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Infinix Zero X Series announced with 5X optical periscope lenses across all phones

Infinix

GadgetByte

-

September 14, 2021

Infinx is a brand that we mostly associate with a budget and mid-range phones. The company is now trying to move up the ranks with its latest smartphones. Here, we will be looking at the specs, features, expected price, and availability of Infinix Zero X, X Pro, and X Neo in Nepal.

Infinix Zero X Series

Periscope Cameras

Let’s start with the main highlight of the series. Infinix has included periscopic telephoto lenses across all three phones of the series. The 8MP periscope lens supports 5X optical zoom and comes equipped with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). Infinix has backed this lens with a new algorithm called Galileo Engine, which it claims will help in getting clear images of the moon.

It is accompanied by an 8MP ultrawide lens. That being said, all three phones come with different primary cameras. Infinix has gone with a 108MP OIS camera on the Infinix X Pro. The other two phones feature a 64MP and 48MP shooter, respectively— both without OIS.

Upfront, all three phones boast a 16MP selfie camera housed inside the punch hole.

Performance and Memory

Moving on, all three phones feature the same chipset. Here, Infinix has gone with the Helio G95 featuring two Cortex-A76 cores and six Cortex-A55 cores. If you have followed Infinix in the past, this should not come out as a surprise.

However, if the company really wants to compete in the mid-range and higher segment, it should at least be considering Qualcomm’s mid-range offerings like the Snapdragon 720.

As for memory, the Infinix Zero X series is available in an 8/128GB memory configuration with the option to expand up to 512GB with a MicroSD card.

Also Read:

Design and Display

Infinix Zero X and X Pro come with a 6.67-inch AMOLED panel. Infinix has also included a discrete Intelligent Display chip that allows these phones to have 120Hz refresh rate and 240Hz refresh rate. Zero X Neo settles for a 6.78-inch LCD panel with a 90Hz refresh rate and 180Hz touch sampling rate.

Rest of the Specs

Infinix Zero X Neo has the biggest battery of the three. It packs in a 5,000mAh battery with support for 18W charging. The other two have smaller batteries of 4,500mAh paired with a faster 45W charging solution.

The series boots on XOS 7.6-based on Android 11. You also get fingerprint scanners on all three, but only the Pro gets the under-display treatment.

Specifications:

	Zero X Pro	Zero X	Zero X Neo
Display	6.67-inch AMOLED panel, 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate		6.78-inch LCD panel, 90Hz, 180Hz touch sampling rate
Resolution	FHD+ (1080 x 2400 pixels)
Chipset	MediaTek Helio G95
Memory	8GB RAM, 128GB UFS 2.2 internal storage
Back Cameras	108MP primary, 8MP ultrawide, 8MP periscope with 5X optical zoom	64MP primary, 8MP ultrawide, 8MP periscope with 5X optical zoom	48MP primary, 8MP ultrawide, 8MP periscope with 5X optical zoom
Front Cameras	16MP sensor with dual-LED flash
OS & UI	XOS 7.6 based on Android 11
Security	In-display fingerprint scanner	Side-mounted fingerprint scanner
Battery	4,500mAh, 45W charging		5,000mAh, 18W charging

Infinix Zero X, X Pro, X Neo Price in Nepal and Availability

Infinix is yet to announce the price and availability of the Zero X Series but the report from GSM Arena suggests it should start at around $300.

Though Infinix has entered the Nepali market last year, it is yet to launch its Zero lineup here. That being said, we will update you with the price and availability once if it launches here.

Meanwhile, check out our review of Infinix Zero 8.

HP 14 FQ-1021NR Review: Oodles Of Performance On Budget

HP
Reviews

GadgetByte

-

September 12, 2021

0

HP 14 FQ-1021NR Review: Oodles Of Performance On Budget

As you might already know, we’ve been routinely coming up with budget laptop reviews for the past couple of weeks. Continuing on that trend, we now have the HP 14 FQ-1021NR in for review. That name certainly doesn’t roll off the tongue, I know—so moving forward in this review, I’m gonna simply refer to it as HP 14.

HP 14 FQ-1021NR Specifications:

Body: 12.75 x 8.86 x 0.704-inch, 1.46kg
Display: 14-inch IPS, anti-glare, 250 nits, 45% NTSC
Resolution: FHD (1920 x 1080 pixels)
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500U (6C/12T, up to 4.0 GHz, 8MB L3 cache)
GPU: Integrated AMD Radeon Graphics (7C, up to 1800MHz)
RAM: 8GB DDR4
Storage: 256GB M.2 SSD
Keyboard: Chiclet-style
Trackpad: Plastic multi-touch trackpad, Windows Precision drivers
Webcam: 720p HD camera, No physical shutter
Audio: Stereo speakers
Ports: 1x USB-C, 2x USB Type-A, 1x HDMI 1.4b, 1x audio combo jac, 1x SD card reader
Battery: 3-cell 41Wh, 45W adapter
Connectivity: WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
Price: Rs. 80,000

Buy HP 14 FQ-1021NR here

HP 14 FQ-1021NR Review:

To note, this laptop costs around NPR 80,000 in Nepal, USD 600 in the US, and some INR 52,000 in India.

Design

12.75 x 8.86 x 0.704-inch, 1.46kg
Polycarbonate build, faux aluminum design

Okay, starting this review with the design, the HP 14 sure appears to be visually appealing at first glance. It has a plastic hood with a basic silver coating accompanied by a glossy “HP” logo imprinted in the middle.

Furthermore, the inside of the laptop offers some semblance of elegance as well. This silver hinge contrasts nicely with the black plastic borders which also hold the rubber bumpers to minimize impact pressure when shutting down the lid. As common with budget laptops, the HP 14 has thin bezels on the side contrary to the relatively thicker ones on the top and bottom.

