Charge, store, and more with the Mosaic (Review)

As we continue to keep more and more of our lives on our devices, we realize that the majority of them are lacking when it comes to two big areas: storage and battery life. With many of us keeping tons of movies, pictures, documents, and more on our phones, tablets, and other devices, we are taking up more storage and using more battery than ever before.

Of course, the amount of times we have actually accessed these items are pretty low. We keep movies on our phone for long car rides, plane trips, and times when we don’t have an internet connection and need some entertainment. We keep photos so we can look back and remember moments in our lives. However, we don’t normally need these things on a daily basis, but we still like to keep them with us for one reason or another.

So what do you do? You can keep them on your phone and use up that valuable storage, you can offload them to the cloud which will require you to waste data to view them, or you can put them on a microSD card or microUSB flash drive. This last method is what many people do, but there are fewer and fewer phones with microSD card slots and having a flash drive hanging out of your phone isn’t the most elegant solution.

Enter, the Mosaic from PowerStick. It is the end-all, be-all for your storage and power needs. Not only is the Mosaic a power bank, but it also serves as a wireless storage device and even works as a WiFi extender for when you need a signal boost.

Design and Build Quality

The design of the Mosaic is minimalistic with a white plastic body and a soft plastic underside to keep it secure in a table. The Mosaic logo is on the top of the device in a chopped up style that is simple but eyecatching. Overall, it is fairly small with a 5″x3″ body that stands less than an inch tall. This plus its light weight make it easy to toss in a bag and carry with you without taking up much space or weighing you down.

There is a single button on the left side along with three LEDs for indicating battery level, transfer mode, and WiFi mode. On the back, you’ll find the USB type-A port for charging your devices, and on the front, you can see the USB type-C port for charging the Mosaic itself.

The Mosaic comes with a rigid case with room for the charging cable, tablet charger adapter, and user guide. It’s rigid outside and soft inside means this case will also help protect your Mosaic from any drops or damage.

Using the Mosaic

The Mosaic can do many things, but let’s take them one at a time. First off, it serves as either a 4500mAh or 7000mAh power bank (depending on your configuration) to keep your devices fully charged throughout the day. With that much power at your disposal, you can fully charge almost any phone or tablet out there at least once with many able to fully charge two times or more. This means that you should never find yourself with a dead device during a camping trip or long car ride.

The Mosaic charges with a USB type-C connector, but it comes with a USB type-A to USB type-C cable for those of you (like me) who don’t have any devices that use USB type-C. Don’t worry though, the port used to charge your device from the Mosaic is still USB type-A so all of your microUSB cables will work. The remaining battery percentage is displayed by an LED light on the side that turns from green to red when the battery drops to 20%.

The biggest draw of the Mosaic is its wireless storage capabilities. The Mosaic emits its own wireless signal, and once you connect to it in you WiFi settings, you can access all that you have stored on it through the companion app. This means you can watch movies stored on the Mosaic without having to connect it to your phone.
The Mosaic comes in several configurations so you can select the storage that you need. You can get a 7000mAh power bank with storage options from 16GB all the way to 256GB.

One awesome part about this wireless storage is that it allows up to seven people to access different items at one time. So if your kids are going to be stuck in the car for a long time, you can give them each a phone or tablet and they can all watch different movies all stored on the Mosaic. There are tons of scenarios where this wireless file access would be useful.

I used the Mosaic to store pictures, a movie, and some documents, and I found that accessing them was extremely easy and simple. Unfortunately, you must use a computer to add and delete files from the Mosaic which means you cannot upload pictures and videos you take on your phone directly to the Mosaic. This was slightly disappointing, but it did not detract from how well the Mosaic acts as a wireless storage device.

The Mosaic app has storage divided up into videos, pictures, photos, and documents. You can connect it to your computer and store your files in their respective group to make sure they are easier to find. When it came to watching videos off the Mosaic, I found that while most major formats will play back just fine, MP4 seems to play back the best. I had one or two slight pauses in other video formats.

As an added bonus, the Mosaic can act as a WiFi extender to give you an extra signal boost when you cannot get closer to your router. My room is on the other end of the house from the router, and the Mosaic provided a noticeable signal improvement. I usually suffer from some connection drops, but the signal stayed strong when connected through the Mosaic.

After using the Mosaic for a few weeks, I have been extremely impressed with how well it has handled being a power bank, storage device, and WiFi extender in one. It went from something I was skeptical about to a device that has a permanent spot in my bag. I do wish that I could transfer files from my phone to the Mosaic without using a computer, but that has been my only problem with the Mosaic so far.

