Author: Rishi Baruah

Xiaomi Announces GoPro-Like YiCamera, Priced at a Mere $64

After dethroning Samsung as China’s top smartphone company, it seems Xiaomi is now eyeing the world of cameras. Xiaomi’s latest offering is the YiCamera, which looks like a GoPro HERO, but costs less than half its price.

The YiCamera, is going to be available for roughly Rs 3,964 ($64). As of now, the device is limited only to China, and can be bought via the official MI website. Features of this camera include a 16 MP Sony Exmor R CMOS image sensor with f/2.8 aperture, built-in Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity and capability to record videos at 1080 p along with 60 fps. Additionally, it is waterproof and supports adjustable time-lapse shooting and 155 degrees paranoma mode.

Though it seems that Xiaomi has made this device for more of indoor use than outdoor. It does not offer a rugged exterior casing like the GoPro and includes accessories like a selfie stick and a harness to strap the device to your pets.

The YiCamera is available on the company’s official Mi site and will go on flash sale in China. Its availability in India and other regions has been confirmed for later this year.

March 2, 2015

HTC One M9 vs HTC One M8 : Here is What has Changed!

HTC launched its big gun, the HTC One M9, at the MWC 2015. The phone is a upgraded version of its predessecor, the HTC One M8. It will be interesting to see how this phone fares against competitors like the Nexus 6, Galaxy S6 or the Apple iPhone 6. But before that, we would like to see the improvements and upgrades of the M9, against its older sibling, the M8.

We compare the spec table of both the handsets, below.

SPECS	HTC M8	HTC M9
Display	5 inch Full HD	5 inch Full HD
Chipset	2.3 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801	64 bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (4 x 2GHz + 4 x 1.5GHz)
RAM	2 GB	3 GB
Storage	16/32 GB	32 GB
Expandable Up to	128 GB	128 GB
Primary Camera	HTC Dual 4 MP Ultrapixel Camera	20 MP
Front Camera	5 MP	HTC UltraPixel
Battery	2600 mAH	2840 mAH
Operating System	Android 4.4.2	Android 5.0.2

Watch our exclusive Hands on with the HTC One M9:

Now, you can compare and check out our review of the HTC One M8:

March 1, 2015

To Strengthen Connectivity Everywhere, Qualcomm To Set Up LTE-U Devices

Qualcomm, the American chip maker, has expressed the desire of setting up new technology that would offer mobile phone users better connectivity in places like subways and shopping malls. The company said on Thursday that it will soon start to sell components which will feature LTE technology which can be adapted for a smaller scale.

LTE, short for Long-Term Evolution and commonly marketed as 4G LTE, is a wireless communication standard for high speed data for mobile phones or other wireless devices. The newer LTE Unlicensed, which will be introduced at the MWC 2015, adapts the technology to be used over short distances by sharing radio spectrum, like WiFi.

Qualcomm said that adopting the LTE-U will provide much faster performance for phone users and save money that the operators would have had to pay on setting up cell phone towers. Thousands of LTE-U connectivity devices could be set up in different locations like building or places which has poor network connectivity.

[quote text_size=”small” author=”Matt Grob” author_title=”Qualcomm Chief Technology Officer “]

The performance is better. It’s not a large cost adder and it also provides a lot of advantages flexibility to the operators

[/quote]

Qualcomm claims that the problem of LTE-U signals disrupting WiFi signals has been overcome, which had drawn criticism of this technology in the past. This technology will be one of the first steps towards a departure from cell tower based connectivity. With the demand for all round access to internet increasing with each passing day, new innovations need to be brought into let people stay connected 24/7.

February 27, 2015
Microsoft Office 365 is Now Free for Eligible Students Worldwide

Microsoft has finally expanded the free Office 365 subscription for eligible students and teacher globally. The open service was earlier limited to the students of the US only.

The company made the announcement through its official blog post that reads –

Millions of students around the world are eligible for free Office from their school and today [Tuesday] we are announcing that we’ve made it easy for all eligible students globally to sign up themselves to get Office 365 and install free Office, Microsoft confirmed via its Office Blogs.

