Do you like stock Android? Well, I do! But some don’t and that’s fine as well. Different smartphone manufacturers have their own little (or in some cases pretty darn heavy) tweak to the Android OS UI. OPPO, a Chinese manufacturer has its own Android skin which it calls “ColorOS“. At an event held in Beijing, China, the company unveiled ColorOS 7 (based on Android 10) alongside details about which phones will be getting it and when.
ColorOS 7 Features
OPPO is emphasizing on eased viewing experience with the ColorOS 7. With the new rounded icon design and lighter color shades, the UI feels a little more homely, if that makes sense. This may seem like a minute thing, but evidently, it has been where the industry is headed. Google also rebranded the “Android” logo with a little more curved design. Additionally, you can now also customize the app icons, size, and font.
Also making its entry is the much-demanded “System-Wide Dark Mode“. This will surely help in reducing eye-strain while simultaneously improving the battery life as well. Wallpapers are getting an overhaul too with new “Art+ Wallpapers“, which reacts and animates based on user touches.
Furthermore, OPPO has partnered up with the Danish company “Episound” to redesign the sound effects in its devices, for a natural aural experience. This is similar to what we saw in Xiaomi’s MIUI 11.
“Camera” has always been one of the highlight features of any OPPO phone. With ColorOS 7, the company is adding features like “Video Blur“, “Portrait Mode 2.0“, “Night View“, “Super Stabilization“, “Beauty 2.0“, all on an improved camera app UI. Moreover, the company is also embedding the “Soloop Video Editing app” with ColorOS 7.
On the performance end, the company says ColorOS 7 can provide up to 25% faster app startup while the RAM utilization has been improved by a massive 40%. Moving to games, it will also deliver better touch response and game frame rates with “Hyperboost” technology.
The company’s in-house virtual assistant “Breeno” also sees improvement. You can now interact with Breeno hands-free, use “driving mode”, and also schedule tasks. On a different note, the company also claims up to a 10% increase in battery life and the new “Smart Sleep” feature optimizes standby usage and reduces power usage by 35%.
ColorOS 7 Release | When will my Phone get Color OS 7?
The forthcoming Reno3 will be the first OPPO smartphone to ship with ColorOS 7. More devices scheduled for the release are as follows:
The Redmi K20 Pro was a huge hit for Xiaomi as it embraced flagship-level performance at about half the cost of one. Deemed the “Alpha Flagship” or the “Flagship Killer“, the phone was received well in the Nepalese market too.
But last month, Realmereal-ly shook the smartphone industry with the Realme X2 Pro with every possible feature you could ask for in a flagship device, at a compelling price. Thus, it overthrew the Redmi K20 Pro to take the flagship killer crown for itself. Man, Xiaomi must’ve been pissed off!
Well now, the company is all ready to introduce the next phone(s) in its ‘K’ series. Xiaomi has already revealed that the Redmi K30 will have a dual punch-hole cutout for the front camera and dual-mode 5G support. Now, a new report from XDA Developers suggests that the forthcoming phone will also feature a 120 Hz display and a fingerprint scanner on the side.
Redmi K30 Overview
Scheduled to launch this December, the Redmi K30 (possibly codenamed “Phoenix“) will not feature a pop-up selfie camera like the predecessor. Instead, Xiaomi has opted for a dual punch-hole cutout like the Samsung Galaxy S10+. While the cleaner design was definitely one of the major factors for the K20 series’ success, it’ll be interesting to see how the market reacts to K30 and the K30 Pro, which will separately launch later in 2020.
The battle of higher refresh rates!
2019’s been the year of 90Hz smartphone displays. While OnePlus 7 Pro and Google Pixel 4 were some of the mainstream smartphones with the feature, manufacturers like Samsung and Apple are still in line to incorporate a higher refresh rate display.
OnePlus 7 Pro
Now, it looks like Xiaomi is gunning for an even higher 120Hz smartphone display on the Redmi K30. However, it’ll not be an industry-first since we’ve already seen one in the Razer Phone 2 and the Asus ROG Phone II. This was first spotted by the XDA team under a hidden setting to change the refresh rate from 60 to 120Hz. Since no Xiaomi phone as of now has such capability, it is being speculated that the Redmi K30 will have the 120Hz display.
