February Gadget Reviews Roundup 2014

We now have the month of March ahead of us folks, and it’s time to take a look at the gadgets we’ve reviewed last month. This includes four smartphones, three tablets, a couple of wireless speakers, a tablet phone, and a watch phone. Here’s our Gadget Reviews Roundup for February 2014.

LG G Pro Lite Dual

lg g pro lite dual_8

The LG G Pro Lite Dual is a good mid-range offering that packs a big display with good build, a stylus, great dual-speakers, dual-SIM support, a very useful IR blaster for your TV, and a huge battery.

Huawei MediaPad 10 Link

huawei-mediapad-10-link

The Huawei MediaPad 10 Link with its aluminum back plate and superb speakers performed pretty well as a mid-range tablet. However, with a Php16,990 price tag, it will be a tough sell.

JBL Synchros S700 Headphone

jbl synchros s700

The JBL Synchros S700 is one of the best; if not the best closed-back headphones we’ve had the privilege of listening to. I was so impressed with the quality coming out of its 50mm drivers, not to mention it’s got a nice metal build and a sick design to go along with its outstanding sound output.

Samsung DA-F61 Portable Wireless Speaker

Samsung DA-F61 (web)

The Samsung DA-F61 Bluetooth Speaker is the total package. Nuff said. It’s got superb sound output to match its outstanding design and build. That said, it’s no longer a question of whether or not you should get it, but rather can you stomach shelling out ten grand for this speaker?

Braven 440 Bluetooth Speaker

Braven 440 Bluetooth Speaker

The Braven 440 is an amazing Bluetooth speaker, speakerphone and a portable charger that comes in an amazing lightweight yet solid package. We find the long pressing of buttons quite a hassle but that’s really just a minor complaint. Water resistance is a bonus, and the rest is just as good as it gets.

Cherry Mobile Rave 2.0

cm rave 2_1

The Cherry Mobile Rave 2.0 sports almost the same features as other Cherry Mobile smartphones in its class. The only difference is the inclusion of NFC which is not commonly found in mid-range devices. It’s a very nifty feature as we were able to pair our Sony QX10 lens camera on the Rave 2.0 with ease. On the plus side, Cherry Mobile is bundling this smartphone with an NFC-capable BS-1 wireless speakers. So if you’re looking for a capable smartphone with NFC under a Php9K budget, then the Cherry Mobile Rave 2.0 is the one to have.

Motorola Moto G

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The Moto G definitely lives up to its name. Being a Motorola smartphone plus a Google company (until Lenovo bought Motorola), it a very capable phone with superb screen and build.

Asus MeMO Pad 10

Asus MeMO Pad 10

For something priced at Php13,995, it’s really a good tablet especially if you compare it to other 10-inchers. Nothing spectacular, but it offers a decent mix of each and every element. However, look over smaller tablets and there might be more competition to consider. Asus has a very good portfolio of smaller tablets if you check them out and we’re guessing most of those can work just as well or even better. But then, if you need the extra inches in size, this will give you a good ride.

Cherry Mobile G1 Watch Phone

CM G1_Main Visual

The Cherry mobile G1 Watch Phone is a good secondary phone. It can be easily accessed for your casual personal calls or even texts. Being a wearable device, we applaud Cherry Mobile for introducing something different yet affordable enough to be considered by anyone who’s looking for a dual-SIM phone.

O+ Fab Elite

o plus fab elite

Despite of all the nice assets that the phone has to offer, not to mention the “free” Sennheiser headset and fancy Smart Cover, it’s still pretty tough to justify the Fab Elite’s Php18,990 price tag. Sure it’s relatively cheaper compared to the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3, but its significantly pricier compared to other phablets in the market like the CM Omega HD 2X which has a smaller screen but better engine setup.

ASUS Transformer Pad TF701T

transformer pad tf701t_1

The TF701T is ASUS’ best Transformer Pad yet. It’s got a good set of specs partnered with a good build and design. In addition to being a full-blown tablet, it is also a very capable productivity partner thanks to its long battery life and keyboard dock. The USB 3.0 port is also a treat since we can easily connect any USB-compatible device like a mouse or a flash drive.

