While smartphones might be dominating the market with its flamboyant high-resolution screen, and super fast processing, but there has always been an issue with its battery life that lasts for less than a day.
And for those that find texts and calls to be the most important thing in a phone, there is a solution: the Rs.1,195 Purple Atom. It is a simple, robust old-fashioned device that has a standby battery life of 15 days. Despite its limitations compared to smartphones, it is perfectly suited for texts and calls or as a secondary phone for just about anyone who uses 2 SIM cards.
Moreover, many smartphone users are now turning to basic phones since it has great battery life, durable, easy to use, and you would care less if stolen or broken. It is estimated that around 44 million basic phones were sold last year. I, for one, recently bought a Purple Atom phone for my grandparents, and it works perfectly fine for them. They have to charge the phone in a week, and they don’t use 3G data on their phone.
Huawei GR5 was recently launched in Nepal and packs some intriguing sheet of specs like the fingerprint scanner, FullHD display, Octacore processor, and a metal body. However, there are few pros and cons you should know before considering buying it.
4 REASONS TO BUY:
FINGER PRINT SENSOR: Although fingerprint scanner has been common these days even in midrange phones, but the fingerprint sensor on the Huawei GR5 is something to talk about. It is one of the best fingerprint scanners you can find in a smartphone. It’s fast and super responsive and unlocks your phone in just 0.5 secs. Furthermore, the scanner here does tasks such as accepting calls, silence the alarm, show/clear notifications and taking photos.
FULL METAL BODY: The Huawei GR5 sports a metal body, which is a rare feature on a midrange phone. The phone feels premium in the hands, although it is not light weight and compact.
DECENT 1080P DISPLAY: A 5.5-inch 1080P display on the Huawei GR5 offers good color reproduction and a bright panel. The only thing I didn’t like about the display is it lacks gorilla glass protection and is prone to scratches.
GREAT BATTERY LIFE: With a big 3000mAh battery and lots of battery saving feature, the battery life on the Huawei GR5 is a beast. It will last for a day under heavy usage, and will endure for almost two days under normal usage.
3 REASONS TO NOT BUY:
IFFY PERFORMANCE: On papers, the Qualcomm Octacore 616 processor coupled with 2GB of RAM might sound great, but in real world usage, it is just mediocre. Having said that, it is a good phone for everyday tasks. However, I noticed lags while playing games or even multitasking. It also tends to heat up quite frequently.The Emotion UI on the Huawei GR5 is laggy at times and consumes more RAM than a stock version. We hope to see Marshmallow update soon which might help the phone with better software optimization.
AVERAGE CAMERA: The 13MP back camera of the shoots photos in 4:3 ratio with a resolution of 4160 x 3120 pixels. The photos, even in good lighting conditions, were washed out with a fair amount of digital noise. Dynamic range is not that great too, with HDR mode not making a significant impact for a phone with 5 element lens and blue glass infrared filter. Even for video, the camera performance is mediocre.
INFLATED PRICING:
The Huawei GR5 is priced at Rs.34,000 which is utterly absurd considering its identical twin Huawei Honor 5x is priced at $199 (approx Rs.21,500) in the US and INR 13,000 (approx Rs. 20,800) in India.
I simply can’t understand why Huawei smartphones in Nepal are highly priced in Nepal. The only reason I can think of is they don’t have any competitors in the market. Had their been Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, Le Eco 1s, and Lenovo K4 note to compete, I would have been writing a different story.
Vatsal Implex Pvt. Ltd, the mobility subsidiary of Sharda Group — one of the largest private companies in Nepal, has been officially appointed as the national distributors of Xiaomi smartphones in Nepal.
Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi, however, has not released any information regarding Xiaomi being official here in Nepal, which takes us to a flashback from last year when Mobiland Electronics Pvt. Ltd. claimed to be the authorized distributors of the Xiaomi smartphones in Nepal, later the company were accused of selling fake Xiaomi phones. We seriously hope that’s not the case when Vatsal Implex launches Xiaomi products here in Nepal.
There is no information on what device will be launched as such, but the advertisement on the daily newspaper Himalayan times shows a picture of Xiaomi Mi4, which is already an outdated grumpy phone.
Photo Credits: Himalayan Times e-paper
Which Xiaomi Phones would be perfect for Nepali audience?
