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HP 8 announced, with free 25GB lifetime cloud storage

March 12, 2014March 12, 2014 Kevin Bruce Francisco Leave a comment

HP has officially announced an upgrade to its 7-inch tablet. The specs of the HP 8 (not to be confused with the Slate 8 Pro) isn’t all that special, but the purchase comes with a free cloud storage and a form factor that can rival the likes of Apple tablets.

HP 8 specs:

7.85-inch IPS LCD @ 1024 x 768 resolution, 163 ppi
Quad-core Allwinner processor
1GB RAM
16GB ROM, microSD up to 32GB
3,800mAh battery
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
Android 4.2.2
200.3 x 136.3 x 7.95mm
313g

To compensate for its sort of unimpressive specs, the company throws in 25GB of free lifetime cloud storage from Box. Looking at it, the design isn’t all that bad too — kind of resembling an iPad Mini. With an affordable price tag of $170 (approx. Php7,500), the HP 8 is a good starting tablet for those who just want to have a bigger space for media playback or reading e-books.

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Archos quad-core, 8-inch, 4G tablet priced at Php17,000

February 21, 2014February 21, 2014 Kevin Bruce Francisco Leave a comment

Archos has announced its first-ever 8-inch tablet with 4G LTE capabilities positioned at a more affordable price point. The Archos 80 Helium 4G also packs decent specs for its asking price.

First seen at CES 2014, the slate is about to have a £230 tag (approx. Php17,133) and is about to make its official debut at MWC 2014. It’s not everyday that we see an 8-incher tablet that gives its users fast LTE connections at this price range. This is why we’re almost certain that it would catch the attention of a lot of consumers.

Here’s what we know about the Archos 80 Helium 4G’s specs so far:

8-inch IPS HD display @ 1024 x 768 pixels
Cortex A7 1.2GHz quad-core processor
Adreno 305 GPU
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 64GB via microSD card
5MP rear camera, 2MP front
4G LTE
Android 4.3 Jellybean

Stay tuned as we give you more details during its launch.

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Huawei MediaPad 10 Link Review

February 1, 2014February 1, 2014 Daniel Morial Leave a comment

Released last September 2013, the Huawei MediaPad 10 Link wishes to be your all-around Android tablet for media consumption and light work with its 10-inch screen and quad-core CPU. So how does the tablet fair? Check out the review after the break.

Design and Construction

First thing you’ll notice about this tablet is its aluminum back plate. It feels pleasant to hold and it adds a premium feel. Though the tablet feels heavy, it’s reasonable enough for a 10-inch tablet. The upper portion of the back is polycarbonate to avoid radio interference.

The whole front is occupied by the VGA front-facing camera and the 10.1-inch IPS panel with a plastic rim. The left side of the device is composed of the micro-USB port and 3.5mm headset jack while the covered mini SIM card and microSD card slot is on top.

Going to right side reveals the the power/lock button and volume rocker. The bottom of the device is clean from any ports. The behind of the tablet houses the 3-megapixel camera and the rear-blasting stereo speakers.

The tablet is well-built but it doesn’t lure away from the conventional tablet designs we already have while the rear of the device is not that desirable in terms of appeal.

Display

The resolution of the device is 1280 × 800 pixels stretched to fit a 10.1-inch IPS LCD panel. It’s already 2013 and displays like these are disappointing in terms of sharpness. Fine text are relatively a pain to read but most webpages are readable.

In terms of color and saturation, the IPS panel is doing great. Viewing angles are wide with no visible color-shifting. We find the display to be okay, it’s just the screen resolution that takes away its greatness.

OS, UI and Apps

Huawei has modified the Android UI just like what they do with their smartphones. The fact that this is still running Android Jellybean 4.1.2 is disappointing. Even local tablets and smartphones are with Jellybean 4.2.2.

The tablet doesn’t seem to indicate if this is running Emotion UI but they look identical. Like iOS, there is no app drawer. The homescreen contains all your apps together with your widgets. Folders can also be created for organization. Another noticeable change is the keyboard. Instead of a dark-themed keyboard, you get a white Huawei keyboard for typing with dictionary input.

It also has some homebaked apps like a notepad, a voice recorder and a DLNA app for content sharing. There is also Riptide GP pre-installed for gaming out of the box. Dolby Mobile is also on-board for improved audio production.

Performance

In terms of performance, the MediaPad Link 10 performs well as a midrange tablet. Huawei’s own 1.2GHz quad-core CPU and the 16-core GPU can handle fluid UI navigation, regular tasks, and some casual gaming like the old but still capable Riptide GP. Intensive games like Dead Trigger 2 has a lot of skip frames when in high quality setting.

We also did our usual Benchmark tests and the scores are:
NenaMark 2 – 57.9 FPS
Quadrant – 4487
Antutu 4 - 14717
Vellamo – 1439 (HTML5); 409 (Metal)

Camera and Multimedia

With a 3MP fixed-focus rear camera and a VGA front-facing camera, you’ll probably use it only for video-chatting. Quality of the front-facing camera is bad due to the resolution while the rear camera was able to deliver some decent images for a tablet despite the low resolution.

Check out the sample photo:

Huawei MediaPad 10 Link sample photo

What is great about this tablet are the speakers. They’re loud and clear. The Dolby Mobile enhancements deliver. Though the speaker placement is at the back which could be better if it’s in front.

