Huawei had been emphasizing about its upcoming smartphone for quite a time now. It was a mystery to all of us what the smartphone will be called exactly, what features will it behold and how will it perform. But now, we finally have information on all of that. Huawei has recently unveiled the much anticipated Huawei Nova 3 internationally. The smartphone was rumored to be launched around the mid of July but seems like Huawei could not resist showing off its new product.
Some of the specs had already been guessed, some may come as a surprise to us. Well, whatever be the case, the Nove 3 has come and seems to pack some top-notch features!
The first notable feature would be none other than the fact that it is powered by the Kirin 970 chipset. If you think that sounds familiar, yes, its the same chipset that is used in Huawei’s latest flagship, the Huawei P20 Pro! The chipset can be compared neck to neck with the powerful Snapdragon 835 chipset. Supporting the performance is rumored to be 6GB of RAM.
Like the P20 Pro, this one does have 4 cameras but unlike the P20 Pro its got 2 cameras at the front and 2 at the back. Well, a total of four cameras indeed. It has become a trend for Huawei to include as many cameras as possible. But we are not complaining ;). About the camera pixels, at the back, it has a 16 MP f/1.8 RGB sensor coupled with a 24 MP Monochrome sensor featuring the same lens. On the selfie front, there is a primary 24 MP snapper with a 2 MP sensor for portraits.
Similarly, the Nova 3 comes with the recently introduced GPU Turbo technology. For those who are wondering what GPU Turbo technology is, it is a technology that optimizes GPU performance by bottlenecking between GPU’s hardware and software performance.
Following the flagship trend, it greets you with 3D Qmoji, a feature just like Apple’s Animoji, Samsung’s AR Emoji and Oppo’s Omoji. Likewise, the device is also said to have tons of AI features that are resulted from combined efforts of the UI and the chipset together.
Although the specs are revealed, the pricing of the device is yet to be revealed. Well, the launch date is set for the 18th of July, 2018, so we guess the wait will be over just then. The Huawei Nova 3 will be available in at least 4 colors, Nebula Purple (just like the P20 Pro), Aqua Blue, Black and Promise Gold.
Th J- series is one of the beloved and highest selling midrange lineups from Samsung. However, it seems like it hasn’t been able to keep up with the likes of Chinese brands. Can the recently launched Samsung Galaxy J6 with the infinity display reclaim their position in the market? Let’s find out in our review.
Price in Nepal: Rs. 24,790 (3GB/32GB); Rs. 29,090 (4GB/64GB)
Design and build
Starting from the design, I must say I love how it looks. The Galaxy J6 comes with a slender and smooth design which looks and feels great in hands. Attractive as it looks, its slim body makes it comfortable to hold and easy even for one-hand usage. The plastic back is neither matte nor glossy so there will be no annoying smudges and fingerprints on the back. However, it is quite smooth, so it frequently slipped from my hands.
On the left, there are volume buttons, a tray for sim 1 and a tray for sim 2 & micro SD card. The power button and the speaker is on the right. The speaker gives quite loud and crisp sound. I usually place my hand on the speaker while watching videos and wonder why the sound is so low even when it is in full volume. But after a week of usage, my hands naturally adjusted.
On the front, there’s an 8 MP camera with LED flash which is a plus in mid segment smartphone. A USB port along with the 3.5mm headphone jack is on the bottom while a 13 MP camera with LED flash is on the back.
Under the camera is a fingerprint sensor. Its quite accurate but it’s not the fastest out there. The face recognition works fairly in daylight, it takes some time before it unlocks the screen
Display
The Samsung J6 features a curved edge 2.5D glass for 5.6” Super AMOLED Infinity Display and the tall display with 18.5:9 screen to body ratio looks very attractive. Although the resolution is only HD, watching videos in the AMOLED panel is quite vivid and a treat to eyes.
The viewing angles are quite decent too. While watching videos I noticed that the colors are vivid and have precise contrast which you don’t usually get in a budget smartphone. The display is quite bright as well. It works fairly in sunlight even when it is in 75% brightness. However, one thing I wished this phone had was auto-brightness. Yes, we need to manually adjust the brightness.
