Oppo A75 and A75s are two new smartphones from OPPO. Both the smartphones share the same specs except for their storage capacity.
The A75 and A75s feature tall 18:9 aspect ratio displays. The phones have 6-inch panel with the resolution of 1080*2160 pixel resolutions under a fairly compact 156.5 x 76 x 7.5mm body.
The Oppo A75 only has 32GB of internal storage whereas the A75s has 64GB of storage to spare. Both share RAM options of 4GB and run on MediaTek Helio P23 (MT6763T) SoC.
Camera wise, a 16MP lens is available on the back with an aperture of f/1.8. The front, in typical oppo fashion, holds a 20MP sensor for selfies with an f/2.0 aperture.
The smartphones run on Android 7.1 Nougat with Oppo’s custom UI on top. And running all this is a 3,200 mAh battery on both the variants. There is also a fingerprint sensor on the back.
Other than these, the usuals include 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, face recognization, OTG and expandable storage. It is also comparatively light at 152 grams.
Color options include gold & black. The OPPO A75 and A75s are already available in Taiwan for roughly $365 for the Oppo A75 and $400 for the A75s. If you happen to live in Taiwan,
Specification of Oppo A75 and A75s
Display: 6-inch (1080*2160)
Protection: N/A
Android Version: 7.1 Nougat
Chipset: MediaTek Helio P23
RAM: 4GB
Rear Camera: 16MP with f/1.8, autofocus, LED Flash
Front Camera: 20MP with f/2.0, LED flash
Storage: 32GB(A75) and 64(A75s), Expandable up to 256GB
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.2
Sensors: accelerometer, digital compass, and proximity
What happens when all the entrepreneurial stakeholders come together? Well, I witnessed the answer to this question in the Next Growth Conclave, held on 22nd of December, 2017 by The Next Venture Corp. The program was held at the Soaltee Crown Plaza where startups, small businesses, investors, entrepreneurs and other entities came together in one platform trying to form a support system for entrepreneurs to start and nurture theirs in ventures Nepal. The event was witnessed by a lot of people which include, individual and institutional investors, bloggers, national and international media and speakers.
The event started with a few words being told by Mr. Kavi Raj Joshi (CEO at The Next Venture Corp). The first guest speaker was Mr. Warren Leow (Vice- president, Inmagine Group, Malaysia) followed by Hem Raj Dhakal (Co- founder/Managing director IME Group), Dr. Upendra Mahato (Founder, Mahato Group of Industries, Russia| Nepal), Biyay Kumar (Founder, Bizztor), Shazeeb M Khairul Islam (Founder/CEO, YY Ghotsi), Nitin Sethi (Vice- presient, Quikr.com), Chandra Challagonda (Founder/CEO, APlnf Oy) and Manmeet Pal Singh (CEO, Reappoint Internet, India), etc in the first half of the event. The stage, in the first half, was also taken by Dr. Bhola Prasad Dahal (Country Director, Search for common ground) to launch the good governance app. There was also a panel discussion held among the speakers moderated by Mr. Rupesh Krishna Shrestha (Assistant Professor, KUSOM). The speakers shared their experiences and insights regarding starting and growing business globally and locally!
Dr Upendra Mahato
“Innovation is local, a product is global”, Dr. Upendra Mahato. Further, he also added saying that being engaged in social organizations and giving back to the society helps you achieve success in business.
Similarly, Warren Leow stated that a successful business is aided by luck but luck is a function of opportunity and ability.
In a similar fashion, the Next Growth Conclave featured other speakers who inspired by their experiences and talks. The second half was made more stimulating with words from Siddhant Raj Pandey (Chairman/CEO, Business Oxygen), Arnaud Bonzom (Venture Partner, 500 Startups, Silicon Valley, USA), Lalita Wemel (Regional Manager, TechStars, Asia Pacific), Arijit Bhattacharyya (Founder, CEO, Virtualinfocom, India), Mohammad Shabbir (Founder/ CEO,GOinternational Finland), Sajid Rahman (CEO, Telenor Health, Jakarta). Further, another panel discussion was held with the speakers moderated by Mr. Suman Shakya (Co-founder, Nepal Entrepreneurs’ Hub).
There was also a session for the amazing startups who participated in the event to pitch their ideas which gave them a chance to be heard by all the stakeholders.