Now, this laptop has been crafted with portability in mind as it only weighs 1.46 kg—making it one of the most lightweight budget laptops I’ve used so far. As a result, it’s easy on the backpack, while carrying the device with one hand when you’re rushing to make the commute is no problem either. But its 14” chassis means you’ll miss out on a dedicated Numpad on the HP 14.

Moving on, compared to other budget laptops I’ve reviewed in the past, this doesn’t seem as robust. The trackpad area has a hollow sound to it that reminds me of echoes from an empty bottle.

Ports

1 of 2

In terms of ports, on the right side of the laptop, there’s a headphone jack, a USB Type-C without Power Delivery, two USB Type-A, an HDMI, and a power-in connection. Over on the left, you get a full-size SD card slot.

Display

14-inch FHD IPS panel, Anti-glare
250 nits, 45% NTSC color gamut

Getting to the screen, the HP 14 comes with a 14-inch IPS anti-glare Full-HD display. Our unit is the one with 250 nits of brightness that covers 45% NTSC color space.

All in all, this screen offers good viewing angles—thanks to its IPS panel—but if you’re planning to use this laptop outdoors, its 250 nits brightness won’t suffice. Then again, 250 nits is fairly generous for a budget laptop so I can’t hold this against the HP 14.

Similarly, the 45% NTSC gamut is strictly average only. However, if you’re using it for light editing on Photoshop like me, this display won’t be a problem. Now, to put the advertised display specifications of this laptop to test, I calibrated it using the SypderX Pro.

Display Properties

1 of 2

And I was glad to see that HP has kept its promise as this screen boasts 265 nits brightness, 2.1 gamma, and covers 49% of NTSC color space. On the contrary, the Dell Inspiron 3501 that I reviewed recently posted worse results than advertised.

Keyboard

Full-sized chiclet keyboard

Let’s now shift our gear to the keyboard. The HP 14 has a chiclet-style full-size keyboard with a silver finish. And as I mentioned earlier, you don’t get a dedicated Numpad here. But that’s always a tradeoff when opting for a 14” or smaller laptop.

Regardless, in my experience, this keyboard is pretty comfortable to type on, and the keys have a decent travel distance to get accustomed to. However, the deck does flex a little when applying mild pressure, so you gotta be pretty gentle here. Additionally, the keyboard is not backlit either so you gotta have the lights on when the dark time rises!

Touchpad

Plastic trackpad with integrated left/right keys

Furthermore, its plastic touchpad isn’t on par with the other budget laptop as well. It is quite narrow and feels rather cheap. Although I prefer using a mouse over a touchpad, I would have loved it if HP had provided a larger touchpad here.

Still an all, the integrated left/right keys click well, whereas the multi-finger gestures work perfectly fine here.

Webcam

HP Wide Vision 720p webcam

Moving on, HP 14’s webcam is nothing extraordinary either. It has a standard 720p HD camera that doesn’t feature IR sensors for Windows Hello login. The camera’s quality is decent enough for attending online classes, meetings, and such.

Performance

AMD Ryzen 5 5500U CPU (25W TDP)
Integrated AMD Radeon Graphics
8GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD storage

Okay, let’s get into the performance side of things now. Under the hood, the HP 14 features AMD’s Ryzen 5 5500U CPU coupled with 8GB of DDR4 RAM and 256GB of SSD storage.

Thankfully, for better multitasking, there’s an additional DIMM slot that can take an 8GB RAM stick of up to 3200MHz frequency. Plus, the SSD can be swapped out for one with a higher capacity so that’s good too.

Now, with a base clock speed of 2.1GHz, this AMD CPU just breezes through my everyday chores with ease. During my usage, the HP 14 had no trouble running 10-12 tabs on Chrome, alongside light photo editing, editing word documents, and playing tunes from Spotify in the background.

But I did notice some memory management issues here. For instance, when I wake the laptop from sleep or reopen idle tabs on the browser after a while, the pre-loaded tabs on Chrome go completely blank. As a result, I had to reload them to get to carry on. So yes, you’ll definitely want to add an extra 8GB of RAM to this machine.

Let’s take a look at some benchmark scores:

CrystalDiskMark

	Read (MB/s)	Write (MB/s)
SEQ1M Q8T1	1901.05	1684.76
SEQ128K Q32T1	1264.48	1150.71
RNK4K Q32T16	374.40	366.19
RND4K Q1T1	51.15	121.85

Cinebench R23

CPU: Multi-Core	5728
CPU: Single Core	1135
MP Ratio	5.05x

Geekbench 5

CPU: Single Core	1061
CPU: Multi-Core	3875
Compute (OpenCL)	10061

Now, since the HP 14 doesn’t have a dedicated graphics card, you’ll have to rely on the integrated AMD Radeon graphics for all your GPU-related works. And for what it’s worth, this GPU delivers fairly competent results. I tried playing CS: GO on medium settings and was able to get a steady 30-35fps on average. Under low settings, that number can reach 45-50fps.

On the other hand, this laptop does not heat up that bad either. After 30-45 minutes of gaming, the HP 14 climbs to just 42º Celsius near the keyboard deck.

Battery

3-cell, 41Wh Li-ion
45W power adapter

Let’s now talk about its battery life. The HP 14 is stuffed with a 3-cell 41Wh Li-ion battery. It juices up via a 45W adapter that takes about two and half hours to fully charge.

On to the battery life, I managed to get around 5 hours of screen-on time under my usage which primarily includes web browsing, watching YouTube videos, editing Word documents, and occasionally using Photoshop. To note, I used the laptop at 30-40% brightness with the power mode set to maximum.

Audio

Stereo speakers

Getting to the audio, HP 14 has a front-firing speaker setup. While that’s a pretty exciting design choice, I’m not that fond of their sound quality. Therefore, I had to resort to connecting headphones when listening to music or watching movies here.

