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  • 5 worst Smartphones that failed to take off from the Launchpad in 2015

    5 worst Smartphones that failed to take off from the Launchpad in 2015

    It is the time when we leave behind our past, groom our memories, cultivate the best of it and store the most vivid one somewhere in the vast archive of our brain. The good, the bad or the worst, everything that happened there in 2015 was special; not only because we get to learn something from it, but we do know exactly what we have there for us. Nothing in this world can change what has happened in 2015, and what it had to offer, especially in the smartphone industry. From incredible Nexus (6P and 5X) devices, LG G4, Samsung Galaxy S6 (which is somewhere between the line), Apple iPhone 6S (Plus) to Amazon Fire; every one of them contributed in the composition of smartphone’s advancement and disappointments in 2015.

    With my belly still full of festive foods, I am here to list down 5 worst smartphones of 2015 that attracted some buzz over the internet but surprisingly failed to actually deliver what they promised.

    HTC One M9

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    HTC One Series (Especially 2013 Lineup) introduced itself as a new hope for the smartphone industry, and an escape from the boring rectangular bar-like design offered by iPhone and Samsung flagships. The HTC One M7 was an immediate hit, praised by millions of users. The trend was passed on to the next iteration of the smartphone (M8), which was another success. However, the company soon witnessed a downfall in their sales chart of HTC One M9 in 2015. So, where they went wrong?

    htc one m9 heating temperature compared with other smartphones

    Most of the smartphones of 2015 were widely affected by the bug in the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, which was responsible for uncomfortably overheating the devices. It would further throttle the processing power once the temperature rises, and would continue to do so until the temperature would fall down again. Coupled with poor battery performance, surprisingly drastic rear UltraPixel Camera, slow charging, random restarts and other software bugs; HTC One M9 was one of the worst smartphones of 2015.

    LG G Flex 2

    lg g flex 2

    The Original LG G Flex promised us a curved smartphone with some amazing technology. The year 2013 was one of the most important milestones in Tech history, giving us a glimpse of future tech as we see them today. LG, Samsung and other big names jumped into the experiments to bend the smartphone displays to the extent that we could fold/unfold it like a newspaper; a vision which still seems too far away to be fetched. LG G Flex, however, came up with a curved display, which was unique and new innovation at the time. There’s no surprise that this piece of tech was hugely adapted, and became a topic of buzz.

    LG G Flex 2 was supposed to be the most innovative smartphone of the year, with some top notch specifications and technology that deemed as a non-achievable future tech. However, this phone turned out to be just an upgrade from the previous version which was whipped by Snapdragon 810’s performance and heating issues. LG did try to bring some new tech onboard; such as gimmick self-heal back cover, which didn’t work as expected. At the end owners complained that they had to replace the back cover just as they would usually do on other smartphones once its surface has unbearable scratches.

    Some even claimed that the lack of removable battery and fingerprint scanner actually made this phone worse than the original.

    Blackberry Passport

    blackberry passport

    Blackberry Passport lives with the motto of “Work Wide,” that being said, the smartphone is specially designed with enterprise workflow in the mind. The wide screen surprisingly makes it very easy to read emails, e-books and surf through the internet (especially heavy websites as desktop mode). The high-end specifications that offer great performance, coupled with 3,450 mAh battery that lasts for an entire day, makes it an ideal business companion. However, things get little outside of the comfort zone if you try to use it for another purpose, such as watching videos on the go. It is very subjective opinion, but I hardly believe that we have moved past the physical keyboard adaptation. It was actually very trendy and advantageous over the resistive touch screen keyboards in the past, but capacitive display, SwiftKey gesture, and the bigger screen has left those days into the dust. The fact that this smartphone weighs 194g, which makes it really uncomfortable to operate with a single hand when coupled with the wide display. All these advantages and radical issues make ‘Blackberry Passport’ best and worst blackberry smartphone of 2015 at the same time.

    Asus Zenfone 2 Laser (ZE550KL)

    asus zenfone 2 laser

    Asus Zenfone 2 Laser has some of the worst ‘specification’ and ‘value for money’ ratios than any other smartphone that was released last year. Asus tend to confuse the consumers with their iterative naming style, a trend that has been followed by many top brands, such as Samsung Galaxy series, HTC One Series, Sony Z series, LG G series and so on. There is only one way to eliminate the confusion, i.e. looking up the information about any specific smartphone based on their model number before purchase. We reviewed the Asus Zenfone 2 Laser (ZE550KL) last year, and our first impression concluded with this device sorted out as ‘0’ (zero) value for money.

    Amazon Fire

    amazon fire buy 5 get 1 free

    Launched in September 2015, the Amazon Fire was Amazon’s attempt to offer a successive version of their budget tablet lineup. These tablets are highly modified to provide a specific environment for eBook readers, and, in turn, builds an exclusive user base on this idea. The Tablet has mediocre specifications which result in series of performance issues and bugs. It is true that you can’t expect much from an eBook reading device that costs only $50 but, shouldn’t it, at least, iron out minor bugs? The design feels cheap. Performance is slow if many apps are open in the background and when downloading. The display has a low resolution and touchscreen response can be sluggish. Gaming performance for large games is slow and the graphics can experience frame rate drops.

