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Vivo Y91 Review: Can it compete against the Galaxy Ms and Redmi Notes?

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Vivo Y91 Review: Can it compete against the Galaxy Ms and Redmi Notes?

Vivo makes headlines when it comes to their concept phones and flagships with their innovative products. And there are the Vivo’s midrange V-series which are quite good too. But there’s also their Y-series, their budget segment, which actually accounts for most of their market share. And today I have here, the Vivo Y91, which is going head to head against the Samsung’s M-series and Xiaomi’s Redmi phones. So, does the Vivo Y91 provide as much value as its competitors? Let’s find out!

Vivo Y91 Specifications:

  • Display: 6.2-inch LCD display, 2.5D curved glass on the top
  • Resolution:  HD+ (720×1520 pixels) @ 19:9 aspect ratio, 270PPI pixel density
  • Chipset: MediaTek Helio P22
  • CPU: Octa-core 2.0GHz Cortex A-53
  • GPU: PowerVR GE8320
  • RAM: 2/3GB
  • Storage: 32/64GB; Expandable up to 256GB via SD card
  • OS: Android 8.1 (Oreo) with Funtouch 4.5 on the top
  • Rear Camera: (13 MP, f/2.2, PDAF) + (2 MP, f/2.4, depth sensor), LED flash
  • Front Camera: 8MP, f/1.8
  • Sensors: Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, proximity, compass
  • Battery: 4030mAh non-removable battery
  • Colors: Starry Night and Ocean Blue
  • Vivo Y91i Price in Nepal (2/32GB): Rs. 20,990
  • Vivo Y91 Price in Nepal (3/64GB): Rs. 25,990

Also Read: Vivo Mobiles price in Nepal

Design and Build

Let’s start the things with its design. Since Vivo Y91 is a budget handset, it comes with a polycarbonate back like most of its competitors out there. So this device doesn’t feel particularly sturdy. However, the back panel of the Vivo Y91 is glossy painted with dual-tone gradient colors, which is truly amazing. And the one I have is an Ocean Blue, which surely is an eye-candy. Also, it has curvy edges on its stylish back, which aids in an easy grip. So it didn’t slip through the hands on my use. But despite having a dazzling look, the smartphone also has its own imperfections in the design. The glossy back in it also a fingerprint magnet and requires cleaning quite often.

Display

On the display front, there is a tall 6.22-inch IPS panel with a tiny notch on the top. Vivo likes to call it a Halo FullView display. Although I particularly don’t like the notches, the one on the Vivo Y91 is very tiny and less obtrusive. So I didn’t have any problems whatsoever.

vivo y91i notched display

But what bugged me big time while using this Vivo device was its resolution. The handset comes with a merely HD+ resolution. A tall display and an HD+ resolution wasn’t the combination I was looking for. On close inspection, I was able to discern pixels in its screen at times and it was more evident while viewing contents on YouTube.

vivo y91i display

But other than that, I have nothing much to complain on its display. The viewing angle is decent, the colors look fine, and it also has good sunlight legibility. Plus there is an ambient light sensor to keep track of the surrounding brightness and to adjust the brightness of the display accordingly. So I didn’t have any hassles of altering the brightness every now and then.

Camera

Now let’s move on its cameras. Vivo smartphones have always defined themselves on the camera front. And I was quite hopeful about the Vivo Y91 on the camera front. But the camera here was more or less a mixed bag. Normal images looked fine with a decent amount of details and a good amount of accuracy.

Some portrait images also had similar traits. But most of the images I took from this device lacked a proper edge detection. Some images also had an inappropriate blurring, which was absolutely frustrating. There is also a feature to readjust the focus area and to tune the blur intensity after taking images. But I couldn’t mend those uneven blurring even with that feature. So capturing the portrait images got me absolutely downhearted.

Low light images weren’t that impressive either. They quite lacked the punch when it comes to the details. And the noises and grains also were quite substantial.

Heading to the front, there is an 8MP selfie camera, which rests quite perfectly on the notch. Although the front shooter pulls out some social media ready selfies, it beautifies the faces almost all the time. Even when Face Beauty turned off. Although I don’t like such beautifications, it may quite please the people who fancy beautified selfies.

The phone also has a portrait selfie feature, which can come really handy at times. But since blurring of the background takes place entirely through software intelligence, the resulting portrait images lack proper edge detection.

For High-resolution images, Click here.

Performance

On the performance front, the smartphone comes powered with a MediaTek Helio P22 chipset. On the storage side, there are two variants: one with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage and another with a combination of 3GB RAM and 64GB of internal memory. And Vivo has yet again played a name game here. It has named the higher end variant as the Vivo Y91 and the basic variant as the Vivo Y91. And since the processor is same, the performance will be more or less the same on both the devices.

And talking about the performance on the Y91i, it can be a good daily driver if you are into normal apps and games. You can use Facebook, messenger, YouTube, and Instagram without any issues. The real trouble starts while playing high-end games. Asphalt 9 is not compatible with this device. And PUBG is playable only at the low setting. And even on the low setting, lags and stutters were inevitable. So if you are into gaming, you should probably skip this one.

