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.

Canvas Win W092 The Usurper of Nokia Lumia 525

There have been a serious shortage of Windows phones in the market. Micromax is the latest entrant in the segment. The Micromax Windows phones (Canvas Win W121 and W092) look like a good effort on the part of Micromax. The two phones have managed to create some buzz around and have been appreciated by tech enthusiasts. Micromax’s lower end offering – The Canvas Win W092 also looks like a promising Windows device.

This phone will directly compete with the Nokia Lumia 525, let’s see how the Win W092 scores up against the fallen legends offering.

First up, Win 092 runs Windows OS 8.1 out of the box, while the Lumia 525 runs on the Windows 8 Black. While the Nokia possesses a 1 Ghz Snapdragon s4 processor, the Canvas Win W092 flaunts a Snapdragon 200 processor with 1.2 GHz Quad Core CPU. Both phones have 1 GB RAM’s and 8 GB ROM.

micromax win 23 — Canvas Win 092 seems like an updated Lumia 525

The Micromax phone offers a dual SIM option whereas the Nokia is a Single- Micro SIM device.

Nokia has been known for its camera capabilities. The Lumia 525 has a 5 megapixel shooter and is capable of shooting 720p HD videos. The Win W092 also has a 5 Megapixel camera with LED flash but if the past experiences with Micromax camera at this price range are considered, the camera probably would not be comparable to the Nokia quality.

Looking at the specs it is evident that Lumia 525 must have been the inspiration behind the Win W092. Micromax has tried to one up the Lumia 525 in almost departments, while giving a competitive pricing. The Win W095 has the ability to challenge the Lumia and only time will tell if this would be the last usurping of the Nokia brand name.

The Lumia 525 is available on Flipkart at Rs. 8550 while the Win 092 is priced at 6500. This war just got serious. A Windows phone enthusiast now has to some serious option to choose from. XOLO has already geared up to release a new devices based on Windows OS 8.1. With Windows releasing the OS free for licensing purposes for screen size below 9 inches, many more companies might want to join the Windows OS ecosystem.

Specifications	Nokia Lumia 525	Micromax Canvas Win W092
GENERAL	Release date: January 2013 Dimensions (mm): 115.40 x 61.10 x 11.00 Battery capacity (mAh): 1430 Colours: Orange, Yellow, White, Black	Release date: June 2014 Form factor: Capacitive Touchscreen Battery capacity (mAh): 1500 Colours: Black
DISPLAY	Screen size (inches): 4.00 Resolution: 480×800 pixels Pixels per inch (PPI): 233 Colours: 16M	Screen size (inches): 4.00 Touchscreen: Yes Touchscreen type: Capacitive
CAMERA	Rear camera: 5-megapixel Flash: No Front camera: No	Rear camera: 5-megapixel Flash: Yes Front camera: 0.3-megapixel
HARDWARE	Processor: 1GHz dual-core Processor make: Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 RAM: 1 GB Internal: storage 8GB Expandable storage: Yes Expandable storage type: microSD Expandable storage up to (GB): 64	Processor: 1.2GHz quad-core Processor make: Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 RAM: 1GB Internal storage: 8GB Expandable storage: Yes Expandable storage type: microSD Expandable storage up to (GB): 32
Software	Operating System: Windows Phone 8.1 Java support: No Browser supports Flash: No	Operating System: Windows Phone 8.1 Java support: Yes Browser supports Flash: Yes
Connectivity	Wi-Fi: Yes Wi-Fi standards supported: 802.11 a/ b/ g/ n GPS: Yes Bluetooth: Yes, v 3.00 NFC: Yes Headphones: 3.5mm FM: Yes USB: Micro-USB	Wi-Fi: Yes Wi-Fi standards supported: NA GPS: Yes Bluetooth: Yes NFC: No Headphones: 3.5mm FM: Yes USB: Micro-USB
Sensors	Compass/ Magnetometer: Yes Proximity sensor: Yes Accelerometer: Yes Ambient light sensor: No Gyroscope: No Barometer: No Temperature sensor: No	Compass/ Magnetometer : No Proximity sensor: Yes Accelerometer: Yes Ambient light sensor: No Gyroscope: No Barometer: No Temperature sensor: No

June 18, 2014

Hands on with Micromax Canvas Win W121 And W092

Although it is not Micromax’s first foray into Windows domain, its is their first set of Windows Phone 8.1 Smartphones. The two devices 5 inch W121, and 4 inches W092 are both relatively lower end devices, and their prices below the Rs. 10000 bracket.

