Home Blog Page 641

DTC Mobile GT5 Astroid Plus Review + DTC Mobile Summer phones Giveaway

Jam Ancheta
-
0
DTC Mobile GT5 Astroid Plus Review + DTC Mobile Summer phones Giveaway

Android phones are really affordable these days. One of those affordable Android phones is the DTC Mobile GT5 Astroid Plus. This is certainly not the cheapest Android phone but it really does look cute. I really like the colors of the phone. It’s so vivid and the phone really feels young. So what can we expect on the phone? How does it fare in JAM Online’s test? Check it out after the break.

Hardware

The phone is made up of pure plastic. The back packs a glossy design that is pleasing to the eye but at the same time, it attracts a lot of fingerprints. It’s really annoying whenever I see a smudge on the back cover but the back cover design is clean and sexy. It somehow reminds me of the HTC One X.

The display packs the same screen size of the iPhone 4s. It’s a 3.5” display but this one has a HVGA resolution only. That’s 320 x 480 pixels to save you from searching it at Google. It’s not that bad but you’ll notice that you’ll crave for a 800 x 480 display when you’re browsing the web.

I was a bit disappointed not to see a 3G on the phone, instead the phone can connect using GPRS. But don’t frown yet because the DTC Mobile GT3 Astroid Plus has Wi-Fi. So yeah, you could use that to browse your Facebook or twitter. And download your favorite apps and games on Play Store.

The  phone doesn’t have a large storage. The phone only has a 130 MB of storage and only 30 MB of that can be used so I really suggest that you get a MicroSD card for this one since you can’t take photos on the phone without that. You also might have problems because some apps and games will require you a large internal storage. The battery of the phone is juiced at 1500mAh that can last up to less than a day. The battery is quite short for me especially when using dual-sim. You must always bring a charger with this one.

The sound quality is neither the greatest nor the worst. The sound quality feels just right. But of course it would be better to listen to your favorite playlist when you have a MicroSD card. The internal storage is too small for your playlist and like what I’ve said, I really recommend you to buy a MicroSD card when you have this phone. The phone has dual-sim that you can use at the same time but unfortunately, there’s no 3G inside so you should really stick on the Wi-Fi.

Camera

The DTC mobile GT5 Astroid Plus comes with a 2.0 MP rear camera. Unfortunately there’s no front camera and there’s no LED flash on the back. But c’mon guys! This is just an affordable Android smartphone from DTC Mobile. One thing that I noticed about the camera is that the camera can shoot fast. When you’re in a well lit environment, I believe that you can have fine quality images but you’ll have a problem if there is not sufficient lighting. Here take a look at some of my shots:

The DTC Mobile GT5 Astroid plus could also shoot 864 x 480 videos. I notice that the frame rates weren’t that good but at least it can record videos. I also notice a lot of particles and the jellow-y of videos. Take a look at my video sample:


Software

The DTC Mobile GT5 Astroid Plus is a bit late at Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Some of the apps on the Play store will require you an Android 4.0 like Google Chrome. Speaking of apps, there’s Play Store in where you can download almost everything that you need. There aren’t that much pre-installed apps on the phone (There’s Angry birds! Yehey!) but there’s one thing I really like about it. The UI, widgets and everything are very clean and young-looking. Oh and you can even change the whole theme of your phone. Too bad you can’t download new themes.

The 1 GHz single core processor is already enough to play your favorite and not so demanding games. Don’t worry games like angry birds and Temple Run 2 will work on the device. Oh and don’t install too much games because the phone only has a small storage.  I tested the phone on Antutu and I got the score of 5157, the score that I expected on the phone.

Verdict

It’s not the cheapest Android smartphone but for its price and looks, I think this is worth the price. I really like the design of the phone, maybe it’s the color and its simplicity. The DTC Mobile GT5 Astroid is available in Black and Red so why don’t you check out the nearest DTC Mobile Kiosks and get one now. It’s available for P2,999.

But of course, some people just want the phone for free so we’re raffling one away! Thanks to our friends at DTC Mobile.  Yeah, I know. We love giveaways. We’ll be raffling of a DTC Mobile GQ6, DTC Mobile GE3 and of course, the DTC Mobile GT5 Astroid Plus. But before that, Check out the reviews of those phones.

