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Nokia Asha 501, the company's latest attempt at out-innovating the low end smartphone market, was launched today in New Delhi and we got some fair play time with the device. Based on the new Nokia Asha platform, the device was previously demoed by Nokia's Peter Skillman, who led the whole effort of bringing the intuitive N9 UI to the low end. After a healthy hands on time with the device, we can't withhold ourselves from telling you about this device. But before that, here is a complete overview of the device -
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MgZbZObE7s
If you haven't read our earlier Nokia Asha 501 posts, you must, now -
Asha 501 Hands on
Photo Gallery
Interview with Peter Skillman
And now, our first impressions of the device. There is one thing that stood out from the presentation and that was the software, so lets start with that!
No more series 40!
This has been a long time coming. Lets go back a couple of years. After the Nokia N9 was declared the only Meego device ever, Marko Ahtisaari, the Design head at Nokia said that the swipe UI will live on, but days and months passed without any information on how it is going to endure at Nokia. Then ...
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Nokia announced the Asha 501, the company's latest full touch phone with the new phone in the Asha range earlier today. It runs on Nokia Asha software platform with Swipe UI based on Series 40 OS, has a 3-inch QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) display and a 3.2-megapixel fixed focus rear camera. We got some hands-on time with the device at the launch event. Check out the photo gallery below.
There is only one physical back button on the bottom of the display.
There is a volume rocker and power button on the right side.
There is nothing on the other side, but you can remove the back cover easily to view the micro SD and SIM card slots.
The 3.5 mm audio jack, micro USB slot and a 2mm charger port. It also lets you charge via micro USB.
The phone has a sturdy build quality. There is a 3.2-megapixel fixed focus camera on the back and a speaker grill.
Here you can see the slots clearly. The SIM 2 slot supports hotswap. The primary SIM card slot is underneath the battery. The 1200 mAh battery would offer up to 17 hours of talktime and up to 48 days of standby (Dual SIM standby time: up to ...
Nokia unveiled the Asha 501 at an event in Delhi earlier today. At the launch Nokia has announced that they have partnered with Facebook to offer free Facebook access on Airtel subscribers in Africa and India. Facebook app comes pre-loaded on the Asha 501, apart from range of apps including Foursquare, LinkedIn, Nimbuzz, Twitter and more.
Airtel had offered free Facebook access for their pre-paid customers for limited period earlier this year. Reliance offered unlimited Facebook and Facebook Messenger access at Rs. 16 per month. Looks like is the first time a device maker like Nokia is partnering with Facebook for data-free access.
Regarding the partnership, Vaughn Smith, VP mobile partnerships, Facebook said,
This bundle is a great way to discover Facebook on your Nokia Asha and enjoy the experience for longer without worrying about data charges. Working in close partnership with Nokia and global operators made this offer possible and we're excited to help connect the world on Facebook.
Facebook would be free to access both from the app and m.facebook.com for a limited period of time with the Nokia Asha 501 after the its launch in June on Airtel network in Africa and India.
Karbonn S2 Titanium went on pre-order online earlier this week. The phone is now available from online retailers Snapdeal, Infibeam and Saholic. It has a 5-inch FWVGA screen (854×480 pixels), powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor and runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). It comes with a 8-megpixel auto-focus camera with LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera similar to the S5 Titanium. It also has dual SIM support with dual standby.
Karbonn S2 Titanium specifications
5-inch (854×480 pixels) multi-touch capacitive touch screen display
Dual SIM (GSM + GSM) with Dual Standby
Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) OS
1.2 GHz quad-core processor
8MP Auto Focus Camera with LED flash
2MP front-facing camera
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP and GPS
1GB RAM, 4GB internal memory (1.79 GB user memory), Expandable memory up to 32GB with micro SD
2100 mAh battery
The Karbonn S2 Titanium comes in White and Black colors and is priced at Rs. 10,790.
Source: Snapdeal, Infibeam and Saholic
Vodafone, in a statement today has announced that they are taking all required actions, including legal against the Department of Telecom (DoT), regarding extension and continuity of its licenses in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, as per the provisions of policy and license and repeated assurances by DoT and Ministry in the past. The 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrum allocated to Vodafone would expire in 2014.
