After the success of Realme, Oppo is launching another sub-brand for its smartphones. The sub brand is named Oppo Reno, and the official logo has been revealed too. The logo is full of bright and lively colors. So, it will target the youth with its products.
Oppo’s Realme targeted the youth, with its tag-line “Proud to be Young”. But since Realme was spun-off into an independent brand, this might be a new replacement for Realme as well. But no matter what, what’s sure is that we are getting a new phone brand. Reno will first go live in China only, and maybe move to other markets. And the company will be launching its first smartphone in China on 10th April.
Recently, there were rumors about a new Oppo phone coming in April. But there were no names, no specs leaks and nothing. So, we can guess that that would be the very phone they were talking about. And Reno states their phones will have a different design from previous Oppo phones. It will be nice to see some refreshment after a long time.
When Oppo’s vice-president Shen Yiren announced the new sub-brand, he also revealed that its new upcoming smartphone will be powered by Qualcomm’s latest chip – which can only mean Snapdragon 855. And the phone is also said to feature Oppo’s 10X Optical Zoom in its camera, which Oppo revealed in the MWC 2019. The implementation will be pretty interesting to see. Furthermore, he also confirmed that the phone will have 4065 mAh battery. In addition, he emphasized that the company will strive to retain the 3.5 mm headphone jack in its products.
Yet, the name of the phone has not been disclosed. And while there were speculations about it being the Oppo Find Z – successor to the Oppo Find X, its looking more like a Reno smartphone now.
So, what do you think? Will Reno be good enough to make you switch to it? And will it bring something different in this plethora of smartphones?
Mostly known for its premium laptops and iPhones, Apple is also known to file a lot of patents. We’ve seen blankets, known as iSheet, and some other smart sleep tech as well from the company. Will they see the light of day? No one knows… But it won’t stop the company from coming out with these new techs. (I would call it innovation, but there are others who already beat Apple to it!)
Anyways, the latest in the company’s patent line is Apple AR Glasses! Now, there were rumors about the company working on augmented reality technology, but this time, it might be official. The once-upon-a-time trillion dollar company filed a patent that teases a wearable tech that can be used with your iPhone.
Credit: Patently Apple
AR is not new for Apple, though. It started its venture in the AR world with ARKit – its Augmented Reality platform for developers. And that brought us a lot of apps on iPads and iPhones.
According to Patently Apple, the patent which was submitted August 2018, is titled Systems, Methods and Graphical User Interfaces for Interacting With Augmented and Virtual Reality Environments. That’s quite a lot to take in, but of course, we will see a shorter version of it when / if it comes out commercially. The patent shows the creation of a virtual user interface that can be used on a device looking like an iPhone as well as a wireless headset.
Credit: Patently Apple
The headset will provide a live view of a portion of the contents that are visible in the line-of-sight of the camera, and can generate video outputs. Users can, then, use a “touch sensitive device” or an iPhone / iPad to interact with the augmented reality environment.
Now, Apple has already previously filed a patent for an AR headset, back in 2017. And last year, the company described using a mixed reality headset for image editing, drawing, presentation, making calls, etc. And now, they’re investigating touch panels, voice activation via Siri, and head gestures to control the glasses. So, this only confirms we’ll be seeing AR devices from the company soon.
Samsung has taken the wraps off the Galaxy A10, Galaxy 30, and Galaxy A50 smartphones so far. However, ahead of the official announcement of the device, Samsung’s UK branch just opened the product pages of the Galaxy A20e, Galaxy A40, and the Galaxy A90 smartphones.
Samsung Galaxy A90
Earlier rumors had suggested the existence of the Galaxy A90 smartphone. And this accidental (or intentional) placement of the device on the company’s website has proved its existence. Although the product page hasn’t revealed any of the features of the device. But the earlier speculations have cued that the phone will have a rotating pop-up camera mechanism. This could be Samsung’s attempted to kill the bezels and the notch. So we can see a new infinity type of display design on this handset. The phone is also speculated to feature a triple camera setup at the back.
Previous leaks also claimed that the handset will bear a 6.41-inch Super AMOLED display with an in-display fingerprint scanner. On the performance side, the phone will get Snapdragon chipset paired with 6GB/8GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard memory. Software-wise, the phone will evidently feature Android Pie out of the box with Samsung’s One UI on the top.
Samsung Galaxy A90 was also supposed to be the most premium mid-range device from Samsung. Earlier speculations indicated that the phone could launch only in China. But the inclusion of the device in the UK’s website has quite indicated that the phone could launch on the global scale.
Samsung Galaxy A40
UK website has a listing of the Galaxy A40. But even before that, the A40 already went live in Germany earlier this month with the model number of SM-A405FN/DS. However, no specs have been spilled so far.