It can handle 1080p videos without hiccups and with the inclusion of a microSD card slot, the MediaPad 10 Link can be your movie buddy.

Connectivity and Battery

It comes with a mini SIM card slot for cellular connectivity. It can handle HSPA+ but unfortunately we were not able to achieve such high speeds. There is no support for cellular calls but there is the SMS feature. Lastly, the usual suspects are on board like WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 and GPS with aGPS support.

The tablet was able to last for more than 5 hours with our usual battery test which involves playing a video file on loop.

Conclusion

Overall, the Huawei MediaPad 10 Link with its aluminum back plate and superb speakers performed pretty well as a mid-range tablet. However, with a Php16,990 price tag, it will be a tough sell.

Huawei MediaPad 10 Link specifications:
10.1-inch IPS LCD display @ 1280×800 pixels
Huawei K3V2 ARM Cortex-A9 1.2GHz quad-core processor
HiSilicon Immersion 16-core Graphics
1GB RAM
16GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
DC-HSPA+ 42Mbps DL / 5.76Mbps UL
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 3.0
Dolby Digital+ Surround Sound
GPS with aGPS support
3MP rear camera
VGA front-facing camera
Li-Po 6600mAh battery
Android 4.1 Jellybean
257.4 × 175.9 × 9.9mm (dimensions)
620 grams (weight)

What we liked about it:
- Decent screen quality
- Amazing speakers
- Aluminum back plate

What we don’t like:
- Low pixel density
- Low camera resolution
- Hefty

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Did you get a smartphone, tablet as gift? Some tips on how to set it up

December 23, 2012December 23, 2012 Max Limpag Leave a comment

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HAVE you been particularly nice or especially naughty this year and got a smartphone or tablet as Christmas gift? Lucky you; you’re in for hours of fun setting up your device tonight.

Here are some tips on setting up your smartphone or tablet.

The first thing you should do after unboxing your device is to keep track of all components and accessories and figure out which goes where. Copy serial numbers and other important device information and set aside such things as the warranty card and the card that comes with your SIM (which contains the PIN unblocking code.)

You should also take time to read the manual. (A confession: I don’t. I only consult the manual when I inevitably bump into problems.)

TOPPING WISH LISTS. According to a survey by Nielsen, 48 percent of American children aged 6 to 12 want an iPad for Christmas. (Apple press center photo)

Data access

The next thing you should do is learn how to turn off mobile Internet access. There are enough horror stories to fill five manuals about people having to pay thousands of pesos because they unwittingly left on their mobile Internet connectivity.

In iPhones, it’s at Settings > General > Cellular then choose “OFF” in Cellular Data. In Android devices you can find it in Settings then Mobile Network. In many Android devices you can just swipe down the home screen to get access to settings that include turning off mobile Internet access. You could also install widgets that will allow you to turn off such things as mobile Internet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Sound on the home screen.

If you’re setting up an iPhone or iPad, you should immediately sign up for an iTunes account so that you can add apps to your device. Connect your email account to your device so that you can start using it for your messages. You should also enable iMessage to take advantage of Apple’s messaging system.

If you’re setting up an Android device, you need to have a Gmail account to take full advantage of its capabilities. Beyond e-mail, the account handles your contacts database (via Google Contacts) and calendar items.

Security

Another important setting that you should take time to set up is security. You should enable lock screen security so that people can’t access your device. In iPhones, you can require a numeric password in Settings > General > Password Lock.

Android users have the option of setting up a numeric password or a pattern lock by going to Settings > Security.

Another important thing you should set up is to enable tracking of your device in case it gets stolen. Users of Apple devices can set up Find My iPhone to track lost iPhones, iPads and even Macs. An acquaintance was able to trace her iPad to a house in Barangay Camputhaw when it was stolen earlier this year. Police, however, were still not able to recover it despite the information.

For Android users, a great security app to use is Lookout Mobile Security. The app protects your Android device from viruses and malware and helps you keep track of it in case it gets lost or stolen. The system also has a feature that will report its last known location when it detects that the unit is about to run out of battery.

Unlike iPhone, Android users have the added capability of replacing several phone components like SMS messaging and even customizing its launcher. Users of Android phones with adequate resources (those with dual core devices) can replace their launcher with Go Launcher EX, which looks good and offers added functionality but requires resources. It is part of a suite of great Android apps by the highly-regard Go development team that includes Go SMS, which you should install to replace your stock messaging app. Those with slower processors can use Zeam, a light weight Android launcher that’s really responsive even on entry-level devices.

Great apps

A smartphone is a great productivity tool. It is the Swiss Army knife of modern living. A smartphone isn’t just a device for calling, it’s a portable office, communications system, GPS device, camera, voice recorder, social networking tool, mobile reporting tool, health monitoring system, among a myriad other things.

If there’s a task to be done, there usually is an app for that.

Some of the great apps that I and people I know use include: Any.DO for task management; Flipboard, Pulse, Zite, Prismatic and Google Currents for news reading; Pocket (formerly Read It Later); Smartr Contacts to populate your contacts with social networking data; Evernote for managing notes; Google Chrome to replace your stock browser and share browsing data across different devices; Dropbox and Google Drive for online storage; and Stitcher Radio to listen to podcasts.