Tech Guru ~ samsung Galaxy S8 Review

Samsung has finally managed to leave its smartphone rivals far behind in the design segment. With the new Galaxy S8 flagships, the Korean tech giant has shown the world its prowess with respect to how smartphone technology can be powerful, and yet remain beautiful. Yes, the Samsung Galaxy S8 flagships are beautiful beasts. However, although they look pretty delicate, they are significantly tough. The S8 does show a great blend of beauty and power, and the Korean giant is showing the world a glimpse of how next generation smartphones could evolve.

If the Galaxy S7 was stunning in design then we're not exactly sure how to describe the Galaxy S8 apart from that it’s on another level. It makes its predecessor, and other phones, look rather dated.

Samsung has brought its edge screen technology to both phones this year so you don't need to buy the larger Galaxy S8 Plusto get the full experience. This not only looks great but has a big advantage when it comes to keeping the size of the phone from getting out of control.

Design and build : -

The S8 is pretty much the same width, thickness and weight compared to its predecessor. It's just a few millimetres taller but jumps from 5.1- to 5.8in when it comes to screen size. So what would typically be an unwieldy device feels barely any different in the hand.

It's a really impressive piece of craftsmanship largely down to significantly reducing the bezels at the top and bottom. A screen-to-body ratio of over 83 percent is impressive stuff.

The physical home button and accompanying capacitive keys are gone to achieve this. Now you have on-screen navigation and a pressure sensitive home button built into the display – we'll talk about this more later.The fingerprint scanner is now on the back but quite awkwardly next to the camera rather than below it. Right-handed users are likely to smudge the camera when using it. This is our main bugbear in terms of the design and it should really be below the camera, despite creating an unsymmetrical look. 

A lot of users will be pleased to hear that Samsung has retained the headphone jack on the bottom. The Galaxy S8 is made from a lot of glass once again so it’s a little slippery but has a Gorilla Glass 5 back to resist damage. You'll probably want to get a case to protect this expensive slab of metal and glass, though, which is a shame considering the outstanding design.

As you'd expect the Galaxy S8 is fully dust and waterproof like its predecessor so has an IP68 rating. That extra button you see on the left side of the phone is to quickly launch Bixby, Samsung's artificial intelligence assistance – see the software section for more on this.

There are five colours to choose from but in the UK we'll get three at launch: Midnight Black, Orchid Grey and Arctic Silver (the latter with arrive at at later date). Samsung may well bring the blue and gold options at the later date but we'll have to wait and see

Featurs and hardware :

Compared to the Galaxy S7, the new Galaxy S8 isn’t dramatically different when it comes to the specs and hardware on offer. That's partly because the S7 ticked a lot of boxes but there are new components with the screen being the most obvious and impactful change.

Infinity Display

As mentioned in the design section, Samsung has impressively jumped from 5.1- to 5.8in when it comes to screen size. This is despite the phone only being a little taller in shape. If that's not big enough, the Galaxy S8 Plus is a whopping 6.2in.

Like the LG G6, the Galaxy S8's display had rounded corners which look great, matching the curvature of the phone's metal frame. Samsung has also opted for a similar aspect ratio of 18.5:9 meaning the screen is very tall (or wide in landscape). Samsung calls it the 'Infinity Display'. Read: Galaxy S8 vs LG G6.

You can fit more on the screen, of course, and the aspect ratio suits content like videos m inuch better so you can, depending on the source content, watch videos without annoying black bars. Depending on what you're viewing, the viewing area is up to 36 percent bigger.

The phone sticks to Samsung's preferred SuperAMOLED display technology ensuring great contrast and colours. The Galaxy S8 screen resolution is WQHD+, 2960x1440 in this case because the screen is so tall. A pixel density of 570ppi is enough for anyone.

It's worth noting that it defaults to Full HD+ (2220x1080) but you can change it in the settings if you wish. The lower resolution improves graphics performance and also aids battery life without a noticeable drop in quality. If you want, you can also drop it down to 1480x720.

