Realme C2 Product Review

Purchased a Realme C2 Android Phone today for 4,990 pesos. It only comes with a charger and charging cable, unlike other smart phones I've bought before which include earphones and a protective case. I even had to shell out an extra 250 pesos for a protective case. Specs are as follows:

• Model RMX1941
• ColorOS Version V6.0
• Android Version 9
• Processor Octa Core
• RAM 2.0 GB
• Device Storage 16.0 GB
• Front Camera 5 Megapixels
• Rear Camera 13 Megapixels

According to the seller, the Realme brand is a sub-brand of OPPO. The device has a 1-year warranty so if I need to have it fixed, I just have to bring it to an OPPO service center.

I am excited to explore how this device will perform compared to my last phone, an SKK Hyper X Core. Too bad, the SKK brand is no longer available. Hope the Realme brand lasts longer since it is connected with OPPO.

The only concern that the sales person told me about was that this product likes to do automatic updates frequently. And true enough, as soon as I connected with our home wifi network, it already wanted to download the latest Android OS update. I appreciate that apps like Chrome and a File Manager are already installed. Had to add Grab, Viber, etc. and these installed seamlessly, too.

The screen is a bit longer than my last phone. Specs wise, I think that the only difference is that this phone has an Octa Core processor and Android 9 for the OS.

I'm still trying to get used to the (X) button for closing apps. I'm not really sure if it closes all the apps that are open, or closes all but the one on the screen when you press it. But other than this small annoyance, I think that the phone is performing well.

Will try to update this article if I find more things I like or dislike about the phone.

AVISION 32 inch LED TV Product Review

Got the AVISION 32 inch as a family Christmas gift and so far, I am quite pleased. We were able to get it from Lazada for a price of around 7,000 pesos. I've tried attaching it to various sources. The PS4 works well with the HDMI port. An old antenna could be hooked up to the cable input to get local channels - although the reception isn't as good as if the TV was hooked up to a cable provider like Sky Cable. I've also tried attaching it to a laptop via the PC VGA input. This set up works fine if your laptop has loud audio or speakers attached. But the most useful port for me is the USB port where we could attach either a USB key or a portable hard drive and play .mp4 or .mkv files.

I remember helping a friend buy a Samsung 24 inch TV about 3 years ago for about 8,000. Now, the same sized TV is about 11,000 pesos. So, for a bigger TV screen at a lesser price, the AVISION is a bargain. The Samsung TV still works until now. I am hoping the AVISION will last as long if not longer.

If there's one thing I could ask manufacturers to change about their design, it would be port accessibility. Having to reach behind the center of a wall mounted TV can be a challenging task at times, and hopefully, ports like the USB could be placed near the sides or edges of the screen so that attaching USB keys would be a breeze.

SKK Chronos Era

Bought a new phone since my old phone was starting to have issues. Was looking for a comparable phone from SKK, near the price that I purchased over a year ago. The closest priced unit was the Chronos Era at 2799.

Here's the specs for the SKK Chronos Era based on the CPU-Z app from Google Play

Display: 4.59-inch 720 x 1280 pixels 320 dpi (same as what I had before)
Chipset: Mediatek MT6580 (same)
CPU: 1.3GHz Quad-core 4x ARM Cortex-A7 (same)
GPU: Mali-400 MP (same)
RAM: 960 MB (half of what I had before)
Storage: 5.24 GB internal storage
Memory: roughly 1 GB
Main camera: 8 MP (rear) (lower than what I had before)
Front camera: 5 MP
Connectivity: 3G/HSPA+, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS
Freebies: Jelly case (instead of a Flip case)
Ports: microUSB
Android Version: 6.0

I think I'm beginning to have buyer's remorse because some of the specs are lower for roughly the same amount I shelled out last year.

In terms of performance, I was able to test out Clash Royale, Google Chrome and Instagram, and these are all working fine. Clash Royale was playing well without me having to adjust any settings.

I'm not a fan of the movable "button" on the screen for home, minimizing windows, and back. I think this was invented so that in case a part of the display no longer works properly, you can still move the button to a different part of the screen so that it can still function. But it is an eyesore when you open an app and I find that I have to move it to a different part to press a button on the app.

Also having a hard time adjusting again to a "physical" app management button. But this unit has that at the middle bottom part. Having to long press that to be able to cycle through all open apps, then swipe left to close the app seems more tedious than the swipe up - swipe left motion I got used to.

They tried to make the phone's interface look like an iPhone by using iPhone-like icons. You can look like an iPhone, but it would be better if you could perform like an iPhone.

Now, for some positives.

If you're a text to speech fan, it is now easier to get alternative voices. You no longer have to download additional apps on Google Play for additional voices on the phone. There's already an option under Settings > Language & Input > Language to select additional voices.

You now have an option to transfer files using the USB cable instead of charging the phone as the only option. In my previous phone, downloading File Manager to transfer files wirelessly was the only option.

I guess that's the end of my positive list. I'll try to come up with more as time progresses.

So, technology does not always advance with time. After a year, I was expecting better specs for the same price. But I feel like I got a downgrade for the same price. Maybe I didn't search well enough. I was actually considering the iRobot brand because their prices were below 2,000 pesos for roughly similar specs, but when I used their display, it seemed slower than what I was used to.

Maybe I should have gone for SKK's Hyperblade X, which was what the sales lady was aggressively pushing. But it cost 500 pesos more. I'd like tech to be better at the same price, or same at a lower price.

UPDATE: Was disappointed with this unit. I was getting all sorts of malware installed in it despite doing a factory reset and installing Kaspersky as my first app. It appears that the phone comes bundled with malware infested apps. Why would SKK even consider such a practice? One of the apps with built in malware was the HD Player. And once the malware has infected your phone, it is pretty difficult to remove it despite installing and updating antivirus or anti-malware apps.