O+ 8.6 Review

The O+ 8.6 is a phone that sports a qHD screen, runs on Android 4.1 Jellybean & 1GB RAM that sells for around Php8k.  We’ve been using it for quite some time now; so far, so good, but is there more to it than just that? Read on to find out in our full review.

We have here an unboxing video if you may want to check it out as the package includes an SD card and some red & white themed accessories.

Design and Construction

The O+ 8.6 is a great looking device. It’s solid and it carries design elements that make this phone much more unique. Also, the device falls perfectly into your hand and we didn’t encounter any problems with handling this phone.

On top you’ll find the place for the 3.5mm audio jack & the micro USB port while on the left you’ll find the volume rocker and the power button. Nothing is found all the way to the right and the bottom except for the microphone. The whole phone is surrounded by a shiny chrome side casing, which in our opinion makes it look cheap, but that’s just our take.

As for the capacitive buttons down below, they are pretty responsive – but we’d like to note that the home button blinks green when you have unread notifications and red if you are charging.

What stains the beauty of the device though is the way it attracts fingerprints. Yes, it looks good by itself but not when there are oil smudges all over, so you really have to wipe it very often – both the front and back sides.

Display

Some sites stated that this one had an IPS panel, but nothing really confirms it. To add, the 4.5-inch qHD display has a bad viewing angle from the top portion.

The screen becomes a little hard to navigate when there are too much smudges, but other than that, we were pretty impressed with the clear text and the vibrant colors.

OS, Apps and UI

As for the OS, it runs on Android 4.1 Jellybean. The interface is basically the same across all O+ devices, and while it is indeed too cartoony & colorful, we feel that the stuff injected by O+ here is much more polished than Cherry Mobile‘s or Starmobile’s.

We have no bloatware apps here, and most of the changes are visual. Like what we’ve said in our O+ 8.15 review, it still would have looked better if they left it on stock Android.

Multimedia & Camera

The speakers sounded good, but we’re sure other phones can produce audio louder. Video playback on the other hand was a bit disappointing too despite the qHD display – some parts of selected video can show pixilation regardless of if it is HD or not.

The 5 megapixel shooter on the back of the phone sadly takes soft and mushy photos. On the bright side, it keeps an acceptable amount of noise in low light situations and the colors are warm.

Video recording in 720p dropped a few frames, and the audio sounded a little buggy. Asides from that, it all worked well – from shaking & colors to focus.

Performance & Battery Life

With a dual-core processor, it does very average just like other phones of this class; the lags found on other phones running a similar chipset are also apparent here. The 1GB RAM helps though, and for the most part, it can do what it is expected to do.

• Antutu – 6,071
• Quadrant – 2,741
• Nenamark 2 – 23.8 fps

In a video loop with 50% brightness & audio, the device drained 60% of the battery in 2 hours. That’s a bit disappointing since that seems like it wouldn’t even reach a near 5 hours. On standby, it was also unimpressive as we had to recharge it a lot of times in a week without even using it.

Conclusion

O+ did a great job with some elements – the packaging by adding red & white themed chargers & earphones, the OS by keeping bloatware minimal & the version not too far behind and the little things such as a notification light in the home button.

Over at the flipside, the rest are mediocre – the display, the camera and the build have drawbacks.  It should have at least excelled in some points to justify the Php7,995 price tag, and somehow, we think that your money will be better spent on something else, or you could save up for another O+ phone like the O+ 8.15.

O+ 8.6 specs:
4.5” LCD display @ 540 x 960 pixels
Mediatek MT6577 1GHz dual-core processor
PowerVR SGX 531
4GB internal memory
1GB RAM
Dual-SIM, dual-standby
WiFi
Bluetooth
5MP rear autofocus camera, LED flash, 720p HD
VGA front-facing camera
GPS w/ aGPS support
FM Radio tuner
Android 4.1 Jellybean
Li-Ion 1,500mAh battery

What we liked about it:

• Clean O+ UI
• Solid construction

What we didn’t like about it:

• Subpar battery life
• Fingerprint magnet
• Unimpressive video playback & other minor elements

The post O+ 8.6 Review appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

O+ 8.6 Review

The O+ 8.6 is a phone that sports a qHD screen, runs on Android 4.1 Jellybean & 1GB RAM that sells for around Php8k.  We’ve been using it for quite some time now; so far, so good, but is there more to it than just that? Read on to find out in our full review.

We have here an unboxing video if you may want to check it out as the package includes an SD card and some red & white themed accessories.

Design and Construction

The O+ 8.6 is a great looking device. It’s solid and it carries design elements that make this phone much more unique. Also, the device falls perfectly into your hand and we didn’t encounter any problems with handling this phone.

On top you’ll find the place for the 3.5mm audio jack & the micro USB port while on the left you’ll find the volume rocker and the power button. Nothing is found all the way to the right and the bottom except for the microphone. The whole phone is surrounded by a shiny chrome side casing, which in our opinion makes it look cheap, but that’s just our take.

As for the capacitive buttons down below, they are pretty responsive – but we’d like to note that the home button blinks green when you have unread notifications and red if you are charging.

What stains the beauty of the device though is the way it attracts fingerprints. Yes, it looks good by itself but not when there are oil smudges all over, so you really have to wipe it very often – both the front and back sides.

Display

Some sites stated that this one had an IPS panel, but nothing really confirms it. To add, the 4.5-inch qHD display has a bad viewing angle from the top portion.

The screen becomes a little hard to navigate when there are too much smudges, but other than that, we were pretty impressed with the clear text and the vibrant colors.

OS, Apps and UI

As for the OS, it runs on Android 4.1 Jellybean. The interface is basically the same across all O+ devices, and while it is indeed too cartoony & colorful, we feel that the stuff injected by O+ here is much more polished than Cherry Mobile‘s or Starmobile’s.

We have no bloatware apps here, and most of the changes are visual. Like what we’ve said in our O+ 8.15 review, it still would have looked better if they left it on stock Android.

Multimedia & Camera

The speakers sounded good, but we’re sure other phones can produce audio louder. Video playback on the other hand was a bit disappointing too despite the qHD display – some parts of selected video can show pixilation regardless of if it is HD or not.

