Gadgets
Lenovo K3 Note review – This budget phablet is more powerful than it looks
China has been dishing out smartphones like there’s no tomorrow for the last few years, with new manufacturers seemingly popping out of nowhere almost on a weekly basis. Given the circumstances, some of the country’s biggest OEMs were forced to adapt to the huge wave of new competitors and lower their prices accordingly. Lenovo is one such company and it seems like the tech giant has no problem playing by the new rules because all its latest models have been surprisingly cheap. Take the Lenovo K3 Note for example, a phablet released earlier this year that sounds almost too good to be true if you take a look at the low price tag. But is the investment well worth it? In order to answer that question, we played around with the device for the last week or so and are now ready to share our thoughts with you down below.
First Impressions
The Lenovo K3 Note is available in black, white, and yellow, though the front will always be black so you can basically only choose the color of the back cover. Regardless of the choice, you’ll immediately notice that Lenovo opted for practicality over style. That’s not to say that this is an ugly smartphone, but it’s not standing out of the crowd either. Let’s just call it average looking and leave it at that. Both the front and the back of the phone are completely flat, however, the edges are a bit rounded, so the Lenovo K3 Note doesn’t look completely like a rectangle. The back cover is easily removable and grants you quick access to the battery, microSD card, and dual-SIM slots.
Even though this smartphone is unlikely to win any beauty contests anytime soon, there’s no denying that Lenovo put some serious thought when designing the K3 Note because the device feels great when holding and is surprisingly lightweight. In addition, the plastic back cover features a matte finish, which is always preferable to the shiny one because it makes it much easier to hold and less likely to slip from your hand. Aside from that, you’ve got your power and volume buttons on the right side, your USB port and headphone jack on the top and your rear speaker on the top right corner. As I’m sure you already know, the rear speaker is located close to the bottom on most phones, but the unusual placement on the Lenovo K3 Note actually makes a lot of sense because this way you’re not covering the speaker while holding the phone in your hand like you do with other handsets.
Display
The display comes in at 5.5 inches, complete with 1080 x 1920 resolution and 401 pixel density. The screen-to-body ratio could have been better to be honest, but all in all, the phablet doesn’t feel unnecessarily large. As for the screen itself, I found it to be very responsive and capable of offering sharp and realistic colors. When it comes to protection, though, the Lenovo K3 Note is a bit lacking as the front panel only features a basic screen protector. This means that you’ll have to be extra careful not to scratch the display and you’ll also probably find yourself trying to clean it quite often in an attempt to get rid of fingerprints and various stains. Luckily, you can find screen protectors for as little as 5 bucks if you want to give your Lenovo K3 Note an extra shield. Apart from that, though, the display is pretty good and even features a night mode to protect your eyes when using the phone in the dark.
Hardware and Performance
The Lenovo K3 Note comes equipped with a 64-bit octa-core Mediatek MT6752 chipset running at 1.7 GHz, coupled with 2 GB of RAM and a Mali-T760MP2 GPU. Though most high-end flagships sport at least 3 GB of RAM nowadays, the Lenovo K3 Note is quite capable of handling pretty much anything you can throw at it with what it has. The phone received pretty good scores while being tested with the AnTuTu benchmark tool and managed to surpass competitors such as the OnePlus One, HTC One M8, Xiaomi MI4 or Samsung Galaxy S5, though it couldn’t quite hold a candle to the Asus Zenfone 2, Meizu MX4 or the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.
Overall, performance is really good and the device doesn’t overheat like some others when pushed to the limits. Needless to say, you won’t have trouble running apps and you’ll also be able to run most games without any major problems. Blood and Glory, Mortal Kombat X, and Injustice: Gods Among Us all ran very smoothly during testing, with only minor hiccups on occasion. Even though 2 GB of RAM don’t seem enough for gaming, the chipset and GPU combo is actually really strong and will serve you well.
The Lenovo K3 Note sports 16 GB of storage right off the bat and you can expand it further up to 64 GB via microSD card. As for the sound quality, I’d say the rear speaker does a good job overall, though it’s not necessarily something to write home about. The quality is certainly there, but the volume isn’t. If you treasure clarity and fidelity over volume, however, you’ll really enjoy what the Lenovo K3 Note has to offer in terms of sound.
Camera and Battery Life
The camera combo on the Lenovo K3 Note is pretty standard and consists of a 13 MP sensor on the back coupled with a 5 MP selfie snapper on the front. The main camera packs dual-LED flash and a number of useful features like HDR, panorama mode, face detection, and even includes a QR code scanner. As for the selfie camera, you’ve got your regular features like face beauty mode, along with a couple of more interesting ones that allow you to place watermarks on your images or snap a photo by simply holding out the peace sign. In addition, the sensor also attempts to measure your happiness and figure out your age, though the results you get are pretty inaccurate, to say the least.
