Category: iGyaan

Everything Exclusive to iGyaan

Edit : Should You Buy The iPhone 3Gs?

The iPhone 3Gs was a hardware revision device for the iPhone 3G, bringing more CPU power and Ram to the equation. The iPhone 3GS also brought about a better 3.2mp camera with tap to focus.

We got information of the impending re-launch of the iPhone 3Gs on 24th June. Without fail the 3Gs reappeared at the new price point of 20k. Now the question remains does the iPhone 3Gs qualify as a good option? Does is present a value for money deal?

Here is what we think.

The iPhone 3GS was originally launched in 2009 in the US and 2010 in India. The Device features a 600 MHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, PowerVR SGX535 GPU, 256 MB RAM, and upto 32GB of storage. The device also currently features iOS 4 and works brilliantly with iOS 5 (we’ve tested it and can verify, that till beta 2 iOS 5 works great on 3GS).

Reading a whole bunch of articles written by Tech – Bloggers , I was shocked at how blatantly the iPhone 3GS was being shot down. Though in a personal opinion the 3GS is an old hardware based device and has specs which would disgruntle almost anyone looking for souped up smartphone. The iPhone 3Gs bring a lot more, than any device at the price point can.

Lets look at it point by point.

1. OS

iOS by far is the simplest of operating systems, designed to be used by a finger. The UI is fluid and begs you to interact with it. Currently multitasking between apps is great on iOS where most Android handsets in that price range don’t support true multitasking, the iPhone 3GS has it and it works great. Using the right setup you can do a lot of things on your device. Wireless sharing of emails, pictures and music, streaming internet radio and movies, home automation, wifi printing and even controlling a quadro-copter the hundreds of thousands of apps from the App Store let you make your imagination run wild, and then, there is an app for that. The Apps are designed to run perfects in harmony with the iOS infrastructure.

The best part (according to me) of iOS for someone who does not understand or have the time to understand the intricate details of technology, is that the system is safe and bug free. Because third party apps go through a strict verification process, seldom do you find an App which would slow your device down. So no matter what you install or how many you install, Apps will not slow down the OS. That makes perfect sense for someone who is not a techie.

On the other hand Android brings the ability to customize the OS, and play around with it, the more you edit and tweak the OS, the more your chances of a system restore appear. Now there is no need to throw a banter, you can be extremely safe with Android, you just have to know what you are installing and what all does it access. But in Android, third party apps can have a built in snooper sending all your information back to the designer of the app.

2. BUILD

While it isn’t an iPhone 4, the 3Gs is pretty solid when it comes to construction. One of the most beautiful phones available today the 3Gs is available in black and white and millions of customization options are available, from skins, decals to plain covers, flip covers, leather covers, plastic covers, branded covers and hard cases. The most number of accessories ever made for a phone? the iPhone stands at number one in that record.

3. Conclusion

When we first heard rumors of the iPhone 3Gs being relaunched, we heard a price point of about 16,500/-. But, when the actual price came to be 20,000/- we lost confidence that Apple would do well selling its last year legend. Sure there are those who would love to buy the 3GS for its “Brand” and its simplicity, there are also those who will buy it for the sheer number of apps and usability features that these apps will give.

There are better options in terms of hardware specs, the rugged motorola defy is much cheaper and its water proof, the Galaxy S, the Nexus S, The Galaxy Sl, Wave 2, Blackberry Bold 3, Nokia N8. Sure these devices have better hardware, But we can promise one thing No operating system in our opinion comes close to the smooth and lag free experience of the iOS running on the iPhone 3GS (Of-course we mean at that price point)

So if you don’t have time to mess with your device / Smartphone get the iPhone 3GS because it doesn’t get any better than this. But if you are more of a tech friendly person get an Android device you will be much happier with the open-ness of Android infrastructure.

[polldaddy poll=5183813]

June 27, 2011
App of the Day : Postale for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Once in a while an app comes along that reminds of the good old times, Postale is that app. Possibly the easiest to use Postcard making and sharing app available in the App Store.

The app is simple to use and has a minimalist menu with just the right amount of selections. You select the layout and theme of your Postale card, place your photo just right, then type in your message. When you’re ready to share it, select one of the twelve retro-styled postage stamps to place on your postcard.

