Page 715 – GadgetByte Nepal

Our phones are dirtier than toilet seats: Here’s why you should care

Featured

GadgetByte

-

December 3, 2018

Our phones are dirtier than toilet seats: Here’s why you should care

You read it right, our phones are dirtier than toilet seats. This is nothing new. There have already been a lot of studies and researches regarding this. The phones we carry in our hands are a lot dirtier than an average toilet seat. And maybe you’ll recall that you probably read something like this somewhere. But it didn’t bother you then, and it’s probably not gonna bother you now.

Also Read: Using your phone in the bathroom? It could be getting contaminated with dangerous bacteria!

And what’s with toilet seats, you ask? Well, they seem to be the standard for measuring or comparing anything dirty. Because well, toilets seem to be the dirtiest thing that we know of. But of course, that isn’t true…because, well, read the title again. How is it possible? Because our phones are the most used things every day. What do you touch first when you wake up? Phone. What do you touch last before you sleep? Phone. And what do you take with you when you go to the toilet? Phone…because if you don’t, you’ll end up counting the number of tiles in your bathroom.

Why? Our phones are exposed to a lot of things. Mostly, they come in close physical contact several times a day. Also, we do a lot of things with our hands – open doors, grab the handles on buses, shake hands with others, cover our mouths when sneezing…wipe our poop, you know, the works! And we also use our phones with them. And while we wash our hands, we can’t wash our phones, and neither do we bother to clean them with rubbing alcohol or stuff.

There have been surveys, a lot of them regarding the topic. And studies have found that on average, a toilet seat would have some 220 spots with bacteria, but a phone had over 1400! Yes, even if you have a case on, you will have bacteria…even more so. And it appears leather cases have the worst end of the stick. They were found to be over 15 times dirtier than your toilet seat!

However, the bacteria found in our smartphones don’t seem to be very dangerous. As they’re mostly transferred from our hands, which do regular work, most of the bacteria are from our own bodies. But even though, the bacteria in our smartphones are capable of giving us flu or stomach aches. And while these pathogens are from your own bodies, and might have very less chances of harming you, it is not a good idea to pass around your phones to people. But of course, how would we share those funny memes without doing that?

Anyways, almost all of us don’t really bother to clean our phones. Even just simply wiping down your phone with a microfiber cloth can cut down the amount of bacteria by 40%. And it is advised to clean your phone with a solution of water and rubbing alcohol to get it spick-and-span. But you won’t do that, will you? It’s just too much work. And it has been like this from the very beginning.

Also Read: Toilet papers for cleaning phones: Wipe before you swipe

Similarly to mobile phones, you also know that your keyboards or laptops are also one of the dirtiest things around. And you might clean your keyboards sometimes but don’t bother to that for your phones. So, we’re just gonna be sticking 7 toilet seats on to our faces every day it seems! Take that for perspective.

Apple to make sleep improving technology

GadgetByte

-

December 3, 2018

0

Apple to make sleep improving technology

The Phones, laptops, smart watches and accessories. What’s next for the Trillion dollar tech giant? A blanket, apparently. Apple is reportedly making an iSheet – a bed-sheet/duvet/blanket woven with sensors to monitor and improve your sleep. The firm’s latest patent shows a multi-sensor sleep system that monitors your sleep. According to the company, this can pick up hidden health issues and also help you sleep better.

The system could comprise of an iSheet, a camera and a touch screen control panel. The iSheet has sensor weaved in them that measures your physiological activities. The patent describes 53 ‘piezo’ sensors on the sheet that generate multiple electrical signals. It is connected to a touch screen control panel that displays the sleeper’s heart rate, breathing, and temperature. It can also provide tips on how to get better quality sleep. And the camera monitors from above on how the person sleeps.

Also Read: iPhone Prices in Nepal

At present, such sleep monitoring can only be done with heavy equipment and machinery available at hospitals. But with this system using miniature sensors, it can be very easy. The sensors can be fit into blankets, duvets or pillows too. The system records all your sleep information, but won’t share it without consent. Users can also selectively block or restrict access to use of their personal information.

But this is something in the company’s patent. Also, Apple tends to file a lot of patents, and no one can be sure when it will see the light of day. In addition, such technology might take years to be widely usable commercially. But until then, this idea is intriguing.

PC builder’s Guide 101: Basics to choosing the right components for your rig

GadgetByte

-

December 3, 2018

0

PC builder’s Guide 101: Basics to choosing the right components for your rig

Hi there, we are here to help you with the ultimate PC building guide. By that, we obviously mean a gaming computer because why else would you build your PC? But for the sake of it, this PC should also be as useful for a gamer as it will be for someone like a photographer, a video editor or anyone who wants a bit more power than a potato.

But before we jump into it, it’s your job to analyze your budget first. Even if you have a low budget, you can always compromise on a few aspects which you can upgrade at a later date. If you just wanna buy a budget PC, you need to plan beforehand, minimize bottlenecks or cut cost on unnecessary stuff.