Startup Valley Next Growth Conclave
While the speakers were delivering inspiring stories, we visited the startup valley where all the new and groundbreaking startups and small businesses were enthusiastically showcasing what they had in the bag for us. Each and every start-up had its unique mark that awed everyone present at the event. Here is a list of all the idea pitchers and startups:
BeeCreative
Bhetincha
Ebeema
Eminence Ways
EventsMo
Falfull
Farm to Finger
Food Mario
Happy Bean Bags
Home Automation Nepal
ICT for Agri
Khalti
KPadhne
Metro Tarkari
Nepal Communitere
Nepzy
NIU Nepal
NPAC
Property 360
Restro Order
Rising Farm
Sajilo Marmat Sewa
Search for Common Ground
Sroth Code Games
The Mint Studio
Today’s telegram
Tootle
Web Robo
XcelTrip
Apart from that, there was a media Lounge and Investor Lounge for any further discussions or queries put forward by the attendees and participants. The event so held was one of the most interactive events of this year wherein everyone applauded for the efforts of the organizers.
“Nepal is a very good platform for entrepreneurs and there is great potential for businesses in service, tourism, agriculture, etc in Nepal”- Dr. Upendra Mahato.
Efforts like The NEXT Growth Conclave certainly aid to help startups get recognized and bridge the gap between all the stakeholders of the business. We definitely look forward to such platform in the future as well.
Further news on the exciting startups who participated in the event is coming soon! Do comment below what your thoughts on the event are!
Since Christmas is around, the new smartphone company in Nepal, UMIDIGI, is offering discounts on its selected devices. Christmas is now a festive day here and the company is cashing in on it.
UMIDIGI is now offering flat 15% discount on its two devices – the C Note and the Crystal. These two devices landed in Nepal a while back and the Crystal has especially made headlines for its near bezel-less design on a budget.
This offer is, however, only available if a customer buys the device from UMIDIGI Nepal’s showroom, i.e. the offer is showroom exclusive. The Christmas offer will run till December 31st.
The MRP of the UMIDIGI C Note currently stands at Rs. 20,900 while the Crystal runs for Rs. 25,900. After exercising this offer, the former will be available Rs. 17,765 while the latter one can be purchased for Rs. 22,015.
UMIDIGI C Note Specifications:
5.5-inch (1080 x 1920 pixels) full HD SHARP 2.5D curved display
Dragon Trail Glass protection
1.5GHz Quad-core MediaTek MT6737T processor
3GB RAM; 32GB internal memory, expandable with microSD up to 256GB
Android v7.0 (Nougat)
13MP rear camera with Samsung S5K3L8 sensor, PDAF, dual LED flash
5MP front camera
Dual Hybrid SIM (Nano+Nano/TF Card) with 4G LTE
Front-mounted fingerprint sensor
Full Metal Body
3800 mAh non-removable battery
UMIDIGI C Note Christmas offer price: Rs. 20,900Rs. 17,765
UMIDIGI Crystal Specifications:
5.5-inch 1080 x 1920 pixels full HD Bezel-less SHARP 2.5D curved display
Corning Gorilla Glass 4
1.5GHz Octa-core MediaTek MT6750T processor
4GB RAM, 64GB internal memory, expandable via microSD up to 256GB
Samsung has been consistent in producing tablets as a product in their Android product line. However, people less apt to buy tablets because smartphones have started coming in bigger sizes. With such trend evident in the market, Samsung has brought yet another tablet in the Nepali market, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2017. This device, as Samsung claims is a total entertainer for the people. The major attraction it offers is a kids mode and Samsung’s flagship feature Bixby Home. Apart from that, it also offers a sleek design and a massive 5000mAh battery. With all these features onboard, is Samsung worth the price tag of Rs. 28,990? Let’s dive into the analysis.
Design
I have quite liked the design that Samsung offers on the tablet. The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2017 is an 8- inch giant covered with a plastic body.
Though covered with plastic, it gives a metallic look and feel, so the device impresses us in this aspect. Also, the device is long but not too wide which gives it a plus point as it is easier to hold with one hand. I have small hands and even for me, it was not difficult holding it by one hand and using it with another.
The device is a bit slippery but it does not hinder the usability that much. Another plus for the device would be the fact that it is very lightweight.
On the right top, we have the power button and just below it, there are volume control buttons. Similarly on the left are the SIM slot/ memory card slot. The top edge carries 3.5 mm, Jack. The speaker grills and the Micro USB port are at the bottom. The design of the Galaxy Tab 2017 is slim and sleek. I don’t have complaints in this department.
Display
Next, let’s go for the display. The device comes with an LCD panel with an 800×1280 pixels screen resolution. The display, I must say has good saturation and the viewing angles are good too. It has ample brightness and the colors look quite natural. However, it’s not full HD. It might be disappointing to some with pixelation.
