No, Tesla didn’t make it and neither did any other multinational vehicle manufacturer that may come to your mind. “Project Zero” is the outcome of all the conjoined efforts, hardship, knowledge, and energy of Yatri Motorcycles; a Nepali motorcycle manufacturing company founded in 2017 by Ashim Pandey. The company strives for improved individual mobility, while simultaneously making an impact on environmental protection. But what is Project Zero exactly, you might be wondering. This is the company’s first and consequently Nepal’s first electric motorcycle as well. Taking inspiration from the classic “Café Racer” bikes, Project Zero (P0) features a bold, futuristic, and contrasting design with an impressive spec-sheet too.
Yatri Motorcycles: Project Zero
Nepal Government has been pretty “vocal” about its stance on electric vehicles in the country. It wants more of it, and fast. In order to persuade people towards owning EVs (Electric Vehicles), the government imposes a mere 10% excise duty (for private usage) or a minuscule 1% for public EVs, while regular non-electric vehicles are subject to up to 240% import tax. This makes the ownership of EVs all the more logical in a price-sensitive market like Nepal.
So take pride and be glad to know that Yatri Motorcycles’ Project Zero is an electric motorcycle, designed, assembled entirely in Nepal while a few of the complex parts have been imported from abroad. Specifically, these complex components include the “Brembo Brakes”, “Metzler tires” to name a few.
Project Zero’s First Test Ride. [Credit: Ashim Pandey (u/maverickasim), Reddit]
Having to assemble imported components isn’t that big an issue for the team at all. What hurt the process the most (at least financially), is the fact that Yatri’s custom-designed parts manufactured abroad (because of the production constraints in Nepal) is recognized as “spare parts” and not “raw materials”. With this, Yatri is compelled to pay a hefty 30-35% tax for importing something of their own design. A little leeway would’ve been better, but here we are.
What’s Underneath?
Now let’s get into what Project Zero is packing. I should remind you that the company isn’t taking a page out of your regular affordable bikes with compromises here and there. This is a premium EV with a powerful performance which is likely to cost a lot as well. The majority of the bike has been manufactured using the lighter and stronger carbon fiber in spite of metal.
“Through this elegant design, we aim to reach not only the environmentalists but ultimately those who care about owning an inspiring product.”
Yatri Motorcycles: Project Zero
1 of 2
Project Zero - Design [1]
Project Zero - Design [2]
You will not be sacrificing any degree of performance with Project Zero. Here, its powerful 30kW motors will give you 42BHP (Brake Horse Power) and 120NM torque. Furthermore, this bike has a top speed of 120km/hr.
The battery on this thing is nothing short of impressive as well. Upon a full charge (which will take 2 hours or more), Project Zero can last for 230km. According to the company, a full charge under alternate current (AC) will cost you around NRs. 70.
Similarly, the bike incorporates a big 7-inches Full-HD display which will be how you’ll access the company’s Yatri Hub app. Apart from displaying the regular data like speed and GPS, you can also check intricate details like approximate money you’ve saved by switching to an EV.
Can I buy it now?
Unfortunately not yet. Yatri hasn’t yet revealed what Project Zero will cost but has said that test rides will be open come March 2020. In the congested and inconsistent roads of Nepal, Yatri’s Project Zero looks to provide a premium riding experience, with something to show for environmental protection too.
Vivo Y90 is not the first phone which comes to our mind when we think of entry-level smartphones in Nepal. However, it isn’t a bad deal, given its design and battery capabilities. The device was launched in mid-2019 is Nepal under the 15,000 price range. But since then it has received some price cut. So, let’s check out the updated price of Vivo Y90 in Nepal and see if the price complements its specs.
Vivo Y90 Overview
The front features a tear-drop notch on the top which houses a selfie camera. The screen is considerably big and provides an HD+ FullView display. At the rear, this smartphone adopts a curved edge design featuring an 8MP single camera. In the smartphone world where every phone is opting to at-least a double camera; getting an average 8MP single camera seems to be a pretty daring move from Vivo.
Further, there is no fingerprint scanner on this phone. Vivo has been bold enough to feature a face recognition feature to unlock this phone. However, considering the price and other specs of the phone, it is not far-fetched to speculate that most of the phone’s users will reside in other screen unlocking techniques.
Talking about the hardware part, the phone is powered by Helio A22 SoC; which can be considered a below-average processor in 2019. This processor is even incomparable to the Snapdragon 450. However, the phone’s powerhouse is a 4030 mAh battery, which will certainly provide a lot of screen time for an average user.
The phone has 2 GB of RAM and runs on Android 8.1 Oreo. The storage on board is 32 GB with an option to expand it further to 256GB via microSD card.
