Author: Happy Nagashetti

Micromax YU Comes to Town, Here is Everything You Need To Know

India’s top phone company, Micromax finally lifted the veils off its new brand ‘YU’. The company claims that the Y stands for the users while the U stands for them signifying the collaborative approach to the new brand. The brand is formed in partnership with famed custom ROM maker CyanogenMod. The first device from the brand is called Yureka, and it’s one revolutionary device. The company also launched a new website for the device with the url yuplaygod.com. It will be the community address for the YU movement.

Personalization

YU is claimed to be an ecosystem where people create, add and manipulate the device in whatever way they want. Cyanogen’s Vik Natarajan explained the features of the device. The custom ROM gives immense personalization options of the device. You can choose from various custom themes; the company will provide two free themes and more will be added with time. You can change the functions of the buttons on the device. You can select the appearance of almost anything on your device. Cyanogen gives you options to tweak everything until it feels just right.

Security

YU devices also offer many security and convenience features. The devices will be dual sim and will have a blacklist feature through which you can block unwanted numbers. It also empowers the users to protect their data and control what they share with the apps. The ‘Privacy guard’ feature shows you on a per-app basis what permissions have been provided to it. Through this, you can select the limits of the access of these apps to your data. In case of a theft of the device, you can find and wipe the device; the data from the device is encrypted. The feature that will improve your sense of security is the jumbled up pin entry where the numbers jumble up and only you know the perfect combination to unlock your device. App lock is installed by default on the system, so you don’t need an extra app for the purpose.

Quality Sound and Pictures

For the shutterbugs, the camera on YU devices will be a treat. It is intuitive and really easy to use. The devices support multiple burst mode and 60fps slow motion video, they are also working on an update to bring 120fps, that would be a real treat.

Music lovers would appreciate the 24-bit high-res loss-less audio on the device. The music app consumes a lot less energy in comparison to others so you can enjoy your tunes longer. Along with these are multiple audio effects options.

Ease of use with multiple devices

Cyanogen has also partnered with a Silicon Valley company called Nexbit for a product called ‘Baton’ that will make your life a lot easier. Through this, you can start your apps from exactly the spot you left in the last device instead of starting from the beginning. It also saves all your app settings and logins so you can get on with your task as if you’d been on the device since the beginning. Using another feature from nexbit called ‘Sync’, you can have the same app settings across all your devices. With the support of another feature called ‘Pass’, you can send an app from one device to another with ease.

YUREKA!

Coming back to Yureka, the device of the hour. It runs on Cyanogen OS 11 which is based on Android 4.4.4. It is powered by the 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor clocking at 1.5 GHz along with 2 GB DDR3 RAM. The internal storage is 16 GB, which is expandable up to 32 GB. It supports LTE Cat 4 with upto 150 Mbps downloads. The device gets its juice from a 2500 mAh battery. The company claims the battery performs 25% better thanks to Cyanogen’s customization.

The display on the device is a 5.5 inch 720p HD screen protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The device is not weak on the camera front either. It features a 13 MP shooter at the back with Sony Exmor sensor with an iris of f/2.2. On the front, you get a 5 MP fixed focus front camera for selfie shooter. The device presently shoots slow motion at 60 fps but after an update it will be capable of shooting at 120 fps. It is also capable of shooting time lapses. This device has the potential to become the darling of amateur camera-persons.

Getting ‘inspired’ by OnePlus One’s amazing Sandstone back panel, Yu gets a ‘Moonstone grey’ back cover which looks great. The specs on the device look fantastic, at the same time it’s quite a looker. The brand offers suave leather back panels and a tempered screen guard as additional accessories for the device.

Revenge of the Nerds

Cyanogen has always been the playground of nerds and hence the company is giving them comforts quite unheard of in the industry. Not only is the bootloader unlockable and kernel source opened up, the company’s warranty too won’t be void if you root the device. You will also get OTA updates every month, so the device will always be up to date as well as future-proof for a considerable amount of time.