The 5 megapixel shooter on the back of the phone sadly takes soft and mushy photos. On the bright side, it keeps an acceptable amount of noise in low light situations and the colors are warm.

Video recording in 720p dropped a few frames, and the audio sounded a little buggy. Asides from that, it all worked well – from shaking & colors to focus.

Performance & Battery Life

With a dual-core processor, it does very average just like other phones of this class; the lags found on other phones running a similar chipset are also apparent here. The 1GB RAM helps though, and for the most part, it can do what it is expected to do.

• Antutu – 6,071
• Quadrant – 2,741
• Nenamark 2 – 23.8 fps

In a video loop with 50% brightness & audio, the device drained 60% of the battery in 2 hours. That’s a bit disappointing since that seems like it wouldn’t even reach a near 5 hours. On standby, it was also unimpressive as we had to recharge it a lot of times in a week without even using it.

Conclusion

O+ did a great job with some elements – the packaging by adding red & white themed chargers & earphones, the OS by keeping bloatware minimal & the version not too far behind and the little things such as a notification light in the home button.

Over at the flipside, the rest are mediocre – the display, the camera and the build have drawbacks.  It should have at least excelled in some points to justify the Php7,995 price tag, and somehow, we think that your money will be better spent on something else, or you could save up for another O+ phone like the O+ 8.15.

O+ 8.6 specs:
4.5” LCD display @ 540 x 960 pixels
Mediatek MT6577 1GHz quad-core processor
PowerVR SGX 531
4GB internal memory
1GB RAM
Dual-SIM, dual-standby
WiFi
Bluetooth
5MP rear autofocus camera, LED flash, 720p HD
VGA front-facing camera
GPS w/ aGPS support
FM Radio tuner
Android 4.1 Jellybean
Li-Ion 1,500mAh battery

What we liked about it:

• Clean O+ UI
• Solid construction

What we didn’t like about it:

• Subpar battery life
• Fingerprint magnet
• Unimpressive video playback & other minor elements

The post O+ 8.6 Review appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Here is why I’ve given Nokia a second chance

For the longest time, Nokia was on top of the mobile phone foodchain. We’ve said that over and over again in previous articles, and today, they may have been eclipsed by other better selling brands. To be honest, however, I think Nokia’s doing a good job in trying to reclaim its spot as the number one smartphone company.

Several months ago, my stand on Nokia’s decision on Windows Phone was a little shaky. I even wrote an article about it here, asking if I should give them a second chance. Now though, I’m starting to think Nokia can do this.

I personally think that Nokia’s way to the top will be a lot easier with Android, but Nokia is indeed proving that there’s also a way to the top with Windows Phone.

Through WP, Nokia is a king. It’s the company that pops into your head when you hear Windows Phone, and it offers the best hardware running the software. However, for Nokia, it’s going to be a slow journey, but I am positive that they’ll get there.

Nokia has a great design department & an amazing camera team. The software too is above average as they have made a good set of apps for Windows Phone – which lacks compared to Android & iOS. They have City Lens, Here, Cinemagraph & more, and I think it’s very cool. Also, it’s Nokia that’s doing most of the effort by releasing apps such as #2InstaWithLove – which calls out to Instagram to make an app for WP.

Windows Phone still adds a limitation to Nokia though, which is probably why Nokia has no 1080p phones and why the company had to make a separate Smart Camera app for the Lumia 925 to compete with present day smartphones

With all of that said, we’re just hoping Windows Phone’s next updates will be a lot better, since I think it’s very obvious – Nokia’s work can be a lot easier if Windows Phone didn’t hold it back.

Marketing is something I feel that Nokia has just learned, and it’s one of the most important elements in business success.  This is very clear in their new commercial for the Lumia, and I think it’s very clever. If only they got that to more TVs, maybe their sales would soar higher.

I was disappointed when we didn’t see the rumored EOS phone on Nokia’s event, but even if that’s the case, I was still glad. If you haven’t noticed yet, the Nokia Lumia 925 is still the company’s reply to the HTC One & the Samsung Galaxy S4 – and it still competes well.

While the One is made out of aluminum and the S4 of polycarbonate plastic, the Lumia 925 combines both materials into one phone. The Lumia 925 has the best of both worlds with an aluminum side frame and a polycarbonate back.

The display can be argued with, but the camera isn’t  The Nokia Lumia 920 didn’t have a bad camera; it just didn’t do as great in daylight. Nokia aims to fix that with the 6th lens they’ve added into the 925. By keeping a relatively high megapixel count like the S4 and amazing low-light capabilities like the One, again – Nokia offers the best of both worlds.

Without everyone really knowing, Nokia’s very competitive. When the other phone manufacturers added a bunch of camera settings into their devices, Nokia made sure they had a counterpart – and they didn’t wait for any tweak from Microsoft. As for the CPU and the other specs, one might argue.

Windows Phone needs to have a great update to accelerate Nokia further. Apart from that, it’s also the game & app developers that needs a push to strengthen the ecosystem.

All of those things will make Nokia’s way to success easier, but even with those at a slow pace, I’m sure Nokia will do just fine.

The post Here is why I’ve given Nokia a second chance appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Optimus L Series II launched; L3, L5 & L7 II hands-on

We were at LG’s Optimus Series 2 launch at the MOA atrium where they also had a one hour sale, slashing Php2k off on the newly announced phones. We had a quick hands-on with the devices, and here’s what we have of them.

Before anything else, we want to indicate that while the L Series II single SIM variants came with physical home buttons and Smart LED notification lights, the dual SIM variants did not> Instead, they had a straight set of capacitive soft buttons. Apart from that, there isn’t much a difference between the single and dual-SIM variants.

Let’s start with the LG Optimus L3 II. This phone is fits perfectly in your hand as it is the smallest in the pack. It has a 3.2-inch display which is an IPS panel, and it is quite thick though – but we don’t really see it as a problem.

Volume rocker on the left, power button & 3.5mm audio jack on top, micro USB on the bottom and the rest is history. We have to hand it to LG; this device does feel sleek and classy despite its affordable price tag of Php4,990. For an extra Php500, you can get the dual SIM version.

