Page 717 – GadgetByte Nepal

Smartphone Import drop by 50% in Nepal, Grey market flourishing

Featured

GadgetByte

-

January 10, 2019

Smartphone Import drop by 50% in Nepal, Grey market flourishing

After Nepal governments decision to impose an additional 5% excise duty on the import of smartphones, smartphone import have gone down considerably in Nepal. This should not come as a surprise, however. Everyone was unhappy regarding this decision. Before this excise duty, smartphone retailers only had to pay 13% tax on smartphones. And on top, there was 40% of rebate offered to them on those taxes. Which made it about 7.8% net in taxes.

But now, with the added 5% excise duty, and the rebate taken away, retailers pay a total of over 18% tax on smartphone import. Which has reduced the import of smartphones – at least legally. But the increase in grey market imports shows that many retailers might have resorted to importing these goods illegally. And this is more evident by the increase of new smartphone retailers in recent times.

Also Read: Why are smartphones overpriced in Nepal?

According to data from Birgunj Customs office, the import of phones has gone down by 50%. While the number of phone imports last fiscal year was 2,49,280 in a period of 6 months, this year the number rested at 1,10,700 in the same amount of time. According to customs officials, the number has decreased due to the additional excise duties and revoking of the rebate.

Sources also claim that since there is less strict checking at open border areas, many phones make it inside Nepal illegally. And when many smartphone shops shut down during a raid by the officials, it only confirmed the suspicions.

Meanwhile, the Mobile Phones Importers Association (MPIA) has issued a letter that they will be carrying out necessary steps to discourage grey importers and illegal means. They claim that even if grey imports are beneficial to some, and while some consumers may get phones for cheap, it hurts the nation’s economy overall. Also, there is no surety of warranties, maintenance and such. All, of this, is true for the most part as well.

They announced they would warn all grey importers. And there would be legal actions to those who do not comply and will not receive any support from the Importers Association. This would mean that any retailer with grey market supplies would not get any kind of warranty facilities, phone imports or will not be made part of any schemes.

Will this help the current trend of smartphone import and high pricing in Nepal? Only time will tell, but for now, we have yet to see the policies implemented in action.

CES 2019: HiSense U30 revealed with 48 MP camera and Snapdragon 675 chipset

GadgetByte

-

January 10, 2019

0

CES 2019: HiSense U30 revealed with 48 MP camera and Snapdragon 675 chipset

We may not know HiSense for their smartphones all that well. But besides televisions, the Chinese company also makes quite good smartphones. And this time, at CES 2019, it has revealed quite an interesting phone. Dubbed the HiSense U30, this phone packs quite the interesting specs.

First, it packs Samsung’s ISOCELL Bright GM1 48 MP sensor as the primary camera sensor at the back! What’s interesting about it is not only its large 48 MP sensor, but the ISOCELL technology is known for enhancing sharpness and detail in photos. So, the large resolution and ISOCELL technology is an interesting combo! The camera is also supported by 5 MP depth sensor as well.

hisense u30 price specs — Source: Gizmochina

As for the selfie camera, this phone, too, jumped on the display-hole train. It features a 20 MP shooter on the punch-hole. As for other aspects, it has a large 6.3″ Full HD+ display with very thin bezels. But surprisingly, as is the trend, this phone still has a rear-mounted traditional fingerprint sensor.

Under the hood, the phone is powered by the new Snapdragon 675 SoC. And this makes it the very first phone to do so. The Snapdragon 675 is a gaming-based octa-core chipset with considerable improvements over the Snapdragon 670. Besides that, the phone will have two RAM configurations – 6 GB and 8 GB, which seems to be the standard these days. But the storage is fixed at 128 GB. Also, there is no expandable option.

With a huge 4500 mAh battery and supporting Quick Charge 4.0+, this is turning out to be a very good phone in the paper. And combined with all the specs it has, we might be looking at an upper-class mid-range phone. The only questionable thing is that everything is packed in a “cow-hide” leather-ish type of design at the back. But this might be one more thing to make it look more interesting, maybe.

