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.

Lenovo might not be as popular a brand compared to industry heavy weights such as Samsung, LG or Sony but the company is slowly making a name for itself thanks to its affordable yet capable handsets that offer dual-SIM capability with Android’s open source operating system.

And this year, Lenovo Mobile Philippines has added four more handsets to its line of Android-powered smartphones. Two of which comes equipped with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. And all four devices sport 4+ inch screens and target the mid-range to upper tier consumer groups.

LENOVO P770 – The P770 is the successor of Lenovo’s P700 and P700i smartphones that offered performance at an affordable price. And as such, the phone shares the same design aesthetics as its predecessors albeit the slightly bigger screen. The 4.5-inch screen of the device has a resolution of 540x960 pixels with a pixel density of 245 ppi.

Software-wise, the P770 improves in terms of the processor, the memory and of course the operating system. For starters, the P770 now comes with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor in contrast to the 1GHz found on its predecessor. It also has 1GB of RAM and runs on Android Jelly Bean.

Lenovo has also added a few apps they made themselves including Lenovo Power Saving and Lenovo Note. The phone’s UI is also integrated with Facebook, Skype, AccuWeather and TouchPal keyboard. And last but definitely not the least; 5GB cloud storage is also included with the device courtesy of SugarSync.

There’s 4GB worth of on-board storage, a 5MP rear camera, a VGA camera upfront and a 3500mAh battery. As with other droids these days, the P770 comes with the usual set of connectivity features and sensors including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, an accelerometer, GPS and a compass.

LENOVO S890 – another new Jelly Bean-powered handset from Lenovo is the S890. It’s part of the company’s S-series smartphone and comes equipped with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor complemented by 1GB of RAM and a PowerVR SGX531 GPU. There’s 4GB of on-board storage with support for microSD card expansion of up to 32GB.

An 8MP snapper is placed at the back of the device while a VGA camera sits in front of the device for self-portraits and video calls. The rear camera features a LED flash, autofocus, geo-tagging, touch focus and even face detection. The rear camera is also capable of recording 720p videos.

The 5-inch display of the S890 has a resolution of 540x960 pixels with a pixel density of 220 ppi. And again, just like other smartphones today, the phone packs Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, accelerometer, proximity sensor, GPS and a FM radio. Lastly, there’s a 2250mAh battery to power the device.

LENOVO S720 – another handset for the Lenovo’s S-series is the S720. Geared towards stylish consumers, the company is branding this particular phone as Big Chic. The Big part is attributed to the phone’s 4.5-inch qHD display with a resolution of 540x960 pixels with a pixel density of 245 ppi.

The S720 comes has a MTK 6577 chipset with a 1GHz dual-core Cortex A9 processor which is complemented by a PowerVR SGX531 GPU, 512MB of RAM and 4G of storage space. It also features an 8MP camera at the back which sports a LED flash, autofocus, geo-tagging, touch focus and face detection. There’s also a 1MP front-facing camera for video conferencing and self-portraits.

The phone will be powered by a 2000mAh battery and will run Android 4.0.4 (Ice cream sandwich). The S720 will come in two Chic colours – either in white or in hot pink.

LENOVO A800 – Last but definitely not the least is the Lenovo A800. The A800 is Lenovo’s newest device that targets the entry level market. It comes equipped with a 4.5-inch screen with a resolution of 480x854 pixels with a pixel density of around 218 ppi.

The phone runs on Android 4.0.4 (Ice cream sandwich). It has 512MB of RAM and on-board storage worth 4GB with support for microSD expansion. The A800 has a MTK 6577T chipset with a 1.2GHz Cortex-A9 processor and the same type of GPU found in the S720.

A 5MP snapper is placed on the back of the phone which features auto-focus, geo-tagging and touch focus. There’s an accelerometer, proximity sensor, FM radio and GPS. Of course there’s also Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and a microUSB port.

So there you have it. Which Lenovo smartphone do you find most interesting? Share with us your thoughts by leaving a comment below. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus or subscribe to our blog for other tech stories from around the globe.

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.

Lenovo Mobile is on the roll right now releasing and announcing budget and capable handsets here and there. And speaking of announcements, the company has just revealed its latest flagship Android model at the 2013 International CES in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Lenovo K900 is the company’s first Android phone powered by an Intel Processor. Unlike most phones in Lenovo’s line up, the K900 is powered by Intel Atom Z2580 chipset with a dual-core CPU clocked at 1.8 GHz. It has 2GB of internal memory and a PowerVR SGX544 GPU.

It is also quite thin with a side profile measuring a mere 6.9mm. The phone will sport a 5.5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels with a pixel density of 401 pixels per inch which will be protected by a Gorilla Glass 2 panel from Corning.