FEATURES

• 3 card layouts and 3 card themes
• Choose a photo from your Photo Library or snap a picture with your device’s camera from right inside the app
• Position, rotate, and scale your photo right onto the card
• Optionally change the color of your photo to Black & White or Sepia-Tone
• Type in your own custom title and message
• 5 fonts to choose from
• 12 retro-styled stamps
• Send right from the app via email, Facebook, or Twitter

It literally takes a few seconds to create a beautiful postcard and share it with your friends or favorite social networking sites.

iG Rating : 4/5

Download

Postale – 7twenty7 LLC

June 27, 2011

Spice Mi 410 – Unboxing, Hands on, Pictures and Video

So we finally got the new Spice Mi 410 here in our studios. So here it is the Unboxing and quick review video for your pleasure. As always stay tuned for the complete Review.

VIDEO UNBOXING

IMAGES

SPECS

OS	ANDROID 2.2
Processor	1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255
Flash ROM	2GB eMMC
Ram	512MB
Dimensions	122X 66X 9.9 mm
Weight	143 gm
Display	4.1-inch Capacitive Touch Screen , 800 X 480 WVGA
Camera	5 MP rear with HD Video, 0.3MP front
Battery	1400 mAH
Talk Time	Upto 380 Mins GSM , Upto 300 Mins (3G)
Standby Time	Upto 300 Hours
Network	Quad band GSM , Tri-band 3G, HSDPA/HSUPA , up to 14.2 Mbps
Connect	Bluetooth v2.1 EDR
Other	Supports Flash 10.1
Price	Rs. 14,000/-

June 26, 2011

POLL : So Whats Your Next Phone? Updated

[polldaddy poll=5173880]

If you cant find your phone above leave a comment in the comments below.

Updated : Due to a huge number of requests we have updated the poll, cast your vote!

June 25, 2011
iG Exclusive : Apple Re: Launching Iphone 3GS in India Tomorrow for 20k, Factory Unlocked

This is it, exclusive news for those waiting to spend up-to 20k on their smart-phones. Apple has just made the choice tougher. The iPhone 3Gs will be re-launched in India and go on sale tomorrow for 20 thousand. Whats more its going to be completely factory unlocked and will work with your carrier of choice.

The iPhone 3GS was originally launched in India in 2010 approximately 10 months after its launch in the United States. the 3Gs was sold locked to Airtel and Vodafone at full pricing. this in turn led to a lot of controversy in Apple’s Indian Market strategy. This year Apple started to sell the iPhone 4, again after 10 months of its US launch, but this time around the device was factory unlocked and ready to use worldwide.

The pricing of the iPhone 3Gs seems very competitive especially when 20 thousand is a decent budget for a smartphone these days.

We will get you more news on this as and when we gather.

June 24, 2011
Apple’s iPhone sales in India under the scanner

The Apple iPhone sales in India are under the Indian Governments scanner for alleged anticompetitive behavior. The main reason for this probe is Apple’s ability to limit the sale of their handset via only two major carriers – Namely Airtel and Aircel.

A Competition Commission of India official said on Wednesday that a case was filed against Apple about a month ago. The complaint alleges that the company violated competition law by selling the iPhone 4 through only two mobile operators, Bharti Airtel and Aircel. The official, speaking anonymously, said the Commission would look into the complaint’s merits. He did not disclose the complainant.

Apple had this to say :

Both carriers sell unlocked iPhone 4s with optional data plans. Some third-party retailers also carry the handset separate of any wireless contract, so there is no anticompetitive activity being carried out.

June 24, 2011
Leaked iPhone 5 Images | Real – Fake ?

iGyaan got images from the popular supplier website Alibaba.com, for cases/screen protectors of the upcoming iPhone 5 ahead of time giving clear indication of the iPhone 5’s design.

As speculated the camera and flash module appear to be separate. and the rumors of dual led round flash seem to be true as well. Several vendors seem to be dealing in products pertaining to the iPhone 5. A quick look at the images reveals the form factor and the design elements as discussed in rumors prior to this.

Although the device in the images has the name iPhone Pro, which puts a big question mark on the authenticity of these images. But, the fact that these vendors are selling products and using a render image means that the device possibly is similar looking to the images if not precisely same.

The image below was found in May, this case had appeared on Alibaba.com which was later taken down.

