SAMSUNG GALAXY S6 & S6 EDGE UNPACKED (WITH PHOTOS)

At 1:30 a.m. local time today (02/03/2015), Samsung finally (and officially) breaks the cover on their latest flagship, the SAMSUNG GALAXY S6  and S6 EDGE! "No more internet rumours" - JK SHIN. The event which lasted for around 45 minutes showcased most of the new features of the phone and not divulging much into their specifications and let me tell you, it does look "cool" and "tempting" as referred by Samsung's presenters. Without further ado, Tomorrow is Today, Future is Present and the Next is Now.

The new Galaxy S6 would be offered in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB option (a relief that they opted to not include the 16GB like Apple as it is just insufficient nowadays). Sadly you will not have the option to increase your memory once you bought the device as there is no microSD slot.

One of the main phrases used to describe the futuristic features found on the S6

INTRODUCTION

President & CEO of Samsung Electronics coming out to present the new Galaxy S

 "People want best in class smartphone & best in class design" - JK SHIN. After a few short words by the CEO, glimpses of the S6 and its Edge version were teased.

New 14nm 64-bit Processor

 Other than the standard features on a smartphone, Samsung also touted its security that is improved and is more than ever ready for business and corporate use with its improved Samsung Knox Security.

 As a move seen to counter Apple Pay, Samsung come out with their own version of wireless mobile payment.

 A new out-of-the-box feature now for Samsung S Series is the built-in wireless charging capability.

Areas that Samsung focused on when designing its latest flagship.

Here are several photos of the Gold Version of S6 Edge:

Front: Black S6, Rear: Gold S6 Edge

DESIGN

Samsung have been receiving criticisms for using plastic in previous S devices which resulted in a few of its smartphones looking cheap. Consumers have long been demanding a better design from Samsung and this time they have listen and came out with an all new metallic design.  A design that is focused on the essentials thus producing a sleek and beautiful outcome. The metal used in the S6 and S6 Edge is said to be 50% stronger than metals found in other smartphones Thus it should not "bend" - Samsung (Pun intended,  #Apple).

To create the curved display alone requires the glass was heated to 800 degree Celsius. This shows Samsung's commitment in the design and the sheer force and workload needed to achieve it. The S6 Edge is also the first dual-curved display in the world. It offers a more comfortable grip and like Samsung said is "really cool". 

Corning Gorilla Glass 4  can be found on both front and rear of the device. The new technology is said to be super tough withstanding not just scratches but also falls. Good for those with clumsy hands.

The Display is also said to be super responsive.

Colour options

USER INTERFACE

Along with the S6 comes a newer, revamped TouchWiz that is in Samsung's words "more intuitive and simpler". Based on recommendations from friends and the internet, certain items like icons are changed to clearly defined text. and bright simple colours are used (Purple for videos, green for telephone, orange for contacts). 

The default camera app is also easier to use as all the menus and settings are reachable. But fret not advanced photographers, there's also a Pro Mode that would allow more controls over the camera.

Another use of the curved edge is to display coloured notifications for certain assigned contacts. The S6 Edge would allow you to assign up to 5 contacts with 5 different colours. No words if there would be any increment in the future. 

In the moments where you are not able to answer a call, you could just place your finger on the camera sensor to auto-reply with an SMS saying that you are occupied.

PROCESSOR

Now moving to the internals, the new S6 is now powered with the latest generation processor, a 64-bit 14nm structure processor with the standard a few years ago being 20nm and 24nm. This smaller yet more powerful processor would increase performance by 20% while being more energy efficient by up to 35%. Instead of using the standard DDR3 RAM, Samsung opted for a faster DDR4 type RAM that have an increase in performance of up to 80%.

DISPLAY

The new display pushes an impressive 577 ppi in a 51" QHD SUPER AMOLED  (iPhone 6: 326ppi) which is essentially 77% more pixels than the S5. Samsung also introduced a new Virtual Reality (VR) headset that is designed to be used with the S6. With the new display, each eye would receive a full-HD of display,

BATTERY

Contrary to their other phones, the S6 comes surprisingly with a built-in battery. Samsung said that they didn't want to come out with one until the consumers were ready and are convinced. But what's amazing about the S6 battery is that it charges faster than anything in the market. A 10-minute charge would give 4 hours worth of standard usage. 