In terms of imaging, the K900 is reported to have a 13MP autofocus camera with dual-LED flash capable of capturing video at 1080p at 30 frames per second. The camera will also have geo-tagging, touch focus and face detection features as standard.

Connectivity wise, the K900 will feature the usual bells and whistles of most Android super phones including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, and a micro-USB port. It will also have an accelerometer, a proximity sensor and a compass as standard.

Pricing and availability is of course not yet disclosed but expect the phone to be available sometime in April.

Lenovo Mobile Philippines just released an upgraded version of its very capable smartphone the Lenovo P700 with a more powerful and uniquely named P700i. Both phones are almost identical with the exception of the dual-core MediaTek MT6577 processor in the P700i.

Price-wise, the P700i will sell for Php10,999, the same price as the original P700, which is a little bit of a bummer if you’ve just recently purchased the P700. As a consolation prize, Lenovo slashed Php1,000 from the P700’s price tag which will now sell for Php9,999.

The P700i will be available in either Dark Blue or white and will have the same spec sheet as its predecessor which is outlined below.

• Dual SIM, Dual Standby
• Android OS 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
• 4.0 inches IPS-LCD Capacitive Multi-Touchscreen
• WVGA 800x480 pixels, 16M colour display
• 3G / HSPA Technology
• 1GHz Dual-core CPU (MT6577 Processor)
• 512MB RAM, 4GB ROM
• 755MB Internal Memory + 1.85GB USB Storage
• Expandable memory up to 32GB via microSD card
• 5.0 Megapixel with Auto Focus + VGA Camera
• 2500 mAh Battery Capacity
• USB and Bluetooth Tethering
• Portable WLAN Hotspot
• GPS with AGPS support
• Wireless FM Radio, FM Transmitter
• Gravity Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Light Sensor
• Voice Call Recorder

So do you think that the P700i is a phone that brings the most value to your money? If you're looking for a phone with an affordable price tag and decent performance, then this phone might be the one for you :)

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In a few days from now, Microsoft is scheduled to release the very much awaited update on its operating system – Windows 8. Based on the consumer preview that Microsoft has made public a few months ago, this new operating system promises a fully revamped architecture and user interface design that works well both on laptops and desktops but as well in tablets.

Although Microsoft is also set to release their own surface-branded tablet, we are already seeing a lot of devices from other manufacturers slowly making an appearance to coincide with the launch of the new OS. In this edition of Tech Tuesdays at TFL, let’s breeze through some of those devices.

Samsung Ativ Tab

Samsung was one of the first manufacturers to announce a Windows 8 powered tablet. Their Ativ Tab measures 6.61” tall, 10.46” wide and 0.35” thick and weighs around 1.2 pounds. The device also has a 10.1-inch HD LCD display.

It also has USB and Micro-HDMI ports, a microSD card slot, NFC, and Wi-Fi & Bluetooh 4.0 capabilities. In terms of performance the Ativa tab will be powered by a 1.5GHz dual core processor on a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chip, and 64GB of internal storage. It will also feature a 5MP rear camera with LED flash while the front will have a 1.9MP camera.

The Ativ Tab will come with a trial version of Microsoft Office 2013 plus a few extras from Samsung such as ChatOn, and Samsung’s music portal and photo editor.

Asus Vivo Tab

Asus’s Vivo Tab looks pretty much like the Asus Transformer Android tablets. The Vivo Tab will come with an 11.6-inch Super IPS+ panel with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels and will have support for 10-finger multi-touch. The device will be powered by the next generation Intel Atom processor (possibly from the Clover Trail Family) and will have 2GB or RAM plus 64GB of on-board storage. In terms of connectivity, the Vivo tab will have support for Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0.

Moreover, it will feature a G-sensor, a gyroscope, a light sensor and e-compass as well as an 8MP autofocus camera with LED flash at the back, a 2MP front facing camera for video calls and conferencing and a 1024-level Wacom digitizer stylus.

Acer Iconia W700

The Acer Iconia W700 will come in three versions on October 26: Two models will have 64GB of storage and will run on an Intel Core i3 Ivy bridge processor while the third model will have an Intel Core i5 processor with 128GB worth of storage.

The Acer Iconia W700 will feature an 11.6-inch screen with support of up to 10 touch points. It will have an IPS display with a resolution of 1920X1080 pixels, a USB port and a micro-HDMI output. The W700 can be used with a wireless Bluetooth keyboard together with a tilt-able cradle dock which will provide an additional 3 USB ports when used with the tablet.

The W700 will also have an Intel HD Graphics 4000 chipset with 4GB of memory plus a Dolby Home Theatre v4 audio-enhancing technology. At the back of the device is a 5MP camera capable of recording 1080p HD video while a 1MP camera can be found at the front of the device.