Vivo Y90 Specifications:
Display: 6.22-inch HD+ FullView
Rear camera: 8MP, f/2.0 aperture
Front Camera: 5MP f/1.8 aperture
CPU: Helio A22 SoC
OS: Android Oreo (v8.1)
RAM: 2 GB
Storage: 32 GB (expandable up to 256 GB)
Battery: 4030 mAh with micro-USB charging
SIM(s): Dual Hybrid SIM
Sensors: Face Recognition, Accelerometer, Gyro, proximity, compass
Vivo Y90 Price in Nepal & Availability
At its original launch, the Vivo Y90 was available for Rs. 13,690 but it received a price hick after the nationwide Lockdown. So the updated price of Vivo Y90 in Nepal is Rs. Rs.14,490.
Model Name
Old Price in Nepal
New Price
Vivo Y90 (2/32GB)
Rs. 13,690
Rs. 14,490
That’s great and all but will it be effective enough to outshine the Redmi 8A or the recent Nokia 2.3? It’s a losing battle if you ask me.
If the global music scene keeps you on your toes, chances are slim that you haven’t heard of K-Pop. The music genre that originated in South Korea in the early 90s, has taken the world by storm ever since it caught-up with the mainstream culture. It has crossed boundaries and that has resulted in an enormous fanbase appreciating the music-style. This global wave of K-Pop music hasn’t left Nepal untouched. The genre has lots of people, especially teens, following it despite being relatively new to the domestic scene. If the category of people I’m talking about includes you or your group, there’s a piece of good news for you; Samsung’s official Facebook page has announced the Samsung Blackpink Dance Festival – a cover dance contest for the K-pop fans in Nepal. Well, it was about time that they hit you with that “ddu-du ddu-du du”.
How to participate
To participate, you simply need to record a 10 sec to 1-minute video of you or your group in a K-Pop song and submit it on the designated email of the campaign ([email protected]). Don’t take the campaign title too strictly, you can choose to dance on songs of K-Pop artists other than Blackpink if you aren’t that big fan of the ddu-du ddu-du du stars. The contest started on the 4th of December and will end at 5 pm, December 20. So you need to hurry if you don’t want to miss the deadline. Mind that the video must be submitted unedited, raw, and uncut and it should in MP4 format. Anything other than the specified will disqualify you from the contest.
You are also required to like both the official Samsung page and the contest post to be eligible. Additionally, the contest post must also be shared publicly with hashtags: #SamsungCoverDanceContest #ReadyForLive.
Further terms and conditions have been specified in the contest page itself.
Rewards and Prizes
Through this contest, 10 lucky winners will receive exciting gifts hampers from Samsung that are worth more than NPR 5000. They will get a chance to perform in a grand event that the company is going to organize as the second stage of the contest. The event is going to be held in Kathmandu on December 28, which will be hosted on Silver Oak Banquet and Events Center, Gairidhara.
Also, three lucky participants from the top 10 will receive Samsung Galaxy A smartphones. The prizes include Galaxy A80, Galaxy A50s, and the Galaxy A30s.
If you love K-Pop and miss out on this opportunity, you can still participate as an audience in the grand event. It will be hosted among more than 400 audiences. Samsung has stated that it has arranged gift hampers for people who will arrive at the grand event in costume reflecting K-Pop culture.
Winner Announcement
Since the contest was announced and is being held on the Samsung Nepal’s official Facebook page, the winners will also be announced through the page. The top ten contestants of the Samsung Blackpink Dance Festival will be announced on December 22.
Nokia 2.3 is the company’s budget smartphone which comes with a bigger display, a juicier battery, and a better camera setup than its predecessor: the Nokia 2.2. The price of Nokia 2.3 in Nepal puts it head to head with Xiaomi’s Redmi 8A. So, which one should you choose?
Nokia 2.3 Specifications
Body: 6.20 x 2.97 x 0.34 inches; 183 gm
Display: 6.2-inches IPS LCD panel
Resolution: HD+ (1520 x 720 pixels); 19:9 aspect ratio
Chipset: MediaTek Helio A22; 12nm Mobile Platform
CPU: Quad-core (2.0 GHz Cortex-A53)
GPU: PowerVR GE8320
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 32GB (expandable up to 512 via a microSD card)
Software & UI: Android 9 (Pie)
Rear Camera: Dual-camera;
– 13 MP, f/2.2 primary shooter
– 2MP depth sensor
– Single LED flash
The highlight of every new Nokia phone in the past couple of years has been its design. The new Nokia 2.3 incorporates the company’s signature design principle as well, with a new vertical ridge across the phone’s back. The overall build material is plastic while it has a metallic frame for that premium-y look. Add this to the 2.5D curved design, you get a better grip of the phone while simultaneously enhancing the appeal of the Nokia 2.3. The curved edges further add to the phone’s clean design. Here, the phone comes in three color variants: Cyan Green, Sand, and Charcoal.