If you like to keep lots of movies, photos, documents, or anything else with you but don’t want to take up precious storage in your phone, I would highly recommend taking a look at the Mosaic. It is sleek, portable, and powerful. While it is considerably more expensive than a regular power bank or microSD card with the lowest storage model starting at $130, the convenience of wireless storage plus having everything wrapped into one makes it well worth it. You can get the Mosaic by Powerstick in any of its configurations by clicking on the corresponding button below!

Get your 16GB Mosaic!Get your 32GB Mosaic!Get your 64GB Mosaic!Get your 128GB Mosaic!Get your 256GB Mosaic!

The post Charge, store, and more with the Mosaic (Review) appeared first on AndroidGuys.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 review

Get it on Ebay for $190

Along with a larger focus on affordability this year in the mid-range and high-end segments, there has also been a slew of lower-end smartphones launched, falling in the sub-$200 category, that have proved to be impressive as well. Granted, these devices aren’t perfect and often have their fair share of compromises, but Chinese OEM Xiaomi is looking to shake things up with their latest addition to the affordable Redmi series. Does this device prove to be a compelling choice? We find out, in this in-depth Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 review!

Design

The Redmi Note 3 may feature some elements of the design language of its predecessor, but when it comes to build quality, the metal unibody construction of the former is in stark contrast to the matte finish plastic build of the Redmi Note 2. That’s not to say that the build quality and design of the Redmi Note 2 was bad by an stretch, but the premium look and feel its successor provides is certainly something that users will appreciate, and is a very pleasant surprise, given its price point.

The curved edges and sides of the device make for a somewhat better handling experience, but the metal body is quite slippery, so using this rather large phone with one hand isn’t the easiest. The metal backing transitions into convincingly colored plastic caps at the top and bottom that are likely in place to help with antenna reception, but also provide a nice gripping point when holding the device in the landscape orientation.

Taking a look around the device, the power button and volume rocker are on the right side, and provide exceptional tactile feedback and responsiveness. The headphone jack and microUSB port are at the top and bottom respectively, and up top is also an IR blaster. On the back is the single speaker unit, along with the new addition of a fingerprint scanner that is found below the camera. Up front are three capacitive navigation keys, with the first being assignable to open either the Recent Apps tray or an App Menu.

Display

The Redmi Note 3 comes with a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 403 ppi. The display is quite good overall, but is somewhat lacking in contrast and resolution, and there are certainly devices that fall in this price range with better displays out there. The display’s sunlight readability and minimum brightness level are notably good however, and the adaptive brightness feature also worked really well during our testing.

Performance and hardware

Under the hood, the Redmi Note 3 comes with an octa-core MediaTek Helio X10 processor, clocked at 2 GHz, and backed by the PowerVR G6200 GPU and 2 or 3 GB of RAM. This particular review unit is of the 3 GB RAM variety, and as expected, multi-tasking is a breeze, but 2 GB of RAM should be more than enough as well. On the performance front, the Redmi Note 3 performs surprisingly well, especially when considering its price point.

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Everything is very smooth, and minimal lag is to be seen only when running more processor-intensive tasks. Gaming is also very enjoyable on the device, but keep in mind that this is only when the device is set to Performance Mode, and there is some stutter and lag when switched to the other battery modes.

16 GB or 32 GB storage options are available, which also determines the RAM you get, but with no expandable storage via microSD card to be found, most users will be better off opting for the higher storage version anyway. The device also comes with a standard suite of connectivity options, but given the fact that it isn’t officially available in the US, access to 4G LTE networks isn’t possible. HSPA+ on the AT&T and T-Mobile networks is plenty fast though, and the call quality proved to be pretty good as well.

The rear speaker of the Redmi Note 3 is about average, and while it gets reasonably loud, the sound quality is tinny and somewhat distorted. The speaker is also very easy to muffle when the device is placed on a flat surface, as is the case with most rear speaker setups. A new addition in hardware is the fingerprint scanner on the back, which is ideally placed to be within comfortable reach of the index finger, and proves to be fast and very accurate. When compared to the high-end Nexus 6P, the scanner may not be as fast, but the accuracy is just as good, which is fantastic to see on an affordable smartphone.

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The battery of the Redmi Note 3 may not be user replaceable, but making up for it is its large 4,000 mAh capacity. The battery life is impressive, with anywhere between 4 and 5 and a half hours of screen-on time possible, and the device has no problem allowing for a full day of usage comfortably. There is no fast charging capabilities to be had, but the great battery life means that it isn’t a requirement either.

