Xiaomi announced the Redmi 2 smartphone in China last month. It is a budget smartphone from the company that supports 4G LTE connectivity. We have seen the unboxing and photo gallery of the phone and now lets compare the phone with Xiaomi Redmi 1s in this photo gallery.
Redmi 2 has a 4.7-inch HD screen and is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 64-bit SoC. Running on Android 4.4 (KitKat) with MIUI 6 on top, the phone comes with 1GB RAM, 8GB internal memory, micro SD support up to 32GB. On the other hand Redmi 1S has 4.7-inch HD IPS display, powered by a 1.6 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (MSM8228) processor with Adreno 305 GPU. Running Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) based MIUI ROM, it has 1GB RAM, 8GB internal memory, micro SD card up to 64GB.
Redmi 2 has a 2MP front-facing camera that supports 720P HD video recording and earpiece at the center. Redmi 1S has a 1.6MP front-facing camera.
Both the device have three red capacitive buttons below the display for menu, home and back.
Both the devices have volume rockers and the power button present on the right side of the phone.
The 3.5mm audio jack is also present on ...
Xiaomi announced the Redmi 2 smartphone in China last month. It is a budget smartphone from the company that supports 4G LTE connectivity. We have seen the unboxing and photo gallery of the phone and now lets compare the phone with Xiaomi Redmi 1s in this photo gallery.
Redmi 2 has a 4.7-inch HD screen and is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 64-bit SoC. Running on Android 4.4 (KitKat) with MIUI 6 on top, the phone comes with 1GB RAM, 8GB internal memory, micro SD support up to 32GB. On the other hand Redmi 1S has 4.7-inch HD IPS display, powered by a 1.6 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (MSM8228) processor with Adreno 305 GPU. Running Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) based MIUI ROM, it has 1GB RAM, 8GB internal memory, micro SD card up to 64GB.
Redmi 2 has a 2MP front-facing camera that supports 720P HD video recording and earpiece at the center. Redmi 1S has a 1.6MP front-facing camera.
Both the device have three red capacitive buttons below the display for menu, home and back.
Both the devices have volume rockers and the power button present on the right side of the phone.
The 3.5mm audio jack is also present on ...
Motorola has started rolling out soak tests for Android 5.0 Lollipop on Moto Maxx and Moto E. The company is starting the soak test for Moto Maxx users in Brazil and Mexico, along with the Moto E users in Brazil and India.
Motorola said that as this is a soak test the Lollipop update will hit to a small test group. If the update gets a good feedback and review from these users, the company will expand it to a larger group. Moto E users in India can prepare for the upgrade by making sure they have the latest version of Motorola Update Services from the Play Store.
Motorola started rolling out Android 5.0 Lollipop update to Moto G (1st and 2nd generation) last month in India. While the Moto X 2nd generation began the Lollipop update in December 2014 in the country. Earlier this month, Android distribution numbers from Google revealed that 5.0 Lollipop is present on 1.6% of all current Android devices as of February 2. The percentage will surely increase as more and more manufacturers start rolling out the Android 5.0 Lollipop update.
Microsoft has confirmed that it has acquired the popular calendar app Sunrise. The official announcement comes from the company following a report about the same last week.
Previous report had stated that Microsoft had acquired Sunrise for over $100 million, but the company did not reveal any financial details. Sunrise allows users to import their calendar from iCloud, Microsoft Exchange and Google Calendar. It also integrates with apps like Evernote, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Facebook and Github to fill out events with more information. The Sunrise app will continue to work as a separate app and will be available for download.
"The Sunrise app will accelerate Microsoft’s path to that future of calendaring. By connecting your calendar with a range of services, it provides a far better view of your day, week or month ahead. It acts in a helpful and automatic way, pulling relevant details from across your digital life. It has a simple and beautiful design across devices for a reliable, consistent experience".
posted Microsoft Rajesh Jha, Corporate Vice President, Outlook and Office 365 in a blog.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KhasPPLH7A
Microsoft acquired email app Acompli for more than $200 million in December. Last month, the company also launched new Outlook apps for iOS and Android that is powered ...
Dropbox has appointed Vanessa Wittman as new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Vanessa joins Dropbox from Motorola Mobility, where she served as SVP and CFO following its acquisition by Google.
Vanesa will be replacing longtime CFO Sujay Jaswa, a four-year veteran at the company who is leaving to pursue a career in investing. He has led international expansion, several large deals and massive fundings, which have ultimately valued Dropbox at $10 billion. Prior to Motorola Mobility, Vanessa was CFO of Marsh & McLennan and had also held finance roles at Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, and others.
