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JAM Online TV: Cherry Mobile Flare 3, Tegra Note 7 and Alcatel OneTouch Idol X+

Jam Ancheta
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JAM Online TV: Cherry Mobile Flare 3, Tegra Note 7 and Alcatel OneTouch Idol X+

If you’re subscribed to my YouTube channel, there’s a chance that you’ve seen JAM Online TV. It’s a short YouTube show with yours truly and I talk about the latest and hottest tech topics in the Philippines. I know, it’s just me. Only me. Anyway, this week, I talk about the recently launched Cherry Mobile Tegra Note 7 and Flare 3. Cherry Mobile Note 7 was launched 2 Saturdays ago while Cherry Mobile Flare 3 was launched last Wednesday. I already talked about these devices on my previous blog posts but you can check out JAM Online TV to more about my insights on these devices. But of course, there’s the Alcatel One Touch Idol X+ which is the newest Octa-core smartphone from Alcatel. You know what, I won’t discuss more about the topics in JAM Online TV. Just watch the JAM Online TV August 2 episode below:

LG G3 now available at Globe Plan 1799

Jam Ancheta
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Without a doubt, the LG G3 is one of the best flagship smartphones in the market today. I’ve tried it and I was amaze with its performance and design. To give you a small recap, the G3 is LG’s latest flagship and it packs a 5.5” QHD display, 2.5GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB RAM & it is running on Android 4.4.2 Kitkat. If you’re planning on getting an LG G3 and you want it on a postpaid plan then maybe, you would want to head on over to Globe because they’re now offering LG G3 at Plan 1799 with a P4,800 cashout. Those who will subscribe will get a GoSURF999 for 5GB of consumable mobile internet, 1100 texts to all networks, 55 minutes all net calls, free 1 month gadget care, and free spotify premium subscription for six months.

If you want to know more about the LG G3, you could check out their website at www.lg.com/ph and if you want to subscribe for a postpaid plan at Globe, head over to http://www.globe.com.ph/

                

Cherry Mobile Razor 2 Review

Jam Ancheta
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Cherry Mobile Razor 2 Review

We are amazed on how the smartphone gets thinner every year and we know that Cherry Mobile has their slim smartphone that was introduced last year — the Cherry Mobile Razor and today, we’ll be reviewing the Cherry Mobile Razor 2. At 7mm thin and at 100g, the Cherry Mobile Razor 2 is one of the lightest smartphone in the market. Unlike other smartphones with almost same dimensions, the Cherry Mobile Razor 2 doesn’t come pricey

Design and Construction

Unlike its predecessor, the Cherry Mobile Razor 2 is purely made up of plastic which contributes to its lightweight design. This smartphone has a weight of 100g, you can barely feel its when it is in your pocket because it is very light. At the front, you get a very clean design and a 4.7” HD display along with the 3 capacitive buttons below. If you’re a first time Android user, you might find it difficult to get used to it because the icons are just dots and circle.

At the back, the rear cover is now plastic and it has a metallic design at the back which is awesome however the rear cover is a fingerprint magnet. Since the smartphone is thinner, I expected that the phone would have thinner buttons too and I was right. The thin buttons of the Cherry Mobile Razor 2 feels like it will get stuck once I press it, that’s why I’m always careful whenever I click it.

There’s a dual-sim card slot on the Cherry Mobile Razor 2 and both of them supports Micro sim only but only one of them supports 3G. The storage of the phone is 4GB but you can install applications on the MicroSD card if you feel that the 4GB storage isn’t enough. Unfortunately, if you love watching movies or getting your media files from your flash drives, there’s no USB OTG on the Cherry Mobile Razor 2. Since the Cherry Mobile Razor 2 is very thin, the audio of the phone isn’t that loud. I already expected that but sometimes, the Cherry Mobile Razor 2’s speaker isn’t that loud and sometimes, I barely notice the phone was ringing.

Display

There’s a 4.7” HD IPS display with Dragontrail Glass. There’s a thin bezels on this smartphone and the display feels just right for me. The display looks like it’s OGS too but it’s not. The colors of the display looks good to me but not perfect. The outdoor visibility of the smartphone is good too. The display is responsive and there are 5 multi-touch points which most gamers are looking for.