Vodafone had filed extension applications for the 3 metro circles with DoT in December 2012. Since DoT did not hear it for several months, Vodafone filed a petition with Delhi High Court for consideration of the license extension applications. The Honourable High Court directed DoT to consider the extension applications and give Vodafone an effective hearing, but the DoT rejected Vodafone’s applications for extension without due consideration. Vodafone India had written to Department of Telecom (DoT) expressing its concern about its rejection, but there was no use.
Vodafone would take the legal recourse by challenging DoT’s arbitrary rejection of its extension applications since it can cause grave inconvenience to millions of customers in these 3 circles. The DoT is asking Vodafone to pay the full amount for the spectrum by participating in the auction. Vodafone says they are willing to ...
Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S4 Zoom (SM-C1010) with a 16-megapixel camera at the end of this month, according to a report from Sammobile. This would be the company's first camera phone. Samsung already launched the Galaxy Camera with a 17 Megapixel sensor that can capture images at 16.3 Megapixel resolution. The S4 Zoom would hav a similar sensor, 4.3-inch qHD SAMOLED display, instead of a 4.8-inch 720p Super Clear Touch Display and runs on Android Jelly Bean OS with Samsung's own Touchwiz interface with Nature UX. It would have 8 GB of memory, MicroSD up to 64 GB, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and A-GPS.
It might come with a dual-core or quad-core processor. Sadly no details about the sensor size, RAM or the battery yet. Sony is also rumored to launch a CyberShot camera phone codenamed Honami with a 1/1.6" sensor, larger that than 1.23" sensor in the Galaxy Camera.
The Galaxy S4 Zoom would come in Black and White colors and is expected to go on sale in June or July. Sammobile also says the the rumored Galaxy S4 Activ and the Galaxy S4 mini that was confirmed recently would be announced along with the S4 Zoom later this month. So three ...
LG has announced that they would launch LTE TDD capable smartphones globally starting from Saudi Arabia with its flagship Optimus G smartphone on the Saudi Telecom Company (STC) network. LG has also confirmed that they would release LTE TDD-enabled smartphones in other countries China, India, North America, Japan and Australia later this year. LG started testing LTE TDD service, in partnership with China Mobile at the MWC 2013 earlier this year.
LTE TDD allows receiving and transmitting to occur on the same frequency at different times, unlike Long Term Evolution Frequency Division Duplexing (LTE FDD) which assigns two different frequencies for transmitting and receiving data. This uses a narrow band for uploading and a wider band for downloading heavier content such as video and music for more efficient transmission of data. Airtel announced the Ascend P1 LTE on their network with LTE TDD support, but no sign of the phone event after months.
LG launched the Optimus G in India earlier this year, but that doesn't support LTE. The Optimus G that was released in the U.S and several countries uses LTE FDD. Back in March LG announced that they have shipped over 10 million LTE smartphones globally.
Flipboard for Android has been updated to version 2.0 that brings new features including option to create your own magazines, improved search, faster and lots more new features. Now the magazine editor is also available on the web from editor.flipboard.com. All these features are already for Flipboard for iPhone and iPad in the version 2.0 update back in March.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0PeBt1S3w4
New features in Flipboard for Android 2.0
Collect and save content into your own magazines, tap the “+” button to begin
Make the magazines public or private
Integrated Android share: add content from the Gallery & other apps to your magazines
New bookmarklet (share.flipboard.com) lets you add items to your magazines from your browser
Get notifications when people like, comment or subscribe to your magazines
Share your magazine through email, Facebook, Twitter, G+, etc
Get personalized list of things for reading in cover stories based on your social interactions.
Search is now front & center, with improved results
Download Flipboard for Android from the Google Play Store for free, if you don't have it yet.
Read
With the Nokia Lumia 720, the Finnish smartphone manufacturer has revealed the latest element of its strategy to recapture the mobile phone market. Sitting right in the middle of the Lumia Windows Phone family, the Lumia 720 marries sophisticated design and subtle design elements with specifications that are powerful enough to get the job done but is this sufficient to take on the multitudes of midrange Android based competitors ? Read on to find out.
Design
The Lumia 720 doesn't break any new grounds in terms of design but it does continue the legacy pioneered with the 820 in particular. The design is also quite similar to that of the 520 though perhaps not to the same degree. The unibody polycarbonate shell feels absolutely fantastic when held and offers seamless curves which fit well in the hand.