Coming to the display, it has a bigger 6.2-inches “in-cell”(oof, that’s not a good name atall) IPS LCD panel. However, Nokia could’ve done a better job by upgrading to an FHD+ resolution but the Nokia 2.3 is still stuck with an HD+ panel. Of course, a higher resolution would deteriorate the battery life but there could have been an option to change between the phone’s resolution. In our review of the Nokia 7.2, we observed a slight discoloration on its display due to the rounded corners and we just hope the issue doesn’t reside on the 2.3 as well since it features a similar display cutout.
Camera
Well, mobile photography has taken off for quite a while now and a good camera setup is essential in almost every smartphone, regardless of its price. Acknowledging exactly this trend, Nokia has packed in an additional depth sensor on the Nokia 2.3 along with the primary lens.
Here, you get a 13MP primary shooter and a 2MP depth sensor for your portrait shots. On the front, there’s a 5MP selfie camera inside the waterdrop notch. Talking about the notch, while the Nokia 2.2 had a sharp ‘U’ shaped cutout, the company has opted for a subtler ‘V’ shaped waterdrop notch on the Nokia 2.3 which I think is the better of the two.
Though the setup may not look that impressive in the paper, Nokia is pushing the 2.3 as a budget camera phone and is providing some cool camera features. The most notable one is the “Recommended Shot” feature which takes 15 shots before and after pressing the shutter button. The phone then recommends the best shot among the bunch. Cool!
Additionally, Nokia is also promising decent low-light photography on the Nokia 2.3. Moreover, you can select from 5 different effects (classic, rain, butterfly, heart, star) for the background blur that will make your portrait images standout.
Well, there’s nothing exciting to talk about the phone’s performance department since it equips the same-old Helio A22 found in the Nokia 2.2. It has a quad-core processor and the PowerVR GE8320 GPU. While other budget phones in a similar price range of the Nokia 2.3 are offering a better Helio P22 / P23 or Snapdragon 632, we as consumers have come to expect much more from budget phones as well. This is the one area where Nokia lags and I wish the company did something about that.
Moving on to the memory, Nokia 2.3 comes in a single 2GB RAM/32GB storage variant. It kinda makes sense that budget devices come on a single memory configuration. But 2GB RAM in 2019 just doesn’t seem like the right choice. It should’ve been at least 3GB in my opinion. However, as the phone is a part of the “Android One” program and thus runs stock Android, its RAM management should be fairly noteworthy.
Battery
A big battery on a budget phone has kind of been a trend in the smartphone market these days. Generally, people in the market for a budget phone are not performance-oriented and just seek for a device with a decent performance that lasts them at least a day. Smartphone manufacturers have been clever enough to recognize this market demand and come up with phones packing a large battery.
In the case of Nokia 2.3, you get a 4000 mAh cell which is what you’re getting with most other budget phones these days. The AI-assisted battery intelligently tracks the app’s usage and helps to enhance battery life. Therefore, the company says the Nokia 2.3 will give you a 2-day battery. When thinking about it, it’s a budget phone targeted towards general users so I think it might just last for two days. We’ll just have to wait and see if the claim has any truth to it.
Miscellaneous
Nokia has a pretty good track record of updates on its smartphones. With Android One, the Nokia 2.3 will receive at least two years of OS upgrades and three years of monthly security updates. Therefore, you’ll be the first inline to get the best Android has to offer.
“A little help wherever you go.”
Also, Nokia has been pushing with a dedicated Google Assitant button in its smartphones and the Nokia 2.3 has got one as well. Though I doubt it’ll be natively remappable from the phone’s settings itself, there are many third-party apps for it anyways.
Nokia 2.3 Price in Nepal and Availability
The official price of the Nokia 2.3 in Nepal is Rs. 13,499. This price for Nokia 2.3 in Nepal is for the 2GB RAM and 32GB storage variant. You can buy the phone from mobile retail shops all over Nepal.
Model Name
Price in Nepal
Available stores
Nokia 2.3 (2/32GB)
Rs. 13,499
Daraz
Offline mobile retail shops
The Nokia 2.3 closest competition is the Xiaomi Redmi 8A. So, which one should you choose? If you can live with Xiaomi’s heavily customized MIUI and the single rear camera set up, then Redmi 8A proves better. But, with the Nokia 2.3, you are getting a stock Android experience along with guaranteed updates. So, make a wise choice depending on your preference.
