Just when we thought tablets are just another tech that seems to be dying, LG has launched GPad 3 tablet with a 10.1-inch screen. 7 and 8-inch used to be the standard size for tablets, but these are replaced by similarly sized phablets in the market. So from the looks of it, to create a separate market for tablets, manufacturers are leveling up the screen size and the Samsung’s Galaxy View with 18.4-inch display makes it pretty much clear.
The LG Gpad III 10.1 sports a full HD panel with the resolution of 1920*1200(224ppi) which is idle for multimedia consumption. It is powered by an octacore Snapdragon 617 clocked at 1.5Ghz which is coupled with 2GB of RAM. The tablet also comes with 32GB of onboard storage and supports expandable storage up to 2TB!
The phablet also has 4G support just so you can talk on your massive tablet (something which you shouldn’t do in public). It also comes with 5MP front and rear camera which could be helpful for video calls. Gpad III 10.1 also comes with a kickstand and can be adjusted 70 degrees for comfortable use and viewing. Connectivity wise it comes with 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS and USB C for charging and data syncing. It measures 256.2 x 167.9 x 6.7 mm and weighs 510grams. It is backed up by a decent 6,000mAh battery. GPad III 10.1 is based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and is running TimeSquare UX which helps the tablet to be used as a clock, calendar or digital frame.
Really the use of tablets for general users seems to be vague. No one will buy a $350 tablet and use it as a desk clock. The market for tablets is really small, for my use, I may use it as a screen for my DSLR or Teleprompter or maybe as a second monitor but there’s not a whole lot of use of giant tablets for general users. Early 2017, another variant of Gpad III will be launched with a stylus then it might be a useful tool for artists and creators.
White hats are in an ongoing battle with black hats for protecting the Internet from DDoS attacks. According to Abhor Network, more than 2000 daily DDoS attacks are observed worldwide.
In 2016, we saw the largest DDoS attack till date on Dyn (a DNS provider). During the attack, Dyn’s servers were loaded with more than 1.2 Tbps of data which crashed the company’s servers. This attack caused major websites like Twitter, Amazon, Reddit, and Netflix to go down. The attack was carried out using IoT devices infected by Mirai malware; which means the attacker might have used your routers, Smart TVs, mobiles, computers and IP cameras to do the DDoS attack.
Since the attackers have started using your Internet-connected devices to launch dangerous attacks (without your knowledge) against Banks, Telecom, and Media (that speak against some political agendas), it is about time we(users) become aware of DDoS.
What is DDoS Attack?
DDoS is Distributed Denial of Service attack. In this attack, hackers use compromised systems (called botnets) to make online services unavailable to clients. During the attack, the attacker simply overfloods the service provider’s servers with fake traffics from multiple sources (botnets). This causes the servers to crash. Thus, the intended audience are deprived of the services.
In simple words, DDoS attack is like window shoppers swarming your business denying genuine customers from getting your service.
Small businesses are an easy target because it is cheap and easy to attack services that don’t have DDoS countermeasures.
How to Fight DDoS attack:
Be prepared by recognizing the symptoms of a DDoS attack.
Get extra bandwidth for your website. This will give you time to fight the DDoS without your service going down.
Monitor your website traffic regularly. Use Web Analytics tools.
If you think you are under attack, contact your ISP or Host Provider.
Use DDoS mitigation specialist companies if you can afford.
In conclusion, spread the words about DDoS attack to everyone you know who owns or wish to own a website. Also, prevent your devices from being compromised– I will write about it on next post. For now, let’s fight DDoS attacks together.
Google released Android 7.0 Nougat few of months back. It packs tons of features making the Android experience amazing (as if it wasn’t already!). Only a few devices have received the nougat update, though, which is a bummer since Nougat has so much to offer.
One of the major features of Android Nougat has to be the split-screen support. Samsung’s and LG’s flagship device users have known this feature for quite some time, though. Browsing through Facebook while watching a YouTube video or reading an article on Gadgetbyte Nepal while going through your Instagram feed does sound fun.