Other than that, it also features built-in wireless charging  capabilities that would work with most WPC & PMA ports found widely in cafe (in America at least).

All of this is wrapped inside a 6.8mm device.

CAMERA

Since smartphones have become our daily camera, it is essential for a flagship model to have an excellent one. Samsung then sets out to create a camera that can "excel in all conditions" and judging from the pictures shown, this might be the one. As rumoured, the rear camera packs a 16MP F1.9 sensor and this time with Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS). The bigger aperture would allow for more light to be captured and based on the pictures shown during the unpacked event, are surely amazing. The front camera now comes with a 5MP F1.9  sensor.

So confident that Samsung is with their new camera that they decided to shot all videos and photos during the unpacked event with the Galaxy S6. Their cameras are equipped with Real Time HDR thah allows it to take great low light photos.

Samsung said that they know precious moments are random and sometimes flashes by for only a few seconds so they made access to the camera much faster and easier. You can Double Click the home button from the locked display and it will automatically bring up the camera app in 0.7 seconds! Talk about being a snap shooter.

Focusing on a moving object (wild children for example) should be a problem of the past now with the Fast Tracking Autofocus (a feature first found in the K Zoom) that automatically focuses and tracks the moving object.

Side-by-side comparison of photos taken with the iPhone 6 Plus and Galaxy S6 (No touch-up, no photoshop, no twitch)

Videos Captured Comparison

SAMSUNG PAY

As mobile payment with NFC didn't not take the world by storm as expected, Samsung decided to come up with another solution NFC + MST. With the Samsung Pay, Samsung offers their users the same wireless payment service that would rival the Apple Pay. They recognised that the factor that prevented their wireless payment from being a success like Apple Pay was the lack of support from other financial services institutions. So this time Samsung has teamed up with the likes of Mastercard, Visa, American Express, and many more.

Types of cards that are supported would be the standard Debit and Credit cards. These cards information will be encrypted and would not be stored by Samsung.

SAMSUNG KNOX

To improve their security, Samsung collaborated with names like Blackberry, Fancy Fan and Mobile Iron. 

To close down the Unpacked event review are a few photos of the new and latest flagship.

PS: First release date is April 10 2015 in 20 selected countries with other coming afterwards. Sadly Malaysia will not be the first to receive the latest Galaxy S.

So will you be getting it? 

GALLERY

Apple Invite 9th March

As we all know, Apple introduced the Apple Watch last year alongside the release of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. They said that the Watch would be released the first quarter of this year. And surprise,surprise! Around two days ago, Apple has issued invites to journalist for its event which most probably will be about the Apple Watch. #fingerscrossed that it's released at the event as rumours have been flowing around stating that production of the Apple Watch has started since about a month and a half ago.

Since beta versions of iOS 8.2 has shown to contain Apple Watch support, maybe this version of iOS would be released during the event as well. Or maybe slightly earlier but definitely in next week.

Source: Engadget.com , gsmarena.com 

Smartphone Rumours So Far

Another year means another round of smartphones that are coming out to dazzle us again with each coming out with the latest hardware and software that would raise the level of technology in smartphones to even higher levels.

As always before the launches of smartphones are rumours running wild! Some can be trusted, some that we have to take in with a pinch of salt. The most anticipated smartphones in the first quarter of 2015 would of course be the continuation of the popular Samsung Galaxy S Series ,not to forget the smartphone that brought HTC back into the competition, the successor to the HTC One M8, the HTC One M9 and Sony’s next flagship in-line the Sony Xperia Z4.

Without further ado, let’s start with HTC!

SAMSUNG GALAXY S6

So far the company that has been teasing much about its newest flagship phone would be none other than the King of Android.  They have been releasing several teasers on their social media depicting that the new Galaxy might feature things such as better improved camera, faster (and even wireless) charging, and a metal body/frame so far.