In May 2014, Dropbox announced that it had more than 300 million users. Last month, the company bought mobile productivity start-up CloudOn. Last year, Dropbox and Microsoft’s teamed up to deliver stronger integration between Office and Dropbox.
BLU Products has released BLU Studio Energy smartphone in U.S. with a 5000mAh battery that promises up to 4 days of battery life on standard usage with a single charge or 45 days stand-by. Specifications of the smartphone is decent too, which includes a 5-inch HD display, 1.3GHz Quad Core Processor, 1GB RAM and 8GB of internal storage with expansion slot. It runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat), which will be upgraded to to Lollipop in June, says the company.
Since it has a huge battery, you can also charge other devices on-the-go using the included micro USB cable. Even though it packs a 5000mAh battery, it is just 10.4mm thick.
BLU Studio Energy specifications
5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection
1.3GHz quad-core Mediatek MT6582 processor with Mali-400 GPU
1GB RAM, 8GB internal memory, expandable memory with microSD
Android 4.4 (KitKat), upgradable to Android 5.0 (Lollipop)
Dual SIM with dual standby
8MP rear camera with LED Flash, 1.4mm pixel size, 1/3.2 inch sensor, 2.2mm aperture, 1080p at 30fps
2MP front-facing camera
Dimensions: 144.5 x 71.45 x 10.4 mm; Weight: 180g
3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS
5000 mAh battery
The BLU Studio Energy comes in Midnight Black, Ceramic White and Luxury Gold and is available though Amazon in the U.S. for $149 (Rs. 9,300 approx.).
Starting today, U.S wireless carriers will have to abide by policy agreements laid down by the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) regarding device unlocking.
Under the new law, users can unlock a smartphone or a tablet as per their need. Prior to the new policy implementation, carriers in the U.S locked the SIM slots on the devices they sold which did not allow users to switch to a different carrier for a better deal for service. However, the CTIA Wireless Association Consumer Code will now require them to unlock devices on request and set out clear rules for when the carriers have to comply.
The CTIA proposed policy rules that all the major carriers agreed to, with February 11, 2014 as the official adoption deadline. Soon after the proposal, President Obama signed the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act on August 1, 2014. Major carriers in the U.S like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint (phones sold before February can only be unlocked to international carriers, not other US carriers), T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular, have all subscribed to the same industry cellphone unlocking standard.
Prepaid devices, users will have to wait a year before they can have their devices unlocked while post-paid devices will qualify for unlocking ...
Oppo has introduced Oppo 3000 smartphone in China. It has a 4.7-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) display, powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 64-bit processor and runs on Android 4.4 (Ktikat) with Color OS 2.01 ROM on top. It has a 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 1/3.2″ Sony IMX179 sensor with pixel size of 1.4 microns, f/2.0 aperture, 5-element lens and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.
It has dual SIM support, 4G LTE connectivity, comes with 1GB RAM, 8GB of internal storage with expansion slot and a 2000mAh battery.
Oppo 3000 specifications
4.7-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD IPS display
1.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 (MSM8916) processor with Adreno 306 GPU
1GB RAM, 8GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD
Android 4.4 (KitKat) with Color ROM
Dual SIM
8MP rear camera with LED Flash
5MP front-facing camera
3.5mm audio jack
8.95mm thick and weighs 126 grams
4G LTE / 3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
2000 mAh battery
The Oppo 3000 comes in Grey and White colors and is priced at 1599 Chinese Yuan (US$ 256 / Rs. 16,000 approx) in China. It is available from official Oppo online Store in China, but no details about the global roll out.
Via
Samsung has started releasing Android 5.0 Lollipop update to Galaxy Note 4 in Poland, according to a report from SamMobile. At present, it is an OTA update and is expected to show up in the KIES tool soon.
The update is available OTA to the SM-910C (Exynos) variant. As expected the update has Material Design elements such as bold colors, small animations and colorful UI. The phone will also get expandable lock screen notifications from stock Lollipop. Other features for the Galaxy Note 4, include TouchWiz upgrades, improved battery life, faster performance, heads-up alerts, multi-user support for phones, Smart Lock, MirrorLink and more. A couple of Samsung apps have also been refreshed with Material Design features.
