It’s been a few days since the Samsung Galaxy Note7 was officially unveiled, and in a matter of weeks, it will arrive in the country soon. It’s still quite a wait especially for those itching to own one, so for now let’s have a recap of everything we wrote about it so far.
It’s been almost three months since ASUS officially unveiled their latest generation of smartphones – the ASUS Zenfone 3. In less than two weeks it will officially launch in the Philippines, and if you’re one of those contemplating of buying, we have made this compilation to help you learn more about the device.
July has been an exciting batch of reviews for us. Not only we have smartphones like the upcoming ASUS Zenfone 3 and Sony Xperia X Performance, but we also have smartwatches like the Moto 360 2nd-gen, PS4 game like Mighty No. 9, and high-end graphics cards like the ASUS ROG Strix 1080 and Zotac NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080. Without further ado, here’s our Gadget Reviews Roundup for July 2016.
The Xperia XA is Sony’s most affordable offering from the new Xperia X family. It’s got the premium looks and feels and capable specs to along with it. There are limitations though like the lack of dual-SIM, inconsistent AF performance, and a small battery.
The Starmobile Play Click is your run-of-the-mill low budget smartphone. It’s got no bells and whistles but it’s an upgrade for those who are coming from the feature phone segment. If only a better TFT display was used, it could have a been perfect for those who are tight on budget.
O+ has been releasing plus-sized smartphones as part of their offerings — we’ve seen the Grande take off a few years back, and now they are back to release the second-generation Venti. Packed with a good camera, decent battery life, and big screen size enough for multimedia consumption, it does not disappoint for a casual user.
All things considered, it seems that the Sony Xperia X Performance is a hit and miss. While it’s is indeed at the top of the product line of Sony for 2016, we felt they somewhat skimped on the hardware considering the asking price. Frankly, we were actually hoping for at least 4GB of RAM and the 4K resolution just like the Z5 Premium.
The Galaxy On7 looks like a good entry-level smartphone for casual users who are looking for a nice build and design, large display, LTE connectivity with dual-SIM, and above average battery life. It’s a hard sell though considering its asking price of Php8,990, given its limited RAM and internal storage.
Cherry Mobile’s strategy with the Flash is clear – offer a smartphone with high-end specs like 5.5-inch Full HD display, 16MP camera, Android Marshmallow, and LTE connectivity, then price it like an entry-level device. That’s a good strategy as it doesn’t have a lot of competitor in this price range.
At the end of the day, the phone is still a Samsung running Android and that’s not bad, it’s actually a great thing. Why? Android is still preferred by most users and you get an iPhone-like build (and inspiration) for a fraction of the price. The Samsung Galaxy C5 is being sold by Widget City for Php17,990 for the 32GB variant and Php19,990 for 64GB (see listing here).
Smartwatches nowadays are starting to become more and more appealing. Not only they pack wireless features and fitness monitoring, they also exude that premium look by sporting the classic design and feel of regular watches. The Moto 360 (2nd-gen) was able to incorporate all of that, making it more appealing to tech savvy users as well as those who have a strong affinity to elegant timepieces.
Though we did not get perfect results for all the games we tested, a bit of tweaking of the video settings, perhaps changing the graphic settings a little below the maximum, the GTX 1080 has proven it can provide enough juice for a well-maintained, average PC to give you a near high-end gaming experience.
The Alcatel IDOL 4S is definitely a step up from the successor in terms of design and performance. It now has a touch of premium build thanks to its glass and metal combination, vivid and detailed 2K display, speedy Marshmallow UI and decent battery life.
The Zenfone 3 (ZE552KL), packing a larger screen, bigger battery and RAM, and double the internal storage, is the beefier of the two. However, it also commands a higher price tag. If that is an issue, this is where the Zenfone 3 (ZE520KL) comes in. Although toned down, most notably in the RAM, storage, and battery departments, it is more affordable, making it accessible to budget-constrained consumers without sacrificing a lot.
The Gear Fit2 indeed provides its users a handful of information on a daily basis. From showing your heart rate during the most intense part of your exercise, logging your jogging route, how many flights of stairs you climbed, and even down to logging how many cups of water and coffee you’ve consumed for the day/week.
In a world of 8MP front shooters, there’s one that stands out with a 16MP sensor on the front and it’s called the OPPO F1 Plus. Coupled with a great metal build, a good operating system, a nice AMOLED display, an insanely fast fingerprint scanner, and well-performing cameras on both sides, the selfie-centric smartphone from the Chinese tech giant is poised to stand out among those who love to take photos.
There’s no doubt — the GTX 1080 itself delivers an astonishing gaming experience suitable for anyone especially for those who really wants their frame-rates cranking up to a hundred. The Zotac GTX 1080 Amp! Extreme is more than what the Founders GTX 1080 offers. Do we recommend this card? Yes.
We think that saying Mighty No. 9 is the spiritual successor to the Mega Man franchise is too much. By having that on the subconscious of die-hard fans of the game, it simply sets the standards too high and gamers, then, expect a lot. Add to that Keiji Inafune being involved just raised the expectations further which the company, in general, failed to deliver.
