Bharadwaj Chandramouli | Fone Arena

Verbatim USB OTG Pen Drive Unboxing and Demo

I still remember the first time USB OTG was shown to me in a video demo, featuring the Nokia N8. It was so cool to see that mobile devices could be independent and act as hosts to peripherals like a keyboard and mouse or even a full sized external hard drive, but the most handy use case was always a pen drive. The Nokia N8 came with a USB OTG cable in the box, which let you turn the micro USB port on the phone into a full size USB and in turn that connected to the peripherals. Now, imagine if you have the same functionality, yet you don’t need a cable and happily act as a host right away. That’s exactly what Verbatim has done with its USB OTG Pen Drive. We bought a couple of these from Hong Kong and have unboxed it and demoed it in front of a camera for you. A simple idea, brought to life –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ3ir_6kCik

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Nokia have reportedly sold at least 8 million Lumias last quarter, claims WSJ

In a run up to the Nokia World event set to happen on the 22nd of this month, the Wall Street Journal has published a piece on Nokia, Elop and its future. The report also serves us new information that Nokia have reportedly sold at least 8 million Lumias last quarter, spanning from July to September, which is a more than double of what they had sold the same quarter, last year. This information, credited to “people familiar with the matter” is nothing surprising considering the fact that Nokia had sold 7.4 million Lumias the quarter before, with the momentum of the low cost Lumia 520 and other cheaper devices gaining marketshare all around the world. Major growth markets like India have seen a remarkably fast uptake of the Lumia 520, which is possibly the most VFM phone available, and this has naturally applied to other markets as well.

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Nokia Lumia 1020 wins the Blind Test for the Best Smartphone Camera of 2013

It’s been a week since we started our blind test polls for the “Best Smartphone Camera of 2013” and we have decided to reveal the line up and the results today. Why today? Well there are a couple of reasons for that. One, You, the readers have unanimously voted for Lumia 1020 as the best of the lot. Two, today is 10-20-2013(MM-DD-YY), and Nokia have decided to name this the International Mobile Photography day. So, we couldn’t find it any more befitting that the results be announced today. So, here you go, the line up and the results of our “Best Smartphone Camera of 2013” polls and all the full resolution samples.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Review

“Too huge!”, “Impossible to use as a phone!”, “A failed experiment..” they said, and a new category of smartphones was born. Samsung is single handedly responsible for the whole big screen revolution in the smartphone market. After the success of the Note experiment, the Korean Chaebol marched ahead with the Note II, and that turned out to be an even better success story. On that note(pun intended), we are now here with the third iteration that takes things up a notch, not just with respect to its predecessor but also with respect to the company’s other flagship.

Read: How Samsung became the only company with two flagship smartphones.

Like the original, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 too has a number of firsts. It’s the first phone with 3GB of RAM and also the first with a micro USB 3.0 port. While there are other lesser known firsts, Samsung has undeniably gone for the top end with this one. But at a steep Indian price of Rs. 49,900, is the Galaxy Note 3 with its top end specs and stylus tricks worth your money? Lets find out in our fully detailed review.

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New iPad and iPad Mini reportedly go on sale starting October 30th or 31st

It’s now public knowledge that Apple is organizing an event on October 22 for a refresh of the iPad and the iPad mini along with a refresh for the Macbook Pros too, but reports are now coming in that the availability of these new products will be very close to launch. A report from french site MacG pegs the availability dates for the new iPads, including the new retina mini for October 30th or 31st. This is in line with most Apple launches, and going with the track record of MacG we assume this data is correct.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Flip Wallet Unboxing and Hands On

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 was announced at IFA, and with any Samsung Flagship, comes a lot of accessories too. We already saw one, the extra battery kit and today we have another, and that is the Flip Wallet cover for the Galaxy Note 3. The Flip Wallet cover is like any flip cover, it replaces the phone’s back, but also has a slide-in slit opening for storing your cards. Yep, this is for people who don’t carry their wallet everywhere and also easy access with your card being inside of your phone’s cover. Anyway, we have unboxed the retail package and fitted it on our Note 3 in front of a camera, so go ahead and watch the unboxing and hands on of the Galaxy Note 3 Flip Wallet Cover –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mnkuUfgeqM

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Windows Phone 8 GDR Update 3 – A Visual Walkthrough

Microsoft just announced the Windows Phone 8 GDR Update 3 release for all WP8 devices, and also announced the “Developer Preview” program for enthusiasts who want early access to the Operating System’s pre-release bits. All it needed was a simple 3-step method to install the update on your phone, and of course, without any second thoughts, we did it on our Lumia 820. Yes, we have installed the Windows Phone 8 GDR Update 3 on our device and it’s running great. The press releases didn’t have much to show in terms of what’s really changed with the third update of the operating system, so we are going to give you a visual walkthrough of what’s new in the GDR3 update.

Video –

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How to easily update to Windows Phone 8 GDR Update 3

As you might have known by now, Microsoft have just announced the arrival of the Windows Phone GDR Update 3 for all WP8 devices. While the roll out has started, it might take a while to get through to the users after carrier checks, tests and more. But for the first time ever, after actually announcing it in June 2012, the “Enthusiast” program is now live for Windows Phone 8. It basically means that, if you are interested in previewing the latest version of the operating system, with a few constraints, you can get it on any of your Windows Phone 8 devices right away, that too for free! But how? That’s exactly what we are going to see right now. I am going to try and make it as simple and quick as possible for you to get this update.

