Review: ASUS RT-N14U N300 Router

For our home Wi-Fi, we only use the Globe-issued Aztech DSL5001EN modem and wireless router, which is fine for a small household, and an ancient Linksys WRT54G as a repeater. My main problem with the Aztech router is that it seems to only accept up to 10 devices simultaneously and that the wireless signal is not that great.

And so when ASUS held a sort of wireless routers seminar for the media, we immediately asked what can I review. I was sent the RT-N14U, a wireless N 300Mbps router which is on their entry-level lineup.

Hardware

The RT-N14U features the standard ASUS design for their routers which has their iconic shiny diamond-cube design. It has built-in antennas so there’s nothing that pokes out of the body. It can be hang on a wall on landscape or stand on its own using the in-box stand which clips to the base.

There are five blue LED indicators on the front which indicates the state of USB, LAN, Wireless, WAN/Internet, and Power. The indicators light up in a cool way, it sort of follows the streaks on the diamond-cube design.

On its side, there is a USB port wherein you can plug a printer, a hard drive, or a 3G/LTE modem which you can use as a backup in case your main connection goes down. There are also four LAN ports, a WAN port where the internet flows in from your home broadband modem, and the DC power in.

The back is free of any ports and only shows some information related to the router like the PIN code which you may need when connecting to it for the first time. The stand that I mentioned earlier also goes in here.

Software

Setting up this router is really a breeze. Upon connecting WAN port from the broadband modem, I connected to the wireless network (which is initially open/unprotected) and fired up my browser. I was immediately greeted by the quick setup page (192.168.1.1) where I easily configured the router settings.

I entered a new admin password as required, and configured the Wi-Fi SSID and password, and chose to have an automatic DHCP connection from the Aztech modem. It’s that easy.

While this setup works, you should bear in mind that you will not be able to access the router from the ‘outside’ (or from the Internet) because it only acquires an IP address from the modem, and not from the broadband network. You need to get an access from the ‘outside’ if you’re planning to use the features like AiCloud. To do so, you should configure your modem to bridge mode first, and select the PPPoE connection type on setup. You will need to type in your ADSL username and password which you can get from your ISP.

 

Once done, I was taken to the homepage of the web dashboard. The web dashboard is presented in a way that it will look user friendly even to the normal users which doesn’t know a lot about configuring routers.

Main settings like the network map, guest networks, USB applications, and AiCloud are located on the left under ‘General’ while the more advanced settings are tucked in the bottom. Most settings come with graphical content so you can easily understand or get an idea of what a setting is all about.

Traffic Manager, as you can guess, allows you to monitor the traffic that goes in and out of the router and see if someone is hogging all your bandwidth. Here, you can see a graph of the bandwidth being used, so if you know that you’re not downloading or uploading anything but see some high graphs, well…

…it’s time to set up the QoS setting. This setting lets you manage traffic priorities for the router. You can, say, choose to prioritize web surfing and video calling more over ftp or peer-to-peer (e.g. torrents) connections. This way, you can balance and make the most out of your available bandwidth.

The USB modem application, as I have said before, lets you connect a USB modem (haven’t tried a mobile Wi-Fi, it may or may not work) so it can serve as a backup connection when your broadband or DSL fails. For most modems, the router will automatically initiate a 3G or LTE connection when it detects that there is no WAN connection, provided that you’ve already configured the APN settings.

If you’re a parent and would like to block some websites from being access on your household, you can do it as well on the RT-N14U. It supports keyword-based URL filtering as well was keyword-based website content filtering (more strict that URL filtering). The former works by blocking a URL which contains a keyword (e.g. keyword ‘tech’ will block technology.com, tech.com, and so on) while the latter will stop websites that contain a keyword from loading altogether (e.g. keyword ‘tech’ will block a website which contains the word ‘tech’ on the page, even if it doesn’t have ‘tech’ in the URL).

The RT-N14U also supports up to three guest networks, in addition to the main network. This is really useful if you want visitors that come to your home to not be able to see your shared files in your main network, or perhaps if you have multiple rooms like gaming rooms or entertainment rooms. You can set passwords for the guest networks or leave them open, if you like. I just wish it had captive portals for the additional cool factor, though. :D

 

Unfortunately, I was not able to try the AiCloud function of the RT-N14U as I cannot get the Aztech modem to work in bridge mode (looks like Globe hid the function away from users). AiCloud works by uploading the contents of a connected drive online and making it accessible from right about anywhere. It’s like having your own Dropbox or Google Drive. The only difference is that the storage limit depends on the capacity of the drive connected to the router.

