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How to find the right microSD card for your phone

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How to find the right microSD card for your phone

One of the perks of preferring Android over iOS is definitely the option to have a removable storage. Right from the first Android device, HTC Dream, there always had been a micro SD card slot but recently OEMs are taking this slot at stake. Still many devices include a place for micro SD cards in them. Having a micro SD card slot doesn’t always make things easy. The hardest thing about having this slot is, finding the right microSD card for your Android device.

Has it ever happened to you that you bought a microSD card in rush but later found the card to be not compatible with your device? Sometimes, the card might be compatible at first. But later when you tried using the card as the storage location in your phone’s camera app, an error pops up. Or sometimes, there was no error while taking pictures and videos of lower resolutions but the error pops up right when you tried taking burst photos, full HD videos or live videos. These kinds of errors occur when the card you chose happen to be the wrong one.

To find out the right microSD card for your device, you need to know few key elements about microSD cards. The first thing to do is to find out whether your device supports microSD cards or not. If it does, check for the highest capacity of card it supports. If you check the manual of your smartphone, there you might find few markings that you might find confusing. In this article, I would like to clarify those key elements about any microSD card that you should know before buying a new card for your daily driver.

What’s the difference between micro SDHC and SDXC?

Well, the actual difference in micro SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) and SDXC (Secure Digital Extended Capacity is simply the amount of data they can store. The highest possible storage capacity in micro SDHC cards is of 32GB whereas micro SDXC cards have the capacity ranging from 32GB to 2TB. Before buying a card, make sure about the compatibility between the card and phone, many low-end phones don’t support micro SDXC cards.

What does ‘class’ on microSD card signify?

In simple words, a class on a microSD card signify the minimum rate at which data may be written to or read from the card. Hence, the minimum data transfer rate of class 2 cards is 2MBps whereas that of class 10 cards is 10MBps. Remember, this is just minimum transfer rate, some top quality cards may have much faster data transfer rates. That is why all class 10 cards might not be priced the same.

What does it mean by ‘UHS’ on microSD card?

It is from 2009 that even the microSD cards have become UHS-1 or UHS-3 compatible. Though UHS cards can hit up to the data transfer rates of 312 MBps theoretically, no smartphone has been engineered to fully support the UHS standard. Hence, current UHS microSD cards can only perform data transfers at minimum data transfer rates and that is, 10 MBps and 30 MBps for UHS – I class 1 and UHS – I class 3, respectively.

How to read information written on a microSD card?

ultra_microsdhc_uhs-i_class10_32gb-retina evo128gb_microsd_card-539x400

The microSD card type (SDHC or SDXC) and the storage capacity (in GB or TB) are easy to read out from the labels on the card. The three-speed classes mentioned above have logos to signify their minimum speed. Class 10 is the letter C with the number 10 inside. UHS-1 Class 1 and Class 3 are the letter U with a 1 or 3 inside, respectively. Finally, you may also see a I or II label on the card, which references a UHS bus speed.

Conclusion: 

Now, you can easily make senses out of all the markings on a microSD card. Therefore, finding the card’s compatibility to your phone won’t be much of a cumbersome task. But remember, it is always wise to go for cards from reputable industries like Samsung, Sandisk, Transcend and the like. When you buy cards at cheaper prices, the quality can’t be assured. So, it is better to spend few more hundred for genuine ones over non-genuine ones. The cheaper the card, more likely it is to get corrupted.

So do you use a microSD card on your phone? If you do, which one are you currently been using? How much did you pay for it? Has it ever happened to you that your card got corrupted or stopped working without a reason? Let us know, in the comments down below.

Y-AMERICA : A Nepali App Transforming American Dream Into Realities

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Y-AMERICA : A Nepali App Transforming American Dream Into Realities

As far as I know, every Nepali student must have thought about going abroad at one point or another. Well, our abroad list is kind of narrow and the USA is on the top of the list of many. Just having an interest is never enough for going abroad. A lot needs to be done starting from doing language preparations, choosing universities or courses and Embassy’s Interview is the nightmare of all. Many of you, might wish if you had someone who could assist you in decision making and give you pieces of advice. Well, now there’s an app named Y-AMERICA that could be that someone for you. This app is known for transforming American dream into realities of many.

