Tag: price

Lava Iris 504q Now Available For Pre-Bookings On Online Stores For Rs.13,499

LAVA International Limited is now offering the newly launched Lava Iris 504q for pre-booking on various e-commerce websites.

The new Lava Iris 504q has a super slim 8.4mm thickness that makes it the slimmest handset in its category. It brings HD experience to a 5 inch IPS screen with OGS display technology and a resolution of 1280×720 pixels. Powered by a Quad Core 1.2GHz processor and running on the latest Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean), the Iris 504q comes with an intelligent flip cover.

This device sports an 8MP camera with rear auto-focus and BSI sensor. Lava Iris 504q also packs in 1GB RAM and an internal memory of 4 GB, which is expandable up to 32 GB.

The Lava Iris 504q is priced at Rs. 13,499 and comes with a free flip cover and screen guard. It is expected to reach the stores in the last week of June.

You can watch our hands-on video below :

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June 21, 2013
Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus, ATIV Book 9 Lite Announced

Samsung today announced two new Ultrabooks, the Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus and Samsung ATIV Book 9 Lite.

Both feature aluminium unibodies and 13.3-inch screens with touch functionality. The one on the ATIV Book 9 Plus however packs the whopping 3200 X 1800 QHD+ resolution.

The ATIV Book 9 Plus supports a 256GB SSD, up to 8GB RAM and offers a battery life of 12 hours. At its thickest point its said to be 13.6mm, and weighs just 1.39kg. They’ve also made improvements to the backlit keyboard and trackpad and the touchscreen touts Gorilla Glass, which makes it quite durable.

The Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus can be hinged in two positions, one is around 105 degrees and the other is a flat 180 degrees. Samsung says that the touchscreen display will offer an improved experience due to the use of OCR bonding.

Samsung also announced the lower-end ATIV Book 9 Lite, which ditches the high resolution display for a standard 1366 x 768 display, and features one of AMD’s new Kabini APUs under the hood. The machine does have a 256 GB solid state drive in its 1.44-1.58 kg body, but it’s not surprising to learn the battery life is lower than its flagship counterpart: apparently you’ll only be able to manage a maximum of eight hours out of this device.

As with the ATIV Book 9 Plus, the Book 9 Lite is slated for a Q3 release with no price announced just yet.

June 21, 2013
Suunto Launches AMBIT2 with GPS and Navigation and Quick MultiSport Mode (Hands On) (PR)

Suunto has been a name synonymous with pro athletes and adventurers of all types. The company’s foray into the Indian market targets more enthusiasts and youth. The new Ambit2 is the successor of the popular Ambit, and adds a new Multi Sports mode.

The new apps on the Suunto Ambit 2 have been designed for a large variety of use, including swimming, cycling, running and multisport training.

The watch features interesting features including route navigation, barometric information, altimeter with FusedAltiTM, 3D compass and other outdoor specific features. In addition the Ambit2 has all the training features of the Ambit2 S.

The Ambit 2 is made inside a glass fiber reinforced casing with a battery life of up to 50 hours in GPS mode, the Ambit2 is a watch designed for serious adventurers, explorers and multisport athletes. The HR edition we put our hands on features a heart monitor belt which syncs up with the watch to track your heart rate through your workout/swim or trek.

The watch is really easy to handle and works great while on the hand, switching form one mode to another is fast and conveniently handled by one hand. The watch can be worn on either hand due to the design and the button layout.

The watch has a massive 50 mm bezel, which to us felt really nice, but a lot of athletes may not want such a huge dial. The backlight is nicely spread and is not overbearing, and should provide ample lighting during the night.

The strap is also designed keeping the active folks in mind, a stretch rubber strap with large breathable perforated holes.

While we take this watch for a spin, check out the video (uploading ) and images and stay tuned for a full review.

[toggle title=”Press Release”]Suunto recently unveils the second generation of Ambit outdoor GPS watches, the new line-up of Ambit2 S and the Ambit2. This creates a collection of Suunto GPS watches for every occassion — whether a multisport training session or a serious adventure.

Comments President of Suunto, Mikko Moilanen: “The Ambit got a tremendously positive response from consumers last year. To meet the needs of perfomance sports oriented users even better we felt that a lighter, slimmer GPS with sports-specific features but less focus on outdoor functionality was needed to complement the Ambit family. In addition, the rapidly advancing technology made it meaningful to update the Ambit family with new members already now.”

Ambit2 S – The GPS watch for athletes
The new Ambit2 S is a light and sleek GPS watch for multisport athletes that packs all the features needed for cycling, running, swimming and multisport training. The GPS provides accurate pace, route navigation and tracking, while the heart rate monitor lets you train within your ideal zone.
• Cycling: The new Suunto Ambit2 S will support power meters (ANT+) and offers various power measurement values and numerous options for in-depth analysis.
• Swimming: The Ambit2 S also offers comprehensive swimming functionality, including pace and distance, automatic intervals, stroke rate and swimming time related to different pool lengths. The Ambit2 S will also learn to recognize your swimming style, which makes performance analysis easier.
• Running: Runners benefit from highly accurate pace and distance thanks to FusedSpeed™, the Ambit’s accelerometer integrated GPS, as well as interval timer and autolaps for training.
• Multisport Training: Users can switch between sports, making the Suunto Ambit2 S ideal for recording your multisport training or race.
•
Ambit2 – The GPS for explorers and athletes
Suunto also launches the Ambit2, which builds on the success of the award-winning Suunto Ambit. It includes Suunto’s hallmark outdoor functions such as route navigation, barometric information, altimeter with FusedAltiTM, 3D compass and other outdoor specific features. In addition the Ambit2 has all the training features of the Ambit2 S.
Packed in a glass fiber reinforced casing with a battery life of up to 50 hours in GPS mode, the Ambit2 is the ultimate watch for serious adventurers, explorers and multisport athletes. The Sapphire edition of the Ambit2, features a brushed steel bezel and sapphire crystal glass, adding some serious style to the Ambit2’s extreme functionality.

Comments Suunto ambassador and climber Ueli Steck: “In the mountains you need a watch you can rely on. I’ve been using Suunto products for many years and the Ambit2 is the ideal product out there for anyone serious about their mountain sports.”

Both Ambit2 S and Ambit2 will be globally available from May 2013.

App Zone and Movescount.com are also upgraded
Suunto is also upgrading the Suunto App Zone, the community forum where users can find and create free Apps for the Ambit GPS watches. Since it launched in November 2012, the App Zone has proved popular with users, who have created over 5,000 Apps so far. The upgrade gives Ambit owners the chance to create and share more advanced Apps. Suunto’s online sports community Movescount.comwhich hosts the App Zone, will also be updated to provide new tools for in-depth analysis, enhanced navigation and improved opportunities for sharing.

About Suunto

Suunto was founded in 1936 by Tuomas Vohlonen, a Finnish orienteer and inventor of the liquid-filled field compass. Since then Suunto has been at the forefront of design and innovation for dive computers, instruments and sports watches used by adventure seekers all over the globe. From the highest mountains to the deepest oceans, Suunto physically and mentally equips outdoor adventurers to conquer new territory. Suunto’s headquarters and manufacturing plant is in Vantaa, Finland. Employing more than 400 people worldwide, Suunto products are sold in over 100 countries. The company is a subsidiary of Amer Sports Corporation along with its sister brands Salomon, Arc’teryx, Atomic, Wilson, Precor, and Mavic
[/toggle]

June 20, 2013
HTC Butterfly S Officially Announced, Features Ultra-Pixel Camera

Last week we saw some leaked photos of the new HTC Butterfly S, the handset has now been announced in Taiwan and we have all the specifications on new Android smartphone.

