It has been nearly two weeks that the Nepali New Year started and the wall welcomed a new calendar. Like many people out there, you might have the resolution to own a new smartphone. And it would not be a surprise if your thoughts are tangled to make a choice of a smartphone in the market with a crowded mess. But don’t worry, we have found a deal for you. This deal will help you own a new flagship smartphone just by paying the prevailing price of a mid-range handset. The deal I am talking about is none other than the Nokia 8, the last year’s flagship smartphone from the company.
This deal includes the price slash on the Nokia 8 by a huge amount, Rs. 23,000 to be precise. And the fun fact is that the discount amount is readily sufficient to buy a new Xiaomi MI A1 (4/32GB variant), HTC Desire 830or the Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus (4/64GB). But not to forget, the offer lasts only till 29th April and this massive 37% discount is available only at Daraz.com.np.
Nokia 8 is undoubtedly one of the best Nokia smartphones ever made. The smartphone comes with a sharp and pleasing 5.3-inch display, which supports 2K resolution. And to deduct the risks of cracks and scratches during the falls, the display is shielded with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection.
The device is also impressive in terms of power and performance. It has got a flagship-grade Snapdragon 835 processor. And to assist in the snappy performance, a zippy 4GB RAM LPPDDR4X is inbuilt into the smartphone. On the storage front, the smartphone boasts and an ample 64GB of onboard storage with the privileges for the expansion.
The smartphone is nothing less than a flagship in terms of the camera too. It sports an impressive 13MP dual camera setup at the back. And the lenses and sensors incorporated on the device are the results of the partnership with the renowned optical manufacture company Carl Zeiss. So there is no doubt on its potential. Up front, an 8MP selfie shooter dwells meticulously on the forehead. Not to forget, Nokia 8 also possesses the Bothie feature, which is a rare feature on any smartphone. The Bothie feature lets the user turn on both the front and rear cameras at once and to capture all the details from the cameras in a single frame.
On the software side, Nokia 8 comes with Android Nougat out of the box but it can be upgraded to Android Oreo easily. And there is no need to worry about the updates too as Google itself has promised to provide the OS updates and security patches up to Android Q.
Oppo had been creating quite a buzz in the last few weeks regarding its new smartphone, the Oppo F7. After the weeks of teasers, the device officially unveiled the handset amongst the crowd of bloggers and tech enthusiasts, at an event in Hyatt Regency. In the ceremony, the officials highlighted the features of the phone and boasting the potential of its AI-powered 25MP selfie camera on a hopeful note.
The OPPO F7 is the successor of highly successful OPPO F3 and OPPO F5. It now comes with improved AI features implemented in cameras and for face unlock. The 25MP front camera combines Sony 576 HDR sensor and AI beauty 2.0 to produce well-exposed, vivid, and realistic selfies. The AI also recognizes up to 300 facial spots to fine tune the beautification process based on gender, age, skin tone and its type.
The OPPO F7 features a 6.23-inch Full HD+ IPS LCD display. With 19:9 aspect ratio and narrow bezels, the phone has a staggering 88% screen to body ratio.
In terms of performance, the phone has a powerful 12nm based Helio P60 processor which is comparable to Snapdragon 636. There are 2 memory variants, and both the 4GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB has made its way into Nepal.
The OPPO F7 runs ColorsOS 5.0 based on Android 8.1 Oreo. With 3400mAh battery, you can expect 1 day of battery life. The phone, however, lacks fast charging and uses an older micro-USB port for charging and data syncing. On the back sits a 16MP camera with LED flash and a fingerprint sensor — All enclosed in a glossy plastic body.
