HotelsCombined.com - The Best Hotel Booking Website

I have been an avid user of many online booking sites for travel deals especially for Hotels. When you click for hotel bookings and reservations irregardless of where you are in the world and for whatever destination you're sure to be flooded with so many choices. Fortunately there are sites that have taken the liberty of making a travelers life quite easy. One of these is HotelsCombined.Com.

What HotelsCombined.com does is that it takes into account all of these popular and not so popular hotel websites and shows the user a comparative of prices from all of the available hotels. It highlights the price of the travel site that has the best deal for the dates that you want to book. All you have to do now is make the choice of which hotel you want and simply click on the book now button.

Aside from it being quite convenient, hotelscombined.com guarantees that it'll find the best price for you and its services span to over 220 countries worldwide and can be viewed in different languages. hotelscombined can search over 2 million hotel deals in over 120,000 destinations worldwide and supports 120 currencies

How It Works

HotelsCombined.com allows you to instantly search and compare room availability and prices from all major travel websites, including Expedia, Hotels.com, Venere, Laterooms, EasyToBook (and many more) all in one set of search results. View all of hotelscombined.com's suppliers.

Partnerships Program

If you are a travel blogger like me and my sister, hotelscombined.com also offers an affiliate partnership program for you and your blog.

hotelscombined.com's industry leading hotel search can be customized and integrated into any website or blog. Partner with hotelscombined.com today and earn incremental revenue while helping your users find the best price on hotels worldwide. Visit hotelscombined.com's Affiliate Program to find out more.

If you own or manage a hotel, we can help you better market your property. Please visit our Hotelier section today.

Overall, hotelscombined.com is by far one of the best ways to get the best hotel deals globally. Not very many are able to provide the same level of service that they provide and for those who are bloggers like me, I'd strongly recommend for you to try out their affiliate program. 

Till Next Time...

-Metz-

KPUB BBQ Meat All You Can - Ultimate KPOP Dining Experience

KPUB BBQ has just recently opened at the Fort Strip in Bonifacio Global City. K-PUB BBQ Meat All You Can is a K-Pop Stars-Themed resto owned by a Filipino-Chinese. It promises a "K Poptastic" Korean BBQ Experience while watching K-Pop MTVs.

What makes KPuB BBQ Special

• One hour Korean Buffet for only P499 or add P100 to extend for another 30 minutes or pay P899 for an unlimited whole day buffet(that's a lot of meat).
• Live entertainment by K-Pop Bands via LED TV and/or Live KPop Performers.
• Korean waiters/models in K-Pop inspired outfits ready to serve you.
• Unlimited plain rice/kimchi rice, barley tea, appetizers, kimchi, soup, steamed egg, omelette, and so much more

Inside KPub BBQ you get to see that it is built for entertainment with its huge and comfortable seating plan which can accommodate approximately 600 guests.  The smoking area is located at the second floor within the "Heineken Bar" which is definitely a must try..

If you plan to simply gorge down on the delectable meat choices for about an hour, you can simply opt for the the P499 menu. With this you get a complete meal from starters to dessert which includes a wide array of meats that you can grill. Included are K-Pub's 2 signature sauces - a mildly spicy paste and a caramelized onion. They recommend to dip in both for maximum palate pleasure. Paired with their kimchi rice and you'll feel the divine fusion that makes KPub Meals quite special.  For Vegetarians, there are vegetarian options that are ala carte, and is also quite delectable. You'll have to make special mention though as it isn't something ready in their menu. It is also important to take note that if your group goes with a certain menu plan e.g. P499 or P899, you can't get ala carte only, you'll have to pay the same rate with your group mates plus your ala carte meal.

shikke at kpub bbq perfect for helping you digest all that meat :)

The key component that makes KPub BBQ quite unique is the entertainment. You won't find a live stage show of KPOP performers elsewhere providing you with authentic Korean entertainment while you eat and if they aren't around their MTV Videos played via LED TV will. The ambiance of KPub BBQ also adds to the flavor and experience for all those that dine there. 

My personal take on the place is that it really does echo the KPOP lifestyle that many of us here have seemingly adopted. Plus the dining experience brings not only the sounds of modern Korea but also the taste making KPUB BBQ a full Korean experience. 

Should you find yourselves with your friends within the area of The Fort and are in serious craving for meat, this is definitely a place to check out. Heck a little KPOP experience from time to time can be quite an enriching experience. 

Till Next Time...

-Metz-

For More Info on KPUB or for Reservations:

Contact:

Sun An - Business Development Manager

sun.an@kpubbbq.com

+639165543149

or KPUB BBQ - Contact US

Nokia Lumia 1020 - Ultimate Smartphone Camera

I know Windows Phones have been in the shadows due to lack of competitive features that are present in the flagships of Android and IOS smartphones, but with the introduction of the Nokia Lumia 1020 and its 41MP Camera, its no doubt that Nokia is raising the bar in terms of what one would be expecting from their smartphones.

The question though in many consumer's minds is if this is worth shelling their hard earned cash on or would it be better to simply stick to the current market leaders and what they offer. That's what we'll mention in our final analysis at the end of this article.

