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Hands On : Xiaomi Mi 5 Unboxing

Xiaomi Mi 5 launched in India early but left a lot of people disappointed with its high price tag of 24999 for the base variant. Which by chance is the only option available in India on the April 6th sale and that too only in the white color.

The Mi 5 is extremely light weight for the specs it is packing, weighing in at a little over 130 gms. (Xiaomi claims 129 gms)

Inside the box of the Mi5 You will get :

The Mi 5 Handset
USB Wall Brick
USB Type C Cable
Documentation
Sim Ejector Tool

The handset on the back tapers just like the Galaxy S7 giving it an excellent grip in the hand. The cameras are impressive with f/2.0 aperture on the rear as well as the front camera. The front camera has a 2-micron pixel size and a 1/3″ sensor which in itself is pretty massive for a smartphone.

Xiaomi may have pushed a whole lot of customers away by pricing the phone at a higher than expected Rs. 24999. However, for the price, it is extremely premium and loaded with high-end specs. What is a bigger let down is the availability of only one model and only one color of the handset in the market, where the customer is left struggling to make that decision.

The Snapdragon 820 chipset along with a 3000 mAh battery which supports Quick Charge 3.0 is a significant upside of the new Mi 5, however, so is the set of cameras and the overall premium look and feel.

We will be reviewing the handset shortly.

Specs	Xiaomi Mi 5
Display	5.15 inches Full HD IPS Display
Resolution	1920 x 1080 px 428ppi
Dimensions	144.6 x 69.2 x 7.3 mm
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
GPU	Adreno 530
RAM	3GB LPDDR4
Storage	32GB UFS 2.0
Rear Camera	16 MP f/2.0, phase detection autofocus, OIS (4-axis)
Front Camera	4 MP, f/2.0, 1/3″ sensor size, 2µm pixel size
Expandability	NA
Battery	Li-Po 3000 mAh
OS	Android 6 with MIUI 7
Price	Rs. 24999

April 4, 2016

iPhone 6s will be cheaper than iPhone SE soon

With Apple prepping the launch of the iPhone SE in India on the 8th of April for a whopping Rs. 39000 for the base 16 GB variant. The iPhone 6s which features better specs and a larger screen capable of 3D touch is presently available for as low as Rs. 41000 on online websites, and if you choose one of the credit card deals, you can have one today for approximately Rs. 40000. There is absolutely no need to purchase the hybrid old-new iPhone SE which has some components from the iPhone 5s and many from the iPhone 6s

The iPhone 6s however, has only one disadvantage for those looking to buy a smaller 4-inch phone, and that is the size of the iPhone 6s. The iPhone 7 launch is slated for September 2016, with anyone holding out for a new phone for all this while the iPhone 7 launch is expected to further lower the price of all phones, including the new iPhone SE.

However, if you cannot wait that long, choose the iPhone 6s over the iPhone SE, in India at least. It offers a lot more bang for its buck.
 

[poll id=43]

March 31, 2016
Xiaomi’s Mi 5 launch in India Today is a Crucial Moment

The Mi 5 launch which is slated to happen later today is an important moment for Xiaomi in India. This is the first time the company has managed to bring a flagship phone to India in time.

The phone which won the world over at MBW earlier this year has people begging for excellent pricing for India. Most Indian consumers have been led to by media outlets and otherwise believe that the Mi 5 will launch in India for Rs. 24000-25000 which may or may not be true.

But here is why it is important for Xiaomi to price the Mi 5 just right. The company which still relies on the flash sale model, has a little quantity of smartphones to sell, to a large and angry community which has been hyped up and filled with the hope of achieving the ultimate smartphone on a budget. Xiaomi has also seen major price falls in the past year.

Xiaomi has also seen major price falls in the past year. They had to remove the flash sale model of the Mi4 in expectations of achieving sales targets.

