Lenovo, which had introduced its competitor for the affordable market, the A6000 a few months back is ready to bring its latest product for the segment. The Lenovo A7000 will take on the likes of Redmi 2, Yu Yureka and other sub-Rs.10000 devices.
The A7000 sports a 5.5 inch, 720 x 1280 pixel display with a pixel density of 267 PPI. It is powered by an Octa-core, 1.5 GHz Mediatek chipset along with 2 GB RAM. The handset sports 8 GB internal storage that can be expanded up to 32 GB. It runs Android 5.0 out of the box and is juiced up by a 2900 mAh.
The handset flaunts a 8 MP main shooter and a 5 MP selfie shooter at the front. The stand out feature of this device is the Dolby Atmos sound that churns out a fuller multimedia experience. When listened to on headphones, the sound from the smartphone feels like it’s coming from all the directions. The company claims that the device can optimize all audio content to deliver the Atmos experience.
With an all round feature list, the A7000 has a price tag of Rs. 8,999. The device will be available through flash sales on Flipkart. The registration for the flash sale will begin today at 2PM and will end on the midnight of 14th April. The first sale for the Lenovo A7000 will be held on 15th of April, so if you were waiting for this feature rich affordable device, now is the time to register for it.
Smartphones have become an even essential part of our lives. With the addition of payment systems, smartphones will soon take over the role of your wallet. While Samsung and Apple have already introduced their payment systems, other manufacturers are joining in. Microsoft, the makers of Windows Phone devices, have also announced that they will be unveiling their payment system soon.
Microsoft had showcased a tap to pay feature on its devices at a conference for Windows hardware makers in China. It was said then that this feature would not require support from the network operators. Just like Samsung and Apple Pay, this feature will also be based on NFC.
Microsoft’s plans were brought to light by Faisal Khan, a banking consultant. He found that Microsoft has already got permission from the American state of Idaho and has applied for licenses in all the states of the country.
Mobile payment was available on Windows phone through the Softcard app but the service closed down when Google bought Softcard. Bill Gates had predicted, after the launch of Apple Pay, the technology will soon be available on all smartphones. Considering the speed at which things are moving, it might be easy to visualize such a future.
When Microsoft made official its biggest innovation of the year, Windows 10, everybody was excited to hear about all the modifications it brought with it. It was not just another Windows upgrade, but was a whole new effort to push something fresh. Among other revelations that thrilled the audience, a huge amount of attention was gathered by the modern browser Spartan.
Spartan is an entirely new web browsing platform for Windows 10 that holds a bunch of really cool new features. The browser has been designed to meet the demands of the today’s fast striding world with a pinch of simplicity. Spartan is the way ahead for Internet Explorer (IE) and a dive into the revolutionary world of the future.
Here are some of the major differences that makes Spartan stand apart from the fast-fading Internet Explorer.
1. Faster Rendering Engine:
The most vital and unnoticeable change that makes Spartan a real spartan is the all-new rendering engine ‘Edge’. It is the core of Spartan and is much faster than the existing renderer, Trident. It loads complex pages many times faster than the IE, making it a strong competitor of Google Chrome.
Meanwhile, Windows 10 comes with two rendering engines as the latest Windows version comprises of two browsers. The Explorer works on Trident, while Spartan is powered by Edge; the latter is the default rendering engine on Windows 10.
2. Voice Assistant Cortana:
Cortana is another significant development that has made Windows and Chrome users restless to try their hands on it. The web browser assimilates with the company’s digital assistance service, Cortana. Through the smart assistance, Windows 10 users can get information on flights, hotel bookings and other vital data on their browser. One can track a particular flight just by typing its name and all the data like departure time, arrival time and current status will appear.
3. Note-Taking Mode:
Spartan has made it easy for users to highlight a specific section on the web page. The note-taking tool facilitates users to add comments and annotations to the web pages with the help of stylus. These pages can also be sent to a friend. As all the browsers support the web note service, the messages can easily be read by any of your friends or colleagues using a different version or OS.
4. Clutter-free reading mode:
IE will be replaced with Spartan which will be the browser of the future for Microsoft.
One of the major modulation that is sure to mesmerise users is the clutter-free reading mode. The feature crops the important details and throws it ahead to focus on the information. The rest unwanted stuff is dumped in the background by default, giving users a de-cluttered view of the web page.
5. Customizable reading list:
It’s an another new feature in Spartan that offers users a facility of read PDFs and web pages offline. It’s a cross-platform feature that syncs URLs between devices. The feature is almost exactly like what Apple has already offered with its Safari browser.