Nokia Lumia 1020 at a glance

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 850/900/1900/2100 MHz; HSDPA 42.2 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76Mbps; LTE bands 1, 3, 7, 8, 20 LTE Cat 3 100Mbps down, 50Mbps up
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar
• Dimensions: 130.4 x 71.4 x 10.4; 158 g
• Display: 4.5" 16M-color WXGA (768 x 1280 pixels) ClearBlack AMOLED capacitive touchscreen; PureMotion HD+, 2.5D sculpted Gorilla glass 3; Super sensitive touch
• Chipset: 1.5GHz dual-core Krait processor, Adreno 225 GPU, 2GB of RAM
• OS: Windows Phone 8
• Memory: 32/64 GB of built-in storage;
• Still camera: 41 megapixel camera with 6-element ZEISS lens, OIS, 3x zoom, xenon and LED flashes
• Video camera: 1080p video recording at 30fps with two Rich Recording mics; 1.2MP front-facing camera with 720p video
• Connectivity: dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, stereo Bluetooth 3.0, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS, HERE Drive+ free worldwide navigation, 3.5mm audio jack, NFC
• Battery: 2,000mAh
• Misc: Nokia-exclusive Pro Camera app, FM Radio, built-in accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor; available in Yellow, White or Black
• Accessories: Snap-on camera grip with built-in 1,020mAh battery and tripod mount, Snap-on Qi wireless charging cover

At first glance, you'll notice quite a couple of things that stand out with regards to the Nokia Lumia 1020 - Its 41MP Camera, which you'll most definitely as it protrudes at the back of the phone. It is this particular feature that Nokia is banking all of its marketing campaign on. 

This sets the bar quite high for industry standards of 8MP cameras. With the 41MP camera, Nokia Lumia 1020 devices can take much larger pictures and grasp more details. One thing to take note of though is that the pictures are exactly saved as 41MP, they are saved as 34 or 38 MP images, depending on the ratio that you choose. The Nokia Lumia 1020 also creates a duplicate 5MP image that you can use to share on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. I can just imagine the wait time for users if they didn't have this option when uploading of photos. 

The advantage of having the 41MP camera is that users will be able to capture images quickly and zoom in and crop without loosing picture quality. This is something that most smartphones wont be able to do. It's not just the hardware that makes the Lumia 1020's camera standout. Its software is also robust and easy to use. Users can quickly and easily adjust camera settings from within the Nokia Pro Cam, the default camera app for the Lumia 1020. You can change your exposure levels, ISO, shutter speed and white balance with ease. The debate though is that this can take some time learn to use, but you'll see how these settings when adjusted affects the photo quality real time. Auto setting is also quite adept making the Nokia Lumia 1020 an amazing point and shoot camera.  The Xenon flash is also a big plus when taking night time photos and thus giving the Nokia Lumia 1020 an even greater edge in terms of camera quality. 

The only downside to The Nokia Lumia 1020's features is the lack of app support. Unlike IOS and Android users are only limited to Facebook and Twitter when it comes to sharing of photos. That isn't quite the fault of Nokia as it runs on Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 OS. It runs on a dual core 1.5Ghz Snapdragon S4 processor which works quite efficiently at ensuring that the Nokia Lumia 1020 stays snappy like most top of the line smartphones. It has lots of storage space as it is packing a 32GB internal memory, downside though is that it doesn't have a microSD card for added storage.  

Overall, the Nokia Lumia 1020 is quite an amazing point and shoot smartphone hands down. The Windows 8 OS works well with that of the internal hardware of the Nokia Lumia 1020 making it run as smoothly as how one would experience with most top of the line smartphones that are now currently out in the market, most of which are on a quad core/octa core chipset. Downside is that you have quite a limited number of methods as to how you can share those photos with - which isn't the fault of Nokia. What Nokia has faulted on though on my opinion is the lack of a microSD card as additional storage. The internal memory is quite big considering industry average but with a 41MP photos plus the 5MP duplicates it saves, memory will run out quite quickly. Especially for those camera trigger happy people like me.  Another quirk that I would like to take note of is the non-removable battery. At 2000mAh, snapping pictures with the Nokia Lumia 1020 will be limited to how much power you have on charge. Being able to swap batteries on the go like a regular point and shoot camera can have quite a strong advantage market-wise. 

My personal opinion is that the Nokia Lumia 1020 is a point in the right direction in terms of effort with regards to the Nokia Lumia line, but unfortunately it falls short on things that make it worthy as a full fledged smartphone or a point and shoot camera. The 41MP camera that is sports is undoubtedly a tempting offer, even for one that craves for smartphone tech such as myself, but with the concerns mentioned above the Nokia Lumia 1020 falls dangerously short of getting most consumers to shell out cash to purchase this Ultimate Camera Smartphone. I am hoping that with the next generation of the Nokia Lumia, these things will be taken into consideration, irregardless of whether they stay on the Window's platform or not. 

Till Next Time...

-Metz-

Diet GO's and NO's

Diet Do's:

1. Exercise - this is the best and safest way to get rid of all those unwanted fats, maintain excellent blood circulation and lessen health risks. 

