Just months after releasing their flagship smartphones, the 4-inch Flare and 5-inch Titan, Cherry Mobile just announced their new Bigger XL smartphone, the 5.2-inch Cherry Mobile Cruize.
If you want to own a tablet but cannot afford the likes of Kindle Fire HD or the Nexus 7, maybe the new Enjoy 71 tablet from MSI might suit your budget.
Since the tablet trend is now going for the latest Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS, more and more tablet manufacturers are catching up by making and updating tablets to be compatible with the OS.
Just this morning, in a product launch attended by press and bloggers. Cherry Mobile just unveiled their new 7" HD Quad-core tablet for only Php3,999!
The Fusion Bolt tablet is almost the same as the Ainol Novo Venus, however, the specs of the Bolt are slightly lowered. From 1.5 GHz to 1.0 GHz Quad-core and the 16 GB internal storage is lowered to 8 GB. Maybe this is the reason for the insanely low price. But it is still quad-core! Cherry Mobile Fusion Bolt Specs: 7" IPS LCD 720p (1280×800 pixels) HD display 1.0 GHz quad-core Actions Semiconductor ATM7029 ARM Cortex A9 1 GB DDR3 RAM 8 GB internal storage up to 32 GB via microSD WiFi 802.11 b/g/n 2 MP rear camera 0.3 MP front-facing camera Android 4.1 Jellybean OS Dimension: 186.2mm x 126.9mm x 10.8mm Weight: 320 grams Lithium-Ion 4,000mAh battery Release Date: March 2013 Benchmark Results:
Two days ago, I posted about one Flare user modifying his Cherry Mobile Flare to use a 2,100mAh Samsung Galaxy S III battery However, you need some skill or knowledge in electricity or electronics to modify it. note: Flare's original battery is only 1,500mAh Just this morning, when I visited the Flare Facebook Group, one Flare user posted another compatible battery with Flare. He said that there is no need to modify the battery. It only means that you don't need an expert hand to use it on Flare, just insert it and you're good to go. He used a 2,200mAh battery for LG P970 Optimus Black.
One of the biggest frustrations that the Cherry Mobile Flare users share is its low battery life of 1,500 mAh. For a dual-core, dual-SIM and 4-inch smartphone, it is not enough.
To end his frustration, one Flare user (Leshrac Hunter) has modified a Samsung 2,100 mAh battery terminals to fit the Flare. See video below:
He said that he never encountered any problem after using the battery for several hours. If the user gives further updates, I'll post it here.
Update:
- It's a class A Samsung Galaxy S III Battery
If you want to own a tablet but cannot afford the likes of Kindle Fire HD or the Nexus 7, maybe the new Enjoy 71 tablet from MSI might suit your budget. Although there is no official release date being announced, this tablet is expected to sell for approximately $172 in Taiwan where it was initially unveiled.
The tablet is running Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) and it is powered by a 1.5 GHz dual-core Amlogic AML8726-MX processor, 1GB of RAM and a Mali-400 GPU. With its 10.5 ounces weight, it is lighter than the Kindle Fire HD (13.9 ounces) and the Nexus 7 (12.2 ounces). The feel and build quality is great because it uses a metallic enclosure, so it is not platicky.
The internal storage is 8GB which can be expanded up to 32GB via microSD slot. The tablet also features a 7-inch 1024x600 resolution IPS display touch screen, VGA front camera and 2MP rear camera, and micro-USB connectivity. The 3,200mAh battery can be charged through the micro-USB.
The only thing that I don't like about the tablet is the old Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS. They should have pre-installed Jelly Bean.
After posting the Cherry Mobile Cruize announcement 2 days ago, I immediately joined the Cherry Mobile Omega and Cruize facebook group for updates. Below are the latest updates I've gathered: - The rear camera of the Cruize is 8MP not 5MP!
