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OnePlus X Ceramic Limited Variant Goes on Sale Starting Today

OnePlus X Ceramic limited edition goes on sale starting today. However, needless to say, an invite would be needed for the purchase. A standard OnePlus X invite won’t work though, it has to be a specific Ceramic variant invite that would let you buy the phone.

OnePlus had earlier tweeted about how the OnePlus X Ceramic variant would go on sale on 24th November. The phone was indeed put up on sale following this announcement, but only only a handful of units were made available as part of a charity auction. But if you have been eyeing the OnePlus X Ceramic variant for a while now, here’s your window.

The variant of the phone is being made available as a limited edition only in select markets which include India, Hong Kong and Europe. Additionally, the company had also revealed earlier that only 10,000 units of this OnePlus X variant would be made available. Additionally, the company has also put up OnePlus X on open sale today.

Today you don’t need an invite to buy the OnePlus X. Check out it’s Open Sale on @amazonIN: https://t.co/CIDHHGxmsO pic.twitter.com/ZdNqttuSf1 — OnePlus India (@OnePlus_IN) December 10, 2015

Time to shell out some dough before the sale ends or the stock of the 10,000 limited edition Ceramic variant runs out.

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December 10, 2015
Apple Reveals a Lightning To SD Card Reader For the iPad Pro

Apple has created yet another accessory and this time it is for the USB 3.0 port on the Apple iPad Pro. This Lightning to SD Card Reader, which is available at Apple’s online store, will allow the user to transfer media directly from their digital camera to the iPad Pro at USB 3 speeds. This device will also allow you to transfer data from other Apple iPad models and iPhones at USB 2 speeds.

The accessory that costs $29 will allow you to transfer data ten times faster than USB 2.0 and supports images using JPEG and RAW. To add to that, it also works on SD and HD video formats. How this works is, once you microSD card from your camera is inserted into the card reader, the Photo app on your iPhone or iPad will automatically open. These Photos are divided into Moments, Collections, and Years that you can store in the iCloud and limit those who can view your data with iCloud Photo sharing.

Apart from this accessory Apple had also just revealed a Smart Battery Case for iPhone’s battery issues and now this. Looks like Apple is recognizing its faults and making amends before anybody else does.

December 9, 2015
Micromax Takes on Samsung ON Phones Launches Canvas Mega

Micromax is taking on Samsung’s budget On series by launching its own Canvas Mega series – the Canvas Mega E353 and the Canvas Mega 4G. The first phone in the series – the Canvas Mega E353 comes with a 5.5 inch vivid HD IPS display, powered by a 1.4GHz Octa Core processor, has a 1GB RAM and 8GB ROM. On the camera front it has a 13MP primary camera and a 5MP FF front camera, to top it off, the entire device runs on a 2,820mAh battery.

The second device is called the canvas Mega 4G and comes with a 5.5. inch vivid HD IPS display, powered by the 1.3GHz quad core processor. On the storage front it comes with a 3 GB RAM and a 16GB ROM. It has a 13MP rear camera and 5MP FF front camera and comes with 4G LTE connection compatibility. The 4G handset is powered by a 2,500mAh battery.

The Canvas Mega E353 will be priced at Rs.7,999 while the Canvas Mega 4G will be priced at Rs.10,999.

December 9, 2015
Panasonic’s HX-A1 Action Camera is Now in India

Panasonic has just launched a small wearable camera that can capture incredible pictures in darkness unlike any other camera. The HX-A1 Ultra Compact wearable camera weighs at a measly 45 grams. The camera is light so that it goes hands-free and can record in Full HD and has a slow motion mode capable of shooting 60fps at 720p or 120fps at 480p.

The 3.5 MP camera with 1/3-inch MOS sensor has a 0 Lux Night Mode for low-light recordings. The camera also features IR filter (night mode) and loop recording, which keeps recent hour of scenes by deleting earlier scenes if you happen to record for over an hour.

The Wi-Fi-enabled wearable camera can be hooked up to a Multi Mount onto goggles, shoulder bags, helmets, or onto a tripod using a Tripod Mount. The built-in Wi-Fi can be used with the Panasonic Image App on your phone or tablet to position the camera, adjust shooting settings and start recording.

speaking on the occasion Mr. Mr. Gaurav Ghavri, Product Head, Panasonic India, said, “Panasonic India has made a sustained effort to grow in the market by offering our innovative and technologically advanced products to cater to the ever evolving customer needs in the camera segment. The introduction of HX-A1 wearable camera defines Panasonic’s unrelenting pursuit of providing unmatched experience creating excitement in the action camera market.”

The HX-A1 is perfect for your wedding photography or any event which involves a lot of hustle bustle to capture those fleeting moments on camera. The camera also comes with a slew of accessories like twin mount, extended battery, strap adapter, wind jammer, clip mount and suction clip mount.

