OnePlus announced the arrival of the 16 GB variant of the One in India a couple of days back. The Chinese electronics producer had cautiously unveiled just the device and not its pricing. OnePlus today launched the new 16GB One device in India with a price tag of Rs. 18,999. The phone will go on sale tomorrow on Amazon India.
As mentioned earlier, willing buyers will require an invite to make a purchase. To earn an invite, the e-commerce website Amazon India started a contest where users have to answer some necessary questions. The randomly picked lucky winners will be awarded with an invite to buy a OnePlus One (16 or 64 GB). The new economical version of OnePlus One comes in one colour option only – Silk White.
Throwing light on its specs – the OnePlus One comes with a 5.5-inch full HD (1920×1080 pixels) display. It is fitted with a 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor and 3GB of RAM. The phone runs on Cyanogen OS 11 as of now, but it will soon be upgraded to Oxygen OS, when it is launched. The smartphone comes with a 13 MP rear and 5 MP front snapper and houses a 3,100mAh battery.
With nearly a week left before HTC officially reveals its flagship smartphone in Barcelona, it seems that the device is already out in the open. MobileGeeks has spotted a German listing for a smartphone that looks strikingly similar to the One M9 images that were spotted last month.
If the leaked images are authentic, we may see just one camera on the rear compared to its predecessor. Images also suggest that HTC has moved some buttons around, we may see the power button right below the volume rockers on the right, unlike the M8 where it was located on top, making it quite a task to reach at times given the size of the M8.
In addition, the BlinkFeed news stream looks slightly different suggesting the possibility of a new software. Even the phone’s outer body appears notably thicker than the One M8.
Though nothing is officially confirmed, we may be in for a few surprises in a week’s time. In the meantime, here’s what we can expect under the hood from HTC’s next flagship:
5-inch Display running at 1080p
20.7 Megapixel rear camera, 4.0 megapixel front camera with HTC’s “Ultrapixel” tech
Android Lollipop 5.0 (with HTC Sense running on top)
2,840mAh battery
3GB of RAM
2Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 CPU (though some rumors point at 2.8Ghz)
A lot is riding on Samsung’s upcoming flagship, the Galaxy S6. The device is supposed to redefine Samsung’s approach to design. The Korean electronics giant has really come to struggle in the market in the past couple of years and is in desperate need to bring out an exceptional device. The rumors of the upcoming S6 has been encouraging, and a new teaser by T-mobile may give up the first look at the new device.
The Galaxy S6 will be unveiled by the company at the Mobile World Congress 2015 (MWC) in Barcelona. Samsung has said that the device is designed under its project zero initiative to build the device from scratch. The teaser image was tweeted out by T-mobile CEO John Legere.
The picture titled “SIX APPEAL” clearly shows a Note Edge like device. Samsung had hinted before that the S6 will have a curved screen, and the image gives a clear view of the curved display. As anticipated, the grey metal body is also visible on the display, and it makes the device look robust and sturdy.
In another leak by Sammobile, it is being reported that the Galaxy S6 might also sport dual front speakers like the HTC Boomsound or the Moto devices. They also hinted at a three-sided display on the device, but it sounds like a stretch as of now.
The leaked specs and images do present a pleasant image of the device, but it doesn’t feel game-changing yet. The phone launches in about a week so we’ll hold on to our judgements till then. We do hope that the company with the biggest R&D capabilities will do a better job than they did with their previous generation Galaxy S5.
The long awaited event, Mobile World Conference (MWC) is just around the corner and LG Electronics couldn’t resist teasing some of its offerings beforehand. A few days back the company unveiled that it will be using the MWC stage to launch its next-gen classy smartwatch called LG Watch Urbane. Now as per the recent disclosure, LG will launch four “Mid-Range” smartphones in the upcoming show in Barcelona, namely – Magna, Spirit, Leon and Joy.
The new lineup of smartphones by the company is available in both LTE and 3G versions, and is 4 to 5-inch in size. The LG Magna and LG Spirit are distinctive from the other two, and boast a slightly curved display and rounded back for better grip. Both are devices hold in-cell tech technology that offers improved sensitivity with faster touch recognition, better outdoor visibility and crisper images.
Starting with LG Magna, the device sports a 5.0-inch HD (294 ppi) along with a 1.2GHz or 1.3GHz quad-core chipset. It has an 8MP rear snapper and a 5MP front camera. The phone holds a removable battery of 2,540mAh. The LG Spirit, on the other hand, is 4.7-inch handset with identical 1.2GHz or 1.3GHz quad-core chipset. The other device, LG Leon, features a 4.5-inch screen, while LG Joy packs a handy 4-inch screen, which can easily fit in one’s palm. All the phones run on Android 5.0 Lollipop, except LG Joy.