Software and Performance
Cherry Mobile Razor 2 is running on Android 4.3 and there’s no word regarding an update for the Android 4.4 Kitkat. Just like other Cherry Mobile Smartphones, there’s the Start lock screen I find annoying. But don’t worry, If you don’t like the Start lock screen, you could disable it, however, you can’t uninstall that application. Thankfully, the Cherry Mobile Razor 2 didn’t have too much UI changes. Actually, the transitions and animations are fast and responsive and there aren’t too much added features on the Cherry Mobile Razor 2. I always prefer a smartphone that has no tweaks because it tend to be faster and more buttery smooth.

The Cherry Mobile Razor 2 got a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor with Adreno 305 GPU. It is not the most powerful processor in the market but it is commonly found on mid-range smartphones. The Cherry Mobile Razor 2 got a score of 16006 on Antutu which isn’t that bad for its specifications however, on our gaming test, the NBA 2k14 work pretty well while Edge of tomorrow is playable however, it is not that smooth. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas can also be run on this device however, it must be set to the lowest settings in order to play that game at enjoyable frame rates.

Battery life

The Cherry Mobile Razor 2’s thin and light body might be attractive but that design comes with a compromise. Since the Cherry Mobile Razor 2 is thin and light, the battery of the smartphone is also small at 1780mAh. This smartphone cannot last up to a day of average use and if you’re a heavy user, I doubt that it can reach up to half a day of use. If you’re getting this smartphone, better get a powerbank too or just bring the charger always with you.

Camera


This smartphone got a 12 Megapixel rear camera with LED flash and as I expected, the camera performance of the Cherry Mobile Razor 2 wasn’t that really good. Most of the shots that I took are pinkish and most of them weren’t really sharp despite shooting outside. However, the front facing camera can capture images with more decent colors and it is sharper than most front facing cameras at its price range although I notice that sometimes, despite having decent amount of light, the images are soft and noisy. Check out the images that I took using the Cherry Mobile Razor 2.

Verdict
One funny thing that happened to me with the Cherry Mobile Razor 2 was I lost it in our couch. How? since the Cherry Mobile Razor 2 is very light and thin, I didn’t realize that it was in my pocket and it slip out in my pocket while I was sitting in our couch. I found it 1 week later.

The Cherry Mobile Razor 2 is definitely one of the slimmest Android smartphone around. The P6,500 price tag is also affordable too however, there are some smartphones that are more powerful than the Cherry Mobile Razor 2 at that price range like the ASUS Zenfone 5 but at P6,500 price range, no one can match the light weight and slim design of the Cherry Mobile Razor 2.

Bioshock is coming to iPhone and iPad

Jam Ancheta
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Bioshock is coming to iPhone and iPad

Are you a fan of BioShock? How about the first BioShock? Did you love it? If yes, then you might be excited with this news because 2K has announced that the original Bioshock game will be ported to iOS! Yep, the first Bioshock game that your PC is struggling to run back in 2007. The details of the port is still scarce but it seems that the graphics has been dumb down and the controls has been optimised for the touch screen device. Well, I wish that more PS3 and Xbox 360 games will be ported to our mobile devices.

Source: Kotaku

Alcatel OneTouch Idol X+ & Boomband Launched!

Jam Ancheta
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Alcatel OneTouch Idol X+ & Boomband Launched!
Last week, Alcatel has finally launched that their newest Octa-Core smartphone in the Philippines. The specifications of this smartphone is just the right hardware from what you can expect on a flagship smartphone. There’s a 5-inch full HD display which is quite sharp, a 2 GHz MT6592 Octa-Core processor, 2GB RAM and a 13.1 Megapixel Camera. 

Alcatel One Touch Idol X+ Specifications

  • 5.0-inch Full HD (1920 x1080) IPS display
  • Mediatek MT6592 2.0GHz octa-core processor
  • 2GB RAM
  • 32GB internal storage
  • HSPA+
  • NFC
  • 13.1 MP rear camera with LED flash
  • 2 MP front-facing camera
  • 2,500mAh battery
  • Android 4.2 Jellybean
  • JBL earphones included
One thing that I like in the Alcatel One Touch Idol X+ is that they included a JBL earphones inside the box. I reviewed a lot of JBL earphones and I’m pretty happy with its performance. I barely used the earphones included in the phone but if I have the Alcatel One Touch Idol X+, I would definitely use it because not only I love JBL but their earphones are really great.