Like always, Samsung’s notorious strategy of price-drops, discounts, and schemes is upon us. As per the company’s Christmas & New Year offer, the recently launched Samsung Galaxy A70s comes in an all-new price which makes the phone more attractive than ever. The phone equips an impressive 64MP triple-camera, a gorgeous display, and a durable battery as well.
Overview
The major highlight of the handset is its camera. The Galaxy A70 used to have a 32MP primary camera but on the A70s, the resolution of the shooter has been actually doubled. Yeah, that’s right. The Samsung Galaxy A70s features a 64MP main camera. But that isn’t a new thing in the industry since we already have smartphones with a 64MP camera like the Redmi Note 8 Pro and the Realme XT. And just like the Redmi Note 8 Pro and Realme XT, Samsung has used its home-grown Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 sensor.
Alongside the 64MP main camera, there are two more cameras. Just like the A70, there is an 8MP ultra-wide-angle and a 5MP depth sensor, which should work more or less similar to the A70. Similarly, on the front, there is a 32MP selfie shooter.
Talking about the display, the phone comes with a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display with Full-HD resolution. You also get a tiny waterdrop-style notch on the top of the display and a fingerprint scanner beneath it. And that says it all, nothing has changed even on the display front.
Powering the device is the Snapdragon 675 processor with 6GB/8GB of RAM at its disposal. As for the memory, you get 128GB of onboard memory and a dedicated SD card slot, which lets you expand the storage even further.
The phone is fueled by a beefy 4500mAh battery. Alongside the massive battery, Samsung has included a 25-watt fast charger to top-up the charge. On the software front, you get the usual One UI on top of the Android Pie. Samsung Galaxy A70s comes in three different colors and all of them feature a 3D prism gradient design with a glossy finish.
Samsung Galaxy A70s Specifications
Display: 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display, FHD+ resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio
The Samsung Galaxy A70s was launched for a price of Rs. 48,890 which is arguably a lot for what the phone’s actually packing. Additionally, it isn’t much of an upgrade from its predecessor, the Galaxy A70 either, especially and disappointingly in the performance department.
But now, Samsung Galaxy A70s price in Nepal is set at just Rs. 43,799 which is over 10% drop in the initial asking price of Rs. 48,890. This makes the Galaxy A70s a good phone under Rs 45,000 in Nepal.
Model Name
Price in Nepal
Availability
Samsung Galaxy A70s (6/128GB)
Rs. 43,799
Retail Shops all over Nepal
Check out our review of the Samsung Galaxy A70s below:
With Christmas right around the corner, Samsung has once again stepped up to make this festive season even more joyful by announcing amazing discounts on its select Galaxy ‘A’ and ‘M’ lineup of smartphones. Under the “Christmas and New Year Offer”, Samsung has announced deals which even the Santa himself would be proud of. Depending upon the model, Samsung is offering discounts ranging from NPR 991 to NPR 14,991.
Samsung Galaxy A80
Design: Glass body front and back, Aluminum frame
Display: 6.7″ Super AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution (1080 x 2400 pixels)
Rear Camera: Triple, 48 MP primary lens with f/2.0 aperture & PDAF + 8 MP Ultra-wide-angle lens with f/2.2 aperture + 3D TOF sensor
Front Camera: Rotating rear camera (48 MP primary lens with f/2.0 aperture & PDAF + 8 MP Ultra-wide-angle lens with f/2.2 aperture + 3D TOF sensor)
With the launch of Vivo X30 and Vivo X30 Pro, Vivo has now added two more devices to its X series of smartphones. As with the majority of phones launching under this lineup, the highlight of these two devices is once again, the camera.
Vivo X30 & X30 Pro Specifications
Body: 6.42 x 3.04 x 0.35 inches
Display: 6.44-inches Super AMOLED Display
Resolution: 1080 x 2400 pixels; 20:9 aspect ratio
Chipset: Samsung’s Exynos 980; 8nm Mobile Platform
Connectivity: Dual Sim (Nano-SIM), WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/AGPS/GLONASS/BDS, USB Type-C
Battery: 4350 mAh with 33W fast charging
Colors: Black, Peach, Light Blue
Vivo X30 & X30 Pro Overview
Talking about the camera, the Vivo X30 Pro variant features a 5x periscope camera lens which has been left out in the basic variant. With this addition, the Pro supports digital zoom up to 60x magnification while the basic variant maxes out at 20x digital zoom.
Other than that, both devices feature a 64MP primary lens, an 8MP ultrawide angle lens, and a 32MP telephoto lens. The devices come with features such as Super Night mode and Hyper HDR. The former reduces noise in the dark setting by stacking multiple photos together, while Hyper HDR allows you to shoot pictures against bright sources.