The HX-A1 wearable camera is available in India at a price of Rs. 19,990 on Snapdeal, which is a good Rs. 5000 cheaper than the GoPro Hero 4.

December 9, 2015
Oppo Announces High-End Version Of the R7 Plus With 4GB RAM

Oppo recently announced the Oppo R7 and Oppo R7 Plus; and along with it has also announced a high-end version of the R7 Plus. This device will be available in two variants, one for the China Unicom subscribers and the other an international handset. Pre-orders have already begun in China and an official launch is expected to take place sooner or later this month.

This version comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal memory as compared to the regular R7 Plus’ 3GB of RAM space with 32GB of ROM. It also comes with a 6 inch AMOLED display, 2D arc glass and a 1080 x 1920 resolution. It is powered by the Snapdragon 615 chipset is under the hood, carrying an octa-core 1.5GHz CPU, and the Adreno 405 GPU. The China Unicom variant comes with the MediaTek MT6795 SoC, carrying a true octa-core CPU and a fingerprint scanner on board.

The high-end R7 Plus also comes with an impressive 13MP primary camera and an 8MP secondary camera. The device is fueled with a 4,100mAh battery and comes with a VOOC Rapid Charge. On the connectivity side, it comes with a hybrid SIM slot that has an opening to hold a microSD card, 4G LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, and USB OTG.

The Oppo R7 Plus high-end variant is 7.75mm thick, and weighs a strapping 192 grams; it has a metal build and comes in a golden colour. The entire device is run on the Android 5.1 operating system with Color OS 2.1 running on top. The China Unicom version is priced at $470 which is approximately Rs.31,415; and the international model will cost you $515 which is approximately Rs.34,422.

Source: Oppo

December 9, 2015
HTC Perfume To Arrive With Android 6.1 OS

A leak on Twitter by @LlabTooFeR suggests that HTC’s next flagship smartphone will be called Perfume and will run on the yet-to-come Android 6.1 operating system. Apart from this piece of information, he also suggested that the HTC Perfume will be powered by the 8.0 version of the company’s Sense UI.

Remember reports about next HTC's flagship codename HTC O2? It's dead… HTC Perfume is next flagship. Android 6.1 and Sense 8.0_GP…

— LlabTooFeR (@LlabTooFeR) December 8, 2015

@LlabTooFeR had also earlier in the year, dismissed rumours about a Snapdragon 820 powered HTC O2 flagship smartphone, that was supposed to arrive with a 6-inch QHD display, 4GB RAM, 64GB/128GB internal memory, and a 3,500mAh battery.

As of now HTC has not confirmed any details of their upcoming flagship officially, and so all we know about the alleged Perfume is its OS and UI.

December 9, 2015
Apple To Host Apple Watch Event In March, May Launch 4-Inch iPhone

Reports suggest that Apple is planning to host a product launch event in March 2016 where it might announce the Apple Watch and the 4-inch iPhone 6C.

Kevin Wang from IHS has stated that Apple is working on a budget-oriented iPhone 6 handset. This handset will be a smaller version with a 4-inch display and will come with a plastic body similar to the 5c. The scaled down version of the iPhone 6 will indeed come with a few missing features. As the device was pegged as a cheaper iPhone 7 variant rather than a 6, what’s for certain is that the 6c will not come with 3D Touch.

Other reports also suggest that the iPhone 6C could come with a smaller screen, and thereby making it much easier for users to navigate through the device. After iPhone screens becoming larger and larger most people seem to have faced a rather annoying inconvenience to always move their hand to the top of the screen for the menu or back button. So, many are hoping for a drop in the screen size.

About the second device mentioned – the Apple Watch – unfortunately there’s not much to know about it. However, some rumours have suggested that the tech wear gadget could arrive with a FaceTime camera and Wi-Fi connectivity along with health sensors and sleep tracking. As of now Apple has not confirmed anything officially, but let us hope to see these gadgets soon in March.

December 9, 2015
Cool Things Your Smartphone Can Do

Smartphone is one of the best things to have happened to the realm of technology. With an endless list of features that make it such an amazing gift of technology to mankind, here’s a list of some of our favourite features:

Identifying Songs:
Apps like Shazam and SoundHound have made life so much better for music lovers. Remember that gnawing, annoying feeling of trying to identify a song you happen to hear at a restaurant? Yes, you don’t because your smartphone identifies songs for you and saves you the torture of obsessing over a tune or rhythm.

Navigation:
Any geographically-challenged smartphone user would agree about how wonderful life has been ever since the introduction of apps like Google Maps and Apple Maps. Navigation has never been easier. Whether or not geography has been a source of bother for you, smartphone navigation has come to the rescue of many lost travellers more than once.

