I’ve followed the progress of the mass market mobile brand TORQUE since it was launched in 2009 and in fact, we’ve conducted a couple of phone giveaways for our readers. Now that they’re entering their fifth year, Torque now claims to be No. 3 in total unit sales after Samsung and Cherry Mobile…. way to go!
Spotted at a recent gathering: Torque’s new 7-inch Android tablet, Droidz Edge, which barely crosses the 2000-peso price range…or P1,999 to be exact. The thing runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and is powered by a 1.2 GHz CPU, with 1.3 mp camera and 4GB ROM. We daresay…. not baaaad…. magka-tablet lang! 
Torque CEO Chris Uyco also showed us the Droidz Mini D tablet which caught our attention for its immaculate white good looks at only P5,699. This tablet has dual sim & dual cam and runs on 1.0 GHz dual core with 7.85-inch XGA touch screen.
Brushing off critics who say the mobile devices aren’t reliable because they’re Made in China, Mr. Uyco said Torque phones are customized and comply only with their strictest specifications. “We engineer and design our own phones and tablets. From the seemingly insignificant details to the essential functions, each product is made with only excellence in mind. We are proud to be a Filipino brand.”
So here are the other Torque tablets we are keeping in mind for gifting to the anak/yaya/favorite pamangkin this Christmas:
Droidz Push +, a 7-inch tab priced at P3,499 which has Call & Text features on a single SIM, dual cams and has 1.2 GHz dual core processor.
.. and a snapshot of the much-acclaimed 5-inch Droidz Avatar TV (price: P3,999) which topped a mobile phone usage test conducted by a TV show among consumers. This is another Android phone which boasts of superior mobile TV reception, with wi-fi, dual SIM and dual cam to boot.
website: www.torque.ph
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/torquemobile
Sometime on the first week of September, I had the extraordinary experience of checking in at the club floor of the Dusit Thani Manila in Makati. The funny thing is that my three year old daughter enjoyed the hotel room more than me. While she slept soundly on the heavenly bed, mommy was working at 2 am to catch the live broadcast of IFA, Europe’s biggest consumer electronics show in Berlin.
What I stayed awake for: the grand reveal of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 & Galaxy Gear, on sale starting Sept. 25 in some global markets like the US and India.
And here was Lucy happy in the room with her yaya. Nothing like a new environment to excite a kid
Anyway, all I can say is that the new Note 3 is The Bomb! Even the tech writers can’t help but exclaim ooh’s and aah’s about Samsung’s newest offering. If you already own a Note, there is the usual upgrade on features but it is really on the software innovations that Samsung impresses. More after the jump….
Appearance-wise, the new Galaxy Note 3 looks really attractive with its faux leather cover at the back & nice stitching details on the side. There’s also the choice between these colors: black, white and pink!
And here are its worthy assets: a 13 megapixel camera, 5.7 inch Super AMOLED display, 2.3 GHz quad core processor, thinness of only 8.3 mm and official weight of 168 g.
But probably this smartphone’s most outstanding feature is Air Command which is more like a launching app best used with the built-in stylus or S Pen. Just hover the pen on the screen or even just jot down or doodle on it and you will have access to relevant apps like Action Memo, Scrapbook and the S Finder.
This official Samsung video is quite long, but will give you an idea what the new gadgets (Note 3 + Galaxy Gear) can do. Useful if you’re eyeing for an upgrade or would like to have these for Christmas…yay!
As for me, am really excited about the Galaxy Gear because I like the idea of wearing my gadget and knowing Samsung technology, I can also sync it with my present phone (or rather, phablet), the Galaxy Mega.
This device is expected to retail for US$299 but am loving what it can do: enable hands-free calls on your watch with the built-in speaker and you will also be able to draft memos or messages and set alarms with simple voice recognition. Not to mention, it has a fitness tracker and other apps.
The Galaxy Gear smart watch has 4-gigabyte internal memory, 512 megabytes of RAM and weighs 74 grams. It comes in a range of eyecatching colors like Rose Gold, Oatmeal Beige, Jet Black,Mocha Grey, Wild Orange and Lime Green.
It’s halfway through 2013, and some of you might be eyeing on a new Android phone. If you have a tight budget, you might want to check out our list below — it’s a rundown of our top 10 picks for Android smartphones under Php10k that you can buy right now.
For the purpose of this compilation, we only focus our search on handsets that have been released in 2013 and completely skip the units from 2012 and older.
(Note: Prices are based on online sellers and SRPs; listed in no particular order.)
1. MyPhone A919i (Php9,250)
Highlights:
2. O+ 8.6 (Php6,495 – 7,995)
Highlights:
3. Alcatel One Touch Scribe Easy (Php8,990)
Highlights:
4. Huawei Ascend G510 (Php5,990)
Highlights:
5. Cherry Mobile Blaze 2.0 (Php9,499)
Highlights:
6. Starmobile Diamond V3 (Php8,990)
Highlights:
7. LG Optimus L7 II (Php9,990)
Highlights:
8. Samsung Galaxy Fame (7,500)
Highlights:
9. Huawei Ascend Y300 (Php5,490)
Highlights:
10. LG Optimus L5 II (Php5,990)
Highlights:
Did we miss anything? Feel free to comment down below. And if you would opt for phones of a different OS, you might also want to check out our list of the Top 5 Most Affordable Windows Phone Devices in the PH.
Update: As much as possible, we wanted to keep the list diverse with different phones from different manufacturers. Again, if we missed anything, feel free to comment down below.
The post Our Top 10 Android Smartphones under Php10k for 2013 appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.
With 2.2 million followers in her Twitter account and 230K for Instagram, multimedia personalty Bianca Gonzalez is the perfect choice to be the endorser of Samsung first 8-inch tablet, the Galaxy Note 8 (suggested retail price: P23,990).
At least we can say that the multi-tasking Bianca will use this gadget to the fullest as she essays different roles: TV host, newspaper columnist, editor-at-large, commercial model and social media influencer.
Bianca with officials of Samsung Electronics Philippines Corporation (SEPCO) during the launch of the Note 8 in Makati City:
In front of the media, the pretty and svelte Bianca demonstrates the fun she has with the tablet:
The writer and TV host says she loves the Galaxy Note 8 for bringing about the 2 Ps: portability and productivity. “It can serve as your laptop, tablet, mobile phone, camera, e-book, movie and music player, calendar, diary, and notebook – all in one!” Bianca enthuses.
So without much further ado, here are the specs of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8:
1.6GHz A9 quad-core processor
Display: 8” WXGA (1280×800, 189 ppi) TFT
OS: Android 4.1.2 (Jellybean)
Camera: Main(Rear): 5 Megapixel Camera
Sub(Front): 1.3 Megapixel Camera
S Pen Optimized Features: S Note, S Planner, Email with hand-writing integration
- Quick Command, Easy Clip, Photo Note, Paper Artist
-Air View
-Popup Note, Popup Video
- Shape Match, Formula Match, Idea Sketch
Samsung AllShare
A-GPS + GLONASS (3G Version)
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 & 5 GHz),
Wi-Fi Direct, AllShareCast, BT4.0, USB2.0
Sensor: Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Proximity
Memory: 2GB (RAM), 16GB microSD (up to 64GB)
Dimension: 210.8 X 135.9mm, 345g (3G Version)
Battery: Standard battery, Li-ion 4,600mAh
Diag| Memory: Current usage: 59 MB
Diag| Memory: Peak usage: 85 MB