Saturday, March 19, 2016
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Ex-Apple CEO announces affordable, stylish MV1 smartphone
Mumbai: Former CEO of Apple John Sculley yesterday announced that his company is all set to release a new Android smartphone, the MV1.
ZTE Spro Plus smart projector unveiled at MWC 2016
ZTE Spro Plus smart projector.
NEW DELHI:ZTE has unveiled a new portable smart projector called Spro Plus at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2016. The device facilitates voice conference, projection, touchscreen and improved visual features. The smart projector has support for external USB camera which allows multi-party video communication using various applications such as Skype.
ZTE Spro Plus features an 8.4-inch Android AMOLED display with 2K resolution. The device is powered by Qulacomm Snapdragon 801 processor coupled with 3GB of RAM. The internal storage of the device accounts to 128GB. The device supports Android 6.0 Marshmallow and packs a 12,100 mAh battery.
The projector is designed to provide visual capabilities incorporating vertical and horizontal keystone correction and auto focus. The device makes use of Laser technology in place of LED to project a 300-inch sized picture onto a surface. It also claims to offer enhanced projection ratio as it can project an image of up to 80-inches across.
ZTE Spro Plus also comes equipped with JBL audio system for high quality audio outputs using two 4w speakers and HARMAN sub-miniature microphones for clear voice pickup. It also has meter voice capabilities to make it easy to conduct group meetings to the location of your choice.
The company will roll out two models of the device the Wi-Fi version and the WiFi- 4G version.
Monday, February 22, 2016
MWC 2016: Gionee changes its logo, unveils new brand identity
Gionee is a recognized leader in developing phones with great power and design. The company is competing in growing markets and sees customer engagement and product value are the keys to success.
"The smiling face on new logo shows our desire to create happiness by developing built-in user-friendly technology and easy-to-use communication tools," said William Lu, President of Gionee. "By adding emotional elements to our smartphones, we believe our 'smilephones' will allow us to maintain a place in the hearts of our consumers and gain a stronger position in the industry."
The new logo combines the letters "i" and "j" to form a "G" which represents Gionee and subtly conveys the message, "I am joyful". The brightened orange color signifies an energetic, passionate and warm image.
"Make Smiles" is thecompany's new tagline.The tagline invites customers to engage with Gioneepartake inthe delightful moments in their lives. Whether it is achievements or nice surprises, the phones are developed to capture happiness.
"Given the growing popularity to share our lives on social media, we have found that users are no longer satisfied with static images, and now need active videos," said William Lu, President of Gionee. "Gionee S8 is our first smartphone to carry our new smiling logo and enhance the video sharing experience. It allows us to easily record our precious moments and upload them to social media platforms. Our 'smilephone' is involved in the process of delivering joy."
Lenovo VIBE K5 Plus first impressions: affordable pricing, premium styling
"Thanks to its metallic body, the VIBE K5 Plus is is able to bring premium design attributes at a budget price point"
While the K3 Note was the breakout product of the year for the Chinese brand Lenovo, the company also achieved success with its budget offerings such as the A6000. As part of its new brand strategy, where it'll bucket its affordable and mid-tier devices under the Vibe branding and premium offerings under the Moto brand, the Chinese giant has introduced the VIBE K5 duo at the ongoing MWC in Barcelona.
Dubbed as the VIBE K5 and K5 Plus, it's hard to tell the siblings apart as they're pretty much the same, both in terms of design and internals, barring a few aspects. We managed to get our hands on the more loaded variant, the VIBE K5 Plus and here are our first impressions. These remain valid for the Vibe K5 too, and we'll highlighting the differences as we go along.
The Lenovo VIBE K5 Plus is a compact handset, thanks to a 5-inch display adorning its front. However, unlike the previous phones from the manufacturer- the K3 Note (review), which was built using plastic and even the K4 Note (review), which only featured a metallic frame, the K5 Plus is made of metal entirely. Available in gold or silver hues, the mobile looks gorgeous. It's also quite slender with a frame measuring 8.2mm and weighing 142g.
If you think that the metal body means a non-removable battery, then you'd be wrong, since Lenovo didn't opt for a unibody construction. The Lenovo VIBE K5 Plus offers a removable back panel letting users access the battery as well as a pair of SIM card slots and a microSD card slot.
The VIBE K5 Plus' fascia is mainly covered by the display, along with an earpiece, a couple of sensors and a secondary snapper above and an array of capacitive keys at the bottom for navigation.