But the naming scheme definitely cues that the specs on the phone will come with the intermediate features of the Galaxy A30 and the Galaxy A50. However, rumors suggest that the phone will come with Exynos 7885 chipset coupled with 4GB of RAM. Other than that, no specs of the device have reached the rumor mill.
Samsung Galaxy A20e
Last time we saw the “e” moniker was on the Samsung Galaxy S10e. Since the Galaxy S10e is toned of the standard Galaxy S10. The case can be similar to the Galaxy A20e. But there are also rumors that the Samsung Galaxy A20e could be the regional variant of the A20. Since the Galaxy A20 has not launched yet and there are not much leaks and rumors about the Galaxy 202, we do not have more information to discuss on the topic. Nonetheless, we can presume that the Galaxy A20 and the A20e will come with Android Pie out of the box with One UI on the top.
Choosing a portable speaker is a tricky business – especially since there are quite a few ones out there. But JBL’s mini speakers have always been the hot favorite among most, maybe because they’re also quite affordable. The JBL Clip 3 costs $60 on Amazon, and Rs.7300, here, in Nepal. And is it worth that money?
Design
The JBL Clip 3 comes in the same round form factor as its predecessor, the JBL Clip 2. But there are some obvious differences. First, the size is a bit bigger, and it is also slightly thicker. This makes the Clip 3 slightly heavier at 210 grams. The carabiner or the clip, (whatever you all it) here has also changed, and I think this is a bit more practical. Plus, the clip on the JBL Clip 3 is integrated around the speaker, i.e. it wraps around the perimeter of the speaker. This makes for a good bumper and adds protection.
But the integrated clip comes at the cost of the 3.5 mm audio cord that enabled you to connect it to your phone or laptop directly without Bluetooth. That helped save battery, but sadly, this feature is now not available. However, there is an audio port, so, you can connect it directly, but there is no cable inside the box. So, you’ll have to get your own. There’s also a micro USB port for charging besides the audio port and is enclosed by this tight seal, which adds to its water resistance.
But it is already IPX7 Water Resistant, so, you can play it while you shower or such. And this thing floats too! So, if you’re having a mini pool party of sorts, then, you can use it for that as well.
Plus, there’s a rubber padon the bottom, that aids the grip even while lying on the table so that it won’t slide off the surface if you mistakenly push it off. As for the buttons, the Volume and Play / Pause buttons are on the speaker mesh itself.
Sound Quality
JBL speakers never compromise on the sound quality, and this one doesn’t either. The Clip 3 plays rich sound and makes for a very immersive audio experience. It is quite a bit better than Clip 2, to say the least. It could still use more bass, but even with what it has, it’s still better than its predecessor. This one sounds fuller, and it’s also louder.
And the bass is actually okay for a speaker this size. Playing bass requires something larger, so, the constraint is its size. If you want something with a lot of bass, go for the JBL Flip 4. The bass on this one is only noticeable while playing tracks with a lot of bass. For other types of music, it performs really well.
The sound has got high definition and rich tone. If you’re familiar with “bright sounds” and “warm sounds”, this one is on the brighter side…but not to the extreme. That is why the audio from this speaker is crisp and has got clarity. You’ll have no problem understanding the lyrics of the songs you’re listening to. And this little speaker can handle the highs and lows very well. Listening Bohemian Rhapsody to test that led to a highly exhilarating experience.
Also, you get quite the head-room. That means, there is none or a negligible amount of distortion even at very high volumes. Even at full volume, the sound quality is good. Of course, if you’re listening to rock in a closed room, then, high volume isn’t advised. But if you’re having a party or get-together, then, it’s okay.
Another thing is, this speaker might not be for metal fans. It does an okay job on metal tracks, but the size is the constraint here. Most portable speakers can’t handle metal very well, and the ones who do can be quite expensive.
Just like there’s the Bose Soundlink Micro with similar size, but can give you better bass than this one, but again, costs like $100!
Connectivity and Battery
Moving on to the other aspects of the speaker, this speaker has Bluetooth 4.1, so, the range is only about 10 meters. Connecting it to your phone or laptop is very easy. You just pair it once, and for other times, it connects to your device automatically.
There is also no latency for the audio to play. The only slight delay can be seen while playing/pausing a song for about 0.5 seconds, and those are seen on all kinds of speakers!
The Clip 3 misses out on the JBL Connect+. That is, you can’t connect multiple JBL Clip 3 speakers to a single device via the Connect+ app. That feature was there in the Clip 2, but it’s not present here. Still, it’s okay. Who owns multiple JBL Clip 3 speakers anyway?
