The latest smartphone from Vivo, the Vivo Y55s has arrived at Vivo retailers and stores weeks ago and it’s a mid-range smartphone that runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and a 3GB of RAM. Surprisingly, it’s a decent smartphone with decent specs. It packs a 5.2-inch HD display, 3GB of RAM, and a 13-megapixel rear camera. It doesn’t have a selfie camera that is as good as the V5 series but again, the specs of the smartphone is already quite decent. Check out our unboxing and hands-on of the smartphone below.
Huawei does a great job in making smartphones these days. They have affordable smartphones that pack an amazing hardware and most of their smartphones feel really premium compared to other brands at its price range. Today, we’ll review the Huawei GR3 2017, it’s a sub 9k smartphone and it packs not only a pretty powerful hardware but also a beautiful and premium design. Check out our review of the smartphone below.
A premium and beautiful build
The Huawei GR3 2017 is a P8,990 smartphone but the smartphone looks and feels more than that. The smartphone is beautiful as this one is clad in glass on both front and back and then there’s the simple but really elegant design of the smartphone with on-screen capacitive buttons.
At the back of the smartphone is the fingerprint scanner which can detect and read my fingerprints really fast. At the top of the smartphone, you can find the 3.5mm audio jack while below the smartphone is where the micro USB port and the speaker grill is located.
One problem that you might encounter with the Huawei GR3 2017 is that the smartphone is a fingerprint magnet. Why? Because its body is made up of glass. Is it a deal breaker? Not really since this smartphone is still sexy AF. Oh and don’t worry about scratches and fingerprints because there’s a free phone case out of the box.
A good display
For its price, the Huawei GR3 2017 has a pretty good display. The color reproduction is good and yes, the display of the smartphone is Full HD. It’s a little bit small for some as this smartphone only packs a 5.2-inch display but nonetheless, the display is still good.
Still a powerful hardware inside
The Huawei GR3 2017 has a pretty good specs inside and it’s pretty powerful. Inside is a HiSilicon Kirin 655 Octa-Core processor and then there’s the 3GB of RAM. Actually, the smartphone can perform really well on games and apps, however, there’s only a 16GB of storage which is small by today’s standard. So yeah, it is really recommended to have a MicroSD card with you when you have the Huawei GR3 2017 so that you can install 3D heavy games and more.
The Huawei GR3 2017 is rocking their own EMUI 5.0 and it’s running on Android 7.0 so yeah, you could do split screen on this smartphone however, I still think the 5.2-inch display of the smartphone is too small for that. Nonetheless, the display of the smartphone is still fine.
The EMUI of the smartphone is very user-friendly however if you’re used to vanilla Android, the EMUI is a heavily customized by Huawei. Is it a bad thing? No. I think the EMUI was optimized on the smartphone and it works well without problems and it was very smooth when I was using it.
Just the right camera
The Huawei GR3 2017’s camera isn’t bad but it is also not the best one that you can find in the price range. The smartphone features a 12-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and I’ve used the smartphone in Taipei and I got some good shots in well-lit conditions. However, I noticed that some photos are a little bit overexposed and are a little bit darker than expected but the photos are sharp and clear. Check out the photos that I took using the smartphone.
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Verdict
The Huawei GR3 2017 is probably the best smartphone for its price range. You got a pretty good performance, the smartphone’s design is sleek and clean, and again, the smartphone is really affordable. The Huawei GR3 2017 performs well on all aspects and yes, I do highly recommend this smartphone if your budget of up to P9,000.
The ASUS Zenfone AR is now available for pre-order and if you’re interested in getting the world’s first smartphone that is Google Tango-enabled and Daydream ready smartphone with 8GB of RAM. This smartphone might not pack the latest Snapdragon CPU inside but it still powerful and enough for VR and also AR.
The ASUS Zenfone AR comes with three cameras that are used for motion tracking, area learning and also depth perception. So basically, the TriCam System allows you to have a better AR experience.