The right spine holds the power switch as well as the volume keys, while the left edge is bereft of any controls. Up top lies a secondary microphone, while the base is home to both the micro-USB port and a 3.5mm audio socket.
The rear cover holds the primary camera along with an LED flash. Towards the bottom, it features speakers which are Dolby certified. Sadly, the metal back is extremely slippery.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 616 chipset takes care of the performance department of the Lenovo VIBE K5 Plus. It offers an octa-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz. It's combined with 2GB of RAM, and the hardware should be powerful enough to handle graphics-intensive games or multitasking. During our brief usage, the phone showed no trace of lags which navigating between screens or switching between apps. The Lenovo VIBE K5 on the other hand, comes with the lower-rung Qualcomm Snapdragon 415 octa-core CPU humming at 1.2GHz.
For memory, the VIBE K5 Plus features 16GB storage on board, out of which around 8.1GB is available to the end user. It can also be expanded further up to 32GB with the use of a microSD card.
The software side of things consist of Android 5.1 Lollipop topped with Lenovo's custom skin called Vibe UI. It seems a bit odd that Lenovo has opted for Lollipop, which getting outdated now, though the brand has promised an update to Marshmallow 6.0 soon. The interface is similar to other devices from the manufacturer - a unified homescreen, custom icons, and the ability to change themes, among other things. While there aren't any special features, the phone comes with quite a few preinstalled titles such as Evernote, UC Browser, etc. along with Lenovo's popular apps like ShareIt and SyncIt.
Juicing up the VIBE K5 Plus is a 2,750mAh battery, which the company claims, offers a day's worth of backup. The dual-SIM smartphone supports 4G on both the SIMs along with standard set of connectivity options - Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1 and GPS.
Lenovo would be bringing the VIBE K5 Plus and VIBE K5 to Indian shores by next month. While the Indian pricing for the duo hasn't been announced, the VIBE K5 Plus costs $149 and its lower-priced sibling has an asking price of $129, which means that both the smartphones should be priced around Rs 10,000. This price range is among the most competitive segments, though Lenovo's brand pull, premium design attributes and features like dual 4G and Dolby speakers might be able to sway users towards its latest offerings. We'll of course test their mettle to see how they stack up against the competition when the two land in India.
Ringing Bells Freedom 251 smartphone: Telecom Minister asks Deity to probe issue
This has come in response to a letter from BJP MP Kirit Somaiya. "The minister has received a representation from Kirit Somaiya and mobile phone manufacturers where they have expressed doubt about the veracity of this venture," a Telecom Ministry source said. He added that the minister has asked the Deity secretary to go into the whole issue and if need be, states' cooperation will be sought to find out more about the company.
Somaiya has approached a host of ministries, including telecom and finance, regulators Sebi, Trai, RBI, and state governments, raising issues about the company claiming to offer the world's cheapest mobile phone. The Noida-based company Ringing Bells closed its booking for Rs 251 phone and has said delivery of all handsets will be completed by June 30.
Ringing Bells' President Ashok Chaddha said the manufacturing cost of the phone is about Rs 2,500, which will be recovered through a series of measures like economies of scale, innovative marketing, reduction in duties and creating an e-commerce marketplace. "By going for Made in India components, we can save on the 13.8 per cent duty. Also, we will be selling online first and thus, save the costs incurred on the large distribution network," he said.
Chaddha also rejected speculation of the handset being subsidised by the government. "The phone will be manufactured in Noida and Uttarakhand. Two plants will be set up for Rs 250 crore each with a capacity of 5 lakh phones. The money will come in the form of debt and equity (1.5:1)," he said.
Chaddha added that the equity is being met by the promoter family of the company that is "engaged in agri-commodities business" in Uttar Pradesh, but declined to give details. But this has not cut much ice with Somaiya as well as the industry. "The response. of Ashok Chaddha of Ringing Bells that how much cost will be saved due to import/local assembling/online marketing. far from convincing," Somaiya said in a letter attached to his tweet.
The mobile phone industry body ICA too has raised some red flags. "We have checked with all operators in the industry and no one has admitted to having been in any kind of bundling deal or partnership with them. I will only say consumers should stay cautious. More than consumers, it may hurt businessmen in small towns if the promise made by the company fails," ICA National President Pankaj Mohindroo said.
The company closed the booking for its 'Freedom 251' phone, citing heavy demand. The notice on the website of company said it has received 3.70 crore registrations on Day 1 and 2.47 crore on Day 2 (as of 1949 hours).
Now, 6GB RAM Smartphones Getting Launched! But Do We Need Them?