HP 14 FQ-1021NR Review: Conclusion

Concluding this review, the HP 14 isn’t that great but is still a decent budget laptop for the price. From its powerful hardware to portability, there’s a lot to love about this machine. Yet, a couple of factors like mediocre build quality and trackpad on the HP 14 are rather underwhelming—and something that the company could’ve worked on more.

HP 14 FQ-1021NR Review: Pros & Cons

Pros:

Lightweight design
Decent colors, brightness level
Good performance
Fairly good keyboard feedback
Nice battery endurance

Cons:

Pretty compact trackpad
Inept build quality
Not so good speakers
No keyboard backlight

YesCart is a brand new e-commerce platform in Nepal promising only genuine products

YesCart

Nikhil Shrestha

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September 12, 2021

0

As the trend of online shopping in Nepal continues to grow, new players continue to emerge. Adding to that list is YesCart, which promises to effectively solve the most daunting problems Nepali customers have been facing with the existing e-commerce sites in the country.

YesCart: What is it?

YesCart is a brainchild of IoT Incorporation Pvt. Ltd., which is a subsidiary of Vatsal Impex Pvt. Ltd. under the Sharda Group umbrella. Registered under the “yescart.com” domain, this marketplace looks to be a cohesive platform that benefits both the end customers and the merchants selling their products.

At launch, the company says it’s targeting the millennial and Gen Z customer base because of their effective access to the internet and familiarity with such online shopping portals. Speaking at the press event, Mr. Saral Acharya (Head of E-commerce, IoT Incorporation) highlighted how YesCart’s biggest selling point would be the fact that you’ll only find genuine products on the platform.

According to a self-conducted survey by the company, out of 500 people, 67% of them had quality issues when shopping online. Besides lackluster product quality, they had problems with delivery and payment processing as well. But Mr. Acharya assures that shoppers will face no such unnecessary obstacles on YesCart. And there are a couple of reassuring foundations behind those claims.

First, as I mentioned earlier, this Business-to-Consumer (B2C) marketplace will only host products from authentic brands—on top of seasonal on-demand suppliers and normal retailers that adhere to the company’s core principles and business standards. So, you can expect 100% genuine products when shopping on YesCart.

Strong headstart

The company is particularly proud of its team and partner organizations too. Backed by Sharda Group, it definitely has a great head start heading into the competition. This means brands will also have more confidence in teaming up with YesCart to sell their product.

But all of this means diddly-squat to end consumers, if the product price and the service level aren’t better than the sorry state of existing e-commerce platforms in Nepal as revealed the company’s own survey… right?

Covering that ground, YesCart says it’s setting multiple metrics to ensure A-grade customer satisfaction. From authentic products, a big content catalog, secure payment integration, to likely recommendations, it’s guaranteeing a complete online shopping experience. Oh, apart from the website, YesCart’s Android app is already live on Google Play Store.

And, it’ll be available on Apple’s App Store shortly as well. For now, payment options include Cash on Delivery (COD) and a couple of digital wallets like eSewa and Khalti. Apart from this, integrating bank payment options is in the works.

Additionally, you can avail of a flat 20% discount right now (up to Rs. 500) when making pre-payment via Khalti. There’s also a redeemable Rs. 200 early bird voucher if you sign up to the platform right now. On top of this, it will be issuing loyalty bonuses to regular customers as well. But exactly how that’ll pan out is a bit unclear. YesCart ensures easy return, refund policies too.

What can I shop for at YesCart?

With names like Sharda Group and Vatsal Impex in the mix, it’s easy to decode that YesCart will primarily be a hub for consumer electronics and home appliances. And browsing its homepage reveals the same. As of now, the company says they’ve partnered up with 20 – 30 suppliers; while that number is bound to grow in the coming days.

In the consumer electronics department, you can find products from brands like:

Xiaomi	OnePlus	Honor	EZVIZ
Redmi	Realme	LG	Awei
POCO	OPPO	Dell	CoClean
Apple	Fitbit	HP	Orient Electric
Samsung	Mobvoi	Hitachi

These brands entail smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, TVs, wearables, home security solutions, and appliances like refrigerators and washing machines.

Besides this, YesCart hosts lifestyle/fashion apparel from Attire Nepal, Vans, Converse, etc., and other assorted products like musical instruments. Unfortunately, people outside the Kathmandu Valley are gonna have to wait a while before the company extends its area of service to other regions of the country as well.

And as far as product delivery is concerned, it is promising a maximum of 48 hours of delivery time within the Kathmandu Valley. Yet, that may be different to customers elsewhere once YesCart eventually sets its foot in other regions. Interestingly, Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO even smartphones enjoy same-day delivery.

What’s in it for merchants?

Because YesCart is a marketplace, it’s gotta bring lucrative benefits to other merchants selling their products on the platform as well. For this, Mr. Acharya points that merchants can reap benefits from the system’s wide array of features. This includes an easy-to-use back-end portal with a business-centric user interface, catalog management, customized campaigns, and more.

The company will also be actively promoting its platform across social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Messenger. On the other hand, it will be partnering with other companies with a significant digital footprint for affiliate marketing opportunities too.

YesCart E-commerce Marketplace: Final Words

Wrapping it all up, YesCart looks to be an interesting new player in Nepal’s e-commerce scenario. Promising genuine products and loads of other benefits to both buyers and sellers, we can’t wait to see what the future holds up for the company. For now, we’d like to wish the entire team at YesCart all the luck and are looking forward to seeing all those promises kept.

Meanwhile, check out our review of the Realme GT Master Edition.

