Since its launch in 2012, XOLO has tried but never been able to achieve the level of popularity like its rivals Motorola and Xiaomi have. XOLO hopes to change that through its upcoming phone “Black”, which will be exclusively sold on Flipkart from today.
The Xolo Black is equipped with a 5.5-inch screen carrying 1080 x 1920 resolution. That works out to a 401ppi pixel density. Gorilla Glass 3 protects the display from scratches and is also found on the phone’s glass back. The Snapdragon 615 SoC powers the handset, featuring an octa core CPU and the Adreno 405 GPU. 2GB of RAM is inside along with 16GB of expandable storage. On the back, you will find a dual camera set up with 13MP and 2MP cameras on board. The latter is used to change the focal point of an image, Lytro-style. On the front, a 5MP snapper is ready to snap your selfies. Keeping the phone running is the job given to the 3200mAh battery inside, and Android 5.0 is pre-installed with HIVE UI 1.5 running on top.
The phone supports 4G LTE connectivity and measures a slim 7.3mm thick. The Black is treated with an oleophobic coating to prevent fingerprints from marring the device’s finish. And the power button lights up in different colors to alert the user of certain notifications.
Xolo is adopting the online business model considering how it has expanded fanbase for companies like Xiaomi, OnePlus, Yu and even Motorola, which was struggling until it launched Moto X, in India. The device is priced at Rs 12,999.
Facebook acquired Whatsapp last year for a whooping price of $19 billion. After the acquisition, Zuckerberg has been slowly been remodelling Whatsapp to the likes of Facebook. Both have been exchanging features with each other like Facebook is slowly turning its independent Messenger app into Whatsapp, integration of the ‘Seen’ blue tick on Whatsapp, and many more. Now, there are rumours about Whatsapp’s adoption of Facebook’s unique features, the ‘Like’ and ‘Mark as Read’ options.
According to reports from WhatsApp beta tester Ilhan Pektas, WhatsApp could get characteristics such as “Like” and “Mark as unread” in a forthcoming update. The Like feature is exciting though we are not sure at this point how it will operate. Perhaps it will act in a similar manner as the thumbs up button on Facebook Messenger or like the photos being exchanged.
The Thumbs up feature will allow users to send a fast and concise reply to simple questions without having to type it out. It could also be executed in group chats where photos and videos are shared and group chat members can “Like” it, which once again does away with the need to type out a comment if it isn’t required.
The “Mark as unread” feature is impressive since this allows users to avoid the dreaded blue ticks to indicate a message has been read. However given that the blue ticks feature can be disabled, we are not sure if this feature is indeed necessary, but given that this is a rumored feature for now, do consider it for now.
If this comes out to be true, the Facebook’s ‘Like’ button, which is a highlight trait of the social platform, will be an unique attachment to the most popularly used instant messaging service worldwide while the ‘mark as unread’ feature would also come handy similarly as seen in mail services.
LG in the past years has emerged as a true Android champion. A South Korean counter brand to the kingship of Samsung, especially in the Android smartphone market.
LG came into light after their partnership with Google on building the Nexus 4 and then the Nexus 5 along with LG’s own iterations of the handsets for the global consumer markets. All four of the devices by LG led them into a high stake position in the Android rat race.
Last year however, LG fell off the map with the LG G3, it also had a fall out with Google, who then decided to go with Motorola to manufacture the Nexus 6.
This year LG is back and they want vengeance, pitting up points in almost all areas, LG tried to reach the top of the ladder with their new flagship, the LG G4. But, just as the relevance of Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, on the stage at the time of launch, LG didn’t seem to think this through.
Hardware
The LG G4 is an iconic design from LG, while many companies have attempted to make leather looking handsets (Note 3 and Galaxy S5), LG actually made a smartphone with a genuine leather back panel.
LG also one upped Samsung with their interesting fast aperture camera and lens, with 16 MP and a f1.8 lens setup vs the f1.9 on the Galaxy S6 and Edge.
The LG G4 also has dual sim (certain regions) and a removable and replaceable battery along with micro-SD expansion all of which is lacking in the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge.
Hardware Specs
LG G4
Display
5.5-inch Quad HD LCD
Resolution
2560 x 1440 PX
Chipset
Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 with X10 LTE
Processor
1.8GHz Hexa-core
GPU
Adreno 418
RAM
3GB
Primary Camera
16MP f/1.8 aperture
Front Camera
8MP f/1.8 aperture
Storage
32GB
Expandable Up to
2 TB
Battery
3,000 mAh
Operating System
Android 5.1 Lollipop with LG UX 4.0
Bluetooth
4.1 LE (APT-x)
Design, Build and Aesthetics
The LG G4 is designed in a new way, the introduction of a genuine leather back panel may have mixed reactions in certain religious countries. For example in India, LG has refrained from mentioning that the leather back panel is made from cow hide, which may prevent some people from buying the handset. The use of leather however is done in a brilliant way. The back panel takes 12 weeks to manufacture and uses a new technology for a process which normally takes a few days.