This phone will be officially launched in March and will be available in China, Russia and some parts of Europe. Pricing is under the veil for now.

For More CES 2019 Coverage Click Here!

CES 2019: Alienware Area 51m is the world’s most powerful laptop

GadgetByte

-

January 9, 2019

0

CES 2019: Alienware Area 51m is the world’s most powerful laptop

The Alienware Area 51m is arguably the world’s most powerful laptop on the market right now. It’s also built on the company’s first “Legend” design language, but the best part is its upgradability.

Starting off with a Core i9-9900k desktop CPU, which is user upgradable. The laptop accepts full-sized desktop CPU, which makes upgrading hassle free. The only catch here is that CPU you want to upgrade with needs to be compatible with a Z390 motherboard.

The GPU, on the other hand, is a bit tricky. It comes with an RTX 2080 pre-installed but Dell has used their own proprietary Dell Graphics Form Factor which might or might not get supported later on. Either way, you can always plug in an external GPU amplifier, which Alienware has optimized quite well.

Seems like Alienware is fully aware of its shortcoming. According to an interview with Verge, the Co-Founder stated: “If customers don’t show demand for it, it’ll be a novelty and then it’ll fade away”.

With all of the super powerful internals, cooling might be an issue. For the same Alienware has introduced the “cutting-edge thermal and cooling technology”. The company claims this is new technology will increase performance by 50% and with 32% less volume consumption as compared to past solutions.

There are no 4k display options, the only one you get is a 17-inch 144hz FHD display with G-Sync support. It does look really nice with very minimal bezels and the quality of the display itself is pretty great. It also gets Tobii Eye Tracing technology, if you are into those.

The Alienware Area 51m starts at $2,549 and will be available from January 29.

Alienware Area 51m
Display	17-inch 144Hz G-Sync (1,920 x 1080)
CPU	Up to Intel Core i9-9900K
GPU	Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080
RAM	Up to 64GB DDR4
Storage	2x 1TB M.2 SSD, 1x 2.5-inch 1TB SSD
Keyboard	Alienware TactX
Ports	USB-A 3.0, HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, RJ45, Graphics Amplifier, Thunderbolt 3, Headphone jack
Battery	90Wh
Dimensions	410 x 402 x 27.6-31.2 mm, 4.4Kgs

For More CES 2019 Coverage Click Here!

CAN Info-Tech 2019 starting January 29th in Kathmandu

GadgetByte

-

January 9, 2019

0

CAN Info-Tech 2019 starting January 29th in Kathmandu

The 25th edition of annual CAN Info-Tech 2019 is to go live starting 29th of January (Magh 15th) this year in Kathmandu. This time, the event will be named as Subisu CAN Into-Tech 2019 in association with e-Sewa, and as usual, it will take place at Bhrikutimandap, Kathmandu. The 6-day event will run from 29th January to 3rd February.

We all know CAN Info-Tech to be a platform for companies to sell and advertise products rather than exhibit new technologies and ideas. However, this time around, the exhibition will include technology used in Education, Agriculture, Health and Tourism as well. Of course, alongside this, we will be able to see new software, security systems, and such as well. In addition, the exhibition will also include a Nepal-made Robot for daily life this time. That should be a bit more interesting.

To make the event more interesting, there are various schemes for the visitors too. Visitors might be able to win various gift-hampers and vouchers every three hours through a lucky draw. Furthermore, 1 lucky winner will get a bumper gift hamper every day. And what’s more? Visitors can take their old electronics to get attractive discounts or gift hampers in various exhibits.

The 6-day event will have 175 stalls that comprise Hardware and Maintenance, Power Solutions, Mobile Accessories, ISPs, ICT & Training Institutes, Software solutions, Payment solutions, etc. And as usual, ticket pricing is Rs.100 for regular visitors and Rs.50 for students. And on Jan 31, which is “Business Day”, the ticket is Rs.100 for every visitor alike.