Revolutionary Service Centre

Micromax also did something in terms of service that can only be described by the term ‘legendary’. It will provide free service to anyone who buys the device right at their doorstep. Once you have an issue with the device, you send a ticket, and the engineer will come to your place to fix the device. Service was the biggest bone of contention against Micromax devices, and it seems to have addressed it in the best possible manner.

The Indian mobile market disrupter

The biggest surprise of the day was the price of this formidable device. The Yureka is priced at Rs.8,999 which is phenomenal. The device will be available exclusively on Amazon.in, and the registrations will start on 19th of December at 2pm. It will be up for sale in the second week of January. The folks buying the device in the first sale will also get a free leather case worth Rs. 999 – the deal is simply unbelievable.

Today was definitely the beginning of a grand new chapter in the Indian mobile market. There was a lot of hate brewing against Micromax following the ban of OnePlus One, but this might help it gain some serious goodwill. Yu is a game-changer in every sense of the word, and we can proudly say that we have a Xiaomi-killer in the making. The pricing is simply mind blowing, and Cyanogen’s immense convenience will certainly win hearts all around. In the end, all we can say is good job Micromax, more power to YU.

December 18, 2014
ISRO’s Heaviest Rocket Successfully Lifts Off With An Unmanned Crew Module

The resurgence of the space age seems to be right around the corner. This year saw two orbiters reaching Mars from earth, one of them being India’s Mangalyaan or Mars Orbiter Mission. The Rosetta mission set new horizons for humanity by being the first man-made object to reach a comet. Nasa successfully tested the Orion capsule that might someday take astronauts to Mars. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), which is still on a high of success of the Mangalyaan, today hit another milestone when they launched the GSLV Mark III.

GSLV mark iii at the launch pad.

It is the heaviest rocket in India’s space arsenal with a mass of 630,000 Kilograms. The rocket today carried an unmanned prototype crew capsule (CARE) which will someday, hopefully soon, carry astronauts into space. This might be the ride of the next generation.

GSLV Mark III or LMV3 shot off into space at 9.10 AM from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The rocket is a part of the third generation of Indian rockets and is a completely new vehicle. The first stage of the rocket called L110 is powered by two Vikas engines which are derived France’s Viking series used on Ariane rockets. The second stage of the rocket was loaded with liquid nitrogen to stimulate propellant instead of real fuel. Today’s launch was conducted to test the flight validation of the launch vehicle and its new telemetric systems along with the crew module.

CARE was an unmanned crew module that tested India’s capability of sending astronauts in space.

This was the first attempt by India to send a crew module up in space. The module is called the Crew Module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment (CARE). The module separated at an altitude of 126 KM and began its descent towards the surface. The parachute successfully deployed and brought the module safely down in the Bay of Bengal about 180 km off the Andaman Nicobar Islands where it will be retrieved by the coast guards.

Today’s launch is one significant bookmark in the pages of ISRO’s history. Amongst the developing states, India’s space organization holds special mentions for its achievements despite low budgets. Space research involves all sciences and it results in the invention of technologies that improve the way of our existence. A country can achieve a great deal if it invests in its scientific infrastructure and it is encouraging to see India’s proactive engagement with the space outside the atmosphere. We certainly wish to see the Indian flag on the moon someday!

Watch the entire launch progress right here.

December 18, 2014
Watch Micromax Yu Launch Live Right Here!

The Indian mobile market is about to take the next big step. The indigenous phone makers have been in the shadows of the big international brands, but now Micromax is about to launch a new brand which will take on the dominance of the foreign brands. Packed with the famed CyanogenMod, the brand will bring immense convenience to the Indian users in terms of customization and updates.

Today on the 18th of December, Micromax will launch its audacious new brand ‘Yu.’ If you want to be a part of this new chapter from the very beginning, you can watch it live right here. We will be following it live, are Yu?

December 18, 2014
Indian Government to Roll Out Public Wi-fi in 25 Cities by June 2015

The present government has taken proactive actions to make India technically strong. In an age where connectivity is power, it’s a step in the right direction. At municipal levels there have been many initiatives to provide Wi-Fi in pockets of the cities like Delhi. The government now plans to identify public places across the nation where it can begin offering Wi-Fi service by June 2015.