Y-AMERICA is a 35.92 MB app developed by Red Developer and is already downloaded by 500+ android users in Google Play. The app is rated 4.6 based on reviews of 47 of its users. Looking at the comments it has got, the users are loving the app. The app is clean and has a user-friendly interface. You have to log into the app to make the full use of it. But, if you just want to read the articles in its dashboard you may even skip the logging part. But making an account doesn’t take long and I recommend you all make one of yours. That way, you can chat with nearby folks with the same interest as you and that is going to the USA for higher studies. You can even write your own queries of any kind and you’ll get helpful replies as well.

The app has the dedicated dashboard with articles managed in different categories like Admission, Interviews, Test Prep, Travel and Work in the USA. There aren’t much of articles for now but from all those that are already available, all of them look promising. I read few of them and got worthy of ideas to keep in mind. The dashboard can be taken as the place where you’ll find frequently asked questions and their answers regarding the queries from students applying for the USA.

The best part about this app is Interview tips and tricks. Here you can find the stories of those who made it to the Visa Approval. The complete dialogue between the Visa Officer and applicants is included in many articles. The thorough analysis on why the Visa has been approved and why it hasn’t is in those posts as well. Reading these articles might give you more confidence to face your Visa Interview and might increase the chance of its approval. The best answers to most probable questions are easily accessible in the app. Anyone can easily know about the do’s and don’ts while facing a Visa Interview.

There’s a lot one can get from this app. If you’re applying for any Universities in the USA for your further studies, I recommend you to try the app for yourself. Trust me, you won’t regret trying the App Y-AMERICA.

Understanding Smartphones Screen Technology

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Understanding Smartphones Screen Technology

Smartphones are riddled with specs. When we concentrate our attentions on RAM, ROM, camera and battery while buying a smartphone, we often fail to grasp the type of screen technology used. However, we spend most of our time in smartphone gazing over the screen. So, to drop the concept of screen technology in your knowledge box, we have mentioned the most used screen technologies.

TFT (thin film transistor) LCD

The main component used for the display is LCD (liquid crystal display). When electric charges run through LCD, it changes its shape and optical qualities. This change moderates the amount of light that passes through the liquid crystal gate. So, for the displays, an object is embedded to the liquid crystal gate, which controls the amount of electric charge. In this screen technology, transistors are used and hence they are called TFT (thin film transistor) LCD.

samsung-z2-nepal
TFT LCD display is cheaper to manufacture and is mostly used in budget phones, feature phones, and low-end smartphones.

This type of screen is cheaper to manufacture and is mostly used in budget phones, feature phones, and low-end smartphones. TFT displays offer better quality and higher resolution as compared to conventional LCD displays. However, they lack wide viewing angle and the visibility is poor in the direct light or sunlight. TFT displays devour the power juices and hence are not battery friendly.

IPS (In Plane Switching) LCD

This technology was introduced by Hitachi in the mid-nineties with a view to replacing conventional Twisted Nematic (TN) display. This type of screen technology is quite advanced as compared to TFT technology. It differs to TFT screen in the matter of arrangement of liquid crystals and transistors. IPS displays have inbuilt color reproduction technology because of which more natural colors can be observed. They also offer wide viewing angle. Colour reproduction and wide viewing angle in IPS LCD is because of a proper arrangement of polarizers and crystal orientation. In addition, IPS LCD consumes low power ensuring the longevity of the battery. As the quality of the screen ascends here, the cost has also been increased abreast. So, IPS LCDs are generally installed in mid-range and high-end smartphones.

Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro display
IPS LCDs are generally installed in mid-range and high-end smartphones.

IPS-NEO LCD

Japan Display Inc. (JDI) takes the credits of the commencement of IPS-NEO LCD displays for mobile devices. IPS-NEO displays are characterized by higher contrast displays and consistent color reproduction through wide viewing angles. In NEO displays, there is no absolute loss in Image quality even viewing through different angles. The photo-alignment method used in IPS-NEO uses highly transmissive liquid crystal, traditionally regarded as difficult in mass production. Consequently, transmissivity increased around 10%, which contributed to reduced power consumption.

Huawei P9
Huawei P9 features a 5.2-inch 1080P IPS-NEO display.