    The words got out that there is no way these bugs are worth being included in our already cluttered life, and, as a result, consumers started shifting to next best thing. Amazon got desperate to keep up their annual sales report, which resulted in them to re-launch these tablets with ‘Buy 5 get 1 free’ pack.

    The phone is not overpriced, but it certainly is not worth the money.

    Did I miss something? List down your own list of 5 worst smartphones of 2015 in comments below.

  • Is the LG G4 worth it? – Review: 6 Months on

    Is the LG G4 worth it? – Review: 6 Months on

    Early hands-on videos and expert reviews can be good to get an overall feeling about what a new smartphone, such as the LG G4, would be like in your hands, but you can’t quite get to know what it really would be like to own a device without getting an opinion from somebody who has used it as their daily driver.

    See Also: [Review] We tested 5 Huawei Honor 6 Plus for a month, here’s what we think!

    I have now used the G4 for most of the year as my daily smartphone and I’d like to share my thoughts on it. So is the LG G4 worth it? Let’s find out. I’ll be focusing on more practical, real-life areas instead of the standard, specs, performance and build quality categories that a normal LG G4 review would focus on.

    Useful Utilities

    If you’re reading this, it’s likely you’ve already done a bit of research on LG’s latest flagship. I won’t be focusing on the star attributes that a normal LG G4 review may take a look at. I want to share some of my favorite features that make my daily operating more fluid. My first favorite feature of the LG G4 is the Knock On function. With this, I can quickly double tap to see my notifications, see the time and if I’m connected to the internet, even get a quick glimpse at what the weather’s like outside.

    Another useful feature allows me to drag down whilst the screen is off to quickly see the time and date as well as the notification bar. Checking the time becomes much less of a chore with this when the phone is on my desk, but I’ve noticed Knock On works better whilst in my hands.

    Having the on/off button and volume controls on the back of the LG G4 is also awesome. Having a big screen smartphone can sometimes be a bit frustrating – juggling between the different buttons whilst listening to music is what I often found myself doing with other large screen devices. With the buttons on the back, I don’t have to move my hand whatsoever.

    I opted for the brown leather LG G4 and I really like the sleek design and overall quality of it in my hands. My unit also came with a spare plastic back cover – my views on that were not so positive. It felt a little too hard on the edges, making it less of a treat to hold. Definitely opt for the leather if you can. I’d suggest getting the black leather if you’re worried about wear. (More on that below.)

    Little Qualms

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    LG has copied Samsung in a lot of areas, the biggest one for me being LG Health – after coming from a TouchWiz device before it, I must say that LG’s apps are a little lacking. This is especially the case for LG Health – I can’t see my estimated burned calories and the step counter is sometimes a little temperamental. Besides this, I do like LG’s simple yet colorful overlay.

    Like mentioned before, the leather backing is nice but it does take scuffs quite easily. I myself have noticed the material degrading at the corners and some have had it much worse. I’d suggest getting the black leather, which is a lot more rugged and withstands use a lot better.

    The LG UX may not be the best in town either. I’ve actually settled for the Smart Launcher found in the Google Play store and have been using that for the past two months.

    Audio

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    I’m a bit of an audio head and I do love my music. Fortunately, the LG G4 comes with a pair of excellent earphones. The LG QuadBeat 3 is the name given to the earphones, and a quick glance will show you that they’re a little more premium than standard smartphone earphones.

    If you’re really into music, I’d suggest getting some replacement earbud tips because the ones supplied aren’t great. With that being said, the sound quality supplied by the QuadBeat 3’s is pretty intense. It’s sound range may not be as full as you’d like it to be, but it does have a very punchy sound that is often a lot of fun to listen to, especially when listening to some bigger sounds. EDM is a treat, alongside more electronically produced pop music. A lot of hip-hop also sounds wonderful on the QuadBeat 3. I can’t say too much about other genres, as I haven’t really touched these whilst using the QuadBeat 3’s.

    Video

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    Am I a believer in the 2K display on the LG G4? Honestly, yes I am. I’m not sure if it’s the extra resolution or other aspects put into place, but when I watch high-quality movies or TV series on the LG G4, it looks incredible – I’d say the screen quality is better than my BenQ monitor. I really do believe that.

    However, the 2K screen isn’t necessary all of the time and even though everything does look crisp, the same could be said on a 1080p smartphone display. You’re also only going to notice high quality when the video file you’re watching is also of a high resolution. The extra pixels also becomes a problem for the next category…

    Battery Life

    A big complaint with many reviews is that the LG G4’s 2K screen made the battery life on the device less appealing. The phone does come with a 3,000mAh battery as standard so it’s not like you’re not packing big numbers in the battery department. However, I did go from a large external 5,600mAh battery on my S4 to the LG. The battery life is, of course, a lot less, but the incredibly fast charging time made up for it. I’ve never actually ran out of battery on my LG G4 once, although I have come dangerously close. A quick few minutes of charging here and there are all it takes to keep the smartphone running throughout the week.