The Micromax Canvas Win W121 is their 5 inch handset with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 Chipset with 1 GB RAM 8 GB ROM, along with 32 GB storage expansion via MicroSD card. The W121 costs Rs. 9500 and features a much better build than its lower sibling, almost mimicking the “Pleather” seen on the Note 3. On the back of the W121 is an 8MP camera, with a 2 MP front facing camera. Overall the device is an impressive looking unit, when compared to many other phones available in this price bracket.

The OS seems build on the prototype units we saw, and Windows Phone 8.1 comes preloaded with many of the new features of the OS. For most using Windows as a main PC OS will enjoy the continued features that were earlier available on devices like Nokia Lumia.

The Micromax Canvas Win W092 is a lower end variant of the two and costs a significantly low Rs. 6500. The w092 comes with many identical specs when compared to the elder brother, including the Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 Chipset with 1 GB RAM 8GB ROM, along with 32 GB storage. Whats different here is a smaller 4 inch display the 5 MP main camera and a 1500 mAh battery. The secondary camera also comes down to a mere 0.3 MP vs. the 2 MP on the bigger sibling.

Both the Micromax Canvas Win w121 and the W092 are expected to be available early July and we will keep you posted on further news.

June 16, 2014
Micromax to launch New Windows Phone based Canvas on 16th June
After our exclusive story on Micromax’s lineup of Windows Phone devices headed towards you, Micromax has today confirmed a launch for the same on the 16th of June. The even will be held in New Delhi and the flagship Canvas running Windows Phone is said to be scheduled for launch.

As previous information points out the new Canvas Windows phone will have :
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset.
- 2 GB RAM.
- 16 GB storage.
- 5 inch display (AMOLED rumored)
- 1920 x 1080p Resolution
- 16GB Storage
- microSD Expandability
- 13 MP main camera (Possible 4K video)
- 5 MP front camera (with Selfie Mode)
- 2500 mAh Battery
- Unibody Design
INVITE

The company has new heads that are set to launch the new products, and a new invite more or less confirms the news. The phone is expected to be priced at Rs. 25000 with an included flip-case and freebies for the initial set of buyers

[poll id=”2″]
June 14, 2014
Intex and Spice to bring Firefox OS in India

Indian phone makers Intex and Spice have decided to bring Mozilla’s Firefox OS to India. Intex calls its device the Cloud FX. The company said that the phone will be priced around Rs.2000 thereby bringing the smartphone experience to the last group of people untouched by it. Spice on the other hand has just given a July release timeframe and said its phone will be a dual Sim device.

The Cloud FX is powered by 1 Ghz processor and will have a 3.5 inch display. Mozilla had unveiled a similar $25 smartphone platform at the MWC this year which is said to be similar to the intex device.

Intex said the Cloud FX will have Wifi and Bluetooth connectivity. It has a 2 megapixel camera rear camera.

Firefox OS is a truly open source operating system. It is based on open source standards of HTML 5, JavaScript, etc. It will be competing against other open source platforms such as Ubuntu touch. It looks a lot like a scaled down version of the Android.

What sets the OS apart from Android as it is made for lower end devices. So it has minimum hardware requirement.

Some of the best features of the Firefox OS is that it is gestures controlled and has a fast developing market place. The market has already started to fill up with regularly used apps from around the world. Though many of the apps are internet only and most have not been conformed to screen sizes.

With major companies like Google and Facebook investing in initiatives to connect the massive unconnected population with internet, operating systems like these which facilitate cheaper devices will lead to more global interconnection.

If Intex plays it right and markets it well, it could bring a new form of smartphone revolution in the lower end phone segment thereby mobilizing bigger players to enter that arena.

[poll id=”7″]

June 14, 2014
Apple Set To Change 100 Year Old History, will make headphones With a New Lightning Port

The internet has been talking about the possibility of Apple killing classic 3.5mm headphone jack in favor of the company’s propriety Lightning port. The decision to do so could have far-reaching effects for customers, who would be requisite to buy adaptors for their existing headphone sets, but would also result in larger synergies with the company’s latest acquisition of high-end headphone company Beats Electronics.

The company has introduced a new design for manufacturers in its made-for-iPhone (MFi) program that will let them to produce headphones with Lightning connectors. The new type of headphones will be able to make the change between analogue to digital audio with an elevated lossless stereo 48 kHz digital output, it would in addition convert the traditional headphones into a smart device.

The headphones that go directly into the Lightning port would have better audio quality than current models, meaning those fancy Beats by Dre would sound better.

The 3.5 mm headphone jack also remains the biggest hurdle when trying to make a slim phone, as the headphone jack requires a far fatter cavity than most other components, and the lighting connector serving as a headphone jack could mean that the iPhone could end up being super slim at the edges.

