Oppo has landed in Malaysia

Oppo, a famous China company that makes smartphones, just had its launch event in Malaysia. It announced 4 models for Malaysia, but I am pretty sure that you will only be interested in one of them. That, of course, is the Oppo N1.

With a swivelling 13 MP camera, this phone will turn everyone into selfie-spamming bimbos. Source: mobicity.com.au

The event was covered by Soya Cincau and Lowyat. You can also find a review by The Verge of the phone. I will summarize as best as I can.

Main selling point - swivel camera. That translates to selfies. And with that, Oppo included a touchpad on the back which you can hold for a second to capture an image. The screen is 5.9" 1080p. It runs on a Snapdragon 600 (1.7 GHz) processor with 2 GB RAM and is juiced by a 3610 mAH (!) battery. It only comes with 16 GB RAM and it is non expandable. Oh, there is also no LTE.

Truth be told, I am not sold by the sheer length of the phone. Being about half an inch even longer than the Note 3, that phablet is trading too much for the swivel camera. Speaking about the swivel camera, it should prevent the use of conventional casings. And if somehow the case makers succeed in making a case to accommodate the swivel camera, it also needs to carve out a hole on the back to allow access to the touchpad.

LTE support is a staple in 2014. A phone that costs RM 1798 should have LTE. Also, considering that it only comes with 16 GB worth of storage, you might run out of space to store all your selfies in about a month or two.

Source: Soya Cincau

All in all, if you really need to get that perfect selfie, get a Nikon D5100.

HTC's upcoming M8 photos leaked

Sure I have my gripes with HTC due to my experience with the One X, but one cannot deny the build quality of the HTC One. So it is no surprise that HTC is sticking to its guns in terms of design.

With the capacitive buttons out of the way, this looks sexy in front now. Source: Soya Cincau

Update: It seems like this is a fake. There are other leaked pictures going around, but I still like this the most.

Dual cameras. Source：HTCfamily.ru

My guess is that HTC is bringing HDR to a whole new level by taking pictures with both cameras, cutting down the time to take HDR photos by half. Besides that, I really cannot think of any other reason.

I just hope that they put in a decent camera sensor. Without the benefit of optical zoom on mobile phones, it is quite necessary to have the pixelcount for users to crop and enlarge photos. Nokia got it right - pushing the pixelcount to the maximum and downsample the photos.

I am liking what I am seeing from HTC now. If they will just toss in a 5.2inch IPS display paired with a 3200 mAH battery, we already have a winner of a smartphone from 2014.

Lens flare unlock effect disappeared on Samsung Galaxy Note 3 after Android 4.4.2 update

It looks like Samsung screwed up their Android 4.4.2 Kit Kat update on the Galaxy Note 3. While bringing much needed fluidity to the phone, one thing is missing from the phone now - the lens flare unlock effect.

That unlock effect was only accessible while using a Live Wallpaper. Now, it has been replaced.

I really hate that it keeps telling me how to unlock my screen. Just shut up already.

I know I can get rid of the effect by choosing ripple/watercolor effect but for that, I will need to use a non-Live-wallpaper.

Maybe a reset will fix this? Does anyone out there who has information on this?

Update: A factory reset did not restore the lens flare unlock effect. Boo Samsung.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 review (SM-N9005 on Android 4.3) after 2 months

It has been awhile since I purchased a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 to replace the prematurely aged HTC One X (Tegra 3, you do not belong in smartphones). With Android 4.4.2 available today, I figured I should do the review now, lest I update it and cannot do a proper out of the box review.

I definitely need a better setup/camera for this.

Here's one from those who mastered the dark arts of photography. Source: Yologadget

First off, specs!

Screen: 5.7" Super AMOLED 1920 x 1080 (386.5 PPI)
Screen Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (2.3 GHz)
RAM: 3 GB
Storage: 32 GB with microSD expansion up to 64 GB
Power: 3200 mAH Li-Ion battery
Mobile data: HSPA, LTE
Location: A-GPS with GLONASS
Wifi: 802.11 a, ac, b, g, n (2.4 and 5 GHz)

Dimensions: 151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3 mm
Weight: 168 g

Well, there is really nothing much to say here, except that Samsung got their hands on the best of the best in 2013 and just shoved them into the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. The fastest quad core processor running at 2.3 GHz is certainly the fastest mobile processor in 2013. A massive 3 GB RAM marks that Samsung is again first at something. Haven't even heard about the 802.11ac Wifi standard? It's okay. Samsung have, and they future-proofed your Wifi for you.

The main thing that jumped out at me while looking at the specs was that the battery only received a minor bump from 3100 mAH  in the Note 2. With a screen that is 0.2" larger with 2.25 times as many pixels, and not to mention the much brighter screen, it did worry me some - but this particular worry was short lived.


Screen

Gorgeous screen. Source: Android Police

I avoided Samsung phones, or any other AMOLED/Super AMOLED screen phones for as long as I remember. I even chose the HTC One X over the Samsung Galaxy S3 because HTC's IPS panel makes the Super AMOLED look like a piece of garbage.