As for the battery, this small speaker has got a 1000 mAh battery, which claims up to 10 hours of battery life. And the speaker does get close to 10 hours at medium volumes. If you listen to it at very high volumes, you’ll get about 4 hours of battery life. Charging is done via a micro USB cable. There is no adapter included inside the box. And if you use your phone’s regular adapter, it will take about 3 hours to fully charge it. For a speaker as small as this one, I think that’s all well.
Conclusion
The JBL Clip 3 is a great speaker for the price. It’s got a very nice design, the right amount of heft, and a sound quality I can really not get bored listening to. You can use this even while gaming to make your gaming experience more immersive.
Venue: Yellow Pomelo
I wouldn’t recommend this for the metal-heads out there, but for others, it does a great job. And I think the price is right as well. But I’d like to point out that the Clip 2 is available for $40 in Amazon. So, if you’re looking for something cheaper, that’s a good deal.
However, here, in Nepal, the Clip 3 provides a better value for money, as the Clip 2 still costs upwards of Rs.6000. So, there you have it, the Clip 3 – good things come in small packages!
E-commerce sites are in a growing number these days. The e-commerce companies are gaining popularity every day as more people are opting for buying good online.
So, the Government of Nepal is now looking to regulate the sites that are really hitting it off, even with their slow start when compared against the neighboring states. The government only recently introduced policies related to the regulation of social media platforms in use in Nepal.
The government plans to come up with a list of policies that will help the public, and make the e-commerce companies more responsible for their services.
Talking to The Kathmandu Post, Toya Narayan Gyawali, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies, said that a draft consisting of the regulations will be prepared within a month. He also mentioned that the draft will then be proposed to the Cabinet for approval.
With the growing number of e-commerce sites, there aren’t any policies regulating their work. And it’s probably the reason why there are a lot of complaints from the customers. Therefore, to make the online market free of any misconduct and fraudulent activities, the government will be looking forward to implementing this regulation.
Talking to the Post, Gyawali mentioned that the government has already held talks with the private sector for the preparation of the draft. China and India have seen a rise in their country’s online marketplace, and Nepal will look to achieve the same feat with this new regulation in place.
With 63% of the population online in 2017, Nepal is seeing a surge of online shoppers. There are a lot of e-commerce sites like Daraz and Sastodeal that offer a variety of products to their customers.
After a series of scandals and political discussions, Facebook is still back at its shenanigans! And you don’t even have to be a part of Facebook for you to fall victim to its latest scandal.
So, there aren’t many who are unaware of Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal. The company faced severe criticisms and bad publicity. And after that, the company revised all its privacy policies. But apparently, they haven’t had enough of stealing the users’ private data. It is well known that Facebook can keep records of its users, and we, as users, can choose what it can keep track of, and what we keep to ourselves.
But in this latest issue, you don’t even need to have a Facebook account! Some of the apps you use on your phone send user data to the social media giant automatically. A study by Privacy International in December 2018 revealed as many as 23 apps were doing so. Since the results went public, some apps like Spotify, Skyscanner and Kayak are taking corrective measures, but many have yet to do so.
Apps like Yelp, Duolingo, King James Bible App, and two Muslim Prayer apps – Kibla Connect and Muslim Pro, send personal data to Facebook before the user can provide consent. That is due to the fact that the apps are based on Facebook’s SDK (Software Development Kit), which is designed to automatically transmit data to Facebook when the app is opened.
Facebook’s SDK is Facebook’s business product that apps integrate into their code to link their apps with Facebook. The apps embed the SDK onto their code itself, and so, it is quite difficult to leave that part out without making major modifications to the code.
However, Facebook claims that they’re not to blame for this. They say that developers can choose whether to collect app events or not, depending on the circumstances. And all the developers need to have an appropriate legal basis to collect and process user information. Also, they are provided guidance on how to comply with Facebook SDK standards. In addition, under GDPR regulations, the legal obligation for processing third-party app information lies with the app developers themselves.
Nevertheless, what kind of apps the users open and how often can assemble a picture of someone’s identity and interests. So, no matter whose fault it is, its the users who are the victims.
The charity, Privacy International, is now urging the developers to fix this issue and Facebook to change their default settings, so this won’t occur in the future. Some of the apps have started taking steps regarding these steps. Duolingo, the language learning app, stated that it will release an update soon that’ll fix this issue. While Yelp denies that any of its iOS or Android apps send users’ personal information.
This latest scandal may not be as troublesome for the social media giant as some other scandals it faced. But still, users privacy is still the key concern even after their acclaimed innocence and rectification.