Software
Moving on to the software department, the J6 runs on Android 8.0 Oreo. The UI looks quite similar to the S9 minus some features like Always on display. Since it also lacks Notification LED, I had to manually check for any notification which is bothersome at times. Come on Samsung, Notification LED is not a feature you should exclude in 2018.
I have always liked the Samsung UI as it is smooth and easy to use. Samsung has included some flagship features like S-health, Secure Folder and Samsung themes. Also, it has many advanced features as well like panic mode, dual messenger mode and so on. The dual messenger mode can be used for Facebook, Messenger, Viber and other few social media apps. And although like I mentioned before the phone is pretty sleek and comfortable to hold, there is an easy mode for better one hand use.
However, I found apps like My Galaxy, Samsung Mall, Samsung Max and Samsung Pay mini to be useless and the fact you can’t uninstall them is annoying. Also, you can’t uninstall any of the pre-installed Microsoft apps.
Performance
The Samsung Galaxy J6 is powered by an Exynos 7870 which has been powering Samsung’s midrange phones since 2016. I am not saying it’s a bad chipset since it’s based on energy efficient 14nm process, however, Samsung could and should have opted for more powerful MediaTek Helio P60 or the Snapdragon 636 or their own Exynos 7885.
On to the real-life performance, the phone performed well during my usage. I didn’t expect it to perform this well. It didn’t lag or heat up lag while using Facebook and Instagram. The good performance is partly due to the fact that it only has to power an HD display.
Now talking about multitasking, it takes a while when switching between apps but that’s only when there is a lot of apps running in the background. Animations and transitions on the Galaxy J6 have been cut down to a minimum.
Playing low-end games like Knife hit, Alto is decent and it doesn’t heat up even up to 50 minutes of continuous gameplay. If you don’t play graphics-intensive games, the phone offers more than enough horsepower to offer you satisfactory performance in everyday tasks. So, if you are a PubG fan, you may not want to play it on this one.
Camera
The single 13MP back camera captures above average daylight photos in auto mode, but in pro mode, you can tweak the settings to get better results. The sharpness and detail are good too. Color reproduction, however, is a hit or miss, which can easily be noticed on the Super AMOLED display. The dynamic range is also pretty average for the price. Low light images are not bad and I found the color reproduction on low light to be surprisingly better than the daylight images. Also, there is no portrait mode, so no fancy portrait photos.
Samsung Galaxy J6 Back Camera Samples
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The 8MP selfie camera on the front was quite impressive though. The selfies come out quite good even under low lighting. The pictures taken from the front camera are better than that from the rear camera.
Samsung Galaxy J6 Selfie Samples
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Check out all the high-resolution camera samples here
Battery
The battery of J6 amazed me. The 3,000mAh battery easily lasts a whole day, including long calls on messenger to extensive gaming. The battery easily lasted about 6 hrs even while extensive usage. A drawback of the battery is the charging is very slow. It takes about 3 hrs to charge up to 100.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, the Samsung Galaxy J6 is a decent choice. It has got a good design, trendy 18:9 AMOLED display, surprisingly good performance, and excellent battery life. Also, Samsung has the brand appreciation and is probably the safest choice when it comes to aftersales and warranty here in Nepal. However, with the midrange smartphone market getting very competitive, you will easily get the Xiaomi Redmi S2 or the Huawei Y9 that offers more for the price.
A smartphone is one of the most valued possessions in a person’s life and it’s also one of the possessions that are at highest risk of damage. Around 38% of people damage their phones by dropping it right out of their hands while 45% of the people accidentally damage their phones while watching TV, cooking in the kitchen and oftentimes even in the bathroom!
Most of us love our smartphones with our lives and it is definitely something that needs insurance against risk and damage of all kinds. Sadly, here in Nepal, we hadn’t come across any kind of mobile insurance schemes or policies. But, now there is one less thing for us to worry about! Mero Surakshya has launched with an aim to shield your device against things that manufacturer warranty does not!