Sony Vaio Duo 11

Another big name to announce a W8 tablet last week was Sony with its Vaio Duo 11. Unlike other tablets in our list, the Vaio Duo 11 features a full slide-out keyboard. The Duo 11 also has a HDMI and USB ports and surprisingly a full-sized VGA port.

The Vaio can come with an optional battery extension that doubles operating time but puts additional girth into its already chunky profile. The built-in keyboard is slightly more compact than most notebooks and features a trackpoint-style navigation nub in the middle.

As for computing power, the Duo 11 will have an Intel Core i7-3517U processor with 4-8GB of Ram and up to 256GB of SSD storage. The 11.6-inch display of the Vaio will have a resolution of 1080p and according to reports provide incredibly bright and crispy images.

HP ElitePad 900

HP on the other hand announced its business oriented W8 tablet – the ElitePad 900. The ElitePad 900 is a 10-inch tablet that runs on an Atom-based Intel Clover trail processor with up to 2GB of RAM. It has a Core i5 processor and comes with either a 32GB or 64GB eMMC drive.

The screen is 400-nit IPS display with Gorilla Glass and has a resolution of 1280x800 pixels. It also has an 8MP rear camera and a 1080p front facing camera. As with other tablets these days, it will have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support. However, the ElitePad is lacking a USB port, and instead only has a micro-SD card slot and a USB adapter.

But HP is offering a host of extras for the ElitePad 900. For starters, users can get a dock for the tablet that offers a lock slot, an additional 4 USB ports, HDMI and VGA connectors, a line-out jack and Gigabit Ethernet. HP will also be selling those so-called “Smart Jackets” which are tablet cases that have additional features such as USB ports, HDMI output and optional battery slice.

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2

And last but definitely not the least is the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2. The ThinkPad Tablet 2 is the Windows 8 version of the first ThinkPad tablet was released last year and ran on Android 3.1 Honeycomb. The ThinkPad Tablet 2 now runs on Windows 8 with a 1.86GHz Intel Atom processor from the Clover trail family.

The screen is around 10.1 inches with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels. There will also be an optional dock that comes with an Ethernet port, 3 USB ports and an HDMI output. There’s a fat chance that the ThinkPad Tablet 2 will come with the full version of Office 2013 and will cost around $799 with the keyboard.

There was a time when dual-SIM phones were exclusive to low end feature phones and China-made clone phones. This was because dual-SIM phones primarily targeted consumers who are looking for a way that will allow them to make use of 2 phone numbers while using just one device. And although this feature might have been very useful to businessmen and company executives, the limitation of dumb phones in terms of usability and features was a big letdown which hampered the widespread adoption of dual-SIM phones especially in the business sector.

Today’s market though is different. The phenomenal success of Android has allowed mobile phone manufacturers to produce low cost devices with intelligent operating systems. We’ve listed a few examples of these phones that are currently or soon to be available in a shopping center near you.

Cherry Mobile Handsets

The proudly Filipino company Cherry Mobile is possible the best example of how Android has revolutionized the smartphone market. Unlike other companies (with the exception of Gigabyte), Cherry Mobile offers the most dual-SIM android phones in the market. These include the Orbit, Stellar and Candy models.

• Orbit (Budget) – The Cherry Mobile Orbit sits at the bottom of the company’s android offerings. It packs Android 2.2 Froyo, 256MB RAM, a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen, multimedia playback functionality, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, 5MP back camera, micro SD expansion slot and a 1260mAH battery.

• Candy (Budget) – Another entry level phone for Cherry Mobile is the Candy. It’s available in either a full touch bar phone or a QWERTY phone with a small touchscreen. Its specs sheet is almost identical to the Orbit. However, the Candy models only have resistive touchscreens instead of the orbit’s capacitive touchscreen. The battery was also downgraded from 1260mAH to 1000mAH.

• Stellar (Entry) ­– The Stellar is the company’s most powerful dual-SIM android phone. The phone is practically a rebranded Gsmart G1315 skate. It boasts a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen, 256MB RAM, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, 5MP autofocus rear camera, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, multimedia playback functionality, 1500mAH battery and a micro SD expansion slot.

Alcatel Blaze Duo (Entry) – Alcatel is also one of a few companies that offer affordable android phones. The company was practically invisible for some time especially when android started becoming the main player in the mobile phone market. This was actually a good move for Alcatel since they were able to regroup and create a new set of mobile phones powered by android.

Out of their fleet of droids, the Blaze Duo OT-918N is one of two of their dual-SIM phones. It sports Android 2.3 Gingerbread, 256MB of RAM, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, a 3.2-inch LCD display, a 3.15MP rear camera, FM radio tuner, micro SD expansion slot, accelerometer, HSDPA and a 1300mAH battery.

