Bharadwaj Chandramouli | Fone Arena

Nokia Lumia 525 Unboxing

The Nokia Lumia 525 was announced a while back, with the sole intention of removing the 512 MB RAM limit that barred the original Lumia 520 from getting all the games and apps on the Windows Phone store. This is very similar to the 256 MB limit some of the devices had on Windows Phone 7.5, so Nokia made a quick revision by upping the RAM on the 520 and releasing it as the Lumia 525. This is, by no means, a generational successor to the 520, rather just a minor upgrade to the already popular best seller. We just got the retail version in India, which costs Rs. 10,400, as announced, so of course, we bring you the unboxing to see what’s in the box, and a quick hardware overview.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmuuuLywH20

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Nokia brings folders to Windows Phone with its Black Update for all Lumia WP8 devices starting today

One of the most requested features on Windows Phone(since 7), creating folders on the start screen, has been fulfilled by Nokia in its latest firmware update “Lumia Black”. The update, slated to be available for all Lumia Windows Phone 8 devices, was already available for the Lumia 1520 and the Lumia 1020(AT&T), but begins its official rollout with the brand new folders feature today. Nokia has been the clear leader in Windows Phone, so it bringing a highly requested feature is nothing new, as we have seen so many features being implemented by the company in the past. The new folders feature will just be one among the many that Nokia users will get with the latest Lumia Black update that will eventually roll out to all the Windows Phone 8 Lumia devices soon.

Download Nokia App Folder from Windows Phone Store << Available for all Nokia WP8 devices

An official hands on of the update –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzxSo-pI-YE

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Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo Specifications leak, reportedly sports the first Hexa-Core Exynos

samsung-galaxy-note-3-neo-full-specifications

We have seen Samsung use the Neo branding for many of its mid range phones but it seems like they will be affixing it to popular high end models too. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo, which looks like a cheaper Note 3 in the making has just been revealed, with full specifications in tow thanks to leaked internal documents acquired by GSMArena. Samsung has a habit of refreshing older models with new names and slightly refreshed specs and that seems to be exactly what’s happening here. The Galaxy Note 3 Neo is basically a Note 2 with some modifications underneath, with one of the major changes being the processor. According to the leak, the Note 3 neo will have the first Hexa Core big.LITTLE Exynos processor inside, which might make things interesting.

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Kodak takes on Sony’s QX with PixPro Smart Lenses SL10 and SL25

Kodak, the forgotten camera maker known for its film-based point and shoot cameras, has just unveiled its latest entrant into a surprisingly new segment. Remember the Sony QX range of Smart lenses? Kodak wants to take on that newly created market with its PixPro Smart lenses. The idea is exactly the same, we have a lens unit, complete with a sensor, storage unit and dedicated shooting capabilities but lacks a viewfinder, that will in turn be present on your Android or iOS smartphone. Kodak plans to offer a range of lenses with this idea that eventually will offer long zoom capabilities(10x zoom – SL10 and 25x zoom – SL25) on your smartphone, just like Sony’s QX series.

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Nokia Normandy’s Android UI leaks, leaves us wanting the unattainable

The Nokia Android phone might be like the unobtanium from Pandora but we keep seeing more and more of it these days. Purported images of the Nokia Android Phone have leaked out in the form of UI screenshots, pasted on the infamous Normandy device. Looking very much like a recent Asha phone, the Nokia Normandy shows off ~~its calling UI~~ Viber, the lockscreen and the Skype app, which is very similar to the one on Android. The project is supposedly shelved, as this was rumoured to be a skunkworks thing inside Nokia headed by designer Peter Skillman, who now heads Here, the part that was not bought out by Microsoft during the acquisition. So yet again, we are left wanting for this unattainable device.

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Yahoo’s beautiful News Digest app for iOS is Summly, enhanced!

Yahoo’s mission for today’s CES 2014 keynote was literally this – simplifying daily habits. One of them, according to Marissa Mayer, CEO, was daily news and the way we consume it. It’s a total information overload, with multiple news sources reporting the same news, according to Yahoo, so to fix that, they have announced a new app for the iPhone, called the Yahoo News Digest. This is basically the result of the Summly acquisition that happened during March last year, because the resulting app is striking and beautiful, very much like Summly, the very unique news summarizing app that was. Nick, Summly’s founder who got acquired by Yahoo in the process, demoed the new app, based on the same principles of news collection and short summaries that made Summly popular, but this takes that concept further.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w4oh9t1gmU

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Yahoo acquires Aviate launcher, talks up contextual search

Marissa Mayer just concluded Yahoo’s CES keynote today and one of the main takeaways from it was how the company is looking to change search, especially on mobile. Google Now has been at the forefront of contextual search on Android and iOS and Yahoo wants to tackle exactly that. How? It just announced the acquisition of the intelligent Android launcher – Aviate. The launcher, which was doing the rounds in beta, is currently a invite-only homescreen replacement that automatically configures your home screen based on contexts like time, usage, preferences and place. It was touted as the “Google Now” of launchers, so it is easy to see why Yahoo lapped it up.

