The next smartphone from Vivo has leaked out and it seems that 2018 is the year of the notch as the Vivo V9, their next smartphone, will also pack a notch on the display and a bezel-less display with a small chin.
The smartphone will also have a dual rear camera setup along with a fingerprint scanner at the back. But of course, the smartphone will still have a small bezel below the display which is a bummer. The Vivo V9 will also have a micro USB Port and also a 3.5mm audio jack.
The smartphone is expected to sport a 24-megapixel selfie camera and the price is expected to be at INR 25,000 (Php20,000)
Samsung Philippines has just launched their newest flagship smartphones — the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ in the Philippines. Both smartphones are the latest and the best that the Korean company has to offer and it offers amazing features that Samsung fans would surely love including the Dual Aperture Mode and the AR Emoji.
The design of both the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus are very similar to the predecessor, however, the fingerprint scanner of the smartphone was repositioned below the camera which is more comfortable to use and the bigger Galaxy S9 Plus now sports a dual lens camera which lets you do live autofocus. Speaking of the camera, the Dual aperture of the Samsung Galaxy S9 lets you choose between F/1.5 and f/2.4 depending on the shooting environment.
Along with the official launch of the smartphones, Samsung has also announced their ambassadors — Solenn Heusaff and Georgina Wilson who also hosted the launch of the smartphones along with the renowned photographer BJ Pascual.
The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be available on March 16, 2018, and it will come in these variants:
Samsung Galaxy S9
4GB/64GB – Midnight Black and Lilac Purple – Php45,990
Samsung Galaxy S9+
6GB/64GB – Midnight Black and Lilac Purple – Php52,990
6GB/128GB – Midnight Black and Lilac Purple – Php55,990
6GB/256GB – Midnight Black and Lilac Purple – Php60,990
You can check our first impressions of the smartphones here:
Here’s a good news for Fortnite players. You may now soon play the popular battle royale game wherever you are as Epic Games has announced that Fortnite Battle Royale will also be available on iOS and soon on Android.
The company has also promised that the game will be similar to the console and PC versions as the game will feature the same gameplay, same map, same content and the same weekly updates. Not only that, Fortnite will also support Cross-Play and Cross Progression between PlayStation 4, PC, Mac, iOS, and Android. So yeah, you could team up with your friends whether they’re playing on their computers, consoles, or mobile devices.
Fortnite will be having an Invite Event on iOS in where you can download the game from the app store. And of course, limited players will only get to receive the invites first from Epic but don’t worry, they’ll be adding more players in the coming months.
In order to play Fortnite on iOS, you’ll need an internet connection, iOS 11, and at least an iPhone 6S/SE, iPad Mini 4, iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, iPad 2017 devices.
Here’s a good news to people who are looking for an affordable smartphone that still packs some processing prowess. The OPPO A71 2018 is now here. The smartphone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 Processor which can run most games and apps at a decent speed and of course a decent battery life with its 3000mAh Battery.
The OPPO A71 2018 also features A.I. Beauty technology similar to the OPPO F5 series which makes your selfies look better. The smartphone also boasts a 13-megapixel rear camera with multiple modes however the smartphone only has a 5.2-inch HD display. Under the hood is Android 7.1.1 with ColorOS 3.2.
OPPO is really getting big here in Southeast Asia. They’ve recently posted a double-digit growth for the South-East Asia region according to IDC. The ‘Quarterly Mobile Phone tracker’ covers Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
It’s not surprising that OPPO has managed to maintain a rapid growth in South East Asia as the company offers products that cater to the needs of the consumers in the region. OPPO has been offering the needs of the young consumers that are into a fashionable smartphone with a powerful technology inside.
I am not surprised with this as both the OPPO F and A series are great smartphones. The OPPO F is a really great smartphone as it does not only offer a great camera for selfies but also a competitive price while the OPPO A series offer an affordable price for powerful smartphones.
With the current and future rumored smartphones of OPPO, I expect that the company can have more growth in the region.
New promo images have appeared online and it shows the triple camera setup of the Huawei P20 series. Well, not much information has been released but the promo images confirmed that the smartphone would have AI, Leica cameras and a popular thread in 2018, a notch.
The notch also looks smaller than the one on the iPhone X and we can maybe see a face unlock on this smartphone. The Huawei P20 series is expected to be unveiled this month in Paris, France.
Last year, Cherry Mobile aims to change the game again with their Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Series. As expected, the smartphones in these series are affordable but this time, their prestige smartphone in the series, the Flare S6 Plus, got some features that can rarely be found on smartphones these days and it’s the Quad-cameras and also the 18:9 display aspect ratio. So what do I think about the smartphone? Check it out on our review of the smartphone below.
