The Lenovo K3 Note is the company’s phablet offering in China that packs a 5.5-inch Full HD display, MediaTek 64-bit octa-core CPU, dual-SIM with LTE, 3,000mAh battery, and Android Lollipop. Although not officially offered in the country yet, we managed to get our hands on one to see what it initially has to offer.
The K3 Note sports a 5.5-inch IPS Full HD display at 401ppi on the front. It has relatively thin bezels on the sides which helps in flaunting the device’s large screen. Above it are the earpiece, 5 megapixel camera, and the notifications light. Down below are three unlit capacitive buttons for navigation.
On the right are the textured physical keys with chrome finish for the volume and power/lock. Found right up top are the microUSB port and headset jack, while down at the bottom is a pinhole for the microphone.
Flip it on its back and you’ll see the white removable cover, 13 megapixel camera, dual-LED flash, secondary microphone, the Lenovo branding, and speaker that is placed on the right-hand part just like the Lenovo A7000.
On hand, the K3 Note feels light as it only weighs 150g and it’s relatively thin too at 7.6mm. Design-wise, the K3 Note has curved sides at the back (similar to the design of the Xiaomi Mi Note) which also aids in gripping. In addition, it’s also attractive thanks to the pearlascent coating with matte finish.
We did our initial benchmark with AnTuTu and it scored 44,685, scoring below the OnePlus One but above the HTC One M8.
Lenovo K3 Note (K50-t5) specs:
5.5-inch Full HD IPS display, 401ppi
1.7GHz 64-bit MediaTek MTK6752 octa-core processor
Mali-T760 GPU
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage
Expandable up to 32GB via microSD
13MP rear camera w/ LED flash
5MP front camera
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
4G: TDD-LTE B38/B39/B40/B41; FDD LTE B1/B3/B7 MHz
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0, A2DP, LE
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
FM Radio
Waves MaxxAUdio
Android 5.0 Lollipop w/ VIBE UI
3,000mAh battery
152.6 x 76.2 x 7.6mm
150 grams
The Lenovo K3 Note (K50-t5) is available at Widget City for Php7,990. See listing here.
Stay tuned for our full review. If you have questions about the device, feel free to ask by writing it down the comments field below.
The post Lenovo K3 Note First Impressions appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.
The Xiaomi Mi Pad was first announced back in May 2014. It features a 7.9-inch high-resolution display, powerful NVIDIA Tegra K1 quad-core processor, and an affordable price tag that caused a lot of excitement. A year later, the highly-anticipated slate is finally in the PH but is it still a worthy consideration? Let’s find out by reading our full review.
The Mi Pad was among the very first device that features the rare Tegra K1 chip so we’re pretty curious at how it performs.
Design and Construction
The Mi Pad is a simple yet clean-looking slate that boasts a 7.9-inch display. Situated above it is the 5 megapixel front camera, notifications light, and the Mi branding. Found below are three illuminated capacitive buttons for Recent Apps, Home, and Back.
At the right side are the plastic volume rocker and the power/lock button with chrome finish. Found on the left side is the tray for the microSD card. The top part houses the headset jack, while down at the bottom is the microUSB port for charging and USB OTG.
Flip it on its back and you will see the 8 megapixel camera, two pinholes for the microphone, Mi branding, and two speaker grills. The rear part is made of glossy plastic with unibody design that reminds us of the iPhone 5C.
On hand, the Mi Pad feels solid and sturdy, however, it eventually becomes uncomfortable to hold as the glossy body becomes slippery when it has accumulated so much fingerprint and sweat from your hands.
Another thing that makes it uncomfortable is its weight. Although made of plastic, it is hefty at 360g, heavier than the metal-clad Apple iPad Mini 3 (331g) and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 (298g). Not to mention it is also the chunkiest of the three at 8.5mm.
ALSO READ: The Thinnest Winners: 8 Tablets Under 7mm
Display and Multimedia
The display is one of the strongest suits of the Mi Pad. It has a wide 7.9-inch IPS display with 2048 x 1536 resolution or 324ppi, same as the iPad mini 3, and protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3. The display is bright, vibrant and crispt with good colors. Viewing angles are good as well, however, it’s ruined by fingerprints and smudges as it is very prone to it.
