Nokia has been very busy these past few months improving and expanding their Lumia smartphone product line. Just last week the Finnish company announced two more Windows Phone 8 devices at the 2013 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain – the Lumia 720 and the Lumia 520.

But before these two new handsets reach local stores, Nokia Philippines is already paving the way for these Lumias by announcing the availability of the Windows Phone 8-powered Nokia Lumia 920, Lumia 820 and the Lumia 620.

The Nokia Lumia 920 is the company’s current flagship model. It is powered by 1.5GHz dual-core Krait processor on a Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon chipset. The Krait processor is complimented by 1GB of RAM and 32GB of on-board storage.

The Nokia Lumia 920 has the biggest screen among the three Lumias at 4.5 inches with the company’s ClearBlack display technology. The screen is of the IPS LCD type and has a resolution of 768 x 1280 pixel with a pixel density of 332 ppi which is higher than the iPhone 5 (326ppi) or the Galaxy S3 (233ppi). The display is protected by the latest generation of Corning’s Gorilla Glass panel.

At the back of the device is an 8MP camera equipped with Nokia’s PureView technology, which when paired with the phone’s Carl Zeiss optics and other features such as image stabilization, autofocus and a LED flash, allows the Lumia 920 to capture crisp and vibrant images without losing detail. The phone’s camera is also capable of capturing HD videos (1080p) with video stabilization.

For fans of self-portraits and video calls, you need not worry as the 920 is equipped with a 1.3MP front facing camera.

Next on the list is the Nokia Lumia 820. Designed for mid-range to upper-tier consumer groups, the 820 has a 4.3-inch AMOLED screen with resolution of 400 x 80 pixels and a pixel density of 217 ppi. Just like its big brother, the 820 is also equipped with Nokia’s ClearBlack display.

It is powered by 1.5GHz dual-core processor complimented by 1GB of RAM and 8GB of on-board storage. If you think 8GB of memory won’t be enough, the phone’s memory can be expandable to 64GB via a microSD card slot.

The Lumia 820 also has an 8MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, dual-LED flash, geo-tagging and autofocus. It can capture 1080p videos at 30 frames per second with video stabilization. There’s a front-facing VGA camera again, for self-portraits and making video calls.

And last but not the least is the Nokia Lumia 620. The Lumia 620 is the most affordable among the three phones and was designed as an entry-level WP8 phone. But don’t be deceived by this humble description as this phone packs features that makes it stand out among similar phones in this price range.

The device has a 3.8-inch TFT display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels and a pixel density of 246 pixels per inch, again featuring Nokia’s ClearBlack technology. It’s powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor on a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset which is complimented by 512MB of RAM and 8GB of on-board storage. And just like the Lumia 820, this phone supports microSD expansion.

The Lumia 620 has a 5MP rear camera with autofocus, geo-tagging and LED flash. It can capture 720p videos at 30 frames per second. At the front of the phone sits a VGA camera for video calls and self-portraits.

All three phones sports the usual assortment of smartphone features such as Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n standards, Bluetooth v3+, accelerometer, proximity sensor, compass and A-GPS support with GLONASS. And of course, these three will have the usual mix of Nokia-developed Windows Phone apps such as Nokia Maps Nokia City Lens, Nokia Smart Shoot and Nokia Drive.

If you’re interested in getting any of these 3 WP8 phones, the Lumia 820 and Lumia 620 are already available at Abenson for around P20,000 and P11,000 respectively. As for the Lumia 920, the Abenson representative I’ve talked to that they’re just waiting for stocks to come in and people should expect pricing to be around P33,000 probably by April 2013.

I’ve been a regular shopper of Abensons for the last 3 years and I’ve bought several appliances, a digital camera, 2 netbooks, an iPod touch from this store and in terms of customer service, delivery and repair (in worst-case scenarios), I’ve never been disappointed with their service.

And in terms of convenience, this store allows installment purchases at 0% interest through various credit card companies giving consumers flexibility when it comes to payments. They also partner with specific credit card providers and give exclusive discounts and deals when you buy an item from them.  And with over 75 stores nationwide, it doesn’t matter whether you’re living in Metro Manila, North or South Luzon, Visayas or in Mindanao, because they’ve got you covered. J

If you want to experience these awesome Lumia phones, just drop by your nearest Abenson store.