Benchmark Scores

AnTuTu V7: 59349

AndroBench Sequential Read: 287.17 MB/s

AndroBench Sequential Write: 100.09MB/s

GeekBench 4 (Single-Core): 838

GeekBench 4 (Multi-Core): 3641

3D Mark (Sling Shot Extreme): 377

Software

Software-wise, the phone comes with an Android Oreo out of the box. At this time, I would have loved if it had an Android Pie but that’s not the case here. And in this already old OS, Vivo has added its own custom skin, the FunTouch OS 4.5 on the top. But using the FunTouch OS was no fun at all. The UI looked like a clone of an iPhone. The feature to swipe up to bring the toggle buttons has an uncanny resemblance with the iPhones.

Also, there is no app drawer. So all the installed apps get cluttered in the home screen, which looks absolutely displeasing. Furthermore, the lack of a search button in the setting is equally frustrating.

But over time, I kinda get used to it. And I must say that the UI has bundled a ton of features. Motorbike mode, Game mode, and Do Not Disturb mode were few among the many features I liked. All of the aforementioned features mute the calls and notifications while you are riding a bike, playing or a game or in a meeting. There is also the feature for navigation through the gestures, which is quite popular these days.

Security

Security wise, the phone has the fingerprint sensor and a Face Unlock feature to unlock the device. A rectangular fingerprint scanner resides on the back, which recognizes the fingerprints accurately and unlocks the device really fast. So I didn’t have any problems while unlocking the device via fingerprint sensor.

vivo y91i fingerprint sensor

Using the Face Unlock feature wasn’t a problem either, at least in the bright light. It was really snappy on the bright light setting. But it wasn’t the same in the low light scenarios. Since it doesn’t have a dedicated IR sensor, only the front camera comes into play while unlocking the device. So it doesn’t quite recognizes the faces in the dark and doesn’t unlock the device at all.

Battery

The Battery is the biggest highlight of the Y91. You get a big 4030mAh battery, which, combined with the low-res display and a low-end processor, backed me for almost two days on normal use. Also, there are Super Saver and Low Power Mode to extend the backup even further.

But to include a 5-Watt charger to charge a 4000mAh battery is plain stupid. It takes 4 hours of charging time with its included charger! So, I used a 10W charger, which took me 2 hours and 48 minutes. So if you want to juice up fast, you need to buy a separate 10W charger.

Conclusion

To sum it up, the Vivo Y91 is a good-looking phone with great battery life. The camera also looks decent for the price. But with these features, the Vivo Y91 is not particularly outstanding in the budget price point. The last year’s Redmi Note 5 AI and the recently launched Galaxy M20 pack better value. So, we urge Vivo to focus more on the choice of processor, at least provide a FullHD display and refine the Software to stand out in the competition.

Pros

  • Appealing design
  • Decent Cameras
  • Great battery life
  • Snappy fingerprint sensor and face unlock feature

Cons

  • Disappointing portrait mode
  • Low-res display
  • Clumsy UI
  • Below par performance

ZTE to launch the new Axon flagship with 5G on Februrary 25

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ZTE to launch the new Axon flagship with 5G on Februrary 25

The invite is out, ZTE will launch a new Axon smartphone with 5G on February 25, and it’s a flagship. Current speculations hint at the ZTE Axon 10 Pro, but it could go either way. GizmoChina suspects the recently leaked ZTE A2020 Pro is the ZTE Axon 10 Pro and the same will go official at the MWC 2019 event.

So, building on the speculation, the upcoming ZTE flagship will feature the Snapdragon 855 SoC along with that SD X50 5G modem. The phone in question appeared on Geekbench three weeks back as “ZTE ZTE A2020 Pro”. The device showed 6GB of RAM, running on Android 9.0, and an 8-core processor.

ZTE Axon 10 Pro benchmark

With 3824 points on single core and 10762 on multi-core, the results are awfully close to that of SD855. Further, ZTE has already completed the testing of 5G which includes calls, internet browsing, and WeChat messages. It has passed all the tests and has even received a nod from the Chinese government.

Also Read: Honor’s Cash Back Offer

While this is great news coming from a company that was on the verge of bankruptcy. And yet, their problems are far from over, thanks to the on-going trade war between US and China. Following which, President Trump has signed an executive order to ban telephone communication equipment manufactured by ZTE from being deployed to the US wireless network.

ZTE Axon 10 Pro MWC 2019

Politics aside, the soon to release ZTE Axon 10 Pro should come with an AMOLED display, as was the case with its predecessor. Moreover, thanks to the latest gen SoC, the phone should feature improved AI features and ultra-low latency in AR/VR applications. Either way, stay tuned for the full coverage of the event, which we will cover in this year’s MWC 2019.

MSI GL63 8SE Review – All about the RTX Experience

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MSI GL63 8SE Review – All about the RTX Experience

With RTX gaming laptops beginning to rain down, the prices of even the most basic ones will be over $1500. And the MSI GL63 8SE in one such laptop that belongs in the basic category. It packs the RTX 2060 graphics card, which is the base model for the RTX series. And the price does start at $1500 and over 2 lakhs in Nepal. So, does the RTX graphics deserve all the hype it is getting? Let’s find out in this MSI GL63 8SE review.

