phone reviews – introduction and benchmark plans

before graduating in elementary i had my first mobile phone. it was just a basic mobile phone, or some people call it dumb phone, lately. but some phones were equipped with other features back then. so i thought that in the future, more features will be put into such small device.

fast forward, many improvements were present to mobile phones and the market went mostly to smartphones – which means it is now stuffed with sensors and software to do “smart” stuff.

main purpose of this blog and the succeeding ones about phones is to provide feedback to phones i owned. mostly, these are subjective, meaning, how i see it and how it fits to my usage and preferences. one particular aspect where i can provide a, somehow, objective feedback is on battery charging and discharging or usage. despite of pointing out that i also have a preference with charging time and usage, i would still show data objectively and present it in a way that it is easy to compare a phone against another phone. as for that personal preference, my ideal charging time is about three hours or so and on usage, i am fine with an entire day of casual use. screen on time, six hours is already great. i can top up some juice just within the day anyway.

and as somebody who is quite interested to mobile phones, i made a plan to collect a number of phones based on my age. though not all phones are usable and accessible (i am not sure where few of my phones are), i consider everything i owned as part of the collection.

initially, you can see here the battery charge and discharge test i made last year. i used original charger, charging them from 0% to 100%. for now, i will be hiding the identity of the phone. i will reveal each one after each ones’ review.

ranking 2020	phone	duration of charging (hh:mm)
1	phone 18 - sony xperia z1 compact (b)	00:15
2	phone 17 - sony xperia z1 compact (a)	01:08
3	phone 5 - lenovo e156	01:49
4	phone 26 - sony xperia 1 ii	01:54
5	phone 8 - nokia n8 (a)	01:57
6	phone 7 - nokia asha 202	01:58
7	phone 9 - htc desire 200	01:59
8	phone 24 - nokia n8 (b)	02:04
9	phone 25 - sony xperia xz2 compact	02:11
10	phone 4 - nokia n70 (a)	02:13
11	phone 22 - sony xperia z5 premium dual	02:22
12	phone 13 - nokia n9	02:29
13	phone 15 - nokia lumia 1020	02:31
14	phone 21 - lg g4	02:56
15	phone 12 - asus fonepad note fhd6	03:01
16	phone 16 - sony xperia z3 dual	03:24
17	phone 27 - lg v50s thinq 5g	03:45
18	phone 6 - sony xperia miro	04:17
19	phone 10 - htc windows phone 8x	04:29
20	phone 23 - nokia n70 (b)	not tested
21	phone 20 - firefly mobile aurii secret 4g	not tested
22	phone 19 - cloudfone thrill plus	not tested
23	phone 14 - nokia x2 dual sim	not tested
24	phone 11 - asus zenfone 5	not tested
25	phone 3 - nokia 1600	not tested
26	phone 2 - alcatel ot c552	not tested
27	phone 1 - nokia 1100	not tested

 

i would also like to show you my preference ranking. i have two main criteria in ranking – usability and uniqueness. again, this is among my collection. so that means, uniqueness and usability among my collections.

ranking 2020	phone	rating
1	phone 15 - nokia lumia 1020	excellent
2	phone 25 - sony xperia xz2 compact	excellent
3	phone 26 - sony xperia 1 ii	excellent
4	phone 7 - nokia asha 202	very satisfactory
5	phone 18 - sony xperia z1 compact (b)	very satisfactory
6	phone 27 - lg v50s thinq 5g	satisfactory
7	phone 22 - sony xperia z5 premium dual	satisfactory
8	phone 4 - nokia n70 (a)	satisfactory
9	phone 16 sony xperia z3 dual	satisfactory
10	phone 24 - nokia n8 (b)	satisfactory
11	phone 21 - lg g4	satisfactory
12	phone 12 - asus fonepad note fhd6	good
13	phone 17 - sony xperia z1 compact (a)	good
14	phone 10 - htc windows phone 8x	good
15	phone 6 - sony xperia miro	good
16	phone 5 - lenovo e156	good
17	phone 9 - htc desire 200	good
18	phone 13 - nokia n9	good
19	phone 8 - nokia n8 (a)	good
20	phone 23 - nokia n70 (b)	good
21	phone 1 - nokia 1100	good
22	phone 2 - alcatel ot c552	good
23	phone 3 - nokia 1600	good
24	phone 14 - nokia x2 dual sim	poor
25	phone 19 - cloudfone thrill plus	poor
26	phone 11 - asus zenfone 5	poor
27	phone 20 - firefly aurii secret 4g	poor

 

as battery degrades and also the phones might perform differently this year, both of these rankings will change.

so here is the set up i made this year.

for charging i am still going to use the included charging brick and cable unless it appears damaged. i will charge them from 0% to 100%. some of the phones boot when enough charge is present and i will let them charged, turned on. as for others, i will not boot them up. meaning, i will charged them “naturally” – whether they boot or not. for some other cases, it will be mentioned on respective phone review.

