Archive for February 2014
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact officially launched in India for Rs. 36990 ._._._._.
Earlier today we reported that the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact, now the company has official launched the smartphone in India at a price tag of Rs. 36,990 (MRP). The Z1 Compact has a 4.3-inch (1280 x 720pixels) Triluminos Display with with X-Reality engine, powered by 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and runs on Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean). It has a 20.7-megapixel rear camera with Sony G lens, 1080p video recording and a 2.2-megapixel HD front-facing camera.
The phone has OmniBalance design, dust-resistant and waterproof (IP55 & IP58).It comes with unique social camera apps such as Time shift burst, Info-eye, Social live and AR effect. Sony offers Sony Music with 6 months free unlimited streaming and music download and Sony LIV video streaming app that lets you watch 77 programs and over 4500 hours of videos from Sony channels.
Sony Xperia Z1 compact Specifications
- 4.3-inch (1280 x 720pixels) Triluminos Display with X-Reality for Mobiles
- 2.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974) processor
- Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean)
- Single Aluminium frame with tempered glass on the front and back
- 20.7MP Primary Camera with Exmos RS sensor, HDR photos & videos, 1080p video recording.
- 2.2 MP front-facing camera with 720p video recording
- 9.4mm thick and weighs 140 grams
- IP55 / IP58 rating for dust and water resistance
- 3.5mm audio jack
- 2GB RAM, 16GB internal memory, Upto 64GB expandable memory via microSD card
- 3G, WiFi 820.11 a/b/g/n/ac , Bluetooth 4.0 with APT-X, GPS/ GLONASS, MHL, NFC
- 2300mAh Battery with STAMINA mode
The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact comes in white, black, lime and pink colors.It would be available starting February 24th at all Sony Centers and major electronic stores across India. Check out our Sony Xperia Z1 Compact Review if you are planning to buy it.
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Samsung Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 KitKat update starts rolling out ._._._._.
Samsung has started rolling out the Android 4.4 (KitKat) update for the Galaxy S4 (GT-I9500) users starting from Russia, according to SamMobile. The 3G Exynos variant has started getting the KitKat update before LTE Snapdragon variant, even though a build already leaked. Samsung promised Android 4.4 update for 14 Galaxy device in the U.S earlier this week. The Samsung Galaxy S4 got the Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) update in India last October.
The build number is I9500XXUFNB3 and the firmware build is dated Thu, 13 Feb 2014 11:33:19. The KitKat update adds wireless printing, support for emojis and lots more new features. The Android 4.4.2 KitKat update for the Galaxy S4 brings minor UI changes and under the hood improvements such as,
- Status bar icons now in KitKat White from Green
- Lockscreen Camera shortcut
- Samsung Keyboard layout improved in landscape mode
- Full screen music album art in the lockscreen
- Performance improvements
The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 got the KitKat update in India last month, so the KitKat update for the Galaxy S4 might not be far away. Official changelog for the update is not available yet. The update would gradually roll out worldwide, so it might takes months for the roll out to complete.
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MediaTek MT6732 LTE enabled Quad Core chipset to launch at MWC ._._._._.
MediaTek, the maker of chipsets that usually find their home in low – mid range devices, is making a push for LTE connectivity. We reported on the MediaTek MT6595 chip earlier this month that aims to combine a Cortex A17 based quad core chip with a 4G LTE modem. Now the company is all set to launch offerings in the entry level to midrange segments. The MT6732 chip will do just that.
The MediaTek MT6732 is a 64 bit quad core chipset with a built in 4G LTE modem. The Economic Daily News reports that this chipset will be introduced at MWC. The MT6732 is poised to give competition to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 410 chipset. The Snapdragon 410 is Qualcomm’s first 64bit chipset that is based on the Cortex A53 architecture. Aimed at mainstream smartphones, it also includes LTE connectivity. While the MT6732 will be introduced in Q3 2014, the company is also said to be planning an octa core 64 bit LTE enabled chip for Q4 2014. The proliferation of low cost LTE handsets is great news as it will help in connecting the next billion to high speed internet and the benefits that come with it.
