Archos 53 Platinum - 5.3-inch quad core phablet

Archos is well known in the Philippines as one of the early sellers of low cost tablets. The French company is now wading into the Android smartphone arena. I saw two of their products at a small shop in ATC, and the units are well built. The more interesting of the two is the Archos 53 Platinum.

The Archos 53 Platinum is a 5.3-inch phablet which comes in a reasonably thin 9.2 mm case. Inside is a 2800 mAh battery, which is bigger than the 2000 mAh unit normally found on low cost 5.3-inch phablets. Well this is the good news. The rest of the package is less than impressive.

The Archos 53 Platinum has a suggested retail price of Php11,995. It is being offered for sale at a Php500 discount, bringing the price down to Php11,495. For that money, Archos gives you a 5.3-inch qHD (540 x 960) display. There are a fair number of HD (720 x 1280) handsets at this price range. Inside you will find a Qualcomm M8225Q chipset with a 1.2 GHz quad core ARM Cortex A-5 processor and Adreno 203 graphics. While the Adreno 203 graphics can run a qHD display, Qualcomm itself recommends that the Adreno 203 be used in handsets with a FWVGA (480 x 854) display. These days you see the Qualcomm M8225Q on handsets selling at below 5K. The Qualcomm M8225Q also means that you get HSPA connectivity and not HSPA+ speeds you will see from MediaTek powered competitors. Like other Qualcomm M8225Q, it runs on Android 4.1, JellyBean. 

The Archos 53 Platinum also offers 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB or internal storage expandable via a MicroSD card, a 8 MP autofocus primary camera with a BSI sensor and a 2 MP front camera. All-in-all, it is a decent enough package to give a good Android experience. Still, it does seem overpriced for what it offers.

Read more »

Get a Samsung ATIV Book 2 or Acer Aspire V5 with a Smart Gadget Plus Plan

We already wrote about Smart's Gadget Plus plans last month. These plans would allow you to get an Alcatel Tab 7 HD tablet or Samsung Galaxy Note 8, bundled with a Smart WiFi router and 50 hours of internet. Smart has now expanded the plan to include laptops.

You have the choice of a 14-inch Samsung ATIV Book 2 or 11.6-inch Acer Aspire V5 122P touchscreen laptop. The tablet plan for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8  has also been revised with a cash out of Php2,000 being added.

Gadget Plan 999

- Php999 a month for 50 hours of internet plus your selected device.

- Hours used in excess of 50 will be charged at Php5 per 15 minutes (Php20/hour).

- Should you go past 80 hours you will be charged a total fee of Php1,599 for the month and you will be moved to an unlimited data connection for that month.

Cash out:

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 with a Pocket WiFi router - Php2,000

Samsung ATIV Book 2 with a USB dongle - Php1,500

Acer Aspire V5 122P with a USB dongle - Php2,500

Click on the image for a large size

Gadget Plan 699

- Php699 a month for 50 hours of internet plus an Alcatel T7 HD and a Pocket WiFi router

- Hours used in excess of 50 will be charged at Php5 per 15 minutes (Php20/hour).

- Should you go past 80 hours you will be charged a total fee of Php1,299 for the month and you will be moved to an unlimited data connection for that month.

Cash out: 

None. Tablet and router are free.

Click on the image for a large size

Read more »

New format for Smartphone Buyer's Guides

There have been some discussions with readers of this blog, on how best to revise the buyer's guides on this blog. Right now, I divide it into three categories:

• Entry Level
• Mid-Range
• High End

I have also limited it to not more than 5 phones per category, occasionally throwing in a Wildcard (a niche market phone). The current classification really looks to be insufficient, especially considering the heaviest competition these days is in the lower price ranges.