  • Valid only for residents in the Philippines.
  • All entries must be done through the Rafflecopter below.
  • The winner will be notified via Facebook/Email/Twitter.
  • You can join the giveaway which will start today, May 26 2013 and it will end at June 15 2013.
  • There will be three draws: 
    • First Draw: June 1, 2013 – Prize: DTC Mobile GQ6
    • Second Draw: June 8, 2013 – Prize: DTC Mobile GE3
    • Grand Draw: June 15, 2013 – Prize: DTC Mobile GT5 Astroid Plus
  • The winners will be announce live at the Big Time Show

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks to DTC Mobile Philippines for sponsoring the Giveaway!

Xbox One Unveiled

Jam Ancheta
-
0
Xbox One Unveiled

The next generation of Xbox has been revealed and it is aim to compete with Sony Playstation 4. The Xbox One is designed not just for games but also an entertainment hub on your living room. From the name itself, it really looks like a simple box. They revealed some games like Call of Duty: Ghosts, Forza Motorsport, Quantum break and EA Games with EA Ignite engine. So what’s new inside the Xbox One? Check it out after the break.

The Xbox One wants to push to the boundaries of becoming an all-in-one entertainment system for you. Xbox One will bring you live TV directly from your console. Unfortunately, Live TV will only support the people in USA. Actually, almost all of the entertainment features on Xbox One will only support the mainland USA

Microsoft is very proud that the new Xbox one will have a Windows operating system base on their 3 Operating systems — Windows 8, Windows RT and Windows Phone 8. I guess the consumers wouldn’t care about that much but I think the developers would love it because of their almost similarities. Speaking of Windows, the Xbox One will feature Skype and Snap that works very similar to Windows 8. Snap enables you to work on two things at once. Yes, you could watch your favorite movie and talk to Skype to your favorite people. Don’t worry, the Xbox One comes with Kinect 2.0 that you can use for Skype video calls. Another good thing about the Xbox One is you can have Game DVR. So whenever you have an epic killing streak on Call of Duty, you could share it to your friends.

But of course, the Xbox One comes with a disappointment. Just like what I’ve said earlier, some of the entertainment features of the Xbox One will only be available in the US and the design of the Xbox is kinda simple and ugh. Box-y?. It looks like our VHS player. Microsoft also focused on the entertainment features and not the gaming part. I was expecting something extraordinary from the Xbox One but there was none. The Xbox One will also not support backwards compatibility since this one will be powered by a X86 8-core processor. I guess, I really didn’t like the next-gen consoles.

DTC Mobile GE3 Review

Jam Ancheta
-
0
DTC Mobile GE3 Review

Who said that music phones are dead already? DTC Mobile GE3 will prove you that music phones aren’t dead yet. The music-centered DTC Mobile GE3 features a large speaker that is aim to have to a much better music experience than any other phones. Aside from that, the phone also has an external antenna, so that you can watch your favorite local shows. Yeah, a phone that is aiming to have a rich multimedia experience.

When I held the phone for the first time, it felt really heavy. But I knew the phone was filled with features. The whole phone was made up of plastic but it really feels solid on the hand because of its weight and construction. At the back, you’ll notice the very large speaker grill with a design somehow similar to a rim of a wheel. It doesn’t look that bad for me. The phone has 2 special buttons, a shortcut for music player and a dialer for the Sim Card #2.

The monoblock design is now only common on most featurephones since most smartphones have a touchscreen. Speaking of screens, the DTC Mobile GE3 has a 2.4” colored display, which is already enough for watching on the mobile TV app. The phone has Bluetooth that you can use for transferring files and of course, there’s the micro-USB that you can use to connect to the charger and the MicroSD card slot inside if you need to beefed up your phone with media files. The phone can only handle up to 8 GB but I guess, that’s already enough if you’re on the featurephone. The phone also has dual-sim but it doesn’t support 3G. There’s no Wi-Fi too so you’re only down with GRPS.