For the selfie, both feature a 50mm portrait camera with a 32MP sensor that sits in the punch hole on the front of the device. It also comes with additional features such as autofocus and bokeh effect.
The devices are powered by Samsung’s Exynos 980 chipset which comes with an integrated modem for 5G support. It is the first device to be powered by this chipset. It comes with a feature that lets you switch over to 4G/5G when the Wi-Fi runs slow.
The devices feature a 6.44-inch Super AMOLED display with 1080 x 2400 resolution. It promises a brighter screen with the brightness going up to 1200 nits local brightness.
Funtouch 10 based on Android 9 runs on both the devices and a 4350 mAh battery powering them. It supports 33W flash charging through its Type-C port. Vivo X30 and X30 Pro also house an in-display fingerprint sensor for security. The devices will come with 128GB and 256GB storage options.
The Vivo X30 is priced at 3,298 Yuan (~NRs. 53,545) for 128GB variant and 3,598 Yuan (~NRs. 58,415) for 256GB variant. Likewise, the Vivo X30 Pro is priced at 3,998 Yuan (~NRs. 64,910) for 128GB variant and 4,298 Yuan (~NRs. 69,780) for 256GB variant.
Both these phones are currently available for pre-order in China via its official website. While the X30 Pro will be available from Dec 24, the X30 will only be available starting Dec 28. As far as Nepal launch is concerned, Vivo has been tight-lipped about its launch in Nepal. However, given what do you think of these phones, is it a hit or a miss? Let us know in the poll down below:
In the recent chain of events, ZTE has revealed its new 5G phone including its specs and the release date. The ZTE Axon 10s Pro is the successor to Axon 10 Pro launched in early 2019, and it will be launched on the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2020. Though a lot of things have been confirmed about the device, the main talking point has been the Snapdragon 865 chipset and its 5G support.
There isn’t much to talk about its design as the Axon 10s pro looks identical to its predecessor. With the thickness measuring at 7.9 mm and weight around 175g, it could be one of the thinnest devices to support 5G.
The Axon 10s Pro will be among the first to be powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 865 chipset. As the flagship chipset is bundled with a discrete X55 modem, the all-new Axon 10s Pro will come with 5G support which wasn’t the case with the Axon 10 Pro which had a separate 5G variant. The phone will come with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.0 storage to assist the performance of the device.
The phone will be one of the few devices that come with support for both Dual-Mode 5G and Wi-Fi 6. One can control the cellular network mode between 4G and 5G depending upon the network availability.
The phone will run on the latest MiFavor 10 on top of Android 10. The UI comes with AI voice assistant, system-wide dark mode and other cool features that seem to be aimed at the Chinese users. Additionally, it comes with Z–booster 2.0 which promises to boost the performance of the device through better resource handling.
ZTE Axon 10s Pro Price & Availability
ZTE Axon 10s Pro is expected to cost around 3000 Yuan (~$430 or ~NRs. 48,710) upon its release. It will compete against the likes of Mi 10, OnePlus 8 and Samsung S11.
Huawei has officially launched the Mate 30 Pro in the Nepali market. It is one of the latest Huawei smartphones that you can buy in Nepal right now. For the hardware it packs, Huawei Mate 30 Pro doesn’t come loaded with GMS (google services) which may be a major turn-off for many, especially in a price-conscious market like Nepal.
Huawei Mate 30 Pro Overview
When Huawei Mate 30 Pro was announced back in September, rather than its camera capabilities and awesome hardware, people were more invested in the US-Huawei battle. And well, this Chinese tech giant took a bold move and launched the Huawei Mate 30 series with no Google mobile services (GMS) in them, though the company did choose to keep Android for now. Since then, Huawei has managed to sell over 7 million units of Mate 30 Pro in China and some Asia Pacific markets, which is a staggering figure amidst the drama. Now, Huawei has launched the Mate 30 Pro in the Nepali market during a Press Meet held in Kathmandu. The company also shared plans for its expansion of Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) – Huawei’s alternative to GMS.
By this time, it’s safe to assume that many of us are already familiar with almost all there is to know about the Mate 30 Pro. But let’s quickly go over them anyway.
Design & Display
It’s gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. The Mate 30 Pro has arguably set the benchmark for what a flagship smartphone should be like. Featuring a stunning glass design and aluminum frame, the phone just oozes premium build quality. With its camera arranged inside a stunning “Halo Ring“, Mate 30 Pro boasts a pleasing visual aesthetics as well. Moreover, Huawei is kinda-sorta greenlighting the button-less design as this flagship smartphone is void of volume rockers and rather replaces them with virtual ones. You also get two virtual buttons on the edge of the screen making the Mate 30 Pro, a quad-finger control smartphone.