LG Optimus L3-II E430 specs:
3.2-inch QVGA IPS LCD display @ 240×320 pixels, 125ppi
Qualcomm MSM7225A Snapdragon 1.0GHz
Adreno 200
512 MB RAM
4GB (1.6GB user available)
microSD up to 32 GB
3.15 MP rear camera
HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi hotspot
Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP
GPS with A-GPS support
Li-Po 1540mAh battery
Android 4.1.2 Jellybean
102.6 x 61.1 x 11.9 mm
107g

The LG Optimus L5 II seems to be the most abundant phone in the event as we weren’t able to get a hands-on of the other devices without attachments – only with the Optimus L5 II.

At first glance, it seemed like a perfect balance between the L3 II & the L7 II. The 4-inch display felt perfect in the hand and it felt solid as well, just like its other L-brothers. It’s fairly thin all around, and like we’ve said – it looks sleek and premium. Not to mention, the display looks great too.

It goes around for Php5,990 and Php6,590 for the dual SIM variant.

LG Optimus L5-II E460 specs:
4.0-inch WVGA IPS LCD display @ 480×800 pixels, 233ppi
MediaTek 7575 1.0GHz
PowerVR SGX531
512MB RAM
4GB (1.4GB user available)
microSD up to 32 GB
5 MP AF rear camera with LED flash
HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, WiFi hotspot
Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP
GPS with A-GPS support
Li-Ion 1700mAh battery
Android 4.1.2 Jellybean
117.5 x 62.2 x 9.2 mm
103.3g

Last but not least, here’s the Optimus L7 II. It’s obviously the best in hardware of the bunch, and it didn’t disappoint as it was fast and responsive.

The build of the LG Optimus L7 II was slightly less premium than the others though, or maybe it’s just because of the size or the color choice.

The L7 II will retail for Php9,990 which still fits within the Php10k mark. For a slightly higher price of Php10,590, you can get the dual-SIM variant, and that is pretty much the ceiling for the price of the affordable Optimus L Series II from LG.

LG Optimus L7 II P710 specs:
4.3-inch WVGA IPS LCD display @ 480×800 pixels, 217ppi
Qualcomm MSM8225 Snapdragon 1.0GHz dual-core
Adreno 203
768MB RAM
4GB internal storage
microSD up to 32GB
8MP AF camera with LED flash
VGA front-facing camera
HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi Direct, WiFi hotspot, DLNA
Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP
GPS with A-GPS support
Li-Ion 2460mAh battery
Android 4.1.2 Jellybean
121.5 x 66.6 x 9.7 mm
118 g

If we may say, things look pretty exciting as the people almost broke out of control because of the one hour sale (image above). It seems like people are excited for this phone. We’re hoping to get a closer look at these new phones sometime soon, so stay tuned.

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Neo OmniPad: dual-SIM 3G, Jellybean for Php7k

Quietly released in the Philippines and offering an affordable 3G Jellybean tablet is the Neo OmniPAD. It features dual-SIM 3G connectivity and it runs on a dual-core CPU with 1GB RAM.

Neo already had a 10.1-inch Edge OmniPad back then but this one is quite different. It has a 7-inch display with a resolution of 1024 x 600 and dual SIM capabilities. The OS isn’t that much outdated too with Android 4.1 Jellybean.

Neo OmniPAD specs:
7-inch  1024×600 IPS LCD display
1.2GHz dual-core CPU
1GB DDR3 RAM
8GB internal memory w/ micro SD
3G
Dual SIM
WiFi
Bluetooth
TV Functionality
2 megapixel camera
VGA front-facing camera
Android 4.1 Jellybean
3,600mAh battery

For Php6,999, you can get that package with a lot more. CMK Cellphones has it listed here if you want to check it out.

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Samsung Galaxy S4 Nexus to retail for $649 on June 26

Google is re-introduing the Samsung Galaxy S4 and will package it as Nexus-like variant running on vanilla Android OS. That means there is no TouchWiz, just plain stock Android UI. This confirms our earlier report of the Galaxy S4 Google Edition.

On the short side of things, that also means less features (or gimmicks, depending on how you view it). No gestures, eye-tracking, camera add-ons and all of Samsung’s wiz.

However, if you’re not into S-Health & all of Samsung’s extra software, you should definitely consider it. After all, on the plus side, you will get fast version updates and more memory since there is no extra Samsung software.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Nexus Edition specs:
4.99-inch display full HD Super AMOLED @ 1920x1080p, 441ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 1.9GHz quad-core
Adreno 320 Graphics
2GB LP-DDR3 RAM
16, 32GB, 64GB
Up to 64GB microSD
HSPA+, LTE 100Mbps (6 bands)
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, dual-band WiFi Direct
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS w/ aGPS support
NFC
IR Blaster
13MP autofocus, rear camera with LED flash
1080p video recording @ 30fps
2MP front-facing camera
1080p video recording @ 30fps
7.9mm
Li-Ion Battery 2600mAh
Android 4.2.2 Jellybean (upgradable to future versions)

This Google Edition Galaxy S4 will have LTE and uses Qualcomm’s quad-core chip. It will be available in the US starting June 26 for a price of $649 plus tax (more or less Php29k) in the Google Play Store.

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Hangouts: Google’s reply to BBM, iMessage & More

Say goodbye to Google Talk & G+ Messenger. Google Hangouts is getting updated big time, and it will absorb all of the company’s shortcomings on messaging.

Viber is taking on the desktop, Microsoft has Skype, Apple has iMessage, BlackBerry has BBM – then there’s still a lot more in the picture such as WhatsApp, Yahoo & the rest. What does Google have? Voice, Talk, G+… and all of them are integrated with one service after another. It’s honestly messy.

Google simplifies and enters the messaging game with Hangouts. It’s basically an app that you can download too – and it will be available on Android, iOS & the web.

The company tries to simplify everything by placing your recent conversations in front of you. The focus here is simply hanging out since your convos with people are labeled and put forward rather than displaying a bunch of chats with contacts. It still features a lot of personal touches by Google, and of course, video chat is available up to 10 people.

We guess it won’t be called Babel or Babble after all.

