Huawei's Flagship - Ascend Mate 7, Now Available on Smart Postpaid For Only P1,499 a Month

Looking for a flagship android smartphone but weary that it may ruin your budget? Then here's a postpaid plan from Smart featuring the sophisticated all-metal phone, Huawei Ascend Mate 7.

*photo from smart.com.ph

Antutu's Top Popular Smartphones in 2014; Xiaomi Mi4 On Top

Being one of the most popular OS running on a smartphone, Android indeed captured the hearts of the many. Almost everyday, we read rumors and releases of new android phone offerings. But which of these devices grabbed the crown for popularity last year? Is your phone in the list? Here's some input from Antutu.

In case you're not familiar, AnTuTu Benchmark is one of the most prominent benchmarking application for Android smartphones and tablets. Here's their link on Google Play: AnTuTu Benchmark. Techie guys use it to  measure the performance of their mobile devices. The CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage are put to test and scores are tallied afterwards. The scores are then compared to other devices for your assessment. Helpful isn't it? Specially if you'll be buying a new phone, tweaking it, or just bragging with its speed.

As seen in the graph, Xiaomi 4 got the number 1 spot. It was a great year for them indeed. Xiaomi came to our country early in the second half last year bringing the Mi 3 and then the Redmi 1s. Slowly but surely, our fellow Filipinos were acquainted with the brand and liked it. In the chart, Xiaomi mi 4 have topeed due to many users in China. We'll not be seeing it soon as Mi Philippines said in their FB page, instead the newly annoXiaomi Note will come soon in Q2.

Samsung, of course, is present in the chart with four devices on the list -- Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy S4. Asus ZenFone5, which is also commonly seen in our country, is at top 5.

Meanwhile, four devices retained their positions in the top 10 from the year 2013. Samsung Galaxy Note 3 increased in rank, Xiaomi Mi 3 retained its position, Google Nexus 5 and Galaxy S4 managed to cling with its abundant market share.

The report from AnTuTu also feature top smartphones on specific countries:

-China: Xiaomi smartphones

-HongKong: Samsung Note series

-Taiwan: Asus ZenFone and HTC One

-US: Samsung Note 4, s5, One Plus

-Russia: Google Nexus 5

-Korea: Note 4, LG G3

-Germany: S5

-India: Redmi 1s, Mi3 and ZenFone 5

-Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam: ZenFone 5

Notice the top three phones in India. These devices are also the most popular ones brought in to our shores by Xiaomi. Other asian countries such as Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam got Asus ZenFone 5 in the first spot.

For some people, smartphone popularity is a factor on buying a new phone. It may indicate great customer support, wide range of accessories and of course pleasing performance for a daily driver smartphone. But many of us may wish to see our country's most popular android smartphone report with local players on the list. 

{via, source: AnTuTu}

Xiaomi Mi Note: Power-packed Phablet with 3GB RAM

Dubbed as "the most epic flagship phone," Xiaomi has revealed one of their cool new product offerings in a launch held in Beijing yesterday - Mi Note. Sporting a 5.7-inch screen, the new phablet in town has many stories to tell. Let's take a look at its features below.

Looking at the image of Mi Note above, we can see a design that sure is a head-turner. As you give that second look, curvy edges, glass, frame and panels are evident. Both sides of the phone are covered with curved Gorilla Glass 3, resisting it from scratches. Compared to one of its contenders, in the phablet arena, the iPhone 6 Plus, Mi Note is a victor with respect to its thickness of just 6.95mm, 0.15mm thinner, and weight at 161g versus 172g on the iPhone.

While not having the highest resolution out there, the Mi Note contains 1920x1080 pixels at 386 pixels-per-inch. The use of QHD screen may be wanted, but the early adapters are still observed with its effect on battery life and performance. It has a 95% NTSC color gamut, adaptive dynamic contrast and a reading mode for eye-friendly reading sessions.

Under the hood is a Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.5GHz paired with Adreno 330 GPU and 3GB of RAM. It introduces dual 4G sim slots and dual standby with one micro and one nano size support.

Mi Note also boasts its photography department with a 13MP, 2nd gen Sony CMOS sensor camera. The inclusion of OIS is good for less blurs when taking low light photos. The front cam is also exciting as it showcase a 4MP with a 2-micron pixels (larger pixels than average) for selfies and video calling.

For audiophiles, the phablet can play more than just mp3s. It caters the High-Fidelity needs with its special audio decoder.

Other features are its 3000mAh battery made by Sony/LG that supports Quick Charge 2.0, 16GB or 64GB internal phone storage options, Android Kitkat 4.4.2, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, etc. The 16GB model's price is approximately $370 which is about P16500. There's no news on its availability in the country yet. It's hard to guess when because other Xiaomi products announced last year haven't reached our shores still, like in Mi4 and Mi Pad's case. But many are looking forward to have them soon.



{source 1, 2} 

Cherry Mobile ME Vibe: Affordable Octa-Core Available at Lazada

Cherry Mobile starts the new year with a bang as they unveil Philippine's most affordable octa-core - Mobile ME Vibe.

ME Vibe, despite of its low price, manages to lock up capable components. It has an MTK 6592M octa-core processor clocked at 1.4GHz coupled with 450MP GPU. The RAM is at 1GB and 8GB internal phone storage with microSD slot of up to 32GB. Display is huge at 5-inch screen size, with qHD resolution (960x540) which may not be for some because of its low pixels density. But considering those less pixels to push, it may be an advantage for others.

