Author: chris eilers

Battery is one of the most important parts of a smartphone. Therefore, many users really concern about keeping their cells as healthy as possible. Here are 5 tips for you to do so!

1. Lock screen helps a lot.

Lock screen, or lock screen notifications to be specific, can help save you battery life, especially when your phone is equipped with an AMOLED panel. You can see your notifications quickly without turning the whole display on. Though in fact you will still need to light your screen up, the time is much less than normal.

2. Airplane mode is more useful than you think!

As battery life will be affected much due to the device connecting or finding network, you can switch to Airplane mode while being asleep. Or, another solution is to employ sleep or blocking modes to create limits for what your phone does during certain times of the day such as sleeping or meeting time.

3. Keeping your machine cool is essential.

No matter what kind of battery your smartphone has, heat can harm it. As a result, the cell’s longevity will be shortened much. So if you want to keep it long enough, do what everyone is recommending: Keep it in a cool condition, avoid charging when being sitting inside a hot car, using while charging, charging right after a long time of usage, etc.

4. Charger and power bank you use should be used with caution.

Power bank is a very convenient gadget to fuel your handset immediately. It is also portable and light enough for you to carry everywhere. However, please be cautious with the brand you choose. If you use a non-reliable one, it will do serious harm to your smartphone’s battery. And in the worst case, you may even see your device on fire, literally.

5. Stay away from water!

Last but not least, if your machine does not come with capability of being water resistant, you’d better not let it “jump” into water, especially non-removable batt. Obviously you cannot take it out to dry. So, one of the best ways to keep it working as long as possible is to keep your phone away from water.

4GB RAM phones are no longer something hard to find. More and more of them have launched and will be launched this year. And here are the top 8 for April. Check them out now!

1 + 2. Huawei P9 and Huawei P9 Plus

Huawei P9 specs include a 5.2-inch Full HD IPS LCD display, a 3,000mAh battery, a Kirin 955 octa-core chipset, a microSD card slot, an 8MP front shooter, and two versions over RAM and ROM capacity: 3GB + 32GB and 4GB + 64GB. As we know, its key feature is the dual rear camera setup co-developed with German optics specialist Leica. There are two 12MP sensors on the back (“one capturing color, the other seeing only black and white”).

As for Huawei P9 Plus specs, there is a bigger display measuring 5.5 inches with an AMOLED panel, Full HD resolution, and Press Touch (like 3D Touch tech). Additionally, the device sports 4GB RAM, 64GB ROM (expandable up to 128GB), a 3,400mAh batt supporting dual-IC Rapid Charge, and stereo speakers. Apart from those major differences, the rest are similar to Huawei P9.

Smartphones with 3GB RAM and affordable prices are ideal items for most consumers at the moment. Let’s check out some new ones like that!

1. LeEco Le 2

LeEco Le 2 is a new model of its company and has recently appeared on Antutu benchmark with some specific features. Specifically, LeEco Le 2 specs will contain a Snapdragon 652 chip paired with Adreno 510 GPU, a Full HD display, 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage.

Besides, the handset also boasts a fingerprint scanner, Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS, a USB Type-C port and a fantastic combo of 16MP rear + 8MP front camera. However, for the rest of the specifications including battery and screen size, no word has been made yet. So, let’s wait and see!

Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro (2016) and ASUS ZenFone Max are two giants in the field of battery smartphones for sure, but let’s see which one is the real king!

ASUS ZenFone Max vs Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro: Best battery battle of the month

This is perhaps the first time we put Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro (2016) together with ASUS ZenFone Max in a battery battle. They both have massive cells, yet we cannot say anything in advance now that the Max or the Pro will be the winner. Before coming to their major differences, let’s look at what they have in common. Specifically, each of them packs a big 5,000mAh battery enabling you to use the phone in more than 3 days, a dual SIM, Corning Gorilla Glass 4 for protection, and a microSD card slot to expand its internal storage. In general, they are good phablets but if we have to pick out the stronger, the following different features will help.

Firstly, ASUS ZenFone Max specs contain a 5.5-inch HD screen, ASUS ZenUI based on Android 5.0 Lollipop OS, a Snapdragon 410 quad-core 1.2GHz chip, 2GB of RAM, 8/16GB of ROM (expandable up to 64GB) and a combo of 13MP f/2.0 main (with laser autofocus plus dual LED flash) and a 5MP f/2.0 secondary camera. Except for the fantastic batt, the Max seems a good mid-range handset, but not a high-end one.