ASUS Fonepad 7 (ME175CG)

fonepad 7 dual

The ASUS Fonepad 7 (ME175CG) is a strong 7-inch tablet offering that packs a good display and build coupled with a very decent set of hardware and the latest Jellybean out of the box. Not to mention that it has full phone and text functionality, 3G connectivity, and can support two microSIM cards.

JBL Synchros S200i

Synchros S200 (WEB)

We are all praises for the JBL Synchros S200i. In our opinion, the killer combination of its durable yet lightweight build and superb sound output definitely puts this premium earphone among the top IEMs in the market.

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November Gadget Reviews Roundup

December is finally here and that means Christmas bonuses and 13th month payouts. So before you finalize that Christmas gadget wishlist, take a look at all the gadget reviews we’ve done last month.

Cherry Mobile Apollo

Cherry Mobile Apollo

At Php6,999, the Cherry Mobile Apollo is a very decent phone which offers a good balance between price and features. Although it’s marketed for its BSI camera, which was a bit overrated, we think that its best feature is its 4.5-inch HD display.

Nokia Lumia 1020 PureView

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There’s no doubt the Lumia 1020 can take claim as the best camera smartphone this year. It is a worthy upgrade to the previous flagship handsets by the Finnish company. Fans and users of the PureView 808 from 2 years ago will surely be glad to find a truly worthy upgrade.

ASUS MeMO Pad HD 7

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The MeMo Pad HD 7 is not aimed at heavy users and gamers but at casual users who just want a very capable tablet that can be used to browse social networks, take decent photos, read e-books on the go, watch movies, and play less graphic-intensive apps. With its price tag not exceeding Php9,000, the ASUS MeMO Pad HD 7 is a great offering for those who are in a budget for a 7-inch slate.

Cherry Mobile Flare 2X

CHERRY MOBILE FLARE 2X

If you’re truly stuck to a budget of Php4,499, then there really is no other choice. The Cherry Mobile Flare 2X gives a lot for the money and it’s really hard to complain on its shortcomings – the lack of power, bad viewing angles, the plastic build and the like – all of which are understandable compromises that had to be made. For the price, however, you’re getting a really well-balanced phone despite its flaws.

Acer Liquid S1

liquid s1_1

Acer really has a nice offering in the form of the Liquid S1. It has a large HD display, great build and design, good camera, dual-SIM capabilities, and very decent battery life too. It even comes with a really neat leatherette flip cover out of the box. If you’re looking for a large-screened smartphone that is under 6-inches, for a budget under Php20K, then the Acer Liquid S1 is a good phone to have.

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October Gadget Reviews Roundup

We’re slowly approaching the Holiday season and we’re pretty sure that most of you are already scouring the net for gadgets worth buying. Let us help you with that by giving you a roundup of all the gadgets we’ve reviewed in October.

Apple iPhone 5C

iphone5c-review

We’re somewhat torn with the iPhone 5C. On one hand, it’s just an identical hardware to the iPhone 5 but clad in a polycarbonate shell. On the other, it’s still a very capable handset with impressive performance. What will ultimately dictate the success of this model will be the retail price when it lands in the Philippines.

Nokia Lumia 625

lumia 625_2

The Nokia Lumia 625 aims to become a really great successor to the Lumia 620 with its larger and better screen, bigger battery, faster CPU, and LTE connectivity. Not to mention that it carries a solid build and sleek design that Nokia is known to deliver.

On the downside, the small RAM and low resolution can be serious issues to some, but at Php13,200 SRP, the Lumia 625 is one of the cheapest LTE-enabled smartphone you can get to date.