Let’s talk about the display now which is equally gorgeous and complements the phone’s design. With a distinct 88º curvature, the Mate 30 Pro’s display just melts on the side for an immersive viewing experience. Huawei calls it, the “Huawei Horizon Display“. And unlike the traditional flagships from other manufacturers, Huawei isn’t opting towards a tinier notch or no-notch display. The Mate 30 Pro has a slim, yet wide notch up top which holds the front camera and other sensors. Despite this, it achieves a tremendous 94.1% screen-to-body ratio. Adding to the beauty of this scintillating 6.53-inches OLED display is the fullDCI-P3 color gamut and HDR10 support.
Camera
Objectively speaking, the Huawei Mate 30 Pro’s magnum opus is its camera. Arranged inside a circular halo ring is the phone’s quad-camera setup which includes the 3D ToF sensor. Boasting the Leica optics, while the primary sensor is a 40MP unit with the RYYB algorithm, the phone also has another 40MP sensor for wide-angle shots. Additionally, the 8MP telephoto lens supports 3x Optical Zoom, 5x Hybrid Zoom, and up to a whopping 30x Digital Zoom. All of this is complemented by the new ISP 5.0 that enables Block-Matching and 3D Filtering (BM3D), professional-grade hardware noise reduction (NR), and temporal and spatial NR (dual-domain NR) on videos. The front camera, on the other hand, is a 32MP f/2.0 lens. Moreover, both front and rear camera supports HDR and panorama shots.
The videography on the Mate 30 Pro is breathtaking too. The 40MP Cine-Camera lets you take great videos even in a low-light environment, thanks to the large 1/1.54″ sensor. Additionally, you can shoot “Ultra Slow-Motion” videos in a ridiculous 7680fps! Mate 30 Pro also allows you to shoot ultra wide-angle timelapse videos. Here, the 3D ToF sensor analyzes the video’s subject to add dynamic bokeh effects in real-time as well.
Performance & Memory
Huawei Mate 30 Pro’s performance is no joke either. It sports the Kirin 990 chipset manufactured under the 7nm FinFET process. Scoring well over 400K on AnTuTu, the Mate 30 Pro has a slight edge over the flagship Snapdragon 855 and even the 855+ in terms of CPU performance. However, it still lags behind the 855+ when it comes to GPU. Nevertheless, the Mate 30 Pro is a damn fast phone that goes head-to-head against any other flagship smartphone in the market. Also, the phone implements an NPU (Neural Processing Unit) for faster handling of AI-related tasks.
You also get a big 4500 mAh battery on the Mate 30 Pro. And good news, the phone supports 40W Huawei SuperCharge and a fast 27W Wireless Huawei SuperCharge. It also supports reverse wireless charging. So, yeah, the battery really shouldn’t be a problem for this beast.
On to the memory, the Mate 30 Pro comes in a single 8/256GB configuration. There’s also the option to expand the storage by an additional 256GB using Huawei’s NM (Nano Memory) card. So, yeah, the company is gearing up for a self-sufficient future.
Huawei Mate 30 Pro Specifications
Body: 6.22 x 2.88 x 0.35-inches; 198gm
Display: 6.53-inch OLED “Huawei Horizon” Display
Resolution: Full-HD+ (2400 x 1176 pixels); 18.5:9 aspect ratio
Chipset: HUAWEI Kirin 990; 7nm Mobile Platform
CPU: Octa-core (2 x Cortex-A76 Based 2.86 GHz + 2 x Cortex-A76 Based 2.09 GHz + 4 x Cortex-A55 1.86 GHz)
GPU: Mali-G76MP16
NPU: 1 Big Core + 1 Tiny Core; DaVinci Architecture
RAM: 8GB LPDDR4x
Storage: 256GB storage, expandable up to 256GB with Nano Memory card
Operating System: Android 10 with EMUI 10
SIM(s): Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / NM card)
Rear Camera: Quad-camera
– Primary 40MP RYYB Cine Camera f/1.8 aperture
– 40 MP RYYB SuperSensing Ultra-Wide angle lens, f/1.6 aperture
– 8 MP RGB Telephoto Camera, f/2.4 aperture
– Tof 3D Depth Sensing Camera
Selfie Camera: 32MP, f/2.0 aperture with 3D Depth Sensing Camera for 3D Face unlock
Others: In-display fingerprint sensor, Infrared sensor, Water and Dust Resistance (IP68), USB 3.0, NFC
Battery: 4500mAh battery with 40W SuperCharge and 27W Wireless HUAWEI SuperCharge
… The Conflict! (Huawei Vs US)
Well, ever since Huawei faced the trade ban from the US, it has been in the headlines of many news outlets including ours. To those unfamiliar, here’s a short summary “Trump Administration placed Huawei under the Entity List, which effectively bans any US-owned company from doing business with the Chinese telecommunications manufacturer”.