See also: Best cheap Android phones (December 2015)307

Camera

The Redmi Note 3 comes with a 13 MP rear camera, with a f/2.2 aperture and phase detection auto focus, along with a 5 MP front-facing camera with a f/2.0 aperture. Overall, the primary camera allows for decent image quality. There does seem to be a lack of saturation and detail in most images however, and the camera does have a tendency to underexpose outdoor shots as well. HDR does help with the latter issue, but using this mode adds a few seconds to the shooting time. Indoor images also contain noticeable amounts of digital noise, but don’t look that bad.

As far as the camera application is concerned, you do get an easy to use auto experience, but there are also a number of filters and camera modes available for those who want to use them, including panorama, a timer mode, and a manual mode, that allows for granular control over aspects like white balance and ISO, which is certainly nice to have.

Software

On the software side of things is where Xiaomi seems to have injected the most value into the Redmi Note 3. The latest version of MIUI 7 is based on Android 5.0.2 Lollipop, but with it being a very heavily skinned interface, you won’t notice any Material Design elements. However, MIUI is arguably one of the most polished skins around, courtesy of the amount of customization and number of features it offers. Some of these features include transition effects, and weekly developer OTA updates, and with everything being smooth and snappy overall, MIUI allows for one of the best software experiences available on a device priced at under $200.

There are some elements that take some getting used to however, such as the lack of an app drawer, leaving users dependent on folders to keep things organized, and the inability to dismiss notifications directly from the lock screen. Given that this version of the device is intended for the Chinese market, Google apps aren’t pre-installed, and while it is quite easy to install them, they don’t always work as well as one would expect. It’s important to note here that a global version of the device will be available shortly which will have the Google apps built in, and so, you can wait a little longer to avoid the hassle of going through the process.

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Xiaomi hasn’t had the best track record with offering the latest versions of Android, as is very evident here, but what they do offer frequent software updates for the MIUI OS that essentially includes all the features that you’d expect from newer versions of Android. If you are a stickler for running the latest and greatest, keep in mind that the Redmi Note 3 may not see anything beyond Android 5.0.2 Lollipop, but lack of features is certainly not going to be a concern.

Specifications

Gallery

Pricing and final thoughts

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 is currently available only in China, priced at RMB 8,999 for the 16 GB and 2 GB RAM version, while the Prime iteration, with 32 GB storage and 3 GB of RAM, is priced at RMB  11,999, which roughly translates to $140 and $172 respectively. Importing the device will result in a higher price tag, but the soon to be released global version should feature the same pricing.

So there you have it for this detailed look at the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3! Like most other smartphones that fall in the sub-$200 category, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 has its issues, particularly with its lackluster display and average camera experience. However, this smartphone does excel in key areas where its competitors do not, including its fantastic design and build quality, exceptional battery life, and the inclusion of a fast and accurate fingerprint scanner. This is yet another very commendable effort from Xiaomi, and is a device that is certainly worthy of your consideration.

Get it on Ebay for $190

Next: Best Android smartphones of 2015

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 review

Get it on Ebay for $190

Along with a larger focus on affordability this year in the mid-range and high-end segments, there has also been a slew of lower-end smartphones launched, falling in the sub-$200 category, that have proved to be impressive as well. Granted, these devices aren’t perfect and often have their fair share of compromises, but Chinese OEM Xiaomi is looking to shake things up with their latest addition to the affordable Redmi series. Does this device prove to be a compelling choice? We find out, in this in-depth Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 review!

Design

The Redmi Note 3 may feature some elements of the design language of its predecessor, but when it comes to build quality, the metal unibody construction of the former is in stark contrast to the matte finish plastic build of the Redmi Note 2. That’s not to say that the build quality and design of the Redmi Note 2 was bad by an stretch, but the premium look and feel its successor provides is certainly something that users will appreciate, and is a very pleasant surprise, given its price point.

The curved edges and sides of the device make for a somewhat better handling experience, but the metal body is quite slippery, so using this rather large phone with one hand isn’t the easiest. The metal backing transitions into convincingly colored plastic caps at the top and bottom that are likely in place to help with antenna reception, but also provide a nice gripping point when holding the device in the landscape orientation.

Taking a look around the device, the power button and volume rocker are on the right side, and provide exceptional tactile feedback and responsiveness. The headphone jack and microUSB port are at the top and bottom respectively, and up top is also an IR blaster. On the back is the single speaker unit, along with the new addition of a fingerprint scanner that is found below the camera. Up front are three capacitive navigation keys, with the first being assignable to open either the Recent Apps tray or an App Menu.