However, I didn’t have a problem using this under sunlight as well. I have spent hours watching movies on this device and I must say the big display certainly adds value to the visuals. It’s nothing like watching videos on smartphones. The contents look big and good on the large screen.
Performance:
Moving on, let’s go for the performance. The Samsung Galaxy Tab A is powered by a Snapdragon 425 Quad-core processor clocked at a speed of 1.4 GHz. Similarly, it packs a combination of 2GB of RAM and 16 GB of onboard storage.
Now, I have not felt lags while switching through apps, I have felt that apps take relatively more time to open. Similarly, gaming in this device is a big no! Although it’s big and everything and the content looks good, it was difficult gaming on this device, probably due to the size. And also, games take more time to load and switching between games and apps is slow enough to make you want to close it altogether.
You will feel the stutters there and then when you play a game on this device which is very distracting. For normal usage, the performance is fine. The thing that is very disappointing is that there is no fingerprint sensor on this device.
You can also insert SIM card on this device and use it as for making calls, which is good to know! However, using this device to make calls will cover your entire face on one side.
Software and User experience:
Okay, now let’s talk about the software and user experience. The Galaxy Tab A 2017 runs on Android Nougat 7.1.1 coupled with Samsung Experience version 8.5 and the Android security patch level is dated June 1, 2017. Well, it’s pretty recent, but not Oreo.
The interface is similar to recent Samsung Galaxy smartphones in the market. The UI is very simple and is one of the things I like the most in this device! You won’t find much bloatware onboard, so you are safe in this regard. I mean it comes with a package of Microsoft apps, Skype and Google apps which is a necessity on today’s date. There are some additions to the basic features like it comes with the Samsung’s flagship browser feature Bixby home but without voice assistance.
Similarly, it comes with a Kids mode. Now that is a useful family feature, to who it is targeted of course. When this feature is on, the entire UI has cartoon app icons and everything becomes childlike which is very useful to teach children as well as keep them away from other apps that are not kids friendly. At home, kids will now be using the secure content. There is also a secure folder where you can keep your files safe by adding security to it. There is an entire of kids features like kid’s camera, kid’s store, etc. where secure content for kids is available. This is very safe as well because children cannot log out of this mode without the code that their parents set. Similarly, kids will have a wider range of choices to learn and interact with the device.
Kids Mode on the Samsung Tab A 2017
The device is good for reading books and stuff and it also comes with a blue light filter to ensure eye comfort. I have read a lot of books on this device and I must say I am impressed with the size and display. This tab lets you multitask with the split screen mode which I thought was very useful. I could search for word meanings while reading books. Similarly, multitasking on the big screen makes you feel good.
Cameras
Moving on, let’s go for the cameras. The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2017 comes with a combination of 8 MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5 MP front camera. The pictures from the rear camera have good color reproduction and saturation in well-lit areas but under dim lights, the pictures are not good. Also while I zoomed in, the quality was awful.
The selfie camera, on the other hand, is okay. I mean just okay. We cannot compare it with cameras of smartphones. Under ample lighting, the images look good. I am not bothered with the cameras in this device because I don’t see myself using such a huge thing to take a selfie.
However, it might be useful to some, so for them, the cameras are decent. There is also a beauty mode inbuilt but you cannot expect the pictures to be very good. The pictures, except for the dimly lit conditions are decent enough.Here are some pictures were taken from this device so that you can decide for yourself what the camera performance is like.
Battery
The battery is the next thing I am going to talk about. The Galaxy Tab A 2017 features a massive 5000mAh battery and I must say that is very impressive considering the device claims to be an entertainer. It has this huge screen wherein watching videos and reading books are the things I have liked to do and the battery has supported me all along. The battery lasted for two days straight.
The first day I watched movies for around 6 hours with using Facebook and Instagram now and then. The second day I read a book for hours. So, the battery-backed me up pretty well. I managed to get a screen on time of 9 hours.
Good news is that it supports type C charger so yes it’s onboard with the latest trend. However, it does not support fast charging and to get fully charged, it takes around 3 and half hours, which is a lot of time! Although it lasts long, it takes a lot of time to get charged. Would you like that? Let us know in the comments below.
Conclusion:
So on a whole; I would not say that this tablet is a total entertainer as it claims to be. But this is useful at home for children and maybe for the readers out there. A good battery life, good looks, and a user-friendly interface are the only things I see in this tablet. This, I must say is a good family device at home, for kids and even for the elders. I have seriously used this device only to watch moves and read, which I can do in other devices as well. For 28,990, I think the device is overpriced considering this does not feature a fingerprint sensor. You can get a smartphone with better, lot better features at this price.