June 24, 2011

Spice M9000 PopKorn Cinema Projector Phone Unboxing and Hands On

We recieved the Spice M-9000 Popkorn Cinema Projector Phone for review. The box contents were as follows:

The Spice M-9000 Phone
1200 mah Battery
A tripod mount and tripod
An auxilary battery powered speaker
USB to proprietary Spice Jack (Charging and Syncing)
Male 3.5mm to Spice Jack
Female 3.5mm to Spice Jack
Handsfree Kit
USB cable to charge Auxilary Speaker
AC Charger
Laser Pointer with in-built Torch

The technical specifications for this device are as follows:

Price: Rs 6699/-

Product type	Bar
Network(MHz)	850/900/1800/2100
Dimensions(in mm)	119.2 * 50.3 * 17.35
Weight(in gms)	123g
Talk Time	Up to 3.5 hrs
Stand by Time	Up to 300 hrs
Antenna Type	Internal
Battery Power (in mAh)	1200 mAh
Phonebook Capacity	1500
Memory Card Type	T-flash
Memory Card Support Capacity	16 GB
Phone Memory**	87 MB
Screen	6cm QVGA
Screen Size (Pixels) External	320 * 240
Ring Tones	64 Poly, Mp3
Speakerphone(yes/NO)	Yes
User Profiles	Yes
Caller Group	Yes
Language Support	English
Predictive Text	Yes
SMS	Yes, 1000
SMS Templates	Yes
MMS	Yes
Concatenated Messages	Yes
Send to Many	Yes
Send to Group	Yes
SMS Counter	Yes
Email	Yes
JAVA Enabled	Yes
Java Games & Applications	Yes
Games	Yes
Incoming Call Guard	Yes
World Clock (Format12/24)	Yes
Alarm	Yes
Calculator	Yes
Currency/Unit Convertor	Yes/No
Calendar	Yes
To-Do List	Yes
Caller Group	Yes
Vibrator Mode	Yes
Auto Power On/Off	Yes
FM Radio	Yes
FM Recording	Yes
Scheduled FM Recording	Yes
Wireless FM	Yes
WAP	Yes
GPRS	Yes
Bluetooth	Yes
Bluetooth version	2.1
Data Cable	Yes
Handset Manager	Yes
TV OUT / Webcam	No/Yes
Remote Control for PC via Bluetooth	Yes
Camera	Yes
Photo Storage Capacity	87 MB+T-flash
Single Touch Camera Operation	Yes
Zoom Level	Yes
Brightness Level	Yes
Multi Shot	Yes
Night Vision	Yes
Photo CLI	Yes
Video Recording	@ 15 fps
Video Storage Capacity	87 MB+T-flash
Wide Screen Video	Yes
Video Playing (FPS rate)	@ 25 fps, 3gp, mp4, avi, flv, rm, rmvb
Pixel Size(coreband)	3.2 MP

You can watch the Unboxing Video below. Please stay tuned for the full review.

June 22, 2011

App A Day : Age Of The Zombies: Review : iPhone | iPad | iPod | Android

Halfbrick Studios’ Age of Zombies is a fun dual stick shooter with varied scenery, lots of weapons and thousands of zombies, ranging from cavemen to mobsters and even dinosaurs. It’s easy to play, oftentimes funny and quite intense. The Main Character of this game is Barry Steakfries, who grabs a pistol and is ready to kill zombies, with his i don’t give a monkey’s behind attitude.

The game is set in various locations and Barry travels through time to visit Prehistoric times, the 1930s and ancient Egypt, among other locations. Killing zombies along the way obviously. SMG, shotgun, grenades, a mini gun, buzz saw and flamethrowers pop up as bonuses during the game, but only one item at a time can be selected. The default pistol has unlimited ammo, but does not always get he work done.

If you play anything like us the game will last only a couple of hours and will entertain you throughout. The app can be had for US$ 2.99 and will not disappoint, if you are looking for a fun, fast action game with zombies and blood and lots of guns. If you are not looking for this, better look elsewhere.

We Rate it : 4.5/5

DOWNLOAD

Age of Zombies™ – Halfbrick Studios

Price: 2.99 US$

Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later

June 20, 2011
HTC Sensation : Hands on feat SGS 2 and iPhone 4 : Unboxing Video Now Up!

Just as we predicted the Sensation Arrived Tuesday and we took full liberty to unbox the Sensation and do the full thing on video for you guys. (more…)

June 16, 2011
Dell Vostro 1015 Unboxing Hands on
The Dell Vostro has been revamped with a new price point and new specs, an intel C2D Processor and a 4GB DDR3 Ram. Check out the Specs Below.

