News

Vivo Nex 3 5G: A phone from the future?

Vivo’s latest tech in a single package

Published

September 16, 2019

Rodneil Quiteles

Photos by David Cogen | The Unlockr

Vivo has been showcasing bits and pieces of its latest in mobile technology over the past few months. All of these come together in its latest flagship — the Vivo NEX 3 5G.

Truly by innovation only

Vivo should have straight up stepped on Apple’s toes. The latter had the gall to put “By Innovation Only” on the invite of their iPhone event but had nothing mind-blowingly new to offer when the iPhone 11 family was revealed. This is not the case for the Vivo NEX 3.

Headlining the new flagship is its 5G capability. This is made possible by Vivo’s new 5G-6 antenna design as well as Qualcomm’s 5G-enabled chip — the Snapdragon 855 Plus. That combo ensures you get top computing performance and download speeds of up to one gigabyte per second. Let that sink in for a while.

The high level of energy consumption by 5G requires immense support. As an answer, Vivo put a 4500mAh battery on the Vivo NEX 3 but it doesn’t end there. The phone is also equipped with Vivo’s Super FlashCharge 44W. It’s not quite the Super FlashCharge 120W that juiced up a 4,000mAh battery phone in just 13 minutes, but it should still be pretty darn fast.

The phone is also equipped with the Vapor Chamber Cooling System to ensure the phone doesn’t get too hot while you’re using 5G.

The WaterFall FullView Display is a sight to behold

We’ve seen it on leaks and the promotional video that surfaced on the internet a few weeks ago. But even when it’s finally confirmed, it’s still almost hard to believe.

The WaterFall FullView Display flows seamlessly from edge-to-edge of the smartphone. Dropping down over to the side, indeed, like a waterfall. With no notch in sight, you get a phone that has an insane 99.6 percent screen-to-body ratio.

What’s even more insane is how the phone doesn’t have any physical buttons. So there are no bulging power or volume keys to ruin the phone’s aesthetic. This was made truly with the best design in mind. What it instead has is the X-axis Haptic Vibration motor. It’s Touch Sense that responds with haptic feedback the same way that physical buttons would.

There’s also an In-Display fingerprint scanner to complete the unibody look. The Vivo NEX 3 is too sexy that we fail to describe just how good it looks with the words in our arsenal.

Adding a little bit of flair to the already gorgeous display is the Side Ambient Light. Which sounds a lot like the feature that was introduced but ultimately axed on the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge called Edge Lighting.

Triple cameras headlined by a 64MP shooter

It was Realme and Xiaomi that were racing to release a phone with a 64MP lens. Quietly working through all this was Vivo. The company even partnered the 64MP camera with 13MP wide angle lens, and another 13MP telephoto lens for a camera setup that will serve you in nearly any scenario.

The three cameras are enclosed in a circle that recreates what Vivo calls the Lunar Ring System. It’s a design inspired by a traditional wristwatch as seen in a sketch Li Xiang shared on Weibo.

We were impressed with the HDR and capabilities of Vivo smartphones from the past and the Vivo NEX 3 should be no different. It has a feature called Portrait Master’s Hyper HDR of up to 7.65eV which is designed for portraits, it increases dynamic range accuracy between a user’s face and the background’s lightest spot.

Completing the cameras equipped on the phone is the 16MP pop-camera — a signature feature of the NEX line.

Vivo staples still present

Vivo’s AI Jovi is very much baked into the entire system. This means artificial intelligence is all over the Vivo NEX 3 which should help boost the phone’s performance the more you use it.

You still get Android 9 Pie with Funtouch OS 9.1 on top. In terms of RAM, there’s one with 8GB and another with 12GB. As far as onboard storage goes, the Vivo NEX 3 will have a whopping 256GB.

In the initial information, there’s no mention if the Vivo NEX 3 kept the 3.5mm headphone jack, but it’s worth noting that the phone is equipped with an independent audio chip which promises a better overall audio experience.

Alongside the phone, Vivo also launched the True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Earphone — the company’s first Bluetooth earphones which might suggest that jack didn’t make it to this phone.

Pricing and availability

There’s no word on pricing yet but the Vivo NEX 3 series will be available in the coming months in Asia Pacific, Southeast Asia and other markets.

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.