Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 Review

The ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 is the budget Android smartphone. The phone launched in India in three variants which are 3GB of RAM with 32GB of storage, 4GB of RAM with 64GB of storage and 6GB of RAM with 64GB of storage. We reviewed the phone 3GB of Ram with 32GB of storage. The phone has good looks and great build quality. The Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 has a 5.99-inch full-HD+ display with an aspect ratio of 18:9. Its display is sharp, adequately bright even under direct sunlight and is just wonderful to watch videos on or play games. Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 runs a near-stock version of Android 8.1 Oreo operating system.

Performance on the ZenFone Max Pro M1 is good. It is powered by the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 SoC with an integrated Adreno 506 GPU. The phone has 5,000 mAh battery and takes 2.40 hour for charging.

It has 13-megapixel primary Omnivision sensor (f/2.2 aperture) and a 5-megapixel secondary depth sensing sensor in 3GB/4GB RAM model and 6GB RAM model has 16-megapixel primary Omnivision sensor (f/2.0 aperture) a 5-megapixel secondary depth sensing sensor. On the front in 3GB/4GB RAM model, there is an 8-megapixel selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture, an 85.5-degree wide-angle lens, and a 5P lens. In 6GB RAM model has a 16-megapixel front camera. Both the rear and front camera get soft-light LED flash. The 5-megapixel secondary sensor at the back allows for depth-of-field effects. Shots taken in portrait mode are better but still need some work. Edge detection is average and processing is extremely slow. Shots also get fuzzy at night. 6GB RAM model has better front and rear camera than 3GB/4GB RAM model. Overall the camera is average. Max pro M1 has face detection and fingerprint sensor. It works well.

Bottom Of Line

Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 has a vibrant display, stellar performance, good looks, good battery life, and great build quality. However, the cameras were only just about decent but at this price, this smartphone is more affordable and value for money.

Specification

Weight	180 g
OS	Android 8.1 Oreo
RAM	3 GB / 4 GB/ 6GB
Storage	32GB/64 GB
Display	5.99-inch, 2160x1080 IPS LCD, 2.5D curved glass 403ppi
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 (4x 1.8GHz Kryo 260 + 4x 1.6GHz Kryo 260; Adreno 509)
Front Camera	8MP sensor. f2.2 aperture, LED flash, 1080p video
Rear Camera	13MP primary sensor, f2.2 aperture, PDAF, LED flash, DCI 4K video; 5MP secondary depth sensor, f2.4 aperture
Connectivity technologies	4G (supports Indian bands), 3G, 2G,VoLTE,Dual SIM
Wireless communication  technologies	WLAN 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz,Bluetooth 5.0,Bluetooth HID,Wi-Fi direct,WiFi display,NFC (optional)
Sensor	Rear fingerprint sensor (0.3 seconds unlock, supports 5 fingerprints), Damp finger recognition, Accelerator, Gyroscope, E-Compass, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor
Colour	Black, Blue, Gray
Battery	5000mAh capacity with fast charging (0-100% in 2 hours 42 minutes)
What's in the box	ZenFone Max Pro with Android™ 8.1 Oreo™ ASUS earphone with microphone (optional) Micro-USB cable MaxBox (optional) Ejector pin (SIM tray needle) USB power adapter Documentation (user guide, warranty card) Clear soft bumper (optional)

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3GB RAM and 32GB Storage

 

4GB RAM and 64GB Storage

6GB RAM and 64GB Storage

OnePlus 5 Review

The OnePlus 5 is a very good looking phone. It looks like iPhone 7 Plus. The OnePlus 5 is thinnest flagship smartphone. It just 7.25mm thin and edges are curved with rounded corners. Built quality is excellent. It built with an aluminum unibody. Display of OnePlus 5 is the 5.5-inch AMOLED Full HD and rich color saturation in content. The OnePlus 5 comes with latest Qualcomm’s 2.45GHz Snapdragon 835 speedy processor chip with 6 GB or 8 GB RAM storage option that's why it provides smooth and excellent performance. The call quality is very good and we never faced any audio issues during a call. The speaker is also pretty loud for conference calls.