You should rejoice as the Butterfly S packs a massive 3,200 mAh battery, a big upgrade over its predecessor which had a 2020 mAh battery.

Image Courtesy : Engadget

The new HTC Butterfly S comes with a Snapdragon 600 quad core processor clocked at 1.9GHz. It has a 5 inch full HD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.

Other specifications on the HTC Butterfly S include 16GB of built in storage and a HTC Ultrapixel camera, the device also comes with HTC Boom Sound speakers.

The device runs on Android 4.2 with HTC Sense 5.0, and hence has the HTC Zoe feature. Blinkfeed is likely to be brought to the device as well.

In terms of the connectivity, the phone comes with quad-band HSPA , Wi-Fi a/ac/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, Infrared and GPS.

The HTC Butterfly S is a little chunky, weighing in at 160 grams and measuring 10.6 mm in thickness, but that’s what you get when you dramatically increase the battery size.

The HTC Butterfly S will go on sale in Taiwan in July it will also launch in Europe and Asia later this summer, although we do not have any details on an exact launch date.

We hope HTC price the phone better than last time.

[Via]

June 19, 2013
BenQ GW2760 HS Flicker Free Monitor Full Review

Build Quality and Design

The BenQ GW2760 HS comes in an all black design with glossy plastics used for the bezel and stand. The bezel measures a slim ~11.5 along all the sides. The screen looks pretty neat and attractive and has a smooth feel to the overall shape. The panel coating is a light anti-glare (AG) offering. The display has a native resolution of 1,920-by-1,080.

The BenQ GW2760 HS also has a ‘flicker free backlight’, indicating that PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) is not used to dim it.

The base is a oval shaped plastic block, again in a glossy black plastic. It’s quite a task to get it in place, and can pick up dust and finger prints quite easily.

The stand offers decent stability and we had no real problems with it as such. Our main disappointment though were the limited ergonomic options, with only tilting being possible.

The back of the screen is a squared off matte black plastic, with a texture pattern in the middle.There are 4 screw holes for VESA 100 x 100 mounting if needed.

In addition to a menu button that launches the OSD (on screen display) system there are hot keys for changing the input source, all of which lie towards the back of the display and offer decent tactile feedback. This is presumably a design feature to try to keep the bottom bezel as thin as possible.

I/O ports are scarce; DVI, HDMI or D-SUB (VGA) inputs are located at the rear of the cabinet, but that’s all you get with this model. There are no USB ports.

Display Panel And Backlighting

At the heart of it the BenQ GW2760 HS has a 27” LED-backlit AU Optronics (AUO) VA (Vertical Alignment) panel with 1920 x 1080 resolution and 300 cd/m2 typical max brightness. The monitor is designed to cover the sRGB colour space (so is standard gamut) and features true 8-bit colour per channel without dithering.

Responsiveness is certainly something AUO and BenQ have improved in recent times. A 4ms grey to grey response time is being quoted for this model which may be a tad optimistic but is similar to their other models which perform admirably in practice. Interestingly a 3000:1 contrast ratio is specified which is certainly strong in the grand scheme of things but lower than the 5000:1 static ratio often specified. This seems to be down to something BenQ have dubbed ‘Color Shift-free Technology’.

At 178 degrees vertically and horizontally, the viewing angles are likewise pretty good and the matte screen reduces reflections from any direction. Backlight bleed is virtually non-existent and blacks very deep.

Senseye® Reading Mode

The BenQ GW2760 HS is mainly being marketed as an office desktop, with a special Reading Mode being integrated into it. What it does is that it increases the temperature of the colours, and reduces brightness a bit, which makes reading text easier on your eyes.

Speakers

As mentioned above, the BenQ GW2760 HS features 2x1W integrated speakers, which as expected lack bass and volume. So if you’re going to use this display for gaming or other multimedia use, we advise you to invest in a decent set of speakers.

Conclusion

The BenQ GW2760 HS is an excellent monitor. It has great viewing angles, good colour reproduction, and the flicker free panel is a joy for all those sore eyes. The only drawbacks are the weak speakers and the lack of a USB port, but the black depth and contrast ratio were excellent.

The BenQ GW2760 HS has been priced at Rs. 20,000/- in the Indian market and we feel that it is one of the best monitors you can get for that price point.

Video Review

[youtube id=”Lu0QJppmM5E” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

June 15, 2013
Sony Xperia L Full Review
Design And Build Quality

At first glance, the Sony Xperia L is quite reminiscent of the Xperia Arc, with it’s arched back and a large screen towards the front.

A noticeably plastic finish greets you when you pick up the handset, but it feels sturdy and there was little flex in the body – meaning the Xperia L doesn’t feel too cheap.

The removable back cover has a soft rubber finish which makes the phone easy to grip and free from finger prints. On the contrary, the front panel is a magnet for fingerprints.

All of the Sony Xperia L ‘s buttons are on the right side of the device. The volume rocker is at the very top, while the power button (the same distinctive power/lock key found on various other Xperia devices) is lower down, almost in the middle of the device. Down at the bottom of the device is the hardware camera button. There is a micro-USB port on the left while the headphone jack sits square in the middle of the top of the device. At the bottom there is that famous light that glows beneath the display, letting the user know if they had any notifications waiting.

Overall, we were really impressed with the build quality of the device.

Specifications And Hardware

On the specifications front, Sony Xperia L sports a 4.3-inch display with 480×854 pixel resolution and is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8230 dual-core processor. It runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean operating system and packs 1GB RAM along with 8GB of internal storage which is expandable up to 32GB via microSD card.
The handset supports WIFI, DLNA, 3G, GPS and Micro-USB and packs 1750mAh battery gives up to eight and a half hours of talktime and standby time of up to 498 hours. The device comes equipped with an 8-megapixel front camera with Exmor RS and a VGA front facing camera.

Display And Multimedia

The front of the Xperia L is dominated by its 4.3-inch FWVGA display with the standard Android keys appearing onscreen instead of below it. Again, its 854×480 resolution is pretty standard for a phone at this price, and you have to zoom in to read text on web pages, but we saw bright whites and punchy colours.

The Xperia L’s LCD display doesn’t have the true blacks of an AMOLED screen, but blacks are still very deep. It’s a high-quality display for a relatively inexpensive handset. Viewing angles are really decent as well.

Sound quality on the Sony Xperia L is excellent, loud and clear. Couple that with it’s display quality and you have a really capable multimedia device in front of you. On-screen buttons disappear while you watch videos freeing all the screen space for your viewing pleasure.

One area where the Sony Xperia L disappoints though is the browsing experience. We tried various browsers and performance on each was equally dismal. Pages took a lot of time load up and there was a lot of lag while zooming and scrolling.

Gaming on this device is excellent, and while games like N.O.V.A and Fifa 12 were not compatible with the device, it delivered the ones that were excellently.

[youtube id=”2gMcZdXuv5U” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

Camera

In terms of photographic ability Sony has equipped the Sony Xperia L with an impressive 8MP rear facing camera which also boasts a single LED flash, 720p video recording and HDR and panorama modes.

One of the benefits of having a large sensor is low light performance and the Xperia L takes some of the best low-light photos we’ve seen in the segment. Outdoor images though were just about decent with slightly washed out colours. Looking at fine detail you’d often notice images turn out soft and spongy.