You can now pre-order the ASUS Zenfone AR up to July 16 and it will come with an exclusive pre-order bundle that includes ZenPower Ultra 20,100mAh, Zenfone AR clear case, Zenfone AR Tempered Glass, and a Zenfone AR VR cardboard.
The ASUS Zenfone AR will be available in the Philippines for P44,995
ASUS Zenfone AR Specs
Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 Processor
5.7-inch WQHD (2560×1440) Display
8GB RAM
128GB Internal storage with MicroSD card slot up to 2TB
23-megapixel rear camera with f/2.0 aperture, Dual LED Flash, OIS
Good news for those people who are living in the cities and towns of Antipolo, Marikina, Pasig, Taguig, Caloocan, Taytay, Cainta, and Pateros. The residents of villages like Brgy. Kaunlaran in Caloocan, Antipolo Hills Subdivision, Greenbreeze Phase 2 and 2A in Marikina, and Greenwoods Executive Village in Pasig.
The network rollout in East Metro Manila will provide fast internet speeds to both consumer and enterprises who will take advantage of the PLDT Fibr rollout. For streamers and gamers like me, they’ll surely love this as PLDT Fibr allows us to experience equal download and upload speeds for better streaming quality.
With PLDT Home Fibr, you can also take advantage of their services including the Roku powered TVolution box in where you can watch different TV channels using Cignal, Youtube, Iflix, Netflix, and many more.
PLDT is really aggressive in deploying their Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) services and they’ve already transformed some areas into Fibr-powered PLDT Smart Cities starting with Toledo City, Gen. Santos, Naga City, and South Metro Manila,
Cloudfone has recently unveiled their newest smartphones and these new smartphones from Cloudfone definitely pack some cool features. There were three smartphones that were unveiled by Cloudfone and these are the Excite Prime 2, Excite Prime 2 Pro, & Thrill Boost 2.
Cloudfone Thrill Boost 2 Specs
5.0-inch FWVGA IPS Display
1.3GHz MediaTek MT6580M Quad-Core Processor
1GB RAM
8GB Internal Storage expandable via MicroSD
5-megapixel rear camera
5-megapixel front camera
Dual Sim
3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
2500mAh battery
Android 7.0 Nougat
The Cloudfone Thrill Boost 2 is an affordable smartphone and it runs on Android 7.0 Nougat. There’s nothing really special about this smartphone aside from its affordable price
Cloudfone Excite Prime 2 Specs
5.5-inch HD Display
1.3GHz MediaTek MT6737 Quad-Core Processor
3GB RAM
32GB Internal Storage expandable via MicroSD
13-megapixel rear camera
8-megapixel rear camera
Dual SIM
LTE
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
3000mAh Battery
Android 7.0 Nougat
The Cloudfone Excite Prime 2 does have decent specs for a 2017 Android smartphone. One of the features of this smartphone that you might want to take a look at is its 8-megapixel front camera. There’s a depth of field effect on the front camera which makes your selfies better.
Cloudfone Excite Prime 2 Pro Specs
5.5-inch HD Display with 18:9 screen ratio
1.4 GHz Snapdragon 430 Quad-Core Processor
4GB RAM
64GB Internal Storage with MicroSD card slot
13-megapixel + 8-megapixel rear camera
20-megapixel front camera
Dual SIM
LTE
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
Quick Charge 3.0
3000mAh Battery
Android 7.0 Nougat
The Cloudfone Excite Prime 2 Pro packs a dual lens camera that can do portrait mode with photos with Bokeh effect.
The Cloudfone Thrill Boost 2 will be available next week for P2,699 while the pricing and availability of the Cloudfone Excite Prime 2 and Excite Prime Pro 2 haven’t been announced yet.
