Showing posts with label Smartphones. Show all posts

Impressions: Xiaomi Mi 4i



On 23 April 2015, Xiaomi announced the Mi 4i at its global premiere #MiLaunch2015 in New Delhi, India and it will soon reach the shores of Singapore in May, adding on to the phone lineup of Redmi 2 and Redmi Note 4G that is currently available on the Xiaomi SG online store.



The Mi 4i
Xiaomi stated that the "i" in this case, refers to the flagship phone that is specifically designed for India, but can also be defined as International that is meant for the global markets as they extends the launch to other Asian countries (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia) later in May.






Design
Mi 4i has a fairly rectangular design with a polycarbonate back and does not feature any curved edges, but focuses on cutting its thickness to a mere 7.8mm at 130 grams and offering it in 5 funky colours.


Camera
For photography, Mi 4i's main camera comes with a 13MP f/2.0 Sony/Samsung sensor and the front camera 5MP f/1.8 that performs better in low-light conditions. Not to mention that it even comes with intelligent two-tone flash.



Display
The 5″ 1080p HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, scratch-resistant and pixel density count of 441 pixels per inch is definitely sharp at arm's length and provides superb durability, but the selling point is in Mi 4i's sunlight display that provides better readability under sunlight by adjusting the contrast of each pixel in real time and avoids draining the battery as compared to maxing out the brightness levels.




Battery Life
Within Mi 4i's slim body, it packs a 3,120 mAh battery and allows Quick-Charge to deliver about 40 percent charge in 1 hour and a full charge in 3 hours. More impressively, Xiaomi claims that the Mi 4i will be able to last one and a half days if used normally.


Dual SIM
In this modern age and time, there are times when we separate our work and personal life into 2 separate phones, but it can be quite an inconvenience in some cases; Dual-SIM provides this group of people the flexibility to switch between work and personal life with ease.



Storage
Mi 4i's significant downside is having only 16GB of internal storage and the lack of a memory card slot for expandable storage, but users can work around it with proper file management practices.



Price
As Mi 4i will only be available in Singapore some time in May, pricing has yet to be confirmed, but it should not be far from Xiaomi - India's selling price of Rs 12,999 (about S$ 275).



Final Thoughts
Xiaomi has hit the sweet spot once again as Mi 4i offers a set of attractive features and hardware at a cost effective price to waiver the hearts of smartphone consumers.

*Source: Xiaomi


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Leaked: LG G4



The LG G4 is due to launch at their New York press event on 28 April 2015, but there seems to be a leak on the specifications 1 day before the actual announcement.


Leaked Functions and Specifications 
 




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Everything We Know So Far
Whether or not if the leaked information is true, we will soon find out later at their press event, but we can confirm that LG G4 will feature a f/1.8 camera, a state of the art QHD display and a leather backing through the teaser videos that they have released.





PS: Leave a comment and let me know if you think any of the leaked specifications is true!


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I just got myself an.... iPhone 5S =)


I've just gotten my iPhone 5S on 23th Sept (spill the story behind it later)
& this post is dedicated to those who are considering iPhone 5S as an option.
even if for those who dont like Apple, at least give a chance to hear me out!!

do you know Apple took exactly 1 year to launch their new iPhone 5S?
& this time it didnt disappoint me as compared to iPhone 4S
design wise always didnt change for the same series of iPhone,
but they do offer colour alternatives & this time iPhone came in...
Champagne Gold

in my opinion, I think it is a nice colour based on the photos,
but I'm more concerned that if guys in general can pull that off.
they also come in silver or space grey
yup, didnt know space has their own colour of grey till now...

OKAY, I shall start with current iPhone users who are using 4S or prior to that
if the new addition of colours & slight design alteration isnt enough to win over ur heart,
lets hope the following main points will hit ur mark to upgrade ur current iPhone

1) 2x better processor over iPhone 5
it makes alot of difference as iOS 7 can make prior iPhone lag
& you dont have to worry apps crashing on you coz now the processor can handle it.
you will say that you can live with it until the moment your phone starts to retire on you.
btw, it is also there to handle the new Slow-Mo video function
120 frames per second & you can set the timing when Slow-Mo kicks in.
since the iPhone 5S launch coincides with Singapore F1 Night Race,
we are in luck to catch not just a glimpse of F1 racing car,
but rather a better view of the race with Slow-Mo!!!


2) even better camera + truetone flash
nowadays, many people takes photo with their photos & this wins me over.
the cameras on iPhone 4S & above are ranked among the best in smartphones.
although it remains at 8 megapixels, it can now capture 33% more light
coz of the larger sensor & f/2.2 lens that is in the iPhone 5S.
I can only say that 8 megapixels take clear enough photos for our daily life
& I prefer better performance in low light setting than a phone with 13 megapixel
coz most of the time the flash turns out to be too harsh  & wash out ambient light
the complementing feature is the truetone flash that comprises of 2 LEDs (1 white, 1 amber)
where the right variation of flash makes photo of subject & background more natural

3) Touch ID

as the name suggests, it has something to do with Touch & ur ID
it is ur FINGERPRINTS!!!
what it does is to unlock by simply pressing the home button
& it unlocks almost instant if it gets a good read of ur fingerprint.
on top of that, you can just scan ur fingerprints for app store downloads.
more applications of the fingerprint scanner will be used in the future updates!
in the case where the home button spoils, you can still input the pass-code.
so dont worry that once the button spoils, all the data is gone.
if you're doubting the accuracy of the TouchID, it differentiates not just fingers
different parts of the body or even cat paws can be registered

I will have to say that it is really quite convenient & one of the best security.
imagine how much time you can save from just a day's use without swiping or pass-code
it wont take you long to do those, but which provides you the level of security?

dont have to worry bout people hack ur phone & use of the fingerprints to do bad stuff
coz the fingerprints are converted into strings of data rather than image of ur actual fingerprint.
if someone wants to rob you, he will probably have to cut off ur fingers or hand first.
if not, the person must be a tech guy to hack ur phone (lets not get into details)
for a phone? I will like to believe that it is highly unlikely.