    My overall experience with the battery life has been quite positive. LG’s UX also shuts down a lot of processes after the battery level reaches a pre-arranged number (chosen in the settings menu) to save battery life.

    Performance Over Time

    This is something I have a bit of an issue with. I’m not sure if it’s the Snapdragon 808 copping out already or if it’s something exclusively with LG. I can’t really compare it to other smartphones because all other 2015 flagships are using at least the 810.

    There are two issues with the performance of the LG that I’ve noticed so far. If these issues aren’t occurring then the performance of the LG G4 is silky smooth.

    Whilst charging – There is a lot of issues with performance whilst charging on the LG G4, and it’s slowly become more apparent as I’ve used the device more, especially in recent weeks.

    Performance Degradation – Yep, I feel like it’s happening. The smartphone is getting slower already, but with that being said it’s still a lot slicker than 2014’s smartphones and it’s response times are a lot faster.

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    I’d say that performance issues may arise over time if you stick to this device for a long period. If you plan to keep a smartphone for more than a few years you may want to consider something else. With that being said, I’d prefer the occasional stuttering in the 808 to the fiery hot 810. The Exynos 7420 is the clear cut choice for those who care solely on performance.

    Camera

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    I won’t go into the camera specs as there will be a summary down below, but I would like to talk about my experience with the LG G4’s camera. I’ve taken a few photos whilst outside and my general experience has been very positive. I can’t compare it to other flagships, so you’ll have to look elsewhere for a full comparison if camera quality is important to you.

    11998265 961051430623787 596912668 n copy

    With that being said, I do really like the results that come out of the LG G4’s snapper. I’ve never personally owned a smartphone for so long that provides such great results. The camera app is super slick too. You can access the camera from the lock screen with one quick swipe and navigating the UI has been made as straight forward as possible. Props to LG on this one.

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    LG G4 Review Summary: What I Like

    • Useful functions (Knock On, Buttons on back)
    • Comfortable leather design
    • A selection of LG UX features (dual window, SMS windows)

    LG G4 Review Summary: What I Don’t Like

    • Wear and tear (both performance and smartphone build quality)
    • LG’s copycat apps (LG G Health, etc)
    • LG UX isn’t worth sticking to over other options

    LG G4 Specs:

      LG G4 Galaxy S6 HTC One M9 OnePlus Two
    SoC Snapdragon 808 Exynos 7420 Snapdragon 810 Snapdragon 810
    RAM 3GB 3GB 3GB 4GB/3GB
    AnTuTu 50,330 68,830 56,798 63,719
    Display 5.5″ LCD 5.1″ AMOLED 5″ LCD 5.5″ LCD
    Resolution 2560×1440 2560×1440 1920×1080 1920 x 1080
    Memory 32GB 32/64/128GB 32GB 16/64GB
    SD card? Yes No Yes No
    Battery 3,000mAh 2,550mAh 2,840mAh 3,300mAh
    Price $510 $564 $570 $329

    So there we have it. Is the LG G4 worth it? If you’re in the market for a new flagship smartphone, there are many, many reasons as to why that’s a big fat yes. You may find yourself leaning towards other brands and manufacturers however. For me though, the LG G4 has been my favorite smartphone I’ve managed to get my hands on this year.

  • LG G Flex 2 launched in Singapore, Pre-orders commence February 27

    LG G Flex 2 launched in Singapore, Pre-orders commence February 27

    The south Korea Company launched the second iteration of its self-healing curved smartphone in Singapore today. This makes Singapore second country in the world to receive LG G Flex 2 outside China after it was released in South Korea last month.

    The pre-orders will commence on 27th February 2015 while the retail launch is planned for 14th March 2015. Pricing of the G Flex 2 is S$998, which comes out to the equivalent of $800.

    z 00033

    LG G Flex 2 sports a smaller display than the G Flex (5.5-inch compared to 6-inch), but this time around it comes with a higher full-HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080 pixels). This means the phone has a higher pixel density as well, coming in at 403ppi.

    Other improvements include a stronger front glass display and a “self-healing” back cover that LG says will recover from scratches and scuffs within seconds.z 00034

    At this stage, there’s no official word on when the G Flex 2 will be made available in the US, but it has been confirmed that AT&T, Sprint and US Cellular will offer the device in the country. In the UK, Vodafone has announced that it will be exclusively carrying the device for the first six weeks, with Carphone Warehouse commencing pre-orders on February 28.

    The device itself will go on sale in the UK from March 19. In Singapore, the G Flex 2 will be offered in Platinum Silver and Flamenco Red color variants.