So, what is Mero Surakshya?
Mero Surakshya is a distinctive smartphone protection plan which covers the cost of repairing or replacing your phone if lost, stolen or damaged. Similarly, it not only provides protection schemes for your phone but also ensures that your data is secure! So, if your smartphone suffers damage of any kind, Mero Surakshya will replace your old smartphone with a new one within 7 days.
Thus, Mero Surakshya is a platform where you can get insurance for the possible damages that happen to your smartphone!
How Mero Surakshya works?
You can get the Mero Surakshya app in the Appstore and Playstore. So, users need to install the application and activate protection plan for their mobile phones. In doing so, payment can be made through 15 commercial banks and services like Khalti and ipay or through Door to Door service.
Users who activate the plan need to pay 5% fo their mobile invoice value (cost price) and users can get a new phone on loss or damage of their old mobile phones within 7 days. Further, the service is available for all kinds of smartphones of any company.
Here is the link to download Mero Surakshya app for Playstore:
Mero Surakshya offers various features for the protection of your mobile phone like,
Antivirus protection
Gadget Security
Data backup
Track or block lost or stolen smartphones
Authorized services
Coverage against fake calls, etc
What is Mero Surakshya aspiring to offer to its costumers?
It offers a wide range of protection against various types of damages like,
fire damage
liquidity damage
accidental damage
loss or theft
data backup
credit talk balance
24/7 customer support system
Most smartphone carriers do not offer insurance policies to cover the possible losses people’s smartphones go through and the warranty they provide is just not enough. So, Mero Surakshya is good news for all who want to have a backup plan for your smartphone’s future.
When Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada was going to present the annual budget for the fiscal year 2075-76, everyone was excited. However, the excitement went in vain when he read more of the documents he carried. The displeasure was more pronounced in the Nepali tech industry. Smartphones’ price in Nepal got increased almost in no time due to the cancellation of VAT return convenience. Now another post-budget consequence that lies right ahead of us is the hike in the mobile and internet tariffs.
Ncell’s say on internet price hike in Nepal
As announced by the Minister of Finance, ISPs and telecoms now have to pay 13% Telecom Service Cost (TSC) to the government. So the telecoms and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will surely be going to hike their tariffs. As mentioned on the announcement, TSC will be levied to the Telecoms and ISPs from the Shrawan 1 of 2018 (July 17, 2018) or the from the first day of the new fiscal year.
Executives from the Telecoms and ISPs in agony say that it was announced in the budget without any prior notice or information. Even after the announcement, they even tried to woo the concerned authorities to take back the step. However, the ministry officials remain reluctant for any change in the decision. So the every attempted from the Telecom and ISPs’ officials turned futile. Now the users are on the verge of paying an extra high phone and internet bills in a regular fashion.
Worldlink’s say on internet price hike in Nepal
According to the current statistics from the Nepal Telecom Authority (NTA), the telephone and mobile phone users in Nepal are more than 38.5 million. Also, the broadband internet users have surged at an unprecedented rate and crossed over 14.35 million. And now, all these populations is going to get affected with this price hike.
How much will be the increment?
Here is the general insight of the price hike on the internet and mobile tariffs.