With so many Android users across the globe, you can only imagine how many people use Google’s services. The question is, however, will the consumers adapt to Hangout? Or will they use other messaging services that are more matured in the market?

The app will be available soon, so feel free to try it out and leave a comment down below.

{via} {Google Hangouts}

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BBM to arrive soon on Android & iOS

In a twist of events, BB CEO Heins announced that their messaging service, BlackBerry Messenger, will arrive on both iOS & Android soon. BBM will support Android 4.0, iOS 6 and later versions, and most of all – it’ll be free.

The app will be available this summer (on the other side of the globe, that should mean June, July & August – not March, April & May). BBM for Android & iOS will first bring in messaging & groups, while the other features will follow. On the other hand, BlackBerry devices will have the edge of offering the full BBM experience out of the box.

BlackBerry’s decision can go in two directions. It could pull buyers away from BlackBerry since the company’s killer app is already available on other platforms; however, in a long-term effect, once BBM users from Android & iOS become more engrossed, they will crave for that full experience and eventually board the BlackBerry ship.

That strategy can enter full effect here in the Philippines, since telcos offer great plans & promos for BBM. At some point in the future, avid BBM users from iOS & Android will long for those convenient services – and boom! That could be BlackBerry’s win.

As we reported earlier, there are already 60 million active users in BBM right now. The launch to iOS and Android will certainly help grow this user base. The initial feature will just be BBM but regular updates will include BBM Vieo Calls, Channels, etc. before end of the year.

What do you think of the company’s big step? How will this affect BlackBerry? Will you join the social network while on Android or iOS? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

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Nokia Lumia 925 is now official, L920 on steroids

Following the release of the Asha a couple of days ago, Nokia announces a new flagship phone – the Lumia 925. The phone is every bit of the Lumia 920 but better. It has 4G LTE, an improved aluminum frame and a few software additions.

Starting off with the display, Nokia has abandoned the IPS LCD of the 920 and opted for a ClearBlack AMOLED panel. The size is retained on 4.5-inches, still with a resolution of 768 x 1280.

The back of the phone is the same polycarbonate, but the side frame is made out of aluminum. Nokia has turned the thick and heavy Lumia 920 into a sleek piece of hardware – from 10.7mm to 8.5mm and from 185g to 139g.

The phone will come in monochrome colors, meaning the bright colors that we love on the Lumia phones can only be accessed through a purchase of sleeves. Wireless charging can only be enabled through that too.

Nokia is also trying to catch-up with camera software. While Windows Phone has it’s own plain camera app, Nokia tops all of that with Smart Camera – which will feature Best Shot, Action Shot, Motion Blur Shot & so on.

Nokia Lumia 925 specs:
4.5-inch 1280×768 ClearBlack AMOLED display
1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon Krait CPU
Adreno 225 GPU
1GB RAM
8.7MP PureView camera
with 1080p HD video (low-light, image stabilization)
1.3MP front-facing camera, 720p
Windows Phone 8
4G LTE
2,000mAh, non-removable
8.5 mm (thickness)
139g (weight)

Pricing is $616 before taxes, which is around Php25-26k. The Nokia Lumia 920 landed months ago for a price of Php27k, so expect the flagship update to take its place, creating a price drop for the 920. Since the new Lumia features LTE, we can hope & expect that the local telcos will offer it.

Apparently, we weren’t able to see the rumored 41MP Nokia “EOS” running Windows Phone, which is quite disappointing. Nevertheless, will it be worth the upgrade? Did the Lumia 925 impress? Leave your comment & your opinion down below.

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This is how iOS 7 may look like

While Android may be facing just an incremental update in the next Google IO, Apple may be cooking up a major update to iOS. We posted a couple of reports for iOS 7 already, but we still have no idea how these details will be look like on the new OS.

The reports called for a flatter iOS, with improvements in multitasking and in bringing information. It’s a little hard to imagine all of that on Apple’s platform – but SimplyZesty seemed to have figured it out, and we like every bit of it.

They have managed to replace those popping iOS icons with a flatter look without having to look like a Windows’ Modern UI. They also introduced new app designs for the calendar and such. Camera, Siri & other apps looked more cleaner with the lighter elements that replaced the darker ones found in the present iOS.

Changes to the lockscreen are also made, and the designer also thought about a pull-down widget center. You can watch their video to fully appreciate it.

We’re hoping Apple’s software team takes note of this and does something better. Commenters everywhere were stating that the whole iOS 7 concept was like an offspring of Android & Windows Phone; would you agree with that? And is that a good thing?

WWDC 2013 will be coming next month, June 10-14, so stay tuned for more coverage.

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5 Android Games You May Want To Try #2

In this next set, we’re not going to push you the usual games like Candy Crush or 2Fuse. We have another set of games you might want to try on your Android device, so read on & find them out.

Last month, we had shared a similar, which includes Into The Dead, Shadowgun: Deadzone & more (you can find it here if you missed it). So if you’re quite low on entertainment, here’s the next batch.

Calling all strategists! Plague Inc. puts you in the place of a microorganism – and your goal is to infect everyone in the world before they find the cure for you. You’re going to have to kill everyone, and you will also have the capabilities to mutate symptoms and turn to viruses & bio-weapons.

You can get the game for free, but there are in-app purchases. Nevertheless, you can check it out here.

Looking to scare your pants off? Eyes – the horror game is here. It basically puts you in a similar environment to Slender, where you collect items and make your way through doors while being chased by a ghost of some sort. Sure, the chaser can use some improvement, but the atmosphere is really chilling for a mobile game.

My anti-virus took note of it however since it has permission to place ads on the notification bar and create icons on the home screen. Check this out for free here.

Doptrix goes around for free as well here. The game adds a twist to Tetris as it is inverted, and if you love puzzle games, this one is for you. Imagine tetris – and make the pieces fall upwards; in addition, the environment rotates. It’s a good twist we have to say – that is, if your brain can take it.

We just never seem to get sick of zombies, do we? You might have seen Zombie Highway in the Play Store already since it’s a little frontpage, but anyway, it’s worth the look.