PLS (Plane to Line Switching) LCD

With the view to surpassing Hitachi’s IPS LCD screen technology, Samsung brought PLS LCD. Samsung installed PLS LCDs on its devices since with AMOLED screens there were difficulties in the past on realizing full HD resolution on mobile devices. PLS displays have similar features, specs and characteristics to the IPS displays. However, Samsung claimed that PLS displays have increased image quality, improved viewing angle, 10% increase in brightness and 15% decrease in production cost and increased flexibility as compared to IPS displays.

samsung-j5-prime-nepal
Samsung introduces PLS LCD in their latest midrange phones, J5 Prime and J7 Prime.

Super LCD

After the improvement in TFT LCD, super LCD or SLCD was developed. However, it could not meet the level of IPS LCD. SLCD Corporation conceived the idea of SLCD and developed it, though the HTC devices mostly use it. HTC One M7 and M8 are the practical examples of it. While installing on any smartphone, SLCD lacks the air gap between the display and the outer glass. This prevents the users from glare and makes them feel closer to the display itself. Dejected with the power consumption and visibility of TFT LCD, enhancement was done to provide low power consumption and wide-angle visibility in SLCD screen technology. It is renowned for consuming comparatively low power while displaying lighter colors like the white background found on most internet pages. SLED screens are great, yet in the comparison, IPS LCDs dominate them.

HTC one M9
SuperLCD displays are mostly found in the HTC M-series smartphones.

OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode)

It is a flat light emitting technology, made by placing a series of organic thin films between two conductors. Moreover, this assembly is sandwiched between two glasses layer. The upper layer of the glass plate is called seal and the lower layer of the glass plate is called substrate.

When an electric pulse is applied between two conducting sheets, an electro-luminescent light is produced. The color, brightness, and intensity of this light depend on the amount of electric pulse applied. OLEDs do not require backlight since they are self-luminous. Because of this, they are thin, consume less power and are superior to LCD displays. Since OLEDs are self-luminous, they do not require power to display a black screen. OLEDs also have improved image quality – better contrast, higher brightness, fuller viewing angle, wider color range, and faster refresh rate. In addition, OLEDs are durable and can operate in a wider temperature range.

AMOLED (Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode)

It is a hybrid display technology, which pairs the active matrix backplane from a traditional TFT display with an OLED display. In an AMOLED, the additional layer of the semiconducting film included behind the OLED panel allows it to activate each pixel more quickly. The increased speed makes it ideal for larger, higher definition displays with lots of pixels. In fact, it is as much as 1000 times faster than LCD. AMOLED is a type of OLED screen so it possesses similar attributes to OLED.  Like OLEDs, AMOLEDs have brilliant color reproduction, lightweight, better battery life, higher brightness, sharpness, and lightweight designs.

Colors k2

Super AMOLED display

They are the even advanced version of AMOLED developed by Samsung. In the Super AMOLED screen, Samsung has been able to integrate touch sensitivity. As a result, the screen gets thinner, lighter, more touch sensitive and less power-hungry. In addition, without that extra layer, it is also far less reflective than a typical AMOLED screen, making it easier to view in bright sunlight. Moreover, with Super AMOLED displays, the actual display and the digitizer are attached, together. It results in an enhanced viewing experience due to no air gap.

Galaxy S7
SuperAMOLED displays are mostly found in Samsung phones.

Optics AMOLED

Optics AMOLED display is used in the OnePlus 3 smartphone. Explaining about the Optic AMOLED screen, OnePlus had mentioned the following:-

“Our stunning 5.5” Optic AMOLED display produces colours that are more vivid and true-to-life than ever before. A series of custom-engineered gamma corrections create a more natural viewing experience, while a dual-polarizing layer ensures ideal clarity, even in the brightest sunlight. The end result? Deep blacks, bright whites, and authentic colour reproduction – all at a fraction of the power consumption. It’s the smarter smartphone display.”

Later, the co-founder of OnePlus Carl Pei tried to explain that an Optic AMOLED is a variant of a Super AMOLED display and the company has adjusted the color tone of the display through software changes. These changes made the Optics AMOLED screen similar to a Super AMOLED screen. However, the company has claimed the display to be extremely vibrant and appearance to be thoroughly bright when using in outside in broad daylight. In addition, the company focuses on longer battery life as well through this particular display type.

one plus 3
Optics AMOLED display is used in the OnePlus 3 smartphone.