Specs aside, the Galaxy S8 also now has the well-known edge screen as standard so there's no need to buy the edge version any longer (like the Galaxy S7 edge). The curve is more subtle than previous edge devices, though, so you just have the edge panels rather than any other additional functionality.

There are some new features to make the screen easier to use one-handed which we'll cover in the software section, and the display is always-on should you want it to be.

One last thing to mention about the screen is that it has Mobile HDR Premium certification by the UHD alliance. The ability to display HDR content sounds good but you'll only get it with certain titles on Amazon Prime Video. More partners will be announced.

Tech Guru :- Xiaomi Mi Note 4

Xiaomi launched the next handset in the Redmi series, the Redmi Note 4 powered by SD 625. The price starts from Rs. 9,999.
The Redmi Note 4 box pack contains handset, SIM tray ejector pin, user manual, warranty card, data cable and travel charger. The Note 4 SAR values are : 0.375W/Kg.

Design, Display and OS

The Redmi Note 4 looks similar when compared with the Redmi Note 3, however there are some minor changes. This handset is using a metal body (top and bottom part – darker shades is plastic). Build and finishing is very good. Weight with battery is 165 grams and dimensions are 76 x 151 x 8.4 mm.

This is a dual SIM handset you can use Micro SIM + Nano SIM or Micro SIM + Micro SD card. 4G with VoLTE is supported. Reliance Jio SIM worked.

There is LED Notification, you can change the colors. Redmi Note 4 is packed with good number of sensors – accelerometer, light, proximity, gyro, hall and magnetic.

This Redmi handset sports a 5.5 inch screen with 2.5D curved glass supporting 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution. Touch is smooth and color reproduction, viewing angles are very good.

Redmi Note 4 sails on MIUI 8 based on Android marshmallow. It will get Android Nougat update later on.

Memory and Storage

Note 4 comes with 2GB or 3GB RAM with 32GB ROM or you can go for the 4GB RAM variant with 64GB ROM. OTG is supported. On first boot you will get around 56GB free space and on the 4GB RAM variant you will get around 2 GB free RAM.

Performance

The Snapdragon 625 octa core 64 bit processor clocked at 2GHz with Adreno 506 GPU does an excellent job. Though the benchmark scores are lower than Redmi Note 3 you will hardly notice any difference in the performance.

Best part is that the handset does not heat up. The maximum battery temperature I encountered was 37 degrees. In fact when compared with other handsets the battery temperature is way low (also not to forget its winter season), but still temp is lower compared with other handsets.

Benchmark

AnTuTu : 61862 / 12860  2^nd time 62428  / 12925
Nenamark 2 : 60.1fps
Disk Speed : 216 MB/s read / 151 MB/s write
Multi Touch :10 point

Gaming

Both Modern Combat 5 and Asphalt 8 games were playable, smooth, no lags. The best part was the handset battery temperature – max battery temperature I encountered was 37 degrees. .

Redmi Note 4 did not heat up when playing games. Perfect for gaming users, especially those who spend a lot of time playing games on their mobile phone.

Camera

There is 13MP camera on the back and 5MP on the front. Camera quality is above average (make sure to update the OS / also check this page for Redmi Note 4 camera review video). Note 4 can shoot FHD videos. The hardware is powerful, it can play 4K, but the camera app gives max 1080p recording option.

XIAOMI MI 6 Launching In India At The End Of May.

Mi 6 will be the new Flagship phone from  Mi.It might Launch at end of the May says the sources .This is a Snapdragon 835 octa core powered handset packed with 6GB RAM, 64GB ROM (internal storage) and comes with dual cameras on the back with 5.15 inch screen.

Features and specifications

The Xiaomi Mi 6 houses the qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (10nm) octa core processor coupled with Adreno 540 GPU. Antutu score – 184292. Mi 6 features a 5.15 inch screen supporting 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution. There is 6GB RAM, 64GB ROM. This is a dual SIM handset, there is no external card slot support.