The Xiaomi Mi 5 which features the Snapdragon 820 chipset, will have either 3GB or 4GB RAM options and will allow you to choose between 32/64 GB variants in the regular edition along with a 128 GB PRO edition which may not be launched in India.

However, the anticipation is that Xiaomi will launch the Mi 5 base model in India for Rs. 22999 with the 64GB model going for Rs. 24999 and the pro- variant for Rs 27000. The phones should be available to order today shipping in about 10 days to happy owners.

However, if the company has any expectations of winning bigger consumers a large number of these phones should go on sale right after the first flash sale.

RELATED:
 

March 31, 2016
Top Water Resistant Smartphones for this Holi

India’s festival of color and water is just around the corner. While we would seriously advocate that you do not waste water and play a dry Holi. For those still willing to go all out, the smartphone is one of the biggest victims of an accident on and around the festival of Holi.

Imagine your phone gets struck by a water and color filled balloon, and moments later it is time to go hunting for a new one.

While every smartphone should now feature some kind of waterproofing, many companies do not agree with us. So if you plan on playing Rambo on Holi try the following smartphones guaranteed to last through the water filled festival. Zip lock bags and plastic wrapped phones are soon to be a thing of the past.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge

The latest and greatest flagship from Samsung is actually now iP68 rated, means that it will mostly survive if immersed for up to 30 minutes or 1.5 meters under (water). The glass and metal should also prevent it from easily getting colored by Holi colors, however, industrial dyes and the infamous gold men may be instrumental in helping you change the color of your handset from say black to Gold.

iPhone 6s and 6s Plus

Apple’s latest releases, to everyone’s surprise, do indeed feature a water resistant body. Though not rated or officially announced by Apple. This secretive water resistance was Apple’s way of reducing servicing costs and general user appreciation. Tested out by many people including us, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, turns out to be more resilient than Samsung’s latest and greatest S7 and S7 Edge. Offering up the same all metal design, the iPhone should fare well in colored water as long as you don’t have some serious stainers.
 

MotoG (gen 3) and Moto X Play

Motorola has been adding water resistant coatings on their devices for a while, while not fully rugged they would help the phone survive spills of coffee or accidental drops in puddles. The Moto G gen 3 was a whole new breed from Motorola, with an IPX7 rating the phone is water resistant for up to 1 Meter and for a total of 30 minutes. The body is made from plastic, which may not do too well with colors, though. On the plus side, the back panel is cheap and easily replaceable. The X Play offers up a water resistant coating too though it may not survive dunking like the Moto G, however, may be less prone to color accidents or damage.
 

Sony Xperia Z5, Z5 Premium, Z5 Compact

Sony Xperia Z5 Premium

With dual IP68 and IP65 ratings, the Xperia phones from Sony are no stranger to water. The revolution by far has ben led by the Japenese manufacturer who has led the water resistance category smartphones for a while.

With glass on both sides and a glossy metal bezel, the Xperia Z5 series is very resistant to color and water. As a matter of fact, the number 5 in the IP65 stands for resistance from water projected by a nozzle (6.3mm) against enclosure from any direction. Reminds you of a certain subject of this story doesn’t it.
 

HTC Desire Eye

With a whole lot of optical capability, the HTC Desire Eye makes our list. Although this complete plastic phone may not do so well with colors the HTC Desire Eye has serious cameras on the front and the back. With an IPX7 certification just like the Moto G, the phone will survive for 30 minutes under 1 m of water guaranteed.
 

Of course there are many other phones and gadgets that would easily survive the onset of Holi. Have any favorites add them to the list below.

March 18, 2016
Pilot Takes iPhone Time-Lapse Video of Plane Landing

A pilot has graciously created a time-lapse video on his iPhone showing us an airplane landing at London’s Heathrow airport. The video gives us a glimpse into what a pilot sees just moments before landing, during landing and after. Check out the video embedded below.