Retina display

Retina display is the marketing term used by Apple to refer the screen, which has a high pixel density of 300 PPI or above. With this pixel density, an individual will be unable to detect the pixels at a normal viewing distance. Apple converts a device’s display into Retina display by doubling the pixels vertically and horizontally. At the end, the Retina display receives four times more pixels than the non-retina counterpart does. So there is no doubt to have great screen experience being with the Retina display. With the passage of time, other smartphones have upgraded their pixel density to 500 PPI and above. However, iPhone has not made such improvements. From the manufacture of iPhone 4 to iPhone 7, the pixel density on the screen remains consistent with the magic number 326 per inch.

iphone-7
From the manufacture of iPhone 4 to iPhone 7, the pixel density on the screen remains consistent with the magic number 326 per inch.

Xiaomi Launches 20,000mAh Mi Power Bank in Nepal

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Xiaomi Launches 20,000mAh Mi Power Bank in Nepal

Along with Mi WiFi router 3, Vatsal Impex (authorized distributor of Xiaomi products in Nepal) has also launched a massive 20,000 mAH power bank. Unlike other low capacity power banks from Xiaomi, this power bank supports quick charging. It has premium Lithium-ion polymer batteries manufactured by Panasonic/LG which, if you are a techie, have energy densities of up to 728 Wh/L.

The lab test done by the company shows that its gigantic 20,000 mAH power can fully charge up to 4.5 Mi 4 or 7 iPhone 6 or 3 iPad mini or 1.2 MacBook.

Now, let’s see other features of this mighty power bank.

  • Fast Charging

The control chip from Texas Instruments in this power bank supports Rapid Charging with 44% increased speed. It is compatible with 5V/2A, 9V/2A, and 12V/1.5A charging.  Well, if you are a busy guy, this power bank is for you because it only takes 3 hours to charge 11,000 mAH and 7 hours to get it fully charged.

  • It is not heavy

It weighs only 338g which means it is 18% lighter than two 10,000 mAH MI Power Banks.

  • Dual USB output

This 20,000 mAH MI powerbank allows you to charge two devices at once as it has 5.1V/3.6A dual USB output. It also automatically adjusts the output level based on the connected devices. Plus, it supports type-C USB.

  • World-class smart chipset for safety and efficiency

The chipset built by Texas Instruments provides nine-layer of circuit protection with 93% conversion rate. So, you don’t have to worry about over-heating, short-circuit, over voltage input, over current input, over voltage output, overcharging, and over discharging. Plus, the advanced resistance-capacitance sensors optimize efficiency and durability.

  • Environment-Friendly Housing

This powerbank has environmentally friendly  PC + ABS plastic. Also, this pretty looking powerbank is comfortable to carry around with its anti-slip and scratch proof housing.

With all these awesome features, the power bank costs only Rs. 4,499.

Xiaomi Launches a Powerful Mi Wifi Router 3 in Nepal

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Xiaomi Launches a Powerful Mi Wifi Router 3 in Nepal

A few days ago, you voted your Internet speed in our post about ISPs in Nepal. Well, did you know that your Internet speed might also be affected by the router?

Obviously, these days you use your Internet on multiple devices so, to keep up with the load, your router needs to be upgraded. Well, only if you want to fully enjoy the speed of your Internet!

Vatsal Impex, the authorized distributor of Xiaomi products in Nepal, has introduced a very powerful broadband Wifi router to handle your fast Internet and make your Internet experience frustration-free. The router is called Mi Wifi Router 3 and costs you NPR. 4,799 in Nepal. Now, Let’s see some features of this gadget.

Features of Mi Wifi Router 3

xiaomi-mi-wifi-router-3

  • WiFi 802.11 a/c technology (a speed jump up to 1167 Mb / s)
  • Connect upto 126 devices
  • 4 high-gain omnidirectional antennas
  • Dual frequency (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz)
  • Remote control of the router with the mobile app (both android and iOS)
  • Multi-level security approach
  • Pre-download videos in HD-quality
  • 2.0 USB port

Plus, the device looks cool! Furthermore, if you install Mi Wifi app on your mobile phone you can control your Internet easily. You can see who are connected to your network; and if some new user tries to connect to your router, it will send you a notification. You can then grant them access or deny and send the user to the black list.

WiFi ac technology provides a speed jump upto 1167Mb/s
WiFi ac technology provides a speed jump upto 1167Mb/s

According to the company’s website, Xiaomi Mi Router 3 serves as an intellectual media-center. You can simply plug a removable hard disk into the router and then, by using Mi WiFi app, you can start downloading your favorite movie in the hard disk.

