Honor 7 Review

Disclaimer: Honor Malaysia provided a loan unit for MemerangTech for review purposes

If you remember the news that we put up a few weeks ago, Honor 7 is finally available in Malaysia. The new flagship for the Honor brand features many new additions that makes it worthy of being the face of the brand. Or does it? Let’s take a look at the phone shall we?

Hardware

The Honor 7 is the next model from the China-based brand, supplementing the previously released Honor 6 as the main model in the brand’s line-up. The specifications of the phone are as follows:

The phone does not resemble its predecessor – actually it has more resemblance with the mainline Huwaei brand phones. With its curved back, centered camera module and even the fingerprint scanner, it has a big resemblance to the newly launched Huawei Mate S. However, there are differences between the two.

Thanks to the curved back, the phone is very comfortable in one’s hands – so it does not feel like it is cutting into your palm whenever you are holding it. The glass front is made from Gorilla Glass X and gives it the protection that is needed against accidental scratches.

Rounding up the hardware is the configurable launch button on the left-hand side of the phone called the Smart Key, which can be assigned to different application or settings, and the fingerprint scanner that sits below the camera. Honor said it is the fastest fingerprint scanner on the market in recognising fingerprints – I tried it, and it did unlock the phone faster than a blink of the eye.

Performance

Underneath the boot lies Huawei’s latest processor – the Kirin Hi-Silicon 935. This processor is an eight-core processor, with eight Cortex A53 cores where four is running at 2.2Ghz, while the other four is clocked at 1.5Ghz. This big.LITTLE architecture gives the processor superb processing power while at the same time keeps the power consumption to low levels.

Paired with the processor is a 3100mAh battery, which Honor promises up to 350 hours on 3G standby. For a normal, social media junkie usage – I managed to get up to two days on moderate usage. Not bad indeed.

Software

The Honor 7 runs its own skin for Android – EMUI or Emotion UI. It runs version 3.1, which is based on Android 5.1. Honor did say online that Marshmallow upgrade is in the works for the Honor 7, so we can expect it to have the latest OS version soon.

The EMUI 3.1 may be not everybody’s cup of tea, as Honor is following its parent company by eliminating the app drawer. The app icons lives on homescreen, with folders used to group the apps for easy sorting.

Going back to the Smart Key, it is programmable to launch anything you want from the phone. With three modes – single tap, double tap and a long press – users can adding just about anything to be quick-launched with the Smart Key.

Also with the Honor 7, the company has introduced the latest version of Knock Sense, which allows users to execute certain features by just literally knocking on the phone.

Camera

For imaging, the Honor 7 is equipped with a 20 megapixel sensor that is comparable to many flagship smartphones out there. As you can see from the photo samples, the photos taken are sharp, and clear. Even the night mode photo is excellent, although we had to use a tripod to achieve the crystal sharp image. Shaky hands does not apply.

Check out the sample photos we took with the camera:

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Honor has taken big steps to bring flagship features into the brand, and with a retail price of only RM 1,399, the Honor 7 is a flagship that does not poke a hole in your pocket.

Retail price: RM 1,399
More info: VMall Malaysia

Lenovo Phab Plus Review

Disclaimer: A unit of the Lenovo Phab Plus was given to MemerangTech for review purposes.

Big or small, a phone gives you a window into the wide world of the internet. In fact, many countries sees mobile phones and tablets being the first devices used by majority of their citizens to access the internet. No PC here, no siree. But the trouble is, one needs to choose between a tablet or a smartphone as their first purchase – and having two devices is not the most economical thing to do, right? Hence why Lenovo is trying to kill two birds with one stone with their Phab plus, a 6.8 inch 4G LTE phablet (yes, it is the official nomenclature that Lenovo is using for the device).

Design

If you are looking for a smart-looking tablet, this may be the one for you. At just a hair under 7 inches, the screen is a gorgeous 1080p panel with IPS technology for colours that look sweet from any angle. The design of the Phab Plus reminds you of something that came out from Cupertino, rather than Beijing. But thanks to that design, the tablet is comfortable to hold – by both small and large hands.

The aluminium body is also smooth to the touch, and gives good grip when you need it as you hold it for your day to day use. Have to warn you guys – this is definitely not a one-handed use device. You CAN use it one hand but mostly just to hold it to your ear – yes it has a small screen mode, but still, it needs two hands to be used properly.

Rounding up the features on the outside are the power and volume buttons – located on the right hand side of the device, an audio jack on the top and the USB port on the bottom. The power button is located within reach of your thumb so it is very convenient.

Performance

Lenovo has opted to install the Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor in the Phab Plus. So you get an eight-hour processor running things in the background, paired with 2 GBs of RAM that equals…just enough processing power to have the Phab Plus run along without any major lags. When paired to the combo of 32GB on board storage and a micro SD expansion slot that accepts up to 128GB of extra file space, this can be your next portable media device.

Lenovo’s skin for Android is bearable, with most apps and interfaces keeping to the stock Android 5.0 looks and feel. There are some built-in apps, but they are all easily removed by the end user.

Thanks to the Snapdragon 615, the Phab Plus can do most of the stuff relegated to smartphones without any problems – just don’t expect them to be as swift as you get on a faster and higher model processor. Still, the processor is more than enough to drive the 1080p screen, and subsequently playback 1080p content.

Imaging

The camera on the Phab Plus is a 13 megapixel model, with a dual-LED flash and all the jazz that one expect when using a camera. The front meanwhile houses a 5 megapixel sensor for high resolution video conferencing.

I have to say though, that the camera is not the best in the market – the images may look over processed, and it is not the best companion for low light situations. Still, it is more than sufficient for capturing that social media moment with your friends and family.

Check out the image samples down below:

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(Image taken with auto mode)

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(Image taken with night mode turned on)

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In the end, the Lenovo Phab Plus may seem to be a solution for a market segment that does not exist – however contrary to belief, the small tablet market is booming, and the Phab Plus with its 4G connectivity option may be the best first device for any users who wants to go online right now.

Retail price: RM 1,119
More info: Lenovo Malaysia

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