Students just need to have a valid e-mail address, and they can sign up for a free Office 365 subscription. The users will get access to the latest versions of MS Word, MS Excel, MS Powerpoint, OneNote, Access, and Publisher. These programs can be installed on PCs, Macs and on up to five mobile devices including iPad, Android, and Windows Tablets. Students will also gain a massive storage space of 1TB on OneDrive and Office Online to keep their files safe.

The company said that the offer can be availed only if schools do have a licensed software. The schools must license the Office in order to get benefitted from the provided service. Meanwhile, students can click here and enter the school-provided email address to access free Office. Teachers can do the same clicking here.

February 25, 2015
Microsoft Outlook to Drop Facebook and Google Chat Support Soon

Microsoft has today disclosed its plan of removing Google and Facebook chat from its email service Outlook.com. The support will be discontinued within next couple of weeks, as per an e-mail by Outlook to its customer.

The official notification by Microsoft says that the company is removing the Google Talk integration ‘due to Google’s decision to discontinue the chat protocol used by the Google Talk platform’. No reasons have been disclosed as to why Facebook chat support too will be discontinued.

“We understand that this may disappoint some of our customers, but we hope that you’ll try Skype for Outlook.com chat, and voice, video calling, so you can take advantage of the more robust ways to keep in touch with friends and family,” the e-mail message from the Outlook.com team said.

Microsoft says that however Facebook and Google chat are coming to a halt, the People feature that keeps contacts up-to-date will remain unaffected. Microsoft is now attempting to push its own Skype chatting and calling services as an alternative chat option. The email asked its customers to activate their Skype for Outlook.com. As earlier said, the services will be there in Outlook just for few more weeks, and then Skype will be the only option to connect to the people.

February 25, 2015
Android 5.0 Lollipop Update Now Rolling Out For Android One Devices

Google, today, has revealed that it has begun rolling out Lollipop update to a small number of Android One devices in India. This roll-out process will be gradual and on a weekly basis, hence only some randomly selected devices will get the update via OTA, with users on Wi-Fi having a better chance at getting these updates.

[quote text_size=”small” author=”Ceaser Sengupta” author_title=”Google Product Management Director, in a Google+ post.”]

To those with Android One phones in India, here’s where we are with the over-the-air (OTA) update that will bring Android Lollipop to you soon. We’ve already started rolling out Lollipop to a small number of phones in India. This is a gradual process and so each week we’ll push the OTA update to more phones selected at random (pro-tip: connecting over WiFi will increase your odds). We thank you again for your patience, and please stay tuned for further updates.

[/quote]

It can be recalled that Android version 5.0 was launched back in November 2014, and the Android One users were supposed to be among the first few to receive this update. Unfortunately, that never happened and Lollipop is way past its scheduled time of arrival on the Android One devices.

The Nexus line-up of devices have already received the update back in November and manufacturers like Motorola, HTC and Samsung have already started rolling out the update to few of their smartphones.

As of now, the exact version of the Lollipop for Android One phones has not been revealed yet, but it most likely will be Android 5.1. There are presently three Android One devices in India, Karbonn Sparkle V, Micromax Canvas A1, and the Spice Dream UNO. The owners of these low-cost devices will be pretty excited after this news.

February 24, 2015
Xiaomi Sues Website For Illegally Selling Its Products

Chinese handset maker, Xiaomi, will be taking legal action against websites who are selling its phones illegally in India and infringing on the company’s trademark. The issue came into prominence when Ericsson alleged that Xiaomi was selling it’s products illegally through third party websites. The company is going through a patent dispute with equipment maker Ericsson.

Ericsson had alleged earlier this month that Xiaomi was selling Mediatek chipset powered smartphones through the site Xiaomishop.com. Ericcson claimed is it as a violation of the interim order of the Delhi High Court that allowed the company to sell only Qualcomm chipset based smartphones. Xiaomi, in turn, told the court that the site was not an authorised seller of its products.

[quote text_size=”small” author=”Manu Jain” author_title=”Head of India Operations at Xiaomi”]

They’re infringing on trademarks and they’re making the world believe that it’s a genuine Xiaomi site, which it is not. The products sold on these websites are not meant for India and are sold at significantly higher price points. We have written to them multiple times, and we will be taking legal action against them.