NTC Launches Day Data Pack for Prepaid Users

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NTC Launches Day Data Pack for Prepaid Users

If you are a prepaid NTC user, there is a good news and a bad news.

The Good News:

NTC introduces day data packs, which, in my opinion, are relatively cheap compared to other networks. You can get 30MB of data for 15Rs and 70MB of data for 30Rs. Obviously, the rates are exclusive of taxes.

The Bad News (the time limits):

It’s “day data pack” so you will be able to use it only between 12pm to 3pm. Also, 15Rs pack will expire in 3 days while 30Rs pack will expire in 7 days. Plus, this offer is only for 3 months starting 2073/08/16 (01/12/2016).

So, if you like surfing Internet, hurry up!

How to get the NTC day data pack:

For 30MB: Type Special30MB in your SMS and send to 1415

For 70MB: Type Special70MB in your SMS and send to 1415

Again, this offer is only for prepaid GSM users. Happy Surfing!

China’s Zopo Enters Nepali Smartphone Market

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China’s Zopo Enters Nepali Smartphone Market

Everest Tech Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of Apex Group has introduced four different phones of Color Series from Zopo. Like every other Chinese brand, Zopo is widely known for providing quality products at a comparatively cheaper price. It’s always a joy to see many smartphones brand enter the Nepali market as consumers will have a wide range of products to choose from.

Zopo phones are basically mid-range smartphones which sport hardware similar to other Chinese counterparts. You get premium build quality, ample specifications, custom software features and overall a value for money. The four phones of Color Series from Zopo that have been initially introduced in Nepal are:

  1. Zopo Color C2: Coming Soon
    Specs: 5″ HD IPS display, 2.5D Glass, 3G, 1.3Ghz Quad Core Processer (MT6580), 1GB RAM, 8GB ROM, 5MP camera with flash, 2 MP front camera with flash, 2100 mah battery, Color Option: – Rose Gold, Gold, Black, Blue, Silver
  2. Zopo Color F1: Coming Soon
    Specs: 5.5″ HD IPS Screen, 2.5D Glass, 3G, 1.3Ghz Quad Core Processor (MT6580), 1GB RAM, 16GB ROM, 8MP camera with flash, 2MP front camera with flash, 2300 mah battery, Fingerprint sensor, Color Option: – Gold, Black, White
  3. Zopo Color F2: NRs. 13,990
    Specs: 5.5″ HD IPS Screen, 2.5D Glass, Dual SIM with 4G LTE, Android 6.0 marshmallow, 1.3Ghz Quad Core Processor (MT6737), 1GB RAM, 16GB ROM, microSD support, 8MP camera with flash, 2MP front camera with flash,2100 mah, Fingerprint sensor, Color Option:- Rose Gold, Gold Black
  4. Zopo Color F5: NRs. 14,990
    Specs: 5″ HD IPS Screen, 2.5D Glass, Dual SIM with 4G LTE & VoLTE, Android 6.0 Marshmallow, 1.1Ghz Quad Core Processor (MT6737), 2GB RAM, 16GB ROM,microSD support, 8MP camera with flash, 5MP front camera with flash, Fingerprint sensor, Color Option:- White, Gold, Black

The first two phones C2 and F1 are set to hit stores but aren’t yet available for purchase and the pricing hasn’t been yet fixed. The latter two, F3 and F5 seems to be convincing budget phones with fingerprint sensors. But it is still yet to see how well a fingerprint sensor on a budget phone will perform. We’ll certainly have hands on those devices very shortly and will let you know more about the phones in our future reviews. What do you think about budget phones with fingerprint sensor?

ZTE Axon Mini Review: Can yesterday’s device fulfill today’s customers’ need?

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ZTE Axon Mini Review: Can yesterday’s device fulfill today’s customers’ need?

Should only the latest devices get all the limelight or is there some room for older devices as well? Can yesterday’s device fulfill today’s customers’ need? This time around, we are going to take a quick look at the ZTE Axon Mini (Premium Edition).Starting from the design, ZTE Axon Mini hasn’t got much of a “wow” factors on its design, rather has many questionable aspects such as use of leather like texture on the top and bottom of its back, with triangular grills over ear-piece and speaker which probably looks unpleasing to the eyes of perfectionist. The full HD 5.2 inch Super AMOLED display that has the pixel density of 424 PPI, is undoubtedly the sharpest display than that of any iPhones. The phone has surprisingly thin bezels and the display itself is a pressure sensitive one, that’s identical to 3D touch of iPhone 6s and above.