MSI GL63 8SE Specifications:

  • Processor: Intel 8th Gen Coffee Lake i7 8750H 2.2GHz-4.1GHz
  • Display: 15.6″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) 60Hz
  • GPU: GeForce RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6
  • RAM: Dual Channel 16GB DDR4 2666 MHz (Max 32GB)
  • Storage: 1TB HDD + 256GB NVME SSD
  • Ports: USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A, SD m-DP, HDMI (4K output @30Hz)
  • Connectivity: Killer E2400 Gaming LAN + Killer Wireless-AC AC 9560 (2*2 a/c) + BT
  • Keyboard: Full-Size SteelSeries RGB Backlit Keyboard
  • Webcam: High Definition 720p Camera
  • Speakers: Dynaudio 2x3W Speakers + 2x3W Sub-Woofer,
    Nahimic 3, Hi-Res Audio
  • Battery: 6 Cell battery 51Whr
  • OS: Windows 10 Home
  • Price: Rs 2,12,000 
  • Buy Link

Also Read: MSI Laptops Price in Nepal

Design and Build

This one looks like your regular MSI gaming laptop with its size and gaming-oriented design. Of course, it’s not the best design from MSI because…well, this could be the cheapest RTX gaming laptop they have. It is big, and a bit bulky, too. And the build is plastic all over.

msi gl63 8se design

With the plastic build, it weighs light, about 2.2 kg, which is less than the GE63 Raider with a similar form factor, but with a metal build. The top lid has a smooth matte finish but attracts quite a lot of finger smudges, which, again, is not new for MSI laptops.

But the design has not changed from the GTX model. So, everything is pretty much the same. There are vents at the back and both sides of the body. Also, the lid has the red strips of Red lighting at both sides of the MSI Dragon logo. Nothing new on that front. Also, you don’t get the RGB lighting on it, only red – both on the keyboard and the lid.

Even though it has a plastic build, there is no flex on top of the keyboard deck and very less of it on the lid as well. Still, I can’t shake the feeling that it won’t be able to handle drops or impacts. Also, you cannot open the lid single-handedly, but that’s not something everyone will complain about.

msi gl63 8se gaming laptop

This laptop is something that does give off a gaming vibe, but there’s nothing WOW about it. Overall, the design is not something that you’ll love about this laptop. Maybe this kind of design was fun a year back, but we need a bit more now.

Connectivity and Ports

As with any other MSI laptop, the connectivity is pretty great! The port selection is nice, with an Ethernet port, a USB-C port without Thunderbolt 3, an SD card slot, a MiniDisplay port, an HDMI port, Audio-in and Audio-out ports and three USB-As.

For Wi-Fi, there is the Intel 9560 ac adapter which is a reliable Wi-Fi card and there is also a Killer E2400 Gigabit Ethernet, along with Bluetooth 5. The speakers are a bit tiny, not to the point you have to complain, but nonetheless, it could have been a bit louder.

Keyboard and Trackpad

For the keyboard, this is your Steel Series keyboard, so, you know what to expect. The keyboard has only Red backlighting this time. And it doesn’t seem like you can program it due to the absence of the Steel Series software by default. I did not get the chance to download the software and test it, so, that’s for another day.

msi gl63 8se keyboard

However, the keyboard is still Steel Series, so, it’s a great one. You get just the right amount of clicky feedback along with the right amount of mushiness. There’s ample key travel, and they’re well-spaced…except for the Windows and Function key, which seems weird.

But you can interchange those two keys from the Dragon Center, so, there’s that. Anyway, the gaming experience on the keyboard is great, and typing is very comfortable too.

Just the opposite of that is the trackpad. This is one of the worst trackpads I’ve ever used. I seriously thought this one was a faulty unit. But maybe, this was one of another comprises on this laptop. The tracking is pretty bad, just even for normal tracking. Gestures are very frustrating to use, because they work only, maybe 3 times out of 10.

msi gl63 8se trackpad

Trackpads on gaming laptops are generally, never all that great, but this one is something else entirely. You will definitely need to use a mouse to save yourself the frustration.

Display

On the display front, you have a 15.6” screen with some amount of bezels on it. There is a variant of this laptop with a 120 Hz display as well. But ours had only a 60 Hz refresh rate. And that makes quite a bit of difference while gaming.

The display on it is not good. I was quite disappointed by the display on this thing.

Granted this is a budget gaming laptop with an RTX, and it is bound to have some compromises. But, still, I just don’t feel like this is something you should get for over $1600.

msi gl63 8se display

It is a Full HD display, with a TN LCD panel. And being a TN panel, the viewing angles are not that great. You will see severe color shifts at sharp angles, so, if you’re consuming media, make sure the viewing angles are right. But the TN panel does give it a fast response time.

Also, the colors appear a bit washed out, and MSI does claim a 94% NTSC but maybe that’s on the other model. Because, by looking at the display of this one, I think it’s no more than 45%. It’s just that bad. So, if you are a graphics designer or a video editor, just stay away for this one. Strictly.

The brightness, however, is, good enough. You may not be able to use it outdoors that well, but dark scenes in movies can be made out easily indoors. And that’s enough for gaming as well.

Performance

In the performance department, you get the Hexa-core 8th gen Intel i7-8750H processor. Now, this is something we’ve seen in a bunch of high-end laptops, so, let’s not go on about it.

This is a great processor, and it does not bottleneck the graphics setup in any way. Combined with 16 GB of RAM, and an NVMe storage, normal performance is as good as it gets.

On to the gaming part, and this is where the laptop shines! I almost want to forgive all the bad things I’ve said about this laptop…because this is meant to be a good gaming laptop, and it delivers! This is where the RTX 2060 shines.

