The Samsung Galaxy Note7 has recently been launched and we were one of the first to experience it. Samsung has skipped the Note 6 in favor of the Note7 to make the name align with their other flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S7.
So what can we expect from the Galaxy Note7? Well, there’s a lot of new features on the smartphone including IP68 certification water resistance which can be found on the Galaxy S7 and a lot more. But what are the things that we love when we used the smartphone.
1. It now starts at 64GB
We don’t have to struggle anymore with our smartphones as the Galaxy Note7 will now start with a 64GB of Internal Storage. Not only that, you could also use a MicroSD on the hybrid sim card slot on the smartphone which will give a storage that is probably more than your laptop.
2. It’s note but it is sleek, handy, & thin
One of the problems that we always encounter with big devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Note series is its size. Unlike other smartphones, the Note series is a little big for our hands but with the Note7, the curves feels right and it doesn’t feel like a smartphone with a 5.7 display. it’s actually handy
3. Iris Scanner is awesome
One of the new features that you can see in the Note7 is the Iris Scanner and it’s really awesome because it can recognize your Iris really fast and even in the dark. I know, it’s an added security for your smartphone and it works really well. I really like to see this feature on more smartphones soon.
4. It’s water resistant!
Just like the Samsung Galaxy S7, the Note7 will be water resistant. Not just that, you can also use the S-Pen even if the smartphone is wet or you’re under the rain. I know! It’s really a game changer when a smartphone is water resistant.
5. Edge to edge display is gorgeous
Unlike the previous iterations of Galaxy devices, the Galaxy Note7 now comes with a dual curve display. Yep, you don’t have to pay more just to get a curve display because the Galaxy Note7 already have that. And yes, thanks to its curved display, the smartphone just look even more gorgeous.
Those are just some of the features that would entice you to get the Samsung Galaxy Note7. The smartphone will be available on August 20 for P39,990
Cherry Mobile offers a lot of devices that caters to the different needs of different people. And in case you want a smartphone with a fingerprint sensor that wouldn’t drain your wallets then maybe you would want the Cherry Mobile Flash. Not only that, this smartphone also have a 5.5-inch Full HD display and an octa-core processor. Do check out what I think about the smartphone below:
Cherry Mobile Flash Specs
1.3GHz MediaTek MT6753 octa-core processor
5.5-inch Full HD IPS display
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage expandable up to 32GB via microSD
Recently, ASUS has joined the enterprise and business with their ASUSPro lineup of devices and recently, we got a chance to play with the ASUSPro BU401 laptop. This laptop might look normal to you but this one means business and yes, this one is really made for enterprise use.
The design looks simple and yet, you’ll easily distinguish this one as very professional. The body is sharp yet solid and it is really perfect for business meetings and enterprise use.
The laptop isn’t that thick but it isn’t heavy. It has the right size to fit most bags and its weight is just, even so, holding the laptop in one end doesn’t feel like that the laptop would break or would be damaged. Again, the laptop is tough.
Speaking of tough, the laptop can withstand accidental fall and its hard drive is also anti-shock which protects your data from data losses. And yes, I was able to try it and the notebook didn’t even manage to shut down. It’s solid and tough.
The keyboard of the ASUS BU401 is nice to use too and compared to other ASUS laptops, this one has a different feel. This one is softer and it features backlit keys but I cannot say that the BU401 has a better keyboard compared to its competitors such as the Lenovo Thinkpad.
Thankfully, there’s a large touchpad on the ASUSPro BU401 and it is very comfortable to use. There are two buttons below it which are soft to click on which adds to the comfortability of using the laptop. And for added security, there’s the fingerprint scanner too.
Inside it is a powerful Core i7-4510U processor, 4GB of RAM, and also a Nvidia GT730M GPU inside. Those specs are already enough when you’re planning on running different applications such as Photoshop, AutoCAD and much more. But don’t expect it to run fast under heavier load.
The notebook doesn’t lack in connectivity too as this one packs 3x USB 3.0, HDMI, LAN port, SD Card Reader and for those who are still using an old projector in their offices, there’s a VGA port too on this laptop.
This notebook is a solid one and it is really fit for business and enterprise use but the BU401 still packs the power that we need. The BU401 is now available nationwide.
Ok guys, we now have the awaited flagship smartphone of Samsung, the Galaxy Note7. As expected this smartphone would pack a sexier design and some new features but of course, it still borrowed some design identities and features from the Galaxy S7.
So what can we expect from the Samsung Galaxy Note7? Well, check out the specs of the smartphone first.
