Cherry Mobile Apollo Review

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November 25, 2013

Cherry Mobile doesn’t want to stop releasing the most affordable Android smartphones in the market. One of those affordable Android phones from Cherry Mobile with a very decent specs is the Cherry Mobile Apollo. And yes, this is my favorite Cherry Mobile Android phone. It is priced P7,000 and has a very interesting specifications inside. There’s a Quad-Core MediaTek processor, 1GB of RAM, 12 MP BSI camera and a 4.5″ HD Display. So, why is it my favorite Cherry Mobile Android phone? Check it out after the break.

Don’t expect anything special on the Cherry Mobile Apollo. It is made up of plastic but hell no, plastic body isn’t always bad. The Cherry Mobile Apollo is the most solid Android smartphone from Cherry Mobile that I’ve tried. I like its structure and its curves. This is a phone that you might want to hold everytime instead of putting it into your pocket because it won’t really strain your hand. The thickness, structure and curves were perfect for me.

There’s the 4.5″ HD display which isn’t the best display I’ve seen on a smartphone but it was pretty well for its price range. Do you know why I like it? It’s because there are only a few Quad-Core smartphones in the market with a HD display at that price. When I turned on the phone for the first time, I noticed that the display wasn’t responsive at first but it got fixed after a while, I still don’t understand why that happened.

I didn’t got any problems with its connectivities. Well of course, you’ll have to buy a MicroSD card for your phone because the 4 GB internal storage won’t be enough for you especially when you download a lot of apps and games. The sound quality of the Cherry Mobile Apollo was good too, not the best but it was good. According to the box, the battery is only rated at 1800 mAh but when you check the battery, it is rated at 2000mAh. It manage to last a day on me at average use. I think the battery performance was even better than the Cherry Mobile Cosmos X.

Speaking of performance, the Cherry Mobile Apollo is powered by the good ol’ Quad-Core MediaTek processor paired with 1 GB of RAM. Just like other smartphones with the same hardware inside, the performance was very similar. I don’t know why, but I think this is more responsive than my Cherry Mobile Cosmos X which I reviewed a few months back. (Check out the review here).

As expected, the Cherry Mobile Apollo can play most of the games that you probably want on the phone. I’ve enjoyed playing Dead Trigger 2 with no lags and slowdowns. The performance was pretty well with other games too. Despite that, Don’t expect that you could set it at the highest settings when you’re playing some very demanding 3D game.

If you’re curious with its Antutu benchmark, the Cherry Mobile Apollo got a fair score of 13434. It’s not bad actually, the score is kinda predictable in the local branded mobile market since most of them used a Quad-Core MediaTek processor.

One of the features that I really like on the phone is the BSI camera. And yes, the Cherry Mobile Apollo has one of the best camera that I’ve tried on a Cherry Mobile Phone. It took some good shots even at lowlight. Actually, I’m very impressed with its camera, I hope the future Cherry Mobile phones would have a camera like the Cherry Mobile Apollo. The Dual-LED flash didn’t perform well as I expected, I expected the images to be brighter but it failed to reach my expectations. Anyway, the photos were still great, the images were sharp and the colors were just right. Here are the sample photos.

While here’s a sample video of the Cherry Mobile Apollo. I kept my hand steady as much as possible but the video is still a bit shaky. Check out the video below:

I really like the Cherry Mobile Apollo. Why? Because the Cherry Mobile Apollo is the jack of all trades. Actually, I can’t find any big issues that’ll be a deal breaker for the Cherry Mobile Apollo. I mean, the specs isn’t the best in the market but it’s quite good already and it can run most of the apps and games that are available in Google Play. The battery doesn’t drain that fast too and the camera performs really well (except for that LED flash, geez). If your budget falls at P7,000 and below, I strongly recommend this smartphone for you. You can get the Cherry Mobile Apollo at Lazada.

Cherry Mobile Apollo Total Score: 7.8 | Create infographics

Instagram for Windows Phone Now available!