This design familiarity continues across the Lumia 520, 620 and 720 but Nokia has done a good job at retaining a hint of individuality in the handsets. You can see that they belong to the same family but wouldn't really confuse the three.
The front of the phone is dominated by the 4.3 inch WVGA screen with the standard Windows Phone buttons located at the bottom. Over ...
Karbonn A7 Star, successor of the A7+ is now available from online retailer Snapdeal. It has a 4.5-inch (854 ×480 pixels) FWVGA capacitive touch screen display and runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), similar to the Karbonn A12 that went on sale earlier this year, but this comes with 2G (EDGE) support. It is powered by a 1 GHz dual-core processor, has a 5-megapixel auto focus camera with LED flash and a 0.3MP (VGA) front-facing camera. It also comes with dual SIM support with dual standby. Karbonn launched the A7 back in July and A7+ in October last year. Both these phones had a 3.5-inch screen and Android 2.3.
Karbonn A7 Star Specificaions
4.5-inch (854 ×480 pixels) FWVGA capacitive touch sceen display
Dual SIM (GSM + GSM) with Dual Standby
Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OS
1GHz dual-core processor
5MP Auto Focus Camera with LED flash
0.3MP front-facing camera
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
2G (EDGE), Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth
512MB RAM, 164MB of user memory, Expandable memory up to 32GB with micro SD
1400 mAh battery
The Karbonn A7 Star is priced at Rs. 6,190 and is available from Snapdeal.
Nokia Asha 501, the company's latest attempt at out-innovating the low end smartphone market, was launched today in New Delhi and we got some fair play time with the device. Based on the new Nokia Asha platform, the device was previously demoed by Nokia's Peter Skillman, who led the whole effort of bringing the intuitive N9 UI to the low end. After a healthy hands on time with the device, we can't withhold ourselves from telling you about this device. But before that, here is a complete overview of the device -
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MgZbZObE7s
If you haven't read our earlier Nokia Asha 501 posts, you must, now -
Asha 501 Hands on
Photo Gallery
Interview with Peter Skillman
And now, our first impressions of the device. There is one thing that stood out from the presentation and that was the software, so lets start with that!
No more series 40!
This has been a long time coming. Lets go back a couple of years. After the Nokia N9 was declared the only Meego device ever, Marko Ahtisaari, the Design head at Nokia said that the swipe UI will live on, but days and months passed without any information on how it is going to endure at Nokia. Then ...
Indian budget Android device manufacturer, Gionee, has introduced yet another model dubbed the G Pad - G2. The G2 is the company's 10th product over the course of three months and features a rather large 5.3 inch display. The phone is powered by a 1.2 GHz Quad Core processor while the operating system is Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. It was launched last month, now the phone is finally on sale.
The GPad-G2 also has an 8MP auto focus camera over at the back next to an LED flash. The camera can shoot video in up to 720p resolution. A 2MP front facing camera is also provided. The screen despite being large at 5.3" has a resolution of just qHD which means that content just won't appear as sharp as possible because of the low pixel density. The dual SIM phone is powered by a 3000 mAh battery pack that should enable fairly long stand by times.
The phone is of the dual standby variety. In addition to the standard hardware features, Gionee has bundled in software based DTS sound that should enable a better music listening experience. Popular apps like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter have also been pre-installed. The phone will be available ...
Nokia has just announced its new PureView device, the Lumia 928 for Verizon. The highlight of the phone is its pairing of a Xenon flash with the optical image stabilization assembly from the 920. The camera is a 8.7MP unit which will let you shoot images in both 4:3 and 16:9 mode without cropping. The camera module has a f/2.0 aperture.
Internally the phone has almost the same components as the Lumia 920 powering the device with a 1.5GHz dual core Qualcomm MSM8960 paired with 1GB of RAM. The display is a 4.5" 720p HD OLED screen with Nokia's PureMotion HD+ technology that accelerates the pixels which helps reduce ghosting. The phone is also equipped with High Amplitude Audio Capture (HAAC) microphones to facilitate superior quality audio recording at up to 140 decibels. It would run on Verizon's LTE network.