In December, Samsung started rolling out Lollipop update to Galaxy S5 in Poland and other European countries. Also, earlier this month Galaxy S5 Exynos variant received Lollipop update in Kazhakhstan. Galaxy Note 4 users in Poland can check for the update now by heading into Settings > About Phone > Software updates and hitting the “Check now” button.
OPPO has introduced Mirror 3 smartphone in India. It was first introduced in Vietnam last month and was launched in China as OPPO 3000 in China. It has a 4.7-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) display, is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 64-bit processor and runs on Android 4.4 (Ktikat) with Color OS 2.01 ROM on top. It has a 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.
The camera has PI 2.0+ technology that includes snap shot offering depth of field, Double Exposure, selfie mode Beautify Mode 3.0 and more. Front camera lens with 5 megapixels will make you fall in love with selfie-taking and admiring yourself from every angle. It has dual micro SIM support, 1GB RAM, 8GB of internal storage with expansion slot and a 2000mAh battery.
It has classic dotted design on the back cover, where precisely engineered 0.5 mm embossed dots are molded three dimensionally after 10 printing procedures and protected by scratch-resistant UV coating, resulting in transparent and three dimensional texture effects, says the company.
Commenting on the launch, Tom Lu, CEO, OPPO Mobiles India said:
The smartphone technology is constantly evolving. We are excited to introduce Mirror 3 to our picture-loving Indian customers. It comes with phenomenal camera quality. No ...
HERE Maps has received an update for its Android and Windows apps. The latest update brings new navigable countries, improvements to nine islands and territories, new water features and public transportation enhancements.
The new countries with turn-by-turn navigation are Cyprus, Mayotte, and Zimbabwe. Additionally, navigation has been improved in Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Fiji, Gambia, Liberia, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, and Somalia. These improvements include major road identification and the addition of land usage information. The update brings more accurate ways of displaying public transport in Kaohsiung, Taipei, Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Singapore. In addition, the update adds better representation of in-land water, like lakes and ponds.
The update has not yet rolled out for Android and HERE Maps will notify you when it will hit Play Store. In case of Windows Phone, users will need to go to Maps-> Settings -> Check for Updates or to Here Maps -> Download Maps -> Check for updates. In December, HERE maps for Windows Phone was updated with new features. HERE teamed up with BMW for "Intelligent Drive" experience that will allow your car to learn the tank level at which you usually refill and automatically search for gas stations when you get to that point.
Spice Mobility has launched Stellar 431, the company's latest budget smartphone in the Stellar series. It comes with 4-inch (480 x 800 pixels) display, is powered by a 1 GHz dual-core processor and run on Android 4.4 (KitKat). It features a 3.2-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. It has dual SIM support and 3G connectivity. It comes pre-loaded with OLX, WhatsApp, Opera, AskMe and more.
Commenting on the launch, Prashant Bindal, CEO, Spice Mobility Ltd, said,
The Spice Stellar 431 is a budget friendly fully loaded smartphone, combining best-in-class technological innovations and superior looks targeted at our younger consumers. Keeping in mind their need to be always connected, we have designed the phone to support an impeccable internet experience at a very pocket friendly price.
Spice Stellar 431 specifications
4-inch (480 x 800 pixels) capacitive touch screen display
1 GHz dual-core processor
512 MB RAM, 4GB Internal memory, Expandable memory up to 32GB with micro SD
Dual SIM with Dual Standby
Android 4.4 (KitKat) OS
3.2MP rear camera with LED flash
1.3MP front-facing camera
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, GPS
1400 mAh battery
The Spice Stellar 431 comes in Blue color and is priced at Rs. 3,499. It comes with four additional back panels in vibrant ...
Samsung introduced Samsung Z back in June last year as their first Tizen-powered smartphone, but it decided not to launch the smartphone. It launched the Samsung Z1 (Z130H) entry-level smartphone running on Tizen OS last month priced at Rs. 5,700. Is the smartphone worth the price? Let us find out in the complete review.
Unboxing
We unboxed the Samsung Z1 recently. Check out the unboxing.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfTZGF5p2Kk
Display, Hardware and Design
It has a 4-inch WVGA (800×480) PLS display with a pixel density of about 233 PPI. The display is bright and the colors are vibrant, but the viewing angles are below average. Since it lacks an ambient light sensor, you have to adjust the brightness manually for better viewing in bright outdoor conditions. There is a outdoor mode that increases the phone's brightness for a period of 15 minutes and returns back to normal after that. Since the display is glossy, it is prone to fingerprints. Overall the display is just average. For the price the display could have been better.