Given the display size, the Mi Pad should satisfy those who want a good viewing experience on a tablet. Its great for viewing websites and e-books both in portrait and landscape. It’s also good for watching movies, however, the 4:3 aspect ratio might irk some as most videos would appear with black borders at the top and bottom by default. You may stretch it on some video players to fill the borders but the result may not always look good.
The dual speakers at the back, on the other hand, provide good sounds with ample loudness, bass and clarity. So even if you don’t have your headphones with you, the Mi Pad’s speakers will suffice for your private listening.
OS, UI, and Apps
Running the software side of the Mi Pad is Android 4.4.4 KitKat with MIUI 6 (v6.5.1.0 Stable as of writing). If you’ve handled a Xiaomi device before like the Mi 3 or Redmi 2, the UI experience is similar but at a larger scale.
It has 16GB of internal storage with 13.46GB as usable which might irk some people but it has support for a microSD card of up to 128GB capacity. Pre-installed apps are present but kept to the usual Google apps like Gmail, Chrome, and Hangouts. The good news is these can be uninstalled if you’re not using it. Bloatware is non-existent which is great.
And since this is a tablet, dedicated apps for calls and SMS are removed. We don’t mind that however we noticed that the Security app that we’re fond of using for optimizing our Mi smartphone and cleaning out junk was also excluded which is a bummer.
Camera
The Mi Pad is equipped with an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front. The front camera, although not exactly superb, has a wide-angle lens and capable of producing decent “selfies” and should suffice for video calls. The rear camera on the other hand has better optics, photos are decent but not superb either. Take a look at the samples below:
Performance and Benchmarks
Powering the Mi Pad is a 2.2GHz NVIDIA Tegra K1 quad-core CPU, 192-core NVIDIA Kepler GPU, and 2GB of RAM. That configuration alone makes it obvious that this slate means serious business. True enough it was able to play graphic intensive games including Mortal Kombat X and Marvel Future Fight without issues.
However, we noticed that it has problems with some apps as some of the benchmarks we used fail to run properly. MIUI also frequently gives us the “Loading please wait” notification for a few seconds when we exit to the homescreen and the “Unfortunately stopped” when opening the Settings app. We can say that MIUI’s “Stable” ROM isn’t really stable at this point.
Author’s note: Benchmarks were done twice to provide results in Performance and Balanced power settings.
* AnTuTu – 49,926 (Performance), 47,650 (Balanced)
* 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited – 24,626 (Performance), 23,667 (Balanced)
* Vellamo (Performance) – 1,787 (Metal), 2,360 (Multicore), 5,515 (Chrome Browser)
* Vellamo (Balanced) – 1,696 (Metal), 2,340 (Multicore), 4,751 (Chrome Browser)
Battery Life
Given that the Mi Pad packs serious processing hardware under the hood, it’s just logical to equip it with a battery that can match it. In the case of the Mi Pad, it’s a 6,700mAh battery. We ran our routine battery test which includes playing a Full HD video on loop in Airplane mode, 50% brightness and volume, and headphones plugged in, the result is 14 hours worth of playback.
Conclusion
The Xiaomi Mi Pad, although a 2014 device, proves to be a strong offering in 2015. It has the hardware, design, and build that would satisfy all types of tablet users especially Android gamers and heavy multimedia users. It’s not the perfect tablet though as there are bugs and app compatibility issues with MIUI. The good news is it can be remedied with a software update and the active MIUI community is keen about that. For the best part, the Mi Pad isn’t expensive and carries a price tag of Php10,999. So if you’re in a budget but want a powerful Android slate, the Mi Pad is a great choice.
Xiaomi Mi Pad specs:
7.9-inch IPS LCD display @ 2048 x 1536 pixels, 326ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 3
NVIDIA Tegra K1 2.2GHz quad-core CPU
192-core NVIDIA Kepler GPU
2GB LPDDR3 RAM
16GB internal storage
up to 128GB via microSD
8 megapixel Sony sensor f2.0 rear camera
5 megapixel front camera
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 4.0
6,700mAh Li-Ion battery
MIUI ROM
202.1 x 135.4 x 8.5mm (dimensions)
360g (weight)
The Xiaomi Mi Pad 16GB is only available through Lazada. See listing here.
