.
Equipped with AMOLED displays—6.4 inches for the Galaxy A54 5G and 6.6 inches for the Galaxy A34 5G—the new smartphones promise immersive viewing experiences and ultra-realistic colors. With 5G connectivity and super-fast charging—achieving 50% charge in just 30 minutes—these devices are also ideal for uninterrupted video playback and gaming sessions.
The Galaxy A54 5G is priced at PHP 26,990 for the 256GB variant and PHP 24,990 for the 128GB variant, available in Awesome Graphite, Awesome Lime, and online-exclusive Awesome Violet. The Galaxy A34 5G retails for PHP 21,990 for the 256GB version and PHP 19,990 for the 128GB version, offered in Awesome Graphite and Awesome Violet.
Samsung’s new devices come with flexible payment options, including Home Credit and 0% credit card installment plans. Customers can save up to PHP 10,150 by trading in their old devices and enjoy bundle deals on other Samsung products—50% off the Galaxy Buds2 Pro and Galaxy Buds2, and 30% off the Galaxy Watch5 Series. The Galaxy A54 and A34 5G are now available through samsung.com, Samsung Experience Stores, authorized Samsung retailers, Lazada, Shopee, Abenson.com, and MemoXpress Online.
realme Philippines has recently launched the entry-level C55 in the Philippines and they’ve just announced that they’ve depleted their initial stocks of the realme C55 variants during their maiden selling on the TikTok Shop.
The realme C55 variant was sold out in less than four hours with customers buying at a two units per minute on average. The 6GB+128GB variant followed through within the next day by selling over a thousand units.
For those who missed the TikTok’s early bird promo, you can still head over to Lazada Flagship Store in where you can get the realme C55 6GB+128GB for only Php7,699 starting April 25.
Stylish Champion realme C SOLD OUT on TikTok Photo
If you want to buy the smartphone at stores or at offline. You can get the smartphone at stores now and get a chance to get freebies like the TechLife Power Bank and TechLife Buds classic worth Php1,298.
If you’re in the market for a slim gaming notebook then you’re probably looking for something like the Lenovo Legion Slim 7i. This notebook that we’ve reviewed comes with an Intel Core i7-12700H processor and also an Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU inside.
While those specs sound promising, you have to take note that this one is a slim gaming notebook which makes it interesting as Lenovo has to manage the thermals of the notebook.
Other interesting specs behind the notebook include the 16″ display with up to 165Hz refresh rate and also a plethora of ports which is needed on gaming laptops but getting fewer with thinner chassis.
But overall, how does it fare? Check it out in our review video below.
A few weeks ago, we went to Tokyo, Japan for our honeymoon and just like in every other trip that we have, we borrowed a Cherry Roam 5G Pocket Wi-Fi and yes, it was convenient as this one gave us internet after the plane landed in Japan.
No-nonsense design
What I like about the Cherry Roam 5G is it packs a no-nonsense design. There’s a single button on the front and then there’s the 2.4” touchscreen display outside. There’s a USB-C port too for charging and also a Sim Card slot.
But for my trip to Japan, they used Cloud Sim and it was not really a problem at all for me as it was able to connect to a local network immediately. The body of the pocket wifi is thicker than I expected and it was actually a little bit tall but honestly, I didn’t had any problems with its portability.
All-day battery
One thing that is essential with our pocket wifi is the battery and I’m happy to tell you that the battery of the Cherry Roam 5G was able to last a full day of use on my usage in Tokyo, Japan but everyday, I made it sure that I bring a powerbank with me since the pocket WiFi exactly last up to a day of use with me.
If you’re planning it on using the next day without charging then you probably will run out of battery.
Cherry Roam 5G Experience at Tokyo
So we used the Cherry Roam 5G and it was impressive as I got a pretty good speeds around Tokyo. While I didn’t notice that we got a 5G signal in Tokyo, the 4G+ speed that we got is already enough as we’re getting speeds from around 20mbps up to 48mbps.