Meanwhile, Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro (2016) specs are pretty much better since they include a 6.0-inch Full HD display, Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow OS, a Snapdragon 652 (quad-core 1.8GHz + quad-core 1.2GHz) processor, up to 4GB of RAM and 32GB of ROM (expandable up to 128GB). In addition, there are a fingerprint scanner, Fast Charging tech and a brilliant 16MP rear + 8MP front shooter set on board to help run the whole device. We have to say Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro (2016) is the more powerful phone in terms of hardware. However, price is another thing.

ASUS ZenFone Max vs Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro: Price and availability

No doubt both Max and Pro are models that can perform any task well. Yet, due to some different specs, they are surely not priced at the same level. ASUS ZenFone Max price is $169.99 while Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro (2016) price is about $540, much higher than its rival. Well, we can understand the A9 Pro cost and bet it can give you great experience, but in case of just wanting something decent to use, ASUS ZenFone Max is the one!

Oppo F1 Plus, Launched early April, has a beautiful design that you will fall in love with at first sight. And when it comes to specs, the phone offer premium selfie camera and….

Oppo F1 Plus: stunning selfie smartphone

Oppo F1 Plus is the official brand name of Oppo R9, leaked earlier in March 2016. The phone has made its global release recently and will soon come to our markets in India and the Philippines. This latest Oppo mobile is a camera and selfie-centric smartphone with a strong focus for both the back and front cameras. Strange as it may sound, but Oppo F1 Plus actually features 16MP shooter on the front, while the lens on the back is only 13MP.

As a selfie-focused smartphone, Oppo F1 Plus has a f/2.0 aperture lens on its front camera. This enables 4 times more the light captured and creates much better selfies in low light conditions. The camera even comes with Beautify 4.0 package that offers various options to enhance your selfie in just a click. Although there is no flash on the front (which can be a slight minus point for Oppo F1 Plus), the screen does illuminate to brighten background when touched.

Other Oppo F1 Plus specs include: 5.5 inch FHD display, a slim body (only 6.6 mm) with premium metal rears, 4GB RAM backed by Helio P10 chip set. Oppo F1 Plus is pre installed with Android 5.1 OS, Color OS 3.0, dual SIM and 4G LTE capable. The mobile comes with 64GB internal storage and you can expand up to 128GB via a microSD card. There is a 2850 mAH battery to power the whole machine.

Oppo F1 Plus: launch, price and availability

Oppo F1 Plus was officially launched globally last week, and said to go on sale in India around April 15, 2016. This selfie master will be priced at Rs 26,990, which is equivalent to around RM 1,600 in Malaysia.

Well, it seems like our mini smartphone market will get stirred up due to the appearances of many small handsets such as Apple iPhone SE, Samsung Galaxy S7 mini and now HTC 10 mini…

HTC 10 mini with 4GB RAM to defeat all

After Apple iPhone SE, many other big mobile brands are said to be preparing smaller versions of their own flagship devices. That’s a whole new trend for smartphones this year. Specifically, we have already heard about Samsung Galaxy S7 mini and Xiaomi mini, and now it is another one from HTC called HTC 10 mini to join the race. Though, the company has not confirmed the name yet.

Being a little bro of the great upcoming flagship HTC 10 makes HTC 10 mini receive a lot of expectations in terms of specifications. According to some news sources, the HTC 10 mini specs will probably sport a 4.7-inch Full HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 823 chipset paired with the same powerful 4GB of RAM as the HTC 10. Moreover, the rest of the mini machine’s hardware will also be much similar to the HTC 10 specs. If so, it can become the strongest in its kind so far.

To be honest, we are glad that more sub 5.0-inch handsets are being considered and will come soon in the H1 of 2016. They are very handy and excellent to do any task we want. As we know, iPhone SE price starts from $400 and Samsung Galaxy S7 mini is predicted to cost around $450. So, you may wonder how much the HTC 10 mini will cost. Then, check out the next part now!

HTC 10 mini price and availability

Apparently, HTC 10 mini release date can be some time in September 2016, which shows that it obviously will have to compete with Apple and Samsung when they also introduce new models around that time. For HTC 10 mini price, we predict it can range from $450 to $550. However, let’s wait a bit more for the official announcement from HTC.

Q1 of 2016 has already passed by with a lot of new budget smartphones being launched and introduced. Fast growing as it is, budget smartphones of 2016 have some significant features compared to that of last year.