What we liked about it:
* Good build
* Simple yet elegant design
* Good display
* Great performance
* Good speakers
* Great battery life
* Affordable
What we didn’t like:
* MIUI bugs
* Hefty
* 4:3 aspect ratio is not pretty on most movies
* Limited accessories
* Only available in White color in PH
The post Xiaomi Mi Pad Review appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.
THE House of Representatives should not waste a day longer and act with dispatch on the Freedom of Information bill.
In fact, what the House needs to do at this time, with Congress set to go on recess on June 4, is to put the FOI bill on top priority, according to the Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition of about 160 civil society organizations and leaders.
High prioritization of the FOI bill could mean a few, easy things that President Aquino, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., and other House leaders could do — “a high-level meeting, a phone call, adoption of a clear timetable, clearing-up of hold-ups and delays, mention at the State of the Nation Address, the President certifying to the necessity of immediate enactment, and ultimately, the House leadership putting the bill on the plenary agenda and mobilizing key legislators to move the process forward.”
What follows is the full text of the Coalition’s statement:
FOI Losing Time, High
Prioritization EssentialCOMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION Chairperson Jorge T. Almonte and House FOI champions and authors were scheduled to file the Committee Report on the FOI Bill with the Secretary General of the House of Representative last Wednesday, May 20, at 3:30 pm.
However, at around 2 pm, Chair Almonte felt compelled to postpone the event, anticipating that the final vote on the BBL happening that afternoon will take longer than earlier expected. He was set to vote on the BBL, along with a number of FOI authors who are members, ex-officio members, or deputized members of the House Ad Hoc Committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law.
We hope that the postponed filing of the Committee Report on the FOI Bill will happen at the soonest. The filing of the report is significant. It marks the shift of the FOI Bill from the committee level to the even more challenging work at the plenary level.
In spite of the advance of the FOI bill signified by the filing of the Committee Report, we lost important time. The last three weeks since the resumption of session on May 4, and early next week when the BBL goes through approval by the Committee on Appropriations, would have been an opportunity to start sponsorship and interpellation of the FOI bill in plenary.
The Need for High PrioritizationThis brings to light the importance of a measure being given high prioritization by the leadership of Congress and by the President. The impact of high prioritization on how a measure moves in Congress, particularly for major, controversial or resisted bills like FOI, is all too clear. We saw it in RH, in Sin Tax, and now in BBL.
We attest to the hard work at the committee level of Chair Almonte, FOI authors and champion legislators and their staff, as well as of the advocates in getting the bill through the committee process. We attest to the responsiveness of the Committee on Appropriations and its Chairperson, Rep. Isidro Ungab, in the prompt approval of the appropriations provision of the bill. We also attest to the committed and untiring support from the staff of the committee secretariat. (See legislative history of the FOI bill at the committee level in 16th Congress below).
However, this is where high prioritization spells the difference. To be sure certain steps could have been speeded up if the passage of FOI is given high priority, similar to the bills we mentioned earlier.
Especially at this critical juncture when we approach the third and final regular session in a Presidential election year, the FOI bill cannot be just one of numerous priorities. It will take a very high level of prioritization and leadership if it is to finally pass.
By observation, we are all familiar with the many mechanisms by which a high level of prioritization is conveyed: a high-level meeting, a phone call, adoption of a clear timetable, clearing-up of hold-ups and delays, mention at the State of the Nation Address, the President certifying to the necessity of immediate enactment, and ultimately, the House leadership putting the bill on the plenary agenda and mobilizing key legislators to move the process forward.
The coalition sees it as a challenge for itself and concerned citizens to demonstrate a compelling strength to move our leaders to place the passage of the FOI Bill high in their priorities, as much as we see it as a matter of accountability and question of leadership for the highest leaders of this country.
FOI Tracker Rating Drops
In our FOI Tracker # 1 assessing Congress action on FOI, we said that the bill was well positioned for passage, and in the Green Zone with a rating of 85.