2017 has been a great year for the budget-oriented devices. They are gaining popularity and extra features. Trying to crown itself as the budget smartphone manufacturer crown is Colors which has launched several low-budget devices this year. It only recently launched the S1 and is all set to launch the Colors S9. Surprisingly, the Nepali manufacturer has launched an entry-level smartphone right before S9’s launch. The new Colors P65 is a device priced at Rs. 7,995 packing some interesting specifications.
The Colors P65 is a device for someone who wants good looks at a budget friendly price. This smartphone also ships with Android v7.0 Nougat which is really impressive.
The P65 has a 5.0-inch IPS display with 854 x 480 pixels resolution. This display has a protective glass type on its top, but Colors hasn’t specified its type. The Colors P65 comes with a quad-core MediaTek MT6580 processor that is aided by 1 GB of RAM and Mali-T720 MP1 single-core GPU. As for the lenses, the P65 is equipped with 5-megapixel primary and secondary cameras. The rear-facing camera is capable of taking HD videos @30 fps. It has 8 GB of internal memory which is expandable up to 128 GB.
The Colors P65 has a built-in 3,000 mAh battery that is chargeable via a normal microUSB charger. It comes with dual SIM card slot.
Colors P65 Specifications:
Display: 5.0-inch IPS FWVGA (854 x 480 pixels) display
CPU: 1.3 GHz Quad-core processor
Chipset: MediaTek MT6580M
RAM: 1 GB
Software: Android v7.0 Nougat
Storage: 8 GB internal storage, expandable up to 128 GB
SIM: Dual SIM
Rear Camera: 5 MP rear-facing camera with LED flash, f/2.0
Front Camera: 5 MP front-facing camera with Triple Screen Flash
The mid-range section for smartphones is a crowded mess. To stand out in the crowd, the phone certainly needs to have something extra that grabs the users attention. The recently launched Mi A1 from Xiaomi offers an extra camera which is something unusual in the mid-range section in Nepal. Not only dual cameras but Xiaomi has partnered with Google to incorporate Stock Android on the Mi A1, hence the title “When two worlds collide” and also i am also a huge Iron Maiden fan.
If you are not aware, it’s the first phone from Xiaomi to opt for stock android ditching its beloved MIUI ROM. Let’s find out how this phone stacks up against other phones in the market.
Specifications of Xiaomi Mi A1
Display: 5.5 inches LTPS IPS (1080×1920) @403ppi
OS: Stock Android 8.0 Oreo
Chipset: Qualcomm MSM8953 Snapdragon 625
CPU: Octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53
GPU: Adreno 506
RAM: 4GB
ROM: 32GB/64GB extendable up to 256 GB (uses SIM2)
The Mi A1 is one of the prettiest looking phones under the price of Rs.30,000. One might say it looks like the iPhone 7 Plus and it certainly does, which is not a bad thing by any means. This phone is a rebranded Mi 5X which didn’t make it to the Nepali market. It has a unibody metal construct with a smooth polished back. But mind that, it’s winter and holding a cold metal phone early morning is certainly not a good feeling. Nonetheless, the phone has a premium feel to it and stands solidly at 165 grams. If you want to make it fancier, you can get the rose gold color. You might have already noticed the protruding camera bump which makes the phone shaky while using it placing on the table.
Up front, the MI A1 looks like any typical Xiaomi Device, moreover, like the Redmi Note 4, further similarities remain, which we will discuss in later parts of this review.
The phone has a huge chin and forehead with capacitive navigation buttons residing on the chin. They are backlit and the response is really good.
On the right side, it has power and volume buttons providing tactile feedback. On top it has IR blaster, a missed out feature by many – but a really handy feature to have. And coming down to the bottom, we can find a USB C port which still is hard to find on most of the mid-range devices. It is accompanied by a single mono speaker on the right and a headphone jack on the left.
I would certainly not rate this phone as one hand usable. The huge chin coupled with smooth metallic back makes it slippery and there was more than few occasions where it slipped out of my hand. So this phone is Gadgetbyte Certified Slippery, so a cover is a must!
Display:
The Mi A1 comes with a full HD 5.5-inch LTPS IPS display. An LTPS panel means it provides high pixel density and low power consumption. The display has 2.5D glass and it’s protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The Color Reproduction is good and the display is well saturated. The contrast is one of the best on a mid-range device with 1000:1 contrast ratio. But an AMOLED panel like that of the J7 Pro definitely beats this number.