Alcatel has also their own wearable device called the Boomband. It’s a smart fitness band that can track your steps made, distance travelled, calorie consumption and it is also a sleep tracker. Compared to other fitness bands, the Boomband comes with LED indicators and has vibration notifications so you’ll never miss a call or a message. Alcatel Boomband is also splashproof that’s why you won’t be worried that much when you get caught in the rain or when you’re washing your hand.

The Alcatel One Touch Idol X+ is now available for P18,799 while the Alcatel Boomband will be available soon for P1,999. The Alcatel Boomband is actually attractive and as far as I know, this is one of the most affordable smartband that is available in the Philippines.

ASUS MeMo Pad 7 ME176CX is now available!

Jam Ancheta
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ASUS MeMo Pad 7 ME176CX is now available!

The ASUS MeMo Pad 7 that we’ve seen during the launch of the ASUS Zenfone series is finally available! It is one of the first Android tablet to pack a new 64-bit Intel Quad-Core CPU and like what I’ve said before, this processor is quite powerful because this is also the processor that runs on some notebooks but of course, it would be good if we can run some tests to prove if the performance of the tablet is really good.

ASUS MeMo Pad 7 ME176CX Specifications

  • 7.0” 1280×800 IPS display
  • 1.86 GHz Quad-Core Intel Atom Processor
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8/16GB Internal Storage
  • 5 Megapixel Rear Camera
  • 2 Megapixel Front Camera
  • GPS/GLONASS
  • WiFi
  • Bluetooth
  • P6,995

According to ASUS, this baby could reach a score of 33000 at Antutu. That’s a quite high score on Antutu but of course, those are just numbers on a benchmark application and I want to see how this tablet performs in gaming. The ASUS MeMo Pad 7 is now available for P6,995 only. This thing is very affordable for its hardware.

Gionee Elife S5.5 Review

Jam Ancheta
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Gionee Elife S5.5 Review

At 5.5mm thin, the Gionee Elife S5.5 is the slimmest smartphone in the world and it was recently launched in the Philippines along with their newest ambassador, Ellen Adarna. I’ve been using this smartphone for a month and until now; I’m still impressed with its powerful octa-core processor despite having a thin body with its beautiful and premium materials.
Design and Construction

Gionee Elife S5.5 is made up of materials that we mostly want on a flagship smartphone – Glass and metal. The rear and the front of the phone is covered by glass while on the sides is metal.  The first time you hold the device, you’ll already know that it’s beautiful and very premium. It took me some time before I got used to the device because it’s very thin, however, the smartphone doesn’t slip easily in my hand thanks to the slant edges at the sides of the phone.  I didn’t do a drop test on this device, but Ellen Adarna did drop the Gionee Elife S5.5 on the floor more than 2x and it didn’t had any crack on the glass display according to her.

Again, the thinness of this device is incredible. Until now, I’m still wondering how were they able to put in that hardware specifications inside the Gionee Elife S5.5. The weight of the smartphone feels just right for its materials and size. Remember guys, this is a 5-inch smartphone with glass and metal materials, and it is not made up of plastic.

Since the Gionee Elife S5.5 is too thin, there’s a micro sim card tray at the side of the phone and you’ll have to use a pin to remove it. There’s no MicroSD card slot on this phone but there’s an enough 16 GB of storage and if you need more storage, don’t worry, the Gionee Elife S5.5 supports USB OTG. I really didn’t have problems with the device when it comes to storage because for me, 16 GB is already enough. Most of the time, when you have a thin smartphone, the smartphone always have to compromise its audio quality. However, the Gionee Elife S5.5 is an exception. The audio quality of the phone wasn’t the best but it was quite good for its thickness. It’s quite loud and clear.
Display

There’s a 5-inch full HD display protected by Gorilla Glass 3 on the Gionee Elife S5.5 and there’s a thin bezels on the sides however at the top and bottom, it weren’t the same. The display of the Gionee Elife S5.5 is just right, it’s not oversaturated and the colors on the display was just right. The outdoor visibility was acceptable and the screen is responsive too.
Software and Performance
Gionee Elife S5.5 is powered by Android 4.2.2 and it has Amigo UI, which works different from most Android launchers because this one doesn’t have an app drawer. The Amigo UI’s homescreen is the app drawer. There are also some cool on the Amigo UI like the changing of themes. One small thing that I like in it is that the Gionee Elife S5.5 offers a lot of transition effect in the desktop
There are also some useful features on the Gionee Elife S5.5 like the Guest mode which will automatically hide your messages and files from your nosy friends and Quick power saving mode which helps a lot in conserving the battery of the smartphone.