This means, most essentially, there’s no Google Mobile Services (GMS) on the Mate 30 Pro despite running the latest Android 10. No PlayStore, no YouTube, nothing. After all these years of leeching into Google Mobile Suite and its services, is the general audience ready for a Google-less phone?
A Possible Workaround for Huawei Mate 30 Pro?
In its earliest days of launch, you could surpass the trade ban and install GMS on the Mate 30 Pro through the infamous LZPlay. However, from a month or so, the service no longer works after a server-side change made by Google (or Huawei, or both). Since LZPlay isn’t in any way a part of Huawei, the service was entirely unofficial and was susceptible to vulnerabilities. Furthermore, the Mate 30 Pro fails the Compatibility Test Suite (CTS) verification which forbids the phone to side-load APK files for Google’s services.
VMOS App Demo
Now, don’t get your hopes down just yet. There’s another workaround! It’s called VMOS, which is an app-based Virtual Machine (VM). Like, you know, in the PCs. When installed, it’ll be as if your Mate 30 Pro is running two different OS at once. So far, this is the only viable and easy workaround. If you are getting confused as to what the hell it is, just think of it this way:
While an app like, say, the calculator opens into an interface with what you’d expect from a calculator, vmos opens into a “fully” functioning android system.
With this, you can use the Mate 30 Pro like any other regular Android smartphone and use Google’s services. However, it has its drawbacks as well. Firstly, VMOS is not endorsed by Huawei or Google so there goes your “official”-ness. But more importantly, the overall experience is slow and restricted, since running “an additional OS” on a phone takes a toll on the chipset despite being a world-class chipset. Similarly, the Mate 30 Pro also fails the “SafetyNet” verification which is the linchpin to performing any financial tasks on a phone. That means no Google Pay or other similar apps.
Huawei Mobile Services (HMS)
Despite all the “workarounds”, Huawei knows they’re not substantial enough for the company if the trade ban isn’t lifted. Reports of the company working on its own OS had been around for a while and Huawei finally unveiled the Harmony/Hongmeng OS, albeit only in its TV. While the Harmony OS may take a while to replace Android in Huawei smartphones, the company is investing heavily in streamlining its Huawei Mobile Services (HMS), which is the company’s version of GMS.
And I agree. Coming up with an entirely new OS is an uphill battle, though not an impossible one. Since Huawei is legally allowed to use the open-source version of Android (AOSP), it makes more sense that the company focuses on developing an alternative to GMS which it can’t use. This was also one of the keynotes of the press meet held by Huawei Nepal as well.
Essentially, HMS is a collection of applications and services to facilitate Huawei’s ecosystem. It includes apps and services like AppGallery, Browser, Themes, Music, Assistant, etc. each with the company’s name prefixed to each of them. And it’s taking off rapidly, especially and obviously in China, while other markets are a little hesitant.
Why launch the Huawei Mate 30 Pro in Nepal?
Now this question may be boggling the minds of many tech-enthusiasts in Nepal including myself. A herculean phone with the asking price of over 1 lakh which most importantly doesn’t include any Google apps launching in a market like Nepal doesn’t quite make sense. But I may have cracked the code.
There’s no arguing that the company is going through a tough time right now. But Huawei isn’t the one to give up and sit quietly. The company is working harder than ever to spread the message that the trade ban WILL NOT be the end of the company. We also heard the news a couple of months ago about how the company rewarded its thousands of employees for their hard work in these trying times. The mindset is clear:
huawei is confident that it can overcome the trade ban and eventually turn its business back to the way it was.
Ergo, the company doesn’t want its consumers to look down upon it. Launching its flagship device and most definitely the best smartphone of 2019 (discounting the absence of GMS) in Nepal is another testimonial to the company’s ideals. Huawei is establishing just how much it values its customers, no matter the country or the size of the market. Of course, it knows the Mate 30 Pro is gonna sell terribly in Nepal! I personally don’t think the launch of this phone has any sort of profit-making motive in mind. Rather, it symbolizes the sheer confidence of Huawei on its product and its gratitude towards the Nepalese customers. One of the best performing and the objectively best camera-phone in the entire damn world is officially available in Nepal, how cool is that?
Huawei Mate 30 Pro Price in Nepal & Availability
The HuaweiMate 30 Pro was launched in Europe for €1099. Huawei has kept the pricing very competitive and launched the Mate 30 Pro in Nepal for a price of Rs. 129,900.
