Video Recap: This Week’s Top Tech (Week #2-3)

Lazada Philippines

It’s been another week of surprising announcements in the world of tech both here and abroad. It’s time to check out your top tech stories this week.

TWTT1480

This Week’s Top Tech Stories (Week #3, September 19-26, 2014)

Local News

In Yugatech

And In case you missed it, here is last week’s TWTT. (Week#2, covering September 12-18)

 

Local News

In Yugatech

For more videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel and receive our fresh TWTT updates, as well as other video content.

The post Video Recap: This Week’s Top Tech (Week #2-3) appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

AMD launches new mobile APUs in the country

Lazada Philippines

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has launched the latest line of mobile Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) comprising of the A8-7100 and A10-7800 designed for notebook PCs and tablets carried by the new Acer Aspire E15 and Lenovo IdeaPad Z50-75 respectively which were also featured earlier today.

During the launch event, AMD ASEAN General Manager, Ryan Sim highlighted some of the key features of the new Steamroller-based mobile APUs which include Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA), Mantle and TrueAudio technologies.

Also present during the event are some of AMD’s key partners who took the opportunity to showcase their respective offerings that’s powered by one of the new mobile APUs. Acer launched the Acer Aspire E15-551G-812I which sports a 15.6-inch LED 1080p display and is powered by an AMD A8-7100 with Radeon R5 Graphics and 4GB of DDR3 RAM.

lenovo ideapad

Lenovo, on the other hand, showcased the IdeaPad Z50-75 which shares the same screen size and resolution with Acer’s new notebook PC but is powered by beefier AMD A10-7300 with a dedicated Radeon R6 M2250X GPU with 2GB of VRAM. It also has a 1TB HDD which is paired with 4GB of DDR3 RAM.

The two aforementioned AMD-powered notebook PCs will soon be available in the local market. The Lenovo Z50-75 will be retailed for Php33,995 while the Acer Aspire E15 will set you back Php29,990. Both notebook PCs will come pre-installed with Windows 8.1 right off the bat.

The post AMD launches new mobile APUs in the country appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

AMD launches new mobile APUs in the country

Lazada Philippines

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has launched the latest line of mobile Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) comprising of the A8-7100 and A10-7800 designed for notebook PCs and tablets carried by the new Acer Aspire E15 and Lenovo IdeaPad Z50-75 respectively which were also featured earlier today.

During the launch event, AMD ASEAN General Manager, Ryan Sim highlighted some of the key features of the new Steamroller-based mobile APUs which include Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA), Mantle and TrueAudio technologies.

Also present during the event are some of AMD’s key partners who took the opportunity to showcase their respective offerings that’s powered by one of the new mobile APUs. Acer launched the Acer Aspire E15-551G-812I which sports a 15.6-inch LED 1080p display and is powered by an AMD A8-7100 with Radeon R5 Graphics and 4GB of DDR3 RAM.

lenovo ideapad

Lenovo, on the other hand, showcased the IdeaPad Z50-75 which shares the same screen size and resolution with Acer’s new notebook PC but is powered by beefier AMD A10-7300 with a dedicated Radeon R6 M2250X GPU with 2GB of VRAM. It also has a 1TB HDD which is paired with 4GB of DDR3 RAM.

The two aforementioned AMD-powered notebook PCs will soon be available in the local market. The Lenovo Z50-75 will be retailed for Php33,995 while the Acer Aspire E15 will set you back Php29,990. Both notebook PCs will come pre-installed with Windows 8.1 right off the bat.