OPPO F7 Full Specifications:
Display: 6.23-inch (2280 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 19:9 IPS display
Chipset: MediaTek Helio P60
CPU: Octa Core12nm processor (4 X 2GHz Cortex A73 + 4 X 2GHz Cortex A53 CPUs)
GPU: Mali-G72 MP3
RAM: 4GB DDR3
Storage: 64GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD
SIM: Dual SIM (nano + nano + microSD)
OS: ColorOS 5.0 based on Android 8.1 (Oreo)
Rear Camera: 16MP with LED flash, f/1.8 aperture
Front Camera: 25MP, f/2.0 aperture, HDR, Sony IMX576 sensor
Security: Fingerprint, Face unlock
Dimensions: 156 x 75.3 x 7.8mm ; Weight: 158g
Connectivity: Dual 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS
OPPO F7 is available in three color option: Solar Red, Moonlight Silver, and a special edition Diamond Black. And in terms of storage, the device can be obtained in two memory variants: one with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage whereas the premium variant will carry the substantial 6G BRAM and 128GB internal storage. The device will cost you Rs. 36,590 for the 4/64GB variant whereas the 6/128GB is valued at Rs. 46,590; Rs. 10,000 more than the base variant.
When the device was launched in India, the 4GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB variants were priced at INR 21,990 (NRs. 35,184) and INR 26,990 (NRs. 43,184) respectively. We are really impressed that the device is priced competitively and close to the internal pricing. At this price, the device will direly go against the Vivo V9; a camera-centric smartphone available at a similar price.
Nowadays, smartphones have procured many hardware components, which have made them a powerful device. Going through the specs, we are often perplexed with the features it includes and the sensors inbuilt in it. Having many sensors on your device is good as it makes your multifunctional in many respects. However, to be able for the optimum utilization of your smartphone, you must have a sound knowledge of the sensors. One of such sensors, which often keep us bewildered, is Gyro sensor or Gyroscope.
What is Gyro sensor or Gyroscope?
Gyro sensor is one of the types of a motion sensor. Motion sensors are the sensors, which senses the movements, such as tilt, shake, rotation, or swing. Gyro sensors are the type of sensors used to sense the angular rate or angular velocity. Gyro sensors can sense rotational motion and changes in orientation and therefore augment motion. Vibration gyro sensors can sense angular velocity due to the Coriolis force applied to a vibrating element. This motion produces a potential difference from which angular velocity is sensed. The angular velocity results in an electrical signal output.
How it differs with an Accelerometer?
The main difference of Gyroscope with the Accelerometer is that an Accelerometer does not sense the rotation, however, a Gyro sensor does.
An accelerometer is a compact device capable of measuring non-gravitational acceleration. When a stationary device comes into motion, the Accelerometer feels the vibrations. The accelerometer is designed to respond to the vibrations associated with such movement. However, a gyro sensor is a device that uses Earth’s gravity to determine orientation.
An accelerometer is capable of determining the changes in velocity and changes in position. However, a gyro sensor measures either change in orientation or changes in rotational velocity.
What are the uses of Gyro sensor in your phone?
Having a Gyro sensor on your device serves the following privileges:
With a different set of motion of your device, you will be able to assign different task to your device. Shaking your phone to lock your device will be an example.
The effect of vibrations will be less while capturing photos or videos.
When the phone rotates, the view changes its orientation.
Angular motion in a Mobile Game by 3D motion of the device.
Smooth rotations and functional execution of various commands in the game by 3D Motion.
Because of the Gyro sensor on your phone, your device supports virtual reality (VR).
How to find if your phone has a Gyro sensor or Gyroscope?
To confirm the presence of gyro sensor on your phone you can download an app named CPU-Z from the Google play. After installing the app and clicking on the sensors tab, all the sensors on your device will be right before your eyes. This includes the Gyro sensor or Gyroscope as well. You can download the app here.
Much read and said about the notch on smartphone displays, the smartphone manufacturers have not yet stopped introducing the smartphones with a notch. This time, honor joins the league. The sub-brand of Huawei unveiled the Honor 10.
The Honor 10 comes with a near bezel-less display i.e. 19:9 aspect ratio which is the case in most of the smartphones having notch these days. The smartphone stands 5.84-inches tall. It is a pretty decent size for a smartphone with 19:9 aspect ratio. The outlook of the smartphone is time and again being compared to the Huawei P20. However, it is said to have youthful look in comparison.
At the launch event, representatives of Honor said that the smartphone was designed or ‘crafted’ with much focus on aesthetics. The Honor 10 has an IPS LCD panel with full HD+ display (1080 X 2280px). While talking about the outlook, the back is coated with aurora coated panel which is a color shifting. This is one thing that we are really looking forward to.