There was a time when Android phones with 512 MB RAM were considered good enough for daily usage. We had our phones running on Android ICS back then. Times changed and things evolved. Android KitKat came into being and was touted as one of the most stable Android OS till date. Many KitKat running phones packed 2 GB RAM at that time.
Then came Android Lollipop with its power saving improvements and brought along a new breed of smartphone packing a whopping 4 GB RAM.
These 4 GB RAM Android smartphone created ripples in the smartphone world. OnePlus 2 and Asus Zenfone 2 were among the first wave of such phones packing 4 GB RAM.
And now before we could understand why the need for RAM has increased so drastically in the smartphones, many companies are announcing their next generation flagship models with 6 GB RAM. Yes, you read that right. Six gigabytes of Random Access Memory!
Feb 23, 2016, 10:26 IST Trak.in
There was a time when Android phones with 512 MB RAM were considered good enough for daily usage. We had our phones running on Android ICS back then. Times changed and things evolved. Android KitKat came into being and was touted as one of the most stable Android OS till date. Many KitKat running phones packed 2 GB RAM at that time.
Then came Android Lollipop with its power saving improvements and brought along a new breed of smartphone packing a whopping 4 GB RAM.
These 4 GB RAM Android smartphone created ripples in the smartphone world. OnePlus 2 and Asus Zenfone 2 were among the first wave of such phones packing 4 GB RAM.
And now before we could understand why the need for RAM has increased so drastically in the smartphones, many companies are announcing their next generation flagship models with 6 GB RAM. Yes, you read that right. Six gigabytes of Random Access Memory!
So, you might be wondering which phone is getting launched with 6GB RAM - No, it is not Samsung or Lenovo or Motorola. It is the Chinese smartphone maker, Vivo that has now teased us with their upcoming flagship Vivo XPlay 5 that will (probably) become the first phone with that kind of RAM in India!
While not too many details are forthcoming, the XPlay 5 is expected to be powered by Snapdragon 820 processor and 6GB of RAM. The device is expected to be launched on March 1st in Beijing in China. Interestingly, the phone will have a curved display on the both sides.
The 6-inch display is also expected to come with Quad HD display, 4300 mAh battery sporting a 16mp rear camera!
Modern day smartphones are much more evolved than their predecessors that were launched decades back. They are almost as fast as our early computer systems, but cost a lot less.
Current smartphone users, don't just use their phones for reading and editing office files, playing music, watching videos, browsing, chatting, and capturing photos. We use them for shooting slo-mo full HD videos, playing high graphics game, and even use our smartphones for capturing ultra-HD (4K) videos.
In order understand why we need so much RAM for doing these tasks, let's take a look at the role of RAM in any computer system. All computing devices have some form of permanent storage media (hard disk drives, SSDs, and flash memory) for storing users' data.
Modern apps and even the camera sensor sends and need data at a much faster rate than what is supported by the storage media. That's where RAM comes into the picture. It acts as a bridge between the apps/sensors and the permanent storage as it is blazingly fast.
But you might still ask as to why are phone manufacturers making phones with 4/6 GB RAM.
Short answer- They need to offer better phones with beefed specs for maintaining their competitive edge. Nothing else.
I am not saying that 6 GB RAM in phones is useless, but what I mean is that you won't be able to use 6 GB RAM completely. Android loves to use a lot of RAM for improving user experience, but most of the apps are not yet designed to use the full potential of phones packing 6 GB RAM.
Buying a 6 GB RAM phone will make your purchase future-proof and will also grant you bragging rights, but nothing more than that. Choose wisely!
New tablet devices to help your kid shine in school
With interest in digital devices growing among children, a Gurgaon-based technology company recently launched a range of tablets with pre-bundled educational content.
The "EduOne Tablet" series by Amosta enables one to choose the content of current standard (out of first to tenth standards) and study for the whole year digitally, a company statement said.
"Now, students cannot only learn by reading, but also visualise new concepts and see how things work practically. It helps in expanding their imagination perimeter, IQ, depth of thinking and creativity," said Ashish Kumar, founder, Amosta.
"As a launch proposition, Amosta is providing course content of current academic year on the tablet at affordable price. Moreover, the content update for the next year course content is complimentary if someone purchases the EduOne Tablets in this academic year," the statement added.
The devices allow students to self-learn at their own pace, individualise their learning environment to their liking and requirements, and enable development of inquisitiveness and exploration, besides lowering the number of textbooks students need to carry.