In line with previous devices, the Lumia 928 has wireless charging built in to charge up the 2000 mAh battery pack. Measuring 5.24 x 2.71 x 0.44 inches in terms of dimensions, the Finnish manufacturer's new phone weighs in at 163 grams. The Nokia Lumia 928 will be available on Verizon starting 16th May and has been priced at $99 on a two year ...
Asus launched the Fonepad in India last month. We brought you the unboxing of the device recently, here we have the complete review of the device. The Fonepad was announced at the MWC 2013, and packs a 1.2 GHz Intel Atom Z2420 processor. Xolo launched the Xolo X500 powered by the Atom Lexington Z2420 processor earlier this year. The Asus Fonepad is the first tablet to use the chip. This tablet is a direct competitor to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 310 that we reviewed last year. Will this tablet outperform the Tab 2 ? Read on to find out.
Hardware
The tablet has a 7-inch LED-backlit screen at a resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels) with a pixel density of 216 ppi. The display is decent with good viewing angles, since it glossy it is a fingerprint magnet. Text, photos and videos are clearly visible, but the display is hardly visible under direct sunlight. It has ambient light sensor that adjusts the brightness according to the environment, additionally you can enable outdoor mode from the settings that improves the brightness, but the display is not that good under sunlight.
There is ear piece on the top next to the 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera. The proximity and ambient ...
Lemon Aspire A1, the company's latest Android smartphone is now available from online retailers Infibeam and Snapdeal. It has a 5.3-inch qHD (960 x 540 pixels) capacitive touch screen IPS display based on one-glass solution (OGS) technology, powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core Cortex A9 processor and runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). It has a 8-megapixel camera with LED Flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. It comes with a stylus that fits into a slot on the back of the phone. The company is calling it E-Pen. Gionee launched the Gpad-G2 with a 5.3-inch qHD screen and a quad-core processor yesterday.
Lemon Aspire A1 Specifications
5.3-inch (960 x 540 pixels) capacitive touch screen IPS display
1.2 GHz dual-core Cortex A9 processor
Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
Dual SIM (GSM + GSM)
8MP rear camera with LED Flash
2MP front-facing camera
10.3 mm thick and weighs 197 grams
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
1GB RAM, 4GB internal memory, 32GB expandable memory with MicroSD
3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS
2500 mAh battery
The Lemon Aspire A1 is priced at Rs.14,999.
Source: Infibeam, Snapdeal
iBall has officially launched the Andi 5L and 5Li, the company's latest Android smartphones. The iBall Andi 5L went on sale earlier this month, and the Andi 5Li appeared on the official website at the same time. Both these phones have a 5-inch WVGA (480×800 pixels) display and powered by a dual-core 1GHz Cortex A9 processor. The Andi 5L runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and the Andi 5Li comes with Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). These phones would also have dual SIM support. The Andi 5L comes with Stylus support.
iBall Andi 5L specifications
5-inch (480×800 pixels) capacitive touch screen display
Dual SIM (GSM + GSM) with Dual Standby
Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OS
1 GHz dual-core Cortex A9 Processor
8MP Auto Focus Camera with LED flash
0.3MP (VGA)front-facing camera
3.5mm audio jack
3G (HSDPA 7.2Mbps ; HSUPA 5.76Mbps), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS
512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 32GB with micro SD
1800 mAh battery
iBall Andi 5Li specifications
5-inch (480×800 pixels) capacitive touch screen display
Dual SIM (GSM + GSM) with Dual Standby
Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) OS
1 GHz dual-core Cortex A9 Processor
8MP Auto Focus Camera with LED flash
0.3MP (VGA) front-facing camera
3.5mm audio jack
3G (HSDPA 7.2Mbps ; HSUPA 5.76Mbps), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS
512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, expandable memory up to ...
"The N9 is back!" I exclaimed, when Nokia's CEO Stephen Elop asked some of us bloggers what our first thoughts of the Nokia Asha 501 were. "Doesn't it feel good?" he said, and we all nodded in unison. Five minutes before that moment, it was a private room full of bloggers, eager to ask questions to the Chief of a company that just made the world know its effort to re-invent the affordable smartphone. What follows below is a summary of our discussion with Stephen Elop and what we learned from it.