We also rented a Pocket WiFi at Narita Airport but we got almost the same speeds in and around Tokyo, Japan and sometimes in areas like Disneyland Tokyo, our connection was dropping on the rented pocket wifi in Japan. The Cherry Roam 5G was saving the day back then. I was actually getting a more consistent and hassle-free connection with Cherry Roam 5G
In our area in Asakusa-Ekimae, I got speeds of around 20-28mbps. Which isn’t bad as I was able to use it for some video calls and uploading on social media sites.
In the crowded Disneyland Tokyo, we were able to have a steady connection of up to 40mbps in the area. I was actually surprised because this was steady and consistent. As for the date, we have a 3GB of data for 7 days for Php750 pesos. Loading it was easy as you can do it on their website.
Verdict
While you may have a lot of options to connect to the internet while in Japan such as buying sim cards or renting a router, the Cherry Roam is something that you should take a look at as this will give you a hassle-free and swift experience once you’re there.
The data is also enough for me as I’ve been relying on our Hotel WiFi once we’re in our Hotel and again, loading it was easy as well. The speeds that were getting were also fast and what I really liked about it is that the connection didn’t dropped while I was in Disneyland Tokyo.
OnePlus has launched its latest smartphone, the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G, alongside the Nord Buds 2 wireless earbuds. With a slew of improvements from its predecessor, the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G promises a “Larger than Life” experience by incorporating cutting-edge features, a stylish design, and a competitive price tag.
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite
The Nord CE 3 Lite 5G boasts a 5000mAh battery, ideal for enduring long trips or intense gaming sessions, and supports 67W SuperVOOC fast charging that reaches 80% capacity in just 30 minutes. Its high-resolution 108MP camera features 3x lossless zoom, offering users the ability to capture vibrant, sharp, and lifelike images. The phone’s 6.72-inch FHD display delivers a smooth visual experience with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and 680 nits of peak brightness, while dual stereo speakers pump up the volume by up to 200%. The device is powered by a Snapdragon 695 chipset and 8GB RAM, allowing for swift app-switching and multitasking.
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite & Nord Buds 2
Complementing the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G are the Nord Buds 2 wireless earbuds, which promise impactful bass and superior audio quality. Equipped with a 12.4mm driver unit, these earbuds deliver rich details and punchy bass, while the proprietary BassWave bass enhancement algorithm ensures deep, broad bass without compromising audio fidelity. The Nord Buds 2 also feature 25dB active noise cancellation and a dual-core processor, minimizing unwanted background noise.
Available for pre-order from April 21 to April 30, the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G is priced at PHP 14,990 and comes in pastel lime and chromatic gray. The Nord Buds 2 retail for PHP 3,990 and are offered in lightning white and thunder gray. Both devices can be found in authorized OPPO and OnePlus stores nationwide, with in-store availability starting May 5.
Customers who pre-order the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G between April 21 and May 4 will receive a free OnePlus Bullets Wireless Earphone Z2. Online shoppers can purchase the devices through Lazada starting April 21, with a 45-day 0% interest installment option available via LazPayLater. The Nord CE 3 Lite 5G and Nord Buds 2 will also be available on Shopee beginning April 26, offering a 3-month 0% interest installment plan via SPayLater. Additionally, the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G can be purchased through Home Credit with easy installment options ranging from 6 to 18 months.
The mid-range segment is a popular tough segment as a lot of smartphones battle it out to be the best but in my opinion, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G is the best smartphone in its price range. Why? Because it’s a balance of everything that we need on the smartphone. It packs the peformance that we need, a powerful camera, and also a beautiful display.
Powerful camera
One of the highlights of the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G is the camera. It’s also the biggest feature that set the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G apart from the Pro version. For the Pro+, it comes with a 200MP main camera with 1/1.4” HPX sensor.
Aside from that, it comes with an 8MP ultra-wide camera, 2MP macro camera and also a 16MP front-facing camera. By the numbers itself, we already know that the main camera of the smartphone is pretty impressive for its range. With the 200MP main camera of the smartphone and its pixel-binning capability, we can get sharper and better images. The low-light performance will be improved as well and also its zoom capabilities. If you’re curious, how about checking out some of the shots that we took using the smartphone.
So if you love taking photos and videos then you might want to consider the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G.