Design and Hardware
One thing that you gotta love with the Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus is that the smartphone is ergonomic thanks to its 18:9 display which made the smartphone narrower but a little bit taller and despite having a 5.7-inch display, the smartphone is actually comfortable to hold.
However, the smartphone is made up of metal which made the smartphone a little bit slippery to hold but don’t get me wrong because the Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus is solid and again, has an ergonomic shape which is great and comfortable even with single-handed use.
The smartphone uses a USB Type-C which is nice since most smartphones will be adopting this port in the future and thankfully, there’s a 3.5mm audio jack on the top of the smartphone. While the volume rocker and the power button of the smartphone are rightly placed on the right of the smartphone.
At the back is where you can find the fingerprint scanner of the smartphone and unfortunately, the fingerprint scanner of the smartphone isn’t as fast as I expected and there’s no face unlock on the Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus which is becoming a trend this year. It’s not really a deal breaker but it would be a nice feature on their best smartphone in the Flare S6 Series.
Display
Despite having a Full HD display on the Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Selfie which is more affordable, the Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus opted for an HD+ display but with 18:9 display aspect ratio. Again, the smartphone is comfortable to hold and I love looking at it because the display isn’t that bad for a Cherry Mobile smartphone.
However, it would’ve been better if the display of the smartphone was Full HD+. The viewing angles of the display of the smartphone are just fine and the color reproduction of the Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus was good but it would be better off with a Full HD+. Really.
Battery Life
We’ve used the Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus as our main phone and it wasn’t that long as I expected. To give you an idea, the Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus packs a 3000mAh battery inside however, it didn’t last long as I expected. In my use, I was able to use the smartphone for 9 hours. That’s 9 hours of browsing my Facebook news feed, some games with data on sometimes.
I strongly suggest that you always bring your power bank with you when you’re using the Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus.
Software
The Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus uses Cherry OS. The company is proud that the Cherry OS will bring identity to their smartphones and also ease of use to their smartphones. And in our usage of the Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus’ Cherry OS, I’m happy that there are some functionalities that I can easily access including cleaning out the memory of the smartphone.
It also included some bloatware but it will surely help speed up your smartphone as it clears the memory and some applications. The smartphone’s Cherry OS also added some themes and yes, there’s a ton of themes that you can download from the store.
There’s Health guard too which is the health app of the smartphone which isn’t that really expansive compared to most health apps on the smartphones.
And here’s my favorite, the Privacy system. This application lets you hide some files and photos. That’s really useful for those people who love to hide things from others who are always accessing their smartphones. A cool addition to the Cherry OS.
What I notice about the software is that it isn’t really polished. Yes, it’s good for mass consumption but I believe Cherry Mobile can still improve their UI and the Cherry OS.
Performance
The Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus still rocks a MediaTek 6750T Octa-Core processor which is old but still popular mostly on locally branded smartphones including the Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus. Yes, it might be old but it still does the job. The smartphone will do just fine when you play games as long as you set it at the lowest settings. I know, not the ideal settings that you can have for gaming on a smartphone. But yeah, I wished the smartphone had a better chipset inside.
Camera
The Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus got a quad-camera. A first for the brand but the question is, does the quad-camera of the smartphone work well? Well, the Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus can do bokeh on the front camera base on the object however at the rear camera, only features radial blur but the rear camera of the smartphone can do zooming.
The smartphone features beauty mode that lets you add different levels of beautification and also FaceCute that lets you add beautification and also stickers. Those who love to take selfies with stickers would definitely love the camera of the smartphone.
When it comes quality, it actually exceeded my expectations for a Cherry Mobile smartphone. It isn’t the best for its price range but it’s better than most local branded smartphones. When you’re at a well-lit condition, the Cherry Mobile Flare S6’s camera can take good shots however at low light, you would notice some noises but it is still better than I expected. The colors are good and I really the photos that I took using the Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus
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Verdict
Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus is their first smartphone with Quad-Camera and it is also their first smartphone with 18:9 display. The company did a great job with this smartphone. It has a good display and an ergonomic and solid body. The camera? It’s not perfect but it does the job. I wish that Cherry Mobile can still improve their cameras in their next smartphones. But overall, I was pretty happy with my use of the Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus.
ASUS has recently launched their newest notebooks here in the country — the ASUS X407 and X507 notebooks. Both notebooks pack the 7th Generation Intel Core i7 Processor along with Nvidia GeForce MX110 Discrete Graphics, and a NanoEdge Display that offers thin bezels on the notebook. The notebooks also feature a fingerprint sensor on the touchpad with Windows Hello.