We would love to see 3 Xiaomi phones specifically launching in Nepal. The first one would be a budget-oriented phone, the Redmi 3, that’s priced at $110. It sports a 5-inch HD display, an octacore Snapdragon 616 processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB of storage which you can expand with microSD card slot upto 128GB, 13MP back camera, 5MP front camera, and a mammoth 4100mAh battery.
The second phone on our wishlist would be Redmi Note 3. Priced around $200, the phone offers a metal body, 5.5-inch Full-HD display, Octacore Helio X10 processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB of storage, 16/5MP camera setup, fingerprint sensor, and 4000mAh battery.
And finally, the Mi5 which was recently announced at MWC. It offers killer specs for an asking price of $306. It sports a 5.51-inch 1920 x 1080 pixel display covered by Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection. It comes powered by the latest high-end Snapdragon 820 Processor with 3GB of RAM. On the camera front, you get a 16MP rear camera with LED flash and a 4MP front-facing camera. There is a 3,000 mAh battery under the hood.
Vatsal Implex is currently looking for Regional distributors and dealers to expand the sales of Xiaomi phones in every nook and corner of Nepal. With Xiaomi, Nepal will have one more Chinese smartphone brand after players such as Huawei, and Gionee.
4D Printing is a self re-configuring printing technique that utilizes special material to enable changes upon time. The fourth dimension of 4D Printing refers to the material that are able to change and mutate over time. The changes may occur upon exposure of water or air or change in temperature.
The technique of this type of technology enables designers to define characteristics of the material they are made from. To enable specific attribute and functionality the printed material goes through sophisticated chemical calibration.
Principle of 4D printing:
Different material properties when programmed into each of the various particles of the designed geometry and harnesses, the different energy/element absorbing properties of the materials triggers to activate the self-assembly process.
Application of 4D Printing:
Fun toy like self-folding origami, self-folding Furnitures
Designs of complex structures, Space shuttle or even the International Space Station
Smart Water Pipes, with Self Healing Characteristics
Medical Use and Organ Replacement
Smart Bricks, Smart Rods that have healing capacity.
Future Remarks:
4D printing is expected to be used extensively in the future. In the developing stage , the ideas include the development of clothing that responds to environmental stimuli to maximize wearer comfort. The medical industry is also expected to make use of 4D printing as shape changing 4D prints are expected to be more compatible with the body than rigid metal supports.
The 4D Printing technique is an emerging market potential whose efficiency is expected to increase. This printing technology is still in the early phase and software and hardware are not yet to be established. The trend of 4D printing will be increase when industry sector and health sector will start using it.
Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer, recently unveiled its new Redmi note 3- a midrange device with quality features and affordable price. So today we will point out the pros and cons of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 which will help u decide if the phone is right for you or not.
Pros of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3
Full Metal Body:
The redmi note is very well designed with full metal body. The metal gives the phone a sturdy and premium look. The looks of the phone is similar to its predecessor redmi note 2 but the material in note 3 is aluminum metal. It’s certainly great to see Xiaomi bringing full metal body design to its midrange device.
Fingerprint scanner:
Fingerprint scanner has become a must for most people. We can see many devices having it and Xiaomi offering this feature in redmi note 3 will certainly attract people towards it. The fingerprint scanner here is located at the back and is quick and responsive; the scanner unlocks the phone in 0.3 seconds.
Battery:
Redmi note 3 has a huge 4,000mah battery. So with such large battery, the battery life of the phone is great. Some tests suggest that the note 3 offers around 264 hours of talk time over the 3G network. Redmi note 3 will last you one day and a half with good usage.
Processor:
Xiaomi has opted for 64-bit MediaTek helio x10 processor clocked at 2gHz. There are two variants of this phone one with 2gb ram with 16gb of storage and another 3gb ram with 32gb of storage. The helio x10 is a great performer inside such an affordable phone and the chipset can handle all tasks on redmi note 3’s 1080p screen.
Camera:
Redmi note 3 features a13MP rear camera with dual tone flash and a 5MP front camera. The rear camera has a hybrid autofocus system that helps in faster and more accurate focus. The picture taken is of good quality although not comparable to the likes of flagships. Nonetheless, the picture and video quality is great for a midrange device.
Cons of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3
No microSD slots:
With only 16gb and 32gb of storage to choose from some people will be disappointed, as people wouldn’t be able to expand the storage with an external microSD card.