[/quote]

Jain added that though Xiaomishop.com site is not functional anymore, the company will still proceed with legal action against it and four to five other sites, which were selling Xiaomi products illegally.

As of now, the only authorized Xiaomi sellers in India are Flipkart and Airtel. Xiaomi is also in talks with manufacturing partners Foxconn and Inventec to set up a proper manufacturing base in India following the Indian law. India is the company’s second-largest base after China.

February 21, 2015
Facebook’s New Update Lets You To Put Stickers On Pictures From Your Phone

From Thursday onwards, Facebook will be introducing updates that would allow you to add stickers to your photos from Facebook’s mobile app on iOS and Android devices.

While uploading a new photo, you will be able to access the new sticker icon with the updated Facebook app. This icon will offer a huge variety of stickers. Once the sticker (or multiple stickers) is added, you are free to choose as to where to position the sticker, resize it or rotate it. You of course have the option to delete the stickers before the photo is finally uploaded.

You can also add captions, and even apply the stickers before the shot is taken with the app’s built-in camera access feature. Images already present in your image gallery can be decorated as well, and there is no limit to how many stickers can be applied to one image.

Facebook had launched the sticker app called ‘Stickers for Messenger’ in December for Android and iOS devices. However, this app required the Facebook Messenger app to send images to Facebook friends.

This new feature may suggest that Facebook is now targeting mobile users more than desktop users. 85% of its users access the website via mobile, and one-third of its total users access the site exclusively on mobiles. Facebook’s revenue rose to $2.5 billion last quarter, thanks, in part, to mobile advertising. Stickers for photos look like an enjoyable feature and will be really appreciated by the users.

February 20, 2015
2014 saw a 74% Increase in Mobile Data Traffic in India

A new report says that there has been a 74% increase in the mobile data traffic in India, generated by 2G and 3G mobile data connections till the end of 2014, as compared to the beginning of the same year. This rise is primarily driven by the 114% growth in 3G traffic and a 41% growth in 2G traffic.

As per a Nokia Networks report on mobile broadband performance in India, 3G consumption was a 52% of the total data consumption in December 2014 as compared to 42% in January. 3G users surpassed 2G users in September of 2014 and their data usage increased to 688 MB per month on an average, indicating a 29% jump when compared to 2013. Also, a 3G data user uses approximately 3.2 times more data than a 2G user in 2014.

[quote text_size=”small” author=”Sandeep Girotra” author_title=”Vice President and Head of India Region, Nokia Networks”]

The 2014 study results clearly show the strong momentum of 3G in India, which has been the primary driver for the data traffic growth. A surge in 3G and 4G compatible Smartphone use underlines the greater need for operators to expand the 3G network coverage and selectively rollout 4G services for higher speeds across all the circles while modernising the existing 2G networks.

[/quote]

There are a very few circles where 4G connectivity is already live, but the numbers of cities with 4G access are growing. According to the reports, out of a total of 5.5 million LTE capable devices available, only around 85,000 are subscribed to LTE.

All the aforementioned details are the part of the Nokia Networks’ Mbit Index study which is an annual report that measures the growth and performances of mobile broadband services throughout the year.

February 20, 2015
OnePlus Finally Brings the 16GB Variant of the One to India

OnePlus has announced that the 16GB Silk White variant of the OnePlus One will be go up on sale in India by next week. Though, the exact date or day of the release and the price is still unknown, the company has opened up a contest for first invites for the smartphone which would require the buyers to fill in a form and answer a question. The winners of the contest will receive their invites on February 23^rd, which may indicate the approximate date of arrival of the device.

16GB Silk White is coming soon to @amazonIN! Enter our contest to win invites: http://t.co/0R97pAlmb5 pic.twitter.com/pjI4xtv4Tc

— OnePlus (@oneplus) February 19, 2015

The OnePlus One 16GB variant will be put up against the Xiaomi Mi4 16GB, which was launched in India for Rs 19,999.

OnePlus One features a 5.5 inch Full HD (1080×1920 pixels) IPS LCD Display and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. It is powered by a 2.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 Processor with 3GB of RAM. For graphics it has Adreno 330 GPU.