The smartphone carries dual rear cameras on the left placed horizontally and the fingerprint sensor is placed right below the screen.
One of the fascinating aspects of the Honor 10 is its chipset. The Kirin 970 is said to be the one for flagship smartphones and is Huawei’s own product. The SoC introduced on the Q4 of 2017 also has AI (Artificial Intelligence) capabilities. It has a dedicated Neutral Processing Unit. It has proved out to be worth it through various benchmarks as well.
Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group said, “The Kirin 970 is the first in a series of new advances that will bring powerful AI features to our devices and take them beyond the competition.”
Furthermore, the Honor 10 has 6GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage. But, it disappoints us big time that it doesn’t consist of a Micro SD card. It has a 128GB variant as well, that means we will not miss on much. But the flexibility that a Micro SD card slot brings in terms of storage will be missed.
The Honor 10 runs on Android Oreo 8.1 which most of the smartphones on 2018 are running on.
While talking of the camera, there is a color sensor camera and a monochrome sensor camera on the Honor 10. The color sensor one has 16MP whereas the monochrome sensor is of 21MP.
The Honor 10 has a 24MP selfie camera which is capable of taking iPhone X like the portrait is what they claim. On the video part. The main camera is capable of shooting 4K while the selfie camera can shoot 1080p.
Moving on, the Honor 10 follows the league of smartphones that dissed the 3.5mm headphone jack this year. On the brighter aspect, it has a USB type-C port which means the fast charging game would be strong also, it packs a 3,400 mAh battery.
Huawei Honor 10 Launch Date & Price:
The Honor 10 is similar to Huawei P20 in many aspects but the smartphone’s specifications are quite promising. It comes in Black, Blue and Purple colors and is priced at US$ 412 for 64GB storage version and US$ 477 for the 128GB. You can order the phone starting from today till April 26th if you are in China. The launch and its availability in Nepal has not been revealed yet.
2017 was a great year for smartphones. However, almost all the smartphones were so feature packed that a question always reeled in people’s minds, What next for smartphones? At a time when these four words begged for an answer, Samsung came up with the Galaxy S9 and S9+. I have used these smartphones for almost one month now, and here’s my full review.
Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ Specifications:
Display: 5.8/6.2 inches Super AMOLED WQHD+ (1440 x 2960 pixels) with Gorilla glass 5 (front and back) protection, 18.5:9 aspect ratio
Even with notches picking up the pace this year, Samsung has opted to stay traditional with the Galaxy S9 and S9+. The bezels are now short, and the top bezel now holds all the sensors and the front-facing camera. Even though smartphones with notches might provide a little bit extra screen space, although minimum, I still like Samsung’s decision regarding the bezels. And talking about the side bezels, there are none! The display of the devices is curved on the sides to blend with the aluminum frame which in turn merges with the glass back. Oh, and the IP68 Dust and Water resistance is certainly a major plus if you want to take your smartphone for a dip sometimes. Design wise, I must give full marks to Samsung as the company has yet again come up with a sleek and premium device that is worth every penny you pay.
Display
One of the major differences between the Galaxy S9 and S9+ is their form factor. The Galaxy S9 comes with a 5.8-inch display while the plus variant has a 6.2-inch screen. However, both the displays have a Super AMOLED panel with WQHD+ resolution. And talking about the quality of the display, well let’s just say the Samsung’s flagships have the best display in the business right now, period! You will especially notice the superiority while viewing high-quality videos. It has ample vibrancy with rich saturation and details to go along. And the minimal bezels certainly help the cause. There are only a handful of flagships currently available in Nepal right now, and the S9 could house the best display on any smartphone for months to come.
Performance
The internal hardware of the devices too have gotten a revamp with the new octa-core Exynos 9810 chipset that now has a 30% performance boost, and that is seen while using the smartphones as well. The Galaxy S9 with its 4 GB RAM and the Galaxy S9+ with its 6 GB RAM can handle all your multitasking needs without dropping a sweat. Gaming is a fun experience on these devices as you can expect a lag-free performance at all time. However, after long sessions of gaming, navigating through the internet and using the camera, they tend to get warm at times.