By

Jam Ancheta

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November 21, 2013

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The long wait is over Windows Phone users! After the arrival of Vine on WP, The official app of Instagram has finally arrive on the Windows Phone Store too. The app is still in beta and you can’t upload videos yet on the app so you have to rely on the 6Tag when you want to upload videos for now. But don’t worry, it’ll be coming soon to the Instagram app for WP. Of course, your favorite Instagram filters are still there along with the blur effects which adds more drama to the image. Ok, why don’t you check out the QR code of the Instagram app for WP after the break. ENJOY!

DOWNLOAD INSTAGRAM USING THIS QR CODE:

ASUS MeMo Pad HD 7 Review

By

Jam Ancheta

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November 17, 2013

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If you’re planning on getting a decent and powerful that doesn’t cost that much, you might want to look at the ASUS MeMo Pad HD 7. So what’s up with this tablet? What’s cool? Well, this tablet starts at P6,995 but it still got some guts and power to run most of the demanding apps that you can see on the Google Play. Why don’t you check out the the ASUS MeMo Pad HD 7 review after the break.

The ASUS MeMo Pad HD 7 has a 7″ 1280 x 800 HD IPS panel which is quite good for its price. It also packs a MediaTek 1.2 GHz Quad-Core processor along with the 1 GB RAM which is already enough for your basic needs on a tablet like web browsing, office applications and some casual gaming.

The ASUS MeMo Pad HD 7 is available in many colors. The black and the blue one have a matte back cover while the rest are glossy. I actually prefer the matte over the glossy one because I like the grip on the matte and the glossy back is very prone to scratches. Actually, I don’t have an idea how I got those scratches at the back.

The construction of the tablet wasn’t very solid. I feel that ASUS needs to improve more the ASUS MemoPad HD 7’s construction but hey, this tablet is far better than the local brands when it comes to build quality. The one that I got is the 16 GB version and I was very happy to see that the ASUS Memopad HD 7 supports MicroSD card slot because for some people, 16 GB is not enough for their media files.

I love the battery life of the ASUS MeMoPad HD7. Why? Because it can last up to more than a day on an average use. Unfortunately, unlike the ASUS Nexus 7, this one doesn’t support Micro-USB keyboard. There’s no USB OTG too but I think, that wouldn’t be a deal breaker for some people. The sound quality of the ASUS MemoPad HD 7 isn’t the best but it performs beyond my expectations. Sometimes, I use the tablet stand and connect the tablet to my speaker. I also watch movies sometimes with that. It’s very rare for a tablet to have a stand that comes with the box.

It may not run on the latest version of Android but at least it’s running on Android Jelly Bean 4.2 but I hope that updates will still be coming on the tablet. The 1.2 GHz Quad-Core MediaTek processor and 1 GB of RAM feels smooth at first but I notice some lags after I run too many apps and used a live wallpaper but overall, I think the performance is still great for its price. This tablet really performs well. The ASUS Memopad HD7 can play 1080p videos but I noticed some hiccups and lags sometimes. I’m not sure why but I hope ASUS can fix that soon.

One of the games that I’ve tried is Asphalt 8 and yes, it worked perfectly well at medium settings but I notice that there were some lags and it isn’t playable that much on high settings. Overall, the performance of the MT8125 which is the processor inside the ASUS MeMopad HD 7 is pretty much the same with the MT6589 on the smartphones. Here’s the Antutu benchmark of the ASUS MeMopad HD 7.

Unlike the Nexus 7, the ASUS MeMo Pad HD 7 has built-in apps made by ASUS. There’s ASUS Webstorage which gives you 16 GB of cloud storage. It’s really great if you want to back up your images and videos to the cloud. The Power Saver app really helps the tablet save more power so I suggest that you take a look on that when you buy one. I barely use the rest of the ASUS apps built in the tablet.

Another feature of the ASUS android tablets that I really like is the floating apps. It is already present on the other Android products from ASUS like the Fonepad and the Padfone. It’s really a great feature for Android tablets but I hope that they could add some more apps that support floating apps, there are only a handful of apps that are available there. Geez.