Moreover, in this digital age, tablets can allow students to grasp concepts quickly and permanently using audio -visual tools. Priced between Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 7,000, "these tablets are available on various e-commerce platforms so that students from all over nation can reap the benefits of this new learning platform," the statement added.
With its global services hub in Hong Kong and manufacturing facility in Gurgaon, these educational devices are aimed to help students prepare better for their examinations. "These EduOne tablets will complement the school education and let a student explore the digital world to experience different dimensions of learning," the statement noted.
[MWC 2016]: Lenovo introduces the Ideapad MIIX 310, a Windows 10-powered budget convertible
Lenovo has introduced a new budget 2-in-1 device called the Ideapad MIIX 310. Successor to the last year's Ideapad MIIX 700, the new convertible comes with upgraded innards. The Microsoft Surface-like offering runs Windows 10 out-of-the-box, and offers a detachable keyboard, which allows it to be used as a full-fledged Windows 10 laptop.
The Lenovo Ideapad MIIX 310 sports a 10-inch optional full HD display, apart from the regular HD screen, with 180-degree viewing angles.
It is powered by an Intel Atom X5 8300 CPU, aided by an integrated Intel GPU and up to 4GB of RAM. The device comes with up to 64GB of internal memory, 4G LTE support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.0, a micro-HDMI port, a microSD card slot, and a micro-USB 2.0 port. The detachable keyboard dock of the device also comes with a full-size USB 2.0 port. As per the brand, the device offers up to 10 hours of mixed battery life.
The Lenovo Ideapad MIIX 310 tablet and laptop hybrid will go on sale in key markets with optional 4G LTE support in June this year at the starting price tag of $229, which roughly converts to Rs 15,700.
HP Elite x3 with Windows 10 unveiled at MWC 2016
HP Elite x3 with Windows 10 unveiled at MWC 2016
Feb 22, 2016, 18:00 IST Thinkdigit
HP unveiled the Windows 10 powered Elite x3 smartphone at MWC 2016. The company also launched two docks with the device that would allow it to be used as a desktop or a laptop. The phone is equipped with a 5.96-inch QHD display with Gorilla Glass 4 protection. It is powered by Qualcomm's flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 820 clocked at 2.15GHz with 4GB of RAM. The device comes with 64GB of onboard storage that can be expanded by up to 2TB via a microSD card. At the back of the phone is a 16MP primary camera with an 8MP front camera. The device has a 4150mAh battery and comes with an iris scanner and a fingerprint scanner.
There is also a front facing speaker by Bang & Olufsen.
The HP Elite X3 also comes with two docks called the Desk Dock and Mobile Extender. The Desk Dock comes with a DisplayPort, two USB Type-A ports, a USB Type-C port, and an ethernet port. The dock is designed to be connected to any display, keyboard and mouse, and used like a desktop via Windows 10's Continuum feature. The Mobile Extender resembles a conventional laptop, but only houses a keyboard, battery, and a 12.5-inch Full HD display.The Extender uses the Elite x3 for processing power and connects to the device wirelessly.
Writer, gamer, and hater of public transport.
Feb 22, 2016, 18:00 IST Thinkdigit
HP unveiled the Windows 10 powered Elite x3 smartphone at MWC 2016. The company also launched two docks with the device that would allow it to be used as a desktop or a laptop. The phone is equipped with a 5.96-inch QHD display with Gorilla Glass 4 protection. It is powered by Qualcomm's flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 820 clocked at 2.15GHz with 4GB of RAM. The device comes with 64GB of onboard storage that can be expanded by up to 2TB via a microSD card. At the back of the phone is a 16MP primary camera with an 8MP front camera. The device has a 4150mAh battery and comes with an iris scanner and a fingerprint scanner.
There is also a front facing speaker by Bang & Olufsen.
The HP Elite X3 also comes with two docks called the Desk Dock and Mobile Extender. The Desk Dock comes with a DisplayPort, two USB Type-A ports, a USB Type-C port, and an ethernet port. The dock is designed to be connected to any display, keyboard and mouse, and used like a desktop via Windows 10's Continuum feature. The Mobile Extender resembles a conventional laptop, but only houses a keyboard, battery, and a 12.5-inch Full HD display.The Extender uses the Elite x3 for processing power and connects to the device wirelessly.
Writer, gamer, and hater of public transport.