If the benchmark scores are taken into account, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are certainly the champs. They are the highest rated smartphones on Antutu and the Single-core and multi-core score on Geekbench is top-notch.
Samsung still has a lot to do with Apple’s A-series chipset, though, as the iPhone X certainly outperforms the S9 and S9+ and that is also seen in benchmark results.
On the software side, the devices come run on Android 8.0 Oreo with Experience UI on top. The software on the devices is easy to use as Experience UI has certainly evolved to become lighter and lag-free over the years. However, there are still dual applications that are meant for the same purpose. Now you can indeed remove some of the applications like Samsung gear or voice recorder, but there are lots of other applications which are just eating up space on the devices. It would have been very appreciable if Samsung gave it’s users this freedom!
Camera
One of the major differences between the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ is certainly the camera. While the S8 and S8+ had the same camera setup on the back and front, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are somewhat different. The former device has a single camera on the rear side while the latter has dual cameras. However, the only time you will miss dual cameras on the S9 is while taking pictures on the Live Focus mode, aka Portrait mode.
The Live Focus mode does a well enough job to blur out the background, but there is still work to be done as it still isn’t on iPhone X’s Portrait Mode level as you can see from this comparison shot. Samsung has included a unique feature which lets users change the amount of blur before or after taking the image, which is certainly useful.
One similarity both the phones hold is the camera with a changeable aperture. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ now come with a camera that can try to adapt to its surrounding. The f/1.5 aperture takes in lots of light for better low-light pictures while the f/2.4 aperture takes sharp pictures. Now, this feature might really be the next big thing on smartphones where smartphones casually widen or narrow their apertures, but as a “normal” user, I didn’t notice that much of a difference. Yes, the pictures are sharper during night time from the f/2.4 aperture, but will you notice a huge difference? Not really!
Let’s compare the camera the S9+ with the iPhone X, which is its direct competitor as other flagships like the Google Pixel 2, LG V30 and Huawei P20 Pro have not made their way in Nepal.
One thing I noticed during the comparison was that the images from the S9+ have a slight pinkish tint to them. This is seen in images with a white object and more clearly on some night-time shots. The iPhone’s samples meanwhile have a warmer tone. Now, apart from the exposure level that iPhone’s camera can hold, I think the S9+ holds a little edge in every other aspect. Yes, the images from the Galaxy S9+ is a bit oversaturated sometimes, but it captures a lot of details which I viewed when I zoomed into the images.
And the night light shone better on the Samsung flagship as there were more details on s9+ with proper noise control and exposure level. However, the pinkish tint that I talked about before was clearly visible in some of the night shots.
I took this picture at dusk and the whole image came out with a lot of pinkish tints. Now this tone can help amplify the colors if the object is reddish or, say, maroon, but with white on focus, you might get a different result sometimes.
One area where Samsung hasn’t really upgraded is the front-facing camera. At a time when almost all the smartphones are focusing on selfies, Samsung has apparently chosen to stay with what it has. The selfies are of good quality in daylight, but under low light, the images are quite muddy and lack sharpness.
Here are some other samples from the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+:
In terms of video quality the smartphone stabilizes the videos well in full HD setting, it captures ample details and the colors pop out nicely as well. However, the field of view slightly decreases when you toggle the video capture button. Under low-light, the videos definitely live up to the flagship tag, but it has a touch of noise here and there. The slow-motion and super slow motion videos are a whole another story so I will be talking about them later.
AR Emoji
The front-facing camera now supports Samsung’s own AR Emoji which is its answer to Apple’s Animoji. Although emoji-flying yourself sound fun, the AR Emoji feature is quite raw and unfinished, and I noticed this right after I used it. The device couldn’t read what I was doing with the emoji not emulating my expressions. Hopefully, Samsung will listen to its customers, just like it has listened to this time around by placing the fingerprint scanner below the camera setup.