Budget smartphones 2016: a significant improvment

Before we start, by “budget smartphone”, we are referring to those mobiles that cost no more than USD 300 (which is around PHP 14K and Rs 20K), a price that is rather affordable to the majority of users. First feature we have noticed from budget smartphones of 2016 is that, more and more of them are being packed with a strong 3GB RAM, instead of 2GB RAM like in 2015. Some great examples for this include, but not limited to Lenovo Lemon 3 Plus, Xiaomi Mi4s, Ulefone Vienna and so on…

The second feature we can find from budget smartphones of 2016 is fingerprint scanner. Used to be a signature of Apple iPhone products, fingerprint scanner can now be found on lower-end smartphones for under USD 300, or even under USD 200, both Chinese and non-Chinese handsets. Thirdly, as a big battery is becoming more and more preferable among users, more and more budget smartphones are offering the exact same feature: packing up a 3,000 mAH battery or even bigger for a smallest price tag possible.

Together with a decent battery capacity, the forth thing you can look for with lower than 300 dollars is fast charge capability. This makes charging time the best convenient we could ever enjoyed, allowing users to take the most advantage when buying a new smartphone, even for a very low price. Last but not least, even though a micro SD card slot is still highly appreciated, a bigger ROM is always of priority. That explains why many producers focus on giving their budget smartphones a very nice internal space for maximum storage. And you can easily buy 32GB ROM, 64GB ROM or even 128GB ROM with no more than USD 300.

Budget smartphones 2016: cheaper yet better

With the development and high competition among smartphone producers, us users are enjoying better and better offers everyday, for the lowest cost than ever. If you are going to buy a budget smartphone with under USD 300 price tag, which among the 5 features would be the most attractive to you personally?

Do you love taking selfies by fantastic secondary cameras? If yes, you definitely have to check out the following smartphones which own 13MP front sensors…

1. OPPO F1 Plus (aka OPPO R9)

OPPO F1 Plus is one of the newest handsets of OPPO and it will attract you by both design and hardware. Specifically, the phone will give you a premium feeling thanks to its metal body and the rounded glass edges in the front plus very narrow borders on both sides of the screen.

In terms of OPPO F1 Plus specs, there will be a 5.5-inch Full HD display, a Mediatek MT6755 Helio P10 2.0GHz octa-core chip, a 13MP rear cam, a dual SIM, a fingerprint scanner, a 2,850mAh battery, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of ROM (expandable up to 128GB). But you know what, its awesome highlight is the improved selfie shooter capable of 16 megapixels. Well, you may love it just like us.

Have you ever wondered what ASUS smartphones are equipped with great 4G connectivity? So, here they are! Check them out and tell us your thinking.

ASUS ZenFone Max specs include a 5.5-inch HD IPS display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor paired with 2GB RAM and 8/16GB of internal storage (expandable up to 64GB). As for the camera combo, there is a 13MP f/2.0 rear shooter coming along with dual-tone LED lens and Laser AutoFocus. Moreover, Max also will satisfy those who like taking selfies with its 5MP f/2.0 front snapper. For other ASUS ZenFone Max specs, we notice that it supports 4G LTE network, dual SIM, and Android 5.0 with the latest ZenUI 2.0.

Those are decent features to help the machine perform tasks well. However, the most important selling point of ASUS ZenFone Max is the non-removable battery capable of 5,000mAh built inside! With such a massive cell, your phone can last for more than 3 days with just a single charge.

Meizu M3 Note and Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro are two of the best budget smartphones in the H1 of 2016. But, to find out which one is better than the other, check out the comparison below!

Meizu M3 Note vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro: Best budget phone war of the month

Design-wise, both come with metal unibodies and somewhat look alike. But, of course, there are some differences you can notice easily. The Redmi Note 3 Pro has a round fingerprint scanner as well as antenna lines on the back, and no home physical button on the front. Meanwhile, the M3 Note sports one plus a fingerprint sensor underneath. To be honest, we like the Meizu M3 Note’s appearance a bit more. How about you?

Spec-wise, they are excellent mid-rangers you should not miss when it comes to buying a new handset. Talking about similarities, each of them has 5.5-inch Full HD screen, 4G LTE with VoLTE, a dual SIM, Android 5.1 Lollipop OS, a 5MP selfie camera, and two options over RAM and ROM capacity: 2GB + 16GB and 3GB + 32GB. Those are decent features which make sure the device can perform most tasks well.