The smartphone industry is heading towards an in-display/on-screen fingerprint scanners and a physical one is slowly fading out. Though there are still many phones (especially budget and mid-range) with a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, one on the side is something of a rarity these days. The Samsung Galaxy S10e had it and few Sony smartphones have it as well.
According to the report, a piece of code extracted from MIUI 11 has a method called “isBroadSideFingerprint” which returns true to devices with codename “Phoenix” or “Picasso”. Since we already suspect that the K30 is codenamed Phoenix, the rumor of the phone having a side-mounted fingerprint scanner gets a certain level of validity.
Possible render of Redmi K30 with side-mounted fingerprint scanner [Credit: XDA Developers]Additionally, a graphic render titled “core_scan_gesture_broadside” illustrates a smartphone with dual punch-hole cutout and a fingerprint sensor on the right.
Furthermore, there are also rumors that it will be powered by a flagship-level MediaTek chipset with onboard 5G capability. However, Xiaomi may just go for one from Qualcomm. Also, the Redmi K30 may have Sony’s next-gen IMX686 image sensor.
Note: This article is entirely based around rumors and leaks from a couple of acclaimed tech-websites. Many of their leaks have proven to be accurate in the past. Nonetheless, it is entirely possible that they may be wrong this time.
It seems that smartphone users worldwide are always on the lookout for the added pro/s ( or a similar suffix) version of the phone once it launches. And smartphone makers ultimately feed on this craze from the user-side and give them what they want.
These “suffix” – added devices are usually a minor upgrade on the base offering at a slightly higher cost. One such device with an added s that’s was recently launched was the Realme 5s. So, what does this upgraded version offer?
The major upgrade in the Realme 5s is the new primary camera sensor. With 5s users get a 48MP Samsung GM1 as their primary rear camera. Now, this can truly be said as a major upgrade. That’s because the Realme 5 only had a mere 12MP primary sensor. However, the rest of the quad-camera array pretty much remains the same. It uses the same 8MP ultra-wide lens, a 2MP macro lens and finally a 2MP depth sensor.
The other slight tweak in the Realme 5s is that it will be available in one new color. It is labeled as Crystal Red. And that makes it a total of 3 variants in terms of color as the other options available are Purple and Blue.
Furthermore, with 5s you won’t have an option to choose from 3GB and 4GB RAM variants as it was with Realme 5. It will be available only in a 4GB variant. However, you do have the option to choose the storage option – either 64GB or 128 GB. There’s still a dedicated microSD slot which allows memory expansion up to 256GB for anyone interested.
The remaining specs, however, is similar to the Realme 5. It offers the same 6.5-inch HD resolution screen. And also runs on the Snapdragon 665 chipset. (Check below for detailed specs)
Realme 5s Specifications
Display: 6.5″ IPS LCD display with HD resolution (720 x 1600 pixels)
As far as the price is concerned, the devices’ base variant i.e 4GB/64GB will be available at $139 and the higher-end variant will cost $153. Currently, we only know about the date of the sale in India only – November 29. News about its availability in Nepal will still have to wait for a while.
So, what can we make of the Realme 5s? Camera-wise its specs resemble the Realme 5 Pro and the rest is similar to Realme 5. So, sort of a mix between both the models. The pro model’s base variant currently costs around $195. And it has a better processor than the 5s. Will users pay extra bucks for a better processor or take the trade-off between processor and camera setup with the 5s. That only time can tell. I guess we’ll have to wait a few more months to see how this one rolls out.
It’s been a while that Xiaomi’s sub-brand Redmi launched its Note 8 series in China and India. And finally, Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 8 and Note 8 Pro in Nepal for an aggressive price. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 and Note 8 Pro are the successors to the highly successful mid-ranger the Note 7 Series.
Redmi Note 8 Overview
The Note 8 has a 6.3” LCD screen with 1080P resolution. There is a small notch on the top as well. The bezels are quite thin as phones of 2019 goes.
Redmi Note 8 runs on theSnapdragon 665 processor with an octa-core chipset that is based on the 11nm process. It comprises of eight Kryo 260 cores. Moreover, it is also the same chipset that’s used on the vanilla Mi A3.