Approach to runway 27R .@HeathrowAirport .@visitlondon #approach #london #landing #avgeek #fly #pilot pic.twitter.com/0spnqfDW8D

— the player pilot (@theplayer_pilot) February 11, 2016

The short 25-seconds video was posted on Twitter by @theplayer_pilot, showing the plane approaching runway 27R. “Heathrow is a very busy airport but is straightforward enough, there are no mountains or anything too tricky, but we are always prepared for anything,” the unnamed pilot, who flies to Heathrow around four or five times a month, told GetWestLondon.

He continued, “Flying is amazing, I feel privileged to be a pilot and see the things I do, as pilots we have views of the world only really we get to see. We get to see sunrises and sunsets all over the world and on some night flights at Heathrow it doesn’t even get dark!”

February 17, 2016
Video Shows How to Land a Plane in an Emergency

It used to be and still is that travelling by airplanes is one of the safest means of transportation. But there are times when one tends to feel just a little anxious or one has seen too many airplane hijacking movies where the hero, a non-pilot, safely pilots the plane to land.

Tim Morgan, a commercial pilot, claims that anyone can safely pilot and land a Boeing 737 in case of emergency after watching his 10-minute video.

The video was posted on Quora as a response to the question,“What should I do if the pilot passes out and I (with no flight training) have to land the plane?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqcXstB7UJ0

Now, it should be understood that this is a near-impossible scenario and there are measures that are taken by airlines to make sure that such a scenario never presents itself. There are at least two pilots in every plane and can’t eat the same meal on the flight in an event of food poisoning.

Nevertheless, the video serves as a nice piece of knowledge which is easily explained and gives you just that added bit of assurance before flying. Others will just have to rely on the countless hours of MS Flight Simulator you played as a kid.

February 13, 2016
Watch the Video of This Epic Hoverboard Fire Test Fail

Humans may have mastered technology enough to create humanoid robots (and also freak themselves out in the process with the threat of Artificial Intelligence taking over the world). But no matter how advanced we might be on the tech-front, there is still more than just a little tweaking that our gadgets require right now. The hoverboard fire test below would serve to emphasise our point.

https://youtu.be/825cEptCWc4

The video looks so painful that adult supervision is recommended even just for watching it. As the hoverboard beautifully goes up in flames, it justifies the recent hoverboard scare which had led Amazon to take the product off its website.

This pretty, little hoverboard catches fire while charging and spews flames in all directions as a result of over-heating. Watch it burn like a firecracker in the video and let us know if you still think this previously cool piece of tech is still cool enough.

February 13, 2016

Samsung Galaxy A5(2016): Hands On

Samsung today unveiled the refreshed models of the budget, Galaxy A5 and A7 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Galaxy A5 2016 model is priced at Rs 29,400 in India, and will be available through Samsung’s e-retail partner, Snapdeal, and other offline retailers.

The refreshed A5 features the glass and metal design found on the Samsung Galaxy S6. The A5 (2016) model also comes equipped with a fingerprint scanner. The phone will be available in three color variants gold, black and white.The A5 in terms of design, just like the A7 (click here for A7’s hands on), does look and feel extremely premium.

The Galaxy A5 (2016) comes packing a 5.2 inch Super AMOLED display with full HD resolution. It is powered by an Octa-Core processor clocked at 1.6GHz paired with 2 GB of LPDDR3 RAM. The memory on board is 16 GB which is expandable to 128 GB using a MicroSD card. 4G and Dual – SIM connectivity.

The phone has a 2900 mAh battery. This is a significant bump up from the last generation A5 which came packing only a 2300 mAh pack. To add to this, the A5(2016) also features Fast Charging which is sure to bring smiles on a lot of faces reading this hands on.

The A5 (2016) offers a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front camera. Both the front and rear cameras of the phone come with a f1.9 aperture. The rear camera on the back of the refreshed Galaxy A5 also has an Optical Image Stabilisation feature.