Display

The Redmi Note 3 comes with a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 403 ppi. The display is quite good overall, but is somewhat lacking in contrast and resolution, and there are certainly devices that fall in this price range with better displays out there. The display’s sunlight readability and minimum brightness level are notably good however, and the adaptive brightness feature also worked really well during our testing.

Performance and hardware

Under the hood, the Redmi Note 3 comes with an octa-core MediaTek Helio X10 processor, clocked at 2 GHz, and backed by the PowerVR G6200 GPU and 2 or 3 GB of RAM. This particular review unit is of the 3 GB RAM variety, and as expected, multi-tasking is a breeze, but 2 GB of RAM should be more than enough as well. On the performance front, the Redmi Note 3 performs surprisingly well, especially when considering its price point.

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Everything is very smooth, and minimal lag is to be seen only when running more processor-intensive tasks. Gaming is also very enjoyable on the device, but keep in mind that this is only when the device is set to Performance Mode, and there is some stutter and lag when switched to the other battery modes.

16 GB or 32 GB storage options are available, which also determines the RAM you get, but with no expandable storage via microSD card to be found, most users will be better off opting for the higher storage version anyway. The device also comes with a standard suite of connectivity options, but given the fact that it isn’t officially available in the US, access to 4G LTE networks isn’t possible. HSPA+ on the AT&T and T-Mobile networks is plenty fast though, and the call quality proved to be pretty good as well.

The rear speaker of the Redmi Note 3 is about average, and while it gets reasonably loud, the sound quality is tinny and somewhat distorted. The speaker is also very easy to muffle when the device is placed on a flat surface, as is the case with most rear speaker setups. A new addition in hardware is the fingerprint scanner on the back, which is ideally placed to be within comfortable reach of the index finger, and proves to be fast and very accurate. When compared to the high-end Nexus 6P, the scanner may not be as fast, but the accuracy is just as good, which is fantastic to see on an affordable smartphone.

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The battery of the Redmi Note 3 may not be user replaceable, but making up for it is its large 4,000 mAh capacity. The battery life is impressive, with anywhere between 4 and 5 and a half hours of screen-on time possible, and the device has no problem allowing for a full day of usage comfortably. There is no fast charging capabilities to be had, but the great battery life means that it isn’t a requirement either.

See also: Best cheap Android phones (December 2015)307

Camera

The Redmi Note 3 comes with a 13 MP rear camera, with a f/2.2 aperture and phase detection auto focus, along with a 5 MP front-facing camera with a f/2.0 aperture. Overall, the primary camera allows for decent image quality. There does seem to be a lack of saturation and detail in most images however, and the camera does have a tendency to underexpose outdoor shots as well. HDR does help with the latter issue, but using this mode adds a few seconds to the shooting time. Indoor images also contain noticeable amounts of digital noise, but don’t look that bad.

As far as the camera application is concerned, you do get an easy to use auto experience, but there are also a number of filters and camera modes available for those who want to use them, including panorama, a timer mode, and a manual mode, that allows for granular control over aspects like white balance and ISO, which is certainly nice to have.

Software

On the software side of things is where Xiaomi seems to have injected the most value into the Redmi Note 3. The latest version of MIUI 7 is based on Android 5.0.2 Lollipop, but with it being a very heavily skinned interface, you won’t notice any Material Design elements. However, MIUI is arguably one of the most polished skins around, courtesy of the amount of customization and number of features it offers. Some of these features include transition effects, and weekly developer OTA updates, and with everything being smooth and snappy overall, MIUI allows for one of the best software experiences available on a device priced at under $200.

There are some elements that take some getting used to however, such as the lack of an app drawer, leaving users dependent on folders to keep things organized, and the inability to dismiss notifications directly from the lock screen. Given that this version of the device is intended for the Chinese market, Google apps aren’t pre-installed, and while it is quite easy to install them, they don’t always work as well as one would expect. It’s important to note here that a global version of the device will be available shortly which will have the Google apps built in, and so, you can wait a little longer to avoid the hassle of going through the process.

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Xiaomi hasn’t had the best track record with offering the latest versions of Android, as is very evident here, but what they do offer frequent software updates for the MIUI OS that essentially includes all the features that you’d expect from newer versions of Android. If you are a stickler for running the latest and greatest, keep in mind that the Redmi Note 3 may not see anything beyond Android 5.0.2 Lollipop, but lack of features is certainly not going to be a concern.

