The key has been one of mankind’s constant companions for ages. Now it is being swallowed by the cellphone. New technology lets phones unlock hotel, office and house doors. The same technology can also be used to provide key-less entry to your car and start it remotely as well. How it works is that the phone sends a data packet over the Internet to a converter box connected to a door or a deadbolt. Other systems use internal company networks, like General Motors’ OnStar system, to unlock car doors.
Since nearly everyone today has a cellphone, quite a few start-ups, lock companies and car manufacturers are getting on board to provide broad acceptance of the technology. Schlage, a major lock maker, markets a system that lets homeowners use their mobile phones to unlock their doors from miles away, and manage their home heating and air-conditioning, lights and security cameras.
The public is yet to come to terms with the new technology. It still does not feel safe to start a car with your cellphone. If you have a dead battery or no Internet connection, you might just end up stranded. Keys wont be gone for another few years still but in the future, we may just see a more refined version of this technology that addresses all these issues.
The Mi 410 is the first attempt from Spice to attack the 1 GHZ smartphone market in India. Possibly the only phone to offer these specs at a pretty decent price. Lets look into the Spice MI 410 carefully.
BUILD QUALITY, HARDWARE & DESIGN
The Spice MI 410 is built to last, metal accents and a full metal back cover, a metal frame and solid construction make the Mi 410 an extremely robust device. The volume rocker and the power button are flush with the device and highly tactile. The screen is also scratch resistant, but its no gorilla glass.
The device or its internals don’t shake or rattle and the phone is like one solid piece of hardware. Talking about hardware, lets look at the 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/-
Design on the Mi410 is pretty good too with a flat slab/tablet type structure on the device. It one of those designs that may not appeal to all in the beginning, but grows on you as you begin to use the device. Honestly, it kind of reminds us of end 2010 HTC phones, with really prominent edges.
CAMERA & MULTIMEDIA
The rear camera on the Mi410 is a 5MP autofocus camera which does a good job of focusing, you can actually see the camera move when its trying to focus, making it an exceptionally great autofocus mechanism. It also utilized 4 point metering to gain a focus point allowing it to be accurate in most situations, indoor, outdoor or night mode.
Video quality is also decent with jitter free recording and smooth capture. While in video mode the zoom option while recording is missing, but was not quite missed.
The screen is nice and vivid and has a comparatively large ppi at 227.55 ppi. With a native resolution of 480×800 pixels making it a very good display. We have no complaints with the display and in-fact were quite happy with it. The screen is good for watching videos and browsing the internet. The ppi is rich enough for reading books, documents and articles without trouble. Let us remind you that its no retina display, but its possibly one of the best resolutions you can get for the price.
The inclusion of stereo speakers caught our attention at the get go. Its surprising the kind of sound you can get from these speakers. In a normally quiet environment the speakers are sufficient for watching videos and movies. The speakers are loud and clear with accurate channel mapping.
The touch screen on the Mi410 seems like a bother initially, after a bit of playing around we found out that the maximum issue is with the lock screen, where the screen response seems to be less, it also seems like a software glitch, as we upgraded to 2.3 the touch sensitivity issue reduced significantly, but is still there. Pinch to zoom and scrolling work fine and are not affected by the issue.
The included earphones are simply ordinary and don’t expect much from them. While they can be used for simple handsfree usage, if you want to enjoy music on this device, invest in a good pair of earphones.
PHONE & MESSAGING
The sound quality from the earphones and the outgoing sound from the mic is great, and more than expected. While network strength is constantly 1 bar less, it does not affect the usage of the device and in our signal measurement test we would get a consistent -60db value.
Messaging and typing on the keyboard is achieved with ease and effortlessness. The keyboard is well spaces with large keys and responsive, the touch sensitivity issue does not occur in the keyboard, that why we insist its a software issue and not hardware (we could be wrong too).
BATTERY LIFE
A lot of people asked us to test the battery and we did some extensive tests on the battery.