The game is free (download here), and it will allow you, as the title suggests, to drive around in a world infested with zombies. Obviously, your goal is to survive and the gameplay will probably keep you going as it is different from other zombie games.

Aaaand to top it all off, here’s Punch Hero. Graphics may not be the best of its class and it may look like it was drawn out of the Wii console, but it’s a good way to release all of that stress inside you. You can add faces to your characters too, which in my opinion is a great feature considering there are some people we just want to punch in the face.

You can download the game here for free.

So there you have it. Are there still any games you want others to know about? Leave it in the comments section; after all, summer is ending in less than a month, so better make the best out of it!

And one last thing; if you are indeed out there on the beach or some other summer destination and you have a camera running Android 4.2, take a Photosphere and use this app Photosphere Live Wallpaper for free. It works amazingly well and is on its class of its own. Download that here.

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Poll: HTC One or Samsung Galaxy S4?

Samsung and HTC have been very competitive with each other for the past years. HTC was like the king of Android back in the beginning with phones like the Nexus One & the Desire line, while Samsung is the successful challenger since they have managed to outgrow HTC in sales and volume through the highly popular Galaxy line.

The battle has always been a close one, from the Galaxy S2 and the Sensation, to the Galaxy S3 and the One X. HTC might have found its refuge with the One but in order to win the market it will have to go against the other beast – the Galaxy S4.

The Galaxy S4 has been launched and priced already, with postpaid plans from our local telcos already available. On the other hand, HTC has been facing delays with its shipments and launches, reported to be caused by shortages in UltraPixel components.

But enough of that. Our review of the Samsung Galaxy S4 is out, and we have yet to look at the HTC One in full detail after it gets released in the 3rd week of May. Also, the price tags are already available; the Galaxy S4 will be at Php30,990 while the HTC One will retail for Php32,990.

Note: The Exynos Octa variant is also available through a higher gray market price.

So, we’d like to know. Will you go for the all-aluminum, UltraPixel-packing, BoomSound-carrying HTC One? Or the feature-packed heavy-spec’d plastic Samsung Galaxy S4? Let us know in the comments below.

The post Poll: HTC One or Samsung Galaxy S4? appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Samsung Bluetooth Speaker BS300 Hands-On

A few people would want powerful Bluetooth speakers, but most speakers out there are massive in size, making it not ideal for users who are on the go. Enter Samsung’s BS300, which is a pocket-friendly bluetooth device. We go hands-on, so read on to find out what we think about it.

Getting started

When we first saw the casing, we thought that it was gonna be a huge gadget. Turns out it was something that could easily fit in your pocket. But enough with the rhyming, and get to the the unboxing.

We had a hard time getting started with the BS300, from taking it off the casing to pairing it with a device through Bluetooth, so we figured we’d make a short video since we almost broke the transparent packaging at first.

After reading the manual, you’re pretty much good to go because if you didn’t read it, you’re going to have a hard time. The manual’s very short and it only looks long because it ranges in many languages. After that, pairing and all – operation is a breeze.

Controls

On top are the controls – volume, power, playback and DNSe (Digital Natural Sound engine), which is Samsung’s take on surround sound. On the back are labels, while on the sides you’ll find the port for charging, line-in and a place to put accessories. Up front are air holes, the speakers, the mic & the button for taking calls.

Sound Quality & Microphone

In practice, the sound is significantly louder than your smartphone or your tablet. It can’t match larger sized speakers, but it’s enough to fill a small room with decent volume. Quality on the other hand is subpar; it doesn’t deliver clear bass tones, and trebles create quite a hiss. It’s in the mids where the BS300 succeeds for the most part, and it does get the job done with audio that involves voice – podcasts, vocal-rich songs and the like.

The microphone reminds us of other Samsung devices, especially since we have a few Galaxy phones still with us. It captures clear audio for the most part, but it isn’t as sharp and as accurate as you’d expect. We used the microphone in recording the voice-over on our unboxing video, so check that out.

Battery & Conclusion

We kept the BS300 playing songs over Bluetooth on maximum volume. From a full charge, the blue LED light (good battery) didn’t even turn red (low battery) for two hours. However, at that time frame, there was an obvious degrade in quality already.

Samsung’s rated 4 hour use may come very accurate on this one, although like we’ve said, quality turns bad halfway. Expect slightly better battery life when using a wired connection.

It’s a little hard to look at especially because of its size and its limitations in power, but if you take a minute to consider it, it’ll get you thinking. If you need great speakers that fit in your pocket, the Samsung BS300 is exactly that. Widget City has it selling it for a price of Php1,500 (see listing here).

Samsung YA-BS300 specs:
Bluetooth 2.0
46 x 94 x 13 mm (dimensions)
62.2 g (weight)
560mAh battery

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Cherry Mobile teases quad-core Skyfire 2.0

Successors to the Flame and the Omega are already out, but it looks like CM has another sequel up its sleeve, and it’s for the Skyfire. A photo on their Facebook page teases a Skyfire 2.0 that is supposedly quad-core like the Fusion Fire, the Fusion Bolt and the Flame 2.0.

CM has been planning a lot of follow-ups lately, since they also teased another phone. At first, we thought that it was the next Dragon phone, but if you make out with the motion blurred text, you’ll definitely read Skyfire 2.0.

The first Skyfire hosts a 4.7-inch display & a dual-core CPU, running Android 4.0, and that sold for Php5,999. Aside from the confirmed quad-core processor, we can observe that the other devices in the teaser feature Android 4.1 & 1GB RAM – so there’s a high chance that this one will be similarly spec’d.

What do you think? Is it worth waiting for?

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 now official

With the Galaxy Note line stealing the limelight from Samsung’s own tablet line, we were quite unsure of what happened with the Galaxy Tabs. Looks like Samsung still has plans for it as they have officially unveiled the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3.

The Galaxy Tab 3 will be launching in a 7-inch form factor just like the very first Galaxy Tab. Samsung only announced one iteration of the Galaxy Tab 3 (no 10.1, 7.7 or 8.9 versions), but since we have no assurances that they won’t launch more, we won’t close on the possibility that there might be various iterations of it in the future.

