Friday, May 9, 2014

HTC Malaysia launches the new One M8

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This evening, HTC Malaysia officially launches the long awaiting One M8. It is a replacement for the One M7 and the new facelit promises alot to consumer.

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HTC One M8 Key Specification :


  • 5.0 inches Super LCD 3 screen with 1080 x 1920 of resolution
  • 2.5 GHz quad core Qualcomm MSM8974AB Snapdragon 801 processor with Krait 400
  • Andreno 330 GPU
  • 2GB RAM
  • 16 GB internal memory with microSD slot
  • Dual 4 MP Ultrapixel camera with dual-LED (dual tone) flash
  • 5MP front facing camera
  • 2600 mAh battery
  • Android 4.4.2 Kit Kat with Sense 6
  • 146.4 x 70.6 x 9.4 mm
  • 160 g


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Like most company flagship phone, the One M8 is upgrade of One M7. Bigger screen, faster processor, microSD slot and camera as well. Of course, the new design now is much better than the predecessor. It is more metal now, rounded edge and feel slimmer. Personally, it is one of the beautiful crafted phone that I'll appreciate it. The HTC One M8 also come with new Sense 6 which bring alot improvement. One of the coolest new features brought by the updated package is Motion Launch, which lets you quickly open the camera or unlock the phone while the screen is off. Picking up the One (M8) in landscape mode and pressing the volume button will launch the camera. There's double tap or slide up from the bottom to wake the phone. While locked you can pick up the phone in portrait mode and swipe left on its screen to launch the widget panel or right for BlinkFeed.

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Check out my quick hands on video on the HTC One M8 that focused most on the new camera features.



Eventhough it is still the same 4MP Ultrapixel camera, HTC introduces the secondary camera at the back which uses to capture depth information. HTC calls this Duo Camera. It mimics the stereoscopic abilities of the human eye - two independent lenses able to calculate the relative distance of the subjects in an image. HTC's dual camera setup enables cool effects such as selective focus (shallow depth of field) and post-shot refocusing. Unfortunately the editing has limitation where only auto mode and without flash images taken by the camera can proceed the editing. The optical image stabilization of the original One is now gone, and the One (M8) will rely solely on digital stabilization. Similarly to Apple, HTC has improved the flash of the smartphone by using a two toned one - one cold and one warm LED, which can help the smartphone produce more accurate color tones in low-light conditions. HTC also claims the One (M8) can focus in just 0.3s. If that's not enough for you, HTC is generous enough to packed the front facing camera with 5 Megapixel for selfie lover.

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As I mentioned earlier, I love the design and material used in the HTC One M8. Personally, I still prefer the rough surface on One M7 since the One M8 surface pretty smooth as if it feel like plastic. It is no surprise that the UI and animation transition everything is smooth since Sense UI has been tone down since Sense 5. I still hate the fact the camera still 4MP since I am very much a pixel peep guy. However, I can assured that HTC One M8 camera works as advertise. It is quick in focus, great for low light capture as well and a tones of fun processing mode to be use. Overall, it is really a beauty plus functionality phone, one of the kind phone at the moment and it is for people who dare to change, to try and to explore the possibility using this phone. So once again, HTC did it!

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The HTC One comes with a variety of accessories like the Flip Case, Double Dip case (each in three colors), Dot View case (showing you alarms, events, calls, battery, weather and more in a colorful dotted way) and more. The HTC One is available today with RRP RM 2,399.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Sony announces the Xperia ZL2 in Japan

Surprise! The Sony Xperia ZL2 is now official in Japan. Just like the first one, it's a version of the current flagship with much slimmer bezels and smaller footprint.


Sony Xperia ZL2 Key Specification :


  • 5" with 1080p display Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 and X-Reality engine
  • 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AB chipset
  • 3GB RAM
  • 32GB internal memory with microSD slot
  • 20.7 MP back facing camera (1/2.3" sensor, G Lens, optical image stabilization, autofocus, LED flash)
  • 2MP front-facing
  • 3000mAh
  • Android 4.4 KitKat with Sony's Xperia UI
  • 167 gram
  • 137 x 72 x 10.8mm


The Xperia ZL2 is available in the standard black and white colors as well as a turquoise one, if you want to stand up from the crowd. The phone will soon launch in Japan, and we presume a worldwide premiere isn't too far away. Other than that, nothing much exciting on the ZL2.