With that said, you can find articles on how to choose the right mouse, keyboard, display, headphones, and controllers on our website, everything else you might need other than a CPU, which we will cover here.

As a guide, anything above 2-3 lakhs, we will call them high-end (PUBG, Far Cry 5), around 1.5-2 lakhs should be mid-tier (Fortnite, Forza Horizon 4) and anything under 1 lakh, well let’s just call them a budget (Fifa 19, Dota 2) build.

Processor

Processors are pretty much where most people start with. The processor you choose will pivot your decision on choosing the motherboard, GPU, RAM, cooling solutions and to some extent the case and storage. So, to make it simple Intel has Core i3, Core i5, and the Core i7 processors. Same goes for AMD’s Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7.

If you were to buy a PC in 2018, something like a 9900k or a 2700x would be perfect. But even as an amateur enthusiast, I cannot just justify the price. Both of them are exquisitely priced and both perform excellently. If you are someone who by any chance needs these grades of processors, you might wanna look elsewhere.

So, starting off with people who have a reasonable amount of money (high-end) should go for something like an i7-8700k. The price will vary depending on the sellers, but you can grab one for around 55k. The i7-8700 should do well too and will save you some money, but you will be stuck with a non-unlocked processor. For Ryzen lovers, a 2700x should deliver almost similar levels of performance.

If you wanna build a mid-tier build, an i5 is the way to go. You can find a Core i5-8400 for a little under 30k, which should be more than enough given the GPU you will put into this configuration. You can also opt for the 8350K but if you can find one and should cost similar to the 8400, and with overclocking features.

Finally, in case of a budget build, the i3-8100 is your best option. You can find one for around 17k and is one of the best choices. There are a few Ryzen alternatives but the 8100 just seems like a safer choice.

Cooling

Cooling is a major part of a CPU build and directly reflects on how good your processor performs. The 8700k should be attached to a good cooler, preferably water cooled. Something with a 240mm radiator should do the work and they cost around 20k.

For the 8400, a 120mm (10-13k) radiator should provide an adequate amount of cooling while keeping noise to a minimum. For budget builders, a cooler master hyper 212 Evo should be enough.

Motherboard

This one is pretty easy, as it sole depends on which processor you have chosen. The high-end build with the 8700k works with a Z370 or a Z390 motherboard. While we are given with an option of backward compatibility, you probably should go with the Z370. One with the tag gaming in its name and inbuilt WiFi will cost you around 30-35k depending on the manufacturer. For those who choose a 2700x, they can get the X370 or an X470. Mid-tier buyers with the 8400 can go for a basic Z370, something basic should be available at around 20k.

For the budget builds with the 8100, the Z370 will work, but a B360 motherboard will also do, for around 14k. All Intel 8th gen processors come with the same sockets, so in general, the Z370 motherboard from any manufacturer will do fine, or even a B360, but the number of features will vary, so as a general rule, go for a motherboard relative to the cost of your processor. The features will include connectivity, future upgradability, feasibility, I/O, durability and all sorts of other semi-luxuries.

PSU (Power Supply Unit)

This one is even simpler, basically, you will need a 700W PSU for a high end, 600W for a mid-tier and 500W for a budget build. Their ratings will also affect the way they work, but that should not be a huge deal other than how much they will cost. Something like a 700W PSU from Thermaltake with RGB will cost around 15k. As for a 600W, it will cost you around 11k and a 500W comes in at around 8k.

Then comes the PSU rating, which defines the efficiency of the power supply. There are basically six of them, the 80 Plus (white), 80 Plus Bronze (brown), 80 Plus Silver (dark white), 80 Plus Gold (golden), 80 Plus Platinum (slightly less white), and 80 Plus Titanium (even darker white). They prices go up according to their rating, so choose according to your budget. If you ask me, at least get the 80 Plus Bronze, after that, it all your decision.

GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)

If you ever wonder why a gaming PC costs so much, this is why. A GPU is the most expensive component on a PC, and rightfully so as they determine how much refresh rate you get, your graphics quality and which resolutions you can play at. So, choosing the right GPU is the key to great gaming, isn’t it?

Yes, it is, but there is a catch, and it’s named “bottlenecks”. Let’s assume the GTX 1050Ti will throw out 40fps on PUBG at the FHD with highest settings. If you get the GTX 1060, the number will increase to around 55fps at the same settings. If you get the GTX1080 that number will go up to around a 100 frames per second.

Well, that sounds good, isn’t it? Yup, unless your processor bottlenecks your GPU. An RTX2080Ti and the GTX1070 will throw out the same amount of FPS if you put them with a low-end processor like an i3-8100. That is the reason why you need to choose the most graphics performance according to your build without bottlenecking.