VALUES
2G
3G
WiFI
Talk Time
5 Hours
3.5 Hours
-NA-
Standby Time
72 Hours
50 Hours
5 days
Internet Browsing
5-6 hours
5 hours
8 hours
Video Playback
3 hours
3 hours
3 hours
Video Stream
2.5 hours
1 Hour
3.5 hours
Music
12 hours
12 hours
12 hours
Music Stream
7 hours
5 hours
8.5 hours
We noticed a well managed battery life even with the wifi hotspot on. Battery was inconsistent and scores above are average from out tests.
CONCLUSION
The Spice Mi410 is an extremely great option at its price. With features usually found in devices upwards of 20k. This device also looks, feels and performs like an expensive phone, so it should be a satisfying experience for the user. The fact that this handset is easily root-able will let people exploit the real benefits of the device. The screen issue may bother some , but it is not enough to not let us recommend this phone to some one who has this device in mind.
PRICE : 14,000/-
[xrr rating=4/5 label=”We Rate it : ” imageset=shiny_yellow_star display_as=fraction_stars]
The Spice Popkorn is the first phone in India to have a built in projector and as such sets the standard for all future devices with this technology. Lets find out how it fared at the iGyaan Lab.
Build Quality, Hardware & Design
The Popkorn has a standard candybar design that is much thicker than a regular candybar phone due to the inbuilt projector. It feels quite solid and is comfortable to hold with its metal and rubberized plastic body. The phone weighs 123g and is quite a bit heavier than phones of a similar design, but due to its form factor, it still feels quite comfortable in the pocket.
One feature that we thought was a little delicate was the telescopic antenna. Its quite thin and fells like it will bend if a little too much pressure is applied. Be careful when expanding and retracting the antenna as you use this device.
The screen on the Popkorn is a 6cm 320x240px QVGA display which is quite vivid and displays good contrast in colours. Its nothing to boast about, but then its not the only display the phone has. The device has Dual SIM capabilities and supports GPRS and WAP connectivity. It also has built in bluetooth to allow you to connect your phone to a bluetooth device. It does not support 3G or WiFi.
Included Accessories
The phone comes with a tripod and a tripod mount. We felt that the quality of the tripod could be improved as it feels like it might tip over with the weight of the phone, but such is not the case. The tripod mount holds the phone securely and keeps it nicely balanced on top of the tripod.
Overall, the build quality of this device is exceptional, when you consider the fact that Spice has managed to stuff a projector into a device that weighs only 123g.
Camera and Multimedia
The Popkorn has a 3.2MP rear facing fixed focus camera that can capture images upto 2048 x 1536 px. It can also record video at a maximum of 15fps and also comes with a 4x digital zoom.The camera can be used as a webcam as well, once you plug it into your computer via the included USB cable.
The projector on the device, in our tests, has given a readable display of approximately 40 inches at its largest and 2″ at the smallest. That’s a HUGE screen from a tiny device. We recommend that the phone be setup so that the display is approximately 27″ to 30″ large as this gives the best picture quality. However, the projector is not extremely bright so using it in a well lit room is not advisable. Keep the lights off and the curtains drawn when using the projector. With many air vents around the phone, we did not notice any significant heating of the device, even after extensive use of the projector.
Another great use of the projector is to watch TV. The Popkorn catches analog TV signals from its telescopic antenna. Channels can be programmed and saved to the device so that you can view them at your leisure. While watching TV is a nice recreational activity, the phone also has a feature that can come in handy while at work. It has the ability to playback PowerPoint Presentations, and with the included laser pointer, you can make excellent professional presentations. You no longer need to carry your laptop to your meetings. Simply copy your ppt onto the memory card and carry the phone.
