If you’ve seen Jerrold Tarog’s historical drama Heneral Luna, you may be wondering: Which local film should I see next? Good question. Thankfully, there’s no shortage of amazing options on HOOQ, a subscription video-on-demand service that lets users watch local and Hollywood movies and TV shows on their phones or tablets for as little as P149 a month, or the equivalent of a tall Starbucks drink. Today’s list includes 10 local releases you may not have heard of, but really should watch. So happy viewing and don’t forget to sound off in the comments with your thoughts on the items …
Police nabs man after swindling P2M worth of phones from Globe
A 47-year-old resident of Quezon City was arrested by local police on criminal charges of estafa and falsification of documents leading to the acquisition of 63 high-end smartphones from Globe stores and a projected fraud loss of P2.4 million, Globe Telecom said in a press statement. John Michael Cruz was nabbed by authorities in an entrapment operation after submitting additional requirements for cellular plans that would have netted him 3 units of iPhone 6 Plus. Cruz has used various aliases in previous applications and has declared himself the owner and marketing manager of CJMD Trading, LMDJ Garments Manufacturing, DMJJ Manufacturing …
Why your MediaTek-based phone is among the cheapest on the market
Image via allthingsd.com A couple of days ago, I sat down with Cedric Chang, a MediaTek account manager assigned to the Philippines, to shed light on a few burning questions that consumers may want answered about the Taiwan-based company’s main business of selling chipsets. Chipsets that, mind you, power a good majority of Android devices on offer not only in the Philippines but in other parts of Asia, including China and India. The company rep explained why MediaTek-based phones are generally more affordable than the competition; and it’s not because MediaTek makes the cheapest silicon out there — though they are priced lower …
Android 6.0 Marshmallow: How to move apps to your SD card
One of the best reasons — and believe me, there are many — for upgrading your first-gen Android One phone to Android 6.0 Marshmallow today is simply to gain the ability to migrate your apps and files, such as your photos and videos, to a microSD card.
About time: upscale Cherry Mobile Flare phones announced
Amid a busy quarter of phone launches, Cherry Mobile took the wraps off 3 new additions to its Flare series, baring what I had earlier suspected: an upscale take on the company’s most popular line of Android devices. And about time, too! The Flare 4, S4, and S4 Plus are now official, and they look nothing like their predecessors — and I mean that in the most flattering way. They’re quite a looker, I guess, is what I’m trying to say. Which is great, because Cherry Mobile’s Flare handsets have never been known for their looks and design quirks. Until …
Cherry Mobile: Flare X, S3 Lite, S3 Octa, S3 Power to get Android Lollipop by Nov
In addition to revealing 3 new phones under the Flare line, Chery Mobile announced its software-update plans for 4 existing Flare handsets, namely the Flare X, S3 Lite, S3 Octa, and S3 Power. The said devices will be upgraded to Android Lollipop by November, the local tech company revealed.
Globe blames Smart for PH’s poor LTE speed in OpenSignal report
If you read OpenSignal’s previous State of LTE report, you know pretty well that the Philippines once again appears to be lagging behind other Asian countries and regions like India, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan both in terms of LTE speed and coverage. What may have escaped your attention, however, is that the country could’ve fared better had Smart Communications posted better results in the testing conducted by OpenSignal, something Smart’s rival, Globe Telecom, pointed out in a recent press release.
How to manually upgrade your Android One phone to Marshmallow
(UPDATE, November 5: The Android 6.0 Marshmallow OTA update for the Cherry Mobile One G1 is now available for download. You can use this guide to manually update your One G1 — that is, if you haven’t already.)
Cherry Mobile to announce ‘premium’ Flare phone on October 9
Cherry Mobile will announce a new Flare smartphone on October 9, according to an event invite sent by the local tech company today. Not much is known about the upcoming handset, but based on the invite, expect a gold color option with a silver metallic trim, suggesting that we may be looking at the most premium-looking Flare design so far. The black borders surrounding the display may give the phone a borderless appearance when the the screen is turned off. The one metric the Flare series falls short of is design, but that could change soon if what we’ve seen so …
Microsoft unveils Windows 10-based Lumia 950, 950 XL phones
Earlier today, Microsoft announced several Windows 10 devices to showcase Windows 10’s new capabilities and its full potential as a productivity platform. (A quick aside: Microsoft claims there are already more than 110 million devices running Windows 10. Yes, 110 million installations in 8 weeks.) Among those Windows 10 devices are the Lumia 950 and the larger and more powerful (and more expensive) Lumia 950 XL, which as Microsoft puts it, are all about “putting Windows 10 in your pocket” and being “the most productive phones you’ve picked up.” And those are very accurate ways of describing phones that function like a PC …
Google rolls out Android 6.0 Marshmallow to Nexus devices
Image via bgr.com Nexus owners, rejoice! Google has started rolling out the latest version of the most popular mobile operating system in the world, Android 6.0 Marshmallow, to select Nexus devices, including the Nexus 5 and 6 smartphones and Nexus 7 and 9 tablets, as earlier promised. The software update is also coming to the Android One phones like the Cherry Mobile One G1, Android’s VP of engineering said in a previous blog post. An incremental upgrade over Android Lollipop, Marshmallow adds a few nice features to Android like Doze, battery-saving tweak, and Google Now on Tap, which brings you …
Sorry, your 2015 Moto E won’t get a taste of Android Marshmallow
Google’s latest mobile operating system, Android 6.0 Marshmallow, is tipped to arrive later this week following Google’s recent press event. Which, as you may have guessed, has prompted several manufacturers, including Motorola, to spill the proverbial beans on when their respective products will receive the software update. For Moto owners, it seems the outlook is relatively positive, with the Lenovo-owned company recently confirming on its official blog that most Moto phones released in 2014 and this year will get a taste of Android Marshmallow sometime in the future. [frame src=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/moto-upgrade.jpg” target=”_self” width=”620″ height=”412″ alt=”Premium WordPress Themes” align=”center” prettyphoto=”false”] List of Moto …
Cherry Mobile MAIA Smart Tab is upgradable to Windows 10
Cherry Mobile didn’t advertise that the dual-OS (Android 4.4 KitKat and Windows 8.1) MAIA Smart Tab is upgradable to Windows 10 when the company announced the 8-inch slate earlier this week, but it turns out it is.