For instance, PUBG was playable at FHD resolution at over 100 fps on Ultra settings! And that’s a lot of FPS! Fortnite, too, gave us quite a lot of frames. We also played other games, and the performance was slightly better than on any other laptop we tested with a GTX 1070. We didn’t get to test the Ray-Tracing and its other features, but we can say that this can outperform 1070.

And your gaming experience on this laptop is going to be better if you get the one with a 120 Hz display.

Thermals

Of course, this is your MSI gaming laptop, so, you have this Cooler Boost option to get the maximum performance out of your system. You get a dedicated button to do so, which is a nice feature. Also, MSI’s Dragon Center lets you make custom profiles for your various needs, be it gaming or any other intensive tasks.

msi gl63 8se cooling vents

But even without it, the laptop can do pretty well. I mean, it does get hot, even on top of the keyboard deck, but refuses to throttle on the performance. Being a powerful gaming laptop with fairly thin frames, it is natural that it heats up, but since there are no drops in frames, we can assume the thermals are normal.

msi gl63 8se thermals

You can play games like GTA V for hours on end, and still, it will keep running like butter.

Storage

As for the storage, you get quite a lot of it. There’s a 256 GB NVMe SSD, which spits out up to 1500 MBPS of read speeds. It only manages up to 300 MBS write speeds, but I can live with it.

Also, you get a 1 TB Hard-drive, so, you should have no problems regarding the storage. Plus, there are other storage configurations available to suit your needs too.

Battery

This laptop packs a 53 Watt-hour battery, which barely runs for 3 hours on normal usage. I’ll say expect no more than slightly over 2.5 hours, actually. As for gaming, it’ll give you an hour at best, so, make sure to plug it in before your gaming sessions.

It does charge fully in less than two hours, but I think it’ll spend most times plugged in, so, that’s not really worth mentioning even.

Conclusion and Verdict

The MSI GL63, for me, looks like the basic forms of a gaming laptop with an RTX GPU. This laptop is quite a performer, but it does compromise on a lot of things. Things like design, display, trackpad and battery life take quite a hit, and for a price of over $1600, it can look like you should be getting more.

msi gl63 8se dragon logo

But as I already said, even the most basic gaming laptops with RTX can cost over $1500, so, I guess, this is actually a budget version of an RTX gaming laptop.

So, this is a laptop that’s all about that sweet gaming performance, and not much more. And in some cases, the performance is similar to those laptops with 1070 in them, which do not compromise on the non-gaming aspects, like the MSI GE63 and the GS65. Also, they’re getting some price cuts…so, maybe, they could provide better value than this? Therefore, it’s up to you whether you want to pay that extra premium for the RTX Experience or not.

But, in Nepal, this laptop costs Rs.212,000 and here, we don’t get any laptop with a GTX 1070 for that kind of money. So, here…it’s all good, but in the international market…maybe, there are other options you want to explore.

Good Things about the MSI GL63 8SE

  • Keyboard: Great key travel, clicky, well placed
  • Storage: Fast NVMe SSD, ample HDD storage
  • Thermals: Well maintained temperatures, no throttling
  • Performance: Six-Core processor, as good as it gets for the time being
  • Gaming Performance: High frame rates, can play any game at FHD resolution

Bad Things about the MSI GL63 8SE

  • Display: TN panel, one of the worst we’ve seen, washed out colors, even worst viewing angles
  • Trackpad: Really bad tracking, one of the worst out there
  • Battery Life: 2.5 hours under normal usage
  • Design: Played out design
  • Build: Plastic build, arises concern over its durability

Reasons Why Phones in Nepal are expensive compared to other countries

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Reasons Why Phones in Nepal are expensive compared to other countries

Here’s the scenario. You need/want to get a new phone. You consider your budget and search for some good phones around it. Then, you scour the Internet for their prices. Finally, you are discouraged by the fact that for your budget, you can get better phones in India and China than the ones in Nepal. Sounds familiar? It should be, because that’s the way it is. Now and then, Nepalese consumers are complaining about the unreasonable pricing of smartphones. Compare the prices of the phones here to the international market. Actually, why go very far? Take our neighbor India for example. Put the same phone side by side, with the same specs and materials, and the prices of smartphones in Nepal appear inflated. However, different factors come into play in this. Here are some reasons why Smartphones in Nepal are expensive compared to other countries:

Tax Increment 

Before the increment of taxes, smartphone retailers paid 13% VAT, and on top of it, 40% of the VAT was refunded to them at the end of the fiscal year, making it a net of 7.8% on taxes.

smartphone expensive reason tax increment before
Before
smartphone expensive reason tax increment after
After

But according to the policy from 2075/76, the 40% VAT return was removed, and on top of the 13% tax, another 5% excise duty was added, making it a total of 18% on taxes. Which took the prices of phones by up to 10%. And that’s only smartphones. For other gadgets, there’s a whole different thing going on. So, with it, prices are increasing, even though both suppliers and consumers are unhappy.

What is the 13% VAT and 5% Excise duty?

Well, the 13% VAT is the default value-added tax also known as good and service tax. The 5% Excise duty refers to the additional tax labeled upon the VAT for selling smartphones by the distributors.