     - You need to find which type of exercise is most doable and enjoyable for you - jogging? dancing? biking? doing crunches?

     - Having an exercise partner has also proven to be more effective since it makes your work out time seem shorter, thus, encouraging you to exercise longer.

2. Improve your eating and drinking habits. You need to get rid of all the unhealthy food you are eating and substitute it with healthier options like eating fruits and salad instead of junk food. Many studies have shown that eating small amounts frequently is more effective than eating only one or two heavy meals a day.

     - Ask yourself - AM I HUNGRY or AM I JUST CRAVING? If you're just craving for some taste but you aren't hungry, but don't deprive yourself if you are. If you're not hungry then you should keep yourself busy with other hobbies until you are.

     - Be sure to keep yourself well hydrated. Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day. Freshly squeezed fruits are just as healthy. 

     - It's important to eat properly to avoid developing eating disorders. Forcing yourself to barf all you've eaten is dangerous to both your mental and physical health. If you know someone like this - they need help.

3. Improve your sleeping habits. Yes, you read it right - S L E E P is just as important as eating and working out. Your body needs time to rejuvenate. Studies show that in order to live a body needs at least 4 hours of sleep a day but in order for it to rejuvenate, you need more at least 6-8 hours, hence the term beauty sleep.

4. Take supplements. Visit a doctor and find which vitamins or supplements best suit you as different people have different needs. Although you may have already started a healthy diet, it is also important to get all the proper nutrition your body needs for your weight loss program to be an effective and healthy one. 

5. Use a tape measure to check for weight loss. The most useful way to find out if you lost weight is if you get slimmer - so a tape measure should always be handy. Take note of your current measurements then check it out once in a week or once in two weeks. 

     - Using a weighing scale can only show if you are already within the weight standards for your age and height. People wonder why their weight fluctuates even when they hold a steady diet and exercise program. That's because with a weighing scale, it's impossible to tell if it's more muscle or more fat that put on the extra pounds.

     - You can check your weight and height standard by using this BMI calculator.

Diet Don'ts:

1. Don't depend on diuretics, laxatives, ipecac syrup and diet pills to lose weight. Each have their own medicinal properties and should be used as it was originally intended for. Using or depending on it entirely for weight loss could be damaging to your health - even lethal. Lifescript has discussed these 4 in detail very well - check it out. Apply this reason to anything you choose to take to help in your weight loss. Consult a doctor if you must.
     - Diet pills that are sold illegally are illegal for a reason. Do NOT take the risk - Diet and Suicide are two different things and you have to remember that.

2. Don't rush. Have you ever heard the saying, "Go fast by going slow"? Well, this is true for dieting.  Find your most effective, healthy, dieting method and stick to it. It's key to losing wight and keeping it off.

3. Don't compare your weight loss to others. People have different body types and health conditions. It's unfair to yourself to compare yourself to others in how quick or slow you lose weight. The fact that you are losing weight is great progress. Just keep it up. :)

4. Don't give up. Admit it. Unhealthy habits have brought you to where you are and changing a habit takes hard work, dedication, and discipline. DON'T YOU GIVE UP. In the end, you'll be proud of yourself and nothing beats that feeling. 

- Till Next Time

Tips and Tricks: Optimizing Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2

I have gotten a lot of questions from friends about their Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and what things they can do to optimize their unit without having to root their phone. To help other people out as well, below is a compilation of things that I feel can help improve your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 experience. Also we have included some neat tricks just as an add on. (Should you have any suggestions or recommendations of how else the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 can be optimized without rooting, please share it with us at the comments section)

Touchwiz

Optimizing your Touchwiz experience

Samsung has included elements in touchwiz called animations for transitions between screens. This was done to make it look good, like how power point presentations would go from one slide to another. However, these transition can cause a slight hiccup and slow down your system. The best thing to do is to simply turn these off. Go to Settings >>>Developer Options>>>(Turn Off) Windows Animation Scale, Transition Animation Scale, and Animator Duration Scale. This should give you a snappier phone, but do take note that once you turn off Developer Options it all goes back to it's default setting. 

Screen and video

Bring the AMOLED Colors Natural

OLED screens tend to be quite over-saturated and can make a person's skin tone look somewhat unnatural. It does make the picture come out, but sometimes it makes it come out a little too much. We recommend to use Natural or Movie as your Screen Display Settings of choice. 

Use Third Party Apps for Video Playback

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has an incredible built-in media player, however there are some files that it can't handle such as those that are encoded as 1080p MKVs. To resolve, download a third party media application from the Google Play store such as the MX Player and you'll be able to overcome these issues. 

Screen too Dark?

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 uses auto brightness as its default setting. This uses the sensors to judge the intensity of the screen depending on how much lighting there is. However, based on experience, this can falter and give you the wrong output causing you to feel that you have a dark screen. Simply swipe down to get the notification panel and slide the screen brightness to the desired amount. I usually have it at 50% for my day to day to keep the battery from getting too drained from on screen time usage. 