This initiative is a part of the audacious Digital India program, the aim of which is to connect cities with a population over 1 million and tourist spots with WiFi by December 2015. The task does look massive, and a lot of bits have to be figured out, most importantly the security aspect in this volatile nation.

According to an official source, the government will work with three or four service providers to provide the services in 25 cities across India. The project is being undertaken jointly by the Department of Telecom and the Ministry of Urban Development. The service providers will have three months time on their hands to roll out the service.

To boost tourism the government has identified 25 archeological sites for providing free WiFi access. The monuments are Humayun’s Tomb, Red Fort, Qutub Complex in Delhi, Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri Sravasti and Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh, Shore Temple in Mahabalipuram, Vaishali-Kohua in Bihar, Martand Temple and Leh Palace in J&K, Konark Temple in Odisha, Rani-ki Vav Gujarat, Khajuraho and Mandu in Madhya Pradesh and Rang Ghar in Assam. So after June next year, you wouldn’t have to wait till you get to your hotel or home to upload those selfies.

The initiative is definitely appreciable, but the government needs to make sure that the plan is executed to the finish. In India, it is really easy to inaugurate an initiative but maintenance is the tough part. The government needs to ensure that the telecom operators provide a standard service which make them accountable for any malfunction. Connecting India should have a long term view and should not just be seen as a PR activity by the government. This service can attract more people to come to the Indian shores and increase revenues for the nation. Even businesses can benefit from ever present internet services and in turn help to grow the economy. This is a serious endeavor, and the government should proceed with the development understanding its healthy consequences for the economy.

December 17, 2014
Micromax Yu Expected to be Priced for Rs.12,999 and Come with 4G Support

UPDATE: Micromax released the device by the name Yureka on the 18th of December and the price was listed as Rs. 8999.

Micromax is all set to unveil its new brand ‘Yu’ tomorrow. The brand will be based on CyanogenMod and will provide immense customization options and regular updates for the customers. The exclusive partnership with Cyanogen will help Micromax battle some of the long-standing grievances against the company. The device under the new brand has been spotted on import/export website Zauba.

According to the listing on the website, the Yu device is imported from China with a unit price of Rs. 8,301. The device has a 5.5-inch display and supports Micro SD cards. It is a dual SIM device with 4G LTE support.

You can expect the price to be around Rs. 12,999 which seems okay for an LTE device. Considering the available data, we can expect a decent spec sheet. But does it have enough to take on the global leader of Cyanogen device, the OnePlus One? Well, today Micromax was in news for filing a case against OnePlus in India to preserve its exclusive rights on Cyanogen, so it doesn’t have to fear any challenges in that sphere. We are still hoping for a good act by Micromax for its new brand and hope the company provides a better quality of service than in the past.

Thanks Pritpal for the tip!

December 17, 2014
Thanks to Micromax OnePlus One May Face Sales Ban in India

After the dejection that set on Indian smartphone consumers after the ban on Xiaomi, a new development might infuriate them further. Micromax has filed an infringement complaint calling for a ban on sales of OnePlus devices as it now owns exclusive rights to sell Cyanogen devices in India. The fans of the flagship killer have waited for a long time to get their hands on the exclusive device, and this development might backfire on Micromax.

Micromax is going to launch its own brand of CyanogenMod powered devices called ‘YU’. The company states that it incurred massive costs to create an exclusive brand for selling Cyanogen powered devices in India. The devices are up for launch tomorrow, 18th of December.

According to Livemint, the complaint was registered at Delhi High court and Micromax secured a temporary injunction in the case. The court has ordered OnePlus to refrain from marketing, selling and shipping its popular handsets in India. But to give the Chinese company some relief, the judge allowed them to sell all the remaining stocks they have on hand. OnePlus began selling the handsets on 2nd of December.