HiFuture EY+ smart glasses with 3D directional audio launched in Nepal

HiFuture

GadgetByte

-

September 12, 2021

0

HiFuture EY+ smart glasses with 3D directional audio launched in Nepal

Since its debut last year, HiFuture has seen decent success in the smart accessories market in Nepal. After launching a bunch of TWS earbuds and smartwatches, the company has now launched a smart glass with 3D audio in Nepal. So, let’s get into the specifications, features, availability, and official price of HiFuture EY+ in Nepal.

HiFuture EY+ Overview:

The market for smart glasses may be small, but it’s on the rise. It has drawn the attention of some of the biggest companies on the planet like Bose, Facebook, and Snapchat. Here, the latter two are AR-infused smart glasses whereas Bose strictly makes Bluetooth audio sunglasses.

While Bose sells its “Frames” lineup of smart wearables in Nepal, they are quite expensive. And now, as a more budget-friendly option, HiFuture has launched the EY+ Bluetooth smart glass.

Body

In terms of design, the EY+ appears to be a standard spectacle at first glance. All of the craftsmanship, however, is housed inside the frame. It comes with lightweight TR90 EMS frames and polarized lenses that aim to keep the light glare out of your eyes. Furthermore, it features IPX4 splash resistance. Thus, perspiration isn’t going to be a problem when putting these on.

Also Read:
- Vivo X70 series with custom imaging chip, quad-OIS cameras launched
- OnePlus Band with SpO2 tracking, 14-day battery life launched in Nepal

Features

The EY+ comes with Qualcomm’s QCC3024 Bluetooth 5.0 chip for wireless connectivity. The spectacle’s temples include a dual speaker system alongside touch controls to increase/decrease volume. Here, a forward slide raises the volume, whereas a backward slide lowers it. All of this adds up to 3D directional audio.

Likewise, it comes with a 110mAh battery that can provide up to 5 hours of playback time. It takes about two hours to fully juice up this battery. Furthermore, each arm has built-in microphones for hands-free calls.

HiFuture EY+ Specifications:

Body: TR90 EMS frame, IPX4 splash-resistant
Glasses: Polarized lens
Chipset: Qualcomm QCC3024
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0
Audio: Stereo speakers, built-in mic
Controls: Touch (forward/backward slide for volume up/down)
Battery: 110mAh, up to 5 hours playtime, 2 hours charging time

HiFuture EY+ Price in Nepal and Availability

HiFuture EY+ is now available in Nepal at an asking price of NPR 11,999. You can buy HiFuture EY+ in Nepal from Daraz.

Product	Price in Nepal
HiFuture EY+	NPR 11,999

Meanwhile, check out our review of Realme GT Master Edition.

TCL 10 TabMax 4G with Helio P60, 8000mAh battery launched in Nepal

Tablet
TCL

GadgetByte

-

September 10, 2021

0

TCL 10 TabMax 4G with Helio P60, 8000mAh battery launched in Nepal

Here in Nepal, TCL is mostly known for its TV. However, the company has now entered the tablet market as well. So, let’s get into the specs, features, availability, and official price of TCL 10 TabMax 4G in Nepal.

TCL 10 TabMax 4G Overview:

Design and Display

To begin with, the TabMax 4G features a 10.36” IPS panel with a 5:3 aspect ratio and 2000 x 1200 pixels resolution. Thick bezels surround the screen and there is an 8MP selfie camera on the front.

At the back, it has a glossy finish with a rectangular cutout for the main camera and an LED flash. The TabMax 4G measures 7.65mm thick and weighs 465 grams. It is available in a single color option, Dark Blue.

Also Read:
- Realme’s first tablet, the Realme Pad goes official with Helio G80
- DJI launches a gimbal-selfie stick hybrid for smartphones

Performance

Powering the device is MediaTek’s Helio P60 chipset, coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The latter is expandable up to 256GB via a microSD card. Here, P60 features a quad-core CPU cluster with 4x Cortex-A73 (@2.0GHz) and 4x Cortex-A55 (@2.0GHz).

Likewise, the graphics are handled by the Mali-G72 GPU. On the software side of things, the tablet boots on Android 10 with TCL UI on top.

Rest of the specs

Moving on, the TabMax 4G has an 8,000mAh battery that supports 18W fast charging. According to TCL, it takes around 4 hours to fully juice up the battery and it can provide a standby time of up to 1,250 hours.

In terms of optics, there’s a 13MP camera at the back and an 8MP sensor on the front. Both are capable of recording 1080p videos at 30fps. On the other hand, the connectivity options include LTE, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, and USB Type-C.

TCL 10 TabMax 4G Specifications:

Body: 247.8 x 157.56 x 7.65mm, 465grams
Display: 10.36” IPS panel, 5:3 aspect ratio
Resolution: WUXGA+ (2000 x 1200 pixels)
Chipset: MediaTek Helio P60 (4x Cortex-A73 @2.0GHz, 4x Cortex-A53 @2.0GHz)
Memory: 4GB RAM, 64GB storage (expandable up to 256GB)
Camera: 13MP rear, 8MP front
Battery: 8000mAh (18W fast charging)
Color option: Dark Blue
Connectivity: LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C

TCL 10 TabMax 4G Price in Nepal and Availability

The price of TCL 10 TabMax 4G in Nepal is NPR 39,990 for the sole 4/64GB variant. You can buy TCL 10 TabMax 4G from the company’s authorized retail stores all over Nepal.

TCL 10 TabMax 4G	Price in Nepal	Availability
4/64GB	NPR 39,990	Authorized retailers

Meanwhile, check out our review of the best budget tablets in Nepal.

Facebook launches its first smart glasses in partnership with Ray-Ban

Facebook

GadgetByte

-

September 10, 2021

0

Facebook launches its first smart glasses in partnership with Ray-Ban

Ray-Ban has just announced its first smart glasses, Ray-Ban Stories, in partnership with Facebook. Here, we’re taking a look at the specs and features of the Ray-Ban Stories by Facebook.

