Smartphones these days would really require you to have a charger or a power bank. Why? Because most of the smartphones that we have right now doesn’t last up to a day. Actually, if your 3G is always on. I bet you always have a charger on your bag or your smartphone’s juice isn’t enough for the day. That’s what the Power banks are for. Thankfully, I got a Momax iPower Go 8800 mAh. It’s a young-looking power bank but it has some big serious juices inside. Why don’t you check out my review after the break.
The Momax iPower Go 8800 mAh comes in a very simple, small and neat package. The package has the power bank, manuals, and 2 USB to Micro-USB. One is a longer cord while the other is just a short one. Both of them are white so if you’re not very mindful of these cords then expect those dirts will stick in it.
The Momax iPower Go 8800 mAh has a stylish and young-looking design. It looks like a mini suitcase because of those embossed stripes. The Momax iPower Go 8800 mAh feels young too because of its vivid color. The case is made out of plastic but I can feel that it’s solid and pretty sturdy. It would have been better if they choose an Aluminum body but of course, that would make the power bank heavier and more expensive. I doubt that it will be comfortable on your pocket. It is best to just put it in your bag.
The sides of the power bank feels like it is made up of rubber. It’s actually solid and not that soft and I’m very confident that the Power bank won’t slip easily on your hand. The Momax iPower Go 8800 mAh has 4 LED notifications just beside the Momax logo. Obviously, that tells you the current charge of the power bank. There’s a LED torch too if your flashlight goes missing.
The Momax iPower Go 8800 mAh comes with two outputs. One is 1A while the other one is 2.1A. To give you a less technical perspective, the 1A USB slot transfer less power than the 2.1A. It is recommended to use the 1A slot when you want to charge your smartphone because most smartphones only need 1A of current while the 2.1A are recommended for tablets. But of course, you could still charge your smartphone on the 2.1A but you should be aware that charging on the 2.1A might damage the smartphone.
I love using the Momax iPower Go 8800 mAh because I can charge my Cherry Mobile Cosmos X and my Nexus 7 2013 simultaneously. Yes, the Power bank can have an output of 3.1A. Since this Power bank has a 8800 mAh capacity, I was able to fully charged my phone four times before the Momax cried for juice. It took me around 2 hours before I was able to fully charged my Cosmos X. To give you an idea, my Cosmos X has a battery capacity of 1800 mAh. It took me almost 5-6 hours before I fully charged the power bank. I always charge the power bank before I go to sleep hehe.
VERDICT
There are a lot of Power banks that are available in the market but there are some things that sets this Power Bank apart like its design with its vivid colors and the capacity to output a total of 3.1A from 1A and 2.1A outputs. If you want one right now then better visit the nearest Beyond the Box and Digital Walker retail stores. It’s available right now at at those mentioned stores for P2,950 and it comes in Red, Cyan, Blue and Yellow. It’s a good power bank. Trust me ;).
First of all, I don’t know why does this giveaway has a long name. Second, this is Rafael Oca’s giveaway because this is part of his birthday bash. People, Raf will be giving away his Blackberry Playbook 64 GB and not just that, he’ll also give away a stay for Circle Hostel for two. The Blackberry Playbook sports a Dual-Core processor, 7-inch 1024×600 display, 5 MP Rear Camera and a 3 MP Front Camera. The Blackberry Playbook is a little bit old but who cares! Mr. Rafael Oca is giving it away for free and it’s the 64 GB version! Check out the Rafflecopter after the break.
Who doesn’t love Grand Theft Auto? If you don’t have any idea about the next GTA, Grand Theft Auto V has been teased for a long time now and it is expected to be launch this September. GTA V is a big leap from the past Grand Theft Auto games because GTA V will have a 3-player protagonist but it will still have a single storyline that will be based on your decisions in-game. But did you know that there will be also an upcoming open world multiplayer that is based on Grand Theft Auto V? Yep, That’s Grand Theft Auto Online. If you’re planning to buy a GTA V then the GTA Online will come free with it. Why don’t you check out the gameplay video after the break.