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Lenovo K7T Kingdom with 2K display, 3GB RAM and Snapdragon 800 shows up in Benchmarks ._._._._.
Lenovo K7T (Kingdom) has surfaced in AnTuTu Benchmarks in China. After the Lenovo Vibe X and theVibe Z smartphones with full HD display, the K7T would be the first smartphone from the company to sport a a 2K display with a resolution of 2560×1400 pixels. According to the leaked benchmark screenshot, it would come with 3GB RAM and a 2.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with Adreno 330 GPU. It is expected to run on Android 4.4.1 (KitKat).
It would have a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, similar to the Vibe X and the Vibe Z. It would come with 16GB of internal storage. It would probably come with an expansion slot too. Details about the screen size and the battery capacity is not available yet. The upcoming Lenovo flagship is likely to come with a 6-inch 2k screen, similar to the Vivo XPlay 3S that was unveiled in China recently.
The Lenovo K7T is expected to be unveiled at the MWC 2014 at Barcelona next month.
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Facebook to acquire WhatsApp for $19 billion ._._._._.
In a surprising move, Facebook has announced that it would acquire WhatsApp for $19 billion, including $4 billion in cash, about $12 billion Facebook shares and $3 billion worth of stock units to WhatsApp employees, that is likely to be paid over 4 years. WhatsApp has 450 million monthly active users worldwide and over 320 million daily active users. It is currently adding more than 1 million new registered users per day.
Even after the deal nothing would change. WhatsApp’s brand will be maintained, including the headquarters. CEO Jan Koum will join Facebook’s Board of Directors and they will acquire the entire WhatsApp team, said Facebook.
On Facebook, CEO, Mark Zuckerberg said,
I’m excited to announce that we’ve agreed to acquire WhatsApp and that their entire team will be joining us at Facebook. WhatsApp will continue to operate independently within Facebook. The product roadmap will remain unchanged and the team is going to stay in Mountain View. WhatsApp will complement our existing chat and messaging services to provide new tools for our community.
In a blog post, Jan Koum, WhatsApp co-founder and CEO, said,
WhatsApp will remain autonomous and operate independently. You can continue to enjoy the service for a nominal fee. You can continue to use WhatsApp no matter where in the world you are, or what smartphone you’re using. And you can still count on absolutely no ads interrupting your communication.
Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 billion back in 2012. This is the largest acquisition the company has made till date.
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Motorola Moto G Dual SIM gets Android 4.4.2 KitKat update in India ._._._._.
Motorola has finally started rolling out the Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) update for the Dual SIM Moto G users in India. Motorola promised that the India users would get the update in a few weeks, at the launch, earlier this month. The Android 4.4.2 update was first released for the single SIM US variant first, back in December and it started rolling out in Europe, again for the single SIM variant last month. It rolled out for the Dual SIM variant in Malaysia and Taiwan earlier this month.
This update brings new phone dialer, printing, Android KitKat features such as restyled status and navigation bars, full-screen mode, color emoji, smarter power use, new camera features, including the most expected manual focus and exposure control and more.
Check out complete changelog of the update below.
- Android 4.4, KitKat – Enhancements such as restyled status and navigation bars, a new full-screen mode, color emoji support, improved closed captioning support, stronger security, smarter power use, and more tools and capabilities for better app development.
- Phone dialer – Improved phone app with the ability to look up contacts directly from the dial pad, see and tap frequent contacts, and search your corporate directory easily.
- Camera – Locked exposure during Panorama capture, additional language support, Manual control of focus and exposure, Bug fixes
- Gallery – New photo editing options including new filter effects, draw on your photos, advanced cropping, and adjustments to color, exposure, contrast and more.
- Printing documents and pictures – Support for printing photos, Google Docs, GMail messages, and other content via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and hosted services like Google Cloud Print and HP ePrinters.
