YotaPhone
YotaPhone 2 has become perhaps the most famous Russian consumer gadget in recent years. A rare Russian device made headlines in major media outlets. They wrote about it even abroad, and the most authoritative Western technological resources published reviews of the curiosity.
Such attention was partly justified - YotaPhone 2 remains a unique smartphone even two years after its release. Its main feature is a second e-paper screen installed on the rear surface, with the help of which it is eerily convenient to read books. It also acted as a notification indicator, and also saved the battery quite well. In general, with some reservations, but the concept was implemented relatively well.
Whatever spiteful critics say, who saw the smartphone only in pictures on the Internet, it was not bad: here you have a nice AMOLED screen, and the best processor at that time, and almost pure Android with a minimum of cosmetic changes. That's just the price …
© facebook.com/YotaPhoneRussian
YotaPhone 2 turned out to be very few people needed for 33 thousand rubles. at the start - despite the fact that the Nexus 5 cost exactly half the price with identical characteristics, a more advanced camera and support from Google itself.
Sales turned out to be rather low, and the Russian smartphone did not press Apple or Samsung in the country. But "his business lives on" and in June of this year they announced the third iteration of the device. There are not so many details about it - so far, for example, it is not clear how it will look at all - but the creators have already shared the technical characteristics. YotaPhone 3 will become larger than its predecessor - the diagonal of the main display will grow from 5 to 5.5 inches, and monochrome - to 5.2. The processor will be good, but not flagship - Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 is used mainly in smartphones of the middle price segment, for example, in AsusZenfone 3 and Moto Z Play. The novelty will have one camera - a 12-megapixel module with a still undeclared sensor. A fingerprint scanner will also appear on the case.
The 64 GB version will cost YotaPhone 3 $ 350, so in Russia, taking into account all taxes and surcharges, it is unlikely to be sold for less than 25 thousand rubles. And for the 128 GB version, you will have to pay another $ 100. The price seems somewhat overpriced, considering what the Chinese offer for the money. But if everything works out with the design and cameras, the third YotaPhone may well find its audience - especially among those who like to read from the smartphone screen.
Elbrus 101-PC and Elbrus processors
Unlike the same YotaPhone, which was developed and designed in Russia, but assembled in China from foreign components (which for some reason brought the device to a disadvantage), the Elbrus 101-PC personal computer is a completely domestic development.
Even the PC has its own processor - a single-core chip "Elbrus 4C" with a clock frequency of 800 megahertz, made according to a 40-nanometer technological process.
The whole thing works on the operating system "Elbrus OS", based on the notorious Linux. Elbrus-101 PC is positioned as a working computer for enterprises and government agencies. The production of a test batch of PCs has recently begun; one such computer costs 130 thousand rubles; the commercial model will cost $ 70,000
© facebook.com/pg/ruselectronics
In all honesty, the characteristics of a computer, especially for such money, are negligible. The same Intel, in the production of its first Core i in 2010, used a more advanced 32-nanometer technical process, and the last "mass" single-core chip of the American company - Pentium 4 already born in 2000. Now both AMD and Intel make their processors on a 14-nanometer process technology and develop exclusively multi-core and multi-threaded chips.
Needless to say, for 130 thousand you can buy a brand new MacBook Pro, and for 70 thousand you can build a decent PC that can handle professional programs and let you lose in games?
To bury "Elbrus", however, is still not worth it. First, this computer is not designed for the mass market. Secondly, this year the production of the eight-core Elbrus 8C processor began, and the existing processors are used, in particular, in server systems serving the passport issuing systems in the country.
Search engine "Sputnik"
One of the most ambitious goals of the Russian government ended in one of the loudest failures. Sputnik was supposed to replace Google and even Yandex for the Russians (which is especially strange, considering that Yandex is a Russian company).
© sputnik.ru
According to former State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev, the idea of creating a "national search engine" emerged in 2008 after the conflict with Georgia. Then it became especially clear that the Russians use the same Yandex or Rambler not only to search for sites on the Internet, but also to read news and obtain information that is at odds with the official position of the state. According to Vedomosti, many officials did not like this kind of media presence of search engines, and therefore it was decided to create a similar resource, the content of which can be controlled directly. The development was taken up by Rostelecom, the initial investment in the project amounted to $ 20 million, but the sum of all investments in Sputnik during his support was not disclosed.
Be that as it may, "Sputnik" "did not take off." It was launched in 2014 and since then has not even achieved a 1% "search" share of the Russian Internet. The average number of clicks from Sputnik to other sites is now about 100 thousand, while Yandex and Google have it in the billions.
This is not to say that it did not work - Sputnik can really be used and searched for information on the net with its help. It simply has no advantages over other systems: where Yandex has Music and advanced navigation systems, Sputnik has only a simple map service, weather data and a TV program.
As a result , Rostelecom recognized the idea of creating a service as "unsuccessful", but most likely they will not close it: this month it became known that the search engine could be reoriented to the public sector and make it mandatory for government agencies. According to law.
Highscreen
Contrary to popular misconception, YotaPhone was far from the first Russian smartphone. At the moment, several domestic companies operate in the mobile market at once (including Texet, 4Good and Oyster). The most famous of them is Highscreen, but many do not even know that it is Russian.
© highscreen.ru
Initially, Highscreen bought faceless smartphones from anonymous Chinese manufacturers, cosmetically modified them, and, having Russified the firmware, released it on the Russian market. But then the company "grew up" and now designs its devices at home and independently. They are collected, of course, still in China - like most equipment in the world.
Highscreen is interesting because in addition to ultra-cheap smartphones, it also produces rather interesting middle-class devices. One of the most successful models of the company - Boost 3 - received warm reviews from journalists and even amassed a certain fanbase around itself and Highscreen itself.
Boost 3 SE Pro
Aside from not-so-bad specs (albeit far from flagship), the Boost 3 came with a giant 6,000mAh extra battery and could easily last up to four days on a single charge. In addition, this is one of the few smartphones with a dedicated high-quality audio chip, and therefore the device "sounds" better than most flagships. Absolutely serious - this is, in principle, one of the most "musical" smartphones in the world.
SE model is on sale now. The price is 15 thousand rubles, so music lovers who are ready to endure an extremely boring design and a plastic case may well take a closer look at this Russian smartphone.>
