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Lenovo launches two more tablets

Lenovo adds Yoga Tablet 2 and Yoga Tablet 2 Pro to its earlier launches in India. Here’s a spec check.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

Lenovo has launched as many as four tablets in the Indian market. Their tablet series Yoga has been upgraded and now includes Android as well as Windows variants. All these tablets feature Dolby Digital sound, and front-facing speakers. They are equipped with Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi b/g/n (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz), 3.5 mm headset jack, and can be attached with a supported keyboard that doubles up as their cover.

Lenovo Yoga-Tablet-2-10-inchLenovo’s 8-inch (1920 x 1080) model comes in Android 4.4. Under the hood, there is an Intel Z375 (1.8 GHz quad-core processor) chip along with 2 GB of RAM. On the back, there is an 8 MP camera; while the front has a 1.6 MP camera. Powered by a 6,400 mAh battery unit, this tablet has 16 GB of on-board storage, which can be expanded up to 64 GB. It comes in platinum colour, and will be available on Flipkart for Rs 20,990.

The 10-inch (1920 x 1200) model comes in both Android 4.4 and Windows 8.1 (32-bit) variants. It is powered by the same Intel chip and houses a 9,600 mAh battery unit that the company claims gives 18 hours of usage. The 10-inch tablet can be bought from Flipkart at Rs 28,990 for the Android model, and Rs 34,990 for the Windows model.

Lenovo also launched its Yoga Tablet 2 Pro, which is equipped with a 13.3-inch (2560 x 1440) screen, and has a Pico projector built-in that can throw 50 inches of image, plus, there is an 8-watt subwoofer at the back. It carries a 9,600 mAh battery cell, and 32 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded. This tablet will go on sale next month from Flipkart at Rs 47,990.

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This just in: Samsung Galaxy Note 4

The new Samsung Android smartphone launches in India at Rs 58,300, and will be available for sale later this week.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

Note 4_Samsung has launched its new Galaxy Note 4 in India. The series, popular for its bigger screens and stylus use, has been among the most popular crop of Android smartphones out there.

The Note 4 features a 5.7-inch (2560 x 1440) Super AMOLED making it the first Samsung smartphone with a Quad HD screen to be available in India. Equipped with the S-Pen, the phone, for the Indian market, is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 SoC (2.7 GHz quad-core Krait 450 Processor, Adreno 420 GPU) along with 3 GB of RAM. Running on Android 4.4.4 wth TouchWiz on top, the phone comes with 32 GB of on-board storage, which is expandable up to 128 GB via a microSD card. There is a 3,220 mAh battery unit that is user-replaceable.

On the back, there is a 16 MP (Fast AF) camera (with an LED flash) that can shoot ultra HD videos and OIS capabilities; while the front has a 3.7 MP camera that can take full HD videos. Connectivity-wise, this Note sports Bluetooth 4.0 (LE) with A2DP, Infrared port, 3G, 4G (LTE), NFC, WiFi a/b/g/n/ac, GPS, microUSB 2.0 (with MHL 3.0), and DLNA.

The phone comes in blossom pink, bronze gold, charcoal black, and frost white colour options, and has been priced at Rs 58,300, to be available starting later this week.

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Clarion launches its Android-based car stereo system

Launched at a price at Rs 55,990, aims to provide infotainment inside your car and is based on Android 2.3.7.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

Clarion, one of the popular car audio companies, has launched the AX1 in the Indian market. This car stereo system is based on Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread, and is aimed at infotainment inside your car.

Clarion AX1The system has a 6-inch (800 x 480) LCD capacitive touchscreen (mouth) that supports multi-touch. Under the hood, there is an 800 MHz processor along with 1 GB of RAM. Supporting external and internal microphone support, you can view its contents on another supported device or use it for viewing the other device’s content after paring them together. It can be paired with an Android device, iPhone or iPod or a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone. The device is equipped with Bluetooth, WiFi, miroSD card slot and 6-channel RCA output.

The Japanese company says the device has been tested for ESD tests, transportation, and is certified for in-car use. You can use theAX1 for navigation through the pre-loaded Navteq and iGo apps. They can be updated via downloading latest maps and data on the microSD card inserted in the device.

Users will also get access to a lot of Bollywood as well as international content on Infogo. The AX1 comes in Black colour and is available from Supreme Audiotronics for Rs 55,990.

