AMAZON FIRE PHONE : REVIEW

Amazon set out to do something different with the unveiling of its first smartphone!!

The feature makes use of four infrared cameras pointed at your face that help judge whether you're looking at the screen straight-on, at an angle and how close you are to the screen. The phone can then adjust the image accordingly. That gives you the ability to see depth in images, to see around objects in the foreground, to zoom in for a better look, and to toggle through websites, books and menus and even to play games by tilting the phone back and forth and up and down while you look at it.

Another feature called "Firefly" brings what's known as augmented reality to life in a new way, by turning your phone into a powerful tool that recognizes book covers, CDs, DVDs, songs, movies, grocery items, phone numbers and websites and pulls them into the phone so you can take action.

The major benefit of this is that it takes price comparison shopping to a new level, because any item you see while walking down the aisle of a Wal-mart or Target can get an instant price check. Amazon says the phone can recognize more than a hundred million items. And if you link your credit card information to the service, you can make a purchase with a couple taps.

I was both impressed and saw some flaws.The 3-D effect is quite stunning. Just imagine looking down a long hallway and putting your ear against each wall one after the other. Your perspective changes and straight lines will seem to disappear to a different point. To demonstrate the effect on the phone, Amazon made available a bunch of lock-screen images, like the cartoon ruins of a pyramid, some hot-air balloons and a jungle setting. Swiveling the phone around makes it seem like the images had a depth of an inch or two, allowing you to look around and beyond objects in the foreground.

Games also made use of the tool. One game allowed you to control whether the figure flew up or down based on essentially nodding your head or making the phone lie flat or upright. Another game, called Tofu Fury, allows you to get a 3-D perspective on the game level. It still essentially plays like Angry Birds, but it did something I've never seen before in a game.

One other neat thing: it does all this in relation to your face. So you could do this lying in bed or hanging upside down. I tried it out, taking a deep bow. The aforementioned game flew just the same depending on where the phone was to my face.

This phone has other features, and basically it's very nicely built. It has a solid heft in the hand while not being heavy at all. The buttons, which can activate the camera or Firefly from a cold start, are minimalist and comfortable. The 4.7-inch screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio is just right for holding and controlling with one hand. There are speakers on top and bottom for stereo sound when holding the phone sideways.

And it is packed with many of the features that Kindle Fire tablet users are familiar with, such as its Mayday live-help function.Yet it's the dynamic perspective feature  changes smartphones forever. 

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RAHUL ARORA

XOLO Q12OO Review

Looks And Feel

The Xolo Q1200 is a fairly solid phone. It feels a bit heavy and chunky in the hand, unlike many of today's devices which aim only to be light and slim. It's well constructed, but doesn't quite hit all the right notes in terms of aesthetics.The rear is split into three panels  but the white plastic ends above and below the metallic silver middle section look a bit cheap. A shiny chrome ring around the edges just adds to the confusion.

The front face is pretty standard. The three Android navigation buttons below the screen aren't backlit, but at least they're visible. The phone is completely sealed, so you can't get at the battery. There's a neat tray on the right edge which holds both, the Micro-SIM card and microSD card, and sits perfectly flush with the side of the device.

The power and volume buttons are on the left, which takes a bit of getting used to. The power button is in fact beneath the volume rocker, so it's really easy to hit the wrong key by accident. The camera lens sticks out quite a bit from the rear, which is always annoying as it could lead to scratches. The only Xolo logo on the whole device is relatively unobtrusive and placed in the centre of the silver panel. Interestingly, there appear to be twin stereo speakers on the rear as well. These are oriented in landscape mode, so we look forward to testing the audio and video playback experiences on this phone.

Features, Specifications and Software

Xolo stays true to its budget roots with a MediaTek MT6582 processor with four cores running at 1.3GHz. There's 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage space, which are both standard for this price range. The 5-inch screen has a comfortable resolution of 720x1280 pixels.

It's disappointing to see that the Q1200 is still stuck on Android 4.2.2. That, combined with an unusually ugly default UI skin, really detracts from the usage experience. Xolo has really overdone the customisation here - app shortcuts and widgets are mixed haphazardly across the home screens, and there's no dedicated app drawer. An analog clock widget takes up an entire home screen, for example. The default wallpaper and icon set are way too busy, and it's really hard to see what's going on sometimes.

Camera

Xolo's camera app is fairly good. There are shortcuts for the flash and voice command feature, plus a menu of options including HDR mode, panorama mode, "smile shot", and something called "professional mode". This opens up options related to the image size, white balance, scene mode, number of shots in burst mode, exposure compensation, self timer, ISO, hue, saturation, and auto exposure metering. 