Starting from the design, ZTE Axon Mini hasn’t got much of a “wow” factors on its design, rather has many questionable aspects such as use of leather like texture on the top and bottom of its back, with triangular grills over ear-piece and speaker which probably looks unpleasing to the eyes of perfectionist. The full HD 5.2 inch Super AMOLED display that has the pixel density of 424 PPI, is undoubtedly the sharpest display than that of any iPhones. The phone has surprisingly thin bezels and the display itself is a pressure sensitive one, that’s identical to 3D touch of iPhone 6s and above.The phone doesn’t have a ground breaking specs as it is powered by Qualcom Snapdragon 616 chipset coupled with 3GB of Ram which easily gets the job done for Mid range Games but feels short when tested with some high end ones. It has more than enough in its security options as it has got a fingerprint scanner that works pretty well along with other features like voice unlock, eye scanner and password set at different pressure levels. Its inbuilt storage is of 32 GB, and can be expanded upto 256 GB via SD cards in its hybrid dual sim tray. The speaker is a mono front facing one but is louder and clearer than many phones in this price range. With a 2800 mAh battery the phone will easily last for a day, if not two.

The phone doesn’t have a ground breaking specs as it is powered by Qualcom Snapdragon 616 chipset coupled with 3GB of Ram which easily gets the job done for Mid range Games but feels short when tested with some high end ones. It has more than enough in its security options as it has got a fingerprint scanner that works pretty well along with other features like voice unlock, eye scanner and password set at different pressure levels. Its inbuilt storage is of 32 GB, and can be expanded upto 256 GB via SD cards in its hybrid dual sim tray. The speaker is a mono front facing one but is louder and clearer than many phones in this price range. With a 2800 mAh battery the phone will easily last for a day, if not two.The rear shooter of 13 megapixel is found to be surprisingly good. The easy to use camera app has different useful modes including a manual mode which lets you tune exposure, ISO, white balance along with shutter speed and the focus. The front facing 8 Megapixel shooter easily satisfies your selfie and video chatting needs. The thing which many might dislike about this phone is its heavily skinned MiFavor UI based on Android 5.1 Lollipop with no app drawer.

The rear shooter of 13 megapixel is found to be surprisingly good. The easy to use camera app has different useful modes including a manual mode which lets you tune exposure, ISO, white balance along with shutter speed and the focus. The front facing 8 Megapixel shooter easily satisfies your selfie and video chatting needs. The thing which many might dislike about this phone is its heavily skinned MiFavor UI based on Android 5.1 Lollipop with no app drawer.

Do you think the smaller brother of last year’s ZTE’s flagship Axon will have a good time in Nepali Market? For a phone that is priced at Rs. 25900 which offers great one hand usability, good shooters, satisfactory battery life, decent fingerprint scanner, full HD pressure sensitive display along with other neat extra features, will you give it a green signal or red? Let us know in the comments down below.

Do you think the smaller brother of last year’s ZTE’s flagship Axon will have a good time in Nepali Market? For a phone that is priced at Rs. 25900 which offers great one hand usability, good shooters, satisfactory battery life, decent fingerprint scanner, full HD pressure sensitive display along with other neat extra features, will you give it a green signal or red? Let us know in the comments down below.

Qumi Q3 Plus Review: Best Portable Projector You Can Buy in Nepal?

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Qumi Q3 Plus Review: Best Portable Projector You Can Buy in Nepal?

A leading manufacturer of portable projectors, Vivitek has announced its entry into the Nepali market with an ultra-portable smart LED projector – the Qumi Q3 Plus. It is currently available at the Evo Store for a discounted introductory offer of Rs. 59,000 (Rs. 65,000 otherwise). So, is this projector worth buying for this expensive pricing? Let’s find out.

DESIGN

The design is one of the strongest points of the Vivitek Qumi Q3 Plus. Weighing at just 460gm, the device is 6.9-inch long. In addition, it is ultra-portable and easy to carry around.