It has a VGA front-facing camera but lacks both the proximity and ambient light sensors. There is an earpiece in the centre, above the display, Samsung branding below that and Duos branding next to it. ...
Twitter has acquired Niche, a startup that connects advertisers with creative users on services like Vine to make money. It provides monetization strategies along with cross platform analytics tools.
"As more users and creators use different products as a way to share what’s happening in their world, brands are also looking to partner with those individuals in hopes of generating moments that resonate with the people they are trying to reach. The talent and creativity across the entire media landscape is incredible, and we hope this acquisition continues to inspire people to create great content."
posted Baljeet Singh (@singhtv), Director, Product Management on a blog.
Started in 2013, by Rob Fishman and Darren Lachtman, Niche has helped help Vine and Instagram popular celebrities leverage their online influence in paid deals with brands and advertisers. It is touted as a talent agency for social media stars and works with more than 6,000 creators. The Niche acquisition will create a new revenue stream for Twitter.
"Twitter has become a vital partner for Niche during the past year, especially as it relates to our relationship with Vine and the creative community there. Our software supports much of the leading talent on Vine and Twitter, and we have been ...
Lava International has launched iris 465, the company's latest budget smartphone in the iris series that has support for 21 Indian languages. It has a 4.5-inch (854 ×480 pixels) FWVGA display, is powered by a 1.3 GHz dual-core processor and runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat). It has a 3.2-megapixel camera with LED flash and a 0.3MP (VGA) front-facing camera.
It has dual SIM support with dual standby and 3G connectivity. It has support for Hindi, Bodo, Sanskrit, Nepali, Marathi, Dogri, Konkani, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Bengali, Assamese, Maithili, Maniouri, Gujarati, Punjabi, Santali, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu, Malyalam, Kannada.
Lava Iris 465 Specifications
4.5-inch (854 ×480 pixels) display
1.3 GHz dual-core processor
512MB RAM, 4GB of internal memory, Expandable memory up to 32GB with micro SD
Android 4.4 (KitKat) OS
3.2MP camera with LED flash
0.3MP front-facing camera
Dual SIM with dual Standby
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth and GPS
1750mAh battery
The Lava Iris 465 comes in Black color and is priced at Rs. 4,499. It will be available across India from today and from e-commerce portals starting next week.
Google is developing a mobile payment service, according to a latest report from The Information. Dubbed as 'Plaso', the service will allow users to make payments from your Android phone by simply saying your initials at the payment counter.
Plaso uses an app on Google-issued Android phones that alerts retailers when there is someone in the store that can pay with it. The service apparently appears to be using Bluetooth beacon technology to detect Google’s digital payments apps on smartphones physically in the store or near check out. The service is reportedly being tested at a few restaurant chains, including Panera Bread and Papa John’s.
Buyers initials show up on the app, which is how the retailer verifies your identity. The cashier locates your initials from a list of Plaso-enabled devices within Bluetooth range of the cashier's device. As per the report states that people will need Android phones to use Plaso, which could be integrated with Google Wallet. At present, Plaso is only being used by Google employees. How does the service processes the payments is not known as of yet.
There is no word on when Plaso might see commercial use. Google builds and tests many products that never see the light of day, ...
Amazon Appstore is back with another free apps offer, this time for Valentines day. The company offers 37 paid Android apps and games worth $140 for free on the Amazon AppStore starting today, February 12th till February 14th, Saturday. This time it offers some interesting apps like, OfficeSuite Professional 8, Runtastic PRO, Shazam Encore, games like Doodle Jump, Ski Safari: Adventure Time, Cut the Rope: Experiments and more.
These apps are usually priced between US$ 0.99 and US$ 29.99. All you need to do is just get the Amazon App Store from here and side load it on your Android device.