Mi 6 is using stainless steel frame with high gloss, it also comes with 4 sided 3D curved glass that gives a more smoother feel / more rounded corners. MIUI 9 runs out of the box. Front camera is 8MP and rear camera. There are dual cameras (12MP wide angle + 12MP telephoto camera with 2x lossless zoom) on the back. Camera also comes with 4 axis OIS.

Other features are 4G LTE, VoLTE, 3G, 2G, GPS, dual speakers on the front, WiFi, Finger Print sensor, NFC, Scratch resistant, splash resistant and Bluetooth. A 3350 mAh battery powers this handset.

Xiaomi Mi 6 Expected Price In India

Mi 6 price (6GB+64GB) =  approx Rs.23,000
Mi 6 price (6GB+128GB) = approx Rs. 27,000
Mi 6 price (ceramic) (6GB+128GB) =  approx Rs. 28,000

Tech Guru - Micromax Canvas Knight 2 octa core with 4G support launched for Rs. 16299

Micromax launched the Canvas Knight 2 E471 an octa core powered smartphone (64 bit) with dual SIM slots and 4G support in India for a price tag of Rs. 16,299. The handset also comes with Airtel’s 4G double data offer.

The Micromax Canvas Knight 2 E471 is powered by qualcomm snapdragon 615octa core processor clocked at 1.5GHz. It is running Android Lollipop 5.0 out of the box with 2GB RAM (DDR3) and 16GB of internal storage along with micro SD card support.

Micromax E471 comes with a 5 inch screen – it’s AMOLED display supporting 1280 x 720 pixels resolution. The screen is also protected with corning gorilla glass. A 13Mp AF camera is packed on the back using the Sony IMX214 CMOS sensor with LED flash support. The 5MP front fixed focus camera is using Omnivision OV5648 sensor.

Key features are 4G, 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth and Cirrus logic Wolfson Stereo WM8998 audio. Knight 2 gets power from a 2260 mAh battery that as per the company will give up to 7 hours of talk time on a single charge.

Micromax Canvas Knight 2 will be available on Snapdeal for Rs. 16,299

OnePlus 2 unveiling in Hong Kong in June 2015

The next handset from OnePlus company will be called the OnePlus 2, now that is officially confirmed. The company will soon launch this handset in Hong Kong probably in the month of June. There is no official confirmation yet about the launch date.

OnePlus has already sent out email regarding the launch of OnePlus 2 with tagline ‘Get ready for the OnePlus 2′, no official launch date has been mentioned. The email also talks about the contest wherein users can share their videos and photos and get a chance to will an all paid trip to Hong Kong to witness the launch event.

Now even the official specs are not yet unveiled but at per rumor floating around, the OnePlus 2 could house the qualcomm snapdragon 810 chipset with Adreno 430 GPU. The handset could come packed with 3GB RAM and optional 16 GB / 64 GB storage options.

We can expect a better and high resolution camera and probably high resolution screen. It is hard to say what the OnePlus 2 will come packed with but the kind of impression the OnePlus One had made on the users, the  expectations will be high.

Tech Guru - Xiaomi Mi4 64GB price dropped, now available for Rs. 19999

Xiaomi , tweeted about something dropping, well it is the Mi4 64 GB price tag. The Mi4 (64 GB) was initially launched for Rs. 23,999 and as of now the same handset with 64GB storage space will now be available for Rs. 19,999 – a Rs. 4K drop.

Mi4 is powered by qualcomm snapdragon 801 MSM8274AC quad core processor coupled with Adreno 330 GPU. It is running MIUI 6 with 3GB RAM and 64GB storage. Users will get about 59 GB free space. Unfortunately the handset does not support 4G.

The IPS JDI OGS touch screen is of size 5 inches supporting 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution. This single SIM handset comes with 13MP AF camera packed on the rear with LED flash and an 8MP camera on the front.

Key features are 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n/ac), GPS with GLONASS/ Beidou and Bluetooth 4. The Mi4 gets power from a 3080 mAh battery.

Micromax Canvas Hue 2 with 5 inch AMOLED screen listed for Rs. 11736

A new model from Micromax the Canvas Hue 2 A316 is listed on ebay.in for Rs. 11,736. Mahesh Telecom had also tweeted about the specs. As per Mahesh Telecom the handset is powered by octa core processor whereas on ebay.in it is mentioned that the handset is powered by quad core processor.

