Category: Mobile

Smartphone News and Reviews, Latest Cellphones, Accessories, New Launches, Specifications, Details with Image and Video from Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, Moto, HTC, Xiaomi, Oneplus, Meizu, Sony, Lava, Micromax Yu Mobile and More.

Google Launches Pixel for US$ 649

Google at their #madebyGoogle event announced the Google Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. The new smartphones come with the Pixel UI.

The Google Pixel and Pixel XL will be the first phone that comes with Google Assistant out of the box. The Google Assistant comes with their new machine learning AI which sits right on the Pixel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pxIcH_0MH0

DXOmark rates the Google Pixel’s camera at 89 a 3 points above the iPhone 7. The camera on the Pixel is a 12.3 MP camera with f/2.0 aperture and a 1.55 micron pixel size. You get HDR Plus, without any shutter lag and smart bursts which select the best shot.

Google Pixel comes with unlimited online storage for Photos and Videos at full quality. The Pixel phones are the latest to run Android Nougat (version 7.1), the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system. Additionally, with Pixel you also get a customer care on call 24/7 with Google via the settings app. You can also share your screen live with the support agents for troubleshooting.

The Pixel will come with a 5 inch display while the Pixel XL comes with a 5.5 inch display. Both have a AMOLED screen. The Pixel and Pixel XL run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 with 4GB of RAM. The Pixel will get a 2770 mAh battery while the Pixel XL gets a large 3450 mAh battery.

Both phones come with two storage options at 32 GB and 128 GB and three colour options subtle named Quite Black, Very Silver and Really Blue.

Both the Google Pixel and Pixel XL come with USB Type C port, still retaining the 3.5mm headphone jack and the same cameras. Pixel is available for pre-order today in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Germany and the U.K. — India coming soon with pre orders starting 13th Oct. In India the Pixel will sell on Flipkart, Reliance Digital and Tata Croma stores.

October 4, 2016

Moto Z and Moto Z Play Launched in India

Moto’s Flagship series the Moto Z and Moto Z play with modular capability have been launched in India. Both the Moto Z and Moto Z play will go on Sale on 17th October on Amazon and Flipkart. The Moto Z runs a Qualcomm snapdragon 820 with 64 GB of storage and 4 GB of RAM and is only 5.4 mm thin with a 2600 mAh battery. The Moto Z has been launched for Rs. 39,999 in India and features a 5 MP front facing camera along with front led flash. The 13 MP main camera has OIS and Laser AF.

The Moto Z Play on the other hand is a slightly larger and more affordable handset launched at Rs. 24999 with a massive 45 hour battery life. Snapdragon 625, Adreno 506 along with 3 GB of RAM and 32 Gb storage make up the Z play’s innards. You also get a large 3510 mAh battery. The main camera is a 16 MP, f/2.0 sensor while on the front you get a 5 MP camera with a front flash. The Moto Z play is also made in India and retains the 3.5 mm headphone port, while the Moto Z is too slim to have a headphone port.

The phones come a few weeks after the global launch of the Moto Z series. The Moto Z force with the shatter-shield tech has not been launched in India and remains a US Verizon exclusive. The biggest feature of the Moto Z and Moto Z play is the capability to add mods that simply snap onto the back of the handsets. Mods include the JBL soundboost speaker for Rs 6,999, Moto insta-share projector mod for Rs 19,999, HasselBlad truezoom camera for Rs 19,999 and Incipio offGRID Power Pack Rs 5,999. You can also add shells to the mix including Wood & Ballistic Nylon – Rs 1099 and Leather for Rs 1599.

Moto Mods	Pricing	Launch Bundle pricing:
JBL® SoundBoost Speaker	INR 6999	INR 5999
Hasselblad True Zoom Camera	NR 19999	NR 14999
Instashare Projector	INR 19999	INR 15999
Incipio offGRID^tm Power Pack	INR 5999	INR 4999
Style Shells: Wood and ballistic nylon Leather	INR 1099 INR 1599	INR 899 INR 1299

Check out our unboxing and Hands on with the Moto Z along with Mods below.