Battery life

Keep battery life riding high with auto management

Technically speaking, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2's battery is quite amazing. It can definitely last the whole day if not more. Samsung has however, included a power management mode that could help with keeping it optimized. You can find this at the Settings menu under Power Saving. It basically affects CPU speed, changes web browser background, and even turns off haptic feedback. There'll be obvious compromises though when this kicks in but it does help give your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 that extra juice.

Switch off unnecessary features

The best way to conserve power in any phone is to switch off features - such as mobile internet and Wifi when not in use. You can do this manually in the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, simply swipe down from the top to access notifications menu and toggle off the unneeded services or go to Settings and turn them off from there.

Reduce screen timeout time

Reducing screen timeout is a good trick to use to help conserve battery. This helps keep your phone from staying on screen for too long when not needed. In the Display Submenu in Settings you'll get an option to pick between 15sec to 10min. 

S Pen

Learn the Quick commands

This is quite an overlooked feature that can save time if learned. This allows you to launch any app or function on the phone with just a few simple flicks. To access quick commands, press the stylus button and swipe up. Simply draw your pre-determined character or symbol and the right app/function shall be launched.

Optical Character Recognition

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 features excellent OCR, optical character recognition, and it's built into the Samsung keyboard. Simply pull out the S Pen and the keyboard area will turn into a little box for you to write in, whether you're writing an email, text or searching the web. The OCR is incredible at recognizing one's scribbles, though if you really write badly where even a normal person can't read what you wrote, don't expect the OCR to make magic there.

You can write and scribble on anything

The SPen allows you to make notes on anything on screen, which can be pretty useful for events such as meetings, social gatherings, and taking notes about a photo. Simply press down on the SPen button and lightly press on the screen till you see a flash. This takes a screenshot of what is on the screen and it is here that you can write your notes on. 

The S Pen Screengrabs

Press down on the SPen's button, draw a shape on the screen and whatever's on-screen within the shape will be saved as a screengrab.

Left handed

By default, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is setup for right-handed people, but there's also a mode for left handed people in the Settings menu. 

Interface

Full screenshots are easy

Taking full screen shots with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is pretty easy. Simply check if Palm Swipe Capture is activated in the Settings Menu under Motions. Once active you simply have to swipe your hand from right to left to capture the screen. Other method is to hold the home button and power key at the same time till the screen flashes. 

One Handed Operation

The screen of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 can be quite bit but Samsung has included a one handed mode to help you use the phone with just one hand. It organizes the keypad, virtual keyboard, and unlock pattern screens. You can find this option in the Settings menu.

Customize with Widgets

Samsung has come a long way especially in the areas of customization, one where you can see the most of these is with the integrated widgets, however, there are other widgets that you can use and download off the Google Play store and it is worth checking which ones you'd find useful. My advice is get widgets for the apps and data that you most often use and need to reduce the need to browse around and launch the apps themselves. This saves both time and precious battery.

Storage

Expandable storage

Most of us are using the 16GB version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. This means you have only a limited amount of space for the apps let alone the movies, photos, and music. It is best to grab a microSD card to compensate for this. I would recommend to get the Class 10 microSD cards especially from Samsung to avoid any of the microSD card issues that are commonly posted by a majority of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 users. If not try to buy your microSD card from a reputable store otherwise risk encountering damaged microSD card issues. 

Clean the cache

This is one that has to be of habit or have a good cache cleaner like Clean Master helping you out when you find yourself running low on memory. With Clean Master you can easily delete and clean cache and temporary files of apps you have installed. 

Contacts

Contacts from Facebook and Twitter

Downloading the Facebook and Twitter apps give Samsung Galaxy Note 2 users the opportunity to grab and sync contact information with your phonebook. This makes it easier for you to reach out and find people. 

Blocking Mode

In a meeting but don't want to be disturbed unless it is from your significant other? Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has a feature called blocking mode. This restricts notifications and calls coming from all but your chosen few. You can even set a time for it. 

Camera and Video

Use HDR mode in mixed lighting - or all the time

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2's 8MP camera is quite impressive, but when it comes to mixed lighting situations can prove to be quite a challenge when trying to get that perfect shot. In this situation, it would be best to activate the HDR mode of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. This effectively combines multiple exposures in a single shot to bring out that extra detail in the shadow and literally light things up. Only downside to this is that HDR takes a little slower to process.

Try slow and fast motion modes

This is one of those overlooked features that could help enhance your videography experience. Found in the menus of the video camera, you can toy around with taking fast and slow motion video capture. This comes in quite handy when filming things like sporting events or recording your baby's first few steps. Only thing to remember is that you can't activate them while the video recording is on-going, you can only activate it from the beginning. 

Connectivity

Don't go over you allowance, with Data Usage

A staple Android feature is the Data Usage counter. This can be found within the Settings menu, and it monitors your data usage, showing it as a colourful graph. You can use it to cut off your mobile data connection once you reach a certain limit, to ensure you won't get charged by your carrier. 