6. Simple interface with Group Tab Feature
Microsoft has kept its web browser simple because the more simple, the more elegant it looks. The interface is quite light, which makes it all the more appealing, and the icons have been designed for easy and quick understandability. Along with that, there’s a group tab feature that keeps multiple tabs in an organized manner. One can split work tab from personal tab to declutter the messy screen.
With the launch of Spartan, Internet Explorer – one of the vital means to bring internet to the masses since 1995 – has taken a backseat in Windows 10. It is estimated that Project Spartan will soon be a pivotal part of the golden tech history.
A couple of days back, OnePlus launched its promised Android-based ROM OxygenOS, thereby reducing its dependance on Cyanogen. It’s the first in-house version of OxygenOS by the Chinese firm and is based on Android 5.0.2 Lollipop.
The new custom ROM is built on “back to basics” approach and is said to be light with subtle essential features. The company hasn’t played on gimmicks or bloated features, and has built OxygenOS to provide maximum performance and battery life.
Let’s have a look at its features:
1. Quick Notifications Customization
The OnePlus’ OxygenOS offers the Quick Settings option which brings with itself the freedom to customise tiles. In the notifications bar, users can add, remove and re-arrange toggles and can make them disappear just by turning them off. This way, you can have an absolutely empty notifications tray.
2. Freedom of Customization
OnePlus One users really have the freedom to customize with OxygenOS. One can pick from the various wallpapers and set it as thier lock screen. Besides which, users can choose from hardware and software navigation keys from the Setting menu and can disable the capacitive touch screen buttons at the bottom. They’ve provided various short keys for the hardware navigation keys like adjusting the backlight, customizing home button, menu button and more.
3. Off-Screen Gestures
OxygenOS incorporates many off-screen gestures like Double tap to wake up the screen, drawing O to open camera, drawing V to toggle flashlight and pressing three fingers together to start music.
All the other features are unaltered and OnePlus has opted for a minimal-change strategy. OnePlus will release more versions of OxygenOS and the company has asked users’ to provide feedback to help them further make a better and user-friendly OS. The Chinese brand hasn’t released an OTA update and the One users have to install the update using a 6-step installation guide, which is slightly tedious for an average smartphone user.
The South Korean equipment manufacturer LG is forcing spotlight on itself, by revealing information about the LG G4 bit by bit. A recent disclosure by LG’s display manufacturing department claimed that the G4 will have an enhanced 5.5-inch Quad HD display and now LG has officially announced the arrival of its ultra-advanced user interface, UX 4.0.
A teaser video publicized by LG exhibits the UX 4.0 as a step towards making UI friendly to customers. The clip depicts quite a lot of features that seem to be a step in the right direction. The Quick Shot feature allows users to click photos instantly. One doesn’t need to unlock the screen first and surf into the vast array of apps to start a camera. Just tap the volume button twice and the camera will be ready to shoot.
The camera comes with various camera modes along with Expert mode that is claimed to have DSLR-like qualities. This mode is said to use geo-location to group photos into an album taken at a single location.
Then there are a few other smart injections like its updated Calendar app, Gallery, Smart Board and Smart Alert. With the Calendar on LG G4, users can drag and drop any event to Calendar from their social networking site. The refurbished Gallery now lets you commemorate memories by grouping them according to date or location.
The Smart Board feature accumulates information from various apps within your device like Calendar, heath and music, and throws them on a single widget as collective information. The Smart Alert is where the smartness of the new UX 4.0 gets apparent. It not just notifies users about the weather, but also gives suggestions depending on the climatic conditions. Which means it will suggest you to go for a swim, play basketball, go for cycling on a sunny day.
Nevertheless, we would be able to see UX 4.0 in action only with the launch of LG G4 on April 28. Till then, here’s the official teaser:
Android users of WhatsApp are elated to find the voice calling feature of the messaging app has finally come to their devices. At its recent developers conference, it was announced that the voice calling feature might be available for the iOS ecosystem soon. This lead many Windows Phone users to ask whether they’ll be getting the feature soon. Well looks like the Facebook owned messaging giant now has good news for its Windows users.
WhatsApp has confirmed that the voice calling feature is in its developmental stage. This was revealed when one Windows user inquired about the arrival of the feature on their devices.
There is no timeframe mentioned as of yet for the arrival of the voice calling feature on Windows phones. WhatsApp’s founder had stated during the developers conference that voice calling would be available on its iOS app in a few weeks. So as of now it isn’t sure which of the two will get the feature first, but considering the massive user base of Apple, our bet is on iOS devices.