The company is infusing popular UX features onto the phones like Gesture Shot and Glass View, which are otherwise a part of high-end devices only. Further details about the gadgets have been kept under wraps and pricing has been kept secretive as of now. The phones will roll out in select markets this week.
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.
One of the world’s largest PC manufacturer Lenovo Group is in the news for all the wrong reasons. Cyber-security experts are reporting that the Chinese manufacturer had pre-installed a virus laden software on its laptops that apparently makes its devices prone to hacking,
Users back in June reported of a pre-installed programme called Superfish that was an adware.
[quote text_size=”small” author=”Robert Graham” author_title=”CEO of U.S.-based Security Research Firm Errata Security”]
Superfish was malicious software that hijacks and throws open encrypted connections, paving the way for hackers to also commandeer these connections and eavesdrop, in what is known as a man-in-the-middle attack.
[/quote]
Meanwhile, Lenovo officials in January said on a web forum that Superfish has been temporarily been removed from consumer computers. The officials though did refrain from making any official comments during the Lunar New Year holiday in China.
Security experts believe that Lenovo has been negligent, and these computers are still vulnerable even after uninstalling Superfish. The software gives itself total control to take over connections and declare them as trusted and secure, even when they are not secure. If the allegations are substantiated, it will be a major blot on the companies brand identity and may affect future sales.
Microsoft yesterday launched the Lumia 532 in India targeted at the affordable segment of the market. The phone runs on Windows Phone 8.1 OS and will be getting the Windows 10 update. Microsoft launched the devices with multiple offers like data connection and premium access to Truecaller for six months. But what has it really got to offer for its price tag of Rs.6,499, let’s have a look.
The Lumia 532 comes from the Nokia inventory of devices that now feature a Microsoft logo. The phone is fairly fast and responsive. It features a 1 GB RAM and a 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 200 processor. You get a 5 MP shooter at the back and a VGA camera on the front that lets you make Skype calls from the device. This dual-sim, 3G device gets its power from a 1560 mAh battery.
Microsoft has said that the device will always get the latest operating system(OS) updates and will be getting the Denim update soon. Microsoft’s next major OS update is Windows 10, and the Lumia 532 will be getting it too.
Strengthened Glass in the front
Coming to build quality, the device does impress you with its exteriors. It carries on the legacy of the Nokia’s strong build, for which it is still appreciated (*Nokia 3310 memes). It has a robust, matte finish, polycarbonate back panel along with a strengthened front glass. The sides of the device have been given a glossy finish which is unique offering from Microsoft. It might be a bit tough to get the back panel out initially, but it will get easier once you understand the technique to open it.
The physical controls and ports are easy to access too. On the right side, you have the volume rockers and the power buttons. On the bottom, you get the microUSB port for charging and data syncing. On the top is a 3.5 mm jack for hands-free. The phone lets you expand storage to up to 128 GB which will be appreciated by multimedia hoarders.
Windows phones are known to be fast and responsive, and so is this device. The UI is really responsive, and the 1 GB helps you to get your tasks done with ease. You can customize the size of your live tiles just by holding them out and then selecting what size you want. You can also move the tiles as you desire. The device lets you change the basic color of the device, and you can get a back panel with the same color too. So this will be loved by the young folks. There is also a new predictive keyboard that will make it a lot easier to type messages.
So the device overall offers some good features for its price tag of Rs. 6,499. The device will always be updated and has a lot of colors and customization features that will impress the youth market. We will bring out a full review out soon and if you have any questions and queries regarding the device then post it in the comment section below and we’ll try to address them in our review. Keep checking iGyaan for more.
Google’s video-sharing service, YouTube is attempting to expand its user base by including the tech generation kids to its audience. The company announced in a statement that it would launch an app for kids called YouTube Kids app, which will have children specific content to create a safer environment for kids.
The new app will be an entirely separate division of the main YouTube service and will include age-appropriate content (videos, channels and playlists). YouTube Kids will feature a homescreen and will have eight options including kids TV shows and more. Kids can search for videos by typing in the standard search bar and can even browse through their voice.
Richard Goldsmith, Executive Vice President, Global Distribution and International Consumer Products at Jim Henson Co. said –
The app is extremely kid-friendly and features a variety of content, including several of our series such as Sid the Science Kid, Pajanimals, and Fraggle Rock.