With the delay and anticipating that the BBL will reach plenary given its prioritization, our appeal for the completion of sponsorship and start of interpellation before the June 11 adjournment has turned difficult. Given this, the rating drops by 20 points to 65, and moves to the Yellow Zone. The FOI Tracker may be viewed at http://www.i-foi.org
Legislative History of the FOI Bill at the Committee Level in the 16th Congress
October 23, 2013, Committee organizational meeting, where a motion to create a Technical Working Group (TWG) to consolidate the FOI bills was approved
November 26, 2013,The TWG was constituted
February 6, 2014, TWG Meeting # 1
February 18, 2014, TWG Meeting # 2
March 10, 2014, TWG Meeting # 3
May 12, 2014, TWG Meeting # 4
May 19, 2014, TWG Meeting # 5
May 28, 2014, TWG Meeting # 6
June 9, 2014, TWG Meeting # 7
August 4, 2014, TWG Meeting # 8
September 2, 2014, TWG Meeting # 9, Approval of Substitute Bill
November 24, 2014, Committee Approval of the Substitute Bill
Voting: Nine (9) Yes: Reps. Abad, Aglipay-Villar, Baguilat, Bataoil, Bello, Dalog, Ferriol-Pascual, Gutierrez, Lobregat, Paquiz; Three (3) No: Reps. Colmenares, Romualdo, TinioNovember 25, 2014, Referral to the Committee on Appropriations for approval of the appropriations provision of the Substitute Bill
March 4, 2015, Approval of the appropriations provision, with amendment, by the Committee on Appropriations
March 24, 2015, Certification of Committee on Appropriations action received by the Committee on Public Information
May 14, 2015, Committee Secretariat receives back the documentation of the Committee Report from the 4-step administrative approval by the Committee Affairs Department of the House Secretariat, through the Service Director, Deputy Executive Director, Executive Director and the Deputy Secretary General for Committee Affairs
May 19, 2015, Committee Report signed by Rep. Isidro Ungab on the part of the Committee on Appropriations. Rep. Jorge Almonte, FOI authors and champions agree to a group filing of the Committee Report on May 20, 2015 at 3:30 pm, upon signing of the committee report by Rep. Jorge Almonte on the part of the Committee on Public Information
May 20, 2015, Scheduled group filing of the Committee Report with the Secretary General postponed.
THE House of Representatives should not waste a day longer and act with dispatch on the Freedom of Information bill.
In fact, what the House needs to do at this time, with Congress set to go on recess on June 4, is to put the FOI bill on top priority, according to the Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition of about 160 civil society organizations and leaders.
High prioritization of the FOI bill could mean a few, easy things that President Aquino, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., and other House leaders could do — “a high-level meeting, a phone call, adoption of a clear timetable, clearing-up of hold-ups and delays, mention at the State of the Nation Address, the President certifying to the necessity of immediate enactment, and ultimately, the House leadership putting the bill on the plenary agenda and mobilizing key legislators to move the process forward.”
What follows is the full text of the Coalition’s statement:
FOI Losing Time, High
Prioritization EssentialCOMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION Chairperson Jorge T. Almonte and House FOI champions and authors were scheduled to file the Committee Report on the FOI Bill with the Secretary General of the House of Representative last Wednesday, May 20, at 3:30 pm.
However, at around 2 pm, Chair Almonte felt compelled to postpone the event, anticipating that the final vote on the BBL happening that afternoon will take longer than earlier expected. He was set to vote on the BBL, along with a number of FOI authors who are members, ex-officio members, or deputized members of the House Ad Hoc Committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law.
We hope that the postponed filing of the Committee Report on the FOI Bill will happen at the soonest. The filing of the report is significant. It marks the shift of the FOI Bill from the committee level to the even more challenging work at the plenary level.
In spite of the advance of the FOI bill signified by the filing of the Committee Report, we lost important time. The last three weeks since the resumption of session on May 4, and early next week when the BBL goes through approval by the Committee on Appropriations, would have been an opportunity to start sponsorship and interpellation of the FOI bill in plenary.