S Beam

A feature introduced with the Samsung Galaxy S3, S Beam uses a mixture of NFC and Wi-Fi Direct to let you transfer files between compatible Samsung phones. You just need to tap the phones together to get them playing. S Beam needs to be switched on, though, from within the Wireless and Networks menu.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is a pretty amazing device. It is highly customizable and for the most part it is capable of handling most if not all of what you throw at it. I have been pretty pleased with it's performance for the past couple of months that I have had it and I honestly will keep it around even long after the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 has been launched. With a little tweak here and there, just like everyone has noticed, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 can and still continues to hold its own among the latest handsets of late. 

Again if you found any other tips and neat tricks with your Samsung Galaxy Note 2, I strongly encourage that you share it with us here. We would be more than appreciative of it as am sure will the others that find this page.

Till Next Time...

-Metz-

PF Chang's - A Yummy Asian Dining Experience

Went here for a friends birthday dinner last July 14 - not knowing I was walking into an international Asian restaurant chain.

Not only is it known for making deliciously crafted viands but healthy ones as well.

It is also gluten and MSG -free.

Overall, the ambiance of the place was cozy and classy. The servers were very attentive and

made sure our dining experience was great.

At first, it may come across as another common restaurant 

but after having a taste of their dishes,

you'd say it is one of the best tasting Asian restaurants in town.

We had their honey shrimp and spicy chicken, their stir fried green beans and spring rolls and fried rice. 

Top: The famous Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Bottom Left: Chang's Sangria Cocktail Drink

Bottom Right: Spicy Chicken

Aside from the very tasty dishes, is the affordable price it's offered in. Their food servings are all for sharing as it is a family restaurant making it a great choice to have a special dinner at a fairly affordable cost.

You can visit their official page to see their menu,  international locations and the chefs

http://www.pfchangs.com/menu/Menu.aspx

Here's a sneak into the kitchen with the chefs talking about their summer dishes:

http://www.pfchangs.com/summer/

The dishes are a successful combination of the spices and tastes of Asia.

The place is warm and homely - another touch of Asia.

I'm sure you'd say the same when you drop by one Asian hungry day.

- Till Next Time

Dessert Alert: Cukay's

     For most people who appreciate the sugar rush that a cupcake has, 

Cukay's is a great place to start. 

It gives you enough sweetness to get you hooked - nothing overwhelming with just the right blend of flavors.

Makes you want to come back, try them all and find 

which one tickles your taste buds better.

Cukay's best sellers include Mississipi, and Red Velvet 

Carrot cupcakes are available in two types: With or Without Sugar

Personally, I find the Salted Caramel as a very unique, scrumptious flavor which is

my new favorite.

For those unfamiliar with this yummy bakeshop, 

you can find it on the 2nd floor of the Eastwood Mall in Libis, Q.C

and

also on Edison St. Cor. Newton St. Makati City

(where I first found Cukay's)

Cukay's Lemon Squares became so popular it was even featured in The Philippine Star newspaper.

It's known as one of the best pastry shops.

Not only does Cukay's make delicious cupcakes, but also cakes that can be custom designed for any occasion (I bet they could make you a cool minions cake if you wanted one =P), 

 ensaymada - a traditional Filipino brioche with cheese and sugar toppings, cookies

and

Sardines

- The ultimate match to fried rice and rainy days.

I know, you might say it's not something you find in a pastry shop - but hey, 

it does go well with bread. =P

To order or inquire you may contact Cukay's directly.

Or Cukay's Facebook Page 

for a view of how Cukay's makes every occasion special and see updates of

which next tumtummy expo they'll be hitting.

- Till Next Time

Cloudfone Excite 400d - Cheapest Jelly Bean Smartphone

Introducing the Cloudfone Excite 400d

I thought that Cherry Mobile was the only smartphone company that could dish out affordable yet highly functional Jelly Bean Smartphone devices and yet here I am proven wrong.  Early this year Cloudfone had been quite busy at creating a follow up to their former budget flagship phone called the Cloudfone Thrill 430x, and have now just released its successor the Cloudfone Excite 400d. 

This drop dead priced budget phone is priced at just under Php 4,500 and yet it packs a dual core processor(1Ghz), Stock Android Jelly Bean(version 4.1.2) and is at 4" with a front (.3MP) and back(5MP) camera. 

The Jelly Bean firmware coupled with the dual core processor is the backbone as to how smooth it is to navigate through the Cloudfone Excite 400d. Storage is expandable to 32GB and what I love about it is that you can pick either the microSD card as the primary storage or the internal memory. I am pretty sure you'll be using the external memory as the main storage area as the internal memory would only have about 500Mb left.

Camera-wise, the Cloudfone Excite 400d isn't something to be too excited about but it does the job with well lit situations but once you hit the dark room, even with it's flash be ready to get grainy low quality pictures. Same goes with the front facing camera which works well for skype calling and other video chat apps, but once you get to a dark place all they'll get to see is your silhouette. 

Sound quality is pretty good and is quite pleasant to listen to and you can download almost unlimited media files such as movies to watch on it's 4" TFT screen, which though low compared to the current ppi values being released in the market, is quite pleasant to watch from. 

Another plus factor is the fact that you have interchangeable back covers. You'll get the default black casing and one of three other colors with the packaging. The colors are quite similar to that of the Nokia Lumia series. 