However, this time around, to promote online payment, there is a facility for purchasing your tickets online via e-Sewa. And those who do so will get a 10% discount on their tickets as well.

CES 2019: The Dell G7 and G5 are two properly upgraded gaming laptops

GadgetByte

-

January 9, 2019

0

CES 2019: The Dell G7 and G5 are two properly upgraded gaming laptops

Last year Dell streamlined its Inspiron gaming lineup with the new G-Series tagline. It wasn’t a huge upgrade apart from the inclusion of 8th Gen Intel processors. Most of the design language, thermal solutions, including the display and keyboard remained exactly the same. Seems like Dell wanted to clear out the naming hassle before they gave their gaming series a proper upgrade including a 4-zone customizable RGB keyboard.

In comes the new Dell G5 and the Dell G7, a proper upgrade to the whole Inspiron Gaming series since the very beginning (Inspiron 7559). That’s saying a lot but it’s true. The Dell G7 sported the best GPU in the Inspiron lineup up till now. That was the GTX 1060 Max-Q, which has now been upgraded to an RTX 2080. Certainly, we do not know how the RTX 2080 performs, but even a poor guess shows it should be at least twice as fast if not more.

Dell Inspiron G7

The new Inspiron G7 comes in two different sizes, one with a 15-inch (7590) panel and the other is 17-inches (7790). For those who were excited about the OLED panel, it’s only coming to the 15-inch variant with UHD resolutions at 60Hz. The FHD panel, on the other hand, comes in both 60Hz and 144Hz for both the 15-inch and 17-inch models. Here is a table I made explaining this in a better way.

Dell G7 Display
OLED	IPS
15-inch panel		17-inch panel
60Hz refresh rate		144Hz refresh rate
UHD resolutions (3840×2160 pixels)		FHD resolutions (1920×1080 pixels)

Moving on to internal specs, the Dell G7 is now available in three different CPU choices. The first is an 8th Gen Quad-Core i5-8300HQ, the six-core i7-8750H or the overclockable i9-8950HK. That’s quite the selection for all the potential customers out there. If we talk GPUs, it’s an even larger selection. GPU choices include the GTX 1050Ti, RTX 2060, RTX 2070 Max-Q or the RTX 2080 Max-Q. Seems like Dell is going all out with the customizations.

The GPU and CPU can be paired with either 8 or 16GB of RAM with you can expand later on. As for storage, you get dual storage options with a maximum of 1TB NVMe SSD and 2TB HDD. If you thought these were the only customization options, well you are wrong. Dell is actually letting you choose between a 4-cell 60Whr battery or a larger 6-cell 90Wh battery on both the models. Sadly, with all these customization options, Dell is only offering one color option, Abyss Grey.

Connectivity includes Bluetooth 5.0, dual-band Gigabit Killer Ethernet, and Dual-band Wi-Fi on all models. Ports include HDMI 2.0, 3x USB 3.1, microSD card reader, wedge lock and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Thunderbolt 3 (USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C) is also available, but only on RTX enabled versions. Pricing for the base models begins at $1,099 for the Dell G7 15 while the G7 17 starts at $1,380.

Dell G5

The Dell G5 offers relatively fewer options to choose from, the first being it’s 15-inch display. The same can be configured at FHD@60Hz, FHD@144Hz or UHD@60Hz. The CPU options also follow the same, with either a Core i5-8300HQ or the Core i7-8750H. However, no compromises have been made in the GPU department. The choices still include the GTX 1050Ti, RTX 2060, RTX 2070 Max-Q and the fastest of all the RTX 2080 Max-Q.