The Micromax Canvas Hue 2 sports a 5 inch screen with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution. It is using an AMOLED screen. There is some confusion about the processor not sure if it is octa core or quad core, the model is also not yet listed on the Micromax official website.

Android KitKat runs out of the box with 2GB RAM, 16GB storage and 32GB micro SD card support. There is a 13MP AF camera with flash on the rear and a 5MP camera on the front. Key features are 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth.

The Hue 2 gets power from a 2000 mAh battery. This handset is available for Rs. 11,736 from ebay.in

HTC Desire 526G+ will be available on Snapdeal soon for Rs. 10K

HTC Desire 526G+ is octa core powered smartphone clocked at 1.7GHz. What makes it unique is that it is being offered by a premium brand ‘HTC’ for a price of Rs. 10,000. The handset is listed on Snapdeal with a coming soon status.

HTC Desire 526G+ will be running Android 4.4 with HTC Sense UI plus HTC BlinkFeed. It is powered by 1.7GHz Octa Core processor with 1GB RAM, 8GB storage and micro SD card support. The touch screen display is 4.7 inches supporting 960 x 540 pixels resolution.

An 8MP auto focus camera is placed on the rear and there is a front camera too of 2MP resolution. Rear camera can shoot 720p videos. Key features are 3G, 2G (EDGE/GPRS), Wi-Fi (b/g/n), GPS with A-GPS and Bluetooth 4.0. It is a dual SIM handset with a weight of about 154 grams and it is 9.8mm thick.

A 2000 mAh battery powers up the handset giving an estimated talk time of up to 10 hours and standby time of up to 600 hours on a single charge.

The HTC Desire 526G+ will be available exclusively on Snapdeal for Rs. 10,000 within few days. The first 3000 customer will get an 8GB memory card for free. Users can also avail 5% cashback on HDFC Debit cards.

HTC Desire 816G upgraded to Octa core priced at Rs. 19990

HTC has launched another Desire 816G model in India. There are two HTC Desire 816G handsets, the older one with quad core processor and the latest one with octa core processor. The octa core version will be available for Rs. 19,990.

The new Desire 816G sports a 5.5 inch screen with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution. It is powered by unknown 1.7GHz octa core processor (probably MediaTek). This dual SIM handset will be running Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box with HTC Sense UI.

This handset weighs about 157 grams and it is 7.9mm thick. There is a front facing fixed focus camera of 5MP resolution and a rear auto focus camera of 13MP resolution with flash. The camera can shoot 1080p videos. There is 1GB on board RAM, 16GB on-board storage and micro SD card slot (32GB max).

Key features are 3G, 2G, GPS with A-GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. This handset comes loaded with a 2600 mAh battery. HTC Desire 816G with 1.7GHz Octa Core processor will hit the stores for Rs. 19,990. The older quad core powered 816G is available for Rs. 18,471.

Micromax A96 Canvas Power now available for Rs. 9900

The Micromax A96 also called the Canvas Power is now available for a price tag of Rs. 9,900. This handset houses the 1.3GHz quad core processor (MTK 6582M with Mali 400 GPU) and comes with a marathon battery of 4000 mAh capacity.

With the 4000 mAh battery you can expect almost double the battery backup; however it will also take few extra hours to charge the battery to 100%.  The Micromax A96 houses a 5 inch screen with FWVGA (854 x 480) resolution with 16M colors. There is 5MP fixed focus with 720p video recording

This dual SIM handset runs on Android 4.2 Jelly bean OS with 512MB and 4GB storage (Micromax website has still not updated the specifications). Other common features you can expect are  3G, 2G, Wi-Fi, GPS with A-GPS support and Bluetooth.