The Tab 3 will feature a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, 8/16GB of internal memory (expandable via microSD), a set of cameras and Android 4.1 Jellybean. The WiFi-only version will launch in May, while the 3G variant will come in June.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 specs:
7-inch WSVGA (1024×600, 169ppi) TFT display
1.2GHz dual-core CPU
1GB RAM
8/16GB storage
micro SD up to 64GB
3MP rear camera
1.3MP front-facing camera
3G HSPA?21 / 5.76
WiFi a/b/g/n, WiFi Channel Bonding, WiFi Direct
A-GPS + GLONASS
Li-ion 4,000mAh battery
Android 4.1 Jellybean
188 x 111.1 x 9.9 mm
306g

Seeing that it runs on a minimum of 8GB memory, a 600 x 1024 display and a 3MP camera that is lower than the 5MP ones on the Note-tablet line, we can probably expect it to be priced affordably like the previous generation of Galaxy Tabs. Will you bite if this comes near the Php15k mark? Share your thoughts below.

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Android Benchmarks: Why it shouldn’t matter that much

A lot of people, tech-heads specifically, would look at the benchmark scores of a specific Android device before making any purchase decisions. We don’t normally do this when buying other devices with different mobile operating systems. Which brings us to the question — do Android benchmarks matter?

Introduction to Benchmarks

First of all, let us explain what benchmarking is. Benchmarks are usually done to measure the performance of a certain device. It’s a numerical value we use to compare with other Android devices. In essence, it’s the measure of how fast a specific hardware can perform a set of tasks.

The Google Play Store is loaded with a lot of apps for such a purpose. Each benchmark too has a specific parameter to measure. The performance of your device is represented by these major components — the processor, RAM, graphics, internal storage.

While Android has a lot of benchmark tools in the Play Store compared to any other platform, some are also cross-platform.

Antutu is very consistent with its measurements of CPU speed, GPU rendering, storage write speeds and etc., while Vellamo does the same with slight differences, plus HTML5 benchmarking. Quadrant is also somewhat similar.

For the graphics, the gaming performance and all of that, there’s 3DMark, Epic Citadel and Nenamark 2. 3DMark just became available for Android, and it’s a heavy duty tool since you need to download nearly 300MB of data. It’ pretty comprehensive and is also available for iOS and Windows RT/8.

Nenamark 2, which we also use as a standard in our reviews, focuses on OpenGL|ES 2.0 benchmarking. Epic Citadel is also quite heavy, as it puts your device through Unreal Engine 3 with intensive graphics and measure frame rates.

Benchmarks can be inconsistent and unreliable. There’s also the fact that it can be manipulated. Here’s why:

People don’t usually go through all of that suite of benchmarks just to judge a specific device. A few tests or so will probably suffice but we can’t really let that be the main basis for the device’s performance, and we want to explain the logic behind this.

Here are the Antutu scores of devices running on a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon, with the same GPU and RAM (1GB):

• Sony Xperia S: 8418
• Samsung GS2 Skyrocket (US variant): 6,336

Through that, you can see there’s discrepancy of around 2,000. Benchmarks can be quite inconsistent. The Xperia S features a higher resolution display so that’s a factor, though not really as significant as screen resolution does. For reference, the HTC Sensation on a lower 1.2GHz and lower 768MB RAM scores in at 3,932 (that being qHD).

A bigger flaw is noticeable when you look at this next example. The Samsung Galaxy S2 has been very known for its Exynos processor, which raged through the benchmark charts in the past, and that pretty much started the Exynos craze. Due to network incompatibilities with US carriers, Samsung had switch Exynos with Snapdragon (the SGS2 Skyrocket). A lot of people found this disappointing due to difference in benchmark scores of the variant.

Turns out, they were wrong. When the Skyrocket was tested, it got scores near to the dual-core Exynos for Quadrant, Antutu annd others. The interesting thing to note here is that HTC devices such as the Amaze 4G, which ran exactly similar specs to the Skyrocket safe for the qHD display, never went near the scores of the Skyrocket.

You can check out the specs of the devices here for confirmation.

Here are the scores of the devices from the reviews of GSMArena (other sites’ benchmarks are approximately the same):

• Amaze 4G on Quadrant: 2,793
• Skyrocket on Quadrant: 3,224
• Amaze 4G on Antutu: 3,641
• Skyrocket on Antutu: 5,881

It’s very suspicious to see here that Samsung has a huge lead with the benchmarks when the configurations are almost the same. Samsung may have tinkered with a few elements to keep its title as the benchmark king. Plus, if that’s not enough, you should see another anomaly in our Starmobile Diamond review, where the Quadrant scores were suspiciously high.

Oh, and more on Quadrant; Android Central has an article and a video on how to play with the software to make your device give out higher scores than usual, without having to tinker with the CPU and all that.

Benchmark scores may also be affected by a lot of external factors — OS versions can greatly affect it (Jellybean is improved a lot of scores of older devices), background services and apps can also affect it, CPU throttling of some chipsets (like Atom Z-series) will also reflect erratic results.

Conclusion

There are still a number of people out there who would look at benchmark scores and immediately conclude that they should get that device after seeing superior numbers. We’d like to advise caution and give pause. From low-end phones to high-end ones, benchmark scores can be manipulated. After all, these are just apps and hardware can be optimized to make sure they get good results on these benchmarks.

Even if you’re looking at the high-scorer out there (at the time of this writing) like the Samsung Galaxy S4, you can’t really tell the difference anymore as high-end Android phones have already eliminated the lag. Probably, the only thing worth looking at now is how well it works with software (as Windows Phone devices run smoothly in the UI even with low specs), and how great it is in handling graphics and power efficiency.

In the end, we still think people will still look at benchmarks. We advise that you don’t base your decisions solely from the numbers. Read reviews, watch hands-on videos, and ask people around you who have experienced the device. Real world experiences can never equal any glowing spec sheets and benchmark numbers.

{source}

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Android Benchmarks: Why it shouldn’t matter that much

A lot of people, tech-heads specifically, would look at the benchmark scores of a specific Android device before making any purchase decisions. We don’t normally do this when buying other devices with different mobile operating systems. Which brings us to the question — do Android benchmarks matter?