There’s a 1.7GHz MediaTek Octa-Core processor on the Gionee Elife S5.5 along with the 2GB of RAM. If you know this specification, you’ll already know that the Gionee Elife S5.5 is a flagship smartphone. This smartphone got a score of 27194 at Antutu and at gaming, the Gionee Elife S5.5 doesn’t disappoint. I was able to play PSP games specifically Metal Gear: Portable Ops plus on the smartphone.  Other games that I’ve tried on this device are Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Modern Combat 4 and Edge of Tomorrow without hiccups. The Octa-Core processor and 2GB of RAM on this device can surely play most of the games that are available on the Google Play Store.

Battery life
I was expecting that this device would have a not-so-good battery life because of its 5.5mm thickness. I was wrong.  The battery life of the smartphone was too good for its size. It was able to last up to a day on me despite having average use of games and Internet browsing. The 2300mAh battery is quite good for the Gionee Elife S5.5
Camera
A few months ago, Gionee has introduced the Gionee Elife E7 and they’re proud that its camera is one of the best in the Android industry and yes, just like its brother, the Gionee Elife S5.5 sports a pleasant camera however, this is just at 13 Megapixels. At the back, you’ll notice a slight bulge at the camera but don’t worry. The small bulge at the back wasn’t really distracting and annoying when I’m using the phone.

This smartphone is also good when it comes to selfies because there’s a wide-angle front camera. So what does that mean? With this feature, there’s no need to get a monopod to have a groupie because the wide-angle camera can cover a wide field than other cameras.

This smartphone shoot pretty fast and most of the time; I use it to take photos on some events and on pictures for my Instagram. The shots that I took on the Gionee Elife S5.5 were mostly good and at low-light conditions, the Gionee Elife S5.5’s rear camera doesn’t disappoint. Check out some of the shots that I took using the smartphone.



Verdict

The Gionee Elife S5.5 is not the most affordable Octa-Core smartphone in the market but this is definitely the thinnest smartphone of them all. Aside from its premium, thin and elegant design, another thing to like on the Gionee Elife S5.5 is the front facing camera which is really great for selfies. This smartphone is definitely one of the best when it comes to selfies. 

The Gionee Elife S5.5 is now available for P21,990 but don’t worry about its price, the phone is really worth it.

Cherry Mobile Flare 3 launched!, The new Phablet ng Bayan!

Jam Ancheta
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Cherry Mobile Flare 3 launched!, The new Phablet ng Bayan!

The 3rd generation of Cherry Mobile Flare is here! and it packs a specifications that is really enticing. The Cherry Mobile Flare finally left the 4-inch display and finally went to 5-inch. The Cherry Mobile Flare 3 now also comes in different colors which are black, blue, white, silver, & red. Despite having a qHD resolution on a 5-inch display ,the display looks really good because it’s an IPS OGS display. The internal storage has also became 8GB which is an upgrade from the 4GB from the Flare 2 while the RAM has been upgraded to 1GB.

Another thing to love about this phone is that the Cherry Mobile Flare 3 now runs on Android 4.4 Kitkat out of the box. Inside the hood is a 1.3 GHz Quad-Core MT6582 processor which performs pretty good. Overall, I really like the Cherry Mobile Flare 3 for its price. I actually think that the display was better than the MyPhone Rio despite having a smaller resolution

Cherry Mobile Flare 3 will be officially available on August 2, 2014 and it still priced at P3,999.

Cherry Mobile Flare 3 Specifications

  • 5-inch qHD IPS OGS Display
  • 1.3GHz MT6582 Quad-Core Processor
  • 8GB Internal Storage w/ MicroSD card slot
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8 Megapixel Rear Camera with LED Flash
  • 3 Megapixel Front Camera
  • HSPA+
  • Dual SIM
  • Android 4.4 Kitkat
  • 1980mAh
  • P3,999

Nokia XL Review

Jam Ancheta
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Nokia XL Review
After a few years, Nokia has give in and it has officially joined the Android race with their Nokia X line. Unfortunately, there’s a catch on these devices. The Nokia X family lies between the Asha and Lumia. Yes, Don’t expect that the Nokia X phones would have flagship specifications. The first generation of Nokia X smartphones comes in two sizes, 4″ and 5″. Thankfully, I got a chance to review the Nokia XL, which is the biggest smartphone in the Nokia X Family.

