The OnePlus DR-1 arrived on 1st April, this year. Hence, it was no surprise that most considered it an April Fool’s prank and had trouble taking it seriously. Well, we checked out the quadcopter and we have to admit that it is no joke.
Watch the Unboxing and Hands-On with the OnePlus DR-1 here:
Along with the unboxing and hands on, we also announced that we’re giving away a OnePlus DR-1 to one lucky winner. To play, all you need to do is share the following video on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook and tell us why you want it. Use the hashtag #iGDR1 and make sure your posts are public! Read the terms and conditions of the giveaway here.
Update: We’d like to congratulate the winner, Vishal Kalia. Hope you have as much fun flying the drone as we did!
Micromax’s subsidiary Yu Televentures recently updated its smartphone lineup with the new Yuphoria. The firm was striving to carve a niche in the developers community and has succeeded to a large extent. At a price of Rs. 6,999, the device has some exceptional features like its all-metal body and speakers that produce loud and clear sound. We put the device to test and checked its hardware and graphic capabilities.
Have a look at our full benchmark and hardware test along:
The smartphone boasts an impressive 5-inch display and is powered by a 64-bit 1.2GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 410. The Adreno 306 GPU takes care of the graphics quality of the phone, making the videos run quite well. The next device by YU packs the latest Cyanogen OS 12 based on Android Lollipop. The company has made use of its partnership with Cyanogen, which will surely give an edge to Yuphoria over other contenders.
We ran AnTuTu and NenaMark 2 on our device and here are its scores along with Redmi 2, and Moto E (Gen 2):
Test
Yuphoria
Xiaomi Redmi 2
Moto E (Gen 2)
AnTuTu
23,779
21,155
15,362
NenaMark 2
54.4fps
54fps
51.2fps
So, as you can see above, Yuphoria scored 23,779 in the AnTuTu test and 54.4fps in the NenaMark 2 test. It has left behind Xiaomi’s Redmi 2 and the latest low-budget Motorola product, Moto E (Gen 2). Although the device doesn’t deliver the best performance, given its economical price tag, it certainly is the best pick among other contenders.
Questions Answered:
There have been several queries regarding the OTG support on the device. We checked out this aspect and found that Yuphoria doesn’t support OTG. The smartphone doesn’t have a Notification LED light either.
Yuphoria sports a ‘Double Tap to Wake Up’ feature, which enables you to lock and unlock the screen with a double tap. Enable the option, and the screen will wake up when tapped twice. To lock the screen, do the same again on the status bar and nowhere else; your device will lock instantly.
As we’ve mentioned before, the YU Yuphoria is the first smartphone to integrate Truecaller. It is optional, and can be disabled easily.
We will soon come up with a full review of the blockbuster smartphone. Meanwhile, you can click here to watch our exclusive Unboxing and Hands-on video.
Not long after Micromax set up a new company by the name YU Televentures, and launched a new device called the YU Yureka, the company launched the new YU Yuphoria. The name for this device has been chosen by the people in the YU community, and the device is the first to be designed by YU and is Made in India.
A lot of firsts for the handset, including an all-metal shell, stamped out of a single billet of metal, adding strength and rigidity to the handset. The phone is best in class considering the class is well below the Rs. 10,000 bracket, it has been launched at a price of Rs. 6,999.
Hardware wise many differences from the Yureka, but the Yuphoria adds new detail in a way the company will move forward. A Qualcomm 410 64bit Chipset, with a 1.2 GHz Quad Core CPU and Adreno A306 GPU. 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage complete the pie along with 64 GB expandability option.
The handset has two SIM card slots, both of which will accept LTE enabled SIM cards, making this budget handset future proof.
The camera is a fast and bright 8 MP camera with a large 1.4 micron pixel size, and a sharp f2.2 lens with quick autofocus and minimal drain on battery. You can shoot upto 1080p video at 30fps and 720p video at 60fps. The front has a 5 MP camera which has a bright f2.0 aperture wide angle lens.
The battery is kept at 2230 mAh, but the phone will be one of the first under 10k devices to feature fast charging capability. The phone with the battery only weighs 140 gms which makes it really lightweight and easy to handle.