Leather Back Panel
Made from only the top layer (epidermis) of high quality cow leather, the back features tiny 0.001 micrometer pores for breathability. The end result is a smooth, soft touch back that should feel unlike any other smartphone on the market, while still allowing heat to dissipate.
Although some have mixed opinions about the design and use of leather, LG has done it rather tastefully and not only does is look impressive, but also feels great in the hand. There is also a Ceramic white which might become the preferred option, also because it is about 100$ cheaper (Rs. 6000 approx)
The front houses a LG G3-esque minimal bezel design from LG which is highly applauded on their previous smartphones, and the LG G4 is expected to have the same outlook.
The construction, however seems a lot less sturdy compared to previous generation G phones from LG. Gorilla Glass 3 has been used in place of Gorilla Glass 4 found on the Galaxy S6 and Edge.
The back panel is removable and replaceable, which means that it can be swapped out if damaged. Also reports of the leather weathering faster than ever, however we faced no such nuisance.
The buttons remain on the back, volume rockers and the main power button, which can also be used as a selfie mirror, sort of.
The phone also lacks premium materials, made mostly from plastics. In an age where Samsung’s flagship is a premium metal and glass device the LG G4 is sub-standard, and less premium.
Performance, Gaming and Display
Here is where the leather laden phone from LG, faces the first from the competition. The underpowered Hexa Core Snapdragon 808 is far inferior than expected. LG’s optimizations to improve battery have further reduced the performance output of this chipset.
In our Benchmark test the G4 stood last with the poorest score. when compared to HTC’s devices and Samsung devices.
The GPU works overtime to deliver high resolution to the 2K display, therefore reducing the graphics quality displayed during gaming.
Although the affect is minimum, but if have been playing on other devices like the HTC M9+ and the S6 you will notice the considerable amount of difference.
The UI is fast and snappy, transitions are quicker and lag is virtually non existent. We still find LG’s UI a little cluttered, and non easy to navigate.
Phone and Battery
The LG G4 in India comes with Dual Sim LTE, which means that both cards can run LTE networks. Networks speeds are weak, due to network strength issues, but we got 14 Mbps downloads in health network areas.
The dual sim setup is handy for a lot of people and on the LG G4 works well. However battery life is adversely affected by the G4 SIM usage, mostly from network searches.
LG is offering a spare battery with an external charger in many countries, this is justified thanks to the poor battery performance. The battery will barely last you a day, and the drain is massive due to the display and the network searches.
Talk Time : 3 Hours
Standby : 24 Hours
Internet : 3.5 Hours
Music : 9 Hours
Gaming : 2 Hours.
Honestly, the battery is a big let down for us. You cannot have a flagship, running lower spec hardware, with a poorly performing battery.
16MP f/1.8 aperture
Camera
The highlight of LG’s new-gen smartphones, and especially the G series smartphones has been the camera and optics. With the new G4, LG continues to use laser autofocus, but improves the camera considerably. Low light performance is excellent, thanks to a f1.8 lens, whereas the Galaxy S6 only manages a f1.9. The front camera however is not as wide on the G4 as on the S6/edge, but seems to have great capture capability.
Dynamic range is much improved, however we feel that indoor image quality needs to be better. The way the software is processing the images, they feel a lot more digital. Outdoor images are high in detail and contrast.
Images will almost always be in focus and sharp, thanks to the laser sensor, which is accurate and super fast.
Video is captured at 4k but to limits of 5 minutes to prevent the chipset from overheating. Finding the 4k option is slightly difficult for the first time around, as the phone records 1080p out the box.
4k Video Option
The front camera has a brilliant image quality and works well for “selfies” in low light conditions. The gesture shot allows you to click a picture by making a fist in front of the camera. This allows for a better image, which is less shaky.
Android and UI
With a lot of things built in as smart features, the usability of the LG G4 as a daily driver is easy. Android 5.1 comes out of the box and the UI is highly customizable.
Lg also allows you to customize individual icons, using inbuilt set of icons or your own images can be converted into an icon for any App.
Smart features also allow you to auto-magically enable or disable features as per your usage requirements. For eg. “When at Home turn on Wi-Fi” will automatically enable Wi-Fi on the G4 when you arrive at your’s home’s geolocation. While these features can be really handy, they are an added drain on the battery.
There is still a lot of clutter on the UI as LG is trying to do a lot. Qslide Apps sit in the notification panel, along with quick toggles. There is just so much happening on the G4, that you really want to simplify the usage.
