#TBT: Mobile phones: Then and Now

If you grew up in the 80′s or 90′s, you’d definitely see the huge difference and improvements in the mobile industry. For our Throwback Thursday this week, we look at one of the most popular handset of of the 21st century and compare it with the handset of the 20th century.

We’re sure you still remember the Nokia 5110. It was one of the best phones of the 90′s. We compare it to the Apple iPhone to see what we’ve gained and what we’re missing.

Sometimes, technology doesn’t really improve things — they just make them more complicated.

Source: Yugatech

Jony Ive co-designs rare Leica M for Project RED

In an effort to continue his global crusade to fight HIV-AIDS, Product Red founder and U2 lead singer Bono taps Apple’s SVP of Design Jony Ive and world-renown industrial designer Marc Newson to design a one-of-a-kind Leica M (RED) camera which will be auctioned on the 23rd of this month.

This is what they came up with:

Not to take anything away from the two brilliant minds that designed this Leica M, but I think that it looks like a toy camera rather than a serious photographic tool. But knowing that all the proceeds that it’ll generate will go to a noble cause, I can care less about its looks. And besides, it’s not like I’m gonna bid for it anyways.

Source: Yugatech

ASUS MeMO Pad HD 7 Review

ASUS set really good standards on what a 7-inch Android tablet should be with theGoogle Nexus 7. Now that they have to launch their own 7-incher under the Nexus shadow, they needed something that can shine in its own right without getting burned by its pure-blooded cousin. The company’s answer is the ASUS MeMO Pad HD 7.

Design and Construction

At first glance, the HD 7 looks similar to the 2012 Google Nexus 7 especially if you look on the front. The dimensions are almost the same and if it weren’t for the ASUS logo found below the display it could almost pass as a Nexus 7.

Sony details Xperia mobile accessories, throws in discounts for Xperia buyers

Aside from selling Android-powered Xperia smartphones, Sony has also been pretty active in the mobile accessory space. We sat down with Mr. Patrick Larraga, Head of Mobile Business for Sony Philippines and other Sony execs earlier today to talk about a few of their mobile Xperia accessories, namely the Sony SmartTags, SmartWatch and the Smart Wireless Headset Pro. 

The Sony SmartWatch isn’t particularly new, but it’s still a pretty cool gadget to have nonetheless. It’s basically a small display that you pair with your Android device that allows you to monitor and control your device. You can remotely check your email, SMS messages, missed calls and even use the watch as a remote viewfinder for your Android device if you’re into that kind of thing.

The Sony Smart Wireless Headset Pro does exactly what it says – it links with your smartphone and allows you to listen to the music on your smartphone wirelessly. Don’t want to link it to your Android device? No problem – it’ll work as a stand-alone music player without any issues. You can also read text messages on the small LCD display, and gives you access to the people in your call list without taking out your phone.

Meet the Sony Xperia miro

Still here at the Sony event, and we have another treat for you—a peek at the Sony Xperia miro!

The miro runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and has 4GB RAM and 2.2GB ROM that’s expendable via microSD. It wields a 3.5-inch display with a 320 x 480 resolution, and has both front and rear cameras. The front camera hosts a 5-megapixel sensor.

It’s packed with xLOUD audio technology and the Walkman app for your music listening pleasure, plus Facebook inside Xperia that gives you instant access to Facebook without having to constantly login.

The Xperia miro will cost PHP 9,990 when it hits the market, which is expected to happen within the year.

Sony Xperia V in the flesh, we got pics!

Remember Sony’s Xperia V that was announced back in IFA? Well, y’all be glad to know that it has managed to find its way to our shores. Sony didn’t officially launch it per se, but hey, if it’s here, it’s here, right? As expected, Sony’s soon to become mid-end device feels exquisite to the touch, and is extremely responsive, thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Krait dual-core processor embedded in the device.