Apple has pointed out in its new specification that the new headphones can be “made to work specifically with a companion iOS app”. For instance, consumers would be able to do more than just skip tracks; they could work with apps such as iTunes Radio or initiate playback controls on iOS.

The biggest advantage of this new addition in iPhones will be that the headphones would be able to tap into power from an Apple device, thus eliminating the costs associated with an internal battery.

But on the downside, talks are customers won’t be able to listen to headphones and charge the phone at the same time, but of course there are also talks about wireless charging for the new iPhone.

Unlike the iPhone charger, the audio headphone jack has been around for more than 100 years. A version of it was used in the first telephone switchboards, and the jack has been in Army radios for as long as the Army has had radios. The current 3.5mm headphone jack is the portable-music standard, and has been since even before the first Sony Walkman hit stores in 1979.

There is a possibility of a revolt if Apple lovers are suddenly told that every pair of headphones they ever bought will be useless with the iPhone 6. But, then again, Apple usually tries to be ahead of the curve and predict what technologies are going to become legacy technologies, And so far they’ve been successful with it.

June 13, 2014
iGyaan Giveaway: Win a Gionee Elife E7

Okay we know what you were thinking. We celebrated our 4 year anniversary but no giveaways for you guys. Well we are not the ones to miss an opportunity to appreciate your love for us.

So we are back with our iGyaan Giveaway and this time it’s rather fun, if we do say so ourselves. All you need for this giveaway use a tiny little app called Instagram (you might have already heard of it!) and you can have a Gionee ELife E7 in your pockets.

iGyaan’s Instagram

[alpine-phototile-for-instagram id=732 user=”igyaan” src=”user_recent” imgl=”instagram” col=”4″ size=”M” num=”4″ shadow=”1″ border=”1″ highlight=”1″ curve=”1″ align=”center” max=”50″ nocredit=”1″]

Here’s what you need to do:

Step 1

Click a photo of technology. Make it creative; Make it stand apart, just GO CRAZY. Find your passion and just click the hell out of it. Not just that you can also take instagram videos, yes it does that to.

Step 2

Post it on Instagram and/or Facebok with the following tags: #myigtech, #myigtag and #iGyaanGiveaway. You may also want to tag iGyaan’s instagram profile, just a sure shot way of getting your entry through to us.

Thats it!

The best Photo or Video of the day will get featured on iGyaan’s instagram as well as the iGyaan’s Facebook page, we’ll make you famous.

Each weeks best entry will get some goodies but the winner of the Giveaway gets to take home the amazing camera prowess of Gionee ELife 7.

We will announce the close of the contest soon, so bookmark this page.

Remember : Put some effort into clicking a picture! the cleaner and more awesome the picture, the better your chances of winning. Nothing comes easy, put your back into it!

So go ahead and get clicking.

P.S: You might want to give these Terms and Conditions a read, Just for fun…

Latest Entries

[alpine-phototile-for-instagram id=265 user=”igyaan” src=”global_tag” tag=”myigtech” imgl=”instagram” col=”4″ size=”M” num=”16″ shadow=”1″ border=”1″ highlight=”1″ curve=”1″ align=”center” max=”100″ nocredit=”1″]

June 13, 2014
Exclusive : 7 Micromax Windows Phone Devices in the Coming Months

Recently Micromax was in the news for rumors around a Windows Phone device, well turns out they are not only true but there is more to the game. Sources close to iGyaan and top brass at Micromax confirm that not only is the company working on launching windows phone handsets, they will launch handsets ranging from Rs. 7000 and up to Rs. 25000 effective.

These 7 to 8 handsets will be launched within the next few months, and Microsoft is said to be pushing for the quick release and promotion of the handsets. There is long term tie up between Micromax and Microsoft, and the redmond based computing giant is interested in cross promoting the products for which Micromax has been well funded by Microsoft.

Sources also tell us that both companies have invested in design and most of the Micromax Windows Phones will be seen with a unibody design, with a lot of help provided by designers and engineers from Nokia. As of today, apart from Nokia no other manufacturer is manufacturing Windows Phone handsets as a global product. Micromax Windows Phones will be sold in India and overseas in existing Micromax markets.

Micromax has been eyeing the Windows Phone market since the beginning of the operating system, and the first positive step was the announcement of the Indian manufacturer as a partner at the Microsoft Build conference earlier this year.

New Micromax CEO Vineet Taneja will host the first round of launches of Micromax Windows Phone devices in the coming week, which might see more than one Windows Phone device from Micromax being launched. The flagship phone from the Indian manufacturer is said to have a 5 inch 1920 x 1080p display, 2GB RAM, a 13 MP + 5 MP camera combination, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset and is said to be priced at Rs. 25000 for a 16GB storage and expandability via micro SD.