It comes in two variants 8 and 16 GB. The latter has a 5 megapixel camera while the 8 GB version has only 2 MP camera. I think that’s reasonable because it’ll lower down the price even more. I have the 16 GB version so there’s a 5 megapixel camera at the back. For a tablet, I don’t really need a very awesome camera because I always use my smartphone for Instagram. The video? Well, it’s pretty good too and it can record 1080p videos. I notice that the shots were only great when there’s enough light but at low light condition you’ll notice too much noise. Anyway, here are the sample shots that I took using the ASUS MeMopad HD 7:

There’s a tablet stand that comes with the box that’s why it is easier for me to talk to Skype or hangouts even without holding tablet. But I’m a little worried with the tablet stand because it is so soft and I feel that I could break it immediately. But hey, at least there’s a tablet stand that comes with the box.

Android tablets are popping out everywhere and even the local brands has some decent tablets too but if you’re looking for a tablet below P9,000 I would definitely choose the ASUS Memo Pad HD 7. Why? The Quad-Core processor might not be able to run some games at the highest settings but the processing power of the tablet is already fast enough for its price range. The software and its features are very useful too. If you don’t have enough budget for the Nexus 7 or the iPad Mini, you can opt for this one instead. Yes folks, this tablet is quite good.

asus memopad hd 7 Total Score: 7.5 | Infographics

Disclosure: Reviewed by Camille with a little help from Jam

Vine now available on Windows Phone

By

Jam Ancheta

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November 13, 2013

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Image: Nokia Conversations

If you can still remember, Vine for Windows Phone was announced a few weeks ago. Finally, Windows Phone fans must be rejoicing right now with the availability of Vine on the Windows Phone store. If you don’t have an idea what Vine is, it is an app that lets you create 6-second films. Vine was also the instagram of videos before the videos were introduced in Instagram. If you’re interested then better head on to the Windows Phone store or just check out this link. Yes Instagram, I’m looking at you right now. Where’s your Windows Phone app? I’m waiting for you.

Blogopolis 2013: #IntoTheWild

By

Jam Ancheta

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November 12, 2013

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Nuffnang’s Blogopolis 2013 #IntoTheWild is an event where the experts in the social media and digital world will gather together and they’ll bring you to the wild! And no, not the Amazon-like jungle that you’ve seen in the movies! Blogopolis will bring you into the W.I.L.D.! (Weaving Information for Leaders of the Digital world). Blogopolis 2013 will be a day-long event with sessions with the experts in the afternoon and the Nuffie awards at night.
Anyone who’s interested in Social media are welcome in Blogopolis 2013. Yes!, all of you are invited whether you’re a scumbag student like me, a digital marketing officer, a soon to be #1 blogger or a social media influencer.

Here are the speakers who will be sharing their social media insights an protips:

Abe Olandres for The Cycle of Ads: How to Make Social Media Advertising Effective
Aisa Ipac for Taking your Readers Offline: Successful Ways to Mount a Blog Event
Christine Dychiao for Blog Fund: 10 Ways to Guide Back Traffic to Your Blog Using Social Media
Googly Gooeys (Tippy & Pong Go) for The Media Kit: Creating a Compelling Blog and Social Media Proposal
Jeff Lo for Blog Thy Neighbor
Jim Paredes for The New Nation 2.0
Josh Vilanueva for Youtube: The Next Frontier
Lori Baltazar for Podcasting 2.0: The Podcast is Alive
Aris Olea (Creator of ConjuRain), Macky Lopez (Gwiyomi “Nasaan na si Mikay?”) Cheerleader Claire (The “exorcism” girl from NU cheering squad) for Going Viral

After that, Nuffnang will hold the first Nuffie awards in where they’ll recognize the contributions of the selected online influencers. Here are the categories and nominees:

The Game Changers

The Webmeister (Best Blog Layout of the Year)
Pepper.ph
Kyrzuy.com
Thefatkidinside.com
Breakmystyle.com
Davidguison.com
Gojackiego.com
Googlygooeys.com
Tiniglesias.com

The Newsroom (Best Source of Information of the Year)

Micohalili.com
Popularmanila.blogspot.com
@rapplerdotcom
@mmda
@jimparedes

The Jokebox (Funniest Influencer of the Year)

Thepickiesteater.com
Thesoshalnetwork.com
Tunaynalalake.blogspot.com
@ramonbautista
@petramahalimuyk
@sam_yg
Facundo & Filomena – Anyare?