The viewing angles are good, I found no signs of color shifts while holding the phone as per my comfort. You’d definitely enjoy Watching Videos, playing games and reading on this sharp display.
This panel has a maximum brightness of 450 nits, well enough to view under direct sunlight.
Micromax Canvas Infinity (Black) & Mi A1 (White)
But on the downside, these days we already have phones with the tall 18:9 display and the Mi A1 sports the usual 16:9 panel. This may be a dealbreaker for some. So what do you think? Is it crucial to have a tall 18:9 panel on a smartphone or are you okay with the usual 16:4 aspect ratio? Have your say in the comment section below.
Software/UI:
For me, MIUI is one of the best UI after Vanilla Android. Like mentioned earlier, this is the first Xiaomi phone to ship with Stock Android under the Android One program. Comparing MIUI against the Stock Android, you can see the world of difference.
If you thought Xiaomi’s hardware selection was great but the MIUI turned you off then Mi A1 is what you’ve been waiting for. Apart from the Camera app and the Mi Remote app, rest of the System is directly handled by Google, which means timely Android update.
And to my surprise, I received the Oreo 8.0 update just after a few days I took this phone out for review. Since then, I have been getting few security updates and bug fixes every now and then. It’s really a happy experience when your phone shows Update Available every once in awhile, it’s certainly not something you’re used to with a mid-range device.
Since it’s vanilla Android, there’s nothing extraordinary here, if you’re an MIUI user then the plainness of the UI might set you back. The small things I liked about Oreo is the faster app installation time, quick shortcuts on apps, well-bundled settings menu and notifications as well as notification snoozing, inbuilt night mode, ambient display and swipe down on fingerprint to access the quick settings and notification panel to name a few.
So overall, it’s stock android, it’s smooth, it’s great and it gets tons of updates.
Performance:
Performance in a mid-range device is Xiaomi’s forte and they have opted for the trusty octa-core Snapdragon 625 chipset for the MI A1. And in my opinion, it’s the perfect chipset for phones under Rs.30,000. With 14nm architecture, it is both powerful and power efficient. It is coupled with 4GB of RAM.
The same configuration can be found on the now popular Redmi Note 4. With Stock Android at hand, the Mi A1 slightly outperformed the Note 4 on benchmarks. Well, on the real-life usage, it’s really hard to differentiate in their performance. The opening of apps, general navigation, scrolling web pages, and every other thing you do on a daily basis is a breeze for this chipset.
With 4GB of RAM on its arsenal coupled with Oreo’s optimized memory management, you can well shuffle between 6 to 7 apps or more with ease.
When it comes to gaming, the combo of Snapdragon 625 with Adreno 506 does more than justice for the gamers. Titles like Asphalt 8 Xtreme, Shadow Fight, FZ9 ran without any lags or frame drops. The game opening time was also fairly fast. If you have checked out the Redmi Note 4 then the performance is no different here. Xiaomi has used dual pyrolytic graphite sheets to dissipate heat effectively and playing Asphalt Xtreme for an hour or so I could only feel a mild warmth on the back. So good job on heat management Xiaomi.
Also, I must not forget to mention the single mono speaker of the phone with a 10v amplifier which is loud and crisp making the gaming experience even more engaging. Listening to music on loud volume didn’t affect the clarity as well. So, Mi A1 is a complete package if you are looking for a mid-range phone you can game on.
Camera:
Now the dual camera is something we don’t see very often in mid-range devices. The one that I know of in particular is the Coolpad Cool 1 which is priced similarly to the Mi A1. The MI A1 comes with a pair of Dual 12MP Camera on the back. The primary shooter is a wide-angle 26mm f/2.2 lens while the assisting shooter is a 50mm f/2.6 telephoto lens. The telephoto lens provides 2x optical lossless zoom like the iPhone 7 and the OnePlus 5. We compared its Camera with Oppo F5, Nova 2i, M7 Power, and J7 Pro.
As you can see the photos on the first glance look pretty normal but upon comparing with aforementioned devices, a green tint is evident on most of its images. This green tint made sure the colors looked disorientate. So Mi A1 misses out on the color accuracy. On the contrary, contrast is pretty good on photos.
Turning on the HDR mode brings out details from the shadows pretty well but misses to bring out better colors. Having said that the dynamic range is also acceptable.
When it comes to low light performance the smaller f/2.2 aperture doesn’t let in much light. The images are washed out, the details are not there and grains can be found thoroughly spread across the image.