In terms of image quality, the Xolo Q1200 is actually surprisingly good. We were very pleased with the level of detail and accuracy in captured images. The phone struggled a little with closeups, and also totally flattened longer-range landscape shots, leaving no trace of depth or distance. Everything was generally sharply in focus.The flash was a bit overpowering, and you'll have to judge the distance between your subjects and the camera order not to drown them out.

Performance

Although it feels smooth in operation, surprised to see that the Q1200 often stalled when we were exiting apps. There was an annoying delay and a 'Please wait' message on screen before the home screen popped up. Other than this, there wasn't anything wrong with the device.

The speakers on the rear are certainly loud, but the sound is really thin and shrill. Mids and lows are completely absent. They also can't handle any complex music - The Q1200 can play low-bitrate 1080p video files, but with occasional stutters.The battery lasted 5 hours and 51 minutes

Verdict

I like what Xolo has done with the Q1200 - especially its price. This is a great phone for just under Rs. 13,000 (street price), and unlike several others in its class, this one doesn't cut corners when it comes to screen resolution or storage space. The camera is also quite remarkable.

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RAHUL ARORA

Android App Review

Addapt : Up to date contacts

Addappt app a app which developed by ADDAPT.INC.which enables user to easily update their contact details easily over multiple smartphones platforms.The review takes a look at the pros and cons of the same .

PROS

1. Simple way to keep your contacts updated.
2. Contact lists curated by friends.
3. Create friends groups.
4. Multiple photo  attachement .

CONS

NONE .

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RAHUL ARORA

SONY XPERIA M2 DUAL REVIEW

A MID RANGE MOBILE PHONE WITH BIG ASPIRATION

              A SONY XPERIA M2 DUAL a phone which promises a good camera  with  long battery life .

LOOK AND FEEL

The Sony Xperia M2 Dual gets a bit lost in the crowd of Sony Xperia phones. Sony  at least have made a distinction between their own products in different price ranges.

Sony Xperia M2 Dual is a good-looking phone with glass on the front and back, and rubberised strips around the edges for better grip. It is not very slim, at 8.6mm, and also weighs 148g making it slightly heavy. Fortunately, it feels good in the hand, and the phone is quite sturdy too. The one thing that is missing here is the waterproofing found in Sony's flagship smartphones.

On the left edge of the phone is a microSD card slot protected by a flap, and Micro-USB port. Three physical buttons - power, volume up/down, and camera - are on the right edge along with another long flap covering the slots for two Micro-SIM cards. The top edge has only the 3.5mm jack and the bottom edge is dominated by a long speaker grille. 

The 4.8-inch LCD screen has a resolution of 540x960, which is very low compared to the HD screens on even a few lower-priced smartphones. While the resolution is low, it's good enough for most tasks. Sunlight legibility is passable but viewing angles suffer due to the highly reflective screen glass.

FEATURES AND SPECIFICATION

Sony Xperia M2 Dual has a Snapdragon 400 processor under its hood, clocked at 1.2GHz with an integrated Adreno 305 graphics processing unit. There is 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage space, of which only around 5GB is available to the user. If that feels insufficient, it can be increased by 32GB using a microSD card.

The phone accepts two Micro-SIM cards, both of which can connect to 3G networks. They work in dual-standby mode. The front camera has a ridiculously low VGA resolution and can shoot videos only at 480p. The 8-megapixel rear camera, on the other hand, can capture videos at up to 1080p.

SOFTWARE

The phone runs on  4.3 jelly bean  and is expected to receive an update to Android KitKat soon.

CAMERA

  

The daylight shots had muted details and there was loads of chromatic aberration. Green leaves merged into each other despite specifically focusing on them.The camera struggled to focus on intended subjects very often. The camera couldn't do much in low light either, and images were often blurred. The less we say about the VGA front camera, the better. It is absolutely useless. 1080p videos taken with the rear camera weren't all that good either.

VERDICT

The screen is not that great, and its sluggish performance in daily usage is a downer. It has a retail price of Rs. 21,990 but can be found cheaper online.

The Sony Xperia M2 Dual doesn't feel like a good bargain.If you need a good-looking phone in this price range which will last up to two days on a single charge, then by all means consider the Xperia M2.

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RAHUL ARORA

Gionee Elife S5.5 Smartphone Review

Gionee's Elife S5.5  is touted as the slimmest smartphone in the world. It features top-of-the-line specifications too.

I find out if it can stand strong against the big league of smartphones.


LOOK AND FEEL

 This phone is the slimmest( 5.6mm) one I have ever seen. On top of that, it is lightweight at 135g. Despite the anorexic physical attributes, the S5.5 is a sturdily built device and can handle a few falls thanks to the magnesium alloy material used for the construction. Exuding premium quality, this Gionee phone definitely beats the pants off much of the competition in its price range, and even looks better than a few flagships .On the right edge of the Elife S5.5 is the micro-SIM card tray, and on the left edge are the power button and volume rocker. The slightly raised physical buttons feel soft when pressed, which is good. The bottom edge has a 3.5mm audio jack while the top edge features a Micro-USB port for charging. Right above the screen is the front camera and an invisible array of sensors. The uni body design means that the phone has a non-removable battery. 

FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS

The Elife S5.5 is beautiful and powerful too,  Under the hood is a Mediatek MT6589 octa-core processor clocked at 1.7GHz, with integrated  Mali 450MP4 graphics. There's 2GB of RAM supporting it. Only around 9GB of the 16GB of internal storage is available to users, which isn't much at all considering there is no support for memory cards.

There is a single slot for a micro-SIM card, which of course can connect to 3G networks. Unlike a lot of other phones with the same specifications in this price range, the Elife S5.5 has incorporated Bluetooth 4.0, which is good. The 13-megapixel rear camera can also shoot videos at a resolution of 1980x1080 the S5.5 also has a 5-megapixel front camera.

This is probably one of the very few smartphones with a full-HD resolution screen at this price level, and I think it looks fantastic.

SOFTWARE

Gionee's custom "Color OS" UI runs on top of the now-dated Android 4.2.2 (Jellybean).

The  Color OS needs more work for it to be user-friendly. Until then, we are heading to the Play Store to find a replacement launcher.

CAMERA

Picture clicked by  S5.5

In  daylight testing, photos looked a bit dim. This dullness led to certain details being hidden. In HDR mode, the camera goes a bit overboard in trying to enhance the dynamic range, and ends up producing overexposed shots. Colours are also slightly off the mark in captured photos. 

PERFORMANCE
 In daily use, I found that the Elife S5.5 stutters and lags a lot in spite of its powerful specifications. We attribute this disparity in scores and real-life performance to the clunky software.

Graphics performance is not that great, either. I played Shadowgun and noticed that it lagged in sections which were filled with hordes of villains.

VERDICT

 The two major reasons your should consider the( 1080p screen and phone's looks)  Gionee Elife S5.5 at its current price of Rs. 22,999. However, you also now know that the camera isn't all that great.








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RAHUL ARORA

HTC DESIRE 816 REVIEW

I review the phone to find out if the Desire 816 can actually live up to our expectations.


LOOK AND FEEL
HTC has adapted the design it developed for the One (M7), which means thinner bezels on the left and right, and more space on the top and bottom to accommodate dual front-firing speakers. The Desire 816 is more or less consistent with this tall, elongated design, but differentiates itself with a large 5.5-inch display. This makes it wider and taller than the rest of the new crop of HTC smartphones. Coupled with a thickness of 8mm and weight of 165g, the HTC Desire 816 is solid to hold. On the whole, this is a sturdily constructed smartphone.
One problem with the polycarbonate body is that it involves both glossy and matte textures. As a result, you'll have to deal with issues inherent to both types of finish. In our white variant, we noticed that the glossy back attracted loads of smudges while the matte edges and front were dust magnets.

FEATURES AND SPECIFICATION

 HTC Desire 816 is not aiming for top-of-the-line specifications.I wish HTC had chosen at least the Snapdragon 600 but unfortunately it having a Qualcomm snapdragon MSM8928 processor clocked at 1.6 GHz .

Graphics are handled by an integrated Adreno 305 GPU. The phone has 1.5GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage, of which only around 4GB is available for use. This is disappointing, but thankfully HTC allows expansion up to 128GB using a microSD card.

The HTC Desire 816 has a 13-megapixel rear camera with a flash, and can record 1080p videos. It also has a 5-megapixel front camera that can be used to capture even the pimples on your face with great clarity in the Selfie mode. The phone accepts two Nano-SIM cards, both of which can connect to 3G networks.

The 5.5-inch screen has a resolution of 720x1280, which means a pixel density of 267ppi. Many of the current crop of 5.5-inch smartphones have the same specifications. The screen is crisp enough, but is dull even at maximum brightness. This in turn amplifies reflections and affects sunlight legibility and viewing angles.

SOFTWARE

I  glad that HTC has decided to ship the Desire 816 with the latest version of Android - version 4.4.2 (Kitkat)  and the new HTC Sense 6 skin. 

CAMERA
Unlike the Ultrapixel camera on the HTC One series, the Desire 816 has a standard 13-megapixel camera and it is surprisingly good.

In terms of picture quality clicked by htc desire 816 camera  the results are definitely much better than what's possible with all the other phones in this price range. 

Verdict

After going through it I feel thats its best smartphone in terms of specs and overall perfomance .It feels premium, and has a far superior camera, battery life, higher internal memory capacity and better performance.

This phone price at Rs. 23,990

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RAHUL ARORA