Performance

In terms of signal reach, the RT-N14U performed exceptionally better than the Aztech modem that we were using before (of course). In my bedroom (which is behind three concrete walls) where I used to get an average of 1 bar (out of 4) of signal on my Note 2 and 1 (out of 3) on my iPad mini, I am now getting significantly improved signal of around 3 to 4 bars on the Note 2 and full bars on my iPad mini, which results on more stable connections and less data dropouts.

File transfers between my devices are quite fast too. I get around 30 to 40 megabits/second (3.75 to 5MB/second) when downloading a file from my phone using AirDroid. On my iPad mini, I get a much faster speeds ranging 60 to 80 megabits/second (7.5 to 10MB/second) using the VLC app. Syncing on iTunes over Wi-Fi has also gotten much faster than when I was using the other modem.

While the real world tests I conducted are far from what the router promised (it depends on the Wi-Fi chips your devices use, by the way), it still showed a noticeable increase in speeds and delivered great signal strengths over a conventional router.

However, the RT-N14U does not support third-party firmware like DD-WRT and Tomato. So if you’re planning on flashing this, take note.

Verdict

The ASUS RT-N14U delivered what it promised. It makes setting up a router an easy task rather than a head-scratching one and offers great features like guest networks, USB applications (printer sharing, 3G/LTE fallback), and even a torrent downloader (Download Master) which lets you do downloads without the need to leave your computer on all the time.

The performance is stellar and just what you expects from an entry-level router. The others features are clearly just an icing on the cake.

The ASUS RT-N14U router retails for P2,890.

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Review: ASUS MeMO Pad HD 7 — the budget tablet to look for

The entry-level Android tablet category is often filled with a sea of devices that either have uninspiring designs or mediocre hardware and software. In that regard, ASUS strived to make its new MeMO Pad HD 7 stand out among those.

Hardware

The ASUS MeMO Pad HD 7, which was unveiled last June, is a 7-inch slate that aims to be your tablet on-the-go. It is small and lightweight, which makes it a pleasure to hold even with one hand. Its bezel is just right with ample spacing on the sides for your palm to sit on which avoids accidental touchscreen presses.

The sides are almost barren, save for the two ports on the top, namely the 3.5mm headphone jack and the microUSB port, as well as a microphone. You might be wondering, where are the power and volume keys if they are not on one of the sides?

Those aforementioned buttons are actually on the back — on its tapering edges. Both the power and volume keys sit in an awkward position just by the corner where the back housing meets the front. They are quite uneasy to press at first, but not by much especially when you already get the hang of it (hey iPad mini users!).

 

The 5-megapixel camera sits just above the recessed ASUS logo, and the microSD card slot just to the right of it. The microSD card slot — which can accommodate up to 32GB of additional storage — is oddly unprotected, though it shouldn’t be much of a problem (it would be actually a good thing if you often swap cards). The loudspeaker is located on the tapered bottom edge. Thanks to the placement, it doesn’t get muffled when you put it on a flat surface.

The display of the MeMO Pad HD 7 is a 1280x800 IPS panel. While it isn’t a high-resolution display like what you will find on the Nexus 7 2013, it has a 216ppi pixel density which still looks nice to the eyes. Texts on webpages appear sharp and images on the screen look crisp. I also found the viewing angles to be pretty good.

What I liked about the display is that you can actually change the settings and calibration using the ASUS Splendid app like to make it more vivid if you prefer, adjust the color temperature to make it colder or warmer, and even tone the hue and saturation up or down to make it black-and-white or make it look very vivid according to your liking.

Software

Running inside the MeMO Pad HD 7 is a minimally customized version of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. ASUS kept it as close to as stock and only added minor retouches, some small features like mini windows, and of course their own apps on top of the core apps like Chrome, Gmail, etc.

Among those customizations is the ability to choose between the vanilla Android notification panel which keeps things simple or the ASUS-made one which adds quick toggles for the most commonly used tasks as well as the ability to quickly adjust the brightness and audio profiles. It is very nice of them to have these options included.