Processor Enables Slim Smartphones & Improves Video/Gaming Features
3GHz, based on ARM Cortex A53 cores. The new Mali T880 graphics is the highest end ARM GPU clocked at a speedy 900MHz, making it perfect for demanding video and gaming apps. "MediaTek designed the MediaTek Helio P20 to meet today's consumer demand for sleek, powerful yet highly power efficient mobile devices. Consumers place increasing importance on the battery life and multimedia capabilities of their smartphones. MediaTek has risen to this challenge with a leading solution", said Jeffrey Ju , Executive Vice President and Co-Chief Operating Officer at MediaTek. Connectivity advantages of the chip include support for WorldMode LTE Cat.6 and 2×20 carrier aggregation at 300/50Mbps data speeds. Global Dual-SIM Dual Standby offers seamless connectivity wherever a user goes. For regions where GSM is no longer available, the SoC will have simultaneous standby on WCDMA network. LTE multimedia broadcast and multicast services are also supported which allow mobile devices to receive HD video content over LTE. A quicker, smoother user experience for camera, video and gaming apps is possible with improved processing power and optimum battery performance using a LPDDR4X, which provides 70 percent more bandwidth than the LPDDR3 and 50 percent power savings by lowering supply voltage to 0.6V. Additionally, the P20 series utilizes an exclusive MediaTek Imagiq Image Signal Processor (ISP) to improve camera ease-of-use and picture and video quality. The chip is expected to be in commercial devices in the second half of 2016. Click here to view full Press release.
[MWC 2016]: Lenovo unveils new Yoga 710 and Flex 4 convertibles at MWC
Chinese electronics brand Lenovo kicked off the MWC in Barcelona this week with the launch of the VIBE K5 and VIBE K5 Plus smartphones. The company also launched three new Tab 3 Android tablets, and a budget
Windows 10-powered convertible called the Ideapad MIIX 3. In addition, the vendor has also introduced two new Yoga 710 hybrids and two Flex 4 series laptop convertibles at the same event. All of the new Yoga and Flex devices run Windows 10 out of the box.
The Lenovo Yoga 710 tablet-laptop convertible comes in 11-inch and 14-inch models. The device offers full HD IPS display, and can be configured with up to 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of solid state drive storage. Its 11-inch model can be purchased with up to Intel Core m5 processor, while the 14-inch variant can be configured with up to Intel Core i7 processor and up to NVIDIA GeForece 940MX GPU. Similar to the other Yoga devices, both the Yoga 710 models come with 360-degree rotatable hinges, which allows them to be used in several modes like laptop, tablet, stand and tent.
The Lenovo Yoga 710 11-inch and 14-inch models have been priced starting at €799 (around Rs 60,500) and €899 (approx. Rs 68,000) respectively, and will go on sale in May. The Lenovo Flex 4 14-inch and 15-inch variants have been priced at €479 (~ Rs 36,300) and €699 (~ Rs 52,900) respectively, and will be available in April this year. The company said that the Flex 4 will be released as the Yoga 510 in some markets.
Freedom 251 will make profit of Rs 31 on each phone
Delhi: Since he announced the launch of a mobile phone for Rs 251, Mohit Goel has faced widespread scepticism, along with visits by police and income tax officials at his rented two-storey office in Noida. However, the Amity University graduate insists that he will not only deliver the phones at the stunning price he has quoted, but also make a profit of Rs 31 on each handset sold.
"Why am I being hounded? What wrong have I done?" Goel asked in the course of an exclusive interview with TOI. The director of Ringing Bells insists that his new venture is not a fly-by-night operation and will begin customer deliveries from April 15. "Has there ever been a case of income-tax evasion against me or my company, or has there been an FIR filed against me in any police station? Why am I being called a 'bhagora' (who'll run away with the money)? I intend to do a valid business, just like any other startup, and I have a business plan ready."
The company claims it has received over 7 crore registrations on its website since it started accepting applications on February 18. "We are taking online bookings for only 25 lakh units in the first batch due to limited supplies, while giving another 25 lakh through offline distributors. I will deliver the handsets before June 30. All the money that we receive from customers through the payment gateway will be kept in an escrow account and we will touch it only when we deliver the devices." The company has an account with ICICI Bank.
Goel, and his much-older confidant Ashok Chadha, who is the president of the company, insists that there have not been any infringements on design and other matters. "Some of the devices had the Adcom branding as we sourced panel (screen) from them. However, the final device will have our branding and the phone will have the same features and design that we had showcased."
The dual SIM Freedom 251 device carries a 4-inch display, 1 GB RAM, 8GB internal memory with a 1.3 GHZ quad-core processor, dual cameras and comes with a charger, headphone and one-year warranty.
