The Best of 2014: Flagship Smartphones

Lazada Philippines

Last year brought us a lot of great smartphones into the market from every brand, and we’ve already put a lot of them in this list. To compile everything as 2015 starts, here are the best smartphones of 2014 that you can buy.

bestphone2014-flagship

Nokia Lumia 930 (Php23,800 – Php29,990)

lumia-930-review

The Nokia Lumia 930 is the fusion of all the company’s hardware & software, from the design to the specs, and it’s currently the best thing that they offer so far. If you’re down for Nokia & Microsoft’s craftsmanship, there is no other choice.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Windows Phone 8.1
  • 20 megapixel PureView camera

HTC One M8 (Php23,200 – Php31,100)

htc-m8

The company’s presence may no longer be felt here in the country, but this phone is still available for grabs. It may not have a QHD display and a high-resolution main camera, but it does almost everything well, not to mention it is wrapped in wonderful aluminum and it packs mind-blowing front-facing BoomSound speakers.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Front-facing BoomSound speakers
  • Premium metal build

Samsung Galaxy S5 (Php22,800 – Php34,000)

galaxy-s5-manila

Water-resistance, a beautiful 1080p Super AMOLED display, a 16-megapixel camera, a heart rate monitor, and a fingerprint scanner – those are just a few things that the Galaxy S5 features, and we’re sure there are a lot more that a lot may like. However, not everyone is going to enjoy everything about the Galaxy S5 as well; the design being significantly one of them.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Water-resistance
  • Fingerprint scanner, heart rate monitor

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (Php33,900 – Php34,500)

note4-review

The Galaxy Note 4 is Samsung’s polishing of the Note line. It hasn’t changed much design-wise, but it does pack a metal casing now which adds a lot into the new premium feel. It also packs the latest hardware from the company which includes the heart rate monitor, the fingerprint scanner, the 16 megapixel camera, a QHD Super AMOLED display, and of course, the much improved stylus called the S-Pen.

Noteworthy elements:

  • 5.7-inch 2560 x 1440 Super AMOLED display
  • Improved pair of cameras
  • S-Pen functionality
  • Heart rate monitor, fingerprint scanner
  • Better Samsung build

LG G3 (Php20,600 – Php33,990)

lgg3-reviewphilippines

The LG G3 wows a lot of people from the QHD display to its other fast internals. It also has laser autofocus for the camera and this plastic design that aims for a metallic look & feel. The QHD display, however, seems to be holding back the performance of the phone at times, but other than that, this smartphone is still one to beat.

Noteworthy elements:

  • 5.5-inch 2560 x 1440 display
  • Laser autofocus

Apple iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus (Php38,500 – Php84,500)

iphone6plus-iphone6

Apple has now given people what they have been wanting for a long time – larger screens, and it’s plural because the company had two phones for you last year, and both do great.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Touch ID
  • iOS
  • Improved 8 megapixel iSight cameras

Sony Xperia Z3 (Php27,700 – Php27,800)

xperiaz3-review

The Xperia Z3 will get you to enjoy PS4 Remote Play, and for the rest of the experience, you’ll be enjoying a better display outdoors, good battery life, waterproofing, a wider angle lens, higher ISOs for shooting in the dark and more.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Waterproofing
  • Improved 20.7 megapixel Exmor RS camera

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact (Php20,800 – Php21,000)

Z3 compact

The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact packs a very capable 720p display, the same waterproof design, the same 20 megapixel camera used in the Xperia Z3, and it’s all in a smaller and much more manageable form factor.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Waterproofing
  • Improved 20.7 megapixel Exmor RS camera
  • Compact construction

Blackberry Passport (Php32,000)

blackberry passport_2

The BlackBerry Passport is unsurprisingly the only flagship smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard, for those that still want the BlackBerry experience.

Noteworthy elements:

  • QWERTY keyboard
  • BlackBerry OS

Starmobile Knight X (Php15,990)

STARMOBILE KNIGHT X

Starmobile ended the year with the Knight X as their flagship phone with an octa-core CPU and a 1080p display.