The phone overall is nice. The refreshed A5(2016) does not come with great under the hood specifications. For the price it’s being sold at the return feels inadequate. Full HD display and 2 GB RAM without the capability of capturing 4k Video that even the Rs 10,999 Le 1s comes equipped with only shows the disparity between options in the market and what Samsung is offering here.

Another thing worth mentioning is that Samsung’s Galaxy A5(2016) is still stuck on 5.1.1 and does not come with Android Marshmallow out of the box. But for all its shortcomings what does work in the handset’s favour is the fact that it feels extremely premium when it comes to looks which might help buyers gloss over the hefty price tag that Samsung plans to sell this handset at.

Specification	Galaxy A5(2016)
Display	5.2″ FHD Super AMOLED
Processor	1.6GHz Exynos Octa-Core Processor
RAM	2GB
Front Camera	5.0MP(f1.9)
Rear Camera	13MP (f1.9) AF with LED Flash
Storage	16GB
Expandability	128GB
Battery	2,900 mAh, Fast charging
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth® v 4.1, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC (UICC, eSE)
Operating System	Android 5.1 (Lollipop)
Price	Rs. 29,400

February 4, 2016

Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016): Hands On

Samsung today unveiled the refreshed models of the budget, Galaxy A5 and A7 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Galaxy A5 2016 model is priced at Rs 29,400 and A7 2016 at Rs. 33,400 in India, and will be available through Snapdeal and other offline retailers.

The updated A7 features the glass and metal design found on the Samsung Galaxy S6 and comes with a bunch of new features and specs.The A7 sports a 5.5-inch AMOLED FHD screen with 1920 x 1080p resolution and a 1.6 GHz octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM and 16GB internal storage and 3,300 mAh Fast Charging battery.

On the camera front, the A7 features a 13MP primary camera with f/1.9 aperture and OIS. The front camera also features an f/1.9 aperture. It is further equipped with fingerprint sensor. The phone will be available in three color variants gold, black and white. The dual-SIM A7 is priced at Rs. 33,400.

A7 has 4G LTE support and comes in three colour variants -Gold, Black and White. The phone is definitely more expensive than expected. The device has an extremely premium build and feel, but the specs are not fancy enough for the design. Only FHD display and 3 GB of RAM does not make for an impressive device in a market which already has way too many options to choose from. Find the complete specifications of Samsung Galaxy A7 below and let us know in the comments section if this phone catches your fancy.

Specification	Galaxy A7
Display	5.5″ FHD Super AMOLED
Resolution	1920X1080
Processor	1.6GHz Octa-Core Processor
RAM	3GB
Front Camera	5.0MP(f1.9)
Rear Camera	13MP(f1.9) AF with LED Flash
Storage	16GB
Expandability	128GB
Battery	3,300 mAh, Fast Charging
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth® v 4.1, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC (UICC, eSE)
Operating System	Android 5.1 (Lollipop)
Price	Rs. 33,400

February 4, 2016

Moto X Force: Unboxing and Hands On

The much awaited phone with the “unbreakable display”, The Moto X Force is finally here. But before we put our hammers to work, check out our quick unboxing and hands-on of this handset.

The Moto X Force has come to India in two storage variants, 32GB, and 64GB. Pricing is set at a steep Rs 49,990 only for the former while the beefier 64GB variant will come to stores for Rs 53,999.

In terms of design, the phone does not stand out from any other Motorola phone in the family. It shares the DNA of most Moto phones already available in the market. The textured pattern at the back makes it easy to hold.

The X Force comes with a design scheme which features a flat back merged with curved edges. The addition of the ShatterShield tech makes the bezel a bit thick for our liking but does not take anything away from the looks of the phone. To sum it up, the phone is not too big on looks, but you wouldn’t call it ugly. It’s plain, but pleasant to look at.

The phone’s display is where all the magic happens. Moto X Force with its ShatterShield 5.4-inch Quad HD AMOLED display is the selling point of the phone, and to be honest, it does not disappoint. The display from beneath the multiple layer system shines bright and nice. Text, videos and games look crisp without any blurring or any such apprehensions that one might have using a phone with display protection technology like this.