Service
Till July 16
From July 17
TSC Increment
Remarks
Voice Call (NTC, Ncell, Landline)
Rs. 1000
Rs. 1,020
13% (2% Increment)
Internet – Cellular, data, fiber, ADSL, Wireless
Rs. 1,000
Rs. 1,130
13% (2% Increment)
1 minute Mobile call (NTC GSM Prepaid)
Rs. 1.70
Rs. 1.73
+ Rs. 0.03
GSM Mobile Call Charge GSM Post-Paid Re. 1.00 per minute
1 minute Mobile call (NTC GSM Postpaid)
Rs. 1.26
Rs. 1.28
Rs. 0.02
GSM Mobile Call Charge GSM Post-Paid Re. 1.50 per minute
1 minute Mobile call (NTC Ncell)
Rs. 2.50
Rs. 2.55
Rs. 0.05
Sajilo Raiff Rate (Per minute) (inclusive of taxes) Rs. 2.50
1MB Cellular Data NTC (Without Package)
Rs. 1.13
Rs. 1.28
Rs. 0.15
DATA Charges Rs. 1/MB will be charged on GPRS/3G/4G usage (Normal Data without any package)
1MB Cellular Data Ncell (Without Package)
Rs. 3.39
Rs. 3.83
Rs. 0.44
All Prepaid tariff, Internet surfing rate without subscribing any package
Laptops are capable of a lot of things, but most will use it for basic tasks. Most of us will buy a laptop for gaming, or media consumption, but there are a lot of people who just want a laptop that works well, can do text editing, browse the web and take it where ever they go. Well, this one is mostly targeted at those people. The Dell Vostro 5471 is very portable, well-performing laptop with good thermals and a decent display. Continue reading to find out if this laptop is the perfect combination for you.
Specs of Dell Vostro 5471
Display: 14″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution IPS technology
Processor: Intel Core i7-8550U
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon 530
RAM: 8GB DDR4
HDD: 1TB
Weight: 1.6kgs
Battery: 65Whr (load 1h/idle 4h)
Price: Rs 1,00,000
▶️Available at Big Byte, Putalisadak (9851183182)
Build and Design
The looks did succeed to impress me. The 14-inch laptop shows off rounded corners at the edges that don’t go out of notice. The notebook is slim and lightweight which has surely aided my activity of carrying it around every time. Well, I have never had to break a sweat trying to fit it in my bag!
Also, the slim design is something I was happy to show off. The only complaint I have with the design is that the edges are a bit too pointed and if not careful you can get scratches on your hands.
Display
The Dell Vostro 14 5471 features an IPS Full HD display that greets you with excellent viewing angles and a bright and vibrant display. Additionally, you also get an anti-glare feature that helps you prevent possible eye strain. Colours on this device seem bright and vibrant. I have loved watching videos and movies on this device.
Performance
The Dell Vostro 14 5471 is powered by Intel’s 8th generation Core i7-8550U CPU coupled with an independent AMD Radeon 530 graphics card that handles the graphics of this device. Likewise, the 8 GB DDR4 RAM that comes with this device is ample for usage.
On day to day use, I have had no complaints with this device what so ever as this one provided me with speedy performance. Regular works including using Chrome, Microsoft office run like a breeze. I have also run Photoshop on this device and to my surprise, it ran quite smoothly. What was even more surprising is that Photoshop ran quite well with Illustrator running alongside it.
I am not trying to slam the performance of the GPU but even though this is an entry-level graphics processor, demanding applications like Photoshop and Illustrator ran quite well. Up until now, we have reviewed quite a few laptops and what’s common in them is that all of them were gaming laptops. But the Dell Vostro 14 5471 is a bit different because it caters to a different audience.
Gaming performance
All the impressive performance was until I started gaming on this device! The gaming performance of this device is, what I would like to say disastrous. First I played CS-G0, which ran at around 60 fps at medium settings at 1080p resolution. Now, this is not a very demanding game so I had more expectations for the laptop.
Then I tried playing PubG and even at low settings it was unplayable. Then I switched to very low settings and still, the game ran very poorly at around 30 fps. After some time I experienced serious frame drops and the game ran at 15 fps. So, the bottom line is, if there is something this laptop should not be used for, it’s gaming!
Since the Dell Vostro 5471 is not intended for gamers, I will not complain. I was just checking if this one would surprise me, but it didn’t.
Thermals
The laptop did heat up a little, although the surface temperatures never went above 50 degrees at any point, even under the most extreme loads. Under normal usages like Microsoft Word, Chrome and other stuff, the temperatures were totally usable. Neither did the laptop throttle up to a point where it was actually noticeable.
