Category: Windows 10

Microsoft Lumia 550 Hands-on, First Impressions

Daniel Morial

Announced back in October last year, the cheapest of current Lumia devices arrived in the local market about 3 months ago. The Microsoft Lumia 550 is aimed to give budget consumers a Windows 10 Mobile option. With its very modest specifications, can the Lumia 550 steal some spotlight in its range of smartphones? Here’s our initial impression of it.

lumia-550-philippines-review-6

To begin with, the Lumia 550 is one of the latest Windows 10-equipped smartphones from Microsoft themselves. It sits below the Lumia 950 XL, 950, and 650, and also the successor to the Lumia 540.

lumia-550-philippines-review-4

In terms of design, there’s not much going on with the 550. On the hand, it feels like Microsoft did sacrifice in the choice of materials. The black color option we have has a matte cardboard-like texture on its back panel which attracts grease easily (as you can observe from the product shots). We feel like they should have opted for soft-touch polycarbonate just like what they have before. It’s also angular, so gripping it doesn’t exactly feel ergonomic.

lumia-550-philippines-review-5

Good thing the 4.7″ IPS LCD panel is of great quality. It has a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels or at 315ppi of pixel density. It’s sharp and has a good contrast to it. It’s no AMOLED but the black level seems to be good and does compliment the dark theme of the UI well. It’s surrounded by a good amount of bezel that hides the front-facing camera and a couple of sensors.

lumia-550-philippines-review-8

The power button and volume rocker are located on the usual right side of the device leaving the left completely bare. The top has the 3.5mm headphone jack while the microUSB port is located at the bottom end.

lumia-550-philippines-review-14

Continuing with the tradition of low-tier Lumia devices, we have a removable shell that gives access to the replaceable battery and the card slots at the back. Since it’s already 2016, Microsoft now requires you to put in a nano-SIM card. For those who are asking, there’s no dual-SIM variant of the 550.

lumia-550-philippines-review-12

What’s powering this candy bar phone is the inferior Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 with four Cortex-A7 cores clocked at 1.1GHz each. Graphics is then handled by an Adreno 304 while the memory is quite low for today’s demands at just 1GB. Storage-wise, you get 8GB with a dedicated microSD card slot for expansion. Initial usage performance is smooth but it is slow in loading apps and switching tasks. The familiar Windows Phone fluidity is not present here, sadly.

lumia-550-philippines-review-13

Imaging is handled by a 5-megapixel rear shooter with LED flash and a 2-megapixel selfie camera. We took some few shots in our humble studio and from previewing it on the device, it gets the job done. Here’s a couple of full-size samples:

Indoor selfie with plenty of light Indoor shot with room lighting

Lastly, before we conclude this first impression, we noticed that the included charger has an underwhelming 5V 500mAh output. Charging the 2100mAh could take some time when used with it, if you have a more powerful charger lying around, you’re better off using that.

lumia-550-philippines-review-16

The Microsoft Lumia 550 does give an account that it’s the cheapest among the new Lumias but with a Php 6,490 price tag, it will be quite a hard sell for some who not keen using Windows 10 Mobile as their daily driver. We’ll take the Lumia 550 for a spin, so watch out for the full review. If you have any particular concern you wish to know about the device, hit the comments below and we’ll try to answer it in our review.

The post Microsoft Lumia 550 Hands-on, First Impressions appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines News & Tech Reviews.

Microsoft Lumia 550 Hands-on, First Impressions

Daniel Morial

Announced back in October last year, the cheapest of current Lumia devices arrived in the local market about 3 months ago. The Microsoft Lumia 550 is aimed to give budget consumers a Windows 10 Mobile option. With its very modest specifications, can the Lumia 550 steal some spotlight in its range of smartphones? Here’s our initial impression of it.

lumia-550-philippines-review-6

To begin with, the Lumia 550 is one of the latest Windows 10-equipped smartphones from Microsoft themselves. It sits below the Lumia 950 XL, 950, and 650, and also the successor to the Lumia 540.

lumia-550-philippines-review-4

In terms of design, there’s not much going on with the 550. On the hand, it feels like Microsoft did sacrifice in the choice of materials. The black color option we have has a matte cardboard-like texture on its back panel which attracts grease easily (as you can observe from the product shots). We feel like they should have opted for soft-touch polycarbonate just like what they have before. It’s also angular, so gripping it doesn’t exactly feel ergonomic.

