We all know that the Redmi has a strong line up as it offers an affordable price with a powerful specs inside and it has a really strong brand following thanks to the hardcore Xiaomi fans. And today was the first flash sale of the Redmi Note 7, their first smartphone after being spinned off by Xiaomi and the company has made 100,000 devices in just 8 minutes and 36 seconds according to a Xiaomi representative.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 is the latest smartphone from the company and it packs a groundbreaking 48MP rear camera and a Snapdragon 660 chipset. The variants ranges from RMB 999 (Php7,686~) to RMB 1399 (Php10,763~) which is why the smartphone is popular to the masses.
Are you a longtime Smart subscriber and you think you are lucky to win up to Php25,000,000 worth of cash prize then you better check out Smart Amazing 25 raffle promo. Why? Because not only that Smart is celebrating their 25th anniversary but the company is also celebrating and giving back to its customers by having this promo.
‘Smart Amazing 25’ raffle promo is our way of rewarding our customers all over the country, who continue to inspire us in our mission to deliver services and solutions that help improve their lives and give them amazing experiences,” said Andrew L. Santos, PLDT-Smart FVP and Consumer Marketing Head.
It’s actually easy to join. Smart, TNT, and Sun subscribers must for complete a one-time registration and simply dial *121# and choose AMAZING 25 on the menu then just follow the steps to sign up. After that, you can start earning and accumulating raffle entries for a shot at winning prizes.
For prepaid subscribers, you can earn raffle entries for every registration of selected prepaid promos. These select prepaid promos include: Giga Surf, Giga Surf Plus, All Out Surf, and Game Time for Smart; Surf Saya, Gaan Surf, Panalo Combo, Panalo Data, Giga Surf and All Out Surf for TNT; and Sulit Surf Plus, Big Time Data, Non-Stop Surf, Giga Surf and All Out Surf for Sun.
While postpaid subscribers, for every Php1,000 worth of payment is equivalent to 100 entries. Postpaid customers who purchase select add-ons such as Giga Surf offers for Smart; and the Social Bundle 199, Chat Bundle 249, and Non-Stop 450 for Sun can also earn additional raffle entries.
All of these raffle entries that has been accumulated within the promo period will be qualified for the grand draw of 25 million pesos cash prize in February. But of course, there will be monthly draws in where you can win new smartphones, MVP Rewards points, and mobile data.
So what are you waiting for? Not only that you can win MVP rewards points, mobile datas, and smartphones. You can also win a freaking Php25,000,000!
Looks like we got a new Samsung Galaxy smartphone series that we should all be excited about as the Korean company is expected to unveil the Samsung Galaxy M series and it is also expected to be excusive to Amazin India.
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The Galaxy M Phones will sport an infinity-v display or some brands prefer to call it as the teardrop notch and these smartphones are also expected to sport an ultra-wide angle camrea, large battery, and fast charging. The smartphone is also expected to have USB-C port, 3.5mm hedphone jack, and a large battery. This features definitely makes up a perfect mid-range smartphone.
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The rumoured phones are the Samsung Galaxy M10, Galaxy M20, and the Galaxy M30. The Samsung Galaxy M10 is expected to have a 6-inch display with 3400mAh battery with Exynos 7870 and 3GB of RAM while the Samsung Galaxy M20 will sport a 6.13-inch FUll HD+ display and Exynos 7885 chipset, and lastly the Samsung Galaxy M30 will sport a 6.3-inch display with 5000mAh battery.
The Samsung Galaxy M-series is expected to be unveiled this January 28 which ahead of the Samsung Galaxy S10 launch this February.
When we look for entry-level Android smartphones, most of the time, these smartphones compromise something and mostly, it’s the build quality or the look of the smartphone but the Realme C1 is different. It does have an affordable price and it doesn’t compromise on the performance and also in the quality of the smartphone.
Stylish design for an affordable price
The Realme C1 features a premium design there’s no doubt about that. It might be an affordable smartphone for everyone but the smartphone packs a laminated glass back that feels really premium and then there’s the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection which protects the smartphone from drops.
If you think that notch displays are only for the premium smartphones then think again because the Realme C1 features a 6.2-inch display with a notch. The Realme C1 is one of the few smartphones that sports a notch at this price range and actually, I think this is the best one in its price range.
The smartphone offers a 2.05mm frame which pretty slim despite having a 4230mAh battery. The Realme C1 is offered in Mirror Black and Navy Blue and both of them actually looks pretty good to me and despite the lack of the gradient color which is a trend right now, the Realme C1 still looks premium to me.
