It has only been a couple of days since Samsung unveiled its latest flagship – the Galaxy S8.The Korean company showed off the two variants of the device at an event in New York. The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ are great looking devices with some great specifications. They are set to launch in the first week of May in Nepal. Keeping that in mind, Samsung Nepal has brought a cash back offer for their predecessors.
Talking about the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, even though it has been a year since their launch, they still work great. The devices are powered by an Octa-core Exynos 8890 Octa CPU which is aided by 4GB of LP DDR4 RAM and Mali-T880 MP12 GPU.
Display wise, the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge come with 5.1-inch and 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display respectively. Both feature a 1440 x 2560 pixels quadHD resolution. Samsung has already started to roll out the Android v7.0 Nougat update to its flagship of 2016.
For the photography lovers, the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are equipped with 12-megapixel rear-facing camera with f/1.7 aperture and Optic Image Stabilization. The recently launched Galaxy S8 and S8+ feature a similar camera setup. At the front, the devices feature a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with the same aperture. They take some good social media ready selfies.
Storage wise, the S7 and S7 Edge have more storage options than their successor. Both devices come with two storage options: 32GB and 64GB. It can be expanded up to 256GB due to the microSD card slot available in the devices.
On the battery front, the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge house a 3,000 mAh and a 3,600 mAh battery respectively. In our review, we got a screen on time of around 4 hours which can be considered decent. The battery in the devices charges up within 1.5 hours. The phones, however, lack USB Type-C connectivity.
When the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge were launched last year, they came with a price tag of Rs. 77,900 and Rs. 88,900 respectively. And now, after the release of the Galaxy S8, Samsung is now offering cash back while buying the aforementioned devices. Buyers will get Rs. 20,000 cash back on both these devices. After exercising the offer, the Galaxy S7 will come with a price tag of Rs. 57,900, and the Galaxy S7 Edge will come with a price tag of Rs. 68,900.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is a great device. Samsung took a revolutionary step by going with an almost bezel-less display with a different aspect ratio. But the company’s flagship of 2016 doesn’t fall behind. It is still a great looking device and features a good camera. So, you won’t regret your decision if you decide on opting for the S7 or the S7 edge rather than waiting for the Galaxy S8.
Generation Next Communication Pvt. Ltd., the authorized distributor of Apple products in Nepal, has launched the Red variant of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The new red color option will cost the same as the other colors and will be available in 128GB and 256GB storage.
As noted on Apple’s website, every red color iPhone purchase “contributes to the Global Fund to support HIV/AIDS programs and help deliver an AIDS-free generation.”
As for availability, the new iPhone 7 will be available for purchase online (olizstore.com) and in authorized Apple retail stores (Evostore, Olizstore, Futureworld, etc) from the second week of April.
Facebook is the common home to all Nepalese people. People from every walk of life is on this platform and with so many people here, there are just some weird trends going on. If you have been using Facebook long enough, you might have noticed the trend of getting Thoplo on your Friendship status. On a daily basis, I see around 5-6 people getting roasted from thoplo and weird comments on their friendship status and Liked Pages. Some people find these fun, but some get mad over such things. So if you have been the victim of Thoplo Atanka, it’s time to finally put it to an end!
How to Stop Your Friendship Status from Appearing on News Feed:
1. Go to Your Profile
2. Select Friends Tab
3. On the far right side, Select the edit button and then Select Edit Privacy
4. A pop-up will appear now. On the Friendslist option, Select Only Me Option and Select Done.
If you want more privacy you can set Following and Followers to Only Me as well.
How to Hide Your Likes from Appearing on News Feed:
1. Go to your profile
2. Hover to More Tab and Select Likes option.
3. On the far right side, Select the Edit Button.
4. Select “Edit the Privacy of Your Likes”
5. Select “Only Me” on the things you’d like to keep private:
Samsung is the number one smartphone brand in Nepal and rightly so. They offer excellent after sales service and are easily available in every nook and cranny of the nation thanks to hundreds of Samsung smartphone stores. Moreover, the price of Samsung mobiles in Nepal is identical to international markets and there is no inflation of prices like other smartphones brand. Unlike Apple, Samsung offers smartphones ranging from budget category to some serious high-end products. In this article, however, we have listed all the high-end Samsung smartphones excluding the Note 7 for some obvious reasons.