Now, you may think there is no reason to fret. After all, we don’t even use most of these apps, here in Nepal. And even if we did, who cares about your information, right? After all, we are nobody. But in today’s world, data means money and power. Which is why almost all the apps you use are after your information. So, be careful of what kind of permission you give the apps on your phone, or the random ones on Facebook.
Huawei P30 and P30 Pro smartphones are launching very soon. Since last year’s P20 Pro was the smartphone to have scored the highest in the DxOmark, the launch of P30 and P30 Pro has been eagerly awaited in the tech community. But that’s not the only Huawei products launching in that grand event. Huawei is reportedly launching two wearables alongside the P30 smartphones. Owing to the recent leaks, two smartwatches, dubbed as Huawei Watch GT Active and Elegant will share the stage with the P30 devices.
The alleged leak, which came from the German website WinFuture gives us a clear idea of the device what it may look like. Going through the images, the Huawei Watch GT Active shared an uncanny resemblance with the last year’s Huawei Watch GT. But a slight change in the color scheme of the bezel, shade of the lines and numbers on the watch are definitely enough to differentiate between the two. The leaked images also showed that the watch in two color schemes of the straps: Dark Green and Orange. But there has not been a solid report stating the existence of merely two color variants of the watch. When it comes to the Huawei Watch GT Elegant, the wearable is tipped to come in Black and White color options.
In terms of specifications, both of these wearables are said to come with the same 1.39-inch OLED display. The resolution will be 454 x 454 pixels, which means both the devices will pack 326 pixels on every inch. Since the size and resolution of the device haven’t changed from the Watch GT and other specs are still under the veil, we are yet unsure about how much of an upgrade will these devices bring on the table. Nonetheless, we can be sure that these devices will feature the latest version of the company’s proprietary Light OS on the software front.
As far as the rumors hold true, these devices are said to launch on Paris at an event on March 26 alongside the P30 devices. But that’s not the only thing we know so far. This alleged leak also claims that Huawei Watch GT Active will be priced at EUR 249. Similarly, Huawei Watch GT Elegant will be available at EUR 229.
The Oppo A3s was a budget phone that could make its presence known. It was big, hefty and looked kinda attractive for a budget phone. Let’s say, it looked bold for the price you were paying. And now, it’s time for a successor. The OPPO A5s is launching soon, but as usual, we have the specs, leaks, and rumors right here.
Oppo A5s Overview
According to the leaks and renders, the Oppo A5s looks, more or less, the same as the Oppo A3s. Except that, this one features a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, which the A3s didn’t have. And the notch up front has changed to a small tear-drop one from an ugly looking big notch. Besides that, there aren’t any changes aesthetically.
Source: MySmartPrice
You get the same plastic body, and it still looks bold. The display is also in the same size – a 6.2″ IPS LCD with HD+ resolution. For a screen this big, an HD+ resolution can be a bummer, but it is supposed to be a budget phone after all. They seem to have done a great job with minimizing the notch.
The camera department also sees no improvements – the phone will have the same dual-camera setup of 13 MP and a 2 MP depth sensor. And the front camera, too, will be the same 8 MP, but the aperture size has been improved from f/2.2 to f/2.0. The slightest bit of improvement for capturing selfies.
Inside, the phone will be powered by Helio P35 chipset. It is a considerable improvement over the Snapdragon 450 of the A3s. It should mean a slightly improved overall and gaming performance. The phone will come in three RAM variants apparently – 2 GB, 3 GB, and 4 GB while the A3s have 2 and 3 GB variants. The storage, too, varies from 32 GB and 64 GB. As for the battery, it has the same sized 4230 mAh battery, which is still good.
We’ll get to see 4 color options: Red, Black, Gold, and Green, but there is no word on the pricing and availability yet. Of course, these are still rumors, and we might see changes when the product finally launches. But if you ask me, the A5s doesn’t look like much of an improvement over the A3s.
Apple products are usually amazing with sturdy yet stylish design and powerful components on the inside. Such features definitely make a device premium, however, Apple products are mostly expensive when it comes to the price. And the pricing sounds even more exorbitant when compared to similar products in the Android ecosystem. That could be one of the reasons why Apple products suffered a decline in sales in 2018. To cope with that sale declination, Apple was also found slashing the price of its products on multiple occasions. Although that strategy may have worked on a temporary basis, Apple is now seeking an efficacious solution to cope with the sales decline. And the report claims that Apple is working to bring affordable iPads in the year 2019.
