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.

HTC HD2 Gets Unofficial Android 4.1 Jelly Bean – Epic Phone

The HTC HD2 has always been the most easily adapted phone when it came to running multiple OS’ . This was the first phone to triple boot Android and Windows phone 7 with Windows Phone 6.5.

Evervolv at the XDA-Developers forums has produced a pre-alpha port of Android 4.1 for the originally Windows Mobile-based phone. The funny thing is that in comparison to other devices, the HD2 build is running quite stably, except the camera, Google Now and web browser.

The build is not meant for day to day use, but the devs are working hard to deliver a fully usable build. And knowing the history of this handset, we don’t fear it too far.

July 17, 2012
Micromax launches X44 Bling, priced at INR 3000

Indian handset manufacturer Micromax has announced the launch of yet another Bling phone today in the form of X44. Featuring Swarovski ‘Zirconia’ diamonds, Micromax X55 Bling has been priced at Rs. 3,000.

It is the third phone in the Bling series that includes a feature phone while the second one was an Android based smartphone.

Like the previously launched Bling phones, the new entrant in the Bling family is also studded with Swarovski ‘Zirconia’ diamonds along the navigational D-pad of the phone.

It is a dual-SIM phone with support for two GSM SIM cards, has a 2MP camera, FM Radio, Bluetooth, and access to company app and content stores M! Zone and M! Store. It also sports a 2.2-inch QVGA display.

It is powered by 256MB of RAM and 512 MB of internal storage, which is further expendable to 8GB via microSD card.

July 16, 2012
RIM hit with $147.2 million verdict in wireless patent lawsuit

Research in Motion Ltd has been directed by a northern California jury directed to pay $147.2 million in patent litigation over a remote management system for wireless devices.

Mformation, a maker of mobile-device management software, sued RIM in 2008, alleging infringement of two patents. The company claimed it disclosed details of the technology to RIM during licensing discussions. After refusing to take a license, the BlackBerry maker modified its software to include the patented systems, Mformation said in its complaint.

Amar Thakur, an attorney for Mformation, said the jury directed RIM to pay an $8 royalty for every BlackBerry device connected to RIM’s enterprise server software, which brings the total award to $147.2 million. The verdict only covers U.S. sales through trial, Thakur said, and not future or foreign damages.

RIM’s stock has tumbled more than 70 percent in the past year as its customers abandoned the BlackBerry following the increasing popularity of its rivals Apple’s iPhone and other devices using Google Inc’s Android software. RIM last month posted its first and unexpected operating loss in eight years.

July 14, 2012
Google Maps adds walking directions for 44 African nations

Google has just announced an update for its popular Maps service, extending support for walking directions to 44 African countries. Following the mandatory safety warnings that come with the beta tag (routes may be missing pedestrian crossings etc.), Google is encouraging residents to try out the service, available today on both web and mobile. A separate update will no doubt be appreciated by cyclists in Europe and Australia.

As the African continent develops, there should be no shortage of users for the mobile version of the service. Telecoms & Media reported last year that Africa is now the second most connected region in the world in terms of its mobile subscription count. There are currently more than 500 million mobile users on the continent, and by 2015, there are expected to be 265 million mobile broadband subscriptions in Africa, a significant increase from the current estimate of 12 million.

Support for cycling directions has also been improved. Previously only available in the US and Canada, the service has now been extended to both Australia and Europe, just in time for the yearly post-Tour de France cycling enthusiasm. Routes devised for biking are designed to make use of dedicated bike lanes and avoid significant hills whenever possible.

July 13, 2012
Yet another iPhone 5 image leaked

KitGuru has leaked what it claims is a “test sample” with the glass front panel roughly intact. We’ve seen the darker steel sides, aluminum back and new dock connector before, but the front gives us a much better sense of how the finished product will turn out. Sitting next to an iPhone 4S, it’s suggested that the new model would stuff in that bigger screen more through a better use of the available area — there’s much less blank space than on the iPhones we’ve known since 2007. Now as we’re getting closer to the official launch of the next iPhone, be prepared for an avalanche of leaked images!

July 13, 2012
Micromax launches X259, powered by Solar Energy

Micromax has announced the launch of X259 handset, which comes with a built-in solar panel. Priced at Rs. 2,499, it is the first solar phone from the company.