One of the phone’s strength is the large battery. The phone has 1500mAh of battery that can last up to a week. Awesome right? Since this phone is really made for entertainment, the speaker won’t fail you. The speaker is so loud, you can even wake your neighbor if you turn on the phone in the morning. Using this phone

One of its unique features is the Mobile TV. There’s an external antenna for that and I didn’t had any problems with signal. Of course, you could only watch local channels and not cable channels. And since the speakers are so loud, your neighbors could hear the channel that you’re watching. There’s a flashlight/torch too but it wasn’t that bright but at least there’s a torch. It is place at the top of the phone, I wished they just made the torch into a camera flash.

The DTC Mobile GE3 has a 1.3 Megapixel camera that can capture images at 1280×960 and it can record videos at 176×144.  I think that’s not really disappointing considering that the phone is just a featurephone and not a smartphone.

The phone uses a proprietary OS that is almost the same with the DTC Mobile GQ6 that we’ve reviewed a few. But this one has a cleaner look. There’s the internet browser but like what I’ve told you a while ago, you can only rely on the GPRS of the phone.

There’s also the basic apps that you need like the music player, alarm, calculator and more.  But I think the feature that the DTC Mobile GE3 can boast is the Mobile TV and the goliath loud speaker at the back. I guess the DTC Mobile GE3 is for the people who is always love to play their favorite playlists on their MicroSD card and to watch their favorite telenovelas wherever they are. The DTC Mobile GE3 is now available for P1,499. Check it out now at the nearest DTC Mobile Stores and Kiosks!

Watch out for the raffle of this phone soon at JAM Online!

How to create your own Globe GoSAKTO promo

Jam Ancheta
-
0
How to create your own Globe GoSAKTO promo

I’ve been a Globe user for almost a decade and I’ve been happy with their services and promos especially with GoSakto, a game changing service that lets you customize your own prepaid promo base on your budget. You can control the minutes of call, number of texts and the MB of Mobile Internet. GoSakto was just introduced earlier this year but it seems that everyone is using the service, so why don’t you try it for your self? It’s easy to register and it can help you save up more money.

As a student, I really want to maximize my budget especially on prepaid loads since a big chunk of my allowance is allotted for that. And yes, I already saved a lot of money because I can have a prepaid promo that I can control and customize. So you might be asking why should you use GoSakto? Here’s why:

  • Like what I’ve said earlier, GoSakto is customizable base on your preferred promo and budget
  • GoSakto has much cheaper promos:
    • Unlimited texting for 1 day is P15 at GoSakto compared to P20 of Unli20
    • 1 GB of data per month is P300 at GoSakto while P499 at Powersurf499
    • Combining promos are much cheaper at GoSakto
  • It’s easy to register, you can either use the Facebook App or by just dialing *143# 
One of my favorite GoSakto offer is the unli calls to Globe/TM + 50 txts to all net valid for 3 days. It will just cost you P49. If you don’t know how to register to Globe GoSakto, here’s a step-by-step guide.
1. Dial *143# on your phone
2. Choose GoSAKTO. Choose Create a promo and then pick a promo that’ll fit your needs. I’ll choose Call & Text since that’s the promo that I want.

 3. Since I want Unli calls to Globe/TM + 50 txts to all network then I’ll choose to build that promo.

4. You’ll just choose how long you want the promo to be valid. You can name your promo if you really want to personalize your promo. But of course, don’t forget to register your Globe GoSAKTO promo.

Wait for the confirmation of your promo and voila! You’re done. You are now registered to your personalized GoSAKTO promo. I suggest that you experiment on which promo will fit your needs.  You can also use Globe’s GoSAKTO Facebook app. But of course, you’ll have to confirm your mobile # to the Facebook account that you’re using.  Everybody is on GoSakto now, so why don’t you check it out on your phone via *143# ;).

DTC Mobile GQ6 Review

Jam Ancheta
-
0
DTC Mobile GQ6 Review

Who doesn’t like very light phones? Well most featurephones are like that. Who said that the featurephones are already dead? Think again. These are the phones that are really eye catching for holdappers and snatchers. These are also the phones that you can only use for texting and calling only.  Like the DTC Mobile GQ6, the phone that features a QWERTY keyboard and a very light design. Check it out here on my review.