October 4, 2016

Nokia D1C To Be One Of the Company’s Comeback Android Phones

Nokia has already announced it’s comeback to the market, this time with Android as their main operating platform. A new Nokia phone dubbed the “D1C” has been spotted son benchmark website GeekBench.

According to the information the D1C will use the new mid-tier, octa-core Snapdragon 430 SoC, with each core clocked at 1.4GHz. This will be backed up with 3GB of RAM, and run Android 7.0 Nougat. The phone is expected to be one of the devices from it’s budget lineup, with the name being a prototyping name.

The budget coming Nokia D1c scored 656 to 667 in single-core performance, while scores for multi-core performance ranged from 3,120 to 3,229

In May Nokia granted HMD Global a 10-year license to produce tablets and smartphones under the brand Nokia which will be manufactured in China by Foxconn. However, Nokia is believed to be working on two flagships for an End of year release which will run the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset, feature 4 to 6GB RAM and upto 256 GB storage. Nokia will also be adding their PureView camera tech to the flagship phones they launch here on out.

The Nokia D1C is expected to be a phone in the Nokia 5310 lineage with the branding ok Nokia 5320, as the name was spotted last month. The Nokia D1C is expected to launch for less than US $ 150 while in India the D1C should be priced around Rs. 8999.

October 3, 2016
Best Phone Deal : LeMax 2 with SD820, 4GB RAM, 32GB Storage and QHD Display for Rs. 17999

This is possibly the best deal for a powerhouse phone for an excellent price. If you head over to lemall.com and buy the LeMax 2, you can buy the 4GB variant which would typically sell for Rs. 22999 is now available for Rs. 17999.

That is a steal price for this phone and definitely a good deal. The Lenovo Z2 plus launched earlier this week also comes at a similar price however the LeMax 2 does include better features. Firstly you get a 5.7inch QHD or 2K resolution display that is vivid and bright. It also includes CDLA audio for a great music listening experience. The LeMax 2 also features a 21 MP main camera with an 8MP front camera.

The price will get you the 4GB variant and make it one hell of a mid range priced powerhouse. Get it while stocks last!

Also on a side not you get an additional 10% cashback on ICICI debit and credit cards making the price a great Rs. 16199.

You can check out our hands on video along with comparison with OnePlus 3 below.

October 2, 2016
OnePlus 3 Soft Gold Variant Unboxing and Hands On

OnePlus 3 in the soft gold variant just went on sale for a price of Rs. 27999. The phone virtually identical to the OnePlus 3 launched a few months back features a subtle Gold colour, hence the name Soft Gold. Check out our video of the phone below.

October 2, 2016
OnePlus 3 Soft Gold Colour Now For Sale In India Rs 27999

OnePlus has been teasing the golden colour of the OnePlus 3 since launch, and while the unit was launched a month back in many parts of the world, India finally gets the golden child. If you read our review of the OnePlus 3, the real difference in the OnePlus 3 grey and soft gold colour is basically the colour.

Amazon will start selling the unit tomorrow onwards and the OnePlus 3 will come with 12 months of accidental damage protection, 12 months of double data on Idea network and Rs. 500 of kindle credit. Specs wise the OnePlus 3 runs on the Snapdragon 820 chipset with 6 GB of RAM and comes with 64 GB of storage. The 3000 mAh battery supports Dash-Charge and the front houses a 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080p optic-AMOLED display.

October 1, 2016
Hands on with the Xperia XZ

The minute you put your hands on the Sony Xperia XZ you are reminded of the premium feel of the Xperia Z series phones. The Xperia XZ is a flagship in the true sense and Sony has launched it as a replacement of the Xperia Z5 which is a good thing.

The in-hand feel of the handset is brilliant thanks to the use of the new material called Alkaleido, which allows the phone to be a lot more robust than traditional aluminium chassis’ and is less prone to damage.

The premium build handset from Sony also features IP68 water resistance much like the Samsung Galaxy S7 or Note 7 and is also completely sand proof. The Sony Xperia XZ is the only smartphone from the company launched this year with that certification.

The display on the Sony Xperia XZ is just a Full HD 1920 x 1080px resolution display but has great colour and brightness and is easily viewable indoors and outdoors. The viewing angles on the screen are great too.