The duo say that they have a carefully laid-out business model to manage the disruptive price for the device "The price that works out per device is roughly around Rs 1,500," Chadha says. insists, though significantly lowering it down from the Rs 2,500 he had announced on the day of the unveiling of the device. "We will source the devices from a supplier in Noida, who will be assembling the units for us after getting components from Taiwan." And while we do this, we also start the work to identify land and suppliers for setting up our manufacturing locations. For this, we have identified Noida while also looking at locations in Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Bihar and Punjab," Chadha says.
And just how does he bring down the cost to Rs 251, and also earn a profit? "Economies of scale gets it down to around Rs 1,200, and thereafter an online sales model cuts down marketing and sales expenses, giving us further savings," he says. And to this we will add marketing piggybacks from companies whose applications we load on the devices. We will save around Rs 300 per device more through this," Chadha says.
The unveiling of the phone on February 17 had created quite a flutter among existing handset suppliers, prompting industry body Indian Cellular Association to file a complaint with the government. (ICA) - which has members such as Samsung, Apple, Sony, Lava, Micromax, Karbonn, Motorola and HTC - ICA president Pankaj Mohindroo wrote a letter to telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, expressing doubts about the intentions of Ringing Bells, saying it is not possible to supply a phone for Rs 251. Also, there were allegations that the company had ripped off the design of the prototype from American phone major Apple's iPhone, while also giving out devices sourced from a local electronics importer Adcom.
The company is also talking to large e-commerce companies, such as travel website Goibibo, to get their apps on the devices. "We will also monetize from the heavy traffic on our website and will make it into a marketplace for other brands to hop on. This will also help us to bring down the cost."
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Android smartphones: quick tips to increase device efficiency
Apart from that, Android-based smartphone manufacturers are constantly developing their handsets to make the most of Android.
However, Android users still face a number of difficulties over the course of time due to some common errors.
On that note, here are some suggested tips that can help you significantly help your Android smartphone experience-from simple navigation to performance.
Scale down animations: All users prefer their smartphones to be lag-free and that's one area where Android devices really take a big hit. However, by following a set of simple steps, you can get rid of any unnecessary lag. In settings, go to 'about device' and click on the 'build number' option for seven times. This will unlock your developer option where you will find a slew of animation scaling options. You can turn down the animation scales to 0.5x in place of 10x. This will significantly boost your smartphone's transition and navigation speed.
Delete unwanted apps: On most cases, smartphones tend to get infected with viruses as new unused apps start accumulating in your device. But you can easily avoid such problems by regularly monitoring and deleting unwanted apps. Keeping your home screen widget-free also helps in upping your smartphone's performance.
Use "OK Google": This is a very handy feature and can be used to search almost anything on your smartphone. This feature can significantly help you improve searching for any kind of content on the internet or on the device. The default settings only allow "OK Google" to work from the home screen, but you can just go to settings and change the preference to "from any screen".
Turn on power-saving mode: If you've noticed, most smartphones come along with power-saving options and there are also numerous power-saving apps available on Play Store. The power-saving mode on your device is extremely useful when you are really low on charge and can save up to 50 per cent more battery in contrast to the normal mode.
Activate mobile data tracking: While most users might know about this simple Android feature, for the ones who don't know, this resourceful feature will seamlessly allow you to monitor how much data you are using. Moreover, this feature will automatically cut off mobile data when you are on the verge of exhausting your data pack.
Automatic photo backup: It feels horrible when you loose or break a device full of pictures only to find out that your photos were not automatically backed. Well, you can avoid this by utilising the nifty Google Photos app, which gives you 15Gb of free data storage space.
Save offline maps: A few months back, Google added another very useful feature to its maps-offline storage. All you have to do is find the area on the map, which you want to save and tap on the search bar at the top of the screen. After the downloading is complete, you will have access to all the offline map data pertaining to that area including streets, points of interest, and navigation.
Huawei announces Windows powered MateBook tablet for $699
The MateBook is a new 2-in-1 hybrid tablet by Huawei. It has a full aluminium unibody metal design, is 6.9mm thin, weighs 640gm and will be coming in two colour options. It features a 12-inch display which has a resolution of 2160 x 1440p. The display covers a 85% colour gamut and also has 84% screen to body ratio which is greater than competing tablets such as iPad Pro and Surface Pro 4. The Huawei MateBook is powered by a 6th gen Intel Core m processor and will be available in dual core m3, m5 and m7 processors.
The MateBook features a high density 4430mAh battery which Huawei claims can provide 10 hours of battery life.