Now moving on to the camera, the rear one has a quad-cam setup. The primary camera has a 48MP module with a Samsung ISOCELL GM2 sensor. In addition, there’s an 8MP ultra-wide lens, a 2MP macro camera, and a 2MP depth sensor. The display up front still has a notch. And it houses the 13MP selfie shooter. Furthermore, the device is powered by a 4000mAh battery with 18W quick charge support.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 price in Nepal starts from Rs. 20,999 for the base 4+64GB variant. Similarly, the 6+128GB version costs Rs. 23,999.
Xiaomi Model Variant
Price in Nepal
Redmi Note 8 (4/64GB)
Rs. 18,999 Rs. 20,999
Redmi Note 8 (6/128GB)
Rs. 23,999
Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro Overview
The device features a 6.53” IPS LCD display with a Full HD+ resolution. The display has the in-trend waterdrop notch. It comes with Gorilla Glass 5 protection on both front and the rear. This device costs a bit more than the Note 8 Pro.
The camera on Redmi Note 8 Pro is one of its prime features. Similar to the Redmi Note 8, this device too has a quad-cam setup. However, the primary lens is of 64MP. This lens uses the Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 sensor. It is complemented by an 8MP ultra-wide lens a 2MP depth sensor and a 2MP macro camera. The selfie shooter too is better than that of the Note 8. The selfie cam is of 20MP. And it comes with multiple AI features and scene recognition options.
In the performance department, there’s a new MediaTek Helio G90T processor. This SoC is the first gaming processor from MediaTek. Furthermore, this is also the first device from Redmi to have integrated a liquid cooling chamber. Thus, the Note 8 Pro will probably provide a very good mobile gaming experience. Also, it is powered by a huge 4500mAh battery with 18W quick charging.
Check out our Video Review of Redmi Note 8 Pro here:
Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro Price in Nepal [updated 2020]
The official price of Redmi Note 8 Pro in Nepal is Rs. 26,999. This price is for the base 6/64GB memory variant. Similarly, the higher-end 6/128GB version price in Nepal is Rs. 29,999. There’s also an 8GB RAM variant that carries a price tag of Rs. 32,999.
With brands like Xiaomi and Samsung currently ruling the lower to the mid-range smartphone market, it’s easy to forget that brands such as Lava even exist. Their dominance in the budget smartphone segment seems long gone. But are they going to make a comeback? Well, with the introduction of their Benco series, Lava does seem to have brought a product that put froth’s a strong competition.
So, what does their new range of smartphone offer? Basically, this Benco series from Lava is designed to cater to young users. They are cost-effective and have a stylish design which they hope will attract youngsters. With the mission to connect the young with an intelligent world, Lava’s Benco series was launched in five South Asian countries including Nepal.
But is it only the outside of a device that attracts the youth? Obviously not! And thus, the devices in the benco do pack some competitive specs. Because come on no one would simply buy a device just to marvel at its design. So, what are their specs? Or rather what are the available smartphones in the benco series.
For now, a sole model labeled as the benco V8 is available in Nepal and other regions. It was launched by INONE Technology in Nepal on 4th November 2019.
Lava Benco V8 Specifications Overview
The Lava benco V8 has a big 6.53-inch screen with an HD+ resolution of 1560 x 720 pixels. The front screen has a waterdrop notch that houses the 8 MP front camera. And on the back, you get a triple camera setup along with a fingerprint sensor.
It runs on the MediaTek Helio P23 chipset. An octa-core processor, the MediaTek Helio P23 offers 8 ARM Cortex A53 cores. Those cores are divided into two clusters and are clocked up to 2.0 GHz. Furthermore, the benco V8 has 2GB of RAM and 32 GB storage on board. However, there is a dedicated microSD slot that allows you to expand storage up to 256GB.
The main highlight of this device, however, is undoubtedly its triple camera setup. The camera array includes a 16MP primary sensor, a 2MP macro lens and a 2 MP depth sensor. Having a macro lens in the camera setup can drastically improve the details and clarity of your close up photos. Take a look at the photo samples from the benco V8 that makes use of the macro lens.
