Nokia N1 : Nokia's first Android tablet

NOKIA'S FIRST ANDROID TABLET

Upon hearing the name of this tablet, the first thing that came in to my mind is "it's a phone from the yester-years like the N95" but I was wrong. Presenting the Nokia N1.

WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL ?

Sticking on Windows Phone platform for a long time made Nokia fall from it's throne on mobile phone industry due to the fact that Android platform nowadays has many features which the latter doesn't have. This also leads to the change of ownership and even the name of the legendary brand. But they shocked the world as they released three android phones namely, Nokia X, X+ and XL. Then followed by a successor which is the Nokia X2 Dual Sim . But those phones doesn't made enough appeal to those android fanboys because of the lackluster specs they had given to the said phones. So they're releasing a tablet running on the latest android platform. Having the Nokia name on a tablet is something that everyone is waiting for especially when it is running on Android. But had they already learned a lesson from the X line ? Would they give this tablet a proper treatment?

SPECIFICATIONS

• 7.9" 1536x2048 IPS LCD Display
• Corning Gorilla Glass 3
• Intel Atom Z3850 Chipset (2.3Ghz Quad-core)
• PowerVR G6430 GPU
• 2GB RAM/32GB ROM (Not expandable)
• 8MP AF camera/5MP Front camera
• GPS w/A-GPS
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, ac dual-band
• Android 5.0 Lollipop

Pretty competitive specs right ? But if it is priced below iPad Mini 2, it can be a good pick especially when it comes to durability.

WRAP - UP

Nokia has been pressured to release phones that can cope up with the Android flagships.  
And with the release of this tablet, I hope that it can make a big difference to the legendary company's sales.

Feel free to comment.

o+ 360 Series

O+ USA, the company that started the trend "Air Shuffle" had started again a new trend in the name of "360 touch" which is only available on their new "360 Series" phones.

First on the list is O+ 360, the more expensive of the two. It features 5" qHD IPS LCD Display, a quad-core chipset (probably MTK MT6582) partnered with 1GB of RAM, 8MP AF Camera w/LED Flash, Dual-SIM, 3G with some manufacturer made features such as the "Air Shuffle", Peace to capture, Shake to answer call, and an anti-theft app. Last but not the least is the so called "360 touch" It is priced at Php. 6395.00

Next is the 360 Alpha, which has a 4.5" FWVGA IPS Display, quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, 5MP Autofocus camera, 5MP Front camera, Dual-SIM, 3G HSPA+, GPS, the manufacturer exclusive features and '360 touch" Cheaper than the phone above, it is priced at Php.4995

O+ 360 Series are now available on all O+ kiosks and concept stores nationwide!

Starmobile Knight X : The MONSTER

         Literally, a monster ! just looking at the specs of this phone would make you say "WOW". Without further ado, here are the highlights of this monster phone.
 
      SPECIFICATIONS :
      • 5.5" Full HD IPS LCD Display
      • Mediatek MT6595 Octa-core chipset
        (1.7Ghz Quad-core and 2.0Ghz quad core processor using ARM® big.LITTLE™)
      • 3GB RAM/32GB ROM (Not expandable)
      • 13 MP Sony Exmor RS IMX135 Camera (f/2.2 aperture, Dual LED Flash)
      • 5MP Front camera (Focus TBD)
      • GPRS, HSPA+, TD-SCDMA
      • 4G Dual-LTE
      • Dual SIM (Micro+Nano)
      • IR Blaster
      • 3350MaH Battery

So looking at the specs, this phone has it all (Well if the non expandable storage doesn't mind you) It's the first Filipino branded phone using the latest Mediatek processor partnered with PowerVR Rogue GPU and 3GB of RAM which on the paper has the same performance like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 or even 801! It also has a Sony IMX135 camera which is identically the same to the camera sensor used on Motorola Moto X (2014) phone. Starmobile said the for the price, it will not be more than 20K and hopefully not more than 15K . Added features such as IR Blaster and the dual LTE which allows both SIM cards to use 4G networks plus TD-SCDMA compatibility which means that you can use this phone in China . I think this could be sonething that techy people should watch over but with the release of Meizu MX4 which has the same chipset used, this will be a very very tough head to head match. So what are your thoughts ? Feel free to comment. UPDATE ! Price is at Php. 15, 990.

Blackberry to release two new phones

Blackberry announced it's supposed to be successor to their Q lineup, the Passport and Classic.

The Passport is rather an unusual device with squarish design, featuring a square 4.5" 1440x1440 display (a QHD resolution on 1:1 screen) with three rows QWERTY keyboard and is powered by a Snapdragon 800 quad processor.

The Classic on the other hand has a smaller 3.5" screen with the same resolution resulting in an enormous 500+ ppi . It also features the classic optical trackpad in line with the QWERTY keyboard. It is also powered by a Snapdragon 800 processor like it's larger siblings.

No words on it's availability yet.

Xiaomi, Welcome to Philippines

Xiaomi, a chinese smartphone manufacturer lately expanded it's fields by opening their franchise here in the Philippines.

It created a hype because Xiaomi is known for their cheap but highly capable smartphones, like the RedMi and Mi3

Xiaomi started as a software maker known for their highly customized Android UI called MiUi and then they expanded their bussiness into smartphone industry that has increasing number of franchises throughout Asia.

For some who are doubting about the quality of their phones. Try to get a hand on it first before criticizing because "A book is not judged by it's cover" referring to the fact that all of their phones are made in China.

So again Xiaomi ! Welcome to the Philippines, I'm sure local brands will be challenged by the increasing number of chinese manufacturers here in the Philippines, it's all about competetiveness.

Throwback Thursday : Cherry Mobile Flare S100

Late 2012, local brand Cherry Mobile released one of it's successful smartphone to date, the Flare.

Dubbed as the "Dual Core ng Bayan" (Nation's Dual Core) due to the fact that this phone has a dual core processor which is expensive on that time at a price of just Php.3999, to cheap for a phone with that specs.

I remember when many people are eager to get it and had to spend hours on the line to take a hands on it.

But despite being a success, it had too many compromises that turned off the users giving them the reason to sell it.

One of them is the so-so battery life, the famous of the compromises, the 1500mah battery on this device is too short for a dual core device with 4" screen.

Another one is the lackluster volume quality coming from the 3.5mm headset jack, even the expensive earphones doesn't improve the sound quality, and lastly is the mentioned IPS display which isn't real because the top-side viewing angle is crappy.

So that's it folks the most successful phone by a local brand, the Dual core ng bayan.

iPhone 6 rumors and leaks

(iPhone 6 dummies according to the leaks)

Different leaks about the new iPhone shows similar designs. So this may be what the device will look like.

Also according to the leaks, the Cupertino
company's new phone comes in 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch screen sizes that is tad different from what the iPhone has now.

Different sources claim that the new iPhone will have :

- Sapphire Glass Coating and Liquimetal   design
- a better optics
- a 128GB variant (WTH!)
- a heart rate sensor integrated to the lightning based EarPods
- iOS 8
- NFC
- Wireless charging
- Apple A8 processor
- has support for the rumored iWatch

So if the rumors are true, this phone will be a hit once it is released between September and October this year.