Ray-Ban Stories by Facebook

Last year, Facebook confirmed the rumors that it was working on smart glasses. The company took the stage at last year’s Facebook Connect event to announce its partnership with Ray-Ban for the same.

Ray-Ban Stories is the first product to come out of Facebook’s multi-year partnership with EssilorLuxottica, the parent company of Ray-Ban. Here, Facebook has been smart enough to launch the products under Ray-Ban branding, given how its previous ventures like Facebook Phone and Portal TV have failed.

Also, one can easily relate the “Stories” in “Ray-Ban Stories” to the photo-sharing format popular in today’s social media. Stories were first started by Snapchat, and the company has its own lineup of smart glasses, similar to the one Facebook recently launched. However, it is already in its third generation.

Features

Talking about Ray-Ban Stories, there are 20 different design choices, including Ray-Ban classics like Wayfarer, Wayfarer Large, Round, and Meteor. Similarly, you can choose between Clear, Sun, Transition, and Prescription lenses.

It comes with a dual-camera arrangement with 5MP cameras on the left and right sides, capable of recording 30fps videos for up to 30 seconds. Similarly, two LEDs on the front light up to alert those close that the glass is recording.

The glasses also feature open-ear speakers that let you listen to music and even take calls—with further assistance from the three-microphone array and noise suppression algorithm.

Also Read:

As for controls, Ray-Ban Stories features a touch control on the side that you can use to play/pause music, control volume, take photos and start a recording. You can even take photos and videos using the Facebook Assistant.

Ray-Ban Stories pairs with your smartphone using the Facebook View app. The app is available for both Android and iOS. Here, you can import, edit and share photos and videos from the smart glass and share them.

Privacy concerns

Given the history of Facebook’s handling of user’s data, it’s hard not to be skeptical of the Ray-Ban Stories. Still, Facebook says that users are in full control of their data. The smart glass can only be paired with one account at a time. Facebook also says that every photo and video is encrypted and accessible only with the user’s log-in credential.

Similarly, you can choose to store, view, and delete any requests made to Facebook Assistant. There is also a power button that you can use to turn the device off when not in use.

In addition, there are the aforementioned Capture LEDs to notify people that they’re being recorded. However, one can easily block it with a taping of some sort. Facebook says tampering with the Capture LED results in a violation of the contract. But it is still not clear if and how the company will be tracking such incidents.

Ray-Ban Stories by Facebook Price and Availability

The price of Ray-Ban Stories by Facebook starts at USD 299. It is currently available in countries like the US, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, and the UK.

Smart wearable	Price in the UK
Ray-Ban Stories by Facebook	USD 299 (starting price)

Meanwhile, check out our review of the Realme GT Master Edition.

OnePlus Band with SpO2 tracking, 14-day battery life launched in Nepal

GadgetByte

-

September 10, 2021

1

OnePlus Band with SpO2 tracking, 14-day battery life launched in Nepal

In 2020, we saw smartphone brands like Realme and Oppo enter the fitness band market. Back in January, OnePlus joined this bandwagon as well, with the launch of the OnePlus Band—which has now arrived in Nepal. In this post, we will be taking a look at the specs, features, official price, and availability of the OnePlus Band in Nepal.

OnePlus Band Overview:

OnePlus Band sports a 1.1” touch-enabled AMOLED panel with 126 x 294 resolution. It looks similar to the last-gen Mi Smart Band 5. There is OnePlus branding on the bottom of the screen to differentiate it from the Oppo Band that it shares most of its features with. The watch comes with both 5ATM and IP68 rating.

OnePlus Band has three color options for its straps – Black, Tangerine Gray, and Navy. The strap here has a dual-color design. OnePlus will ship the band with a black strap. However, users can buy different colored straps of their choice.

Also Read:
- Honor Band 6 with a full-screen AMOLED display launched in Nepal
- Huawei Band 6 with continuous SpO2 monitoring now available in Nepal

Like most of the budget fitness bands these days, it comes with 24/7 heart rate and sleep tracking. It can measure your blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) level as well. Similarly, the OnePlus Band supports up to 13 different exercise modes including yoga and pool swimming.

Also Read: Best Budget Fitness Trackers in Nepal [Updated]

OnePlus Band features Bluetooth LE 5.0 connectivity. Similarly, you will be able to use it with any phone running Android 6.0, whereas it is compatible with iPhones too. The band supports three languages – English, Hindi, and Chinese. Other features include notification, call alert, music playback control, remote camera shutter, and Find My Phone.

Here, the OnePlus Band weighs around 22.6 grams with the strap. It comes with a 100mAh battery that the company says can last up to 14 days.

OnePlus Band Specifications:

Display: 1.1-inch AMOLED
Display Resolution: 126 x 294 pixels
Connectivity: Bluetooth LE 5.0
Battery: 100mAh (Up to 14 days)
Water-resistant: IP68, 5ATM
Compatibility: Android 6.0+, iOS
Companion App: OnePlus Health (Android | iOS)
Features: Heart rate, oxygen level monitoring, weather update, app notification & alert, music control, find my phone, camera shutter

OnePlus Band Price in Nepal & Availability

The price of the OnePlus Band in Nepal is NPR 6,490. Compared to India, it’s quite overpriced in Nepal (INR 2,499 = NPR 4,000). You can buy the OnePlus Band from the company’s authorized retail stores across Nepal from today, while it’ll be available on Daraz and Sastodeal shortly.

Fitness tracker	Price in Nepal
OnePlus Band	NPR 6,490

Meanwhile, check out our review of the Huawei Band 6.