Specifications

Gallery

Pricing and final thoughts

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 is currently available only in China, priced at RMB 8,999 for the 16 GB and 2 GB RAM version, while the Prime iteration, with 32 GB storage and 3 GB of RAM, is priced at RMB  11,999, which roughly translates to $140 and $172 respectively. Importing the device will result in a higher price tag, but the soon to be released global version should feature the same pricing.

So there you have it for this detailed look at the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3! Like most other smartphones that fall in the sub-$200 category, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 has its issues, particularly with its lackluster display and average camera experience. However, this smartphone does excel in key areas where its competitors do not, including its fantastic design and build quality, exceptional battery life, and the inclusion of a fast and accurate fingerprint scanner. This is yet another very commendable effort from Xiaomi, and is a device that is certainly worthy of your consideration.

Get it on Ebay for $190

Next: Best Android smartphones of 2015

Briteli App Review: Your professional content curator

If you like having your content aggregated into one central place, it’s likely you’ve used a service to curate everything for you. This saves you time and allows you to discover new content.

Briteli does just that. It’s an app designed to bring everything that interests you together. It offers both webpages and applications from the app store, and suggests new items based on what you’re currently looking at.

Briteli is pronounced as “brightly”, coming from “find apps that shine brightly”.

You can check out their website at brite.li

Setup

Surprisingly enough, you are not able to create an account. Surely this is a user-dependent app and you should have your preferences saved somewhere? Well, it turns out that it’s not really necessary, and I’ll explain why later on.

Settings wise, there are no settings. Text size, themes and any other adjustments are unavailable. When you look at the app size (190KB), it becomes clear that it’s basically a web page pulled into the app. This is by no means a bad thing, as the app can be updated anytime remotely and is kept bite-sized.

Overview

Briteli is split up into Collections. These Collections are really just topics with relevant content inside. Some Collections include “Photographers Toolkit”, “Cycling World” and “Astronomy and the Skies”. While it sounds like it covers a lot, there are less then twenty-five collections and I found some of them rather, arbitrary. At first I thought it was because the app is still starting up, but a comment from the website contradicted that:

“We plan to have less than 25 collections at any point in time based on current interest and trends. For example we may add a seasonal collection like ‘Football Fever’ during a soccer world cup.“

After even more use, I found it was OK with a small amount of collections that covered most of the spectrum, although everyone will probably have a topic that they wish was included anyway.

From these Collections, you can further sieve through apps or web content. It is, however, more focused on apps from the Play Store. This is nice as it allows you to discover decent content without being forced-fed popular apps that have been dominating the top ranks in the Play Store. I personally found and downloaded some apps that interested me. The developers also said that they would be adding in more web content shortly, followed by curated products.

Moving on to the actual app, it feels a bit empty. Think of it as a blank page with a few icons slapped onto it. It’ll be nice to see something more solid with settings as well.

Regarding the no account, I really don’t think that an account is necessary. For starters, Briteli doesn’t actually give you personalized feedback. Think of it as an index of content that you can browse through. Delete the app and re-install it, or access the website version and you end up at the same place. It’s effectively saying “They clicked on “Photography”, bring up the index of app webpages and apps that we put in”.

The app was smooth and efficient for the most part.

What we liked:

• Small app size
• Easy and clean UI
• Most major categories available

And not so much…

• The UI was too clean
• Limited, pre-set content

You should think of Briteli as an index. An index full of content that enables you to find the best things for you. It doesn’t adjust to you and your taste, but rather offer a category that you like. Briteli has the potential to become a really useful and great app for everyone.

The post Briteli App Review: Your professional content curator appeared first on AndroidGuys.

Woopower 50W 5-Port High Speed USB Charger (Review)

Design

The Woopower 5-port charger is exactly what it says it is. There is nothing fancy about it – it is a plastic brick with soft rubber feet that help keep it on my desk without sliding around. It has five ports and each USB port has its own LED light indicating the power status. It comes with a four foot power cord so you can set it up on top of a night stand or desk, and then simply connect your USB cables to charge your devices.

Usage

Chargers are about as exciting as watching grass grow. But fortunately the Woopower 5 port charger does have a purpose to serve and it does it well. I’ve charged smartwatches, USB type-C smartphones like the Nexus 5X and 6P, tablets and more. I love that it comes with a four foot cable so I can use my devices at my desk while plugged in to charge.

I really enjoy bringing it along when I travel as it cuts back on how many single port chargers I have to bring with me.

 Amazon Description

Summary

The post Woopower 50W 5-Port High Speed USB Charger (Review) appeared first on AndroidGuys.