LG’s included apps are also handy, like LG Health for fitness enthusiasts and LG Backup for security of data. Qremote lets you use the inbuilt IR blaster on the top of the phone to control your electronics and appliances, like a TV, Dish box, Air-Con etc. The Qremote turns out to be more useful than mentioned.
Conclusion
Just like each year before this, LG has maintained high quality and managed to make the phone good looking. However, the leather back restricts buyers and the phone may be too any for the female audience.There is a pink leather back cover as well as a red one, which also are more easily handled by men than women. The ceramic white drops the leather for a more LG plastic (they call it polycarbonate) approach.
It is distinctively a man phone, with features which are slightly lower than the competition. A price tag which is higher than the competition and a not so impressive performance and battery life. It does excel in the camera department, only if you are an outdoorsy kind of person. The UI is much more refined than seen in the past and the array of customizations is extensive. But, our money is well spent elsewhere.
Samsung has formed a niche in the smartphone segment with the unique, Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. The firm recaptured its name and market share because of the latest series and Samsung fans are now anticipating for the next high-end product to hit the market.
Here is everything we know about the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 till now:
As the rounds of reports suggest, the Note 5 will come with a model number SM-N920F. It is likely to feature 5.4-inch or 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display with curves on both the edges. Let us recall you that the Note 4 was the first smartphone with which the curved edge display was included. Other talks speak of a 5.9-inch screen with 4K resolution. The company has been preparing to venture into the 4K technology and the forthcoming Galaxy Note 5 may be the first to implant it.
Needless to say, the bar of prospects has been raised higher for the next phablet. Users may see a dominant processor fitted for computing tasks and sufficient in-built memory to store content. An upgraded version of Samsung’s Exynos 7422 is speculated to govern the computing operations. If we go by reports, the Note 5 will feature 3GB LPDDR3 DRAM, 32GB of eMMC (embedded multimedia card) along with a controller. Other buzz hints of a 16MP rear camera and a 8MP secondary shooter.
A latest report also suggests that the Note 4 heir might sport a USB Type-C, which we recently saw incorporated on the Apple MacBook. The Note 5 might even be powered by an enormous battery of 4,100mAh, which is important for a phablet with these specifications.
Sources close to iGyaan have verified that the device will be launching in India in the 3rd week of September. The source also disclosed the pricing of the new device saying that it will cost Rs 64,999 for the 32GB variant. For now, it is anticipated the device will arrive in 64GB and 128GB variants as well. The same pattern Samsung followed with the Galaxy S6 series. Samsung will also bring out an ‘Edge’ variant, which will cost Rs. 9,000 above the regular edged one.
But, as per Whowired, the next flagship model by Samsung will be unveiled at the end of July, much before the expected time in September. Galaxy Note 5’s early launch seems to be a strategic plan to eclipse the market of iPhone, who’s sales exceed 50 million per quarter. However, the source claims that it is due to the early development of the handset.
Summing up all the considerations and rumours, the Galaxy Note 5 appears to be a major update from the Note 4. It will have advanced features, higher specs and an upgraded S-pen for better user experience. With the iPhone 6s launch scheduled for the same month, we’re now impatiently waiting for September to arrive.
IBM has just made a breakthrough in chip manufacturing technology. The company, working with GlobalFoundries, Samsung, SUNY, and various equipment suppliers, has created the world’s first 7nm chip with working semiconductors. This would be the first time a chip maker has succeeded to achieve such a feat. Normally, the smaller the transistor gate, the better the performance of the chip. As a result, reducing it to just 7nm will drastically increase the power to performance proportion of the chipset.
While it should be emphasized that commercial 7nm chips remain at least two years away, this experimental chip from IBM and its partners is remarkably significant for three purposes: it is a functional sub-10nm chip; it is the first commercially viable sub-10nm FinFET logic chip that uses silicon-germanium as the channel material and feasible design produced with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.
IBM’s 7nm chips use a FinFET transistor configuration that differs from existing FinFETs in that the transistor’s channel is made from silicon-germanium alloy, rather than plain silicon. This is because silicon by itself has problems with electron mobility below 10nm, which restricts current flow and hampers smooth performance. Adding germanium to the mix has been found to resolve these issues.
IBM has managed to pack transistors incredibly tightly on their 7nm chips, achieving a conductor pitch of just 30nm. This leads to the surface area reduction of around 50% matched to bleeding-edge 10nm chips, which IBM believes can result in performance and power improvements of “at least” 50%.
Enabling the first 7nm node transistors is a notable breakthrough for the entire semiconductor industry as we continue to push beyond the limitations of our current capabilities,” said Michael Liehr, the university’s vice president of innovation and research.