Average 1080P display with No scratch resistant screen:
The 1080 display here is an average unit. The contrast ratio, color accuracy as well as the sunlight legibility is average. Moreover, the screen is not scratch resistant as it doesn’t have gorilla glass or dragon trail glass. So if you are not careful with it, the screen can get scratch easily.
All in all, despite having some few cons, it is still one of the best phones to buy for $200 and we totally recommend you to go for it as it has a nice metal design, a big screen, fast CPU and a decent camera.
Huawei Smartphones along with its local distributor Call Mobility has officially unveiled two smartphones in Nepal– Huawei Mate 8 and Huawei GR5. While the Mate 8 is high-end offering priced at Rs.79,999, the GR5, on the other hand, is priced at Rs.33,999 and is targeted for youths.
Huawei Mate 8
The Huawei Mate 8 features top of the line specs and goes in head to head with flagships such as iPhone 6s Plus and Galaxy S7. It has a 6-inch FullHD IPS LCD display with a pixel density of 367 ppi and a stupendous screen-to-body ratio of 83%. The display panel covers 95% of NTSC gamut providing excellent colour reproduction and is covered by 2.5D curved diamond-cut glass. The phone is powered by a Huawei’s in-house Kirin 950CPU with an octa-core processor (4x Cortex A53 + 4x Cortex A72). Similar to Apple’s A8 SoC, Kirin 950 also have an i5 intelligent coprocessor that supports speech recognition, low-power consumption MP3, all the functions of a sensor hub, fused location provider (FLP) navigation, and reduces location-based power consumption.
In terms of memory, the Huawei Mate 8 comes with 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 64GB of onboard storage, that can be further expanded via a microSD card slot upto 128GB. Other specs include a dual hybrid SIM slot with 4G support, a 16-megapixel Sony IMX298 camera with F/2.0 aperture lens, OIS, and dual tone LED flash, an 8-megapixel front camera, Android Marshmallow 6.0 with EMUI 4.0 and a 4000mAh non-removable battery.
Huawei Mate 8 Official Images
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The Huawei Mate 8 has a full metal body that built from aerospace-grade aluminum. The fingerprint sensor is located on the back and the phone is available in Champagne Gold.
Huawei GR5
Huawei GR5 is company’s latest midrange offering that comes with great specs for its price. It features a 5.5-inch FULLHD IPS LCD display, is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 CPU(1.7Ghz quad core Cortex A53+ 1.2Ghz quad core Cortex A53). In terms of storage, the Huawei GR5 has 16GB of inbuilt storage with a provision of microSD card expansion slot that is upgraded upto 64GB.
Huawei GR5 Official Images
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The Huawei GR5 comes in a 0.8mm aluminum uni-body and feels premium for its price. It has a 13MP rear shooter with smart image 3.0 image processor and a 5MP snapper up front with f/2.2 aperture, 22mm wide-angle, 4P Lens, Blue Glass filter and an 88 degrees wide angle lens. The back is non-removable and inside there is a 3000mAh battery which supports quick charging 3.0. It also sport a fingerprint sensor on the back that can unlock the phone in just 0.5 seconds. The fingerprint can also be used to accepts calls, silence alarm, shows and clear notification, and take photos.
Huawei GR5 Hands-0n Images
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huawei gr5 price in nepal
In terms of connectivity, the Huawei GR5 offers dual SIM slot with 4G capabilities (micro sim+nano sim), Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, and MicroUSB 2.0. The phone is currently running on Android 5.1 Lollipop with Emotion UI 3.1 on top, but according to recent rumors the Marshmallow update is also on works.
Lenovo’s latest midrange flagship is a wonderful phone and offers a lot for an asking price of Rs.27,499. Despite packing some great features, the phone has some downsides to it too. So, here are the 5 pros and 2 cons of the Lenovo K4 Note.
PROS OF LENOVO K4 NOTE
1. Display:
The K4 Note has a 5.5-inch Full HD IPS display with a 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution and 403ppi pixel density. Apart from being a full HD display, the K4 Note screen offers good brightness and contrast. The K4 Note display comes with Gorilla Glass 3 protection and is scratch resistant. The display is quite bright and is easily visible in the outdoors during the daytime. Since the phone is mid-ranged, having a 1080p screen sounds good for the price.