The camera experience is somewhat hampered by the slow and buggy camera app. Focusing takes a lot of time and the app takes a moment or two to process the image, resulting in blurry motion shots.

Sample Images :

The 720p video capture suffers from the some of the same issues, although not quite as much as still photos do. The auto-brightness is very aggressive, so expect some very noticeable shifting in your brightness, especially if the subject is backlit.

Performance

With a 1 Ghz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chipset, Adreno 305 GPU and 1 GB of RAM, the hardware inside the Sony Xperia L is nothing we haven’t seen before, so we had a fairly good idea of what to expect.

[youtube id=”tGtNECsqDUI” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

The Sony Xperia L scored 10104 in AnTuTu Benchmark, 60.2 fps in NenaMark2 and 4064 in Quadrant. Impressive for the hardware the device is powered by.

Software And User Interface

Sony has applied its own layer of gloss to Jelly Bean, with its a homescreen editor function allowing you to quickly and easily manage your widgets, apps and shortcuts as well as changing the phone’s theme and wallpaper – making it that bit more personal. Lovely.

Sony has given greater presence to its own services like the great WALKMAN app but also to more clunky offerings like the Sony Select application.

Onboard Sony firmware clearly has an impact on the advertised 8GB of internal storage which is 5.8GB.

Phone Calls and Connectivity

The phone networks are consistent and of good strength, no issues with connectivity to data and voice services. Overall network performance is impressive and voice handling good thanks to decent microphones and speakers in the Sony Xperia L .The dialler has also been tweaked by Sony.

Messaging was decent as well due to the large screen and the well laid keyboard.

Battery

[tabgroup][tab title=”Connections Off”]
- Talk Time 3G network(data off): 5 Hours
- Talk Time 2g (data off) : 6 hours
- Internet : N/A
- Music : 8 Hours
- Video : 6 hours
[/tab][tab title=”Connections On”]
- Talk Time 3G network(data on): 4.5 Hours
- Talk Time 2g (data on) : 5.5 hours
- Internet : 6 Hours
- Music : 8 Hours
- Video : 4.5 hours
[/tab][tab title=”Wifi Only”]
- Talk Time 3G network(data off): 4.5 Hours
- Talk Time 2g (data off) : 6 hours
- Internet : 6.5 Hours
- Music : 8 Hours
- Video : 5 hours
[/tab][/tabgroup]

Conclusion

Generally the Sony Xperia L copes with everything pretty well and while there is a hint of slow down every now and then that’s expected from cheaper handsets. What should help it stand out in its fairly crowded category are its looks and design.
June 14, 2013
LG Optimus L3 II Dual Full Review

Build Quality And Hardware

At just 102mm long and 61mm wide, the LG Optimus L3 II Dual is a really snug fit for anybody’s hand. It is made up entirely of plastic and has a glossy black finish both at the front and the back, which we feel makes it very scratch and smudge prone.

The overall design of the phone is really well, bland, to be honest. It has rounded corners, and a grey bezel runs around the phone. Under the 3.2-inch display there are 4 touch capacitive buttons, namely back, home, menu and a SIM switch button.

At the top you have your power button along with a headphone jack, a microphone and Micro-USB port at the bottom, and your volume rocker towards the left.

Remove the back cover of the LG Optimus L3 II Dual and you’ll see the battery, below which, there are two SIM cad slots. Also, the micro-SD card slot is located to the left of the battery compartment, which in our opinion is a bit flawed as you’ll have to remove the battery cover every time, if you wish to take out your micro-SD card. Also, you really have to wrestle the phone to get the back cover off.

Build quality though is solid, but the lack of thought put into the design leaves us slightly disappointed.

Specifications And Hardware

LG Optimus L3 II Dual is a dual-SIM smartphone that comes with 3.2-inch QVGA IPS display. It houses a 1,540mAh battery. It is powered by a 1GHz single core processor with 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage and a 3-megapixel camera.

The device runs on Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) out of the box and connectivity options include 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth and aGPS. There is a 3-megapixel rear fixed focus camera on the smartphone.

Display And Multimedia

LG Optimus L3 II Dual has a 3.2-inch screen that has a resolution of 240×320 pixels. Thus, the screen has a low, 125 ppi pixel density, which leads to unclear text and obvious difficulty while browsing. The screen has a high contrast and decent brightness though. As it is an IPS display, the viewing angles are pretty good and outdoor visibility is one of the best in this segment.

Now we obviously wouldn’t expect a stellar screen from a device of this segment, but we did expect better in terms of the pixel count.

Video experience on the device is hampered by the screen size and resolution, and so is gaming. So if these are your major criteria while choosing a phone, we suggest you give this one a miss.

Audio on the LG Optimus L3 II Dual is nice and loud. We were really satisfied with the quality of the sound.

The phone can connect to the internet, using 2G, 3G or Wi-Fi, with a maximum download speed of 3.6 Mbps on 3G. The web browsing capability on the LG Optimus L3 II Dual is dire, yes, dire. Pages take loads of time to load up, pinch to zoom is very choppy and laggy as well and it isn’t the best in this segment and also, the low-res screen makes it difficult to read online content.

Software And UI

The LG Optimus L3 II Dual comes loaded with Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) along with, as expected, LG’s Optimus 3.0 UI. Apps like Gallery and Music have been given a makeover by LG, and we were happy that LG paid attention to such small details when it came to the software on the phone. It gets the same lock screen transition and other animations that some of it bigger siblings get.

You have 5 lock screens along with various themes to choose from. The drop down windows has a set of toggles on the top, which can be customised and adjusted according to your needs. The lock screen too can be customised by using various shortcuts and clock/calender widgets.

The LG Optimus L3 II also comes pre-loaded with some of LG’s custom applications like the QuickMemo app that lets users scribble notes on a blank page or on top of a screen shot. Others include ones for Backup, Cell Broadcast, File Manager, a Memo app, Polaris Viewer, LG’s service related apps, SmartWorld, and a Task Manager.

Safe to say, this phone has one of the best software detailing in this segment. Well done LG.

Camera

The LG Optimus L3 II Dual comes with a 3.2 megapixel fixed focus camera without flash which in our opinion is a bit substandard and the image quality is average at best. Even with such a low quality camera, you have 3 shooting modes to choose from- Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Sunset and Night modes, along with settings for ISO, White Balance, Colour effects, and exposure.

Sample Shots :

Pictures were hazy, and grainy. In low-light conditions, images are barely visible. Likewise, videos can be recorded as QVGA videos. Not good enough by any means.

Phone, Messaging and Network

The dialer is nice and easy and like any other android phone cleverly integrates contacts and groups.

Call clarity was decent throughout our use, with neither us nor those on the other end of the line having any issues being heard. We had no dropped calls either. The phone is a dual-SIM GSM phone with support for one active and the other in standby mode.

The keyboard is fairly accurate and responsive. The keyboard works well in both landscape and portrait mode and the biggest surprise of all, it also has handwriting recognition! The handwriting recognition feature is as accurate as we’ve seen on any device. Impressive.

Conclusion

We’re not sure what LG was aiming for with the LG Optimus L3 II Dual. It lacks a USP. The only impressive feature of this device, and a big one that too, is the attention paid to the software aspect of this device. The custom apps, handwriting recognition etc. puts this device head and shoulders above the competition in this segment as far as software is concerned.

In contrast to that, the hardware of the phone is powered by seems dated and below this price point. Phones like the Micromax Canvas A110 offer way better specs at just a few 100 rupees more.