It has a 1TB hard drive, with an option to opt-in for an SSD. The hard disk did not feel slow at any point and app opening time was also fine. I would still put in an SSD for myself, but for the purpose, most will hardly care.
As a business user, you get ample ports for usage at your disposal. There are two UBS 3.0 ports, you get an SD card slot, HDMI port, DP/PD port, etc. So working on this laptop while connecting to other devices or network devices is not a problem. The fingerprint sensor that resides on the power button is just an icing on the cake.
The laptop also has a decent webcam for all the Skype calls and conferences, although selfies lovers will struggle. Similarly, the laptop had decent audio output with two speakers located at the bottom of two sides. With headphones connected, the Vostro 5471 has quality audio output.
Keyboard and Trackpad
Talking about physical usability, the keyboard is something that has impressed me thoroughly. The keys are placed at a good distance from each other making it less probable that you will press the wrong keys. Similarly, the keyboard has two levels of backlit adjustments that you can set in accordance to your preference. So, typing in dark conditions is not a problem with this one. The trackpad, on the other hand, is smooth and responsive.
Battery Life
Talking about battery life, the device gives you good backup for around 4 hours without plugging in the charger. Of course, battery drainage is relative to brightness settings and the type of work you do. So, on a medium level of brightness and regular works, it gave me 4 hours of battery. It’s impressive that the device takes less than an hour to get fully charged.
Conclusion
So if you ask me if business users should get this device, the answer is yes! In terms of looks and usability, the Dell Vostro 5471 delivers good performance. And since it can run Photoshop and Illustrator very well, it may be a good option for photographers who are looking for a portable yet good-looking laptop at a relatively lower price than high-end laptops. The drill here is, this is a good laptop, no doubts on that but I think it’s slightly overpriced. It would have been the best buy for a little bit lesser price tag. But on a serious note, for the gamers out there, this one is a big NO.
If we go down the memory lane, we will remember that back in April 2018, OPPO released the OPPO A3 that consisted of features like the infamous notch and 128 GB of internal storage. Now, OPPO has brought to the market the OPPO A3s which seems to be the slightly downgraded version that comes at a budget price.
It does not seem to be an entirely new device though. Looks like it is the rebranded version of the OPPO A5. However, you get features like a huge 4,230 mAh battery and a display in a 19:9 aspect ratio.
Adding to the features is a dual 13+2 MP camera setup at the back. The device comes with Snapdragon 450 chipset alongside the Adreno 506 GPU. In terms of storage, you get 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage, which well, is a lot less than its predecessor! Similarly, you get an 8 MP selfie shooter at the front.
Oppo A3s specifications :
Display: 6.2 inches IPS LCD with 19:9 aspect ratio
Operating System: Android 8.1 Oreo with Colors OS 5.1 on top
RAM: 2GB
ROM: 16GB expandable up to 256 GB (dedicated slot)
Chipset: Octa-core 1.8 GHz Cortex A-53
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 450
GPU: Adreno 506
Rear camera: Dual 13 MP f/2.2+ 2 MP f/2.4 LED flash, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, Panorama
The OPPO A3s has been launched in the international market and is also available in Nepal for a price of Rs. 19490. The phone is available for purchase from mobile retail outlets all over Nepal. It is available in Red and dark purple color.
The Galaxy J4, unlike the new J6 or the A6, comes with a traditional 16:9 aspect ratio with 5.5-inch display size. The resolution is HD 720P, but Samsung has included an AMOLED panel with excellent contrast ratio and punchy colors.
The Galaxy J4 is powered by an Exynos 7570 processor, which we think Samsung should have updated by now. It’s a quad-core processor with Cortex A53 cores based on energy efficient 14nm process. The graphics is taken care by Mali T720MP2 GPU. There are 2 memory version: 2GB RAM / 16GB ROM and 3GB RAM / 32GB ROM. Both these version supports a dedicated microSD card with which you can expand the internal memory by up to 256GB.
