September is one of the most exciting months when it comes to consumer tech. We had the IFA in Berlin followed by Apple’s announcement of the new iPhones. The past month has also brought us a lot of interesting gadgets to review. This includes the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, Huawei Ascend P7, Xiaomi Redmi 1S, and a number of Cherry Mobile devices. Take a look at our Gadget Reviews Round up for September 2014.
Full Reviews
With an SRP of Php20,990, the Huawei Ascend P7 is in for some competition. The above 20k price tag can be a tough sell because of the occasional lag during our usage. But if you are in for good design, LTE, and a good selfie camera, the P7 can be a good companion.
The Xiaomi Redmi 1S definitely sets a new benchmark for smartphones in this price range. It has the looks, quality, performance, and features that normally you will find in higher-priced smartphones. It’s not perfect and obviously has its limitations, but at Php5,599, it’s still absolutely a steal.
We think that your ten grand will be money well-spent on the CM Magnum S. From both the design and performance standpoints, this handset is easily one of the best locally-branded smartphones in the sub-Php10k segment. Nuff said.
The Cherry Mobile Pulse is the company’s most affordable offering at Php6,499. Normally we’d see a smartphone with mediocre configuration for that kind of price, but not with the Pulse. For under Php7k, you can now get a dual-SIM smartphone with a good build, a crisp and tough display, and kind of performance that is both good for work and play.
During our time with the Cherry Mobile Ultra On The Go, we’re happy to say that it performed as expected. It picked up 4G/LTE signal when it’s available and it has enough juice to last you a fair amount of time. Lastly, it’s one thousand pesos cheaper than the LTE Pocket Wi-Fis that Globe and Smart is currently offering, and it’s open-line too so can use LTE-provisioned SIM cards from either of the two telcos mentioned above.
Cherry Mobile’s success in the local scene is primarily based on the fact that their devices have decent specs and are competitively priced. Both statements hold true for the Cosmos One which pretty much have the same configuration and price as the CM Pulse but with a slightly bigger screen.
The Kata M2 is a very capable phablet with an affordable price. However, if you’re into graphic-intensive mobile gaming and demand really snappy performance, the M2 isn’t exactly the ideal Android device for that.
Aside from the increased display size, we did not see anything else significant when upgrading from the iPhone 5S to the iPhone 6. The iPhone 5S is as smooth, flawless and beautiful as the iPhone 6. Actually we wished Apple could have just retained the design and thickness of the iPhone 5S and increased the size so there’s more room for a Lithium-polymer battery for better battery life.
It took ASUS quite some time to release an ROG motherboard for the FM2+ socket, but when they did, they made sure that they got all the bases covered and that all the waiting will not be laid to waste. That is exactly what the company did with the ROG Crossblade Ranger which, in our opinion, is currently the best FM2+ motherboard that money can buy.
At Php13,995, we still consider this a bit pricey compared to the Php5K Playground Cam100. Video quality for both isn’t that far off, and you get more accessories for the Cam100. The advantage with the K2, though, is that it has Wi-Fi and a housing that can go more than three times as deep as the GoPro’s. As those are its strengths, it also has some shortcomings in terms of its mounting system and auto white balance. Plus, with GoPro set to announce a cheaper HERO along the HERO4, the Muvi K2 will surely have a new competition in the mid-range category for its Php14K price tag.
Either you will like the iPhone 6 Plus because of its size and performance or you will avoid it because it’s a bit bulky and unwieldy to use and perhaps just settle for the iPhone 6.
Quick Reviews
We have a love-hate relationship with the VIRB Elite – we didn’t like how it somehow looks like a vitamin bottle, but it’s for this same reason that operating the camera is a very refreshing experience. And while its screen is useless in the dark it saves up precious battery life for more recording time. Lastly, it offers new functionalities on top of being just an action camera.
The Redfox CnL is a handy piece of speaker that easily tags along with you. When it comes to the sound quality we had little complains, but other things like build quality left us wanting more.
The Wizpad 5 is a very capable Windows 8.1 tablet downplayed by the generic build and flimsy keyboard. Redfox also also failed to include its own charger in the package which adds to the cons. With that in mind, the Wizpad 5 is definitely going to be a tough sell considering that its competitors have better offerings within the same price range.
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