[SOURCE]

Samsung announces NX3000 mirrorless camera

The NX3000 is Samsung's latest addition to its NX mirrorless camera line. Along with the 3" flip-up display for self-portraits, it has a 20MP APS-C CMOS sensor and can shoot at 5fps. The NX3000 also comes with Wi-Fi and NFC 'Tag & Go' connectivity options. The NX3000 will ship with Samsung’s new compact 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 power zoom ED OIS lens.


Samsung NX3000 Key Specification :


  • 20 megapixels
  • APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) CMOS sensor
  • ISO 100 - 25600
  • 35 Number of focus points
  • 3″ tilting LCD screen with 460,800 screen dots
  • 5 fps Continuous drive
  • 1920 x 1080 (30p), 1280 x 720, 640 x 480, 320 x 240 video recording
  • Built-In Wireless and NFC
  • B740 lithium-ion battery
  • 117 x 66 x 39 mm


The camera will be available in black, white or brown and sell for $529 with the 16-50mm OIS power zoom lens and SEF-8 flash. A second kit with 20-50mm lens and SEF-8 flash will sell for $479. International pricing has not been announced.

[SOURCE]

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Oppo Malaysia officially launches Oppo Find 7 & Find 7a

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OPPO Electronics Corp today announced the Malaysian debut of its flagship phone of the Find series, the FInd 7 - The first 4G/LTE device from OPPO that also supports Quad HD resolution. The phone made its global entry to the markey back in March in Beijing.

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Oppo Find 7 Key specification :


  • 5.5 inches IPS LCD display with 1440 x 2560 pixels resolution
  • 2.5 GHz Quad-core Qualcomm MSM8974AC Snapdragon 801 Krait 400
  • Adreno 330
  • 3 GB RAM
  • 32GB internal memory with microSD slot
  • 13 MP back facing camera with dual-LED flash
  • 5 MP front facing camera
  • 171 gram
  • 152.6 x 75 x 9.2 mm
  • Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean)
  • 3000 mAh


Oppo Find 7a Key specification :


  • 5.5 inches IPS LCD display with 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution
  • 2.3 GHz Quad-core Qualcomm MSM8974AB Snapdragon 801 Krait 400
  • Adreno 330
  • 2 GB RAM
  • 16GB internal memory with microSD slot
  • 13 MP back facing camera with dual-LED flash
  • 5 MP front facing camera
  • 170 gram
  • 152.6 x 75 x 9.2 mm
  • Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean)
  • 2800 mAh


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* From left : Find 7 and Find 7a *
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* Back design for both Find 7 and 7a *

Obviously there are nothing changes in terms of physical design and also measurement in between Find 7 and Find 7a. The only difference would be the screen resolution, processor speed, RAM, internal memory and also smaller battery capacity. I guess it is a great alternate for those who those who felt the higher spec abit overkill for them. Personally, I can't tell the difference in QHD and FHD display. You seriously need a superhuman eye to distinguish it.

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* Chen Lu - Brand Manager Oppo Malaysia *
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* Candice Liu, Assistant CEO Oppo Malaysia *
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* William Fang, CEO Oppo *

Check out my hands on video!



Like most latest smartphone in current market, Oppo Find 7/7a packed with latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor together with Andreno 330 GPU. Pair with 3GB or 2GB RAM, your experiences with the phone and multitasking will be smooth sail. Not to mention, the chipset supported LTE.

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Both Find 7 also equipped with the Pure Image 2.0, an image processing that enchances images taken by the 13 megapixel camera. The back facing camera is built with six physical lenses, the latest Sony Stacked CMOS IMX214 sensor and f/2 aperture which obviously good for lowlight. I am surprise Oppo Find 7 and 7a included RAW file option as well. Pure RAW shooter gonna be enjoy! One of the worth mentioned camera features in both Find 7 is the "Ultra-HD" mode. Ultra-HD mode combine ten photos at the back end with just one press of a buttonto create images perfect for high quality print. In other words, it created a 50 megapixel image! It is pretty cool if you ask me!

Here are some sample photos taken by the camera using back facing camera and also the Ultra HD mode. Click the link for full res ya!