In terms of camera, the Galaxy J4 has 13MP primary camera with f/1.9 aperture lens and LED flash. The camera performance should be similar to the Galaxy J6. There’s 5MP front camera with LED flash.
Samsung has refreshed the design on the J4 and looks quite similar to the J6 and J7 Duo. It has a smooth finish which looks and feels great in hands. The back is made up of plastic but is not removable. There’s a sealed 3000mAh battery which should provide a day of battery backup.
Connectivity option includes Dual SIM (4G+4G), Wi-Fi b/g/n (no ac), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, micro-USB, FM Radio, and 3.5mm headphone jack. On the software front, the Galaxy J4 runs on Android 8.0 with Samsung experience UI.
Samsung Galaxy J4 Price in Nepal
Samsung has priced the 2GB/16GB version of the Galaxy J4 at Rs. 17,290 and the 3GB/32GB version costs Rs. 20,690. It is available all over Nepal via Samsung retail outlets.
Latest Price: Rs. 14,490 (2/16GB) & Rs. 18,990 (3/32GB) [Last updated on: June 3, 2019]
Samsung Galaxy J4 | Full Specifications
Display: 5.5-inch Super AMOLED HD display @267ppi
CPU: 1.4 GHz Quad-core Exynos 7570
OS: Android Oreo (v8.0) with Experience on the top
RAM: 2 or 3 GB
GPU: Mali-T720 MP2
Storage: 16 or 32 GB, expandable up to 256 GB (dedicated slot)
Apple last updated their MacBooks in late 2016, and it was a bit of a disappointment, to be honest. But for this year, it’s finally not the case, packed with the latest and greatest in the world of mobile computers, the new MacBooks are here to dazzle us. For instance, the maxed out MacBook Pro 2018 comes with a Core i9, 32GB RAM, 4TB SSD, 4K display, Radeon Pro 560X, a great built quality as always and will set you back $6,699.
The above mention specs costs are mostly thanks to the $3200 4TB SSD, which is one of the most expensive components you can easily save money on. With that out of the way, you generally get two configurations, the 13-inch, and the 15-inch models. Although only the bigger one gets the dedicated graphics option.
The 13-inch is still available with 7th gen Intel processors, but the newer ones with 8th gen processors start at $1,799. For the price, you get the four core 8th gen Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, Iris Plus 655 graphics, a retina display with the usual touch bar. This configuration can go all the way up to $3,699, here you will get an i7, 16GB memory and 2TB of SSD.
The 15-inch starts at $2,399 and comes with a six-core i7 processor, 16GB of 2400MHz memory, 256GB SSD and Radeon Pro 555x dedicated graphics. You can then upgrade it out to a Core i9, 32GB memory, 4TB SSD and the Radeon Pro 560X. The thermal performance will be a big question here but seeing how it’s an Apple product, everything should be fine.
The 32GB RAM option and i9 should keep people something to rejoice about, alongside the humongous 4TB of SSD storage. Thanks to which, Apple claims a 70% performance boost over the previous generation. Other than that, you also get the 3rd generation butterfly keyboard, which should be quieter and less prone to the bugs that we saw in the past. The addition of Apple’s T2 Chip is also a nice touch.
The displays on MacBook have always been some of the best ones out there, and this one is no less. The retina display is capable of P3 color gamut and has the same 500 nits of peak brightness. In addition to these features, Apple has come up with something called the True Tone which allows for a much natural viewing experience. Although content creators might want to stay away from this feature while working. Apple is also releasing new leather sleeves in Saddle Brown, Midnight Blue, and Black color options.
Finally, the eGPU, which isn’t a new feature but this time, it comes from Apple itself. This is for people who need the extra oomph in the graphics department. The enclosure comes with a Radeon Pro 580 graphics card, which isn’t upgradable. The enclosure is designed by Blackmagic and comes with four USB 3.0 connectors, HDMI 2.0 port and support of up to two 5k monitors through Thunderbolt 3. This enclosure is supported by both the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro.