Comparison with other Countries

Countries Tax rate
Nepal 13% VAT+ 5% Excise duty
India 18% GST tax+ 20% customs duty (optional)
China 13% vat
Pakistan 17% sales(Ad Valorem) tax
US 5-7% SALES TAX
UK 20% Sales tax
Australia 10% sales tax
Germany 19% standard VAT rate
Hungary 27% standard VAT rate
Germany 10% GST
Finland (24% standard VAT rate)
Luxembourg (17% standard VAT rate)
Bhutan Exemption on mobile phones
(considered as essential amenities)
UAE 5% GST

One of the major reasons why phones in Nepal are so expensive has to do with tax, but not just limited to it. For example, Indian customers pay 18% GST on smartphones. While overall smartphones cost much less in India because of their in-house manufacturing, the latest iPhone 15 pro max is cheaper in Nepal. Why? because Indians have to pay an additional 20% import tax on iPhones, as they are only assembled in India. Likewise, china has 13% standard VAT, while Pakistani customers pay 17% sales tax. The US has a pretty low tax rate on smartphones, as it only charges 5-7% sales tax depending on the state. Similarly in Europe, Hungary has the highest VAT rate at 27%, while Germany charges as low as 10%, in the Gulf, UAE has a pretty low VAT rate at 5%. While Bhutan has an exception of taxes on any kind of smartphone, the Bhutanese government understands Smartphones as a basic necessity that helped people through the covid COVID-19 lockdown. Despite this, the VAT and Tax don’t tell you the full story, as there are other factors as distribution channels that have their commissions that contribute to the hike in price

Distribution Channelling

This is, most likely, the primary reason for gadgets being expensive in Nepal. Yes, there are no in-house manufacturers, but there also aren’t any official company retailer stores for these gadgets here.

Phones exchange hands between various channels before they end up in the country – through agents, wholesalers, distributors to finally retailers. There’s the company a.k.a., the brand itself, then, the National Distributors (ND), then Regional Distributors (RD), then retailers, and finally, mobile stores. This long chain in the middle increases the price fairly quickly. With RD’s nicking off almost 15% commission and retail shops getting around 7-8% commission, this adds up to hick the price. smartphone expensive distribution channelingNow, the question might arise, why do you need an ND? What is the role of an RD? Why such a distribution channel? Why can’t smartphones sell directly to the retailers? But from the company’s point of view, NDs and RDs are kind of an assurance for them.

How so? NDs import smartphones, and companies acquire a bank guarantee or some kind of guarantee from them so that there is less risk. And similarly, NDs acquire the same kind of guarantee from the RDs, for their security. And this creates a linked chain. The retailers deal with the RD who is responsible for placements, and the RDs are managed by the ND, who, in turn, deal with the Mobile brands.

distributing channelApart from security, the NDs also have their own sales team, called “Sales Promoters”, whose job is to promote the sales of their products in mobile stores. NDs also have their marketing team, sales officers, and product team, who help improve the sales and marketing of the product.

As for the RDs, they possess local-level knowledge of the market and maintain good relations with the retailers. They also provide incentives to the retailers to motivate them to sell their products.

Therefore, RDs and NDs look like an integral part of the smartphone business. And this might create another question: Why don’t brands go online and cut off NDs and RDs entirely? This brings us to another reason:

Buying and Selling Practice

The smartphone market in Nepal differs from other countries in terms of sales practices. If you are aware, you’ll notice that many companies sell their phones online via various websites like Amazon, BestBuy, etc. with good discounts, even! For example, Xiaomi sells their phones to India and China online mostly, as they have a strong presence online and have good payment gateways. This means companies don’t have to establish luxury retail stores that add to their expenditures, which in turn, affect the prices of the phones.

The same isn’t the case in our country. With a very limited presence of e-commerce and a lack of good payment gateways, companies have to establish stores for customers. Even with some online retail stores on the rise, we prefer to see and feel the products before we buy them. As a result, companies have to invest in retail stores, increasing the price we pay for their phones.

Quantity of products sold

We’re all familiar with the theory of economies of scale, i.e. larger the quantity, the lower the price. Smartphone in nepal supply and demandQuantities of products sold in India, China, US or other countries are higher compared to Nepal. While smartphones ship in millions to those nations, we play in the thousands here, affecting the cost per unit of those products. And so, this adds some burden on the prices of such products.

Lack of In-House Manufacturing Plants

This is no surprise. Our country has no in-house manufacturing plants of any kind of mobile phones or gadgets. Almost all gadgets are imported, starting the chain of middlemen, excise, and customs duties. Add shipping costs to it, and you end up with putting quite a dent in your pocket to buy gadgets here. Countries like India and China have their manufacturing plants (factories) which cuts off the customs TAX and transportation costs. For eg., Mi India set up a manufacturing plant and launched its first in-house made-in-India phone, the Redmi Note 5A. The phone had an aggressive price of NRs. 11,200 while the same phone launched for Rs. 17,500 in Nepal.

If things were produced in-house, maybe, we’d only have to pay shipping and taxes on raw materials, which are considerably less than finished goods. Also, there would be less ware-housing costs associated with it too. Which would make the products cheaper, but it’s not the case.