OPPO R7s review

Buy now from eBay

OPPO may not be particularly well-known outside of its home market, but that is something that is slowly changing, with the Chinese OEM having some fantastic devices on offer these days. With their latest smartphone release, OPPO is looking to bolster their mid-range portfolio with yet another variant of the OPPO R7, with the new addition to the series falling in between the original and the large R7 Plus, at least in terms of size. What else does this mid-range smartphone bring to the table? We find out, in this in-depth OPPO R7s review!

Related:

• OPPO R7 review
• OPPO R7 Plus review

Design

As mentioned, the OPPO R7s, with its 5.5-inch display, falls right in the middle of the 5-inch R7 and the 6-inch R7 Plus, but otherwise looks just like its siblings. Like the other two, the OPPO R7s features a full metal unibody design which is fantastic to look at and feels solid in the hand. However, like the R7 Plus, there are no capacitive navigation keys to be found up front, which helps make the device a touch more compact, allowing for a more manageable handling experience. The OPPO R7s is thicker than its smaller counterpart, but at 7 mm thick, it is still a very sleek device, and the extra thickness is certainly worth it, given the much larger of a battery OPPO is able to pack into this phone.

Taking a look around the device, the power button and volume rocker are on opposite sides, with both being within comfortable reach. The buttons also feel solid and offer a good amount of tactile feedback, and is another positive indication of OPPO’s focus on design. The headphone jack and microUSB port are at the top and bottom respectively, but unlike its siblings, the single speaker unit has been moved from the back, to now be found at the bottom as well.

When it comes to design and build quality, the gap between mid-range and high-end is definitely closing, and the OPPO R7s is certainly a great example of this. The metal construction is solid and the premium feel is something that even more expensive high-end smartphones may be unable to match. OPPO seems to really care about the design of their smartphones, and as was also the case with its namesakes, the OPPO R7s is definitely one of the most beautifully-designed smartphones out there.

Display

The OPPO R7s comes with a 5.5-inch AMOLED display with a 1080p resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 401 ppi, and keeping everything protected is a Corning Gorilla Glass 4 panel. While the OPPO R7 may have been too small, and the R7 Plus too big, what the R7s offers is a display size that is large enough to offer an immersive experience, but without the unwieldy and awkward handling experience.

As is expected from an AMOLED panel, you get deep blacks and saturated colors, even if they aren’t as saturated as some other AMOLED displays out there. You also get good viewing angles and brightness isn’t an issue either, allowing for comfortable outdoor viewing.  Admittedly, this display may not be the best we’ve seen this year, but be it work or play, you are definitely still going to have a very enjoyable viewing experience overall.

Performance and hardware

Under the hood, the OPPO R7s comes with an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, clocked at 1.5 GHz, and backed by the Adreno 405 GPU and 4 GB of RAM. This processing package is the same as what is seen with its siblings, save for the benefit of an additional gig of RAM that the R7s enjoys.

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The Snapdragon 615 has been the 2015 mid-range standard, and as expected, the performance of the R7s is also very good. Everything from opening, closing, and switching between apps, to multi-tasking and gaming are handled by the device very well, and save for a few stutters in animations here and there, the overall experience remains smooth.

32 GB of internal storage is the only option, but expandable storage via microSD card, by up to 128 GB, is also available. Keep in mind however that the second SIM slot is what doubles as a microSD card slot, so users will have to choose between expandable storage or dual SIM capabilities. The R7s also comes with a standard suite of connectivity options, with the exception of NFC. The good news as far as connectivity is concerned is that the R7s was able to connect to the AT&T’s 4G networks the majority of the time, which is often not the case when it comes to devices from other Chinese manufacturers.

Despite appearances, the device comes with only a single speaker unit, now located at the bottom left. The speaker actually allows for a decent audio experience, and while it isn’t the loudest speaker out there, it certainly gets loud enough to get the job done in most situations. However, the speaker placement does mean that you may end up covering it while holding the device in the landscape orientation and muffling the sound, especially while gaming.

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The OPPO R7s comes with a large 3,070 mAh battery, that allowed for the device to comfortably run for an entire day, even with some heavy usage. With average use, I was able to push the screen-on time to around 5 hours, without using any of the battery saving modes that are baked in. With heavier use, that involved watching a lot of videos, gaming, and taking pictures, the screen-on time dropped to the 4 hour mark, which is still quite impressive. If you do find yourself needing to recharge the device, you get to take advantage of its fast-charging capabilities, or “flash charging” as OPPO calls it, which allows for the battery to be charged to 90% in just 50 minutes.