The main attraction is the 4000 mAh battery (also check Gionee M2) apart from that the hardware and design looks the same that we have seen on other handsets. Micromax Canvas power A96 – Conversations CAN be endless is now available on MMX Store for Rs. 9,990 with COD facility and 7 to 10 working days replacement guarantee.

source ; gogi

TechGuru ;- Gionee GPad G4 and M2 officially launched for Rs. 19K and Rs. 11K

The Gionee GPad G4 and the Gionee M2 were already revealed a few months back, but now they have been finally launched (officially) in India for Rs. 18,999 and Rs. 10,999.

The GPad G4 comes with a big wide angle screen of 5.7 inches with HD resolution. The G4 is powered by 1.5GHz quad core processor (cortex A7) with PowerVR SGX 5XT. It comes with an aluminum uni-body running Android 4.2 with 16GB internal storage and 1GB RAM. It seems the external card slot is missing.

There is 13MP rear AF camera with LED support and 5MP front camera. FHD video recording and playback is supported. The Gionee GPad G4 is 7.95mm thick and comes with 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi (b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS. The battery is 3200 mAh capacity with upto 14 hours talk time on 3G and 26 hours on 2G.

Gionee GPad G4 is now available in silver and graphite black color for Rs. 18,374.

The Gionee M2 on the other hand sports a 5 inch screen with 854×480 pixels resolution. It is 10.5mm thick. This handset comes with 8MP rear AF camera with LED flash and 2MP front camera. HD video recording is supported.

On board hardware used is the MediaTek 1.3GHz cortex A7 quad core chipset with Mali 400 MP GPU. Android 4.2 runs the show with 1GB RAM and 4GB storage. Micro SD card is supported.

Other features are 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth. The Gionee M2 houses a massive battery of 4200 mAh capacity with up to 32 hours talktime on 2G and 24 hours on 3G.

Source ; gogi

Rumor: Micromax Splash waterproof and dust proof phone in the pipeline

   MMXnewscaster latest tweet is about Micromax gearing up to launch a waterproof phone      (IP67 certified). Though it is still unconfirmed – treat it as a rumor until we get some             concrete evidence.

The waterproof technology using the nano coating already exists. The Moto G probably is coated with the same waterproof chemical. I have seen this technology in action; the hardware and even the batteries can be coated. The chemical cannot be used on the inner screen, hence OGS screen is recommended.

Once coated the handset can be submerged in water (1m deep) for about 30 minutes. If the hardware and the batteries are coated with this waterproof chemical there is no need to seal the handset  – for example covering the 3.5mm jack, micro USB port and any such opening.

If you accidentally drop such handset in water, just open up the battery compartment and let it dry for few hours and it will work. Let’s see what Micromax comes up with and would specially be interested in the price, the waterproof technology is not that costly.

source ;gogi

How To Pre-Book Micromax Canvas 4

Finally the Micromax Canvas 4 pre-booking link is now active on the MMX website. Interestingly Micromax has not yet disclosed any details about the new handset, instead the Pre-booking page is accepting an amount of Rs. 5000 and the rest to be paid later.

The pre-booking link was unveiled early morning on 28^th with Rs. 1 as the pre-booking amount, many users used that opportunity to book the handset but they got another mail from Micromax, apologizing, the Rs. 1 was refunded, probably Micromax was testing the system.

As of now the handset can be pre-booked by paying Rs. 5000. The page clearly mentions that the Canvas 4 details will be revealed on 8^th July and those who pre-booked now can pay the rest of the amount later (The handset price tag has also not been disclosed). The product will be available from 10^th July and will be shipped within 7 days.

There is an option of refund in case you are not happy with the product specifications and / or the price. I have pre-booked the Canvas 4 handset now and let’s see if it’s worth paying the rest of the amount or there is always the refund option.

Update : Booking started from 12PM and by 7PM, 4000+ users had already booked (as per figures given by Micromax).

Micromax A92 Canvas Lite with dual core processor

Micromax has silently launched the Micromax A92 the lite’r version of canvas. The Micromax Canvas Lite A92 comes with a 5 inch screen and is powered by a dual core processor. It is priced at Rs. 8,499.