Sony’s rep told me that the new processor is roughly equivalent to other quad-core processors out in the market *cough*Tegra 3*cough* without the usual hit in battery life that these processors bring. The 4.3-inch display is hella sharp, and like we mentioned before, is extremely responsive. As for price and availability..well, we hope you’re sitting down. Sony says that this device will be available early next year, which means that if you really, really want it, you’ll have to exercise some of that EQ and hold off buying anything this Christmas.

HTC’s phablet is the J Butterfly, first ever 5-inch smartphone with 1080p resolution

Rumors of HTC’s own oversized smartphone (oft categorized as phablet) has been swirling ’round the net for a couple of months now, but it looks like the Taiwanese company has officially outed their own phablet offering in the form of the HTC J Butterfly that’s destined for the Japanese market. This particular smartphone holds the title of the first ever 5-inch smartphone with a 1080p capable display, which is achieved using a Super LCD 3 panel made by Sharp. That’s right folks – you’re getting a pixel density of 440ppi, which is the highest we’ve ever seen on a device of this size. There’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro, quad-core processor under the hood of the J Butterfly running at 1.5GHz, which is paired with 2GB of RAM. Connectivity-wise, you’re looking at 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 (LE), NFC, LTE and CDMA/GSM/UMTS/GPRS, which means that this is a truly global device that should work wherever it goes. Oh, did we mention that it’s also water resistant, and has a rating of IPX5. Naturally, everything will be powered by Android 4.1. Now all we need is the price and availability – one thing is for sure, we’re salivating at the opportunity to paw this thing.

Samsung Galaxy Camera officially in the Philippines, will retail for Php 23,990

We’re at the Galaxy Note II launch tonight, and along with the large, 5.5-inch smartphone, Samsung Philippines has decided to launch the Galaxy Camera. We’re not going to bore you with the specs (especially since we’ve already detailed it right here).

We all know you guys are looking for the price of the device. Well, here it is: the Galaxy Camera will officially retail for Php 23,990, which is pretty awesome if you ask us. For that price, you’re getting a quad-core equipped Android camera and almost a smartphone (remember this thing has 3G and WiFi radios), along with a 16-megapixel 1/2.3-inch BSI (back-illuminated sensor) CMOS. How’s that for awesome?

Asus PadFone 2 leaked ahead of launch, larger 4.7-inch display, thinner tablet dock

It’s still a few days away from the Oct. 15 reveal date that Asus mandated for the PadFone 2, but it seems the device has already been leaked to the public. Bloomberg TV has had the opportunity to take an early look at the device in a YouTube video, and it seems that the screen size of the new smartphone has been increased to 4.7-inches, no doubt to combat other, similarly sized devices. On the back is a 13-megapixel camera, which looks to be an excellent shooter, based on the sample pictures on the video. If videos aren’t enough, a Twitter user by the name of @evleaks have shown promotional shots of the device as well, which reveals an overall thinner tablet dock compared to the original.

Source: gadgetsmagazine

Samsung Galaxy III Mini official, dual-core 1GHz NovaThor U8420 processor, 4-inch display, 5-megapixel camera, Android 4.1 on-board

We talked about the supposed leak of Sammy’s latest product, the Galaxy S III Mini the other day, and lo and behold, it’s finally here. The initial leak of the device is pretty much spot on, and the only thing that was iffy was the processor – this particular device will be running a dual-core, 1GHz NovaThor U8420 processor. All the other specs stay the same – 4-inch Super AMOLED 800×480 display, 5-megapixel camera, 1GB of RAM and 16/32GB capacities, depending on what you fancy. The device will be powered by Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, so you’ll be getting all that Project Butter goodness and actionable notifications when you pick it up when it goes on sale. It still a bit puzzling why Samsung would release a smaller version of their Galaxy S III (especially since the original one was pretty ace to begin with) but the Korean company might know something that we don’t. No word on price or local availability as of this time.