Model Name
Price in Nepal
Availability
Huawei Mate 30 Pro 4G
NPR. 129,900
Available via official retail shops
However, without the Google Mobile Services suite, buying a Mate 30 Pro makes very little sense. Despite boasting excellent hardware, design, and build, the phone is void of GMS which is crucial to run apps and services like PlayStore and YouTube. I kinda want to say the price is worth just for its cameras, but I’d only be fooling myself. At the end of the day, it’s a smartphone, with multiple compromises. Huawei’s continuous efforts and investment towards HMS will not succeed overnight. There’s a difficult road ahead.
Nevertheless, I’d like to applaud Huawei Nepal for bringing the forbidden fruit to our market.
Vivo’s Y-series usually falls behind its competitors in the south Asian market. Vivo’s latest smartphone, the Vivo Y19 builds on its predecessor Y17 by offering a big battery and FullHD display. Let’s check out the complete specs, price, and availability of Vivo Y19 in Nepal.
Vivo Y19 Overview
Design & Display
Talking about the design, it is nothing to go bonkers over. The Vivo Y19 comes on a “3D Micro Arc Curvature Design” which is just verbose for a curved build. You get Vivo’s signature gradient reflective design on the back. The phone comes in two color schemes: Magnetic Black, and Spring White. Similarly, there’s a traditional fingerprint scanner next to the cameras.
The predecessor Y17 came with an underwhelming HD+ resolution for a decently big display and we complained about it dearly. Well, Vivo has upped the display game here, as the Y19 packs a taller 6.53-inch “Halo FullView” LCD panel with Full-HD+ (2340 x 1080) resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, and 395ppi. Similarly, the company has managed to minimize the bezels. As a result, the phone achieves an impressive 90.3% screen-to-body ratio.
Camera
The cameras on the Vivo Y19 are nothing to write home about either. It features an almost identical triple rear-camera setup like the older Y17. The only upgrade is the bigger 16MP main shooter, while you get the same old 8MP super wide-angle camera. However, Vivo has swapped the depth sensor with a 2MP macro sensor on the Y19. You’d think a traditional Vivo customer would care more about portrait shots than close-ups, but hey, the company must have had its reasons.
Making our way to the front, we can find the 16MP selfie camera under a tiny waterdrop notch on top. Now, Vivo phones have always packed tons of features regarding photography and the Y19 is no exception. “AI Face Beauty” enhances and smoothens your selfies, while “AI Makeup” in the photo album lets you change the makeup post taking the shot. “Pose Master” is another interesting feature where the camera app will guide you through setting the pose for your pictures.
Performance & Memory
Now, Vivo phones have never been equipped with decent chipsets making them an undesirable choice for people looking for a fast phone. The Y19 houses the new octa-core MediaTek Helio P65 chipset (12nm). It features dual-core 2.0GHz Cortex-A75 and hexa-core 1.7GHz Cortex-A55 CPU, which is not a massive boost compared to the Helio P35 in the Y17. GPU sees a commendable improvement with the Mali-G52 MC2 clocked at 820 MHz.
Vivo Y19 comes in a single memory configuration with 6GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage. You’re pretty much stuck on the memory front since the storage isn’t expandable via a microSD card.
Battery
We’ve seen a lot of budget and mid-range phones from Vivo with a sizeable battery. Thankfully, the Vivo Y19 packs a large 5000 mAh cell as well. It supports 18W “Dual Engine Fast Charge” via MicroUSB 2.0 out of the box. Yep, still with the MicroUSB crap! Man, I would cuss so hard if I cared but I don’t so I won’t. Moving on, you can transfer the juice of the Y19 to other phones as well as it supports 5W reverse charging via an OTG cable.
Miscellaneous
Vivo has incorporated “Ultra Game Mode“, which prevents any disturbances from popping-up in your gaming sessions. Additionally, you can change your voice when chatting with your teammates when playing games with the “Voice Changer” feature. You get the option to change your voice to an Artificial Intelligence, a Commander, a War Correspondent, a Cowboy, or a Child. Which is just… why? Talking about UI, the Y19 runs on Vivo’s homegrown Funtouch OS 9.2 on top of Android 9 (Pie).
The Vivo Y19 has been launched in Nepal for a price of Rs. 27,990. However, you can get it for a price of Rs. 26,990. It is available through both offline and online shops.
Model Name
Price in MRP
Price in MOP
Vivo Y19 (6/128GB)
NPR 27,990
NPR 26,990
Vivo Y19 brings nothing new to the table. At this price, it goes head to head against Redmi Note 8 Pro and Galaxy M30s.