I didn’t expect too much on the phone since this is just an affordable one. The first thing that I noticed with the phone is that it is small and it is light. It’s a very very cute phone since this one has a very vivid color with a small and compact design. Text addicts will surely love this because of the QWERTY keyboard. Typing on it is real breeze. The keys are big enough for you to type fast on the device.

The display is just 1.6” and it is pretty small for today but this one is just an affordable featurephone and it isn’t touchscreen so a 1.6” display is a bit acceptable for me. The phone has Micro-USB on the bottom and a 3.5mm audio jack on the top. Of course, there’s the Dual-Sim inside the phone and there’s Bluetooth. Unfortunately, the phone can only handle GPRS and not 3G.

If you feel that the phone needs more memory for your music files then you have the MicroSD which is up to 8 GB. The battery isn’t the best one but it has a 1000mAh battery, which is enough for more than 3 days of average use.
The camera of the phone is just 0.3 megapixel that can capture images at up to VGA (640×480). C’mon guys. This is just a feature phone not a smartphone so don’t expect too much on the phone.

The phone is running on a proprietary OS but it can run JAVA apps. There’s also Snake, the game that you guys always love on the Nokia.  If you want to browse your Facebook or your twitter, you can use the browser inside the phone.
One thing that I like about the phone is that the lockscreen sound is the same with the iPhone and it shows you clean design of your notifications. Of course, it is not like the same notifications that you can see on your phone but at least, it looks really nice for me.

The phone is just a featurephone that’s why I didn’t expect that much from it because it will only cost you P1,499 and it is available in Black, Red and Blue. It’s cute, it’s colorful and it’s small. A great back-up phone if you already have a smartphone J. Why don’t you check out the nearest DTC mobile outlets and get one now.
Watch out for the raffle of this phone!
Thanks to DTC Mobile for the DTC Mobile GQ6!

Ultimate Selfie and Ang Tipo Kong Bigote Videos

Jam Ancheta
-
0
Ultimate Selfie and Ang Tipo Kong Bigote Videos

I don’t really post videos that are really funny in the internet on my blog but this one, YOU GOT TO SEE THIS ONE. I’m not the biggest fan of Lourd De Veyra and Jun Sabayton, the people you always see on the “Word of the Lourd” videos. If you haven’t seen it, they tackle very interesting topics on those videos. I also haven’t tried nor tested the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 since Samsung isn’t lending me a review unit. But yeah, these two videos are really funny. Check out the “Ang Tipo Kong Bigote” and “Ultimate Selfie” after the break

The videos are really funny. Don’t ask me about the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 since I don’t have a review unit, I just want to share with you these funny videos :D.

ASUS Fonepad Launched in the Philippines (UPDATED)

Jam Ancheta
-
0
ASUS Fonepad Launched in the Philippines (UPDATED)

ASUS Padfone was introduced to have a tablet and phone in a just a single device. But for those who can’t afford it but still want to have the taste of a smartphone and a tablet in a single device then you can opt for this device, The Asus Fonepad. Yeah, they just interchanged the names but this one is different from its bigger brother. The ASUS Fonepad is really great for those people who are always into using tablets but still want a full functionality of a phone. Compared to the Padfone 2, this one doesn’t have a docking station. Basically, this is a 7-inch with a phone functionality. Actually, there’s something different about this tablet compared to the other 7-inch Android competitors. Check it out after the break.

Mr. Eason De Guzman discussing the features of Asus Fonepad

The ASUS Fonepad features a 7-inch screen just like any other Android tablets but this one runs under Intel Atom processor on the hood. Most Android devices are running on ARM like the Exynos of Samsung, Qualcomm Processors and many more. Intel and Asus is proud that the ASUS Fonepad which is powered by Intel Atom Z2420 can last up to 9 hours of mobile usage. Not bad for a tablet.


Another good thing about this tablet is the 7″ sleek metallic finish design and its 2 premium colors — Champagne Gold and Titanium Gray. The tablet really feels solid and premium thanks to that premium finish. Asus is also boasting that this is the only 7-inch tablet with this design.

The Asus FonePad packs a 3 Megapixel Rear camera that can record 720p videos and a 1.2 MP camera. The front camera seems to have a better aperture than the one on the rear. I don’t really recommend tablets for taking photos so a better quality on the front camera sounds real nice.