1 of 3
Now let’s talk about those dual cameras, first off, at good lighting conditions it creates one of the most natural looking bokeh. Bokeh on smartphones are usually a hit or miss but here the separation between the subject and the background is very smooth most of the time. Not only people but it does a good job with regular objects as well.
But mind that, it’s only possible with good lighting, whereas on poor lighting the bokeh has lots of grains and doesn’t look that appealing.
The 2x optical zoom is a handy feature, the quality is good and can be useful for zooming in far away object.
Xiaomi has implemented its own camera app on the phone and I found it’s manual mode very interesting, it allows you to have manual control on either the wide primary lens or the telephoto lens. Mi A1 can shoot 4K at 30fps and the quality looks good with natural colors. With no stabilization, it is shaky but the details are justifiable. As you might have already guessed the audio quality is pretty bad.
Now coming to the 5MP front-facing camera, the images it produces are good enough for social media with good lighting. However, if you are savvy about selfies then the details are not there and it looks washed out.
And with little deficiency of light it produces washed out images with lack of details. It also doesn’t sport any selfie flash.
Connectivity:
For connectivity, Xiaomi offers a hybrid nano-SIM slot which utilizes SIM 2 slot for microSD expansion. If you are opting for the 32GB variant of this device then the expandability option will definitely prove to be helpful. But hybrid sim slots is not how we like to roll. Cellular reception and call quality were pretty good as well. Surfing the internet on NCell with 4G was also a breeze.
The phone offers IR blaster with which you can control TV, AC and so on.
It utilizes USB Type C which I’ve only seen on GM5 Plus at this price. And if you are curious, it does support USB OTG. For wireless connection, it offers dual-band ac wifi meaning better WiFi reception and faster speed. It has Bluetooth 4.2. Talking about sensors, it has all the essential sensors including the Gyro for VR experience.
Not to forget, it also holds fingerprint sensor on the back. It is quick to setup and unlocks the device in a jiffy. Xiaomi phones always have had a reliable fingerprint sensor and this is no different.
Battery:
MI A1 offers 3010 mAh battery, a fairly smaller size compared to the Redmi Note 4. Smaller size surely means least screen on time and standby. I was able to pull out only 3 and a half to 4 hours. Well, it entirely depends on your usage but most of the time the battery lasted me for a whole day. The 5v 2ampere charger charges this phone from 0 to 30% in 30 minutes and 100% in around 2 hours.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, Mi A1 is a well-rounded phone under the price of Rs.30,000. It has got a lot more to offer compared to its rivals. The phone offers stock android with timely updates, has a sharp vibrant display, dual camera setup, smooth performance, and premium build to name some. But it surely falls back when it comes to front facing camera, so if you are someone who’s fond of taking selfies then this phone is definitely not for you. Also, the battery life could have been better. So, if you can live with an average selfie cam, an older 16:9 display, and a decent battery life, then this is the best phone you can buy below Rs.30,000 in Nepal.
Micromax is not a new name in the world of mobile phones. But with Chinese smartphone brands providing better specs with a bigger marketing budget, Indian smartphone brand Micromax have been in a shadow for a while now.
With the new Canvas Infinity, things might take a turn in their favor. The Micromax Canvas Infinity is the only phone with a near bezel-less display below Rs.20,000 in Nepal along with a really good selection of specs and cameras. But can it win the heart of Nepalese audience? Let’s find out in our review.
Micromax Canvas Infinity Specifications
5.7-inch HD+ IPS LCD display with 18:9 Aspect Ratio (1440 x 720 pixels)
32GB internal memory; upgradable up to 128 GB via microSD card (dedicated slot)
Android 7.1.2 Nougat, Planned Upgrade to Android 8.0 Oreo
Dual SIM (Micro + Micro)
Rear-facing camera: 13MP Dual Camera with f/2.0 aperture, autofocus, LED flash
Front-facing camera: 16MP Front Camera with f/2.0 aperture, autofocus
2,900 mAh removable Li-Ion battery
Price: Rs 18,500 (available in the market for Rs. 17,500)
Build
The Canvas Infinity comes with an 18:9 aspect ratio display, making it really narrow compared to other 5.5-inch devices. However, with the thick bezels on the top and bottom, it is by no means a one-handed phone. It is also one of the good-looking phones you can get below Rs.20,000.
At first glance, it might feel like a metal body. But, after inspection, we found out it to be a plastic body. And, I have to say the build quality isn’t up to par with the others. It creaks when in use and is not sturdier compared to phones at a similar price tag like Huawei Y7 and Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A.
This removable back gives access to a removable battery. This feature was dearly missed in the past when different companies removed it from their phones, but now in 2017, is there still a need for a removable battery?