As for differences, you can say see that the M3 Note and the Redmi Note 3 Pro use different chipsets: Helio P10 (quad-core 1.8GHz + quad-core 1.0GHz) and Snapdragon 650 (quad-core 1.4GHz + dual-core 1.8GHz), respectively. Basing on the benchmark results of these two processors, the Helio P10 (also used inside OPPO R9) seems less powerful than the other because it just scores around 51,000 AnTuTu points (underclocked) while the SD650 earns around 75,000-79,000 Antutu points. In terms of main snapper, the Meizu M3 Note is equipped with a 13MP sensor with f/2.2 aperture, 5P Lens and PDAF. Then, the Redmi Note 3 Pro’s primary shooter is likely to be better with a 16MP sensor, f/2.2, 5P lens and PDAF. However, its battery (capable of 4,000mAh) is less strong than the new Meizu’s product (4,100mAh). Yet, we don’t understand why Meizu did not give their Note fast charging tech like the Xiaomi’s model.

Meizu M3 Note vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro: Price and availability

They’re all budget smartphones, which means you can expect super good prices from them. Specifically, Meizu M3 Note price is about $125 (RM 514)  for the 2GB RAM version and $154 (RM 633) for the 3GB. Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro price is about $154 (RM 633) for the 2GB and $185 (RM 761) for the 3GB. Well, price-wise, no doubt Meizu M3 Note is the more attractive option, yet if you’re looking for a more powerful machine, Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro is probably the one you need. So, which one will you choose? Share with us!

One new variant of the flagship Huawei P9 has just been launched: Huawei P9 Lite. It comes with decent specifications and can be the best affordable smartphone so far…

Huawei P9 Lite: Excellent mid-range smartphone

Although Huawei P9 Lite launch is not as big as the duo P9 and P9 Plus, it is still an excellent mid-ranger we should know. Talking about Huawei P9 Lite design, the machine looks similar to its siblings, but without a dual camera and a black strip on the back. Spec-wise, the P9 Lite packs the same 5.2-inch Full HD display as the standard version, yet there are some major differences which make this device more affordable.

Speaking specifically, Huawei P9 Lite specs conain a Kirin 650 processor, 4G LTE network, a fingerprint scanner, a USB Type-C port, 16GB of ROM (expandable up to 128GB), and 2/3GB of RAM. Besides, a 3,000mAh battery and Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS with EMUI 4.1 on top are also on board to power the handset. In terms of camera, despite not having the fantastic dual shooter setup, Huawei P9 Lite’s still got a pretty good combo consisting of a 13MP rear with dual tone LED flash plus an 8MP selfie snapper.

In general, the P9 Lite is a decent mid-range smartphone and absolutely able to help increase the firm’s sale, just like Huawei P8 Lite with over 10 million units shipped globally last year. To check Huawei P9 Lite release date and price, let’s move on to the next part!

Huawei P9 Lite price and availability

The P9 Lite has been claimed to go on sale from July 2016 in Russia (where it debuted) for sure and maybe some other international markets as well. About the pricing of the device, Huawei did not announce, but the phone is very likely to cost much less than its bros. So, how much should it be in your opinion? Share with us!

HTC 10 launch is very close. As a result, more teasers as well as leaks of the flagship have been released recently, making us even more excited. And basing one what we’ve heard about it so far, here are 3 main reasons why HTC 10 can defeat other beast handsets!

1. Super high Antutu score 

HTC 10 specs will absolutely include many top specifications for smartphones nowadays such as a Snapdragon 820 chip paired with Adreno 530 GPU, 4GB RAM, a Quad HD screen, Android Marshmallow OS and a great combo of camera and sound. Therefore, its Antutu score is expected to be very high. Although there has been no official announcement for that, a source has posted an alleged result showing that HTC 10 scored 156,091 points on Antutu benchmark. It is even higher than Xiaomi Mi5, Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, iPhone 6s, etc.

2. High-quality camera 

One of the newest HTC 10 teasers has shown that it’s gonna be “the best ever smartphone for shooting photos and videos”. Well, we guess its shooter can be something as special as or maybe more than Huawei P9’s. According to what has been said so far, HTC 10 will boast a 12MP snapper with f/1.9, OIS, laser autofocus, capability of recording 4K, and dual LED flash. Can’t wait to see real HTC 10 sample shots.

3. Best BOOM sound ever

Last but not least, another teaser video from the firm claims that they are about to bring users “the best BoomSound” with high fidelity audio as well as hi-res audio (which is “better than CD” quality audio and is usually found in dedicated audio devices). Then, HTC 10 is not only a camera-centric handset but also a sound-focused one. Actually it is not something totally new since the company has been working on smartphone audio for years, originally co-developing a powerful sound system with Beats Audio for HTC One (M7) and BoomSound for HTC One M8 and One M9.

So, those are three main reasons why HTC 10 will be likely to beat many other flagships once it has already been introduced on April 12. Let’s wait and see!