Specification
YU Yuphoria
Display
5-inch IPS HD
Resolution
1280×720 pixel (294ppi)
Additional
Protected by Gorilla Glass 3
Processor
1.2GHz Quad Core, ARM Cortex- A53
Chipset
Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 | 64bit
GPU
Adreno A306 3D Graphics Core | 400 MHz
RAM
2GB
Internal Memory
16GB
Expandable Up to
64 GB
Sim Cards
2 x LTE Enabled Sim Card Slots
Primary Camera
8MP
Secondary Camera
5MP
Connectivity Options
4G LTE
Battery
2,230mAh
Operating System
Cyanogen 12.0 (Android 5.0 based)
Price
Rs. 6,999
Hands On the Yu Yuphoria
The Phone feels great in the hands and the 5-inch size is a sweet spot, the grip is easy and seamless. The brushed metal band that goes round the side adds a reassuring soft feel and rigidity to the Yuphoria.
The UI is fast and responsive as the mashup of Cyanogen 12, Lollipop 5.0.2 and the Qualcomm 410 64 bit chipset works great out of the box. The new elements of the Cyanogen 12 include seamless integration of Truecaller directly in the dialer. The new App Themer allows you to customise individual applications with different downloaded themes.
The camera UI is exactly what you would have seen before on Cyanogen, the camera has good depth of field and a bright f2.2 lens. You can shoot 1080p video and 720p video at 60fps.
Overall YU has managed to deliver an excellent device which will have the competition scrambling for their design teams. Good hardware, great build, Made in India, Cyanogen 12 and Lollipop all make for an excellent product. Add dual Sim Cards, LTE, and fast charging and the Yuphoria looks like a winner to us, especially with the Rs. 6,999 Price Tag.
A few months back Micromax spinoff YU entered the smartphone arena with a bang. It’s first smartphone the Yureka was a blockbuster in the budget segment and raised the bar for low-cost handsets. The company’s new flagship, Yuphoria, is expected to take the affordable smartphone market by storm.
The homegrown smartphone firm is taking the veil off the Yuphoria, right here on iGyaan. In in iGyaan Exclusive Launchpad Episode : iGyaan’s Founder, Bharat Nagpal sat down with Rahul Sharma, the Founder and CEO of YU Televentures to discuss the future of YU as a brand, the Yuphoria and where the company goes from here.
The handset will be the first to be fully designed by YU Televentures (Or Micromax for that matter) and will keep up the current trend of “Make in India”. After the initial lot of 1000 odd units the handset will be manufactured locally within the Indian borders.
Samsung recently brought out their gold-plated smartphone, Samsung Galaxy S6 Gold, starting at a price of Rs 58,900 for the 32GB variant. Here, we unbox the device – iGyaan style!
As you can see, the phone sports a 5.1 inch Super Amoled screen with a QuadHD resolution with a total of 577 ppi. Powered 2600 mAh battery, the handset is available only with fixed storage of either 32GB, 64GB or 128GB, which are all based on UFS 2.0 (Universal Flash Storage). With 16MP primary camera, it is capable of shooting 4K video as well.
Connectivity options included in the phone are LTE Cat 6, Bluetooth 4.1 and WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac and globally unlocked variants will work on TDD and FDD LTE bands. The most eye-catching feature of this handset is its gold plate. It is also notable that the phone features Corning Gorilla Glass 4 glass panels on both the front and back. The metallic frame that holds the two panels gets a gold treatment too.
The curvy S6 Edge is priced at Rs. 58,900 for the 32 GB variant, Rs, 64,900 for the 64 GB and Rs. 70,900 for the 128 GB variant.
You can know more about the specs and features of the phone in the table below:
While the world puts its eyes onto MWC 2015, HTC has basically stepped on board with an excellent start. HTC has launched and announced a bunch of new products, also showcasing their connected concepts which include Connected Home, Connected Life, Connected Entertainment and Connected Self.