The company also announced a Stylus accessory called the Mate Pen with 2048 levels of pressure which also works as laser phone. Huawei claims that, one hour charge will provide one month of usage. The tablet has a fingerprint sensor which resides on the right edge of the tablet. To add more productivity to the tablet, Huawei also introduced a MateDock, docking station which has” a USB Type-A port, USB Type-C port, a micro USB port, ethernet jack and a battery pack. The hybrid tablet will be running on Windows 10 Home and Pro. Huawei has also announced a keyboard case for the tablet cum which will be available in four colours.
Huawei Mate Book - First Look
Light at the top, this odd looking creature lives under the heavy medication of video games.
The MateBook features a high density 4430mAh battery which Huawei claims can provide 10 hours of battery life.
The company also announced a Stylus accessory called the Mate Pen with 2048 levels of pressure which also works as laser phone. Huawei claims that, one hour charge will provide one month of usage. The tablet has a fingerprint sensor which resides on the right edge of the tablet. To add more productivity to the tablet, Huawei also introduced a MateDock, docking station which has” a USB Type-A port, USB Type-C port, a micro USB port, ethernet jack and a battery pack. The hybrid tablet will be running on Windows 10 Home and Pro. Huawei has also announced a keyboard case for the tablet cum which will be available in four colours.
Huawei Mate Book - First Look
Light at the top, this odd looking creature lives under the heavy medication of video games.
[MWC 2016]: Alcatel unveils the reversible Idol 4 and Idol 4S smartphones
Alcatel, at its pre-MWC 2016 event has unveiled two new smartphones - the Idol 4 and Idol 4S, as successors to the Idol 3 series. The Idol 4 series comes with an innovative design, which transforms it into a Google Cardboard-like VR headset for entry-level virtual reality experience. The Idol 4 and Idol 4S run Android 6.0 Marshmallow out-of-the-box, and offer the brand's signature reversible design and BOOM Key user-experience boosting features.
The new Alcatel smartphones offer three-way reversible functionality. The phones can be used in both vertical orientations and horizontally. In addition, they are reversible left to right as well, which ensures the stereo sound orientation remains correct. They flaunt glass back, durable metallic frame and in-mold spin-effect texture.
Both new Idol phones offer excellent sound output, thanks to JBL and Waves-powered speakers. They come with dual powerful 3.6 watt speakers, NXP's TFA9890 Smart Power Amplifier, Hi-Fi surround-sound, and optimisation of audio presets both automatically and manually.
The Alcatel Idol 4S on the other hand, sports a 5.5-inch quad-HD AMOLED display, and is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 652 processor, aided by an Adreno 510 GPU and 3-gigs of RAM. It offers 32GB of expandable memory, a 16MP rear snapper with a dual-tone LED flash, an 8MP front shooter with front flash, 4G LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi, NFC, USB OTG, and a 3,000mAh battery with fast charging support.
The Alcatel Idol 4 and Idol 4S come in Gold, Dark Grey, Rose Gold and Metal Silver hues. The company also announced that it has decided to drop OneTouch branding, and will be operating under a simplified Alcatel moniker.
[MWC 2016]: HTC One X9 with 5.5-inch 1080p display, octa-core CPU and BoomSound speakers launched
HTC recently introduced its latest smartphone under the One series, the One X9, in China. Now a few hours prior to the MWC in Barcelona, the Taiwanese tech giant has revealed the availability details of its latest One series offering. Similar to the previous One range of devices, the One X9 sports a premium aluminium unibody design, in brushed metal finish.
The phone comes with dual front-facing BoomSound speakers with Dolby Audio, and runs Android 6.0 Lollipop with the latest HTC Sense UI.
The phablet-grade HTC One X9 flaunts a 5.5-inch full HD Super LCD display with a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass to keep scratches at bay. The phone packs in a 2.2GHz octa-core MediaTek Helio X10 64-bit processor, coupled with 3GB of RAM. For storage, the device gets 32GB of inbuilt memory, which can be further increased up to 2TB by inserting a microSD card. A 3,000mAh battery with an Extreme Power Saving mode and fast charging keeps the phone running. Connectivity-wise, the phone offers dual-SIM slots, 4G LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi, NFC, Miracast and HTC Connect.
The HTC One X9 is compatible with the HTC Dot View II case. The phone comes in four colour variants - Carbon Grey, Opal Silver, Topaz Gold and Copper Rose. The device will begin rolling out in North Asia and EMEA regions by the end of the month. The phone is priced around Rs 25,000 in China.