Introduction to Benchmarks

First of all, let us explain what benchmarking is. Benchmarks are usually done to measure the performance of a certain device. It’s a numerical value we use to compare with other Android devices. In essence, it’s the measure of how fast a specific hardware can perform a set of tasks.

The Google Play Store is loaded with a lot of apps for such a purpose. Each benchmark too has a specific parameter to measure. The performance of your device is represented by these major components — the processor, RAM, graphics, internal storage.

While Android has a lot of benchmark tools in the Play Store compared to any other platform, some are also cross-platform.

Antutu is very consistent with its measurements of CPU speed, GPU rendering, storage write speeds and etc., while Vellamo does the same with slight differences, plus HTML5 benchmarking. Quadrant is also somewhat similar.

For the graphics, the gaming performance and all of that, there’s 3DMark, Epic Citadel and Nenamark 2. 3DMark just became available for Android, and it’s a heavy duty tool since you need to download nearly 300MB of data. It’ pretty comprehensive and is also available for iOS and Windows RT/8.

Nenamark 2, which we also use as a standard in our reviews, focuses on OpenGL|ES 2.0 benchmarking. Epic Citadel is also quite heavy, as it puts your device through Unreal Engine 3 with intensive graphics and measure frame rates.

Benchmarks can be inconsistent and unreliable. There’s also the fact that it can be manipulated. Here’s why:

People don’t usually go through all of that suite of benchmarks just to judge a specific device. A few tests or so will probably suffice but we can’t really let that be the main basis for the device’s performance, and we want to explain the logic behind this.

Here are the Antutu scores of devices running on a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon, with the same GPU and RAM (1GB):

• Sony Xperia S: 8418
• Samsung GS2 Skyrocket (US variant): 6,336

Through that, you can see there’s discrepancy of around 2,000. Benchmarks can be quite inconsistent. The Xperia S features a higher resolution display so that’s a factor, though it doesn’t really make significant discrepancies. For reference, the HTC Sensation on a lower 1.2GHz and lower 768MB RAM scores in at 3,932 (that being qHD).

A bigger flaw is noticeable when you look at this next example. The Samsung Galaxy S2 has been very known for its Exynos processor, which raged through the benchmark charts in the past, and that pretty much started the Exynos craze. Due to network incompatibilities with US carriers, Samsung had to switch the Exynos with a Snapdragon (the SGS2 Skyrocket). A lot of people found this disappointing due to difference in benchmark scores of the variant.

Turns out, they were wrong. When the Skyrocket was tested, it got scores near to the dual-core Exynos for Quadrant, Antutu annd others. The interesting thing to note here is that HTC devices such as the Amaze 4G, which ran exactly similar specs to the Skyrocket safe for the qHD display, never went near the scores of the Skyrocket.

You can check out the specs of the devices here for confirmation.

Here are the scores of the devices from the reviews of GSMArena (other sites’ benchmarks are approximately the same):

• Amaze 4G on Quadrant: 2,793
• Skyrocket on Quadrant: 3,224
• Amaze 4G on Antutu: 3,641
• Skyrocket on Antutu: 5,881

It’s very suspicious to see here that Samsung has a huge lead with the benchmarks when the configurations are almost the same. Samsung may have tinkered with a few elements to keep its title as the benchmark king. Plus, if that’s not enough, you should see another anomaly in our Starmobile Diamond review, where the Quadrant scores were suspiciously high.

Oh, and more on Quadrant; Android Central has an article and a video on how to play with the software to make your device give out higher scores than usual, without having to tinker with the CPU and all that.

Benchmark scores may also be affected by a lot of external factors — OS versions can greatly affect it (Jellybean has improved a lot of scores of older devices), background services and apps can also affect it, CPU throttling of some chipsets (like Atom Z-series) will also reflect erratic results.

Conclusion

There are still a number of people out there who would look at benchmark scores and immediately conclude that they should get that device after seeing superior numbers. We’d like to advise caution and give pause. From low-end phones to high-end ones, benchmark scores can be manipulated. After all, these are just apps, and hardware can be optimized to make sure they get good results on these benchmarks.

Even if you’re looking at the high-scorer out there (at the time of this writing) like the Samsung Galaxy S4, you can’t really tell the difference anymore as high-end Android phones have already eliminated the lag. Probably, the only thing worth looking at now is how well it works with software (as Windows Phone devices run smoothly in the UI even with low specs), and how great it is in handling graphics and power efficiency.

In the end, we still think people will still look at benchmarks. We advise that you don’t base your decisions solely from the numbers. Read reviews, watch hands-on videos, and ask people around you who have experienced the device. Real world experiences can never equal any glowing spec sheets and benchmark numbers.

{source}

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Alcatel’s 2013 Line-Up for the PH: All under Php15k

Just recently, Alcatel launched a series of competitively-priced Android devices that were first seen on this year’s CES. The lineup includes a pair of phablets, a 7-inch tablet and the world’s thinnest phone – the One Touch Idol Ultra. All these devices have one thing in common; they are all priced under Php15,000.

The One Touch Sapphire, Glory and Inspire have successors now, and they will all feature dual-SIM capabilities, 1GHz processors, Android 4.1 Jellybean and VGA front-facing cameras.

Alcatel One Touch Glory 2 specs:
3.5-inch HVGA 320 x 480 display
1GHz MediaTek MT6575M CPU
512MB RAM
4GB internal memory
Micro SD up to 32GB
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS w/ A-GPS support
3.2 megapixel camera, VGA@30fps
VGA front-facing camera
Dual SIM
Android 4.1 Jellybean
1,400mAh battery
115 x 61.2 x 12.2 mm (dimensions)
122g (weight)
Php3,990

Alcatel One Touch Inspire 2 specs:
4-inch 480 x 800 display
1GHz MediaTek MT6575 CPU
512MB RAM
4GB internal memory
Micro SD up to 32GB
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS w/ A-GPS support
5 megapixel camera, 720p@30fps
VGA front-facing camera
Dual SIM
Android 4.1 Jellybean
1,400mAh battery
121.5 x 64 x 11.8 mm (dimensions)
136.5g (weight)
Php4,990

Alcatel One Touch Sapphire 2 specs:
4.5-inch 540 x 960 display
1GHz dual-core MediaTek MT6577 CPU
512MB RAM
4GB internal memory
Micro SD up to 32GB
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS w/ A-GPS support
5 MP camera w/ LED flash, 720p@30fps
VGA front-facing camera
Dual SIM
Android 4.1 Jellybean
1,800mAh battery
131 x 68 x 10.9mm (dimensions)
139g (weight)
Php6,990

Scribes were also announced, and these are the Scribe Easy and the Scribe HD; both will come with a stylus and will feature 5-inch displays. The Easy is a single-SIM device and runs a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, while the Scribe HD have dual-SIM capabilities and packs a quad-core processor of the same frequency.