lumia-550-philippines-review-5

Good thing the 4.7″ IPS LCD panel is of great quality. It has a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels or at 315ppi of pixel density. It’s sharp and has a good contrast to it. It’s no AMOLED but the black level seems to be good and does compliment the dark theme of the UI well. It’s surrounded by a good amount of bezel that hides the front-facing camera and a couple of sensors.

lumia-550-philippines-review-8

The power button and volume rocker are located on the usual right side of the device leaving the left completely bare. The top has the 3.5mm headphone jack while the microUSB port is located at the bottom end.

lumia-550-philippines-review-14

Continuing with the tradition of low-tier Lumia devices, we have a removable shell that gives access to the replaceable battery and the card slots at the back. Since it’s already 2016, Microsoft now requires you to put in a nano-SIM card. For those who are asking, there’s no dual-SIM variant of the 550.

lumia-550-philippines-review-12

What’s powering this candy bar phone is the inferior Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 with four Cortex-A7 cores clocked at 1.1GHz each. Graphics is then handled by an Adreno 304 while the memory is quite low for today’s demands at just 1GB. Storage-wise, you get 8GB with a dedicated microSD card slot for expansion. Initial usage performance is smooth but it is slow in loading apps and switching tasks. The familiar Windows Phone fluidity is not present here, sadly.

lumia-550-philippines-review-13

Imaging is handled by a 5-megapixel rear shooter with LED flash and a 2-megapixel selfie camera. We took some few shots in our humble studio and from previewing it on the device, it gets the job done. Here’s a couple of full-size samples:

Indoor selfie with plenty of light Indoor shot with room lighting

Lastly, before we conclude this first impression, we noticed that the included charger has an underwhelming 5V 500mAh output. Charging the 2100mAh could take some time when used with it, if you have a more powerful charger lying around, you’re better off using that.

lumia-550-philippines-review-16

The Microsoft Lumia 550 does give an account that it’s the cheapest among the new Lumias but with a Php 6,490 price tag, it will be quite a hard sell for some who not keen using Windows 10 Mobile as their daily driver. We’ll take the Lumia 550 for a spin, so watch out for the full review. If you have any particular concern you wish to know about the device, hit the comments below and we’ll try to answer it in our review.

The post Microsoft Lumia 550 Hands-on, First Impressions appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines News & Tech Reviews.

Smartphones Under 5 Inches You Can Buy Now

Daniel Morial

Mobile phones are getting bigger and bigger. It does have an advantage to have a phone with, let’s say 5″ display and above, but having a smaller phone is also a preference for some. That’s why Apple released a refreshed iPhone 5S with an 6S internals called the iPhone SE. How about the others? Here’s a list of smartphones with displays not bigger than 5 inches that you can buy in the local market.

Note: We omitted handsets from local manufacturers since they have a wide range of small devices.

Apple iPhone 6

Apple is a bit hesitant before to increase their screen size but they finally did back in 2014 with the iPhone 6. While it’s not the latest iPhone around, it’s still a capable and relevant handset with all the Apple goodies. It’s officially SRP is still steep starting at Php 31,990.

iphone-6

Apple iPhone 6 specs:
4.7-inch IPS LCD @ 750×1334 pixels, 326ppi
Apple A8 1.4GHz dual-core Cyclone processor
PowerVR GX6450 quad-core GPU
1GB RAM
16GB, 64GB, 128GB internal storage
HPSA+/LTE 150Mbps
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
Bluetooth 4.0 LE
NFC, Apple Pay
8MP rear camera, dual-tone LED flash
1080p@60fps, 720p@240fps
1.2MP front facing camera
Fingerprint sensor
iOS 9
Li-Po 1810mAh battery
129 grams
138.1 x 67 x 6.9 mm

Apple iPhone 6s

Still one of the latest iPhone around, the iPhone 6s is virtually identical to its predecessor but with better internals and beefier power. You get the best iPhone hardware available without having the need to submit to larger screen sizes. It’s priced starting at Php 37,990.