OnePlus 5 is the first OnePlus's phone to feature a dual-lens camera. The primary camera is a 16MP f/1.7 aperture, and there’s also a 20MP lens with f/2.6 aperture. It provides up to 8x zoom. The front camera is a 16 MP with f/2.0 aperture. The image quality of the primary camera is very good. Landscapes and macro shots are very nicely detailed with accurate colors. Textures on objects are also very well-defined in close-up shots. There is some shutter lag, especially in low light. The low light picture is also very good. Video quality is very good and supports the 4K recording but a 4K recording is limited to 10 minutes.The OnePlus has 3300 mAh non-removable battery and provides  Dash Charging technology for quick recharging.

Bottom Of Line

The phone has a better display, in terms of a higher resolution and better sunlight legibility. There's no wireless charging or waterproofing either, which is now common across today's flagships.

The specification given in Official web site is

Weight	154 g
OS	OxygenOS based on Android™ Nougat
RAM	6 GB / 8 GB
Storage	64 GB/ 128 GB
Display	5.5 inches, Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels), 401ppi, 2.5D Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5
CPU	Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 835 (Octa-core, 10nm, up to 2.45GHz), Adreno 540 GPU
Front Camera	16 MP f/2.0 Aperture, Autofocus
Rear Camera	20MP + 16MP dual camera, dual flash - Portrait Mode, Pro Mode, Smart capture, Fast AF
Connectivity technologies	GSM,(B2/B1/B3/B1/B41/B3/B5/B3/B40/B5/B40/B41C), 3G, UMTS, (B1)4G LTE, FDD, (B1), TDD, (B38), TDS, (B34)
Wireless communication  technologies	Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi Hotspot, NFC
Sensor	Fingerprint, Hall, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, RGB Ambient Light Sensor, Electronic Compass, Sensor Hub
Colour	Slate Gray, Soft Gold, Midnight Black
Battery	3300 mAh, non-removable, Dash Charge
Whats in the box	Handset, USB Cable, Charger, Quick Start Guide, Safety Information and SIM Tray Ejector

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Best Portable External Hard Drive

WD My Passport Ultra

My Passport Ultra is designed for ultimate portability with automatic cloud backup. My Passport Ultra comes with 500GB,1/2/3/4 TB option has USB 2.0 and 3.0 connectivity, has fast transfer rate and most important comes with 256 bit AES hardware encryption. It is compatible windows 7/8/10 and Mac Os. The My Passport Ultra is formatted for NTFS, so you'll need to reformat it to use it with a Mac.

My Passport Ultra Specification

Capacity  : 500GB,1/2/3/4 TB

Connectivity: USB 2.0/3.0

Colors : black, blue, red, grey

Average Transfer Speed: 90 MB/s

software   : WD Smartware

Dimensions: 8.2 x 1.6 x 11 cm

Weight: 159 g

Warranty: 3 years

Pros

Very good Design, Good storage capacity, Consistent Performance, 256-bit hardware encryption, Comes in several colors, very good transfer speed.

Cons

Needs to be reformatted to use it with an Apple MacBook.

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Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Slim

Ultra Slim is one of thinnest portable drives comes with 1 TB and 2 Tb storage. The Seagate drive comes with 200GB of Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage and is compatible with Seagate Dashboard software and Lyve app. Seagate’s Ultra Slim drives can connect to Mac OS X 10.7 or higher or Windows 7 or higher operating systems. The drives can also be connected to Android devices (3.0 or higher). NTFS driver for Mac is included. Free Seagate Rescue - 2-year data recovery plan

Seagate’s Backup Plus Ultra Slim Specifications

Capacity: 1TB, 2TB

Connectivity : USB 2.0/3.0

Colors : Platinum, Gold

Max Transfer Speed: 88 MB/s

Software : Seagate Dashboard, Lyve App

Extra Feature : OneDrive Cloud Services for 2 years

Dimensions (L x W x H mm): 113.5 x 76 x 9.6 mm

Warranty: 3 years

Pros

Slim and Sturdy, good design, included 200GB OneDrive cloud storage for 2 years, good transfer speed, NTFS drivers for MAC compatibility.

Cons

Do not have 256 AES hardware encryption.