I was thinking of a new scale which would look something like this:

Entry level (up to Php5K)

- MyPhone Rain, Php2988
- Cherry Mobile Life, Php2,999
- Cherry Mobile 2X, Php4,499
- Cherry Mobile Burst, Php4,699
- Arc Mobile Nitro, Php4,999

Low cost (up to 10K, it is a bit strange calling 720p quad core phones, as entry level)

- Arc Mobile Memo, Php6,150
- Cherry Mobile Apollo, Php6,700
- Nokia Lumia 520, Php7,450
- MyPhone A919i, PHP7,990
- Cherry Mobile Omega, Php8,990
- Cherry Mobile Blaze, Php9,490

Lower Mid-Range (up to 15K)

- Nokia Lumia 620, Php10,800
- Cherry Mobile Cosmos S, Php10,999
- ZTE Grand X, Php11,500
- Cherry Mobile Cosmos X2, Php11,699
- MyPhone Agua Iceberg, Php11,988
- MyPhone Agua Vortex, Php12,388
- Nokia Lumia 625, Php12,200 (LTE on Globe only)
- Lenovo S820
- Nokia Lumia 720, Php12,700
- Lenovo P780, Php13,500
- HTC 8X, Php13,500

Upper Mid-Range (up to 20K)

- Sony Xperia SP, Php15,990
- HTC Desire 600, Php16,390
- Huawei Ascend Mate, Php16,700
- HTC One X 32 GB, Php16,990
- Huawei Ascend P6, Php17,990

High End (up to 25K)

- LG Optimus G, Php20,990
- Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3, Php20,900
- Nokia Lumia 925, Php21,500
- Sony Xperia ZR, Php22,990
- Sony Xperia ZL, Php24,500

Flagship

- LG Optimus G Pro, Php25,550 (LTE on Globe only)
- Sony Xperia Z, Php25,990
- LG G2, Php26,650
- Samsung Galaxy S4, Php28,700
- HTC One, Php30,990
- Nokia Lumia 1020, Php31,990
- Samsung Galaxy Note, Php34,450

This is not the list, just a sampling of contenders. This list has six categories. Maybe five categories (6/12/18/24/24), with three recommendations each for a total of 15 phones might be better? Adding a wildcard per category where appropriate for a maximum of 20 phones. What do you think?

Read more »

LG G2 now at Globe Telecom free at Plan 1799 - Turning up the heat on the Samsung Galaxy S4

When the Android powered 5.2-inch LG G2 came out last month, it changed our perception of what an Android flagship phone should be. The LG G2 up'ed the ante in terms specifications and lowered the barrier in terms of price. Selling for just Php27,490 and available at zero interested deferred payment plans, the LG G2 undercut the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One in terms of price, by a good 10%.

At the same time, the LG G2 comes with the new Qualcomm S800 which is faster than the Qualcomm S600 on its Samsung and HTC contenders. The Qualcomm S800 also supports always-on voice monitoring, so it is not only faster but more forward looking. The 13 MP shooter on the LG G2 also has optical image stabilization. With this LG joins HTC and Nokia in this elite club.

Now LG has another coup. It is available on contract with Globe, free at Plan 1799 with a 24 month lock-in, again undercutting cost of ownership as against its rivals.

With the enough hardware to pound the Samsung Galaxy S4 in the ground, and unbeatable price and postpaid options, it looks like Samsung is facing the greatest threat to its Android domination.

Read more »

Cherry Mobile Life: Reigning on the MyPhone Rain

It looks like Cherry Mobile plans to rain on the MyPhone Rain parade. A few days ago, MyPhone launched a low cost, Php2,988, Android Jelly Bean, smartphone. Yesterday, Cherry Mobile unveiled a direct competitor to the Rain, the Cherry Mobile Life, priced at Php2,999.

Quick specifications:

• Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
• 4-inch WVGA (480 x 800) display
• Dual sim support
• 4 GB internal storage expandable via a MicroSD card slot
• 512 MB RAM
• 1 GHz dual core MediaTek MT6572M processor
• Mali-400 graphics processor
• 5 MP autofocus primary camera with LED flash
• 0.3 MP front camera
• HSPA+
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 1500 mAh battery

The specifications of the two phones are almost identical. The Cherry Mobile Life has a larger, sharper display. It also offers a battery which is rated 200 mAh higher. In terms of cameras, the Cherry Mobile Life  has a 5 MP primary camera against the 3.2 MP unit on the MyPhone Rain. The camera on the Cherry Mobile Life is also an autofocus unit and has a LED flash. The MyPhone Rain has a fixed focus camera and has no flash. The My Phone Rain does have a 1.3 MP front camera, which has a higher resolution than the Cherry Mobile Life's VGA unit, but all in all, the Cherry Mobile Life looks like the much better choice among the two. That is being polite. Really, there is no contest.