Google has partnered with many content providers like DreamWorks TV, National Geographic and The Jim Henson Co. to provide content. Earlier this month, it acquired mobile application maker Launchpad Toys Inc., the developer responsible for building Toontastic storytelling tool, to help provide kids with more games and services.
YouTube Kids allow parents to have a control over the content and for how long will your child be watching a particular channel. The free app will be available on Android devices through Play Store from February 23, and meanwhile, it’s limited to just US kids. The company is expected to extend the service to other nations as well. The app would be appreciated by the parents who wanted to keep their kids away from the massive inventory of non-kids friendly content on Youtube.
Clad in a plastic body and embedded with Tizen OS, Samsung Z1 was barely unique and failed to find a space for itself in the brutal smartphone marketplace. However, the Korean electronics giant seems to be standing firmly behind its operating system and is reportedly working on expanding its smartphone portfolio running on the Tizen OS.
As per Tizen Indonesia blog post, Samsung is working on the successor of Z1 that would run on the company’s Tizen OS. Rumour mills suggest that the iteration (temporarily titled Z2) would have a slightly higher display resolution of 540x960p which is a qHD display. The presently available Z1 features a 480×800 WVGA display.
Samsung claims most of the major apps are available on Tizen OS
Tizen OS was criticized for being an Android clone. In spite of the unfavorable reviews for Tizen based Z1, Samsung made a marginal profit by selling 100,000 units in India in just one month and sold 20,000 handsets in less than 30 days in Bangladesh. The reason may be the low-price device and the much hyped new operating system from a major company that led people to give it a try.
There are no more speculations about the Z2, but it will surely stand close in specs with the Z1 which has a 4-inch WVGA display, 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 768 MB RAM, 4 GB inbuilt storage, and 1500 mAh battery. Samsung can probably attract more audience if it adds some unique features instead of just emulating Android. The consumers have embraced new operating systems like the MIUI and Cyanogen for their varied appeal. Being Samsung, the company can afford to take a risk here as it desperately needs a popular device in the affordable segment of smartphones which is currently dominated by Indian and other Asian brands.
Microsoft has today launched two new devices for the affordable segment of the Indian smartphone market. The company launched the Lumia 435 and the Lumia 532 here in Indian capital today. Lumia 532 is a dual sim device with a price tag of Rs. 6,499.
Microsoft Lumia 532 has a 4 inch display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels and a pixel density of 233 PPI. It gets its processing might from a Quad-core 1.2 GHz, Snapdragon 200 processor along with 1 GB RAM. The internal storage of the device stands at 8 GB and can be expanded through a MicroSD card to up to 128 GB. Apart from that you also get 30 GB of free OneDrive cloud storage.
On the camera front, the device sports a 5 MP camera on the back and a VGA camera on the front. It is juiced up through a 1560 mAh. The device runs on Microsoft Windows Phone 8.1 operating system and will receive the upcoming Windows 10 upgrade.
As with its younger sibling the Lumia 435, the company is also offering free 500 MB data connection from Airtel for a duration of 7 months. A 6-month Truecaller premium subscription worth Rs. 360 is also added for free with this device.
Overall, looking at the spec sheet it seems like Microsoft is trying to clear out the inventory of the devices it inherited from Nokia. There is a plus side to these devices too. As Microsoft is working towards creating a unified ecosystem with Windows 10, you can expect easier interaction between your Windows Phone and your Windows 10 based computers. But it does seem like you would have to overlook the competition that offers more features at present for a unified Microsoft ecosystem of the future.
Microsoft is a giving a push to its smartphone business in the affordable segment of the market. The company has launched the Lumia 435 in India to strengthen its portfolio at the lower end of the smartphone market.
The Lumia 435 sports a 4 inch display with a resolution of 480×800 pixels with a pixel density of 233 PPI. It is powered by a Dual-core 1.2 GHz, Snapdragon 200 processor along with 1 GB RAM. It has 8 GB internal storage but can be expanded up to a massive 128 GB that is great for a budget device.
This device has a 2 MP camera on the back and a VGA camera at the front. It gets its juice from a 1560 mAh battery. The device runs on Microsoft Windows Phone 8.1 and will be upgraded to Windows 10 in the coming future.
To attract the customers to its ecosystem, Microsoft is offering a 500 MB data connection from Airtel for 7 months. Along with the data connection, the company is also offering a 6 months premium package of Truecaller.
The device is priced at Rs. 5,999 which is identical pricing for the Moto E, which offers a 4.3 inch qHD ( 540 x 960) display and will also be getting the latest Android Lollipop update soon. The 435’a expandable storage and the free data plans are its only attractive features, so it remains to be seen how many takers it manages to find in the Indian market.