- Hangouts – SMS/MMS support Incorporated a new version of Google Hangouts that supports integrated SMS/MMS messaging. Hangouts can be set as the default SMS app under Settings > Wireless > Default SMS app.
The Android 4.4.2 KitKat over-the-air OTA update (v 171.44.31.en.03) for the dual SIM variant is 230.7 MB, similar to the other Asian countries.
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First cut: Lenovo Vibe Z ._._._._.
Priced at Rs 35,999, the Lenovo Vibe Z comes armed with a powerful processor and high end features. Read on to know more.
Design and Display
The moment people hear about a 5.5 inch phablet, they get panicked about its size and weight. But the Lenovo Vibe Z is extremely light and weighs just 145 grams, despite having a metallic body.. It is also just 7.9 mm thickness. The handset is easily operable via one hand. Also, Lenovo Vibe Z has certain user interface elements that makes single handed operation easier which we will discuss in the user interface segment. The very thin bezel surrounding the display is also a prime factor in its thin and light weight profile.
The noticeable part of the Lenovo Vibe Z is its gorgeous 5.5 inch display which comes with full high definition resolution that translates to astounding 400 ppi pixel density. This IPS display also promises 180 degree viewing. The display has Corning Gorilla Glass 3 covering that protects it from scratches but it does not prevents finger prints. But the finger-print issue is not that acute though.
Coming back to the design aspect, the Lenovo Vibe Z does not have a unibody design, which used to be the fad of last year. It has infact several parts that are craftily joined together to create a beautiful device. Chief among them is its metallic rear panel but this laser-etched rear cover feels extremely good in hands and does provides a good grip. But since it is a metal panel, all those who have sweaty palms will definitely face some issues.
The laser-etched cover does not cover the whole back panel - there is a aluminium plate just below it which is extremely shiny and holds the speaker grill. A similar but much thinner aluminium plate is also below the display. The front and rear panel is separated by a faded metallic thread which holds all the ports - SIM slot, volume rocker, power button, micro USB port, and the 3.5 mm jack.
User interface
As I said earlier, Lenovo has taken time to develop a user interface that suits the Vibe Z which is just huge. Called as Smart UI, it makes one handed operation in Vibe Z quite easier. For instance, in Lenovo Vibe Z you can even use the volume rocker to switch on the phone which comes extremely handy as normally in such big phones reaching out to the power button is quite a tedious task.
Like in the Emotion UI of Huawei, in Lenovo Vibe Z too there is no app drawer; all the apps are on the home screen itself. You could create up to 18 home screens and even create folders. For instance, you could keep all the games in one folder in the home screen to keep the display clutter free.
Also, Lenovo has borrowed the multi window feature from Samsung; the multi-window appears on its right hand side and does not interfere in other tasks as the Samsung version does.
Like a majority of Android smartphones, it has got three capacitive touch buttons just below the display - Menu, Home, Return.
Camera
The Lenovo Vibe Z has a 13 megapixel auto focus rear camera. There are two LED flash lights in the back panel as well. In the front, it has a 5 megapixel fixed focus camera. The rear camera has the backing of a BSI sensor and it claims to be capable of capturing full HD videos.
The front camera though is a fixed focus one but it is said to have 84 degree wide lens which will certainly come handy while clicking selfies.
Hardware and Performance
The Lenovo Vibe Z has the 2.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad core processor. It has also the powerful Adreno 330 graphics processing unit and huge 2 GB RAM. However, a bit of dampener is that the Vibe Z comes with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system and not Android KitKat.
The absence of an expandable storage slot too may pinch the buyers as the phone has only 16 GB internal storage. Also, though it is a 4G compatible smartphone, it is only compatible with FDD-LTE version of 4G on which only Videocon is launching its 4G network in India.
All other telecos in India have opted for the TD-LTE version. Also, it has only a single SIM slot; the importance of dual SIM phones are palpable from the fact that HTC had in the past stopped making single SIM variant of HTC One model and instead offered a dual SIM version of the same.
