Tag: price

CoolPad Note 3: A cool companion at an affordable price [Review]

The smartphone market has been flooded with new mobile phone companies, many of which we don’t even recognize. Unless we are specifically being told about their reputed history in the Chinese market, chances are we would end up categorizing them as a new start-up company. Honestly, when Amazon started promoting CoolPad Note 3 on their homepage, I was baffled to witness their greedy strategy to promote the unrecognized brand at a wide platform, exclusively! After a simple google search of ‘CoolPad,’ everything started to make sense, which eventually explained the motive behind Amazon’s decision to support this brand.

Actually, CoolPad isn’t a new company. It is a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, which is like any other popular brands, is one of the largest manufacturers of the smartphone. It is no different than widely accepted other popular brands, such as OnePlus, Huawei, Xiaomi etc. It started expanding itself to other parts of the world of distinction.

Unboxing

Before opening the box, we noticed a white block with “CoolPad Note 3” at the center and *4G* written at the bottom right corner of the front face. There were no description or specification texts to be found anywhere on the box. Anyways, we moved on, still being little confused about this.

Inside the box, we found a brand new smartphone, an earphone, travel adapter (5V, 2A), a data cable, a quick start guide and a warranty card.

Build Quality

The CoolPad Note 3 is 5.5-inch (720p) smartphone with seemingly decent specifications at an astonishingly low price. The body is made up of plastic, which is expected at this price range, and should be easily accepted given you’re investing very little compared to the other smartphones that come at a hefty price for a full metal body. According to the company, the smartphone’s frame is made up of Aluminum-alloy, so you shouldn’t be much worried about the quality of the inside, which is what matters the most.

The smartphone has curvy back, which felt amazing while operating the phone. It sits ergonomically in the hands while typing as well.

There is a rear camera with led flash, secondary microphone, a fingerprint sensor at the top, and a speaker vent along with the Coolpad logo at the bottom of the back side. The power button is on the right side, volume rocker on the left side, 3.5mm audio jack at the top and a micro USB port along with a microphone at the bottom.

This dual sim smartphone supports dual standby 4G sim cards. There is a 3000 mAh battery, and capability to expand the storage up to 64GB.

At 9.3mm thick and 155g in weight, this is not an easy phone to handle. The tapered rear edges and matte finish do help somewhat, but you’ll wind up shuffling it up and down in your hand, and you’ll have to be careful of your grip at all times.

Camera

The smartphone comes bundled with 5MP front selfie camera and 13MP auto-focus rear camera with LED flash. It has f2.0 aperture with 5 element HD Lens, which will supposedly take better pictures in a low-light environment.

The 5MP front camera takes decent selfies, which looks good on a bigger screen such as desktop, laptops etc. The colors appear to be little washed off after being processed by the camera software. It is far away from the actual color which we see before taking the selfie. However, it is much better than any other smartphone’s camera I’ve tested so far in this price segment.

Click on image to see original

The rear camera is much better than the front camera module. It takes clear images in daylight, and virtuous images with proper lighting. The camera suffers a little in a darker environment, however, it can be mitigated by turning on the flash. There are noticeable grains spread all over the images, which can be annoying at times. The long shot suffered from blurry objects, unclear edges and grainy texture over the top.

On the bright side, the default camera app has some amazing tools/tweaks that will be praised by selfie lovers. The ability to slim-down the jaw-line in real time, Pro and beautification mode helps a lot to create a unique image.

Both front and the Back camera can capture Full HD High-resolution videos, but lacks Optical Image stabilization. You can’t expect these high-end features with the smartphone in this price segment.

Click on image to see original

Click on image to see original

Click on image to see original

Click on image to see original

Click on image to see original

Click on image to see original

Click on image to see original

Click on image to see original

Hardware and Performance

CoolPad Note 3 is powered by 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6753 Octa-core SoC coupled with Mali-T720 MT2 GPU. Performance-wise it goes head-to-head with Samsung Galaxy J7, which is currently priced at Rs 14,999 ($252.99). The 5.5-inch screen has a resolution of 720×1280, for an effective density of 320ppi. LTE is supported on Band 40 on both Micro-SIMs. Wi-Fi, including 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0 and FM radio are standard.

