Xiaomi Mi5 — premium and yet budget-friendly smartphone

Branding and marketing strategies of Xiaomi are strong that almost everyone knows about this rising smartphone brand. Looking at the trend, it is a serious contender to Samsung and Apple if it is available internationally *but sadly it is not*

In this year MWC, Xiaomi chooses to announce its latest flagship, the long-awaited Xiaomi Mi 5 in three slightly different tastes. They are the 32GB version, a 64GB version with faster processing power, both having 3GB RAM and lastly a ceramic black Mi 5 Pro with 4GB RAM. On the front, you can see a 5.5 inch IPS display with great viewing angle and colour saturation, plus a 4MP front facing camera with 2 micron pixel size . At the back, you can find the 16MP Sony IMX298 sensor, f/2.0, phase-detection AF touted with 4-axis optical image stabilization, all of these protected by a sapphire glass. Hid underneath the screen are the Snapdragon 820 processor and 3000 mAh battery. Comparable to other flagships, it has fingerprint scanner but no other fancy feature such as liquid cooling.

Mi 5 Pro (aka ceramic version))

Mi 5

In a recent interview, Hugo Barra revealed Xiaomi only has plans for making Xiaomi Mi5 available only on the current markets it operates on. The Mi5 will launch in the company’s home country of China and will be available on March 1 for a price of around $300 (MYR 1,300). We are expecting that later this year the Mi 5 should hit Xiaomi’s core markets – China, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, and probably, Brazil. Heads up Malaysians!

Catch the ZOPO Speed 8!

If you think octa core processor is fast enough, reconsider it as ZOPO unveiled the world’s first smartphone, Speed 8, that uses the latest flagship deca-core processor developed by Mediatek. In case if you are wondering, yes, that is a TEN core processor!

Specification wise, the Zopo Speed 8 has a 5.5″ IPS 1080p display and sports a 21MP Sony IMX230 camera with phase-detection AF and a dual-tone flash. The temporary storage (RAM) is 4GB. There is an 8MP selfie shooter with a front LED flash too. The inbuilt storage is 32GB, expandable of course, while the battery is a mighty 3,600mAh one.

ZOPO Speed 8 will be sold through its online store starting from April.

Oppo introduced TWO groundbreaking technologies

While the other phone manufacturers are busy showing off the latest smartphones in hand, Oppo took another way in positioning itself in the arena. In their press conference at MWC 2016, the company skipped the phone announcement but focused on fundamental technologies instead.

SmartSensor Image Stabilisation and Super VOOC

SmartSensor Image Stabilisation

The sensor developed by Oppo is the first sensor-based image stabilization technology on mobile and also the smallest stabilizer found on the planet. Don’t be surprised that the technology is actually borrowed from sensor-based mirrorless cameras, just shrunk down to size. While the traditional OIS uses spring system to stabilise the lens, SmartSensor Image Stabilisation uses voltage to move the whole sensor.

There are three main advantages over the traditional OIS technology. First, the response time to shaking and wobble motion is upped to 15 milliseconds versus 50 milliseconds in the old technology, which is about three time faster. Secondly, traditional lens-based technologies have a precision of 3 to 5 micrometers, while SmartSensor remains precise to a vibration of just 0.3 micrometers. Last but not least, the stabilisation system consumes 50 times less power than the traditional ones.

Super VOOC

There are two ways to reduce your time hugging to the wall charger: you either get a larger battery capacity or minimise the charging time. Certainly, Oppo chose the latter. In Barcelona, Oppo just announced the latest super charge technology named Super VOOC Flash Charge technology. According to the manufacturer, the Super VOOC is capable of recharging a 2,500 mAh battery in just 15 minutes. It can also achieve about 45% of charge in 5 minutes.

Your next question would be: can the charger and cable handle such high efficiency? Fear not, the accessories such as new Super VOOC Flash Charger plug, special cable, and connector are made from high-quality military-grade materials. The voltage will be kept around 5V, as higher voltage might generate heat and possess risk of explosion. So, the company claims that “the smartphone can safely be used during the charging process. For instance, you can Flash Charge your smartphone while surfing the Internet, watching videos, or playing games.”