 

Another addition are the mini apps which lets you use pop-up applications without the need to leave or stop what you are doing. It’s really handy and works quite well. One use case for this is when you need to calculate some numbers, you just tap on the leftmost on-screen button and open calculator. No need to memorize or copy those digits!

 

An ASUS keyboard comes by default, and while they keys are big and well-spaced, I had some wrong-presses every now and then especially when I type fast. Good thing there’s the stock Android keyboard preloaded which you can set as default. You’ll miss the dedicated number rows, though.

There are apps that the company bundled with the OS too, such as the App Backup, App Locker (protects your apps from unauthorized usage using a security code), ASUS Studio, Parental Control, and Web Storage (gives you additional 16GB cloud storage for 1 year), and more. Some of these are actually useful like the App Backup and App Locker, mainly if you are mindful of not having your personal files lost or accessed by anyone.

Performance

When it comes to processing prowess, the MeMO Pad HD 7 stands right in the middle. It’s not slow, and it’s certainly not the fastest among all. What I can tell you though is that with the quad-core Mediatek MTK 8125 chip, it handled most apps and games without much hiccups.

Simple operations on apps like Facebook, Twitter, and Chrome goes without a hitch. Webpages are being rendered almost instantly as they load, and scrolling is just as what you expect on a Jelly Bean device — smooth and fast.

However, I found a minor problem on the MeMO Pad HD 7. Despite having an ample 1GB of RAM, it gets bogged down occasionally particularly if you’re running a lot of apps and games in the background. It doesn’t affect the whole device, but launching apps take a little longer when this happens. Hopefully, ASUS will fix this by optimizing the software further more.

The stereo speakers on the 16GB variant I’m using is not as loud as expected, though it still delivers clear audio quality. You can change sound profiles depending on what you’re doing (listening to music, playing games, watching videos, etc.) using the Audio Wizard app.

The 3950mAh battery lasts me around a day or two, depending on usage. Today, I used this for 3 hours and had it on standby for 10 hours and I still have 40% remaining juice left. Doing more intense activities like gaming or watching movies would surely take a toll on the battery. ASUS quotes a 10-hour single charge for watching videos.

Camera

There is a 5-megapixel autofocus camera on the 16GB model (2-megapixel on 8GB model) and the quality is what you would expect on an entry-level device, and we’re talking about tablets. Tablets never really had great cameras before, more so for a device in this category.

Photos from the front-facing and main cameras appear soft, though they are still enough for occasional ‘selfies’ and video calling. The camera application made by ASUS and offers additional capturing modes like HDR, Panorama, and even Burst mode. Check out the sample shots I took below (click to view in full-resolution).

  

Verdict

The ASUS MeMO Pad HD 7 combines an affordable price tag with respectable hardware and software features plus the guarantee of having a device from a well-known global brand. The HD IPS screen is something that you cannot always expect on a P6,995 tablet, but ASUS begged to differ. The software is just of the right balance, with a slew of customization options and additional features that helps it stand out against the others in the same class. However, clearly, there is a room for improvement on the performance and I really hope that they will address this one.

The good
HD IPS display
Great viewing angles
Small and light
Offers customization options and features like mini apps
Respectable performance and battery life
Expandable memory using microSD
Comes with a stand out of the box

The bad
Sometimes gets slow when multiple apps are running
Camera is not so good

With all things considered, the ASUS MeMO Pad HD 7 is going to be worth your money. It is one of , if not the best budget Android tablet that you can get right now. It retails for P6,995 for the 8GB model and P8,995 for the 16GB model.

Disclosure: I won this ASUS MeMO Pad HD 7 unit at the local launch.

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Review: HTC Butterfly S — a better fraternal twin of the One

I called the HTC One the ‘best Android phone yet’ — it has a pretty good hardware, one of the best I’ve seen on an Android phone, a gorgeous display, and a well-performing loudspeakers. But it was not without any shortcomings. One of those was the small screen size (for some), the non-removable battery, and the lack of an microSD slot for expansion of the internal storage.

And then the HTC Butterfly S arrived. It has the looks of the last-year’s Butterfly and the brains of the One with a few improvements — which are bigger screen, longer battery life, microSD slot, and improved support for LTE networks. In this review, we’ll focus on the said improvements and see if they’re worth the upgrade, either if you’re coming from the HTC One or the Butterfly.

