Day: October 9, 2014

Memory Matters: Budget Smartphones with 2GB RAM

Kevin Bruce Francisco Leave a comment

With yesterday’s list of octa-core smartphones under Php9K, a reader suggested that we make a compilation of affordable smartphones with 2GB of RAM since apart from processing power, memory also matters. That’s exactly what we did and below, you will find the phones that concentrated on good RAM without asking for a lot in return.

2gbram

We categorized these smartphones as budget since they have 2GB of RAM yet they don’t go beyond the 11K mark. The common phones that sport the same memory usually start from 12K or even 13K and above. Handsets in this list are arranged from the most expensive down to the least expensive. Let’s get started!

Acer Liquid E700

The Acer Liquid E700

The Acer Liquid E700 is capable of supporting up to 3 SIM cards

Specifications:
5-inch HD IPS LCD display @ 720×1280 pixels, 294ppi
1.2 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582
Mali 400 GPU
2 GB of RAM
16 GB of internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash
2-megapixel front camera with LED flash
Quad-band, triple-SIM
DTS Studio Sound
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
FM Radio Tuner
Li-Ion 3500mAh battery
Android 4.4.2 KitKat
Price: Php10,990
Acer Liquid E700 first impressions

Xiaomi Mi 3

mi3_6

Great balance in price in specs? The Mi3 is a good bet.

Specifications:
5-inch Full HD IPS display, 441ppi
Gorilla Glass 3
2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core CPU
Adreno 330GPU
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage
13 megapixel rear camera w/ dual LED flash
2 megapixel front camera
HSPA+, 3G
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, WiFi Direct
NFC
Bluetooth 4.0 w/ A2DP
GPS, AGPS, GLONASS
USB OTG
3,050mAh battery
MIUI v5 (Android 4.4.2 KitKat)
144 x 73.6 x 8.1mm (dimensions)
145 grams (weight)
Price: Php10,599
Xiaomi Mi3 review

Huawei Honor 3C

Huawei Honor 3C

The Honor 3C flaunts a One Glass Solution display.

Specifications:
5-inch LTPS, OGS full lamination display @ 720×1280 pixels
Mediatek MTK6582 1.3GHz quad-core processor
2GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD card
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS with aGPS support
8MP Sony lens rear camera with BSI support
5MP Samsung lens front-facing camera
FM Radio Tuner
Android 4.2 Jellybean
Emotion UI 2.0 Lite
Price: Php9,990

BlackBerry Q5

q5_1

BlackBerry’s Q5 has a dual-core processor made by Qualcomm.

Specifications:
3.1-inch IPS LCD display @ 720×720 pixels, 328ppi
Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon S4 1.2GHz dual-core
Adreno 305 graphics
2GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 64GB via microSD card
HSPA+ 21Mbps
WiFi 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
5MP autofocus rear camera, LED flash
1080p video recording
2MP front-facing camera
720p video recording
GPS w/ aGPS support
BlackBerry OS 10.1
Li-Ion 2,180mAh battery
120mm x 66mm x 10.8mm (dimensions)
120 grams (weight)
Price: Php9,480
BlackBerry Q5 review

Qube Colonia

The Qube Colonia

The Qube Colonia is the only handset in this list with an octa-core processor.

Specifications:
5.5-inch IPS HD display @ 1280 x 720 resolution
G+G capacitive touchscreen
1.7GHz MediaTek MT6592 octa-core processor
Mali-450MP GPU
2GB RAM
16GB storage
Up to 64GB via microSD
13MP rear camera with autofocus
5MP front camera
Bluetooth 4.0
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
GPS, 3G
Dual-SIM
2400mAh battery (removable)
156 x 78.4 x 8.2mm
168 grams
Price: Php8,990

ASUS Zenfone 5

asuszenfone5

The most affordable phone in this list, the Zenfone 5 only retails for Php6,495 and comes with an Intel processor.

Specifications:
5-inch IPS display, 1280 x 720 @294ppi
Intel Atom Z2560 1.6GHz multi-core processor with HyperThreading Technology
PowerVR SGX 544 MP2
2GB RAM
8GB internal storage
64GB via microSD
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
3G/HSPA+
Bluetooth
8MP BSI rear camera w/ LED flash
1080p video recording @30fps
2MP front-facing camera
2110mAh battery
Android 4.3
148.2 x 72.8 x 10.3mm
144g
Price: Php6,495
ASUS Zenfone 5 review

The post Memory Matters: Budget Smartphones with 2GB RAM appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

What’s wrong with Globe’s 100% 4G HSPA+ coverage?

Kevin Bruce Francisco Leave a comment

Globe Telecom proudly announced the completion of rolling out its HSPA+ technology and that its entire network has already been equipped with 4G coverage. Although that may be the case, subscribers in different parts of Philippines are still complaining of poor connectivity from the telco. Here’s why it’s hard to verify if Globe indeed has 100% HSPA+ coverage.