960fps Slow Motion
Samsung has boasted its slow-motion feature that captures videos at 960fps in HD quality. At first, I really enjoyed using this feature as it nailed slowing down the shots, but then I realized how the videos lacked quality. They lack saturation, sharpness, and details, and you won’t like what it produces at night light. Toggling on the super slow-mo tab, you will realize how the smartphone decreases the exposure exponentially. This same issue is also seen on 240fps slow-mo which reduces the exposure by a level. Also, the slow-mo videos slow down for just around 2 seconds which is a lot less time.
Hardware
This time around, Samsung has included dual speakers (one on the bottom and another being the earpiece itself) on their flagship which are now AKG tuned. Well, as compared to Samsung’s previous flagships, the dual speakers have certainly gotten better. However, if we compare the sound with the iPhone X, the Apple flagship sounds better. The dual stereo speakers are a plus, but with AKG also working together, I had expected something better.
This time, the Samsung flagships have combined facial recognition with Iris Scanning technology for security purpose. While this sounds interesting, this feature can’t really unlock the smartphones in a jiffy like a fingerprint scanner. The fingerprint scanner, which has been engraved in the right place this time, is adaptive and the unlock is faster than the Intelligent Scan. The fingerprint sensor on the S9 is easily reachable and isn’t placed awkwardly and it unlocks the phone in an instant. However, the animation takes a bit of time, so you might feel a little lag while comparing it against, say, the Oneplus 5 or 5T.
Battery
The other area where the S9+ edges out the S9 are in the battery department as it has a 3,500 mAh battery against the 3,000 mAh of the S9. Since the Note 7 debacle, Samsung has always tried to stay on the safer side and this time too, it’s not different. Backing up a tall WQHD+ display is not easy and that is clearly seen in the battery life as the Galaxy S9 provides around 3.5-4 hours of screen time while the S9+ gives around 4.5-5 hours. For a flagship smartphone worth a fortune, I have to say the battery number do not do enough justice. In terms of charging time, with Quick Charge enabled, the Galaxy S9+ takes around 1 hour 30 minutes to charge the device whereas the S9 takes a little less time. I was really hoping Samsung would include a long-lasting battery on the Galaxy S9 and S9+ but the company has compromised on that front.
Insurance
Now there is a reason why I am drawn towards the S9 and that is the insurance Samsung is currently providing on its smartphone. The build of the Galaxy S9 has made the phone quite slippery, and I did happen to drop it hard on the display once. I had thought the display repair was free with the 1-year breakage insurance, but I did end up paying Rs. 6000 for the display which would generally cost a huge amount of money. So, kudos to Samsung for the insurance campaign.
Special Feature
The S9 also has the basic flagship features such as the heart rate, stress, and oxygen saturation. These features could be useful for someone who is into monitoring their day-to-day health stats while some might even feel that these components are taking up space where Samsung could have included a bigger sized battery!
Conclusion
So, my final words for the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ would be that these are the best options for flagship devices in Nepal right now. Yes, the iPhone X is a direct competitor but is a little bit expensive, the Mate 10 Pro is has begun to lose its charm and the Huawei P20 Pro is yet launch here. So, even if you are not a Samsung fan, you only have the iPhone X as a choice. But considering the good performance, the insurance facility, the top-notch display and the camera, I see the Samsung Galaxy S9 or the S9+ as the finest options for Android flagships in Nepal.
When it comes to the budget smartphones, Motorola has been quite generous on bringing the feature-packed phones at affordable prices. Last year’s Moto E4 and E4 Plus were the favorite choice amongst the crowd, who seek for feature-packed phones at cheap prices. With the same motto, Motorola has now brought the new successor to the famous Moto E series, namely known as Moto E5, E5 Plus, and E5 play. Tagging along with these two handsets, Motorola also extended the G series family with the Moto G6, G6 Plus, and G6 Play.
Motorola Moto E5 series Smartphones
The Motorola Moto E5 series smartphones are cheaper than the G6 series smartphones in the matter of cost. Among the newly launched trio, Motorola Moto E5 and E5 Plus have adopted the trendy 18:9 aspect ratio. The Moto E5 play, however, has got the traditional 16:9 aspect ratio. All these smartphones have got the HD display and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor.