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Review: Karbonn Sparkle V (Android One)

Backed by Google, this Karbonn phone is one of the latest to join the low price, high feature smartphone bandwagon.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

The Android space has been buzzing with the launches of low-priced handsets that offer better user experience than the OS ever has before. We have seen the likes of Motorola and Xiaomi bringing affordable Android phones and proving that its experience doesn’t have to be bad, as a result, many companies have been caught off guard and are now rushing to have a better low-end offering.

Along comes Android One, a new project backed by none other than Google, to partner with various phone manufacturers and chip suppliers aiming to give good Android experience at a sub 10k pricing. Karbonn is one of the first manufacturers that Google joined hands with for this project and the result is the Sparkle V.

Karbonn’s Sparkle V, as with other Android One devices, comes with the promise of guaranteed OS updates, something we have not really seen in the past for when it comes to budget Android phones. The phone is very similar to the Micromax Canvas A1 and Spice Dream Uno, except for its design and material. The Sparkle V features a 4.5-inch (854 x 480) touchscreen with the 2 MP front-facing camera and circular speaker grill above that screen.

On the right side panel, you have the volume rockers and Power/ Lock key towards the top – both are quite slim but not bad, giving nice feedback when pressed. The left side is plain; while the 3.5 mm headset jack is on the top; and the microUSB port at the bottom. Coming to the back, there is a 5 MP camera alongside flash and the camera module protrudes a bit from the surface, though not too much. The Karbonn logo in the middle and speaker rill towards the bottom complete the rear.

The looks. The phone uses decent plastic materials and has a matte back. The front, including the screen, are prone to smudges and fingerprints, so much so that you might want to carry a small piece of cloth for cleaning them up with every now and then (or you could use a decent screen guard, if that’s your thing). The phone’s bezels aren’t thick, but it is still a relatively good-sized phone to carry even for a person with small hands. Rounded edges and grippy back means you can carry it without having to worry about dropping the device.

The Sparkle V sports a 4.5-inch (854 x 480) screen that is, just as you expect, an average display in the crop of phones available today. The screen resolution is on the lower side, but colours actually look decent and the screen holds quite well for reading small articles. It is far from being a USP of the device, but it isn’t something you’re expecting to be excellent on the first place anyway.

Camera. Talking about the phone’s camera, this 5 MP (AF) camera can take nice shots in good light conditions. The camera app is the default Google camera app, which seems familiar to use as soon as you switch on the camera for the first time. There are a few setting options to choose from, like HDR, Panorama or even switch to manual exposure. Here are a few sample images

The camera can take nice shots, but clearly struggles with low light. There is also a bit of a problem with its focus, which means your exposure and contrast could suffer. You would not want to click your own pictures with the front-facing camera, but it works for video calls.

Sound. Coming to the phone’s sound quality, the bundled headsets are actually decent but not very comfortable to wear (depending on your ear size), especially while commuting. The sound is quite loud, clear for vocals and FM Radio. The loudspeakers on the back are also loud but they struggle to give a reliable experience for games and videos. There aren’t any strange call drops or network issues and in-call audio is also clear and without distortion on the other side. Also, PS lock-in, WiFi connections, etc were also reliable, with no drop-outs or bugs.

Battery life. The phone comes with a 1,700 mAh battery unit. This isn’t a particularly high capacity for smartphones today. The phone lasted me less than 20 hours on heavy usage. There’s no inbuilt power-saving mode and you might want to use a separate app for that. More often than not, you would have to charge the phone twice a day in order to get your tasks done. It would have been appreciated had Karbonn gone with a higher capacity cell or even done a better job with the software regarding battery optimisation.

Software. The phone runs on Android 4.4.4 with near-stock look and feel that we are used to seeing on the Nexus devices. There are just a few pre-loaded apps other than the ones you usually see (like the OLX app, PayTM, and Saavn). Even the boot animation is quite similar to the one we had on the Nexus One.

The phone is powered by MediaTek’s 6582 chipset (1.3 GHz quad-core processor, Mali 400MP2 GPU) with 1 GB of RAM. There is an occasional lag you may notice. There were hardly any app crashes during my suage and I felt it is one of the few Android phones that are under Rs. 8,000, which doesn’t perform poorly. It isn’t as smooth as the Moto E, but it is surely not a frustratingly-slow phone. It can handle games like Asphalt 8 well, but the things aren’t too good on the graphics side.