While details say it runs 4.1 Jellybean, we noticed that the Scribe HD that was present during the launch runs the latest 4.2 build. It also carries an 8MP camera together with a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU and a 720p display.

Alcatel One Touch Scribe Easy specs:
5-inch 480 x 800 display
1.2GHz dual-core MediaTek MSM8225 CPU
512MB RAM
4GB internal memory
Micro SD up to 32GB
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS w/ A-GPS support
5 MP camera w/ LED flash, 720p@24fps
VGA front-facing camera
Android 4.1 Jellybean
2500 mAh battery
143 x 78.4 x 9.8mm (dimensions)
162g (weight)
Php8,990

Alcatel One Touch Scribe HD specs:
5-inch IPS 720 x 1280 display
1.2GHz quad-core  CPU
1GB RAM
4GB internal memory
Micro SD up to 32GB
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS w/ A-GPS support
8 MP camera w/ LED flash, 1080p@30fps
1.3MP front-facing camera, 720p
Dual SIM
Android 4.2 Jellybean
2500 mAh battery
144 x 75 x 8.5 mm (dimensions)
135g (weight)
Php13,490

The main event is the Alcatel One Touch Idol and the Idol Ultra, which were featured in the latest Iron Man movie. The Idol Ultra is the highlight of the show as it is currently the slimmest phone in the world at 6.5mm. In addition to its razor-thin profile, the Idol Ultra also packs a competitive CPU under the hood.

The Idol isn’t a joke too compared with the Ultra as it is also thin at 7.9mm, packs a better 2MP front-facing camera and an IPS panel instead of an AMOLED one.

Alcatel One Touch Idol specs:
4.7-inch 540 x 960 IPS display
1GHz dual-core MediaTek MT6577 CPU
512MB RAM
4GB internal memory
Micro SD up to 32GB
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS w/ A-GPS support
8 MP camera w/ LED flash, 720p@30fps
2MP front-facing camera
Android 4.1 Jellybean
1800 mAh battery
133 x 67.5 x 7.9 mm (dimensions)
110g (weight)
Php11,990

Alcatel One Touch Idol Ultra specs:
4.65-inch 1280 x 720 AMOLED display
1.2GHz dual-core MediaTek MT6577+ CPU
1GB RAM
16GB internal memory
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS w/ A-GPS support
8 MP camera w/ LED flash, 720p@30fps
1.3MP front-facing camera
Android 4.1 Jellybean
1820 mAh battery
134.4 x 68.5 x 6.45 mm (dimensions)
115g (weight)
Php14,990

The last addition to Alcatel’s Q2 line of products is a tablet called the One Touch Tab 7 HD. This WiFi-only slate goes with 1GB of RAM, a 2MP camera and a 7-inch 800 x 1280 IPS display.

Alcatel One Touch Tab 7HD specs:
7-inch 800 x 1280 IPS display
1.6 GHz Dual Core Rockchip RK3066 CPU
1GB RAM
4GB internal memory
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.0
2MP camera
0.3MP front-facing camera
Android 4.1 Jellybean
3,300 mAh battery
191 x 125 x 9.1 mm (dimensions)
350g (weight)
Php7,490

The Glory 2, Sapphire 2 and Inspire 2 will be available on April 29. The Scribe Easy and the Idol Ultra on April 27. The Idol on May 20 and the Scribe HD on May 26.

It looks like they’ve got you covered for each price point, the only question now is how Alcatel’s new lineup will stack up against the other budget-friendly offerings from other companies.

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Next Microsoft Xbox to be unveiled at May 21

It’s official. On May 21, Microsoft will unveil the new Xbox. It will be a special press event on the Xbox campus, but a live stream will be available on their site.

As expected, they’ve also announced that they’ll be taking the stage in the annual E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) – and probably give gamers and PC enthusiast their money’s worth. To this point, official details about the upcoming Xbox remains under wraps, but you’ll find plenty of speculations making its rounds on the web about the things you can expect from it.

We’re hoping that this “#XboxReveal” will turn out as the phrase implies, unlike what Sony has done with PlayStation 4 which was nothing but a tease rather than an actual unveiling. So what’s it going to be folks? Is it going to be PS4 or the new XBOX? Hit the comments field and let us know.

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Alcatel One Touch Glory 2: Jellybean, dual SIM for Php4k

The most affordable handset from Alcatel’s launch is the One Touch Glory 2. It sports a 1GHz CPU and a 3.5-inch display with a resolution of 320 x 480 that equates to a decent pixel density of 165ppi, a 3.2 megapixel rear camera and a VGA front-facing.

We played around with the device, and while it isn’t really as fast as other phones, we couldn’t really argue with what it offers because of its affordability. It felt ergonomic and fun to hold, and it doesn’t feel cheap by any means.

We were told that the Glory 2 will arrive together with the Inspire 2 and the Sapphire 2 on April 29 with an SRP of Php3,990.

Alcatel One Touch Glory 2 specs:
3.5-inch HVGA 320 x 480 display (165ppi)
1GHz MediaTek MT6575M CPU
512MB RAM
4GB internal memory
Micro SD up to 32GB
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS w/ A-GPS support
3.2 megapixel camera, VGA@30fps
VGA front-facing camera
Dual SIM
Android 4.1 Jellybean
1,400mAh battery
115 x 61.2 x 12.2 mm (dimensions)
122g (weight)

So, does the package do justice to the price tag? We’ll leave that for you to decide.

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