Mobile phones have given a boost to communication like no other technology before it. Instead of looking for a telephone in every country you go to, the pocket-sized device is always handy to connect you with your loved ones. But the aspect of international calling that dissuades people from using their mobiles more often while traveling abroad is the high roaming charges, Google is set to challenge these exorbitant charges by introducing free international roaming.
The Silicon Valley giant is working on creating its own mobile phone service and is in talks with operators like Hutchison Whampoa to allow free roaming to its customers. Google will collaborate with other network operators to use their existing infrastructures to offer its services. The company has said that it will be a small scale network but considering Google’s massive resources, the company might aim for bigger scales in the future.
A tie-up with Hutchison will give Google access to countries like UK, Ireland, Italy, and several other countries. It is said that with this move, the company will force the American telecom companies to offer similar services to their US customers. The telecom firms of US like Verizon and AT&T make a lot of profits but are also known for their dismal services.
The recent advancements in the field of communication which includes voice and video calling through apps, free roaming and other features might be troublesome for the telecom companies. Sooner or later the telecom companies will have to shut down their prime service of voice call and text messaging as internet based apps take over their markets. It will be interesting to see how they manage to stay relevant in the coming future.
The launch occasion of Samsung’s latest flagships, Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, was grand. The event witnessed close to 1,000 people and most of them appreciated both the devices. But what if all those admiring attendees were actually pretending to be lured by the fresh offering? A latest report surfaced by Shanghai-based news outlet The Paper confirms that around 400 to 500 people present in the press conference were planted there to promote the products.
According to the report, a recruiting specialist was hired to bring fake fans and they were paid a certain amount to appear in the event. The source contacted one of the recruiter and he notified that around 100 people were brought by him to the Galaxy S6 launch conference. Some other recruiters were also hired for the job and the total number of paid fans reached 400-500. This accounts to half the population attending Samsung’s official launch event.
The source also brought to light that it was the demand of the Korean electronics firm to bring young people to the show. As per the company’s directions, the fake attendees should look like students and don’t have to be more than 30 years. The company paid each of the clients 30 yuan ($4.80) for an hour and the recruiters were paid 20 yuan ($3.20) to bring each person. The paid fans were asked to like Samsung’s page on Baidu as well. The Paper also disclosed that the hired fans were informed to tell the press that they were true Samsung fans and were fascinated to see Samsung’s brand new handsets.
However, the company is denying to all the reports and is calling them “totally groundless and bogus.” A statement released by Samsung reads –
Our findings have indicated that under no circumstances has anyone been hired or given money to attend the event. In fact, the more than 1,100 attendees, including consumers and industry officials, have all been formally invited to the Shanghai Culture Square where the event took place.
It’s not the first time Samsung is accused of adopting unfair practices. Back in 2013, Samsung was charged for spreading negative remarks about HTC through Taiwanese students.
Samsung is losing a major chunk of its fan base in China to Apple and Xioami. The newcomer in the smartphone business, Xiaomi, has showed tremendous results and is leading the race in China and India as well. Samsung doesn’t want to rely on its smartphones only and is trying every possible bit to regain its lost status.
Switzerland is known to be the land of exquisite watch makers. For decades, the Swiss watch has been one of the most prominent exports of the tiny European nation. The year now is 2015, and it’s the age of smartwatches. Silicon Valley giant, Apple is ready to launch its new product, the Apple Watch around the world, but it has hit a legal wall in the watchmakers’ nation.
Apple cannot sell the Watch with the name Apple or image of an Apple, which are both central to the branding of the product. The patent to the brand name in the country is held by William Longe, who received it in 1985. This patent is set to expire on December 5 of this year after which the tech giant can bring its new smartwatch to the country.
The patent issue was reported by Swiss broadcaster RTS. Till now there has been no comment from either Apple or the patent authority of Switzerland on the matter. Apple will be bringing its new product to nine countries on April 24th.
Seeing the challenge to their markets, the Swiss watchmakers are raising their game too. Founder of one of the largest watchmaker from the country, Swatch had recently said that the nation’s watch business will head for trouble if they don’t compete with the tech companies. Swatch has already unveiled their own smartwatches, but they look like toys at present. They will have to do a lot better to take on the offerings from Samsung, LG and of course, Apple.
Well, the Oculus Rift’s consumer model edges closer to release and Sony is preparing ‘Project Morpheus’ for the PS4. We’re almost certain that the next chapter of gaming and entertainment is going to be ruled by Virtual Reality. Acknowledging what’s to come, we thought we’d take a look at the games we think could be the best suited for VR space.