The built-in solar panel allows the phone to get automatically charged when exposed to sunlight. It is targeted to rural consumers, who constantly grapple with power cuts over long durations. According to the company, three hours of solar charge provides 1.5 hours of talk time on the phone.

It features a 2.4-inch QVGA screen with a resolution of 240x320p, a VGA camera, a 1000mAh Li-ion battery and dual-SIM dual-standby feature. The handset also supports Bluetooth and GPRS connectivity.

[quote]”We have been at the forefront of innovation. We have introduced many categories into this competitive Industry be it long battery life phones or dual SIM phones. With the introduction of this our intent is to get rid of the mobile phone charger by including a solar panel on the device itself,” stated Rahul Sharma, co-founder, Micromax.[/quote]

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Go Green with the Micromax X259 SOLAR PHONE

? Micromax X259 comes with solar cells which can be charged through solar energy

? 3 hours of solar charge provides 1.5 hours of talk time

New Delhi, July 12^th, 2012: Micromax Informatics Limited (“Micromax”), the 12th largest handset manufacturer in the World (According to Global Handset Vendor Market share report from Strategy Analytics) today announced the launch of X259, with a built-in solar panel.

Micromax has always been recognized for its innovation in its device portfolio and has created categories such as marathon battery life phones, dual SIM Phones, Life Style phone and many more. Micromax adds yet another category to its offering of unique devices. The Micromax X259 Solar Phone priced at Rs. 2499/-, it is the company’s first solar phone which enables the users to charge their phone using solar energy.

Micromax X259 comes with a solar panel technology through which the phone automatically gets charged through solar power on exposure to sunlight. With unpredictable power cuts specifically in the rural areas this handset will be the perfect solution to address the issue of recharging the phone through electricity.

Commenting on the device launch, Mr. Rahul Sharma, Co – Founder, Micromax said, “We have been at the forefront of innovation. We have introduced many categories into this competitive Industry be it long battery life phones or dual SIM phones. With the introduction of this our intent is to get rid of the mobile phone charger by including a solar panel on the device itself”.

Micromax X259 features a 2.4” QVGA screen with a resolution of 240X320. The phone is powered with a 1000mAh Li-ion battery and facilitates dual SIM dual standby feature. The users can share images, videos, music with friends through the phone’s Bluetooth connectivity.

Micromax X259 is available at Rs. 2499/- This model will be available across all leading retail outlets across India.

For more information, please visit www.micromaxinfo.com

About Micromax:

Micromax is the 12th largest handset manufacturer in the World (According to Global Handset Vendor Market share report from Strategy Analytics). The Indian brand is reaching out to the global frontier with innovative products that challenge the status quo that Innovation comes with a price. Micromax has sales presence across India and global presence in Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri-Lanka, Maldives, UAE, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Afghanistan and Brazil.

* Micromax holds the 3^rd position amongst the handset manufacturers in India as pre revenue with a market share of 6.9% for the FY 2011. (Source: V&D report)

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July 13, 2012
Samsung Galaxy S3 / SIII Pebble Blue Unboxing

As requested by our viewers, Bharat Nagpal unboxes the Pebble Blue version of the Samsung Galaxy S3. The box contains a 2100 mAH battery, Stereo headphones with changeable earbuds and a microphone, a mains plug with USB sync charge cable, a Quick start guide and a Warranty card. The MRP of the device is INR 42,000 but is available in the market for around INR 36,000.

We will be coming out with a full in-depth review soon, so stay tuned!

Check out our unboxing, hand-on, video and image samples and launch videos here :

July 12, 2012
US Court lifts Galaxy Nexus smartphone ban, tablet still blocked

A US appeals court gave Samsung a temporary reprieve Friday on the sale of its Galaxy Nexus 7 smartphones while leaving intact a court ban on US sales of its tablet computers in a patent battle with Apple.

In two rulings in the bitter patent dispute, the US Court of Appeals in the capital Washington gave one to Apple and one to Samsung, but only temporarily.

But the “stay” was just temporary until the panel receives arguments from Apple, which argues the phone infringes on patents in its iPhone.

In a separate decision, the appellate judges refused to lift Koh’s injunction on the 10-inch Galaxy Tab computer, which Apple claimed was copied from the iPad.