Check out the complete list of free apps below
80 Days
A Scientific and Financial RPN Calculator
Back to Bed
Bag It! (Ad-Free)
Battery HD Pro
Buy Me a Pie! Grocery List Pro
Caveman Feast
Cut the Rope: Experiments
Delicious – Emily’s True Love
DoggCatcher Podcast Player
Doodle Jump
Food Substitutes
Glow Hockey 2 Pro
Guitar Pro
Hidden Object – Be My Valentine
Listure
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5 – Audio Edition
MeteoEarth
Monsters Ate My Condo
mSecure
OfficeSuite Professional 8
Pocket Yoga
Relax Melodies Premium
Runtastic PRO
Shazam Encore
Simple Camera
Ski Safari: Adventure Time
Sleep as Android
Smart RAM Booster Pro
SmoothSync for Cloud Calendar
Sorcery! 2
Speed Reading Trainer Full
Stellarium Mobile Sky Map
Sworkit Pro
Travel Interpreter
Trivia Crack (Ad Free)
Tunable
Android Wear devices are still not a big hit as expected. A latest report from Canalys has revealed that out of 4.6 million wearables shipped in 2014, over 720,000 of them were Android Wear smartwatches.
The report stated that Motorola's Moto 360 was the leading seller among the Android Wear smartwatches thanks to its traditional watch design with a round face and leather band. LG’s G Watch R also performed significantly better than the original G Watch. Asus and Sony entered the market with their own Android Wear devices. Pebble shipped a total of 1 million units from its 2013 launch through to the end of 2014, according to Canalys.
"Samsung has launched six devices in just 14 months, on different platforms and still leads the smart band market. But it has struggled to keep consumers engaged and must work hard to attract developers while it focuses on Tizen for its wearables."
said Canalys VP and Principal Analyst Chris Jones.
Analyst Chris Jones said the Android wearables suffer from poor battery life and software that was not tailored for the devices. Wearable smart bands made for fitness and movement tracking like those from FitBit and the Xiaomi’s Mi Band seem to be leading the market in terms of ...
Last month OnePlus announced that its own ROM for the OnePlus One smartphone will be called OxygenOS. It also said it will reveal more details about it today, as promised the company has released a new logo for it and has revealed the team behind the ROM. This includes Aaron Gascoigne, one of Paranoid Android's co-founders, who is the company's Android Technical Lead.
OnePlus has roped in Helen who worked as a software development engineer and program manager at Microsoft as their Head of Mobile Product. Arz from India is the UI/UX Designer. He is the lead designer at Paranoid Android and the lead UI/UX designer for OxygenOS. The Android development team also has Carlo, Hieu, Jesús, Karim and Yamil. OnePlus also says that it has over 50 engineers and testers working on developing the ROM.
OnePlus says that it can offer better localization and faster updates with the new ROM. It will be free of any bloatware and will be clean is streamlined for performance, says the company. Regarding the availability, it says that there are various certifications that must be completed before releasing a Lollipop-based ROM and they are planning to release the fully stable build, which is currently in ...
Microsoft has released Windows 10 Technical Preview for phones. In order to download the new technical preview, users will need to get Windows Insider app from the Windows Phone Store.
After downloading the Windows Insider app, users will need to sign up. Microsoft has already released multiple new Windows 10 preview builds, but those were limited to PCs. Currently, Microsoft is only making the Windows 10 smartphone preview available for the Lumia 630, Lumia 635, Lumia 636, Lumia 638, Lumia 730, and Lumia 830.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckzhX1O6Lto
The Windows 10 preview includes
Full-size Background Image for Start: We believe phones should be intensely personal – so we’ve added another option to customize the start screen with a full-size background image.
More Quick Actions in Action Center: We’ve increased the number of quick actions available to you. Windows Phone 8.1 has four programmable quick actions – but with Windows 10 you also get an expanded view that can now have up to three rows.
Interactive Notifications: Notifications are now interactive, allowing you to take action directly like dismissing an alarm, or seeing images for maps. For example, for text messages, when the toast pops, you can quickly reply inline via text or voice.
Significantly enhanced speech-to-text capability: You can talk to virtually any data ...
ZTE launched the Grand S2 smartphone in India in December for Rs 13,999. We have already seen unboxing, benchmarks and photo gallery of the phone. We even went hands on with the Grand S2 at CES 2014. Now lets take a look at the camera samples of the phone. The ZTE Grand S2 has a 13MP auto focus rear camera equipped with single LED flash and BSI sensor. It has a 5MP front facing shooter.
Check out the camera samples (click to view these images in full resolution) below.
Daylight
HDR OFF
HDR ON
HDR OFF
HDR ON
Low Light
Flash
Images from ZTE Grand S 2 were good especially the ones in daylight. However, the low light images were unclear and a bit grainy. On the other hand images with flash came out clear. We will give more details about the camera performance in a complete phone review.
Videos
ZTE Grand S2 can record 1080p videos. Check out the video sample.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHVQfrhmM8w
