Friday 31 January 2014

Galaxy S5 rumor roundup

Samsung's latest flagship is the hottest buzz on the Internet right now,with the device's imminent launch on February 23,we have compiled the list of expected specs and features.Of course, some of them are too good to be true and we will have to wait for the actual launch for confirmation.

METALLIC BODY
as we reported a year earlier samsung has finally decided to use premium materials in its smartphone.Samsung will apparently launch 2 versions of Galaxy S5 one with regular plastic and a premium model with metallic body.Magnesium and Aluminium are the likely materials

PROCESSOR
The smartphone will come with 2 different processors.However,unlike its predecessors there will be no US and International versions as both the processors will be capable of handling 4G LTE.The premium version will get Samsung's own eight-core Exynos 6 CPU,capable of running all 8 cores simultaneously.and the regular version will feature a Snapdragon 805 clocked at 2.5 GHz.Contrary to popular belief,The Exynos 6 probably will NOT have a 64 bit architecture

MEMORY
Both the versions are expected to come with 3GB  LPDDR3 RAM.Internal memory could be 16GB

DISPLAY
Its almost confirmed that the phone will come with a 5.25 inch QHD 2560 x 1440 display,with an eye popping pixel density of 560ppi.The human eye maxes out at 300 ppi,but this display will certainly give you bragging rights.The display is supposed to be of AMOLED variety but some rumors suggest an LCD display

CAMERA
Several sources claim that the Galaxy S5 will come with a 16MP camera with  hardware-based optical image stabilisation.With alleged image samples released by @evleaks already confirming the resolution of thr camera

RETINA SCANNER
The feature seems to be impractical and gimmicky, but having the phone scan your eyes to unlock it is as cool as it can get. Recent rumors suggest that a retina scanner is highly unlikely,instead we might see a good old fingerprint scanner.

SOFTWARE AND UI
The image on the right is a screenshot of the Galaxy S5 homescreen which is very different than the usual TouchWiz UI(Finally something new!!)
The S5 will launch with a heavily skinned Android 4.4 KitKat with a Crapload of Bloatware,but there surely will be a Google Play edition with stock android in the near future.

AVAILABILITY
After its big reveal just a day before Mobile World Congress at Barcelona, the device is expected to hit the shelves in  April.

This is all we have on the device right now,stay tuned for more updates.
Have we missed anything?? or if you want to add your wishlist of features,please feel free to comment.

Thursday 30 January 2014

Oppo N1 finally launched in india,but with a hefty price tag of 40k!!!


Oppo announced its entry in the Indian market today with the launch of its flagship Oppo N1 smartphone. Priced at INR 40,000, the smartphone will go on sale in a few weeks.

OPPO N1 key specifications-

  • 5.9 inch FullHD 1080p display
  • 1.7 GHz quad core snapdragon 600 processor
  • 2GB RAM
  • 3610 mAH battery
  • 16GB internal memory
  • 13MP rotating capera with dual LED flash,that can act as both rear and front camera
Apart from the unique swivel camera,the main selling point of the phone is the partenership of oppo with cyanogenmod team ,which gives you access stock cyanogenmod ROM for the device.
But has OPPO made a big mistake by pricing its phone too high??
we'll find out soon enough!!

Motorola mobility acquired by lenovo for $3 billion!!!


Google has  just signed an agreement to sell Motorola to Lenovo for $2.91 billion. According to google it is an important move for the android ecosystem.Here's the explanation given by larry page on the deal-