For the high-end build with the 8700k, your wallet is your limit. This processor can handle everything from the GTX1080Ti to an RTX2080Ti. Although for the Nepali market, we recommend something like the GTX1070, which will total your price to about 270k. The GTX1070 goes for a little under 70k in the Nepali market.

As a reference, the GTX1080Ti costs Rs 1.3 lakh, the RTX2080 at 145k and the 1070Ti at about 76k. Priced at 50k, the GTX1060 will do fine on our mid-tier i5-8400 build. But if you can spend a bit more, and get the GTX1070, GTX1070Ti or even the GTX 1080, you will face no problems. The cost will be a factor for sure but it will work.

Finally, the Nvidia GTX 1050Ti will be almost perfect for the budget build, which is priced at a little over 30k. The GTX 1060 will also work with the 8100, but above that, there will be a noticeable amount of bottleneck. The GTX1060 is priced higher, so your budget build which should cost about 1 lakh will run much higher, so be prepared.

RAM

According to few experts on the internet, 16GB of RAM is enough for even the most advanced games. With that in mind, we recommend a 16GB 3000MHz stick for the high-end build. It’s not an overkill, nor is it a bottleneck and the pricing is just right at 30k. However, if you want that smooth killer performance, you won’t go wrong with 32 GB either – that is, if you can cough up the cash.

As for the mid-tier build, we still recommend the same 16GB stick if your budget allows. But if it doesn’t you can get an 8GB 3000MHz stick for exactly half the price. Yes, I am particularly focusing on the 3000MHz, but if that’s still a bit expensive for you, you can get a 2666MHz unit, but anything below that is a big no.

Budget builders can start at 2400MHz but we recommend at least 8GB of RAM if you want usable performance. Going below that will result in frequents stutters, reduced frame rates and just a bad experience overall. You can find one for around 10k to 13k.

Storage

Basically, there are three types of storages; SSD, SSHD, and HDD. Although your storage choices won’t matter much when it comes to your gameplay and fps count, it does affect heavily on your PC’s responsiveness, installation period, app opening times and data transfer speeds. An SSD will be expensive but fast, and an HDD will be slow but cheap, so choose wisely.

So, starting with the high end build, you should get an SSD + HDD combo, giving you the best of speed and storage. This is probably the best configuration one can get, and is recommended for all types of build. A fast 512GB NVMe M.2 SSD typically costs about 25k. Adding a 1TB 7200RPM hard disk to the configuration will add another 6.5k to your total cost.

While NVMe storage options are fast, a normal SSD is also a viable option. They offer more than double the speeds of a typical hard drive and can still manage to squeeze on your budget. Although if you are going for a small sized normal SSD, a typical 1TB HDD is mandatory for you. You can find a typical normal 256GB SSD under 10 grand for your mid-tier build, which should be the best choice for you.

For the budget builds, however, this isn’t much of a choice. We recommend you get a 1TB 7200RPM hard drive and upgrade it if you want in the future. Maybe you can opt in for a 128GB SSD which is more than enough to store and run your windows off of and won’t cost you a lot either.

Case

Finally, a case is what binds all of your parts together. You can usually find cases for as low as 10k all the way up to who knows how much. Sure, they might serve the same purpose, but the amount of airflow a case allows will result in a much efficient cooling, not to mention the noise levels. Plus, if you are buying top of the line hardware, won’t you wanna show it off?

The size of the case will also be a concern, so check that before you buy it. A mid tower ATX case will be enough for all three types of PC builds. If you have selected all the components and still have money to burn, you can take a look at Full Tower ATX cases, and then throw in some RGB lightings. As a reference, there are a lot of transparent gaming towers that come with extra fans for under 15k.

Conclusion

By now, you should have a slight idea on how to build a PC according to your needs. However, before you do start shopping, do run it by this website here. It will show you if your components are compatible with each other or if they fit in one another or not and so on.

If you are worried about bottlenecks, you can check that here. It allows you to check if your GPU works with your CPU and vice versa. Bottlenecks up to 10% are ok, but anything above that is not recommended.

The prices we mentioned above might vary so be prepared for that too. If you are wondering where to assemble one, we stumbled upon two sellers who were good enough to guide us through this guide. We will jot down the contact numbers for the sellers, you can check them out as well.

Shree Yantra Console
Prime Solutions Pvt Ltd

Samsung Galaxy A8s – Infinity O Display, No headphone jack!

GadgetByte

-

December 2, 2018

0

Samsung Galaxy A8s – Infinity O Display, No headphone jack!

The rumors around the Samsung Galaxy S10 are everywhere. There seem to be 4 variants of the upcoming Samsung flagships, and people can’t seem to stop talking about it. More so, about this new display, being dubbed the “Infinity O” display. And why not? I think this will be the true edge-to-edge display. A camera hole on the screen instead of a notch. But this feature might make it to another mid-range smartphone before the S-series flagships – on the Samsung Galaxy A8s, to be more precise.