Cherry Mobile Cosmos X

Cherry Mobile Cosmos X

While the phone features dual-SIM capabilities, a good Super AMOLED display and a few freebies in the box, the design, UI, camera & battery is enough to make you look elsewhere. However, if you’re really sticking to a budget of Php9,999, then there you have it. Overall, this is an ‘okay’ phone with an ‘okay’ price.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition

note 10_ps1

The Galaxy Note 10.1 is a well-made, good-looking and beefed-up device that aims to be the Jack of all trades in the world of tablets. For those who want to use it as portable movie player the 10-inch Super Clear display, and the dual speakers won’t disappoint. If a user wants to take a picture, the 8 megapixel rear camera with LED flash will suffice. Gamers will find the Note 10.1?s CPU, RAM and overall performance to be top notch. And for those who want to be productive will find the S apps, S Pen, great multi-tasking capabilities, and long battery life to serve well.

Dell Vostro 5460 Ultrabook

Vostro Body Front

At the end of the day, Dell’s Vostro 5460 will surely won’t disappoint. Everything you need to get your tasks done will run just fine and a bonus of extra hardware for heavy graphics and superb audio is a sure plus. However, it does have flaws but nothing major. You’ll get used to it and it will be a thing of the past.

Huawei E5776 LTE Pocket WiFi

E5776

Despite the non-removable battery, we’re all praises for the Huawei E5776 LTE Pocket Wi-Fi (aka Tattoo LTE Mobile Wi-Fi). It’s got a decent build that can seem to withstand a fair amount of beating, plus it doubles as a powerbank which is a pretty neat addition to its feature set.

Acer Asprire S7-392 2013

aspire-s7

The first Aspire S7 was already a great ultrabook, except probably for the paltry battery life. The new Haswell-powered Aspire S7 has certainly solved that shortcoming. Same great design, lightweight form factor, impressive performance and a day-long battery life.

Cherry Mobile Flare 2.0

cm flare 2

The Cherry Mobile Flare 2.0 is what it is – a budget quad-core Android smartphone. Although I have to agree that the quad-core is a bit overrated considering that it only has 512MB RAM, still the fact remains that it’s Php3,999 price tag is its main selling point, not a pixel-packed screen or a snappy engine.

Cherry Mobile Burst 2.0

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We ended our Flare 2.0 review with a firm statement that if you’re looking for a more decent handset, you should be prepare to dish out a little extra cash for it. Fortunately for the frugal crowd, the Cherry Mobile Burst 2.0 is well worth that extra Php700 – one that truly gives consumers more bang for their buck.

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September Gadget Reviews Roundup

It’s the start of another month and we’re getting closer to the end of the year. September brought us new smartphones like the iPhone 5S, Sony Xperia Z1, and the recently locally-launched LG G2. We’re proud to say that we’re done reviewing those three flagships, so before we kick off Oktoberfest let’s take a look at all the gadgets we’ve reviewed last month.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom

samsung galaxy s4 zoom

The Galaxy S4 Zoom, is Samsung’s attempt to merge the S4 flagship with a very capable point-and-shoot camera. It has an interesting form factor, long 10x zoom, and is capable of producing better images compared to a regular smartphone with a camera. However, it is thick, heavy, and has a subpar battery life. Definitely not your average smartphone but will surely delight users who want a smartphone and a point-and-shoot in one.

Sony Xperia Z1

xperia_z1_1_1

The 5-inch Full HD display, Snapdragon 800 CPU, 2GB of RAM, IP58-certified body, LTE connectivity, healthy 3,000mAh battery, and feature-packed 20.7 megapixel camera, makes the Xperia Z1 one of the best Android smartphones to date. However, it has a reflective TFT display and weak LED flash performance.

Still, if you’re on a look out for a top-performing flagship smartphone with a “premium” build, the glass and aluminum-bodied Xperia Z1 should be on your top list to choose from.

Cherry Mobile Cosmos Z

cm-cosmos-z

Cherry Mobile has a solid contender in the Cosmos Z. Pretty solid set of hardware, good camera, impressive display — all in a very affordable price tag. We could not complain much except for the battery capacity.

With a suggested retail price of Php11,999, the Cosmos Z has the makings of a flagship smartphone at a mid-range price. It’s a proven and tested formula that will sell well.