Micromax’s flagship is expected to have a metal unibody design with Dual Sim capabilities and micro SD card expansion via sim tray style slots, as seen in the HTC One M8. The design of the phone is also said to mimic the HTC lineage with round edges and unibody structure.

We won’t know what will actually unfold until the new CEO announces the handsets, however it looks like the budget game might get really interesting going forward.

[poll id=”2″]

June 12, 2014
The Plastic HTC E8 One Officially Launched

HTC E8 One has been launched in China and its pricing is almost half as much as its aluminum counterpart M8. The much talked about plastic body is said to be solid and looks good too.

E8 fashions an impressive ergonomic Dual Curve Design, that makes the device fit in your hands easily. It has a 13MP main camera and 5MP front facing wide-angle camera. The Built-in Touch Up software balances skin tones while retaining your genuine look. The company will also provide a dual SIM version of the phone but only in selected areas, as mentioned on their website.

The new ‘Vogue Edition’ HTC M8 One is said to be similar to M8 in most of the specs. Though it is pointed out that its 13 MP camera is slower and the TV remote feature is missing. The price of the E8 is easily a steal given the near-identical features as the M8 i.e. Motion Launch, HTC BoomSound, Snapdragon 801, 5-inch 1080p screen, MicroSD expansion.

E8 is available in four colors: Polar White, Electric Crimson, Maldives Blue, and Misty Gray. The new device is said to be a little bit taller and thicker than the M8. The price set for the phone is CN¥2, 799 which rounds up to INR 27,000 approximately. We’re still uncertain about when it would be launched in India.

[poll id=”6″]

June 12, 2014
Oppo joins the 2K club with Find 7 and 7A Launch in India

Chinese phone manufacturers, Oppo has announced the launch of the Find 7 and its mini version the 7a. Both these phones are beautiful to look at and are LTE capable. People who love edges over curves are going to in for a treat.

General Managers Steven Shi Feng and CEO Tom Lu releasing the Find 7 and 7a

First up the Find 7 takes on the Oppo Find 5 design quotient and makes it even better. The Find 5 was one of the first phones with a 1080p display and continuing the tradition of firsts, Find 7 has a 1440p Quad HD display. The 2K space is heating up. Overall sleek and sexy looking body with steel elements is enticing to look and is an aspirational phone.

The Find 7 and Find 7a both have 5.5 inch screens. The 7a has a 1080p FHD screen. The unique feature of these devices is an erotic blue light at the bottom of the screen. Its called the Skyline notification and it starts from the center and spreads across the bottom edges. The textured Carbon fibre removable back panel is good to look at.

The Phones edgy design makes it great to look at.

On the processing power front the Find 7 boasts of 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 chipset with 3GB of RAM. This high configuration is necessary for the stunning Quad HD screen. The 7a on the other hand has a slightly shrunk 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 chipset.

Find 7 is powered by a 3000 MaH removable battery. The 7a holds a 2800 MaH version. Oppo has introduced a charging technology called the Multi step constant current charging (quite a mouthful ha?). This helps to go from 0 to 75% in 30 minutes. For this the phone needs to be charged with the provided charger.

The Quad HD screen of the Find 7 is a delight to look at. Its 538 ppi display is one of the best in class and was released globally before the LG G3. The Find 7 was released globally in March so that makes Oppo the first company to cross the 2K barrier.

The Find 7 has an internal storage of 32GB whereas the 7a has 16 GB storage. Both the phones have expandable memory options which will come handy if you want to play high quality audio-visual entertainment.

The Camera on the devices is 13 mega pixel shooters and are powered by the Sony IMX214 CMOS sensor. It has a wide 2.0 aperture which will help with better night and shallow focus shooting. Camera has the ability to shoot Raw and here too the expandable storage be extremely advantageous. It is also capable of 4K video recording.The camera is also capable of taking massive 50 Megapixel images. It achieves this by clicking multiple images and creating one huge 50 mpix images.

The phone currently runs on a clean looking UI. It runs on Oppo’s propriety Android 4.3 based Color OS. It has some really functional elements like the gestures feature. This feature lets you open certain apps like the camera or the torch just by making gestures on the screen. This works even when the screen is on stand-by to let you reach the Apps with ease.

Overall both devices look really enticing and we can’t wait to get our hands on them. Keep checking this spot for more.

The Find 7 is priced at Rs. 37990 and the Find 7a is priced at Rs. 31990 in India.