The Following (Best Community Engagement)

The Becky Nights Podcast
Davidguison.com
Itsparadigma.com
Thebeautyjunkee.blogspot.com
Pinoyfitness.com

Bloggers’ Choice Award

Spellsaab.com
Davidguison.com
Divinemlee.com
Takbo.ph
Jenniepperson.com
Itscamilleco.com
Breakmystyle.com
Pattylaurel.com
Unbox.ph

The Social Engineer (Best Social Media Advocacy of the Year)

#RescuePH
P&G’s E Studyante
Juana Change
@MovePH
I AM Peter Pardo

The Imagineer (Blogs with Best Photos)

Robbieoffduty.com
Pepper.ph
Wild-spirit.net
Tiniglesias.com
Victorbasa.net
Everywhere We Shoot – @ewws

The Rookie

Ricaperalejo.ph
Meganbata.tumblr.com
Vernverniece.com
Thesoshalnetwork.com
Team Kramer – @dougkramer / @chekakramer

The One for Zero (Twitter Influencer of the Year)

@ramonbautista
@sam_yg
@chicogarcia
@divinemlee
@saabmagalona

The N Factor (Blogger of the Year)

Dessertcomesfirst.com
Kryzuy.com
Outoftownblog.com
Manilafashionobserver.com
Davidguison.com
Takbo.ph

The Chosen One (Influencer of the Year)

Lori Baltazar
Ramon Bautista
Jenni Epperson

If you love reading blogs, you probably have seen those names before in the internet. To know more about Blogopolis 2013, visit their website at www.blogopolis.ph. 100% of the ticket sales of Blogopolis 2013 will be donated to Philippine Red Cross. So yeah, not only you learned a lot from the experts, you also helped the people who suffered from Typhoon Yolanda.

Donate to Red Cross for every Nokia Lumia you buy at Widget City

By

Jam Ancheta

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November 12, 2013

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It’s really heartbreaking. I can’t even finish my lunch yesterday after I watch the news and saw our brothers and sisters at Visayas suffer. Even the decent people are forced to loot and steal items just to survive. Our kababayans at Visayas really need our help that’s why it’ll be better if we can donate anything that we can give to them especially food and water. If you’re planning on buying a phone but you also want to help the people who were affected by Typhoon Yolanda, you might want to check out Widget City. Why? Because for every Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 620 that you buy, a fraction of it will go to Red Cross. Interested? Check it out after the break.

The Nokia Lumia 620 is available for P7,990 while the red color is available for P8,990. The Nokia Lumia 620 is one of the most affordable Nokia Lumia right now but if you want to experience the amazing Pureview camera, you can opt for the Nokia Lumia 920 (Review) which is available for P11,990 while the red one is available for P12,990. And yes folks, Both the Nokia Lumia 920 and the Nokia Lumia 620 comes with a 1 year Nokia official warranty. Not only you have a brand new gadget but you also helped the people at Visayas.

Link: Widget City

Globe’s iPhone Forever Program: Get a new iPhone every year

By

Jam Ancheta

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November 11, 2013

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The first batch of iPhones at the Globe Warehouse

With Globe’s iPhone Forever program, you can now enjoy new iPhones every year. You read that right folks! You can now have the latest iPhone every year when you apply for a plan at Globe. I know, that sounds ridiculous right? Well, the Globe iPhone forever plans starts at Plan 1599 and with that, you could already replace your iPhone every year. Interested on getting an iPhone this year? Then check out the information after the break.