Noteworthy elements:

  • 3GB RAM compared to other local competitors

Cherry Mobile Omega Infinity (Php11,999)

omega-infinity-specs

The CM Omega Infinity remained as the company’s flagship phone until the end of 2014, packing a 5.5-inch 1080p display and an octa-core CPU.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Most affordable compared to other local competitors

MyPhone Infinity (Php12,999)

myphone infinity

MyPhone tops their own Iceberg phones with the Infinity, and as you’d expect, it packs a 1080p display with an octa-core CPU as well, having a decent balance of all things.

Xiaomi Mi3 (Php10,599)

mi3_1

The most surprising flagship phone of the year making it to the Philippines is the Xiaomi Mi3. This is because it packs everything you’d expect from a flagship phone above Php20k with half the price of just around Php10k.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Unbeatable package for its price

The post The Best of 2014: Flagship Smartphones appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

The Best of 2014: Flagship Smartphones

Lazada Philippines

Last year brought us a lot of great smartphones into the market from every brand, and we’ve already put a lot of them in this list. To compile everything as 2015 starts, here are the best smartphones of 2014 that you can buy.

bestphone2014-flagship

Nokia Lumia 930 (Php23,800 – Php29,990)

lumia-930-review

The Nokia Lumia 930 is the fusion of all the company’s hardware & software, from the design to the specs, and it’s currently the best thing that they offer so far. If you’re down for Nokia & Microsoft’s craftsmanship, there is no other choice.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Windows Phone 8.1
  • 20 megapixel PureView camera

HTC One M8 (Php23,200 – Php31,100)

htc-m8

The company’s presence may no longer be felt here in the country, but this phone is still available for grabs. It may not have a QHD display and a high-resolution main camera, but it does almost everything well, not to mention it is wrapped in wonderful aluminum and it packs mind-blowing front-facing BoomSound speakers.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Front-facing BoomSound speakers
  • Premium metal build

Samsung Galaxy S5 (Php22,800 – Php34,000)

galaxy-s5-manila

Water-resistance, a beautiful 1080p Super AMOLED display, a 16-megapixel camera, a heart rate monitor, and a fingerprint scanner – those are just a few things that the Galaxy S5 features, and we’re sure there are a lot more that a lot may like. However, not everyone is going to enjoy everything about the Galaxy S5 as well; the design being significantly one of them.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Water-resistance
  • Fingerprint scanner, heart rate monitor

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (Php33,900 – Php34,500)

note4-review

The Galaxy Note 4 is Samsung’s polishing of the Note line. It hasn’t changed much design-wise, but it does pack a metal casing now which adds a lot into the new premium feel. It also packs the latest hardware from the company which includes the heart rate monitor, the fingerprint scanner, the 16 megapixel camera, a QHD Super AMOLED display, and of course, the much improved stylus called the S-Pen.

Noteworthy elements:

  • 5.7-inch 2560 x 1440 Super AMOLED display
  • Improved pair of cameras
  • S-Pen functionality
  • Heart rate monitor, fingerprint scanner
  • Better Samsung build

LG G3 (Php20,600 – Php33,990)

lgg3-reviewphilippines

The LG G3 wows a lot of people from the QHD display to its other fast internals. It also has laser autofocus for the camera and this plastic design that aims for a metallic look & feel. The QHD display, however, seems to be holding back the performance of the phone at times, but other than that, this smartphone is still one to beat.

Noteworthy elements:

  • 5.5-inch 2560 x 1440 display
  • Laser autofocus

Apple iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus (Php38,500 – Php84,500)

iphone6plus-iphone6

Apple has now given people what they have been wanting for a long time – larger screens, and it’s plural because the company had two phones for you last year, and both do great.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Touch ID
  • iOS
  • Improved 8 megapixel iSight cameras

Sony Xperia Z3 (Php27,700 – Php27,800)

xperiaz3-review

The Xperia Z3 will get you to enjoy PS4 Remote Play, and for the rest of the experience, you’ll be enjoying a better display outdoors, good battery life, waterproofing, a wider angle lens, higher ISOs for shooting in the dark and more.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Waterproofing
  • Improved 20.7 megapixel Exmor RS camera

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact (Php20,800 – Php21,000)

Z3 compact

The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact packs a very capable 720p display, the same waterproof design, the same 20 megapixel camera used in the Xperia Z3, and it’s all in a smaller and much more manageable form factor.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Waterproofing
  • Improved 20.7 megapixel Exmor RS camera
  • Compact construction

Blackberry Passport (Php32,000)

blackberry passport_2

The BlackBerry Passport is unsurprisingly the only flagship smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard, for those that still want the BlackBerry experience.