But there is no denying it now. Samsung actually makes great screens now. The 5.7" Full HD panel on the Note 3 is comparable to the likes of the IPS panels from HTC or LG phones. They made the changes to the red and blue pixel, making them bigger and diamond-shaped.

Pixel arrangement in the Super AMOLED screen of the Note 3, if anyone cares.  Source: Android Authority

The results are simply astounding.

Close up of the screen. Source: Android Police

Stylus

This is what makes the Note, a Note. The biggest complaints about the Note 2 is that the stylus does not work on the capacitive "Back" and "Menu" buttons. But this has been fixed since the Note 8, and it certain is fixed on the newer Note 3.

It is all about the stylus. From the back: Note 2, Note 8 and Note 3.

Referring to the picture above, Samsung has definitely made it easier for users to reinsert the stylus into its storage place as there is no wrong way of sliding the stylus into the designated slot.


Software - Touch Wiz

It is the same old Touch Wiz, with some new functions for the S-Pen.

There is only so many words you can use to describe Touch Wiz. Prime examples are clunky, outdated, and downright ugly.

Default lock screen.

Notification area and Music Controls (only when playing music)

All quick toggles.

Music player on PIN lock screen.

I mean what is with the black/green combo for toggles? Gingerbread is so 2010, Samsung. Time to move on. Music player on the lockscreen is also very badly implemented.

I was forced to choose a pleasant blue/purple background so that it does not clash that badly with the permanently blue weather/clock widget. I miss the weather/clock widget from HTC Sense badly.

Even if I can change the widget myself, it is still an atrocity.

Using the Note 3 is not too bad if you are coming from another Android phone. However, there are some glaring shortcomings on Touch Wiz.

First off, the are no pre-installed Mirror app (let you check yourself out using your phone). The Mirror apps in Google Play Store always comes with Ads, which hampers the experience a little.

Secondly, the Flashlight app has no brightness control. It is simply a widget that turns the LED flash on or off. This is definitely a step back from what HTC Sense has.

Finally, the Homescreen layout is pretty bad. Sticking to 4x4 grids on such a huge phone makes the icons look comical. My suggestion is to get a 3rd party launcher like Nova to make full use of the screen estate.

Software - S-Pen

This is what gives the Note it's name. A stylus that Samsung named S-Pen enables users to write, draw and make selections on the screen easily - the Air Gesture from S-Pen works like a mouse in some way which enables you to actually do mouseover on some websites not optimized for mobile devices.

The obvious features are holding the button on the S-Pen to take a screen shot, and hold the button and circle an area to capture the area in the circle.

Air Command wheel.

Air Command is the name of the game for the Note 3. Holding the S-Pen's button while hovering near the screen will bring up a wheel of functions.

Action Memo. Write anything, and it will try to read it - making it possible to directly call the numbers you scribbled, get Google Maps to navigate to an address and other goodies.

Scrap Booker. Draw a circle around anything and it will display the circled area, and displays the text inside separately, making it easy to get text from a photo from your phone camera, for example.

Screen Write. Take a screenshot and lets you write on it immediately. 

S-Finder. Pointless. Useless compared to Google Now.

Pen Window. Draw a box anywhere on the screen and you can select the handful of applications to run inside that box. Granted, the application do not always adhere to the box, but they will still float above any other app that you have running. Useful when trying to calculate spendings when reading an email.

Pen Window. Calculator in action. Minimized calculator on the right.

That about covers all of S-Pen's Air Command feature.

Battery Life

Battery life is superb on the Note 3. The 3200 mAH battery keeps the phone running for at least one and a half days. If you are a heavy mobile gamer, it might not last that long. Playing Plants vs Zombies 2 drained the battery in about 4 hours. But that is already leaps and bounds better than the One X that can barely hold its own through an hour and a half of Blood Brothers.

However, the thing that astounds me is how fast the Note 3 charges. With a 5V, 2A charger, the Note 3 goes from 0 to 100 in a little more than 2 hours (and about half of that are trickle charging ). Worried you might not make it through the day with 40% battery? Plug it in for 15-30 minutes and you will find that the battery has gone up by a healthy margin. Not to mention, it has to spend less time tethered to a mobile powerbank when you are out and about.

I am disappointed with the rest of the manufacturers that refuse to implement 2A chargers on their devices. Cutting the charging time by half is nothing but amazing. I know that it is a necessity on iPads and Galaxy Notes for they have huge batteries, but every device will benefit from shorter charging times.

Performance

I will leave benchmarking to the professionals like Engadget and The Verge, as I have no desire to wipe my phone to get the best benchmark scores. Not to mention that Samsung likes to rig its phones for mainstream benchmarks.

The performance is good on the phone. But it still gets dragged down by the clunky Touch Wiz. Flipping through the Homescreen, particularly when the device has just been rebooted, can show some animation lags.