The phone runs Android 6.0.1 with a beta software at the moment so we did see some glitches and issues with the software builds. Sony has assured that the final retail units will come with a finished user interface.

The camera which is the hero features 5 axis image stabalization and 4k video recording. You also get subject tracking and predictive autofocus, which works great. However, getting around the camera menu and UI is a little mind boggling and to shoot 4k video you need to jump into a specific app.

Hopefully Sony updates the camera software in a coming update, because it needs much work to leverage the many features that this great camera hardware has. Sony has cleaned up the UI to quite an extent and you can disable the non wanted apps from the UI. The overall software seems snappy.

Battery is a low 2900 mAh, however bundled with quick charge 3.0 so that you can easily get a few hours of talk time in 10-15 minutes of charging via the USB Type-C port. The phone works over 4G on both SIM-cards and has VoLTE, we however were not able to test it just as yet.

All three colours of the Xperia XZ look great and feel great in the hand, the back is easy to wipe clean and the front houses a curved Gorilla Glass 4 which will deliver the needed frontal protection.

September 29, 2016
Sony Xperia XZ Launched in India For Rs. 49990

Sony has launched their flagship Xperia XZ in India for a price of Rs. 49,990. The phone was globally launched at IFA in Berlin last month and will go on sale in India on 10th of October.

The Sony Xperia XZ is designed using a new metal finish called Alkaleido, This material is extremely smooth and premium to touch, and even more easier to wipe clean. The Sony Xperia XZ is also IP65/68 certified which means that you can get back in the pool.

The XZ comes after the XA which was launched earlier this year with somewhat mediocre specs, however the Xperia XZ changes that with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset, 3 GB of RAM and 64 GB of Storage. The Sony handset does get Dual SIM capability using a hybrid sim slot which will accept a 256GB microSD.

The hero for Sony however in the Sony Xperia XZ is the new 23 MP Exmor RS sensor which has three focus modes, including on sensor, Laser autofocus and RGB-IC focus. The camera also shoots 4k Video and slo-mo video.

September 29, 2016
iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus Pre-Orders Start Tonight on Flipkart

Flipkart is the official India partner for the sale of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in India and pre-orders start tonight, 29th Sept just a minute short of midnight at 23:59 hours .

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be sold on Flipkart’s special page here and will be available in limited quantities. You can check out the full list of specifications and options for pricing by clicking here.

The iPhone 7 will go on sale with a starting price of Rs. 60,000 for the 32 GB variant, while the iPhone 7 plus begins at Rs. 72000. Officially the iPhone 7 series hits the stores on October 7, pre-ordering will secure a spot.

The most coveted jet-black colour will have very limited quantities and reports say, that it may not appear for pre-order at all.

September 29, 2016
Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus Unboxing
The Apple iPhone 7 went on sale in many countries on the 16th of September, and will launch in India on Oct 7th with prices starting Rs. 60,000 for the iPhone 7 in 32GB .

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus offer up many changes for the yearly refresh, and even though the basic design of the phones is identical to previous generation iPhones, there are many new things on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

The new iPhones are water proof with a iP67 rating, by removing the headphone jack apple has managed to improve the water resistivity of the new iPhones considerably. Another change is the home button, instead of a physical button, it is a pressure sensitive glass, allowing the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus to eliminate one more point of water ingress

Inside the boxes of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus you get :
- iPhone Unit
- Basic Documentation
- Lightning to USB Cable
- Lightning EarPods
- Lightning to analogue Audio adapter (3.5mm)
- Apple Stickers
- SIM tool (country specific)
The Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus come without a 3.5mm headphone jack, so if you do have old headphone that you would like to use, you will need the included adapter. In case you lose the tiny adapter Apple is selling it for US$ 8. The adapter will sell in India for Rs. 599.

While the iPhone is available in five colours the Matte Black or just “black” is our favourite, although the new “Jet Black” colour which is an extremely glossy polished black finish seems to be a crowd pleaser, and Apple may not launch it in India due to stock limitations.