OnePlus has a non-exclusive right to use CyanogenMod‘s trademark and software all across the world except China. While Micromax has an exclusive license for South Asia, this might become a major hindrance in the growth path of the OnePlus. The company had major plans for India, including bringing the next generation OnePlus Two in India, but it is yet to be seen what this development leads to. OnePlus also informed the court that Cyanogen intimated them about the exclusive agreement with Micromax just a fortnight before its India launch. The court told OnePlus that it could sue Cyanogen but that can only be governed by the laws of California where the agreement was signed.

It might not actually mean the end of the Chinese company’s India journey. OnePlus is already planning a new OS based on the latest Android L update, but this will lead to the demise of its most appreciated feature, the CyanogenMod.

Micromax on the other hand can gather a bad public reputation following this development. Though they are right in the technical and legal aspects of things, but the public opinion might shift against them and that too just a day before their brand launch. The company will have to bring something exceptional to take on the massive popularity of the OnePlus One.

Micromax if you don’t want to face immense public ire, you better bring something that blows our minds or else you’ll be seen as the killer of the flagship killer in India, and you really don’t want to be that company.

In other (OnePlus) news, they’re launching a secret device today, any guesses what it might be?

December 17, 2014
Microsoft Lumia 535: Attractive, yet Affordable

Microsoft is going for an aggressive push for its Windows phone family. Since the acquisition of the Nokia mobile business, the company has gone ahead to replace the iconic brand name with its own. The new line of devices have garnered some praise for their unique designs and fast performance. In the affordable line of Windows devices stands the Lumia 535 which is a great Windows 8.1 device.

The Microsoft Lumia 535 gets its processing provice from a quad-core 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 200 processor. It features 1 GB of RAM and an internal storage of 8 GB that is expandable up to 128 GB; storage is literally no issue on this device. To make life even easier, the device comes with 15 GB of cloud storage. The device is juiced up through a 1905 mAh battery.

The display on the device might be a slight letdown. It has a 5-inch qHD (960 x 540) with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. You can find multiple devices offering 720p HD displays in lower price points. On the camera front, the device gets its image capturing abilities from Nokia’s exceptional legacy in phone cameras. The device has a 5 MP camera on the back and a wide angle lens for selfies in the front.

The device also carries Nokia’s Here maps system that is considered one of the best navigation apps out there. The device comes with special offers that might make it inviting. There are multiple color options available for the Lumia, which makes the device appear quite youthful.

The Smartphone in its entirety is a worthy purchase, but it comes for a price of Rs.9,199. Microsoft should consider slicing the prices as much as it can so that people who want to give it a try wouldn’t have to think twice before going for it.

This is a sponsored post

December 16, 2014
Amazon All Set and Ready for the Micromax ‘Yu’ Launch

Micromax’s CynogenMod-powered new brand called ‘Yu’ is just a couple of days away. Amazon, which would be exclusively launching the device, is all prepped to host the new brand. A new page for the brand is up and it will get a lot of folks excited.

Using the strengths of CyanogenMod’s amazing features, Micromax hopes to climb up the ladders in the points tally. This may be possible as CyanogenMod is one of the most appreciated custom ROM’s out there which not just gives you amazing customization features, it also adds regular updates. The updates bit would really help Micromax’s image as the company has been constantly berated for its low quality after sales support.

Amazon is presently hosting a page that simply shows an unmarked phone with the words “Are you ready to Play God” written on it. It is followed by a tagline that says “The Zeus of phones is about to arrive,” which rather sounds like an overstatement.

The accompanying video on the page flaunts the customizability features. But weirdly the phone that they are featuring looks pretty close to the OnePlus One – the smartphone that can be credited with bringing CyanogenMod in the mainstream.

Yu comes to town on the 18th of this month, and we hope with this new release, Micromax raises the standards of Indian made devices. The company has also talked about the possibilities of wearables in the future, which would help it compete with the big brands. It has constantly risen up, and Cyanogen can help the company to rise further in the game. All it needs to do now is revamp and strengthen its after sales service because that will add immense credibility to the company’s reputation.

