“Nostalgia is a powerful feeling; it can drown out anything.”—Terrence Malick
BEFORE the rise in popularity of Huawei, Samsung and the first iPhone, the two most talked about brands by the “OG” tech geeks were Motorola and Nokia.
Who could forget Motorola and its crazy-beautiful RAZR series, and Nokia for just about any new phone that it released almost every month?
But with the transition to smartphones and the entry of more Chinese manufacturers, the once-mighty “M” and “N” brands quickly faded into the background.
Thankfully, Moto fans had a lot to cheer about as the brand made a triumphant return after an almost decadelong absence with its well-received Moto Z series and its innovative Moto Mods.
The company, now owned by Lenovo, started with a premium lineup, but has since launched its own entry-level and midrange series. We got to chat a bit with Vincent de la Cruz, marketing manager, Lenovo MBG and Motorola Mobility Philippines, at the launch of their new G5S and G5S Plus phones and he gave us an update on how the brand continues to gain momentum in the local market.
“In less than a year, we now have 10 exclusive Moto Stores in the country and we are in about 700 outlets nationwide. When we launched, we started with our premium lineup, then a few months ago we brought in our entry-level series, the moto C, and now we’re completing it with our midrange offerings: the G5s and G5S Plus—phones with great specs at very competitive price points.”
“These special-edition devices offer consumers affordable options that fit their lifestyle with the premium features that matter most to Filipinos,” he added.
The Moto G5S Plus is the first Moto phone to feature dual cameras, allowing users to experiment and unleash their creativity. Unlike other phones with a two camera setup, the G5S Plus has two 13-MP rear cameras. Selective focus mode makes it easy to take professional-looking outfit of the days with the phone, adding a beautiful “bokeh” or blurred-background effect. It also allows users to trying selective black-and-white coloring, or replace background mode to give their photos a whole new look. The 8-MP wide-angle front camera, on the other hand, can fit more people in the frame, as well as a new panoramic mode and LED Flash.
Besides making you look good, the Moto G5S Plus also looks exceptionally good, with that stylish precision-crafted look you’d expect from a premium device. It features an impressive all-metal unibody design and a 5.5-inch full-HD display, perfect for watching movies on the go. The phone also boasts of a blazing-fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 2.0-GHz octa-core processor, powerful graphics capabilities and support for 4G LTE, so users can run favorite apps without slowing down. Last, you don’t have to worry about forgetting your powerbank as the Moto G5S Plus has a 3000mAh all-day battery and by using the TurboPower charger, you can get up to to six hours of battery life in just 15 minutes.
Equally as stylish is the Moto G5S. Offering the same all-metal unibody design, this special edition, likewise, features a high-resolution 16-MP rear camera with phase-detection autofocus, and a 5-MP wide-angle front camera with an LED flash, which makes captured moments look good day or night. The vibrant 5.2-inch full-HD display has a 1080p resolution and its 1.4-GHz octa-core processor lets users run their favorite apps smoothly, watch
videos with stutter-free playback and browse the Web at high speed. The Moto G5S also utilizes TurboPower charging. The Moto G5s Plus is at priced at P14,999, while the Moto G5S retails at P10,999. We will try to do a review once we get our hands on the two devices.
Oh, and if you want a more premium device, the Moto X4 is rumored to be coming in the next few months or before the year ends.
Nokia’s back—back again
THEY say you never forget your first, and for a lot of Pinoys, their first phone was a Nokia.
I still have all my Nokia phones—the 5110, 7110, 3650, 7650, 6610, 5530 and the most expensive one, the 7710, all complete with box and accessories. I never sold them and I even regret giving away my 3210.
But I must admit that I was very disappointed when Nokia chose Windows over Android and, as much as I tried to love my Lumia phones, it just wasn’t the same. So imagine my excitement when HMD Oy brought Nokia back again, and this time with an Android OS—I just knew I wanted one.
Nokia’s comeback to the smartphone market has to be one of top tech stories this year; and while HMD Oy released several solid entry level and midrange phones a few months ago with the Nokia 3, 5 and 6, it was the Nokia 8 that everyone was really waiting for.
Launched a few weeks ago, around 250 media guests filled the Intramuros Ballroom of Manila House in Taguig City, each one eager to be among the first to see and experience the Nokia 8.
And from the initial reviews and news stories, the Nokia 8 certainly does not disappoint.
The Nokia 8 brings mobile-communication technology to a new level and marks several firsts for Android smartphones.
The phone features the first-ever Dual Sight camera, allowing users to capture or livestream moments in both first- and second-person perspective. The 13-MP front and rear cameras, codeveloped with Zeiss, a renowned German manufacturer of optical systems, can run simultaneously and show images in split-screen mode, inspiring everyone to “Be less Selfie, be more Bothie”.
The Nokia 8 smartphone pioneers the use of OZO audio to deliver immersive 360-degree spatial surround sound. This high-fidelity playback complements 4K videos and brings Hollywood technology in mobile technology.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 835-powered phone features a seamless unibody with a full-length graphite shielded copper cooling pipe for better heat dissipation, especially when running demanding applications. It runs on Android Nougat 7.1.1 and comes in single- and dual-SIM variants.
“The Philippines has always been a strong market for Nokia. Filipinos, particularly those in the provinces, have a strong affinity for Nokia phones, which have always delivered on quality, reliability and innovation. We want to continue broadening and deepening our reach here, especially in untapped provinces that need high-quality mobile-communication technologies,” said Shannon Mead, HMD global country manager, Philippines.
“This marks the coming of Nokia on Android, which is clearly the dominant OS with its 94-percent share of the global market. Nokia phones are future-proof to support new Android OS versions, making it even easier for users to optimize the phone’s features and functions,” Mead added.
But the biggest surprise of the night has to be the price: P29,990. By staying below the P30,000 mark and offering the best specs and features, the Nokia 8 instantly becomes a top contender among flagship phones.
/ Tech Thoughts: “It’s is no longer a battle of devices; it is a war of ecosystems.”—Stephen Elop