Samsung Galaxy S4 Spotted at Globe, Claims Device Almost Here

The Samsung Galaxy S4, the South Korean manufacturer’s latest masterpiece, was announced recently. Pundits and fans alike have nothing but praises for it. And now it seems that it will grace the Philippines soon.

One of the leading mobile providers in the Philippines, Globe Telecom, has put up a banner on its front page claiming that “The Samsung Galaxy S4 is coming.” Now normally we’d expect the Philippine announcement to be quick, but not this quick. One thing’s for sure though: The “Life Companion” is coming and it’s coming fast.

Want to see the page for yourself? It’s already up at globe.com.ph. While there, I suggest you subscribe to the updates: It’s pretty helpful if you want your info delivered first-hand right in your inbox.

So, would you fancy a Globe Galaxy S4? I sure will.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Spotted at Globe, Claims Device Almost Here

Cloudfone Excite 400d Surfaces, Cheapest 4.1 Jelly Bean Device in PH

A couple of months ago Cloudfone made waves with their Cloudfone Thrill 430x Android: It had and still has the biggest battery capacity in the local market. Now they’re making waves again with their latest entry in the market, the most affordable Jelly Bean device locally, the Cloudfone Excite 400d.

The Cloudfone Excite 400d is nothing revolutionary in terms of hardware: It sports the nowadays ordinary 1GHz dual-core MTK 6577 processor, 512MB RAM, and a 4-inch IPS display. Surprisingly, it comes loaded with—you guessed it—Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The device also comes with a gimmick: Interchangeable back panels (which is of course always welcome since something is better than nothing).

The Cloudfone Excite 400d at first impressions feel solid and reliable. It could even remind you of a Samsung phone when looked at from behind. Definitely a worthy contender in the entry-level Android market.

Cloudfone Excite 400d Specs and Features

OS: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
Processor: 1GHz dual-core MTK 6577 processor
Memory: 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage, microSD expandable up to 32GB
Display: 4-inch IPS WVGA capacitive display, 5-point multi-touch
Camera: 5.0-megapixel rear AF camera with LED Flash, VGA front camera
Battery: 1200mAh
Dimensions: 122 x 63.6 x 10.4mm
Features: Interchangeable back panels, dual-SIM

Cloudfone Excite 400d Availability and Price in the Philippines

The Cloudfone Excite 400d is currently available in Metro Manila only, but will slowly roll out nationwide. Its SRP is pegged at P4,499.00. Truly the most affordable Jelly Bean device out there.

Watch out for our Cloudfone Excite 400d review soon.

Cloudfone Excite 400d Surfaces, Cheapest 4.1 Jelly Bean Device in PH

Tech21 case protects your device from impacts without adding bulk

Tech21, the self-proclaimed authority in Impactology, or what they call science of protection, recently made itself known to the local market by way of its local distributor, Digits Trading.

Tech21 cases are known for their slim looks without compromising the slimness of your device. The magic lies not in the case itself but on what’s embedded on it.

The secret ingredient for Tech21’s cases is an impact material called D30. A compound that’s composed of a non-Newtonian polymer with an intelligent molecular structure. It can be freely molded but once impact is applied, the molecules bond tightly together to absorb and repel the impact.

As an experiment, a raw form of D30 which looks like your average clay or putty is wrapped and molded around the finger. Heavy objects are then used to pound on the finger with minimal impact to the person. They can feel the impact but significantly weak as the D30 absorbs the force. This material is widely used in military protective wear such as helmets and bulletproof vests, and also in extreme sports wear such as motorbike gloves and paddings.

 

A little D30 can go a long way that’s why Tech21 cases can afford to be slim. Some cases are made of TPU or thermoplastic polyurethane, while some are made of silicon, with D30 injected on impact points on the sides. There are also leather cases with D30 embedded within the seams.

 

Right now, cases are available only for the iPhone 5, iPad mini, and Samsung Galaxy S4. There are bumper cases, silicon cases, and folio cases. Prices range from Php950 to the most expensive which is the Php2,200 Special Ops Patrol for the iPhone 5 consisting of a silicon case enclosed in a hard shell case.

The cases for the iPad mini are reasonably priced with the silicon back case which goes well with an Apple Smart Cover retailing for only Php1,250. The Impact Folio Leather for the iPad mini is priced at just Php1,850.

Tech21 cases are already available at top gadget accessory resellers such as Astroplus, Astrovision, Beyond the Box, Digital Hub group of stores, Switch, R.O.X., Techoholics, iStore, iStudio, and more.

Tech21 case protects your device from impacts without adding bulk

Intel Atom poised to compete against ARM in Android device market

Intel really took its time in entering the mobile device market giving ARM chip manufacturers such as Qualcomm, NVIDIA, Samsung the limelight for the past few years during the boom of Android smartphones and tablets. In this world, Intel finds itself in the role of AMD, the underdog, as it tries to gain traction against chips people have already known and trusted over the years.

Currently in the scene is the Intel Atom Saltwell chip powering just a handful of devices by less-popular Android smartphone OEM players like Acer, Lenovo, ZTE, Motorola, Xolo, and Lava; and Android tablet manufacturers such as Lenovo, Coby, Ramos, and ASUS. Still testing the waters perhaps?

What’s unknown to a lot of people is that their current system-on-a-chip (SoC) can keep-pace with ARM-based SoCs a generation higher. They’re always currently a generation lower but the performance is not.

As an example, their 2GHz single-core Medfield SoC (Atom Z2480) can go head-to-head with Qualcomm’s dual-core Snapdragon S4 chip as evident with the Motorola RAZR i versus the Motorola RAZR M, two similar phones having different but same-class chips.

In the tablet side, a prime example would be the recently-released ASUS Fonepad carrying a 1.6GHz single-core Intel Atom Z2460. Because of Intel Atom’s fast memory access speed, it gets a faster overall response time compared to the quad-core Nexus 7 and the dual-core Samsung Galaxy Tab 2.

With six energy states including an enhanced Intel Deep State, the 4270mAh battery on the ASUS Fonepad lasts longer than Nexus 7’s 4325mAh battery by two hours. Intel’s Burst Performance Technology can make this happen with a processor that smartly scales between a zero-power C6 standby mode, low, high, and max-frequency mode, according to demand.

These Atom processors are also optimized for Android OS, enhanced using Dalvik VM runtime optimization, x86 trace-based JIT, Native Code Generation, JavaScript, and HTML 5 code execution. Unlike Google devices though, each Android OS upgrade requires some sort of code optimization from Intel for the processor to function optimally.

But knowing Intel, they already have the next-generation Intel Atom processor for Android on hand. The smaller 22nm Silvermont chip will feature 3x higher performance and 5x lower power than its predecessor. It will be interesting how this will fare against the new-gen quad-core chips from ARM.

Time to shine for Intel and let’s just wait and see who will be the first premium brand that will carry a flagship phone that will run on an Intel Atom chip. And hopefully, the price will be competitive compared to its ARM brothers.

Intel Atom poised to compete against ARM in Android device market