The phone also has built a built in FM radio, and with the telescopic antenna, you do not require headphones to catch a signal. It also has the ability to schedule and record FM radio so you can catch all your shows at your pleasure. The speaker phone is very loud and gives sufficient sound to be clearly heard in a large room. Spice has also included an external speaker which increases the audio output of the device many-fold. The speaker also has a built-in battery so it does not drain the battery on the phone while in use. A few cables have been included to connect as well as charge the speaker.
Phone and Messaging
The Popkorn supports Dual SIM cards. It also has a standard numpad which makes dialing and placing calls a breeze. The microphone and earpiece perform as expected and we have no complaints. As stated, the loudspeaker is really loud and provides a good hands free experience.
Typing on the phone is also easy as the keypad is quite responsive and the keys are easy to press.
Data & Internet
The Popkorn supports GPRS and WAP. It has a browser that leaves a lot to be desired. One feature we found lacking was WiFI. It would have been great if we could use WiFi to browse the internet on the projector or even stream videos directly to the device via our desktops/laptops. Maybe they will include this feature in the next version of the device.
Conclusion
When we got this device, we had low expectations of its performance. However, after using it for a while, we were, quite literally, blown away. The phone by itself is comparable to any number of Dual SIM phones that are on the market today, but the other features that it packs set it a world apart. The Projector with its Video playback, Analog TV and Presentation capabilities left us in awe. For its price, it is possibly the most inexpensive projector on the market today. The fact that its a phone and can fit in your pocket just adds icing to the cake.
MRP: Rs. 6699/-
[xrr rating=3.75/5 label=”We Rate it : ” imageset=shiny_yellow_star display_as=fraction_stars]
Electronic Arts is having a mega sale on the app store. Most games that were priced at $4.99 are now priced at $0.99 for a limited time. Purchase your games today from the links below.
According to a report by Digitimes, Apple will surpass HP as the largest Notebook vendor in 2012, if tablet sales are included in the projections.
Apple will ship 40 million Tablets this year out of the total 60 million tablet sales. The number of the total tablets sold in 2012 is expected to be 80 million out of which Apple iPad are expected to be around the 60 million mark. The total number of sales for Apple in 2012 are expected to be around 75 million including the 60 million iPads and 15 million MacBooks. In comparison HP will only sell 40-45 million Notebooks including the Touchpad the HP slate and various Notebooks.
Microsoft said in January, that the marketplace will cross the 25,000 Apps target in June and so it has. The marketplace, relatively slow, but has managed to cross the the 25,000 apps number . That’s a rapid jump from the 18,000 applications that were available in May but it is still far away from the number of apps offered by iOS and Android.
Android has over 200,000 Apps, whereas the Apple App Store has over 500,000 Apps and growing. Thats a huge target to close up and Microsoft thinks it can achieve a significant reduction in gap in the coming year thanks to the Mango update.
The top 5 downloaded apps are games including the recently released Angry Birds at number one follwed by Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1, Plants vs. Zombies at two and three.
Samsung has sold 3 million of its super Amoled Plus monsters in 55 days and are proud to tell you about it. The original Galaxy S took 85 days to reach that target.
[toggle title_open=”COLLAPSE” title_closed=”READ THE 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”]Samsung GALAXY S II reaches 3 Million global sales
SEOUL, KOREA–(Korea Newswire) — Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today announced that the Samsung GALAXY S II(Model: GT-I9100), has reached global channel sales of 3 million units.
The GALAXY S II is Samsung’s flagship smartphone device; a beautifully thin (8.49mm) and lightweight, dual-core smartphone that combines an unmatched Super AMOLED Plus viewing experience with incredible performance, all on Android, the world’s fastest-growing mobile operating system. The next generation smartphone also includes exclusive access to Samsung’s four new content and entertainment hubs, seamlessly integrated to provide instant access to music, games, e-reading and social networking services.