Motorola Moto E series smartphones are also quite popular for their remarkable battery capacity. And to keep up the pride, Moto E5 and E5 plus are gifted with 4000mAh battery and 5000mAh battery respectively. However, the battery capacity is quite low on the Moto E5 Play with mere 2800mAh battery.
Motorola Moto E5
Dimension: 4 x 72.2 x 9 mm; Weight: 174g
Display: 5.7-inch HD+ (720 x 1440 pixels) IPS LCD display with Gorilla glass protection
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 425
CPU: Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53
GPU: Adreno 308
OS: Android Oreo (V8.0)
RAM: 2 GB
Storage: 16 GB; expandable up to 256 GB
Rear Camera: 13 MP, f/2.0, phase detection autofocus, LED flash
Battery: 2800 mAh (Removable) with fast charging (5V/2A)
Price: Exclusive to the USA, price not announced yet
Motorola Moto G6 Series Smartphones
When the hardware is concerned, the Moto G series smartphones have always been better than the E series. And this time, there is no different. The G6 series handsets have got capable internals, quite able to compete against the smartphones in overcrowd smartphone market. It would also be able to please the customers, who seek for the display with 18:9 aspect ratio, which seems to be in fashion these days. All the Moto G6 series smartphones (Motorola Moto G6, G6 Plus, and G6 Play) have been gifted with the display which possesses the trendy 18:9 aspect ratio.
Motorola Moto G6
Dimension: 8 x 72.3 x 8.3 mm; Weight: 167g
Display: 5.7-inch Full HD+ (1080 x 2160 pixels) IPS LCD display with Gorilla Glass 3 protection
Vatsal Impex Pvt. Ltd. used to bring the Xiaomi products in Nepal and used to price them aggressively. But now, with the Teletalk Pvt. Ltd. as the new official distributor of Xiaomi Smartphones in Nepal, things took a turn. With the new distributor offering at the cheaper prices, Vatsal got obliged to deduct the prices of the smartphones in their stores as well. This news was already sufficient to bring elation. Now to increase that elation, Daraz (in partnership with Vatsal Impex) is bringing the Xiaomi Redmi 4A for up to Rs. 2500 discount on 32GB version whereas 16GB version is Rs. 2000 cheaper.
Jacket inside a plastic body, Xiaomi Redmi 4A could illude anyone with the metallic finish and the premium look and feel that brought by it. The smartphone is light in weight and possesses a moderately sized 5-inch display. And the size and weight are favorable for holding and using comfortably even with a single hand.
The smartphone comes with the Snapdragon 425 chipset to trigger and drive the processes in the device. In terms of memory, the phone comes with 2GB of RAM and two variants in terms of internal storage, 16GB, and 32GB. And there is nothing to worry even if the onboard storage turned out to be insufficient as it can be expanded up to 128GB via SD card.
Regarding the optics, the Redmi 4A is bestowed upon with 13MP camera at the back and 5MP up front. And under the back cover lies a 3120mAh battery to supply the power juice to the device. There are pretty more things to get excited about the Xiaomi Redmi 4A. The phone sports Infrared and Gyro Sensors, which is unusual at this price. However, one might feel the lack of the fingerprint sensor.
Xiaomi Redmi 4A Specifications
5-inch HD IPS display @ 294PPI pixel density
Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset
Quad-Core (4 x 1.4 GHz Cortex A53) CPU
Adreno 308 GPU
2GB RAM
16GB/32GB internal storage, expandable memory up to 128GB with a microSD
Android 6.0 Marshmallow with MIUI 8
Hybrid Dual SIM (micro + nano / microSD)
13MP rear camera with PDAF, dual tone LED Flash, f/2.2 aperture, 1080p video recording
5MP front-facing camera, f/2.2 aperture
Infrared sensor, Gyro sensor
Dimensions: 139.5×70.4×8.5mm;Weight: 131.5g
4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS + GLONASS
3120mAh Non-removable battery
Color options: Gold and Rose Gold
Offer Price: Rs. 11,499 Rs. 9,499 for 16GB | Rs. 12,999 Rs. 10,499 for 32GB
Offer Price of Xiaomi Redmi 4A
You can grab the Redmi 4A for just Rs 9499 for the 16GB variant (MRP 11499) whereas the price for the 32GB variant is Rs 10,499 (MRP 12999). Well, the new price is really affordable and is offering a great value for money. So at this price, Xiaomi Redmi 4A is definitely going to bring a stampede. By any chance, if you are willing to own a Redmi 4A, you might better hurry for the flash sale. The flash sale of the smartphone has begun from today (April 19, 2018) and will last until stock lasts.
Huawei has been there in the Nepali market for around 4 years now. Since its commencement of the smartphone business in Nepal, we have been hearing about the Chinese smartphone brand time and often. This is partly because of their focus on the midrange segment and also because of their ability to provide good specs in a budget range. Whatever be the reason, the brand Huawei, is prominent among us Nepalese.
If we turn the pages of the past, Huawei made its name in the Nepali market with a smartphone called Honor Holly, which was priced at Rs.13,500. Similarly, over the years Huawei has introduced notable phones like the Huawei G Play Mini, GR5 2016, GR5 2017, etc.
The year 2017 marked the launch of Huawei Nova 2i, which was Nepal’s first phone to feature a quad camera setup and a display with 18:9 aspect ratio. This midrange smartphone turned out to be the talk of the town, as it created a sensation in the Nepali smartphone industry. Now, after 4 months, Huawei officials claim that the Huawei Nova 2i is Huawei’s best selling smartphone in Nepal with the company selling 50,000 units of the device till date.
“The sales of 50, 000 units of Nova 2i in just 4 months is a result of company’s hard work. This is a matter of joy and pride to the company. And we are thankful for the people to have liked our product so much”, said one of the Huawei officials.
The marketing effort Huawei has devoted to the Nova 2i is quite commendable. We see banners and advertisements for the device almost everywhere we go. Along with good specifications, the company’s promotional strategies are one the major reasons for Huawei to make it to this point.
In 2018, Huawei has brought impressive smartphones like Huawei P20 and P20 Pro. The mid-range segment is also getting a boost with the Huawei Y9 2018, which is considered to be an affordable version of the Nova 2i. However, these devices have just launched, so what their performance will be like is yet to be known!
Sony is a Japanese electronics company which has a strong hold on the global market. one of the products of this global electronic giant is smartphones. Sony was one of the first cellphone manufacturers that came up with unique designs and a better camera quality. Its XZ series is still a go-to among the flagships.
This year’s MWC witnessed various top-notch inventions and Sony Xperia XZ2 was one of the many that really caught our attention. Not much after that Sony has announced the Xperia XZ2 premium. Is it really ‘premium’? Let’s find out.
Design
The Sony Xperia XZ2 premium comes with a design what Sony calls as an Ambient Flow. Incorporating the Ambient Flow design language, XZ2 Premium possesses a curved body, a metal frame, and a 3D glass back, with Gorilla Glass 5 used both on the front and back. The glass body coated with corning gorilla glass 5 has definitely given a premium look to the handset. In addition, the Gorilla glass 5 plays a vital role in offering a better resistance to the cracks and scratches during the falls. Despite the introduction of a new design language in the smartphone community, the smartphone still looks a bit outdated for a 2018 phone. We can tell Sony could’ve done a better job in its design department.
Display
The Xperia XZ2 premium stands 5.8-inches tall. It has a very impressive 4K (3840×2160) Triluminos HDR IPS LCD with a 16:9 aspect ratio. With the 4K display, the phone packs 760 pixels in every inch offering a remarkable sharpness. Sony has also claimed that the XZ2 premium is 11% taller and 30% brighter than its predecessor, the Sony Xperia XZ Premium. It also features Sony’s BRAVIA technology, X-Reality for mobile, to up-convert content to near HDR for a “more cinematic contrast, color, and clarity.” The phone can capture 4K HDR video. This feature has made the XZ2 premium the only smartphone that can both capture and view a 4K HDR video.
Camera
The camera part is said to be the biggest upgrade this time around. The smartphone comes with dual rear cameras placed horizontally and the fingerprint sensor placed right below the camera. It has a monochrome camera sensor and the other is the color camera sensor.
The primary rear camera with the color sensor is 19 MP. It is made of Sony’s ‘award-winning’ G lens. It is called the motion eye camera as when the camera shifts to low-light the size of the pixels increase. This also captures 3 other frames except for the picture clicked. Whereas on the secondary rear camera is of 12MP and this also consists of G lens. The point of having a monochrome camera is for the sharper contrast of black and white. The selfie camera has a 13 MP lens and Sony claims this is one of the fields which it has worked on upgrading.
The AUBE signal processor combines the data from both the sensors to make the pictures look better in the low-light as well. This smartphone from Sony will also have a bokeh effect. Sony states that detail from both sensors is then processed by the AUBE fusion ISP in real time, which enables ISO 12800 for videos and ISO 51200 for photos. According to the company, the ultrasensitivity with “clean, noise-less images” was previously only possible in interchangeable lens cameras. The live viewfinder is said to be a bright and accurate one as well.
As far as the video is concerned, the lens on the XZ2 premium shoots super slo-mo HD and Full HD videos up to 960 fps. This has been possible because of the memory stacked image sensor. The Motion Eye dual camera on the phone can also pull out Bokeh effects for defocused backgrounds. Furthermore, users can also take monochrome pictures with “smooth gradation between black and white.”
Moving on from the camera portion, the Xperia XZ2 premium is powered by the powerful Snapdragon 845 processor which is one of the reasons we can assume that the smartphone will have a smooth processing. Android Oreo is the Operating system the Xperia XZ2 plus.
It has 6GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage with impressive 400 GB of expandable storage. It consists of 3,540 mAh of the battery which seems pretty average considering the 4K display. We wish Sony had considered a bigger battery for elongated battery life.
The smartphone is IP65/68 certified and this makes it water and dust resistant. The Xperia XZ2 Premium supports USB type-C charger for the fast charging. It also supports wireless charging and along with it comes the dock charger. However, the smartphone has 3.5mm headphone jack missing.
The smartphone will be available in two color variants i.e. chrome black and chrome silver. The phone will be priced above $850 if rumors are to be believed.
Sony has come up with nice specifications but these are certainly not out of the box.
5.8-inch 4K (3840×2160) HDR Triluminos IPS LCD with a 16:9 aspect ratio
Wi-Fi
802.11ac
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.0
Ports
USB Type-C (USB 3.1 Gen 1 – 5Gbps), Dual Nano SIM slots
Rear cameras
Motion Eye 19MP RGB camera with 1/2.3″ Sony Exmor RS memory-stacked sensor, 25mm G-Lens with f/1.8 aperture, 1.22-micron pixels, and 5-axis SteadyShot stabilization;
12MP monochrome camera with 1/2.3″ Sony Exmor RS sensor, 1.55-micron pixels, G-Lens with f/1.6 aperture
AUBE fusion image signal processor,
BIONZ processing engine,
4K HDR video recording,
super slow motion 960FPS capture in HD or Full HD resolution,
Predictive hybrid autofocus,
ISO 51200 for photos and ISO 12800 for videos,
triple image sensing technology,
Bokeh effect,
Monochrome effect
Front-facing camera
13MP front-facing camera with 1/3.06″ sensor, f/2.0 aperture, 22mm wide-angle lens,
Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus were launched in Nepal like a month ago with 64GB internal storage. But, now you can prebook the 128GB version of the S9 Plus.
The Prebooking price is Rs. 104900 which is just Rs.5000 more than the 64GB variant. Also, you get a bottle speaker, Ncell data (1000MB per week for 12 weeks), and a 1-year breakage insurance for free.
The Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus is one of the best flagship smartphones you can buy in Nepal. Although there are only subtle changes compared to its predecessor S8 Plus, for the price, it’s a worth it device.
This time around, Samsung has included dual speakers (one on the bottom and another being the earpiece itself) on their flagship which are now AKG tuned. Well, as compared to Samsung’s previous flagships, the dual speakers have certainly gotten better. However, if we compare the sound with the iPhone X, the Apple flagship sounds better. The dual stereo speakers are a plus, but with AKG also working together, I had expected something better.