Vivo X70 series with Snapdragon 888+, custom imaging chip, quad-OIS cameras launched

Vivo

GadgetByte

-

September 10, 2021

0

Vivo X70 series with Snapdragon 888+, custom imaging chip, quad-OIS cameras launched

Vivo has unveiled its latest flagship smartphone lineup in its home country of China. The new X70 series consists of three devices. Here, we will be looking at the specs, features, expected price, and availability of Vivo X70, X70 Pro, and X70 Pro+ in Nepal.

Vivo X70 Pro+ Overview:

Let’s start with the elephant in the room. The Pro+ model brings significant improvements in display, camera, and battery over its predecessor.

Design and Display

Let’s start with the display. This time, Vivo has upped the screen size from 6.56-inch to 6.78-inch. Similarly, the display on the X70 Pro+ uses the latest E5 AMOLED display from Samsung.

It’s an LTPO panel that can dynamically switch between 1Hz to 120Hz. The screen boasts a touch sampling rate of 300Hz too. There’s a center-aligned punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera, while the bezels around the screen are quite thin.

At the back, you get a massive camera island along with the “Ceramic cloud Window.” The phone is available in three colors. Depending upon the variant, you get Fluorite AG glass or vegan leather finish.

Performance and Memory

Running the show underneath is the Snapdragon 888+ chipset. The latest processor from Qualcomm brings higher clock speeds compared to the vanilla Snapdragon 888 on the X60.

This time around, the camera processing will be handled independently by Vivo’s own V1 chip. As for memory, there are three configurations to choose from – 8/256GB, 12/256GB, and 12/512GB.

Camera

Vivo X60 Pro+ flaunts a quad-camera setup that hasn’t changed much from the previous generation. Vivo is still using the Samsung ISOCELL GN1 sensor for the primary camera. This particular sensor has been paired with ZEISS ultra-high transmittance glass lens for reduced glare.

It is accompanied by a 48MP ultrawide sensor. Additionally, it also retains the 8MP periscopic lens and a 12MP portrait camera from its predecessor.

All four cameras now come with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). In addition, the ultrawide module also has Vivo’s “gimbal-like stabilization”. Similarly, all four sensors have a ZEISS T* coating for reduced ghosting.

Rest of the specs

Fueling the X70 Pro+ is a 4,500mAh battery. It’s slightly bigger than the 4,200mAh cell on X60 Pro+. The charging speed still caps out at 55W.

Moving on, the phone is IP68-rated against dust and water damage. It ships with Vivo’s OriginOS 1.0 based on Android 11 out-of-the-box. However, it is expected to be replaced with FunTouch OS if the phone gets a global release.

Specifications:

Display: 6.78-inch E5 AMOLED, 120Hz LTPO (1Hz -120Hz), 10-bit color depth
Resolution: WQHD (1440 x 3200 pixels)
Chipset: Snapdragon 888+ (5nm)
Memory: 8/12GB LPDDR5, 256/512GB UFS 3.1 storage
Back Cameras: With ZEISS T* coating
– 50MP Samsung ISOCELL GN1 primary camera, OIS
– 48MP ultrawide sensor, OIS
– 12MP Sony IMX63 for portraits, OIS
– 8MP periscope lens with 5x optical zoom, OIS
Front Cameras: 32MP (punch-hole)
Security: Fingerprint (under-display), Face unlock
Battery: 4500mAh with 55W Fast charge

Vivo X70 Pro+ Price in Nepal & Availability

Vivo X70 Pro+ will be available in China from September 12 at a starting price of CNY 5,499. Although this phone is highly unlikely to launch in Nepal, you might get your hands on one from unofficial channels. As such, we expect the price of Vivo X70 Pro+ in Nepal to start around NPR 105,000.

Vivo X70 Pro+	Price in China	Price in Nepal (Expected)
8/256GB	CNY 5,499	NPR 105,000
12/256GB	CNY 5,999	NPR 115,000
12/512GB	CNY 6,999	NPR 135,000

Also Read:

Vivo X70, X70 Pro Overview:

Unlike the X70 Pro+, the other two smartphones in the X70 series offer minimal upgrades over their respective successors. The two sport the same 6.56-inch E4 AMOLED panel with support for a 120Hz refresh rate.

The Pro model is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 1080, while the vanilla X70 settles for Dimensity 1200 from MediaTek.

VIvo X70, X70 Pro

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Here, the Vivo X70 and X70 Pro feature Sony IMX766V sensors for their primary cameras. While the Pro uses its native 50MP resolution, it has been cut to 48MP on the X70. Both phones have a 12MP ultrawide and a 2x telephoto lens.

The Pro model also has a 5x periscope lens that is missing on the vanilla X70. In addition, it enjoys the image processing capabilities of the new V1 chip as well. Moving on, Vivo has included a 4,400mAh and 4,500mAh battery on the X70 and X70 Pro, respectively. Both phones support 44W charging.

Specifications:

Display: 6.56-inch E4 AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate
Resolution: FHD+ (2376 x 1080 pixels)
Chipset: Exynos 1080 (X70 Pro) / Dimensity 1200 (X70)
RAM: 8/12GB RAM, 128/256/512GB UFS 3.1 storage
Back Cameras:
– 50MP (Pro) / 48MP Sony IMX766V primary camera
– 12MP ultra-wide sensor
– 12MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom
– 8MP periscope lens for 5x optical zoom (Only on X70 Pro)
Front Cameras: 32MP (punch-hole)
Security: Fingerprint (under-display), Face Unlock
Battery: 4,500mAh (X70 Pro) / 4,400mAh (X70) with 44W Fast charge

Vivo X70, X70 Pro Price in Nepal & Availability

The price of X70 and X70 Pro starts at CNY 3,699 and CNY 4,299, respectively. The first sale starts on September 17 for the Pro and September 30 for the vanilla model. We can expect the price of Vivo X70 and X70 Pro in Nepal to start at NPR 70,000 and NPR 83,000, respectively, if and when they launch here.