Obviously, these photographs are for advertisement purposes so it makes sense that they look great. However, I do hope the camera performance, in reality, is similar to what they claim.
Moreover, the primary lens also has a large f/1.7 aperture, a 1.4μmpixel sensor, and a 6P lens. So, it should allow you to capture good quality photos. The large aperture also helps to capture more light. Thus, taking photos during the low-light condition should not be much of a problem for this device.
For its power, the device is powered by a huge 4000mAh battery. And all this setup will cost you NRs. 12, 999. So, basically this device is targeted as the lower price segment. However, as mentioned before, the market already has plenty of players competing on that front. But with all these features on offer and indeed a stylish look, let’s see how the journey of the Lava benco series pans out in Nepal.
Vivo has officially unveiled the Vivo S5 at an event held in Beijing, China yesterday. The headlining feature of the phone is obviously its unique diamond-shaped cutout housing the cameras on the back. Though other phones in the ‘S’ series, namely the Vivo S1 (China) and S1 Pro implemented motorized selfie camera, the Vivo S5 features a minimal punch-hole cutout on the top right corner of the phone for the front camera.
Vivo S5 Overview
Design & Display
Credit where credit’s due; Vivo’s phones are quite impressive when it comes to the design. The S5 is another testament to the tradition with its gorgeous design and is focused on younger audiences. Vivo is calling the phone’s back design as “3D Surface Grip“, which according to the company assures a comfortable grip. Similarly, the company has let itself loose in the sea of creativity with naming the colors of the Vivo S5; Icelandic Love Song, Phantom Blue, and Star Black.
The display is another area where the S5 earns a point. It has a tall 6.44-inch Full-HD+ AMOLED screen, with a punch-hole cutout, making it a first of its kind from a Chinese manufacturer. Additionally, the camera cutout is smaller than that of Samsung’s Galaxy S10e at a mere 2.98mm diameter. With this, the S5 achieves an impressive 91.38% screen-to-body ratio. Thus, the viewing experience on the device should be bliss. For security purposes, the phone implements an in-display fingerprint technology so a physical scanner isn’t present here.
Like with most Vivo phones, this one puts an emphasis on camera performance as well and necessarily so. The back of the Vivo S5 has a unique diamond-shaped cutout, housing the phone’s rear camera. 3 of the 4 lenses can be found inside the cutout alongside the LED flash, while the remaining protrudes just below the module.
Here, you get a 48MPprimary shooter, an 8MP ultra-wide lens, a 5MP depth sensor, and a 2MP dedicated macro lens. For selfies, Vivo has gone with a 32MP lens placed inside a punch-hole cutout on the top right of the phone. Though definitely not a cleaner design choice than a motorized camera, Vivo S5’s display looks exquisite nonetheless.
Vivo S5 – Pose Guidance
Expectedly, Vivo has packed a ton of photography and beautifying features in the Vivo S5. There are options to adjust skin color and tone according to the shooting environment, retain natural skin texture, apply light makeup, make your eyebrows more delicate, and pose guidance as well. Hot damn! Beauty studios and salons may very well close shops then. Here’s something funny, Vivo says the “AI sculpts the face to make the face more natural”, thus redefining the word “natural” in the process.
On a related note, streaming is a big thing in China and the Vivo S5 looks to make a mark in the industry as well. Similarly, it’s a little disturbing how the mainstream Chinese culture emphasizes on a perfectly clear skin sans melanin. The Vivo S5 directly promotes this culture as its “Face Adaptation” feature adjusts people’s fat, long, or thin faces to something more “natural”. Pshaw!
Performance & Memory
Talking about performance, the Vivo S5 packs a decent Snapdragon 712 chipset manufactured with a 10nm fabrication process. This is the same chipset found in Vivo Z1 Pro and the Z1X. It has a dual-core CPU clocked at 2.3GHz and a hexa-core CPU clocked at 1.7GHz. On the GPU end, there’s Adreno 616. Obviously, Vivo could’ve gone with a better SoC for the S5 considering it’s a mid-range device. But unfortunately, that’s not where the company’s head’s at.
Complementing the chipset is an adequate 8GB of RAM, alongside 128GB of internal storage. Rumors had it that the Vivo S5 would also have a 256GB storage variant, but that isn’t the case. An option to expand the storage would’ve been nice, but whatever. At this point, it’s like beating a dead horse.