June 11, 2014
Microsoft to Kinect Up the Next Windows Phone

The Verge has reported that Microsoft is in the process of inducting Kinect features in its next Windows phone, code named “Mclaren”. The Mclaren was introduced to the world through phone tripsters EVLeaks.

The phone will be a successor to the Lumia 1020 and will boast propriety technology like 3D touch and Real Motion. These features will assist in interaction with the phone without actually touching the display.

Kinect is now integral to the Xbox experience

Kinect was reveled at the 2010 E3 conference. Kinect made sense on a large screen system like the Xbox. Its features which made technology invisible was appreciated by people. The question that everyone seems to be asking is whether a phone version of Kinect will actually have some benefits or will be just another gimmicky add-on.

Some of the reported features include the ability to answer a phone call by just bringing it to your ears or cutting a call when the phone is dropped back in the pocket. The phone can also be put on a table to start an speakerphone conversation. These features have to be utility based or else they will end up as the Air Gestures in the Samsung phones.

The phone will also be fitted with pressure sensing instruments on the sides to detect changes in grip. They want to make external buttons completely obsolete. One of the way this can be used is gripping the phone can power on the device. Even the Camera can be zoomed in and out just by doing the usual pinching motions near the device.

These features were originally intended to be used on the Windows 8.1 powered Nokia Goldfinger phones. This phone is now being pushed back for a later release, while the Mclaren is being given priority. This is one more way in which Microsoft is pushing the Nokia name off the edge. Some have said that Nokia’s innovations are being stripped for profitable parts in Microsoft’s research labs.

The new UI will be inspired by Zune Mixview

The phones will also have a tiny UI renovation with the Kinect induction. When pointed above a tile it will open multiple floating tiles. This is inspired by the Zune Mixview. The tech makes sense on a big screen where there was minimum learning curve, but in a small screen it will be a whole different story. Microsoft would have had to go back to the drawing board to make the technology featurable on a handheld device.

Now as these are still leaks and we’d have to wait for the device to come in our hands before we comment on the functionality of these features. This of course will be a good experiment to look forward to. Microsoft Xbox’s Kinectic abilities suit it well for a home entertainment system, but it has to take some real efforts to convince people that hovering fingers over your phone is as good as having a touch response.

June 10, 2014
Google ‘Accidentally’ Leaks Their Next Android Phone

Google Nexus 5 was one of the best phones in the market in 2013. Recently, there has been quite a few of rumors regarding Google’s plans of discarding the Nexus for a new Silver program. But a tweet by Android’s official account shows an unknown smartphone, which looks almost like the Nexus 5 with minute changes.

#Android makes even the most difficult grocery store choices simple. #OKGoogle pic.twitter.com/Ucu5alBtQE

— Android (@Android) June 5, 2014

This promotional tweet was intended to endorse a new feature in Google Now (the ability to see recipe checklists while shopping), exposed a new-looking phone. The photo shows that the alleged Nexus 6 doesn’t have the speaker grill or the camera on the front. The screen also appears to be larger and the bezels are slightly smaller.

This is not the first time Google has “accidentally” leaked a photo of a yet impromptu device either. Back in November last year, Google posted a promotional photo of a new Nexus tablet and it created a lot of talk about the Nexus 8 tablet. More recently, a header on Google’s micro website revealed an unknown tablet, which subsequently sparked Nexus 8 rumors. Infact, the first look of the Nexus 5 was accidentally revealed when Google posted and subsequently deleted a video on YouTube.

Seems like we have enough reasons to believe that this may be the Google’s next Android phone. We’re just not sure if this was an intentional move or just a goof-up.

June 10, 2014
Rumor : Apple to Include Beats Earphones With The New iPhone

Now this is just the kind of news that all the prospective iPhone buyers were waiting for. We have learnt that after the major 3.2 billion dollar acquisition of Beats by Apple, the company is going to include their earphones with the next iPhone.

The Dr.Dre and Jimmy Lovine created brand of music gear has become the staple across the music scene. This was Apple’s biggest acquisition till date as they remain conservative with their spending. This conservative approach helps them to put resources in R&D which then helps them to stand out from the crowd.

Apple had made it clear that it is not going to combine the brand. This is a good step as Beats has massive visibility and brand recognition especially its association with the Doctor of the Hip Hop world. Apple was already selling Beats gear at its store but it will reach a lot more people since one of the most recognized brands (Apple) starts selling it along with its most recognized gadget (iPhone).

Along with this, Apple might also try to bring some kind of integration with the Beats music service, which will be appreciated by many. The service lets you personalize music based on listening habits and recommendations from expert music curators. Though this is only a speculation at the moment but a Beats music integration with iTunes might help Apple to reclaim its youthful appeal.