The Dell G5’s RAM, storage, connectivity, and ports selections also remain identical to the newer G7. The one aspect the G5 outshines it’s elder brother is the option to choose from two colors instead of one. The regular G5 will come in a Deep Space Black Shade color, while the G5 SE, which probably stands for “Special Edition” is also available in Alpine White. Pricing starts at $999 for the base model.

All variants of the laptop will go on sale starting January 29th, 2019.

For More CES 2019 Coverage Click Here!

CES 2019: Sony’s first 8K TV is very huge!

Pratima Adhikari

-

January 9, 2019

0

CES 2019: Sony’s first 8K TV is very huge!

This year at CES, if there is something common in all the TVs being launched is, huge and 8K. Yes, we saw TVs from Samsung and LG recently and popular TV manufacturer Sony has also boarded the same train! And if this year’s offering is something like the prototype we saw last year, it should be a masterpiece! So, this time at CES 2019, the company has put forward the Z9G, Sony’s first 8K TV that seems really really huge!

The first thing that takes away the show is definitely the resolution. 8K is a lot of it and so much in a small size would be wasted. So, the company has brought to the table a very huge one that is sized at 85 and 98 inches. Apart from these, Sony also has hinted that this year’s models are updated with the latest image processors and X- Reality PRO technology to be optimized especially for 8K content. This ensures that all the content looks as good as possible, regardless of their native resolution.

Also Read: Samsung 8K TV at CES 2019

These products have been launched under Sony’s Master series and also feature Netflix Calibrated Mode and IMAX Enhanced.

But last year, Sony had introduced the OLED Acoustic Surface Audio technology that made the screen act as the speaker too. Unfortunately, that technology is not supported by LCD panels, so the Z9G has four front-facing speakers, two at the front and two along the bottom. Sony claims that these speakers have the same effect as MicroLED speakers.

CES 2019: Dell says it’s new XPS 13 is the perfect laptop

GadgetByte

-

January 9, 2019

1

CES 2019: Dell says it’s new XPS 13 is the perfect laptop

Dell has had quite a presence in this year’s CES 2019. It’s safe to say they have successfully impressed everyone with their new Alienware and Inspiron gaming lineup. What could make it better? The new Dell XPS 13 2019 with an all-new frost anodized exterior color option.

The new XPS 13 comes with an HD webcam just above that 13-inch panel with support for up to 4k resolutions. That webcam is 2.25mm in size, which allows the laptop to still maintain it’s Infinity Edge display. It weighs just 1.3kgs and packs a 52Whr battery which Dell claims should last 21 hours (under certain usage patterns).

The laptop comes with Gore Insulation Technology which provides a better thermal conductivity as opposed to air in a thin, flexible format. It basically keeps the XPS 13 cooler than it’s predecessors. As for ports, it gets two ThunderBolt 3 ports, one display port, an SD-card reader, a USB Type-C and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

“We’re driving innovation and delivering devices and experiences to make work and play more fluid and enjoyable”
– Dell

The processor department doesn’t exactly see an upgrade either. We are yet to see Intel launch it’s 9th gen mobile processors. For now, the 8th Gen processors are paired with 4GB to 16GB of 2133MHz RAM and 128GB to 2TB of fast storage. A few improvements include Dolby Vision support for HDR videos, optional fingerprint reader, and an adjusted hinge for easier one hand usage.

Dell XPS 13 2019 Price, Specs and Availability

So, do you think Dell has “finally perfected the product”? We certainly think so. The new Dell XPS 13 will be available from February with prices starting at $899.99. Majority of it should ship through Dell.com but seems like Microsoft store will also be selling it in limited quantities.

For More CES 2019 Coverage Click Here!

CES 2019: Razer launches new Raptor monitor, updates Razer Blade 15

GadgetByte

-

January 9, 2019

0

CES 2019: Razer launches new Raptor monitor, updates Razer Blade 15

With all the gaming laptop launches in CES, did you really expect Razer to not join the party? The then gaming peripheral manufacturer debuted its first laptop, the Razer Edge gaming tablet computer back in CES 2013. The highlight announcement was the Razer Raptor, a new gaming monitor, alongside an incremental upgrade over it’s existing Razer Blade 15. Spoiler Alert!! it gets the new RTX enhancements.