Apple iPhone 6s specs:
4.7-inch IPS LCD @ 1334 x 750 pixels, 326ppi
Force Touch
Apple A9 64-bit processor
Embedded M9 motion coprocessor
2GB RAM
16GB, 64GB, 128GB internal storage
12MP iSight BSI camera w/ dual-tone flash
4K video recording at 30fps, Slo-mo video – 1080p, 120fps / 720p, 240fps
5MP BSI front camera w/ Retina Flash
LTE Advanced
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, MIMO
Bluetooth 4.2
VoLTE
NFC
2nd-gen Touch ID
iOS 9
1715mAh Li-Po battery

Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016)

Samsung’s A series brings the sophistication of the S series flagship to a lower price tag. It has a 4.7-inch Super AMOLED display, quad-core Exynos 7578 processor, and 1.5GB of RAM plus all the up-to-date wireless connectivity intact. The camera is in check thanks to the main 13-megapixel sensor with f/1.9 aperture lens and a 5-megapixel selfie cam. It’s on sale with an SRP of Php 19,990.

galaxy a3 2016_1

Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016) specs:
4.7-inch HD (1280×720) Super AMOLED display
1.5GHz quad-core Exynos 7578 processor
1.5GB RAM
16GB internal storage
Up to 128GB via microSD
13MP rear camera, f/1.9 aperture, LED flash
5MP front camera
Dual-SIM option
LTE Cat.6
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.1
ANT+
USB 2.0
NFC
Android 5.1 Lollipop
2,300mAh battery
134.5 x 65.2 x 7.3mm
132g

Xperia Z5 Compact

For those who want power in a small package, Sony Xperia Z5 Compact is for you. While the 4.6″ HD display and 2GB RAM are pretty low by today’s standards, the rest of the specifications are at par with flagships like Snapdragon 810 processor, a 23-megapixel camera, a full suite of connectivity features, and waterproofing to top it all. It’s officially priced at Php 29,990.

SonyXperiaZ5Compact2

You can our review of the Z5 Compact here.

Sony Xperia Z5 Compact specs:
4.6-inch IPS LCD @ 720×1280 pixels, 323ppi
Qualcomm MSM8994 Snapdragon 810
ARM Cortex A53 1.5GHz quad-core, ARM Cortex A57 2.0GHz quad-core
Adreno 430 Graphics
2GB LPDDR4 RAM
32GB internal storage
Up to 200GB via microSD
23MP rear camera, autofocus, LED flash
5.1MP front-facing camera
LTE Cat. 6
Single SIM, Dual-SIM
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, DLNA
NFC
Bluetooth 4.1, A2DP, apt-X
ANT+ support
GPS with aGPS, GLONASS/Beidou
IP68 certified
Fingerprint Sensor
FM Radio Tuner, RDS
microUSB v2.0 (MHL 3 TV-out)
2,700mAh Li-Ion battery
Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
127 x 65 x 8.9mm
138 grams

Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)

Motorola’s local presence is still alive and they bought the budget Moto E (2nd Gen) to much cheaper tag. As of writing, the device is currently listed on Lazada PH for just Php 3,999. The handset’s quality build, decent internals, and great software support are already pretty good selling points for those looking for an affordable option with a trusted brand labeled to it.

moto e 2015_2

You can read our review of the Moto E (2nd Gen) here.

Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen) specifications:
4.5-inch IPS LCD display @ 540 x 960 pixels
1.2GHz Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor
Adreno 306 GPU
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage, up to 32GB via microSD
5-megapixel rear camera, 720p @ 30fps
VGA front-facing camera
Dual-SIM, Dual-standby
4G LTE
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS, A-GPS
Android Lollipop
2,390mAh Li-Ion battery
129.9 x 66.8 x 12.3 mm
145g

Acer Liquid Z330

Acer’s own Liquid Z330 has a 4.5″ display and is powered by a 1.0GHz Snapdragon 210 processor with 1GB of RAM. It has Android 5.0 Lollipop onboard that’s sprinkled with Acer’s own customization. Cameras are 5-megapixel shooters, both in front and back. It also has LTE and an ample 2000mAh battery. All for the price of Php 3,990.

acer-z330

Acer Liquid Z330 specs:
4.5 FWVGA display @ 854×480 px, 218ppi
1GHz Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8909
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
expandable via microSD
5MP AF rear camera w/ LED Flash
5MP FF front camera
Dual-SIM, Dual Standby
WiFi
Bluetooth
LTE
2000mAh battery
Android 5.0 Lollipop

Lenovo A2010

With Lenovo A2010, you’ll get a 4.5-inch display, a quad-core MediaTek processor, 1GB of RAM, and expandable 8GB storage. There’s LTE as well and it’s running Android 5.1 Lollipop. You can grab one for Php 3,990.

