April is finally here folks, it’s the perfect month to hit the beach and enjoy your summer vacation. But before you do that let’s have a recap of all the gadgets we’ve reviewed last month. This includes the Starmobile Diamond X1 and the Cherry Mobile Cosmos Z2. Read our Gadget Reviews Roundup for the month of March below.
DECK by SOL REPUBLIC and Motorola
DECK by SOL REPUBLIC and Motorola is truly a feature-packed speaker, no doubt about that. Some of the features, like the increased Bluetooth range and speakerphone are nice to have, but I’ve proven that they don’t work as flawless and as important — at least for me. Having two of these at home just so you can use its daisy-chain function isn’t totally wise, in my honest opinion.
For the price of Php3,999, the Cherry Mobile Sonic 2.0 is a hard buy. I may have just been spoiled by other mobile displays, but I really had a hard time looking at the display during this review. The design felt uninspiring and the fast heating of the device caught my attention in a bad way. However, for the performance that it delivers along with the software and this price, it’s good. If those aren’t the only things that you’re looking for, then may we suggest saving up more.
The t-JAYS One delivers what is expected of it – great bass performance. However, since it has put most of its weight at the lower end of the spectrum the Highs may sometimes feel that it could use a little more punch. But if you’re a bass lover with a playlist dominated by Hip hop and Party music, the t-JAYS One certainly won’t disappoint.
With its relatively affordable price, yet impressive hardware, this may indeed be the best locally-branded phablet. But the X1 is not for everyone. The display size may be too big for some; but for those who love 6-inchers and bigger yet are afraid of spending too much, this phablet is perfect. Well, almost perfect.
By and large, the Cherry Mobile Cosmos Z2 is a pretty respectable handset despite some of the shortcomings we pointed out in this review. It’s got most of the things you’d typically look for in a high-end smartphone, but it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to own one.
There’s no denial that Vaio Pro is Sony’s best ultrabook yet with its sexy design, very light weight and great performance. However, that comes with a hefty price as well. With a price tag of Php79,999, it’s one of the most expensive ultrabooks in the market today.
The Z1 Compact has all the goodies packed in one small package. It certainly has its target market — those who yearn for a powerful handset in a not-so-huge form factor. However, this phone is not for everyone. Its size may be too small for some. We know a few people who had difficulty using the phone, probably because they were now used to 5 – 6 inch phablets.
For the price of Php1,799, I’d buy one mainly because I no longer want to stay with earphones that tangle like a puzzle, wear off easily through time and produce mediocre music. It’s not perfect as the cost can’t justify it for everyone and it has the stethoscope effect, but it’s just one of those days when I can correctly say “once you go black, you can never go back.”
The Me Mobile Fuel 5 is a really good offering coming from a new locally-based mobile brand. It’s got a good design, build, and display, and is capable of producing thumbs-up performance for its class. In addition, it has a good dose of internal storage at 8GB, whereas its competitors would normally have 4GB. On the downside, it is marred with a relatively old Jellybean OS and poor battery life. On the bright side, the Fuel 5 wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg at Php8,995.
Despite of the minor missteps we pointed out earlier, like the lack of built-in flash and its uninspiring design, we think that the ASUS FonePad Note FHD 6 is still a good buy at Php19,990. Its gorgeous 6-inch, 1080p display panel alone is worth more than half of the price of admission, not to mention it has other great features on the side like respectable battery life, a pair of front-mounted speakers and a Wacom Digitizer that should make it easier to forgive some of its shortcomings.
The Iconia W4 is the first low-cost Windows 8 tablet we’ve seen that’s positioned as an ideal netbook replacement. It’s portable yet powerful enough to do basic to moderate workload; comes with Windows 8.1 and MS Office Home/Student for free; bundled with a decent keyboard and case stand; and great battery life — all under a price tag that’s very competitive.
The Me Mobile Phab 7 is a nice tablet hybrid that comes with a solid body, responsive UI, and dual-SIM capabilities. Although light in specs, it can handle basic tasks and light gaming quite well. The downsides though are the short battery life, low-resolution camera, and its tendency to heat up when playing videos. On the bright side, it only costs, Php4,995.
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