The new HTC One M9 falls right into their connected formula and is not a whole lot different from the HTC One M8; it follows in HTC’s design lineage and adds a whole lot of new elements. HTC claims that the new design is inspired by luxury and mostly luxury watches.
The new HTC One M9 has a newer notched design and a two tone finish, the gold bezels on silver is their hero product and will be available globally, a new graphite and an all gold will be available in select markets. The HTC One M9 still has a IR blaster and the native TV app has been replaced by the Peel remote app. The phone supports TDD and FDD LTE across the globe so is essentially a 4G world phone, and should work worldwide if you buy it unlocked.
The Golden Edge Looks Better
Spec wise you don’t see a major bump up either. However a more powerful 64 Bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 runs this handset along with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage. It sports a 5-inch screen with a 1920×1080 display. You do get micro-SD support upto 64 GB as well. Optics is where you see a major increase the new 20 MP shooter at the rear along with a 4 ultrapixel front camera make for a fashionable lot. The HTC One M9 also shoots 4k video natively and can parse it onto a class 10 card.
The battery on the inside is a 2840 mAh, bundled with Android 5.0.2 out of the box and the all new HTC Sense 7. HTC is touting excellent battery life on this iteration of the One.
HTC has also improved upon the camera app, allowing for better edits, filters and fun effects on the phone, along with a prismatic mode that indulges a trippy audience.
New Dot Case
Along with the HTC One M9, the company also introduced a flurry of cases, including a number of dot view cases. The new design has a transparent back and allows for more customization of what is visible from the dot matrix. You also have a fun game called dot-breaker included as a freebie.
New HTC M9 Cases
HTC has also made a rugged case with iP67 certification and 2 Meter drop resistance, giving you the rugged you have missed on the HTC One series in the past.
Samsung’s latest flagship and its edgier brother have made it into our hands and that too before the main global launch event.
Samsung Galaxy S5 and S6 Back
The Samsung Galaxy S6, just like the rumors, holds a new design language. Which unmistakably is inspired and looks almost identical to the Apple iPhone lineage, all glass front and back, infused onto a stainless steel bezel. Samsung may have finally grown up.
S6 Edge
The new Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is also a step in the right direction, while the device has dual edges the display’s continuity is not broken, as in the case of the Galaxy Note Edge, and the edge is mostly for aesthetic appeal.
Samsung has included quick charging and wireless charging capabilities in the new S6 and the S6 Edge, details of which should be available shortly.
Galaxy S6 Edge and Wireless Chargers
Spec wise Samsung has these bad boys fully loaded up with this years hardware, an all new Exynos Octa Core 2.1 GHz chipset along with 3 GB LPDDR4 RAM, the phone just like iPhone will be available in fixed storage sizes, however starting from 32 GB, a 64 GB variant and a 128 GB all based on UFS 2.0 (Universal Flash Storage). And yes, just like iPhones the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge will not have micro SD expandability.
New Bumper Case
Connectivity is pretty top notch LTE Cat 6, Bluetooth 4.1 and WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac and globally unlocked variants will work on TDD and FDD LTE bands so networks should not be a problem for Samsung this time around.
5.1 inch QuadHD Display
The Display is a all new 5.1 inch Super Amoled screen with a QuadHD resolution giving it a total 577 ppi of eye burning sharpness. The Galaxy S6 Edge on the other hand has a much more snappier Exynos Octa Core with 2.5 GHz and a slightly better 2600 mAh battery vs the 2550 mAh on the Galaxy S6 (non-edge.)
The pricing remains a question (which will be answered shortly), however it is rumored that the Galaxy S6 Edge will cost more than the Note Edge did at launch.
The Mobile World Congress is just around the corner and as always the expectations from the conference are high. We got together an amazing panel to discuss how MWC 2015 might influence the popular smartphone landscape. We have an excellent panel of Tech expert Ankit Vengurlekar AKA Gadgetwala, fashion blogger Sukhneet Wadhwa AKA Ms Coco Queen and Socialgiri Co-founder Suhail Ahmed Reshi.
Check out this fun panel in action right here on iGyaan.