As per rumors, the Samsung Galaxy A8s will launch sometime this month. And it will come with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio screen with the camera hole on the top left corner of the screen. This means that all status bar notifications will shift to the right side. This will give us also more screen real estate without increasing the size of the phone. And this should feel more like the “infinity” on Samsung’s Infinity Display.

But to make phones with true edge-to-edge displays, the 3.5 mm headphone jack will have to be let go of. That’s the design all Samsung fans have been dreading. Not only because we love the headphone jack so much, but Samsung has also been mocking Apple for losing the headphone jack since the iPhone 7 came out, and now…it seems Samsung will follow the same footsteps.

And since Samsung also stated that it would no longer put new innovative features only on their flagships, but experiment with them on mid-rangers, which will make it to flagships, we can also be sure that the S10 will not have the headphone jack as well. Well, maybe not all variants, but at least one or two of them will. And this makes us question the future of headphone jack on future Samsung phones too.

Back to the topic at hand, reports suggest Samsung Galaxy A8s will sport a 6.39″ Full HD+ display with a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. Also, a Snapdragon 710 will power the phone supported by 6 GB of RAM. Also, it will feature 128 GB of storage and 3400 mAh battery. In addition, the phone might have triple cameras at the back too. Furthermore, it will run on Android 9.0 Pie. Besides that, there isn’t much information to go on.

Now, these are reports and rumors, so, we also can’t say for sure. But, if the A8s really comes with the Infinity O display, we can say goodbye to the beloved headphone jack from Samsung as well. We will keep you updated in case of any further developments about this phone.

ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M2 and Max M2 full specs and images leaked ahead of its launch

GadgetByte

-

December 2, 2018

0

ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M2 and Max M2 full specs and images leaked ahead of its launch

Asus had announced the ZenFone Max Pro M1 and ZenFone Max M1 smartphones in early 2018. Among the two, the Max Pro M1 managed to garner a lot of attention because of its note-worthy specs and the budget-friendly price. The Max M1 was also appreciated in the smartphone market but not as much as the Max Pro M1. Nonetheless, the company is now bringing the successor of both of the aforementioned handsets. But although ASUS had planned to unveil the device first in India on December 11, the specs and images of the handsets leaked beforehand.

The unrivalled champion of mid-range is ready to begin its dominance with the most durable screen in the segment – Corning Gorilla Glass 6. The Zenfone Max Pro M2 launches on 11th December, exclusively on @Flipkart. Stay tuned for more. @corninggorilla #UnbeatablePerformer2dot0 pic.twitter.com/Kd2vHKN22B

— ASUS India (@ASUSIndia) November 30, 2018

Yesterday, the official Twitter account of the ASUS India made a tweet announcing the new phones to launch on Nepal on December 11. The Twitter handle also stated that the phone would be Flipkart exclusive. But just a day ahead of the tweet, massive leaks were found on the internet regarding the specifications and images of the ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 and Max M2. And the short trailer of the phone included on the tweet also showed a lot of similarities. So we can expect many of the features about the phones mentioned on the leaks is going to be true. So let’s dig more into the leaks.

ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M2 and Max M2 leaked specifications

On the design front, both the handsets feature a similar design language. But when looked into the images in detail, we can see the non-pro variant to have a slightly thicker chin and a narrower chin. We can also notice the Max Pro M2 featuring a glass-sandwich design, whereas the Max M2 have adopted the metallic back approach.

On the performance front, the Max Pro M1 and the Max M1 were absolutely praise-worthy. And ASUS is going to follow the similar approach in these new handsets. This time ASUS has packed the non-pro variant with a note-worthy Snapdragon 636 chipset. The Max Pro M2 rocks the performance front with the more powerful Snapdragon 660 chipset. In terms of RAM, both the Pro and non-Pro variant will boast 4GB of RAM. However, on the storage front, each of them will grant options with two variants. ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M2 will have 64GB and 128GB of storage variants whereas the ASUS ZenFone Max M2 will have 32GB and 64GB variants.

asus zenfone max m2 — ASUS Zenfone Max M2 Back

On the optics front, both of them will rock with dual camera setup at the back. The leaks suggest that the Pro variant will be equipped with 12-megapixel Sony IMX486 primary sensor and a 5-megapixel secondary sensor. The non-Pro variant will have a 13MP primary sensor; however, the information about the secondary sensor is still under the veil.

This time too, we can expect a massive battery on these new handsets. The leak explicitly advises the presence of a 5000mAh battery on the Pro variant. But it failed to quote the exact battery capacity on the Max M2. So we might probably have to wait for its official unveiling to hear more about the device.

asus zenfone max m2 display — ASUS ZenFone Max M2 display

In terms of display, we will be seeing 6-inch IPS LCD panel on both these handsets enriched with Full-HD+ (2340 x 1080 pixels) resolution. And as mentioned earlier, both of them will have a notch on the top. Although the leaks had not spoken anything about the display protection, ASUS India clearly mentioned that the display on these new phones would have a Corning Gorilla Glass 6 protection.

