Talks about a Facebook phone has been in the rumor mills for quite some time now. Today, Facebook has finally ended all the speculations by announcing the long awaited Facebook phone (well, sort of) at an event on its headquarters in California.

However, the Facebook phone that was unveiled in the event wasn’t exactly the phone that everyone was expecting. Why? Because unlike what the rumors suggested, the phone that was presented to the world today wasn’t built by Facebook. The phone is made by HTC and runs a heavily customized version of Android – the “Facebook Home”.

Moreover, contrary to previous reports, Facebook Home is not just a home replacement app but rather a collection of apps that modify a huge part of the Android UI that will supposedly enable users to focus on their friends rather than on apps. Through the app, Facebook plans to bring in more content to users and put social networking at the front and at the center of the mobile phone experience. And this ideology is most evident in the two core apps that comprise Facebook Home – Coverfeed and Chat Heads.

Coverfeed is basically a glorified version of your Facebook newsfeed presented in edge-to-edge photos in the phone’s home screen. It displays images and status updates from a user’s friends. A user can swipe left and right to view other updates from his/her friends, double-tap on the home screen to like the update or view comments and likes by tapping the area located at the bottom of the home screen.

Chat Heads on the other hand is an improved version of the Facebook Messenger app that sits above the entire UI of the phone, allowing users to gain access to the phone’s messaging app anywhere in the phone. Users have the option to move 1 or a group of chat heads across the different edges of the screen and will remain visible as long as the users wants to interact with it.

Navigation on the Facebook Home has also drastically changed. The common back and navigation buttons are gone and are replaced by gesture-based commands carried out by a “bobble” which is the circular icon that contains the phone owner’s photo (or profile picture) located at the bottom of the screen. Users can swipe up from the bobble which will launch the app drawer.

The app drawer is divided into two segments. Once a user swipe’s up from the bobble, the favorites app drawer is first shown. Obviously this is where the user’s most used and favorite apps are located. The favorites app drawer also has three tabs at the top that lets users instantly upload photos to Facebook, post a status update or location. Swiping to the left of the favorites app drawer will direct the user to the main app drawer that holds all the apps currently installed on the phone.

Swiping the bobble to the left will launch the Facebook messaging app while swiping the bobble to the right will allow users to go back to the last app that they’ve opened.

Facebook Home will initially be released on April 12 on several handsets including the HTC One, HTC One X+, Samsung Galaxy SIII, Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Galaxy Note II and of course the HTC First (exclusive to AT&T). Facebook has also promised to bring monthly updates and improvement to the app as well as add support for additional phone models and manufacturers including Lenovo, ZTE, Huawei and Sony.

Now it would be interesting how Google would react in the future with Facebook Home especially if Mark Zuckerberg’s dream of putting the app in every smartphone would come true. This is because unlike other home replacement apps or custom ROMs, Facebook Home can have the ability to literally take over and change a phone and make Android OS lose its identity in the process.

What about you guys? What do you think? Is Facebook invading Android? And how do you think Google would react to this strategy? Share with us your thoughts by leaving a comment below. For other Filipino Lifestyle stories, do subscribe to our blog or add us up on Facebook, Twitter                , Pinterest or Google Plus.

The eyes of the world especially the eyes of mobile phone fanatics are all on Barcelona, Spain these past few days for the 2013 Mobile World Congress – the largest exhibition for the mobile industry where manufacturers, vendors, mobile operators, technology providers and content owners from across the globe.

And this year, MWC has gotten a lot more interesting with the entry of other brands such as ZTE, Huawei and Alcatel adding a bit more variety into the mix. But of course big names such as Nokia and LG were also there too. So here’s a list of the handsets these manufacturers are going to release in the very near future.

Nokia Lumia 720 and Lumia 520 – Nokia is standing by its commitment to support Windows Phone 8 not only for their flagship models but also for their mid-range and entry-level product lines. Having said this, the Finnish company has unveiled their latest Windows Phone devices at MWC. The Lumia 720 designed for the mid-range market segment and the Lumia 520 for the entry-level market.

Both phones feature dual-core processors and Nokia’s super touch technology, as well as other Nokia apps such as Nokia Drive and Nokia Maps. The Lumia 520 has a slightly smaller screen and smaller camera sensor, but with all things considered, both phones share relatively the same specs and features. The Lumia 720 and 520 is scheduled to hit the shelves by Q2 2013.