Design and Construction



Just like the other Nokia phones, once you hold it, you’ll already feel how solid the Nokia XL is. The design and quality of the Nokia XL doesn’t disappoint and yes, it feels like the phone won’t broke even when you dropped the phone from two floors. Inside the Nokia XL is also a metal frame, which makes it stronger and solid than other smartphones. Although, I feel that the Nokia XL is a bit thick and heavy for its specifications.

The availability of many colors on the Nokia XL was one thing to love on this phone. The one that I got was bright green and it is very vivid and lively. The hardware buttons and the ports are well placed however you might find the Nokia XL odd because of its single capacitive button at the front which is just back button. Unfortunately, You can’t do all the Android functions because of that.

Display



There’s a 5” display on this device and unfortunately it is at 800×480 only. In today’s standards, WVGA display isn’t really enticing and unlike other Nokia smartphones, the Nokia XL has a reflective display but I appreciate Nokia’s effort on putting Nokia Glance and double tap to wake. Nokia Glance is one of the minor features that you would probably love on this phone. Nokia Glance is a feature in where the display shows you the time even when the phone is lock.  Oh and despite having this hardware, the Nokia XL does have a 5 multi-touch points.
Software and performance

The Nokia XL runs on a customized version of Android OS. What does that mean? You could run Android apps on this device however, if they’re not available on the Nokia Store or 3rd party stores, you should manually install it on your device.  How? by using a file manager. There’s a built-in Nokia Store in the Nokia XL and there are 3rd party app stores that are available in the Nokia Store that’s why there are a lot of apps that you can install on this device. I tried sideloading an Android app on this device and it is very familiar and easy just like the one that we see on other Android smartphones.

The UI of this device is very similar to the Windows Phone and it is almost smooth as its Lumia brothers.  There are also tiles on this forked Android OS but unlike Windows phone, these tiles are more customizable. You can put tiles in groups, change their colors and their sizes however, I find it confusing at first but I got used to it after a while.

One of the main features of this smartphone is Fastlane. Basically, Fastlane lists all your recent apps and notifications on your phone. Fastlane is very useful when I’m texting to someone because it is much easier to navigate to the one I’m texting. All I need to do is swipe from the homescreen and I can see all the recent things that I’ve done in my phone.

Of course, this smartphone has Microsoft and Nokia services. But again, this is forked Android that’s why you can’t find Google Play Store or any Google services installed on this device. Since this is a smartphone made by Microsoft and Nokia, there are already apps that are already pre-installed on this device like OneDrive and Here Maps. Just like the Windows Phone counterpart, Here Maps was easy to use and it is one thing that you would surely love on Nokia devices.


Nokia XL isn’t really good in games because it only sports a Dual-Core Snapdragon 200 processor and a 768MB of RAM but thankfully, there are some high quality games that are optimized for the Nokia XL like Minion Rush and Asphalt 8. Of course, if you want to install your favorite Android games, you could try sideloading it on the Nokia XL however, don’t expect to run heavy games on this device. The battery life of the Nokia XL was able to reach up to 2 days of average use. That’s not actually bad for me. In Antutu, the Nokia XL got a score of 6696.

There’s a 5 Megapixel camera on unlike its smaller brother, there’s a front-facing camera on the Nokia XL. It can shoot images fast and the colors were not pinkish and most of the time, the images aren’t sharp. The images were also soft and warmer at some times. But again, I already expected that since the phone is placed between the Asha and the Lumia. Check out the sample shots below.

Nokia XL is not for the hardcore Android users but for first time Android users, they might like the Nokia XL. The specifications of the phone isn’t really made for heavy apps and games however, those people who is just looking for Android smartphone with the genes of Nokia, they should probably get this. Why? This is the best android smartphone in the Nokia X family but performance wise? you might not like it compared to other Android smartphones. The Nokia XL is now available for P8,990.


The Simpsons-Family Guy Crossover

Jam Ancheta
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The Simpsons-Family Guy Crossover

This is an epic crossover guys! Look! It’s Peter Griffin getting along with Homer Simpson! Can you imagine that? Yes, there will be one dedicated episode for the crossover and it seems that both shows’ humor is still there. I don’t want to spoil you guys but you can watch a 5-minute clip of the crossover episode below.  I hope that they could do more episodes like this again in the future .

Source: The Verge

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