Battery
We’ve seen many budget and mid-range phones from Vivo with a big 5000 mAh battery. It looks like the company’s taking a break from that as the Vivo S5 packs a smaller 4100 mAh cell. To our delight, it supports 22.5W Flash Charging via USB Type-C. No MicroUSB this time around! Let’s just hope Vivo finally makes Type-C a standard in all of its future smartphones.
Miscellaneous
Vivo is also pushing the S5 towards gamers. Its “Multi-Turbo Acceleration Engine” is said to boost the front-end response speed by up to 30% and improve against frame-rate drops by up to 78%. Additionally, the S5 promises an immersive gaming experience with 4D Smart Feedback shock.
Though there’s a single variant of the S5, Vivo has partnered up with Chinese celebrity “Cai Xukun” to launch “Vivo S5 Cai Xukun Custom Gift Box Edition” which will be China-exclusive.
How many assistants are too much assistant? Well, Vivo is in the virtual assistant game as well, with “Jovi“. Though not as powerful and competent as the Google Assistant, it is capable of your regular requests.
Vivo’s mid-range phones have always had an “oh no!” factor to them. The company has been hell-bent on shipping its cheaper phones with dated MicroUSB technology which we’ve complained about a lot. But it’s nice to see the Vivo S5 with a Type-C port.
Vivo S5 Specifications
Body: 6.22 x 2.91 x 0.34 inches; 188 gm
Display: 6.44-inches Super AMOLED panel
Resolution: Full-HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels); 20:9 aspect ratio
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 712; 10nm Mobile Platform
Front Camera: 32MP, f/2.45 aperture; punch-hole cutout (top-right)
Fingerprint sensor: In-display
Audio: 3.5mm headphone jack
Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano), WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5.1/5.8 GHz), Bluetooth 5.0, BDS/GPS/GLONASS, USB Type-C
Battery: 4100 mAh battery with 22.5W Flash Charging
Colors: Icelandic Love Song, Phantom Blue, Star Black
Pricing & Availability
Vivo S5 is now available in China for ¥2,698 which roughly converts to NRs. 44,050. However, whether or not the device will be a China-only is yet to be confirmed. Considering the fact that we saw the Vivo S1 officially in the Nepalese market as well, if the company manages to price it right, we hope to see the S5 here too. Stick with us for further updates!
Amidst all the backlashes and controversies, Facebook is pushing for its own payment platform. While the in-house “Libra” cryptocurrency has seen a boatload of fumbles and is at a crossroads regarding its next step, the company launched “Facebook Pay” yesterday. It is a digital payment solution using which users will be able to make payments on Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. However, it is not associated with the “Calibra” wallet that runs on the aforementioned Libra network.
How does it work?
Facebook Pay has been integrated into the core Facebook apps and thus doesn’t require an additional application. First, you got to connect your PayPal account or add your credit or debit card. After this, the service will be available across Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp if you choose to. That means Facebook will not automatically make the service available across the apps unless you specifically choose to.
What to use it for?
Facebook points out 3 main use-cases for Facebook Pay:
Send money to friends and family
Pay for goods and services to businesses, and in the Facebook Marketplace
Donate for different causes (fundraisers)
For verifying payments, you can use PIN or biometrics options available on your device. However, Facebook says it won’t receive or store your biometric data. Similarly, you get a notification instantaneously after making one. Then, you can choose whether to share the transaction on your timeline or not. Additionally, the transaction history can be viewed from all apps on which the user has activated the service.
Is it secure though?
Let’s address the elephant in the room – privacy and security. Now, Facebook evidently doesn’t have a good track record when it comes to users’ data and privacy. So, it is only natural to doubt its any and all products from that angle. From the looks of it, the company is really trying hard to erase or wash-out the bad reputation it has to make Facebook Pay a success. However, only time will tell just how secure it is.
Facebook has implemented “anti-fraud monitoring” technology that scours through the system to detect any unauthorized activity. As for your data, the company says users’ PayPal or card data will be stored separately & won’t be shared with any third party. They’ll remain secure with Facebook’s advanced data storage facilities and encryption methods.
