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, …
OPPO Mirror 5 review: style and substance for less
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
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
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
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 …
Lenovo Vibe Shot review: good camera, better phone
Android has improved tremendously since its commercial launch in 2008 — its latest — and sweetest — iteration yet, Android Lollipop, is easily among the best in the business.
OnePlus 2 now available on Lazada PH but…
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
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?
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
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
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 …
Uh-oh, 3 arrested over online piracy in PH
Image via Baltnews Score one for the good guys — even if it’s just a small victory in the fight against the Goliath that is piracy. On Saturday, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said they arrested and charged 3 IT professionals in separate operations between July 22 and 30 for infringing on the intellectual property of local media conglomerates. Nico Angelo Rempillo of Dayangdan, Naga City, Jim Marcelino Bautista of Baragay Cagay, Roxas City, and Mark Marlon Millendez of Barangay Mintal, Davao City were caught while trying to upload and stream TV shows and movies on their own websites, according to …
Globe Telecom boosts Visit the Philippines Year 2015 campaign
Globe Telecom, through its International Business Group, has partnered with the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) of the Philippines to support the Visit the Philippines Year 2015 campaign which aims to promote the country as Asia’s top tourist destination. Globe is TPB’s first Philippine telco partner to offer affordable communication services to millions of tourists and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) returning to the country. According to a recent report by the Department of Tourism, the Philippines registered a total of 2.23 million international visitors from January to May 2015 alone, an 8.15% growth from the previous year. The same report also …
Mobkard App now has over 200 merchants, P17M in additional funding
Mobkard, a location-based mobile loyalty solutions provider and part of the first batch of startups of Ideaspace, the First Pacific-led tech incubator and accelerator for emerging markets, today announced that it has successfully concluded a new 17 million-peso round of funding led by Globaltronics Inc., the country’s leader in digital signage advertising in the Philippines. The new round of funding allows the company to expand its location-based loyalty solutions particularly through the launch of the official Mobkard app, which provides users with the best and the latest deals from the biggest brands that are near their current location using only …
ASUS PH unveils iPad mini rival with 4GB of RAM
Earlier today, ASUS Philippines showed off two new tablets under the ZenPad line, with the company continuing its push into the crowded budget segment. New entrants to the market, the ASUS ZenPad C 7.0 and ZenPad 7.0, which I discussed briefly several days ago, carry the promise of an upscale design with interchangeable backs and category-leading performance in a surprisingly compact, 7-inch form factor for under P8,000. Of the two, the ZenPad 7.0 is especially interesting because it’s essentially a mid-range tablet, except it’s not priced like one. I have a unit that I’ll be testing over the next few days …
Lenovo Vibe Shot announced in PH, costs P16,999
Back in March, Lenovo introduced the Vibe Shot at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. As the name suggests, it’s a camera phone designed to replace your old point-and-shoot, because, among other things, you can’t count on that brick of a camera to post your good eats on Instagram. Now it’s heading to local shores, and it will be available first through Lazada Philippines’ website and mobile app starting July 31. From the back the Vibe Shot looks deceivingly like a camera, too — and an attractive one at that — with its lightweight aluminum frame, 16-megapixel sensor, six-piece modular lens, and …
Review: Meizu M2 Note
As expected, the Meizu M2 Note went on sale on Lazada Philippines four days ago. (It’s still available, as of this posting, for P6,990.) Out of curiosity, I decided to purchase one on the first day of sale, and Lazada delivered the unit in a bubble-wrapped cocoon to my address Thursday morning, probably because I happen to live just an hour away from the company’s warehouse in Metro Manila.
5 Android apps I can’t live without
As people who know me personally probably know, I use an Android phone as my daily driver. And, to be honest, I can’t see myself going through a full day without a smartphone in my hand. I just can’t. For starters, I get my daily dose of news from apps installed on my phone — Appy Geek and Twitter are my favorite sources — I sometimes write blog posts on an app called Keep while in transit; and I entertain myself by listening to Spotify or watching videos beamed to my handset through apps like HOOQ and the NBA’s official …
ASUS ZenPad 7.0 tablet to launch on July 30
After garnering a lot of attention in the smartphone space, courtesy of the high-specced but reasonably priced Zenfone 2, ASUS Philippines will be looking to impress would-be tablet owners next week with the launch of two new additions to its tablet line. I’ve just received word that both the ASUS ZenPad C 7.0 and ZenPad 7.0 are going to be unveiled on July 30. Naturally, pricing remains a mystery at this point, though a 3G version of the ZenPad C 7.0 has been spotted on Villman going for P5,995, which makes it all the more likely that a local release …
Xiaomi Mi 4i vs. Meizu M2 Note: tale of the tape
Now that both the Meizu M2 Note and Xiaomi Mi 4i have been officially priced and confirmed to be heading to Philippine shores soon, pitting them against one another on paper to determine which Android smartphone offers more bang for your money should be a little easier. In one corner you have the M2 Note, a big-screen, octa-core phone with few compromises. In the other corner you have the Mi 4i, which despite being a slightly watered-down version of Xiaomi’s outgoing flagship phone, combines great hardware and software with an attractive price tag. [frame src=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Xiaomi-Mi-4i-vs-Meizu-M2-Note.jpg” target=”_self” width=”620″ height=”412″ alt=”Premium WordPress …