Make-In-India Policy

Recently, the Indian government formulated a policy, which favors in-house production of goods in India. And so, there are many smartphone manufacturing plants in India. For example, apart from Xiaomi’s factory there, Samsung’s largest smartphone factory is in Noida, India. Why Smartphones In Nepal expensiveDue to this, they get the advantage of not having to pay any external taxes, which makes the products cheaper, be it online or offline. This, in the end, is in favor of the customer. And even though, we are a neighboring country, there are taxes and excise duties and policies. So, by the time these products arrive in Nepal, they incur quite a lot of additional taxes. Hence, the prices go up…

Dollar Fluctuation

This one is another reason for the expensive smartphone prices in Nepal. How so? Well, when any ND imports smartphones when the dollar rates are expensive, then, even when the dollar prices fall, the smartphone prices can be high because the importer paid higher. smartphones dollar fluctuation

But at times when the imports are made when the dollar exchange rates are low, it can also ensure relatively cheaper prices. So, it’s not necessary that this reason leads to expensive prices, always. But most of the time, the prices are high.

Last Few Words…

So, I guess that’s all the most important reasons. But I’d also like to mention one more thing. That is, when most of the brands come to Nepal, their prices are already set high, and that, I think is the greed factor. Smartphone brands should be setting their prices low initially, to penetrate the market, but that does not seem to be the case.

Now, I’m not saying all smartphone brands do that. Sometimes, the prices are quite reasonable. Like most Samsung Phones, which has a relatively lower gap on smartphones.

So yes, there you have it. The reason why smartphones and electronics are expensive here. What are your views on this? What do you think can be done? If you guys think we left out some other reasons, do let us know in the comments

  • Check out our first impressions of the Vivo X100 Pro here. 

Xiaomi Mi 9 – Launch Dates, Leaks, rumors and everything we know so far

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Xiaomi Mi 9 – Launch Dates, Leaks, rumors and everything we know so far

Xiaomi’s upcoming flagship, the Mi 9 has made its fair share of visits to the rumor mill. As it stands, the phone should go official on February 20 in China. Following that, we should see Xiaomi hold an event at this year’s MWC 2019 on Feb 24 for its launch. So, with numerous details about the smartphone leaked, let’s round up everything we know about the phone so far.

First things first, the Mi 9 will sport the Snapdragon 855 SoC, and that shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone at this point. Although RAM and storage, options remain uncertain. We would put our money on a base 6/128GB option followed by variants with larger numbers. Although chances of the phone featuring the Qualcomm X50 chip for 5G connectivity is also very possible.

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy A-series full specs leak online

As with past Xiaomi flagships, this one too should feature biometric authentication, more likely an optical in-display fingerprint sensor. There is a chance that this one too will get an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor like the Galaxy S10. Either way, expectations remain high. The battery size comes in at 3500mAh with 32Watts of fast charging support. Xiaomi Mi 9

The phone gets a 6.4-inch IPS 1080x2280px panel. As for the bezels, Xiaomi claims to have reduced the chin size by about 40%, compared to the Mi8. It’s now just 3.6mm thick, but what we are more concerned about is that notch. Leaked renders of the smartphone reveal a waterdrop notch at the top while the display itself is protected by sapphire glass (most likely just covering the lens area).

We could also see the Mi 9 Explorer edition launch on the same day as well. And while we are at the subject of design, the phone will be available in four colors. Those being gradient blue, gradient pink, solid blue and solid black/grey.

Cameras

Xiaomi-Mi-9-Ultra-wide-angle

Triple camera setup is all but confirmed for the Mi 9. The primary lens will be a 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor with an f/1.75 aperture. This one will employ Super Pixel technology, aka pixel binning. The second sensor is a telephoto lens, a 12MP unit with 2x zoom and an f/2.2 aperture. And finally, a third 16MP wide-angle lens to round it all up. Check out the cameras in detail below:

  • 48MP main camera, Sony IMX586 sensor, 0.8µm pixels, 1/2in sensor, f/1.75
  • 12MP telephoto camera, 2x zoom, 1.0µm pixels, f/2.2
  • 16MP wide-angle camera, 1.0µm, f/2.2

The Mi 9 is expected to ship with Android Pie 9.0 out of the box. As for pricing, the regular base version of the Mi 9 will be priced at around CNY 2,999 (US$443), if rumors are to be believed. As for the transparent “Explorer Edition”, it’s expected to cost roughly from CNY 3,499 to CNY 4,999 (US$514 to US$738).

Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e goes official for $399 – But is it worth it?

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e goes official for $399 – But is it worth it?

Yes, Samsung still makes tablets, and they just launched a new one. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e officially announced through a news article on the Samsung Newsroom on Feb 15, 2019. The tablet is priced at $399 for the base model and will climb up the pricing ladder should you need more storage or connectivity option. It also supports a full-sized keyboard, but that will cost an extra $129. Let’s start off with the specs:

Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e Specifications
DISPLAY 10.5” WQXGA Super AMOLED
CHIPSET Snapdragon 670 SoC, 64bit Octa-core processor (2×2.0 GHz  & 6×1.7 GHz)
MEMORY / STORAGE 4GB + 64GB or 6GB + 128GB,
microSD up to 512GB
CAMERA Rear: 13MP
Front: 8MP
PORT USB3.1 (Type C), POGO
Type-C headset connector Provided
SENSORS Accelerometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Hall Sensor, RGB Light Sensor
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2.4G + 5GHz, VHT80 MU- MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth v5.0
GPS GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo
DIMENSION, WEIGHT 245.0 x 160.0 x 5.5mm
400g
BATTERY 7,040 mAh, Fast Charging
OS Android 9.0
ACCESSORIES Book cover Keyboard, POGO Charging Dock, Slim cover, Book cover (not included)
VIDEO Recording: UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) @ 30fps
Playback: UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) @ 60fps
AUDIO 4 speakers sound by AKG, Dolby Atmos®

Going by the specs, this seems to be a capable device. It gets a decent processor, ample memory options, good connectivity, and all of the bells and whistles one would expect. Furthermore, the 5.5mm of thickness, a SuperAMOLED display, and Android 9.0 out-of-the-box just sweetens the deal even more. So, this seems like a good deal. But can it beat the $329 iPad?