It is coated with high-quality plastic on all sides and is comfortable to hold. On the back, the device features a power button, a charging port, a micro SD card slot, an HDMI port, dual USB ports and a headphone jack. A lens for projecting sits at the front along with dual speaker grills. I really liked how Vivitek has made the dual speaker grills appear as if it were just one. There is also a sliding lens cover for lens protection. There is an adjustable stand to support the device at the bottom. There is also a ‘nail port’ to attach the projector to a stand. I used a tripod for this and it worked quite well.

qumi-projector

For me, the only downside of the device is its lack of zoom lever. Yes, the picture adjusts itself on a surface, but you’ll need to place the device at a few meters distance to get the best quality picture.

DISPLAY OF THE PROJECTION

The display is another area where the Qumi Q3 Plus excels. According to its specs, the device features a native resolution of 720p with a maximum supported resolution of 1080p. With a contrast ratio of 5000:1 and brightness at 500 lumens, the projection is really bright and of high quality. It is eye pleasing, lively with the color reproduction being terrific. You can toggle the brightness, contrast and sharpness, and select options like Movie mode, Presentation mode, etc.

qumi-projector-display

SOFTWARE

The projector runs on Android 4.4.2 KitKat out of the box. The software component of the device is simple and lag free. Although the radio signal sensor was weak, I could easily navigate through the internet, and stream videos comfortably. It also has another connectivity option – the Bluetooth.

qumi-projector-operating-system

The device comes with some useful apps like Miracast, Happycast, WPS Office, etc. It has an Appstore that contains plenty of apps of various categories.

PERFORMANCE

Under the hood, the Qumi Q3 Plus is powered by a 1.5 GHz Quad-core processor. When I used the device, it didn’t lag or underperform. However, it did suffer stutters sometimes when I cast my phone, but it was something I could ignore.

The area around the lens heats up after using the device for 10-20 minutes and gets very hot after an hour. Even when charging, the area around the charging port gets heated.

qumi-projector-ports

HARDWARE

The device has 5.32GB of on-board storage that can be expanded via an external microSD card. The dual speaker grills on the back are average in a quiet setting. So, I suggest the buyers get a set of speakers if you want to play audio.

BATTERY

The device is backed by a huge 8000mAh battery, and the company claims that it lasts 2 hours after it’s fully charged. When I used it, it gave me a playback time of around 1 hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour and 40 minutes. The usage included a projection of HD video via the HDMI cable and through an external drive.

qumi-projector-projection

CONCLUSION

There are lots of non-branded projectors in Nepal whose price start from little over Rs. 5,000. They work, but unlike the Qumi Q3 Plus, you’ll be disappointed with their performance, resolution, and other functions. Ergo, if you want a top-notch projector, at home or at work, this device is definitely for you because there’s not a better device at its price with all its functions.

Internet Service Providers in Nepal – the illusion of choices

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Internet Service Providers in Nepal – the illusion of choices

The necessity of the Internet has climbed a steep curve in recent years. Most of the households have an Internet connection, at least in the major cities of Nepal. Even the remote places of Nepal have access to the Internet thanks to so many Internet Service Providers (ISP) in Nepal. According to the Internet Service Provider’s Association of Nepal (ISAN), there is 30 registered ISP in Nepal.

With so many Internet Service Providers in Nepal plus the choices they give, you have so many options to choose from or wait…do you really? Let’s look at how your ISPs are not giving you what they say.

First, let me tell you the difference between Mbps and MBps.

Mbps vs MBps

Firstly, the major difference between Mbps and MBps is the letter “b” and “B” where b stands for bit and B stands for byte. That means Mbps stands for Megabits per second and MBps stands for Megabyte per second.

And, 8 bit = 1 Byte.

The other difference is Mbps measures Internet download/upload speed while MBps measures file transfer speed. So, if you have an Internet connection speed of 1Mbps, it doesn’t mean you can download a 1MB file in 1 sec. So how long will it take for me to download 1 MB file with 1Mbps speed? It will take you 8 seconds because…1 bit = 1/8 Byte. I Hope, you can now calculate the actual time it will take for you to download a file on your Internet speed.

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Okay, now that you know the difference between Mbps and MBps, let’s look into what your ISP is not telling you when you subscribe to them.

The choices of Plans:

The major ISPs of Nepal like Classic Tech, NTC, Subisu, Vianet, Worldlink offers various services like Wireless Internet, Cable Internet, FTTH (Fiber To The Home), WiMax, ADSL under different promotional names. They also offer their customers various plans from limited volume based packs to “unlimited” Internet services. With so many options, things can get confusing for you. Well, I am here to help. Let’s look at what you can expect from volume-based plans and unlimited plans.