Waze: Metro Manila worst place for motorists, commuters
Image via globalbalita.com Waze has confirmed what many of us knew all along but had no data to show for it: Metro Manila has the “worst traffic” on the planet, the Google-owned crowdsourced navigation app said in its Global Driver Satisfaction Index. Waze arrived at the observation after pooling the driving experience of 50 million users from 32 countries and 167 metropolitan areas. The Philippines ranked among the worst places on Earth for motorists and commuters, while Metro Manila figured to be the last place you’d want to be behind the wheel, followed by Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro and Sao …
Android One phones will get Android 6.0 Marshmallow next week
As if you need another reason to get the brilliant and affordable Cherry Mobile One G1: In a recent blog post, Dave Burke, Android’s VP of engineering, has confirmed that Android One devices, alongside select models in the Nexus lineup, will be among the first to get a taste of Android 6.0 Marshmallow once it becomes available for download next week. (As I wrote in my review, the second-gen Android One phone will likely be upgraded to the next major software update after version 6.0, too.) Marshmallow, in case you haven’t been paying attention, is an incremental software update that …
Google unveils Nexus 5X and 6P smartphones
A year after the Nexus 6 was released, Google, as earlier reports suggested, announced not one, but two smartphones to showcase Android 6.0 Marshmallow in its purest (and best) form. Holding the torch for the Internet company’s own brand of mobile devices are the new Nexus 5X and 6P, which promise impressive performance in sleek and well-designed plastic (Nexus 5X) or metal (Nexus 6P) housings, not to mention early access to software and security updates directly from the big G itself. Let’s start with the smaller of the two handsets: the Nexus 5X. Google’s long-expected follow-up to 2013’s Nexus 5 …
Cherry Mobile unveils new MAIA series with Intel chips in tow
Confirming earlier reports, Cherry Mobile today took the wraps off its MAIA line of devices (two tablets and one handset). MAIA, which is short for Making Amazing Innovation Accessible, is Cherry Mobile’s new branding for Intel-based gadgets, the company revealed. These devices are affordable, as expected, and they run Android KitKat on Intel’s latest 64-bit chipsets. The hero product of the MAIA family is called the MAIA Smart Tab, an 8-inch tablet that can boot into Android or Windows 8.1 in seconds. It also comes with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage (16GB is allocated to Android; another …
Video shows iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus are highly water-resistant
Image via Zach Straley’s YouTube video Apple hasn’t stated explicitly that the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are water-resistant, though it appears they don’t mind getting a bit wet, as YouTuber Zach Straley found out recently when he soaked the latest iPhones in a bowl of water for over an hour. In his video description, Straley wrote: “Apple’s new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus seem very water-resistant.” The YouTube clip itself, which already has more than 200,000 views as of this writing, runs 7 minutes and 43 seconds. The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus appear to be working perfectly fine after …
Unofficial iPhone 6s doesn’t cost an arm and a leg in PH
Image via macradar.ru Local fans of Apple’s latest — and much-improved — smartphones, it turns out, don’t have to wait too long to get their hands on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, unlike in previous years where it took parallel importers weeks to bring the newest iPhone to our shores. And when they did, you could bet your bottom peso that it cost an arm and a leg to purchase even the off-contract 16GB model. (Remember the P117,585 iPhone 6 Plus that Revü Philippines co-publisher Alora Uy Guerrero wrote for Yahoo in 2014?) Not this year, though. Retailer Widget City …
Alcatel Flash 2 announced in PH, available September 30
The Flash smartphone series has been a runaway online success for Alcatel and its exclusive retailer, Lazada Philippines, sparking renewed interest in the now-TCL-owned brand. And momentum is likely to escalate, following the unveiling of the new Alcatel Flash 2 in the Philippines, one of the first countries to offer the phone (through Lazada’s local website). During the press conference earlier today, Inanc Balci, co-founder and CEO of Lazada Philippines, spoke of how well the P6,490 Alcatel Flash Plus is doing locally. He even revealed that at one point, Lazada Philippines sold as many as 29 Flash Plus phones per …