I know we can install Custom ROMs and get this feature, but not everyone likes Custom ROMs (me included). So today, I will be explaining an easy way to get the Multi-window mode in your Marshmallow running devices. For this mode to work, you will have to root your Android phone.
PLEASE NOTE THAT WE WON’T BE RESPONSIBLE IF YOUR DEVICE GETS BRICKED WHEN YOU ROOT IT.
Here are some requirements to enable multi-window mode on Android:
rooted device running on Android 6.0.x Marshmallow
Now, follow these instructions carefully and you’ll be good to go.
Open the newly installed BuildProp Editor app and grant it root access. The root access pop-up appeared on my device after a little while so have some patience. (Note that you will HAVE to give the app root access.)
Tap the search icon on top and search ‘ro.build.type’.
Select the ro.build.type command.
Change the value from user to userdebug
Tap save.
Now reboot your device.
After the device restarts, go to Settings > About phone and tap on the Build Number seven times.
Go back to settings and open Developer Options.
Under “Drawing” category turn on the Multi-window mode.
BOOM! Split screen mode unlocked!
Now you can select the multi-window mode from your recent app menu, as easy as that.
I have had no issues using this function and apps’ performance has been stable. It works fluently and is really useful. Unfortunately, you can’t re-size the windows, but hey you got dual window mode!
Are there any hidden Android functions you know? Let us know in the comments. And stay tuned to Gadgetbyte Nepal as we will be posting more on rooted Android devices.
The unforgiving winter is here, giving us chills and making us wish our warm cup of coffee never ends. To beat off the winter chills, Evolution Enterprises, the authorised distributor of ZTE mobiles in Nepal, has announced the Warm Winter Offer where on every purchase of smartphone you can scratch and win all the winter essentials you can think of ranging from Room Heater, Thermos, Electric kettle, power bank (coz winter is all about power cuts), selfie stick and cash back offer.
Most of the products are from Baltra including Heater, Electric Kettle, and Thermos. There are two variants of Powerbank, one with 2,600mAh capacity and another with 10,000mAh capacity. To learn more about ZTE phones available in the market, click this link.
ZTE recently launched 2 phones in Nepal — Axon Mini and Axon Elite. Priced at Rs. 25,900, the Axon mini sports a 5.2-inch 1080P AMOLED display, octacore Snapdragon 616 processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage (expandable via microSD upto 128GB), 13MP back camera and 8MP front camera — both assisted by a LED flash and a 2800mAh battery.
The Axon Elite, on the other hand, sports a 5.5-inch 1080P IPS display and is powered by a last year’s flagship Snapdragon 810 processor. It has 3GB of RAM and 32GB of RAM. The USP of the phone is its dual rear camera 13MP + 2MP). The dual rear camera is used to produce bokeh effect by focusing the main object and blurring the background. It is backed up by a 3000mAh battery.
If you are willing to buy a new smartphone for this Christmas or New Year then this could be good news for you. To add a surplus amount of happiness for this Christmas and New Year, two smartphone giants are offering a price drop on their devices. The smartphones to receive a price reduction are Huawei P9 Lite and Gionee P7 Max. As Huawei P9 lite and Gionee P7 Max receive a price drop, the presence of Santa could be felt this year. These devices have received a price reduction during the festive season, however, it is not an offer for Christmas or New Year; this is a permanent price drop.
Receiving a price drop of Rs. 3,700 from Rs. 31,999, Huawei P9 Lite is now available for Rs. 28,300. Offering Rs, 3,000 drops in its initial price of Rs. 21,999, Gionee P7 Max is now available for Rs. 18,999.
Huawei P9 Lite overview
Huawei P9 Lite
Packed up inside an alluring metallic frame and an embedded square fingerprint slot on its back, P9 Lite has got a good aesthetics, the same aesthetics as its pricier sibling P9. However, the sibling surpassed this device in many respects. Bearing a Leica’s 12.3 MP dual camera on its back when this device remains stuck with 13MP Sony IMX 214 f/2.0 camera is the premium. Huawei’s in-house SoC, HiSilicon Kirin 650 powers the device, which is an octa-core processor. The octa-core chipset has an inbuilt four cores of Cortex A53 that works at 2.0 GHz speed and another four cores Cortex A53 that works on 1.7 GHz speed. On the display, Huawei P9 Lite inherits a 5.2” IPS LCD screen, which supports Full HD resolutions. Packed with a pixel density of 424 PPI, the display looks great. However, the lack of screen protection has made the device crack-prone and scratch-prone.