Source: gadgetsmagazine

Rapoo lands in the Philippines, brings along sexy wireless E9080 keyboard

Rapoo, the leading Chinese wireless peripheral maker has landed in the Philippines, and has brought along its thin and sexy wireless E9080 keyboard with it. This particular keyboard is impossibly thin at only 5.6mm, yet still packs a scissor keystoke structure that gives users excellent tactile feedback, allowing them to type quickly and accurately. It also has a built-in touchpad if you’re not in the mood to use a mouse. It’s brushed stainless steel frame and overall design has garnered it numerous awards, chief of which is  the prestigious IF Product Design Award (2012). It’s also the slimmest keyboard in the world, and can be yours for a measly Php 2,630.

Nokia Asha 305 starts shipping in the Philippines, full touchscreen phone for only Php 3,890

Nokia’s not done with their Asha releases. The Finnish firm has just released their full touchscreen phone, the Asha 305, in the Philippines. This particular device has a 3-inch display, is powered by Symbian Series 40 and is fully capable of going online. Other specs include a 2 megapixel camera, 2GB memory card (which can be swapped out and replaced with a bigger capacity card) and dual-sim capability. The Asha 305 uses the Nokia Browser, which the company says is 3x faster than other browsers and saves you data connection costs through its revolutionary cloud accelerated technology that offers up to 85% compression. You can grab the Nokia Asha 305 for only Php 3,890.

Samsung makes WB100 Ultra Zoom camera

No word yet on when it’ll be coming to the Philippines, but Samsung just released a new camera in the UK and Germany that will soon be available in other European countries as well. The Samsung WB100 packs a 22.3 to 579.9 mm equivalent lens with 26x optical zoom. The camera has a pop-up flash and aside from the fact that its lens isn’t interchangeable, its overall design closely resembles that of DSLRs, including the right-side hand grip.

It features a 16-megapixel sensor and is capable of 3D photography, live panorama, 720p video recording, and has an ISO range of 80-1600. It’s also equipped with Dual Image Stabilization to help with shaky shots. It can be powered by either AA batteries or lithium-ion rechargeable ones, adding to its general versatility as a travel companion. As a whole, the camera combines high image performance and creative functionality in a compact design.

The camera is available in black or red and retails for about US $277 (approximately Php 11,700).

Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 (Galaxy S WiFi 4.2) hands-on, first impressions

It’s no question that Apple’s iPod has reigned supreme in the portable media player landscape, but its dominance hasn’t deterred manufacturers in creating products in the same category. Samsung’s Galaxy S WiFi 4.2 is one of those products, and is aimed at individuals who want a multimedia player that doesn’t have a fruit logo on the back.

The Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 is a bit of an oddity, considering that’s it’s a bit off when it comes to screen size (with most 4-inch devices clocking in at either 4- or 4.3-inches), though its overall size 124.1 x 66.1 x 8.99mm means it’s almost the same size as a typical Android smartphone. The screen is a 4.2-inch, WVGA TFT deal, and the unit itself is running on a single core 1GHz procesor with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) on board. Also, we’re a bit confused over Samsung’s naming conventions in this case – Samsung Philippines calls it the Galaxy Player 4.2, though the box states it’s the Galaxy S WiFi 4.2.

Overall the unit felt ok, and as we said, it handled pretty much like a typical 4-inch Android smartphone. One thing we did notice is that the device is preloaded with two games – Fifa 2012 and Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, which should keep users busy whenever boredom strikes. The screen is wide and bright enough that using it as a dedicated video player shouldn’t be a problem, and its speakers have sufficient oomph to let people understand whatever they’re watching. The Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 4.2 is priced at Php 9,990 here in the Philippines.