For more Details, visit the following:

Nokia Website

Nokia Philippines Facebook page

Abenson Facebook Page

Abenson Website

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.

You can also subscribe to our blog or add us up on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus for the latest news, features, updates and trends about Filipinos and their lifestyle.

Hello everyone! Sorry if I missed out on last week’s episode of Tech Tuesdays on TFL. I was kind of busy with all the Christmas party preparations, exchange gifts and the likes. But now that I’m back,  we’ll be talking about a very timely topic that most of you might have already done with your Christmas bonuses and your 13^th month pay – SHOPPING.

According to a survey done by Google Philippines, a lot of Filipinos are now searching more for information about gadgets especially during the start of the holiday season. I believe it is primarily because the gadgets that we use today have come to a state so advance compared to previous decades that they are more intricately intertwined with our lives making them more and more of a necessity rather than a luxury. 

Moreover, our gadgets have evolved so far that they can now perform multiple functions in one package.

So if you’re planning to get yourself or get a loved one a new gadget this Christmas, it can easily become a pain when choosing which gadget would you buy and which would you likely to avoid. Well, despair no more, as today we will be talking about which gizmos are a match to your lifestyle and personality. If you’re all set, shall we begin?

Netbooks vs. Ultrabooks – the portable computer system is taking a major turn these past few years. As power and flexibility is crossing over into the mobile domain with the introduction of powerful devices with slim form factors, a trend is slowly becoming visible in terms of what the future of mobile computing will be. And that future is probably be the one ruled by ultrabooks.

As more and more PC manufacturers are developing machines that fit the ultrabook or slimbook profile, competition is slowly becoming stiffer by the minute. Ultrabook prices are slowly going down so if you’re really that excited to get one, I suggest waiting a bit more to let the prices stabilize. But if you’re really into saving a lot of money and you’re not that critical whether or not your laptop has an ivy bridge processor or a super slim profile, a netbook can be a good option for youl.

Black Berries – Research in Motions Black Berry smartphones have recently experienced a massive price drop. But don’t be fooled, because it might be that retailers are just emptying their BlackBerry shelves in order to give way to the new fleet of RIM devices coming in January 2013. These new devices will sport updated features that will most likely make current BB devices look old and out dated.

For hardcore BB enthusiasts, getting an upgrade or an extra berry today might not be the best idea and you’d be better off waiting for the L-series next year. But for those who just want a bare bones BlackBerry experience, getting a RIM device right now seems to be a right choice.

Gaming Consoles – Gaming consoles have also experienced a huge dip in retail prices this past few months. The Xbox 360 with Kinect now sells for around P14k which comes bundled with at least 3 games. The same goes for Sony’s PS3 which retails at almost identical price point. The Nintendo Wii on the other hand now retails for less than P10,000 for the base unit which makes it extremely affordable compared last year.

And with the exception of the Wii U, the Xbox 360 and PS3 are still the flagship gaming consoles for Microsoft and Sony respectively which ensures that you’ll still be getting the first serving of games from developers.

iPhone 5 – the iPhone 5 has made waves this year. It was one of the most anticipated devices to be announced and released this year just alongside the Google Nexus 4 and Microsoft’s Surface tablet. However, in my honest opinion, getting an iPhone 5 today may not be a smart move especially for fans of Apple out there.

This is because, in true Apple tradition, the announcement of a new generation device would mean the coming of a much faster and slightly improved “S” version the following year, which is what happened with the iPhone 3 and 3GS and the iPhone 4 and 4S. So if you’re really into the Apple iPhone craze, you might want to hold your horses until next year when Apple would release an iPhone 5S.

DSLRs and ILCs – Camera systems have recently enjoyed success and patronage among Filipinos. As more and more Pinoys are getting hooked to photography, camera manufacturers are improving their product line by adding more affordable yet equally powerful DSLR cameras. This, just like what happened with ultrabooks have pushed prices down and heightened the competition among different brands. That is why getting a full size DSLR would be a great idea for this holiday season as these camera systems are slowly becoming mainstream.

ILCs on the other hand are still quite expensive. They are also quite rare, with manufacturers only producing one to three models of interchangeable lens cameras in their entire product line. For now, their less bulky profile doesn’t trump over their high price tag, so it wouldn’t be advisable to get one now. Instead get a less pricey DSLR with the same specs of the ILC that you want.