Google Nexus 7 2013 has been launched recently along with the Android 4.3 and thankfully, we already got a chance to get the latest Nexus tablet which is made by Asus. I bought it at Widget City last Monday and if you’re interested too, you can get it for P12,790. I think the Nexus 7 2013 is the best Android tablet to date. Why? You get a fast Quad-Core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, latest updates of Android, 2 GB of RAM and a Full HD screen but it still manage to have a price lower than P15,000. Actually, all of the nexus devices are really affordable for their specs. Anyway, Why don’t you just check out the hands-on video of the Google Nexus 7 2013 after the break
Looks like Quad-Core smartphones are getting cheaper every month. Cloudfone’s newest Quad-Core offering, the Cloudfone Excite 450q is now the cheapest and most affordable Quad-Core smartphone on the market right now. The Cloudfone Excite 450q will be running on a Qualcomm processor which is known for having a much less power consumption over MediaTek. The display is a 4.5″ IPS FWVGA, It also allows Dual SIM and Dual Standby. There’s a 5 MP Rear camera with a VGA front camera and of course, there’s the 4 GB Internal storage inside and a 512 MB of RAM. You don’t have to worry about the storage because you can still pack in a MicroSD card which is up to 32 GB. The only downside of this phone is the lack of LED Flash. But c’mon guys, this is the most affordable Quad-Core smartphone right now. Why don’t you check out the price and the full specs after the break?
Cloudfone Excite 450q Specifications
131.3 x 66.3 x 10.3 mm, 150 g
854*480 pixels, 4.5″ IPS display
Qualcomm MSM8225Q 1.2 GHz Quad Core
4 GB internal storage with MicroSD card slot up to 32 GB
512 MB RAM
5 MP Rear camera with VGA Front camera
Bluetooth
Wi-Fi
A-GPS
HSDPA (1 sim only)
1700 mAh battery
Available in Black and White
Dual-Sim Dual-Standby
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
Cloudfone Excite 450q Price
Yep, this is the most affordable Quad-Core smartphone at P4,999. Awesome, right?
You might be turned off with its RAM and lack of LED Flash but I think the P4,999 SRP is a reasonable price.
These days, some people prefer affordable smartphones over the expensive ones because some people doesn’t really need the feature of these flagship phones and they are already contented with the capabilities of these affordable smartphones. However, Apple isn’t that friendly when it comes to cheap and affordable phones. But It seems that iOS has been losing the battle against Android and they’re force to make a much affordable iPhone. Actually, there have been a lot of rumours that there will be a much affordable iPhone that will be announce on September and it is called as the iPhone 5C. Why don’t you check out what I think of the iPhone 5c after the break.
iPhone 5c huh? So what do you think? Do you think the letter c in its name means cheap? I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure that Apple doesn’t want to be affiliated with the word “Cheap”. I think they’ll prefer it to be called as the colorful one. Why? Look at the iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle and the iPod touch. What are the common denominators of these devices aside from that they’re cool, hippy and made for music? These devices are colorful.
I think their strategy of making the previous generation of iPhone as their “Affordable iPhone” isn’t working that’s why they’re resorting to the Apple iPhone 5C. The Apple iPhone 5C will be also much more attractive to the younger generation thanks to its bright and vivid colors. But of course, a much affordable iPhone would mean a downgraded hardware. I guess the iPhone 5C would pack the same specifications of the iPhone 5 while the iPhone 5S will have a much powerful and newer specs.
Actually, there are really no solid evidence that there will be an iPhone 5C aside from that case. My guess estimate for the SRP of this phone will be around P18,000-P23,500. But before we start guessing its SRP, let’s cross our fingers that this rumours are true.
The next iteration of the best Android tablet is now here in the Philippines. Yes folks, the Nexus 7 2013 is now here via Widget City. If you didn’t know what the Asus Nexus 7 2013 can offer to us, the tablet has the highest resolution of a 7″ display. There’s a 1920 x 1200 display on that 7.02″ display. Quiet fancy right? And another thing, this baby has LTE too. And you don’t have to worry about its performance, the Asus Nexus 7 2013 packs 1.5 GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon S4 Pro Chip inside. You can choose from 16 or 32 GB but there’s no MicroSD Card slot. The processor might not be the fastest in the market right now but it will surely bring a very snappy performance. The SRP of this tablet is pegged at $229 at US but at Widget City, you can get it for P12,790. Want to get one? Check it out here. By the way, I’m getting one too :).