Codenamed internally as Project Zero, Samsung was said to redesign the S6 completely, for example scraping plastic in favour of metal. This is in part due to decreasing profits and market share probably caused by competition from up and coming manufacturers from China that are taking over the low and middle end of the market while also being threatened on the high-end of the market by Apple with their latest bigger sized smartphones. Not to forget, the S5 didn’t turn out to be the a sale-out that they planned.

Update: New leaks now show that the S6 won't be coming alone. It will be accompanied by an "Edge" version much like the Note 4 but this time featuring displays that bends slightly on both edges. And Samsung pretty much confirmed it with the pre-registration.

The rumoured specifications are:

·        16-megapixel camera (Sony IMX240 Sensor): Similar to the one found in the Note 4 and no complains about it. This camera has been proven to on par in terms of performance with the iPhone’s camera. Though they say software wise it’ll be better with new additions such as better HDR.  Staying with the same camera module might be a wise move.  Like they say, more megapixels   don’t always mean better pictures.

·        Exynos 7420 (Samsung’s first 64-bit processor): With rumours spreading about the overheating issues affecting the Snapdragon 810, it seems that Samsung has decided to go away with it and proceed with their in-house built processor. No complains though as test and benchmarks apparently shows that its performance is better than the 810.

·        5.1-inch Super AMOLED Display, possibly Quad HD Display (2K) similar to the Note 4.

·        Storage: 32 GB

Expected Release Date: MWC, 1^st of March 2015.
 Source: phonearena.com , nowhereelse.fr

HTC ONE M9 (HIMA)

Codenamed Hima, the successor to the One M8, the HTC One M9 is expected to be launched with these specifications.

·        20-megapixel camera with dual-tone and dual-LED flash (Toshiba T4KA7 sensor, 1/2.4-inch, pixel size of 1.12 µm: bearing complains from users on its ultrapixel camera, HTC is said to be replacing its much hyped camera technology with a more stable and assured camera. Though there are rumours that point to the front camera using a 4Mp ultrapixel camera.

·        Snapdragon 810 (Octa –core processor, 4 Cortex A57 cores at 2.0 Ghz and 4 Cortex A53 Cores at 1.5Ghz

·        5-inch Full HD screen (1080p) Super LCD3

·        3GB of RAM

·        Battery: 2840 mAh

·        Expected storage options of: 16, 32 and 64 GB. (history suggest that’ll be no 16GB)

Expected Release Date: 1st March 2015

Source: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/new-product/mobile-phone/3531339/htc-one-m9-uk-release-date-price-specs-uk-one-life-1080p-software/ , @upleaks

SONY XPERIA Z4

Sales have not been quite what Sony expected but it’s certainly on the rise, however slow it is but take nothing away from the fact that the Xperia Z3 was a solid, beautiful and powerful device. One of the first smartphones that included a water and dust resistant feature. Other than that, the Xperia Z3 has an amazing battery life that is supposedly able to last for two days, a rarity nowadays. Maybe the marketing power of Samsung is just too strong. The design of the Xperia Z Series has not changed much since the first Xperia Z and the same is not expected with the Xperia Z4. The rumoured specifications are:

·        21 Megapixel (IMX230) sensor:

·        Snapdragon 810

·        5.5-inch Quad HD Display, it is also rumoured to be Full HD instead as to improve battery life. Other rumours points to the screen being a smaller 5.4 or even 5.2-inch display.

·        4GB of RAM

·        3420 mAh battery life.

Expected Release Date: At MWC, 2^nd March 2015.

Souce: knowyourmobile.com, techaradar.com, androidpit.com

Motorola Droid Turbo (@Maxx)

Smartphones just gets better and better. Almost every month you would hear one that is said to be the new champion of the market, one that would revolutionize your world, one that would make you wonder how you ever lived your pitiful life without it. So here's another one.

 

Launched by the company that has recently been bought by Lenovo, the Moto Droid Turbo (international version is named Moto Maxx) impresses in almost all categories.