ASUS Fonepad Specifications

Display: 7-inch IPS Display, 800 x 1280 pixels
Processor: 1.2Ghz  Z2420 / 1.6Ghz Z2460
RAM: 1 GB RAM
Storage: 16 GB/32 GB Internal Storage
Camera: 3 MP Rear Camera and 2 MP Front Camera
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.0
Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi b/g/n
Connectivity: HSPA+
Battery: 4270mAh
Colors: Champagne Gold and Titanium Gray
OS: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

ASUS Fonepad Price in the Philippines
The ASUS Fonepad comes in two variants the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom 2460/32 GB for Php14,995 and Intel Atom Z2420 1.2GHz /8GB for 11,995.

Cloudfone Excite 400D Review: The Exciting affordable Android phone

Jam Ancheta
-
0
Cloudfone Excite 400D Review: The Exciting affordable Android phone

Cloudfone Excite 400D is really one of the most exciting smartphone in the market right now. Why? Because it packs an exciting specifications but it still have the affordable price in the market for its hardware. The phone is set to compete with Cherry Mobile Flare, the most affordable dual-core smartphone in the market right now.  The Cloudfone Excited 400D is a Dual-Core and Dual-Sim Android smartphone that has a SRP of P4,499. CloudFone gave the phone to me for review and so far, I like the phone and its features. So what do I think of the phone? Can it beat the Cherry Mobile Flare? Check it out after the break.


Hardware

The Back covers

When you first look at the phone, you’ll notice that it does look like any other Android phone from the market. It is made up of pure plastic in the black and glass on the front. The phone has a much cleaner 3 capacitive Android buttons – The Menu, Home and Back button. Some phones still even use the 4 capacitive Android buttons and I don’t really like that. At the back, you can see the glossy and fingerprint-attractive back cover with cloudfone’s small logo at the bottom. The design is kinda neat., there are no other markings in the back. Thankfully, Cloudfone brings us a free back cover. You can choose from Red, Blue and Yellow back covers. Reminds me of the Nokia Lumia

4 sides of the Cloudfone Excite 400D

It packs a 4-inch screen, which is kind of bluer than most displays. I’m not really why is it like that. The screen doesn’t have ghosting or any other problems. Just the blue-r display. I really hope that there’s a fix for that. Nonetheless, the display has a WVGA resolution which is already good for browsing the internet and playing games on the 4-inch IPS display. For me, if you have a 4-inch display it must have at least a WVGA resolution.

The phone doesn’t really surprise me when it comes to connectivity. Of course the phone packs a 3.5mm audio jack and the Micro-USB and as expected, the phone packs a dual-sim slot but there’s only one slot that supports HSDPA.  Not really a deal breaker except for those people who are using both their mobile data on their two Sim Cards. Beside the SIM card slot is the MicroSD card slot that can hold up to 32 GB. It is not  hot-swappable because the battery is blocking it. The speaker is also placed at the back that gives me a not-so-good but still decent sound. But c’mon guys, why would expect that much on a phone that is only priced below P5,000.

Speaking of battery, CloudFone listed it in their specifications that the phone has a 1200mAh battery  but the one that I got has a 1400 mAh battery. I’m not really sure what’s the real rate of the battery. But the battery is much better than the flare because it last up to 14 hours to me. It’s not that long and I really suggest that you get a power bank or an extra battery if you are a heavy user.

Here’s what inside the box

Camera

The camera of the Cloudfone Excite 400D is not that exciting. Its camera is actually one of its weakest points. The phone’s camera app has some bugs that will force to close the app. I really suggest that you get a 3rd party app for the camera.  When it comes to quality of the images of the Cloudfone Excite 400D, the images has a lot of noise whether you’re taking a photo at low-light environment or even at the well-lit scenarios. Another annoying thing about this is that the images are really dark than normal. Sometimes, it’s really frustrating to take a shot at low-light because the LED Flash doesn’t really help that much.  Take a look at the images that I took using the Cloudfone Excite 400D:

The phone cannot record in HD but the quality isn’t that plausible. I was really hoping for a better recording. The phone can only record .3gp and not .mp4.  IBut c’mon guys, this phone is just P4,499. Here, take a look at my video recording sample of the Cloudfone Excite 400D:
Software

The Cloudfone Excite 400D is running on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean already. That’s why the apps and some simple tasks are smooth and it loads easily. Swiping to the app drawer and photos are such a breeze thanks to the combination of Android 4.1 and 1 GHz Dual-Core Mediatek MT6577 processor. I didn’t need to have another launcher just to have those silky smooth transitions.