Although the company has succeeded in creating a working transistor using 7nm, although, it is still in the prototype stage, and may take at least a few years for such chips to end up in the market. So, this tech will probably make it to final products only after the 10nm chips have been widely used.
It is said ‘Behind a successful man is a successful woman.’ Well, in this case, the saying is changed a little bit to ‘Behind a successful company is a successful woman.’ The story of High Tech Computer Corporation revolves around a damsel as well. Her name is Cher Mi Wang, daughter of one of the richest family in Taiwan. In 1997, she entered into a partnership with H T Cho and Peter Chou, who collectively established the company that would eventually become one of the biggest mobile phone manufacturers known for its design, OEM branded equipment and its trademarked user interface in the world. Yes, HTC.
History
The project was not successful at first which led to the consumption of large amount of capital. Disaster was almost inevitable. But, the family riches came to rescue for Cher Wang. Cher Mi Wang had to pour in a lot of her own wealth into the company to develop a solid engineering and designing team. Also, a new course was set, and HTC agreed to develop products for other brands. This bet paid off and today, the company boasts of an innovative and productive team that comes up with mobile devices that are refined, sophisticated, contemporary and practical. HTC has always been different from other mobile device manufacturing companies.
Cher Wang
Rather than resorting to flashy promotion campaigns, HTC quietly edged out its competition by adopting a new slogan. The masterstroke came with the motto – Quietly Brilliant – which bestowed the image of a simple yet excellent company. This transit gave birth to the new and more successful HTC!
Later on through the years, the company is attributed with creating the first Android smartphone, the first Microsoft-powered smartphone (2002), and the first Microsoft 3G phone (2005). Their first major product, one of the world’s first touch-screen smartphones, arrived in 2000.
First of the First
HTC is credited with releasing some of the first techs that are now being used by a majority of the world population now. Some of which are
Introduces first Microsoft Smart Music Phone (2004): Pocketable phone, business tool, PDA, WiFi hotspot surfing buddy and MP3 player, camera phone, streaming video player and GSM world phone. Yes, the phone fitted all of this into a device of reasonably modest proportions, and it weighs only 3.74 ounces. Like most PDA phones and Smartphones that ran Windows Mobile 5.0, the SDA came from ODM HTC in Taiwan and codenamed to the HTC Tornado. The first of its kind!
First Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone made by HTC (2005): It was the first 3G/UMTS-enabled Pocket PC phone, and also the first to come with Windows Mobile 5.0 pre-installed. The most eye-catching feature of this device was the 180-degree swivel screen, allowing a swift interchange between portrait mode and landscape mode. The GUI automatically adjusts screen orientation accordingly.
Releases world’s first Android phone, the HTC Dream (2008): First released in October 2008, the Dream was the first commercially released device to used the Linux-based Android operating system, which was purchased and further improved by Google.
The operating system offered a customizable graphical user interface, integration with Google services such as Gmail, a notification system that showed a list of recent messages pushed from apps, and Android Market for downloading additional apps. While the Dream was commended for its solid and robust hardware design, the introduction of the Android operating system was met with objection for its lack of specific functionality and third-party software in comparison to more established platforms. But, in spite of its shortcomings, Android OS was still considered to be innovative due to its open nature, notifications system and massive integration with Google’s services.
Launches the HTC Evo 4G- the first 4G phone in the US (2010): The HTC Evo 4G was a smartphone developed by HTC Corporation and was marketed as Sprint’s flagship Android smartphone, which ran on its WiMAX network. The smartphone was released on June 4, 2010 and was the first 4G enabled smartphone released in the United States.
Controversies and Legal Affairs
In March 2010, Apple filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission claiming infringement of 20 of its patents including features of the iPhone user interface and hardware by HTC. HTC objected with Apple’s actions and restated its commitment to creating innovative smartphones. HTC also filed a charge against Apple for infringing on 5 of its patents and tried to ban the import of Apple products into the US from manufacturing plants in Asia. Apple extended its original complaint by adding two more patents.
On November 10, 2012, Apple and HTC arrived at a 10-year license agreement covering current and future patents held by the two companies. The terms of the agreement remain classified.
In February 2013, HTC decided with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission concerning lax security on more than 18 million smartphones and tablets it had shipped to customers and agreed to security patches.
Products
HTC, which stands for High Tech Company, has been making smartphones longer than almost anyone. Years ago, it made a business out of creating Windows Mobile devices that were rebranded by AT&T and other companies, but thanks to its early support of Android with the T-Mobile G1 and Google Nexus One, HTC has risen to stardom, becoming a brand of its own and rivaling mobile industry veterans like Motorola and Samsung.
This year, HTC came out with a variety of products like HTC One M9+, HTC One ME, Desire 826, and much more. Each phone has different features and appeals to its masses effectively.