Smartphones		Price in China	Price in Nepal (Expected)
X70 Pro	8/128GB	CNY 4,299	NPR 83,000
	8/256GB	CNY 4,599	NPR 87,000
	12/256GB	CNY 4,799	NPR 90,000
	12/512GB	CNY 5,299	NPR 100,000
X70	8/128GB	CNY 3,699	NPR 70,000
	8/256GB	CNY 3,999	NPR 77,000
	12/256GB	CNY 4,299	NPR 83,000

Meanwhile, check out our review of the Realme GT Master Edition.

Vastking Fit M3 Review: Getting The Fundamentals Right

Pratima Adhikari

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September 9, 2021

0

Vastking Fit M3 Review: Getting The Fundamentals Right

If you’re familiar with Gadgetbyte, you know how much I love smartwatches and that I never miss a chance to use one. A while ago, Vastking sent us their latest Fit M3 budget smartwatch and I have been testing it ever since. As it costs only USD 60, I’m not expecting anything special here. Let’s find out more about the Vastking Fit M3 smartwatch in this review.

Vastking Fit M3 Specifications:

Body: 4.35 x 35.8 x 8.5mm, 40 grams
Display: 1.65-inches IPS panel, 240 x 295 pixels
Design: Metal body, silicon wrist band (20mm)
Water Resistance Level: IP68 rating
Compatibility: Android 5.0+ / iOS 9.0
Companion App: Da Fit (Android | iOS)
Sensors: 3-axis accelerometer, Heart Rate, Blood Oxygen
Sports Mode: 8 different modes
Built-in GPS: Unavailable
Battery: 200mAh
Charging: Magnetic charger

Vastking Fit M3 Review:

Design

Metal body, Silicon wrist band (20mm)
IP68 certified against dust/water damage

The first thing you will notice about the Vastking Fit M3 is that it has a really attractive design. Needless to say, its look is reminiscent of Apple’s smartwatches, but that’s not a bad thing really. Besides, I really appreciate how supple the silicon band is, which in turn makes wearing this smartwatch quite comfortable.

Adding to the premium-ness is its metal body with which the watch weighs only 40 grams. So, it does not feel like you are carrying a lot of weight on your wrist either. At the same time, the Fit M3 doesn’t feel cheap or plasticky, so that’s good too.

For durability, the company has made sure to provide IP68 dust and water resistance here. Therefore, pool dives up to 1.5 meters deep, water splashes, or minute dust particles aren’t going to be a problem on this watch.

Physical controls

Now, as with many smartwatches these days, it features a button on the right frame that triggers both the power and back function. Interestingly, it can also lock your watch, which is a feature that not many budget smartwatches have.

Similarly, navigating the Vastking Fit M3 is really simple too. Swiping left gives you access to all of your health metrics while swiping right brings up the menu. Likewise, swiping up gets you to the notifications panel while the quick toggle menu appears with a downward swipe.

Display

1.65-inch IPS panel
240 x 295 (HD) pixels

For interacting with the smartwatch, you get a 1.65-inch IPS touch screen that features an HD resolution with 240 x 295 pixels resolution. The screen is fairly bright to look at, although it’s better not to expect excellent visibility under direct sunlight.

Also, during my time with this watch, I wished it had a better touch response too. I don’t know if it’s because of the relatively slower animation but scrolling through the widgets takes a bit of time and requires a firm touch gesture as well.

Apart from that, the company hasn’t disclosed what type of display protection it has or if it has one at all. The reason I am so keen about this is that my usage pattern is quite rough when it comes to smartwatches and our review unit of the Vastking Fit M3 has already seen some scratches.

So, if you’re looking to buy this one, be sure to install a screen protector to ensure long-term durability. Anyway, the raise-to-wake function works perfectly fine here. However, it takes a second or more to do so. You may also sync your calls to the watch, but since it lacks a microphone and speaker, the M3 lacks the ability to make/take calls from the watch itself.

Health, Fitness, Sleep Tracking

Heart rate, SpO2 monitoring
8 sports modes in total

With all that out of the way, let’s get to talking about the health tracking features of the Vastking Fit M3. As I said before, this is a budget smartwatch with the most basic of abilities. It can track your steps, calories, heart rate, blood oxygen, alongside a total of 8 types of exercises. This includes walking, running, cycling, skipping, badminton, basketball, football, and swimming.

The pedometer on this watch is quite accurate and so is the sleep tracking. I tested it against the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, and the results were impressively comparable. In terms of heart rate monitoring, although the company claims to continuously record heart rate information, it only does so once every half an hour only.

The basics

Moving on, as with other budget smartwatches, the Vastking Fit M3 doesn’t support all-day blood oxygen (SpO2) level tracking. So, you’re gonna have to manually record it. Still, I did compare its heart rate and SpO2 readings with that of the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic and found them to be more or less similar.

In addition, the SpO2 recording on the Fit M3 takes only about 5-6 seconds which is quite fast for a budget smartwatch in this price range. Yet, that affordable tag means you don’t get GPS tracking here. Therefore, in case you’d like to trail your exercise routes, you’re gonna have to refer to the phone’s GPS.

But strangely, turning on GPS just activates the workout on your phone and not the watch. So, you’ll have to start/stop the exercise from your phone, which is a bit annoying. Likewise, there is no automatic workout detection either which is a shame because even budget fitness trackers like the Mi Smart Band 6 and Honor Band 6 support this feature.

Connectivity and App

Bluetooth 5.0, Da Fit app

On the connectivity side, the Vastking Fit M3 features Bluetooth 5.0 and it syncs with your smartphone via the Da Fit app. The app is really basic and has nothing sophisticated to interact with. Its landing page contains all your health stats presented in an easy-to-understand manner.