  • Limited Volume Based Plan

This plan is specially provided for fiber connections by most of the ISP’s. In this plan, the Internet companies give you much higher speed upto certain bandwidth and then reduce the speed significantly after you cross the bandwidth limit. Let’s look at the few plans offered by major ISPs of Nepal.

P.S. keep the difference between B and b (the one we talked about above) in mind.

Classic Tech: Classic Tech offers 15Mbps or 30Mbps limited Internet. You get 530GB  of data in the 15Mbps plan and 660 GB in the 30Mbps plan. However, remember that these data caps are for 3months. The company also doesn’t say how much data can we use per month. Of course, you can still use the Internet if you run out of the allocated data but the speed will fall back to…company haven’t written the fallback speed on their website.

Subisu: Subisu offers 5Mbps, 10Mbps, 25Mbps and 50Mbps with various data packs depending on the speed and the validity period of your subscription. The fallback speed is 512Kbps for 5Mbps and 10Mbps users, 2 Mbps for 25Mbps users and 5 Mbps for 50Mbps users. But, wait, don’t get excited by these numbers, there is FUP and sharing ratio (we will talk about it later).

Vianet: 5, 10 or 15Mbps plans are offered by Vianet under different names like PRO, PLUS, and RUSH. The data limit depends on the number of months you subscribe and the speed of your connection. Well, what is the speed after you cross the limit? 512Kbps for both 5Mbps and 10Mbps and 640 Kbps for 15Mbps (the FUP and sharing ratio apply).

Worldlink: There is 5, 10, 15, 25 and 50Mbps speed options for volume-based Internet by Worldlink. Again, like other companies, the data limit depends on the number of months you subscribe and the speed of your connection. The fallback speed varies with the starting speed:  256 Kbps for 5Mbps, 384 Kbps for 10Mbps, 512 Kbps for 15Mbps, 768 Kbps for 25Mbps and 1.5 Mbps for 50 Mbps (the FUP and sharing ratio apply).

Now, let’s look at “unlimited” speed plans before moving to the FUP and sharing ratio.

  •  Unlimited Plan

Besides volume based pack, you can also choose unlimited plans from many ISPs like NTC’s ADSL. Worldlink offers 5Mbps Unlimited plan, Classic tech offers 1Mbps and 6 Mbps unlimited plan while Vianet and Subisu don’t seem to have a separate unlimited option.

So which plan should you choose? Well, it depends on the requirements. To tell the truth, in my opinion, you do not have any choice, what companies are offering is merely an illusion of choices. Because, if you choose limited, your internet speed slows down after you reach the capped limit; whereas, if you choose the unlimited speed you will be subjected to FUP from the very beginning. Not to forget, the sharing ratio applies in both of the plans.

The Fair Use Policy (FUP):

The name Fair Use Policy looks like a good thing because according to ISPs, with FUP average Internet users will get justice; but do they? The policy started so that heavy users didn’t fill up the available bandwidth and hence, other average users on the network could get a better Internet experience. This sounds cool if ISPs could keep pace with the growing Internet need.

The problem with FUP today is that the need of “average” users has increased today.  A user according to ISP is one household. Now, think of it. A few years ago one household had one computer so Intenet bandwidth needed by a user would be low. However, today most of the households have more than one computer and also there are mobiles, tablets, smartTVs so “a user” uses more bandwidth than they used to. In addition to this, the Internet no longer has only texts. An average user today needs to access multimedia files that consume more bandwidth. This means the average user of the past has become a heavy user today. Thus, FUP results in slower Internet experience for everyone.

The Sharing Ratio:

One thing ISPs don’t say explicitly to their subscribers is the sharing ratio of your Internet speed. Every home users have to share an IP with other households. Generally, the sharing ratio is 1:8 or 1:4 in Nepal which means if you have subscribed to 1Mbps of Internet you get 128Kbps if the sharing ratio is 1:8 and 256Kbps if the ratio is 1:4. If you are a business, you can ask for dedicated IP (which is not shared, but I doubt).

With all these plans, FUP, sharing ratios, hidden costs, and bad customer services from ISPs, all I can conclude is: are we getting what is advertised? Do we (the users) have real choices? or everything is an illusion of choice?

We will do a separate post about what things to look at before choosing an Internet connection in the future.

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