Okay, Mr. Zuckerberg. Okay.
The company is also doubling down on gaining users’ trust by employing customer support for any sort of complications. You can contact them via live chat or email.
Availability
Currently, Facebook Pay is only available in the US on Facebook and Messenger. Facebook is apparently taking it slow by releasing the service to a small set of countries and apps first, with “intention to bring this service to more people over time”. With all the negative press and the growing public awareness about their privacy and data security, Facebook Pay is a tough sell.
Remember the original Motorola RAZR? The classic flip phone which was probably the first phone of many still holds a special place in our hearts. With its oh-so-satisfying flip mechanism, holding a phone had never looked and felt so cool before. Say all you want about bezel-less displays and whatnots, but no smartphone in the market can match the design aesthetics of the RAZR. Well… that’s not the case no more! After all the leaks and rumors, Motorola has finally unveiled the new Motorola “razr“.
Motorola Razr Overview
The belle of the ball – Design
Giving you a sweet-sweet hit of nostalgia, the Motorola razr is a modern take on the classic flip phone design. It now unfolds onto a big OLED display and runs Android. The design is really what the company is emphasizing on with this product, and thus has sacrificed a lot in other aspects, which I’ll get on to later. When folded, the new razr bears the same thickness as the original RAZR from back in 2004. Now, that’s a commendable dedication to design from Motorola.
“I used the RAZR to destroy build the razr.”
However, the new razr is significantly heavier at 205 grams, which is to be expected. Though there is no IP rating, the razr is splash-proof with water resistance, thanks to Motorola’s nanocoating technology.
While we’ve seen an imperfect and creased display in foldable phones in the market like Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, Royole FlexPai, and even the Huawei Mate X, the Motorola razr is an exception. It is thanks to the unique hinge which includes “movable support plates that rigidly support the display when the phone is open, but collapse out of the way when the phone is closed.”
Motorola razr - Unfolding
1 of 3
razr's hinge [folded]
razr's hinge [unfolded]
razr's display unfolded
Motorola collaboratively worked with Lenovo to make the hinge, which greatly adds to the appeal of the razr. Because of the multiple hinge mechanism, there’s no crease; just a flat, tall OLED display. Similarly, part of the appeal of a flip phone is the snap to end a call and obviously, you can do that with the new razr.
A couple of displays
Like with all the foldable phones out there, the razr too has more than one display. When folded, you have access to the 2.7-inch glass OLED display with 600 x 800 pixels’ resolution on a 4:3 aspect ratio. Motorola is calling it the “Quick View” display. Here, you can view the time, get your notifications, control music, take selfies via the primary camera, view and send messages, etc. This could help eliminate the need to constantly access the main display of your phone, which would otherwise distract you from the task at hand.
Now let’s talk about the main display. The razr gloriously unfolds to a 6.2-inch “Flex View” plastic OLED display with HD (2142 x 876 pixels) resolution on a 21:9 “Cinemavision” aspect ratio. As aforementioned, there’s no crease in the display. And since it features a familiar aspect ratio, the UI and apps or games do not misbehave like they do in other foldable devices. After all, it’s really just a tall display and nothing more.
The Compromises
“razr” has always been about the flip and the classic design ever since the initial days of its development. To achieve this, Motorola has had to compromise on a lot of different areas and it shows. First of all, the phone is powered by a mid-range Snapdragon 710 chipset from almost 2 years ago. Though not totally useless, I would’ve preferred a Snapdragon 855 or even the 730G would’ve been decent enough. Motorola says the choice was made considering the thermal performance and of course, the design of the razr.
Similarly, it has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage which can’t be expanded via a microSD card. Adding to the injury is the tiny 2510 mAh battery that supports 15W TurboPower charging. While Google’s Pixel 4 was absolutely hammered with criticism for its 2800 mAh cell, lord have mercy on the razr!
… more of ’em!
Additionally, the cameras won’t wow you either. There’s a single 16MP main lens with EIS and a 5MP selfie camera. Now, Motorola has tried to salvage the razr’s camera capabilities by adding various creative modes. “Spot Color” mode lets you select one color from the shot while turning the rest into monochrome.