June 14, 2013
Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 Officially Launched

After its press shot leaked earlier today, Samsung has now officially launched the Samsung Galaxy Ace 3.

The Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 has a 4-inch WVGA LCD display with a middling 800 x 480p resolution, the Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 features an average array of innards wrapped within a design that arcs back to the Samsung Galaxy S3. Although marginally larger than the 3.8-inch Galaxy Ace 2, the new Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 screen features the same resolution as the past model, suggesting images will benefit from no improvement.

Lining up at 10mm thick and 119.5g in weight, the Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 spec sees Google’s latest Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS alongside a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and an 1800mAh Lithium-Ion battery.

The Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 camera is the same 5-megapixel rear-mounted offering from the Ace 2 alongside a VGA forward-facing snapper.

Set to be made available in 3G and 4G LTE forms, the Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 specs sheet is rounded off by the usual Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity options and 8GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD.

The device will also come pre-loaded with Samsung features and applications such as S Translator, S Travel, Smart Stay, S Voice, Easy Mode, Samsung Hub and Samsung ChatOn. In terms of sensors, the device will come with Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Proximity and AGPS connectivity.

Samsung hasn’t confirmed anything on date or price yet.

[toggle title=”Press Release”]Enjoy the New Mobile Essentials with Samsung GALAXY Ace 3

SEOUL, Korea – June 10, 2013 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a leader in mobile technology and digital solutions, today announced a new addition to the popular GALAXY family with the Samsung GALAXY Ace 3, a smartphone that synthesizes a multitude of smart features to produce an enriched user experience suitable for everyday life.

Building on the success of the previous GALAXY Ace series, the GALAXY Ace 3 brings users powerful performance with a dual core processor built to perform data-intensive tasks faster and more efficiently than its predecessor. Powered by Android™ Jellybean 4.2, users will enjoy the larger 4.0 inch display for a brilliant viewing experience while playing games, watching movies, and enjoying the device’s many smart features. The 5-megapixel camera is equipped with multiple features, including Sound & Shot, Best Photo, and Buddy Photo Share to fuel users’ creativity and to allow easy sharing amongst friends.å

To provide a more intuitive user experience, the GALAXY Ace 3 comes equipped with several smart features, providing innovative tools that continue to make the GALAXY series successful in the market.

• ‘S Translator’: Gives instantaneous translations at any time
• ‘S Travel’: Provides guides and travel information for your next trip
• ‘Smart Stay’: Recognizes when a user is looking at the phone, and saves battery life when a user looks away by
dimming the screen and powering down using advanced facial recognition
• ‘S Voice’: Offers voice command functionality
• ‘Easy Mode’: Brings a simple and intuitive homescreen mode for streamlined access to your top functions

Depending on the market, the GALAXY Ace will be available in two different versions – 3G or LTE.[/toggle]

June 10, 2013
Gionee Gpad G2 Full Review

Build Quality And Design

The phone is aesthetically pleasing and looks quite similar to the Micromax Canvas Doodle from the front. A massive 5.3-inch qHD display dominates the front of the device with three touch capacitive buttons underneath it. The phone, as expected, is made up entirely of plastic, with a chrome-like bezel running around the side of the device. There is a volume rocker on the right side which offers decent tactile feedback.

The back panel has a glossy finish, and we feel that it might be prone to scratches. Other than the camera, there is a speaker grill on the bottom right corner of the back panel, and the Gionee logo in the middle. Though one thing to note is that the G2 is quite heavy and prolonged usage might become uncomfortable for some.

Overall the build quality is impressive and the Gionee Gpad G2 has a nice solid feel to it.

Specifications And Hardware

The Gionee GPad G2 is powered by 1.2GHz quad-core processor along with PowerVR SGX544 GPU. Internally, the phablet packs in a 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, which can be expanded by another 32GB via a microSD card.

It is a dual-SIM phablet, which supports GSM on both the SIMs. The other connectivity options include 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and aGPS.

The Gionee GPad G2 has an impressive 5.3 inch IPS display with qHD (540 x 960 pixel) resolution display which translates to 240ppi.

Display And Multimedia

The screen of the Gionee Gpad G2 is really impressive, viewing angles are decent and colour reproduction is vivid and deep. A 240 pixel density makes for fairly crisp text as well. While there are no complaints with things like video playback, reading text and watching movies, outdoor visibility is poor due to the highly reflective screen. That is one are where Gionee could have done better.

Gaming is wonderful on this phone! We were able to play games like Virtual Tennis and Dead Trigger without any issues, but we did encounter some choppiness and lag while playing The Dark Knight Rises (expected!).

[youtube id=”3IamEzuu1oc” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

Audio on the Gione Gpad G2 is loud. Very loud. While that may seem like a good thing, and it is to an extent, it leads to vibration of the phone on high volumes. This can be very irritating, especially while playing games which involve lots of sound effects.

The in-built browser is decent enough, with all the standard options available. There is a slight choppiness to its kinetic scrolling though.

Software And User Interface

The Gionee Gpad G2 runs on Android 4.1.2 with slight modifications to the User Interface. You have a themes option from where you can select the skin that is applied, including an “Android Theme”.

It has a few extra apps like Change, which enable single click change of themes and wallpapers.

Phone and Networks

The phone call capability of the Gionee Gpad G2 is good, networks are solid and Phone calls are stable. The dialler is the standard Android dialler, the one seen on Nexus devices.

Messaging is also a breeze thanks to the responsive touchscreen and the way keys are laid out. You can swap out the keyboard with some alternatives from the Android marketplace, we even tried swype and it works great.

Camera

The Gionee Gpad G2 comes with an 8 megapixel camera at the back with single LED flash with features like face detection, auto-focus etc.

Images though seem a little dull and grainy. Outdoor images come out really well, with nice focus and background blur in macro shots. Indoor and low light images are nothing special.

Video quality was decent, with nice continuous focus and occasional over-exposure our only concern.

Sample Shots :

Performance

Under the hood, the Gionee Gpad G2 runs on 1.2GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6589 processor along with PowerVR SGX544 GPU. While there were occasional lags while navigating through menus, the overall performance was quite satisfying.

One thing to note though that occasionally the screen went blank and a Blackberry style battery pull was required to make it work again. We hope that was just an issue with our device.

It scored an impressive 12,890 in AnTuTu and 3892 in Quadrant.

Conclusion

While everyone is sceptical when it comes to the quality of Chinese manufacturers, we were really pleased with the Gionee Gpad G2. It is fast, snappy and feature loaded. An average camera and occasional lagging are the only disadvantages of the device.

Overall, we would recommend the Gionee Gpad G2 to anybody who wants a feature loaded budget phablet with a nice screen.

June 10, 2013

Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 and 6.3 launched in India Rs. 25,100 and Rs. 31,490 : (Hands On) (PR)

Samsung has just launched the Galaxy Mega 5.8 and the Galaxy Mega 6.3 in India at a fairly reasonable price difference between the handsets. The Galaxy Mega 5.8 goes on sale for Rs. 25,100 while the Galaxy Mega 6.3 will be launched for Rs. 31,490.

Galaxy Mega Initial Impressions

The first thing you will say once you handle these phones is “these phones are gigantic”, for reference in front of the Galaxy Mega 5.8 and 6.3 the Galaxy S4 looks considerably puny. The Galaxy Mega phones still remain slim and easily handle-able, thanks to the software tweaks using the phone with one hands is easy. Samsung’s “One Handed Use” a feature that puts keyboards and calling buttons on the primary hand side of the phone, just like it did on the Galaxy Note 2, extends its capabilities on the Galaxy Mega phones.

