The major Samsung Galaxy Note 5 design flaw you should know about

In Phones by Ramon LopezLeave a Comment

Those fortunate enough to afford the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 should probably consider keeping it away from the hands of curious peers and children. For the rest of their Note 5’s existence, if possible, or until Samsung issues a massive product recall, which is highly unlikely at this point. The Note 5 has a fatal design flaw that could either result in the S Pen being lodged in the holster or the holster itself losing its stylus-detection function. Why? Because, according to reports, the Galaxy Note 5 has a fatal design flaw that could either result in the S Pen …

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Cherry Mobile One G1 review: experience matters

In Phones by Ramon Lopez2 Comments

The Google-led Android One collaboration has so far been met with reservations in countries where it is commercially available. But that hasn’t stopped the American tech giant from soldiering on in pursuit of offering the best smartphone experience possible for under $150, or roughly the equivalent of two pairs of Nike sneakers. And thus we have the Cherry Mobile One G1, the new face of Google’s local efforts to prove that you don’t have to pay top money for a great smartphone anymore.

This ZenFone 2 has more storage than a base-model MacBook Pro

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Image via ASUS Fanaticos You’d think ASUS would have run out of ZenFone 2 ideas by now, given that its popular smartphone line probably already has more variants than the Encyclopedia Britannica has volumes, but it hasn’t. Enter the ZenFone 2 Deluxe Special Edition, yet another new addition to the growing ZenFone family. The kicker this time around is an insane amount of onboard storage for something that fits most pockets. “Just how much storage are we talking about here?” you ask. 256GB. To put things into perspective, that’s twice the capacity of the ZenFone 2 Deluxe and, more impressively, …

Cheapest Android Lollipop phone to go on sale in PH Aug. 22

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Just weeks after the Cherry Mobile One G1, a well-priced and well-spec’d smartphone that offers a pure Android experience, became official, the local tech company is at it again with another low-cost Android Lollipop offering. Except it’s cheaper than the G1, coming in at P2,999, and will go on sale tomorrow at noon on Lazada’s Philippine site. This is the Cherry Mobile Touch HD. It’s got a 5-inch IPS display with 720p resolution and, judging from the images on Lazada’s website, a metallic trim and a fake-leather backing. It runs the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system on a …

Sponsored tweet from LeBron James valued at P6.5M

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Image via VAV news You’re familiar with Twitter, right? And LeBron James? Good. But have you ever wondered how much a sponsored tweet from King James is worth? Wonder no more. Per a report from ESPN’s Darren Rovell, getting the Cavs superstar to dispense wisdom in 140 characters or less to his 23.2 million followers will cost an advertiser $140,000 ($139,474, to be exact), or around P6.5 million. Do the math, and that’s $1,000 per character. According to ESPN, getting LeBron James to tweet about a product or service will cost an advertiser $140,000, or around P6.5 million. It’s a king’s ransom, …

Now available: P1,999 MyPhone my21 with 3G, quad-core CPU

In Phones by Ramon Lopez1 Comment

You may have read about MyPhone’s new line of locally inspired phones recently, and surprisingly one of them has been listed on Lazada Philippines’ website, without fanfare or publicity. The MyPhone my21, which may not be the most exciting name for a smartphone. “What does ’21’ mean or represent?” you may ask. Who knows? I sure don’t. Not that it should matter too much to anyone looking for a daily driver with a rock-bottom price tag. For P1,999 — or less than what you’d typically pay for a cellphone, let alone one that runs Android KitKat — you’re looking at a 4-inch …

Actual image of 2015 Nexus 5 leaks online

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Image via Marques Brownlee It being mid-August, it was only a matter of time before details about the upcoming Nexus 5 reboot appeared online. The latest in the stream of information leaked to the masses shows the backplate of what could be Google’s next flagship smartphone in white and in the wild. The image seems to match up with renders uploaded last week, adding to the speculation that what we’re looking at is the real deal, or at least a prototype of it. The new Nexus appears to have a curved plastic back with a matte finish and a camera that …

ASUS PH to unveil ZenFone 2 Laser, Selfie, Deluxe August 29th

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Brace yourselves for more ZenFones in the very near future. ASUS Philippines will be adding at least three more variants to its Android portfolio come August 29, particularly the ZenFone 2 Laser, Selfie, and Deluxe phones. The launch event is open to the public, meaning just about anyone can get his or her hands on the new ZenFones and stand a chance of winning one. Admission is free, but pre-registration is required by August 27. The ZenFone 2 Laser occupies the bottom rung in ASUS’s upcoming ZenFone lineup and will likely fetch the least amount when it becomes available. Not that …

The curious case of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+

In Phones by Ramon Lopez2 Comments

I’m worried about Samsung. Not because its profits continue to fall on the back of the market’s lukewarm reaction to the now-discounted Galaxy S6, arguably its most compelling smartphone yet. Not because it has tampered with the Galaxy formula by jettisoning microSD expansion and removable batteries, much to the disappointment of long-time fans. Not because Apple’s market dominance shows no signs of slowing. I’m just worried, because Friday’s announcement could have ended with one super-sized phone, except it ended with two. In one corner: a Samsung sequel that, as expected, puts its extra screen real estate to even better use and rightfully bills …

Samsung Galaxy Note 5: two steps forward, one step back

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Image via Forbes A mere hours after their worldwide launch, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ made their official debut in the Philippines today, with pricing and availability in tow. “Isn’t it a little too early for a Galaxy Note reboot?” you may ask. “What about the Galaxy S6 Edge? The paint hasn’t even dried on Samsung’s co-flagship yet following its release a few months ago.” I get your point, but Samsung had to pull the trigger to give its latest devices a lengthy head start in the retail race against Apple. Samsung’s profits are still falling, …

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OPPO Mirror 5 review: style and substance for less

In Phones by Ramon Lopez10 Comments

We’ve seen a flood of low-cost but high-spec’d phones emerge on the Philippine market this year, but you have to admit: only a handful of them get the aesthetics and build right. Too often a phone’s look and feel take a backseat when companies cut corners to meet a certain price point; at worst, they are the first casualties of the design process — and it’s totally understandable.