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Seagate Backup Plus Slim

The Seagate Backup Plus Slim External Hard Drive has a sleek design with matte finish metallic body. The build quality is solid. The Seagate Backup Plus comes in three variants - 500GB, 1TB and 2TB. It is compatible windows 7/8/10 and Mac Os. The drive is formatted for NTFS, so you'll not need to reformat it to use it with a Mac. The Backup Plus Slim is the Fast and truly speedy drive.

Seagate’s Backup Plus Slim Specifications

Capacity: 500 GB, 1TB, 2TB

Connectivity : USB 2.0/3.0

Colors: red, blue, rose gold, white, black and silver

Average Transfer Speed: 84 MB/s

Software  : Seagate Dashboard

Dimensions (L x W x H mm): 113.5 x 76 x 12.1 mm

Warranty: 3 years

Pros

Great Performance, Easy-to-use management software, can work with MAC without reformatting

Cons

Do not have 256 AES hardware encryption.

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Conclusion

WD My Passport Ultra is Best drive for Speed, Security, consistent performance and Dropbox Integration.

Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Slim is Best drive for Slimness, speed, Social media and phone Backup and cloud storage.

Seagate Backup Plus Slim is Best drive for Slimness, Social media and phone Backup.

Best Wireless Portable Speakers Under 2500 Rupees

1. Xiaomi Mi Bluetooth Speaker

    The Xiaomi Mi Bluetooth Speaker comes in a small package.With an entirely metal casing, the Mi Bluetooth Speaker looks great and feels solid and well-built. 

The speaker has two 36mm drivers, with an output of 3Watt per channel. There's also a microphone on board so you can use the Mi Bluetooth Speaker as a hands-free device for calling. The speaker has a 1500mAh internal battery that lasts for 5-6 hours of continuous playback and almost 2.5 hours to get fully charged.The left side of the speaker has the aux-in socket, Micro-USB port and microphone, while the right has the power, volume up/next, volume down/ previous and pairing/ battery level buttons.

Pros

Build quality is great and good look

Pairing is quick

nice bass oriented sound output

Cons

No charger or cable in the box

Availability issue

Currently Unavailable.

2. JBL Go

JBL Go is a most compact speaker which offers clear and loud sound and is perfect for a small to medium-sized room. The dimension of the speaker is 8.3 x 6.8 x 3.1 cubic cm, which means that it can easily fit in your pocket. It weighs just 132 gms.

The 3Watt output comes with Lithium-ion polymer 3.7V, 600mAh battery and almost 1.5 hours to get fully charged. The top edge has the control buttons for power, Bluetooth, volume up, volume down, and call accept/reject. The 3.5mm input jack, Micro-USB port and microphone are all on the right edge. Overall if you are looking for a decent Bluetooth speaker that you can carry anywhere then it's the best speaker for you.

Pros

Good compact design, easy to handle

Loud and clear sound

Cons

Sub bass sound is completely absent 

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3. Logitech X100

Logitech X100 is also compact and good-looking Bluetooth speakers available under the 2500 INR. The design of speaker is circular and nicely fit in a palm.

The 3 Watt speaker delivers decent bass and treble, although users can notice slight distortion at high volume The X100 connects via a Bluetooth 4.0 or via a standard 3.5mm cable. Logitech X100 has internal Li-Ion battery takes 2 hours to fully charge, and it will last five hours on a single charge. Logitech X100 has in-built microphone and AUX support.

Pros

Very nice compact circular design

Good sound quality.

Cons

Sound distorts at high volume

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4. Philips BT50B

Philips Wireless Portable Speaker is another good-looking Bluetooth speaker. Dimension of speaker is 3.0 x 2.4 x 2.4 . 

The speaker comes with Power Off/Bluetooth Pairing/AUX connection slider switch, ports for micro USB charging, phone button and audio input are at the bottom. The bottom part of the speaker has a rubberized finish too, to prevent the device from moving while being used.  The speaker that provides a very clear and crisp sound. The Philips BT50b portable speaker has one Lithium ion battery that can provide up to 5 hours of non-stop music and almost 2 hours to gets fully charged.

Pros

Good build quality and design

Decent sound quality

Very lightweight (92 gm)

Cons

Sound Intensity is low

No AUX cable

No volume adjust button

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