Fast Charging capability
The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G comes with a 5000mAh battery which is decent enough for the smartphone with this hardware and size and it’s pretty common as well but what’s not common is the charging capabitilities of the smartphone.
The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G comes with the Xiaomi Surge P1 Chipset that handles battery health and efficiency and combined with that is the 120W HyperCharge, you can charge your smartphone in just a few minutes.
The charging speeds of the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G is currently the fastest we have seen in its price range.
Large AMOLED Display
The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G also comes with a large display as well. To be specific, it comes with a 6.67-inch Full HD+ Flow AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, 900 nits of brightness and DCI-P3 wide color gamut.
Basically, the smartphone’s display is also ready pretty large for watching movies and for playing games. The colors are great and the brightness of the smartphone was pretty good even at direct sunlight.
The touch response and also the refresh rate of the smartphone is also something to love as well so if you’re a gamer then you might want to check out this one and since this is a flat display, playing FPS and MOBA games is interrupted and way more comfortable.
Powerful processor
Genshin Impact on the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G
Inside the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G is a MediaTek Dimensity 1080 processor along with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. Basically, the processor of the smartphone is powerful enough for a mid-ranger and it allows the 200MP photo capture on the smartphone. Opening a lot of apps and navigating thru the browser and social apps is a piece of cake.
And when it comes to gaming, we were able to play different games on the smartphone including Genshin Impact on the smartphone and we were even able to set it up to 60fps. Lighter games such as PUBG Mobile and Mobile Legends would run on the game really fine.
Like what I’ve said earlier, the large Flat AMOLED Full HD+ display with 120Hz refresh rate will give you a vibrant, smooth, and responsive experience which is excellent for gaming. The speaker performance was good as well and in case you need wired headphones, the smartphone does come with a headphone jack.
Verdict
So overall, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G is definitely a strong competitor in its segment and possibly the king of midrange smartphones as the brand has balanced everything that we need on the midrange smartphone. It has a great display, ultrafast 120W HyperCharge, a 200MP main camera, and a decent processor inside. Whether you want a smartphone for every usage, photography or gaming, then the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G might be the right smartphone for you.
Price and Availability
The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G, together with the Redmi Note 12 4G and the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G, are available for pre-order from April 15 to 21, 2023. These phones also come with freebies and will be available in Xiaomi’s online and offline stores and on Shopee, Lazada, and their TikTok Shop.
The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G is priced at P21,999. Pre-orders come with Redmi Buds 3 Lite.
It’s not a perfect smartphone but it’s definitely enjoyable to use as your smartphone, a daily driver, and a tool that you can use for everyday needs. The OnePlus 11 5G is one of my favorite smartphones to date and it’s probably the best smartphone from the company in years. Today, we’ll check out the review of this smartphone.
Design and hardware
One of the changes that they’ve done to the OnePlus 11 5G is that the smartphone is more premium. There’s the combination of glass and a metal frame which is way better and more premium than the previous generation.
The ergonomics of the smartphone is great as well so holding it was really comfortable and it does have more weight which makes it more solid to hold. On the left is the volume rocker and on the right is where we can find the power button and on top of it is the switch, a feature that we love on the iPhone and older OnePlus devices. This switch lets you adjust between ring, vibration and silent.
Below the smartphone is the USB-C port and it does support up to 100W of fast charging via the SUPERVOOC Fast charging tech that we’ve seen on OPPO and realme smartphones. This charging tech of the smartphone makes it one of the fastest flagships out there that can charge from 0-100. In our experience, we got around 30 minutes to fully charge the smartphone from zero.
OnePlus is also boasting its dual speakers and yes, it was good and it does support Dolby Atmos but it’s definitely not the best one out there. But for a flagship smartphone, it’s great.
As for the battery life, we’ve been getting errors whenever we’re running PC Mark Work 2.0 Battery Test but in our real life usage of the smartphone,we were able to get a day and a half or even a two day battery depending on your usage. The combination of the hardware of the smartphone and also its processor played a big part on this one as we got here a REALLY GOOD battery life.