It looks like the name Rain, was prophetic, in a bad way.

Read more »

SKK Neo - Cheapest Jelly Bean Android phone (but there is catch)

Apparently, this phone has been in the market a month now. It slipped through my radar. The SKK Neo is the cheapest Android Jelly Bean phone, priced at Php1,999. For that price it actually has a decent set of specifications, but there is one that worries me a bit.

The SKK Neo is listed to have just 256 MB of RAM, and 256 MB of internal storage. I have never used Android 4.2 on a phone with just 256 MB or RAM or tried to flash it on a phone with just 256 MB of internal storage. If any of you have this phone, I would love to get some feedback.

Quick specifications:

• Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
• 3.5-inch HVGA (320 x 480) display
• 256 MB internal storage, expandable via a MicroSD card
• 256 MB RAM
• MediaTek MT6572M chipset
• 1 GHz dual core processor
• Mali 400 graphics
• 1.3 MP autofocus primary camera 
• 5 MP front camera
• HSPA+
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 1100 mAh battery (user replaceable)

Read more »

Gionee ELIFE E6

Gionee Mobile is an India based company, whose products are now being offered in the Philippines. The latest offering of this India based company is pretty impressive: the Goinee ELIFE E6. The ELIFE E6, is not cheap. One of the online resellers I use for price comparisons has it listed at Php16,150. That is a fair bit of cash for a phone from a lesser known company.

Update: Apparently the SRP of this phone is Php18,990.

But what does the ELIFE E6 offer? The ELIFE E6 is a 5-inch Android smartphone with a Full HD (1080 x 1920) display. Like the other locally and India branded phones, it sports a MediaTek chipset, a MediaTek MT689T. This comes with a 1.5 GHz quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor and PowerVR SGX544 graphics chip. Although, you will find a few locally branded phones sold for lower prices like the Cherry Mobile S & Z.

The ELIFE E6 is a cut above its locally branded competition with 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage. It does not appear to have a MicroSD card slot.

Another thing going for the ELIFE E6 is that it comes in a slim and compact case:

• Gionee ELIFE E6 - 142.5 x 69.4 x 6.2 mm
• Samsung Galaxy S4 - 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm
• Sony Xperia Z - 139 x 71 x 7.9 mm
• Cherry Mobile Cosmos Z - 142.7 x 71.9 x 7.8 mm

The other specifications are what you would expect, with a 13 MP primary camera, 5 MP front camera and HSPA+ connectivity. Notably, this phone only supports one SIM slot.

Quick specifications:

• Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
• 5-inch Full HD (1080 x 1920) display
• 32 GB internal storage, not expandable
• 2 GB RAM
• 1.5 GHz quad core MediaTek MT6589 processor
• PowerVR SGX544 graphics
• 13 MP autofocus primary camera with LED Flash
• 5 MP front camera
• HSPA+
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 2000 mAh battery (not user replaceable)

The biggest drawbacks of the package are the PowerVR SGX544 graphics and 2000 mAh battery. PowerVR SGX544 is fast, and can run the Full HD display well. But if you are looking for a handset for 3D gaming, you might want to look for a model with a MT6589 or MT6589T chipset and 720p display instead.

The 2000 mAh battery is on the small side for a 5-inch phone with a 1080p display. The fact that it is not user replaceable does not help. A thicker case with a larger 2300~2800 mAh battery would have been preferable.

So there you have it. As far as I know it is the cheapest locally available Android with a Full HD display and 2 GB of RAM. On the other hand, at this price you have the LTE enabled Sony Xperia SP, which offers a more well rounded package, and the Huawei 6.1-inch phablet, the Ascend Mate.

Read more »