Bharadwaj Chandramouli | Fone Arena

Nokia Lumia 620 Review

nokia-lumia-620-photos-16

Since the Windows Phone 8 reboot, Nokia has so far launched five devices, with the Lumia 920 and the Lumia 820 launching way back in September 2012, then the Nokia Lumia 620 at LeWeb, and the Nokia Lumia 720 and Lumia 520 at the Mobile World Congress. The portfolio of devices cover almost all the price points of the market, and the Lumia 620 is in that special mid range segment. Same time last year, Nokia had the Lumia 610 as the predecessor to the 620, but the hardware was so lacking(with 256MB of RAM) and Windows Phone 7 was not really up to the mark in terms of market expectations. Fast forward to this year, Windows Phone 8 brings a lot of features and ticks check boxes of most requested features including Bluetooth file transfer, mass storage, support for micro SD cards, NFC tap to send etc and the hardware too has gained some decent specs, with respect to the Lumia 620. With all these specs and features backing it, will the Lumia 620 suffice a budget minded smartphone buyer in India? Read on to find out.

Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 620 Review”

Celkon A119 Signature HD Unboxing

Celkon A119 Signature HD-3

Yet another entry into the mid range burgeoning phablet category of the Indian market is the Celkon A119 Signature HD. Celkon is relatively new to the space and with the launch of the A119 Signature HD, it follows the legion of Indian “manufacturers” who make smartphones in China. With a respectable spec sheet, the A119 Signature HD is aimed at upsetting the established players like Micromax and karbonn, vying for the coveted “most value for money” device that is ever to land in the market. We have got the device at our labs for review, and here is the unboxing of the phone, with a quick hardware tour –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kcwtc2jXaBE

Continue reading “Celkon A119 Signature HD Unboxing”

Samsung Galaxy S3 mini review

samsung-galaxy-s-3-mini-photo-1

We are currently at a stage in which screen sizes of phones have become obnoxiously huge and whenever a manufacturer releases its flagship, it’s almost a certainty that it is going to be bigger than the previous flagship. This is the trend, and some people were sick of it, including some of us. So, when Samsung announced the Galaxy S3 mini, it was supposed to be the S3 for people with smaller hands, and for people who were just sick of huge screens. But, does it live up to the expectations of a smaller S3, or is it a completely different phone which is just smaller in today’s standards? We will be answering you these questions in our detailed review below.

Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy S3 mini review”

Facebook Home hands on impressions

Facebook Home, the launcher aimed at overtaking your Android phone has just leaked out in a half baked beta release. We took it for a spin on our Google Nexus 4, and found it to be quite buggy, but using the UI for the first time was a fresh experience. So, what do we think about the Facebook home? Will it change your mind about Facebook on mobile? Should you go for Facebook home, if you are a heavy user? We will try to answer them in our initial hands on impressions, past the video below –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq2JsyFOVeA

Continue reading “Facebook Home hands on impressions”

Nokia Catwalk rumored specs leak out, to be launched in June

design-by-community-sketches-poll-01

There has never been a time when products gets announced without leaking out in the open several months before launch. One can attribute that to every high profile product ever released, especially in Smartphones. Likewise, after just seeing the Lumia 928 in pictures, we have now gotten some information of the Nokia “Catwalk” which we think, according to the leak, is a global version of the Lumia 928, but made of aluminium and sans the Xenon flash. This information comes via @flavio, a person on Twitter who once leaked details of the Nokia EOS.

Continue reading “Nokia Catwalk rumored specs leak out, to be launched in June”

Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos vs Micromax A116 Canvas HD in depth comparison

Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos vs Micromax Canvas HD

The Indian smartphone market has recently been seeing an influx of a lot of devices which are big on the screen and specs, while at the same time small on the budget, catering to the exact demand of the market since the introduction of the Samsung Galaxy Note. The phablet, as the term goes, means a device is bigger than a phone but smaller than the tablet, fitting right in the middle. This is purely a notion marketed by Samsung with the Galaxy Note, and it has caught up like wildfire among the various entrants in the Indian Smartphone market.

And two of the devices that are a by product of this phablet movement are the Micromax A116 Canvas HD and Samsung’s own Galaxy Grand Duos. We are going for an in depth comparison between these two to see which ones comes out as the better buy, objectively. Here is the in-depth comparison video first –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8lzZdaDlh8

Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos vs Micromax A116 Canvas HD in depth comparison”

Twitter updates its mobile apps, Android version goes HOLO

Twitter, the world’s only realtime social network has updated its mobile apps today. It includes a major update for Android and minor updates for Twitter for iPhone and the mobile web app. The main improvement of the Android app is that it has finally went HOLO, the design language that Google has been preaching to third party devs since 4.0 ICS, with blessings from lead designer Matias Duarte. Minor improvements to all the apps is that they get improved cards support with deep linked app links inside the details page.