Camera

The OPPO R7s retains the camera package seen with its counterparts, including a 13 MP rear shooter and an 8 MP front-facing unit. While the device doesn’t comes with the laser auto focus system found with the R7 Plus, what you do get is “Flash Shot” technology, which allows for the camera to focus in just 0.1 seconds, albeit in optimal lighting conditions, and take a shot very quickly.

OPPO also claims that the camera application launches 30% faster this time around, and it certainly seems quite fast. As far as the app itself is concerned, it is the standard Color OS camera app, which may seem somewhat simplistic on the surface, but manages to hide a slew of modes and features underneath. Some of these including Beauty modes, various filters, slow shutter speeds, GIF modes, and even an Audio Photo mode that adds small audio clips to your photos, which is quite fun to play around with. As far as video modes are concerned, you get slow motion capture and time lapse.

As is the case with most smartphone cameras out there, you will be able to get some great photos when outdoors and in good lighting conditions. The colors in the images look good without being too saturated, and there is a lot of detail to be had as well. The camera exposes quite nicely the majority of the time, but for the few times it doesn’t, HDR does a great job in bringing out the shadows or bringing down the brighter areas. A little more contrast wouldn’t hurt, but overall, this proves to be an excellent camera when taking shots outdoors.

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In low light conditions however, the shutter speed reduces significantly, and requires very steady hands to avoid blurry images, especially with there being no optical image stabilization available. That said, photos taken in low light certainly aren’t bad, even if there is some processing going on to remove noise, which makes for a softer image. Videos look decent when recording in Full HD, but that is something you will have to select in the camera settings, with the default video capture resolution set to 720p. You get very realistic and cool colors, unlike a lot of other mid-range smartphones out there, but without OIS, videos can turn out to be quite shaky.

The front-facing 8 MP camera allows for some good looking shots as well, also with a lot of detail. With this being a mid-range device, the front-facing camera is actually quite impressive. Of course, in low light conditions, there is a lot of noise, and the colors aren’t as vibrant, but overall, the images turn out to be quite nice and bright enough.

OPPO may not have introduced any significant upgrades to the camera package when compared to its siblings, but this camera does provide a very pleasant smartphone photography experience, and is packed with plenty of fun features that, in the end, create photos that are worth posting and sharing.

Software

The OPPO R7s is running Color OS 2.1 with the latest version of OPPO’s software, based on Android 5.1 Lollipop. As anyone familiar with Color OS will know, what you have here is vastly different from the general Android software experience that you may be used to, and while it can take some adjusting to, it is actually quite nice.

Of course, everything functions the same way, just with a different look, with almost everything, from the Recent Apps screen to even the volume controls, being re-designed. However, every re-designed element either serves a purpose, or if that isn’t the case, just looks really cool. For example, when sliding in between tabs in the Settings menu, the text will slide off the screen, depending on where on the screen your finger is, which is a really nice effect. All the animations seen throughout the user interface all have a unified look and feel, and allows for a very smooth and enjoyable software experience.

There is no app drawer here, leaving users dependent on folders to keep things organized. The on-screen navigation keys are also different from the traditional placement that you may be used to, with the back button to the right, and also returning is the menu key, which requires a long press to launch the Recent Apps screen.

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Color OS does come with a lot of extra features as well, including an “eye protection display” setting, that tints the screen to a pink hue, which is great for users with sensitive eyes. There is a one-handed mode available, that is easy to launch by simply swiping up from either bottom corner to the middle of the display. There are a lot of gestures as well, including the ability to draw symbols to launch user-specified apps, using two fingers to adjust the volume, and double tapping the home button to lock the screen.

Specifications

Gallery

Pricing and final thoughts

The OPPO R7s is priced at $399, with the only available color option being rose gold. That’s a bit more expensive than a typical Snapdragon 615-powered mid-ranger, but the R7 family does have several extras you won’t typically find at this price point as well.

So there you have it, for this comprehensive look at the OPPO R7s! The attention to detail OPPO has paid, as far as the build quality and the software experience are concerned, is certainly noteworthy. You get a premium look and feel with an otherwise mid-range smartphone, and while it isn’t going to take on the current generation flagships in terms of aspects like performance or camera, the R7s certainly proves to be reliable, and a great choice for those looking for a solid smartphone without breaking the bank.

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Satechi’s Aluminum Power Strip charges up to 8 devices simultaneously [Review]

As we see more and more USB charging hubs released on the market, Satechi looks to stand out by offering a product that kills two birds with one stone. The Satechi Aluminum Power Strip features four standard AC outlets and four USB ports, to tackle all your charging needs.