The 7.5 mm sleek device bears a 8 MP, f/2.0 front shooter which takes good selfies. However, the lack of front flashing LED has constricted its scope. The device is injected with 16 GB internal memory and 2 GB or 3 GB of RAM. The half of the internal memory is usurped by the system and if you wish to extend the memory; you have to sacrifice your wish to use two SIM cards in the device since this device employs a Hybrid slot. The another feature, which is not dominated by its flagship sibling is the battery. The device is fueled by a 3000 mAh non-removable battery, which lasts pretty longer. So, you do not have to constrict your interests to use your device longer.
Huawei P9 Lite sports good features in its own way. However, in the similar price range, we can get devices, which out-perform Huawei P9 Lite in one form on other. In a minor deviation of price, Gionee S6s, Huawei GR5 2017, Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 or Samsung Galaxy J7 prime can be its competitors.
Gionee P7 Max overview
Gionee P7 Max
P7 Max made its arrival on October of this year with a 5.5” IPS LCD display. The display has a 267 PPI pixel density and supports a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. The display is nothing out of ordinary as the devices in the similar price category offers similar or superior display specs. Mediatek MT6595 SoC powers the device, which is an octa-core processor that runs on the clock speed of 2.2 GHz. Under the hood, the device furnishes a 13 MP camera on its back. The back shooter is accompanied by a LED flash to ensure photo clarity in low-light photography. However, the 5 MP front shooter lacks this feature.
The device is injected with an internal memory of 32 GB and RAM of 3 GB. The 3 GB RAM of the device ensures a lag-free performance. The memory can be extended to 128 GB with the use of SD card. Talking about the sensors, the device is enriched with Accelerometer, proximity, compass. However, the device lacks a fingerprint sensor, which has been a common spec even in low-end devices. The phone is furnished with a 3100 mAh non-removable battery. The battery provides better backup to the device, so you should not remain adhered with the charger.
Gionee P7 Max Specs:
5.5 inches IPS LCD (720 x 1280 pixels ) @267ppi
Android Marshmallow 6.0
Mediatek MT6595 Chipset; Octa-core 2.2 GHz
PowerVR G6200 GPU
3 GB RAM, 32 GB ROM: Expandable up to 128 GB using SD card
Primary camera: 13 MP, autofocus, LED flash; Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, panorama
Secondary camera: 5 MP
Accelerometer, proximity, compass
Non-removable 3100 mAh battery
Price: Rs. 21,999 Rs. 18,999
Could Gionee P7 Max be a good buy?
Under this price range, 3 GB of RAM and 3100 mAh battery is a rare spec. This device could be the best buy in this price category. However, Gionee Marathon M5 Lite and Xiaomi Redmi 3S could still be a good competitor.
Two good smartphones, Huawei P9 Lite and Gionee P7 Max receive a price drop. After the end of this article, what are your thoughts? Aren’t you willing to have one of this device for this New Year? Give it some thoughts.
In 2016, we saw Samsung release two flagships with dual edged displays (one backfired, literally), Xiaomi followed Samsung with its flagship Mi Note 2, and Huawei also went with dual edged display on Mate 9 Pro. So, we can say that 2016 was a for the breakthrough for dual edge displays, and next year we might see more flagship devices feature the technology.
Huawei wrapped up 2016 today with the release of its newest member of the Honor series. While the series is known for its affordable smartphones, the Huawei Honor Magic costs CNY 3,700 (equivalent to $530). But the features it packs are equal to none.
The device sports a not-so-tall 5.09-inch crisp AMOLED display with the resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels (577 PPI). The glass slab covering the display edges out at three corners, making the Honor Magic look really smooth, glossy and something I have never seen before.