Loaded with Android 4.2.2 the Galaxy Mega phones resemble the Galaxy S4 with respect to UI looks and feel, and despite the major spec difference the handsets are quite snappy and responsive. The display on the Galaxy Mega 5.8 is a 5 point multi-touch, which is quite disappointing for a handset of this value and screen real estate.

Both, the Galaxy Mega 5.8 and the Galaxy Mega 6.3 come with dual core processors, the one on the Galaxy Mega 6.3 is manufactured by Qualcomm, whereas the Galaxy Mega 5.8 carries the same chipset found in the Galaxy Grand, made by Broadcom.

The Galaxy Mega phones have 8 MP cameras and front facing 1.9 MP cameras, with the possibility of 1080p video capture at 30fps. The Galaxy Mega 6.3 however will also get the Smart Camera features from the Galaxy S4 along with UI features like Multi Window and Air View.

Check out our Hands on Images below and stay tuned for the Video.

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 Images

Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 Images

Samsung Galaxy Mega Hands on Video

[youtube id=”VuyRU-HwzUs” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

Samsung GALAXY Mega 6.3 inches Product Specifications

Display	6.3-inch HD Super Clear LCD
Processor	1.7GHz Dual Core processor
OS	Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
Camera	Main (Rear): 8 megapixel rear-facing camera Sub (Front): 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera
Camera Feature	Auto ,Beauty Face, Best Photo, Best Face , Continuous Shot , Best face , Sound & Shot , Rich Tone (High Dynamic Range),Panorama , Sports , Night
Video	MPEG4 , H.263,H.264, VC-1, VP8 Recording/playback :1080@30fps
Audio	MP3, OGA , AAC , AAC+ , Eaac+ ,WMA, AMR-NB /WB FLAC , PCM , MID , IMY
Services & Additional Features	Group Play: Share Music, Share Picture, Share Document, Play Games
	Story Album, S Translator
	Air View, Multi Window, Pop Up Play
	Samsung ChatON mobile communication service
	Samsung WatchON
	Samsung Link, S Travel , S Voice 2.0
Connectivity	Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, WiFi Direct BT 4.0(BLE), USB 2.0 H/S GPS?GLONASS, NFC, MHL
Sensor	Accelerometer, light, Geomagnetic, Proximity, Gyroscope
Memory	16GB Internal Memory (microSD up to 64GB) ? 1.5GB RAM
Dimension	167.6 x 88 x 8.0 mm , 199g
Battery	Standard battery, Li-ion 3,200 mAh

Samsung GALAXY Mega 5.8 inches Product Specifications

Network	HSPA?21/5.76
Display	5.8-inch QHD TFT
Processor	1.4GHz Dual Core Processor
OS	Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
Camera	Main (Rear): 8 megapixel rear-facing camera Sub (Front): 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera
Camera Feature	Auto , Beauty Face, Best face , Continuous Shot , Best Photo, Sound &Shot , Panorama , Sports
Video	MPEG4, H.263 , H.264 , VC-1, DivX , Xvid , VP8 Recording/Playback: 1080@30fps
Audio	MP3, OGG,AAC , AAC+, eAAC+ ,WMA , AMR-NB/WB , FLAC , PCM , MID , IMY
Services & Additional Features	Group Play: Share Picture, Share Document and Play Games
	Story Album, S Translator
	Multi Window
	Samsung ChatON mobile communication service
	Samsung Link, S Travel , S Voice 2.0
Google Mobile Services	Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Latitude, Google Play Store, Google Plus, YouTube, Google Talk, Google Places, Google Navigation, Google Downloads, Voice Search
Connectivity	Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, WiFi Direct BT 4.0(BLE), USB 2.0 H/S GPS?GLONASS
Sensor	Accelerometer, Geomagnetic, Proximity, Light, Gyroscope
Memory	8GB Internal Memory (microSD up to 64GB) ? 1.5GB RAM
Dimension	162.6 x 82.4 x 9.0 mm, 182g
Battery	Standard battery, Li-ion 2,600 mAh

[toggle title=”Press Release”]‘Stay smart, Live Large’ with Samsung GALAXY Mega
New GALAXY Mega models offer the latest smartphone features with an extensive viewing experience.
Delhi, May 28, 2013 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today announced the launch of Samsung GALAXY Mega, a device that combines the portability and convenience of a smartphone with the power, multitasking capabilities and extensive viewing experience of a tablet. Two models of Samsung Galaxy Mega , with 5.8 inches and 6.3 inches screen sizes , are being launched .The newest addition to the GALAXY family , the Mega series balances an optimal viewing experience on a large screen, yet is ultra-thin and portable enough to put into a pocket or hold in one hand. The GALAXY Mega offers a mix of popular smartphone and tablet features such as an effortless user experience, a split screen, multitasking between video and other apps and more.
“Consumers in India as in other parts of the world are preferring the larger screen displays in their Smartphones owing to the time they spend doing more with their devices – staying connected with their work and friends/family , web browsing , extensive multimedia viewing and more,” states Mr. Vineet Taneja , Country Head , Samsung Mobile and Digital Imaging Business .“To meet the varying lifestyles of our consumers, we are very pleased to offer the GALAXY Mega which further enriches the product portfolio of our award-winning GALAXY series.”
Best of Both Worlds
The GALAXY Mega is an ideal choice for customers who want to get the most out of their device: device that brings great quality at an even greater value. The GALAXY Mega enables an exceptional widescreen view for various applications including web browsing, video, and SNS.
The GALAXY Mega is also light and thin for incredible portability and easy, convenient mobile phone use. Customers can stay connected with a variety of new phone features including:
Group Play: Enables easy content sharing of games, documents and pictures
Samsung Link: Easily streams photos, videos, notes, or music to your television, tablet or computer

S Translator: Say or text what you need translated into the GALAXY Mega, and it will provide instant translation, using text or voice translation on applications including email, and ChatON.