LG F, G, L and V phones – Another big name that graced MWC this year was LG. And unlike other brands who limited themselves by announcing 1 or 2 devices, LG went all out by announcing an entire product line at the event – 6 devices to be exact.

These include their two premium devices the LG Optimus G Pro and the Optimus Vu II, their upper tier phones – the LG Optimus F7 and L7 II, their mid-range handsets – the Optimus F5 and L5 II and their budget friendly Optimus L3 II.

HP Slate 7 – After HP announced that they are discontinuing the production and development of their WebOS, HP is jumping into the Android bandwagon with the HP Slate 7. This 7-inch tablet features Android Jelly Bean, a 1.6GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and a 3.15MP camera.

Asus Fonepad Infinity and Padfone – Taiwanese brand Asus on the other hand focused on tablets this year, well sort of. This year they announced their Padfone budget tablet that runs on Android Jelly Bean and is powered by an Intel Atom processor.

Also on Asus’s booth is the Fonepad Infinity, the newest revision in the company’s Fonepad series. Following in the footsteps of the Fonepad 2, the Fonepad Infinity improves on the shortcomings of its predecessor, most notably the screen resolution which is now at 1080 x 1920 pixels.

The Padfone Infinity runs on Android Jelly Bean and is powered by 1.7GHz quad-core Krait processor complimented by 2GB of RAM. It also has a 13MP camera at the back and an Adreno 320 GPU.

Huawei Ascend P2 – Huawei’s pride and glory this year is their Ascend P2 smartphone. The company claims that they have made the world’s fastest smartphone in terms of connectivity. Through its Cat 4 LTE, the phone will have data transfer speed of up to 150Mbps download speed.

This handset will run on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and will be using a 1.5GHz quad-core processor with 1GB of RAM. And similar to other superphones in the market today, the Ascend P2 will pack a 13MP shooter at the back with autofocus and LED flash. Screen size is at 4.7 inches with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels at 312ppi.

ZTE Open and Grand Memo – ZTE is another Chinese brand that made news this year with the Firefox OS-powered ZTE Open and its Grand Memo phablet.

The ZTE Grand Memo features a 5.7-inch screen. It will have 16GB of on-board storage and 2 GB of RAM. It will be powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core Krait processor on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chipset. There’s a 13MP camera at the back of the device and a 1MP front facing camera for self-portraits and video calls.

The ZTE Open on the other hand is a budget smartphone that runs the new Firefox OS. It has a 1GHz Cortex-A5 processor with 256MB of RAM and 512 MB of internal storage.

Alcatel One Touch series – another brand that went all out this year was Alcatel. This year they introduced the Firefox OS-powered OT Fire, and a slew of Android devices including the OT Snap/Snap with LTE, OT Idol X and OT Scribe Easy.

So which handset got your attention? Do tell us by leaving a comment below. You can also subscribe to our blog or better yet add us up on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus for other tech news and Filipino lifestyle stories.

Huawei is one of the few Chinese brands that’s making waves in the mobile phone industry today. In CES 2013, the company wowed the public with three amazing smartphones which include the gigantic Ascent Mate that features the industry’s largest phablet screen at 6.1 inches, the competitively priced quad-core Ascend D2 and of course the W1 the company’s first Windows powered smartphone.

And just today, Huawei announced two more devices to add to its growing family of smart gadgets. The first is smartphone is rumored to be announced during this year’s Mobile World Congress and will be the smaller brother of the Ascend D2. Appropriately the phone is to be named as the Ascend D2 mini and will feature a 4.0-inch display, an 8 megapixel camera, 1GB of RAM, a dual-core processor and will run on Android Jelly Bean.

Another smartphone that is schedule for release in the coming future is the Huawei 4Afrika. The Huawei 4Afrika will be slightly modified version of the W1 announced earlier in CES. According to reports, the phone will have relatively the same hardware as the W1. This includes the W1’s 4.0-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 800x480 pixels, its 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 512 of RAM, 4GB of internal memory, a micro-SD expansion slot and the 5MP rear camera.

Software-wise, the Huawei 4Afrika will come with custom apps designed by local African developers for Africa which is intended to drive the African public to the use of affordable smartphones. This phone is scheduled to go on sale later this month in several countries including Egypt, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa.

With the way things are going, it seems Huawei plans to establish a strong presence in the world market as a solid, reliable and affordable brand of phones. Do you think they stand a chance against well-known brands like Samsung, Sony or LG? Do tell us by leaving a comment below.