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 23rd, which may indicate the approximate date of arrival of the device.
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.
Former General Motors(GM) boss, Dan Akerson has warned Apple to stay away from manufacturing their own car, instead he advised the Cupertino based giant to focus on making in-car technology (something like CarPlay). He also suggested that profit margins on cars are relatively meager in comparison to iPhone which is practically a money minting machine.
A lot of people who don’t ever operate in it(automobile manufacturing) don’t understand and have a tendency to underestimate. They’d better think carefully if they want to get into the hard-core manufacturing. We take steel, raw steel, and turn it into car. They have no idea what they’re getting into if they get into that.
[/quote]
Reports of Apple prepping its own electric vehicle surfaced last week. The report further stated that the Cupertino-based giant has a team of up to 1,000 employees working on a secret project code-named ‘Titan’. Anonymous sources also suggest the possibility of a car that resembles a minivan.
Meanwhile, earlier it was also reported that Apple’s market value stands at a whopping $745 billion, making it the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization, could be a factor that prompted CEO Tim Cook to venture into a new territory.
The consumer electronics company Sony is not enjoying a good time it used to before. There’s a steep decline in company’s revenue in past few years and resultantly, Sony has decided to compensate the loss by focusing on camera sensors, entertainment and PlayStations entirely. The Japanese firm announced that it could shut down the audio and video business in order to boost 25-fold profit within three years.
Sony CEO and President Kazuo Hirai showcased an isolated picture the company’s future saying that it could exit smartphone and TV sector. He made a remark at the corporate strategy meeting –
The strategy starting from the next business year will be about generating profit and investing for growth.
As per Kazuo, Sony is not at all making money with their high-end smartphones and has been dragged back by Samsung, Apple and some cheaper Asian rivals.
Kazuo put forth the statistics of a profitable tomorrow saying that the spinoffs will raise the profits of the company by 500 billion yen ($4.2 billion) by the end of 2018, a massive leap from the 20 billion yen in previous forecasts. It’s yet not clear if Sony will not be dealing in the TV sector any more as the firm recently unveiled an Android-powered TV at CES 2015.
If Hirai is considering to cut out the smartphones and TVs division, Sony will be left out with three main businesses – Sony Pictures Entertainment; a major film studio in Hollywood, PlayStation; which has turned profitable for the company recently with its next-gen consoles; and the last one is the image sensors unit that is completely dependent on Apple for retailing camera sensors for its iPhones. The last one doesn’t seem to have long term dependency as Apple may anytime lose interest in Sony sensors and can move to other firms or decide to manufacture its own sensors. So the focus towards the PlayStation ecosystem is Sony’s best bet towards profitability.
The PlayStation business is Sony’s best bet towards profitability.
If Sony cuts off smartphone and TV business, it would probably be the end of Sony as a major and prominent electronics company. Meanwhile, the personal computer unit, VAIO, has already been sold out and if Sony Pictures is still reeling from the massive hacking attacks of last year. These are trying times for the Japanese electronics company and might have to take some calls to prevent following the path of Nokia.
Online retailer Flipkart has teased an image which in all probability looks like a new Motorola smartphone launch in India soon. The teaser image doesn’t reveal the name of the smartphone, though it does suggest that it might be a device crammed with high-end specs. While, Flipkart has tweeted the teaser describing it only as a ‘Moto Beast’, it’s safe to assume the upcoming smartphone is likely the Moto Maxx.
In addition, the teaser image also says “Get Your Life Turbocharged. Accelerate performance, Ballistic Nylon fairing, and revving in soon.” The Moto Maxx is a global variant of the Droid Turbo that comes with a unique back panel which Motorola calls the ‘Ballistic Nylon’.
In addition to the unique back panel, the smartphone also packs a massive 3,900 mAh battery, which is compatible with Motorola’s turbo charger and is claimed to provide 8 hours of battery life in just 15 minutes of charging.
Other specs include a 5.2-inch QHD (2560×1440 pixels) display with a pixel density of 565ppi, and is powered by a 2.7GHz Snapdragon 805 quad-core processor paired with 3GB of RAM. While on the software front, it runs on Android KitKat, which has been updated to Lollipop.
In terms of optics, the smartphone has a 21-megapixel rear autofocus camera with f/2.0 aperture and dual-LED flash, 2-megapixel front camera. The smartphone comes with a massive 64GB internal storage and includes connectivity options LTE support, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0.