The only down side to the Cloudfone Excite 400d is the battery which is at 1400mAh and would merit that you bring an extra power source of carry around your charger and plug in when you feel that you need the extra juice. 

Cloudfone Excite 400d Spec Sheet

• 1GHz Dual-core Processor, MediaTek MTK6577 chipset
• 512MB RAM
• 4GB internal storage, expandable via microSD up to 32GB
• 4.0-inch 800 x 480 resolution TFT capacitive touchscreen
• 5.0-megapixels rear-facing camera with autofocus and LED flash
• VGA front-facing camera
• WiFi a/b/g/n, WiFi Hotspot, Bluetooth, 3G, GPS with A-GPS
• Back Cover Colors: Blue, Yellow, Pink and Black
• Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean
• 1,400mAh Battery

Overall, the Cloudfone Excite 400d is quite a breakthrough at least in terms of the pricing scheme and could even rival those of the other more popular budget smartphone brands. The overall feel of the phone, the software and hardware, all make it quite an attractive package for just under the Php 4,500 marker. It is something to consider if you want to enjoy the full benefits of an Android Smartphone running on the latest firmware version called Jelly Bean. Its smooth and easy to use and light for anyone's budget. 

I can't wait to get to see what Cloudfone shall be dishing out next. 

Till Next Time...

-Metz

Is HTC ONE the One or is the Samsung Galaxy S4 for You?

With both the power house smartphone makers Samsung and HTC fighting for smartphone supremacy which for them equates to marketability and end user desirability it is undeniable that the flagship smartphones the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4 are to be talked about and pitted against each other in a seemingly unending battle of who's who in the world of smartphones.

To help with the choice of whom to go with will eventually weigh in on the consumer's overall preference and what once would consider vital or important to have versus that of course of cost. Here, we'll try to get things spread out for you to understand and hopefully help you make that choice.

Design

Upon first glance of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One you'll get to see the marked difference in terms of design and build. Once you pick it up you get to see how much more premium one feels compared to the other, considering that they are both flagship devices.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is somewhat still identical to its predecessor, with just a minor difference in bezel size with the Samsung Galaxy S4 sporting a much smaller bezel. It is also slightly thinner. The Samsung Galaxy S4 uses polycarbonate plastic, which has proven to be tough at protecting the phone from scratches but unfortunately feels a bit too plasticky in the hand. It also is a magnet for grease and dirt. One thing that is good to note about the Samsung Galaxy S4, is that due to its build quality it is light and wont weigh you down much once you put it in your pockets.

The HTC One has migrated far from the polycarbonate build and decided to go with a fully aluminium construction and just a tinge of polycarbonate accents. It has been compared to that of the iPhone 5 feel and look making it aesthetically pleasing to the general public. It is this reason that HTC One gives of a more premium feel as compared to that of the Samsung Galaxy S4. 

In terms of thickness the HTC One is slightly thicker and heavier at 9.33mm and 143g compared to the Samsung Galaxy S4 which is at 7.9mm in thickness and a weight of just about 130g. Upon handling, you will most likely not feel the difference between the two. 

Screen

The Samsung Galaxy S4 sports a 5in 1080x1920 Super AMOLED touchscreen. The HTC One has chosen to use a 4.7in 1080x1920 Super LCD3 display. Samsung's pixel density is at 441ppi and HTC's is at 469ppi. Between the two you will most likely not spot the difference in terms of pixel quality, but you will get to notice a difference in terms of brightness and deep black colors which is quite notable with that of the HTC One as compared to that of the Samsung Galaxy S4.

Performance

This is where the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One are quite at par with each other. Considering that the Samsung Galaxy S4 has a Quad Core (1.9Ghz) and and Octa Core (quad core 1.6Ghz and quad core 1.2Ghz) Version versus that of the Quad Core (1.7Ghz) Version of the HTC One. Quadrant scores between the Quad Core Versions HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 are pretty much at par but the Octa Core Version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 edges it a little over the 13000 marker.

Both the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One proved to be very quick, with apps opening instantly, video playback encountering no issues and multitasking working smoothly. 

Software

With both the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One running on Google's Android 4.2 Jelly Bean mobile operating system one would presume that using the two smartphones' software shouldn't be markedly different. 

The Samsung Galaxy S4's Touchwiz UI is similar to that of the older Samsung model's UI. Making a migration from lets say Samsung Galaxy Note 2 or a its predecessor Samsung Galaxy S3 wouldn't be tough as the interface is pretty much the same. Some people find it a little over complicated though, but with time shouldn't be too bad.

Samsung has included several new features to make the Galaxy S4 more attractive so to speak. These include the feature known as Eye Scroll, a feature that enables users to scroll down web pages and documents by simply using their eyes. This doesn't pan out well as much and from a user standpoint, I highly doubt that this would be used by the general public unless of course you're on a device like Google Glasses (wonder if this is just a teaser and Samsung is planning to compete with Google in this new technological arena). Another software feature is Air Gesture, which enables the user to swipe through pages and images by waving a hand in the air over the screen. I still dont see where this can be useable unless of course you'd be too obsessive compulsive about not leaving a finger print mark on your screen. I still prefer being able to physically touch the screen, though again I wonder if this is a teaser tech for something like that of the Google Glasses. 