Productivity and Multimedia for the Multi-Tasker
GALAXY Mega users will accomplish more with the rich, interactive experience and increased usability of the widescreen mode. Split screen capability for a variety of applications including email, messages, ‘MyFiles,’ ‘S Memo,’ and more, makes for increased efficiency. With the popular ‘Air View’ feature available in the Galaxy Mega (6.3 inches), customers can preview information in emails, photos in Gallery, and speed dial contacts.
The GALAXY Mega is equipped with an enhanced 8 megapixel rear-facing camera with a 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera, along with a variety of camera modes including ‘Sound & Shot’ (captures 9 seconds of sound and voice together as the picture is taken to capture moments), ‘Sports’ and more. The device also packs various newly-introduced features for endless entertainment, including: ‘S Travel’: Provides trip information, local guides and resources and more and ‘Story Album’: Allows customers to create albums of daily events, keep special moments in one place using a timeline, geo-tag information and publish digital albums in hard copy.
Both GALAXY Mega 6.3 inches and 5.8 inches run on the latest Android 4.2 Jelly Bean experience, and feature Dual Core Processor, spacious internal storage along with up to 64GB of expandable memory to store favorite apps, music, videos, photos and more. The devices’ advanced software also facilitates more efficient processor use for improved battery life, meaning users can enjoy longer talk time and multimedia use.
Product Pricing: The Samsung GALAXY Mega 5.8 inches will be available in the market within a week , while the GALAXY Mega 6.3 inches will be introduced in the market in mid June 2013. While the GALAXY Mega with 5.8 inches qHD TFT Display screen is priced at Rs 25,100/- , the GALAXY Mega with 6.3 inches HD Super Clear LCD Screen is priced at Rs. 31,490/-.
The GALAXY Mega is being launched with special offers from RCom and Vodafone . RCom customers buying Samsung GALAXY Mega will get 2GB data per month free for 3 months as well as unlimited access to Big Movies Library , unlimited WhatsApp , Twitter , Facebook during this period . Vodafone customers too will get access to 2GB data download per month free for two months (3G + 2G).
About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in technology, opening new possibilities for people everywhere. Through relentless innovation and discovery, we are transforming the worlds of televisions, smartphones, personal computers, printers, cameras, home appliances, LTE systems, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. We employ 236,000 people across 79 countries with annual sales of US$187.8 billion. To discover more, please visit www.samsung.com.
Note to Editors:
Samsung GALAXY Mega 6.3 inches Product Specifications
Display
6.3-inch HD Super Clear LCD
Processor
1.7GHz Dual Core processor
OS
Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
Camera
Main (Rear): 8 megapixel rear-facing camera
Sub (Front): 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera
Camera Feature
Auto ,Beauty Face, Best Photo, Best Face , Continuous Shot , Best face , Sound & Shot , Rich Tone (High Dynamic Range),Panorama , Sports , Night
Video
MPEG4 , H.263,H.264, VC-1, VP8
Recording/playback :1080@30fps
Audio
MP3, OGA , AAC , AAC+ , Eaac+ ,WMA, AMR-NB /WB
FLAC , PCM , MID , IMY
Services
&
Additional
Features
Group Play: Share Music, Share Picture, Share Document, Play Games
Story Album, S Translator
Air View, Multi Window, Pop Up Play
Samsung ChatON mobile communication service
Samsung WatchON
Samsung Link, S Travel , S Voice 2.0
Connectivity
Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, WiFi Direct
BT 4.0(BLE), USB 2.0 H/S
GPS?GLONASS, NFC, MHL
Sensor
Accelerometer, light, Geomagnetic, Proximity, Gyroscope
Memory
16GB Internal Memory (microSD up to 64GB) ? 1.5GB RAM
Dimension
167.6 x 88 x 8.0 mm , 199g
Battery
Standard battery, Li-ion 3,200 mAh

Samsung GALAXY Mega 5.8 inches Product Specifications
Network
HSPA?21/5.76
Display
5.8-inch QHD TFT
Processor
1.4GHz Dual Core Processor
OS
Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
Camera
Main (Rear): 8 megapixel rear-facing camera
Sub (Front): 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera
Camera Feature
Auto , Beauty Face, Best face , Continuous Shot , Best Photo, Sound &Shot , Panorama , Sports
Video
MPEG4, H.263 , H.264 , VC-1, DivX , Xvid , VP8
Recording/Playback: 1080@30fps
Audio
MP3, OGG,AAC , AAC+, eAAC+ ,WMA , AMR-NB/WB , FLAC , PCM , MID , IMY
Services
&
Additional
Features
Group Play: Share Picture, Share Document and Play Games
Story Album, S Translator
Multi Window
Samsung ChatON mobile communication service
Samsung Link, S Travel , S Voice 2.0
Google Mobile
Services
Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Latitude,
Google Play Store, Google Plus, YouTube, Google Talk,
Google Places, Google Navigation, Google Downloads, Voice Search
Connectivity
Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, WiFi Direct
BT 4.0(BLE), USB 2.0 H/S
GPS?GLONASS
Sensor
Accelerometer, Geomagnetic, Proximity, Light, Gyroscope
Memory
8GB Internal Memory (microSD up to 64GB) ? 1.5GB RAM
Dimension
162.6 x 82.4 x 9.0 mm, 182g
Battery
Standard battery, Li-ion 2,600 mAh

? Availability and launching time of the services may differ by region.
? Android, Google, Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Latitude, Google Play, Google Plus, YouTube, Google Talk, Google Places, Google Navigation, Google Downloads and Voice Search are trademarks of Google Inc.
? All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.[/toggle]

May 28, 2013

LG Officially Launches the Nexus 4 in India – Rs. 25,999 /- (PR) (Hands On)
The Google Branded Nexus 4 was launched in the US, last year and was expected to reach India early December 2012. LG gave word today that it has officially launched the Google Nexus 4 Smartphone in India for a Price of Rs. 25,999 /-., talk about delayed Indian Standard Time. The Nexus 4 has been launched and is available through online as well as offline vendors.

Most of us are already familiar with the Specs and Features of the Nexus 4, and the fact that the latest version of Android is instantly seeded to owners. The roundup for the Nexus 4 includes, a Qualcomm SnapdragonTM S4 Pro CPU 1.5 GHz Krait, with Android 4.2 .2. The Display is a 4.7 inch 1280 x 768 px IPS LCD display with Gorilla® Glass 2. Read full Specs and PR below.

In either case the Nexus 4 seems like a better proposition than another Android 4.2 Smartphone launched today.

Nexus 4 Specification:
Display
Touch
Camera
Battery
Audio/Video
Data Connectivity
Memory
Processor
Advance Features
[toggle title=”Press Release”]New Delhi, 16th May, 2013:– Designed collaboratively by LG and Google, Nexus 4, the newest smartphone in the Nexus line-up from Google, was announced today for availability in India. With a sophisticated hardware design from LG, your favourite Google Apps, and the latest version of Android™, Nexus 4 puts the best of Google in the palm of your hand.

“LG Electronics is pleased to partner Google on the release of the Nexus 4 in India,” shared Mr. Soon Kwon, Managing Director, LG Electronics India. “We added the best of our talent to our strength, and the result is a feature- packed smartphone that packs superb hardware under a slim hood. With LG Nexus 4, consumers would be delighted by the perfectly balanced combination of style, function and power. The smartphone encourages consumers to explore a world of possibilities and also helps them balance between business and entertainment”

Built for speed
Nexus 4 comes with a cutting edge Qualcomm Snapdragon™ S4 Pro processor, so you’ve got speed and power to spare. Zip around the web, experience rich 3D graphics and gameplay, and effortlessly switch between multiple apps without ever missing a beat. With 2GB of RAM and the fastest version of Android ever, Nexus 4 is the snappiest Nexus smartphone yet.

Capture and share your world
Nexus 4 comes with a high performance 8MP camera and takes stunning Photo Sphere images, letting you capture every detail of the world around you. Up, down and all around you, it’s like no camera you’ve ever seen; with Nexus 4, you can snap pictures in every direction that come together into incredible, immersive Photo Spheres that put you right inside the scene. Plus, photos upload themselves with Instant Upload so you’ll never lose a shot.
All of this comes to life with stunning clarity and crisp, natural color on the vibrant 1280by768 4.7inch True HD IPS Plus display supported by Zerogap Touch technology. Gently curved glass edges allow your finger to slide smoothly on and off the 320ppi screen, while cutting edge display technology means you feel like you’re touching every pixel, protected by scratch resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass 2.

Information at your fingertips
Nexus 4 comes with the latest Google apps, putting the best of Google in the palm of your hand. The latest version of Google Now is built in, which keeps you even more organized – get reminders about upcoming flights, restaurant reservations, hotel confirmations and even nearby photo opportunities – when and where you need them. Get to the places you care about quickly and easily with Google Maps™ for Android. With turn by turn GPS navigation, live traffic info, and integrated driving, walking and public transit directions, getting from A to B has never been easier. 3D Maps and rich satellite imagery give you a more realistic sense of what’s around you while features like Street View and Indoor Maps make sure you always know what’s in front of you.