The Nokia Lumia 925 was recently launched here in the Philippines but before that, I already got a chance to try it via Nokia Connects/Nokia Conversations. The Nokia Lumia 925 was introduced earlier this year. I thought that the phone will be their 2013 flagship phone but I was wrong, it was the Nokia Lumia 1020. Anyway, the Nokia Lumia 925 is a thinner and a more premium version of the Nokia Lumia 920. Why? Because the Nokia Lumia 925 now sports an aluminum design along with its serious colors — Black, grey and white. Why don’t you check out my full review after the break
Hardware
Compared to the Nokia Lumia 920, this one has a much more solid and an attractive look. The sides are aluminum while the back is made up of polycarbonate. I really love the design of the Nokia Lumia phones but they’re getting too similar and old already. Actually, whenever you’re just looking on the front of a Nokia Lumia phone, it’s really hard to distinguish the exact model of the device. Nevertheless, the Nokia Lumia 925 isn’t that bad to hold. The thinner body and the curve sides made the phone more comfortable to hold than the Nokia Lumia 920.
At the back, there are 2 bulges on the speaker grill. I think they added those bulges to prevent blocking of the surface to the speaker grill. You still need to have a special case to support wireless charging. Well, not everybody loves wireless charging. Not really a deal breaker for me. Oh and you don’t need to worry about losing the sim card tray anymore because you can eject it but you can’t remove it from the device.
There’s the same display that you can see on the Nokia Lumia 920. It’s still the same 4.5” AMOLED display. Unfortunately, Nokia can’t go Full HD on their devices because the Windows Phone 8 limits them from doing that. But don’t worry, the display is still crisp and sharp just like the Nokia Lumia 920. There’s one feature that I really love on the Nokia Lumia 925 and that’s the Nokia Glance. So what does that do? it acts as a clock even when the device is on standby. Double tapping the screen will wake the phone. But don’t worry about the battery life because the Nokia Glance doesn’t really takes a lot of juice from the battery. If you’re not comfortable with it, you can turn it off in the settings.
Unfortuntely, the Nokia Lumia 925 is down to 16 GB internal storage with no MicroSD card slot. Yep, that’s one deal breaker right there. I’m happy to announce that the Nokia Lumia 925 will support the LTE bands of the Philippines. There’s NFC too if you have some NFC enabled accessories around the corner. I manage to have a 14 hours of average use before the battery rans out and yelled for more juice. Oh and the sound quality? It isn’t that great but I think it fared just fine.
Software
Here we go again. Just like the other Nokia Lumia phones, one of the things that people hate and love about these phones is the Operating System. If you ask me, well, I think Windows Phone 8 is really great as an operating system for a phone but if you’re the type of guy who really loves to play games and use apps that aren’t on the Windows phone store then you might want to look at Android or iOS alternatives. But today, the app selection of the Windows Phone isn’t the same as last year. Today, 48/50 of popular apps joined the Windows Phone bandwagon according to Mr. Gary Chan, Nokia’s head of marketing for Pan Asia. Instagram wasn’t part of that 48 but don’t worry because there are 3rd party apps that enables you to upload photos and videos on Instagram. But I still feel that some apps that are already in Windows Phone lacks functionality and features like the Facebook app. They’ve revamped the app but you can’t send emoticons and images on the app. I hope Nokia and Microsoft could address that next time.
The Nokia Lumia 925 ships with the Nokia Lumia amber update. Yes folks, that’s the latest update for the Nokia Lumias. It will eventually arrive on other Nokia Lumia phones but Nokia Lumia 925 is the first one to have that update. That update brings the Nokia Smart Cam. Fancy name right? But it has some impressive features. With Nokia Smart Cam, you’ll capture burst images and then combine them or either remove them. With Nokia Smart Cam, you could do Best shot, Action Shot, Change faces, Motion Focus and remove objects. The Action shot lets you add a strobe effect on your photo while motion focus lets you emphasize the motion of the photo. A pretty nice app. Here are some photos that I took using the Nokia Smart Cam:
Don’t worry folks, the Nokia Lumia 925 is powered by a Dual-Core Snapdragon S4 processor along with the 1 GB RAM. It is enough to let you play all the games on the Windows Phone store. Just like its brothers, the Nokia Lumia 925 is lag-free. But after using the Nokia Smart Cam, I felt that the Nokia Lumia 925 needs something faster and much more powerful than its processor. It will take you a few seconds before they can process the Motion Focus and Action shots that you’ve done.