“Announced at Mobile World Congress 2011, the GALAXY S II represents our most advanced smartphone to date and demonstrates Samsung’s commitment to deliver premium, market-defining devices,”and “This milestone reflects the continued strong support from our carrier partners around the world who have chosen the GALAXY S II as their flagship Android device.” said JK Shin, President and Head of Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business.[/toggle]
Just as the movie releases the Game for iOS is out by EA and it delivers 13 levels of non-stop action spread across various settings, from cities like Chernobyl and Atlantic City to the Moon. Just like in the movies, the Autobots can transform between robots and vehicles.
The fight is basically between the Transformers and Decepticons You may unlock up to 13 weapons, each of which may be upgraded using blue energon cubes that you’ll be collecting as you roam about. In this same manner, you can also upgrade your character’s skills. All these upgrades may be performed between levels in the lab. In addition to the weapons, you have two types of special attacks, including one that allows you to lock onto multiple targets. You can also attack the Decepticons at close range with a melee attack button.
Although there is a lot of fighting and action involved, it just seems like the same thing over and over again. The game gets really repetitive and feels like a drag after some time.
The lack of a better storyline fails to impress us with this game.
[xrr rating=2.25/5 label=”We Rate it : ” imageset=shiny_yellow_star display_as=fraction_stars]
Released: Jun 28, 2011 Version: 1.0.0 Size: 175 MB Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later
A new Android smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Z has appeared on the Three mobile network in Sweden, although there is no official word from Samsung as yet.
The Samsung Galaxy Z seems to be a downgraded version of the Samsung Galaxy S II, it features
4.2inch inch touchscreen Super Clear LCD
800 x 480 pixels
dual core 1GHz processor.
5 megapixel camera on the back
Android 2.3 Gingerbread
WiFi
GPS
8GB of built in storage
microSD card slot
We are trying to get more information on the availability and launch prospects of this device in India, Price is set at 3995 Sweden Kr = INR. 28,000/-
The latest Skype update enables video calling on Android device, but is limited to a strict number of devices. The folks over at DroidLife have found a way to make it work on your new Android 2.3 devices including the HTC Sensation and the Samsung Galaxy S2.
Simply Download the Cracked Skype from the link on droidlife and copy it to your device and install it. (Make sure third party apps are enabled in your settings)
Oh yeah we tested it on the HTC Sensation, and it works flawlessly.
UPDATE: Big update we got the new Skype app up and running and making calls on the Mi 410 from SPICE. A video coming up soon.
MSI has launched the A75MA-G55 Motherboard with Integrated GPU in India.
The A75MA-G55 board is a micro-ATX part based on AMD’s Hudson D3 chipset. It features MSI’s Military Class II components. four DIMM slots with support for up to 32GB of memory, four USB 3.0, eight USB 2.0 ports, six SATA 6Gbps, 8-channel audio, GbE LAN, HDMI, DVI, D-Sub, and MSI’s Click BIOS concept based on UEFI.
MSI A75MA-G55: World’s Fastest Mainboard With Integrated Graphics
MSI A75MA-G55 was officially announced on June 27 as the world’s fastest mainboard with integrated graphics. MSI, the world’s leading graphics card and mainboard manufacturer has incorporated over 25 years of overclocking experience in their latest motherboard. Hardware enthusiasts and and overclockers were eagerly waiting for the MSI A75MA-G55 with FM1 sockets. The mainboard is the perfect tool to enjoy the superpower of A series APUS by AMD. The mainboard has scores P1646 points on 3DMark 11. With Military Class II components, A75MA-G55 was found to be perfectly stable under highest workloads.
MSI A75MA-G55
Those who are technically challenged when it comes to overclocking, but still want to enjoy extra power can use MSI’s OC Genie II technology. It allows single click overclocking without need of any technical knowledge. OC Genie II is available on all MSI A75-Series mainboards. MSI claims that the mainboard has broken records on 3D Mark 06 which has been made possible only by versatile Click BIOS UEFI interface and improvements in mainboard design.