Video will be up soon.
- Intel^® Core^TM 2 Duo (T6670)
- Windows^® 7 Home Basic 32-Bit
- Up to 4GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333Mhz – 2 DIMMS
- Intel® 45 Express chipset
- Integrated Intel^® Graphics Media Accelerator X4500MHD
- 15.6 inch Wide Display HD (1366 x 768) with anti-glare
- 39.6cm (15.6″) Wide Display HD (1366 x 768) TrueLife
- Up to 320GB SATA hard drive (5400RPM)
- 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery And Include “65 Watt AC Adapter”
- 1 speaker Integrated 1.3 MP camera with digital microphone
Ports, Slots & Chassis
- Network connector (RJ45) RJ11
- 1394, VGA
- (4) USB 2.0
- AC adapter connector
- Headphone jack
- Microphone jack
- Audio jack
- 5-in-1 card reader
- 34 mm ExpressCard slot
Dimensions & Weight
- Width: 376mm/ 14.8″
- Height: 26.5-36.8mm/ 1.0-1.5″
- Depth: 247.9/ 9.8″
- Starting weight with a 6-cell battery and 8X DVD+/-RW Optical Drive is 2.4kg/ 5.25lbs
PRICE 32,000/- (Available 25,000/-)
June 15, 2011
LG Optimus 2X Review

The First dual core smartphone in India, But does it have what it takes to stand up against the ever heating competition. Lets find out.

BUILD QUALITY

This is possibly the best phone from LG’s stable when it comes to build quality. The mix of materials is nice, so nice infact, that you wouldn’t make out that its an LG if we covered the branding. A very nice mix of soft touch back with steel and alloy bezel, a tapered gorilla glass that sumps down on the sides to give a fantastic feel of the device. Buttons are nice and tactile, only the top HDMI connector is kind of flimsy. But apart from that, top to bottom, front and back this device is constructed well.

HARDWARE

The Optimus 2X has an interesting mix of specifications, A dual core 1Ghz Tegra 2 Processor. A 480×800 pixels LCD display, An 8 MP camera, 8GB internal space, the usual Wifi Bluetooth etc, 3G, HSDPA and a 1500 mah battery. These specs put it right in the top few of this year when it comes to performance knock-ers.

CAMERA & MULTIMEDIA

The device is designed to perform when it comes to still images, with one of the best possible cameras we have ever seen on a mobile device the 8MP camera took the liberty to deliver good quality images even when the situation didn’t demand it. The low light performance of the camera is phenomenal and we were able to achieve some good low light shots, indoors.

Video quality on the other hand is a baby on its own dimensions. The 1920 x 1080p video at 24fps is poor and choppy, 720p video is fairly better at 30fps but still turns out choppy and jittery. The camera also boasts video -digital zoom, which does not perform well either, see sample below.

[twocol_one]

Speaker on the Optimus 2X is not as loud as we would like it to be, sound is not loud enough we believe and sometimes can ruin the experience. The device otherwise is a multimedia powerhouse, like any other android device. It also has an inbuilt 8GB of storage from the get go and a 32GB expansion slot make it a paradise situation for data-media hungry users.

[/twocol_one] [twocol_one_last]

The display does its job in the multimedia section and the overall experience is almost disturbance free. Movies play like a charm and gaming is good if not excellent. There are no touch response or accelerometer issues so you wont find yourself complaining on those vital facts while interacting with the device or many of the thousands of apps.

[/twocol_one_last]

PHONE & MESSAGING

The phone aspect of the device is brilliant and there were no issues in that, the network was strong and sound from both the earpiece and mic was excellent coming in and going out. This fact is also unlikely of an LG phone, where people often complain of network issues. The bars were strong, even while in transit, and we can safely say the device delivered more than we expected.

Messaging is simple for those with a knack of touch screens, the touch keyboard is reminiscent of design hues from the Apple iPhone keyboard, so is fairly fast and efficient, the touchscreen is responsive so you wont find yourself struggling. Whats more you can always install the various keyboards from the marketplace : Read Swype.

DUAL CORE GOODNESS! ?

We don’t know what LG did, we really don’t. Despite packing the best possible specs for a price thats realistic and affordable by those looking to buy serious smart-phones. The LG Optimus 2x fails to deliver. The UI is slow and buggy, and the overall interface reminds us of those cheap chinese made phones that are forced to run android on them. The NVIDIA Tegra processor was not exploited by LG it seems and in a hurry to reach the market before others they got stuck in poorly processed Hardware. The software integration to exploit the dual core systems is not seen properly in Android 2.2 froyo(os that ships with the device) you will see the device hang , crash, and bore you in many instances in the main UI, while working just fine within apps. LG really needs to roll out a software update fast if they expect to sell this handset in the market.