the discharging has the following plan

tasks*	minutes
music play	20
web browsing	10
gaming	10
photo shoots	5
video shoots	5
video play	10
* in the absence of a task, other task will be used

 

daily testing	24 hours
active use	5 hours
inactive use (still switched on)	19 hours

 

that is it. again, this will be updated as i review each phone.

will this be relevant to you?

i really do not know…

Display Resolution Comparison

 

Basic Photography

 teka wey sa napanood na bidyo

1. photography – writing/drawing of light, light ang imporante sa potograpi
2. parts of camera – buttons, LCD, viewfinder, sensor, body, lens
3. exposure triangle – aperture, shutter speed, iso
4. aperture – lens opening, f stop
5. malaking f stop – maliit ang opening, small aperture, kunti papasok na light, mas madilim
6. maliit na f stop – malaki ang opening, large aperture, madami papasok na light, mas maliwanag
7. aperture also affects depth of field – area of focus point
8. small aperture – large depth of field
9. large aperture – narrow depth of field
10. shutter speed – amount of time light is allowed to enter the sensor
11. slower shutter speed – mas maliwanag
12. faster shutter speed – mas madilim
13. shutter speed also affects motion
14. slower shutter speed – blur, 1sec, 1min or more
15. bulb mode – unli expose until you let go of the shutter button
16. faster shutter speed – freeze, 1/500 sec
17. iso – sensor sensitivity to light
18. higher iso – more sensitive to light, mas maliwanag
19. lower iso – less sensitive to light, mas madilim
20. iso also affects noise/grain
21. ideal – lower iso
22. needed when shutter speed and aperture cannot achieve the level of exposure we want – higher iso
23. camera/shooting modes – full manual (m), aperture priority (av, a), shutter speed priority (tv, s), program mode (p), automatic mode (auto)
24. full manual (m) – input aperture, shutter speed, iso to get the exposure level
25. aperture priority (a, av) – input aperture value, set exposure level, the camera tries to provide other values
26. shutter speed priority (s, tv) – input time value, set exposure level, the camera tries to provide other values
27. program mode (p) – set exposure, camera does the rest
28. automatic mode (auto) – avoid (if you want to learn photography)
29. exposure meter – can be seen on viewfinder and/or lcd display
30. center (exposure meter) – sakto
31. right/plus side (exposure meter) – over exposure
32. left/minus side (exposure meter) – under exposure
33. composition guidelines – rule of thirds, frame within a frame, leading lines, different perspectives, symmetry, motion, vibrant colors, shapes, patterns, texture, shadows, silhouettes, reflections
34. 7 tips – understand how your camera operates, always look at the light, experiment with angles (perspectives), get closer, never make your gear an excuse, keep learning, best way to get better is to shoot

Bond Fund Review – Isa Pa!

kung babalikan natin kung saan nagsimula ang pagaaral na to… mapapansin na pagkatapos ng “trend B” ay umangat pa ang navpu ng sbpsuit (sb peso bond fund)… di natin sinasabi na mangyayari ulit ang “trend” na yan sakaling mapatid na ang sunod sunod na “rate cuts”… pero ayos na rin na isama natin sa “review”…

ulitin ko lang – di natin sinasabi na mauulit ang “trend B” pagkatapos ng sunod sunod na “rate cuts”

ang kasunod na tsart ay ang “interest rates” ayon sa bsp (banko sentral ng pilipinas) mula setyembre 13 2012 hanggang hulyo 31 2014… inumpisahan natin ito bago ang pinakahuling “rate cut” hanggang sa pinakaunang “rate hike” (o pagkatapos ng “trend B”)

sinusundan ito ng tsart ng navpu ng sbpsuit sa parehong taym prem… nagumpisa ito at pinakamababa sa bandang 1.36, pinakamataas sa 1.71, at natapos sa 1.57… 4 na pares ng “trends” ang isasama natin sa pagaaral…

bersyon 1 – “the holder”

ang tsart naman sa mismong baba ay nagpapakita ng “return on investment” ng kada navpu ng sbpsuit… umakyat ito sa 25.23% pero natapos ito sa 15.33%... kung iisipin, sayang ang halos 10% na nawala mula sa pinakamataas (kaya wag na lang isipin), pero nakakatuwang malaman na walang “significant paperloss” na nangyari… umabot lang ito sa -0.47% (tuwa)... kaya ayos din na patapusin ang taym prem na ito…

ibig sabihin…

kapital – 10,000.00

papergain – 15.33%

market value – 11,533.00

bersyon 2 – “the fortune teller”

tulad sa mga nakaraang pagaaral, “bolang kristal" ang ginamit dito… pero di tulad sa mga nakaraan, isinama natin dito ang “potential loss”… ito ang lumabas sa “bolang Kristal” – +25.23%, -9.20%, +4.77%, -4.61%, +3.94%, -5.61%, +4.28%, at -1.81%... kung kukunin lang natin ang mga “gains” umaabot yan sa +38.22%