Watch Mr. James Hollis, Division Vice President at Corning Gorilla Glass talk about how the Gorilla Glass 6 makes the Zenfone Max Pro M2 the most durable smartphone in its segment. @corninggorilla #UnbeatablePerformer2dot0 pic.twitter.com/wt5CIGPZyP

— ASUS India (@ASUSIndia) December 1, 2018

These leaks surely have told a lot about the phones. But until the official unveiling of the device, we cannot be entirely sure about it. So till then, we are obliged to wait.

MSI GE63 Raider RGB 8RF Review – Ticket to the Lights Show

GadgetByte

-

December 1, 2018

0

MSI GE63 Raider RGB 8RF Review – Ticket to the Lights Show

We have a festival of lights every year called Tihar. And when that was just around the corner, I got my hands on the MSI GE63 Raider RGB 8RF edition. And when I turned it on, my festival of lights started a bit early. The MSI GE63 Raider RGB 8RF is lit! And I mean that literally…

But what else does the MSI GE63 Raider RGB offer besides a light show? Well, the GE-series from MSI aren’t as powerful as their GT siblings. But the idea behind the GE series is to combine higher-end features like the 120 Hz screen, and individually lit keyboard in a more affordable lineup. And on top of that, the GE Raiders don’t compromise on power either.

MSI GE63 Raider RGB 8RF Specifications:

Design and Build: Metal body, plastic bottom panel, 38.3 x 26 x 2.9 cm, 2.5 kg
Display: 15.6″ Full HD (1920 x 1080), 100% sRGB & 85% Adobe RGB, 94% NTSC Color Gamut, 330 nits peak brightness with Anti-Glare
Keyboard: Steel-Series Engine 3 Keyboard, Per-key RGB backlighting, 16 million colors, 1.6 mm key travel
Processor: Hexa-core 8^th gen i7-8750H processor, Base-Clock @ 2.2 GHz, Turbo Boost Clock up to 4.1 GHz
RAM: DDR4 16 GB (2x slots, upgradeable up to 32 GB)
Graphics: 8 GB NVidia GeForce GTX 1070
Battery: 6-cell 51 Watt-hours (up to 3 hours of backup)
Adapter: 230 Watts
Storage: 256 GB SATA M.2 SSD (2 x NVMe slots) + 1 TB 7200 HDD
Webcam: 720p Web-cam (@30fps)
Connectivity: Killer Gb LAN, 802.11 ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.0
Ports: 3 x USB A 3.1, 1 x USB-C (No Thunderbolt 3 support), 1 x 3.5 mm head-phone jack, 1 x 3.5mm microphone input, 1 x HDMI, 1 x Mini-display, 1 x RJ-45 Ethernet, 1 x SDcard slot
Price: Rs.250,000 ($2000 international)

Design and Build

First things first, the design. Design wise, it’s your typical MSI gaming laptop. A metallic body with that Red Dragon shield. It is pretty similar to the last generation MSI GE63 Raider…except that this one has the RGB Mystic Lights on the lid too! That’s some pretty awesome stuff, and what’s more? These lights are programmable with all the effects of the MSI’s Steel Series individually lit keyboard. And that is very cool!

Besides that, you have a solid metallic build all over. Even the keyboard deck is made out of metal, with only the bottom panel made out of plastic. The metal body all over gives you a great feel of touch. The ventilation is shifted to the underside and and the sides, with large exhausts at the sides and the back of the deck. This laptop, at 2.9 cm is bulky, but is still ergonomic nonetheless. This unit weighs some 2.5 kg, and that’s quite heavy to be carried all day long.

The build, with its heft, feels quite sturdy. Though I’ve never had any complaints with MSI’s construction of their laptops. But it is a gaming laptop, with quite a lot of stuff packed inside. And so, I’m still scared of dropping it. It also packs giant looking speakers underneath that chassis, but giant as though they maybe, the speakers don’t sound as loud as expected from the size.

MSI GE63 Raider RGB 8RF ports

1 of 2

You get enough ports – three USB As, a USB-C, head phone jack, HDMI, Ethernet and an SD card slot. The USB-C doesn’t support Thunderbolt 3, however. There’s a separate input jack for a mic as well. The USB A ports glow red – and besides looking cool, they also help guide you to insert your flash drives in the dark.

Keyboard and Trackpad

This laptop packs the Steel Series Engine 3 Keyboard, which is built for gaming, and features the individual key lighting. You get over 16 million colors on the keyboard lighting, and there’s a dedicated switch right beside the keyboard beneath the power button to switch effects. There’s also a button to turn the cooler boost on / off as well. The keyboard has a lot of features packed into it, and it can take a while to explore all of it. It’s steel series 3, I probably don’t have to say much about that. But overall, the keys give good feedback, there’s good amount of travel and the typing’s pretty comfortable too.