At 3,000 mAh, the battery is pretty much what you’d expect from a device of this size. You can expect the Lenovo K3 Note to last for a full day even when you’re playing games, browsing websites, listening to music and watching videos on Youtube, all in one sitting. Naturally, if you spend more than a couple of hours playing extra demanding games the battery will drain very fast, but for the most part you won’t need to worry about reaching for the charger more than once a day. As mentioned before, the battery is also removable and easy to access so it’s very easy to replace in case something goes wrong.
Software
The Lenovo K3 Note runs on the Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system with the Lenovo Vibe 2.5 user interface on top. Not a huge fan of the UI to be honest but the software does run pretty smoothly. The phone did froze a couple of times for a few seconds during testing, but only when I tried to update or run several apps at the same time. Generally speaking, you shouldn’t have too many problems with the software, however, there is a bit of bloatware that you can probably do without. The Lenovo K3 Note comes pre-installed with a number of apps that were clearly intended for the Chinese crowd, including the browser, the theme center and the weather app, to name just a few. Still, if you’re willing to spend a bit of time to make a couple of modifications here and there you can customize the phone to suits your needs regardless of where you live in the world.
Final Thoughts
It’s a bit hard to argue with a smartphone that offers so much and costs so little. The Lenovo K3 Note launched earlier this year for $160 unlocked, but now there are a number of retailers that are selling it even cheaper. Despite a few cons here and there, this phone has plenty going on for itself. You’re probably not going to be very impressed with the 2 gigs of RAM or Lenovo’s UI, but you’ll definitely come to love the camera, the sound, and the overall performance. All in all, the Lenovo K3 Note presents a very strong case for potential customers looking for a solid phablet priced at around $150-160.
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Gadgets
Amazon DJI Store in Germany hacked? DJI NEO Fly More Combo reveals it
We wanted to check all DJI Stores across the world on Amazon and found out an interesting probable hack on there store in Germany.
See below Screenshot
Some might even buy the Fly More package without regards to the Title –
KuyuqudGVg 6 x 12 Inch Summer Sushi Printed License Plate Frame for Car, Car Tag, Car Tag –What?????
So when you buy it and than realize you receive a pack of Car Tags instead of DJI NEO Fly More Combo and want to ask a refund will Amazon Germany give it back to you or will the buyers remain with a minus 293 Euro in there account.
What are you thougts about this?
Gadgets
Spotify is providing refunds for Car Thing as it confronts a lawsuit regarding the malfunctioning of the streaming device
Spotify is receiving ongoing criticism for its choice to terminate support for Car Thing, its in-car streaming device, which was announced in May. According to the company, the device will become inoperable after December 9, 2024. Gen Z users on TikTok are sharing videos to express their dissatisfaction with Spotify’s decision and its suggested measures, such as transitioning to Android Auto or CarPlay. The users point out that they often lacked access to integrated infotainment systems in their cars, which makes them a prime target market for a specialized player like Car Thing.
The streaming service’s in-car device hadn’t been on the market long enough to become outdated. The product was introduced in February 2022 but was subsequently discontinued within the same year. However, the company assured customers who had already purchased units that it would continue to provide support and maintenance. Prior to its release, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek indicated that there was a significant consumer interest in this product. During an earnings call with investors, Ek reported that over 2 million users had registered on the Car Thing waitlist in anticipation of its launch.
While Spotify did not disclose official figures, it is probable that Car Thing did not meet expectations or did not justify further investment in the current challenging economic climate. Spotify, on the other hand, terminated approximately 1,500 employees towards the end of last year. This followed previous rounds of layoffs earlier in the year that impacted hundreds of employees.
Car Thing users, on the other hand, are not concerned with the company’s financial issues; their primary concern is the functionality of the device or, at the very least, receiving a refund for the $90 cost.
As a result, some individuals have attempted to lodge their complaints directly with Spotify by sending direct messages on the X platform using the handle @SpotifyCares or by utilizing different email addresses associated with Spotify that have been shared on Reddit. As a result, certain users have reported that Spotify provided them with multiple months of a premium subscription as compensation for their inconvenience, whereas others have stated that they inquired with customer service and were informed that no reimbursements were being offered.
According to Spotify, they have recently implemented a refund procedure for Car Thing. However, the user must present evidence of purchase in order to be eligible for the refund.
Car Thing users were officially informed about the availability of customer support through a second email sent on Friday of last week, in response to the increasing criticism and dissatisfaction caused by the discontinuation of Car Thing. Within the message, Spotify provides users with the appropriate customer support link to contact the company. The email does not guarantee any reimbursements but states that users can contact us for inquiries.
Although a refund might appease a certain segment of the user population who are dissatisfied with Car Thing, numerous individuals are earnestly imploring the company through TikTok videos and comments on Spotify’s TikTok posts to refrain from rendering their device inoperable. (Indeed, grievances regarding the Car Thing have become so prevalent on Spotify’s videos that the algorithmically generated search recommendation on certain videos is “what is the spotify car thing.”)
“Spotify, I kindly request that you refrain from subjecting me to any further distress.” “I have a strong affection for my automobile,” expressed Carla, a TikTok user known as @carlititica on the platform.