The home button takes some getting used to on the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. However, you get to set this to your liking during initial setup from three levels of pressure sensitivity.
September 26, 2016
Pixel and Pixel XL Leaked by Case Makers

Ahead of the 4th Oct official release for Google Pixel and Pixel XL set to replace the Nexus brand, Case makers are outing accessories for the phones, and renders show us an up-close look at the two phones. The phones which are very identical to the HTC One or iPhone in terms of design language will be available in two sizes. According to leaks the phones will also have a dual material design ; a unibody Aluminium shell with a glass half insert.

Large fingerprint scanners sit in the back of the phones along with a G from the Google Logo. Specs wise both phones are expected to have Snapdragon 820 chipsets, 4 GB of RAM and 12 MP main + 8 MP front cameras. The Pixel XL will offer up a large screen 5.5 inch display with QHD resolution (whereas the Pixel will show up in a 5 inch 1920 x 1080 px size ) and a large battery according to reports. The mindset that Nexus phones are cheap, will also be removed as the Google Pixel phones will not be cheap, but will offer a clean Android experience. The phones are expected to start at a $649 price tag and come in 32 GB and 128 GB storage options.

The Pixel phones were earlier also spotted in the Nest Outdoor camera commercial in the Netherlands.

September 24, 2016
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Emits Smoke On Indigo Flight, No Damage

Looks like that break Samsung needs, is still a far distance away. Aboard an Indigo flight, a Samsung Note 2, started to emit smoke while in the overhead baggage bin. A passenger spotted the smoke and alerted the cabin crew, who then took remedial action. Although, no harm was done and the flight reached it’s destination safely, Samsung phones seem to be under scrutiny.

Samsung has already faced a global down play with the Galaxy Note 7 Recall, the company has lost billion on the market value and bad news continues to pour in.

The DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has called in the Samsung top brass in for a meeting on Monday. If the DGCA decides to ban Samsung phone aboard airlines, it may set the fate of Samsung phones permanently in India.

Samsung in their typical “no responsibility” manner have issued a statement :

We are aware of an incident involving one of our devices. At Samsung, customer safety is our highest priority. We are in touch with relevant authorities to gather more information, and are looking into the matter.

The statement comes from a “Samsung Spokesperson” at a time when no employee is ready to put a face to the fiasco and step up. Samsung has handled the whole Note 7 recall poorly, and more bad news seems to continue. DGCA made a statement :

We advise flyers to exercise caution while flying with Samsung Note devices . They should either keep these devices switched off or not travel with them”

So did Indigo Airlines:

IndiGo confirms that a few passengers travelling on 6E-054 flight from Singapore to Chennai noticed the smoke smell in the cabin this morning (September 23, 2016) and immediately alerted the cabin crew on board. The crew quickly identified minor smoke coming from the hat-rack of seat 23 C and simultaneously informed the pilot-in-command who further alerted the ATC of the situation on board.Taking precautionary measure, the cabin crew on priority relocated all passengers on other seats, and further observed smoke being emitted from a Samsung note 2 which was placed in the baggage (of a passenger) in the overhead bin. The crew discharged the fire extinguisher which is as per the standard operating procedures prescribed by the aircraft manufacturer, and quickly transferred the Samsung note 2 into a container filled with water in lavatory.

Samsung India Service centres are refusing to replace the Note 7 handsets bought oversees, despite them being flagged as hazardous on Samsung’s own website. As a rule of a Global recall Samsung should recall all phones, whether sold through official or unofficial channels as they pose threat to the well being of human life at this moment.

September 23, 2016
Moto Z and Moto Z Play Coming to India On 4th October

Lenovo brand Moto is launching Moto Z and Moto Z plus in India on the 4th of October. Hopefully the smartphone should reach the country with all its Mods including the awesome Hasselblad Camera attachment.

The Moto Z is a first foray into the “Z” segment on a global level. Lenovo had launched the phone at their global event two months back. The company promised that the Moto Z would be made available outside the US end of September, and October 4 is just a few days off.

The Moto Z has a 5.5-inch Quad HD AMOLED display and runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor with 4GB of RAM. You get 32 or 64GB of storage with SD card expansion, 13-megapixel camera with f/1.8 lens and optical image stabilization and the new fingerprint scanner that we saw in the G4 Plus. The Moto Z also gets a 2600mAh battery. The phone is super slim at just 5.2mm and light at just 136g.