So let’s start with the usual aspect, the feature that you are going to look at most of the time (literally), the display! The Moto Droid is equipped with a 5.2-inch Quad HD display (2560 x 1440) powering a high ppi of 565 (iPhone 6: 326, iPhone 6 Plus: 401). It seems that 2K display is starting to be the standards in new flagship smartphones, a boy do you really see the difference.

What is the use of a powerful power hungry display if you had to recharge it every few hours? Well here, my friends, is another surprise. The device comes with a GIGANTIC 3,900 mAh battery that Motorola touted to last 48 hours. To put this in comparison to the iPhone 6 Plus and Note 4 that has battery capacities of 2915 mAh and 3220 mAh respectively. All of this thus makes the ‘droid’ a bit on thick side but hey, I’m willing to have a thicker smartphone than a thin one that forces me to constantly find a power socket. Well for the ‘droid’ you don’t even need to plug it in, just place in on its charging pad and watch it refuels itself (Wireless charging capabilities). A common feature in big smartphones nowadays is the Turbo Charging, Motorola’s own version of fast charging. It is said to be able to charge the smartphone from 0 to 60 % in just 30 minutes.

 

Onto the camera, surprise surprise! It has a 21 megapixels shooter that can take 4K videos! Need I elaborate more? J It also comes with the usual dual- LED flash and auto focus. So far no complains can be found about it. To the front, it has a 2MP camera.

The ‘Droid’ is powered by the latest processor by Qualcomm, a 2.7 Ghz Quad core Snapdragon 805. On par with the Note 4. This is coupled with a 3 GB RAM. For storage capacity of it has an internal storage of 64GB.

Other notable features are the Motorola gestures that allows you to command/use the phone with the need of touching it, it’s water resistant coated so you don’t have to worry about accidentally spilling water on it (or rain), and  it does have LTE (though not sure if the band is usable in Malaysia).

Finally the phone does seem to be every tech enthusiast’s wildest dream and can seem to be surreal but I assure you the phone really exists. Fingers crossed that it won’t take long to reach Malaysia. As Motorola was previously under google, they have been manufacturing smartphones that delivers one of the cleanest and pure versions of android and the promise continues with the Moto ‘Droid’ Maxx. This would also ensure that software updates to the phone won’t take too long (as of the time of writing, it comes out of the box with Android KitKat 4.4). An extra reason to own this beast. ^_^  

Maybe this could be the smartphone that going to push me towards Android.

*So far no news on when this would come to Malaysia. In the USA, it's sold exclusively through the Verizon carrier.

Sources: Motorola.com, soyacincau.com

Buying A Laptop In Malaysia

With the rise of tablets and smartphones, some analysts have gone to the extent of declaring the near death of the PC industry. In my opinion, that would not be the case. Yes tablets and smartphones are nearing the processing capability of PCs but they would not reach the easiness and comfort of one. As for the next 5 to 10 years, people would still prefer a PC especially when doing work.  We still feel more comfortable typing on a physical keyboard than on a touchscreen, editing videos, and making slides. So, their apocalypse will not come soon rest assured. J

With that out of the picture, onto the topic: buying a laptop. Buying a laptop could be daunting for those who are not IT savvy but fret now. Here I would like to write a simple guide on what aspect to consider when buying a laptop. I’ll try to make it as simple as possible so that you could make a better decision when buying one. As time goes, I would occasionally update its contents and maybe add in more details.

To relate this more easily to you, I would link the specifications to the profile of normal buyers and you can then see which one reflects you the most because in my opinion, what kind of tasks you demand from the laptop should be the main factor.

From the purpose and use for the laptop, I’m going to come up with the profiles of buyers:

·        Student Lite : first time buyers, limited budget, for searching articles, browsing internet, preparing powerpoint presentations, editing videos, very light gaming (plants vs zombies)

·        Student Gamer: first time buyers, limited budget, study works*, light/casual gaming, high definition video editing, graphic designer, multimedia intensive

·        Worker : doing work that is pretty much like a student lite but with a higher reasonable budget

·        Worker/Gamer: Reasonable budget, office works*, casual gaming. Wants a laptop that is able to switch from work to play.