Now as the Apple-Beats deal has been confirmed so the chances of a Beats earphones coming to you with your next iPhone box has increased. So if you were contemplating an iPhone purchase you might want to wait a couple of months, to get your BEATS on !

June 9, 2014
Nokia Failed, Microsoft Won : Here Is How

It was the year 2001, and Nokia had just rolled out its best phones yet, the 8250 was a super success right after the launch of the 8210 which was one of the best selling “high end” cellular phones available at the time. But, the year also marked the end of monochrome displays, as Nokia the only big name in mobile telephony would transition to color displays for their next generation of phones.

Nokia 8250 Print Ad Title : Walk on the Blue Side!

The Nokia 9210 communicator became the phone of choice of many professionals, the first color screen clamshell to revolutionize the Mobile industry. Nokia had everything working for them, they had the right markets, the right products and they were rich, rich enough to explore the future.

It was also the year when Nokia secretly developed 2 world changing products, a Color Screen touch phone set above one single hardware button, and a ten-inch tablet computer both of which had features like video playback, internet access and navigation capabilities. These two world changing devices could also securely order products online and create online accounts and keep data safe within the internet (Now known as Cloud Storage).

Nokia was innovating and how, but these products never came out, the consumers never saw them and the corporate marketing heads shut down the research claiming that the ideas were far fetched. Ironically, Nokia had never been so wrong in the many years of leading the wireless revolution and becoming stronger than ever in the 1990’s.

Steve Jobs Announces the First Apple iPhone in 2007

Seven years later, Steve Jobs got on stage and announced the first Apple iPhone, and all hell broke loose in the world. Nokia execs were scrambling left right and center to now re energize their seven year old product research. But the world had matured beyond Nokia’s internal understanding, while people now wanted Capacitive Touch Phones, because they were easy to use and type on, Nokia still confident of its seven year old tech wanted to hold on to their N series and E series which they continued to develop for quite a while.

In 2012, Apple had already announced the iPhone 4 and had taken a major chunk of the Smartphone sales under its banner, a new enemy loomed for Nokia: Android. This Google made OS, was revolutionizing the Smartphone and bringing it to the masses. This year Android Powered handsets were available for as low as 200 $ and Nokia ended its 14 year streak as the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer. Nokia’s Stock crashed and thousands of employees lost their jobs.

Nokia had another big opportunity lost around the time when they started a cold war with Google and decided never to make Android Phones, and shift focus completely towards making Windows Phones, bringing gradual cancerous death Meego and Symbian in the process.

But there was a name that is mostly believed to be the root cause of the above decisions. In September of 2010, ex-Microsoft Exec Stephen Elop was the first non-Finn to be named CEO of Nokia. During the 3 years Elop was Nokia CEO, Nokia revenues fell 40%, Nokia profits fell 95%, Nokia market share collapsed in smartphones from 34% to 3.4%.

In one of my meetings with a Product Design manager at Nokia during IFA 2012, it became apparent that Nokia was still the same, shutting down ideas and killing innovation. In fact, most of those who worked at the Finnish HQ already assumed that Nokia would collapse under Elop and Windows Phone.

Stephen Elop at a Launch

A company that was easily valued for upwards of $150 billion 14 years ago, when they secretly developed the first “iPhone” and “iPad” (Smartphone and Tablet) was sold in 2013 to Microsoft for a mere $ 7 Billion. For context, that’s less than half of what Facebook paid for Whatsapp. Stephen Elop who would then join back Microsoft as Executive Vice President, later to be made head of XBOX, Games and Hardware division. Conspiracy theorists have called Elop the Trojan Horse who led Nokia to its demise simply because Microsoft eyed a takeover.

Elop and Nadella

Microsoft has confirmed that they will kill the “Nokia” branding and start building a new line of smartphones internally called “Microsoft Mobile Oy”. The final name may simply be Microsoft Mobile or Microsoft Surface Phone even Microsoft Lumia. This may not be the smartest move on Microsofts part, A long legacy of Nokia also would have brought among the loyalty of Nokia users. But, as Elop mentioned, “Nokia is not a Brand placement” that Microsoft would like for their lineup of Smartphones, especially if one was to consider the bad press we have seen lately. “Nokia” as a name is now considered “old school” and maybe a new name might just do wonders.

After the announcement of the acquisition Nokia shares jumped 35% on the news, whereas Microsoft’s fell more than 5%, either way the only company to benefit is Microsoft, and Nokia truly lost, thanks to a corporate culture that lavished funds on research but squandered opportunities to bring innovations.

Nokia’s line of Lumia Phones have seen some success in the recent past, only to measure their success in non percentages compared to the world. Nokia is finally dead, and most of the world will and should shy away from investing in the brand. At least up until the Microsoft version comes out.