lenovo a2010_1

Lenovo A2010 specs:
4.5-inch 480 x 854 display, 218ppi
1GHz MediaTek MT6735M quad-core CPU
Mali-T720 GPU
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
5M rear camera w/ LED flash
2MP front camera
Dual-SIM (micro)
4G LTE, 3G
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS, A-GPS
2,000mAh battery
Android 5.0 Lollipop
131.5 x 66.5 x 9.9 mm
137 g
Black, Pearl White

Samsung Galaxy J1 (2016)

Of course, Samsung has some budget offerings for the consumer market starting with the Galaxy J1 (2016). It’s a pocket-friendly smartphone thanks to its 4.5″ display plus it’s an AMOLED panel, ensuring you’ll get a good viewing experience. The internals are nothing to write home about with a quad-core 1.3GHz Exynos 3475 processor, 1GB RAM, and 8GB of expandable storage. The phone has an SRP of Php 5,490.

samsung galaxy j1 2016_1

Samsung Galaxy J1 (2016) specs:
4.5-inch Super AMOLED (480 x 800) display, 245ppi
1.3GHz Exynos 3475 quad-core CPU
Mali-T720 GPU
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 128GB via microSD
5MP AF rear camera w/ LED flash
2MP front camera
Dual-SIM
3G HSPA+
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS, A-GPS
FM Radio
2,050mAh battery
Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
Black, Gold, White

Samsung Galaxy J1 mini

The Galaxy J1 (2016) has smaller brother dubbed as the J1 mini. Everything about the phone is shrunken aside from the design. It has a 4-inch TFT display, 1.2GHz quad-core processor, less than 1GB of RAM, and a 5-megapixel rear camera. You can say that everything is basic about the handset. Samsung is selling this for Php 3,990.

galaxy-j1-mini-body

Samsung Galaxy J1 mini (2016) specifications:
4-inch TFT LCD (480 x 800 pixels), 233ppi
1.2GHz Spreadtrum SC8830 quad-core chipset
Mali-400MP2
756MB RAM
8GB internal storage
Expandable via microSD (uses SIM 2), up to 128GB
5-megapixel rear camera w/ LED flash
VGA front-facing camera
Dual SIM / Dual Standby
3G HSPA+
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS w/ A-GPS
Removable Li-Ion battery
Android 5.1 Lollipop

Samsung Galaxy J2

A slightly bigger sibling of the J1 is the Samsung Galaxy J2. It’s got a 4.7-inch AMOLED display with a 1.3GHz Exynos 3475 quad-core CPU and 1GB of RAM. Storage is expandable via microSD starting at 8GB internally. You can spot one in retail stores for Php 6,999.

samsung-galaxy-j2-white

Samsung Galaxy J2 specifications:
4.7-inch qHD (960 x 540) Super AMOLED display, 234ppi
1.3GHz Exynos 3475 quad-core CPU
Mali-T720
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage, up to 128GB via microSD
5MP AF rear camera w/ LED flash
2MP front camera
Dual-SIM (micro)
4G LTE, 3G HSPA+
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.1
GPS, A-GPS
FM Radio
2,000mAh battery
Android 5.1 Lollipop
136.5 x 69 x 8.4 mm

Microsoft Lumia 550

There are also Windows 10 options for tested and loyal Microsoft users. The Lumia 550 is the cheapest from the line-up and it’s also appropriately sized at just 4.7-inches. Its specifications won’t impress everybody but we know that Windows 10 doesn’t need much power to run well on a mobile device. It’s being sold with an SRP of Php 6,490.

lumia-550-render-leak

Microsoft Lumia 550 specs:
4.7-inch IPS LCD display (1280 x 720 pixels), 315ppi
1.1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 quad-core CPU
Adreno 304 GPU
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 200GB via microSD
5MP rear camera w/ LED flash
2MP front camera
4G LTE, 3G HSPA+
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.1, A2DP
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
FM Radio
2,100mAh battery
Windows 10
136.1 x 67.8 x 9.9 mm
142g

Acer Liquid M330

Another compact and budget Windows 10 Mobile handset is the Acer Liquid M330. Basically, it’s a Windows 10 version of the Z330 from the same manufacturer. Everything is identical from the 4.5″ display, Snapdragon 210 quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, and two 5-megapixel shooters. It’s on sale for just Php 4,490.

acer_m330

Acer Liquid M330 specs:
4.5 FWVGA display @ 854×480 px, 218ppi
1GHz Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8909
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
expandable via microSD
5MP AF rear camera w/ LED Flash
5MP FF front camera
Dual-SIM, Dual Standby
WiFi
Bluetooth
LTE
2000mAh battery
Windows 10 Mobile

Those are the devices we were able to find around. If you have some handset to add, feel free to comment below.