Sadly, wireless charging and also IP67 water and dust resistance is missing on the smartphone. Features that we probably want on a
Display
One of the things that they’ve upgraded on the smartphone is the display. We now have here a curved 2K AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and boy, it was great. It’s not the brightest but it does really well for its price and also for a flagship smartphone.
It’s a 10-bit display and I’m loving the colors on the display of the smartphone combined with its UI that is really pleasing to the eye. There’s dynamic refresh rate as well which saves more battery on the smartphone.
Software and performance
One of the features that I love about the smartphone is that they’ve used a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor inside along with 12GB of RAM and also 256GB of internal storage.
As expected, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Processor performed really well. It might be the best processor that we’ve seen from Qualcomm in years as we got here an excellent compatibility with most apps and games, a really powerful performance, and also a really good and balanced handling of temperatures.
Geekbench 6
GPUScore: Sacred Path
GPUScore: The Expedition
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
First, any game that you plan to run on the smartphone will run really well thanks to the processor of the smartphone. I was able to run Genshin Impact, Ragnarok Origin, and even heavier emulators such as AetherSX2.
Second, we noticed that the smartphone was capable of playing games for heavy a longer time and still come out as warm and not too hot. This is common to most smartphones with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor inside.
As for the software, the OnePlus 11 comes with Oxygen OS 13 and it was clean, smooth, and very pleasing to the eye. It might not be as vanilla as the older Oxygen OS but this one takes the cake as everything was eye-candy and doesn’t have a heavily skinned UI and too many apps that distract the usability of the smartphone.
Camera
While the camera of the previous OnePlus doesn’t smartphones doesn’t really shine, well, the OnePlus 11 is different. The smartphone is now utilizing Hasselblad branding. Yes, that camera brand that is premium. Inside the smartphone is a 50MP main camera with IMX890 sensor, a 48MP ultra-wide camera with Sony IMX581 sensor and also a 32MP telephoto camera with IMX709 sensor. As for the selfie camera, the smartphone got a 16MP selfie camera.
The camera of the smartphone might not be the best flagship camera that we’ve seen but it definitely performed well in our daily use. Most of my shots whether it’s under low-light or under well-lit conditions, the OnePlus 11 performed just well. It isn’t the sharpest that we’ve seen on a flagship smartphone but it will do great.
OnePlus 11 5G Main camera
OnePlus 11 5G Main camera 1
OnePlus 11 5G Main camera 2
OnePlus 11 5G Main camera 3
OnePlus 11 5G Main camera 4
OnePlus 11 5G Main camera 5
OnePlus 11 5G Main camera 6
OnePlus 11 5G Main camera 7
OnePlus 11 5G Main camera 8
OnePlus 11 5G Main camera 9
OnePlus 11 5G Ultrawide
OnePlus 11 5G Ultrawide 2
OnePlus 11 5G Ultrawide 3
For selfies, it’s good as well but not best not the best one. The telephoto lens isn’t as powerful as other flagships as well. But for some reason, I do love the color profiles that I got on the smartphone especially with the cooler tones of shots of the smartphone as it gives off a tone that is pleasing to the eye.
OnePlus 11 5G Selfie
OnePlus 11 5G Selfie 2
OnePlus 11 5G Selfie 3
Verdict
The OnePlus 11 is truly an excellent daily driver. The smartphone features a design that is premium and more solid, a powerful processor, a long battery life, and a camera that performs really well. The best part about it is that the smartphone does have a pretty reasonable price for a flagship smartphone.
It might look like a perfect smartphone but it does have some misses including the lack of wireless charging and also the lack of IP67 water and dust resistance. While it’s a flagship smartphone, it doesn’t have the best features in different aspects vs. other flagship smartphones but its price is really attractive.
Overall, it’s still a great daily driver despite the lack of some features. The price is attractive, the hardware is great, and every bits of it is enjoyable to use. If you’re the type of person who wants to have a powerful smartphone at a reasonable price and features that won’t fail you in your daily driver then the OnePlus 11 might be the right one for you.
![[Video] Lenovo Legion Slim 7i Review](https://jamonline.ph/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/legion-S7i-768x432.jpg "[Video] Lenovo Legion Slim 7i Review<br />
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