·        Small/Medium Business owners: A PC to help manage the business either to save guard important documents, saving transactions, communicating with suppliers, and commercialising.

·        Gamer: Gaming is his life. Dedicated to it and needs the latest hardware. No limit on budget. (Plays COD, Crysis)

Office works/Study works: Searching articles, browsing internet, preparing powerpoint presentations, editing videos.

Very light Gaming: only play once in a while. E.g. of games: Plants vs Zombies.

Light/Casual Gaming: several times in a week. E.g. of games: Dota2, left4dead, the walking dead, COD and skyrim on low to medium settings,)

STUDENT LITE

Let’s start with the display size. Since a student will be lugging his laptop to class, library and back to their dorms, a nice range of display size would be from 13 to a max of 15.6 inches depending on personal preference. The weight should be a maximum of 2 kg including battery.

In terms of processor (CPU), the minimum requirement would be Intel i3 (or at least, lower to Intel Duo Core2) or AMD’s A4.

There is no need for a dedicated Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) as a student lite is not expected to do intensive video editing. An in-built Intel GPU (Intel HD ….) in the CPU should suffice. If you’re still not confident, you could get a laptop with a basic nvidia or amd radeon GPU. (GPU needs to be at least 1GB)

If you’re using the AMD’s new range of processor (AMD A4, etc), you don’t need to worry about your laptop not having a GPU as it is embedded into it the CPU (AMD A series is known as Advanced Processing Unit (APU) = CPU + GPU).

For RAM, you’ll need 4GB (DDR3 is the standard) for a smooth performance for light tasks.

Storage wise you should get a Hard disk drive (HDD) of at least 500GB by today’s standards (and it’s not that expensive anymore). The minimum would be 250GB but I still would advise against it.

As for the Operating system, any basic windows 7, 8.0, or 8.1 (32-bit should be fine, though if you want to add more memory (RAM more than 4GB) get a 64-bit version). There would be no need for high ones unless it comes free with the laptop and there’s no need to pay more to upgrade the OS. Basic should do it.

Extras: find a laptop with a HDMI port, and a projector port if possible. It would certainly be a nice feature since you might be using your laptop to connect to a projector for maybe a class presentation. Another useful feature is the DVD-RW. You might think it’s a must but since most manufacturer do not include this so don’t make a decision of buying or not buying based on only this feature.

Budget should be between RM1200-1800 or even close to RM2000 if you have extra budget.

STUDENT GAMER

A gamer would need at least a 14-inch screen to better enjoy his/her games and a maximum of 15.6-inch as he might need to carry it around.

Ideal weight would be 2 to 2.5 kg. This should include the battery as well.

CPU: To stay within the budget, an Intel i5 or an AMD A10 would be just right. You could also go with the AMD A6 and A8 if you could get a nice enough deal. (Getting these AMD A series would not require you to have an additional dedicated GPU as I said above, they are APUs).

For a GPU to accompany the CPU, if you’re looking at Nvidia the minimum should be an Nvidia GT 500 series and a maximum of Nvidia GT 700 series. (If you could get a GT 800 within your budget then by all means J ) (PS: There’s a difference between GT and GTX, GTX is usually more powerful and more expensive) If you want an AMD graphic card, you could get the AMD Radeon R7 or even R9, whichever falls into your budget. (All GPU needs to be at least 2GB DDR3)

For RAM, since you’ll be playing games on it you’ll need 8 GB of RAM (6 GB is the minimum).

To stay within the budget, you should get a 1TB HDD. If possible, get a 1TB HDD + 8GB SSD hybrid drive. A small SSD doesn’t add too much to the cost but the benefit is worth it. You would get faster boot up time and faster loading to your favourite files. Note that in this kind of combination you could not access/see the 8GB SSD, your laptop will manage it for you.

As for the Operating System, you’ll need a 64-bit version of Windows (7 or 8.1). Up to you if you need a higher version of the OS (Ultimate/Pro) but it’s not a must.