HTC unveiled its first high-performance, smart fitness tracker, the GPS-enabled HTC Grip™ in March.
Powered by UA Record, the new health and fitness network from Under Armour designed for athletes and fitness enthusiasts, Grip fuses HTC’s renowned design with powerful, accurate tracking across a range of sports and activities, allowing athletes to set personal goals, then smash them. Indeed, a different innovation by HTC!
Now
HTC’s brilliance and excellence are further strengthened by its long-standing partnership with Microsoft. HTC has been slowly but surely helping Microsoft capture the mobile telecommunication industry by advancing to unique and efficient operating systems. Today, HTC is seamlessly poised to overhaul other Chinese mobile telecom device manufacturing companies, including Lenovo and Haier. HTC concentrates on value-addition and modification. The company has demonstrated time and again that self-confidence, ambition and drive are what make it different and unique. These have been the stepping stones to international repute.
John Abraham Becomes HTC’s Brand Evangelist
HTC shines by the power of innovation. It built HTC’s Magic Labs, a Center for developing innovative breakthrough outcomes guaranteed to improve the world of technology in the years to come. HTC understands that success starts where it ends – with the customer. Even today, every device is worked to suit customer’s multiple needs. This is truly inspirational for companies that want to make customer service an art form. The first successful step in this endeavor was becoming the leader in the production of the more and more popular Windows Mobile smartphones.
Apple has released a new beta version of iOS 9 to app developers, with several new features and changes being introduced. The beta version has been released to registered developers and is available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
Apple News
Most notable features of the new iOS beta version include Apple News and a separate folder for screenshots and selfies. Apple News is a Flipboard like app that curates news from different publications like The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly. The feed will show news according to your liking and allows you to save and share an article you like. For now, Apple News will include content from The New York Times, CNN, ESPN, The Atlantic, and Slate.
By segregating the selfies and screenshots folder, Apple has made it easier for users to organize and share the images. Under the current version, all photos clicked (screenshots, selfies, pictures) are stored in a single folder. Users prefer to send a screenshot rather than describe in a text. By separating images, it becomes easier to scroll through folders than a single folder.
iOS 9 beta also includes a new 4×4 grid layout for folders in iPads, a new calendar icon and even Siri gets an improvement – Apple has dropped the famous ‘ding’ activation sound.
Apple announced the latest version of iOS WWDC last month. The new software will be available to iPhone and iPad users in September.
The third beta version of iOS 9 is currently available to registered developers only and will be made available to public later this month.
It is impossible to overlook the fact that mobile cameras have changed a lot in the last few years. Far before the now memorialized words of “Let me take a Selfie,” having a camera in your back pocket or purse was something most of us took for granted. But just how far have mobile cameras actually come, and where are they headed in the future?
The first instant camera was made back in 1923. But, it wasn’t until 1948 that these devices gained popularity when the Polaroid camera came out, enabling the user to print instantly a photo in less than a minute.
But that was just it. Enter Willard Boyle and George Smith, who invented the CCD Chip (Charge-Coupled Device Chip), which paved the way for digital cameras in 1969.
CCD Chip
However, it wasn’t until 1981 that a commercially available version would hit the market in the form of the Sony Mavica. This monster of a camera let users save up to 50 images on a video floppy disk and view them on a television screen. It paved the way for digital cameras to go mainstream, and it changed how photography would be perceived both literally and metaphorically.
The First Camera Phone
Just as digital cameras began to rise in popularity, cell phone manufacturers could not help but notice the rising trend. In 2000, Sharp produced the J-SH04, the very first phone with an inbuilt camera. It was a 0.1MP camera and was priced at $500.
Sharp J-SH04
This device became so popular that within two years, Sharp’s device served 40% of J-Phone users around the world. American phone businesses took note of the phone’s success and brought the technology to the U.S. in 2002, in the form Sanyo 5300 flip phones. The camera phone wars had officially begun.
The Second Camera Phone
It was November 2002 before the U.S. embraced the crazy Japanese trend with the Sanyo SCP-5300 handset. It costed $400, and it highlighted a chunky clamshell design.
Sanyo SCP-5300
With a 0.3MP capability, it could capture shots at 640 x 480 pixels.The Sanyo SCP-5300 also had a basic flash, white balance control, self-timer, digital zoom, and several filter effects like sepia, black and white, and negative colors.
By the end of 2004 the camera phone was riding high. Over half of the phones sold worldwide had cameras in them in the first nine months of 2004, and two-thirds of all the phones shipped in the third quarter were camera phones. Leading the way was the Finnish manufacturer, Nokia.