The A92 looks similar to the Micromax A110. This dual SIM handset sails on a 1GHz dual core processor with Android 4.1.2. The 5 inch screen is with WVGA resolution. The Micromax A92 is 10.8mm thick. RAM is 512MB and ROM is 4GB.

The camera on the rear is of 5MP resolution, it is fixed focus camera with flash support. There is no mention of secondary camera (front facing) but looking at the product image it does seem to have one. The Micromax A92 supports 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. Battery is of 2000 mAh capcity.

The price does look a bit on the higher side especially with a 5MP fixed focus camera. We are not sure yet if this handset is using MediaTek or Qualcomm processor.

Micromax A92 Canvas Lite key features and specifications

• Dual SIM (GSM+GSM).
• Dual core clocked at 1GHz (Chipset unknown).
• Android 4.1.2.
• 5 inch capacitive screen with 800×480 pixels resolution – 16M colours.
• 5MP rear with flash, fixed focus + front fixed focus VGA camera.
• 512MB RAM, 4GB and micro SD support.
• 3G (7.2Mbps), EDGE/GPRS (class 12), Wi-Fi (b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, micro USB and 3.5mm universal audio jack.
• Sensors: G-Sensor, proximity and light sensors.
• Li-ion 2000 mAh battery with up to 6 hours of talktime.
• Price Rs. 8,499

Micromax A91 review and Unboxing – The dual core Ninja

The Micromax A91 sails on the ICS OS with 512MB RAM and powered by a dual core processor. The handset sports a 5MP camera and a touchscreen of 4.5 inches. The Micromax A91 is also called the Micromax Ninja A91 and is priced at Rs. 8,499.

Box Pack
The SAR value as mentioned on the box pack is 0.824 W/kg @1g (head) and 1.14W/kg@ 1g(Body). Inside the pack there is the Ninja A91, battery of 1800 mAh capacity, USB to micro USB cable, power adapter, standard earphone, goodies, hookup guide, user manual, warranty statement and a free screen guard.

Lava Iris 455 review and Unboxing – 4.5 inch dual core smartphone with Jelly Bean OS

The lava Iris 455 comes powered by the same chipset that powered the Lava Iris 501 handset. The 455 sports a smaller 4.5 inch screen with dual core processor and a 5MP rear auto focus camera. The handset is priced at Rs. 7,799.

Iris 455 Box Pack
Inside the box there is the lava 455 handset with an additional free cover. You get a black and a silver back cover. In addition there is a screen guard, data cable, power adapter, battery of 1500 mAh capacity, earphone and user manual.

Design and Display
The handset is light weight at 120 grams with 9.9 mm thickness. After using a 5 inch handset you will really start liking it especially if you were not comfortable with a 5 inch screen. The finishing is very good and the silver line on the sides gives it a premium look. You can switch the rear cover to black or sliver and both blend well.

There are 3 backlit buttons on the front side. The backlit buttons are better visible in the dark. When you plugin the charger the middle backlit button LED turns red (see image) and when the charging is over 90% to 100% it will turn green. Unfortunately the LED does not light up for notifications.

All the buttons (power / volume rockers) are on the left side. The micro USB and the 3.5 mm jack are placed on the top side. The handset comes with G-Sensor, light, proximity and magnetic sensors. Though, the box pack does not mention anything about the magnetic sensor.

The capacitive touchscreen display is 4.5 inches with qHD resolution (960×540 pixel ~ 244.77 ppi) resolution. The viewing angle is okay, and the font/ picture quality is pretty sharp. The touch is smooth and I did not find any issues.

Processor and Benchmark
Lava Iris 455 is a dual SIM, dual core handset with the MTK6577 chipset with PowerVR SGX 531 GPU. The same hardware as on the Micromax A110, Xolo A700, Xolo B700,Xolo A800 and Lava Iris 501 to name  a few.

Benchmark scores

• Quadrant Benchmark: 2694.
• Antutu Benchmark: 5987.
• Nenamark2: 24.0 fps.
• Linpack : Single 39, Multi 63.
• Multi Touch: 5 point.