Certified Military Class
MSI’s Military Class II components have been certified by the United States Department of Defense 810G Standard. Only Military Class II components have the lifetime and stability required by today’s most demanding situations of extreme overclocking but at the same time provide great levels of power saving. The MSI A75MA-G55 has proven to be stable under the highest workloads and stress conceivable, overclocking, clearly displaying the top quality and stability demanded by professional overclockers.
OC Genie II – Easy one click overclocking
MSI’s OC Genie II technology allows everyone to enjoy the benefits of extra performance without having any technical knowledge.
Applauded by media worldwide for its simple operation and great benefits, OC Genie II set the new standard for mainboard performance and that technology powers todays 3DMark 11 and 3DMark 06 world records. OC Genie II is available on all MSI A75-Series mainboards.
Not only is the MSI A75MA-G55 fastest in the latest world standard benchmark 3DMark 11, but it also broke the world records for 3DMark 06. The MSI A75MA-G55 thanks its recordbreaking performance to the use of the most stable components found in Military Class II, versatile Click BIOS UEFI interface and excellent mainboard design
Sometime back we asked you what your next phone is going to be. A lot of you answered and we decided to let you guys know the Result
As per our Readers, by a clear margin, the most popular Smartphone for Q2 2011 is the Samsung Galaxy S2, which got 25 % of the crowd voting for it. Followed by the iPhone 4 which was at approx. 9 % .
About 8% users mentioned other phones not mentioned in the poll and approx. 7% and 6% for the Wildfire S and Motorola Defy respectively.
The rest of the phones including, and not limiting to, the HTC Sensation (4.5%) Optimus 2X (2 %) Galaxy S (3 %) and those waiting for the iPhone 5 fell in the 45 % (others) category.
You can find the original poll over here [button link=”https://igyaan.in/2011/06/poll-phone/” bg_color=”#1f1fff”]Click Here[/button]
Microsoft has announced the launch of Office 365 business productivity solutions on the cloud in India. Office 365 takes aim at cloud based enterprise and small business word processing and document editing and storage. This will enable an enterprise to have their solution available for easy access on the cloud.
The Office 365 plan for Small Businesses is optimized for organizations with 25 users or less and includes Office Web Apps, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Lync Online at approximately $6 per user per month.
With Office 365 Microsoft is attempting to target those users who were using Google apps for business by giving more comprehensive solutions at a selectable pricing. Getting partners and a huge database on board may be the real challenge for MS in OFFICE 365.
Skype announced that its Android client now supports cross platform video calls, so desktop users can now see mobile users and vice versa. At the moment, this functionality is limited to only four Android handsets, the Desire S, Xperia Neo and Pro and the Nexus S. If you have one of these phones, you can now make video calls to your friends over WiFi and 3G both.
Video Calls between android devices have been possible for a while now, but the option to make video calls to desktops/laptops has been limited. Most Android users won’t be affected by this update although Skype promises to add other handsets “soon”.
The new Skype client can switch between front and rear facing cameras, so you can show people your face as well as what you are seeing. It can connect to all Skype clients including the iPhone as well as many Skype enabled TV’s.
the Desire S, Xperia Neo and Pro and (of course) the Nexus S
Social networking site Facebook will finally introduce a payment system ‘Facebook Credits’ for Indian users. Members can then spend the virtual currency across various games or applications on Facebook.
Facebook Credits is already a popula virtual currency in many countries.
Facebook will introduce a new payment system Facebook Credits in India from July 1,” a company spokesperson told media.
Starting July 1, we will require all social game developers on the Facebook canvas platform to process payments through Facebook Credits. Facebook Credits is currently used in more than 350 applications from 150 developers, representing more than 70 percent of virtual goods transactions volume on Facebook,” Facebook Platform Marketing Manager Deb Liu wrote on the company’s official blog in January
This will also help various brands, which use the medium of Facebook to retail them goods through their social pages. Many developers such as Zynga, Playfish, CrowdStar , Digital Chocolate, PopCap and Arkadium have already adopted Facebook Credits for in-game virtual goods.
