HUAWEI MatePad 12 X (2026) Review
We’re back with another roundup of the gadgets we reviewed last month. For May 2017 we have the Xiaomi Mi 6, OPPO F3, ASUS Zenfone Live, Sony Xperia XZs, and the Vivo V5s, to name a few. Check out the rest below.
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The Globe Prepaid Home WiFi is not meant to be the primary source of internet at home or in the office. What it offers is a cost-effective, portable, and easily configurable ad-hoc internet connection during emergencies (when you main wired internet is down or slow).
The Zenfone Live, sans the BeautyLive feature, is what could have been the latest Zenfone Go. Nonetheless, we’re glad to ASUS opening up live streaming to the masses. The Zenfone Live retails for just Php6,995. Aside from the live streaming prowess of the handset, it’s also a good starter phone or a secondary one.
There are numerous things to like about the GFX 50S — there’s the light body, generally good ergonomics for easy operation, lovable AF-point selection stick, accurate focusing in a well-lit environment, tilting display accessible via touch, and amazing details thanks to its medium format setup.
The Galaxy J5 Prime is a nice addition to Samsung’s J series thanks to its premium build, attractive design, vibrant display, capable camera, and LTE connectivity. However, the price tag seems too much for what it can offer especially if you compare it to other smartphones in this budget. At Php9,990, it’s going to have a hard time competing with other devices in the price range.
The OPPO F3 is a recommendable smartphone for those who are fond of selfies. At Php16,990, it’s also a more affordable offering for those who don’t have a budget for the OPPO F3 Plus. There are trade-offs, of course, like the weaker MediaTek processor and lower rear camera resolution. Still, it’s not that bad since you’re also getting some advantages like triple slots, higher pixel density, and smaller, more comfortable build.
Did Xiaomi produce a worthy flagship smartphone? We’d say yes. It’s definitely a 2017 phone with its nicely crafted body, top of the line features, dual cameras, and the lack of headphone jack. It would have been nice to have a bundled wireless Xiaomi earphone to fully justify the removal of the 3.5mm port but that will just fix a hefty price tag.
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There is very little reason to upgrade to the XZs if you already have the XZ. We’re not even sure why Sony had to refresh it and not really made significant changes. It’s not bad for a mid-cycle release and we understand the incremental upgrade (otherwise, they would call it something else and not just XZs).
The Cherry Mobile Flare P1 feels like a trial if the mass market will patronize the dual camera trend. If only they have tried better with it comes to its implementation then it would have been a fascinating budget handset. For Php3,999, it’s still not bad for a Nougat-running, dual camera smartphone.
The Flare J1 (2017) is priced at just Php2,699. We don’t have many expectations from it aside from the assurance of a durable display. It’s a budget smartphone and Cherry Mobile has skimped on features to make it more affordable. That said, it’s good as a basic phone if you’re just into calls, texts, and social media, or as a backup phone that won’t hurt the pockets.
With the growing number of fitness trackers in the market, Fitbit’s latest offering is a commendable wearable due to its size and number of features. It does lack GPS but Fitbit has a different tracker for that. The Fitbit Alta HR are for those who wants something in the middle, not basic but not advanced as well. To top it all, Fitbit’s community is an interesting group to join if you’re looking for inspiration or for friends with the same goals.
In the end, it all boils down to considering the Php14,990 price point of the V5s. With that, you get double the storage space of the V5, an updated Funtouch OS, and a new unibody design. Everything else is pretty much the same. With those in mind, we’d say that the additional Php2K in price is worth going for over the V5. This is because aside from specs, we also gathered better battery time and benchmark results on the V5s.
The ASUS G11CD is priced at Php59,995 and combines the output of Intel’s Core i7 processor, the graphics power of GTX 1070, the ample 16GB RAM, spacious 1TB HDD, and the fast performance of its SSD. It does have its own shortcomings, if we may use such a word since it has a limited slot for adding more space and comes with a not-so-presentable interior — opposite of what it looks like outside.
Seeing a phone with power left when you get home will give any user peace of mind just in case they left their charger or power bank on a work day. That’s what the Moto E3 Power can offer but what it can’t though are heavy gaming and stutter-free performance. The phone is priced at Php6,999 and with that amount, there are smartphones in the market with better performance.
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