News

ASUS ZenFone 5, 5Z, and 5Q officially launch in the Philippines

Pricing and availability here!

Published

April 14, 2018

Isa Rodriguez

ASUS first announced their newest line of AI-powered smartphones at MWC in Barcelona, and now, they’re coming to Philippine shores. All three variants, the ZenFone 5, ZenFone 5Z, and ZenFone 5Q (or depending on what region you’re in, the ZenFone 5 Lite or ZenFone 5 Selfie) will be on sale.

The ZenFone 5 sports a 6.2-inch notched display with a 90 percent screen-to-body ratio. It’s powered by a Snapdragon 636 processor with AI built in and runs on Android 8.0 Oreo with ZenUI 5.0 out of the box. It has a dual-cam setup on the rear with a 12-megapixel primary shooter and a secondary wide-angle shooter. These cameras are, of course, powered by AI. There’s also an 8-megapixel selfie shooter up front.

The more premium ZenFone 5Z, on the other hand, is powered by the latest Snapdragon 845 processor which makes it a more capable device. All other specifications, including design, remain the same. They come in two colors: Midnight Blue and Meteor Silver.

Finally, the ZenFone 5Q is a quad-camera handset powered by a Snapdragon 630 processor with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. This device, though, isn’t notched. ASUS claims that this device is “the world’s first globally announced true quad-camera system” as it makes use of all four cameras independently, unlike other smartphones which only utilize secondary shooters for the bokeh effect.

Up front, it’s equipped with a 20-megapixel selfie shooter and a secondary wide-angle camera. On the back, it sports a 16-megapixel camera, also with a secondary wide-angle lens. The 5Q also runs on ZenUI 5.0 and Android Oreo out of the box. Color options include: Moonlight White, Midnight Black, and Rouge Red.

The ZenFone 5 is priced at PhP 19,995 while the more premium ZenFone 5Z will retail for PhP 29,995. The ZenFone 5Q will cost PhP 16,995. The ZenFone 5 and 5Q are in stores starting today and the ZenFone 5Z will be available come July.

The ZenFone Max M1, which is powered by an amazing 4000mAh battery, also launched in the country alongside the ZenFone 5 line. It will retail for PhP 8,995.

Computers

Lenovo releases latest ThinkStation P3 desktops, ThinkPad laptops

Power and performance

Published

May 29, 2023

GadgetMatch

Two months after releasing its AMD Ryzen-powered ThinkPad laptops, Lenovo has announced the availability of the latest ThinkStation P3 series desktop workstations and next-gen ThinkPad laptops.

All devices are powered by the latest 13th Gen Intel Core processors and NVIDIA RTX graphics, while offering improved memory and storage capacities to support even the heaviest workloads for various professionals.

Limitless possibilities: ThinkStation P3 series

Lenovo’s latest ThinkStation P3 series desktops come with refined form factors, making them space-savers while being versatile and powerful.

Tower

Up to 13th Gen Intel Core processors
Up to NVIDIA RTX A5500 graphics
Up to 128GB DDR5 memory
Six storage drives
Four PCIe expansion slots
Expanded chassis to support power supplies up to 1100W
Up to 26TB storage options for data-heavy applications

Ultra

Space-saving chassis, four-liter volume
Up to RTX A5500 graphics
Optional BMC for advanced remote monitoring and systems management

Tiny

Fits any location with its one-liter volume
NVIDIA T1000 graphics for up to six displays

Relentless innovation: ThinkPad P series

Meanwhile, the latest ThinkPad laptops champion power, premium design, and durability. The latest P series models provide human-centric innovations designed for hybrid work, so professionals can enjoy power and performance on the go.

P16 Gen 2

13th Gen Intel Core HX-series processors
NVIDIA RTX 5000 Ada Generation GPUs
Storage and I/O support
Up to 192GB DDR5 for high-definition rendering and high-end VR

P1 Gen 6

NVIDIA RTX 5000 Ada Generation GPUs
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
Thin, light form factor
16-inch OLED touch screen
Wi-Fi 6E, optional 4G LTE
5MP camera
Low blue light display

P16v i Gen 1

13th Gen Intel Core H series processors
NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation GPUs
Dual thermal outflow for maximized cooling

P14s i Gen 4 and P16s i Gen 2

NVIDIA RTX A500 GPUs
14-inch and 16-inch displays
Longest battery life among latest models
Optional OLED and low blue light displays

Automotive

MediaTek confirms partnership with NVIDIA

But not for laptops

Published

May 29, 2023

Luigi Leonardo

Earlier this month, a rumor leaked an upcoming deal between MediaTek and NVIDIA. Naturally, mixing the two companies brings to mind a chipset with gaming capabilities. Apparently, such a powerful chipset is still some ways away. Today, MediaTek has confirmed that it has indeed inked a partnership with NVIDIA — but not for PC or laptop chips.

Announced during COMPUTEX, the new partnership will take both brands into the realm of automotive hardware. Specifically, it will create “a complete range of in-vehicle AI cabin solutions for the next generation of software-defined vehicles.”

Plus, it isn’t just about graphics. Though the chipset will incorporate NVIDIA’s graphics hardware, it will also use NVIDIA AI to seamlessly connect GPUs with CPUs. As a result, the solution can run NVIDIA DRIVE OS, DRIVE IX, CUDA, and TensorRT software in the same system. It will provide advanced graphics capabilities, AI safety, and security features.

Prior to the partnership, MediaTek already offers the Dimensity Auto platform for automotive solutions. Now, an infusion of NVIDIA will bring the company up to speed with modern standards and needs.

Neither MediaTek nor NVIDIA have confirmed an upcoming product yet. Whatever both companies are brewing will take some time before it reaches modern cars.

Gaming

Honkai Star Rail version 1.1 coming June 7

New events, missions, gameplay features

Published

May 28, 2023

GadgetMatch

Honkai Star Rail has been speeding through players globally and the next pitstop features version 1.1 of the game. The aforementioned version will be called Galactic Roaming and will be available on June 7.

The latest update brings three new playable characters — Silver Wolf, Luocha, and Yukong. They have appeared in the intergalactic story before. Now, they can be officially recruited to assist in the grand space fantasy odyssey.

A series of trials will be added through “Stellar Flare,” “Garden of Plenty,” and “Lab Assistants in Position.” Some of which will put the combat techniques and the strategic thinking of the Trailblazer to the test, while providing bountiful rewards.

New missions, events

In the “Starhunt Game” event, the Trailblazers receive an invite from Herta Space Station’s network
security engineer, Leonard. You can assist him to locate the electronic graffiti hidden across the station and uncover the secrets within. As part of the compensation, the graffiti designs can be collected and applied to the in-game surfaces.

In addition, in the city of Belobog, where citizens have finally been saved from the threat of Stellaron, the History Museum is getting ready to be reopened. In the “Everwinter City Museum Ledger of Curiosities” event, the Trailblazer will spare no effort to track down clues, recover the lost exhibits, and run the business as the museum manager.

Three new Companion Missions provide opportunities to gain in-depth stories of these intriguing characters. Some useful functional features will be implemented as well, such as the friend chat and automatic enemy pinpointing, ensuring a smoother gaming experience.

Watch the trailer.

Honkai Star Rail

Honkai: Star Rail Version 1.1 will arrive on June 7, 2023, on PC, Epic Games Store, iOS, and Android. Its PlayStation version is under development. More information will be revealed soon. With the cross-save and cross-play functions, players can enjoy their adventures across different platforms.