[socialpoll id=”2479086″]
Display
The highlight of the phone is clearly the display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. The display is something no other phone offers at a price this low, which is a huge advantage for Micromax.
The resolution of 720 x 1440 (279ppi), however, doesn’t help much on a 5.7-inch size which just looks pixelated. The sunlight visibility is fine, but the color reproduction is substandard. It feels over saturated and the colors don’t come near to the natural tone. The display has its own perks, but Micromax’s calibrations make the screen simply unpleasant to look at.
Cameras
Cameras on this device are quite good, both the front and the back. The front holds the 16MP f/2.0 aperture camera along with a soft flash. You would think that with all the hype that Micromax created over its selfie camera, the camera would produce some good selfies. Well, it does and they are pretty good as well, with good details and colors. It’s a lot better than what I initially expected.
Day Light
Group Selfie
Low Light
The back has a 13MP f/2.0 aperture camera which is decent for its price. It’s not as good as the front but will get the job done. To the eyes of a non-expert at photography, the back camera takes really good photos under good lighting with fast focus, almost accurate color saturation, albeit with cooler tone and fine details even after zooming. I, however, found the HDR mode didn’t make any difference. Like all the budget phones, it suffers at lowlight with grainy images.
Performance
The phone is packed with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, which is a Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 CPU paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The performance is decent, just look at the benchmarks. And if the benchmarks seem jibberish to you, they are fine considering the price and competition.
Games run ok, with a few frame drops here and there, but they are completely playable. And the best part about it is, it doesn’t heat up so much.
Software and UI
The UI is the biggest letdown of the Canvas Infinity. It runs on Android Nougat and Micromax has even promised a planned upgrade to Android Oreo. This might seem great and all but the user experience on this phone is way beyond bad.
The UI is plain laggy and clearly wants to emulate iPhone’s iOS. Seeing how bad the software was on this phone, I would have loved to see it running on stock android. Micromax could and probably should stop spending their time and money on a customized UI.
And while we are stuck with the default ones, you could try installing a new launcher and a notification bar from the play store which seems to fix a few of these issues.
Connectivity
Connectivity wise, the Micromax Canvas Infinity seems to have everything a normal phone needs to function like dual SIM with 4G, WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS.
However, I found the Wi-Fi to be comparatively weak and the quality of the mic was also something I was disappointed with. The phone supports two SIMs and a MicroSD card slot at the same time. There is a lack of Gyroscope sensor, but at this point who would even complain. The fingerprint sensor was snappy and accurate but takes about 1 sec to unlock.
Battery
The phone holds a 2,900 mAh Li-Ion removable battery, which will last you a day. I got, on an average, 4 hours of screen time, which is considered average. But the inconsistent battery life was a bummer. An even bigger battery or software optimization would have made the experience a lot better for sure.
There are the usual battery saving modes as well, but they didn’t do much, to be honest. It also takes a little more than two and a half hour to fully charge from null. Although, some people might take advantage of the swappable battery. Let us know if a removable battery affects your decision on buying a smartphone in 2017.
Conclusion
The Micromax Canvas Infinity is a nice attempt from the company by offering 18:9 display, good looks, Qualcomm processor, 3GB RAM, and fingerprint sensor at this price point. It’s a good buy if you can live up with a buggy UI. And if Micromax does succeed in fixing these problems with future software optimizations, especially with the planned Oreo update, it’s going to be a decent pick under Rs.20,000.
Fitness bands and smartwatches are something we have slowly started to adopt and have felt the need of. There were smartwatches in the Nepali market for past few years but due to their high prices, they didn’t saw the light of day. Now more than smartwatches, we have shifted towards fitness bands. They are both cheaper and does most of the things what a pricy smartwatch does. Xiaomi has introduced both iterations of Mi Band and they did pretty good with Nepali consumers. Now they have introduced 3 more fitness bands namely: Mi AMAZFIT Bip Lite, Mi ARC AMAZFIT, and Mi AMAZFIT.
Xiaomi Amazfit BIP Lite
Amazfit BIP Lite is the only modern looking band among the bunch. Aesthetics wise, it looks like the lovechild of a Pebble watch and the Apple Watch. Sadly it doesn’t hold a build like them. Being a fitness band it has to be lite, hence, a plastic body with the weight of 32grams with its thick rubber bands. Up front, the bezels are huge with Amazfit branding covering a quarter of the area. Then comes the display of 1.28inches protected with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The watch is IP68 dust and water resistant.