Here are the top 5 games we’d love to play in virtual reality:
1. Mirror’s Edge 2
Perhaps the most obvious choice of game to feature Oculus Rift/Project Morpheus compatibility, even the idea of wall-running in virtual reality in Mirror’s Edge 2 is enough to empty your pocket and buy Sony already. If you’ve ever wanted to experience flying through the skyline of a freakishly white city, or getting a first-person view of plummeting to your death from the top of a skyscraper, then this is the best option to walk away from the experience alive. Mirror’s Edge‘s tough platforming and great aesthetic is ideal for virtual reality.
2. Portal 2
If the Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus will tackle with the motion sickness issue, then playing Portal 2 in Virtual Reality would be the only thing you’d be doing on weekends. In this game you would be frequently chastised by sociopathic A.I. that has a penchant for breaking into song at the end of the ride. Puzzle-solving with added adrenaline.
3. Star Wars: Battlefront
There is no news about the upcoming Star Wars: Battlefront game other than that it will be launching soon, but the idea of experiencing the Star Wars universe in virtual reality is an unexceptionally exciting one. While the Battlefront games were typically played in third-person, they’ve always featured a first-person mode, too, and one which will likely be focused in the new game. If this is to be the case, then Battlefront with Oculus Rift/Project Morpheus support would be amazing.
4. Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is being developed by The Chinese Room,who previously created ‘Dear Esther’, an atmospheric first-person game that suffered from being a little too pretentious and, frankly, dull. With its apocalyptic setting, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture has the potential to be much more enjoyable than its earlier version, and if it can bring the atmosphere of Dear Esther to a more interesting game, then this upcoming PS4 title will be a great opportunity for Sony to show off Project Morpheus.
5. Evolve
Evolve’s under the development under Turtle Rock, same people behind the Left 4 Dead series, and from early impressions and screenshots it seems to be L4D with gigantic monsters instead of zombies. This would lend itself well to virtual reality, providing equal amounts of horror and hilarity, if the L4D series is anything to go by.
Moto 360 by Motorola was one of the best smartwatches of year 2014. Everyone appreciated it for its simple watch face and round design. Since the time of its launch, rumours started floating about the successor of Moto 360 and today, it another one has popped up.
According to a report by Phandroid, the Schaumburg-based electronics firm is working on a second-generation Moto 360 near its headquarters. The online tech publication claims that the next Moto smartwatch is codenamed as ‘Smelt’ and they have recovered proof of its existence. The source says that it has spotted a device with ‘Smelt’ codename that has been pinging from Mundelein – a city close to Schaumburg – to an anonymous Android developer’s console. The gadget is said to be running on Android 5.1 and sports a screen resolution of 360×360.
The explanation to why ‘Smelt’ could be the next Moto smartwatch is a bit bizarre, but that’s one of the primary grounds of this assumption. The publication says that Smelt defines ‘a small silvery fish that lives in both marine and freshwater’. At the time of Moto 360 testing, the wearable also received a codename of similar fashion – Minnow – which means ‘small freshwater fish’. From the common fish-themed codename, it turns out that the “Smelt” is the upcoming Moto wristwatch.
However, it’s just a presumption and Motorola hasn’t officially stated anything as of now. But this appears to be true in a way since the company has almost had a year to work on its next product.
Since the day Apple Watch was unveiled, it has received a heavy number of mixed reviews. Some say it is an overpriced device, while others suggest it will change the way the general audience looks at wearables. The Cupertino-based giant has decided to give its final customers a closer look at the Apple Watch and has released four new videos that demonstrate the Apple Watch at its best.
The videos describe how the Apple’s first smart watch can make your day-to-day tasks a lot easier.
The company recently updated its Apple Watch web page with four new videos. The clips walk the users through several features of the Watch giving a fair idea about how to use it and what it can do. The first one of the four is an introductory clip that says “Welcome to Apple Watch.” The 4:44 minutes video is dedicated to providing an elaborate detail of its hardware and software concepts like Messages, Digital crown, Force Touch and Faces. The video narrates the power of Apple Watch and how it is a must-have accessory for every iPhone user.
The other three videos are comparatively shorter than the introductory video and finishes within 2 minutes. Each of them focuses on one key feature and demonstrates how to customize the watch. The Faces speaks about how with a long press, all the watch faces come up and you can make a selection from a list. Tap any to make it the new face and customise it as you desire like changing hand colours, adding calendar and weather, and more.
Similarly, Messages and Digital Touch give an insight into the functionality of the other features. Messages give a tour of sending audio and text messages along with numerous emoji options. The Digital Touch caters to your social habits. The side button below the Digital crown gives access to your friends. You can add contacts, send sketches, taps, messages, and heartbeats to your contacts, and of course, you can ring them any time using the Watch.