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Windows Phone outshipped iPhone in 24 emerging markets, according to Microsoft

We’ve been hearing how the Nokia Lumia 520 has been the best selling Windows Phone of all time, but if Microsoft’s recent words are to be believed, Windows Phone, as a platform, is now outshipping iPhone in 24 markets. Before you jump to conclusions, the iPhone is not doomed, because it’s the emerging markets where the 3rd ecosystem is cementing its place, most likely behind Android in the first place. This is a decent achievement for the platform, but tells us more about Nokia rather than Windows Phone, because these markets are clearly influenced by their legacy supply chain, and hence the obvious sales. Microsoft recently floated this fact with TechRadar claiming that it is the fastest growing mobile platform right now.

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Pete Lau’s OnePlus and Cyanogen will partner to create the OnePlus One

Pete Lau, the distinguished engineer from Oppo, had announced earlier that he left the company to pursue something new. It was known that it involved CyanogenMod and its CTO Steve Kondik, but now we know what exactly they are upto. Pete Lau is now the CEO of a new hardware start up called OnePlus, and unsurprisingly, its software partner will be Cyanogen Inc. which will power its phones, starting with the flagship “OnePlus One”. No, we are not making that up.

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Xolo partners with AMD for its first 10.1″ Windows 8 tablet – Xolo Win

Xolo Win-1

Xolo, the Indian company known for its range of low cost smartphones, has just unveiled its first Windows 8 tablet at CES 2014 – the Xolo Win, powered by the AMD A4 Elite mobility processor. This is a first for XOLO as well as AMD, as this is the first Windows tablet for the former while it is the first APU-powered tablet for the latter. Sporting a 10.1″ inch screen with a 1366×768 resolution, the mid range tablet will take on the likes of the first generation Surface with similar specifications, but with full Windows 8 functionality. It will have 2 GB of RAM, rear and front facing cameras and a battery that supposedly lasts up to 7 hours. The Xolo Win is slated to be released in the Indian market by the end of January 2014.

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Purported new Samsung TouchWiz UI leaks, Magazine UX and flat icons revealed

Samsung not only unveiled its new tablets yesterday, but also showcased a new Magazine UX for those devices, with panes and tiles reminding us of Flipboard and the Metro UI of Windows 8. Today, we are getting to see leaked images of, what is supposedly, the new Samsung TouchWiz UI for phones. Featuring stylish flat iconography and similar Magazine UX elements, the new TouchWiz, if real, seems like a step in the right direction. At least it is now heading to a place where the whole industry already is – Flat user interfaces. The typography also seems to have gotten a facelift too, but with just three screenshots, it is hard to tell which is which and how all of it will work like.

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Samsung Galaxy TabPRO 10.1 and 8.4 with high resolution 2560×1600 displays made official

Just after announcing the new Galaxy NotePRO and the TabPRO with 12.2 inch screens, Samsung also unveiled other form factors in the same range, but with the same super high screen resolution of 2560×1600 in the Galaxy TabPRO 10.1 and TabPRO 8.4. With different target audiences in mind, these form factors build upon the success of the previous 8 inch and 10 inch tablets from the company. Just like the 12.2 inch tablets, they too sport the Super clear LCD display with a ridiculously high WQXGA resolution and similar internals with Exynos 5 Octa or Snapdragon 800 Processors. They also have the same leather-like backs and the hardware home buttons on the front, bringing all of them in line with the design language of the Galaxy Smartphones.

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Samsung Galaxy NotePRO and TabPRO with 12.2 inch WQXGA screens unveiled

The Samsung Galaxy NotePRO and TabPRO were leaked a while ago, but the official announcement is here, straight from Samsung’s CES 2014 press conference. These are Samsung’s first 12.2 inch tablets that build upon the legacy of the Note 10.1 and the Tab 10.1. The 12.2 inch screens are not normal though, they sport a super high 2560×1600 16:10 resolution with those 4 million pixels powered by the Exynos 5 Octa or the Snapdragon 800 processors based on the variant. Both these devices are nearly identical except for the one main difference between them being the stylus. The S-Pen and its associated functionality will be available only on the Galaxy NotePRO whereas the TabPRO will have everything else that’s on the NotePRO.

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ASUS unveils the ZenFone range with 4, 5 and 6 inch screens sporting the ZenUI

After revealing the first Dual OS convertible, ASUS unleashed a whole new range of smartphones under the ZenFone range. Coming in three different screen sizes, the ZenFone line of devices are all about value for money and addressing choices in form factor as well as price. The three devices launched today are ZenFone 4, ZenFone 5 and ZenFone 6 with the number denoting their respective screen sizes. All the phones are powered by the Intel Atom processors with different configurations for each model, lets see what each one packs inside.

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ASUS’ dual OS Transformer Book Duet TD 300 with Android and Windows 8 is official

ASUS has officially unveiled its latest Dual OS convertible two-in-one, the Transformer Book Duet TD300. Simultaneously running Android 4.1 and Windows 8.1 on a single device, ASUS claims to offer two different experiences on a single machine, with laptop and tablet configurations thanks to the detachable keyboard dock. ASUS promises a 4 second time frame for switching between the two different operating systems at just a press of the button. It’s slightly disappointing that it runs on Android 4.1 Jellybean but the implementation will be interesting to see if it actually works in real life. The convertible is powered by the latest 4th generation Intel core i7 processor and comes with a 13.3 inch 1080p panel in the default configuration. The base configuration cuts the resolution down to 1366×768 and packs a Core i3 processor but comes with an affordable price tag of $599, which might be enticing for people looking to try this weird combo of a device.

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