OPPO Mirror 5 now official in PH, will retail for P9,990

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OPPO is no stranger to making quality phones with few, if any, compromises on design and build quality, and its latest offering doesn’t seem too different from what we’re used to seeing from the company, despite a lower-than-expected price tag. The OPPO Mirror 5, which, in essence, is the more affordable brother of the R1x that preceded it. You could argue that the Mirror 5 is OPPO’s answer to the higher-end version of Motorola’s Moto G (and, to a lesser extent, the recently announced Cherry Mobile One G1), what with an IPS display that spans 5 inches across and a …

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 leaks in full ahead of PH launch

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Image via iNoob We’re only a few days away removed from Samsung’s 2015 Unpacked event in New York (and its Philippine version on August 14), and at this point, as is the case every year, we know almost everything about the company’s next flagbearer — or should I say “flagbearers”? Under the bright lights of the Big Apple, Samsung is all but sure to announce the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge Plus — the name implies it’s supposed to be the bigger brother of the Galaxy S6 Edge. [frame src=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-51.jpg” target=”_self” width=”620″ height=”412″ alt=”Premium WordPress Themes” align=”center” prettyphoto=”false”] Samsung …

Cherry Mobile One G1 is a Moto G rival for P5,999

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One year into the venture, it seems Google remains bullish about the future of Android One, a line of low-cost devices running the latest version of the search giant’s mobile operating system (think Nexus for emerging markets). And why wouldn’t it be? Budget releases continue to drive the business of many Android manufacturers forward, something local companies can attest to, and they represent Google’s best bet of getting as many people as possible online in the hope that they will end up using Gmail, YouTube, and other Google properties. In the Philippines, no other product represents Google’s continued push to …

OnePlus 2 now available on Lazada PH but…

In Phones by Ramon Lopez2 Comments

The OnePlus 2, arguably the most anticipated smartphone of 2015, has been listed on Lazada’s Philippine website for a reasonable price of P21,799 (for the higher-end 4GB RAM version), which isn’t too far off from its official price of $389 (around P17,800). When you factor in shipping, import duties, and taxes, not to mention the fact that you don’t have to jump through hoops to secure an invite, the deal sounds almost too good to be true. The OnePlus 2 for P21,799 sounds almost too good to be true. And it is; because as compelling as the phone is on paper, it …

ASUS ZenFone Max fits a 5,000mAh battery

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ASUS, as you may have gathered from the countless versions of the ZenFone on offer today, has been trying out different configurations on its wildly successful smartphone line, and the latest result of its “try and see if it would sell” approach to making mobiles promises hours upon hours — upon hours — of usage time. Meet the ASUS ZenFone Max, or as I’d like to put it, the Android-phone equivalent of a Judd Apatow movie with a runtime that flirts beyond two hours. Meet the ASUS ZenFone Max, or as I’d like to put it, the Android-phone equivalent of a …

Apple Music has people listening, but for how long?

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Image via Tech2 By now, you’ve probably heard a lot about Apple Music, the subscription music-streaming service that the American tech giant launched in June and is currently in its “free to try” phase. What you may not know is, despite being hammered by critics, it is actually doing pretty well compared to rival platforms that have had a head start in offering unlimited music on-demand. According to The Guardian, Apple Music has 11 million listeners since launch — 2 million of whom have opted to pay $14.99 (around P690) a month for a subscription that gives up to 6 …

DOST eyes nationwide WiFi, bids out APs to Globe subsidiaries

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Remember the DOST’s public WiFi project, which has already kicked off, and is now offering free Internet access to people in select locations in Metro Manila? It looks like the government is already moving towards scaling things up to support a bigger audience after bidding out a P74-million contract for 14 access points that will serve as the backbone of WiFi hotspots across 967 municipalities to Innove Communications and Yondu IT Solutions. Both are subsidiaries of Globe Telecom, which, as you know, is one of the largest telecommunications providers in the Philippines. The 14 access points will be spread throughout the Philippines’ 3 …

Cherry Mobile teases second Android One phone

In Phones by Ramon Lopez9 Comments

Cherry Mobile updated its Facebook cover photo Monday to a front-and-back image of what may very well be the company’s second-generation Android One smartphone. The photo suggests a release sometime in August. For the uninitiated, Android One represents Google’s plan to bring the latest Android software to emerging markets like the Philippines through low-cost devices, though it hasn’t worked out well for the American search giant. [frame src=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Cherry-Mobile-Android-One-phone.jpg” target=”_self” width=”620″ height=”412″ alt=”Premium WordPress Themes” align=”center” prettyphoto=”false”] Cherry Mobile’s new cover photo That’s not to say the Cherry Mobile One, and the MyPhone Uno, for that matter, aren’t good options for cash-strapped …