Say "Hello" to Meizu Pro 7!!

So last week, I got an invite from the folks at Meizu Philippines and Hellotronics, for their event where they would unveil their latest phone offering; the Meizu Pro 7:

Yep, its finally official, the Meizu Pro 7 (and its higher end sibling; the Pro 7 Plus) is now coming to the Philippines. The Meizu Pro 7, is known not only for its amazing build quality, but for it's much talked about secondary screen on the back of the unit (as shown in the pic above). Sounds weird? Interesting? Feels like a gimmick? Well, before we run through my experience of the secondary screen, let's do a quick run through of the specs first:

MEIZU PRO 7 SPEC SHEET

• SCREEN: 5.2-inch Super AMOLED Full HD display @ 1920 x 1080 pixels (front facing screen) & 2-inch AMOLED display @240 x 536 pixels  (rear screen)
• CAMERA: Dual 12-megapixel with Dual LED Flash (rear camera) & 16-megapixel (front-facing camera)
• CPU: MediaTek Helio P25 Octa-Core Processor
• GPU: ARM Mali-T880 Processor
• RAM: 4GB RAM
• STORAGE: 64GB Internal Storage
• BATTERY: 3000mAh Battery (with mCharge fast-charging technology)
• OS: Android 7.0 Nougat with Flyme OS6

MEIZU PRO 7 PLUS SPEC SHEET

• SCREEN: 5.7-inch Super AMOLED Full HD display @ 2560 x 1440 pixels (front facing screen) & 2-inch AMOLED display @240 x 536 pixels  (rear screen)
• CAMERA: Dual 12-megapixel with Dual LED Flash (rear camera) & 16-megapixel (front-facing camera)
• CPU: MediaTek Helio X30 Deca-Core Processor
• GPU: IMG PowerVR 7XTP Processor
• RAM: 6GB RAM
• STORAGE: 64GB/128GB Internal Storage
• BATTERY: 3500mAh Battery (with mCharge fast-charging technology)
• OS: Android 7.0 Nougat with Flyme OS6

Now how does the Meizu Pro 7's unique secondary backscreen feels like in use? In a word, revolutionary. It's the kind of feature that makes people scratch their heads when they first hear it, but once you get to grips of how it works and its applications, its something that you'd prolly wish other smartphone manufacturers would adopt in their phones as well.

It works specially well with the Meizu Pro 7's dual lens rear cameras. For selfie-lovers, this is a boon and definitely well-worth getting one, for high quality selfies. None of that struggling to get the right selfie shot, as you can see exactly where you are in the frame using the 2-inch AMOLED backscreen. :D

If you want to see it in action, I've put together a quick hands-on video of the back screen:

The Meizu Pro 7 is priced at Php22,990 (roughly $450) while the higher end Meizu Pro 7 Plus is priced at Php 31,990 (roughly $620). The Meizu Pro 7 will be available on October this year, via Meizu's online shop, via Lazada (care of the folks at Hellotronics), and on authorized retail shops in malls all-over the Philippines.

Mega Size 1/48 and Real Grade 1/144 scale Unicorn Gundam kits announced at 56th Shizuoka Hobby Show!!

Announced earlier, during the 56th Shizuoka Hobby Show in Japan, are the Mega Size 1/48 scale and the Real Grade 1/144 scale Unicorn Gundam kits from the series Mobile Suit Gundam: Unicorn!! For fans of the series, the Real Grade or RG version of the Unicorn Gundam was already teased (and personally I actually expected it, since they released a RG kit of the Sinanju) and personally it looks amazing in both Unicorn and NT-D mode!!

(photo credit: Gundam.Info.en site)

(photo credit: Gundam Kits Collection)

(photo credit: Gundam Kits Collection)

Looking at the kit, I'm assuming this kit would actually transform and not do any parts swapping like most HG kits. This is backed up by the fact that this has an innerframe (like most RG kits) that has Psycho frames all over it.