"  We acquired Motorola in 2012 to help supercharge the Android ecosystem by creating a stronger patent portfolio for Google and great smartphones for users. Over the past 19 months, Dennis Woodside and the Motorola team have done a tremendous job reinventing the company. They’ve focused on building a smaller number of great (and great value) smartphones that consumers love. Both the Moto G and the Moto X are doing really well, and I’m very excited about the smartphone lineup for 2014. And on the intellectual property side, Motorola’s patents have helped create a level playing field, which is good news for all Android’s users and partners.
But the smartphone market is super competitive, and to thrive it helps to be all-in when it comes to making mobile devices. It’s why we believe that Motorola will be better served by Lenovo—which has a rapidly growing smartphone business and is the largest (and fastest-growing) PC manufacturer in the world. This move will enable Google to devote our energy to driving innovation across the Android ecosystem, for the benefit of smartphone users everywhere. As a side note, this does not signal a larger shift for our other hardware efforts. The dynamics and maturity of the wearable and home markets, for example, are very different from that of the mobile industry. We’re excited by the opportunities to build amazing new products for users within these emerging ecosystems.
Lenovo has the expertise and track record to scale Motorola into a major player within the Android ecosystem. They have a lot of experience in hardware, and they have global reach. In addition, Lenovo intends to keep Motorola’s distinct brand identity—just as they did when they acquired ThinkPad from IBM in 2005. Google will retain the vast majority of Motorola’s patents, which we will continue to use to defend the entire Android ecosystem. 
The deal has yet to be approved in the U.S. or China, and this usually takes time. So until then, it’s business as usual. I’m phenomenally impressed with everything the Motorola team has achieved and confident that with Lenovo as a partner, Motorola will build more and more great products for people everywhere. "
      Posted by Larry Page, CEO Google 

The sale comes in a surprise move by google ,which acquired motorola over a year ago for $12.5 billion and is incurring a huge loss.Some experts believe that motorola deal was just a scheme by google to get its hands upon Motorola's large  patent portfolio.
what do you think about the deal??
feel free to comment

Wednesday 29 January 2014

LG G pro 2 leaked in images


Images depicting the rumored phone from LG have hit the web.The device in question is the LG G pro 2 , which is already confirmed to be launching in MWC next month . the images reveal that LG G Pro 2 will be sporting the rear power and volume buttons like LG G2. The placement is almost same as G2.
The phone features a Snapdragon 800 processor with 2GB RAM.The display of the device is a 6 inch FULL HD 1080p unit.The phone will launch with Android 4.4 onboard.
There is no info on the rest of the specs,stay tuned for more updates

Motorola Moto G,the phone made for India [Update]


Motorola has finally decided to launch its much awaited device the Moto G in India.It is one of the most powerful device to arrive with a mid range price tag. Moto G is powered by a 1.2GHz quad core Snapdragon 400 SoC with Adreno 305 GPU running at 300MHz.The Graphics processor has a computing power of around 19GFLOPS which is 50% faster than the tegra 3 chipset found in Nexus 7.The phone has 1GB of ram out of which 882MB is user available.
Due to the powerful hardware the phone can run HD games with ease and supports 1080p playback.
the phone features a brilliant 4.5 inch 720p HD display with 326ppi pixel density.the display has vibrant color reproduction,which can be compared to high end phones.the juice is provided by a 2070 mAH Non-removable battery which provides 24 hours of backup or upto 7 hours of continuous video playback.
The back cover of the phone is user removable,customers can buy colorful covers or "Shells" from motorola and customize the look and feel of their device to some extent. Moto G will launch with Stock Android 4.4.2 in India.Motorola is now owned by Google so we can expect frequent android updates like the nexus series.The snapdragon chipset is open sourced,unlike the mediatek chipset found in indian brands like micromax,xolo etc,there will be custom ROMs and better developer support than Indo-Chinese brands

Moto G benchmarks-
AnTuTu -17214
Quadrant -8508
Linpack -259
Browsermark 2 -2562
nenamark 2 -58fps
Every thing in the tech world has its disadvantages and Moto G is no exception.The phone has no hardware buttons on the front,which can be annoying if you don't like on screen buttons and can cause difficulty while gaming.
the phone features NO SD Card slot,so the storage capacity is limited to 8GB or 16GB internal memory depending upon the model,this can be a deal breaker for many,however, it supports USB-OTG so pen drives can be used to expand the storage.  
Camera enthusiasts may also stay away from the device as the 5MP camera produces average photos at best,video recording is limited to 720p at 30fps.
Motorola has folded its operations from india,customer support and warranty replacements will prove to be difficult

Moto G has already been launched around the world and available at dirt cheap price of 179$ (8GB model)  in the  US. According to our exclusive sources motorola will launch a dual sim version of the moto G in india on 5th feb with availability within 1 or 2 weeks.The phone will be exclusively available on online retailers like flipkart.Despite high taxes in india the the prices will be at par with the US.the 8GB version will be priced around INR13000 and the 16GB version will cost INR15000.
Stay tuned for more updates.