December 16, 2014
Lava’s Affordable Iris Fuel 60 Comes with a Massive 4000 mAh Battery

Indian smartphone company, Lava has launched the Iris Fuel 60. The phone’s USP is the massive 4000 mAh battery which extends its usage time and decreases the frequency of charging. The phone also has multiple gesture features which might make it more attractive to the buyers.

The Iris Fuel 60 is only 1000 mAh short of Gionee’s Marathon M3 which comes with 5000 mAh behemoth. But while the Marathon M3 can set you back by Rs. 13,999, Lava’s big battery bombshell comes at a rather affordable price of Rs. 8,888.

But even at a low price, the device isn’t short on accompanying specs. It comes with a quad-core, 1.3 GHz processor along with 1 GB RAM, which is the same as the Marathon M3. The internal storage stands at 8 GB; that is expandable up to 32 GB, a standard at this price point. It also provides USB OTG support which will take its storage capacity further.

The device flaunts a 720p HD IPS display and is protected by scratch resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 3o. The main camera on the device is a 10 MP shooter while on the front is a 2 MP shooter. The device presently runs on Android 4.4, but the company claims that it will soon be bringing an Android L update for the device.

If battery woes are your biggest concern for a smartphone, then this phone can be your ideal option. It has pretty much the same specs as the Marathon M3 but comes at Rs. 5000 cheaper at a loss of 1000 mAh worth of battery storage. Lava has put a serious contender in the big battery game.

December 16, 2014
Xiaomi Races Ahead, Kicks LG Out of the Top 5 in Third Quarter

Xiaomi’s short life in the consumer electronics business is marked by immense growth. The company was founded in 2010 and since then it has not looked back. It even went ahead and kicked Samsung from the top of the points tally in China. It is going through a rough patch at the moment in India but globally, happy news keeps pouring in for the company. American information technology research and advisory firm, Gartner has released some encouraging numbers for the smartphone industry.

Gartner news report shows that the smartphone is growing at a good pace and business is booming. Smartphones sales saw an increase of 20 percent; the industry sold over 301 million units in the third quarter of this year. A fact that is even encouraging for the industry is that smartphones are eating into the shares of feature phones who saw a decrease of 25 percent.

This report also leads to a major reshuffle in the points tally for smartphone makers. Samsung still managed to guard its fortune at the top of the table even with an eight percent drop and it now holds 24.4 percent of the market. But the news that was the cause of a lot of worry for the big name brand is the arrival of Xiaomi in the league of the big boys. With this, the Chinese disrupting force has kicked out LG from the top 5 points tally.

The message is coming loud and clear, people have seen the possibility of high specs at low price, and they are going for it. The companies that will adapt to this will have a comfortable stay in the points, and the rest will go to dust. It’s time the companies stopped cheapening out on providing decent specs at a price point, if small time manufacturers can do it, so can the big brands with their massive capital.

December 16, 2014
Xodium the New Flagship Killer with 2K Display Seems Too Good to Be True

OnePlus One was the best phone of this year. It did fall short on specs in comparison to the newly released flagship, but it sure came about as a serious disrupter for the market. It led people to ask an important question, if a small time company can provide high specs at affordable prices, what is stopping the big name brands from doing so? Well, the big brands are scared of the Chinese duo, Xiaomi and OnePlus but they don’t seem serious about cutting them at source by bringing their own devices which can counter the rising Chinese brands. In fact, these are no small time threats for the established brands; Xiaomi has raced up to the top of the podium in China, throwing off Samsung in the country. This proves the fact that the company that offers maximum features at the lowest cost will win the market, and a new entrant is trying its luck with this philosophy.

Meet Xodium, it looks like the brethren of Xiaomi and OnePlus. The phone flaunts top of the class features with sexy looks and a sleek user interface. Xodium’s spec sheet will blow your mind on the first look. The phone has the innards to take on the likes of LG G3, Note 4 and even the Nexus 6.

The website claims the device can run true 4K videos on its Quad HD display supported by high specs.