Conclusion
The Lenovo Vibe Z is definitely a refreshing new model in the Rs 30,000-40,000 price bracket. It has got good design and display. As far as our initial experience is concerned, it also seems to have a good camera and a powerful processor. However, lack of expandable storage slot and a second SIM slot may go against it.
We will explore its other features and shortcomings (if any) in the coming days. So keep checking The Mobile Indian for a thorough review of the Lenovo Vibe Z which we may publish in a couple of days.
Airtel launches 4G for mobile phones ._._._._.
As of now, the service is only available in Bangaluru.
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As per Airtel, iPhone 5s and 5c device users can now avail the services. Curiously, Xolo LT900 and recently launched Gionee Elife E7 too support the 2300 MHz frequency band on which 4G is being offered by Airtel.
So if you have the iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c, update your SIM to a 4G SIM card to avail the services. Moreover, Airtel has announced that 4G services will be avaialble at existing 3G pack prices. For heavy data users, Airtel has also announced a new 4G plan giving customers 10 GB 4G data for Rs 1000. While data browsing will be on 4G network, voice calls will be routed on 2G/3G seamlessly with the CSFB (circuit switched fall back) technology.
"Airtel's 3G customers in Bengaluru on iPhone 5s or 5c can start enjoying 4G speeds at same price points as their existing 3G plan/pack. Customers on 2G/GPRS data plans/packs can also opt for any of the 3G plans/packs available and enjoy 4G speeds," the operator announced in a press release.
Airtel also offers 4G via dongle in Kolkata, Pune, Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchakula. So expect 4G mobile services in these circles soon as well.
With 4G, you can ideally achieve 100 Mbps speed. Airtel on its web page also says that with 4G, you could have 5 time faster internet connectivity than 3G but according to The Economic Times, Airtel 4G in Bangaluru provides 7.2 Mbps download speed.
Micromax Canvas Power A96 ._._._._.
Micromax Canvas Power A96
- Rs. 9,900
- 512 MB RAM
- 1.3 GHz, Quad Core
- 5 inches
- Launch Date : 14 February 2014
2 RATING
Tech Specification
General
- Model
- Micromax Canvas Power A96
- Price
- Rs. 9,900
- Launch Date
- 14 February 2014
- SIM
- Dual, GSM + GSM
- GPU
- Yes
- Operating System
- Android 4.1, Jellybean
- Processor
- Quad Core 1.3 GHz, Mediatek MT6582M
Display
- Type
- IPS-LCD, 16.7M colors
- Resolution
- 480 x 854 pixels
- Screen Size
- 5 inches
Memory
- RAM
- 512 MB
- Internal Memory
- 4 GB, 1.44G for apps & 1.14G for user
- Expandable
- 32 GB, Micro SD card slot
Camera
- Rear Camera
- 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 Pixels
- Front Camera
- 0.3 MP
- Image Stablizer
- No
- Flash
- Yes, LED
- Video Recording
- Yes, 1280x720 fps
Battery
- Capacity
- 4000 mAh
- Type
- Removable
- Talktime
- 4.5 hrs
- Standby Time
- 450 hrs
Dimension
- Design
- Bar
Connectivity
- Internet
- GPRS
EDGE
- Network
- 2G, GSM 900/1800
3G, HSDPA 2100
- GPS
- Yes
- GSM/CDMA
- GSM
- Bluetooth
- 3.0
- WiFi
- Yes, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
- USB
- Yes
- HDMI
- No
- Headphone Connector
- 3.5 mm
- NFC
- No
- DLNA
- No
Multimedia
- Radio
- Yes
- Media Player
- Yes, Mp3/MID/AMR/AAC/WAV
- Video Player
- Yes, 3GP, MP4
Additional Feature
- Sensors
- G- sensor
- Built in Applications
- Yes, Android Market, Calculator, Stopwatch, World clock, Calendar, Alarm, Document viewer
- Warranty
- 1 Year
- Keypad
- Touchscreen
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