The court panel in Washington ordered Apple to respond by July 12, while denying a Samsung request to stay, or halt the injunction.

Both Galaxy devices are powered by Android operating software that Google makes available for free to gadget makers. Nexus is the Mountain View, California-based technology company’s own branded line.

July 12, 2012
New Nokia Phones leaked, 4 new Lumia phones indicated

Developers with access to Nokia’s Remote Device Access (RDA) tool have “discovered” a bunch of new Lumia and Belle phones. Interestingly, four of these handsets seem to be Windows Phone devices while the Belle 805 should be running on Symbian Belle.

According to Nokia Power User, the Lumia 920, 950, 1001 and Nokia 510 could be authentic or just misinformation planted by rumormongers. However, the blog believes that the Nokia 510 and Belle 805 are likely “authentic” and that the Nokia 510 could be the “cheapest Windows Phone 7.5 device” aimed at competing against Android.

We think the blog could be right because it doesn’t make any sense for Nokia to release any new high-end Windows Phone 7.5 handsets at the moment with Windows Phone 8 (WP8) expected to launch soon. However, a budget device like the Nokia 510 running the Tango update could be just the thing to maintain Nokia’s presence in the smartphone market before the WP8 mobiles arrive.

July 12, 2012
Micromax launches Superfone A80 Infinity for INR 8490

Micromax has launched another Android smartphone in the Indian market, Superfone A80 Infinity. This handset is targeted at the heavy users as it comes with a 2500mAh Li-ion battery that provides a standby time of up to 288 hours and a talk time of 7 long hours from a single charge.

Micromax A80 Infinity is a dual-SIM smartphone with features like 3.8-inch display and Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread). There is a 5.0 megapixel rear camera with flash and 0.3 megapixel front camera. Other features include 800 MHz processor, Wi-Fi, 3G and expandable memory of up to 32 GB.

Priced at Rs. 8,490, it also comes pre-loaded with voice recognition tool AISHA, which stands for Artificial Intelligence Speech Handset Assistant. It is a Siri like voice assistant that helps users to update social networking sites, figure out phone status, know horoscopes, make language translations, inquire weather conditions etc.

Check out the press release below :

[toggle_box title=”Press Release” width=”Width of toggle box”]





Micromax now solves the battery woes of Smartphone users

Introducing the new Superfone – A80 Infinity

?     A80 Infinity provides talk time of 7 hours and Standby Time up to 12 days!

New Delhi, July 10^th, 2012: Micromax Informatics Limited (“Micromax”), the 12th largest handset manufacturer in the World (According to Global Handset Vendor Market share report from Strategy Analytics) today announced the launch of A80 Infinity recreating the magic of long lasting battery.

Micromax had created a new category of phones with powerful battery backup when it launched its first phone X1i with marathon battery which standby time lasted over a month in the year 2008. With A80, Micromax again recreates that magic in its Superfone portfolio introducing A80 Infinity.

Today’s youth demand an all-in one device which integrates their communication needs. With the Smartphone evolution, mobile phones are no longer a device that is just used for calling or texting or data usage but has diverse usage. The mobile phone has evolved into a multi-functional device that is used for getting directions, social networking, finding places, checking mails and much more and so long battery life holds a great importance to provide anytime anywhere connectivity and service.

Micromax A80 is specifically designed for those Smartphone users who often complain of running out of battery juice due to heavy usage.

A80 Infinity features a 9.525cm full touch screen and runs on Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread). Users can enjoy undisrupted calling experience with the device which is equipped with a 2500mAh Li-ion battery thus providing a standby time of 288 hours and a talk time of 7 long hours from a single charge. This dual SIM phone is powered with an 800 MHz processor.

The phone sports a 5.0MP camera with Flash users could also share these pictures through Bluetooth connectivity or instantly upload them on social networking apps or through Wi-Fi connectivity. A80 comes with multiple camera settings such as night vision setting, multi shot option, camera censor and multiple video recording formats. The phone also sports a 0.3MP front facing camera which can be efficiently used for a video calling as the device allows 3G connectivity too. Users can store images, videos, mp3 in the phone’s memory which could also expanded up to 32GB.