Nokia Battles Its Way To The Top
Nokia released the N90 in 2005, thus landing the camera phones to new heights. It featured a 2MP camera, along with Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, and an LED flash. It instantly became famous because the rotating screen gave a feel of a camcorder.
But, Nokia was not the only one who was reaching new heights of mobile cameras. Sony Ericsson’s K800i that was released in 2006 had a 3.2MP camera with auto-focus, image stabilization, and a Xenon flash. Naturally, Nokia countered with models like the 3.2MP N73, but in 2007 the feature phone reached its zenith.
Sony Ericsson’s K800i that was released in 2006 had a 3.2MP camera. Later, Nokia countered with models like the 3.2MP N73.
Nokia 95 was the first phone to feature a 5MP camera with the Carl Zeiss lens. It took excellent photos, and it could record video at 30 frames-per-second. In fact, 5MP remained as a high-end standard for several years. Sadly for Nokia, the smartphone debacle was just around the corner, and a good camera would not be adequate to keep Nokia on the rise.
Next In Line, Samsung and LG
In 2008, the Samsung i8510, also known as the INNOV8, held the first 8MP camera to hit the market, but in design terms, it looked like part of Nokia’s N range, which were getting steadily less popular.
Sample Photo using a Samsung i8510
Nokia followed suit with the N86, but it was LG that released the first touchscreen camera phone with an 8MP camera. It was called the LG Renoir.
The competition for megapixels proceeded, and Samsung hit 12MP first with the M8910 Pixon12 in 2009. It was soon surpassed by Nokia’s N8 in 2010 and the 16MP Sony Ericsson S006 at the end of the year.
The Rise Of Software Features For Cameras
Google gave Photosphere; Apple came out with Panorama mode, even BlackBerry came out with TimeShift. We have seen a lot of filters and effects mixed into various mobile platforms and are proving great for people who click photos in a not-so-normal perspective.
Shot by David K. in Dubai, United Arab Emirates as a part of Shot on iPhone 6 campaign
Camera Phones are not just developing the sensors and resolutions. They are also improving on the lenses, flashes, focussing capabilities and zooming capabilities too.
Apple’s Autofocus feature
We are observing today the acceptance of xenon flash, Dual-LED flash, Carl-Zeiss lens on camera phones. Camera phone hardware is bettering the hardware specs of stand-alone digital cameras. With the improved availability of raw processing power, location-awareness and the brilliant touchscreen displays, today’s camera phone’s are equipped to manipulate blink-detection, face-detection, smile-detection, touch-focus (sheer ability to focus on a particular spot on the frame by just tapping the touch-screen), Geo-tagging (thanks to GPS capabilities), Image stabilizer, Video Stabilizer, HD image resolutions, 4K Video Recording and much more.
We should talk about the full-HD Video recording capabilities that are made possible now. Optical Zoom and stand-alone camera capability (using a camera while the phone is switched off) are getting upgraded as well. In a new experiment, we mounted the Moto Turbo on a drone and got phenomenal results.
As smartphones become universal, they are quickly replacing traditional point-and-shoot cameras as the go-to devices for capturing quick photos. But not all smartphone cameras are designed equally. The iPhone 6 Plus, for example, has extremely fast autofocus and a dual-LED flash, and the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active can withstand dunks underwater and drops to the ground. In a high-tech world driven by steady consumer demand for bigger and better, it will be exciting to see where our tech will take us next!
Let us look at some of the brilliant iPhone photography that may give professional photographers a run for their money.
Shot by Brendan Ó. in Copenhagen, Denmark
Shot by Renee M. in Union City, CaliforniaShot by Satoshi H. in Tokyo, JapanShot by Dudley W. in Glen Etive, ScotlandShot by Robyn W. in Corvallis, Oregon
You can check out more of these amazing photographs here.
After launching the LG G4 Stylus yesterday, LG has released another variant called the LG G4 Beat. The new phone is the latest in the G4 line-up after the G4 Stylus and G4c. With this phone, it seems LG is trying to imitate Samsung’s successful Galaxy series, which offers a wide range of affordable and premium phones.
Juno Cho, president and CEO of LG Electronics said
Too often, mid-tier phones sacrifice overall usability in order to include that one killer feature. Our goal with the LG G4 Beat was to create a phone that was not only well- balanced in terms of display, camera, performance and design but delivered terrific value and satisfaction.
The G4 Beat sports a 5.2-inch full HD IPS LCD display with 423 ppi. The phone is powered by a 1.5GHz Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor with 1.5GB of RAM. The internal storage of 8GB can be expanded, allowing you to store more images, music and videos. The G4 Beat will run on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop with LG UX 4.0.