Actually, I’m kinda confused with the iPhone forever program. But c’mon guys, Globe is the only network that’s offering this kind of program. The iPhone Forever program of Globe is also open to existing postpaid subscribers. If you’re interested then check out the document below if you’re eligible for the iPhone forever program.

iPhone Forever Fact Sheet

If you’re not planning on getting an iPhone Forever Plan, you could still apply for Globe’s MySuperPlan. For as low as P1,799 monthly at Plan 999 with P800 monthly cashout, you can get the iPhone 5c. While the iPhone 5s is available for P2,199 monthly at Plan 1799 with P400 monthly cashout. And yes folks, Both plan offers unlimited LTE surfing and consumable peso-value amounts. YESSS! The iPhones will arrive on November 15!~

ASUS Transformer Book T100 Launched

By

Jam Ancheta

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November 8, 2013

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The Windows 8 device that I’ve been eyeing for a very long time is now here in the Philippines. Remember the Asus Transformer T100? yeah, that Windows 8 device with a Quad-Core Atom processor that starts at $349. Yep, it’s now here in the Philippines. FYI, this device could transform into a tablet by undocking it from the keyboard. Yes folks, this is a Windows 8 hybrid laptop. Check it out after the break.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Remember the ASUS Eee PC? That netbook change the PC industry and now, ASUS wants to do that again with the ASUS Transfomer Book T100. How? By giving you the full Windows 8 experience on a P23,500 price tag. And no, you don’t need to buy a keyboard dock because it already comes with the ASUS Transformer Book T100. Another thing that you’ll love in here is that it comes with a full version of Microsoft Office 2013. Holy crap right? I’m still wondering how ASUS managed to lower the price of the ASUS Transformer Book T100 to P23,500.

And no, despite the very affordable price of the Transformer Book T100, it doesn’t feel cheap. It has the iconic circular pattern of the ASUS on the rear of the tablet but it’s just glossy plastic. The tablet doesn’t feel heavy for its size too. According to Mr. Eason De Guzman, Technical PR specialist of ASUS Philippines, The ASUS Transformer Book T100 can play most of your favorite games like LoL and DOTA. I also saw some videos on YouTube of the ASUS Transformer Book T100 running Civilization V. The Intel Bay trail processor inside this device is really a big leap from its predecessor. And before I forgot, the ASUS Transformer Book T100 has a battery life of up to 11 hours.

The ASUS Transformer Book T100 is only available in 64 GB variant which is pegged at P23,500. Unfortunately, the 32 GB variant won’t be coming here in the Philippines. Anyway, I won’t recommend the 32 GB variant of the ASUS Transformer Book T100 because Windows would eat a lot of storage and it would just leave you at around 16 GB of free space. The ASUS Transformer Book T100 is now available at some stores. And oh, I’m planning to get one and replace my Nexus 7 with a real PC.

Nokia Asha 501 Review

By

Jam Ancheta

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November 7, 2013

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Smartphones might be getting cheaper and growing but the featurephones aren’t going away yet. One of the featurephones that is still available in the market is the Nokia Asha 501. Nokia replaced the aging S40 with Asha OS. And yes, this proprietary operating system blurs the line between smartphone and featurephone even further. Why don’t you check out my review of the Nokia Asha 501 after the break.

If you’ve been following the Lumia models of Nokia, they’ve been using the same design philosophy for years. And no, the Asha OS doesn’t came from the genes of the Windows Phone. Asha OS is Nokia’s operating system for the low-end devices.

The build of the phone feels very solid and it doesn’t feel cheap compared to other phones at that price range. The Nokia Asha 501 is very cute, the small size and the vivid colors makes it lively and young. Like what I’ve said earlier, the Nokia Asha 501 has the genes of the Nokia Lumia family and the Nokia N9. The first time you held the Nokia Asha 501, you’ll immediately feel that it is made by Nokia. Why? You’ll feel its sturdiness despite having a plastic body.

The design of the Nokia Asha 501 is very simplistic and easy to understand especially when you used a Nokia N9 before. The Asha OS has the genes of Meego and Windows Phone. The phone has a small screen too, It’s very annoying and very hard to get used to especially when you’re coming from a cellphone with a large screen. The Nokia Asha 501 might have a small screen but it doesn’t sacrifice accuracy and precision even when typing on a QWERTY keyboard.