Our Benchmark report reveals that the phone is a great performer in its price segment. Additionally, while playing games and performing hardware-intensive tasks, we noticed no lag whatsoever. The phone, however, did get little warmer around the fingerprint sensor, but it was barely noticeable.

CoolPad Note 3 Benchmark
Create bar charts

The battery didn’t disappoint us either, which kept the device alive for the entire day of usage. For average users, the battery should last 20-24 hours without any problem. You’d probably end up charging your phone once at the night. However, if you’re an avid gamer, it will hardly last 6-7 hours with a single charge.

The display on the phone is a beauty. It is not the best display we have ever seen, and frankly, we won’t ever will in this price segment but, the IPS panel on this phone just works. The sunlight visibility is good, adaptive brightness works as it should, and viewing angles are decent. Overall this phone might just be your day-to-day companion for media consumption.

The Coolpad Note 3 comes with Android 5.1 and the company’s own Cool UI skin. We weren’t too impressed with the cosmetic changes Coolpad has made to stock Android – a lot of it felt unnecessary (though your mileage may vary), especially the customizations made to the Settings app, in which it isn’t possible to search for specific things. Needless to say, like any other Chinese smartphone, this phone lacks app drawer. If you really want to have stocked android feeling, you will have to download the third-party launcher. There are tweaks and UI enhancements by the company, which definitely allow this phone to stand out from the Smartphone crowd that flaunts the same stock user interface and features. Other than that, there isn’t much to point out.

What do we think?

CoolPad has bigger plans for the future, the company is set to establish a dedicated manufacturing hub in India under the “Make in India” initiative. If they choose to make their next smartphones in India, it will definitely allow them to cut the price of the smartphone even lower, or bring better hardware specifications at a reasonable price bracket. The company also mentioned earlier that they are taking the market very seriously, and they’re looking forward to having a refreshing smartphone line-up every few years to compete with others.

Initially, the phone was only available through flash Sale on Amazon. However, now that the company has shifted their sales under Open purchase, it is easy to recommend to others. There’s only one strong competitor that provides better specifications with the full-metal body, 1080p display and widely adapted Snapdragon chipset – Huawei Honor 5X, priced at Rs 12,999 ($199.99), which will be our first recommendation is you have a flexible budget.

What it boils down to is the fingerprint sensor. If this is the feature you really want at an affordable price, then this is the smartphone for you.

February 9, 2016
Everything that’s wrong with smartphones like Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
Recently, Sony has announced their brand new Z5 lineup and it’s looking pretty decent from a first glance. However, there is one thing about the new lineup that has got me thinking. In a similar move to other manufacturers, Sony will now offer a range of three different devices, all at varying price points and hardware features.

The most expensive will be the Sony Xperia Z5 premium, which as the name suggests, will be available for a high price at the exchange for some extra premium features. The idea behind Sony’s Premium offering is fairly straight forward – Sony is trying to carve out a niche with their smartphone lineup that stands out from the crowd.

So, as a quick buyer’s guide, the Sony Xperia Z5 premium is pretty much the most impressive device on the market in terms of specs right now, but it’s price is quite high. Here’s a quick overview.
- 4K display (2160 x 3840 resolution)
- ~806 ppi resolution density
- Snapdragon 810 (Quad core 1.5GHz A53 & Quadcore 2.0GHZ A57)
- Adreno 430 GPU
- 3GB RAM
- 32GB Internal, up to 200GB microSD support
- 23MP camera
- 3,430 mAh battery
- Dust-proof and water resistant (IP68 certified)
So as you can see the Xperia Z5 Premium is the beefiest smartphone on the block right now, but I’m not so sold on the “premium” idea. Here are a few reasons why.

It’s Not the Best it Could Be

So the idea is that you purchase a premium smartphone, with additional features and some tech that you won’t probably ever need in real life at a very hefty price tag. The trouble is that, even though the Xperia Z5 has a significantly better display, better camera specs, better battery life than any other smartphone, as well as other areas it excels in, it’s not the best. Give it a couple of months and smartphones will be using the Snapdragon 820 as standard, for example, and the SoC used on the smartphone, Snapdragon 810 isn’t known for its performance but the bugs that it was developed with. You also have to take into consideration that this premium price tag won’t give you any more software features than a lesser priced Sony product.