SAMSUNG HIGH-END SMARTPHONES PRICE IN NEPAL
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
OPERATING SYSTEM
Android 7.0 Nougat
DISPLAY
5.5-inch AMOLED, DualEdge, QHD (1440 x 2560 pixels, 534 ppi)
Samsung is the number one smartphone brand in Nepal and rightly so. They offer excellent after sales service and are easily available in every nook and cranny of the nation thanks to hundreds of Samsung smartphone stores. Moreover, the price of Samsung mobiles in Nepal is identical to international markets and there is no inflation of prices like other smartphones brand.
Unlike Apple, Samsung offers smartphones ranging from budget category to some serious high-end products. The Samsung Mobile Price might change with offers and discounts. In this article, we have listed all the mid-end Samsung smartphones including the metal body A-series and value for money J-series.
It’s the LG that pioneered in bringing 18:9 screen aspect ratio to the smartphones. The LG G6 is the first phone to sport odd 18:9 aspect ratio on its display. Well, there are many different reasons for LG to come with such decision and we’ll surely be discussing on that. But following its footsteps, even the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ come with fairly similar 18.5:9 aspect ratio. So the question now is, is 18:9 screen aspect ratio the next de facto for future smartphone displays?
What’s so good about 18:9 screen smartphones over 16:9 screen smartphones?
The screens with 18:9 or should I say 2:1 aspect ratio, aid in better one hand usability. The taller and narrower phones are giving us better ergonomics without compromising on the screen size.
The 2:1 screen aspect ratio seems more practical for multitasking giving better rooms for two apps to be running on square (1:1) split-screens.
Since the multimedia contents (Cinematographies and TV shows) have already started being shot and produced on Univisium Format (2:1). It makes more sense to watch such contents on the screen of same aspect ratio.
Reading web-contents have become easier in taller displays as they will accommodate more lines on the same page.
What are the current challenges for opting 18:9 screen smartphones over 16:9 screen Smartphones?
Though the 18:9 screen smartphones are already available for purchase and use. The first few months, the experience with the phone wouldn’t be that rich. Since it is only recently that phones with such odd screen aspect ratio made their debut so the contents and the apps aren’t that responsive for such screen type. So, what is the use of a phone with big screen and thin bezels that will still produce black borders by the side of the contents that are based on 16:9 aspect ratio. But, since Google already requested its developers to make their apps to support taller display types, we can expect more apps supporting this 2:1 aspect ratio with time.
Is 18:9 screen aspect ratio the next de facto for future smartphones?
Well, I so much want to go with the “solid Yes” as the answer but for now, I’ll keep myself on the hold since it’ll be too early to judge. But with such big names in mobile phone industry already producing phone screens with the 18:9 aspect ratio, it certainly hinting towards this screen type is here to stay. Not just for the content, but for the usability as well. This aspect ratio makes more sense than any. This new screen aspect ratio already seems to address the customer’s dream of having a big screen phone that doesn’t feel so big on the hands.
If there’s anything that the youth loves more than social media, it’s clicking selfies. The selfie obsession has reached a fever pitch, so much, so that each time you walk into a public spot, you’ll find yourself surrounded by hundreds of pout faces and smirks. Understanding this obsession, Oppo has been releasing its phones in “F-lineup” that the company titles for being the selfie experts. Stepping up this selfie game, Oppo has launched the very new dual selfie camera phone, the Oppo F3 Plus. This phone has dual selfies cameras and lot’s more. Let’s find out what else this phone is offering other than the wide angle selfies.
4000 mAh battery; Fast battery charging: (VOOC Flash Charge)
Oppo F3 Plus Price in Nepal: Rs. 54,990
Design:
The design of the Oppo F3 Plus seems to be inspired from that of Oppo R9s since it boosts the same metal-clad design with strip antenna bands on the back and chamfered lines along the front edges.
The phone looks intriguing from the front that has a huge display and thin borders. The device with rounded edges and curved back with smooth finish gives a premium feeling as soon as it lands on your palm. At the time of my review, I found it to be a little slippery. All in all, this is a well-built phone with bigger dimensions that more frequently asks you to use it with two hands instead of one.
On the right, it has the power button and the volume rockers are placed on the left. But I wouldn’t say they are well-placed since you have to really stretch your fingers to reach those buttons. These buttons are pretty tactile and give a nice feedback. On the bottom of the phone, are the loudspeaker, microUSB charging port, mic and the 3.5mm headphone jack. Below the display, are the capacitive buttons and in between them is placed the home button that doubles as a fingerprint sensor. The sensor is pretty fast and accurate.
The Fingerprint scanner embedded in the home button of the Oppo F3s is fast and unlocks the phone in less than a second.
Display:
The phone comes with a big 6-inch display that comes with the resolution of 1920*1080 pixels. The display with 367ppi isn’t the sharpest but still, the color reproduction and viewing angles are noticeably impressive.