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The phablet is the newest trend that is now gaining momentum in the mobile phone industry. And as with other trends in history, a lot of people are jumping into the bandwagon to get themselves in the “in and trendy” crowd. And in response to this growing fascination with supersized phones, many of the biggest brands in the industry is coming up with their own version of the phablet.

In this week’s Tech Tuesdays on TFL, we take a look at the newest players in the Phablet industry that are set to compete with the industry’s standard – the Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

HTC Butterfly

Display Type	Super LCD3 capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Display Size	1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.0 inches (~441 ppi pixel density)
Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 2
SOUND	- Beats Audio sound enhancement
Card slot	microSD, up to 32 GB
Internal	16 GB (11 GB user available) storage, 2 GB RAM
WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth	Yes, v4.0 with A2DP
NFC and USB	Yes
Primary Camera	8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Primary Camera Features	Simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, face and smile detection
Video	Yes, 1080p@30fps, stereo sound rec., video stabilization
Secondary Camera	Yes, 2.1 MP, 1080p@30fps
Operating System	Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean), upgradable to v4.2 (Jelly Bean)
Processor	Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait
Graphics	Adreno 320

Huawei Ascend Mate

Display Type	IPS+ LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Display Size	720 x 1280 pixels, 6.1 inches (~241 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch	Yes
Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass
SOUND	- Dolby mobile sound enhancement
Card slot	Yes, up to 32 GB
Internal	2 GB RAM
WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth and USB	Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, LE, EDR
Primary Camera	8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Primary Camera Features	Geo-tagging, face detection, HDR
Video	Yes, 1080p@30fps
Secondary Camera	Yes, 1 MP, 720p@30fps
Operating System	Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean)
Chipset	Huawei K3V2
Processor	Quad-core 1.5 GHz

ZTE Grand S

Display Type	Capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Display Size	1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.0 inches (~441 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch	Yes
Card slot	microSD, up to 32 GB
Internal	16 GB storage, 2 GB RAM
WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth and USB	Yes
Primary Camera	13 MP, autofocus, LED flash
Primary Camera Features	Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection
Video	Yes, 1080p@30fps
Secondary Camera	Yes, 2 MP, 1080p@30fps
Operating System	Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean)
Processor	Quad-core 1.7 GHz

Sony Xperia Z

Display Type	TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Display Size	1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.0 inches (~441 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch	Yes, up to 10 fingers
Protection	Shatter proof and scratch-resistant glass with Sony Mobile Bravia Engine 2
Card slot	microSD, up to 64 GB
Internal	16 GB, 2 GB RAM
WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth and USB	Yes
Primary Camera	13 MP, 4128x3096 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Primary Camera Features	Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, image stabilization, HDR, sweep panorama
Video	Yes, 1080p@30fps, continuous autofocus, video light, video stabilizer
Secondary Camera	Yes, 2 MP, 1080p@30fps
Operating System	Android OS, v4.1.2 (Jelly Bean), planned upgrade to v4.2 (Jelly Bean)
Chipset	Qualcomm MDM9215M / APQ8064
Processor	Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait

LG Optimus Vu

Type	HD-IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size	768 x 1024 pixels, 5.0 inches (~256 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch	Yes
SOUND	- Dolby mobile sound enhancement
Card slot	No
Internal	32 GB storage, 1 GB RAM
WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth and USB	Yes with NFC
Primary Camera	8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Primary Camera Features	Geo-tagging, face detection, image stabilization
Video	Yes, 1080p@30fps, LED video light
Secondary Camera	Yes, 1.3 MP
Operating System	Android OS, v4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
Chipset	Nvidia Tegra 3
Processor	Quad-core 1.5 GHz

Lenovo K900

Type	IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size	1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.5 inches (~401 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch	Yes
Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 2
Card slot	microSD, up to 32 GB
Internal	2 GB RAM
WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual band, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth and USB	Yes
Primary Camera	13 MP, autofocus, dual-LED flash
Primary Camera Features	Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection
Video	Yes, 1080p@30fps
Secondary Camera	Yes, 2 MP
Operating System	Android OS, v4.2 (Jelly Bean)
Chipset	Intel Atom Z2580
Processor	Dual-core 1. 8 GHz