It certainly won’t be the best in a few years

Right now, I can imagine a lot of eyes are looking towards the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium. It certainly has enough interesting hardware specifications to stand out from the crowd, that’s for sure.

The issue here is that it won’t be the case for long. Give it a couple of years and the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium will no longer be at the top of its class. Its amazing hardware will look less impressive over time, and standard flagships will outperform it. If Sony were to continue their Premium range, you can also guarantee that it’ll feel outdated within a year just when comparing it to Sony’s smartphones alone.

Not everyone can grasp it

Whilst investing a premium price each year for the very best smartphone may be possible for some, it’s not easy for most consumers. When purchasing a premium car, premium audio or a premium cooking appliance, you’ll know it’ll last you a lot longer than a premium smartphone would, and smartphones are constantly being refreshed at a much higher rate than products in other industries.

As a result, it’s incredibly hard to tell yourself purchasing the most expensive version (like the Z5 Premium) of a new flagship lineup each year. Is it really something that’s worth your money?

So, there we have it. I have my doubts about Sony’s new approach to the market, but I’ll stay wishfully positive for their future because they do have a big footprint in the smartphone industry.
September 6, 2015
Beats is selling cheap $17 plastic headphones at $200

Beats, which is often recognized by its brand symbol ‘b,’ is nearly impossible to be spotted near you, when you are on a train, flying on a plane or walking down the street. The brand got wider exposure when it fell under the Apple brand name.

So what it really is, that they are selling at steep price of $199? Is it only the name and how it is presented to us, or there really are some premium materials inside which is worth the price? After reading the analysis, you would probably conclude that – beats by Dre headphones are simply garbage.

According to some new in-depth analysis published over on medium by PopMech — The headphones are incredibly cheaply made. The compnay cuts corner everywhere it can; gluing pieces together instead of using screws, and reducing the amount of tooling wherever possible.

After a precise teardown of a $199 beats headphone, Avery Louie figured out that they use metals to increase the weight of the earphone, 1/3 of the entire weight of the headphones comes from metal weight. This is somewhat common trick to make products feel more substantive.

Louie figures that a pair of Beats headphone, which claims about precision sound design, the headphones use freaking off-the-shelf drivers! What is most shocking of them all is, the entire cost to produce a pair of headphone is only $17 — with most expensive of everything that they offer, being the outer package, manual, soft case, box and sleeve run that costs $7.

So why they are selling this cheap product at a insane price of $199? Mostly, they spend most of the extra $$ on agressive marketing and making consumers think that they are opting for a premium product, which is totally worth every buck.

At the end, they are saving a hefty amount of money that shows directly into their Quarterly profit charts.

Dr Dre once mused, “if you aint in it for the money then get out the game.” So, this is what he meant.

June 20, 2015
HTC One M8S released – repacked version of last year’s flagship

The company is planning to release the successor of HTC One M8 this year, but the repacked version might be something that many will find appealing and worth the money.

In the Uk, it’ll cost £379.99 SIM-free, which is significantly cheaper than HTC One M8’s price. HTC One M8S comes with different chipset and new camera module.

The updated design keeps the dual-camera, but moves up to a 13MP sensor with 28mm lens and f/2.0 aperture. The video recording should be capped at 1080p@30fps (it’s as high as the chipset can go), though we’re not seeing an official confirmation just yet. The front-facing camera is a 5MP shooter with 1080p video capture.

HTC One M8S uses a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor instead of the Snapdragon 801.

Snapdragon 615 is the same 64-bit octacore chip used by the Alcatel Onetouch Idol 3, Oppo R5 and HTC’s own HTC One Desire 820. It runs a respectable 1.7GHz on its eight cores.

Considering the similarities in design, how will this impact One M9 sales? The price difference is pretty steep and the one major downside is the slower chipset. As for the old One (M8), that one will most likely get phased out.