“Spot Color” mode
Similarly, there is the “Night Vision” mode for low-light photography and “Cinemagraph” mode which keeps a portion of the shot in motion while freezing everything else (the demo video by Motorola feels surreal and a little creepy tbh). Also making its presence is the “Portrait” mode for the bokeh effect.
With the sizeably chunky form-factor that it comes in, you’d expect a 3.5 mm headphone jack but that’s a no-show either. For security purposes, you get a non-Motorola branding physical fingerprint sensor in the chin. Finally, it runs on Android 9.0 (Pie) out of the box, which is as you know, isn’t the latest you can get.
Motorola Razr Specifications
Body: Unfolded (6.77 x 2.83 x 0.27); Folded (3.70 x 2.83 x 0.55); 205 gm
Connectivity: eSIM, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band (2.4 & 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, GPS/AGPS/LTEPP/SUPL/GLONASS, USB Type-C
Battery: 2510 mAh battery with 15W TurboPower Charging
Colors: Noir Black
Pricing & Availability
Are you ready for it? The Motorola razr retails for $1,499 and is only available in the US as a Verizon exclusive. There is no news to when and if it’ll come to other carriers in the US or other countries to that matter.
An easter egg inside the settings menu turns razr’s UI resembling the classic RAZR phone. [Credit: The Verge]So what do you think? Does the price objectively justify the device? After all, it is meant to be used as any other smartphone out in the market. I think the modernization of flip phones alone makes razr worth the asking price. Obviously not everyone is cut from the same cloth and there’ll be many that won’t relate to the embedded nostalgia. But at the end of the day, all I can say is thank you and kudos to Motorola for resurrecting one of the most beloved pieces of technology of our generation.
Call a bunch of friends, grab some snacks, sit somewhere comfortably and watch your favorite show or a movie on a big screen of a projector. Who doesn’t want that? But since projectors are usually expensive, this dream does not come true for everyone. So we went through the internet, browse through a couple of websites and got Blitzwolf BW-VP1 on our RADAR. The projector was available at Banggood.com for just $86. And at that price, the projector is offering quite a lot. But how good are its features? Well, let’s find out in this Blitzwolf BW-VP1 review.
Blitzwolf BW-VP1 Specifications:
Projection System: Display technology LCD, light source LED
Native Resolution: HD (720 x 1080 pixels); supports up to Full-HD (1080 x 1920 pixels)
When it comes to design, this one doesn’t have anything out of ordinary. It looks similar to most of the projectors in the market. But where it differs is, in terms of portability. The projector is just 7cm thick and merely weighs 1.1Kgs. So, it easily fits in your bags and traveling with it is quite hassle-free.
The projector has a lens on the front, which comes covered with a lens cap. The front face of the projector also includes an IR receiver and Blitzwolf branding right beneath it.
A small part on the top features mirror-finished surface, which comes with control buttons on it. But since you also get a remote control with it, you may not use those control buttons that often.
There are also two knobs on the top of the lens: one of them lets the user adjust the keystone whereas the other one is to adjust the focus. Similarly, you get all the connectivity ports on the right. There’s also a grill alongside, which provides active cooling for the projector.
Just if you are wondering, there is a power jack, speaker, and another IR receiver on the back.
Since it’s a light projector, you can also mount it on a tripod. And for that, you get a dedicated hole on the bottom. Alongside that, you get another hole for adjusting screw with which you can adjust angles on the projector screen.
Connectivity
As for the connectivity, there is a VGA port, an HDMI port, a USB port, an AV port, and 3.5mm audio output. Making use of the VGA or HDMI port, you can connect this projector with your PC and use it as a big monitor. Using HDMI cable, you can also connect the gaming consoles like PlayStation and Xbox and Play games on it.
This projector can also be used as a TV alternative. Just connect your set-top box to the projector with an HDMI cable and voila, you can watch TV contents on it.
In addition to that, there is a USB-Type-A port. So plugging in your Thumb Drive or even your smartphone with an OTG cable, you can showcase your media contents on-the-go.
However, the projector only reads text files and not the Microsoft word and powerpoint files. So you still need to carry your laptop for the presentations, which is a bummer.
But on the side note, you can still play songs, movies and photos, which I guess is a feature to cherish.