These are the technologies announced by Oppo in Barcelona this year. We shall expect the flagship smartphone to feature one of these or even both the magics. Does the company license the technologies? If yes, this is really a huge market for its competitors to pick up. Hopefully a Malaysian company is going to partner with them and develop a national brand in near future 🙂

First smartphone to pack a thermal camera, CAT S60

How rugged can a phone be? Be it like Samsung Galaxy … Active? Casio? Sonim? They are all no match to the real rugged hero — CAT S60.

CAT S60 is the first ever smartphone that can take at least 2m deep dive. It can even withstand pressure at depth of 5m if you close the mouthpiece and earpiece. What makes it more outstanding is the thermal camera. The phone can measure temperatures at up to 30m distance and can display it real-time. It can also detect heat prints.

IP68 certification on the newly announced Samsung Galaxy S7 stands no place against CAT S60 MIL-STD-810G certification. It is thought to have salt, dust, humidity, rain, vibration, solar radiation, transport and thermal shock resistance.

The CAT S60 has a 4.7″ IPS 720p display and runs on the Snapdragon 617 chip with 3GB of RAM. There is a front 5MP snapper, 32GB expandable storage, LTE connectivity, and a beefy 3,800 mAh battery.

The design makes it more of a utility phone rather than a fashionable one. But who cares the design in view of its vast features. This monster handset definitely comes in handy during critical situations for construction workers, plumbers, firefighters, emergency response team.

Gionee S8 – 5.5-incher with a narrow body

Gionee is the company which its flagship phone is always tagged to the word “slim”. This year around, it works around the word “narrow”. Gionee claims its latest S8 as the narrowest 5.5 inch phablet in the market.

Moving to the hardware specs, the AMOLED screen has 1080p resolution and is covered with 2.5D glass. It has 3D touch too, recognizing three levels – Touch (selects), Tap (previews) and Press (opens).

Its camera is no surprise, a 16MP snapper with f/1.8 aperture. However, the sensor is an RWB one instead of a RGB version, the green pixel has been replaced with relatively more sensitive white sensor. Laser focus and Phase detection focus systems are found on board.

The S8 uses a Helio P10 processor with a generous 4GB RAM. The phone comes with 64GB storage and 3000mAh battery capacity. Similar as Samsung S7, Gionee S8 also embeds its fingerprint scanner in the home button.

 

The company has brokered an interesting, unique feature with WhatsApp (the popular chat app). The S8 can log into two WhatsApp accounts, so you can keep personal and work communications separate.

Join the HP Elite club: Elite x3

HP Elite x3 is meant for business user rather than ordinary casual user.

Elite x3 is the company first smartphone running on Windows 10. The phone itself is a gigantic 6-incher, running on the latest processor Snapdragon 820 with 4GB RAM. You also get 64 GB storage on board. It features a dual-SIM slot, IP-67 certification for water and drop resistance, iris and fingerprint readers, dual front-firing B & O optimized speakers, and a hefty 4150 mAh battery. All of these specifications are optimised for daily business purpose.

What makes it better for business use? The full support of Continuum. Instead of relying on Microsoft’s Continuum dock, HP made its own docking station, the Desk Dock, for seamless connection from phone to a full fledged desktop. The Desk Dock includes a DisplayPort, two USB-A and one USB-C port, as well as a wired Ethernet port. Also, there is the HP Mobile Extender, a 12.5-inch HD screen laptop shell. You dock the Elite x3 in the Mobile Extender and it comes to life as a Windows laptop, with all of your data still stored on the Elite x3 phone that powers it.

What’s more? Having the same certification as the rugged CAT S60, HP Elite x3 is also certified with MIL-STD 810-grade salt, fog, humidity, transport shock and thermal shock resistance.

Samsung edges into the market with S7 Edge and its sibling

Samsung is no stranger to current smartphone market and the company’s news are popping up on every front page. Similar to last year, not only one, but two phones were announced, the Galaxy S7 Edge and its smaller size sibling S7.

Design

 

S7 Edge has a little edge over the S7 by sporting a bigger plus curved display for instant control access. Both flagship phones feature Always On mode as found in LG G5, in fact this technology was long showcased in Lumias.

Samsung is likely to ram up with Sony’s flagship by giving both S7 and S7 Edge IP68 certification that endows them with dust and water resistance. Althought not recommended by the factory, IP68 certification means they can submerge underwater for as long as they want. The bad part of it, unlike the Xperias, the touchscreen does not work when wet.