If you like the video, then share the word around, and if you have any questions or queries, you can drop them in the comment section below or send out a tweet to @iGyaan.
Samsung came out with a plethora of devices at the 2015 Samsung Forum held in Bangkok, Thailand. The newest entrants in the 4G lineup are four handsets – Galaxy J1, Galaxy A7, Galaxy Core Prime and Galaxy Grand Prime. The company looked promising and the India Head of Samsung, Asim Warsi, took to the stage announcing that the firm will focus on bringing out more 4G devices to the market.
Meanwhile, we got an opportunity to get our hands on one of the devices, Galaxy Grand Prime 4G.
The Galaxy Grand Prime, as earlier said, is a 4G capable device and holds two SIM slots. At a thickness of 8.6mm, it couldn’t be considered slim, and the rounded edges give it more bulky look. With a plastic body, the Grand Prime weighs mere 156 grams. The design of the Galaxy Grand Prime is nothing extraordinary and is akin to the other Samsung models with similar key placement and identical build.
The handset comes in two colour options – white and grey.
Talking about the specifications of Galaxy Grand Prime 4G, then the smartphone boasts a 5-inch qHD TFT (960x540p) display and is equipped with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor. The device runs on Android 4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz UI on top, and there’s yet no notification if the device can be upgraded to Android 5.0 Lollipop. The smartphone sports an internal memory capacity of 8 GB (expandable up to 64 GB) and 1 GB RAM.
The Galaxy Prime Grand features an 8MP snapper at the back with LED flash and speakers. The front sports a good 5MP front camera that sits at the top of the 5-inch screen for clicking selfies. The back of the phone secures a 2,600mAh battery that powers up the device. Connectivity options like Bluetooth, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi and NFC.
Just like any other handset, the Galaxy Grand Prime holds the volume rocker on the left-hand side and power button on the right. The top of the rim has a 3.5mm audio jack and the bottom comprises of a USB slot for charging the device.
The Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime 4G support TDD-LTE (2300) 4G network used in India. The 3G variants of the smartphone are already available in the market, but this handset will hit Indian stores in March this year. Meanwhile, the company is tight-lipped about its price but is anticipated to be priced slightly higher than the J1, around Rs. 15,000.
Yesterday, Samsung at their annual Forum announced that they will be focusing more on releasing 4G smartphones for the Indian market. Keeping in line with their word, they went forward to announce four 4G devices. The Samsung Galaxy J1, is one of the devices. It was also the cheapest handset announced by the company yesterday.
The Galaxy J1 sports a 4.3-inch WVGA TFT display with 480×800 pixel density. It is equipped with 1.2GHz quad core processor and runs on Android 4.4 KitKat. It has an inbuilt memory of 768 MB RAM and 4 GB internal memory, which can be upgraded up to 128 GB via microSD slot.
Samsung has gone for a curvier look with the J1. The design is typical Samsung-style – touch capacitive buttons at the bottom, centre oval shaped home button and the logo placement is kept the same as every other model by the company.
The look and feel of the device is good, however it is slightly on the bulky side, especially when compared to the rest of the sleek devices recently launched by Samsung.
The Galaxy J1 features a 5MP rear shooter with Flash along with 2 MP front camera; the company should’ve considered going for a higher resolution cameras.
The Dual SIM handset gets powered up by a 1,850mAh battery. The device is available in blue, black and white colour variants. The model will come at Rs. 9,900 and will be available in India from the second week of March 2015.
The specifications are mediocre for the amount the company has priced the device. There are several devices in the sub-Rs. 10,000 segment, which offer way better specs, some even at lower prices.
In this fast-paced world, wouldn’t it be great if someone explained complex technology in the time your instant noodles cooked? We took it upon ourselves to bring the best of the information in one easy sized bite.
Welcome to ‘Tech In 2’, iGyaan’s latest show. Here you get everything you want to know about any gizmo or technology you desire. If you want to know about anything in the world of technology, leave a comment below, and we’ll bring out an episode for you.
To begin, we bring you this episode on 3D printing or additive manufacturing(AM). It is a revolutionary technology that will completely revolutionize the way we buy things. We explain how you can create almost anything from a small tool to an entire house using the technology. Feel free to share the video with someone you think needs the info.