Camera
The Nokia Lumia 925 packs a Pureview 8.7 Megapixel camera. There was no upgrade in the megapixel count and the body of the Nokia Lumia 925 became thinner but the performance of the Nokia Lumia 925 hasn’t change. It’s still great at low light and yes, the OIS works really great. Unfortunately, I find it hard to determine the difference between the two. Both the Nokia Lumia 925 and the Nokia Lumia 920 rocks an amazing camera but the difference between the two isn’t dramatic. Check out the photos and that I took using the Nokia Lumia 925
Low light shot
In a series of unfortunate events, I lost my files on my hard disk including the video sample of the Nokia Lumia 925. But to give you some perspective, the Nokia Lumia 925 had almost the same quality of the Nokia Lumia 920. Sometimes, I prefer using the Nokia Lumia 925 over my Micro 4/3 camera. Actually, I used the Nokia Lumia 925 for JAM Online Weekly. Too bad, I didn’t rendered it as HD
The camera of the Nokia Lumia 925 is so amazing, sometimes it took better photos than my Micro 4/3 camera. When I was at the Philippine launch of the Nokia Lumia 925, I choosed the Nokia Lumia 925 over my Olympus camera because it took brighter and better images.
Conclusion
The Nokia Lumia 925 is a Nokia Lumia 920 that got out of the gym. It has a more attractive construction and a thinner design but it has the same prowess of the Nokia Lumia 925. It may not be the best camera smartphone but it can surely trump most cameras of the flagship smartphones out there. If you can’t wait for the Nokia Lumia 1020 (which will be more expensive) and If you’re feeling comfortable with the current app selection of Windows phone then better get this phone over the Lumia 920. The thinner and sleeker design is really worth the price. The Nokia Lumia 925 will be available at Nokia Stores on August 19 with a SRP of P23,500
The Nokia Lumia 925 is finally here in the Philippines. If you can still remember, the Nokia Lumia 920 was launched earlier this year. It’s the colorful flagship phone of Nokia that packs an 8.7 Megapixel Pureview camera that can shoot images even at low-light environment without the need of flash. The problem with the Nokia Lumia 920 is that the phone is too heavy and too bulky but the Nokia Lumia 925 addressed that problem and made the Nokia Lumia 925 dressed in a thin body with a polycarbonate back cover and an aluminum sides and still manage to have a lightweight design. Why don’t you check out the Nokia Lumia 925 and what happened at the launch after the break?
First things first, Let’s check out the specifications of the Nokia Lumia 925.
4.5” AMOLED Clearblack display 1280×768 with Super Sensitive touch
1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4
1 GB RAM
16 GB Storage
Pureview 8.7 Megapixel camera with OIS and dual LED flash
1.2 Megapixel Wide Angle front camera
NFC
LTE
Colors: White, Gray and Black
Windows Phone 8
Yes guys, the Nokia Lumia 925’s specifications is almost the same with the Nokia Lumia 920 but like what I’ve said, the Nokia Lumia 925 sports a thinner and much more premium looking design. I actually like the design of the Nokia Lumia 925, the combination of the aluminum sides and the polycarbonate body feels very solid and premium.
So what can we expect on the New Nokia Lumia 925? The aesthetics are the main changes here but the hardware of the smartphone is almost the same. But like what Mr. Gary Chan had said to us, a great hardware needs to be complemented by a great software. And that’s where the Nokia Smart Cam came in. Since I have a review unit of the phone, I’ll discuss that on my review :P.
The Nokia Lumia 925 will be retailing for PHP 23,500 at Nokia stores and Nokia Solutions partners. It is also available to Smart Subscribers, and will come free when bundled with the Smart Unlimited Data Plan 1500 with a 30-month lock-in period. You have to wait till August 19, 2013 to get your hands on this phone. The Nokia Lumia 925 will be available in white, grey and black. If you want a more colorful Nokia Lumia, then better check my review of the Nokia Lumia 920. But I really suggest getting this one instead. This has a more premium look and a much thinner body.