Powerful entry-level smartphone
One of the things that you gotta love with the Realme C1 is its power inside. It’s powered by Snapdragon 450 processor inside which makes the Realme C1 the cheapest smartphone with a Snapdragon 450 processor. The performance of the Snapdragon 450 for the price of the Realme C1. Basically, the smartphone doesn’t only give you a stylish design but also powerful hardware inside.
The battery of the smartphone is also one of the best that you can get right now as it packs a 4230mAh battery and actually, this is the best smartphone in terms of battery life that I’ve reviewed. The smartphone can actually have more than two days of battery life depending on your usage and if you’re a gamer then you won’t have a problem.
The camera of the smartphone is something you should look at too as it features a dual-lens rear camera that is capable of shooting portrait shots with better depth sensing and bokeh.
Best smartphone in its price range
With this offering of Realme, I believe this is the best smartphone that you can get it at its price range. Not only that the smartphone offers powerful hardware inside, but the Realme C1 also offers a stylish and premium design for its price. Actually, the smartphone feels like a more than Php10,000 smartphone. You wouldn’t even feel that the Realme C1 is actually a sub-Php6k smartphone.
The Realme C1 is now available nationwide and also at Lazada for Php5,990.00.
If you think that you are the biggest Xiaomi fan in the country and you need a new Xiaomi smartphone then you better mark your calendars on the January 15 to 17. Why? Because Mi Philippines will be having a Lazmall sale on those dates.
You can expect up to 30% off on selected Xiaomi devices however, the company didn’t detailed which smartphones will be having these discounts. But on their poster, the Mi A2, Mi A2 Lite, and the Redmi 6 are shown which probably means that we can get a discount on these smartphones.
A tweet from Ben Geskin apparently shows the OnePlus 7 that shows the smartphone will now sport a notch-less design and instead, we might have a slider design on the OnePlus 7. There are no details on the smartphone aside from the OnePlus 6T beside it with a case while the OnePlus 7 looks like it has a curved display with a sliding mechanism.
Ben Geskin has also created a concept render base on the leaked photo and man, it does look good on the front thanks to the removal of the notch.
But again, this might not be the final design of the OnePlus 7 so just take this one with a grain of salt.
Huawei has been making Android tablets for a while and one of their latest tablets is the Huawei Mediapad M5 Lite. The tablet has arrived in the Philippines late last year and it is for the people who want to have a more immersive experience when consuming media files. Do you want to know more about it? Check out our review of the tablet below.
Design and hardware
The design and construction of the tablet are one of the few things that you’ll definitely in the Huawei Mediapad M5 Lite. It might have a 10.1-inch display but the tablet feels light and very portable. It also feels solid thanks to its metal unibody build which is also one of the main reasons why this one stands out against other tablets.
Like the P20 and P20 Pro, there’s a home button on the front which also serves as the fingerprint scanner of the tablet and that is pretty fast and convenient for me despite the lack of face unlock on the tablet. There’s a card tray too for the MicroSD unfortunately, there’s no cellular here.
The Huawei Mediapad M5 Lite also features USB-C port which is capable of fast charging. There’s an included 9V/2A charger in the box too and yes, I was pretty happy that the tablet charges really fast.
The biggest feature that I love on the Huawei Mediapad M5 Lite is the quad-speakers which are tuned by Harman/Kardon and damn, the sound quality of this thing is loud, clear, and insane. Actually, when I’m watching YouTube videos on this tablet, I wouldn’t even use my BT speakers because this one is really loud.
This is a tablet and my standards for the camera on devices are pretty low and I highly suggest that you use your smartphones instead of tablets. In our camera tests, most of the shots that we took are washed out and are soft but you would probably just use the camera of these tablets for video calls so it won’t be really a problem. But in case you want to check it out, here are some sample shots using the tablet.
Huawei M-Pen lite Stylus
The Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite supports the M-Pen lite stylus which is an external stylus that you can buy separately. It supports 2048-layer pressure sensitivity and I find it fun to use. The build of the pen is actually ergonomic and I really had no problems using it to draw.
While there are some included apps that take advantage of the MediaPad M5 Lite, I still find the application of the stylus lacking support for more applications but again, if you are into drawing and notetaking then this one wouldn’t be a problem to you guys. Another thing, the stylus is actually powered by AAAA battery which will be hard to find.
Display
The Huawei Mediapad M5 Lite packs a 10.1-inch display with a resolution of 1920×1200 which means that it comes with a 16:10 display aspect ratio. The display is actually pretty fine though it doesn’t have the best quality, I’m still satisfied watching videos YouTube on this tablet. The display was also responsive with the stylus so I really didn’t have any problem using it.