Note: iPhone 5C is almost too similar to iPhone 5
in fact, you are paying the same amount now for unapologetic plastic.
I'm not saying it's no good, but it will be more appealing if they priced it even lower at $49 USD.


as for Android users, why switch over / back to Apple?
there is the new iOS 7 that is meant to provide more quick access to settings.
there are more apps in Apple store & if you prefer the difference in layout & interface.
if you dont need much customisation, I would suggest iOS coz it is more intuitive.


Journey to get iPhone
as I was saying at the start of the post that I've just gotten my iPhone 5S on 23th Sept,
it all started on the 11th Sept where Apple announces preorder will start on the 13th Sept
& just so happen that Singapore is among the countries that will be receiving the new iPhones.
however, I wasnt able to preorder with M1 telco & can only register for updates of it.
days passed & there wasnt any word bout the preorder or the pricing of the iPhones.
anyway, there was this email bout priority registration to buy the iPhones on the 20-23th Sept
I didnt get to check my email, but it was already 3pm by the time I saw it,
priority registration was at 9am & I totally missed it



so I was at IMM bout 9.30AM for some Mac breakfast & started queuing since 10
 as expected all the Champagne Gold silver were all snatched up.
however, it puzzles me that nobody wanted space grey.
is it that ugly that nobody wants it or is there some other reason?
I find it perfectly cool & catered more to the guys, but does that mean no guys buy iPhone?
soon the truth was revealed coz people were recontracting to sell them
Champagne Gold at $1500 (16GB) - $1800 (32GB)
silver at $1000 (16GB) - $1250 (32GB)
space grey at $950 (16GB) - $1200 (32GB)

I got myself a space grey set coz it is still cool, though not the most exclusive.
the fact is that people can differentiate it with iPhone 5 coz it is not full BLACK
I know this might sound abit sour, but I'm gona say it

if I cant get Champagne Gold, I will rather get space grey
it will be so hard to say notice a silver iPhone 5S.
dont simply follow the trend blindly, but choose what you like!!

HTC One M7 review - one of the smartest phone this season yet!!!



Just a little background story before we get into review....

I had my eyes on HTC One since long long time ago like January~~
then, there was a constant discussion about phones with TienBoon!!
Options: Blackberry Q10 / Z10, HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S4
final decision from both of us???
undoubtedly..... still HTC One!!!!
gona get our hands on it the moment it comes to Singapore
coz previously it was facing stock issues due to its ultrapixel shortages.




On top of that, I was thinking that I should concentrate on my studies
coz April would've been the month of study break before my exam hits me 
& there wasn't any room for distractions until everything ends!!!




However, I had to put HTC One ahead of schedule
after seeing TienBoon  picked HTC One outta the squarish box
In a way, I influenced him to make his purchase & he in turn influenced me back~~

Okay let's get back down to Objectives.... 
I've been using HTC One for about 3 months & I love it!!!
There is definitely amazing smartphones coming from all brands out there,
but 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'~~
IMO, none with the build quality that comes close to comparison
& that's what HTC One bought me over without any doubts =)





Pros of HTC One
1) Superb build quality: no-gap full metal aluminum body which all apple-fans love
2) Ultrapixel camera: captures amazing photos under low lighting conditions
    & optical image stabilizer prevents blurry photos in all situations
3) Beats Audio: gives the extra oomph to make music sound even better
4) 1080p display on 4.7 inch screen with Boomsound:
sometimes I just wana watch some videos I downloaded on my phone
& I have 1 of the crispiest screen on phone that can play bluray movies.
+ natural sounding loudspeaker from its dual frontal speakers like how its meant to be
coz I'm infront of the screen & dislikes phones with loudspeakers blasting to the back
5) Battery that easily last me through the day without too much gaming
If you play games or checks on (facebook + twitter + whatsapp) almost every min,
go get yourself a portable battery or this phone is not for you as you cant replace battery

6) software:
blinkfeed - gives (facebook + twitter + news) updates on the home screen
Zoe - automatically creates 30-seconds highlight video from all the (photos + videos)
camera editing functions to beautify photos (if you love to edit photos on ur phone)
7) No home button - goes in line with google's vision of android

Cons of HTC One
1) too little Cons
2) power button might be a bit awkward too high at the top
3) too thin that it might slip out of your hands (a case will settle the problem)
However, I prefer my gadgets to be without case as its primitive form is beauty
4) it takes about 3 - 4 hours to fully charge phone if phone is below 20%,
but it keeps the battery healthy without fast charge & discharge

Of course, there is alot more features of every phone,
but there is no need to consider features that I'm not using.
IMO, HTC One may not be the smartest phone in the market,
but it is the smartest phone for me by its raw potential without gimmicks
& it comes at a lower price as compared to other flagship smartphones out there
which is the game changer as long as my wallet is willing to fork out that dollar bill