Picture quality
Now let’s talk about the technical features. The Blitzwolf BW-VP1 is a long-throw projector, whose projection size can be varied from 28-inch to 100-inch by varying the projection distance from 1m-3m. So it can be handy in a wide variety of situations.
The projector uses an LCD panel with an LED lamp of 75-watts. So unlike most of the DLP projectors, it won’t have a color ghosting effect. Lamps on DLP projectors also don’t last so long as they usually have a lamp life of 2000-5000 hours.
However, this projector has a lamp life of 50,000 hours. So even if you regularly use this projector for 10 hours on a daily basis, it would still last for over 13 years. Pretty impressive, right?
But what got be quite unsatisfied was its resolution. It has a native resolution of 720p with support for Full-HD content. Since most of the projectors these days usually come with Full-HD and 4K resolution, it cannot match them in terms of sharpness. And while casting big images on the screen, you might even find some pixelation.
But as it’s a budget projector, such tradeoffs are usually inevitable. However, what can you do is, maintain a proper distance while watching content on it.
If the viewing distance is equal or more than the Retina distance, you won’t notice any sort of pixelation and the picture looks seamless.
When it comes to colors, I found the projector rather impressive. Although the projector isn’t HDR enabled, colors were close to natural. But you need to use it in dark rooms to notice it since the brightness of the lamp is just 1800 lumens. So make sure you pull the curtains before watching the movies or starting a presentation. But since it has a low contrast ratio, it may not help always. Sometimes, dark contents still get subdued. So there is that!
Audio
As for the audio, you get a 4-watt speaker system inbuilt inside the projector. Running it on full volume, the audio output is usually sufficient for a small group of people. However, at higher volumes, the audio usually distorts.
The cooling fans also make some noise, which is highly noticeable while playing content on low volumes. So, if you want to subdue the noise level and enhance the audio quality, you should get a separate speaker system, which produces loud and rich audio output.
The Blitzwolf BW-VP1 projector surely isn’t the best projector you can get in the market. It comes with low resolution, doesn’t have much brightness and contrast ratio, and audio quality is also nothing great to talk about. But even with those tradeoffs, I find it value-packed.
Because of such tradeoffs, it may not be usable in the home theatre system. But for casual use and for school and office presentations, it would still be sufficient for most. So weighing the features on the device and its cost, I still consider it to be one of the best projectors under $100.
Google and user data privacy doesn’t really go hand to hand. Most of us are aware of what Google is capable of doing with our data. How it keeps a tab on us. Tracks our every move. And keeps making money off of it.
Currently, Google gains our data via our daily activity on the internet. But what if they were able to gain more personal data. For instance, our sleep routine, heart rate and more. How would they use it and what would be its implications? No one knows. And that’s what Fitbit users are concerned about.
On November 1, Google purchased the wearable tech giants Fitbit for $2.1 billion. And from that very moment of Google’s Fitbit acquisition, Fitbit users went on an alert mode. Rightly so, as previously mentioned, it already makes a lot of money through our data. Furthermore, with the amount of data that they have and will potentially collect by monitoring Fitbit, a simple lapse in security can amount to a huge disaster.
So, what was the mode of action for Fitbit users? Apparently, most of them are straight away ditching the fitness tracker. Moreover, users are already threatening to switch to rival smartwatches from Apple, Garmin, and others.
The amount of backlash definitely didn’t go unnoticed. As a matter of fact, both Fitbit and Google were quick to respond.
The first to respond was James Park, the co-founder, and CEO of Fitbit. He pointed out that privacy and security guidelines have always been of the utmost importance to Fitbit. And in no circumstance would they ever compromise user data. Through his word, he tried to assure users that their personal data would never be sold and will not be used for Google ads.
Later on, we also heard an official statement from a Google executive. He wrote in a blog that Google will be transparent about what data they will collect and why. Furthermore, he too fixated on the point that the wellness data will not be sold for Google ads.
But can we really trust Google? Users of Fitbit have a legit reason for concern. However, were they too quick to throw their wearables to the bin? They should have probably waited for an official user license agreement. But at the end of the day, it is their Fitbit and all we can do is simply give suggestions.