Cherry Mobile Titan

Type	Capacitive Touch screen,
Size	5.0-inch, WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) ~ 187ppi
Multitouch	5-point multi-touch feature
Card slot	microSD up to 32GB
Internal	4GB of internal storage
WLAN	Yes
Bluetooth and USB	YEs
Primary Camera	5MP auto-focus camera
Primary Camera Features	dual LED flash
Video	720p HD video recording
Secondary Camera	VGA Camera
Operating System	Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
Chipset	MediaTek MT6577
Processor	1GHz dual-core processor, ARMv7

MyPhone A919

Source

Type	IPS LCD Capacitive Touch screen, 16M colors
Size	5.0-inch, (~196 ppi pixel density), 480 x 854 pixels
Card slot	microSD up to 32GB
Internal	4GB of internal storage
WLAN	Yes
Bluetooth and USB	YEs
Primary Camera	8 MegaPixels, 3264x2448 pixels
Primary Camera Features	autofocus and LED flash
Video	720p HD video recording
Secondary Camera	VGA camera
Operating System	Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
Chipset	MediaTek MT6577
Processor	1 GHz Dual Core

So which phablet are you eyeing for? Tell us by leaving a comment below. You can also add us up on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus, or subscribe to our blog using our RSS Feeds.

China has always been dubbed in economics as the sleeping giant because unlike other world powers, this country has remained relatively silent in the past few decades. But in recent years, this giant seemed to have roused a little and has already started to make some noise in the international community by first trying to claim sovereignty over territories from nearby countries such as Taiwan and the Philippines.

But aside from the casual territory disputes, China is also making some noise by strengthening its economy and increasing its influence over the trading of different goods across the globe. One particular industry where this presence is slowly being felt is the IT industry. And this is most evident with the announcement of several smartphones from Chinese brands like Huawei and ZTE.

HUAWEI

Huawei has just announced a new set of smartphones this past four weeks. Back in mid-October rumours have circulated about the W1 – the company’s first Windows Phone powered handset. And just yesterday, leaked shots of two live units spread like wildfire on the Internet alongside the announcement of the Huawei Ascend W3.

Unlike the entry level W1, the Ascend W3 will reportedly be targeting higher income groups. For now, the specs of the W3 are still in murky water, but so far, it is rumoured to be powered by a dual-core processor CPU, will have at least 1 GB of RAM, an 8MP camera and 4.5-inch display.

On the other side of the fence, Android lovers were teased with the announcement of another smartphone power house from the company – the Huawei Honor 2. The phone will be powered by a quad-core processor clocked at 1.4Ghz and will feature an 8MP rear camera and a 4.5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen. The Honor 2 is already available in some parts of the world while the two WP8 phones are scheduled to be officially unveiled at CES come January next year.

ZTE

Another Chinese brand that’s slowly making waves in the telco industry is ZTE. The company currently has several models of smartphones in the Philippine market including the 4.3-inch Skate, the 3.5-inch Kis V788 and the Mimosa Mini V856.

And just yesterday, the company held a special press event in Russia to introduce four new smartphones in their line-up that are designed with different income groups in mind. The first on the set of four handsets is the ZTE Grand Era (V985). It sports a 4.5-inch screen with 720p resolution, an 8MP camera and is powered 

by a 1.5Ghz quad-core processor.

There’s also the 4.3-inch ZTE Grand X LTE T82. And as the name suggests, this phone will have LTE connectivity as well as an 8MP camera , 1GB of RAM and will run and powered by Android v4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and a dual-core 1.5Ghz krait processor respectively.

The ZTE V889M on the other hand will focus on the mid-level handsets of the market segment. It will feature a smaller 4-inch screen compared to the Grand X and Grand Era. It will also be powered by a less powerful MTK 6577 dual-core processor and a 5MP camera at the back of the phone.

Lastly, we have the ZTE V790, which is the budget phone among the bunch. It will be powered by a Qualcomm 7225A chipset and will sport a 3.5-inch display and will pack a 2 to 3 MP camera for imaging.

So there you have it everyone. By the looks of it, these two Chinese brands are slowly making their presence felt all over the globe with the introduction of these smartphones. It appears that ZTE and Huawei might get bigger brands like Samsung, LG and Nokia a run for their money when it comes to the pricing and features of their devices. However, as China-made products have been notoriously synonymous with low quality goods, it remains a challenge to both companies to earn the trust of Filipinos when it comes to reliability of their products.