The HTC One has revamped their UI  and aptly called it the Sense 5.0. They have stripped it down and is quite easier and elegant to use even compared to the old Sense versions.  HTC's Sense 5.0 user interface introduces Blinkfeed, which reminds me of Flipboard. This makes information on the go quite fun and easy to read. HTC hasn't bundled many apps onto the HTC One at least in terms of bloatware, thus leaving more space for the things that users would want in terms of applications. 

Camera

This is where things get a little tricky as the two smartphone giants have taken a completely different route in terms of technology. The Samsung Galaxy S4 features a 13MP rear-facing camera, while the HTC One features a 4MP 'Ultrapixel' camera on its back.

The Samsung Galaxy S4's camera is typically good. The 13MP excelled at taking photos in well-lit surroundings, producing images full of natural colours and detail. 

Samsung has configured the Galaxy S4 with some custom camera tools, including Eraser, Animated Video and Sound and Shot modes, expanding on the traditional Android camera interface.

The HTC One's 'Ultrapixel' camera was expected to be the "next big thing" at the handset's launch and with new features like the ZOE HTC is hoping to get to capture the market's interest. 

Both these units performed quite well in well lit situations but in low light, you'll get to see where the HTC One excels, just be careful though to keep a steady hand when taking low light shots. Picking out which to choose at this stand point is certainly a matter of preference. The flash of the Samsung Galaxy S4 does compensate at times when there is little to no light so night shots shouldn't be much of a problem and HTC One's performance is pretty much at par with the picture quality of that of the Samsung Galaxy S4.

Battery and storage

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is powered by a 2,600mAh battery, while the HTC One features a slightly smaller 2,300mAh battery.

The time with which Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One gets fully drained at least with general use, but with the Samsung Galaxy S4 having a removable battery, gives it a slight advantage over that of the HTC One. I personally can attest to this need as when my HTC One X's battery had to be replaced, I was advised to contact the HTC Service center to have it done versus just dropping by a store to buy new ones for my Samsung Galaxy Note 2. 

In terms of storage, the Samsung Galaxy S4 boasts either 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, and this can be expanded with an additional 64GB using a microSD card. The HTC One on the other hand comes with either 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, with no capability to expand this further.

This is again where it gets a little tricky. Most people really want to have an external memory option, however with Jelly Bean, most buyers dont realize that you wont be able to migrate applications to an external microSD. This makes whatever internal memory you've got as the only space for installation of applications. Thus, the microSD is only used for media files and if you get the 16GB models of the Samsung Galaxy S4, you'd only have around 10+GB of useable memory for applications. I would veer away from the Samsung Galaxy S4 16GB options if you are the type that loves to gather as much application as you can, otherwise opt for the the 32GB and 64GB versions. HTC One however has had that issue in their foresight. Additional storage space though does help out a bit when you like to store lots of media files, making the choice of having an external card option as a matter of choice.

Both of these manufacturers have also included cloud storage services to compensate a bit more for memory space though the general market would still prefer a larger storage capacity or at least the option to extend it a bit more.

Overall

Making a choice between flagship devices is definitely not an easy choice. It'll be a battle of functionality, features, and aesthetics. which you'll choose is entirely a matter of preference and deciding on which you feel best suits your need and lifestyle.

Between the two though, I would pick the Samsung Galaxy S4 for the following reasons:

1. The battery is easily replaceable, if anything does go wrong with this part of the phone I can easily drop by a gadget shop and buy a replacement. I don't need to call service or customer care to get an appointment and go out of my way to have my battery "fixed"

2. MicroSd Card option, let's say you're on a budget and yet wants a high end phone. Getting the 16GB model is definitely going to be the cheaper end of the spectrum for the flagship but with the microSD card slot you'd have places to store those pics, videos and other media files without having to eat up on your main memory. Though a little scrimping on the number of apps you can install is sacrificed but the overall fun you can have with the phone isn't.

3. Accessories are easy to find. Prior to the release of the Samsung Galaxy S4 to the general market, you'd find that there are already several accessories available once you do grab the phone. My experience unfortunately with HTC One series is that accessories are few if not hard to find and not many are able to accentuate the beauty of it's design making it look quite bland and bulky at times.

I guess you can say that I am pragmatic in terms of my choice. I personally like to grab a device that can work well with me long term with out too much of a hassle and still provide me with a great end user experience. Again, this reflects who and what I am. I'd be quite happy to hear what your thoughts are on these two and which shall be your choice?

Till Next Time...

-Metz

Is the ASUS MeMO Pad a Tablet that's Worthy of being a Travel Partner?

I bet you might not have gotten the chance to have heard of the brand called MeMO PAD. Asus is the builder of this new tablet and with the Google Nexus Tablet under Asus' belt, there are many expectation with regards to this new release. Let's go over some of the things that I feel would be most important for your decision.