In need of great-sounding cans for cheaps? We heard you, and this Fast Five brings you to this year’s list of great-sounding in-ear cans that are priced under Php500.
We’ve started compiling audio lists last year, and we’ve seen more peripherals break the much-coveted sub-Php500 price to the point that they are in for a much-needed update. These may cost cheap, but we’re definitely sure that these are worth the purchase.
AKG Y10 (Php499, Egghead)
First up on our list is AKG’s most affordable in-ear monitor called the Y10. It touts that it can deliver high-output sound with excellent frequency response, rich and warm tones, and great bass. It’s solely for listening to media, as there’s no in-line microphone present. Still, we recommend this for people looking for good-sounding earphones at this price point.
Creative EP-600M (Php495, Octagon)
Creative also has a nice earphone priced at Php495. The EP-600M offers comfort with different earbud sizes, noise isolation, punchy bass, sonic boom through 10mm Neodymium drivers, and well-balanced audio playback with in-line microphone and one-button remote control. We’ve seen this one being sold at Octagon.
A4Tech AK-750 (Php380, PC Options)
A4Tech also has three new in-ear monitors released locally this year that are priced under Php500, but we’re only featuring one — the AK750 that touts great bass and superb sound quality coupled with an inline microphone and remote, all for Php380. We’ve seen this being sold at PC Options in Gilmore, as well as several shops at SM City North EDSA Annex (Check out that store carrying lots of A4Tech stuff beside CD-R King selling this for Php390!)
We may have featured Sennheisser earphones last year, but that doesn’t stop us from bringing yet another model, this time the MX 400 II. It’s said to pack a lot of complex and high- end, dynamic sound despite being really cheap at Php319.
You can also find a few pieces for sale at the Landmark Department Store in Trinoma, which carries the traditional two-year warranty as seen in its package.
Ekotek Ekobuds Lifetones (Php299, Ekotek)
Last on our list: Ekotek’s recently-released Ekobuds IEMs called the Lifetones that offer decent sound at Php299 a pair and is available in four different colors. It also has a switch for clearer music both on basic phones that don’t support inline microphones and smartphones. I bought one the other week, and it’s a good buy — it doesn’t feel cheap, the sound is decent with good bass lines, and it fits nicely on the ears.
That’s it for this year’s list of IEMs priced under Php500. We know there’s a lot of other great-sounding cans around (AWEI has some of the most well-balanced, bang-for-the-buck earphones today), and we’d love to see you share your recommendations with the comments section below.
In need of great-sounding cans for cheaps? We heard you, and this Fast Five brings you to this year’s list of great-sounding in-ear cans that are priced under Php500.
We’ve started compiling audio lists last year, and we’ve seen more peripherals break the much-coveted sub-Php500 price to the point that they are in for a much-needed update. These may cost cheap, but we’re definitely sure that these are worth the purchase.
AKG Y10 (Php499, Egghead)
First up on our list is AKG’s most affordable in-ear monitor called the Y10. It touts that it can deliver high-output sound with excellent frequency response, rich and warm tones, and great bass. It’s solely for listening to media, as there’s no in-line microphone present. Still, we recommend this for people looking for good-sounding earphones at this price point.
Creative EP-600M (Php495, Octagon)
Creative also has a nice earphone priced at Php495. The EP-600M offers comfort with different earbud sizes, noise isolation, punchy bass, sonic boom through 10mm Neodymium drivers, and well-balanced audio playback with in-line microphone and one-button remote control. We’ve seen this one being sold at Octagon.
A4Tech AK-750 (Php380, PC Options)
A4Tech also has three new in-ear monitors released locally this year that are priced under Php500, but we’re only featuring one — the AK750 that touts great bass and superb sound quality coupled with an inline microphone and remote, all for Php380. We’ve seen this being sold at PC Options in Gilmore, as well as several shops at SM City North EDSA Annex (Check out that store carrying lots of A4Tech stuff beside CD-R King selling this for Php390!)
We may have featured Sennheisser earphones last year, but that doesn’t stop us from bringing yet another model, this time the MX 400 II. It’s said to pack a lot of complex and high- end, dynamic sound despite being really cheap at Php319.
You can also find a few pieces for sale at the Landmark Department Store in Trinoma, which carries the traditional two-year warranty as seen in its package.
Ekotek Ekobuds Lifetones (Php299, Ekotek)
Last on our list: Ekotek’s recently-released Ekobuds IEMs called the Lifetones that offer decent sound at Php299 a pair and is available in four different colors. It also has a switch for clearer music both on basic phones that don’t support inline microphones and smartphones. I bought one the other week, and it’s a good buy — it doesn’t feel cheap, the sound is decent with good bass lines, and it fits nicely on the ears.
That’s it for this year’s list of IEMs priced under Php500. We know there’s a lot of other great-sounding cans around (AWEI has some of the most well-balanced, bang-for-the-buck earphones today), and we’d love to see you share your recommendations with the comments section below.