As always, the prices are pretty high, but justifiable for all the MacBook Pro enthusiasts out there. The GPU enclosure is also a really nice addition, which will encourage more user to opt for the MacBook instead of the iMac. More options or even a user replaceable graphics enclosure would have been better but it’s just how Apple does it. The $699 price tag for the eGPU also makes it sound a bit overpriced but you are getting a seamless easy way to boost graphics performance at least.
After several weeks of rumors, speculations, and leaks, Microsoft has finally launched the Surface Go, a hybrid tablet that runs on Windows. This device is the cheapest offering from the company, and it is set to appeal to the audience with its cheap price tag. However, there are things you will want to know if you are looking forward to buying the Surface Go.
The Microsoft Surface Go isn’t particularly targeted towards a specific group of people. While some of the previous Microsoft releases have been specifically made for someone specific, say a student, this tablet has been designed for someone who is looking for a Windows experience at a cheap price tag.
The Microsoft Surface Go comes in two different variants. First, there is the base variant that has 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of eMMC internal memory and the Intel Pentium Gold processor. There is another variant that offers 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of SSD.
The Surface Go is somewhat a toned-down version of the taller Surface Pro which has been well received by a lot of people. And the company certainly wants to emulate that success with this device. It has been some time since the company cashed in on the hybrid tablets that also second as a computer once the accessories are connected. The Surface Go is just another example of this step from Microsoft. It has already showcased the detachable Keyboard, the wireless mouse, and the pen that is supported by the new device.
However, if you really want to use it as a computer, you will have to add in some cash. The keyboard costs $99 which makes the device’s price $499 and $649. So, basically, it is meant for someone who wants an affordable and portable Windows-running device.
The Microsoft Surface Go sells for $399 for the base variant and $549 for the higher end variant. Microsoft has already confirmed that it’s working on an LTE version of this device. The company will also sell a $99 worth of Type Cover, the $99 Surface Pen and a $35 wireless mouse alongside this device. Pre-orders have already opened, and Microsoft will start shipping this device next month.
Sony already has two smartphones with the name XA2, the regular and an Ultra variant. Today Sony announced their third member of the XA2 family, the Sony Xperia XA2 Plus. It’s a sleeker version of the XA2 Ultra yet features the exact same display size. Sony is marketing this one with the tagline “Designed to Entertain”, so probably targeted at media consumers.
The Sony Xperia XA2 Plus packs a 6.0 inch IPS display with a 78.9% screen to body ratio. Unlike other smartphones, the XA2 Plus does come with the bit of bezel on the top and bottom. Nonetheless, it’s an 18:9 display with FHD+ resolutions, a first for the XA2 lineup. This one also comes with the newest Gorilla Glass 5 protection compared to the GG4 that’s featured on its other siblings.
Other than that, it comes with the usual Snapdragon 630 SoC, but this time with up to 6GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage. The expandable storage uses the second SIM slot, so it’s either 2 SIMs or 1 SIM and 1 MicroSD card. The battery size remains at 3580mAh and it supports fast charging QuickCharge 3.0.
Camera wise it has a 23MP lens which supports ISO 12800 so low light pictures should also come out decent. The back camera is capable of 4k video recording and 120fps slow-motion recording option. As for the front, it’s an 8MP sensor with 120 degree super wide angle selfies and selfie bokeh.
The smartphone also comes with all the premium features like the aluminum frame and metallic finish. The 3.5mm headphone jack also puts out good audio along with an active noise cancellation thanks to a dedicated mic. It’s not an ac wifi, but it does have the latest Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type C and probably a good set of earphones.
The smartphone will be available in Black, Silver, Gold, and Green. Availability is yet to be announced along with the pricing. Judging the smartphone’s hierarchy, it sits between the XA2 and XA2 Ultra, so pricing should also remain between $318 and $389.
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus Specification:
6 inch IPS FHD+ Display
Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor
3GB RAM and 32GB storage, or 6GB RAM with 64GB storage
23-megapixel rear-facing camera with 4K video recording and 120 fps slow-motion records