Meanwhile, Apple has made public only 4 of the videos, while the official web page depicts 7 more guided tours each with “Coming Soon” tag. These include Phone Calls, Siri, Maps, Music, Activity, Apple Pay and workout. Apple Watch will go on sale on 24th of this month. Needless to say, we’re extremely excited to get our hands on Apple’s first wearable.
OnePlus One users had been patiently waiting for the fresh operating system – OxygenOS, which the company had announced would release by March end. The deadline passed, however OnePlus didn’t keep its vast user base longing for too long. The Chinese electronics giant today officially unveiled its first, much-talked about operating system, the Oxygen OS, based on Android 5.0.2 Lollipop.
OnePlus updated its official website with an introduction to OxygenOS. The web page reads, “OxygenOS, a Pure Android experience optimized for the OnePlus One.” Below the text are two links, one is the Installation Guide that walks users through the various installation steps, and the other is the Download Oxygen link, clicking on which the download of the OS starts.
Coming to what OnePlus’ first own operating system has to offer, then the foremost notable point of the OS is that it’s light with subtle essential features. It comes with a slew of features such as smart off-screen gestures, improved file manager and Quick Settings. Users can wake the screen up by performing simple gestures on the lock screen of the OnePlus One. These include O to start camera, V to toggle flash, and pressing three fingers together to play music.
OxygenOS offers a customizable lock screen and allows users to switch between hardware and software navigation keys. The Quick setting feature offers users to add, remove and re-arrange tiles with with few simple clicks.
OnePlus commented that instead of gimmicks and bloated features, they have focused on performance and battery life. It’s the first version of OxygenOS and the firm wants to shape it to ensure a smooth experience for its customers. The tech major has asked feedback from the One users to further make the OS better and user-friendly.
Gionee showcased to the world its super slim flagship smartphone, the Elife S7, at MWC this year. The Chinese smartphone manufacturer today brought the handset to India at an introductory price of Rs. 24,999. The device beats the present sleekest smartphone holder, the Elife S5.5, and boasts comparatively lesser dimensions and weight.
The Elife S7 is 5.5mm thick and features 139.8×67.4×5.5mm dimensions. The new smartphone is 6.5gm lighter than the Elife S5.5 and weighs a mere 126.5gm. Considering the exterior of Elife S7, then the device sports an aluminium magnesium unibody design. It flaunts a 5.2-inch Super AMOLED full HD screen with 1920×1080p resolution. A Gorilla Glass 3 display protects it from accidental slips.
Taking about the innards of the phone, Gionee Elife S7 is equipped with a 1.7GHz MediaTek MT6752 64-bit octa-core processor with Mali-T760MP2 GPU. It has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage space, which is expandable via MicroSD card slot. The gadget is powered by Android 5.0 Lollipop.
It fits a 13MP snapper at the back with LED Flash and auto-focus, together with an 8MP shooter upfront. A 2700mAh battery is loaded with the device to keep it running for one full day. The dual-SIM device comes with connectivity options like LTE support, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Meanwhile, the successor of the S7 might be arriving in India in June, as per Times of India. Temporarily titled as Elife S8, the expected device could carry a 2.5GHz Snapdragon quad-core processor with 3GB RAM. The device will reportedly pack some enhanced photography capabilities with 16MP rear and 8MP front camera. Meanwhile, the Chinese firm hasn’t come out with any such information and the news about Elife S8 should be taken with a pinch of salt.
At Rs. 24,999 the Gionee S7 seems to be priced higher than its competitors in the market. We’d recommend prospective buyers to go for the OnePlus One instead. Especially since the company released its very own operating system based on Android Lollipop 5.0.2 called the OxygenOS.
Check out our full review of the flagship killer here:
Samsung is finally breathing a sigh of relief with the number working once again in their favor. The Korean smartphone and electronics giant has seen a bump in the number of pre-orders received for their latest marvels : The Galaxy S6 and The Galaxy S6 Edge .
The number is much higher claims Samsung, than the pre-orders received for the Galaxy S5, which was simply the poorest selling Samsung Galaxy S series phone ever.
Samsung has tied in a lot of schemes and payment options in India with the handsets making them easily accessible to the end buyer. The company has also brought back 0% EMI schemes in India to lure their buyers into getting onto the Galaxy S6 bandwagon.
Reports have confirmed that, even though the numbers of pre-orders globally are extremely high, they are 70% less than what were received for the Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus at the time of their launch and linger in the 1-2 million bracket vs the 8-9 million received by Apple.
Samsung and its partners are aiming for heavy sales, but the numbers are not expected to beat Apple’s best selling Smartphones till date. In Q4 alone Apple sold 75 million of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus units, taking a heavy lead on the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge which are yet to launch.