The Need for High PrioritizationThis brings to light the importance of a measure being given high prioritization by the leadership of Congress and by the President. The impact of high prioritization on how a measure moves in Congress, particularly for major, controversial or resisted bills like FOI, is all too clear. We saw it in RH, in Sin Tax, and now in BBL.
We attest to the hard work at the committee level of Chair Almonte, FOI authors and champion legislators and their staff, as well as of the advocates in getting the bill through the committee process. We attest to the responsiveness of the Committee on Appropriations and its Chairperson, Rep. Isidro Ungab, in the prompt approval of the appropriations provision of the bill. We also attest to the committed and untiring support from the staff of the committee secretariat. (See legislative history of the FOI bill at the committee level in 16th Congress below).
However, this is where high prioritization spells the difference. To be sure certain steps could have been speeded up if the passage of FOI is given high priority, similar to the bills we mentioned earlier.
Especially at this critical juncture when we approach the third and final regular session in a Presidential election year, the FOI bill cannot be just one of numerous priorities. It will take a very high level of prioritization and leadership if it is to finally pass.
By observation, we are all familiar with the many mechanisms by which a high level of prioritization is conveyed: a high-level meeting, a phone call, adoption of a clear timetable, clearing-up of hold-ups and delays, mention at the State of the Nation Address, the President certifying to the necessity of immediate enactment, and ultimately, the House leadership putting the bill on the plenary agenda and mobilizing key legislators to move the process forward.
The coalition sees it as a challenge for itself and concerned citizens to demonstrate a compelling strength to move our leaders to place the passage of the FOI Bill high in their priorities, as much as we see it as a matter of accountability and question of leadership for the highest leaders of this country.
FOI Tracker Rating Drops
In our FOI Tracker # 1 assessing Congress action on FOI, we said that the bill was well positioned for passage, and in the Green Zone with a rating of 85.
With the delay and anticipating that the BBL will reach plenary given its prioritization, our appeal for the completion of sponsorship and start of interpellation before the June 11 adjournment has turned difficult. Given this, the rating drops by 20 points to 65, and moves to the Yellow Zone. The FOI Tracker may be viewed at http://www.i-foi.org
Legislative History of the FOI Bill at the Committee Level in the 16th Congress
October 23, 2013, Committee organizational meeting, where a motion to create a Technical Working Group (TWG) to consolidate the FOI bills was approved
November 26, 2013,The TWG was constituted
February 6, 2014, TWG Meeting # 1
February 18, 2014, TWG Meeting # 2
March 10, 2014, TWG Meeting # 3
May 12, 2014, TWG Meeting # 4
May 19, 2014, TWG Meeting # 5
May 28, 2014, TWG Meeting # 6
June 9, 2014, TWG Meeting # 7
August 4, 2014, TWG Meeting # 8
September 2, 2014, TWG Meeting # 9, Approval of Substitute Bill
November 24, 2014, Committee Approval of the Substitute Bill
Voting: Nine (9) Yes: Reps. Abad, Aglipay-Villar, Baguilat, Bataoil, Bello, Dalog, Ferriol-Pascual, Gutierrez, Lobregat, Paquiz; Three (3) No: Reps. Colmenares, Romualdo, TinioNovember 25, 2014, Referral to the Committee on Appropriations for approval of the appropriations provision of the Substitute Bill
March 4, 2015, Approval of the appropriations provision, with amendment, by the Committee on Appropriations
March 24, 2015, Certification of Committee on Appropriations action received by the Committee on Public Information
May 14, 2015, Committee Secretariat receives back the documentation of the Committee Report from the 4-step administrative approval by the Committee Affairs Department of the House Secretariat, through the Service Director, Deputy Executive Director, Executive Director and the Deputy Secretary General for Committee Affairs
May 19, 2015, Committee Report signed by Rep. Isidro Ungab on the part of the Committee on Appropriations. Rep. Jorge Almonte, FOI authors and champions agree to a group filing of the Committee Report on May 20, 2015 at 3:30 pm, upon signing of the committee report by Rep. Jorge Almonte on the part of the Committee on Public Information
May 20, 2015, Scheduled group filing of the Committee Report with the Secretary General postponed.
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