The Filipino MyPhone A878 Duo

Some of you will ask what MyPhone is. As you will notice on my Google+ Profile, I am a Filipino and MyPhone is a Filipino made mobile phone company. Even though their phones are manufactured in China, all the designs and ideas are made by the creative minds of Filipinos. Lately, they have been releasing Android operated phones to keep up with the mobile industry here in the Philippines and the MyPhone A878 Duo is their latest flagship Android phone.

The MyPhone A878 Duo runs on Android's latest mobile OS, the Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 which has MyPhone's user interface. Usually when you see a Android ICS operated phone, you can determine that it is  a high end phone capable of running this OS compared to its predecessors that can only run Android 2.3 Gingerbread and can't be upgraded.

Like the new releases of touch screen phones from Apple, Samsung, HTC, Nokia, etc. you will notice the phone sports a 4.3 inch screen that has the IPS (In-Plane Switching technology) that makes any viewing angle satisfying.

It runs on a MT6517 1GHz dual-core processor, the first in MyPhone's line of smartphones and is believed to be capable in running HD games and playing HD Videos together with a 512MB of RAM and a PowerVR SGX531 GPU. The 1,800mAh battery can also last for a day or more with standard usage. Below you can see its performance in games like this:

The MyPhone A878 also has a 2.5GB of usable storage and a microSD slot that can support up to 32GB. So you can store many photos and some videos in the internal memory alone using the 5MP autofocus camera with a LED Flash.

MyPhone is also known as the first manufacturer of dual-sim phones here in the Philippines and is supported in this model. Unfortunately the A878 has no 3G which is bad news for some people with unlimited mobile plans.

Other features are MP3/MP4/Media playback, WiFi/WiFi Hotspot capable, Motion/Proximity sensors, TV-Out, Google Play Store, 3.5mm audio jack, 2.0 microUSB socket and many other features.

This phone had a promo where you can buy it for only P5388 ($130) and now has a regular price of P6,999 or about $170.

myPhone also has an upcoming release of a new smartphone dubbed as the "A898" that has the specs of the A878 but now supports 3G, so YAY! for some of you. G'day!

What's Up with the New iPhone 5?

In today's feature we will check out if the new iPhone 5 is the best iPhone yet. We will go around the specifications that Apple has added and improved over its predecessor, the iPhone 4S. So let's take a look shall we?

Based from the photo above, you will see that the iPhone 5's predecessors all have the similar round edged look  but without the silver outline of the original iPhone that's similar to the iPod Touch Generation. You will also notice that the iPhone 5 looks like a flattened version of the iPhone 4S that made the screen wider and the body thinner. What's better is that it only weighs a 112 grams compared to its Android counterpart, the Samsung Galaxy S3 which in turn weighs at 133 grams.

The iPhone 5 still inherits the other iPhones' fragile look which would make you buy a case as soon as you buy one, the back of the smartphone sports a new look with two glass strips on the top and bottom with an aluminum cover in the middle. The metal attracts dust though.

Some buttons and slots are still placed on their usual spots like the SIM card slot on the right which only supports the tiny "Nano SIM" cards which is a bit of a disappointment if you still want to use your current prepaid cards. The volume and mute keys are situated at the left side while the 3.5mm earphone jack has been moved to the base for easier pocketing. Lastly is the new "Lightning" as they call it, a smaller docking port in where you can jack in either way around.

The wider screen is now on 4 inches with 326 pixels-per-inch with great viewing angles, bright colors and excellent saturation. For the not too careful users out there, you may want to invest in a screen protector just in case.

The new and more powerful A6 chip now runs on dual cores that has speeds up to 1.3GHz and 2x faster GPUs compared to the previous A5 chip. You will feel the speed when using memory intensive apps like games which is a great improvement than the past version.

Unfortunately for the new iOS 6 which brings a lot of crashes, glitches and bugs especially the Maps App that I would not need to explain how bad it is, based from the negative feedback from users.

The usual 8-megapixel lens is also good on daylight shots but does not do too well on low-light environments like evening shots where the lens vibrates when you take a picture. Using flash is recommended to compensate for the graininess. A new feature is the panoramic view in where you can take landscape shots which is already being used in Android handsets like Samsung or HTC.

The earphones have also been improved to provide less leakiness.

Apple has announced that the rumored 4G LTE networks will soon be released in the UK which greatly improves download speeds. There's is no NFC support though.

So that's it. The new iPhone 5 is still the best version of iPhone out, YET. But still needs improvements like what the other iPhones still lack. Hopefully Apple will do something about it on their next releases of the iPhone. G'day!

Sony's Xperia T: Good Enough?

The new Sony Xperia T (also called as Xperia GX or Xperia TX in other countries) is Sony's new Android flagship that is supposed to replace its predecessor, the Sony Xperia S. It now has a 720p display of 4.6 inches, a 13 megapixel camera, a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor and runs on Android's latest 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS. The design has the familiar curve of the Xperia Arc S which makes it easier to grip and Android on-screen buttons.  The screen is attached to a glossy plastic frame in front, while the other sides still stuck to a matte finish instead of a glossy one.  Unfortunately it weighs at 139 grams compared to Samsung's Galaxy S3 at 133 grams.