“Depressed,” expressed another user, @nikkilovestech. “They seem to encourage people to use their phone, which is a source of distraction,” she stated in the video description while demonstrating a Car Thing mounted on her dashboard. In her video, she also addressed the issue of electronic waste resulting from the discontinuation of a fully functional product.
Spotify is still facing challenges regarding the discontinuation of Car Thing, despite the introduction of a refund process that has not been widely publicized. According to Billboard, Spotify is currently dealing with a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit alleges that Spotify deceived customers by selling them a product that would soon become outdated, and then failing to provide refunds. The lawsuit was initiated on May 28th.
While Spotify is unable to provide a comment regarding the lawsuit, a representative did share the following statement regarding Car Thing:
The objective of our Car Thing investigation in the United States was to gain further insights into individuals’ auditory habits while driving. In July 2022, we made a public statement declaring our decision to cease any future manufacturing activities, and now we must bid farewell to the devices altogether. The deactivation of all Car Thing devices will occur on December 9, 2024, giving users until that date to continue using them. To gain further knowledge about the various methods available for listening to Spotify in your car, please refer to the For The Record section. Car Thing users can contact Customer Support for any inquiries by visiting: https://support.spotify.com/us/contact-spotify-support/
While the issues surrounding Car Thing may not impact all of Spotify’s user base, this development coincides with a period when users are already dissatisfied with being required to pay additional fees for features they consider essential to a music service, such as access to lyrics, a feature that Spotify recently made available only to paying subscribers. Furthermore, users are expressing dissatisfaction with Car Thing and are issuing ultimatums to discontinue their subscription to Spotify due to the introduction of paid access to lyrics.
Furthermore, Spotify raised its subscription fees last year, and Bloomberg has reported that another price hike is imminent in 2024.
Mobile Devices
3 Video Games About Women’s Health
Video games have transcended entertainment to become powerful tools for promoting health and wellness. One notable genre in this realm is fitness gaming, exemplified by titles like Hatsune Miku Fit Boxing, which motivates players to engage in physical activity to enhance their fitness levels. Building on this foundation, developers have ventured into women’s health with games designed to raise awareness and empower players to take control of their well-being. Here are 3 video games on women’s health that provide valuable health information and foster a sense of agency to uplift women around the world.
Tampon Run – Menstrual health
Created by Girls Who Code alumnae Andrea Gonzales and Sophie Houser in 2014, Tampon Run is an old-school 8-bit online game where the main character, Luna, lobs tampons to destroy enemies, who will confiscate the tampons if she lets them pass by. Interestingly, the concept of weaponized tampons is based on a real incident that occurred in 2013, where Texas state troopers confiscated tampons as potential projectiles, but not guns, from visitors observing a vote on abortion restrictions at the Texas State Capitol. The goal of Tampon Run is to destigmatize periods and menstrual products, which, up until recently, have not been properly studied to measure their absorbency, which underscores the need to address menstrual health so that women can get better care.
In between tossing tampons, Luna shares empowering messages about how periods are a natural part of women’s lives and should not be a source of shame or embarrassment. The game is available to play on the Tampon Run website and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store for iOS users.
PCOS Vitality – PCOS
Polycystic ovary syndrome is a complex hormonal condition and the leading cause of female infertility that affects approximately 5 to 6 million women in the US, according to the Endocrine Society. Common features of the condition include having irregular menstrual periods, hyperandrogenism, and polycystic ovaries. Additionally, some studies estimate that up to 88% of women with PCOS are overweight or obese. While there are weight loss programs helping women tackle PCOS, focusing on aspects like lifestyle, symptom management, diet, and other tips for how to lose weight with PCOS, the condition itself remains grossly under-researched. For some women, it may take years to confirm that they have PCOS, as there are other disorders that mimic PCOS signs and symptoms that must be excluded.
The lack of research has extended to a lack of awareness among the general population and is what clinicians from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland are trying to address with the 2023 game PCOS Vitality. Essentially a learning tool, the game takes users through a simple obstacle course. As you click toward the finish line, you are asked simple trivia questions about PCOS. The game is free to play on Focus Games’ website.
Bound by Blood – Period poverty
Period poverty refers to the lack of regular access to period products, painkillers, or underwear during a menstrual cycle. In the US, where 16.9 million menstruating women live in poverty, two-thirds cannot afford basic menstrual products. Period poverty has also been associated with mental health issues and urinary tract infections.
Available to play on the itch.io website, Bound by Blood was created by Jessica Gates in 2017 and aims to educate players about the reality of period poverty. Users take the character of Beth, a homeless woman who wakes up in her car and realizes that she’s started her period. Players then make a series of choices to try to stay as hygienic as possible in spite of lacking resources such as menstrual products and clean restrooms. There isn’t really a way to “win” the game, and it is instead a peek into the reality of life where period products are inaccessible and how this affects women’s quality of life.
Through these games, players not only gain valuable insights into various aspects of women’s health but also find themselves actively engaged in their own well-being. As developers continue to explore this emerging field, the potential for video games to serve as educational tools and catalysts for change in healthcare remains promising
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