Extras: Same as the one found for Student Lite.

Worker

Most of the specifications are similar to Student Lite except for a few areas such as, so you can also refer to the above as this part won’t be lengthy.

The ideal range of screen size would be from 13 to 15.6 inches. (14 if you need to be mobile, 15.6 inch if you like or need to show things to others on your screen). Maximum weight should be 2.5 kg

.

CPU: you’ll need at least an Intel i5 or AMD A6. If you could go higher and stay in your budget go ahead but this should more than enough.

GPU: if your work does not involve any visual/graphics demands (video editing, 3D editing etc) then you might not need a dedicated GPU (just make sure there’s one simple GPU integrated in your CPU J )

RAM: 4GB is the minimum but with the lower cost technology nowadays 8GB should be affordable.

Storage: Get at least 500GB that should be sufficient for storing your work documents.

Budget: RM 1500-2300. Lower than that should be inadequate while higher would be unnessary.

Extras: Again similar to the ones I’ve pointed out for student. If during work you tend to move around a lot, maybe to a colleague’s desk for work or etc., try to find a laptop that offers more than 4-5 hours of battery life as you could be finding yourself away from charging ports from time to time.

Worker/Gamer

Similar to most of the student gamer’s needs with just a few differences.

Budget: RM2000-3300   

Storage: At least a 1TB Hybrid Hard Disk with 8GB SSD that seems to be the norm nowadays. It would allow for faster boot up time and generally faster access to your data. If you want faster data speed and have a higher budget, you could opt for a 250GB SSD but again mind you it’s quite expensive.

Extras: Get a backlit keyboard, just because they’re cool. X) (JK, they also help you to type when working/gaming at night)

Gamer

CPU: Obviously the top of the mark, opt for an i7 or AMD’s FX.

GPU: Go for Nvidia GTX 850/AMD R9 X minimum or higher to what you’re willing to afford.

RAM: The minimum amount of RAM you should have for heavy gaming is 12GB, but by new standards set by Assassin’s Creed Unity and above, 16GB is the in-thing.

Storage: Since you’ll be gaming most of the time, it’s advised for you to choose SSD storage (either 125 or 250GB according to the budget). If you can afford it try to get, a dual storage of HDD and SDD.

Budget: RM 3000-whatever amount you’re willing to spend.

Extras: Your laptop should have backlit keyboard, customised keyboard for gaming, some special manufacturers’ cooling system, and ports! (USB 3.0 and HDMI) The laptop would be heavy as it would require a lot of power to run the intensive games and expect to be tied in proximity to an electric port.

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If you rarely use and need a laptop in your daily life, if you only open laptop to check the mail, browse the internet, read articles and maybe watch a few videos, I suggest you buy a tablet as they are right now more than sufficient to cover your basics needs. Plus, they have faster booting time, are portable for you to carry around and are cheaper. You could also opt for the hybrid tablet/ 2-in-1 tablet that act as both a laptop and a tablet.  If you’re not into the tablet form and still want a similar laptop like design, you could go for a Chromebook. It size is equal to that of a laptop’s but can cost around a quarter of the price. Though you have to take into account that the chromebook uses a Chrome OS instead of a Windows OS. So if your work depends a lot on you using Windows only software or applications, then you better stick with a windows device.

As a final note, once you have decided on your specifications and budget. Try to google and have a few models in mind that you would want to buy. Why few? As backups since there is the possibility that the shop does not have/offer the model that you want. Note down the price/international price/retail recommended price and compare it with the shop. They shouldn’t differ by much. Make sure that the specifications are the same since a model can have several configurations at different prices. And always survey other shops to find the best deal first. Happy shopping! ^_^

PS: I’ve heard that for graphic designing, an AMD graphics is better but I’m not sure. I’ll get back on this matter.

*Disclaimer: Views expressed above are mines from what I have studied; the decision to follow the guide is entirely up to you. I should bear no fault if you are not satisfied with your purchase or of any problems/troubles should there be any. I am merely hoping to help you by providing my insights. Do make further additional researches before buying J In this generation of borderless world, information could easily be retrieved from the internet.