It comes with a 13 megapixel Sony IMX214 sensor and f/2.0 aperture rear camera with LED flash. It also comes with a 5 Megapixel front camera. It comes in 16 GB and 64GB variants, but doesn’t have the option of expanding storage via microSD. It packs a 3,000 mAh battery. The 16 GB variant will be exclusive to Amazon and will be sold via India Specific invites only.

February 19, 2015
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G Recieves OTA MIUI 6 Update in India

During the Mi 4 launch event in India last month, Xiaomi India had confirmed that all the Xiaomi smartphones released in India will be receiving the MIUI 6 update in the coming weeks.

Xiaomi’s 2013 flagship phone, the Mi 3, received the MIUI 6 update in January. Now its the turn of the Redmi Note 4G to receive the latest MIUI update. According to user reports, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G has started receiving the MIUI 6 v6.3.5.0 update over-the-air in India and Taiwan, a few days after the first week of February, as promised by the company.

According to TheNextDigit, the MIUI 6 update for the Redmi Note 4G is available for download and is about 577MB in size. This update primarily fixes bugs for the lagging in the camera and music playback issue, plus other performance improvements including enhanced notifications, better security functions, improved email app, upgraded notifications shade and UI improvements.

Considering the fact that Xiaomi is rolling out the MIUI 6 update based on Android KitKat, the Android 5.0 Lollipop update may take some more time to reach the handsets. Redmi 1S and Redmi Note 3G are set to receive the update in early March.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G, priced at Rs. 9,999, is available via a flash sale model for online sales of the smartphone in India, and via an offline sales model through exclusive Airtel stores.

February 18, 2015
Amazon Launches ‘Golden Ticket’ Sale of Yu Yureka

A good news for the Yu Yureka fans. Amazon India has announced the access to a ‘Golden Ticket Sale’ for select customers who have shown a high levels of interest to buy the Yureka handset but are still unable to avail the phone due to its limited supply.

The ‘Golden Ticket Sale’ will be held on 18^th February, Wednesday, between 2pm-5pm. For this sale, only registered customers who were unable to buy the handset will be eligible to participate and receive a confirmation on email by Amazon

According to the company, the last sale of Yu Yureka witnessed a sale of 25,000 units, all sold out within 4 seconds. The fourth flash sale saw 15,000 units sold off within the same time span. The third sale saw 10,000 phones sold off within 3 seconds.

The sixth Yureka weekly flash sale will go live as planned on February 19th, Thursday, on Amazon from 2 pm onwards for all registered customers for this sale. For a quick recap, the smartphone sports a 5.5 inch HD IPS display, and is powered by a Snapdragon 615 Octa-Core processor, paired along with 2 GB of RAM. It is priced at Rs. 8,999. So if you are one of the few lucky ones to have been selected by YU, this is your chance to get a hold of this awesome device.

February 18, 2015

Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime | Hands On

Samsung came out with a plethora of devices at the 2015 Samsung Forum held in Bangkok, Thailand. The newest entrants in the 4G lineup are four handsets – Galaxy J1, Galaxy A7, Galaxy Core Prime and Galaxy Grand Prime. The company looked promising and the India Head of Samsung, Asim Warsi, took to the stage announcing that the firm will focus on bringing out more 4G devices to the market.

Meanwhile, we got an opportunity to get our hands on one of the devices, Galaxy Grand Prime 4G.

The Galaxy Grand Prime, as earlier said, is a 4G capable device and holds two SIM slots. At a thickness of 8.6mm, it couldn’t be considered slim, and the rounded edges give it more bulky look. With a plastic body, the Grand Prime weighs mere 156 grams. The design of the Galaxy Grand Prime is nothing extraordinary and is akin to the other Samsung models with similar key placement and identical build.

The handset comes in two colour options – white and grey.

Talking about the specifications of Galaxy Grand Prime 4G, then the smartphone boasts a 5-inch qHD TFT (960x540p) display and is equipped with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor. The device runs on Android 4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz UI on top, and there’s yet no notification if the device can be upgraded to Android 5.0 Lollipop. The smartphone sports an internal memory capacity of 8 GB (expandable up to 64 GB) and 1 GB RAM.