The Oppo F3s sports a big 6-inch display that comes with a full HD resolution.
It’s an LCD display that just looks as saturated as the OLED ones. Well, if the display with saturated colors falls in your liking, then this display won’t disappoint you. However, the phone doesn’t come with any display tuning options other than an option to filter the blue color, which can be disappointing to many. Unlike many other phone displays, this display was easy to look at even in direct sunlight. The display is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and it does have a good touch response.
Performance:
Under the hood, the Oppo F3 Plus is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 which is the “Pro” version of the Snapdragon 652 that is claimed to be 10% more powerful than its predecessors. This OctaCore processor is backed by Adreno 510 GPU and is coupled with 4GB of RAM. Hence, the device is snappy fast and the performance was never an issue at the time of my review. The app loading and switching times were noticeably fast and the phone performed quite well even while playing graphics intensive games. But at times, the upper portion of the phone gets hot but that didn’t affect the performance of the phone. The phone offers 64GB of internal storage that is expandable up to 256GB.
Antutu Benchmark Score
Higher is Better
Software/UI:
This device boots on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with Color OS 3.0 layered on top of it. The interface is exactly like that of any other Oppo phones. So, it’ll take time lesser time for IOS users than stock android users to get used to this interface. Other than that, the inclusion of tricks like swiping from the left or right bottom edge to the center of the phone for one hand usability seemed pretty handy. But there are times when the UI pushed me away, for instance, there are two different panels for quick settings and notifications. Just to take a peek at your notifications you’ve to follow two steps, swipe down the status bar and then swipe right to reach the notification panel. That is simply just clumsy.
Oppo F3 Plus UI ScreenShots
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Camera:
Oppo F3 Plus houses a 16Megapixel rear shooter with f/1.7 aperture and is accompanied by dual-tone LED flash that performs impressively well even in low light conditions. The photos look well-detailed and the color reproduction is pretty close.
The camera app on the Oppo F3s is straight forward with options for HDR, Ultra HD photos, and manual control.
The camera focuses fast and I didn’t notice any shutter lags. The camera app is straight forward with options for HDR, Ultra HD photos, and manual control. With this phone, you can take 20burst photos at a time. The primary shooter is capable of taking 4K videos at 30fps. Sadly, there isn’t any option for slo-mo videos in this camera phone.
Primary (Rear) Camera Samples
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Since it’s titled the “selfie expert”, the front dual cameras (8MP+16MP) are equally appealing as well. The 16MP unit has f2.0 aperture so the selfies from it come out detailed and bright. The second 8MP lens is a 120° wide angle one that lets you pack all your friends in one selfie. Hence, this selfie expert is suitable for taking selfies with the wider field of view. However, the photos taken using wide angle lens seem to have lots of grains in non-ideal lighting condition. There are options to shoot selfie time-lapse and panoramas as well. Like other Oppo phones, this too comes with beauty mode for the enhancement of the selfies. There are different options to apply filters and watermarks while taking the photo. Moreover, you can also take double exposure selfies from this phone.
Oppo F3 Plus Selfie Camera Samples
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Wide-angle Selfie
Regular Selfie
Wide-angle Group Selfie
Connectivity:
For Connectivity, the phone comes with hybrid dual SIM slot, which means, you can either use two SIMS or one SIM and one microSD card. Wi-Fi networks and mobile data were stable. I didn’t notice any call drops throughout my usage. The call quality was excellent, so was the audio coming out from 3.5mm headphone jack.
Battery:
The phone packs in 4000mAh battery that will easily last for a whole day even with heavy usage. Plus, the phone comes with VOOC fast charger that charged the phone impressively fast. I started charging the phone from 0% and it got charged up to 49% in 30mins and 89% in one hour. It took the phone 1hour and 31minutes to get fully charged.
The Oppo F3s packs in 4000mAh battery that will easily last for a whole day even with heavy usage.
Verdict:
Hence, the Oppo F3 plus, a capable camera phone, easily justifies its title of selfie expert. Other impressive features of this phone are its snappy fast fingerprint sensor and sound rich loudspeaker. However, Oppo could have made the phone a little more future proof by the inclusion of Android 7 Nougat and USB type C. Plus, the Snapdragon 653 is a powerful processor but isn’t as powerful as Snapdragon 821 that is powering the device of the same price range.
What I liked about Oppo F3 Plus (PROS):
Obviously, the first thing that easily impressed me is its dual selfie cameras. The 16MP unit on the front takes great selfies and performs well while video calling even in low light. The wide-angle 8MP selfie unit gave the sensation as if I was taking photos and videos not from a phone but from an action-cam.