Thanks Nokia Philippines for the Nokia Lumia 925! Yep, I won the raffle!
Beautiful. That’s the first word that came into my mind after I held the HTC One. Yes folks, HTC One is the name of their flagship phone. It raised a lot of confusion because their former flagship was named as HTC One X. I really don’t know why they didn’t named this phone as the HTC Two or whatever name that won’t bring confusion to the consumers. Anyway, let’s get back to my review. The HTC One was one of the best Android that I’ve used. And no, the beauty of the phone didn’t sacrifice its power (Hell yeah!). But there are some things that let the HTC One down. Why don’t you check it out after the break.
Hardware
Aluminum. Baby.
THE HTC ONE IS THE MOST ATTRACTIVE PHONE THAT I’VE SEEN. That’s it. The HTC One is clad in aluminum; the construction feels like it is the smaller brother of a Macbook. The front is a combination of brawny glass and a little touch of aluminum on the speaker grills. Yep, there are two speaker grills on the HTC One. The sides of the HTC One are not aluminum though. I got the feeling that the sides of the HTC One would get rough after you’ve used it for a long time. I don’t know why but it seems that it has rough edges.
The micro-usb slot of the phone can be found below the phone but it is oddly placed at the right of the phone instead of the middle. It’s not really something to be annoyed at. At the top, there’s the power button but did you know that it also acts as an infrared sensor. And no, we’re not talking about transferring files using IR. That’s so 10 years ago (Gosh, I feel really old!). The Infrared sensor lets you use the phone as universal remote for TV, Cable boxes and players but we’ll talk about the TV app later. Almost all the TVs and players that I’ve tried can detect the HTC One. If your device isn’t on the list, it is easy to configure that as long as you have your remote. Not really the best feature on the HTC One but it is nice to see this additional feature on their flagship.
Setting up the remote on the HTC One
This year, most flagship phones pack a 1080p display and yes, we can feast our eyes on the alluring Super LCD 3 of the HTC One. The difference of the 720p screen and 1080p screen isn’t really dramatic but you’ll notice the crisper and much better resolution on the display when you browse the web, playing games and checking out pictures. I can’t say if this is the best display on a smartphone since I haven’t tried other the upcoming flagships but I think the display of the HTC One is much better than the SGS4. I’m not sure if it’s just my eye or the HTC One’s display is much better.
Powering this device is a Snapdragon 600 processor. It’s not the fastest processor on a smartphone but the Snapdragon 600 can definitely can run and play all those hardcore games and power muncher applications that you use in your everyday routine. The Snapdragon 600 is paired with a 2 GB RAM, which makes the phone lag-free. I barely experienced lags or slowdowns on the phone. Yes folks, the phone is fluid and blazing fast even with Sense UI. This is a phone that exhibits a beautiful design but it also sports a blazing performance. This phone truly has the beauty and the brains.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 under the hood
Unfortunately, the HTC One doesn’t support A MicroSD card slot but I think you’ll be satisfied with the 32 GB internal storage but if you feel that you need more space, you can opt for the 64 GB version. If you’re the type of person who loves download movies and files using the torrent app on your phone, then you might want to look for another smartphone. But for me, I think the 32 GB is already enough for my everyday use. I wasn’t able to fill up that 32 GB too.
If you have a Globe Postpaid Sim, I’m happy to announce that the HTC One supports LTE. Unfortunately, I’m only on prepaid and I wasn’t able to test the LTE on the phone. However, I notice that the HTC One has a better signal reception than other smartphones that I’ve used. Oh, and the battery life? I was satisfied with its battery life too. I was able to squeeze its juices for 12-14 hours of average use. And as always, the HTC Sense sips a lot of battery juice. I really hate HTC Sense for that despite the fact that the Sense is really an eye candy.