Samsung Galaxy S7 first impressions: same on the outside, new and improved inside
Facebook Brings 360 Dynamic Streaming To Samsung Gear VR, Forms Social VR Team
Zuck shocked everyone by appearing on stage for the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event for MWC 2016. He wasn't there to push Samsung's new phones or talk about Messenger, his time onstage was all about virtual reality. Zuckerberg revealed that Facebook (which, in case if you've forgotten, is the parent company of Oculus) will be bringing its dynamic streaming technology for 360.
LG G5: 10 cool features that no one told you about
With the launch of its latest flagship smartphone, the G5, LG is certainly going to steal a lot of attention from paparazzi as well as gadget buffs present at the world's biggest tech show, MWC 2016.
Not only does the phone flaunts an offbeat design, but also fetches attention for a family of accessories that give it the best company.
We pick 10 things that we absolutely loved about the LG G5, and are looking forward to be exploring once we get our hands on the device. Take a look:
#1
Swappable body part:
With the G5, LG seems to have taken a big step ahead in the design segment, as the phone has a detachable bottom part that holds the battery of the phone. The part can simply be pulled out of the phone. Till now, Google's Project Ara has been one project that stayed in talks for its modular swappable parts ever since it was announced in 2014, however the phone still remains in the pilot phase. The LG G5 is not a completely modular phone like the Project Ara but it features a swappable part and is not a distant thing.
#2
Premium Design:
The LG G5 flaunts an aluminum body which looks premium and smooth as seen in official images and videos. LG has designed the phone beautifully by bringing about some major changes in design to give the LG G5 a refresh look than the last year's G4. The best is that it has a unibody design but that does not block its battery which can be taken out by simply pulling out the bottom panel. #3
Processor:
The LG G5 is undoubtedly going to be a powerhouse for it houses Qualcomm's new top of the line chipset, the Snapdragon 820. The SoC is paired with a massive 4GB of RAM to ensure smooth performance of the G5. It has 32GB of internal storage expandable using a microSD card. #4
Display
LG G5 is not just more powerful but it is also bigger than its predecessor. The phone features a 5.3-inch QHD display offering 2560 x 1440 pixels resolution, which was missing from its 2015 flagship G4 smartphone. The display looks impressive in photos and videos, and we are hoping that it will actually work better than its predecessor which also featured a bright and beautiful display. #5
Back key set up
The phone has a fingerprint scanner placed at the back, close to the camera module. The company has changed the design of the back-key set up, but it has not moved the power key on front or on sides. The G5's power button is built into the fingerprint scanner and can be pressed in to turn the phone off/on. It seems more comfortable to be used than the earlier set up. #6
Photography skills:
Another major attraction of the LG G5 is the it adorns two powerful cameras on the back. You get a primary 16MP snapper accompanied with a 135-degree wide angle 8MP camera to take great wide-angle shots. Interestingly, both these cameras can operate and be used individually for different shots. The primary camera wide-angled one can be used for capturing wider shots of beautiful landscapes, or big monuments. Moreover, both the cameras can be used together to combine photos or layer pics on each other. Considering that LG focussed a lot of camera even on last year's G4, which did deliver great camera performance, we are hoping that the LG G5 will be far better in the imaging department. #7
USB Type-C in tow
Another feature that makes the LG G5 a future ready smartphone is the presence of the USB-C Type reversible port, which is likely to be missing from the Samsung Galaxy S7. Many companies are brining the USB-C Type in fashion as it is capable of reverse function and offer higher transfer speeds. #8
Software
LG has made a few major and biggest software additions in the latest version of its LG UX, present on top of the Android. The UI doesn't feature an app drawer anymore to make the interface smooth and less confusing. It actually will be more like the Apple's iOS for iPhones, and some of the Chinese smartphones that don't have app drawers . #9
Swappable battery:
The G5 features a 2,800mAh battery, but what we likes is that the battery is removable by simply pulling out the bottom chin. This will allow extensive-phone users to carry a spare battery to use it in case of need. #10
Cool Accessories
A very interesting part of the phone is that you can add another component to the phone. The company has also unveiled two new accessories, dubbed as the Hi-Fi Plus and the LG Cam Plus, which have especially been designed for the G5. The Cam Plus is meant to enhance the camera experience as it works like a camera grip and features a physical shutter button and a zooming wheel to operate the camera of the phone single handedly. If that is not enough, it can double up as a battery backup for the phone. The Hi-Fi Plus is a portable audio device that can be used to boosts audio playback. The Hi-Fi Plus houses an audio grille, a USB Type-C port and a 3.5mm headphone jack for further usability.
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