Design

Satechi clearly put time and effort into the design of this power strip. As the name suggests, it is crafted from aluminum and just looks and feels premium. The four additional USB ports are set on the end of the power strip, which is a nice change from other such products that lead to USB cords sticking straight up when plugged into the face of the strip.

The simple design aesthetic is maintained throughout the power strip, as the light gray aluminum stops only to make way for the plastic faceplate that houses the four AC outlets. A standard on/off switch can be found at the end of the power strip, next to the main power cable. Around the back of the power strip are two mounting holes, just in case you feel like mounting it onto a wall.

Overall, I was very impressed with Satechi’s design choices here. Given that this particular product serves only to charge devices and power whatever is plugged into it, I was glad to see that the team at Satechi kept the design minimal. In some cases, too many bells and whistles can be overwhelming, and Satechi definitely took that to heart with this power strip.

Usage & Performance

Using the aluminum power strip is inherently easy, as is expected. The four AC outlets work as well as you could imagine, powering whatever standard device you feel like plugging into them. I found myself using only two of the outlets, one for a lamp and the other for a laptop charger. Of course, the AC outlets are surge protected, so all your electronics will be safe.

The four USB ports along the side are where it gets interesting. Satechi’s branding and product page suggest that the ports are pf the “smart super charger” variety, although in my testing I found that the ports charge at a standard rate. While there is no mention of Qualcomm Quick Charging, it’s interesting that the “super charger” ports don’t seem to provide any more power than a standard charger.

Satechi did build in smart IC technology, so the power strip allocates power as needed, giving each device just the right amount of charge and maximizing charging speeds. The strip provides up to 6A of power to the USB ports, which is just enough to properly charge four devices overnight.

Summary

Satechi did a great job with this power strip. It is designed very well, and it quite simply does what it was made to do. For $27.99 on Amazon, it may be a little pricey for a power strip, but I would say the convenience makes up for the price tag. It eliminates the need for an extra USB hub, and it provides four extra AC ports for non-USB devices as well.

The post Satechi’s Aluminum Power Strip charges up to 8 devices simultaneously [Review] appeared first on AndroidGuys.

Satechi’s Aluminum Power Strip charges up to 8 devices simultaneously [Review]

As we see more and more USB charging hubs released on the market, Satechi looks to stand out by offering a product that kills two birds with one stone. The Satechi Aluminum Power Strip features four standard AC outlets and four USB ports, to tackle all your charging needs.

Design

Satechi clearly put time and effort into the design of this power strip. As the name suggests, it is crafted from aluminum and just looks and feels premium. The four additional USB ports are set on the end of the power strip, which is a nice change from other such products that lead to USB cords sticking straight up when plugged into the face of the strip.

The simple design aesthetic is maintained throughout the power strip, as the light gray aluminum stops only to make way for the plastic faceplate that houses the four AC outlets. A standard on/off switch can be found at the end of the power strip, next to the main power cable. Around the back of the power strip are two mounting holes, just in case you feel like mounting it onto a wall.

Overall, I was very impressed with Satechi’s design choices here. Given that this particular product serves only to charge devices and power whatever is plugged into it, I was glad to see that the team at Satechi kept the design minimal. In some cases, too many bells and whistles can be overwhelming, and Satechi definitely took that to heart with this power strip.

Usage & Performance

Using the aluminum power strip is inherently easy, as is expected. The four AC outlets work as well as you could imagine, powering whatever standard device you feel like plugging into them. I found myself using only two of the outlets, one for a lamp and the other for a laptop charger. Of course, the AC outlets are surge protected, so all your electronics will be safe.

The four USB ports along the side are where it gets interesting. Satechi’s branding and product page suggest that the ports are pf the “smart super charger” variety, although in my testing I found that the ports charge at a standard rate. While there is no mention of Qualcomm Quick Charging, it’s interesting that the “super charger” ports don’t seem to provide any more power than a standard charger.

Satechi did build in smart IC technology, so the power strip allocates power as needed, giving each device just the right amount of charge and maximizing charging speeds. The strip provides up to 6A of power to the USB ports, which is just enough to properly charge four devices overnight.

Summary

Satechi did a great job with this power strip. It is designed very well, and it quite simply does what it was made to do. For $27.99 on Amazon, it may be a little pricey for a power strip, but I would say the convenience makes up for the price tag. It eliminates the need for an extra USB hub, and it provides four extra AC ports for non-USB devices as well.

The post Satechi’s Aluminum Power Strip charges up to 8 devices simultaneously [Review] appeared first on AndroidGuys.