In fact, this strategy is nothing new from the tech giant. Apple had launched the iPhone XR as an affordable iPhone last September with some compromises on the internals. However, the handset was priced at $749, which was still expensive than most of the premium flagship Android devices available in the market. But the new reports suggest that this affordable version of the iPad will implement Apple’s previous philosophy. So in that proclaimed affordable iPad, we can see similar design language with a few upgrades on the internals.
Some reports also claim that Apple would revive the Apple ID, which it notoriously ditched last year. Furthermore, we can see a rejuvenation of the 3.5mm headphone jack. The headphone jack has been long lost on the iPhones, which was last seen on iPhone on the iPhone 6 series devices. Even the iPad Pro 2018 suffered a similar fate last year.
Further reports cues that this affordable iPad Mini 5 will also ditch the Apple Pencil in order to cut the manufacturing costs. There is also the possibility that Apple could drop its proprietary Lightning port in the favor of USB Type-C port.
But these are just the speculations hovering in the tech world. Apple has not made an official announcement regarding the existence of this device yet. So, some of the aforementioned features may change when the device makes an official debut.
Since the day, Samsung announced to bring Galaxy A-series and M-series devices, every new handset makes a headline. Be it just a leak or the launch. And in that already popular list of Galaxy A-series device falls the recently launched Galaxy A30 and Galaxy A50. Both of these handsets were unveiled at MWC 2019. In that grand event, many tech reviewers had praised Samsung for their change in strategy and for bringing such notable devices. Although the price of the device was kept under the veil at that time, Samsung recently launched the device in India and announced the price. And not so long after the announcement, Samsung Nepal has brought these new midrangers in Nepal.
Samsung Galaxy A30 Overview:
Heading to the Samsung Galaxy A30 features, the most notable thing about the device is a tall 6.4-inch display with a tiny notch on the top. But unlike the Galaxy M10 and Galaxy M20 devices, the display here is called an “Infinity-U display”. Furthermore, the display here is Super AMOLED one, so the users can find deeper blacks and brighter whites in the contents when compared with the typical IPS panels.
On the performance side, the phone has got the Octa-core Exynos 7904 chipset with 3GB or 4GB of RAM alongside. And talking about the storage, the phone comes in 32GB and 64GB format with a dedicated SD card slot for memory expansion. Making use of this slot, users can expand their storage up to 512GB.
As far as the camera is concerned, the boasts a dual camera setup at the back, which is a combination of 16MP and 5MP sensors. The secondary camera on the back is an ultra-wide-angle shooter. Since most of the smartphones at a similar price comes with a depth sensor, the addition of an ultra-wide-angle lens on this device has added an extra perspective while taking the shots. As far as the front camera goes, a 16MP selfie snapper does the job.
Software-wise, the phone boots on Android Pie out of the box. The phone also enjoys Samsung’s custom skin OneUI on the top. The phone also comes with a sizable 4000mAh battery with 15-Watt fast charging support.
Samsung Galaxy A30 Specifications:
Display: 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display
Resolution: Full-HD+ (2340×1080 pixels); 19.5:9 aspect ratio @ 403PPI
Battery: 4000mAh with 15watt fast charging support; USB Type-C port
Colors: Blue, White, and Black
Samsung Galaxy A50 Overview:
Just like the Galaxy A30, A50 also comes with a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with a U-shaped notch on the top. The display here is enriched with Full-HD+ resolution packing 403 pixels in every inch. So needless to say that the contents on this handset will look sufficiently sharp with great color depth. Under that display rests a fingerprint sensor. And for the price it asks for, the inclusion of under-display fingerprint sensor is notably praiseworthy.
In terms of camera, the Samsung Galaxy A50 flaunts a triple camera setup at the back. The primary 25MP shooter is backed by an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera and a 5MP depth sensor. So not just the portrait shots, users can also get a stretched field of view from this device. On the front lies a 25MP shooter, which comes with an f/2.0 lens.
Even on the performance side, the A50 has got quite a boost when compared with the A30. It flaunts a rather capable Exynos 9610 chipset, whose performance is comparable with Snapdragon 660. Alongside the processor comes either 4GB or 6GB of RAM. And talking about the onboard memory, users have the option to choose from 64GB and 128GB variants. Plus, there is a dedicated SD card slot to expand the storage up to 512GB in case of insufficiency.
Moving on to the software, the phone has embraced the latest Android Pie (v9.0) out of the box. And the software on this device is flavored by Samsung’s OneUI on the top. As far as the battery on the device is concerned, a 4000mAh non-removable battery powers the device. The battery on this device supports 15-watt fast charging. The phone also comes aboard with a USB Type-C port for charging.
Samsung Galaxy A50 Specifications:
Display: 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display
Resolution: Full-HD+ (2340×1080 pixels); 19.5:9 aspect ratio @ 403PPI