One reason why I’m happy about CloudFone Android Smartphones is because they aren’t adding to much bloatwares and unnecessary apps on the phone. CloudFone and CloudStore is still here in the phone and there’s the Media3D app in where you can check out the weather, photos and videos with a cool 3D effects. It is not useful to some but it is really fancy for me to check out my media files with 3D effects.

The performance of the phone was great. I’ve tried different games in the phone like GTA: Vice City and it performed really well at high settings. I really didn’t expect that GTA:VC will have a very high frame rates at that. I expect that most games will work on the device.

The benchmark that I got didn’t fail my expectations. I was expecting that the phone will only have a score of 6500 at Antutu but it got a score of 6881. Not bad. A pretty high score for a phone like this.

Verdict

This isn’t the cheapest smartphone around but this one is one of the best for its price. Not all smartphones could have a dual-core processor with a price like this. The construction is made up of plastic but it is really sturdy and I really feel that it won’t break easily.  The Dual-Core MediaTek processor and the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is really a fast combination. But the smartphone has a mediocre battery life and the camera wasn’t that good too. But for P4,499, I think the phone is worth the price and I bet you’ll love the phone too.

Pros:
Affordable
The construction is solid

Cons:
Camera was mediocre
Display was blue-ish


FAQS

Q: Koya, okay po ba ang cellphone na ito?
A: Yes

Q: Is the Cloudfone Excite 400D better than the Cherry Mobile Flare?
A: Yes. I think so.

Q: Paparaffle po ba ang cellphone na ito?
A: Nope

Q: Ano po ba itsura ng loob ng Cloudfone?
A: 

Samsung Galaxy S4 with Stock Android unveiled

Jam Ancheta
-
0
Samsung Galaxy S4 with Stock Android unveiled


Some people are not really impressed with Samsung Galaxy S4’s Smart features, TouchWiz UI and S apps. Sometimes, I was really disappointed with TouchWiz on my SGS3 because it makes the phone slower but I really love the Smart features on the phone. Anyway today at Google I/O, Google announced that they’ll be selling the Samsung Galaxy S4 with a stock Android. So what does that mean for the consumers? Well, you’ll still have that Samsung Galaxy S4 but with less of a Samsung. They’ll be removing all the Smart features, Touchwiz and S apps on the device. Basically, this is like a Nexus device. They didn’t announced the full specifications of the phone but I guess, it will still have the same specifications but they didn’t announce which processor that they’ll use for the phone but I guess they’ll be using the Snapdragon version since this one will have LTE for AT&T and T-Mobile. I hope that LTE is available for all regions because if they do, Gray markets might want to sell this one at the Philippines. The SRP of the phone is $649 which roughly estimates at PHP26,000.


Source: Engadget

BBM is coming to iOS and Android

Jam Ancheta
-
0
BBM is coming to iOS and Android

BBM is one of the killer feature of RIM and one of the reasons why people still love their Blackberries. But of course, BBM is not the only messenger around for mobile phones. Viber, WeChat, Line and WhatsApp. We know that some these messengers are even better than the Blackberry Messenger but some people still stay on BBM. But of course, there are so many things why you’ll love Blackberry like the Blackberry Services rates which are more cheaper than the normal data plan. Personally, I like Blackberry phones because of their awesome QWERTY keyboards. That’s why I prefer the Q10 than the Z10. Anyway, the BBM for iOS and Android will feature cross-platform BBM chats, groups, ability to share photos and voice notes. It will be available on Android 4.0 and up while you need iOS 6 for your iPhones. The app will also provide you the BBM Pin, QR Code and everything that you need. Awesome news right? Because I really have a lot of friends who are using BBM but I’m not sure what will be future of RIM with this move. BBM for Android and iOS is expected to be release this summer.

1...640641642...757Page 641 of 757
© Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv