Smartphone manufacturers usually use the platform of MWC to showcase some of their products and ZTE, one of the biggest Chinese smartphone company, has done the same. ZTE has added two new mid-range smartphones to its arsenal. The ZTE Blade V9 and V9 Vita follow the trend of smartphones sporting an 18:9 display ratio, all while packing some interesting features.
ZTE Blade V9
A more premium of the two devices launched, the ZTE Blade V9 is a smartphone that features glass on both the front and the back of the device. There is a metallic rail sandwiched between the glasses. Specs wise, the ZTE Blade V9 has a 5.7-inch LCD display with Full HD+ resolution and minimal bezels on the top and bottom. It is a mid-range smartphone that packs a 16-megapixel alongside a 5-megapixel dual rear-facing camera that is capable of capturing images with shallow depth of field which can be adjusted later on. This camera also helps in Augmented Reality purpose. The ZTE Blade V9 boasts Phase Detection Autofocus 2.0 which can apparently focus 40% faster. Up front sits an 8-megapixel secondary lens for selfies.
The Blade V9’s performance front is handled by an Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor that is coupled with 3 or 4 GB of RAM. ZTE has also offered two variants of storage: 32 GB and 64 GB. This device runs on the latest Android Oreo which is a welcome addition. All of this is backed by a 3,100 mAh battery. The ZTE Blade V9’s pricing starts from €269 in the international market.
The ZTE Blade V9 Vita is a light variant of the Blade V9. It has a smaller display measuring 5.45-inch. This display has HD+ resolution and an 18:9 aspect ratio. The Blade V9 Vita is powered by an Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor with 3 or 2 GB of RAM according to a user’s preference. The 3 GB RAM variant has 32 GB of internal memory while the 2 GB variant comes with 16 GB of storage. Just like its brother, the Blade V9 Vita runs on Android v8.1 Oreo.
In terms of photography, the device comes equipped with dual primary cameras (13-megapixel + 2-megapixel) and a 5-megapixel secondary camera. It has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and packs a 3200 mAh battery.
Sony is one of those smartphone makers that has been struggling the past couple of years. Nevertheless, they have yet to give up on the business. At the MWC 2018, the Japanese manufacturer launched two new smartphones, the Sony Xperia XZ2 and the XZ2 Compact.
Sony has clearly put a lot of effort into making these smartphones. And we can clearly see their R&D team’s hard work at full glory here. These new devices flaunt a totally new and much-needed design language, and Sony calls it the “Ambient Flow” design.
Sony Xperia XZ2
Starting off with the Xperia XZ2, it sports a 5.7-inch FHD+ 18:9 aspect ratio display with Gorilla Glass 5 protection. On the inside, it features the Snapdragon 845 SoC with just 4GB of RAM and 64GB of UFS. It also comes paired with the new Adreno 630 GPU and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. What it does not come with is a headphone jack.
The highlight here is the “Ambient Flow” design, with curved edges, arching backs, and a 2.5D Gorilla Glass back, which makes it capable of wireless charging. And yes, this is the first and the only Sony smartphone capable of wireless charging till date. The new design does keep a lot of features from the “Loop face” and “Omni balance” concepts while still putting out a completely fresh new design.
The XZ2 shares the same camera sensors with the last generation’s Xperia XZ1. It’s a 19MP 1/2.3″ Sony IMX400 camera with a f/2.0 aperture. The camera is packed with predictive hybrid laser/phase detection/contrast AF, burst AF, IR sensor for white balance, LED flash, dedicated hardware shutter key and BIONZ for a mobile image-processing engine.
All these features help with better color rendition, detail reproduction and noise handling in low light. The smartphone is also capable of 4K HDR recording and 960fps@1080p. At the front, there is a 5MP f/2.2 camera with EIS capable of up to 1080p video recording.
The Xperia XZ2 comes with a 3180mAh battery, Bluetooth 5.0, USB 3.1 Type-C, an 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Android 8.0 Oreo. The device is also IP65/IP68 certified dust and water resistance for better protection. The Sony XZ2 will be available in Liquid Black, Liquid Silver, Deep Green, and Ash pink color options.
Sony Xperia XZ2 Specifications
Display: 5.7 inches IPS LCD with Gorilla glass 5 (front and back) protection
Resolution: 1080*2160 pixels, 18:9 aspect ratio
OS: Android Oreo 8.0
Chipset: Snapdragon 845
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64 internal storage, Expandable up to 256GB (Uses SIM2 slot)
Rear Camera: 19MP, f/2.0, EIS, laser autofocus, LED flash
Front Camera: 5 MP, f/2.2
Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, A-GPS, 3G, 4G LTE, USB Type C 3.1 reversible connector
Color Variants: Liquid Black, Liquid Silver, Deep Green, Ash pink
Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
The XZ2 Compact is a bit different from the regular sized XZ2. It’s has a 5-inch FHD 16:9 minimum bezel display design. It also comes with the same Gorilla Glass 5 protection at the front. However, the back isn’t glass so wireless charging isn’t available for this one alongside no headphone jack. On the inside, the smartphone features the same Snapdragon 845 SoC paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of UFS.
Almost all the aspects of the phone are identical to the 5.7 inch Xperia XZ2 including the 19MP back and 5MP front cameras. The only aspects that are different are the smaller 2870mAh battery and the slight design variations of the smartphones. This particularly small but very capable phone will be available in Black, White Silver, Moss Green, and Coral Pink color options.
Color Variants: Black, White Silver, Moss Green, Coral Pink
A unique feature present on both the smartphones is their haptic actuator. Basically, the device responsible for vibration is a bit more noticeable than other average smartphones. The special feature here is, Sony has an algorithm in place that processes the audio output and vibrates the phone at appropriate moments to enhance the audio experience. We do not know how well this works, but it is a feature nevertheless. Also, the loudspeakers itself are 20% louder than before.
So, what do you think about the new Sony flagship for 2018? There is no question that these are very capable smartphones and can even compete with the Samsung Galaxy S9 if marketed correctly. The XZ2 compact is definitely the device to get if you want a small sized smartphone and the bigger XZ2 is also not that bad. The question now is how much importance will Sony gives these two new smartphones and how good their availability is going to be.
Unlike smartphones, the tablet market is going down hills. At one point, aimed to be a truly mobile handheld computing device to replace heavy laptops, these days, tablets are considered to be an obsolete tech to be used as a multimedia station for entertainment. At the time where the only true tablet is considered as the iPad, on MWC 2018, we saw Huawei leveling up its tablet game with the launch of high-end Huawei Mediapad M5. The tablet comes in three different variants, namely, MediaPad 8.4, MediaPad 10.8 and MediaPad Pro.
All of these three tablets come with a 2K display and curved screen. They are made of unibody metal construct to give a premium feel to it. Giving life to them is EMUI 8 on top of Android 8.0 Oreo.
Huawei MediaPad M5 8.4
Huawei MediaPad 8.4, like the name suggests, comes with an 8.4-inch display. If you want a portable tablet to indulge in multimedia consumption then it is perfect for carrying. If you want a stationary multimedia station that stays in your home, office or room then you may want to consider the bigger 10.8-inch variant.
Whatever the screen size may be, you will be able to watch HDR content on all the variants. Being the base variant, it sure has some drawbacks compared to its bigger siblings. Mediapad M5 8.4 only offers dual Harman Kardon speakers instead of quad setup on 10.8 variants. But all of the models feature Huawei’s Histen surround sound technology for a more immersive experience. The small size also means a relatively smaller battery size – 5100mAh to be exact. Nonetheless, it offers full HD video playback of up to 11 hours. With Quick Charge, you can juice it up within 2 hours.
The tablet is powered by Kirin 960 – Huawei’s last-gen flagship chipset. It is coupled with 4GB of RAM. So this device is no slump even if you want to do some heavy gaming. The 8.4-inch variant offers two storage options – 32GB and 64GB. It offers a 13MP rear camera with f/2.2 aperture and 8MP front camera with the same aperture. Tablet cameras are usually terrible but the ones in MediaPad M5 looks promising.
Huawei MediaPad M5 8.4 Specifications
Display: 8.4-inches 2K (2560 x 1600) Chipset: Hisilicon Kirin 960 CPU: Octa-core (4×2.4 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4×1.8 GHz Cortex-A53) GPU: Mali-G71 MP8 Android Version: EMUI 8.0 on top of Android Oreo RAM: 4GB Storage: 32GB | 64GB, non-expandable Connectivity: 802.11/ac WiFi, Bluetooth, LTE, USB C RearCamera: 13MP, F2.2, Auto Focus (PDAF), no flashlight FrontCamera: 8 MP, F2.2, Fixed focus Battery: 5100 mAh | Quick Charge 9 V / 2 A Price: Not available
Huawei MediaPad M5 10.8
Huawei MediaPad sports a 10.8-inch 2K display with the same resolution as its smaller sibling. The perk of having a bigger display is having two extra speakers – a quad speaker setup on the tablet for an immersive surround sound for media consumption. Not to forget, it also supports HDR content.
Powering the MediaPad 10.8 is the Kirin 960 chipset coupled with 4GB of RAM. Three storage options are available for the tablet – 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB with no support for expansion. On the optics front, it carries the same 13MP rear and 8MP front setup. Being a larger device does give it an edge on the battery size. It offers 7500mAh battery which gives around 10 hours of screen on time with full HD playback.
Huawei MediaPad M5 10.8 Specifications:
Display: 10.8-inches 2K (2560 x 1600) Chipset: Hisilicon Kirin 960 CPU: Octa-core (4×2.4 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4×1.8 GHz Cortex-A53) GPU: Mali-G71 MP8 AndroidVersion: EMUI 8.0 on top of Android Oreo RAM: 4GB Storage: 32GB | 64GB, non-expandable Connectivity: 802.11/ac WiFi, Bluetooth, LTE, USB C RearCamera: 13MP, F2.2, Auto Focus (PDAF), no flashlight FrontCamera: 8 MP, F2.2, Fixed focus Battery: 7500 mAh | Quick Charge 9 V / 2 A Price: Not available
Huawei MediaPad M5 Pro
The word “Pro” on gadgets is used to signify that the product is for professionals. It is true with the MediaPad M5 Pro as well. Every Other internals of this tablet is same as the MediaPad M5 10.8. But what makes this device Pro is the support for Stylus and keyboard.
The stylus comes with 4096-layer pressure sensitivity for different tilting and shading functions. The pen comes inside the box so no need to buy it separately. It carries a USB C port for charging which can be shown and hidden by twisting the cap of the pen. The tablet would be a great pick for digital artists who want to hone their craft on the go. Also for school or professional work you can attach a keyboard to the tablet. When attached to a keyboard, desktop mode would be turned ON to provide a laptop-like feel. The keyboard, however, has to be bought separately.
Huawei MediaPad M5 Pro Specifications:
Display: 10.8-inches 2K (2560 x 1600) Peripherals: Huawei Stylus – 4096 pressure points | Keyboard Chipset: Hisilicon Kirin 960 CPU: Octa-core (4×2.4 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4×1.8 GHz Cortex-A53) GPU: Mali-G71 MP8 AndroidVersion: EMUI 8.0 on top of Android Oreo RAM: 4GB Storage: 64GB | 128GB, non-expandable Connectivity: 802.11/ac WiFi, Bluetooth, LTE, USB C RearCamera: 13MP, F2.2, Auto Focus (PDAF), no flashlight FrontCamera: 8 MP, F2.2, Fixed focus Battery: 7500 mAh | Quick Charge 9 V / 2 A Price: Not available
With MWC going strong, smartphone launches have been filling up the air. To give break from smartphone monotony, Huawei has unveiled a super sleek ultrabook – the Matebook X Pro. It is an upgrade from the last year’s Huawei Matebook X. The design of the product has been inspired from the MacBook lineup along with the naming convention. This laptop is an eye candy with 91% screen to body ratio which is the highest in any laptop. Despite sleek looks, it also has some stealthy tricks up its sleeve.
Matebook X Pro is a 14-inch laptop with 3K resolution (3000 x 2000) and pixel density of 256 PPI. Packing a lot of pixels, it offers sharp and vivid picture quality. This panel scores 100% on the sRGB color accuracy test so you are in for an unmatched visual experience. The display is bright at 450 nits for good visibility outdoors. It has super slim bezels measuring 4mm on all the four sides. Unlike other bezel-less displays, it lacks the thick chin where the webcam is located. The build quality and the minimal bezels sure give the XPS lineup run for their money.
Matebook X Pro has a neat little trick for the webcam. Among the function key row, a press of a button will reveal the 1MP webcam hidden underneath that key. Simply pressing the key will again hide the camera on to the keyboard. This is one way of getting rid of a thick chin for a below-par web cam. But the angle of webcam sure seems weird from the position of the keyboard. Also no more tapes on your webcam for security. Another neat feature is the fingerprint sensor on the power button which is now a standard with the premium laptops.
Coming to the internals, it offers Intel 8th Gen Core i5 or i7. The RAM can be maxed out up to 16GB from base 8GB. Also, the solid storage can be bumped up to 512GB from base 256GB. You can opt for Nvidia MX 150 GPU whose performance is comparable to the desktop GT 1030. It’s a budget graphics card making it not that powerful and power hungry at the same time which makes it ideal for ultrabooks. It should provide enough horsepower to do lightweight photo and video editing along with decent gaming at low settings. To make the multimedia experience richer, it offers Dolby Atmos speakers.
Coming to the I/O, the Matebook X Pro offers a full-size USB A port along with two USB C ports. Both the USB C Ports supports Thunderbolt 3, data transfer and charging. It also has a headphone jack but lacks an SD Card slot. Overall, the I/O on this laptop is satisfactory and you won’t have to adopt the dongle lifestyle.
With 1.33KG weight and 14.6mm thickness, it is extremely portable. The Matebook X Pro is more like a business laptop that prioritizes on aesthetics and usability with a decent amount of power. Speculating the given specifications, this ultrabook will be priced around $1300-$1500.
Ports: One-touch power button | 3.5-mm stereo headset jack | USB-C x 2 (Both allow data transfer, charging and connection with MateDock 2 and one supports Thunderbolt™ 3.) | USB-A x 1 (USB3.0, max output 5 V / 2 A)
MWC held in Barcelona each year is a mecca for smartphone enthusiasts. It is somewhat an exciting period where a lot of new technology, specifically smartphones gets revealed. With such enthusiasm, Nokia has launched 3 new smartphones on the event. This includes the very first Nokia phone with tall 18:9 aspect ratio – Nokia 7 Plus and one of the first Android Go Phones – Nokia 1. Apart from them, the enhanced version of Nokia 8 – the Nokia 8 Sirocco has also been introduced. So let’s look at each of these devices and see what they have in store for us.
Nokia 7 Plus
The tall 18:9 aspect ratio display was the buzz of 2017 and it is here to stay and become more of a standard in 2018. Nokia has surely missed the hype last year, but this year, it is starting out early with the launch of Nokia 7 Plus. It is the very first phone from Nokia to sport a tall 18:9 aspect ratio. Although the 6-inch FHD+ display has not so minimal bezels on top and bottom giving it a Pixel 2-esque but lacks the stereo speakers up front utilizing those areas. The display offers 500 nits of brightness which is ideal for working on direct sunlight.
Unlike the Pixel, it is a midrange phone that gets the homogeneous treatment with the inclusion of Snapdragon 660 chipset coupled with 4GB of RAM. The phone offers latest in techs like Bluetooth 5.0 and Quick Charge 4.0 support. Midrange phones sure are going to be more competitive in 2018.
The unibody aluminium construct with ceramic-like feel makes the phone a premium choice on the budget segment. Holding a position on the rear are the dual 12MP+13MP lenses with f/1.7 and f/2.6 aperture respectively. The assisting lens help in capturing portrait shots. Below the shooters resides a fingerprint sensor. Up front, it carries a 16MP camera, unfortunately with no LED flash.
For storage, Nokia 7 Plus offers 64GB onboard storage with the option for expandability up to 256GB. This phone runs on Android 8.0 Oreo. Backing it up is a 3800mAh battery which according to Nokia provides two days of battery backup.
Nokia 7 Plus Specifications:
Display: 6″ IPS LCD full HD+ (2160 x 1080, 18:9), Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Storage: 64 GB eMMC 5.1, expandable up to 256 GB
Operating System: Android 8.0 Oreo
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
RAM: 4GB LPDDR4
Rear Camera: 12 MP 1.4µm f/1.75 2PD with ZEISS optics, 13 MP 1.0µm f/2.6 with ZEISS optics, dual-tone flash
Front Camera: 16 MP with ZEISS optics
Connectivity: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFI, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/AGPS+GLONASS+BDS, NFC, 3.5 mm headphone jack
Nokia 8 Sirocco is the upgraded version of the last year’s Nokia 8. The phone has been more polished with the new design overhaul and spec changes. Nokia 8 Sirocco is 95% glass with Gorilla Glass 5 on both front and the back. Sandwiched between them is a stainless steel frame for rigidity. With glass back, the phone supports wireless charging. It is also IP68 water and dust resistant.
The screen has been bumped up to 5.5 inches from 5.3 inches with the same 2K resolution. The display uses pOLED panel instead of the IPS. Although the aforementioned mid-range Nokia 7 Plus comes with tall 18:9 display, the flagship Nokia 8 Sirocco comes with the old 16:9 aspect ratio. This is a major letdown of the device and could pull back Nokia once again for not adapting to the changing consumer demand. However, removal of headphone jack surely shows its catching up.
Powering the device is the same old Snapdragon 835 while we are expecting the new SD 845 in all of the flagship launches in 2018. It is coupled with 6GB of RAM. Where Nokia hasn’t compromised is with the storage. Providing a single storage option for 128GB and microSD expansion support, you can easily store media to your heart’s content.
Nokia 8 Sirocco showcases dual camera setup in a pair of 12MP+13MP that extends 2X optical zoom. It offers spatial audio that utilizes three integrated microphones to provide a high dynamic range of 24-bit audio and the ability to record at up to 132 decibels. This means crystal-clear and distortion-free audio even at the most deafening concerts or events while recording video. Not to forget, it can shoot 4K @30fps. Upfront, it bags 5MP camera which is a downgrade in numbers from the 13MP of Nokia 8.
Nokia 8 Sirocco comes with a non-removable Li-Ion 3260 mAh battery. It also offers the latest Quick Charge 4.0 charging standard.
Front Camera: 5 MP, S.LSI 4E8, 1.4um, display flash
Connectivity: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFI, Bluetooth 5.0
Sensors: Fingerprint sensor, ALS/PS, G-sensor, E-compass, Gyro, Hall sensor, Barometer
Cable type: USB Type-C (USB 2.0)
Battery: 3260 mAh battery with Quick Charge 4.0
Price: $920
Nokia 1
Google introduced Android Go on last year’s Google I/O. At MWC we saw quite a few launches of the Android GO devices including one from Alcatel and ZTE. Nokia is big in the budget segment so they have introduced Nokia 1 with Android Go as well. Android Go OS is aimed at truly budget smartphones for developing nations where data packs are expensive and connectivity is poor. In such, Go apps will truly revolutionize how people will connect with the world.
The phone sports a 4.5-inch display with 480p resolution. Design-wise, the phone has a curved rounded body with a soft touch removable polycarbonate back. Nokia is going all in with different colors and funky patterns on the back which they termed as “Xpress-on covers.” It is IP52 drip proof.
It packs a 5MP rear camera and 2MP front-facing camera. Powering Nokia 1 is MT6737M Quad Core 1.1GHz processor coupled with 1GB of RAM. It offers 8GB of storage with the option for expandability up to 128GB via microSD.
Paramount Electronics, the official distributor of Nokia phones in Nepal have stated that all of these new launches will be landing in Nepal on 2nd Quarter of 2018.
Mobile World Congress or the MWC 2018 kicked from February 25. And in this biggest show of the mobile technology, Samsung announced its new flagship handsets, Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. Due to the frequent leaks, rumors, and speculations, the smartphone had created quite a buzz lately.
[Update: Samsung Nepal has launched the S9 and S9 Plus in Nepal. The price of S9 in Nepal is Rs. 87,900 and the price of S9 Plus is Rs. 99,900. Find out the prebooking offer here in this link.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_-NKRVn7IQ
Camera Reimagined
Lately, Samsung had been advertising these new flagship handsets to possess an awe-inspiring potential in the camera department. Shouting “Camera Reimagined” on several occasions, the smartphone giant had genuinely hyped the photography caliber of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 plus. And to everyone’s surprise, the Korean giant introduced the unique dual-aperture cameras in the newbies. With this feature, users can change the aperture of the camera and adjust the amount of light while taking the shots.
Samsung has boasted that this feature is to provide flexibility to the cameras so that it can capture superior shots in every lighting condition. The presenters also mentioned that this feature helps to embrace enhanced visibility and sharpness in the images irrespective of the lighting condition. The 12MP camera on the Samsung Galaxy S9 has a dual aperture that can be switched from f/1.5 to f/2.4 aperture. The f/2.4 aperture can be used if there is adequate light and shallow depth of field is not required. Likewise, the wide aperture of f/1.5 can be employed to take shots during the low lights.
Unlike the last year’s Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 plus, there is a slight difference between Galaxy S9 and S9+. Last year’s flagship handsets used single camera setup with same sensors and lens. However, in the case of Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+, there is a slight discrimination amongst the siblings. The smaller device or the Galaxy S9 possesses a single 12MP camera with f/1.5 – f/2.4 aperture and OIS. But its bigger sibling inherits a dual camera setup on the back. The dual camera setup of 12MP on the plus variant inherits the combination of telephoto and wide-angle lens. With this setup, in addition to nifty portrait shots, the smartphone can capture images with 2x lossless optical zooming.
To add more, the newbies come with “Super speed Dual Pixel” technology. It combines the dual pixel technology that was introduced with the S7 series and adds dedicated processing and memory to enable multi-frame noise reduction using 12 separate images per photo you shoot. And there is a dedicated DRAM built into the sensor, due to which the handsets would be able to stitch all those images together quickly. And resulting in hardly any delay between pressing the shutter button and the picture showing up. With this technology, Samsung aspires to reduce to reduce the amount the noises and grains in the images when shot during the low light scenarios.
The device also comes with Super Slow-Mo feature, with which users can capture the videos/clips at an insanely slow frame rate. With this feature, users can take HD videos (1280 x 720 pixels) at 960fps and Full HD videos at 240 fps. With this feature, a recording of 0.2 seconds can result in the slow-mo video clip of 6 seconds.
Security
Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus were criticized for its awkward fingerprint placement throughout the year. Back then, those flagship handsets had the fingerprint sensor next to the camera, which often invited smudges on the camera. However, this time around Samsung has shifted the fingerprint scanner just below the camera. At this new position, the camera does not suffer from the unintentional smudge when trying to unlock the device. To add an extra layer of security to the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+, the Korean giant also provided “Intelligent Scan” feature to the handsets. Basically, the “Intelligent Scan” feature incorporates Iris Scanner, which combines with the face recognition feature to provide top-notch security.
According to the representatives of the Samsung, the iris scanner won’t work as effectively in bright light as it is in the dark. With the new system, these galaxy phones will try to sign you in with your eyes by default, but when that fails, it will use facial recognition.
AR Emojis
Animoji feature in the iPhone X was a huge hit. Mapping the users’ faces and tracking the facial movements, the Animoji feature on the iPhone X was used to replicate the movement via funny characters. And probably impressed with this noteworthy feature, Samsung brought the similar feature known as “AR Emojis”. This feature maps the user’s face and builds a character who has almost similar face details like the user but in a cartooned form. The attributes of the user’s skin complexion and dress are also customizable. Furthermore, this feature allows the user to add spectacles and adjust hairstyle so that a character with a close resemblance to the user can be obtained.
Improved Bixby and Bixby Vision 2.0
Samsung first launched its AI assistant in the S8 and the S8 plus. With Google Assistant and Siri already the major player in the game, Samsung’s home-baked AI assistant received numerous criticisms. All the criticism were for the lack of smartness like the aforementioned duo. However, this time, Samsung has added a lot of features to the Bixby and the Bixby vision was improved greatly.
Now with the Bixby vision 2.0, users can translate the language in real time just by capturing the image in the Bixby Vision. Additionally, there is Makeup mode, which lets you try out make on your face virtually in the real time. If the makeup comes to your liking, you can also shop the makeup goodies right through your smartphone. However, this feature is limited to only a few countries.
AKG tuned stereo Speakers
The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus also inherit the AKG tuned stereo speakers. With the new kind of speaker setup, S9 and S9+ have been Galaxy smartphone with loudest audio level. Presenters were quite proud to mention that with the Dolby Atmos powered speakers, this handset can produce cinematic sound to mobile devices. In the event, Samsung also boasted that this setup would provide an immersive sound in the 3D environment.
Brighter Display
In terms of display, there are no such significant enhancements. Like the S8 and S8 plus duo, the newbies come in the same size of 5.8 inches and 6.2 inches respectively. However, the bezels on the device have been slightly shrunken, which results in slightly more screen-to-body ratio. Additionally, the brightness of the device has also been upsurged from 600 nits to 700 nits.
Powerful Processor
Powering the device is Snapdragon 845 chipset, which will be available in the market of China and USA. For the Middle East, Europe and Africa, the device will come with Exynos 9810 chipset. With these new chipsets on the house, the handsets ensure 25% boost in general performance, 30% boost in graphics performance, 30% lower power consumption, and improved image processing over its predecessors. And these powerful yet power efficient 10nm chipsets are backed by 4GB of Ram on the S9, whereas the S9+ is gifted with a whopping 6GB. The devices come with 64GB of onboard storage and there are additional 128GB and 256GB variants who crave for higher internal memory. Nevertheless, the smartphone has a Micro SD card if the internal storage turned out to be insufficient. However, it takes up the SIM2 slot for the purpose.
Samsung Galaxy S9 Specifications
Display: 5.8 inches Super AMOLED with Gorilla glass 5 (front and back) protection
Resolution: 1440 x 2960 pixels, 18.5:9 aspect ratio @ 570PPI pixel density
Other Features: AKG tuned stereo speakers, Intelligent Scan, Samsung DeX, AR Emojis, 3.5mm Headphone Jack, IP68 Certified (Water and Dust resistant), Fast Charging (QC 2.0), Wireless Fast charging, Super Slo-mo HD video recording up to 960fps & 1080P video recording up to 240fps
Color Variants: Midnight Black, Titanium Gray, Lilac Purple, Coral Blue
Price: Rs. 87,900 (4GB/64GB)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI2CpNdaJAc
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus Specifications
Display: 6.2 inches Super AMOLED with Gorilla glass 5 (front and back) protection
Resolution: 1440 x 2960 pixels, 18.5:9 aspect ratio @ 529PPI pixel density
OS: Android Oreo with Experience 9 UI on the top
Chipset: Snapdragon 845 / Exynos 9810
RAM: 6GB
Storage: 64/128/256GB internal storage, Expandable up to 256GB (Uses SIM2 slot)
Other Features: AKG tuned stereo speakers, Intelligent Scan, Samsung DeX, AR Emojis, 3.5mm Headphone Jack, IP68 Certified (Water and Dust resistant), Fast Charging (QC 2.0), Wireless Fast charging, Super Slo-mo HD video recording up to 960fps & 1080P video recording up to 240fps
Color Variants: Midnight Black, Titanium Gray, Lilac Purple, Coral Blue
Price: Rs. 99,900 (6GB/64GB)
Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9 Plus Price in Nepal and benefits on the purchase
Samsung Nepal has officially launched the S9 and S9 Plus in Nepal on 12th of March 2018. The S9 is priced at Rs. 87,900 and the S9 Plus is priced at Rs. 99,900.
Other benefits of buying the Samsung S9 in Nepal are 1-year breakage insurance from Shikhar Insurance and 1GB data per week for 12 weeks from Ncell.
The Vostro 5000 series is among the latest, affordable and handy laptops from Dell. The Dell Vostro 5468 is one of those portable and lightweight laptops from Dell intended for business purposes. In this review, we will see if the Dell Vostro 5468 performs in real life.
Dell Vostro 5468 specifications in a nutshell:
Display: 14″ FHD display
RAM: 4GB DDR3
Hard disk capacity: 1TB with expandable SSD
Operating system: Windows 10
Processor series: Core-i5
Processor number: i5-7200U
Graphics: Intel 620 shared graphics along with a dedicated Nvidia 940 MX graphics
Design
Since the device is impressive at first sight, I will elaborate on the design first. TheDell Vostro 5468 has a simple and generic design. The Dell Vostro 5468 measures in at 14 inches accompanied by a stylish design and sleek looks.
The device is pretty light at just 1.5 kg, making it very easy to carry around. The Grey metallic chassis makes it look premium and attractive.
The power button lies in the top right corner, which has an LED indicator to show if the power is on. The trackpad is also pretty decent with good tracking and gestures for scrolling, switching through tasks and the like.
The right side has an SD card slot, a USB 3.0 port, a VGA port and Similarly, the left side is equipped with two USB 3.0 ports, a gigabit Ethernet, an HDMI and a charging port. Well, it’s clear that the connectivity options this device provides are quite impressive.
Adding more to the design, the keys are placed at a good and comfortable distance from each other making it easier for the users to type in it. This is good news for the students and business people who have to type a lot.
The keys feel comfortable while typing, so long time of typing is also made easier by the arrangement of the keys. In the overall design department, I would definitely give this one a thumbs up.
Display
The Dell Vostro 5468 comes with a Full HD matte display which is indeed bright with sufficient enough contrast and saturation. Although the display quality and colour reproduction are good, the viewing angles are not very impressive.
The display quality is good while watching movies and videos, so I’ve had my share of movie experience while using this laptop. Similarly, viewing images in the 1080p display yields good results. The contents are visible under sunlight too, so even working outdoors isn’t a problem with this one.
Battery
One of the major concerns for me as a user, be it on any device, is the battery. There are times when you forget to carry your charger around and you have a hard time doing your tasks steadily. It gives you around 5 hours of life once fully charged.
The around 5 hours scenario is applicable only in conditions of normal usage. While playing videos it gave me a life of 4 hours exactly, so I was able to finish 2 movies without plugging the charger in. Similarly, while I played Battlefield for an hour, the battery drained significantly and then left me with around 2 hours of time for normal use. Overall, the battery life, I must say, is quite good.
Storage
Next thing is the storage. The version I am currently using has 4 GB of RAM and 1TB of Hard Drive. You can always install an SSD with its vacant M.2 Slot. If you are a content creator, adding an SSD would be a wise choice. You also have 1 free ram slot in case you need more memory. So, you have the choice to get more memory for your device when you need it, as the device gives you a choice. The system can grow with your needs.
Performance
The Dell Vostro 5468 is powered by a dual-core 7th generation processor that runs at a base clock of 2.5 GHz and can go high up to 2.7 GHz. The CPU is accompanied by Intel’s 620 shared graphics and a dedicated Nvidia 940 MX graphics card for better performance. If you will be using this one for gaming, you would certainly want to play at medium to low settings. But, as this device is not made for gaming purposes, this was expected.
For the price, Multitasking is also quite good as running multiple programs does not slow down the computer and also switching between tasks is smooth and fast. What’s commendable is, switching from games to other tasks also has a smooth outcome. So, you won’t have to worry about your device freezing while aggressively switching from one task to another. The Dell Vostro 5468 does great for multitasking without interruption.
As far as throttling is concerned, the device holds up pretty well in normal usage. The only times I felt the device get warm was when I started gaming, although it’s pretty normal in most of the laptops while in the gaming scenario.
As I already said, visuals look good on this device which is further aided by good sound quality from two speakers located below at both right and left sides. I am among the people who prefer the speakers to be located up and not on the laptop. That, however, does not necessarily mean the audio output from this device is not good. The speakers are loud enough and the audio is well balanced, considering the small size. additionally, the built-in webcam allows you to collaborate with your business partners easily.
Other things being said, this device is marketed for business purposes, for instance, using MS Office, handling your social life and the like. Notable is the fact that this one is more than just that. Gaming, in particular, was not bad at medium to low settings and it definitely can be used as an entertainment device as well. The insides of this device are up to date and powerful enough to run anything you could need for a business user. the 7th Gen processor will run anything you throw at it and the SSD will follow with similar performance.
Verdict
In conclusion, The Dell Vostro 5468 definitely serves the needs it was built for that is for on-the-go business workers who have a modest budget. For a normal user like myself, who does more office related works, wide range of entertainment activities and a little bit of gaming, the device fares well for the price.
Daraz is one of the largest e-commerce sites in Nepal. The company is always up to something sales-wise, and this time, Daraz has started a smartphone sales campaign called “Daraz Mobile Mania 2018”. The campaign will run till the length of February and will see discount offers on smartphones of all price ranges.
Daraz has a network in several South Asian nations. It ran its Black Friday campaign last November, where consumers got discounts on a wide range of products. This time though, Daraz is back with a smartphone sales offer.
The discounts smartphone companies are offering in the campaign is certainly more than what the retailers offer, and buyers will also receive the warranty and guarantee smartphone companies are currently offering on their smartphones.
Here are our top picks of the Daraz Mobile Mania 2018 offer:
Samsung’s deal(s) in a nutshell
MRP
Mobile Mania Price
Further discount after using voucher
Samsung Galaxy J7 Nxt
Rs. 21,999
Rs. 20,450 (7% off)
MOB2K (Rs. 2,000 off)
Samsung Galaxy J7 Max
Rs. 28,290
Rs. 26,310 (7% off)
MOB2K (Rs. 2,000 off)
Xiaomi’s deal(s) in a nutshell
MRP
Mobile Mania Price
Further discount after using voucher
Xiaomi Mi 6
Rs. 54,999
44,000 (20% off)
Cormi6 to get special Rs. 1000 off (GadgetByte exclusive)
Price drop, be it on gadgets or clothes or anything, is always welcoming. Well, Xiaomi brings to us three good news at once! This time Xiaomi has dropped the price of three of its smartphones, namely, Xiaomi Mi 5, Xiaomi Mi5S and Xiaomi Mi 5S Plus.
This is the second time that the Xiaomi Mi 5 is getting a price drop. The device was launched earlier in 2016 and was priced at Rs. 50,000. The first price drop lowered the price to Rs. 39,999. Now the phone is available for a discounted price of Rs. 33,999. In a similar manner, the Mi 5S and the Mi 5S Plus, which were launched in 2016, have also seen a decrease in their offer price. The Xiaomi Mi 5S is now available for Rs. 36,999 instead of the initial offering of Rs. 48,999. Likewise, Rs. 39,999 is the updated pricing for the Xiaomi Mi 5S plus, which previously was sold for Rs. 52,999.
The Xiaomi Mi5, Mi 5S and Mi 5S plus were launched by Xiaomi as their flagship smartphone around two years back.
Similarly, Xiaomi has launched two phones with impressive specs in 2018 (Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 and Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro) which, even though are not of flagship-grade, seem quite impressive specs-wise. So, a price drop in the older models may be beneficial for the company.
The price drop on the smartphones mentioned above has been confirmed by the official distributor of Xiaomi Phones, i.e. Vatsal Impex Pvt Ltd. The phones are available at the discounted rate in the retail stores effective 21st Feb 2018.
Xiaomi Mi 5:
Display: 5.15-inch FHD with gorilla glass protection
CPU: Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
GPU: Adreno 530
OS: Android 6.0 Marshmallow with MIUI 7.0 on top
RAM :3 GB
ROM: 32/64 GB
Rear camera: 16 MP f/2.0 with dual tone LED flash
Front camera: 4 MP f/2.0
Battery: 3,000 mAh
Price: Rs. 50,000 Rs. 39,999Rs.33,999
Xiaomi Mi 5S:
Display: 5.15-inch FHD IPS LCD display
CPU: Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
GPU: Adreno 530
OS: Android 6.0 Marshmallow with MIUI 8.0 on top
RAM :3 GB
ROM: 64 GB
Rear camera: 12 MP f/2.0 with dual tone LED flash
Front camera: 4 MP f/2.0
Battery: 3,200 mAh
Price: Rs. 48,999Rs. 36,999
Xiaomi Mi 5S Plus:
Display: 5.7-inch FHD IPS LCD
CPU: Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
GPU: Adreno 530
OS: Android 6.0 Marshmallow with MIUI 8.0 on top
RAM: 4 GB
ROM: 64 GB
Rear camera: Dual 13 MP f/2.0 with dual tone LED flash
The 7nm architecture that Qualcomm introduced a few days ago will make it’s way to the Snapdragon 855. It comes as no surprise that they were going to use their most technologically advanced architecture for their flagship SoC. Also, it might have been a little too late to manufacture the Snapdragon 845 under the same process.
Qualcomm also announced the Snapdragon X24 LTE modem capable of theoretical speeds of up to 2Gbps download speeds. The same X24 LTE modem will probably make it’s way to the 855 as well.
Qualcomm won’t say it, but their contractors do. Snapdragon 855 (SDM855) is the first 7nm SoC. (probably the one the X24 modem ends up in)
If both of the news pans out, we can already consider the Snapdragon 855 to be a game changer. Especially when the Snapdragon 855 is going to be the first to employ this technological feat. The new 7nm process will bring in a performance boost of up to 37% over the 10nm process. The power reduction will be down by up to 40% as well.
The upcoming next big thing from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 845 is being manufactured under the 10nm architecture. This one packs the X20 modem capable of up to 1.2Gbps of download speeds. The same processor expected to make a debut in the Galaxy S9.
Qualcomm has developed it’s high-end chips in partnership with Samsung in the past. However, this time around, it’s going to be Taiwan’s TSMC that will manufacturer the Snapdragon 855 for Qualcomm. In some other news, there are rumors of TSMC to begin creating plants capable of supporting the 3nm process, but that’s a story for another day.