The trackpad is large and feels nice. It has Synaptic Drivers, so, the gestures are not very accurate, but overall usage is pretty good, though. The tracking is nice and smooth, and the dedicated hardware buttons feel tactile. No complaints in the keyboard and trackpad department.

Display

The display is another great thing about this laptop. A 15.6” Full HD display gives you great viewing experience. Add the 120 Hz refresh rate and a 3 milliseconds of response time to it, and this becomes one of the fastest laptop screens on the market. Gaming feels very fluid on the screen, and maybe I cannot comprehend all of that, but gamers are gonna feel right at home.

This screen, however, is a TN LCD panel, but the super fast response time means it has to be a TN panel. But even for that, the image quality is good enough, but due to that very reason, the viewing angles on it are not very good. However, the screen is anti-glare, so, you will face very less problems with any reflections on it.

Everything else about the display is simply great. The color accuracy is there with 100% SRGB. It also has a 94% NTSC Color Gamut coverage, which is great for gaming and also good enough for editing or such stuff. There’s also the MSI True Color mode, which claims a 100% Adobe RGB, but of course, that is not quite possible on a 1080 panel. Full brightness measured around 330 nits, which is a bit better than some other laptops. But still, I’d like it have a little bit more brightness.

Performance

The inclusion of an 8GB GTX 1070 graphics card is what compliments your fast screen. You also have the latest 8^th gen Hexa-core i7-8750H processor combined with 16 GB of RAM. No doubt, it’ll handle any kind of work you throw at it. With this, there’s no such thing as too many tabs on your browser, or too many apps open or things like that. Heavy applications like Adobe Photoshop or Premiere run without any kind of stutters whatsoever.

Also, with a 256 GB SATA M.2 SSD and a 7200 RPM 1 TB HDD, your storage needs are pretty well covered.The laptop actually has two NVMe slots, but packs SATA drives. Still, the SSD that comes with it gives you good enough read write speeds. On our tests, it gave us up to 2606 MB/s of read speeds and 1189.7 MB/s write speeds.

Gaming on this laptop is also amazing! You get a good amount of Frames per second even with quite Graphic Intensive Games like The Witcher 3 and Fortnite on Ultra Settings. Lesser graphic intensive games like Dota 2 or CS:GO are even better…it just does everything well! There is also a GTX 1060 variant available, but if you want the most out of games, then go for the GTX 1070.

As usual, MSI’s tuning and monitoring software, the Dragon Center is also here on the GE63 Raider. With this pre-installed program, you can adjust system performance, keyboard lighting, power settings, fan behavior, and display values. From there, you can set how you use your laptop – in low power mode, or performance boost, or such.

There are various modes on the cooling fans as well. Mostly, and advanced cooling options will do the work too, but if you hit the cooler boost option, it can give you the best frame rates on your gaming or while doing something intense like rendering a video. This is quite a nice touch, and the fact that you can do it with a single button on the side makes it even better.

Thermals

The thermals on this laptop are pretty good as well. The temperature levels it can get to can be large sometimes, but even with that, there is very less thermal throttling, which are not really noticeable. Even with the cooler boost on, the highest external temp we recorded was a 50.4-degree centigrade while playing Witcher 3, but there was no throttling whatsoever. It seems the large Cooler Boost 5 system with dual fans and seven heat pipes do their job really well.

Battery Life

The battery on the laptop is poor though. It has a 6-cell 51 Watt-hour battery, which is pretty small considering the laptop’s size. Few gaming laptops give you a battery life that last you a day, and this is no different. It gives you about 45 minutes of gaming time on high settings and with the lighting on, and about 2 and half hours on regular usage. You absolutely have to carry the charger around with you, and that thing is also pretty heavy.

Verdict

If you want to talk about the negative aspects of the laptop, you kinda have to nitpick on the small things, but this laptop does the major parts pretty well. It is a very powerful laptop that has great regular and gaming performance. The display is a good one, too, and there is no thermal throttling whatsoever. It is only the small stuff that’s lagging behind. For example, the metallic build and texture is great, but it catches your finger smudges easily, and are difficult to get rid of.

And maybe people rarely notice the web-cam on gaming laptops, but the 720p web-cam on this laptop sucks. The quality is muddy and pretty much unusable. Also, the speakers on this thing aren’t as good as expected from a laptop of this caliber. Now I already talked about the viewing angles on the TN panel. So, while I’m at it, this laptop is pretty hard to open up. Inside, this laptop has two NVMe slots with one SATA drive, and two RAM slots, which makes quite the room for upgrades. But this thing is very hard to open, so if you do want to upgrade it, you have to be extra careful.

So, that’s pretty much it about the MSI GE63 Raider RGB 8RF. Some small stuffs might bother you, but other than that, every thing major about it is just good. And on top, the RGB Mystic Lights are sweet icing on the cake.

