Local electronics retailer Starmobile today announced two new smartphones that are bound to turn heads this holiday season — if they somehow make it to the local market in time for Christmas, that is. These are the Starmobile Knight X and Starmobile Up Snap, two models that represent the company’s willingness to innovate in the face of stiff competition.
A new flagship
The Starmobile Knight X is sort of a re-imagining of the phone that launched the Starmobile brand into stardom, says Starmobile Vice Chairman and Head of Product Development Michael Chen. “The Knight X is the next step for us in our mission to deliver high-quality, yet still competitively-priced devices to Filipinos,” said Chen. “This is truly a smartphone that is inspired by and is made for the next generation Pinoy.”
The Knight X is slated to become the first local smartphone with an octa-core processor and 4G LTE connectivity. It runs on the MT6595M chipset from MediaTek and it comes with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage.
Its display measures 5.5-inches diagonally and boasts a resolution of 1920×1080 or Full HD. For connectivity, it uses 802.11 ac Wi-Fi and NFC, and its main camera uses a 13-megapixel Exmor RS IMX135 sensor from none other than Sony. It comes with a 3350mAh battery.
Something for mobile shutterbugs
The second phone announced, called the Starmobile Up Snap, meanwhile claims the title for first local smartphone with an UltraPixel camera. If you’ve heard of a little company called HTC from out in Taiwan, then no doubt you’ve also heard about that particular kind of camera on a smartphone.
UltraPixel technology is being touted as an essential ingredient for better mobile photography, so if you’re a mobile photography enthusiast then the Up Snap might be right up your alley. It uses an 8-megapixel UltraPixel sensor and a f2.0 aperture lens, plus it runs Android 4.4 KitKat and comes with a 2900mAh battery.
Availability and release date
The Starmobile Knight X and Up Snap aren’t available yet, but they will be soon, according to Starmobile representatives at today’s official launch event. They are targeting a release by the year-end at the earliest, but don’t discount the possibility of a 2015 outing as well.
We’re going to try and get a hold of both of these phones for testing, so watch out for our hands-on reviews in the future. In the meantime, tell us what you think of the Starmobile Knight X and Up Snap. Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