LG Optimus Net Dual (Entry) – This phone from Korean manufacturer LG is the first dual-SIM offering of the company. It has a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen with a pixel density of 180ppi, 512MB of RAM, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, HSDPA data connectivity, a 3.15MP camera at the back and a VGA front-facing camera.

It runs on Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread and is powered by an 800MHz ARMv6 processor. It also has an accelerometer, an Adreno 200 GPU, FM radio tuner, micro SD expansion slot, A-GPS and a 1500mAH Li-Ion battery.

LG Optimus L3 E405 (Budget) – Another dual-SIM phone from LG that is bound to hit Philippine shores soon (if it hasn’t landed yet) is the LG Optimus L3. Just like the Net Dual, it packs a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen but with a higher pixel density of 125ppi, 384MB of RAM, HSDPA connectivity, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, a 3.15MP rear camera and a front-facing VGA camera with video recording speeds of 24fps.

In the software department, it runs on Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread. It’s powered by a Qualcomm MSM7225A Snapdragon Chipset, an 800MHz Cortex-A5 processor and an Adreno 200 GPU. It also features an accelerometer, as well as a proximity sensor and a compass. Aside from that, the built in browser of the L3 supports Adobe Flash and even HTML5.

Samsung Galaxy Y Duos (Budget) – Samsung is currently the biggest manufacturer of android phones. Their galaxy line reaches almost all segments in the market, from low-end to high-performance handsets. So it’s not surprising if they come up with their own dual-SIM droid. Their most popular model for the dual-SIM segment is the Galaxy Y Duos.

The Galaxy Y Duos features an 832MHz processor and runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread with Toucwiz UI on top. It offers 3G connection on both SIM cards and offer Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. It also has 290MB of RAM, a 3.14-inch capacitive touchscreen, 3.15MP rear camera and a QVGA front-facing one, accelerometer, proximity sensor, compass and a 1300mAH Li-Ion battery.

Lenovo A65 (Entry) – Lenovo came a little late in the smartphone race especially here in the Philippines. Their first dual-SIM android phone the A60 enjoyed little to moderate success, so we guess that Lenovo is will try to boost their market share in the country by offering an improved version of the A60 – the A65.

The A65 sports an 800MHz CPU and a PowerVR SGX 531 GPU. IT runs on Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread and has a 256MB of RAM. It also has a 3.5-inch capacitive display and a 3.2MP rear camera with video recording. And just like any android phone, it has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.

Lenovo P700 (Mid-range) – For buyers who want more power on their phones, Lenovo also offer the ICS-powered P700. The P700 is the newest model in Lenovo’s droid line and boasts of a 4.0-inch IPS-LCD capacitive multi-touchscreen display. The screen has a resolution of 800x480 pixels with 16M colors.

Its performance specs sheet is also quite notable. It has a 1GHz CPU, MT6575 processor, and a PowerVR SGX6xx GPU. It also has 512MB of RAM, 755MB of internal memory, a micro SD expansion slot, a 5.0MP rear-facing camera with autofocus and a front-facing VGA camera, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, FM tuner, accelerometer, proximity and light sensor, GPS with A-GPS support and an amazing 25100mAH battery.

HTC Desire V (Mid-range to High-end) – The Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC has been known to produce the most stylish and well-rounded phones in the market today. With impeccable design, after sales support and intuitive UI, HTC phones have always branded its products to target executives and consumers with considerable purchasing power. So it’s a little bit surprising that they created a phone for this segment of the market.

Their first dual-SIM phone, the Desire V sports a Qualcomm MSN7227A Snapdragon chipset, a 1GHZ Cortex-A5 processor and an Adreno 200 GPU and runs the latest version of android – Android 4.0 Ice cream sandwich. It has a 4.0-inch capacitive display with a resolution of 480x800 pixels at a pixel density of 223 ppi. In terms of storage, it has 4GB of onboard storage and 512MB of RAM.

Other specs include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, HSPA data transfer speeds, 5MP autofocus rear camera, accelerometer, proximity sensor and compass, FM tuner, 1650mAH battery and Beats Audio sound enhancement software.

The dual-SIM market segment of the mobile phone industry has undeniably experienced some changes. The devices offered in this segment of the market are no longer isolated to feature phones and China-made clone phones. As cellphone technology becomes cheaper and cheaper and as competition among various brands become stiffer, we are slowly seeing that even huge companies such as LG, Samsung and HTC are realizing the potential for dual-SIM phones.

The only question that remains is if this trend would continue to expand in the future. Our best bet is as good as yours. What do you think?