The buttons (power button, volume and camera button) are relocated to the right, under the microSD and microSIM slots. HDMI is now supported along with the microUSB port.

The rear 13 megapixels camera can record 1080p video with the Exmor R Sensor of Sony bundled together with a LED Flash and mono speaker, while the front-facing 1.3 megapixels camera for 720p capturing.

The battery can handle up to 6 hours of continuous video playback with its 4.6 inch screen that can support a 1280x720 pixel resolution.

The new Xperia T has its advantages over the Xperia S but still seems lacking which makes the Xperia T not too advisable to buy compared to the recently discounted Xperia S and now upgradeable Android OS (From the current 2.0 OS to the latest 4.0 ICS).

Windows 8 on the new HTC Windows Phone 8X and 8S

Steve Ballmer's announcement in the launch event of HTC's Windows Phone 8X and 8S made the new phones as flagships of Microsoft's new mobile OS.

The new phone from HTC has a colorful and boxy design like the Windows 8 metro start menu to make the look fit better. The buttons and the camera are placed perfectly to accommodate easy-to-use functions. The 8X and 8S are both lighter and thinner than Samsung's Galaxy S3. The soft looking and rubber case makes the phone less fragile compared to the iPhone.

The HTC Windows Phone 8X and 8S does not pack much power like the quad-core powered phones of Samsung and other manufacturers but still does not lack power to run a wide range of apps. Both phones run on Qualcomm's dual-core S4 chips. The 8X runs on 1.5GHz and 1GB RAM while the 8S runs on 1GHz and half the RAM of the 8X.

The 8X has a 4.3 inch screen on a 1280x720 pixel resolution that is clear and sharp. The 8S has a smaller 4 inch screen which is also good. Both phones have nice viewing angles.

Other interesting features are the Beats Audio and the 8MP and 5MP rear cameras for the 8X and 8S respectively. Skype video-calling is also nice because of the tiny 720p capable camera that has a wide view angle.

The new HTC Windows Phone 8X and 8S both have the futuristic feel compared to its competitors which is also a good advantage.

Samsung's Galaxy S3

G'day!
So here I am again and today I'm gonna talk about the new Galaxy smartphone from Samsung, the Galaxy S3. So after the success of the its predecessor, the Galaxy S2 that has received many great reviews and sold a huge amount has given Samsung the title as the biggest mobile phone manufacturer in the world.

The new Galaxy S3 has a vast amount of features that a lot of you will enjoy. The first thing you will notice is its size, a 4.8in display that would make it a little complicated to handle depending on the size of your hands but its slim 8.6mm design (a little fatter than the S2 by a tenth of a millimeter) makes up for the wide build.

Its smooth gloss finish that really feels comfortable on your hands even though it seems a little bit "plasticky" and still looks solid despite a non-permanent battery. It's also light and sits reassuringly on your hand because of its 133g weight.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 is runs on Google's latest Android 4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and is jam-packed full of features. Firstly is the S Voice, a voice recognition software (designed by Vlingo) much like iPhone's Siri. Another feature is the Smart Stay which uses the front-facing camera to detect if a pair of eyes is in front and if there's not, it turns of the screen to save battery life. Other features like Smart Call, Social Tag, NFC technology, the S Beam, and the Smart Alert are also interesting built in stuff that you will or will not appreciate depending on your preference.

The Galaxy S3's 8MP camera (same as the above average S2 camera) delivers clear pictures and can capture a full HD 1080p video. The front-facing 1.9MP camera can also take pictures and capture a 720p video.

This new smartphone from Samsung also boasts a quad-core processor which greatly helps in terms of movies, games and other stuff. You can also go for the Galaxy S3 with a 64GB storage and also has a microSD slot not like its other rivals.

With loads of features and specs. The new Samsung Galaxy S3 packs a huge punch and is more like a smartphone-tablet hybrid which is really worth it.

iPhone Catches Up with BlackBerry in Terms of Enterprise Security

G'day! Analysts and CIOs from TechRepublic.com states that Apple's iPhone has now caught up with RIM's Blackberry smartphones and other devices in terms of enterprise security. For you who aren't sure what enterprise security means, here's a basic definition: It minimizes the risk of being exposed to common threats, identify and analyze your system and application weaknesses or vulnerabilities.

TechRepublic.com shows us Trend Micro's research as proof that the iPhone is just behind the Blackberry in total enterprise security. Rik Ferguson, Trend Micro's security research director says that Apple has gradually added more security features to its iPhone in the past several years and is now prepared to take on RIM and the their BlackBerry OS.

iPhone5 Look-Alike: The Goophone I5

GizChina.com states in their website that a Chinese company quickly made an Android phone which designs was based from the leaked iPhone 5 design photos and immediately released it ahead of the grand unveiling of the next-generation iPhone this month. The Chinese manufacturer's unexpected move to patent the said design in China now waits to sue Apple when the iPhone 5 is later launched in China this year.

If ever anyone's interested in the iPhone 5 imitation, GizChina.com says that the Goophone I5 will have a "1.4Ghz Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, iOS themed Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), a  rear only 8 megapixel camera, and a 1280x720 retina display resolution in a 4-inch screen."