Check out our visual walkthrough of the GDR3 update

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Oppo N1 Pioneers program can get you early access for just $99

Oppo, the company behind striking devices like the Find 5 and the R819 recently unveiled its camera flagship, the Oppo N1, with a list of “First!” things like O-Touch rear sensor and a rotating swivel for the 13 Megapixel camera, which is touted as one of the best. Of course, like any other company, they require a good amount of word of mouth to get people excited about a new and innovative product. Companies like Nokia regularly get enthusiasts and regular users who are really creative to play around with their devices and register their experiences, and Oppo is looking to do something similar. They are looking for 10 really awesome people who can share their experiences with the world on every aspect of the N1. The benefits include device ownership for just $99 and better, getting to use it before the world.

Apply here

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Which is the Best Smartphone Camera of 2013? – Vote in our blind test

2013 has been an eventful year for cameras on Smartphones. We have seen oversampling algorithms take advantage of huge sensors, increased pixel sizes subverting the megapixel race, optical image stabilization enabling great low light imaging and general widespread adoption of stacked CMOS sensors, making it one of those years when companies made their camera efforts serious. This also means that the traditional gap between the best and the rest has gotten a lot more closer. So, which is the best smartphone camera of this year? We have brought a number of flagship devices together to find out, in a blind test.

The results are out! Thanks for voting!

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HTC One mini officially launched in India for Rs. 36,790

The HTC One mini was announced as the company’s answer to people wanting a compact version of the popular flagship – One, but it arguably did a “mini” on the specifications too, which left people wanting more, especially with that price tag. As if things couldn’t get any worse, the One mini has finally gotten its official launch in India, and it has a MOP price of Rs. 36,790, well above the earlier price some e-tailers had posted. While the price may be a bit on the higher side, the One mini does bring a lot of features that were made popular by the One, including the 4 MP UltraPixel camera, the HTC Zoe camera feature and a really good SLCD2 screen spanning 4.3 inches and sporting a 1280×720 resolution. It is definitely good looking too, borrowing from the design on the One, but with more polycarbonate on the sides and the front.

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Aircel introduces cheap Pocket Internet 3G plans starting at Rs. 128 for 1GB per month

Aircel, one of the leading mobile operators in India, has followed Reliance Mobile’s footsteps by launching a new and cheap tariff for 3G data plans. The 3G data pack rates have almost been halved in this case, and now are even more affordable. It used to cost Rs. 250 for 1GB of data in the Chennai circle, but now it is just Rs. 128 and the data pack rates slightly vary for other regions. There is also a new Pocket Internet Rs. 27 data pack that offers unlimited 2G/3G data for 7 days, with a FUP of 750 MB. The new tariff is much needed for rapid uptake in 3G and we think we will see it happen once all the operators introduce this new pack. Check after the break for the complete breakdown of the tariff.

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Apple iPhone 5s Camera Samples

The Apple iPhone 5s that we unboxed earlier is very much an “s” upgrade of the 5. The first upgrade for the 3g to the 3gs involved a better 3.2 megapixel camera, the second one from 4 to the 4s brought a 8 megapixel camera and the difference in quality was massive, and now we are at the third “s” upgrade which has brought upon significant improvements for the camera, but this time, it’s not about the megapixels. Apple has subverted the megapixel movement and, much like what HTC did, has improved the pixel size. The pixel size might be a marginal increase but Apple claims that it really shows in the photos. Well, does it?

That’s exactly what we are going to see below, with several camera samples from our iPhone 5s for an objective look at the quality. We’ll be comparing it with the iPhone 5 and several other devices at a later stage, but for now, dive in!

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Nokia Glance Background beta brings Sleeping Screen personalization to Windows Phone

We all have, at one point in time, used a Symbian phone. Some of us have even used Symbian^3 phones, which had some unique Nokia software on them. One of those was the Sleeping screen beta that added glance-able notifications and nifty personalization options on a standby screen that is usually devoid of anything useful. Nokia had launched a similar thing for Windows Phone earlier with the Amber update, called the Glance screen, but it lacked and still lacks some of the functionality that came with Sleeping screen. In an effort to bring this unique feature on par with what Symbian had, the company has released a new Glance Background app through its beta channel. The app lets you choose your own wallpaper for the idle glance screen of your Windows Phone. Note that the 520 and the 625 are the only two devices that do not support this feature, the rest of the Lumia Windows Phone 8 devices do, and it works really well.

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Intex Aqua HD Unboxing

Intex is fairly a newcomer in the Indian Smartphone market and it started launching Android devices much after Micromax or Karbonn, but now they have caught up with the lot by releasing MediaTek based devices under the Aqua range. We saw the cheapest Android 4.2.2 phone from the same company, and it even launched its flagship 1080p device – the Aqua i7. But today we have another 720p entry from Intex in the form of the Aqua HD. It sports a 4.7 inch HD screen and a 13 megapixel camera with an interesting design and build quality. We have unboxed the retail version of the box, so here is the video for a quick overview of the device and the box contents –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlCLAt8vvZM

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