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September Gadget Reviews Roundup 2016

Just three months to go and it’s already December. But before you finalize your Christmas wishlist, take a look at the gadgets we reviewed last month. This includes the ASUS ROG G752VS gaming laptop, ASUS Zenfone 3 Max, ASUS Zenfone 3 Ultra, and the Apple iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. Here’s our Gadget Reviews Roundup for September 2016.

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ASUS Zenfone 3 Ultra

With the Zenfone 3 Ultra, ASUS is not only trying to redefine the phablet, but also wants to set a benchmark on what a multimedia powerhouse smartphone should be. With that goal in mind, the company decided to just supersize everything. And if you’re the type who’s looking for a smartphone-slash-tablet, the Ultra seems like the almost perfect device.

ASUS ROG G752VS

The ASUS ROG G752VS is definitely a powerful gaming laptop packed with a generous display, beefy specs, and a premium body with a cool design that just screams gaming. Performance-wise, it can run some of the most demanding games at above 30fps at UHD resolution and 60fps at an easy Full HD.

BlackBerry DTEK50

The BlackBerry DTEK50 is currently the cheapest offering from the brand. It’s got decent specs with a few misses for power users but its reduced price tag from its flagship, the Priv, is significant. It’s not officially available in the Philippines yet but Widget City is offering it at Php13,500USD 230INR 19,502EUR 219CNY 1,675.

ASUS Zenfone 3 Max

The Zenfone 3 Max is more of an update rather than an upgrade for the Max series of the Zenfone. The smaller screen size is the culprit behind the shrunken battery capacity. While it’s still above the standard Android phone battery life, it’s not as impressive as before or even when compared to its Zenfone 3 siblings. Still, it’s the cheapest among the family with an SRP of Php8,995USD 153INR 12,994EUR 146CNY 1,116.

Apple iPhone 7 Plus

The iPhone 7 Plus is a mixed bag of goodies. On one hand, you have options for bigger storage, better performance, better camera and water resistance. On the other hand, you’re stuck with basically the same old design for the last 3 years minus the 3.5mm audio port.

Cherry Mobile Flare X Lite

No one has dared to bring down beastly internals under a price range often resided by 2GB phone powerhouses, but the Cherry Mobile Flare X Lite begs to differ. For an asking price of Php4,999USD 85INR 7,222EUR 81CNY 620, the Flare X Lite is already a steal if we’re talking about hardware — you get a multi-touch screen, good-performing internals, and a near-stock operating system tucked underneath a five-inch Full HD display and compact body.

Starmobile Play Max

It’s no surprise that local smartphone brands are now dishing out niches to win your hears and your pockets, and so is the Starmobile Play Max and its 4000mAh battery. It’s one of the longest-lasting devices in town, and the price tag is too sweet not to resist at only Php3,290USD 56INR 4,753EUR 53CNY 408.

Apple iPhone 7

After using the iPhone 7 for a little over a week, there wasn’t anything much with it that I could say stood out from the previous model. Yes, it has more RAM, more storage, better processor, better camera, better display but all these felt incremental that you could not really see or feel the difference compared to an iPhone 6s running on iOS 10.

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Plantronics BackBeat GO 3

Over-all, the Plantronics BackBeaty GO 3 is a good-sounding pair of earphones that can handle multiple music genres especially bassy tracks. In addition, it has a good build and design, and long battery life. The only thing that we didn’t like is the lack of exchangeable ear wings that affects individual fit and comfort. It’s also decently priced at Php4,699USD 80INR 6,788EUR 76CNY 583 Php5,395USD 92INR 7,794EUR 88CNY 670. We just hope that it fits you perfectly.

Bose Solo 5

Overall, casual listeners and movie-watchers will find this appealing enough, but those who want a big, immersive sound should try investing in a more serious audio solution.

Specialized Epic Elite

The Specialized Epic Elite World Cup is specifically built to be fast and win races, period. Although, we see it geared so much towards that direction that riders who are out for a versatile mountain bike should look somewhere else.

AKG K612 Pro

The AKG K612 Pro is a well-crafted, lightweight pair of headphones that deliver balanced, natural-sounding elements with a spacious soundscape. It doesn’t appeal to everyone and is most certainly not for your everyday travels. Rather, it’s made to stay at home or at a studio and worn during extended periods of time.

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