2. Audio:
The Lenovo K4 Note also comes equipped with two front-facing speakers alongside Dolby Atmos audio system. I believe due to the stereo speakers, the phone offers a significantly better and louder sound output. The front facing speakers are great when watching movies, playing games or even listening to some music. It’s nice to see Lenovo bring this feature to an affordable smartphone like the Vibe K4 Note.
3. Battery:
The Lenovo K4 Note boasts of a large non-removable 3300mAH battery. The battery should easily last you one full working day. It has around 5hrs to 7hrs of the screen on time. K4 note charges from 0 to 100% in about 2 hours 15 minutes. With a 1080p display and average processor, the k4 note provides good battery life.
4. Fingerprint scanner:
It’s nice to see Lenovo throwing in a fingerprint scanner into the mix which is fast becoming an industry standard. The scanner is quick and responsive. Apart from being a security feature in a phone, the scanner can also act as a shortcut for the home button.
5. Price:
The smartphone is bang for the buck and you will definitely enjoy the positive features of the smartphone. Only at around $199 you get a phone with good looks, metallic frame, front facing speakers and fingerprint scanner. The phone comes with good specs for a mid range phone. Overall, I think that getting those good features at such an affordable price is a good deal.
CONS OF LENOVO K4 NOTE:
1. Processor:
Lenovo has decided to go for the 64-bit MediaTek MT6753 octa-core processor clocked at 1.3GHz and it is combined with the GPU Mali –T720. The processor is coupled with 3GB RAM. While the 3GB RAM is very well enough for day-to-day usage and multitasking, but high-end games such as Asphalt 8, modern combat lags. So if you like playing games with good graphics this phone is not for you but if you don’t then the processor can easily handle simple tasks thrown at it.
2. Heating problem:
The phone may not heat up that frequently but you will definitely feel the phone getting warmer during playing games and multitasking. The phone feels slightly warm on the back with normal usage but it is not a major problem. Also, while using 3g the phone gets warmer.
Mobile phones, from a long time are associated with the root of various complications in the body. Despite that, the growth of mobile phone user is increasing day by day. Mobile phones have become more advanced that almost every work that was only done on desktop or laptop is now done on them. It has become an integral part of many people’s life. The radiations of mobile phones are said to be strong enough to damage soft tissue but weak to alter the DNA.
Low count of sperm in men is a problem which is on a rise these days. Various scientific research suggests that men who put their mobile phones in their trouser’s pocket are likely to have lower sperm count than those who don’t. Experts are warning men to decrease the use of the phone as it is associated with “cooking sperm” and causing lower sperm count which will affect while a couple tries to conceive a baby.
Whereas there are no any published studies about the effects of mobile phone radiation on women’s reproductive health. The study by specialists suggests that men who keep their phone in their pocket are seriously affected in 47% cases compared to 11% in general population.
The risk of eye vision problem is also associated with the use of mobile phones. It is said that due to smaller displays in mobile phones you are squinting and likely straining your eyes while using them which decreases the vision. So it’s best to use them as little as possible or prefer larger displays for doing many tasks.
The brain activity is also likely affected due to mobile phones. A scientific study concluded that acute cell phone exposure affects the brain’s metabolic activity however the study didn’t say anything about possible carcinogenic effects of the mobile phone. The electromagnetic interference can also can mobile phones to interfere with the operation of pacemakers and some hearing aids while the interference is said to be reduced on 3G and newer systems.
The electromagnetic interference can also can mobile phones to interfere with the operation of pacemakers and some hearing aids while the interference is said to be reduced on 3G and newer systems. Since mobile phone cannot be completely avoided to be safe from all of its adverse effects, what we can do from our side is to lower the use of them and look for their alternatives.
While the other companies were busy announcing their flagship phones that cost users a fortune, Xiaomi, on the other hand, launched their flagship phone with top of the line specs with pricing starting at $306. As for comparison, the Xiaomi Mi5 is half of the price of many flagship devices. Here are the five features that you should know about the Mi5:
1. Hardware Specs
The Xiaomi Mi5 sports a 5.15-inch Full HD display with curved 3D ceramic display, ultra-thin bezels, and low power consuming LED lights that is ultra bright with 600 nits of brightness, yet power efficient. The screen offers a technology called Sunlight Display that helps to adjust contrast for each pixel in real time for better screen clarity under harsh light.