RAM, Storage and OS
The handset comes with 512MB RAM and 4GB storage with micro SD card slot (32GB support). The free RAM is 190MB and 786MB is allocated for app of which 701MB is free and 1.77 GB free as internal phone storage. The handset runs on the Android Jelly Bean 4.1.1 OS. You can install apps on the external SD card.

5MP Camera and Entertainment
The still camera output is good. It can record videos in 720p at under 20fps. This may seem low but hold on. First of all I missed out another option i.e. in video mode there is the fine option that can record 720p videos and another HD option that can record in 1080p resolution. There is an option in setting -> battery – CPU Power saving mode. Now if you switch that on you will get a very low frame rate when recording videos, but if you switch that off you can get up to 30 fps. So in all the camera can record 720p at 30 fps and 1080p at around 15fps. However the camera quality is not very good. I feel the camera quality is better on Celkon A200 and slightly better than on the Xolo A700.

You can check the sample images and videos at the end of the article.

The handset can play 720p videos with ease. I did try playing 1080p videos that did work for few seconds but then started lagging. Full HD playback is not that smooth.

Others
There is 3G (HSDPA 7.2Mbps), 2G (class 12), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3, GPS with A-GPS, 3.5mm jack and micro USB. All worked pretty well. The sound (loudspeaker / in call) is loud and clear. I got the first GPS lock in less than 10 seconds.

Battery
The 1500 mAh battery gives talktime of up to 6 to 8 hours depending on 2G or 3G network. There is a CPU power saving mode in battery settings that will limit the CPU usage to conserve battery life and also lower the temperature.

I charged the handset to full 100% day 1 @10:10 PM and the next day at 9:30PM then battery level was at 15 % asking for to connect to charger. At all the time 3G was on, had received 4 calls of less than a minute watched some videos, used the camera, surfed, chat, used whatsapps etc. For moderate usage the battery will last for over 19 hours.

Tech Guru Samsung Galaxy S4 launched listed on Flipkart for Rs. 41500

As expected, Samsung did launch the Samsung Galaxy S4 today, in India, for a premium price of Rs. 41,500. The handset will hit the stores tomorrow and is already listed on the Flipkart website as forthcoming item (release date 27^thApril 2013).

The Galaxy S4 handset will be available in as many as 50 countries round the globe by April end. The good news is that the Exynos version (Octa core) has been launched in India. The iPhone 5 is priced at Rs. 45,500 and price wise the Galaxy S4 seems a cheaper option with the HTC one @ 42K.

The low cost brands especially the Micromax with their hot selling products like Micromax A110 and the Micromax A116 have attracted many users and that has forced Samsung to re-work its strategy in India. In fact they are already working on it and are offering 15% cash back, 0% EMI etc on some Galaxy handsets / tablets. This strategy did seem to work, especially with the Samsung Galaxy Grand model.

Huawei Ascend Y300 Full Specifications,Features and Price

Huawei Ascend Y300 a dual core handset will soon be available for Rs. 7,980. The handset is already showing up on the Flipkart website and can be pre-booked. The handset is expected to be released this week (1^st week of April).

The Ascend Y300 is with Qualcomm ARM Dual core powered processor (Cortex-A5) clocked at 1GHz. The handset is 11.2 mm thick with a weight of 130 grams. The screen resolution is 800×480 over a 4 inch screen with 16M colors.

There is primary auto focus camera of 5MP resolution and a secondary camera of VGA placed on the front side. Video recording of up to 854×480 pixels is supported. The RAM is a modest 512MB with internal storage of 4GB along with micro SD support of up to 32GB.

Other key features included are 3G (7.2Mbps), 2G class 12, Wi-Fi with hotspot, micro USB with Tethering, Bluetooth with Tethering, GPS with A-GPS and  3.5 mm audio jack. There is built in FM for on the move live entertainment.

The Huawei Ascend Y300 comes with G-Sensor, light, magnetic and proximity sensors. The price seems okay but it’s the Qualcomm dual core processor and it’s single SIM, if possible look out for a MediaTek dual core handsets as they perform better.