[poll id=”4″]

June 5, 2014
New Sony Xperia T3 Joins the Slim Phone Race
Sony has just announced the new phone in its slim phone category, Xperia T3.

The slimmest LTE phone in the world weighs around 148 grams and is 7mm thick. It will be competing with Gionee Elife S5.5 which is the slimmest phone available in the market at just 5.5mm thickness.

The Sony Xperia T3 has IPS-LCD Triluminos screen with 720×1280 pixels resolution. It is powered by a 1.4 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (MSM8228) processor and runs on Android 4.4 KitKat. It comes with a 8-megapixel rear camera with Sony Exmor RS sensor, LED flash and 1080p video recording. It has a 1.1-megapixel HD front-facing camera.

The framework is made by following the customary OmniBalance design with a metal frame that is uncovered on the sides. The back is a lusterless plastic available in three colors: white, black or purple. The Sony Xperia T3 has affluent connectivity options for a mid-range device, starting with the usual 2G/3G, LTE Cat. 4 for up to 150Mbps download speeds, Wi-Fi with Miracast and DLNA, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and A-GPS.

The relatively small 2,500mAh battery promises up to almost 13 hours of talking, plus there’s Stamina mode to reduce power usage when you need more out of the battery. Sony has announced that the device will be launched globally in the end of July. The price has not been announced yet.

Sony Xperia T3 major specifications:
- 5.3-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD TRILUMINOS Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2
- 1.4 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (MSM8928) processor with Adreno 305 GPU
- Android 4.4 (KitKat)
- 8MP rear camera with Sony Exmor RS sensor, LED flash, 1080p video recording
- 1.1MP HD front-facing camera
- 7mm thick and weighs 148 grams
- 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio with RDS
- 1GB RAM, 8GB internal memory, Upto 32GB expandable memory via microSD card
- 4G LTE / 3G HSPA+, WiFi 820.11 a/b/g/n ( 2.4 GHz/5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.0 with APT-X, GPS/ GLONASS, NFC
- 2500 mAh Battery with STAMINA mode
June 4, 2014
HTC Desire 816 Review
The HTC Desire 816 is the newest entrant from HTC in their so called Mid Range product lineup of Android based Smartphone devices. The Desire 816 has Dual Sim Capabilities and supports CDMA networks alongside the GSM networks.

The HTC Desire is a good mix of looks, brain and brawn, but does it tackle a market well versed with hardware at a price point of a Nexus smartphone. Lets find out!

Overview

The HTC Desire 816 is the prettiest looking Desire we have seen yet, and it manages to do that in a an ironic rugged fashion. The phone musters up the strength to take on the likes of great phones like the Nexus 5, Moto X and Sony Xperia T2 in this price segment offering something extra.

Design, Hardware and Build

HTC has managed to hit the nail on the head when it comes to design in the past couple of years, with the One series of phones coming out stunning, one after the other. The Desire 816 is one phone that is completely inspired by the One M8 however keeping costs low, it brings a new material to the users. The design is very unique, blending a matte plastic edge with a glossy plastic back gives the phone two independent looks. The Front keeps the plastic chin and the head at a minimal, the front mostly has glass.

As far as hardware goes the Desire 816 also has a great mix of that. Running the insides is a Qualcomm MSM8928 Snapdragon 400 at 1.6 GHz on Quad Cores along with an Adreno 305 GPU. For memory we have 8 GB of Storage, 1.5 GB RAM and expandability of upto 128 GB via microSD card. Optics shave enhanced quite a lot and you will see impressive results from the 13 MP main camera and 5 MP front camera both capable of impressive 1080p, impressive because its quite accurate with respect to color and white balance.

Powering it all is a 2600 mAh battery pack, the front has a 5.5 inch Super LCD 2 display with a 1280 x 720 p resolution and 267 pip. However the display is actually better than it sounds on paper. All of this works in tandem with Android 4.4.2 kitkat OTB with HTC Sense 6.0, which has some new unique things to offer up. Finally the Desire 816 in India is a Dual Sim device with One 3G Sim card slot and one GSM aka no data slot.

Make no mistake the phone is “unapologetically plastic”, however the build quality is superb and does not feel cheap or flimsy at all. In fact, the “slab-ish” feel that you get from the moment you pick up the phone is pleasantly reassuring. The phone is presently available in three colors – Grey , White and Orange.

Display and Multimedia.