Micromax A80 comes with voice recognition tool AISHA which helps users to update social networking sites, figure out phone status, operate functions of the device, find locations, know horoscopes, make language translations, view recipes, inquire date and time, weather conditions, and pose knowledge questions and a number of jobs to count on. Get live news feed through apps such as TOI. A80 provides the users with access to a plethora of apps such as Mibuddy, Mstore, What’s app and other apps from Google Play store.

Superfone A80 Infinity is available at Rs. 8490/- This model will be available across all leading retail outlets across India.

For more information, please visit www.micromaxsuperfone.com

About Micromax:

Micromax is the 12th largest handset manufacturer in the World (According to Global Handset Vendor Market share report from Strategy Analytics). The Indian brand is reaching out to the global frontier with innovative products that challenge the status quo that Innovation comes with a price. Micromax has sales presence across India and global presence in Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri-Lanka, Maldives, UAE, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Afghanistan and Brazil.

* Micromax holds the 3^rd position amongst the handset manufacturers in India as pre revenue with a market share of 6.9% for the FY 2011. (Source: V&D report)

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July 11, 2012
Galaxy S3 Explosion was a fake! Samsung Calls Foul Play, Owner Admits !

After the whole Galaxy S3 explosion story went all over the world, Samsung went ahead and investigated the issue, it turns out the explosion was actually a way for the owner to get a replacement. After Samsung and a Third Party investigation was concluded it appears that the explosion occurred as a result of “external energy” being applied to the device, not anything from within the phone itself. The original poster dillo2k10 has posted an update on Boards.ie, indicating it was a mistake by someone else in an attempt to recover the phone after it got wet.

Fire Investigations UK reports on finding that the phone itself was not responsible for generating the heat that caused the damage. So now owner and potential buyers can breathe easy.

[Samsung Tomorrow]

[Boards.ie]

July 7, 2012
Galaxy S3 OTA Update brings a brightness widget to the notification panel among other fixes

After receiving several complaints of auto brightness not working properly on their flagship Galaxy S3, Samsung has pushed an OTA update that adds a brightness widget to the notification panel. There’s also a handful of stability fixes included in the 73MB update. The Update is live now and can be accessed by going to the Settings> About >Update panel.

July 7, 2012
Sony Mobile receives four red dot awards for product design

Sony Mobile Communications today announced it has received four 2012 red dot awards in the Product Design category, as well as one honourable mention. The jury of international experts evaluated entries against key criteria including the degree of innovation, ergonomics, durability and ecological soundness. The awards presentation ceremony took place in Essen, Germany on July 2.

[quote]

“Design is at the heart of Sony Mobile’s product development philosophy and these awards are testament to the design quality of our Xperia smartphones and Smart Accessories, demonstrating our commitment to offering consumers a rich smartphone experience without sacrificing on functionality or design,” saidJeanna Kimbré, Director of Creative Product Design for Sony Mobile Communications.

[/quote]

Xperia active, Xperia ion, Smart Wireless Headset pro and SmartDock for Xperia ion received red dot awards in the Product Design category, while Xperia ray picked up an honourable mention

July 7, 2012
Xperia P has the ‘Brightest Smartphone Display’

Test Factory after a Test of 12 smartphones conducted in independent certified laboratory conditions in May 2012 has adjudged the Sony Xperia P to have the brightest display.

All environmental influences were minimised, each smartphone’s display set to maximum; with automatic functions turned off, and then a spectrometer was used to evaluate the brightness of each display.

This is due to Sony’s WhiteMagic, a technology that makes its smartphone debut with Xperia P. On a normal LCD display the color of each pixel (including white) is produced by mixing three subpixels: red, blue and green. But, Xperia P’s 4” Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine has a fourth white subpixel. This makes it possible to significantly brighten the display to guarantee a clear and sharp picture, even in dazzling sunshine.

July 7, 2012
CyanogenMod 10 will bring Android Jelly Bean 4.1 to all those on it faster than ever.

Steve Kondik and the CyanogenMod team usually are really quick in bringing latest updates for Android to existing users. According to the team a few minor tweaks are needed to merge Google’s latest with the custom Android code, making CyanogenMod 10 easy to release.

According to the team any device that runs CyanogenMod 9 will also run CyanogenMod 10 easy. Stay tuned for more updates.

[CyanogenMod ]

July 7, 2012