Talking about sensors, it’s equipped with (Photoplethysmogram) PPG heart rate sensor, Three Axis Acceleration Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, and Air Pressure Sensor. It also has GPS + GLONASS dual-mode positioning. The best thing about this fitness band is its battery life. With 190mAh lithium polymer battery, Xiaomi promises a battery life of up to 45days on a single charge. This includes 45 days (running weekly, half an hour; Notify 100 per day; screen brightness 10%) and Standby of 4 months with time display, motion detection, PSG
the GPS continuous recording track: 22 hours. And charging time normally takes 2.5hours. It supports Android devices from 4.4 and Apple devices from iOS 8.
Sensors: PPG heart rate sensor, Three Axis Acceleration Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, and Air Pressure Sensor
Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0, GPS + GLONASS dual-mode positioning
Battery: 190mAh Lithium Polymer, 45 Days battery life, 2.5hours charge time
Support: Android 4.4/iOS 8 or higher
Price: Rs.10,500
Mi ARC AMAZFIT Watch Touch Screen
The Mi ARC Amazfit looks like the Mi Band 2 but it’s much boxier. It has an OLED touchscreen display. The Arc will track your heart rate, calories burned, distance traveled, light and deep sleep. It can vibrate to notify you about the alarms, an incoming call or sort of notification. The band is IP67 water and dust resistant. It connects to your device through Bluetooth4.0. Back in it up is a 70mAh battery which Xiaomi promises will provide battery life for 20 days.
Mi Amazfit Health Band resembles the Arc Amazfit but has colored bottom panel. The band is made out of aluminum and stainless steel. It also has the same 0.42 LED display. It is also IP67 Water and Dust Resistant. As the name suggests, it has more integrated features which make it health oriented. While the other fitness bands come with PPG heart rate sensor, the Amazfit Health band comes with an ECG Chip. Now what differentiates PPG from ECG is, the ECG is a medical grade sensor which is much more accurate, can track, predict and warn any possible illness. The band can also recommend users if they should rest or continue exercising. Use of the ECG chip does make it expensive than the bunch but it would definitely be worth it for those who want to check their heart conditions at check. It comes with 95mAh battery which will last for a week.
Samsung Galaxy J2 2017 just launched a few months ago, but that hasn’t stopped the rumors of the Galaxy J2 2018. And going by the leaks, it seems like the phone will release pretty soon. Also with a huge chunk of improvements over its predecessor as well.
The Samsung Galaxy J2 2018 is a bit bigger at 5-inch with resolutions of 540*960. It’s a Super AMOLED touchscreen, by the way, running on a Snapdragon 425 alongside 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.
It has an 8MP camera at the back and 5MP at the front. Both equipped with LED flash. All of this runs on Android 7.1.1 Nougat alongside a 2,600 mAh removable battery.
The rest of the specs include dual-SIM support, Bluetooth 4.2, LTE Cat.4 and 802.11n Wi-Fi. The phone will supposedly weight about 153 grams. Lastly, a micro USB port takes care of the charging, all of this will retail for around €115 and will be available in Russia alongside other emerging markets.
Recently, Vivo V7 and V7+ were launched in the international market (with V7 landing in Nepal as well), and this time Vivo has introduced the Vivo Y75 with similar specs but with slightly lower graded cameras. Basically, it’s the same device but with a slightly modified camera performance. The major specs like the facial unlock feature and full view display are still there, no worries about that though!
Since cameras are the things that are modified, let’s start with the cameras. It sports a 13 MP camera on the rear side instead of the 16 MP cameras found on the back of the V7. Similarly, the front is equipped with a 16MP camera instead of the whopping 24 MP selfie camera. The other specs, however, are the same in this iteration of the device.
Talking about other features, the Vivo Y75 has a 5.7-inch IPS-LCD screen sporting a Full View display and HD+ resolution. The facial unlock feature of this device is called “Face Wake”. The software on this phone is based on Android Nougat 7.1 with Fun touch 4.2 EMUI.
The chipset the Vivo V7 houses is a MediaTek Octa-core processor coupled with 4 GB RAM and 32 GB of internal storage which is extendable up to 256 GB. The GPU on this device is Mali G71. The display comes with the same 18:9 aspect ratio and a Corning Gorilla Glass protection. This phone is 25% cheaper than the recent global version.
Although we are yet to receive an official word, the Vivo Y75 is expected to make its way into the Nepali smartphone market as well.
There are the usual battery saving modes as well, but they didn’t do much, to be honest. It also takes a little more than two and a half hour to fully charge from null. Although, some people might take advantage of the swappable battery. Let us know if a removable battery affects your decision on buying a smartphone in 2017.