4G-globe2

Let’s first understand how a cell site (like Globe’s) works. A single tower has about 3 or 5 types of transmitters – one for EDGE, one for 3G, one for HSPA+, WiMax, and LTE. But newer equipment now combines most of these networks into just one transmitter (EDGE, 3G & HSPA+).

Each signal has a corresponding reach. For example, if EDGE has a reach of 25-kilometer radius, then 3G has about 15kms reach and LTE has about 5-10kms. This was the reason why networks needed to construct more cellsites across the country.

Here’s how the latest announcement from Globe about having all of their cell sites equipped with 4G/HSPA+ transmitters can confuse subscribers. So when their press release says “100% 4G HSPA+ coverage”, people will think that every time you get a Globe signal, that signal will no less be HSPA+, 4G or LTE — thus eliminating 3G signal or EDGE. But that is not the case based on complaints by subscribers.

tower

Globe’s cellsite (source: Globe)

What we think Globe has accomplished is equip all of their network towers with 4G HSPA+ transmission. That means even their tower in the Spratlys Island will have 4G HSPA+ (which used to be just EDGE and 3G).

But that’s where the disconnect lies — having all of the towers equipped with 4G HSPA+ transmission does not mean everyone who connects to those towers will get no less than an HSPA+ signal. Depending on your location and distance from the towers, you will still get either EDGE, 3G, or HSPA+.

So since delivering that kind of “ideal” service means having to build about 5X to 10X more towers across the country, what Globe is frontlining here is that their existing towers are 100% capable of providing that service ONLY to those that are within range.

With that, here’s the bottom line: Are their towers fully-equipped with 4G and HSPA+? Most likely. But does the service reach every single one of their subscribers? We don’t think so.

What are your thoughts on the subject? More importantly, how is the signal of Globe’s supposedly HSPA+ doing in your area?

Abe Olandres contributed to this post

The post What’s wrong with Globe’s 100% 4G HSPA+ coverage? appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Best Technology and Electronics Brands of 2014

Louie Diangson Leave a comment

Interbrand, the world’s leading brand consultancy, has recently released their Best Global Brands list for 2014 which summarizes the most valuable brands in the world including those in the Technology and Electronics sector.

Listed below are 18 companies and their corresponding brand value. This is based on Interbrand’s 2014 ranking and only includes brands from the Technology and Electronics sector.

1. Apple – $118.9 billion
2. Google – $107.4 billion
3. Microsoft – $61.2 billion
4. Samsung – $45.5 billion
5. Intel – $32.2 billion
6. Cisco – $30.9 billion
7. Oracle – $25.9 billion
8. HP – $23.8 billion
9. SAP – $17.3 billion
10. Facebook – $14.3 billion
11. Canon – $11.7 billion
12. Philips – $10.3 billion
13. Sony – $8.1 billion
14. Panasonic – $6.3 billion
15. Adobe – $5.3 billion
16. Huawei – $4.3 billion
17. Nokia – $4.1 billion
18. Nintendo – $4.1 billion

Head to the source link below for the full report.

source: Interbrand

The post Best Technology and Electronics Brands of 2014 appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Kaspersky Lab identifies malware used to steal money from ATMs

Ronnie Bulaong Leave a comment

Kaspersky Lab, in collaboration with the Interpol, has conducted an investigation regarding a new malware called Tyupkin that cyber-criminal uses to steal cash from affected automated teller machines (ATM) in Asia, Europe and Latin America.

In their forensic investigation, Kaspersky Lab’s Global Research and Analysis Team mentioned that the malware was installed on an ATM using a bootable CD.

After successfully infecting an ATM, the malware silently sits inside the machine waiting for a specific command, at a specific time and day of the week (Sunday and Monday nights), from one of the members of the gang which will display the amount cash in all of the cassettes.

From there, the robbers select which cassette to steal from and the ATM will dispense forty (40) banknotes at a time out of that cassette.

“We strongly advise banks to review the physical security of their ATMs and network infrastructure and consider investing in quality security solutions,”

– Vicente Diaz, Principal Security Researcher at Kaspersky Lab’s Global Research and Analysis Team

In line with the investigation, the anti-virus provider gives out a few tips on how to mitigate the risk:

• Review the physical security of their ATMs and consider investing in quality security solutions.
• Replace all locks and master keys on the upper hood of the ATM machines and ditch the defaults provided by the manufacturer.
• Install an alarm and ensure it is in good working order. The cyber-criminals behind Tyupkin only infected ATMs that had no security alarm installed.
• Change the default BIOS password.
• Ensure the machines have up-to-date antivirus protection
• For advice on how to verify that your ATMs are not currently infected, please contact Kaspersky at intelreports@kaspersky.com. To make a full scan of the ATM’s system and delete the backdoor, please use the free Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool (available to download here).

Further information about the Tyupkin malware can be found on this link.

The post Kaspersky Lab identifies malware used to steal money from ATMs appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.