But of course, such a laptop won’t come cheap. This beast costs about $2000 dollars internationally, and Rs.250,000 in Nepal. But I believe that if you want a great gaming laptop, why not go all out? You get top of the line performance with the fastest screen around, and of course, a light show of your very own!

Oppo Planning to bring R-series smartphones in Nepal

GadgetByte

-

November 30, 2018

0

Oppo Planning to bring R-series smartphones in Nepal

Over the years, Oppo gained a fair amount of popularity in Nepal. Because of the alluring design and the selfie-centric approach, the smartphone brand managed to accumulate a respectable market share in Nepali smartphone market. Till now, the company had been selling F-series midrangers and A-series budget phones. But the company is now hoping to expand its horizon. And its plans of introducing the flagship R-series smartphone directly reflects its intentions.

Lately, we have seen a lot of innovations from the Oppo. Be it a teardrop display on the Oppo F9 or a pop-up camera module in the Oppo Find X, the smartphone it awe-inspired us greatly in 2018. But long before these innovations, Oppo’s R-series smartphones had already made their mark in the smartphone world. In 2014, Oppo launched the Oppo R5, which the company boasted to be the thinnest smartphone yet with a mere thickness of 4.85mm. In such a thin stature, the smartphone maker had also managed to inject some top-of-the-line gaming hardware to make it an ultimate gaming phone of that time. Oppo also collaborated with a gaming studio to create a game so that it could educate the users about the gaming potential of the device.

Oppo R9s is yet another unforgettable Oppo phone. This smartphone was the bestselling smartphone in the world last year. On Singles’ day in 2017, this camera-centric device stood out as the best selling handset on the Tmall, which is one of the most popular e-commerce websites in China.

It does not end there. The R9s surely have taken ages to gain the title of the bestselling smartphone of the world. But another Oppo smartphone, which goes by the name Oppo R11 clenched the title of the World’s number one Android phone in less than four weeks.

Recently, the Chinese smartphone maker introduced Oppo R17 Pro, which also features some amazing specs and aesthetics. In its alluring body, the phone packs three cameras at the back, features an AMOLED display with a tiny notch on the top, comes with a praise-worthy 50W fast charging and many other interesting features.

Also Read: Oppo Mobiles Price in Nepal

Since the Oppo R-series smartphones bring lots of amazing features on the table, it would be great to see the R-series smartphones making its debut to Nepal. So are you guys excited for the upcoming R-series smartphones? Drop your thoughts down below!

[socialpoll id=”2529080″]

DJI Osmo Pocket launched: A pocket sized camera gimbal

GadgetByte

-

November 29, 2018

0

DJI Osmo Pocket launched: A pocket sized camera gimbal

Here’s an idea: What if you could shoot 4K videos with great stabilization, yet didn’t have to carry around all that heavy gear? Well, DJI said “Hold my beer”, and came up with the DJI Osmo Pocket. This device is a combination of a 4K camera and a gimbal that fits in your pocket!

This device is quite small in size – only 4 inches tall. But within that, it packs a 12 MP 1/2.3″ sensor with f/2.0 aperture, and a 1″ touchscreen. The camera has an 80-degree field-of-view and can record 4K videos at 60fps, similar to DJI’s Mavic Air or the Mavic Pro. Those who are familiar with any of those devices might know what to expect from the DJI Osmo Pocket.

The Osmo Pocket also features Dual Mics for recording audio. Now, we don’t know what kind of audio from a small device such as this, but DJI’s never let us down. The camera sensor is also no bigger than what we see on the smartphone cameras of today, but the 3-axis stabilizer gimbal offers far more superior stabilization than any seen on any kind of smartphones. In addition, the Osmo Pocket also offers many of DJI’s advanced shooting modes on this small device – like object tracking, face tracking, time-lapse, and auto-panorama.

This means that you can get drone like footage in the size of a GoPro. But of course, GoPros can handle a lot more wear-and-tear than drones can. But this costs only about $350, and for all of this, it looks like a great little device.

This small gimbal-camera-stabilizer also packs an 875 mAh battery, that can last slightly more than 2 hours while recording on 4K at 30fps. On the touchscreen, you can easily toggle through your settings and frame your recordings. And yes, the 1″ screen doesn’t make for great visibility, but you can also connect your phones to it via a USB-C or Apple’s lightning port with an interchangeable mod on the side. With that, you can get better access to your recordings and better controls, using the company’s new app.

This device is available for pre-order as of now and will start shipping sometime in mid-December. The company also plans to sell various accessories for the Osmo Pocket, like a mount, Wi-Fi controller, water-proof case, etc. You can find more information about this neat little device on the company’s official site.