We all know that some of the HTC phones that are available right now packs Beats Audio inside and the HTC One is one of those smartphones. The HTC one has 2 speaker grills on the front and the HTC One has a new feature called HTC Boomsound. It’s not really a catchy name but after I used the HTC One, it didn’t failed to impressed me. Actually, I was shocked and awed by its audio quality. I’m pretty sure that all of you will be shock with its audio quality too.
Beats logo. Easily removed
Software
The HTC One is running on Android 4.2.1. The Android 4.3 update is still nowhere in sight but I’m pretty sure that the update will be coming very soon. When you’ve tried a HTC smartphone, you’ll feel that the HTC Sense 5 completely covered the stock android. And no, don’t get me wrong because the HTC One’s Sense 5 doesn’t lag at all. I didn’t experience any slowdowns from it. I was only disappointed with it because it really drains the battery. Actually, it’s the #1 app that consumes the battery a lot. Another thing that I hate about the phone is the app drawer. The gaps are too big and it wasted a lot of space. I wish an update could fix that and let the user choose how many apps that they can include in the app drawer. Nonetheless, I still love its looks and UI. It’s so easy to use and it was fast.
There are a lot of apps that are already pre-installed in the HTC One. One of those apps that I really love is the TV app. Unfortunately, the program guide doesn’t support the Philippines yet but at least, the HTC One can be use as your universal remote. Another thing that I love about the HTC One is the notes app because the default note app can be sync to your Evernote account. Pretty damn cool.
If you’ve notice, the HTC One only has 2 capacitive buttons. Those are back and the home button. I know, it’s kinda weird but actually, this two-button layout is much easier to use than the Galaxy’s Android button layout. To multi-task, all you need is to double tap the home button that supports 9 running apps simultaneously. But don’t worry, if you’ve opened 10 apps, the app will still run.
The 2 capacitive buttons
Like what I’ve said, the HTC One is very fast thanks to the Snapdragon 600 processor and the 2 GB RAM with it. All of the heavy games that I’ve tried on this phone runs pretty well. When I played Gangstar Vegas, I didn’t experienced any slowdowns and lags. I was even multi-tasking on the smartphone. All in all, the HTC One didn’t fail to amaze me with its fast and amazing performance.
When it comes to benchmarks, the HTC One was excellent. It may lag behind the Octa-core processor of the Samsung Galaxy S4 but the HTC One was still fast and it got a high score at Antutu. The HTC One got 24703 at Antutu. Not bad right?
Camera
HTC was really proud of its Ultrapixel camera. It’s their best bet against Nokia Lumia 920’s Pureview camera. My take? Despite having a great aesthetics and software, I think the HTC One fails when it comes to the camera. The Ultrapixel camera of the HTC One is only capable of having 4.1 Megapixel photos. Why is it only capable of that? because the HTC One’s Ultrapixel camera can absorb more light which enables you to shoot bright photos even at lowlight. Yep, Just like the Lumia 920 and the 925 but the HTC One’s Ultrapixel camera cuts short from the Lumia’s Pureview. Check out some photos that I took using the HTC One.
The lowlight shots of the HTC One didn’t turn out well. Most of the time, they’re out of focus and they have too much noise. But at least, the HTC One can manage to shoot at low light. I didn’t had any problems when there’s enough light but sometimes, I feel that the front camera has a takes a better photo than the Ultrapixel camera. There’s one thing that I really like about its camera, the photos are 16:9 at default. Yep, the camera is really made for a 16:9 photos.
The HTC One has OIS but that feature isn’t as effective as the one in the Lumia. But still, I was satisfied with the video recording of the HTC. You’ll also drool over the 60 fps video on the HTC One but unfortunately that’s only available on 720p. Why don’t you take a look at my sample video that I took using the HTC One:
Conclusion
I think the HTC One is the best Android phone to date. And no, don’t hate me guys because I’ve tried the Samsung Galaxy S4 but I think the aluminum body and its unique design were the main game changers here. Plastic is not always fantastic. Yes, the camera isn’t that well, a lack of MicroSD Card and removable battery (which may be a turn-off for some people) but I think this is still the best Android phone in the market right now. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ll buy the HTC One soon. Yes, folks. This will be my next phone. You can get this phone at Globe for Plan 1699. Why you should get it at Globe? Because the HTC One only supports LTE from one network, and that’s Globe.