UPDATE-  flipkart has started teasing moto G confirming 5th february release
                    MOTO G Flipkart teaser 

related- motorola acquired by lenovo,how does it impact Moto G

Saturday 25 January 2014

Micromax Canvas Knight A350 revealed,sports 2Ghz octa-core processor


Micromax leakster MMXnewscaster has revealed the latest flagship of the indian manufacturer and mind you, its a beast !!
The device is powered by a 2Ghz octa-core Mediatek Mt6592 processor,which makes it the first handset to be powered by the faster version of the chipset in the world.Other specifications mentioned by include 2GB of RAM, 32GB of on-board ROM, and a 5 inch full HD CGS(Continuous Grain Silicon) display making it a true flagship.Gaming fans will rejoice to know to that the phone is powered by a 700 MHz Mali 450 Gpu which can handle all the HD games with ease.On the imaging front, the A350 carries a 16MP rear camera along with a 5MP front shooter. Battery capacity is expected to be 2350mAH.
Apart from the impressive hardware the device looks amazing,Its just 7.3mm thick.Back panel of the device reminds us of the Xperia Series (which we believe,is a good thing).The phone is enclosed in metallic rim which adds a premium look to the device.
the device is expected to be officially launched in February and might be priced above INR20,000.
Stay tuned for more info on the octa-core Micromax Canvas Knight A350!!!

UPDATE-
The device has already been launched in Russia,with 1.7GHz variant of the Mt6592 chipset.
thanks to Hitesh for the update.


Thursday 23 January 2014

Xperia Z1 compact,miniature flagship of Sony

Sony has announced the Xperia Z1 Compact at CES 2014. Unlike most mini flagship variants, it features a specs sheet that doesn't compromise, and has almost identical hardware to the Xperia Z1 flagship.
KEY SPECIFICATIONS-
Dimensions: 127 x 64.9 x 9.5 mm, 137g
Display:         4.3" Triluminous IPS display of 720p resolution, 341ppi
Chipset:         Qualcomm Snapdragon 800;                         quad-core Krait 400 at 2.2GHz,                                   Adreno 330 GPU, 2GB RAM
OS:                 Android 4.3 Jelly Bean (planned upgrade to 4.4 KitKat shortly after launch)
Camera:        20.7 MP, Carl Zeiss optics, optical image stabilization, autofocus,                         
                        LED flash,2MP front-facing
Video:            1080p @ 30fps video capture with both cameras
Storage:         16GB built-in, microSD card slot with support of up to 64GB
Connectivity:  NFC, A-GPS+GLONASS, WLAN (2.4/5Ghz) a/b/g/n/ac, microUSB 2.0 (MHL),                             BlueTooth 4.0 LE
Battery:           2,300 mAh
Misc:               FM Radio, built-in accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor
Colors:            Black, White, Pink, Lime, Yellow
After looking at the specs we can clearly see that Xperia Z1 Compact is a dream phone for the customers who believe 5 inch phones are too big. in fact, its Xperia Z1 with a better battery life(due to its 720p display).The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact is expected to hit markets next month. Its pricing wasn't specified, but its believed to be in between Xperia Z1 and its predecessor Xperia Z.

Micromax debuts in Russia,launches 5 smartphones


Leading Indian manufacturer Micromax  announced its foray into the Russian market with 5 devices, namely the Micromax Canvas Beat A114R, Canvas Social A94, Bolt A61, Bolt A36 and Bolt A28. A Russian version of their website is up and running already, on which device listings can be found. Noteworthy is the fact that both Canvas devices launched are seen as variants of handsets already existing in the Indian market, while the Bolt series phones are launched as-is.
The Canvas Beat A114R  can be considered as a variant of the Canvas 2.2 A114 that goes in India. It comes with a 1.2GHz Broadcom quad-core (mediatek mt6582 would have been better)processor, 1GB RAM and a 5-inch qHD screen. On the other hand, the Canvas Social A94 is more or less a Canvas MAd A94 with a new identity and same internals. However, Micromax aren’t offering Russian users the chance to earn with their device. The Bolt series of smartphones is mainly targeted at first-time smartphone buyers, with display sizes measuring 4-inch or lower across all three devices.
Russia is one of the largest consumers of Chinese electronics, which is perhaps why Micromax eye the market as a big fish — after all, Micromax’s devices are direct competitors to low-cost Chinese phones. It will be interesting to see how welcoming Russians will be to a brand that’s well-recognized in the Indian sub-continent.
link -  Micromax Russia