The processor on the device is the top of the line, quad-core Snapdragon 805 clocking at 2.7 GHz. With 3GB of RAM, you know this baby is going to be fast. It is available in two storage options, 32 GB and 64 GB. The bit that will make it really aspirational is the fact that it has expandable storage up to 128 GB. The device is juiced up by a 3200 mAh battery. It runs on a custom operating system called ‘xOS’ which is based on Android 5 Lollipop.

The display on the device is a delight. The 5.5 inch Super AMOLED display has a resolution of 1440×2560(2K) and has a pixel density of 534 ppi. This will make it by far the best display in its price point. The display is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

The device doesn’t shy up on the camera either. It has a 16 MP main shooter with optical image stabilization. It is capable of 4K recording. On the front, you have a 5MP selfie shooter with LED flash. The device lets you take images simultaneously while recording videos.

Xodium also has a wide range of sensors such as heart rate sensor, gestures, UV, compass, barometer and other usual sensors including NFC.

Now this phone one-ups the OnePlus One in every side. On the website, the price is stated as $329 (Rs. 20,610) for 32GB and $379 (Rs. 23,742) for the 64 GB variant. This sounds like the sweetest music to any device enthusiast. But we can’t shake off the feeling that it sounds too good to be true. On the website, when you click the buy now button, you only get the option to pre-order by Bitcoin, which is regarded as unreliable way of making transactions. The PayPal option is currently inactive. The website claims they can ship the order anywhere for free which also sounds unreasonable. We would love for this device to be real, who wouldn’t, but we are not sending our hard earned money there way till we see a working device.

December 13, 2014
Sony and Microsoft Ready to Begin Console Wars in China

China is a country that practically produces almost everything available in the market. The country is the manufacturing hub of most of the world’s electronics. But it has serious distrust for foreign products. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is a nanny state that is quick to ban anything that doesn’t stand up to its cultural standards. The country recently lifted a 14-year ban on foreign consoles in the country. This led to the arrival of the two gaming giants in the country who will now start a new battle in their war of console supremacy in the most populated country in the world.

About four months back, Microsoft’s Xbox One hit the Chinese shores. On January 11th its arch nemesis, Sony PlayStation 4 will arrive to begin the familiar war. Sony told Reuters that it would arrive with 30 titles and has already applied for licenses for them. In comparison, Xbox One has only 10 titles in the country.

It is rather difficult to get your gaming title passed through the scrutiny of the Chinese censors. The country is infamous for having a giant mechanism that constantly censors content throughout the media and the internet. The safest bet for the companies is to bring sports based titles to get past easily through the licensing process. It doesn’t seem like the Chinese gamers are going to get access to the likes of GTA 5 anytime soon.

These devices also come at a hefty price tag even though the consoles are made in the country. The PS4 comes for 2,899 yuan(Rs. 29,240) while Chinese buyers would have to shell out 3,699 yuan (Rs.37,300) for the Xbox One. Microsoft hopes to sell a million devices by October 2015.

It is good to see China opening its doors to the world one step at a time. It’s about time the country also imported democracy and let its people taste real freedom. Well, if freedom in 21st century means being a slave to the screen, guess the Chinese aren’t far from it.

December 12, 2014
Corning Brings Gorilla Glass 4 to India to Help Prevent Your Screen From Shattering

Smartphones have started to control our lives. They hold almost all our information and with each passing day they are gaining priority over computers to access the internet. But they are delicate beings too. For a person with butterfingers, it would mean shattered glass. This leads to loss of sensory components that end up rendering the device non-functional. It leads to grueling days ahead as they try to use the device with the damaged glass or have to shell out big money to get the screen replaced. To save you from all the hassles, Corning has brought in Gorilla Glass 4 to the Indian market.

Corning claims that the Gorilla Glass 4 goes further in terms of strength in comparison to all its competitors. They state that the glass has twice as much damage resistance in comparison to aluminosilicate glass. The company said that it conducted multiple extensive tests to prove the efficacy of the glass to prevent shattering.