The rear primary shooter easily addressed my mobile photography needs.
The display is bright and vivid and the white balance was on point.
The fingerprint scanner was snappy fast.
What I disliked about Oppo F3 Plus (CONS):
It’s 2017 and the phone neither comes with the Android 7 Nougat nor a USB Type-C.
It’s not like the Snapdragon 653 isn’t that powerful but it certainly isn’t as powerful as the Snapdragon 821 that is being used in a device that is available in the same price range.
If you are not impressed by Oppo F3 Plus, here are other devices that you might wanna consider:
Priced at Rs. 59,990, the Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro sports a 6-inch 1080P AMOLED display with 2.5D curved glass. It houses a 16MP, f/1.9 rear and 16MP,f/1.9 front cameras. The phone is powered by Snapdragon 653 processor, 6GB RAM, and 4000mAh battery. The device runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and is expected to get Nougat update very soon.
Priced at Rs. 54,990, the OnePlus 3T sports a 5.5-inch 1080P Optic AMOLED display protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 4. It houses a 16MP, f/2.0 rear and 16MP,f/2.0 front cameras. The phone is powered by Snapdragon 821 processor, 6GB RAM, and 3400mAh battery. The device runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and is upgradable to Android 7.0 Nougat.
After unveiling the latest Galaxy A7 2017 yesterday, Samsung Electronics Nepal has slashed the prices of last year’s midrange metal clad phones, the Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A7 2016. The Galaxy A5, which was priced at Rs. 48,490 at launch, is now available for purchase for Rs. 32,900 (33% off). The Galaxy A7, which was launched for Rs. 55,490, is now available for Rs. 39,900 (28% off). You also get a 64GB microSD card for free.
The Samsung Galaxy A5 and A7 offer excellent build quality thanks to a full metal body reminiscent of Apple iPhones. The Galaxy A5 has a 5.2-inch display and the Galaxy A7 with a bigger 5.5-inch display. Both these phones offer vivid AMOLED display with 1080P resolution and Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection. Powering these phones is a 64bit cortex A53 octacore processor with a maximum frequency of 1.6GHz. While the Galaxy A5 boasts a modest 2GB RAM and 16GB onboard storage, the Galaxy A7 comes equipped with 3GB of RAM and 16GB of storage.
Camera wise, both the phone offers 13MP rear camera with f/1.9 aperture, OIS, and LED flash and the front houses a 5MP front facing camera with f/1.9 aperture. There is a fingerprint scanner that’s embedded in the home button. Both these phones run on Android 6.0.1 with TouchWiz UI layered on top.
After months of speculations and leaks, Samsung finally released the Galaxy S8 and S8+ at a launch event in New York. And in short, the Samsung Galaxy S8 is a beautiful looking device featuring an edge-to-edge display and a large screen on a smaller body.
[Note: The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are now available in Nepal for Rs. 76,900 and Rs. 86,900 respectively. You also get a 6-months breakage insurance on the purchase of the phone. Read more about the deal here. ]
Additionally, with every purchase of the S8 and the S8 plus, the customers will be getting Breakage Insurance from Shikhar Insurance and 8GB mobile data from Ncell. The Insurance will be valid for six months from purchase. And, the free mobile data will be available as 1GB each month for 8 months that can be activated on any ncell SIM.
Like I mentioned before, Samsung unveiled two versions of the Galaxy S8: the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+. The Galaxy S8 is the standard version among the two and sports a 5.8-inch display while the Galaxy S8+, the premium among the two, has a taller 6.2-inch display. On paper, 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch displays might sound a tad bit larger but the limited bezels have made the devices smaller than their predecessors, the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.
“The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ usher in a new era of smartphone design and fantastic new services, opening up new ways to experience the world,” said DJ Koh, President of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. “The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are our testament to regaining your trust by redefining what’s possible in safety and marks a new milestone in Samsung’s smartphone legacy.”
DESIGN AND DISPLAY
The major selling point of the Samsung Galaxy S8 is its design and display. The device features what the Korean company has termed as the ‘Infinity Display’ which makes it looks as though the device has no side bezel at all. The curved display is a cherry on the top as it has made the device look really cool. The top and bottom bezel have been cut down as the display size has increased exponentially.
The standard Galaxy S8 features a 5.8-inch Super AMOLED display with the resolution of 1440 x 2960 pixels (570 ppi) whereas the S8+ variant sports a 6.2-inch display with similar specifications ( the only difference being the 529 ppi).