Apple iPad 2018 vs Galaxy tab S5e

Both tablets sport attachable keyboards, but only one of them supports a stylus, or in this case, the Apple Pencil. Why did Samsung skim out on S-Pen stylus support? We will never know. In a twist of events, the Tab S5e looks more like an iPad pro than the iPad 2018 itself. But that’s a story for another day. Moving on to the display, Samsung’s AMOLED display is definitely better than that LCD IPS panel on the iPad.

But the SD670 is just no match for the A10 Fusion. Plus with added optimization goodness of iOS, well, you get the point. So, keeping connectivity and cameras aside, isn’t iPad a better device overall?

Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e

Most users who own an iPhone will go for the iPad. Majority of Samsung owners either don’t care much about tablets and even if they do, there is a very less chance of them buying a Galaxy Tablet. Plus, we see news every month about tablet sales falling down. As for if it could work as a laptop replacement, the Microsoft Surface Go, which is an actual laptop does a better job.

The tablet should go on sale soon (Q2 2019) as pre-orders will begin in March 2019. Pricing starts at $399 for the 4/64GB model while the 6/128GB configuration is priced at $479. Both are Wi-Fi only variants with an LTE version launching soon. Alongside the Tab S5e, Samsung also introduced us to the 2019 Galaxy Tab A 10.1, a budget segment tablet with the Exynos 7904 SoC and pricing of around $240.

Also Watch: Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 2018 Review!

Energizer Power Max P18K Pop with an 18,000mAh battery and a pop up selfie camera

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Energizer Power Max P18K Pop with an 18,000mAh battery and a pop up selfie camera

The Energizer Power Max P18K Pop is Avenir Telecom’s newest offering with some impressive feature. First off, the Energizer Power Max P18K Pop comes with a huge, and we mean huge 18,000mAh battery. The next defining feature for the phone is a dual-selfie pop-up camera at the front, a 16MP + 2MP setup.

The battery, which seems to be the highlight of this particular phone, comes with an 18W fast charger out of the box. It still feels slow, given an 18,000mAh battery, but still, better than nothing, right? Even with that humongous battery, the phone still manages a thickness of just 18mm.

Also Read: Top Smartphones with best battery life in Nepal

The phone features a 6.2-inch FHD+ IPS LCD display with an aspect ratio of 19:9. And thanks to the pop up dual camera setup, there are no notch or bezels. Apart from the two selfie cameras at the front, the Energizer also gets three cameras at the back. It’s a 12MP+5MP+2MP setup aided by dual-LED flash. Video recording capabilities cap out at 1080p@30fps.

Energizer Power Max P18K Pop

Powered by a MediaTek Helio P70 SoC and Mali-G72 MP3 GPU paired to a 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM. The storage is expandable by up to 128GB microSD card, although it’s a hybrid slot setup. The phone runs on Android 9.0 Pie, gets the latest Bluetooth 5.0 and 802.11ac WiFi.

You get a USB Type-C connector for both charging and audio, as the phone lacks a headphone jack. The phone will go on sale starting from June this year. Pricing remains unknown, but the phone is set to make an appearance in the MWC this year. Furthermore, the company is set to show off a total of 26 models at the MWC this year, which includes the Energizer Power Max P18K Pop.

Samsung Galaxy A50, A30 and A10 full specifications leaks online

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Samsung Galaxy A50, A30 and A10 full specifications leaks online

After making a mark with their M-series, it’s now time for the 2019 edition of their Galaxy A-series to shine. With rumors of over nine smartphones based on the A-series, Samsung looks aggressive. The company is said to launch one smartphone every month, starting from March till June. This means we will see a total of three phones, likely the A10, A30, and the A50, while the rest will be revealed at a later date.

Samsung Galaxy A-series Overview

According to a Samsung representative, pricing will start at $141 and will climb to a maximum of $703. The list will start from the entry-level Galaxy A10 to the premium Galaxy A90. Other than that, very few details of the smartphone have been outed by the company up till now. The same representative did add Samsung’s expected sales of over $4 billion in 2019 from only the A-series.

samsung galaxy A10 A30 A50 leaked

Samsung Galaxy A10

The Galaxy A10 is the entry-level smartphone in its series and gets a 6.2-inch infinity-V display with an HD+ resolution. It will run on an octa-core Exynos 7884B clocked at 1.6GHz. The chipset is paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The back gets a 13MP f/1.9 single camera set up while the front will house a 5MP f/2.0 unit.

Powering the device is a 4000mAh battery. A micro USB port is in-charge of charging and there is no fast charging support. Also, the phone lacks a fingerprint sensor. Color options include Black and Gold, while the back is made up of Glossy Plastic. Pricing is expected to be around Rs 10,990 and is expected to go official sometime in the month of March.

Samsung Galaxy A30

The Galaxy A30 gets a 3D glossy plastic design, a 6.4″ FHD+ Super AMOLED panel and an Infinity U notch. Powered by an Exynos 7904 SoC, the phone will come in either 3/32GB or 4/64GB variants. The storage is expandable via MicroSD card of up to 512GB. This one also features a 4000mAh battery, but with a USB-C port and fast charging support.