Fitness Tracker:
Hello, fitter bodies and healthier minds. Nike+, Daily Yoga and many such apps help users maintain a fitness regime with regular updates about their progress and motivation in the form of points earned or badges won. Water Drink Reminder and Waterlogged are examples of two other fitness-related apps -they remind you to drink water at regular intervals and keep your body hydrated.

Fake Calls:This is by far one of the coolest features of smartphones. Ever tried getting out of an awkward situation by pretending to be busy with your phone? There, there -we have all done that. Fake Call is an app which takes it a step further to help you be a better liar in situations that require an immediate exit. We wonder what awkward situations looked like before smartphones.

December 9, 2015
iOS 9.2 Adds Mail Drop and Siri Support for Arabic

Apple released iOS 9.2 update, which comes with a few handy improvements and bug fixes especially for Apple Music, News and Mail.

Apple Music now lets you create new playlists when adding a song to a playlist. Earlier, you could only add to playlists that were already there before rather than letting you create new ones as and when you discover songs. The ‘Classical’ music section has been updated so you can browse works, composers and performers within the Apple Music catalog.

Apple News is another app that gets a major update. You now have a new section called Top Stories a feature that enables users to “stay current with the most important news of the day, selected by the Apple News editorial team.” However, the app is yet to make itself available in India.

The third major update goes to the Mail. Apple has finally increased the attachment size to 5GB for Mail Drop. In the past, the Mail Drop feature was limited to the Mail app for Mac.

There are also a host of minor add-ons like Arabic language support for Siri, 3D Touch functionality for iBooks and USB camera cable support for iPhone. The update is live right now so go ahead and update your Apple device(s).

December 9, 2015
Review : OnePlus SandStone Case for iPhone 6 / 6s

To our surprise we got a OnePlus Sandstone Case for the iPhone 6 / 6s in the mail and we were excited to unbox it. Once we got the cover out into our hands we were surprised by how well the case is built and the texture of the back panel resembles or some may argue betters that on the OnePlus Two.

Looks like OnePlus hit everyone in the right place as far as marketing is concerned for the holidays.

Inside the Box

The box is nicely made and comes with a case fitted nicely inside the cutout. You use a red thread to open the box. Hidden inside is a OnePlus X invite under the top case.

Review

The car is built well and fits perfectly on the iPhone. The inside has the marking ” Get a Grip, Never Settle” perfectly taunting you. The cutouts for all the ports are generous, while still protecting the phone from crucial areas.

The OnePlus Sandstone Case for the iPhone 6 / 6s also has a OnePlus logo on the back which may not make the owners happy, but hey we don’t mind it.

The Sandstone case adds a reassuring grip to the iPhone 6 / 6s for obvious reasons and very little weight. Giving the iPhone a more reassuring feel in the hand.

The frontal portion / also known as a front lip raises far above the iPhone adding protection and a lay on the table design.

While OnePlus may not be competing with Apple in sales, it may have made iPhone 6 / 6s owners curious with this case for sure.

OnePlus gets 10/10 for making people buy this cover for US $ 19.99 or Rs. 1,199 when it goes on sale later this month. Basically making people pay for marketing their brand. Good Job OnePlus , Oh and its a fantastic cover too.

December 8, 2015
Apple Launches Its Own Smart Battery Case For iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s

iPhone users, your battery troubles might just be over because Apple just unveiled its own Smart Battery Case for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s. This case will be available on the Apple online store and costs $99 which is approximately Rs.6,619. Apple says that this case can extend the iPhone’s battery life up to 18 hours of internet usage on LTE networks, up to 20 hours of video playback, and as much as 25 hours of increased talk time.

The Smart Battery Case is just like a regular case and thereby eliminating the inconvenience caused by a third party solution. It will be available in two colours – Charcoal and White with microfiber lining on the inside and silicone exterior. Looks and sounds very Apple Inc.

This Case will be charged via a standard Lightning port and will therefore be compatible with official docks so that users won’t have to carry around extra cables. You will also be able to charge your iPhone and the Battery Case simultaneously. Apple also further says, that when the Smart Case is in use, an “intelligent battery status” will be displayed on the iPhone’s lock screen and in its notification center. Trust Apple to create something as nuanced for its customers and users. However, as of now, there is no word on whether this device or its kind will be available for the other iPhones.

December 8, 2015

HTC One A9 Price Confirmed To Sell Exclusively on Snapdeal Starting 9th December

New reports suggest that the HTC One A9 will be sold for Rs.29,990 exclusively on Snapdeal. The registration for this will open on the 9th of December 2015 (tomorrow) and end on the 14th of December 2015. It will be available for consumers to purchase from the 15th of December 2015.