It’s a good day for OPPO Philippines as they managed to dominate the P15k-P20k price range with their newest smartphone, the OPPO F3 with a 48.5% market share according to GFK. The smartphone emerged as the #1 smartphone in the price range. If you’ve been reading my blog before, OPPO Philippines sold 22,000 units of OPPO F3 in just three days which is pretty impressive for its price of P16,990.
Aside from getting a 48.5% market share, OPPO also managed to be the No.2 smartphone brand in the Philippines. The latest GFK Philippines May 2017 report just shows that OPPO Philippines is in the right direction.
In case you’re not familiar with the OPPO F3, the smartphone packs a full HD 5.5-inch display, MediaTek MT6750T Processor, 4GB of RAM, 13-megapixel rear camera, and a 20-megapixel dual front camera.
The OPPO F3 Black edition was recently released and you may now choose from Rose Gold, Gold, and Black.
The OPPO F3 is now on sale for P15,990 under the Back-To-School Promo until July 31, 2017.
Surprisingly, ASUS has finally unveiled the first member of the Zenfone 4 family, the ASUS Zenfone 4 Max. The smartphone boasts a 5000mAh of battery and a dual lens rear camera which is becoming a common sight on smartphones these days. The smartphone will also come with a 5.5-inch display with a 1080p resolution. Well, that’s a surprise and a first on the Zenfone Max series. The smartphone also comes in either a Snapdragon 430 or Snapdragon 425. The RAM of the smartphone is up to 4GB and the storage comes in 32/64 with microSD card slot.
The design of the smartphone is very similar to the ASUS Zenfone 3 Zoom and personally, I think the design of the smartphone is clean. I would love to see this smartphone in person and of course, review it.
The ASUS Zenfone 4 Max 2GB/16GB with Snapdragon 425 processor inside will launch in Russia at RUB 13,900 (Php10,000). There were no official announcements regarding the official launch of the smartphone in the Philippines.
Apple has just updated the iPad Pro line and it now comes with a 10.5-inch display which is a little bit bigger than the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. The all-new iPad Pro 10.5 now comes with some awesome features such as the 120Hz display, the same cameras of the iPhone 7, and of course, the iPad Pro 10.5 is also ready for iOS 11. This new update to iOS brings a lot of new features to the iPad that can make the tablet a PC replacement. It brings Files which is the iPad’s File Explorer and then the drag and drop which is really helpful when you’re creating a document or a presentation. But of course, these are just some of the features that you can expect on the iOS 11.
The iPad Pro 10.5 is not yet available locally at Apple Resellers but you can get the tablet right now at Widget City.
To know more about the iPad Pro 10.5, check out our unboxing and hands-on video below.
Cherry Mobile does offer a lot of devices for different people who are looking for different features. Like today, we have the Cherry Mobile Defender, an IP68 certified tough smartphone which means that you can dip it in the water for 30 minutes and even survived drops thanks to its tough design.
A thick but solid and tough design
If you’re looking for a smartphone that can withstand drops and at adventurous environments, well, expect that your smartphone will have a thick and tough body. And yes, the Cherry Mobile Defender is just like that as this smartphone is covered with a rubber body that protects the smartphone from drops and also from extreme conditions.
One thing that you might hate with this smartphone is that you have to unscrew the cover at the back just to put your sim card. I know, it’s really a hassle for everyone especially when you’re traveling and you don’t have the means to open it.
The Cherry Mobile Defender is thick, I mean it’s really thick but since the body is made up of rubber which protects the device and makes the smartphone easier to grip. Actually, I wouldn’t really mind about dropping this smartphone because this smartphone is really tough and durable.
If you’re worried about taking photos when the display is wet, that wouldn’t be a problem because the Cherry Mobile Defender packs a shutter button that is placed alongside the PTT button and the SOS button. The Cherry Mobile Defender does sure have some neat packing features that you can’t find on most smartphones.