April 2, 2015
10 valentine’s day Gadgets for your Geeky Girlfriend

This is a “Valentine’s day” week, and DigitFreak is celebrating. We are trying to help you by sorting out the 10 best gadgets for your friends (we do your work to makes your life easier).

So what are you planning to gift your Girlfriend this valentine’s day? is it something which is too formal? don’t you think you should do something which doesn’t falls in the category of “similar” or “common” block?

Folks, gone are the days where people used to gift only flowers and confectioneries, now we are living in 21 Century, the age of state of the art technology where almost everything has been made easy, thanks to the small to big gadgets and gizmos.

Here are the 10 Gadgets which you can gift your Girlfriend(s) (oops!) on this occasion:

1. Holga iPhone lens

A fun and quirky iPhone accessory perfect for mobile photography lovers, the Holga Lens has nine different toy camera lenses that give you a range of effects, like

vignettes and vibrant colours.

Price: ~ $29 Get it now!

2. Pebble Smartstick

The Pebble Smartstick is a super compact gadget for keeping all kinds of devices charged on the go and comes with five different adapter tips. There are plenty of backup battery packs on the market, but this one is cute, compact and look, look it comes in pink…

Price: ~ $30 Get it now!

3. Jawbone Jambox Speaker

This powerful wireless speaker from Jawbone allows you to stream tunes via any Bluetooth connection from your phone, computer or any other source and play your music LOUD. You can also add apps, change settings and update the software via the My Talk website.

Price: ~ $174 Get it Now!

4. Heartbeat Headphones by Lady Gaga

The ‘Paparazzi’ singer has collaborated with Monster and came with Heartbeats headphones. These headphones are specially made to offer high-end sonic clarity and also a lively bass that will do justice to any track. This can be an ideal gift for your women if she is a music enthusiast.

Price: ~ $70 Get it Now!

5. Electrolux Laptop Kitchen

Do your Girlfriend manage home and you both? If yes the newest state of the art Electrolux Laptop Kitchen is the best one for your Girlfriend. This new technology will let your girlfriend cook and do office work together, how? Simple, the kitchen stove has touchscreen display that has in-built Wi-Fi, 3G with stove attached to it. Great isn’t it!

6. Brookstone Wifi and 2GB USB Cufflinks

If you and your Girlfriend regularly attend formal parties, travel and love technology, you need these swanky cufflinks in your lives. Beneath the polished silver veneer, you’ll delightfully discover that one piece hides 2GB of USB storage, and the other can be used as a Wi-Fi hotspot for multiple devices. All you have to do is download and install the companion software on your computer. Afterward, you’ll be able to connect your smartphone, iPad or any other wireless device to the available network.

7. iNecklace

The iNecklace from Adafruit is a quirky little flashing on/off button pendant, which

would make a cute novelty gift for geeks.

The iNecklace is completely open source too, meaning the circuit board and CAD

files can be hacked and altered, so you can play around with how the light flashes.

Price: ~$75 Get it now!

8. Sony DPF-D810 8-Inch SVGA LCD Digital

Looking for a simple digital photo frame to show off pictures of you and your Girlfriend as a happy couple? This Valentine’s day, the Sony DPF-D810 is your best bet. The 8-inch device sports a 800 x 600-pixel display and delivers clear, crisp and bright photographs. You can exhibit photos either one by one, or as a slideshow with your choice of time interval (anywhere from three seconds to 24 hours) and your choice of six transition effects. You can even display a clock or calendar along with your pictures.

price: ~$130 Get it now!

9. Smart Candles

To appeal to her romantic side (or to appease those with OCD tendencies) scoop up some Smart Candles. Fragrance, heat, and wax-free, the battery-operated LED lights will glow for up to 50 hours.

Price: ~$22 Get it Now!

10. Sound Asleep Speaker Blanket

A blanketed fleece with sleeves and a hood that houses two removable speakers connected via a 3.5mm jack to plug into your MP3 player of choice, radios or televisions. Do you want to sleep now? i don’t think you will find it hard not to. !

do you have any more ideas or something unique for your relatives or Girlfriend this Valentine’s day? Share it here!

February 9, 2012