The Galaxy Prime Grand features an 8MP snapper at the back with LED flash and speakers. The front sports a good 5MP front camera that sits at the top of the 5-inch screen for clicking selfies. The back of the phone secures a 2,600mAh battery that powers up the device. Connectivity options like Bluetooth, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi and NFC.

Just like any other handset, the Galaxy Grand Prime holds the volume rocker on the left-hand side and power button on the right. The top of the rim has a 3.5mm audio jack and the bottom comprises of a USB slot for charging the device.

The Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime 4G support TDD-LTE (2300) 4G network used in India. The 3G variants of the smartphone are already available in the market, but this handset will hit Indian stores in March this year. Meanwhile, the company is tight-lipped about its price but is anticipated to be priced slightly higher than the J1, around Rs. 15,000.

Check out the specs sheet below for details:

SPECS	Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime
Operating System	Android OS, v4.4 (KitKat)
Screen Size	5.0-inch, 960×540 pixels
RAM	1 GB
Battery	2600 mAh
Processor	1.2 GHz quad-core
Internal Storage	8 GB
Expandable up to	64 GB
Front camera	5 MP
Rear Camera	8 MP

February 18, 2015

First Look at Toshiba’s First Working Camera Modules for Project Ara

Project Ara is an on-going endeavor by Google to create a modular smartphone for which the user can switch critical components in and out, thus allowing them to build the perfect phone for their specific needs. It seems that one of the third parties working on the modules is Toshiba, which is contributing towards its progress in creating the first swappable camera units.

Toshiba has created one prototype with a 2MP camera which is designed to be placed in front of the camera and 5MP and 13MP camera modules, which is to be placed as the primary camera. All the cameras are within a swappable module, which would allow the user to swap cameras according to their desired shot, or simply purchasing a better camera piece and replacing the existing one.

Toshiba had revealed some of the initial designs at the Modular Phones Forum. As of now, the company is now developing three different modules: a 2MP front camera and 5MP/13MP primary camera.

The video below shows Toshiba’s new 5MP prototype camera module working and capturing images.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo4GeSil9fU

February 17, 2015

Samsung Galaxy J1 4G | Hands On

Yesterday, Samsung at their annual Forum announced that they will be focusing more on releasing 4G smartphones for the Indian market. Keeping in line with their word, they went forward to announce four 4G devices. The Samsung Galaxy J1, is one of the devices. It was also the cheapest handset announced by the company yesterday.

The Galaxy J1 sports a 4.3-inch WVGA TFT display with 480×800 pixel density. It is equipped with 1.2GHz quad core processor and runs on Android 4.4 KitKat. It has an inbuilt memory of 768 MB RAM and 4 GB internal memory, which can be upgraded up to 128 GB via microSD slot.

Samsung has gone for a curvier look with the J1. The design is typical Samsung-style – touch capacitive buttons at the bottom, centre oval shaped home button and the logo placement is kept the same as every other model by the company.

The look and feel of the device is good, however it is slightly on the bulky side, especially when compared to the rest of the sleek devices recently launched by Samsung.

The Galaxy J1 features a 5MP rear shooter with Flash along with 2 MP front camera; the company should’ve considered going for a higher resolution cameras.

The Dual SIM handset gets powered up by a 1,850mAh battery. The device is available in blue, black and white colour variants. The model will come at Rs. 9,900 and will be available in India from the second week of March 2015.

The specifications are mediocre for the amount the company has priced the device. There are several devices in the sub-Rs. 10,000 segment, which offer way better specs, some even at lower prices.

SPECS	Samsung Galaxy J1 4G
Operating System	Android OS, v4.4.x (KitKat)
Screen Size	4.3 inch 480×800 pixels
RAM	768 MB
Battery	1850 mAh
CPU	Quad-core 1.2 GHz
Internal Storage	4 GB
Expandable Up to	128 GB
Front camera	2 MP
Rear Camera	5 MP
Price	Rs. 9,900

February 17, 2015

Author: Rishi Baruah

SPECS

HTC M8

HTC M9