CONCLUSION

The LG Optimus 2x is there but not there, its awesome but a little boring. The device packs specs but does not integrate them. Hardware is not the key, Even a certain fruit company (read: Apple) has shown us time and again its not always about the hardware, its how usable you can make the product at the end of it. With the LG Optimus 2x you are just left hanging by a thread feeling incomplete. Despite holding a mammoth device you don’t feel confident.

iGyaan says : Give the Optimus 2X a nice wave goodbye, because you cant expect performance from a device that fails you from the get go.

[xrr rating=2.5/5 label=”We Rate The Optimus 2X : ” imageset=shiny_yellow_star display_as=fraction_stars]

UNBOXING VIDEO

Full Review Video

June 14, 2011
HTC Salsa Launched : Unboxing and Hands on Pics (PR) : Video now up

Okay so HTC has officially announced the HTC Salsa, the phone with a dedicated Facebook button, As always we g0t the device and unboxed it for you viewing pleasure.

Check out the pictures below, and hang tight while the video is uploaded. (there were some issues and the video is being re uploaded – hang on )

[toggle title_open=”COLLAPSE PRESS RELEASE” title_closed=”CLICK TO EXPAND PRESS RELEASE” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]

HTC Unveils the Social Phone HTC Salsa in India

Raises the bar for mobile social phones with the HTC Salsa

New Delhi, India – June 13, 2011 – HTC Corporation, a global leader in mobile innovation and design, today announced the launch of the HTC Salsa in India. The HTC Salsa is powered by the Android operating system and features HTC Sense, HTC’s unique design philosophy that focuses on putting people at the centre by making your phone work in a more simple and natural way. The phone is built entirely to be social, incorporating the simplicity, ease-of-use and depth of HTC Sense.

With the stylishly designed HTC Salsa, you can surf from one website to another with multiple browsing windows, zoom in and out of a page, and watch the text resize automatically on screen. You can merge your different email accounts together into one inbox. All the emails are color coded, so you know what’s what, and you can sort them by importance, groups or content. In keeping with its emphasis on easy social connectivity, the HTC Salsa also provides a one-touch access to the key functions of Facebook, integrated throughout the HTC Sense experience, through a dedicated Facebook button.

According to Faisal Siddiqui, Country Manager, HTC India, ““HTC has always understood that different people want different things and the new HTC Salsa offers special new ways to socialize through a mobile device. With Indians increasingly getting hooked on to the social web, we wanted to create the ultimate socially connected phone which makes this experience simple and convenient.”

The HTC Salsa offers a fast, high-performance smartphone experience. Capture the moment in high-resolution stills or video with the 5-megapixel camera and immediately share it with friends on the generous 3.4-inch, 480 x 320 resolution touch display. Upload your photos to Facebook at the touch of a button. For face-to-face conversations on the move, the VGA front-facing camera enables high-quality video calling.

Pricing & Availability

The new HTC Salsa will be available at a Market Operating Price of Rs. 22,000* at all authorized HTC resellers across the country.

* Prices may vary according to the local applicable taxes

About HTC

HTC Corporation (HTC) is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile industry. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC creates innovative smartphones and tablets that better serve the lives and needs of individuals. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.

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June 13, 2011
App a Day – 3D Board for iOS

Have you ever wanted to turn your iPhone screen into a 3D screen? Well now you can. With the 3D board application, your home screen turns into a glasses free 3D screen. The wallpaper moves and shifts based on how you’re holding the phone. It is available from the BigBoss repository in Cydia for $2.99. All in all its a fun application to fool your friends into thinking you’ve replaced your iPhone’s Retina Display with a 3D Retina Display. Check out the video for more info.

June 13, 2011
Welcome to the All New iGyaan

Is it Better? Is it Faster? Is it Sexier? Is It Fancier? Is it Chic ? Is it Epic? Is it Hot? Is it New? Is it Me? Is it You?

“No its the new iGyaan and We LOVE IT”!

After months and hours of turmoil and toil, We have finally Done it. Our servers are situated on the Internet Backbone in the Netherlands and we have customized the whole website to integrate all the new features and easy navigation for you convenience.

As with every new system, there are kinks and we will work them in the days to come, for now enjoy the new layout. Leave any feedback below, and be kind enough to report any errors.

We love you guys and without you igyaan could not grow so fast. So continue to bring the love and we will continue to give it back.

Oh and did we tell you that the website is now optimized to work on your, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry , iPod, Android, and mostly all major mobile phone browsers.

And we will soon have Apps for specific Operating systems.

We hope you Guys Enjoy the all new iGyaan.

[polldaddy poll=5137700]

June 13, 2011