The post Smartphones Under 5 Inches You Can Buy Now appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines News & Tech Reviews.

ASUS officially launched ROG GX700, 20 units only available in PH

Daniel Morial

ASUS has formally launched their beastly ROG GX700 gaming notebook. The said notebook is the current top of the line ROG computer from the Taiwanese PC manufacturer and the world’s first liquid-cooled laptop

asus rog gx700_22

The ROG GX700 is set to hit the Philippine shores with 20 limited edition units only. That being said, the few individuals to get their GX700 will be called as the Legendary 20 and will receive the following: ROG Sica Gaming Mouse, ROG Command Case, Personalized Legendary 20 Luggage Tag, and a Legendary 20 Jacket. Aside from these, they are also entitled to perks and privileges like VIP-access to ROG-related events in PH and exclusive Legendary 20 activities.

ROG GX700 Legendary 20

The ROG GX700 is available through the following computer stores:

  • Villman (SM North EDSA, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia)
  • PC Corner (Gilmore)
  • PC Express (SM Megamall, Gilmore)
  • Complink (SM North EDSA, Glorietta 2)

ASUS ROG GX700VO specs:
17.3-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) Anti-Glare display
2.7GHz Intel Core i7-6820HK Processor
NVIDIA GeForce GTX980 GDDR5 (8GB) GPU
32GB DDR4 2800MHz RAM
512GB NVMe PCIe SSD RAID0 (2x256GB)
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Microphone-in jack
Headphone-out jack
USB 3.1 TYPE C port
3x USB 3.0 ports
RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert
HDMI
mini Display Port
Thunderbolt port
SD card reader
AC adapter plug
2-in-1 card reader ( SD/ MMC)
HD Web Camera
ASUS Sonic Studio
93 Whrs battery
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Laptop: 429 x 309 x 33 ~35 cm, 3.6 kg
Dock: 417 x 368 x 114 cm, 4.8 kg

The monster liquid-cooled gaming laptop has a price tag of Php249,995 with stocks coming in this month. If you’re interested to know more about it, head over to our review here.

 

The post ASUS officially launched ROG GX700, 20 units only available in PH appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines News & Tech Reviews.

ASUS officially launched ROG GX700, 20 units only available in PH

Daniel Morial

ASUS has formally launched their beastly ROG GX700 gaming notebook. The said notebook is the current top of the line ROG computer from the Taiwanese PC manufacturer and the world’s first liquid-cooled laptop

asus rog gx700_22

The ROG GX700 is set to hit the Philippine shores with 20 limited edition units only. That being said, the few individuals to get their GX700 will be called as the Legendary 20 and will receive the following: ROG Sica Gaming Mouse, ROG Command Case, Personalized Legendary 20 Luggage Tag, and a Legendary 20 Jacket. Aside from these, they are also entitled to perks and privileges like VIP-access to ROG-related events in PH and exclusive Legendary 20 activities.

ROG GX700 Legendary 20

The ROG GX700 is available through the following computer stores:

  • Villman (SM North EDSA, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia)
  • PC Corner (Gilmore)
  • PC Express (SM Megamall, Gilmore)
  • Complink (SM North EDSA, Glorietta 2)

ASUS ROG GX700VO specs:
17.3-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) Anti-Glare display
2.7GHz Intel Core i7-6820HK Processor
NVIDIA GeForce GTX980 GDDR5 (8GB) GPU
32GB DDR4 2800MHz RAM
512GB NVMe PCIe SSD RAID0 (2x256GB)
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Microphone-in jack
Headphone-out jack
USB 3.1 TYPE C port
3x USB 3.0 ports
RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert
HDMI
mini Display Port
Thunderbolt port
SD card reader
AC adapter plug
2-in-1 card reader ( SD/ MMC)
HD Web Camera
ASUS Sonic Studio
93 Whrs battery
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Laptop: 429 x 309 x 33 ~35 cm, 3.6 kg
Dock: 417 x 368 x 114 cm, 4.8 kg

The monster liquid-cooled gaming laptop has a price tag of Php249,995 with stocks coming in this month. If you’re interested to know more about it, head over to our review here.

 

The post ASUS officially launched ROG GX700, 20 units only available in PH appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines News & Tech Reviews.