The phone comes packing a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core SoC clocked at 2GHz and Adreno 430 GPU. There will be 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM on board, and it will be available in 32GB and 64GB inbuilt storage options. The phone will support expandable storage up to 2TB via a microSD card slot, and will be powered by a mammoth 3760mAh battery with Quick Charging support.

The Moto X Force packs a 21-megapixel snapper with f/2.0 aperture, dual-LED flash and Phase Detect Autofocus around the back, and a 5-megapixel selfie camera with flash and f/2.0 aperture. The 21MP rear does well in outdoor conditions but low-light captures are still poor. The device is equipped with a bunch of gesture controls that let you unlock the camera, turn on LED flash, wake up the device from sleep mode.

To put the device’s shatterproof display to test, we dropped the Moto X Force from about a 1000-foot high and you can check what happens next by clicking on the video below.

Specification	Moto X Force
Display	5.4 inch Quad HD AMOLED with ShatterShield technology
Resolution	1440 x 2560 (~540 ppi pixel density)
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core
GPU	Adreno 430
RAM	3 GB
Front Camera	5 MP, f/2.0, LED flash
Rear Camera	21 MP, f/2.0, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash
Storage	32 GB, 64 GB
Expandability	2TB
Battery	3,760 mAh
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot, Bluetooth v4.1, A2DP, EDR, LE, GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, NFC, Infrared port, microUSB v2.0
Operating System	Android OS, v5.1.1 (Lollipop)
Price	Rs. 49,999(32 GB), Rs 53,999(64GB)

February 1, 2016

Moto X Force 1000 Foot Mega Drop Test

Motorola launched the Moto X Force in India today at a price of Rs 49,999 for the 32GB variant. The smartphone’s main attraction is its ‘Shattershield’ technology. The 5.4-inch 2,560 x 1,440 panel (QHD) panel is protected by a five layer system which has allowed Motorola to brand it the “world’s first shatterproof smartphone display” thanks to what Moto calls the ShatterShield technology. The company claims the screen would stay intact for up to four years absorbing shock and providing protection against cracks.

With so much going on with the construction of the Moto X Force, there’s really only one way to test it out – a good old fashioned drop test. We took the device up to a 1000-foot high from where we let it drop. Take a look at the video below to see whether the Moto X Force survived the fall.

February 1, 2016
Porsching Around: Coming Soon

iGyaan has been busy these days and there’s a good reason for it. At iGyaan, we believe in bringing tech to you the best way we can, all the time. So, when we’re not busy writing about it at work, we talk about it while ‘Porsching Around’. Check out the trailer for iGyaan newest concept show. First episode will be out soon.

January 31, 2016
New Episode|While You Were Out -Launch Stories

Here’s the latest ‘While You Were Out’ episode:

The stories we talked about today are:

1. LeEco Comes to India: LeEco, formerly called LeTV, launched Le Max with the tag-line”Go Big, Go Bold”, and Le 1s, along with revealing the new logo for the company, in India. While the Le Max boasts of big specs inside a big frame, the Le 1s is aimed at the mid-range market.

2. Samsung Launches Gear S2 and Gear VR Headset in India: The Gear S2 and Gear VR headset were launched in India in January, after being unveiled for the first time at IFA Berlin last year. The new smartwatch comes with a 1.2-inch screen with a 360×360 resolution (302ppi). To power the device, Samsung has used 1GHz dual-core processor and provided the option of 3G Connectivity.The pricing for the smartwatch starts at Rs. 24,300 while the head-set is priced at Rs. 8,200.

3. BlackBerry Priv Launches in India: The Priv, which was first unveiled in October, is a make or break project for BlackBerry as it sees it leaving its own OS behind in search of greener pastures that Android provides. This shift by BlackBerry is being seen as a move aimed at helping the ailing company’s return to its previous highs. It comes with a price-tag of Rs. 62,999.