The Asha 501 is, in many ways a tribute to the amazing user interface of the N9 and the people behind it. Peter Skillman, who was one of the key hires in the Meego-Harmattan period is the VP of Mobile Phone user experience at Nokia now, and he passionately spearheaded the Asha 501 product development. According to Stephen, Peter was the one who said a lot of "No"s to the engineering team to get the performance right up to the level that is. The level of passion Peter displayed at his Keynote presentation was indicative of his role in the Asha 501, like Stephen mentioned in our discussion. It ...
You might be aware that Nokia is hosting an event in London this week on May 14 where the Finnish handset market is expected to announce a new Lumia phone. We have been hearing a lot of rumours about the phone code-named "Catwalk" in the last few weeks. Nokia might finally make this phone official and call it the Lumia 925. The company has been teasing the new phone in a commercial aired on British television earlier today. The phone in the video looks a lot like the one spotted in the Catwalk leaks. This device certainly must pack some impressive camera features as Nokia decided to use the words "more than your eyes can see" in the teaser. I am right now sitting at an Airport in Chennai waiting to board my flight to London to cover the Nokia event.
Here is the video of the Nokia teaser which aired on British television earlier today and captured by Tom Warren of TheVerge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev9rdaDK-YQ
Stay tuned to FoneArena on May 14th as we will live from the Nokia Lumia London event and if connectivity is sorted , we should be even live blogging all the news as it breaks from the venue.
The invite ...
Sony Mobile has announced the Xperia ZR, the company's latest Android smartphone in the Xperia series. It has a 4.55-inch HD (1280×720 pixels) Reality display with mobile Bravia Engine 2 and is powered by 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm APQ 8064 processor with Adreno 320 GPU. It has a 13MP camera with LED Flash, Exmor RS sensor for HDR images and a 0.3-megapixel (VGA) front-facing canera. It has IP55 and IP58 ratings for dust and water resistance and has PlayStation Mobile support. The Sony Xperia Z had water resistance up to 1 meter, but the Xperia ZR has water resistance of up to 1.50 metres for up to 30 minutes that lets you capture images and record video under water.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDuYUlHc1r4
Sony Xperia ZR specifications
4.55-inch HD (1280×720 pixels) Reality display with mobile Bravia Engine 2
Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm APQ 8064 processor with Adreno 320 GPU
13 MP camera with LED Flash, Exmor RS sensor for HDR images and video
0.3MP (VGA) front-facing camera
Water and Dust Resistant (IP55 and IP58)
10.4mm thick and weighs 140g
3.5m audio jack, FM Radio
2GB RAM, 8GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD
4G LTE / 3G HSPA+, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0,DLNA GPS, NFC
2300 mAh battery
Sony Xperia ZR comes in Black, ...
Flipboard for iPhone and iPad has been updated to version 2.0.2 that brings new features including new profile pages, option to share a new via SMS, saving an image to the camera roll, Friends category in the content guide and lots more features. Flipboard for iPhone and iPad version 2.0 update back in March brought custom magazines. The Android app got the 2.0 update last week.
New features in Flipboard for iPhone and iPad 2.0.2
Get a window onto your readership and curation activity with new profile pages.
Discover magazines by friends quickly in new Friends category in the Content Guide.
Select a social network and access options more easily in the improved share menu.
Share magazines and stories with friends and family via SMS text messaging.
Save images directly to your device. Tap item's share icon, then "Save to Camera Roll."
Improved navigation for Google Reader RSS folders
Download Flipboard for iPhone and iPad from the Apple iTunes Store for free, if you don't have it yet.
Along with the Asha 501, Nokia also introduced some new gear at the grand event that happened in New Delhi. Amongst the loads of accessories displayed at the event, we spotted some new ones, which includes the Nokia DC-18, a new portable battery pack launched along with the Asha. There was also the BH-118, a mono bluetooth headset with a dock, which looked weird yet useful. The above photo is of the DC-18, of which we have more photos below and the others too.
The DC-18 battery pack was launched as a companion to the Asha 501, which is already impressive with its battery life rated at 17 hours of talk time and 48 days of standby. The DC-18 will help prolonging the battery even further with its 1720 mAH capacity that can possibly charge the 1110 mAH battery of the Asha 501 1.5 times.
The retractable micro USB cable supports all devices, and on the top of the battery pack is a LED indicator for the battery pack. Over at the bottom, you have the input micro USB port that in turn is used to charge the battery pack itself. You can see the micro USB port in the blue and ...