Under the hood, the Huawei Honor Magic is powered by the company’s very own Octa-core Kirin 960 processor clocked at 2.3 GHz and 1.8 GHz (4×2.3 GHz Cortex-A72 & 4×1.8 GHz Cortex A53). 4GB RAM and Mali-T880 MP4 GPU work alongside the aging processor. There is no storage option as the device is only available in 64GB variant with no support for external memory. It runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with a new Magic Live UI on top.
The software front is the major selling point of the device. It has some top notch Artificial Intelligence driven features. I have made a list of those features below:
The best one of the lot is the WiseScreen sensor. A frame sensor, and an infrared sensor in the front facing camera combine to recognize the device’s owner’s eyes and hands to turn on the display. So, when you pick up the phone, the display lights up, and when you put the phone down or somewhere else, the display turns off.
People reading your messages they weren’t supposed to see? The Honor Magic solves that problem from a feature known as FaceCode Intelligent Recognition. This feature will make sure that message notifications are shown to the pre-registered faces and no one else.
The device can also automatically realize you are driving and suggest you switch to driving mode.
It can also know when you have arrived at a movie theater and show the booked ticket number automatically.
The device can itself recognize a dark environment and turn on the flashlight.
Huawei Honor Magic follows the trend of growing number of Huawei’s smartphones featuring dual rear cameras. The device is equipped with 12-megapixel dual-lens rear facing cameras (for colored and monochrome pictures) with f/2.2 aperture, and an 8-megapixel front facing camera with f/2.0 aperture. It lacks the Leica branding, though. Other features include USB Type-C connector, Bluetooth v4.2, Dual Nano-SIM and a front-mounted fingerprint sensor.
A decent 2900mAh battery backs up the device. Even though the battery is small, the Huawei Magic Power charger can charge the battery up to 90% in half an hour of charging.
Sadly, the Huawei Honor Magic will only be available in China. It is already available for pre-order there with an expected delivery on December 25.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Huawei Honor Magic:
DISPLAY
5.09-inch 2560 x 1440 pixels AMOLED display (577 PPI)
Have you ever wondered what if you can be the game as the main character? What it feels like to be in places you have always dreamed about. How it feels like to interact with the virtual objects such as the furniture, bots, weapons, your favorite characters etc. Well, technology has the solution. Yes! you have heard it right. We are talking about VR(Virtual Reality) Technology.
The close replication of real environment using high-end computer technologies by integrating images, audios, videos and other sensory information which provide an immersive experience to the user by the combined effort of hardwares (gears, headset, etc) Softwares and some sensory peripherals and can interact with the object in this immersive virtual world. VR uses the head tracking and motion tracking technology for giving the rich immersive and vivid experience. As we have already stated in the previous articles that a gyro-sensor is necessary to access the VR technology in one’s smartphones. You can find the article here.
Availability of VR
You can enjoy VR in different variants. There are lots of companies in the international market to pioneer as VR renderer. The list goes like this:
(Note: The above list is not in any order specified.)
You may have heard about the AR(Augmented Reality). It’s totally different from VR. AR is the combination of the virtual objects in real world whereas, VR is the immersion of one in the virtual world irrespective of the real scenario. Pokemon Go™, Microsoft’s HoloLens, etc are the examples of it.
We can see VR Technology to be hatching in the Nepali market nowadays. There are plenty of retailers which provides the peripherals across various major cities of Nepal.
Scope of VR
We can be benefitted by VR by commencing its application to the following fields:
On Wednesday, Dec 24th, Indian phone manufacturer Fastrack Communication Pvt Ltd, signed a partnership with Prabhu Mobile Pvt Ltd. to establish a manufacturing plant in Nepal. Fastrack Communication is the manufacturer of Lemon Mobiles which has been present in Nepal for quite some time. Out of 28 phones manufactured by Lemon, 16 of the phones are available in Nepal and they range from the price of Rs. 800 to Rs. 3,300. As of now, there’s an ongoing research to figure out, to establish the manufacturing plan in Kathmandu or Butwal.