ibig sabihin…

kapital – 10,000.00

papergain – 38.22%

market value – 13,822.00

bersyon 3 – “the reactor”

base sa tsart sa baba, ito ang mga “returns” – +22.70%, +2.20%, +1.54%, +2.20%... umabot ito ng 28.64%

ibig sabihin…

kapital – 10,000.00

papergain – 28.64%

market value – 12,864.00

aral, “caveat” at mga payo

para mas madaling tingnan, ito kinalabasan sa 10,000.00 na kapital…

bersyon 1 “the holder” ay nagkaroon ng 11,533.00

bersyon 2 “the fortune teller” ay nagkaroon ng 13,822.00

bersyon 3 “the reactor” ay nagkaroon ng 12,864.00

“interesting” na malaman na naging maayos pa rin ang kinalabasan ng “the holder” kahit natapos na ang sunod sunod na “rate cuts”… pero mas ayos kung gumamit na ng “stop loss” base sa “risk tolerance” mo… halimbawa kung -5.00% mula sa pinakamataas, marahil +20.00% ang kinalabasan ng “the holder” natin, dahil pwede namang unti unting magbawas sa “bond fund” natin kung “stable” ang “interest rates” pagkatapos ng sunod sunod na “rate cuts”…

pero tulad ng nabanggit na natin… di natin sinasabi na mauulit pa ang nakaraan kahit sabihin pa nating “history repeats itself”…

inaanyayahan ko rin kayong aralin ang iba pang mga bagay na pwedeng tumulong sa inyo kung paano magkaroon ng tamang pagpapasya sa imbestment na pinapasukan, tulad ng “bond yield” sa “bond fund”… at kung ano ano pa…

at paalala… ang pagaaral na ito ay hatid sa inyo ng isang utaknewbie… kaya mainam kung budburan ito ng asin…

hanggang sa muli… tinginingining…

Bond Fund Review – Buod

bilang pagtatapos sa “series” na ito, gusto ko lang balikan ang “returns on investment” ng tatlong ibat ibang bersyon – “the holder”, “the fortune teller”, at ang “the reactor” sa apat na “cases” na napagusapan na natin. pero ang totoo nyan ay dalawa lang ang pwede nating gawin dyan, maliban na lang kung nahanap na natin kung sino may hawak ng “bolang kristal" sa imbestment…

ang pinakamadaling gawin ay ang “the holder” dahil naniniwala ito sa “looong term” at walang masama dun… di gaano “stress”… hayahay… pasok pa din naman sa “the holder” kapag bumitaw sa hudyat ng interest rates base sa banko sentral ng pilipinas… yan ay kapag may “rate hike” na…

ang “the reactor” bagamat pwedeng gayahin ay iba iba ito base sa “risk tolerance” at sa “depth” ng pagaaral… medyo “stressful” din ito dahil kelangan inaabangan mo ang “market value” ng imbestment mo at dun papasok ang “reaction” kung bili pa, hold muna o benta na…

ang mga lamesa (table) sa baba ay buod ng ibat ibang bersyon, makikita ang % “return on investment” at “market value” ng 10,000 na kapital…

iniiwan ko na sa inyo ang pakahulugan sa lamesang to…

Case	“the holder”	“the fortune teller”	“the reactor”
Case A – kapag ang interest rate ay “stable” (pagkatapos ng rate hike)	10,400.00 (+4.00%)	10,900.00 (+9.00%)	10,650.00 (+6.50%)
Case B – kapag ang interest rate ay “stable” (pagkatapos ng rate cut)	9,700.00 (-3.00%)	10,750.00 (+7.50%)	10,250.00 (+2.50%)
Case C – kapag ang interest rate ay “pataas” (rate hikes)	10,179.00 (+1.79%) (pwedeng lagpasan to pag bumabase sa bsp interest rates)	11,137.00 (+11.37%)	10,716.00 (+7.16%)
Case D – kapag ang interest rate ay “pababa” (rate cuts)	11,954.00 (+19.54%)	12,478.00 (+24.78%)	11,659.00 (+16.59%)

pwedeng balikan ang mga sumusunod para sa mga detalye ng pagaaral na to –

Kinalaman ng BSP Interest Rate Decision sa Bond Fund (SBPSUIT)

Bond Fund Review Case A – kapag ang interest rate ay“stable” (pagkatapos ng rate hike)

Bond Fund Review Case B – kapag ang interest rate ay“stable” (pagkatapos ng rate cut)

Bond Fund Review Case C – kapag ang interest rate ay“pataas” (rate hikes)

Bond Fund Review Case D – kapag ang interest rate ay“pababa” (rate cuts)

dyan muna tayo... hanggang sa muli... tinginingining...