- Tagalog language setting. - The processor is a single core MTK6575 - Temple Run 2 runs smooth - Antutu Benchmark score: 3921
- Dead Trigger running smoothly (according to Raymon Rosales of Omega and Cruize Facebook Group)
It's now official, Cherry Mobile just announced their newest Jelly Bean smartphone, the 5.2-inch Cherry Mobile Omega. Although it has the same screen size with that of the Cruize, the Omega is more powerful with its 1 GHz dual-core processor but with slightly lesser battery capacity of 2,300 mAh compared to the 2,500 mAh of the Cruize.
Cherry Mobile Omega full specifications: SIM Slot: Dual SIM OS: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Processor : 1GHz Dual Core Camera: 5MP (main); VGA (front) Dimensions: 152.3 mm x 80 mm x 11 mm Screen Type: Capacitive Screen Size: 5.2 inches Multitouch: 5 point Internal Memory: ROM: 4GB; RAM: 512MB Memory Expansion: microSD, up to 32GB Battery Capacity: 2300mAH FM Radio: Yes Bluetooth: Yes USB Port: Yes, micro USB Wi-Fi: Yes, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g GPS: Yes 3G/HSDPA: Yes GPRS/EDGE: Yes Sensors: Accelerometer, Proximity, Light Available Colors: Black, White Suggested Retail Price (SRP): Php6,699
Many are disappointed to learn that this phone only sport a 512GB of RAM to handle the Jelly Bean and a 5MP camera, because they expected a bigger 1GB of RAM and 8MP camera since last year and some say it's just a Titan II. By the way, Omega is also priced Php200 higher than the Titan. It is now available at SM North Edsa and it is available in black and white colors.
Just months after releasing their flagship smartphones, the 4-inch Flare and 5-inch Titan, Cherry Mobile just announced their new Bigger XL smartphone, the 5.2-inch Cherry Mobile Cruize.
The main features of this smartphone are its huge 5.2-inch WVGA touch screen display and its juicy 2,500mAh battery. Specifications:
5MP autofocus rear-camera camera with LED flash (720p HD video)
720pHD videocapture and playback
VGA front-camera
Li-Ion 2,500mAh battery
For battery life comparison, the 5-inch dual-core Titanhas a 2,350mAh battery that will last for 2 days with average use and some even say "with their Wi-Fi always turned on". So it is expected that this single-core Cruize with 2,500mAh battery will last longer than the Titan.
I just learned that the Cherry Mobile Cruize is the G'Five G95 smartphone from China.
If you own this smartphone, please share your experiences and how long the battery last for this phone.
It seems like the 10-inch Nexus 10 tablet is now official, the tablet
manual has been exposed at a Korean blog called Seeko. Displaying a really
curvy body, it seems to have a few design similarities with the Note 10.1 which
is reasonable because they have the same manufacturer Samsung. The Nexus 10 is
rumored to possess a very high screen resolution at 2560x1600 pixels so it is
not a slouch in that area even though no other specs are shown. FCC link
The new Google Nexus 7 Ad shows a curious young girl and her mom reading a book using the Nexus 7 about curious little monkey named George. The Ad was placed in the Google Home Page yesterday with a tagline: The playground is open.
The popular distributor of Qualcomm development kits named
BSQUARE has announced the availability of Snapdragon S4 Pro mobile
development platform for a price of $1,299. Specs below:
Benchmarks:
Official Press Release:
Bsquare Announces Availability of the Quad-Core Snapdragon S4 Pro Mobile Development Platform for TabletsSnapdragon S4 APQ8064-based Developer Tool Gives Access to Android 4.0 platform for application and game developmentBellevue, WA – July 24, 2012 – BSQUARE Corporation (NASDAQ: BSQR), a leading enabler of smart, connected devices, today announced general availability of the next generation Mobile Development Platform (MDP/T) for Android tablets based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon™ S4 Pro Processor. The MDP/T provides application developers and device manufacturers with access to a high-performance Android 4.0 platform for developing, testing, optimizing and showcasing applications and games.