Nevertheless, the good thing is that this surge of new products in the market plus the apparent stiffened competition among mobile phone manufacturers will certainly affect the market through greater variety of phone choices as well as reduced prices for us consumers.

So, what are your thoughts about our topic for this week? Tell us by leaving a comment below. You can also drop a message on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus or subscribe to our blog for more Filipino lifestyle stories about fashion and beauty, travel and food, gadgets and technology and all things that we Filipinos love. Till next time! J

 Source 1 | Source 2

Slowly but surely, the Chinese company Huawei is proving to the world that it can be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the smartphone race. Just last week, the company announced their first ever Windows Phone device – the W1. And this week, Huawei unveiled the Honor 2 Android smartphone.

The Honor 2 is the company’s first quad-core phone and will be powered by the company’s own K3V2 chipset with the quad-core processor clocked at 1.4Ghz. It will have 8GB of internal memory and 2GB or RAM and will run on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Expected to be released before the end of 2012, the Honor 2 features a 4.5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels with a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch.

In terms of connectivity, it will have HSDPA connection speeds and support for Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with DLNA, microUSB support and Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP. The device has an 8MP rear camera capable of capturing images at a maximum resolution of 3264 x 2448 pixels with autofocus, geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR and LED flash. There’s also a 1.3MP camera at front which can record videos at 720p at 30 frames per seconds.

Sensors on the device include an accelerometer, gyro sensor, proximity sensor and compass. The browser on the Honor 2 will support HTML5. There will also be support for GPS (A-GPS) with GLONASS and an FM radio tuner.  

Prices are expected to be at around $300 or at around P12,000-P13,000, which is pretty amazing given its specs. However, it is still uncertain when the Honor 2 will reach the Philippines, for those who can’t wait, Huawei is already offering several handsets in the market today including the first generation Huawei Honor, the Ascend smartphone line, the Vision and of course the MediaPad.

What are your thoughts about the Honor 2? Tell everyone by leaving a comment below. Also don’t forget to subscribe to TFL and add them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus!

The Chinese multinational networking and telco equipment manufacturer is once again strengthening its smartphone product line with the rumoured W1 – the company’s first phone powered by Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 mobile operating system. And actually, the W1 would be the first phone on Huawei’s history that will be powered by an operating system created by Microsoft. Images of the phone were first seen from evleaks twitter account a few days ago.

Based on preliminary reports, the W1 will be powered a 1.2 GHz dual-core krait processor, 4.0-inch screen and a 5MP camera with autofocus and LED flash. It will also have 512MB of RAM and will have an Adreno 225 GPU on a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chipset. It’s also nice to know that the W1 will have support for memory expansion of up to 32GB, which is a very nice improvement of WP8 over its predecessor.

A more detailed list of the W1's features is shown below.

2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network	HSDPA
Display Type	TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Display Size	480 x 800 pixels, 4.0 inches (~233 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch	Supported
Alert types	Vibration, MP3, WAV ringtones
Loudspeaker	Supported
3.5mm jack	Supported
Expandability	microSD, up to 32 GB
Internal Memory	4 GB, 512 MB RAM
GPRS/EDGE	Supported
Data Speed	HSDPA, HSUPA
WLAN	Supported: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth	Supported: v2.1 with A2DP, EDR
USB Connection	Supported: microUSB v2.0
Primary Camera	5 MP, 2592х1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Camera Features	Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection
Video Capability	720p@30fps
Secondary Camera	To be announced
Operating System	Microsoft Windows Phone 8
Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon S4
Processor	Dual-core 1.2 GHz Krait
Graphics	Adreno 225
Sensors	Accelerometer, proximity
Messaging	Supported: SMS, MMS, Email, Push Email
Browser	With HTML5 Support
Radio	To be announced
GPS	Supported: with A-GPS support and GLONASS
Java	No
Colors	Blue
Additional Features	SNS integration
	MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC+ player
	MP4/WMV/H.264/H.263 player
	Document viewer
	Photo viewer
	Voice memo/dial
	Predictive text input
Battery	Standard battery, Li-Ion 2000 mAh

The handset is expected to be announced next month. There is no information yet about the possible price of the device, but given that it’s a WP8 device, expect prices to start from $450 (at the most conservative price point). It's also uncertain whether the W1 will reach the Philippines, so for now, Filipino consumers would have to settle with the company's droid phones which includes the Honor, Ascend G300, Vision and of course the MediaPad. 

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