Any stuff that is locally produced has great chances of being really cheap. When it comes to tech, we are paying a hefty amount and we all know that well. Specifically the growing market of smartphone, where every other day we get to witness a new product or a new brand but if we look at their price tag they are expensive compared to other countries. Not only the smartphones but even with regular phones, the story is the same.
Like the market of smartphones, the market of bar phones is also ever growing. Most of the people still carry a bar phone as a secondary phone along with their smartphones. If you look at other places besides the cities of Nepal, the majority of people still prefer and buy bar phones. So, if we are able to locally produce phones in Nepal, the prices are sure to get cheap which will open doors for the majority of people to afford a phone and communicate. Starting small, this manufacturing plant can also produce other tech related items in the future which would be a great deal. It’s just a starting phase so we have to sit back and see what progress would be made in this project.
Huawei Mobiles Nepal has launched the successor of the Huawei GR5 — the Huawei GR5 2017 in Nepal for Rs. 29,999. The phone is available for prebooking from 18th Dec 2016 to 22nd December and pre-bookers get free Huawei Original Power bank (13000 mAh).
Huawei GR5 2017 is available in Grey, Silver and Gold color options.
The new Huawei GR5 2017 is the only smartphone under Rs. 30,000 to feature a dual camera on the back, but unlike its flagship phone Huawei P9, the dual camera on the GR5 2017 serves a different purpose (more on the article). It features a 5.5-inch IPS LCD 1080P display with 403 PPI and 2.5D curved glass. It is powered by an Octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 655 SoC with 3GB RAM and a Mali-T830MP2 GPU. It is currently running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with EMUI 4.1 layered on top.
As mentioned earlier, the Huawei GR5 2017 features a dual rear camera – a 12-megapixel and a 2-megapixel rear facing dual cameras. The function of Dual camera is to create bokeh effect which means it focuses the main object while creating blur” effect of the background. The 12-megapixel rear camera boasts a 1.25μm large pixel Sensor, for crisp, clear, and vibrant photos at night and in low light. It also boasts Phase Detection AutoFocus that lets you focus the object in just 0.3 seconds. The front camera is an 8-megapixel sensor with wide angle lens. The Huawei GR5 2017 also features a fingerprint sensor, fast battery charging, and DTS audio. A huge 3,340mAh battery aides the device, making it last long. What’s not available is dual band ac as it houses a WiFI b/g/n. Also, the phone lacks Gyro sensor so not a good news for the VR fans out there.
The Huawei GR5 2017 measures 8.2mm in thickness and weigh 162gms.
Huawei GR5 2017 specifications:
5.5-inch (1080 x 1920 pixels) Full HD 2.5D curved glass IPS display
Octa-core Kirin 655 ( 4 x 2.1GHz + 4 x 1.7GHz) 16nm processor with Mali T830-MP2
3GB LPDDR3 RAM with 32GB (eMMC 5.1) storage, expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD
Hybrid Dual SIM (nano+ nano/microSD)
Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) with EMUI 4.1
12MP rear camera with LED Flash, 6P lens, 1.25um pixel size, PDAF and 2MP secondary camera
8MP front-facing camera
Dimensions: 150.9×72.6×8.2mm; Weight: 162g
Fingerprint sensor (unlocks the phone in 0.3 seconds)
4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS
3340mAh (typical) / 3270mAh (minimum) battery with support for fast charging
The four day long Black Friday deal on Kaymu (one of the largest e-commerce companies in Nepal) was a hit. According to the company, the orders escalated by 1500% compared to a normal day during the Black Friday deal. The product orders were so high at Kaymu during this deal that the order volume of a normal day generated within the first hour.
Overall, the sale of musical instruments increased by 69 times the regular day sale. Additionally, 39 times more Mobiles and Tablets were sold by Kaymu on Black Friday deal in comparison to a normal day. Similarly, the transactions of other electronic items also ascended significantly. Furthermore, Kaymu also witnessed a rise in the sale of other products categories like health and beauty and men’s and women’s fashion.
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I also bought some winter clothing for myself during the sale. Did you buy anything? Let us know. Also, do you think there should be more deals like this in the future from other e-commerce companies as well?