The MDP/T is the first Snapdragon based Mobile Development Platform in a tablet form factor available to developers, middleware vendors and others. It's also the first to feature the Snapdragon™ S4 Pro APQ8064 processor by Qualcomm with asynchronous Quad CPU cores, running up to 1.5 GHz each. The tablet development platform offers powerful built-in graphics enabled by the Adreno™ 320 GPU, which is over two times faster than the 225 GPU on previous Snapdragon-based MDPs. Power management and multimedia efficiencies are also increased over previous MDPs due to the 2GB LPDDR2 RAM and 32GB Storage. The device also features a higher resolution 10.1 WXGA Multi-touch Display.
"Access to the APQ8064 processor with its asynchronous Quad CPU cores gives Android application developers a powerful platform to develop their differentiated applications for rapid market release," said John Traynor, vice president of products, Bsquare. "This access, combined with best-in-class engineering support and testing solutions from Bsquare, provides a major benefit to application and game developers developing for a wide range of pre-commercial devices."
"It's exciting for us to make available the first tablet form factor Snapdragon -based development platform with Bsquare," said Tia Cassett, senior director of business development, Qualcomm. "The combination of a powerful developer device in the Snapdragon APQ8064-based MDP/T and industry-leading services from Bsquare means faster time-to-market for Android developers."
The Mobile Development Platform (MDP/T) based on Snapdragon S4 Pro Processor is available now at www.bsquare.com/qualcomm. Bsquare will support developers and manufacturers using the APQ8064-based MDP/T with engineering services and technical support. Customers of the tablet device also have 24/7 access to the Bsquare Knowledge Base, technical documentation, complimentary tools and Snapdragon MDP software updates. Users of the APQ8064-based MDP/T can also benefit from the industry-leading TestQuest automated testing technology from Bsquare, which supports testing of Android software and hardware.
Trustwave, a cybersecurity firm said that they have
discovered a Google Play security filer flaw that permits a verified
application to get updated with a malicious code. The problem is identified to
be happening in Google Bouncer, an automatic system that checks freshly posted
apps. Trustwave tested it by submitting an app for verification to Google that
blocks a contact called SMS Blocker. Because the app is legit, Bouncer verified
it. Trustwave then updated their app containing a code that will view user’s phone
records, contacts and user photos. The update containing the code can even launch
websites that are malicious.
Tomorrow, Trustwave’s researchers will present
their strategy at the Black Hat security conference. Google should be listening
carefully.
Samsung just unveiled a slight update for the international
owners of the Galaxy Note. The update will change the current Galaxy Note’s
Android 4.0.3 to 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. Together with the typical
performance improvements and bug fixes are couple of pretty awesome
enhancements to the software.
First is a feature called the POPup Play that was spotted at
the Galaxy S III announcement which allows users to enjoy video playback while
accessing other apps. It is truly an amazing feature to those who want to read
a text or email and still want to continue playing the video at the side of the
screen.
Second feature will be the “Signature Unlock” function where
you can simply sign your name by means of Sammy’s S Pen to get access to the
content of your phone, replacing the old fashioned PIN.
It is indeed not a useless update. The update is
already available OTA and can be downloaded through Samsung Kies or the Samsungfirmware page.
What makes a great holiday atmosphere?Explosions and fireworks, thunder and demolition - it's that simple! Light the fuse and make some 'Boooom!' in Demolition Master 3D: Holidays.In Demolition Master 3D: Holidays you need to explode everything standing in your way. The most important thing is to plant your explosives correctly. Careful bomb placement will yield bigger, more effective explosions, blast after blast! Use your skill to launch debris in specific directions to hit targets and score big points. Plus, of course, have the most fun in the process!
The new Google Nexus 7 tablet (made by ASUS) is now officially
introduced. The new Nexus 7 is the world’s first quad-core 7-inch tablet.
The tablet will be available in both 8GB and 16GB models. It will have a 7-inch HD 1280x800 display resolution
(216 ppi) IPS display and a scratch-resistant Corning glass display. The tablet
is powered by a quad-core Tegra 3 SoC processor and runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
OS. It also features a high capacity 4,325 mAH battery that will promise to
give 8 hours of constant use. Other features include a 1.2 MP front-facing
camera, GPS and NFC.