The best part about the Moto Z phones is the modular capability, which allows you to snap on mods on the back of the phone and instantly shifting the purpose of the phone. Covers that snap can be had in a variety of materials or finishes, such as nylon, wood, or leather.

The SoundBoost Mod, built in partnership with JBL, is a speaker with upgraded two three-watt drivers and adds an extra 1,000mAh of battery capacity. The Power Pack Mod adds a 2,220mAh cell to the Moto Z. Of-course the Hasselblad camera mod adds the pro-camera capabilities of Hasselblad and a 10x zoom. You also get a projector mod that allows a 70″ screen from the back of the phone.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJ0Gp45Dd9W/?taken-by=igyaan

Moto Z Play will be a more affordable version of the Moto Z and will come with a Snapdragon 625. The Moto Z Force which has the shatter-sheild display remains a Verizon exclusive and will not launch in India, which is a pity.

Price wise no clear indication of what the phones will be priced in India. However in the US the phone is priced for $ 699, in India we expect it to be priced similarly between the 45k-50k price. The Moto Z play on the other hand will be the more affordable and more sought after product, seemingly around the Rs. 25,000 – 30,000 price bracket in India.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl2Tr5i41rQ

September 23, 2016
Lenovo Z2 Plus Launched in India For Rs. 17999

Lenovo has launched the Z2 Plus in India, dropping the “Zuk” branding considering that the phones will be sold online as well as in traditional brick and mortar stores.

Lenovo Z2 Plus runs on a 2.15GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor and it comes with 4GB of RAM. The phone packs 64GB of fixed internal storage. However, India gets a 3GB of RAM variant with 32 GB storage too.

The Lenovo Z2 Plus accepts two SIM cards and works on LTE with support for VoLTE. Lenovo will also shed the Cyanogen launcher from the Lenovo Z2 Plus and instead launch with a more pure Android Experience, with the Google Now launcher.

The Lenovo Z2 Plus has a 5 Inch 1920 x 1080p display and 414 ppi pixel density.

The phone goes on open sale 25th of September mid night (26th september), for a starting price of Rs.17999 for the 3 GB variant and will be sold on Amazon.in

The Lenovo Z2 Plus with a 4GB RAM is priced at Rs. 19,999 and will also be available exclusive to Amazon.

September 22, 2016
HTC Desire 10 Pro and Lifestyle Headed for India in October

HTC announced the Desire 10 series phones, a mid-rage variant of the HTC 10 flagship. The new HTC Desire 10 however is a brand new take on the mid-range and it looks fantastic. It derives its design hues from the HTC 10 with the bold lines and chamfers and adds the Desire design on top of it with the Large camera lenses and antenna lines.

The HTC Desire 10 pro, as the name suggests, is the more powerful of the lot with a Helio P10 chip , 64 GB storage and 4 GB RAM. You can still use a MicroSD card upto 256GB.

The main camera is a 20 MP shooter with an f/2.2 aperture and a 28mm lens whereas the secondary camera is a 13 MP shooter. Both cameras shoot 1080p video. The HTC 10 Desire Pro has a 3000 mAh battery and has a 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080p display.

The HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle has meanwhile, has a 5.5-inch 720p display, and uses a Snapdragon 400 chip, 2GB or 3GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB of expandable storage, and a 2,700mAh battery. The Cameras also get reduced to 13 MP and 5 MP shooters on the Desire 10 Lifestyle. The HTC 10 Desire Lifestyle does have higher-res, 24-bit audio file support which lacks in the Pro variant.

Both phones run on Android 6.0 to start, underneath HTC’s Sense UI skin. Both the phones have a polycarbonate construction (with matte finish) alone with solid metal lines and frame.

HTC has launched the HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle in Europe for a price of £249. However, HTC will launch the HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle in India in October with pricing set around the Rs. 20,000 price for the HTC 10 Lifestyle. India might get the CDMA equipped variant of the phones which means that apart from supporting LTE and VoLTE the phone ill also work on CDMA networks of Tata and Reliance. The HTC Desire 10 Pro will be launched in November.

September 22, 2016