Huawei Ascend Y300 Key features and specifications

• 1GHz Dual core Qualcomm Cortex A5 (MSM7227A) + Adreno 200 GPU.
• Single SIM.
• Jelly Bean 4.1.
• 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage and micro SD support.
• 4 inch TFT LCD screen with 800×480 pixels resolution (16M colors).
• 5MP AF rear camera, front VGA camera. Video recording supported up to 480p resolution.
• 11.2 MM thick and 130 Grams weight.
• 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, micro USB, FM radio and 3.5mm jack.
• Sensors: Proximity, G-sensor, magnetic and light sensors.
• 1730 mAh battery with up to 5 hours talktime and over 300 hour’s standby time.
• Price Rs. 7980

Tech Guru Xolo A1000 Review

The Xolo A1000 sports a 5 inch IPS screen with HD resolution powered by a 1GHz dual core processor with 8MP camera with BSI sensors and running on Jelly Bean OS. The handset is priced at Rs. 13,999.

Box Pack
Inside the white box pack you will find the handset, screen guard, power adapter, USB to Micro USB cable, battery of 2100 mAh capacity, quality earphone, warranty information and quick start guide.

Design, Display and OS

The Xolo A1000 looks like a premium handset with that glossy white colour. The handset is 8.8mm thick, pretty slim but its heavy. You can easily make out the difference. It’s heavier than MMX A110, Lava Iris 501 and many other handsets including the Micromax A116.

There are 3 touch buttons on front, in call speaker, sensors and front 1.2MP camera. The power button is on the right side and the volume rocker plus an extra button on the left side. The extra buttons when pressed for few seconds will take the screen snapshot. The same button can be used as camera click button when using the camera app.

The 5 inch One Glass Solution (OGS) IPS display supports a resolution of 1280×720 pixels. The touch is good, very smooth, viewing angle is good, but I found the handset lagging a little when using multiple apps, probably cause of the HD screen.  There is light, accelerometer and proximity sensor.

The handset runs on the Jelly Bean 4.1.1 OS.

Memory and Storage
The Xolo A1000 comes with 1GB RAM and 4GB internal storage with micro SD support. Of the 1GB RAM you get around 670MB free RAM. Internal storage for apps is 0.92GB free and phone storage is 1.54GB. You can install apps on the external SD card.

Processor and Performance
It’s the same Mediatek MT6577 dual core processor with PowerVR SGX 531 GPU same thing found on the Micromax A110, Lava Iris 501, Xolo A700 and Xolo A800 to name a few.

Benchmark scores

• Quadrant Benchmark: 2667.
• Antutu Benchmark: 5093.
• Nenamark2: 17.2 fps.
• Linpack : Single 39, Multi 61.
• Multi Touch: 5 point.

8MP Camera
On the box pack it is mentioned as 8MP AF camera but you can set the resolution to max 12 megapixels. Plus there is a front camera of 1.2MP resolution.  The camera comes with BSI sensors that give a slightly better capture quality as compared to the A110 and many of the other MediaTek mt6577 hardware with 8MP camera.

In video mode there is an option to record videos in 1080p resolution, however it is under 20fps. The video looks good but 30fps would have been better. Moreover you cannot play 1080p videos that are more than 24fps. So in all the camera performance is the same as on other MT6577 handsets and the 1080p recording option is with lower frame rate. You can check the sample images and videos at the end of the article.

Connectivity
No issues with 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth. The dual SIM is with dual Standby mode. The incall sound / speaker sound is loud and clear.

Entertainment
As mentioned the performance is similar to the A110, Iris 501 and other handsets with the same hardware specs. The HD screen resolution did have some impact on the overall performance with minor lags.

Battery
The 2100 mAh battery gives a talktime of over 10 hours and standby time of around 350 hours.

Xolo A1000 Review
The handset is with the same dual core MT6577 hardware but with HD resolution and 1GB RAM. The handset performance is not as smooth as we have seen on the A110 and the Iris 501. It would be better to either opt for a quad core handset like the Xolo Q800 which is a much better option. Also you can get the same performance with other MT6577 handsets that too at a much lower price.

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