Video Introduction of the Google Nexus 7
The 8GB model will have a price of $199 and $249
for the 16GB model. Buyers will get a credit of $25 in Google Play store with
the purchase, for a limited time only.
The video below is using a high speed camera to show how the
new Android 4.1 Jelly Bean outperformed the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in
the graphic interface department. The new Jelly Bean is extremely fast and
fluid, running at 60 frames per second.
Smartphones or tablets like the Galaxy S, Motorola Xoom, and the new Google Nexus 7 tablet will be able to acquire this new graphics engine in mid-July, as well as any
new mobile device with buit-in Android 4.1.
Project Butter is the name given to this new
graphics engine by Google because it is as slippery and fluid as hot butter.
The name also suits their dessert/food names for Android.
3
weeks ago, I posted about VIA revealing their newest $49 Android Desktop Computer. Now, the Android based computer is available for pre-order and ships
in July. The product will run the modified version of Android 2.3 Gingerbread
OS for use with keyboard and mouse. When it ships early in July, you will get a
hold of an 800MHz single core processor, 512MB of RAM and a 2GB of storage.
BGR
has acquired information from a reliable source that Microsoft Company is
currently preparing to release a full suite of Office app for Android tablets
and Apple’s iOS. November is the expected launch date of the app for both
Android and iOS. Furthermore, the source has witnessed an iPad running the
Microsoft Office and said that it appears to be very similar to the recent leak
from The Daily, even though Microsoft said that the app is not real.
Via, a manufacturer of
integrated circuits in Taiwan appears to be playing in the Android game with an
intriguing new creation. They unveiled a PC running Android OS that will only
cost $49. The new PC’s motherboard is approximately the size of a little
tablet.
The unit features an 800MHz ARM 11 processor, 512MB of RAM,
2GB NAND flash, Ethernet port, HDMI port, VGA port, microSD card slot and more.
The small device is enclosed in
a black plastic case. For $49 the unit will only run Android 2.3 Gingerbread as
of the moment (maybe they’ll upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich soon) so you can’t
expect too much. If you are not a heavy 3D gamer and only do basic tasks like listening
to music, playing simple 2D games, and web browsing, this Android device is for
you.
Via did not disclose any information about the
launch date but you can see more details from the press release below.
Press Release:
VIA Initiates APC: The $49 Android PC Taipei, Taiwan, 22nd May, 2012 – VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficientcomputing platforms, today unveiled the $49 APC Android PC system. Powered by a WonderMedia ARM processor, APC integrates memory, storage, and a full set of consumer I/O features in a small footprint Neo-ITX motherboard that can be connected to a TV or monitor. The system also features a custom build of Android that has been optimized for keyboard and mouse input, and comes with a browser and a selection of preinstalled apps. “APC brings the familiarity and convenience of Android to the PC at a US$49 price point that will open up exciting new markets and applications,” said Richard Brown, VP of Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. “Like a bicycle for your mind, APC will enable more people than ever before to explore the vast online universe.” APC is based on the new Neo-ITX form factor measuring just 17cm x 8.5cm and can be housed in any standard Mini-ITX or microATX chassis, providing enthusiasts with unrivaled flexibility to create new mods and DIY projects as well as ensuring rapid time to market for system integrators and OEMs utilizing the platform. APC consumes only 4 watts when operating at idle power and 13.5 watts at maximum load. This is ten times less than a standard PC system and ensures significant power savings in large scale deployments.APC Features APC combines an optimized version of Android with a rich hardware package to deliver the best of the internet to users. With the inclusion of hardware acceleration for the most demanding video formats, the APC delivers stunning HD quality multimedia, either streamed from sites such as YouTube or stored locally and delivers a great gaming experience on a large screen monitor or TV. Key Features:- Optimized Android OS- HD TV support- Hardware acceleration of the most demanding video formats- VGA and HMDI display ports- Four USB 2.0 ports- One microSD slot- One 10/100 Ethernet port- Audio-out/ Mic-in- VIA WonderMedia ARM 11 SoC- 2GB NAND Flash- 512 DDR3 SDRAM- 15Wpower adaptor