The back cover of the phone was easy to remove and replace, it reminds me of the colorful Nokia phones during the Nokia 5110 era. The audio quality isn’t the best but it was acceptable. The battery life was pretty amazing, I already expected that since this phone isn’t running on Android or Windows Phone. It took me 5 days before it ran out of juice. And no, the Nokia Asha 501 doesn’t have 3G inside so you’re stuck with EDGE on both Sim card.

The Asha OS is Nokia’s offering to blur the lines between smartphone and a featurephone. I notice that there are a lot of improvements from S40 and it shared a lot of features from Meego and a little bit of Windows Phone. The Nokia Asha 501 only have 1 hardware back button which kinda odd. Apps can be close by the button or by swiping from the edge of the screen. It’s actually pretty easy to navigate the Nokia Asha 501. The Asha OS is a featurephone but the UI and transitions looks like it was a smartphone. One unique feature of the Nokia Asha 501 is Fastlane. Basically, that app lets you see the past things that you’ve done before. For example, you’ve texted someone and then you visited a website. It will automatially be listed in the fastlane. Not only that, Fastlane also lists your appointments and other infos from your social networking accounts.

Just like the Nokia N9, they focused on swipe, it was fun and it was easy to use. Closing apps or if you just want to go to the homescreen, well, all you need is swipe. The Nokia Asha 501 was responsive but I notice some lags and slowdowns sometimes when closing an app. I hope Nokia can fix that on the next Asha OS phones.

Facebook and Twitter apps are built in the phone. The Facebook app was very similar to the Facebook java app. I didn’t got a chance to log-in to the twitter app, I don’t know why but I keep on getting error messages. If you want some apps, there’s the Nokia but there are only a very few apps that are available compared to the Windows Phone store. Nonetheless, I’m still very happy to see an app store on a featurephone.

If you feel that the Nokia Asha 501 isn’t that good in terms of internet browsing. You’re wrong. The Nokia Xpress browser was good despite the lack of 3G but of course, it would be better if you’re connected to the internet. I’m just annoyed that I have to type the password of our access point every time I connect.

There’s a 3.2 MP fixed focus camera on the back but there’s no front camera (Sorry! No perfect selfie pictures here!). I wish Nokia could have put in a 5 MP sensor on the back and a VGA camera on the front. You know, if we have a front camera on the Asha 501, people who love selfie would love to have this phone. The Nokia Asha 501’s camera failed to reach my expectations. So yeah, I don’t really recommend the phone’s camera

Overall I like the Nokia Asha 501 construction and design. The long battery life is one of the features that I really like on the phone. It’s very rare to see a pocket-friendly touchscreen smartphone with that battery life. Another thing you need to consider when buying this device is the Asha OS. If you are really into apps then better stay away from this phone but if you want a long-lasting phone that is very solid and cute then better check this phone at the nearest stores.

Nokia Asha 501 Total Score: 6.5 | Infographics

The Nokia Asha 501 review unit was lent to me by Nokia Philippines

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition Launched

By

Jam Ancheta

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November 6, 2013

0

The bigger brother of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is here. The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is now here to satisfy your hunger for Note features on a tablet. So what’s inside? You got a high res WQXGA Super LCD. That’s even better than the resolution of the Retina iPad and just like its smartphone brothers, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 would run on an Octa-core processor which is one of the most powerful processors out in the market right now. Why don’t you check it out after the break

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 has the best display on a Samsung tablet. The Exynos (1.9GHz A15 Quad Core ＋ 1.3GHz A7 Quad Core Processor) Octa-Core processor is partnered with a 3 GB RAM which makes the Samsung Galaxy Note 2014 one of the most powerful Android tablet in the market.

One of the features that you’ll love on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 is the Multi Window and with the help of S pen, you’ll be able to drag and drop content from one window to another. Just like the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, it will also have the Air command.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 comes with premium applications like Bloomberg, Autodesk Sketchbook and an optimized version of Twitter for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014.

I actually like the build of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014. It’s like a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 that became bigger. Compared to its predecessor, this one is much more comfortable to hold and the display was really amazing. If I’m getting a 10” Android tablet, I would definitely get the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition will only come in 16 GB WiFi version in two color options — Jet Black and Classic White. It will have a SRP of 25,990 and it will be available starting November 8 2013.

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