(photo credit: Gundam Kits Collection)

(photo credit: Gundam.Info.en site)

Just looking at the inner frame, I can tell that this thing will be a beauty in person. That said, it makes me worried for the overall stability of the kit and how durable it is, considering so many moving parts and a transformation gimmick for NT-D mode. I'm sure most fans would simply not bother with the gimmick and just display it in NT-D mode (like me). It would be a waste to keep the Psycho frames hidden in Unicorn mode to be honest.

That said, what caught everyone by surprise at the Shizuoka Hobby Show, was the reveal of the Mega Size 1/48 Unicorn Gundam kit. 

(photo credit: Gundam Kits Collection)

Look at the size of that thing! He's almost half the size of the guy on his back!! It's THAT BIG!! Here's a more detail comparison scale of the said Mega Size Unicorn Gundam kit.

(photo credit: Gundam.Info.en site)

Looking at the scale on the right of the figure, the Perfect Grade 1/60 scale kit is roughly only as tall as the Mega Size kit's shoulder/chest. 

(photo credit: Gundam Kits Collection)

The Mega Size kit, is one of the rarest grades Bandai has ever produced. So far only a couple of kits were made under the Mega Size line namely:

• RX-78-2 Gundam
• MS-06 Zaku-II
• MS-06S Zaku-II Char Custom
• AGE-01 Normal
• AGE-02 Normal

Thought to be discontinued, the Mega Size line is similar to a High Grade kit, being easy to assemble and very durable, but more huge than a Perfect Grade kit. Also, they are far more affordable at roughly 1/3 the price of a Perfect Grade kit. The only issue with Mega Size kits are they don't have inner frames and details are not as good as Perfect Grade kits. But if you want durability and a bigger figure for cheap, then the Mega Size is definitely the kit for you.

Personally, between the RG and the Mega Size kits, I highly prefer the Mega Size, due to the huge size and durability. Also, having had atleast 2 Mega Size kits myself, I find them much more impressive on my display than 1/144 kits. :D

What are your thoughts about the RG and Mega Size Unicorn Gundam kits? Sound off below! :D

Get ready for RAGE ART!! The Tekken 7 Philippine Launch Tournament!!

To Filipino Tekken fans, this upcoming event is for you!!

Bandai Namco has recently partnered with the eSports brand TEAM SPOOKY, along with X-Split and Playbook to organize the launch of Tekken 7 in the Philippines by having a local tournament called "RAGE ART"

The event will be taking place at Playbook Circuit Makati on June 3, 2017 and has a PHP25,000 prize pool thanks to XSplit, Player.me and Challonge.

To ensure a top quality event RAGE ART has partnered with Rappler, GG Network, Sports Illustrated, Back2Gaming, Reimarufiles, Fanboyseo, Gadget Pilipinas and Unifiltekken to help provide coverage of this event and share with  the world the Philippines love for gaming. Fatboys Pizza, will also be supporting the event, by providing snacks to those who are participating and Grab, the event’s preferred transport service will also be providing a special code to attendees on June 3-4, 2017. 

For more information about this event, please visit their official Facebook Event Page.

Phantasy Star Online 2 unleashes Final Boss; Dark Falz, in new update!!

Phantasy Star Online 2 gets a beefy update, which adds a ton of new story chapters, quests and maps as well as an early access to the final boss of the first episode of the game; Dark Falz!!

In the latest update, players can immerse themselves in an action-packed 12-person alliance to face-off against the dreaded Falz Arms & Dark Falz Elder, one of the classic in-game bosses for the sci-fi franchise.

Aside from that, more game features are added namely:

• Increased level caps for main class & subclass.
• Sudden Death ranking system
• New game difficulty; Very Hard Mode
• Ten-star weaponry from the in-game pyroxene shop
• Rewards for AC scratch completions

But that's not all, for players who last logged into Phantasy Star Online before 1st August 2014, will receive a welcome pack when they re-enter the game. The welcome pack will be available till October 3, 2014 and it includes the following items:

• Gold Scratch (x1)
• 3 Days of Quarter Use (x2)
• 1000 FUN Ticket (x1)
• EXP earned +50% (x3)
• Rare Item Drop Rate +50% (x3)
• Upgrade Success Rate +5% (x2)
• Half-Revival Kit (x1)

For more info about the welcome pack, please visit: http://news.playpark.com/en/24692