Google branded Nexus 7 tablet detailed: 7-inch screen, Tegra 3, IPS display with 1280 by 800 resolution, will retail for less than $200

Gizmodo Australia has apparently uncovered some documents relating to the soon to be launched, Nexus branded tablet, the Nexus 7. The documents call the product the Nexus 7, and have pegged it to be made by Asus and have a 7-inch, IPS display, running on a 1.3Ghz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor, GeForce 12-core GPU and 1GB of RAM. The device is apparently slated to run using Android Jellybean and will come in two variants: a 8GB and 16GB. Here’s the kicker though: this particular device is slated to retail for about $199 (Php 8756) for the 8GB version  and $250 (Php 11,000) for the 16GB version, making it one of the cheapest and most affordable tablets once it (eventually) hits. We’ve known that Asus would be producing this tablet for a while, with folks from Asus company complaining that it was one of their secret products that wasn’t so secret when we were in Taiwan. Once this product hits our shores, the local tablet market would be pretty shaken up, considering that a typical Android tablet nowadays retails for double the price for what this tablet is worth. Here’s to hoping that this tablet eventually surfaces once Google I/O rolls around.

Source: Gizmodo Australia

Lenovo IdeaPad U310 and U410 outed, ultrabooks for the everyman

We just wrapped up Lenovo’s launch of their newest notebooks, and predictably the company has released two new ultrabooks made for the mainstream market. The IdeaPad U310 and U410 measures only 18mm and 21mm thin respectively, and only weigh 1.7 and 1.8 kilos. These models use Intel’s next generation Ivy Bridge chips, and are configurable up to Core i5. The devices also use Intel’s Smart Response Technology, which combine a SSD and a HDD for fast boot-up speeds.

In the IdeaPad U310 and U410′s case, it’s a 32GB SSD drive paired with a 500GB HDD. Other specs include HD graphics (Intel HD 4000 HD for the U310 and NVIDIA GeForce 610M for the U410), 4GB of DDR3 memory and Wireless Display (WiDi) technology. The IdeaPad U310 will retail for Php 39,995, while the IdeaPad U410 will come in at Php 48,995. Both will be available come July.

Source:  gadgetsmagazine

Sony releases VAIO T series of notebooks

Another product that was released during Sony’s event today was their VAIO T series of notebooks. We’ve talked about these products before (back when they were just announced and we kept calling them ultrabooks) but it seeing them in person is always nice. The VAIO T is pretty thin and light, and definitely fits Intel’s description of what ultrabooks are. This particular notebook carries Intel’s Core i5 processors (Ivy Bridge, naturally), as well as Intel’s Smart Response Technology (HDD + SSD). There will be two versions – one smaller, 11-inch model, and another larger 13-inch model. The 13-inch model’s overall thickness is just 18mm, so as far as specifications, weight and thickness is concerned, the VAIO T series are ultrabooks. The overall finish and build quality of the T series of notebooks is pretty good, and the notebooks are crammed with Sony technologies, which include Rapid Wake + ECO, xLOUD and Clear Phase audio technologies and motion gesture recognition for hands free operation of the notebook. Sony has set the price for the T11 at Php 47,999, while the bigger 13-inch version will retail for Php 49,999.

Sony launches 16.1-megapixel NEX-F3 interchangeable lens camera in the Philippines, price inside

Sony has officially released their NEX-F3 interchangeable lens camera in the country in a small, intimate gathering of the press earlier today. The NEX-F3 is the latest member of the NEX family, and is aimed at consumers who want a (relatively) affortable interchangeable lens camera that they can take everywhere without breaking the bank. The NEX-F3 sports an APS-C sized Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor with an effective megapixel count of 16.1.

The NEX-F3 is able to take Sony’s E mount lenses made for their other NEX models, and has a 180 degree tiltable LCD screen which allows users to take self-portraits of themselves for social media sites.

The NEX-F3 is also capable of shooting Full HD video (50i/25p). Sony has priced the NEX-F3 at Php 27,999, which is a steal, considering that this is a) a Sony product b) has most of the features that other, more expensive NEX cameras have at a far lower price point. That Php 27,999 price already includes a 18-55mm zoom lens, 8GB memory stick and carrying case.