In terms of hardware, the Xiaomi Mi5 is powered by the latest Snapdragon 820 CPU– the latest processor from the Qualcomm which is also powering other handsets such as LG G5 and Galaxy S7, coupled with 3/4GB of LPDDR4 RAM. According to the company, the Snapdragon 820 CPU is twice as fast, and 50% more power efficient than last years Snapdragon 810 CPU. Also, the Adreno 530 GPU that’s embedded inside the SD 820 will offer 40% increase in graphics than the SD 810. For the first time, Xiaomi has also opted for UFS 2.0 storage option instead of traditional eMMC 5.0, resulting in 87% faster data transmission.
2. Camera
16 MP camera f2.0 might not sound much but what it packs is a 4 axis stabilization which makes sure that the photo/video you take will be blur free. Xiaomi has tried to demonstrate on a video about the capability of their new Mi 5’s camera by comparing with the rival iPhone 6s and 6s plus camera.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izIY88iAMbc
3. Design & Built
The design of Mi 5 is elegant to look at. It’s 7.3mm thin which might not be the thinnest still the curved edges on the back should make it pretty easy to handle. it weighs at just 129g which is very impressive comparing with an iPhone 6s weighing 143g and iPhone 6s plus weighing at 192g and Samsung S7 weighing at 152g.
4. Quick charge 3.0
With the fast charging, Xiaomi Mi5 can charge from 0 to 83% in just 30 mins which should be enough to power the device all day.
5. Price
The Xiaomi Mi5 is available in 3 versions: The Standard Edition features 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, and Glass Body. It is priced at $306. The 64 version of the standard Edition is priced at $352. And finally, the Pro Edition featuring 4GB RAM, 128GB storage, and ceramic body is priced at $413. It is released at half of the price of many flagship devices which is sure to attract many buyers once it is released internationally.
CAT, a company that produces huge machines mainly for construction works and other heavy works, has developed a phone with a rigid and sturdy build, as expected from such a company, which has an integrated FLIR thermal camera. Running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, the CAT S60 offers other feature like water resistant and the ability to withstand a few drops.
The built of the phone is purely rugged and bulky. The S60 has strengthened die cast metal frame and carbon fiber look-alike toughened plastic on the rear. According to the manufacturers, the handset can hold out against drops onto concrete from up to 1.8 meters. In addition to that, the phone is dust-proof and waterproof. The S60 can be used up to 5m of depth underwater for an hour with all of the switches closed for speakers and microphones. Without the switches closed, the phone can only withstand 2m of depth underwater.
FLIR Thermal Camera
Well, we have already seen add-on thermal camera modules for iPhones and Android but this is the first phone that has FLIR thermal camera built in. so, there are basically two rear cameras; one normal 13MP camera and the other very special thermal camera. The thermal camera records the heat data and with the help of the app, a simple tap on the screen gives the approximate temperature of the object.
Looking at the physique and features of the C60, it looks like it’s made to be used by a construction worker, plumber, electrician or someone who has to work under harsh environment. Normal users would like to stay away from its midrange processor and its bulky built. The physical aspect isn’t that appealing as well. But the dustproof and waterproof feature would certainly attract people who have to work around lakes, ponds, or places where there are too much of dust. The phone’s thermal camera could certainly be a plus point for an electrician to find the heat dissipation in circuits and other circuit elements. Also, people who work with fires like in factories, and people who constantly need to check the temperature of certain objects and machines can benefit from the thermal camera on this phone for easy measurement and convenience. The camera can see through smoke with the help of its thermal sensors, and this can be useful for a person who needs to deal with smoke in their work or for any case of that matter. And this can be used in search and rescue missions where bodies might be hidden by smoke. Again, the thermal camera would not be that much beneficial for normal users but they certainly can win the bragging rights among friends by showing off the awesome feature.
Other specs of the phone include:
4.7-inch 720p display with wet finger and glove support
Screen is shielded with 1mm gorilla glass 4
13MP main camera with dual-LED flash and 5MP front-facing camera
Snapdragon 617 octacore processor (1.5 GHz) coupled with Adreno 405
3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, expandable using microSD
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 4G LTE connectivity
Large battery of 3,800mAh capacity
CAT S60
So, CAT S60 was announced at MWC 2016 and it will be made available later this year for $599 in the U.S. People might be overwhelmed with the pricing for the smartphone with such midrange specs but keep in mind, it features the ruggedness from CAT and a built in FLIR thermal camera.