HAPPY SHOPPING!!

Sites:

To compare GPU: gpuboss.com

To compare CPU: cpuboss.com  

Laptop reviews: notebookcheck.net

Some renowned Malaysian IT selling shops: All IT Hypermarket, Techhypermarket.com

Another website that’s useful for reference and finding independent sellers: lowyat.net

The formidably priced HUAWEI HONOR 6!!

Perfect for the budget-conscious consumers that wants a high spec. smartphone with a mid-level price tag. At just RM 999 (~RM1099), the Huawei Honor 6 is powered by Huawei’s latest HiSilicon Kirin 9202Soc Octa-core processor (4 Cortex-A15 cores and 4 Cortex-A7 cores). It has a 3GB RAM on par with the latest flagships. It comes with a 16GB of internal storage with the option of an additional 64 GB of storage through a microSD. Not to forget it has LTE too! (With Bluetooth 4.0).  Which at this price point is quite amazing. It also has a giant 3100mAh battery locked in. All of these packed in a package that is 7.5mm thin weighing only 130 grams. Now that’s impressive.

In terms of OS, it runs the latest Android 4.4.2 KitKat with Huawei’s Emotion UI 2.3 skin.

Its design is quite simple omitting the Huawei logo. Only the wording “Honor” could be found on its back. Its front and back is covered with glass much akin to the iPhone 4.

The Honor6 has a 5-inch Full HD 1080 x 1920 pixels LCD display with an impressive 445 ppi. Visibility should not be a problem as it emits a brightness of 500 nits. 

It uses a microSIM to connect to the mobile network. For charging and data transferring, a microUSB 2.0 port can be found on the bottom. Another added feature is that this smartphone has an IR blaster. This means, combined with the right app, you could technically use this phone as your remote controller for your TV, hi-fi set and etc.   

Moving onto the camera now. Around 2-3 years ago, for this price you would expect a 5MP back camera with a VGA front camera or no front camera at all. Surprisingly, the Honor6 has an incredible 13 MP back shooter (dual flash) with a 5 MP front shooter for all your selfie needs! Although I can’t guarantee the quality of the photo but normally with 13 MP, the pictures should come out quite nice at least.

Other features that are worth noting are that it has a notification LED, built-in apps such as Phone Manager that does the same task as CCleaner, a Power Saving Mode to save battery, a Harassment filter to block unwanted phone calls and messages and a  Do-Not-Disturb Mode.

Overall, if you’re looking for a smartphone at a price that won’t break your bank account or slim your wallet, but offers the same internals as a high end smartphone, this is one of the best option available on the market. Putting aside the rather normal design, it has one of the best specs for its price. If your budget is under a thousand you really should pick this one up.

This phone would certainly challenge Xiaomi for the value-for-money smartphone crown!

Sources: huawei.com, http://hihonor.com/honor6

Apple Copying Samsung??

(Source: cultofmac.com )

With the release of the larger screened iPhones, comes cries of copying by rivals especially Samsung. They proudly pointed out that it was them who were the first to introduce larger screens and Apple is clearly just following their footsteps. Yes it is true. In terms specifications and hardware many android manufacturers have beaten Apple (they've been pretty loud about it too) but still I disagree with Samsung's complaining. 

They have to remember that their early smartphones were copies/based upon of the iPhones. I'm not being an Apple boy here, somehow I just felt the need to justify facts. Samsung even had a 132 page document that detailed how it should copy the iPhones. (link down http://bgr.com/2012/08/08/apple-samsung-patent-lawsuit-internal-report-copy-iphone/ )

Even now many smartphones are obvious copies of the candy bar shaped iphone. Some even go to the extent of looking the same software wised.

Let's just face it. Manufacturers copying from each other is nothing new. Many of them do it and that's the fact. As long as it doesn't breach any laws and regulations (copyrights, trademarks and patents), I think it's okay. Cause ultimately it would be us, the consumers, that would benefit from this. 

Source: bgr.com