Source: gadgetsmagazine

Toshiba unveils first glasses free TV in the Philippines, the RZ1, 4K resolution (3840 x 2160), Smart TV functionality

Toshiba has just announced their glasses-free RZ1 today at their event in McKinley Blue Leaf in Taguig today. The new TV breaks all sorts of records here in the Philippines, most notably being the first commercially available glasses-free 3D TV. The RZ1 also holds the distinction of being the first commercial 4K television, which means that the 55-inch RZ1 has a native display resolution of 3840 x 2160, which is two times greater than the Retina display on the new iPad. Micheal Bayot, Chief Product Specialist for TVs for Toshiba, also detailed that the new RZ-1 has smart TV functionality like the ones on the 55-inch, Samsung 55ES8000 and the LG 55LM9600. The Toshiba RZ1 manages to achieve glassless 3D by using a lenticular image sheet in combination with the main display. The TV gives out 9 parallax images in 9 directions to give users the full 3D effect wherever they may be in relation to the display. The RZ1 also uses a small camera that tracks people’s faces and adjusts the 3D effect depending on where users are, which increases the effectiveness of the 3D effect.

We’ve managed to score some time with the RZ1 and let us tell you, we haven’t seen a display as crisp and as clear as the RZ1. To be honest, this one of the few times we’ve been excited about writing an article about a TV. To put it simply, the product is freaking amazing. The colors, the resolution is so friggin sharp, we’re pretty sure that the only limitation to this display is the content that you’re putting in. There’s few (if any) 4K content floating out in the market today – which makes finding the right content for it iffy (call it a first world problem). Though we think it’s not going to be an issue – the RZ1 can upscale images without problems, though we’re not sure if the pictures we saw during the launch is native 4K or not.

So you’re all probably asking what the catch is – well, predictably, it’s the price. While Toshiba Philippines have not released an actual price for it yet, reps from the company tell me that they have the RZ1 pegged at around Php 600,000 to 700,000 – making it one of the most expensive 55-inch sets out in the market today.

Source: gadgetsmagazine

Nokia 808 PureView hands-on, first impressions

We’re here at the Nokia office today for a short hands-on session of the company’s 41-megapixel 808 PureView smartphone. Announced at Mobile World Congress, this particular smartphone is one of the most unique devices to come out of Nokia’s stable so far, considering that it’s megapixel count is considerably higher than some cameras and DSLRs.

The overall size of the 808 PureView is 123.9 x 60.2 x 13.9mm, which bulges out to 17.95mm once you get to the sensor. The 808 PureView is around 169 grams, which is considerably heavier than most other smartphones out there especially at the sensor end. The body is a polycarb deal with a fine textured finish which feels a bit weird at first. The 4-inch screen uses a AMOLED ClearBlack display which has a resolution of 640 x 360, which is a bit disappointing, given the display type used. We think it’s a limitation of the Sybian Belle OS on the device itself, as Nokia’s Lumia range of smartphones have higher resolution displays.

The entire appeal of the 808 PureView is the 41-megapixel sensor, which if you can recall is the biggest one in any smartphone out today. The focal length for the 808 PureView is 8.02mm – when compared to a 35mm focal length, it’s equivalent to 26mm at 16:9, and 28mm at 4:3. Shooting the 808 PureView is easy, and there are several shooting modes available for users, as well as the option to control the shooting type and resolution used. We did notice during shooting that the 808 PureView showed us that we were only taking pictures at 38-megapixels and not 41. That’s because while the 41-megapixel sensor is square, no one really takes square pictures – some parts of the sensor gets cropped out depending on the aspect ratio you use.

That doesn’t mean that the shots aren’t great – in fact, we’ve added some of the shots below for you guys to check out. And even though the 808 PureView runs on a single core 1.3GHz processor, the overall user experience wasn’t terrible – in fact, it was pretty good, with the device being responsive during our time with it. Obviously our time with it was only limited, but for what it is, the device ran pretty well.

Source: gadgetsmagazine