Design

The overall look and feel of the MeMo Pad seems to have gotten its roots from its Asus Google Nexus 7 counterpart, especially with how the textured back was designed. The main difference that one would notice though is that with the Nexus 7, you'll get a soft touch material coating as compared to the hard plastic feel of the MeMO Pad. The MeMO Pad also comes in multiple colors which include black, white, gray, and cherry pink. 

The ASUS MeMO Pad measures 7.7 x 4.6 x 0.4 inches and weighs 12.5 ounces. This makes the MeMO Pad tablet slightly larger and heavier than its Google Nexus 7 counterpart. 

The MeMo Pad's power button and volume controls are located on the top left edge of the device, with a headphone jack at the top and a microUSB and microSD slot on the bottom. The ASUS MeMO PAD tablet has an expandable memory. The speaker is located on the back, an inch-wide grille on the bottom left.

Display

The screen resolution on the MeMO Pad, 1024 x 600. This falls short compared to the competition. The Google Nexus 7 has a 1280 x 800 pixel displays, providing crisp and clear text and images. 

The screen limitations were especially apparent when we were browsing several different websites. Smaller text was harder to read than on the Google Nexus 7. Viewing angles tend to be a bit limited, making it difficult to see content clearly.

Audio

You would be happy to hear that we were pleasantly surprised by the audio quality of the ASUS MeMO Pad. It played loud and clear music during playback and it makes it quite a good alternative to bringing portable speakers when traveling. 

The MeMO Pad's speaker is enhanced by SonicMaster Audio Technology and the Audio Wizard app, which includes preset audio levels for different categories of media. 

Keyboard and Interface

The main advantage of the ASUS MeMO Pad is that it runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, which includes features such an enhanced notification drawer and a series of performance enhancements dubbed "Project Butter" which allows for an extremely smooth user experience. 

The ASUS MeMO Pad includes has two keyboards to choose from. These are the Android keyboard and the ASUS keyboard, although additional keyboards can be installed through Google Play. The ASUS keyboard, which has light gray keys against a darker gray background, features a full number row along the top, and has slightly more space between each key than its Android counterpart. 

Both keyboards support voice typing, but the ASUS keyboard requires Internet connectivity, whereas the Android keyboard works offline. Users can also input text using Google voice typing, which also works without an Internet connection. Though in a general sense this feature would most likely be left unnoticed by the general user. 

Apps

ASUS MeMO Pad tablet has a been nice enough to only put in features that can be considered as useful and not flood the unit with too much bloatware.  There is SuperNote, which a scribbling and note-taking app, the MyPainter drawing app, ASUS Studio for managing and editing photos, Zinio and MyBitCast for syncing notes with your ASUS WebStorage account. ASUS also includes App Backup, App Locker, ASUS Story and Studio and the BuddyBuzz chat client.

Another great thing to take note of about the ASUS MeMO Pad is that it also has access to the Google Play store, which currently contains a countless number of applications that one can download and use. The MeMO Pad also includes Floating App, which allows certain applications, such as the browser, video, a stopwatch and certain settings, to be displayed as a floating window on top of the currently running application. This feature I find quite neat and have found it quite useful when multitasking is needed.  

Performance

Here is where things get a little tricky for the ASUS MeMO Pad. One thing that you have to keep in mind is that the ASUS MeMO Pad is built for Media Consumption and not for games that contain heavy graphics. The reason for this is that the ASUS MeMO Pad only uses a single core 1-GHz VIA WM8950 processor with 1GB of RAM. I personally would have wanted double the core at least or double the RAM. It is here that you'll get to notice a slight lag in terms of transition effects such as going from portrait to landscape mode. 

The MeMO Pad has three power settings, Performance, Balanced and Power Saving. If you wish to have your applications to load faster, such as a game like Angry Birds, you'd have to keep it at Performance. Placing it at Power Saving could have you on wait time for much longer than you would want to. 

One thing that surprised me if anything was that the graphics looked great and played flawlessly with "Riptide GP." But, there was a delay between tilts and the in-game steering, which made the vehicle quite a challenge to handle. Games like Angry Bird and Fruit Ninja all played quite smoothly. 

Webcam

The ASUS MeMO Pad is equipped with a VGA Front Facing Camera (.3MP). This is pretty ok for webcam applications like skype. Just bear with the slight yellow hue and some rather apparent resolution issues. 

Battery Life and Wi-Fi

With continuous use the ASUS MeMO Pad has the capacity to last a little over 6 hours to 7 hours, much less though if you are watching movies and playing somewhat high graphic games (at least those that can run on the provided specifications). 

Verdict

The ASUS MeMO Pad Tablet is an OK tablet as a travel companion for three simple reasons:

1. Its cheap and easy to pack

2. It can be an awesome Multimedia Companion - from eBooks to Sound Blasting your boredom away.

3. Its on Jelly Bean giving you a somewhat buttery smooth performance. 

Right now the ASUS MeMO PAD is selling at less than Php 6,000. Though do check out other retail outlets such as those in Greenhills in San Juan, Philippines and St. Francis Square beside Megamall. 

If you ask me personally though, I would check out the Cherry Mobile Tablets first prior to making a choice on this one. You might have to decide on what you can afford versus specs.

Till Next Time...

-Metz