Another thing that I love about the tablet is the thin bezel. Well, it does have a bezel for better ergonomics but the tablet is nice to hold and that thin bezel on the tablet gives less footprint to the tablet which is really nice.
Battery Life
The Huawei Mediapad m5 Lite has a 7500mAh battery which lasts pretty long and probably a day of normal tablet usage. This tablet lets you watch a couple of movies in a single day without asking for the charger. In our test at PC Mark, we got a score of 10 hours and 59 minutes
Performance
The Huawei Mediapad M5 Lite doesn’t come with the latest chipset, unfortunately. It’s running on Kirin 659 chipset which is also used by Huawei Nova 2i which was released last 2017. It also comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. Using this tablet for media consumption such as watching videos and browsing the web wouldn’t be a problem however when it comes to gaming, don’t expect too much from the tablet but it can definitely run light and casual games and some games like PUBG but again, don’t expect high framerates on demanding games. Check out the benchmarks that we got using the tablet.
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If you’re into media consumption then you won’t be disappointed with the tablet but if you want to play heavy games on this tablet with really good fps then don’t expect too much from it but it can definitely run most games.
Software
Huawei Mediapad M5 Lite is running on EMUI 8.0 with Android 8.0 Oreo. If you’re a Huawei user then the interface isn’t a surprise to you as the tablet will have a similar interface and the pre-installed applications are pretty much the same but you’ll be getting apps that will utilize the M Pen Lite Stylus like the Nebo app which allows you to do note-taking and it has handwriting recognition which is pretty cool and also the MyScript Calculator which lets you write some equations that will automatically solve the equations which is pretty helpful for some people who wants their math assignments to be answered.
Verdict
The Huawei Mediapad M5 Lite features a really loud and clear speaker thanks to Harman/Kardon and the display is something that I really appreciate plus the support for the M Pen Lite stylus. Another thing that I love on the tablet is the unibody metal build which makes the tablet really solid, however, the tablet is still running on Kirin 659 processor which is a little bit old.
So if you’re just looking for a tablet that is made for media consumption such as watching Netflix and YouTube then this one is a great tablet for you thanks to its nice display and an amazing speaker. The addition of stylus support is pretty good too as you can take notes with this tablet. Again, the tablet can do some light and casual gaming but don’t expect to run it at really high settings.
The Huawei Mediapad M5 Lite is available for Php18,990
Samsung has finally released their invites for the Samsung Galaxy S10 launch and it will be happening next month on February 20 at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. This also marks the 10th anniversary of the Samsung Galaxy series which is why the company is highlighting the number 10.
It also rumoured that there will be three variants of the Samsung Galaxy S10 series and there will be a foldable phone that will be revaled as well.
This event is also unusual as it hold the Unpacked event in the US instead in Barcelona in where Mobile World Congress will be held, a trade show showcasing new smartphones from different brands.
Things are about to get exciting this year as Realme will launch a new smartphone this Q1 2019 and it will be the Realme 3 according to Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth.
The Indian CEO did not reveal any details or specifications about the Realme 3 but we can expect this smartphone at some point in the first quarter of 2019., Not just that, he also mentioned that the company is working on a 48MP camera smartphone which will probably compete against the Redmi Note 7 that packs a 48MP rear camera.
In the latest article by Philstar, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has announced that they’ll be requiring everyone who will be renewing their passports to bring their birth certificates as its previous outsourced passport maker has “took away” all of its applicants data according to Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.
“We are rebuilding our files from scratch because previous outsourced passport maker took all the data when contract (was) terminated,” Locsin said in his Twitter account.
“Because previous contractor got pissed when terminated it made off with data. We did nothing about it or couldn’t because we were in the wrong. It won’t happen again. Passports pose national security issues and cannot be kept back by private entities. Data belongs to the state,” Locsin said in another tweet.
And now, applicants renewing their brown, green, or maroon machine-readable passports are now required to submit birth certificates.
Well, we should really care about this because a private entity has held our data and information which is a massive security and data breach for the Filipinos.
Why should we be worried?
Since the private entity or the passport maker “took away” our data and information, it is possible that they can use these information to their advantage. Not only that, it is also possible that they can share these data and information to others so they can use it.
To make it simple, this is really important as these data can be use by other people to influence our decisions (e.g. Cambridge Analytica-Facebook scandal) and it can be use as a tool to harm or to control us.
In short, these personal data that they have is important and if it is in the wrong hands, it can be used to harm us. Oh and yeah, these information can be solve to identity thieves.
I hope that National Privacy Commission will intervene to help up us all as this is a very important matter.