Micromax’s new subsidiary Yu has made quite an impact in a short span of time with its new smartphone Yureka running on Cyanogen OS 11. The Yu Televenture has adopted new business practices similar to the likes of OnePlus and Xiaomi, relying on community driven ecosystem of CyanogenMod.
Check out our full benchmark and hardware test along with the gaming performance of the Yureka below-
Considering the price range, Yu Yureka packs quite an impressive combination of Cyanogen experience with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 which does 1.5 GHz on Octa-cores. The Yureka comes with Android 4.4.4 out of the box expected to be updated to the Lollipop soon.
The device came to our testing lab and we ran a Benchmark Test, the results are as below-
Test
Yu Yureka
Xiaomi Mi3
Moto G (Gen 2)
Antutu
28,359
30,537
17,159
NenaMark
55.0 fps
60.0 fps
57.5 fps
To test benchmarks, we started by running Antutu on the device. The device performed well up to its hype and got an impressive score of 28,359 . However, the handset lags behind the Xiaomi Mi 3’s score of 30,537.
Speaker is Muffled
We also ran the device through NenaMark 2 and the Yureka scored 55.0 fps. The number is a little low as compared to other competitive devices available in market such as Xiaomi Mi 3 and Moto G (Gen 2).
All in all considering the price bracket of this device it performs pretty well on the benchmark test and is a great device for gaming. Also check out the Unboxing and Hands On of this device on iGyaan and stay tuned for the full review of this device.
This week we saw a lot of excitement along with many highs and lows. Here are the past seven days summed up in a video:
The biggest news of the week was the launch of the new brand by Micromax called YU. The brand is a result of a collaboration between Micromax’s founder Rahul Sharma and custom ROM maker Cyanogen. The first phone from the brand is called Yureka and it has an impressive spec sheet and comes at a mind-blowing price.
Micromax was also in news for its infringement case against the Chinese phone manufacturer, OnePlus. This led to a temporary ban on the sale of OnePlus devices in India.
OnePlus also launched a powerbank this week. Known as the OnePlus Power Bank, it supplies 10,000 mAh of power, enough to provide three full charges for your smartphone.
The other major Chinese smartphone maker, Xiaomi had a better week than the last month. After banning the company from selling its devices in India, the court gave respite to the company to sell its Qualcomm chipset based devices. The first flash sale is scheduled for 23rd December.
Xiaomi also had a good week globally as it reached the fourth spot on the points tally of phone makers and ended up kicking out LG from the fifth spot. In just a span of one year the company has raised its market share from 1.5 percent to 5.2 percent. It stands just 0.1 percent behind No.3 spot holder Huawei. Samsung managed to hold on to the first spot with 24.4 percent market share while Apple managed to keep a steady hold on the market with 12.7 percent share.
Yet another Chinese manufacturer was in news. Gionee India head said that his company is ready to set up a manufacturing unit in India subjected to government clearance.
World’s thinnest phone also arrived in India this week. With only 4.75 mm thickness, the Vivo X5 Max is priced at Rs. 32,980.
Skype also brought good news for Indians when it offered free calling to US and Canada. Although this facility will last till 1st March 2015.
It was reported that WhatsApp may soon be available online. A leaked screen shot shows the HTML coding for a potential online avatar of the popular messaging app.
This week we got our hands on the Acer Liquid E700. It runs on the Android operating system and comes with a huge 3500 mAh battery. It is a one of a kind triple sim phone at a mere price of Rs. 11,900. It comes inbuilt with a 8MP led flash camera and a 1.2 Gz Quad Core Mediatek processor. It also comes with a 2 GB ram and 16 GB Internal memory.
Lava’s latest device, the Iris Win 1 has landed in our hands. Check out the unboxing of the new Lava Iris Win1. It runs on a Windows 8.1 operating system and was launched for a mere Rs. 4,999. It comes packed with a Quad Core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 5 MP primary camera, 1 GB RAM and 8 GB ROM.