A lot of flaps
To protect the smartphone from water or dust, the ports of the smartphone are covered with flaps and unfortunately for you guys, only the included micro USB cable in the box is only one that can fit on the smartphone. Unless you guys have a micro USB with a long port, that wouldn’t be a problem for the Cherry Mobile Defender. The 3.5mm audio jack of the smartphone is placed at the top and it is also covered by the flap.
Not a really good display
One of the things that I didn’t really like with the Cherry Mobile Defender is its display. The viewing angles of this smartphone aren’t good and using it outside isn’t ideal too as the display isn’t really that bright. But don’t worry, the Cherry Mobile Defender is still useable outside. But for some people who always work on the outside with their smartphones, they might really take this one seriously.
Typical Cherry Mobile Software
The Cherry Mobile Defender got a typical Cherry Mobile software. What do I mean by that? Well, it has the clean Cherry Mobile software with only a few applications pre-installed with it. But of course, it comes to some apps including Cherry applications and MovieClub which lets you watch movies and TV series for free.
The Cherry Mobile Defender also comes with an app called Zello in which it uses mobile data or your WiFi to have a walkie-talkie like an app on your smartphone. However, the PTT button that is included in the smartphone doesn’t work well in the app and actually, I don’t think you would use that unless you have your own channel or network of users that you want to talk to simultaneously.
Fine Performance
The smartphone might be rugged and tough but it still doesn’t lack some processing power inside. The MediaTek Helio P10 inside this smartphone along with the 3GB of RAM inside it can play most games and run apps without problems. However, you probably bought this smartphone for your rugged adventures, not for gaming.
But in case you’re wondering about thermal issues of the Helio P10, the Cherry Mobile Defender is just fine and doesn’t really heat up that much. And if it does, no worries, the Cherry Mobile Defender is tough and rugged so just put it in the freezer.
A not so good camera
The Cherry Mobile Defender might pack some features that most rugged and most adventurers want but the camera of the smartphone is mediocre. Actually, the camera of the smartphone isn’t that good. But actually, I already expected that since the smartphone already invested to its other features including the body and the IP68 water and dust resistance. It’s actually hard to find smartphones like the Cherry Mobile Defender. Check out the shots that I took using the smartphone:
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Amazing battery life
Another thing that you got to appreciate in the smartphone is the long battery life. It has a 4200mAh battery and if you’re the type of guy who is always outdoors and has a source for charging, the Cherry Mobile Defender would be great for your rugged adventures. The Cherry Mobile Defender can last up to more than two days without dying.
Verdict
No wonder, the Cherry Mobile Defender is a very tough smartphone. It’s really hard to look for a smartphone like this especially at its price however, this smartphone is only recommended to people who are always on the go and always on the rugged and tough adventures. The smartphone packs some punch when it comes to power, it has a decent battery life however you would probably hate the display and its bulkiness.
The smartphone is not for everyone as this one is bulky and it is really made for tough and rugged conditions. I would recommend this smartphone for those in the construction business, adventurers, or people who work at extreme and tough conditions. But if you always drop o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶r̶o̶w̶ your smartphone then you might want to check this one out.
A few weeks ago, Jonathan Yabut, the winner of the hit reality show “Apprentice Asia” graced the Sun Life Financial’s “Live Brighter Session and I was one of the people who were able to listen to his talk. Yabut served as the Chief of Staff for AirAsia for a year after he won in the hit reality show and now he has his own JY Consultancy & Ventures that operates in Manila, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore.
He shared his humble beginning and how he became a successful businessman and an in-demand motivational speaker right now. During his talk, he shared how we should work hard, strive hard, and make goals in our lives.
Aside from Jonathan Yabut, Sun Life Financial Advisor JP Cruz shared to us his career and he overcomes his struggles in his life. Right now, he’s a successful Sun Life advisor and helping people in achieving lifetime financial security.
I myself have learned a lot from them. I’ve learned that as early as now, we should achieve a good financial security. Also, we should a timeline for our achievements.
The “Live Brighter Sessions” are set to be held in Cebu and Davao.