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Ultra HD Mode

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Also the 4K Ultra HD video recording!



One of the innovation worth praising on Oppo find 7 is the newly developed VOOC fast charging technology that easily shortens charging time, boosting the phone's battery life to 75% within 30 minutes. If you're worried the charging rate is too fast and it might damage the phone, don't worry! This rapid charging tech has a safety feature made up of five layers of thermal protective coating that prevents overheating while charging. So it is safe!

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Oppo also partnered with MaxxAudio's in their latest Find 7 to enchant the dynamic range and frequency of the phone speakers. I am not sure how well it does if against big player such as HTC One M8 and also Sony Xperia Z2, but for me Oppo Find 7/7a speaker is loud enough and clear.

The Find 7a is officially available at all outlet at price RM 1598 while the Find 7 will be selling at price RM 1998 and will be available in Malaysia nationwide end of June.

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Personally I love what Oppo did on their Find 7/7a. Nothing wow on the physical design but I love black most for sure since it has Carbon Fibre pattern design on it. 5.5 inch might sound too big but it actually fit my palm since it share the similar width with my Xperia Z1. Nice IPS display by providing most natural color but the QHD display seem unnecessary for me. The 13 megapixel back facing camera are capable to delivered what it should and Ultra HD mode is interesting too. I wouldn't hesitate using that mode or landscape shooting. Not to mentioned, with RAW I can do more wonder in photography using Find 7/7a! The only things I dislike is the ColorOS UI itself. It is too cartoonish and coloful to my liking. Of course, there are theme store provided by Oppo itself. I guess I can live with it or I'll just use other launcher :P

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Hopefully I can request a review unit and able to provide full review. Who know, it might change my mind on the ColorOS UI and grow love on it?

Vivo Xshot goes official in China with 13MP f/1.8 camera

Camera in phone is getting more and more competitive. The Chinese manufacturer Vivo officially took the wraps off the camera-centric Xshot smartphone that come with f 1.8 aperture. There will be two difference model for Vivo Xshot.


Vivo Xshot Key Specification :


  • 5.2 inch with 1080p display
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC / Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset
  • 3GB RAM / 2GB RAM
  • 16/32 GB internal memory
  • 13 MP back facing camera with f/1.8 and OIS
  • 8 MP front facing camera with LED flash
  • 2,600mAh
  • Android 4.4 KitKat with Funtouch UI


Pricing of the Vivo Xshot will kick off at $480 for the Snapdragon 800 model. Its better-equipped sibling will cost about $560 in local currency.

[SOURCE]

Huawei unveiled Ascend P7 - Smartphone for Selfie

It is not surprise Huawei did it again with the brand new Ascend P7 - stylish in terms on design and focused on selfie as well. Compared to its predecessor, the Ascend P6, the new flagship brings a much better screen as well as major upgrades in the design and camera departments.


Huawei Ascend P7 Key Specification :


  • 5" with 1080p resolution
  • 1.8GHz quad-core HiSilicon Krin 910T chipset Cortex-A9 CPU
  • Mali 450 GPU
  • 2GB RAM
  • 16 GB internal memory with microSD slot
  • 13 MP back facing camera with a Sony BSI sensor and f/2.0 aperture
  • 8 MP front facing camera with BSI sensor and 5-pieces lens coupled with IMAGESmart 2.0 software
  • 2,500mAh
  • Android 4.4 KitKat with Emotion 2.3 UI
  • 124 grams
  • 139.8 x 68.8 x 6.5mm


Huawei has focused on boosting the photography capabilities of the Ascend P7, namely taking selfies. The front-facing camera features an 8MP BSI sensor and 5-pieces lens coupled with IMAGESmart 2.0 software that boasts 10 level auto-facial enhancement and wide-angle photo function. On top of it all, there's a special shooting mode for taking panoramic group selfies - Huawei calls it "groufie."

The phone will be available from May in black, white and pink color options. The recommended retail price of Huawei Ascend P7 is €449 and it will be available in China, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Serbia, Greece, Norway, Hungary, Denmark, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates with other markets to follow.

The company will also be releasing accessories including the TalkBand B1 smart wearable, colorful protective cases, clamshell protective screen covers, and portable batteries.

[SOURCE]