The post AMD launches new mobile APUs in the country appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

RedFox WizPad 5 Quick Review

Lazada Philippines

Looking for an affordable yet capable Windows 8 slate that you can easily take with you so you can be productive while on the go? Then you might want to look at the RedFox WizPad 5 – a 10.1-inch Windows 8.1-powered tablet that is powered by Intel’s BayTrail T processor and comes with a keyboard dock.

redfox wizpad 5_1

At first glance, the WizPad 5 looks like a generic, uninspired slate. It’s got thick bezels with glossy plastic edges and a body that is made of aluminum. If it weren’t for the Windows logo below the display, you would mistake it for an Android device.

redfox wizpad 5_9

Found on the front of the device is the 10.1-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 or equal to 148ppi, and 10 capacitive touch points. Placed above it is the 2 megapixel front camera while down below is the Windows button.

redfox wizpad 5_8

Found on top are the plastic power/lock and volume keys with chrome finish. Take a look at the left side and you’ll see a number of ports: headphone input / mic output combo jack, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, microSD card slot (up to 32GB), HDMI out, microUSB, and a microphone. Flip it on its back and you’ll see the 2 megapixel rear camera, the RedFox logo, and the left and right speakers.

redfox wizpad 5_5

On hand, the Wizpad 5 feels pretty solid and has a slight premium feel to it thanks to the aluminum body with matte finish. At 600g, it’s a bit hefty but still easy to use with one hand in either landscape or portrait mode. One thing we didn’t like though are the sharp edges around the ports. It feels uncomfortable every time your fingers brush on it.

redfox wizpad 5_4

The Wizpad 5 comes with a Bluetooth-enabled keyboard stand. We call it a stand instead of a dock as it only lets you prop the Wizpad 5 and doesn’t really secure it in place. It’s thin, light and made of plastic with a brushed metal finish on top. The keys feel great and has good tactile feedback.

redfox wizpad 5_2

Pairing it with the Wizpad 5 is easy to do and only requires eight simple steps. The package comes with an easy-to-follow manual so it shouldn’t be a problem. When paired, the keyboard works well and didn’t cause any problem. In addition, you can also use this for your iOS or Android device.

redfox wizpad 5_3

What disappoints us though is that the keyboard doesn’t indicate the status of the battery if it’s full or running low which makes it very unreliable. It only has a red LED light to show if it is charging which can be done via its microUSB port, while the other LED light is just there to show if Bluetooth is on. I recommend purchasing a better keyboard if you really want to be productive with the Wizpad 5.

The Wizpad 5 is equipped a 1.46GHz Intel Atom BayTrail-T Z3770 quad-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, and 32-bit Windows 8.1 OS. Performance is good and should be able to handle your day-to-day tasks like handling MS Office documents (Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 included), surfing the web, and some light gaming on the side.

redfox wizpad 5_7

It’s a good multimedia companion too thanks to the large display and stereo speakers, however, we find it lacking when it comes to loudness so you’re better off using headphones or an external speaker.

Powering the Wizpad 5 is an 8,000mAh battery. We ran our routine battery test which includes using a 1080p movie file playing in Airplane mode at 50% brightness with headphones plugged in at 50% volume. The result is 5.26 hours worth of playback.

The Wizpad 5 has a price tag of Php19,500. Although priced at under Php20k, it will face serious competition in the form of the Acer Aspire Switch 10 which sports similar specs and price (Php19,990) but with better build and design and a high-quality keyboard dock.

redfox wizpad 5_10

To conclude, the Wizpad 5 is a very capable Windows 8.1 tablet downplayed by the generic build and flimsy keyboard. Redfox also also failed to include its own charger in the package which adds to the cons. With that in mind, the Wizpad 5 is definitely going to be a tough sell considering that its competitors have better offerings within the same price range.

Redfox Wizpad 5 specs:
10.1-inch HD (1280 x 800) IPS display, 148ppi
1.46GHz Intel Atom BayTrail-T Z3770 quad-core CPU
2GB RAM
32GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
2 megapixel rear camera
2 megapixel front camera
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0 + HS
GPS
USB 3.0, USB 2.0
HDMI out
Earphone/mic jack
Windows 8.1 OS 32-bit
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013
8,000mAh battery
257.8 x 172.4 x 6.3-9.8mm
600g

What we liked:
* Good display
* Good performance
* Sub-Php20k price tag

What we didn’t like:
* Generic build and design
* Flimsy keyboard
* Charger not included in package

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