Cherry Mobile Cosmos S

COSMOS S

The Cosmos S packs a beautiful display, a solid build, a long-lasting battery & decent internals into one thin desirable design. Cherry Mobile‘s hardware & software combinations are getting there, and while there are indeed drawbacks, they’re not much to rant about. After all, you’re paying an affordable price to go along with all of that.

BlackBerry Q5

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The BlackBerry Q5 packs a good display, decent camera, very good battery life, and above average performance. If you’re a BB7 user who is planning to upgrade to a QWERTY BB10 device but find the Q10 to be very expensive, the Q5 (at the time of writing) is your next and only option.

To conclude, the Q5 is a decent smartphone that can still be considered as a very good communication tool as BlackBerry is known for. However, the non-premium build and lack of LTE connectivity won’t justify its relatively high price tag.

LG G2

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There’s no question that the LG G2 is the best smartphone LG has ever had. The powerful hardware, nice display, great camera performance and really good battery life makes this handset a pretty compelling one. As for the placement of the power and volume buttons, it’s an acquired taste. LG definitely has a winner in the G2.

Cherry Mobile Cosmos X2

CM Cosmos X2 front

The Cosmos X2 is a great all-rounder that can pretty much handle most of your smartphone needs, plus it’s got a very respectable display that is certainly a treat to look at. Although we’ve pointed out some minor drawbacks on the X2, we feel that those aren’t gonna be enough to put down this decent mid-range Android smartphone.

Apple iPhone 5S

iphone5s-review

The iPhone 5S is sill a solid phone but this is mostly because of the advantages derived from the simplicity and robustness of the OS. Apple no longer has monopoly over good design or even impressive hardware.

With the updates introduced to the iPhone 5S, it seems line Apple is ignoring the big strides a lot of the Android handset makers are doing — bigger and better hardware, more computing power, better displays and longer battery life. The iPhone 5S seems to be lagging behind.

It will, no doubt, sell really well. But once you see people willing to pay twice the price for a gold color, then it’s all about status symbol and blind loyalty; not excellent craftsmanship and superiority.

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August Gadget Reviews Roundup

It’s the start of the “Ber” months, and before we kick-off to the last few months of the year, let’s take a quick look at the =gadgets we’ve reviewed in the month of August.

Huawei Ascend P6

huawei-ascend-p6-review

The Ascend P6 combines a good set of hardware in a very sexy design and super thin form factor that very few other handsets have achieved. Huawei has certainly done a lot of effort in order to give the P6 the title of world’s thinnest and the attention to detail is very evident.

huawei-ascend-p6

The P6 represents the best Huawei can do at the moment and though it might not be as impressive as other high-end flagship devices that came with full HD display, NFC and LTE, the Ascend P6 can still handle itself just fine.

Sony HDR-GWP88V Handycam

Sony Handycam

The Sony HDR-GWP88V Handycam is great to have as we’re pretty sure it can get the job done in most conditions. It has a great set of features and does very well in taking videos and photos. On top of that, you also have a very capable projector.

SONY HANDYCAM

The only complaints that we have are the slightly washed out colors in the video and the inconsistent responsiveness of a few physical buttons and of the UI. Other than that, we’re glad to say this cam will definitely come in handy.

Samsung NX2000

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The NX2000 provides all the bells and whistles that one would typically look for in an MILC camera. It takes great stills, it can capture 1080p clips plus you can upload/share your contents to other devices and on social media on the fly.

NX2000

We guess it all boils down your personal preference as a user. If you’re the kind of user you rarely tinker with shooting modes and settings, then you’ll feel right at home with the NX2000. However, if you’re an advance user looking for a back-up camera for your bulky dSLR, then this one’s not for you.

2nd-gen Google Nexus 7 2013

2013-nexus7-review

The 2nd-gen Nexus 7 is, without a doubt, much better than the old one. From the form factor to the hardware, all aspects of the tablet have been improved. New technologies like LTE and Qi have also been incorporated and the shortcomings of the older model have been fulfilled.

nexus7-2013-philippines

With a retail price of $269 (plus tax), it definitely puts it ahead of all other Android tablets around, beating even the iPad Mini in so many aspects.

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