The phone will sport an 8MP rear camera and a 5 MP front camera. For some reasons, LG has decided to include a 13 MP rear camera in the G4 Beat for select Latin America countries. A 2,300mAh removable battery will power the phone. As far as connectivity is concerned, the phone supports LTE, Bluetooth 4.1 and NFC.
LG has not disclosed any pricing for the G4 Beat, which is expected to be launched first in countries like France, Germany and Brazil followed by Canada, India, Russia, Singapore, South Africa and Turkey, among others.
Specification
LG G4 Beat
Display
5.2-inch full HD IPS LCD display
Resolution
1920 x 1080 pixels, 423 ppi
Chipset
Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 chipset
Processor
1.5GHz octa-core processor
RAM
1.5 GB
Storage
8GB
Rear Camera
8 MP Laser Autofocus, LED Flash, 13 MP in select Latin America countries
With Apple’s recent and successful launch of Apple Music, the Music streaming space has gotten really crowded. With companies like Spotify and Pandora already eating the pie, Facebook wants now a big chink of this space.
According to reports the social networking website has already tied up with various music labels and has already started showing music videos which are ad supported.
With reports of a Youtube-esque video service for Facebook already in the works, an all audio variant is expected to roll out later this year. It would be rather easy for Facebook to just acquire an already running service, say Spotify.
However, the folks over at Facebook are mum on the conversation and fail to add any new insight.
How long does it take to become a bestseller? As Lenovo found out, apparently 5.2 seconds. Seconds after the first online sale kicked off, the Lenovo K3 Note smartphone was sold out on Flipkart. Lenovo sold about 47,440 smartphones over 5, 38,096 registrations the company received for the first flash sale.
The next sale will be held on 15th July. Two versions of the phone – black as well as white – will be sold at 12 noon and 3pm respectively. Registrations are already open.
The K3 Note joins a long list of affordable 4G handsets provided by Lenovo, such as A6000, A7000 Plus and S60. The phone has Dual SIM card slots and supports both LTE bands in India. The phone sports a 3,000 mAh battery, which is replaceable. The K3 Note sports a 13 MP rear camera with Dual LED flash and a 5 MP front camera.
The specifications for the phone are reminiscent of the Xiaomi Mi4i, which is currently in demand and has a dedicated fan base. Like Mi4i, the K3 Note boasts a 5.5-inch full HD display. Also to that, the K3 Note costs less than the Mi4i.
Launched in India in late-June, the Lenovo K3 Note was first unveiled for China in March. It competes against the likes of budget contenders – Yu Yuphoria and Xiaomi Redmi Note. Yu Yureka and Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G have ruled this price segment, but it looks like Lenovo is finally going for the kill with the K3 Note.
Check out the specifications for the Lenovo K3 Note before you register:
Specs
Lenovo K3 Note
Display
5.5 inches IPS capacitive touchscreen
Resolution
1080 x 1920 pixels
Chipset
1.7GHz MediaTek MT6752
Processor
Octa-core 64-bit processor
RAM
2 GB
Storage
16 GB
Expandable Upto
32 GB
Main Camera
13 MP
Front Camera
5 MP
Battery
3,000 mAh
Operating System
Android Lollipop 5.0 out-of-the-box, wrapped under Lenovo Vibe 2.5 UI
Miscellaneous
Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic, Lenovo Vibe 2.0
Delhi government has described the operation of ‘Taxi For Sure’ as ‘illegal’. The statement comes days after a driver of the app-based company was alleged to be indulging in a vulgar act while driving a woman to Faridabad from South Delhi.
The Delhi government said that it was not against app-based taxi services in Delhi, but it will not compromise on women safety. ”The government is not against app-based taxi services in the national capital but it will not compromise on women safety, which is its top priority,” the government said. ”Taxi For Sure has not been authorized by the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi and hence its operations are illegal.”
On July 3, a woman posted her ordeal with Taxi For Sure on Facebook and Twitter. She alleged that the driver committed a vulgar act while driving her from Faridabad to South Delhi. “When I was about 25 minutes away from my destination, the driver got impatient and kept motioning something to himself. I asked him to drive properly… I noticed he was ma********** while driving,” the woman wrote in her post. For her, the experience was traumatizing. “He (the driver) had a smile on his face that will haunt me for nights to come.”
Ola Cabs acquired Taxi For Sure in March and last month integrated its service in its own app. Taxi For Sure executives visited the woman and assured her that the driver had been fired.
This latest incident puts app-based taxi services into danger as the current Delhi government is looking for ways to regulate it. It also raises questions about the safety standards in such services, as women prefer to book cabs through apps.
If another round of rumours is to be believed, it looks like Apple is planning on something big for the next iPhone. Apparently, according to WSJ, the tech giant has immense ambitions and has assigned the task of assembling 85-90 million handsets-complete with Force Touch- to its manufacturing partners. WSJ predicted that Apple’s sales growth approximates to 10% each year. The company ordered between 70 million and 80 million iPhone 6 and 6 Plus units for launch in 2014.
