It’s often said that there are “different strokes for different folks”. Some like it big, while some prefer stuff that are adequate in size. If you belong to the former group, then here‘s our list of phablets that, in our opinion, made it BIG in the local scene last year.
* All devices listed below were available in the Philippines in 2014.
* The device should have a minimum display size of 6 inches.
* The devices were arranged in descending order based on its SRP
Whenever we shell out thirty grand on a smartphone, we expect nothing less but the best. Luckily the Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro doesn’t disappoint with its crisp 6-inch display that’s packed with 2560 x 1440 pixels, not to mention a flagship-caliber engine setup comprising of a 2.5Ghz Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor with 3GB of RAM and support for 4G/LTE connectivity.
Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro (K920) specs:
6-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) IPS display, 490ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 3
2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC quad-core CPU
Adreno 330 GPU
3GB RAM
32GB internal storage
16MP BSI OIS rear camera w/ dual-LED flash
4K video recording
5MP front camera
Dual-SIM support
4G LTE, HSPA+
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n ac
Bluetooth 4.0
NFC
USB OTG
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
Android 4.4 KitKat w/ Vibe UI 2.0
4,000mAh Li-Po battery
156 x 81.3 x 7.7mm
179 g
Price: Php29,999
Though not as insanely-spec’d as the Vibe Z2 Pro, the Ascend Mate7 from Huawei is still an interesting proposition because it has a few aces up its sleeves that the Vibe Z2 Pro doesn’t have. These include two SIM card slots that support LTE connectivity, option to expand storage via Micro-SD, and a slightly beefier battery pack.
Huawei Ascend Mate7 specs:
6-inch Full HD IPS display, 368ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 3
HiSilicon Kirin 925 octa-core CPU (4 × 1.8GHz Cortex A15 + 4 × 1.3GHz Cortex A7 + 1 x 230MHz big.LITTLE)
Mali-T628 GPU
3GB RAM
32GB internal storage
up to 64GB via microSD
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby (Nano-SIM + Micro-SIM)
Dual-LTE Cat 6
13MP rear camera, f/2.0, LED flash
5MP front camera
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
NFC
microUSB
Fingerprint Sensor
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
Android 4.4 KitKat w/ Emotion UI 3.0
Li-Po 4,100mAh battery
157 x 81 x 7.9 mm (dimensions)
185 grams (weight)
Price: Php27,890
Surprisingly, even though the local players flood the market with smartphones of all shapes and sizes, there’s not a lot decent 6-inchers to choose from. The Starmobile Diamond X1 is actually one of the very few phablets that has a pretty decent specs but doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Starmobile Diamond X1 specs:
6-inch IPS LCD display @ 1280×720 pixels, 245ppi
Scratch-resistant coating
MediaTek MT6592 1.7GHz Octa-core processor
Mali 450MP4 GPU
2GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 64GB via microSD card
3G/HSPA+
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 3.0
18MP BSI auto focus camera with LED Flash
8MP BSI front-facing camera
Dual-SIM, dual standby
GPS w/ aGPS support
FM Radio tuner
2 x Yamaha 1420 speakers, 1.2watts
Li-Ion 2,400mAh
Android 4.2.2 Jellybean
SRP: Php13,990
Although the ZenFone 5 is, undoubtedly, the most popular handset among the three ZenFones that was launched last year, but users who wanted a bigger screen real estate and don’t mind shelling out extra for it, the ZenFone 6 was a perfect fit.
ASUS ZenFone 6 specs:
6-inch IPS display, 1280 x 720 @247ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Intel Atom Z2560 1.6GHz dual-core processor with HyperThreading Technology
PowerVR SGX 544 MP2
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage
64GB via microSD
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
3G/HSPA+
Bluetooth
13MP BSI rear camera w/ LED flash
1080p video recording @30fps
2MP front-facing camera
Dual-SIM
3300mAh battery
Android 4.3
166.9 x 84.3 x 9.9mm
200g
Price: Php11,995
Unlike the four candidates, the O+ Grande is not going to take home any awards as far as its specs are concerned, though it still made our list because of the combination of its enticing price tag and acceptable configuration.
O+ Grande specs:
6-inch HD IPS display, 312ppi
1.2GHz quad-core CPU
1GB RAM
Expandable 4GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
5 megapixel AF rear camera w/ LED flash
2 megapixel front camera
HSPA+, 3G
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
WiFi
Bluetooth 3.0
GPS, A-GPS
2,700mAh battery
Android 4.4 KitKat
SRP: Php5,995
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