Noteworthy elements:

  • QWERTY keyboard
  • BlackBerry OS

Starmobile Knight X (Php15,990)

STARMOBILE KNIGHT X

Starmobile ended the year with the Knight X as their flagship phone with an octa-core CPU and a 1080p display.

Noteworthy elements:

  • 3GB RAM compared to other local competitors

Cherry Mobile Omega Infinity (Php11,999)

omega-infinity-specs

The CM Omega Infinity remained as the company’s flagship phone until the end of 2014, packing a 5.5-inch 1080p display and an octa-core CPU.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Most affordable compared to other local competitors

MyPhone Infinity (Php12,999)

myphone infinity

MyPhone tops their own Iceberg phones with the Infinity, and as you’d expect, it packs a 1080p display with an octa-core CPU as well, having a decent balance of all things.

Xiaomi Mi3 (Php10,599)

mi3_1

The most surprising flagship phone of the year making it to the Philippines is the Xiaomi Mi3. This is because it packs everything you’d expect from a flagship phone above Php20k with half the price of just around Php10k.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Unbeatable package for its price

The post The Best of 2014: Flagship Smartphones appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Pioneer SE-M531 Quick Review

Lazada Philippines

The Pioneer SE-M531 is a pair of cans designed for your home cinema, but is it worth getting one for your own?

Pioneer SE-M531 (7)

Now, we need to stress this part. If you’re looking for headphones that you’re going to bring outside your house, this may not be it. The SE-M531 is designed to sit beside your TV or around your desktop. It’s not even designed to be used on your phone or your tablet; I can’t connect it to my device without pulling my case off (huge jack), the cable is extremely long, and the headphone itself doesn’t fold. But there might be a few things that may change your mind.

Pioneer SE-M531 (3)

The design is classically beautiful as you’ll see in the pictures, and it is pretty light since there’s a lot of plastic. The headband also adjusts really well, and is quite comfortable even when wearing it for long periods of time. The only thing we don’t like about it is the placement of labels on both sides: “Pioneer SE-M531 Powerful Bass Duct”.

Pioneer SE-M531 (1)

Again, the cable is very long, and it doesn’t come off from the left headphone cup just in case you want to change it. Thankfully, it’s not prone to getting tangled, and I simply tie the cable with a rubber band if I don’t want it all over the place when I’m using my laptop.

Pioneer SE-M531 (5)

And as I expected, it sounds beautiful, but you have to pay more attention to appreciate the quality, mainly because despite the increased bass, the details you may have never heard before in a song pops!

Pioneer SE-M531 (4)

Taking on Bohemian Rhapsody, Sugar We’re Going Down and a lot more of other rock music variants to Problem, Royals and some Sam Smith music, I have only reached the conclusion that it’s only the mids and the voices that were slightly toned down compared to the other elements, and is the only thing that makes it fall in my take. I noticed this more when I was now watching TV shows like Game of Thrones where people talking felt like they could sound better, and I definitely did not enjoy Pulp Fiction with these on, but I did so with Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

Pioneer SE-M531 (6)

Pioneer SE-M531 specs:
7 – 40,000 Hz frequency response
32 impedance
1500 mW maximum input power
100 dB/mW sensitivity
40 mm driver
3.5m cable, 3.5 mm stereo gold-plated mini-plug
6.3 mm standard stereo plug adapter
215 g

Pioneer SE-M531 (2)

The Pioneer SE-M531 is designed for your home without a doubt, and if you like listening to musical instruments and other elements in audio and movie material that has a lot of background sound and special effects, this one does the job incredibly well, period. However, if you want to bring this around often and you prefer a lot of dialogues in your movies and vocals in your music, then you may look elsewhere for something better. However, the mids aren’t that bad and is really acceptable (just not compared to the other sound elements). If you can live with that, the Pioneer SE-M531 is worth a look at.

The post Pioneer SE-M531 Quick Review appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.