Here, you can simply scroll through stats such as the number of steps, sleep info, exercises, etc. As expected, you’ll get more details about your health data on the app rather than on the watch. Here, swiping to the left takes you to the watch face, notifications, and other settings while the last page has your profile and a few other regulatory information.

In-depth

More about the app—it lets you set your daily steps goal and notifies when you’ve achieved certain milestones. Assorted functions like setting alarms, camera shutter, recording water intake, sedentary reminders, etc. are accessible via the app as well.

App data

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One thing to note about notifications is that the watch does not support emojis and Unicode Nepali/Indian font, which is a slight bummer. The app also has quite a large selection of watch faces that you can download. You even have the option to make your own customized watch face if you’d like.

However, the watch can only store 4 of them at once. Plus, you will have to be super patient when downloading and syncing watch faces since it takes quite some time to do so. Other than that, health data and everything else syncs with the watch swiftly enough, so I haven’t had any problem regarding that.

Battery

200mAh cell, magnetic charging

Finally, I have been fairly satisfied with the battery life of the Vastking Fit M3 as well. It packs a 200mAh battery and testing it out with all the functions like continuous heart rate monitoring, 50% brightness, I got good 7-day battery life.

On the other hand, keeping continuous heart rate monitoring off, the watch endured twice as long. Impressive! As for charging, the Vastking Fit M3 uses a 2-pin magnetic charger that takes around 2 hours to go from 0-100%.

Vastking Fit M3 Review: Conclusion

Wrapping up the review, having used the Vastking Fit M3 for more than 3 weeks, I would say that it’s a decent budget smartwatch that gets the fundamentals right. It offers an enticing look but apart from that, its functionalities are pretty much similar to what other budget smartwatches provide—or maybe even less in the case of exercise and sports modes.

Still and all, for all its features, the Fit M3 definitely justifies its price. So, if you are looking for a good-looking smartwatch with all the basics under a strict USD 60 budget, I don’t see a reason why you shouldn’t consider the Vastking Fit M3. But if you are more serious about health and fitness, I would suggest you add some more cash and get the Honor Band 6 or Huawei Band 6.

Vastking Fit M3 Review: Pros and Cons

Pros

Metal, lightweight body
Attractive design
IP68 dust-water resistance
Easy-to-use companion app

Cons

No automatic workout detection
No build-in navigation feature

Realme’s first tablet, the Realme Pad goes official with Helio G80 chipset

GadgetByte

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September 9, 2021

0

Realme’s first tablet, the Realme Pad goes official with Helio G80 chipset

After series of leaks and rumors, Realme Pad is now official in the market. It’s the company’s first offering in the tablet category which is blooming since the start of the pandemic last year. So, let’s get into the specs, features, availability, and expected price of Realme Pad in Nepal.

Realme Pad Overview:

Design and Display

Realme Pad features a 10.4-inch WUXGA+ IPS panel with a standard 60Hz refresh rate and an 82.5% screen-to-body ratio. While there is nothing particularly wrong with those specs for a budget tablet, it has surely disappointed the fans who were anticipating an AMOLED panel as tipped by Francis Wong, CMO of Realme India and Europe.

Also Read:
- Realme 8i with Helio G96, 50MP triple cameras goes official
- Realme 8s 5G is the world’s 1st phone with Dimensity 810 SoC

This screen can get as dim as 2 nits under the night mode. Moreover, the device has an aluminum casing measuring 6.9mm in thickness and weighs 440 grams. Realme Pad’s back has a matte finish with a circular camera module. There are two colors to choose from: Real Grey and Real Gold.

Meanwhile, check out all the prices and specs of tablets from Realme here!

Performance

In terms of performance, the Realme Pad is powered by a MediaTek Helio G80 chipset. This processor is coupled with either 3/4GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 32/64GB of eMMC 5.1 onboard storage. On the software side of things, the new tablet boots on Realme UI for Pad based on Android 11.

Likewise, the device is fueled by a 7,100mAh battery that charges via an 18W fast charger. As per the company, it can provide 12 hours of offline video playback and up to 65 days of standby time.

Also Read:

Rest of the specs

Aside from that, Realme Pad has an 8MP front-facing camera with a dual noise-canceling mic setup. There’s also an 8MP camera on the back. In terms of audio, it comes with a quad-speaker setup with Dolby Atmos, Hi-Res Audio, and Adaptive surround sound support.

Realme Pad Specifications:

Body: 6.9mm, 440grams
Display: 10.4-inch IPS panel, 60Hz refresh rate, 82.5% screen-to-body ratio
Resolution: WUXGA+ (2,000 x 1,200 pixels)
Chipset: MediaTek Helio G80 4G (12nm)
Memory: 3/4GB LPDDR4X, 32/64GB eMMC 5.1 storage (expandable)
Camera: 8MP front, 8MP rear
Battery: 7,100mAh (18W fast charging)
Colors: Real Grey, Real Gold
Connectivity: WiFi only, LTE + WiFi

Realme Pad Price in Nepal and Availability

The price of the Realme Pad is INR 13,999 for the 3/32GB WiFi-only model. Likewise, the 4/64GB WiFi + LTE configuration costs INR 17,999. Realme Pad will go on sale in India from September 16. We expect the price of Realme Pad in Nepal to start at NPR 25,000 if and when it launches here.

Realme Pad	Price in India	Price in Nepal (Expected)
3/32GB (WiFi)	INR 13,999	NPR 25,000
3/32GB (LTE)	INR 15,999	NPR 28,000
4/64GB (LTE)	INR 17,999	NPR 31,000

Watch: Best budget tablets to buy in 2021.