Nubia Red Magic Mars goes official with dual heat pipe technology and shoulder buttons

GadgetByte

-

November 29, 2018

0

Nubia Red Magic Mars goes official with dual heat pipe technology and shoulder buttons

Gaming smartphones are gaining momentum, and ZTE wants a piece. Following the Red Magic, the new Nubia Red Magic Mars is now official and is now even better, both inside and out. But do these updates help it stand up against the likes of Black Shark, Razer phone or the ROG gaming phone?

Also Read: Razer Phone 2 gaming smartphone launched

nubia red magic mars launched — Source: GSMarena

Starting off with the specs, it comes with the latest, at least for now, Snapdragon 845 SoC, Adreno 630 GPU and 10GB of RAM. Quite a good start for a gaming phone and up on par with the competition. The display is fairly large at 6-inches, FHD+ resolutions, 18:9 aspect ratio and the LTPS LCD display technology.

That’s all good and everything but what makes the Nubia Red Magic Mars special is that trademark RGB light strip on the back. There is also a new IEC technology, basically dual heat pipes for better cooling. Then comes the shoulder buttons, simply put, two touch-sensitive areas on the sides of the phone.

Also Read: Xiaomi Blackshark gaming smartphone launched

But that’s not where the goodies end, you also get stereo speakers with DTS 7.1 audio better audio experience. A linear motor has also been installed inside the phone to create “4D shock” haptic feedback. As for undisturbed gaming sessions, you can also find a dedicated esports button. For a more enhanced gaming experience, you can also opt-in for an optional Bluetooth gaming controller.

Following the gaming-oriented luxuries, the smartphone also comes with usual smartphone features like a camera. A 16MP f1/8 lens at the back and an 8MP selfie camera at the front. It also comes with a battery, a huge 3800mAh unit. The smartphone runs on Android 9.0 Pie with Red Magic 1.6 on top, with a few gaming oriented bloatware here and there.

The nubia Red Magic Mars starts at CNY 2,700 for the 6/64GB version while for CNY 3,200 you can get the slightly better 8/128GB version. If you want the full-fledged 10/256GB model, that will cost you CNY 4,000.

Nubia Red Magic Mars Specifications:

Display: 6.0″ LTPS IPS FHD+ display w Dinorex T2X-1 scratch/shock resistant glass protection
Dimensions: 158.2 x 75 x 9.9 mm, 193g
OS & UI: Android 9.0 Pie with Red Magic OS on top
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC
GPU: Adreno 630
Storage: 256GB/10GB; 128GB/8GB; 64GB/6GB
Rear camera: 16MP, f/1.8
Selfie camera: 8MP, f/2.0
Gaming features: “ICE”, “LED back strip”, “4D shock”
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 3.5mm audio jack, USB-Type C port
Sensors: Fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
battery: 3800mAh (5V/3A; 16W fast charging)
Colors: Meteorite Black, Flame Red, Camouflage

Gionee on the verge of bankruptcy as the Chairman gambles away company’s money

GadgetByte

-

November 29, 2018

0

Gionee on the verge of bankruptcy as the Chairman gambles away company’s money

Another Chinese smartphone brand is on the verge of biting the dust. And as the title suggests, it is none other than the Gionee itself. Over the years, the smartphone maker had gained quite a goodwill because of its camera-centric and big-battery oriented devices. But the manufacturer is facing downfall as it had been unable to pay the money it owed to its financial institutions, suppliers, and advertising and marketing agencies. Adding all the money it owes, the company now has the debt of around CNY 17 billion, which translates to $2.45 billion. And the gambling habit of its chairman Liu Lirong seems responsible for this sudden collapse of the organization.

The company managed to sell around 40 million units of Gionee handsets in 2016. All thanks to the company’s cost-effective backed by an advertising campaign endorsed by top celebrities, the brand managed to garner quite a lot of popularity. Gionee had also been ranked on the sixth position, just behind the Apple in terms of handset sales last year. But now the company is on the verge of bankruptcy and Chairman Li Lirong takes the entire blame for the scenario created.

Li Lirong has accepted that the company owes a total of 17 billion Yuan. And on that 17 billion Yuan debt, it owes 10 billion Yuan to the banks, 5 billion Yuan to upstream suppliers and about 2 billion to advertising agencies. The Chairman also stated that his gambling losses were around $1 billion. He also accepted using company funds for his personal benefits. However, he did not accept his gambling habit to be entirely responsible for the downfall of the company. He disclosed that the company had been losing no less than 100 million Yuan per month on the average since the beginning of 2013.

At the current status, the company has been unable to pay the debt to its 400 suppliers. And among the bunch, 20 core suppliers even have filed a lawsuit against the company. In the recent meeting between the company representatives and the suppliers, the debt figures were out. Now Gionee is in the situation if it denies the production of Gionee phones further, it will go into liquidation. But although the company is in shambles, there are still some of the residual smartphones available in the market. And Gionee has plans to provide warranty on all of its residual devices until all of its units are sold out completely.