Samsung Galaxy Note7 Specs
5.7-inch Quad HD Dual Edge Super AMOLED display (2560×1440)
Octa-Core (2.3GHz Quad + 1.6GHz Quad) Processor
4GB RAM
64GB Internal Storage (UFS 2.0) with Expandable storage
12-megapixel rear camera with OIS
5-megapixel front camera
Fingerprint scanner
Iris Scanner
LTE
Wi-Fi
USB Type-C
Bluetooth
3500mAh
IP68 Water Resistance
Wireless Charging
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
The first thing that you’ll notice with the smartphone is that the Galaxy Note7 now packs a dual edge display and of course, it still has the premium materials and striking design that was seen in the previous flagship smartphones from Samsung.
As expected, the Samsung Galaxy Note7 will still have an S Pen and of course, it has been enhanced. There’s a 0.7mm tip and the pressure sensitivity has been improved. You can now also create and share GIF animations with Smart Select. Also, there’s the Air Command which lets you magnify and translate.
One of the best features to be added on the Samsung Galaxy S7 is the IP68 water resistant and not only that the smartphone supports it but also the S Pen which gives you a peace of mind even when you want to use your S Pen under the rain.
Samsung has also added its security by adding the iris scanning technology which gives more authentication options that you can use making a purchase or to apps and other services. This is also the first smartphone to USB Type-C. Samsung has finally given up and joined the USB Type-C club and if you’re a VR fan, you don’t have to worry because there will be a new Gear VR that is made for the Samsung Galaxy Note7.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will be available this August 20 and it will be offered in Gold Platinum and Black Onyx.
The V3 Max isn’t the first Vivo smartphone to arrive here in the Philippines but it is currently their best offering in the country as this smartphone offers a powerful Snapdragon 652 processor and 4GB of RAM. Yep, it’s a new processor with 4GB of RAM. So how does the smartphone fare in our tests? Check out my review below.
Generic look but very solid
The Vivo V3 Max is made up metal at the back and it’s very solid, however, the smartphone look really generic and it feels heavy for its size. The Vivo V3 Max has a simple design on the front with three capacitive buttons on the front and unfortunately, there’s no button for the recent tasks and the capacitive buttons doesn’t have an led-backlit keys.
The back is made of metal which also houses the fingerprint sensor that can read your fingerprint really fast. Again, the metal back is very solid, however, the design looks similar to the Oppo F1. The Vivo V3 Max houses the volume button and the power button at the side and it also sports a hybrid sim card tray on the left which lets you use dual sim or a single sim with MicroSD card.
While some people might disagree with me, but the inclusion of a menu button instead of a recent tasks button annoys me. However, the Funtouch OS lets you open recent apps by just swiping up from the bottom. But we’ll discuss the operating system in a short while.
One of the things that I really like in this smartphone is its speaker. The Vivo V3 Max has a speaker grill below just beside the Micro-USB port and the 3.5mm audio jack and the speaker was really loud and clear that’s why I was enjoying watching the latest episodes of Game of Thrones on this one. Oh and before I forgot, the Vivo V3 Max got a HiFi audio too, that’s why playing music on this phone is really damn great.
Not the best display but it’s still great
Look, the Vivo V3 Max has a 5.5-inch IPS display with Full HD resolution. It’s not the best display that you can find on the market but for most consumers, this is more than enough. The IPS LCD has nice colors, it is bright and has a good sunlight visibility. Watching movies isn’t a problem on this as this one has a pretty good viewing angles too.
Overall, I’m pretty satisfied with its display. I believe the smartphone doesn’t need a Quad HD display as a bigger resolution will result in a shorter battery life.
No App drawer, no problem
The Vivo V3 Max is running on Android 5.1 with Funtouch OS. It doesn’t feature an app drawer which made the smartphone more user-friendly to some and it does have a lot of features that you might find very useful. Some of these features include an S-capture which lets you take a long screenshot for web pages, rectangular screenshot, funny screenshot for adding doodles, and a screen recorder that lets you take a video of your screen.
There’s an app in the Vivo V3 Max called iManager that lets you control the performance and power of the smartphone. That app really helps to improve the battery life of the smartphone when needed. There are also some cool features in the Vivo V3 Max including the multi-window however, that doesn’t work as the one on Samsung devices. Instead, there are only a few apps that will work on the multi-window.
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Stellar performance
This smartphone is one of the first to sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor with 4GB of RAM in the country. Surprisingly, the smartphone is performing really great and it is really fast. Not only that this is swift and fast to use but it is really powerful.
Playing games on this smartphone is a breeze. Whatever game that you installed on this one will run without problems. I’ve tried GTA: Liberty City Stories at max settings and it runs smoothly. NBA 2k16 won’t be a problem too as this smartphone can run really well. Other games that I’ve tried are Modern Combat 5, Order and Chaos 2, GTA: San Andreas, & Hearthstone and all of them ran well without problems at the highest settings.