Also Read: Huawei Y6 Pro 2019 Goes Official

The back gets a 16MP f/1.9 main lens alongside a 5MP f/2.2 ultrawide sensor at the back, while the front only has a 16MP f/1.9 lens. Color options include Black, White, and Blue. The device will also come with Samsung’s Bixby Assistant, Samsung Pay, Pixel merging, and a bunch of other features the A10 misses out on.

Samsung Galaxy A50

The Galaxy A50 shares the same display, design, extra features, color options and battery setup as the A30. The differences start with the SoC, given a more powerful Exynos 9610 chipset. An Octa-Core processor clocked at 2.3GHz paired to either 4/64GB or 6/128GB setup. Cameras also receive an improvement, with a 25MP f/1.7 main lens aided by a 5MP f/2.2 depth sensor and an 8MP f/2.4 ultrawide. At the front, a 25MP f/2.0 sensor takes care of the selfies.

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy S10 Trio’s complete specs leaked

Huawei Y6 Pro 2019 finally goes official

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Huawei Y6 Pro 2019 finally goes official

The Huawei Y6 Pro 2019 is now official, boasting entry levels specs and a fairly low price tag. Huawei hasn’t had quite a great time in the entry-level segment, but this phone could change its current standing. Priced at around $135, this phone should rival the likes of the Galaxy M10 or the Realme C1.

The spec sheet shows a 6.09″ 720 x 1560px IPS LCD display with a waterdrop notch. Powered by an Helio A22 SoC, based on four Cortex A53 cores clocked at 2.0GHz. The 12nm SoC is paired to the PowerVR GE8320 GPU.

Finally, it gets 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable internal storage. As for the cameras, the notch at the front gets an 8MP f/2.0 sensor with LED flash. Similarly, the back also comprised of just one sensor, a 13MP f/1.8 unit, again with an LED flash. Both cameras can record videos at 1080p@30fps max, although quality might differ.

Huawei Y6 Pro 2019

The Huawei Y6 Pro 2019 runs on Android Pie with EMUI 9.0 out of the box. Powering the device is a 3,020mAh battery while refueling responsibilities have been given to a micro USB port. Color options include Midnight Black and Sapphire Blue. The phone also misses out on a fingerprint sensor.

The phone, as said earlier, is priced at $135, converted from the original price of PHP 6,990. The Y6 Pro 2019 will go up for preorders starting February 18, and you can score a free speaker, earphones or a Lazada voucher coupon. As for the actual date of availability, that starts on February 23.

Also Read: Huawei Mobiles Price in Nepal

Huawei Y6 Pro 2019 Specifications:

  • Display: 6.09″ (720x1560px) IPS LCD 19.5:9 aspect ratio panel
  • SoC: MediaTek MT6761 Helio A22 SoC
  • Processor: Quad-core 2.0GHz Cortex A53, 12nm architecture
  • GPU: PowerVR GE8320
  • RAM: 3GB
  • Storage: 32GB expandable upto 512GB via MicroSD card
  • Back Camera: 13MP, f/1.8 with LED flash, 1080p@30fps
  • Front Camera: 8MP, f/2.0 with LED flash, 1080p@30fps
  • Dimensions: 6.15 x 2.89 x 0.31 inches
  • Battery: 3020mAh
  • Color option: Midnight Black, Sapphire Blue
  • Price: $135

You can now get your License Test Results and Smart Card Print Status on your phone!

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You can now get your License Test Results and Smart Card Print Status on your phone!

So now, all of those in the process of acquiring a license can breathe a small sigh of relief. As, from now on, they will not have to keep visiting the DoTM office to check the status of their license exams.

The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) has initiated a new system to inform people about the results of their driving license test and information on smart card print status through SMS. The system is now live, after an agreement signed at DoTM head office. Lawanya Kumar Dhakal, Director General of DoTM and Arvind Sah, Managing Director of Sparrow SMS signed the agreement. This is a good example of effectively implementing ICT in administrative tasks.

Also Read: Digital Kagaj Review – A good way to save paper

DoTM started distributing Smart License since the end of 2015. These digital licenses incorporate electronic chips that are similar to SIM cards. And they contain information about the driver’s identity. And similar to conventional licenses, the procedure to acquire it is similar – a written test followed by a trial.

However, people need to wait for a long time their smart cards even after they complete the procedure. It is, of course, due to the lack of technology to efficiently do so. In addition, there was only one way of knowing if their smart licenses had been issued: to visit the DoTM office and enquire. But with this system in work, at least one part of the troubles seem far away.

It may still take over 5 months to acquire a smart license after your trial. But at least, you don’t have to visit the DoTM office to know about the status now. With this system, you can know about the written test result and the print status of your smart license. You can simply do it via SMS to 33001 for Rs.5.

How to Check the results of the Driving License’s Written Test Exam?

To check the result of your written test, users have to follow few simple steps mentioned below:

  1. Compose an SMS on your phone with the text WT<space>[application id number]
  2. Send the SMS to 33001.
  3. After a while, you will receive an SMS with your results.

How to Check the print status of your smart card license?

  1. Compose an SMS on your phone with the text LC<space>[application id]
  2. Send the SMS to 33003 or 33001.
  3. After a while, you will receive an SMS with the print status of your smart card license.
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