Budget Smartphone: I bet most readers have
never heard of the smartphone brand Xiaomi.
They are rather obscure in South Africa,
where smartphones are dominated by Apple
Samsung, Sony, LG and Huawei. I’m willing
to bet, though, that in a few months’ time
Xiaomi will become a more recognizable
name once they release their latest budget
smartphone, the Redmi 3S. Xiaomi are a big
brand in India and China and they have a
small presence locally.
This will change with the release of the 3S,
which is likely to enter the market at under
R2000 per phone, yet they boast almost all
the features you would expect from the top
flight brands, which incidentally usually
retail at over R8000. From fingerprint
scanners to HD displays, high resolution
cameras and an impressively competent CPU,
I fully expect this phone to be a stand out in
its class.
FIFA 17: For the
gamers.
Probably one of
the most
recognized game
franchises, and
indeed the most
recognized
franchise in the
world of sport
games, is Fifa.
September 27
sees the release
of Fifa’s latest
offering, Fifa 17
on PC, PS3, PS4,
Xbox 360 and
Xbox One.
Naturally Fifa
claims that each
new release is a
major upgrade and brings a big change to the franchise, so on and so forth. Having
been a fan since Fifa 05 and having playedalmost every release since then, I have
to admit that this time around, I’m inclined to agree.
The graphics, especially on the PS4, are superb.
The game physics and dynamics brought to life by the latest game engine are
exciting and authentic, making every decision more intense and realistic. The
improvements in the standard game modes of career, manager and FUT are
welcome and compelling and the inclusion of a true to form story mode is
something