Overall, the Vivo V3 Max’s performance feels like a flagship smartphone from the last year. The smartphone performs similar or better than the Snapdragon 808 but without the overheating.
Just an average camera
The Vivo V3 Max got a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and thanks to PDAF, the smartphone can focus really fast on an object that you are shooting. Well, the camera isn’t the best in the market but it is good for its price range. At well-lit conditions, the smartphone performs well in the camera department, I really had no issues with it and it was fun to use. However, in low-light conditions, the smartphone seems to struggle a little bit because of noises. Check out some of the shots that I took using the smartphone:
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Verdict
Overall, the smartphone is really great for its price range. The smartphone is priced at P16,990 and I think this is the smartphone to get at its price range. It has a powerful performance, solid build quality, and an average camera quality. For P16,990, this is a really great smartphone. And yes, I really recommend this smartphone if you have a budget at its price range.
Starmobile is having their 5th Year Anniversary Promo starting today and they’ve just made discounts to 5 of their best smartphones including the Starmobile Knight Spectra, a smartphone that packs a dual camera and is made for mobile photography.
The discounts of the smartphones is massive too and it might interest you in getting one as this smartphones are now priced at:
ASUS Philippines has just confirmed that their upcoming mid-range smartphones will also be launched this August 14 alongside with the other Zenfone 3 devices that includes the Zenfone 3, Zenfone 3 Ultra, and Zenfone 3 Deluxe. Not only that, we also expect the arrival of the Zenbook 3 and the ASUS Transformer 3 Series.
We recently had a hands-on of the ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser and the ASUS Zenfone 3 Max and they both feature a premium metal build and they also ditched the former curved back design which brings a new and fresh materials and design.
Smart and TNT are teaming up to host a developer competition in the country to help us discover innovative solutions that are related to health, disaster preparedness, education and relief through technology.
Now on its second year, the Mobile Web Developer Challenge held it first run last year with Smart Dev Net in collaboration with Facebook and it was also last year when Smart launched the Free Basics app (formerly known as Internet.org).
Free Basics by Facebook let a lot of people access different content and services for free on their mobile phones. This allows users to benefit the contents such as job listings, news, education, local information, and also information regarding health.
The top projects that will be chosen in the competition will come back to pitch on September 9, 2016, to demo the finished mobile site before a panel of judges and the winning project will be added to the bookmarked sites in FreeBasics.com.
Not only that, the winning team will also get a cash prize and a trip to the Facebook office in Singapore, an FBStart Package with benefits up to USD$80,000.
Excited for the next Zenfone 3 series to come in the Philippines? Well, we just got our early access of the retail unit of the ASUS Zenfone 3 and I’m very happy to share with you guys my unboxing and hands-on of the most awaited ASUS Zenfone 3. The smartphone comes in two variants and what we have right now is the 5.5-inch variant. Check out our unboxing and hands-on of the smartphone below.
ASUS Zenfone 3 specs:
5.5-inch Full HD IPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass
Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor
4GB/64GB
16-megapixel rear camera with laser autofocus, EIS, OIS
8-megapixel front camera
LTE
Dual-SIM
WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
Fingerprint scanner
USB Type-C
Android 6.0 Marshmallow
3000mAh battery
The ASUS Zenfone 3 didn’t fail to amaze me when it comes to design. The smartphone isn’t the flagship smartphone in the series and yet, the smartphone still packs a glass and metal design which not only makes the smartphone look premium but also feels like one.
The smartphone’s Snapdragon 625 processor along with the 4GB of RAM doesn’t disappoint too in Antutu and the improvement in the camera department was really a big improvement over the previous Zenfone and it really exceeded my expectations.
However, the ASUS Zenfone 3’s Zen UI 3.0 is still full of bloatware. I appreciate that ASUS has removed some of the redundant apps but still, the ASUS Zenfone 3 is still loaded with a lot of apps. Thankfully, I can uninstall most of them.
The ASUS Zenfone 3 is expected to be launched this August 14 along with the ASUS Zenfone 3 Deluxe and Zenfone 3 Ultra.
Aside from the Zenfone 3 Laser, we also got a chance to play with the ASUS Zenfone 3, Max. If you’re familiar with the Zenfone series, the Max is a mid-range smartphone that packs a really large battery. Well, this time, the Zenfone 3 Laser lost some of its features and also added some. Check out what we think about the smartphone in our hands-on video below.
ASUS Zenfone 3 Max specs
5.2-inch HD IPS display (1280 x 720)
1.5GHz Quad-core MediaTek MT6737T processor
3GB RAM
32GB of internal storage with expandable storage via MicroSD