To start off, the Butterfly S sports an identical look as the Butterfly from 2012 with some minor differences. It’s a little fatter due to the larger battery inside, there’s an added loudspeaker on the bottom, and it’s lost the water-resistant ability I found on its predecessor.

Display

The display of the HTC Butterfly S doesn’t stray too far from its roots. It’s actually a mix of the ones found on the One and the Butterfly. On one part, it is a bright, vivid, and crisp Super LCD 3 display which, again, is one of the best displays among the Android army (only to be matched or topped by the G2). On the other, it is now a 5-inch screen which is slightly bigger than the 4.7-inch on the One. As such, this is a little more perfect for playing games, watching movies, and similar chores than the smaller screen.

As with the Butterfly, the bigger display does not mean that it is uncomfortably hard to hold in your hand. In fact, I can still type with single-handedly with my not-quite-so-big hands. It’s definitely not huge like the Galaxy Notes out there.

Battery Life

When it comes to the battery life, the Butterfly S beats most of the Android smartphones in its class. It has a 3200mAh battery, so far the most in an HTC phone. The battery is so huge that you’ll really notice the ‘thickness’ and the heft of the body.

On an average usage cycle, I can easily last more than a day, heck even two days, on the Butterfly S. That includes using apps like the browser, Twitter, Facebook, playing games like Plants vs. Zombies 2 for hours (and I really mean houuurs!!!) and streaming 3 movies from ClickPlay using Wi-Fi, the rest are standby times. Network setting is set to automatically switch between 3G/LTE.

Storage

The internal storage on the Butterfly S is only 16GB, compared to 32GB on the One. The main kicker here is that they have included a microSD card slot so you can just tuck in a 64GB card and place all your movies, photos, music, and whatnot in there.

Moreover, you can also connect a USB drive using an OTG cable — that’s if you have one lying around.

I really wish HTC would make 16 or 32GB of storage AND a microSD card slot a standard on their devices, either because people do really want a microSD slot on their phones or just for the hell of it. That will probably make them buy an HTC again, yes?

LTE, not just on Globe

Smart LTE users should find this a relief should they want to get a Butterfly S. As you may know (or not), the HTC One only had LTE on bands 3 (1800MHz), 7 (2600MHz), and 20 (800MHz). Just for your information, those are the most widely-used LTE frequencies in Asia and Europe. Globe, for instance, operates its LTE network on 1800MHz. But for an odd reason, Smart decided to use band 1 (2100MHz) for their LTE network.

That’s where the problem arises. Much of the 2012 and some of 2013 smartphones — the HTC One is, well, one of them — do not normally come with 2100MHz LTE, unless they are destined for Japan or South Korea.

Well thank God HTC finally included that particular band on their latest devices like the One mini and the Butterfly S. I was able to try and use Smart LTE on this phone. On average, I get around 4Mbps down and 10Mbps up in our place. Your results may vary, of course, but it just goes to show that you can really use it on both Smart and Globe now.

Performance

Overall, the Butterfly S performed and worked pretty well, as expected, in my time with it. That’s due to the zippy Snapdragon 600 CPU which is clocked at 1.9GHz (vs. 1.7GHz on the One) and 2GB of RAM. The UI and apps are very fluid and I barely encountered any slowdowns.

Its camera still has the Ultrapixel tech found on the One, though it doesn’t have OIS. Camera performance is about the same as the One.

Verdict

So, let’s go back to my original question, is the HTC Butterfly S worth it as an upgrade from the Butterfly and even from the One? Well, if money isn’t a problem, I’ll say yes. If you want a phone that’s not as big as the other 2013 flagships while still having a long battery life, the flexibility of having a microSD card slot, and improved LTE compatibility with local networks, then you may take a look at the Butterfly S.

The only problem that I see here is that you can get other smartphones with better hardware at the almost the same or even lower price.

The HTC Butterfly S retails for P37,590.

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Review: HTC One — easily the best Android phone yet

It’s got a very incredible design, a supreme performance which can go neck and neck with the other flagship Androids, and a marvelous screen which has always been lauded on their devices. The HTC One is here.

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