One can hope that Samsung will learn the error of its ways and start making proper changes to its UI. However, when they are raking in dollars by the billions, you realize that they might not care to, because they still can get away with it.

Besides the UI, gaming on the device has been really pleasant, with an exception that the speakers are a little on the harsh, soft side. Packing the best internals from 2013, the Note 3 breezed through the game effortlessly. This is the fastest on market processor/GPU combo (the Nvidia Tegra K1 and the Snapdragon 805 has not hit the market in any devices yet). But if you do want the best in 2014, then I suggest you wait.

Conclusion

The Note 3 is definitely the phablet to get. While I have not used the LG Optimus G Pro, I have read that in terms of software, it is still lacking. With it being launched much earlier than the Note 3, it only packs a Snapdragon 600 processor.

Most people seem to have the idea that the Note 3 is simply too big for your pockets. But that is really a myth, unless you are into very tight jeans and such. Of course it is almost impossible to type on the Note 3 on one hand (I can manage reasonably well with Swiftkey's excellent Flow feature), I still think that the tradeoff from it - huge screen with long battery life and blazing performance, is worth it.

Sources: Android Police, Yologadget, Android Authority, Engadget, The Verge

Android 4.4.2 OTA update for Samsung Galaxy Note 3 available now for Malaysia

Those rocking the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 should probably hit Check Update on your phablets now. Android 4.4.2 has arrived in the form of OTA update in Malaysia.

I should probably start my review of the Note 3 running Android 4.3...

This is pretty fast - for Samsung, at least. Source: Sammobile

Moto G for free on contract from Digi

If you have a pretty low budget but still want a smartphone that is at least decent - none of those 3.2" to 4.0" screen nonsense, this is the phone to get.

The Moto G from Motorola is a phone with the best value at the moment. Take a look at reviews  from Engadget and The Verge.

With a RRP of RM699, the Motorola G simply screams value. Source: Digi

There is a catch, however. The Moto G is only available with the Digi 58 or the Digi 88 Smartplan, and the minimum contract period is 24 months. That is a lot to swallow, definitely. But hey, if you are already on Digi then this does not seem that bad of a deal.

It's only been 2 months, and we have a new Microsoft Surface Pro 2

The new one is called the Surface Pro 2+. Source: winbeta

I kid you. Microsoft did not announce a new Surface Pro 2. They just "merely" upgraded the processor and did not bother to tell anyone.

Updates and upgrades are usually good. Usually. But not when a company screws over their company's most loyal supporters, a.k.a. early adopters. Early adopters jump to buy the latest piece of tech that they like. And due to Apple's influence, most are expecting that their device will last/be viable for at least a year before it is overshadowed by an updated device/specs. Even the almighty Apple did something like this before.

An example of companies that pulls shenanigans like that is HTC. Consumers are literally bombarded by multiple flagship phones a year, running the same Android OS, but has incremental upgrades. It is hard to not feel bummed out when your shiny new flagship phone (that you have yet be able to find a nice cover for it because it is too new) is forgotten due to another flagship from the same company. BGR has an excellent article on this.

Then they rub salt into your wounds. They parade new features of the new device in front of your face. No one likes it. Consumers are already hard pressed making decisions while making a choice for a device. It is something that they need to commit to. Some even spend days or weeks or even months, researching products and finally decided on one. They buy it, and BAM - a newer, better version appears in the market 8 weeks later.

Released within 6 months - HTC Sensation, HTC Sensation XE and, HTC Sensation XL. This is still not counting the numerous other devices like the HTC EVO 3D and HTC EVO 4G. Source: Pocketlint

Microsoft is the latest one to pull such a trick. Albeit, it is not taunting or even announcing it. And the upgraded Surface 2 is not named Surface 2+. That is good, but it is still unacceptable.

I do not mean that a company has no right to upgrade the components in their devices as they see fit. But with a weak explanation like this: "Microsoft routinely makes small changes to internal components over the lifetime of a product, based on numerous factors including supply chain partnerships, availability, and value for our customers. With any change to hardware or software, we work to ensure that the product experience remains excellent." - it is definitely not acceptable. Was the initial processor too slow? Or was the upgrade made because Microsoft wants to market it as a secure device now? These are some of the questions that will be asked by the early adopters.

The processor upgrade does not just come with a processor clockspeed boost, it also bumps the integrated GPU from 1 GHz max boost to 1.1 GHz. The new processor also comes with Intel's Trusted Execution technology for software security. A simple comparison done on Intel's website shows that Intel's vPro Technology, Intel's TSX-NI and Intel's Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O also come with the upgrade. And they both cost $281 per tray listed as well (and were launched at the same time).

I feel sad for early Microsoft Surface 2 adopters. I, myself, got burned some time ago when I bought the HTC One X and was caught off guard when the HTC One X+ launched with a better front facing camera, bigger battery and higher clocked processor. I think it is a shame that companies practise this.