Windows Phones – Another grey area when shopping for gadgets would be Windows phones. There are currently two types of Windows phones on sale right now – the legacy devices powered by Windows Phone 7+ and the newer Windows Phone 8 devices. And just like its direct competitor, Blackberries, Windows phones have two sides of the story.

On the one side, WP7 devices are now very affordable compared 12 months ago. Nokia’s Lumia phones, which include the Lumia 610, 800 and 900 are now all priced below the P20,000 price range, so for those looking for the Metro UI experience, getting the first generation of WP devices would be a really good bargain. The only catch is that Microsoft would have very little support for these devices in the future as they have already planned to push for WP8.

On the other hand, WP8 devices are still quite expensive and few. The only manufacturers which have a ready supply of Windows Phone 8 smartphones out in the market would be Nokia with their Lumia 920, 820 and the budget friend 620; and HTC with their 8X and 8S devices. However, owners of WP8 devices are ensured that they will be getting future updates in contrast to users of WP7+ platform.

So there you have it. I hope this post was able to help some of you who are still undecided on getting a new gadget this holiday season. If you have any comments, suggestions and reactions, please do share them with us by leaving a comment below. You can also reach us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterst and Google Plus or subscribe to our blog for the latest and freshest news, features and updates about Filipinos and their lifestyle.

Nokia has just announced earlier today its newest addition to its Windows Phone 8 lineup – the Lumia 620. And this device is the company’s most affordable WP8 handset yet, which puts it in the position just below the Lumia 920 and 820 with a price of around 230 euros or approximately P12,300.

In terms of its specs, it’s clearly placed just below the Lumia 820. For starters, the Lumia 620 has a 3.8-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen compared to the 820’s 4.3-inch IPS screen. It also has a lower pixel density at 246 pixels per inch. Moreover, its RAM is halved with only 512 MB worth of RAM compared to the 820’s 1GB. There will also be support for microSD expansion of up to 64 GB.

The rear camera has a 5 MP sensor capable of capturing images with a maximum resolution of 2592x1936 pixels. There is autofocus, LED flash, geo-tagging and video recording at 720p at 30 frames per second. There’s a front VGA camera for video calling.

In terms of performance, the Lumia 620 is powered by a 1 GHz dual-core Krait processor on a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chipset with Adreno 305 GPU.  There is a built-in accelerometer, proximity sensor, compass and A-GPS support and GLONASS. The phone’s browser would likely support HTML5 and there will be a 7GB free SkyDrive storage that comes with purchasing the phone. It will run on the latest build of Windows Phone 8 and will have a standard Li-Ion battery rated at 1300 mAh.

The complete specs sheet of the Lumia 620 is shown below.

2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
4G Network	(To be Announced)
Status	Expected release on Q1 2013
Dimensions	115.4 x 61.1 x 11 mm, 76 cc (4.54 x 2.41 x 0.43 in)
Weight	127 g (4.48 oz)
Display Type	TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors with Nokia Pure Black technology
Display Size	480 x 800 pixels, 3.8 inches (at 246 ppi pixel density)
Audio	3.5mm jack with Dolby headphone sound enhancement
Card slot	microSD, up to 64 GB
Internal	8 GB storage, 512 MB RAM
GPRS	Class B
EDGE	Class B
Speed	HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band
Bluetooth	Yes, v3.0 with A2DP, EDR
NFC	Yes
USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0
Primary	5 MP rear camera, 2592х1936 pixels, autofocus, LED flash with Geo-Tagging. Front facing camera with VGA resolution
Video	Yes, 720p@30fps
Secondary	Yes, VGA
OS	Microsoft Windows Phone 8
Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon S4
CPU	Dual-core 1 GHz Krait
GPU	Adreno 305
Sensors & Extras	Accelerometer, proximity, compass, A-GPS support with GLONASS, Radio, browser with HTML5 support
Messaging	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
Other Features	Lime green, orange, magenta, yellow, cyan, white, black
	SNS integration
	Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
	MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA player
	MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player
	7GB free SkyDrive storage
	Document viewer
	Video/photo editor
	Voice memo/dial
	Predictive text input
Battery	Standard battery, Li-Ion 1300 mAh (BL-4J)
Stand-by	Up to 330 h
Talk time	Up to 14 h 40 min (2G) / Up to 9 h 50 min (3G)
Music play	Up to 61 h

   
(via GSMarena.com)

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

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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