Razer Raptor Gaming Monitor

Razer just took the wraps off an all-new eSports oriented gaming monitor, the Razer Raptor. It’s a 27-inch IPS panel with a 4mn response rate. Whatever the specs may show, it’s cable management system is definitely the highlight here. The monitor shows five cables running across it’s back in the most perfect way, at least the renders appear that way.

The 4mn response rate can be reduced to a perfect 1ms with motion blur reduction. The Raptor is, however not a 4k monitor but sports a humble 2560×1440 resolution (WQHD) display. It can reach a maximum refresh rate of up to 144Hz and supports up to 95% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. Maximum brightness reaches up to 420-nits which is probably more than enough for indoor usage. The Raptor also supports HDR contents.

Sadly, if you just bought the new Turing graphics processors, this monitor only supports AMD’s free sync technology. You could look at Nvidia’s new Adaptive sync technology for a fix. Which you might give there is really no other monitor quite like this one. I mean it has a seriously thin 2.3mm bezels on all three side, except for the relatively thick bezels at the bottom.

It gets the Chroma-enabled base so you can sync all your Razer peripherals like mouse, keyboard headset or mousepad’s lighting with your monitor. The cable management you see in the picture above shows green lines running across it’s back. If you were wondering what they are, it’s the HDMI, Display Port, a USB port and finally the power port.

An actual over the top feature is the panel’s 90-degrees upwards tilt so you don’t need to turn your monitor while hooking up a cable. The base is just a big piece of aluminum providing the panel a firm stance. The Razer Raptor is priced at $699 and will be in 2019 but an exact date hasn’t been revealed yet.

Razer Blade 15 Advanced

Razer announced a refresh to last year’s Blade 15 with an RTX GPU overhaul. The rejuvenation includes new display technologies, one of which featured an experimental OLED panel. A backup display showed off an FHD@240Hz panel. Sadly other components remain the same, which means it gets a Core i7-8750H, 16GB RAM and 512GB of SSD. Pricing for the new Razer Blade 15 Advanced starts at $2,299 for the base model while sales will begin January 29th.

For More CES 2019 Coverage Click Here!

CES 2019: Samsung Notebook 9 Pro & Notebook Flash are more than just looks!

Pratima Adhikari

-

January 8, 2019

0

CES 2019: Samsung Notebook 9 Pro & Notebook Flash are more than just looks!

While Samsung surprised everyone with the powerful Samsung Notebook Odyessy at this year’s CES, the company does not seem to be taking a stop even now as it recently released the Notebook 9 pro, Notebook 9 Pen and Notebook Flash that seem to be good news for content creators and students. These laptops are about design as much as for performance too.

Samsung Notebook 9 Pro Overview:

Last year’s Notebook 9 and Notebook Pen felt more like a $400 Chromebook, but this year, we got the premium laptop feel back again! This year’s Notebook Pro has sharp edges, tighter corner radii, thinner bezels, larger shallower keys and is made of Aluminium, that makes it feel way more premium.

On the performance front, you get an 8th Gen Intel i7-8565U processor, 256GB of PCIe NVMe SSD storage. We have seen the Spen as one of the key elements in Samsung’s smartphone lineups but this is the first time the company is bringing it to a laptop with the Notebook 9 Pro and 9 Pro Pen. In order to be able to use the S- pen, the company is pushing hard on its Windows ink platform. And the S- Pen we are talking about now, is compatible with Windows Ink and also offers Air command

Samsung’s S Pen is compatible with Windows Ink and also offers Air Command, a quick access menu for drawing and editing that Note fans will recognize.