The scientists at Corning developed new drop-test methods that simulate real-world break events, based on thousands of hours analyzing cover glass that had broken in the field or laboratory. They dropped the devices facedown from a height of one meter using multiple techniques. The examination of devices from the company’s tests led to the conclusion that Gorilla Glass 4 survives up to 80 percent of the time while Soda-lime glass, which is commonly deployed in today’s commercial devices, breaks nearly 100 percent of the time.

To strengthen their glass, Corning uses a proprietary fusion draw process which maintains the thinness, durability, and optical clarity. The company’s glass has been inducted in over 1,395 devices, and more than three billion such devices have been sold since their inception in 2007.

Although it’s good to have a strengthened glass on your device, it would be inadvisable to test out the glass at home. The scientists have already done that bit for you. You may not be as lucky with your efforts as these cute Gorilla family.

December 12, 2014
Xbox One Finally Races Ahead of the PS4, Records 1.2 Million Sales in November

Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s Playstation family of devices have been taking on each other for a long while now. The companies are the market leaders in gaming consoles and this time around they were trying to be complete home entertainment devices so one can tip the other out of the competition. Sony’s Playstation has regularly been ahead of the Xbox in terms of sales but this November, Microsoft’s baby went past PS4 with a massive sale of 1.2 million devices.

For a struggling Sony, this cannot be good news. The company has been seriously struggling for the past few years with no respite in sight. The Playstation ecosystem is the best performing device in Sony’s consumer electronic line-up. The current generation Xbox One’s price was slashed by $50, and it took the benefit of a festive season where the purse strings are loosened. This led to Xbox One leading in both US and UK markets.

Folks working at Xbox One offices were visibly elated. The company had previously hit a 10 million console sales milestone just a month before, and a massive boost from the November sales definitely put them on cloud 9.

Nintendo’s Amiibo were also a hit this year and were well received.

On the other hand, Sony’s compatriot and a gaming giant, Nintendo also had some happy news to share. Their interactive action figure line-up called Amiibo also found a lot of takers in the market. Nintendo has unveiled the Amiibo lineup at this years E3 held in June. These NFC powered figurines interact with the company’s Wii-U and Nintendo 3DS consoles and store user information and gameplay. The Amiibo lineup definitely helped Nintendo to increase its clout in the industry.

Sony needs to buck up in the console race if it wants to be counted in the consumer points tally. The consoles are Sony’s last remaining saving grace. A potential price cut or offers should be in order. The festive season is still on, and the company can make a comeback in time to have a happy Christmas this year. Or else it would be another in the line of disappointments it faced this year.

December 12, 2014
Micromax Is About To Bring Something Amazing for Yu

The wait for India’s first truly CyanogenMod based device is about to draw to a close. It has certainly been a long wait. CyanogenMod used to be just for the nerds who had the expertise in flashing custom ROMs, but OnePlus One brought it into the mainstream. Indians fans of the ROM maker were truly elated when OnePlus disclosed their plans for India. But they were disappointed to know that it won’t get support from Cyanogen because of their exclusive partnership in India with Micromax. The Indian brand is now ready to unveil its first Cyanogen powered device/devices on the 18th of December and has sent out invites for the launch.

There isn’t a lot known about the smartphone except that it will be a separate entity from Micromax’s usual Canvas line of devices. Micromax has stated some facts about this new family of devices that sound enticing. The company has said that it will service Yu devices even if they are rooted. It also hinted at probable future prospects of wearables under the Yu brand.

Following the footsteps of the OnePlus, Micromax has also set up a developers forum. Here folks can register complaints, provide suggestions and cooperate in the open source process of making the devices better.

The best part about the Yu devices would be their updatability. Updates have been a major topic of contention between Micromax and its customers. Luckily CynogenMod’s proactive update schedule will take care of all that headache. But we seriously hope they add some serious muscle in the hardware too. We really want an international standard Indian brand and Micromax needs to work a bit harder if it wants to be India’s shining glory in the international market.

December 11, 2014