For capturing moments, the cameras are extravagant at its price with 13MP main and 2MP for selfies. The android version is an updated Kitkat 4.4 compatible with Lollipop upgrade. Me Vibe  includes other essential features such as Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi, Dual standard sim slots, USB On-The-Go compatability, etc. Plus, the back is customizable just like on other CM Me, Me Fun and Alpha Style. Just log on to http://www.cherrymobile.com.ph/personalize_me/  to have your back cover printed with your favorite anime, patterns, and even your selfie pictures.

Cherry Mobile ME Vibe is exclusively available at Lazada for only P3,999.



{source: CM fb}

Dota 2 The International 5 Schedule Announced

One of the most prestigious online tournament, The International 2015 Dota 2 Championships, has again ring the bells as Valve announces the dates and venue of the event.

The 5th year of The International will happen almost a year after the previous one. The inclusive days are from August 3, Monday through August 8, Saturday. TI 5 battleground would be on Seattle once again which will include 16 professional teams from around the globe. 

Last year, The International 4 has set a jaw-dropping record as the prize pool reached $10,700,000. That's the biggest prize ever on e-Sports history, beating the TI3 record of $2,800,000. As the bar was raised on the previous TI, many will be looking forward on how much the price will be this year. There are massive number of players joining the dota 2 bandwagon every month as seen on their website. If the trend keeps its pace, we will be looking at an eight-digit reward again. And the champions will take home almost half of it!

Further details on the tournament will be announced on the Dota 2 blog soon. We're looking forward to see the new line-ups and great battles on this year's Dota 2 Championships.

{source: Dota2blog}

Giant Telcos' Free Internet and Free Facebook Promos Extended

Last year, both giant telcos in the country, Globe Telecom and Smart Communications, Inc, offered free data connections for a limited time for their subscribers to enjoy. But thank heavens, the promos are further extended!

Giant Telco's Free Internet and Free Facebook Promo Extended

Last year, both giant telcos in the country, Globe Telecom and Smart Communications, Inc, offered free data connections for a limited time for their subscribers to enjoy. But thank heavens, the promos are further extended!

Free Internet by Smart

Smart, together with Talk 'N Text and Sun Cellular subscribers announced that their Free Internet promo is extended until February 15, 2015. The Free Internet promo allows any site browsing with the use of mobile data of up to 30MB per day.

“The positive response to the Smart Free Internet promo -- a real game-changer in the industry in that it introduced mobile Internet to more people than ever before -- gave us a very strong indication of Filipinos’ propensity for mobile data use,” said Charles A. Lim, head of wireless consumer business at Smart Communications and Sun Cellular.

He also said that this is an opportunity for all to experience the Internet and enjoy its plentiful benefits. Same procedures apply - just text FREE to 999 whether you're a Smart, Sun or TNT subscriber. You can also use this chance to search for LTE areas because this is available across all network platforms: 2G, 3G and 4G.

Free Facebook and Viber

Globe has announced yesterday that their Free Facebook promo will be back starting January 13. Plus, it went more exciting as we can chat and make kulitan with our friends and love ones with the addition of Free Viber. It will be in effect until Valentine's day, February 14. There will be no registrations required to avail these promo.

Xiaomi Redmi 2 is Now Official Now With LTE

Xiaomi has revealed the successor of the Redmi 1s which has been one of the most in-demand smartphone in the Philippines. The younger sibling, Redmi 2, has received nifty upgrades like its now 64-bit cores.

The front still showcases a 4.7-inch screen with IPS display, HD resolution (1280x720 @ 312ppi) made by Sharp, and now supports temperature color adjustment. A 64-bit 410 Qualcomm Snapdragon clocked at 1.2GHz quad-core processor ticks inside, and is coupled with Adreno 306GPU.  The RAM and internal phone storage stayed at 1GB and 8GB respectively. There's an slot, of course, for microSD up to 32GB, just like its older brother.

The photography department which is generally impressive in Redmi 1s, also received some upgrades. The main camera is 8MP made by Omnivision and the front camera is now at 2MP which supports second-gen intelligent beauty features, which many selfie addicts would like.

Xiaomi Redmi 2 has a future-proof connectivity because of its LTE support. Not only that. It has two sim card slots with dual-standby, dual-LTE sim capability, but there are some versions that's an exemption. Other features are Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi, GPS, A-GPS, Gyro, Gravity sensor, etc. The battery is a 2200mAh which supports QuickCharge 1.0.

The price stays at a very affordable range which is approximately $110 (around P5000). There's still no news on when this would land here, but we hope that it's the one Mi Philippines has been teasing these past few days.



(source, via)

Archos Introduces Hot Budget Smartphone and Tablet

We've seen many phones and tablets in the local market bearing the brand name, Archos, since the dawn of android smartphones. Most of them are in the entry-level category that's fitted for light use only. But recently, Archos unveiled their newest gadgets that promises great performance at still affordable tag.

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Archos Diamond packs a Snapdragon 615 octa-core A53 processor clocked at 1.5GHz and 1GHz, Andreno 405GPU, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal phone storage and microSD slot of up to 128GB. The screen is a 5-inch, full-HD IPS with 440ppi. The device comes with Android Kitkat 4.4.4. 

Great features formerly seen on mid-range to flagships are now coming on entry-level phones. The Archos Diamond boasts its LTE capability, dual-sim, and great photography facility with 16MP camera on the back and 8MP for selfies. Furthermore, a 2700mAh non-removable battery is provided.

The Diamond is priced below 200pounds, expect prices around P15,000 when it arrives here in the country. On the other hand, a quad-core tablet named Archos 80b Helium is also introduced also with LTE connectivity. The specifics are yet to be announced together with its newest other offerings.



(source, via)