With this and a host of other new features, LG Nexus 4 is bound to transform and elevate a consumer’s smartphone experience. LG’s Nexus 4 is priced at Rs 25, 999 and will be available at selected LG exclusive brand shops, Multi brand outlets and speciality stores ( modern trade ) across India.

Specification:
CPU Qualcomm SnapdragonTM S4 Pro CPU 1.5 GHz Krait
Network Unlocked GSM/UMTS/HSPA+
GSM/EDGE/GPRS (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
3G (850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz)
HSPA+ 42
Dimension 133.9 x 68.7 x 9.1 mm
Operating System Android 4.2 .2
Weight 139g

Display
Type LCD/True HD IPS+
Size 4.7” diagonal
Resolution WXGA (1280 x 768) pixel resolution (320ppi)
Etc Corning® Gorilla® Glass 2

Touch
Type/Handwriting Zerogap/Yes

Camera
Main Camera 8MP
Flash LED 1EA
Front Camera 1.3MP HD

Battery
Capacity/Type 2,100mAh/Lipolymer
(Embedded)
Talk Time 11.9 hours (Tx power 10dm)
Standby Time 564.5 hours (DRX 8)

Audio/Video
Audio Codec MP3/AAC/AA+/eAAC+/AMR NB/ WAV/WMA/MIDI
Video Codec MPEG4/H.263/H.264
Audio Jack 3.5mm
2nd Microphone Yes

Data Connectivity
Bluetooth/USB/WiFI
3.0/2.0HS/802.11 a/b/g/n (Dual Band)
GPS/HDMI/NFC Yes with GLONASS Support / Yes (Slimport)/ Yes (Android Beam)

Memory
Internal RAM/ROM 2GB/16GB

Processor
Quad Core 1.5GHz

Advance Features
Wireless Charging Yes
Wireless Display Yes

About LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd.
LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of LG Electronics, South Korea was established in January 1997 in India. It is one of the most formidable brands in consumer electronics, home appliances, IT hardware and mobile communications space. In India for a decade, LG has earned a premium brand positioning and is the acknowledged trendsetter for the industry.
LGEIL’s manufacturing unit at Greater Noida is one of the most eco-friendly units among all LG manufacturing plants in the world. The second Greenfield facility is located at Ranjangaon; Pune has the capacity to manufacture GSM Phones, Colour Televisions, Air Conditioners, LCD TVs, Washing Machines, Refrigerators, Monitors and Optical Disc Drives.

About Google Inc.
Google is a global technology leader focused on improving the ways people connect with information. Google’s innovations in web search and advertising have made its website a top internet property and its brand one of the most recognized in the world.[/toggle]
May 16, 2013
Panasonic P51 Launched in India with 5 inch HD screen, Quad Core CPU, Magnetic Cover and Stylus

Panasonic at a press conference here in New Delhi, India, Has launched a new Android 4.2 Jelly Bean based smartphone. Dubbed the Panasonic P51, the device is powered by a Quad Core 1.2 Ghz CPU of an unspecified make. The Panasonic P51 also has 4 GB of internal storage and 1 GB of RAM.

The Exterior of the Panasonic P51 is designed mainly of plastic and the front consists of a 5 inch 1280 x720p HD IPS LCD display. For imaging the Panasonic P51 also has an 5 MP main camera and a 1.3 MP front facing camera capable of HD video.

This 3G enabled phone from Panasonic also has Dual Sim Capabilities and included in the box is a magnetic flip cover, that just like Apple’s iPad smart cover will turn on or off the display when flipped open or close respectively. The Panasonic P51 also has a massive 2500 mAh battery, and despite that remains 8.5 mm slim and 135 gms in weight.

This is Panasonic’s first foray into the “Budget Quad Core, Dual Sim” handsets and by the looks of the Phone is powered by the Mediatek 6589 Chipset as all the specifications align with the device.

UPDATE : The phone has been launched at a price of Rs. 26,900. A total of 10,000 more than expected. It has also been confirmed that the chipset on the inside is a Mediatek 6589 same as the one seen on the Canvas HD.

Panasonic P51 Hands On

The Panasonic P51 is only 8.5 mm thick, its got nice curves and a raised bezel sort of design which makes it appear, as if, the display is floating above the body. The ID is unique but it is certainly not premium looking, as Panasonic claims it to be.

The over all design of the phone seems ordinary, the front has a ASAHI made Dragon Trail glass, which Panasonic claims is better than Gorilla Glass. Panasonic also claims they have put in some camera features like smile shot and auto enhance, that seem to be just software implementations. Honestly the quality and the outlook does not seem justified for the price.

The fact that Panasonic claims that performance is top notch when compared to competition, is worry-some especially because one manages to buy two of the other units be it Micromax, Karbonn or any other for the price of this one unit.

At first is it factually clear that someone somewhere screwed up. The Price seems to have been royally messed up even if Panasonic has really managed to offer up the experience they say they have, on the flip-side LG has launched the Nexus 4 in India, which comes at a price cheaper than the Panasonic P51.

May 16, 2013
Oppo to launch Find 5 in India Starting Rs. 27,445

Oppo is prepping to launch its flagship phone the Find 5 in India for a price of Rs. 27,445 for the 16GB variant and Rs. 31,259 for the 32 GB variant. The company made famous by the Apple lawsuit in china is now foraying into international markets with their Android powered smartphones.

The Find 5 has a 5 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with 16M colors and 441PPI IPS pixel density with features technology that combines touch sensors like on the HTC One and LG Optimus G making the display float on top. Its screen is also protected by Gorilla 2 Glass and has the super slim 3.25mm bezel which makes it appear slimmer in profile.

The Find 5 features a 13-megapixel rear camera sensor which rivals that on the Xperia Z, Optimus G and Galaxy S4. The Sensor has Stacked CMOS technology with with HDR, it features an f/2.2 aperture, 4-layer coating and blue glass filters. The Burst mode enables100 photos at 5 frames per second .

The front facing camera has 1.9-megapixel resolution and will capture HD Video.

For hardware the Oppo Find 5 series has a Qualcomm APQ8064 Quad-Core processor clocked at 1.5GHz with the Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB RAM.

The Oppo Find 5 comes out of the box with Android 4.1.2 and their own custom UI, the handset will soon be updated to Android 4.2. Color options include a Black and a White version, and should go on sale in India in the coming weeks. Expect full reviews, with comparisons on iGyaan soon after.

May 14, 2013
Micromax A115 Canvas 3D Review

Micromax has recently taken the budget smart phone market with their Canvas Series in India. The Micromax A115 Canvas 3D is another addition to the lineup. Cheaper than the Canvas 2 at launch, the Canvas 3D adds a 3D Stereoscopic Display into the mix. Lets see how it fares out in our full review.

Display in 2D mode

Build Quality and Design

The Canvas series of phones including the Canvas 2 and Canvas HD are nicely built phones from Micromax. The Micromax A115 Canvas 3D takes it one step ahead. The back of the device is now coated with a soft touch material that makes the phone seem more robust and easy to handle. While the whole chassis is made of plastic it is able to withstand a couple of drops and high intensity jerks.

In terms of design the Micromax A115 Canvas 3D will be easily spotted from a distance, the unique build and design will also set it apart for those who want slightly premium looking phones. The ID of the phone resembles more HTC devices vs their previous obsession with Samsung Design. The phone does not appear to be the strongest phone at this time or even price, however it is well-built , looks and feels good in the hand.