The display is cloaked by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and the bottom of the display has a pressure-sensitive home button. The four corners of the device have slightly curved edges. On the back of both device sit a camera, a fingerprint sensor, a LED flash and a heart rate sensor. Samsung has opted to include its company branding only at the back. The back is made of up a glass panel. There are a speaker, a USB Type-C connector and a headphone jack at the bottom of the device. Samsung has also included a new physical button on the side which can be used to activate its new AI software Bixby. The device is IP68 water and dust resistant.
CAMERA
Both the S8 and the S8+ are equipped with a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera with f/1.7 aperture and Optical Image Stabilization. At the launch event, the officials from Samsung emphasized on its ability to take excellent night shots.
The front-facing camera of the devices measures 8-megapixel. It has an Auto HDR feature, autofocus, and f/1.7 aperture.
Processor and Hardware
Qualcomm’s all new Snapdragon 835 SoC power the US variants whereas Exynos 8895 will power the international variants including Nepal. Nonetheless, both variants will have an Octa-core CPU that is aided by 4GB of RAM. I wanted Samsung to opt for 6GB of RAM but hey it comes with a 10nm processor that is exponentially better than its predecessor.
Both variants of the S8 will feature 64GB of internal storage which can be expanded up to 256GB via a microSD card slot.
An Iris scanner sits at the front of the device. It provides an extra security for the users. Other features include a super-fast face scanning, a fingerprint sensor, Accelerometer, Gyro, Heart rate and SpO2.
SOFTWARE AND BIXBY
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ will run on Android v7.0 Nougat with Samsung’s own TouchWiz UI on top. While TouchWiz has been notoriously known to be a UI with lots of bloatware, the Korean Giants have done a great job to keep the UI in check.
Samsung is trying to compete with the Google Assistant and Siri with its all new personal virtual assistant named Bixby. Issuing voice commands to complete any objective is what the Bixby does. But unlike Google’s Assistant, the Bixby isn’t that intelligent and if far from an artificial intelligence.
One of the major drawbacks of the newly unveiled Samsung Galaxy S8 and the S8+ has to be the battery. The smaller one of the two, the Galaxy S8 houses a 3000 mAh battery and the Galaxy S8+ houses a 3500 mAh battery. The battery in these devices will have to power up thousands and thousands of pixels every second. I haven’t been impressed with the battery the company went with. Maybe the battery saga of the Note 7 is why they went with a small battery. But on a flagship standard device, a buyer should not have to compromise on anything.
PRICING, RELEASE DATE AND AVAILABILITY
Both of the variants will be available for buying starting April 21. Samsung will start taking preorders from today. Buyers will get to choose from five color options in the international market: black, silver, blue, gold and gray.
In the US market, the pricing will depend on the carriers. It looks like an unlocked version of the S8 and S8 Plus might start from $720 and $840 respectively. As for their availability in Nepal, Samsung Nepal has launched Samsung Galaxy S8 and the S8+ in Nepal on April 19, 2017.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Official Price in Nepal [Updated]: Rs. 76,900
Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus Official Price in Nepal [Updated]: Rs. 86,900
Andy Rubin sure is one of the greats in the world of technology. Rubin made headlines when it was announced that Essential Products, the company the co-founder of Android had created, was working on a new flagship smartphone.
Essential Products was started in 2014 and is rumored to be building a bezelless flagship smartphone. This news had come to light earlier this year. Fast forward a couple months and Rubin has shared a picture of the device on his Twitter. And boy, the end-to-end screen phone does look cool.
Taking a look at the picture, we can see a display and a not so bezelless design. There is a small bezel cloaking the screen. Also, it looks as though the device will feature the rounded edges everyone likes on the LG G6. If the rounded edges are forgotten, the device reminds me of the Xiaomi Mi Mix, which features excellent design and aesthetics.
The specifications of the device are still unknown as there aren’t many rumors floating around. It is, however, known that it will feature a modular system which works with the help of a proprietary magnetic connector. It could ship with a metal frame and a ceramic back for that extra protection every smartphone needs. Also, a rumor has mentioned that the device will feature a pressure-sensitive display, kind of like the recent iPhones.
Andy Rubin probably shared the picture to garner attention and ride the hype train. His attempt seems to have been a success as everyone at the tech world is excited to see the end product of this project.
Essential’s bezelless device won’t be the first smartphone to feature such a design. Sharp had implemented this concept on their Aquos Crystal, a smartphone that was launched nearly 3 years ago. Xiaomi had made headlines when it released the Mi Mix last year. The Mi Mix is already available in Nepal for buying.