Continue reading “Twitter updates its mobile apps, Android version goes HOLO”

SkyDrive updated for iOS, brings iPhone 5 support and high resolution image downloads

skydrive-ios-3

SkyDrive, the cloud storage solution from Microsoft has its app updated for iOS finally, after a long time. The reason it took so long was due to Apple wanting a cut from Microsoft for an in-app subscription model for SkyDrive storage upgrades, initially planned for the iOS app. The app was reportedly re submitted a number of times until now, when Apple and Microsoft have finally come into a consensus on what to do with the IAP type subscription. Microsoft now doesn’t have an option for storage upgrade inside the app but users can always upgrade the storage from the web.

Continue reading “SkyDrive updated for iOS, brings iPhone 5 support and high resolution image downloads”

Nokia Lumia 520 now available on Snapdeal for a price of Rs. 10,390

Nokia Lumia 520

Nokia Lumia 520, the cheapest Windows Phone 8 device till date was recently launched in India with availability dates promised around the second week of April, but jumping ahead, it has now appeared on Snapdeal, one of the online marketplaces for phones in India. It is showing up as available for Rs. 10,390 with delivery slate as “dispatched within 15 business days” which is normal for any phone they sell. The low-mid end Windows Phone 8 device was initially set to launch globally in Q2, but, India being an important market and following the relatively good success of the Lumia 510, it seems to have been prioritized for India, which is great news for budget smartphone buyers.

Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 520 now available on Snapdeal for a price of Rs. 10,390”

BlackBerry Music Gateway Unboxing and Demo

blackberry-music-gateway-0

BlackBerry Z10 had launched in India with a hefty price tag, and BlackBerry knows that people who buy expensive phones will need complimenting accessories too, and hence came a bunch of audio accessories in India, along with the Z10. We had taken a look at the Mini Stereo Speaker, which was a compact clip-like Bluetooth stereo speaker with auxiliary audio output, and now we are taking a look at the BlackBerry Music Gateway, which partly mimics the auxiliary functionality of the stereo speaker, in a much smaller form factor. And as usual, we have got a unboxing and demo of the device here, watch it below –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74jH86KFE3w

Continue reading “BlackBerry Music Gateway Unboxing and Demo”

BlackBerry Mini Stereo Speaker Unboxing and Demo

blackberry-mini-stereo-speakers-8

With the release of the BlackBerry Z10, the company sought to release a set of accessories that compliment the launch of their revival flagship. Among those were some interesting accessories that have landed in our office. We are going to take a look at the BlackBerry Mini Stereo Speakers first. This is a compact bluetooth speaker that can act as a audio gateway too. Before we delve into the details, here is our unboxing and demo of the device, for your viewing pleasure –

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

Continue reading “BlackBerry Mini Stereo Speaker Unboxing and Demo”

HTC One UltraPixel camera samples and full HD video sample

htc-one-unboxing-4

The HTC One that we recently unboxed was really hyped up by HTC for one special feature, the camera. Bucking the trend, HTC went for a different approach by not counting on the megapixels. With just a 4 MP sensor, touting the pixels as an “Ultrapixel”, HTC sought out better image quality coupled with Optical Image Stabilization for better low light performance instead of the never ending megapixel race. Not only that, they also have a new video and still image experience in terms of software with HTC Zoe, capturing all the important memories in a sequential manner, without having to worry about missing a moment. All said, how is the real world performance like? Head on past the break for some camera samples in really testing conditions and a video sample from the HTC One.

Continue reading “HTC One UltraPixel camera samples and full HD video sample”

Purple Sony Xperia Z Photo Gallery

sony-xperia-z-purple-photo-10

You might have seen the Sony Xperia Z in the ads recently, and wondered why the purple one looks so unlike reality? Well, it’s rendered in CG and hence all you see are just fake reflections and colours. If you had read our Xperia Z review, you would know why we liked the waterproof aspect of this phone. We already had done a photo gallery too, but alas it was the white version. So, to show you the brilliant purple Xperia Z in its full “real” glory, we decided to take it out and give it a good look in front of our cameras. Bonus is a special video at the end, don’t forget to watch it!

Continue reading “Purple Sony Xperia Z Photo Gallery”

Google Play Store India now sells the 16 GB Nexus 7 for a price of Rs. 15,999

nexus-7-india

It has been a while since we saw the Google Nexus 7 *officially* launch in India for Rs. 19,999/- but now, out of the blue, we have got the devices page on the Indian Google Play Store selling the Nexus 7 directly for Rs. 15,999 for the 16 GB version. Earlier, it was Croma, the Tata retailer that was selling it, but looks like we are finally seeing Google directly selling the device.

Continue reading “Google Play Store India now sells the 16 GB Nexus 7 for a price of Rs. 15,999”

Google Nexus 4 Wireless Charger Unboxing and Hands on

nexus-4-wireless-charger-2

If we remember right, Google launched the Nexus 4 along with a cool Wireless charger called the Charging Orb, but it never arrived until a couple of weeks back, when it finally came up on the Google Play Store. The Nexus 4 Wireless Charger, as it is called, is made by LG, just like the Nexus 4 itself. The device resembles a lot like the Nexus Q cut in half, suggesting Google’s influence in its design. We took it for a spin in our labs, and this video below is what happened when we unboxed it and gave a demo –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv26OPKNGmg

Continue reading “Google Nexus 4 Wireless Charger Unboxing and Hands on”