These notebooks are designed for everyday use. Whether you are a student, office guy, or into just entertainment then these notebooks are perfect for you. These notebooks also pack a portable design with 1.68kg for the X507 and 1.42kg for X407.
We checked out these notebooks at SM Megamall Fashion Hall and we’re pretty happy with what we saw in these notebooks. Both notebooks packs a premium design with brushed metal design. These notebooks are really light too and portable and the displays of the notebooks really have a thin bezels.
ASUS X407 Specs
CPU:
7th Generation Intel Core i7-7500U Processor
7th Generation Intel Core i5-7200U Processor
7th Generation Intel Core i3-7100U Processor
6th Generation Intel Core i3-6006U Processor
Display: 14.0-inch HD (1366×768) Panel
Graphics: Up to Nvidia GeForce MX110 Discrete Graphics
Memory: Up to 8GB DDR4 RAM
Storage:
Dual Storage: 1TB/500GB HDD with 128GB/256GB SSD
Single Drive Model: 1TB/500GB HDD | 128GB/256GB SSD
Connectivity:
1x USB 3.1 Type A
1x USB 2.0
1x HDMI
1x Headphone-out & audio-in combo jack
1x MicroSD card Reader
Wi-Fi & Bluetooth
Colors: Star Grey and Icicle Gold
Battery: 3-cell 33Wh
Weight: 1.42kg
Dimensions: 328.6 x 246.3 x 21.9mm
ASUS X507 Specs
CPU:
7th Generation Intel Core i7-7500U Processor
7th Generation Intel Core i5-7200U Processor
6th Generation Intel Core i3-6006U Processor
Display: 15.6-inch HD (1366×768) Panel
Graphics: Up to Nvidia GeForce MX110 Discrete Graphics
Memory: Up to 8GB DDR4 RAM
Storage:
Dual Storage: 1TB/500GB HDD with 128GB/256GB SSD
Single Drive Model: 1TB/500GB HDD | 128GB/256GB SSD
Connectivity:
1x USB 3.1 Type A
2x USB 2.0
1x HDMI
1x Headphone-out & audio-in combo jack
1x MicroSD card Reader
Wi-Fi & Bluetooth
Colors: Star Grey and Icicle Gold
Battery: 3-cell 33Wh
Weight: 1.68kg
Dimensions: 364.8 x 246.3 x 21.9mm
The ASUS X407 and X507 are available in the Philippines by third week of March and it will start at Php27,995 and will be exclusively sold in Lazada Philippines first but it will be available to ASUS Authorized dealers by April 2018.
Asphalt fans will be very happy to hear this news as the new Asphalt game is now on the iOS App Store and the Filipinos are the lucky ones to get the game first globally! Yes, Asphalt 9: Legends is now available on iOS for free for iPhone 5s or iPad Mini 2 and up.
The game promises to bring a console experience to your mobile device with its detailed graphics, HDR techniques, and stunning visuals. There will be over 50 cars in the game and you can customize it base on your preferred customisations.
There will be 70 tracks in the game and tons of fun experiences in the game.
If you’re using on iOS, you can now download Asphalt 9: Legends here.
Last week, we went to Bohol for us to experience the latest smartphone from Huawei, the Huawei Nova 2 Lite. We have been teasing the smartphone on our Facebook page and also on my Instagram but this is the first time that’ll reveal the hardware inside it.
The Huawei Nova 2 Lite is a mid-range smartphone that packs a 5.99-inch HD+ display with an 18:9 display aspect ratio. Just like the Huawei Nova 2i, this smartphone packs slim bezels and despite its large display, the smartphone feels comfortable to hold.
The Huawei Nova 2 lite also features a dual lens camera at the back that allows for a better depth of field and camera performance. Instead of a Kirin processor, the Huawei Nova 2 Lite is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 Processor along with 3GB of RAM
Huawei Nova 2 Lite Specs
Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 Processor
5.99-inch HD+ Display with 18:9 Display Aspect Ratio
3GB RAM
32GB Internal Storage expandable via MicroSD
12MP+2MP Rear Camera
8-megapixel Front camera
LTE
Dual SIM
Fingerprint Scanner
Face Unlock
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, A-GPS
3000mAh Battery
EMUI 8.0 with Android 8.0 Oreo
The Huawei Nova 2 Lite’s price hasn’t been released yet but we’re confident that the smartphone will be more affordable than the Huawei Nova 2i which is by the way, a great smartphone.