Samsung Notebook 9 Pro Specifications:

360-degree Touchscreen Display (1,920×1080)
Built-in S Pen with 4,000 pressures levels
Windows Home OS
Intel Core i7-7500U Processor
13.3-inch model ( with 8GB DDR4 RAM) and 15-inch model ( with 16GB DDR4 RAM)
256GB SSD
Supports fast charging via USB-C port

Samsung Notebook Flash Overview:

On the other hand, the Samsung Notebook Flash looks retro but comes with very modern features. It has a typewriter keyboard and at 13.3- inches, it has an FHD display with Anti-glare screen. It comes with multiple port options, including one USB 2.0, one USB3.0, two USB type-C. The laptop is incorporated with Gigabit- Wifi Technology that aids faster Web streaming and surfing.

Also, there is a fingerprint sensor in the laptop too for instant log-in options.

Samsung Notebook Flash Specifications:

13.3- inch FHD display with Anti Glare screen
Gigabit-Wifi technology
Intel Pentium Silver N5000 processor
4GB RAM and 64GB eMMC storage
Universal Flash Storage/MicroSD Memory Slot

For More CES 2019 Coverage Click Here!

CES 2019: Alienware m15 and m17 launched with RTX graphics chips

GadgetByte

-

January 8, 2019

0

CES 2019: Alienware m15 and m17 launched with RTX graphics chips

Dell is going all out with their thin and light Alienware offerings. The two laptops dubbed Alienware m15 and m17 are based on Dell’s “Epic” design language. With structural components made up of magnesium alloy and copper. The Alienware m15 isn’t something new, more of a refresh with the inclusion of an RTX graphics card. The Alienware 17, on the other hand, is a pretty impressive laptop, basically a larger m15, but it is pretty fresh.

Alienware m17

The Alienware m17 is a 17-inch laptop that weighs just 6 pounds or 2.7kgs. They do claim it to be the world’s thinnest and lightest 17-inch gaming laptop, but that statement isn’t really accurate anymore. The laptop has a thickness of just 0.91inch while manages to fit in a 90Wh battery, i9 8950HK and RTX 2080 Max Q GPU. You get to choose from a 1440p panel at 120Hz, a UHD 60Hz one, and an FHD@60Hz, probably exclusive to the RTX 2060.

You get to choose from three different GPUs, the best one being Nvidia’s RTX 2080. The other GPU options are RTX 2060 or the RTX 2070 Max Q. There are two RAM slots that can be configured to a maximum of 32GB of 2666MHz DDR4 memory. The feature list includes an FHD webcam with dual array microphones, Gigabit LAN, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5 and stereo speakers. You get two storage drives which include an M.2 NVMe SSD.

The FHD panel here delivers up to 300 nits of brightness with 72% of the sRGB color coverage. The UHD panel can do 400 nits with a 100% sRGB colors covered. The laptop gets RGB lighting across six zones. For cooling, it gets Alienware’s brand new CryoTech 2.0. Color options include Epic Silver and Nebula Red. The laptop will be available from January 21st with prices starting at $1,650.

Alienware m15

The new Alienware m15 is just a refresh over its older model. New graphics card, cooling technology, and a claimed 17-hour battery life are the new upgrades on the newbie. This laptop is configurable with either an RTX 2060, RTX 2070 Max-Q or an RTX 2080 Max-Q. Processor choices include a Core i5-8300H, a Core i7-8750H or the Core i9-8950HK. Pricing starts at $1,580 while the availability is scheduled to start from January 21st, same as the Alienware m17.

For More CES 2019 Coverage Click Here!

Alienware Area 51m

Dell Inspiron G7

Dell G7 Display

Dell G5

Dell XPS 13 2019 Price, Specs and Availability

Razer Raptor Gaming Monitor

Razer Blade 15 Advanced

Samsung Notebook 9 Pro Overview:

Samsung Notebook 9 Pro Specifications:

Samsung Notebook Flash Overview:

Samsung Notebook Flash Specifications:

Alienware m17

Alienware m15