[youtube id=”sJhvi6qdRhM” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

Hardware

The insides are laden with the previous-gen Mediatek 6577 chipset, which in terms of performance lacks behind, in comparison to many of the other devices available at a slightly higher price. Inbuilt storage remains at 4 GB, but the minute you insert a micro SD card the internal storage combines with the card enabling up to 34GB of capacity (32GB card + 2GB onboard). The RAM on the Canvas 3D is lower than required at 512 MB and you will see the grunt of it during gaming and application usage.

The Micromax A115 Canvas 3D’s name comes from the 5 inch 480 x 800 px Glasses-Free Stereoscopic 3D display, which turns on in certain applications including the 3D YouTube videos, certain apps from the 3D HUB and Picture preview. The camera is a 5 MP camera that combines two individually clicked images to make a 3D image, unlike other 3D phones which have dual sensors.

The power source is a 2000 mAh battery pack and is capable enough, read the battery section below.

3D Mode

Micromax A115 Canvas 3D and its Use

[pullquote_left]Economies of Scale vs Economies of Fail[/pullquote_left] So, a 3D display in a budget phone, what does that mean? Essentially, there are only two ways a technology becomes cheaper. One; if a tech has reached its saturation point, and enough development and numbers produced to make the process work for it, to make it cheaper (Economies of Scale). Two; if the technology was not successful to begin with and the stocks and design frameworks liquidate (Economies of Fail?). Well, Glasses Free 3D on mobile phone may as well be a part of the latter, while many companies including LG and HTC tried to make Glasses Free 3D phones. They were just not appreciated by the world, and eventually that technology thrown out. Nintendo used the Glasses Free 3D on their portable gaming console and that just did wonderfully well. The fact remains that the 3D technology is still at far from becoming mainstream, simply because it just does not look that good.

So thanks to the effect of expensive phones with this technology not being successful, the technology became cheaper, cheap enough to get fitted inside an under Rs. 10,000 phone for users to enjoy 3D content. Unfortunately there is no ALL time 3D switch , or any form of 2D to 3D conversion engine.

The content on 3D is also decent enough and enjoyed once in a while, and not all the time. So at the end it only plays to the fact that you have 3D in your phone, but you will not use it a lot.

Camera and Multimedia

The camera on the Micromax A115 Canvas 3D is a Fixed Focus 5 MP camera, that has a software ability to capture 3D images. Unlike standard 3D cameras which have two lenses, the Lens on the Micromax Canvas 3D utilizes time shift and user movement to capture a 3D image. The images are half decent and truly may not pass off as 3D images, unless the user is professionally focusing on the angle and the distance of the shot from the first click. Video shot is also poor quality, and is not shot in 3D mode. You do not have auto focus or tap to focus what so ever, the phone does recalibrate white balance and ISO for every picture taken.

Multimedia performance is good, you can enjoy 3D content on the Micromax Canvas 3D without the need of glasses. The viewing angles improve once in 2D mode, but are not great in 3D mode. The Micromax A115 Canvas 3D also has good sounding audio from the main speaker as well as through headphones.

[youtube id=”It_A9ayPcdM” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

Performance, Gaming and UI

Basic UI navigation within the interface was fast and fluid, we did face a bit of lag and it seemed that the phone held back when it came to performance. While the Canvas 2 did really well for Micromax, the Canvas 3D has the same performance only reduced by the 3D display’s punch of the graphics card.

In the case of the Micromax A115 Canvas 3D, almost all games are downloadable and installable thanks to the storage on memory card option. But, even though the phone can download, install and run almost all games, only basic games will work perfectly on this phone. The Canvas 3D does not have the capability of performing in games like NOVA 3 and Modern Combat 4, simply because of the lack of power under the hood. See out Gaming Video below.

The UI remains mostly vanilla, with only the addition of basic things like quick toggles in the notification panel, and custom apps and icons. Every other UI element looks and performs vanilla with the Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean OS, which comes as stock on the Micromax A115 Canvas 3D.

[youtube id=”EryyoYQFLRs” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

Phone and Networks

Phone call quality remained good throughout, with little or no dropped calls keeping the network strength in the high range. While the microphone and earpiece are great to use the Speakerphone is not as loud as some would expect.

Switching b/w Sim cards maybe still a problem, since both SIM slots don’t support 3G outright, only one fixed slot will run 3G at a time, creating issues in low or no network areas for that sim. You will get stuck on 2G or no data network on both sim cards.

Battery life

The Micromax A115 Canvas 3D has varied battery life as we demonstrate below, in normal usage the phone lasted a good 5-6 hours on talk time, add any online access etc., the battery life for talk time drops to just 3 hours.

[tabgroup]

[tab title=”Battery Life with 3G ON” icon=”icon-headphones”]Talk time : 5 Hours
Standby : 48 Hours
Gaming : 2-3
Online : 5 hours
Music 7 hours[/tab]

[tab title=”Battery Life with 3G OFF” icon=”icon-headphones”]Talk time : 6 Hours
Standby : 54 Hours
Gaming : 3
Online : 5 hours
Music 7 hours[/tab]

[/tabgroup]

Conclusion

While The Micromax Canvas 3D brings to the market which no other company is offering in the price bracket, one truly needs to understand the give and take for it. Does one really need the 3D feature? why not. If you are getting the same performance like other products in the price bracket and yet you get additional features, why would you refuse. For the sake of the argument, the A115 is as good as the A110 but with 3D powers.

If you want performance and gaming capabilities, you should seriously reconsider your price bracket, No, you cannot get a Samsung Galaxy S4 replacement in Rs. 10,000 not yet anyway.

More than anything the Micromax A115 Canvas 3D gives you yet another option in this wide array of phones in the market. If you were considering the A110 the A115 is another option to consider. In Our opinion Micromax has held back on their hardware capabilities and should have used the newer Mediatek Chipset instead of the outdated underpowered MTK 6577.

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May 11, 2013
Intex Aqua Wonder Quadcore Launched At Rs 9990, Aqua Glow, Active Appear Online

Intex has launched the Intex Aqua Wonder Quadcore for Rs. 9,990. A quad-core smartphone running on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.

In terms of specifications, the Intex Aqua Wonder Quadcore features a 4.5-inch capacitive 540×960 touchscreen with IPS panel screen technology. As the name suggests, it is powered by a MediaTek MT6589 quad-core processor and comes with 512MB of RAM. The smartphone has 1.93GB of internal storage, of which 1.93 GB is user accessible. The internal storage can be expanded by up to 32GB through a microSD card.

It has an 8-megapixel auto focus rear camera with dual LED flash and 2-megapixel one on the front. It is a dual-SIM smartphone (WCDMA+GSM). Other connectivity options include 3G video calling, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth 4.0. The Intex Aqua Wonder Quadcore is powered by a 1,800mAh battery.

Intex is giving a free pouch and screen guard along with a purchase of this smartphone.

Commenting on the launch of its quad-core phone, Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, GM – Mobile Business, Intex Technologies (I) Ltd. said, “At Intex, we endeavor to bring innovative mobile solutions to mobile users of today. Reaffirming our commitment to quality and pioneering technologies, the newly launched Aqua Wonder quad core smartphone is a step towards empowering consumers in semi-urban towns and cities with cutting edge technology at an affordable price.”

Apart from the launch of Aqua Wonder Quadcore, two more smartphones – Aqua Glow and Aqua Active have appeared on official Intex website. These smartphones will be powered by Android 2.3 and will be priced around the Rs 5,000/- mark.

April 15, 2013