Processor 

Under the hood, both of them run on Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 or Samsung homebrewed Exynos 8890, has 4GB RAM, 32 or 64 GB on board storage with the extra storage through its expandable microSD slot. S7 has a 3000 mAh battery while the S7 Edge has slightly larger battery at 3600 mAh, probably due to the extra power consumption to light up the curved screen. Fingerprint scanner is embedded in the home key.

Another notable and “cool” feature found on both S7 is the “liquid cooling” technology embedded alongside the CPU/ GPU combo. Tiny copper pipe containing liquid in it surrounds the processing unit and helps dissipate extra heat generated especially when gaming.

Camera

  

The snapper at the back marks a record f/1.7 aperture. It also has large 1.4 micron pixel on its 12MP sensor.

The custom-made IMX260 sensor by Sony is 1/2.5″ large, and features large 1.4 microns, allowing Samsung to boast that it can collect 95% more light than the one in the Galaxy S6. The image sensor features Dual Pixel focusing – similar to Phase Detection autofocus, but Samsung claims it’s four times faster.

Unlike the camera hump on S6, the camera on S7 just barely protrudes from the back.

LG G5 debut in MWC 2016 and hands on

Instead of focusing on camera performace like what the company did with G3 and G4, this time around, LG focuses on the overall user experience of a flagship smartphone. We are pleased that LG borrowed one or two features from Nokia in term of display and accessory.

Design

The previous G series used to have plastic bodies but the LG G5 now has a metal body and volume keys moves from the back to the side. I guess the reason behind is the already-cramped backside which houses the dual-camera and fingerprint scanner. I am sure the manufacturer does not want to place too many control buttons at the back and end up with fingerprint grease on the cameras.

Near to the bottom of the device, there is a jack to press and eject the “chin”. LG calls it a “modular design”. The advantage of featuring the modular design is the ability to swap the removable battery with different modules. Currently, the modules available are the CAM plus and Hi-Fi plus.

CAM Plus is a bulky piece of hardware, which makes it easier for the user to handle the phone while shooting, and also houses an extra 1,200 mAh battery (similar to the camera grip bundled with Lumia 1020). On the other hand, Hi-Fi Plus, developed in partnership with Bang & Olufsen, offers 32-bit Hi-Fi DAC upsampling. We are hoping more modules coming up from the manufacturer.

 

Hardware

The LG G5 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC, just as expected, along with LPDDR4 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage with an additional microSD card slot that supports up to 2 TB storage. The chipset also offers Quick Charge 3.0 technology, which the LG G5 takes advantage of for very fast charging. Quick Charge 3.0 is said to be 27 percent faster and 45 percent more efficient than the previous generation.

Going with an IPS-LCD display once again, it appears to look more like an AMOLED screen of some sort due to its sheer over-saturated colors, wide viewing angles, and that perfect black color reproduction that AMOLEDs are notable for producing. The display offers an Always-on mode, which was first conceptualised on the LG V10’s Second Screen. This means that you can always see the time and other information, such as messages, missed calls, and notifications at a glance, without having to wake up the phone.

 

Camera

Rumors checked out here and the new flagship comes with a dual shooter setup on the back. The G5 inherits all the goodies, like Laser Auto Focus, Advanced OIS and the Color Spectrum sensor from its predecessor. At first thought, dual cameras are associated with bokeh effect or 3D processing but that is not the case for G5. The handset is equipped with a traditional 16MP camera alongside with a 8MP “Ultra wide angle” snapper. The wide angle lens makes it easier for users to capture more of landscapes, taller buildings, or larger group gatherings . The front camera on the LG G5 is an 8 megapixel unit, which is quite standard nowadays.

Video hands on 

Interactive, bendable display by ReFlex

ReFlex showcases a bendable display device running on Android 4.4. Its display is made by LG, connected to bend sensors and tactile response hardware. The flexibility of that display offers new insight to the form factors of future smartphones. Its tactile feedback is definitely an added advantage to Force Touch. A flexible screen display allows a user to avoid worrying of breaking the screen or going through the “bend gate” issue again.

In the video, the company shows how interactive the display is. You can bend it to flip through book pages, as though you are holding a book physically. The bend sensors also allow the user to input his motion and interact with a game.

The technology is very much the same as what had been showed 5 years ago in Nokia World 2011. Both the devices do quite similar features. In my opinion, the Nokia prototype is sleekier and more like a marketed product.