The HTC Desire 816 has a brilliant display, that looks great from the moment you first hold the device in your hand. The 5.5 inch Super LCD 2 display offers excellent brightness and great wide viewing angles. Almost every time you turn on the display you get a slight smirk on your face as to how beautifully HTC manages color and how good this screen looks. For the geek squad the 720p screen may not be a let down, it’s actually better than almost every other 720p display we have seen.

Movies and videos play perfectly on the Desire 816, with no lag whatsoever, even while high bitrate movies are difficult to view, they work exceptionally well on the 816. Multimedia playback is a good mix of visuals and audio experience, the Boomsound speakers contribute to the latter. The new speaks have large cavities and the sound almost competes with the likes of the new M8, which by itself says a lot. Their new audio engine also does an equally good job as the beats engine did, when the company still made phones with Beats audio.

Camera

The cameras on the HTC Desire 816 are not far from impressive, with excellent color reproduction, no banding in images, and excellent video capture. Both cameras capture video at Full HD 1080p resolution and the video is smooth and jitter free.

The camera works well in all kinds of lighting, although in extreme dark environments the Desire 816’s flash may not hold up to the mark. The camera is fast at focusing, and delivers mostly sharp results.

While taking a different approach from their One series of phones HTC has actually added a big sensor in this one , a 13 MP snapper will satiate the most needs.

The new Camera features in Sense 6.0 including ZOE is available on the HTC Desire 816, however you won’t see the UFocus option from the HTC One M8 because its hardware dependent. Although HTC could have gone the Sony and Samsung Route and used “Selective Focus” softwares.

Phone and Battery

While the Desire 816 uses 2 SIM cards, like most lower end phones it has only one slot for a 3G sim card. Both sim cards need to be Nano Sims to fit in this bad boy, which might have been a movement decision vs a design or need decision on such a large device.

The Phone call network strength is very good, and data connectivity is strong funnily in places where phones usually end up in “E” (edge) mode, the Desire 816 hangs on to the one last bar of “H” (3G/HSDPA), which by all means to us is very impressive. The Desire 816 also supports CDMA which is a fantastic thing, and makes the Desire 816 the best dual sim CDMA phone in this price bracket.

Battery life is phenomenal, you will easily bump one day of use and go into the next without worries. This is probably the only phone we have seen in the past that offers up this kind of battery life. However this is respective of usage, and may vary.

Talk Time : 6-7 Hours

Music and Multimedia : 9-10 hours

Internet : 7-8 Hours

Android and UI

Android KitKat along-with Sense 6.0 is a fantastic combination, just as we saw on the HTC One M8. HTC is now also promising quick updates to their handsets and we have seen updates roll out and almost all of their handsets released in the past few years are running KitKat. This means that we can rest easy when hoping for updates to the latest version of Android.

The Blinkfeed UI has become more and more acceptable and according to HTC over 79% of HTC owners are actively using Blinkfeed. The new Blinkfeed interface lets you add custom lists and sources as per your needs.

The Interface is infact, very customizable and intuitive and HTC offers a lot of sounds and wallpapers etc, to keep you busy for a very long time (incase you choose to use them.)

Performance and Gaming

The Desire 816 is a crack performer, no lag whatsoever, even when storage runs out. RAM is managed exceptionally well and fluidity of the ecosystem is constant. Muti-tasking works just the way it was designed, and while you could be easily switching b/w apps, they are actually put in a hibernate mode allowing the continued smooth performance.

All games are compatible and work well, the storage remains a limitation, and most games cannot be transferred to the SD card, which is slightly disappointing. You get approx 4+ GB free and although move to SD works in most cases, some games like GTA SA cannot be transferred and end up using 2.5 GB /4 available.

Conclusion

Honestly, HTC had us at the first look of the phone back then at MWC, but now with that gorgeous display, impressive build, fluid UI and impressive optics and multimedia, the Desire 816 is becoming more and more worthy of the “best title”, already winning the Best Dual Sim phone with CDMA in the under 30,000 category.

The HTC Desire 816 may be a tad large for some but it fits comfortably, and is an excellent phone with solid network strength. What you get for the price is a well rounded phone, with many features that will satisfy mostly all demographics.

If you are in the market for a phone that does CDMA as well, the 816 becomes the obvious choice, however despite there being many phones in this price bracket. The Desire 816 offers possibly the most satisfying experience.

Best Price

[tw-column width=”one-half”]

GOOD THINGS
- Well Built and Snappy
- Well Responsive
- Excellent Design and Looks
- Great Cameras
- Android KitKat and Updates
- Sense 6.0
- CDMA and 3G GSM Capable
[/tw-column]

[tw-column width=”one-half” position=”last”]

BAD THINGS
- Internal Memory Low
- Nano SIM Slot could have been Micro
- None, really!
[/tw-column]
June 4, 2014