So far, we’ve learnt that the next iPhones will include Force Touch and a new casing to make the iPhone 6S wider, taller and stronger. The new model will run on iOS 9 and have an enhanced processor. Samsung might provide chipsets and displays for Apple’s forthcoming products, and iPhone 6S will be powered by a next-gen A9 processor and come with 2GB of RAM. The new model will run on iOS 9 and have an enhanced processor, as Apple announced at the WWDC this year.
It is also possible that Apple may release two variants of the iPhone, the smaller 6s variant, and a larger 6s ‘Plus’ version.
The upcoming iPhone 6s is rumored to be available in stores from 25th September this year. According to the source, pre-orders will start on 18th September, and it will go live physically on 25th September.
One of the biggest triumph stories of 2014, OnePlus, conquered the mid-segment smartphone market with its feature-rich phone with top-notch specs with a reasonable price tag. With several enhancements and revisions compared to its predecessor, the OnePlus One, the OnePlus 2 is probably one of the most expected Android devices of the year.
Today, OnePlus has announced the upcoming smartphone will sport a 4GB RAM. It will sport the next-generation LPDDR4 memory chips, which are also packed with Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge only, for now. No other smartphone, apart from the Asus Zenfone, in the Indian market comes with 4GB of RAM, which is required to make use of the 64-bit processor for faster operations of the next generation of apps.
So far we know that OnePlus 2 will run on Snapdragon 810 chipset along with 4GB RAM. The phone will sport a 5.5-inch 2K display that will improve the viewing experience of the user. The OnePlus 2 will also have a USB C-Type, the first in a flagship device by a major manufacturer. Just a few days back, the company revealed that the phone will come with a built-in fingerprint scanner.
The company has confirmed its price Will Not Cross More Than Rs 28,500. OnePlus ruled out all the rumors of the temporarily titled OnePlus 2 and stated that the much-awaited device will make a debut in the third quarter of this year. Let’s wait and watch.
Remastered games have become quite a huge deal in the recent years, especially with the release of games like of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Grand Theft Auto V and The Last of Us Remastered. It looks like 2015 will be another great year in terms of playing games from the long gone past as well.
So, what are the best remaster games arriving out this year that you could consider buying? Find out in our top five list below.
Resident Evil HD Remaster
Resident Evil HD Remaster is a game that is based on Resident Evil and Resident Evil Remake. HD Remaster adds whole new control options, widescreen support and improved HD graphics to the survival horror classic.
Resident Evil for the GameCube, or sometimes, also known as REmake, was produced solely for the GC and released in 2002. As the “REmake” word implies, it is a remake of the original 1996 Resident Evil game. Along with updated graphics, REmake features other innovative enhancements and a few adjustments. It still holds up rather well, delivering plentiful scares .
This game did not have the softest of launches, and its multiplayer was broken until a few weeks ago, but now, all is well with the adventures of series hero Master Chief. Halo has been a highlight of the Xbox consoles for a long time, and we think the Master Chief Collection shows us why.
For not only can you kill your own buddies online in glorious HD resolution, but Halo 3: ODST has been added to the set as well, making it a whole edition of the Halo series to date. Available exclusively on the Xbox One.
Grim Fandango Remastered
Due to licensing matters, the only way to play Grim Fandango was through unofficial emulators. Luckily, Sony was able to pull up with Tim Schafer an alliance to obtain the rights to produce a remaster version for the PlayStation 4, Vita and PC. Aside from the expected graphical improvements (including an optional full-screen mode), the classic title will also be getting a fully choreographed and orchestrated soundtrack. So, one of the best adventure games of all time will be getting even better. Available on iOS, PC, PS4, and PS Vita.
Tomb Raider Definitive Edition
The Definitive Edition of Tomb Raider is a lot like Lara Croft’s best adventure from last year, only with enhanced visuals and new features. One new tomb lets you stretch your puzzle-solving brain muscle, and a variety of outfits give you more stylistic options and flexibility. Have you ever fancied Lara to dress like a 1930s explorer? Now is your chance! None of these additions are all that exciting, so if you have already played through Tomb Raider on an older console, there’s little incentive to jump in again. Now is a good time as any to get re-acquainted with the adventures of Lara Croft. Available on the PS4 and Xbox One.
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
This set includes both Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Borderlands 2 and every bit of downloadable content that came with both games. There are excellent visuals, split-screen play and whimsical humour, ensuring there’s more than enough in Borderlands: The Handsome Collection to keep you busy until the impending Borderlands 3 announcement. Available on the PS4 and Xbox One.