Navigating though the OS, closing and resuming apps are quite smooth. There is a minor bug in the OS where the notification center doesn’t show you the percentage an app has been downloaded or updated while it is being downloaded or updated in the Play Store. With a left swipe (leftward-most), you arrive at Google Now. Making and editing folders, modifying Home screens, on-screen keys, lockscreen, Dock, app launcher, Settings are all just like stock Android and familiar to use.

15 months of manufacturer warranty, plus, MediaTek has open-sourced its kernel sources and other stuff, which it didn’t have for so many other phones, so you can expect custom ROMs for the device soon – make this a much better package. Oh, and you require a microSD card to take an image or video or even take a screenshot as the internal storage space can’t be used for that because it’s reserved for the OS and your apps (you can move your apps to your microSD card, though).

Concluding our review, this phone (along with other phones in the line) is much more than just another Android phone. This is Android One that promises updates that no other low-end devices do. At about Rs 6,000, this is a good deal. The overall experience with the phone – sturdy body, decent screen and camera, below average battery, satisfactory performance – is rather good. But it makes me look forward to the second line of devices under Android One, especially with the likes of HTC, Qualcomm and Lenovo joining in. The project is off to a decent start and seems it can only get better and bigger from here on.

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This just in: BlackBerry’s Passport, Huawei’s Honor 6

Priced at Rs 49,990 and Rs 19,999, the two devices are great additions to an already exciting Indian smartphone market.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

BlackBerry has launched its flagship smartphone in India. The BlackBerry Passport (in pic on left) has a unique squarish form factor with a full QWERTY keyboard that is also touch-sensitive.

BlackBerry PassportFeaturing a 4.5-inch (1440 x 1440) display (1:1 aspect ratio), the Passport is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 801 chipset (2.2 GHz quad-core processor, Adreno 330 GPU) coupled with 3 GB of RAM. The phone is equipped with a 13 MP (with OIS) rear camera that can shoot 1080p videos at 60 FPS; and a 2 MP front-facing camera. There’s a 3,450 mAh battery unit in place and 32 GB of inbuilt storage, which is expandable up to 128 GB.

Running BB 10 OS, this device has Bluetooth, WiFi, NFC, GPS and 3G connectivity. Available in black and white colour options, it has been priced at Rs 49,990, with a special tie-up with Amazon where you can get 5,000 JPMiles on pre-ordering a unit.

Huawei has also launched its new Android 4.4.2 smartphone, the Honor 6 (in featured image above). Sporting a 5-inch full HD touchscreen, it has Huawei’s Kirin 920 chipset (1.3 GHz quad-core + 1.7 GHz processor, Mali T628 GPU) and 3 GB of RAM.

This dual-SIM phone boasts a 13 MP (BSI) camera and a 5 MP front-facing camera. Powered by a 3,100 mAh battery unit, this Huawei device is loaded with Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi, NFC, GPS, and 3G connectivity.

Running Huawei’s Emotion 2.3 UI on top, the device 16 GB of internal storage and comes in white and black colours. It goes on sale in a week exclusively on Flipkart for Rs 19,999.

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Samsung launches Galaxy Alpha

Priced at Rs 39,990, the new smartphone is said to the forerunner for many more devices from the Samsung stable.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

Samsung recently launched its new Android 4.4.4 smartphone in India, the Galaxy Alpha. The Galaxy Alpha, touted by the company as the beginning to many more exciting devices from them in the future, sports metallic sides and a polycarbonate back cover. Samsung is quite vocal about the phone being stylish and premium.

Galaxy AlphaWeighing 115 grams and just 6.7 mm thick, this new phone sports a 4.7-inch (1280 x 720) Super AMOLED screen, and is powered by Samsung’s own Exynos SoC (1.8 GHz quad-core processor + 1.3 GHz quad-core processor) coupled with 2 GB of RAM. Loaded with 32 GB of on-board storage, there’s no storage expansion option. On the back, there’s a 12 MP (CMOS) (AF) camera (with an LED flash) that can shoot Ultra HD videos while the front has a 2.1 MP (CMOS) camera.

The Galaxy Alpha is equipped with a 1,860 battery unit, and is compatible with the Gear line of wearables. Other features include Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi, NFC, 4G LTE connectivity, GPS, and FM Radio.

It will go on sale from next week in charcoal black, dazzling white and frosted gold for Rs 39,990.

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