The HTC One A9 is the first non-Nexus device to come pre-loaded with the Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Additionally, the company has cut down on pre-loaded apps, opting for a purer Android experience. The One A9 sports a 5-inch Full HD AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and 1080 x 1920 resolution.

A fingerprint sensor, 13-megapixel rear camera with low light OIS, 4MP Ultrapbixel front camera and a Hyperlapse editing tool are some of its other features.

Here are the complete specs of HTC One A9:

Specs	HTC One A9
Display	5-inch Full HD AMOLED with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 4
Resolution	1080 x 1920 resolution
Processor	Snapdragon 617 64-bit octa-core processor
GPU	Adreno 405
RAM	2 GB/ 3 GB
Battery	2,150 mAh
Storage	16 GB/ 32 GB
Primary Camera	13MP with low light OIS
Secondary Camera	4MP UltraPixel, f/2.0 aperture
Expandability	MicroSD up to 2 TB
OS	Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Price	Rs.29,990

December 8, 2015

Is Apple Maps a Better Choice Than Google Maps?

The company introduced Apple Maps in 2012 and ushered in a series of glitches which involved the Madison Square Garden, New York being labelled as a ‘park space’ because of the word ‘garden’ in its name. However Apple acted promptly, fixed these goof-ups and now three years later Apple Maps has overtaken Google Maps as the most used navigation app on iPhones.

Even though Apple Maps lacks many features which Google Maps provides, users end up using the former more because it is already installed on their devices. Even if the phone has third party apps, Siri and Mail automatically take the user to Apple Maps. This, along with Apple’s efforts to improve the over-all experience of the app, has helped them get more users to choose Apple Maps over other options.

Google Maps, on the other hand, has not lagged behind either in improving itself. Starting last month, it now allows users to store maps and data on their phones to refer to it even without internet access. It also includes search tools for landmarks and business listings, transit maps that cover more region than Apple and options to exclude highways and toll roads.

As more and more iPhone users switch to Apple Maps, do you think Google Maps could be a better choice?

December 8, 2015
Vodafone’s 4G Finally Gets Launched in the Country

Vodafone is finally giving out an upgrade to 4G connection for its customers, along with a ‘Superfast 4G SIM’. They have also introduced a trial pack of 120MB for Rs.29 along with a 100% extra data for all 4G RED customers for 3 months. Vodafone’s 4G is claiming to support connectivity of WiFi for up to 10 devices and also promises to simplify the customer’s experience with a ‘same day doorstep’ post-paid delivery system and instant activation for those who want to change their SIM.

For a more detailed understanding of what the Vodafone 4G platform entails, we can tell you that the 4G LTE network runs on an 1800Mhz speed and can be accessed via any 4G enabled handsets available across the country. It will be launched in Kochi on the 14th of December 2015, making it the first telecom operator in Kerala to offer 2G/3G/4G services on its own convergent radio technology.

“Vodafone’s global expertise and experience of launching 4G across 19 countries gives us a better understanding of this technology and the needs of the 4G customer.” – says Sunil Sood MD & CEO of Vodafone, India.

Vodafone will initially roll out its 4G services in the metropolitan cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangaluru and Kolkata. We all know that Vodafone is slightly late in the 4G scene, with Airtel currently in the lead. But, all the hype surrounding its delay and it finally seeing the light of day should be able to get the amount of traffic it is looking for. Let us hope that Vodafone is able to resolve all its issues ranging from call-drops to the late entry of 4G soon.

December 8, 2015
Xiaomi’s Mi 5 Might Arrive With a Home Button In January 2016

A new render of the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 5 has been leaked showcasing a first ever, physical home button. Earlier, there were speculations of the device incorporating Qualcomm’s ultrasound fingerprint scanner. The reason why we don’t see the fingerprint scanner is because, an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner doesn’t require sensors or buttons, and can be embedded under the phone’s screen itself.

The report about the fingerprint scanner was revealed by analyst Pan Jiutang, who further reports that the company has found Qualcomm’s fingerprint scanner to be unstable.Therefore, if Xiaomi decides to use a traditional fingerprint reader, it will most likely be embedded under the home button.

However, this isn’t the only piece of information that the render reveals. It also says that the Xiaomi Mi 5 may be unveiled on the 21st of January 2016, with the actual launch taking place sometime in February. As of now, speculation suggests that the device will be equipped with a 5.2-inch display, powered by the Snapdragon 820 SoC, will offer a version of Force Touch, and Android 6.0 is expected to be pre-installed. The Weibo post also reveals that the smartphone will arrive in two variants, one of which will be priced at $311 and the other at $389. What could the massive price difference mean?

Source: Weibo

December 8, 2015

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Inside the Box

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HTC One A9