4. Microsoft Launches Nokia 230 Dual-SIM in India: The Nokia 230 Dual SIM brings some flavour to the feature phone category with a premium look and feel to it thanks to its metallic construction. The phone is designed for those who want a high-end phone as far as feature phones are concerned, and are not too fond of making that leap to touchscreen devices. The phone costs Rs. 3,949

5. Motorola Cannot Stop Talking about the ‘Shatterproof’ Moto X Force: The phone was launched globally last year as Droid Turbo 2 and is all set to arrive in India now with its much talked about ‘shattershield’ display. On the specs front, Moto X Force packs a 5.4 inch Quad HD display with a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core chipset along with 3 GB of RAM. Moto X Force is expected to be priced around Rs.40,000.

January 31, 2016

Hands On with the Honor 5X

Huawei’s sub-brand Honor launched the Honor 5X in India. The successor to the Honor 4X made its debut in China earlier this month after its unveiling at CES 2016.The Honor 5X is priced at Rs 12,999 with preorders starting yesterday and sales starting from February 1 on Amazon and Flipkart.

In terms of design, the Honor 5X sports an aircraft-grade metal unibody construction with a fingerprint scanner at the back that promises 0.5 seconds unlocking time and can also be used to capture photos. The device gives a premium look for a budget-friendly smartphone, keeping it on par with the Le 1s that was launched last week. These devices show us that budget phones are turning out to be the new premium.

The Honor 5X sports a 5.5-inch Full HD IPS LCD display with a 1920 x 1080p resolution, and a pixel density of 401 ppi. It is powered by a 64-bit octa-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC with Adreno 405 GPU. The 5X is available in 2GB of RAM options with 16GB onboard storage that is expandable up to 128GB via microSD card slot.

On the camera front, the Honor 5X gets a 13MP primary camera with f/2.0 aperture and dual tone LED flash and a 5MP selfie shooter. Both the rear and front cameras are impressive and fast, especially when shifting focus. The colors are a touch darker than the actual setting which helps in capturing blacks well. The shutter is on the slower side as well.

Connectivity options include Bluetooth 4.1, USB 2.0, GPS, A-GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and 4G (Dual SIM). The device gets its juice from a 3000mAh battery pack with Smart Power 3.0. The handset runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop which is upgradable to Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

The Honor 5X does have a premium look, and the metal unibody construction does well to add to that. However, it fails to grab our attention when compared to LeEco’s Le 1s, which was launched last week at Rs 2000 cheaper at that.

The UI isn’t as snappy and fluid as one would hope, especially in its initial usage, which may put off a lot of buyers. It takes a couple of seconds before the Gallery or Camera apps open.

Specs	Honor 5X
Display	5.5-inch Full HD IPS LCD
Resolution	1920 x 1080 pixels (401ppi)
Processor	64-bit octa-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615
GPU	Adreno 405
RAM	2GB
Storage	16GB
Rear Camera	13MP with f/2.0 aperture and dual tone LED flash
Front Camera	5MP
Expandability	Up to 128 GB via MicroSD
Battery	3000mAh battery
Connectivity	Bluetooth v4.1, USB 2.0, GPS, A-GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and 4G
OS	Android 5.1 Lollipop with EMUI 3.1
Price	Rs 12,999

January 31, 2016

Breaking the Indian Salt: Coming Soon on Let’s Game

iGyaan has been busy working on something truly groundbreaking. Over the next few weeks you’re going to find out exactly what that is. Without revealing too much right now, have a look at the teaser below for an idea of where iGyaan is heading. Follow the space for more.

January 26, 2016

Category: iGyaan

Specs

Xiaomi Mi 5

Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge

iPhone 6s and 6s Plus

MotoG (gen 3) and Moto X Play

Sony Xperia Z5, Z5 Premium, Z5 Compact

HTC Desire Eye

Specs

Honor 5X