Dhruv Bhutani | Fone Arena

HTC Desire 310 Unboxing

The entry level segment remains the largest selling section of the smartphone market in India. HTC recently announced the Desire 310 that targets exactly this corner of the market. With entry level specifications and a price to match, the phone could prove to be HTC’s trump card in the volume segment especially as our initial impressions show the phone to be a rather well optimized piece of kit. Check out our unboxing while we work on our review of the HTC Desire 310. Continue reading “HTC Desire 310 Unboxing”

LG Odin chipset entering mass production soon, to skip flagship G3

As competition in the chipset space increases, its been rumored that LG has plans of their own to bring along an ARM based system on chip dubbed Odin. While rumors have been around for a couple of years now, we finally might have something concrete around the specifics of the chipset. Believed to be based on the big.LITTLE configuration that we talked about a while back, the Odin chipset would pair four Cortex A15 cores clocked at 2.2Ghz each with four Cortex A7 cores clocked at 1.7Ghz. To be manufactured on the 28nm process, it is believed that TSMC is in charge of manufacturing. Continue reading “LG Odin chipset entering mass production soon, to skip flagship G3”

Android’s Verify Apps feature to continuously monitor for malware

All devices running Android 2.2 and above come with a “Verify Apps” feature built into the Google Settings application. So far this feature has been used to scan apps while installing. The feature would kick in whenever a user would install an APK file obtained from other than the Play Store. Going forward, Google is pushing out an update to flesh out this functionality. Continue reading “Android’s Verify Apps feature to continuously monitor for malware”

Moto X Photo Gallery

First announced in August 2013, the Moto X finally made its way to Indian shores and hit retail last month. The phone uses a unique chipset that is called the X8 Mobile Computing system that allows it to be contextually aware. Powering the phone is a 1.7Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC with an Adreno 320 GPU. This is paired with two separate co-processor units that are responsible for Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Contextual Awareness. These coprocessors give the Moto X its always listening capabilities that really come into life when combined with Google Now’s contextual capabilities. There’s 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage built in. At the back, the phone has a 10.5MP camera with a 1/2.5″ 1.4um sensor. Continue reading “Moto X Photo Gallery”

Mailbox for Android launched by Dropbox, Heading to OS X soon

Mailbox for iOS launched to much hype about an year ago and has so far remained exclusive to the platform. Post their acquisition by Dropbox, the app has today been launched on Android as well. In terms of functionality, the application works as you’d expect but aims at making managing email just that much easier. Continue reading “Mailbox for Android launched by Dropbox, Heading to OS X soon”

Nokia receives regulatory approval in China for transfer of Device & Services division to Microsoft

The acquisition of Nokia’s Device and Services division by Microsoft which was announced on 3rd September 2013 has been long due to the long winded regulatory approval process in major markets. Today, the company has announced that it has received said approval from the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China. Continue reading “Nokia receives regulatory approval in China for transfer of Device & Services division to Microsoft”

HTC reports $62 million loss for Q1 2014 ahead of One M8 launch

HTC One M8-16

Its been a tough few months for HTC and it doesn’t look like it is getting any better. After reporting its lowest profits ever over last year, the company today revealed it’s financial report for Q1 2014. Continue reading “HTC reports $62 million loss for Q1 2014 ahead of One M8 launch”

Windows Phone 8.1 update to be available as developer preview starting April 14th

Itching to get your hands on the latest build of Windows Phone 8.1 and really don’t want to wait till your carrier pushes out the update? Microsoft has made it easy for you. Starting April 14th, you’ll be able to download the update as a preview release. Continue reading “Windows Phone 8.1 update to be available as developer preview starting April 14th”

Microsoft to make Windows free for devices with screens under 9 inches

One of the more interesting announcements out of the BUILD conference today was Microsoft’s announcement to make Windows free for a whole host of devices. Traditionally OEMs have paid up to $15 per handset sold as licensing fee for Windows Phone 8. This has proven to be a hindrance in the growth of the operating system especially in the lower segment. With cost sensitive players like Micromax getting on board the Windows Phone bandwagon, this move makes all the more sense. Continue reading “Microsoft to make Windows free for devices with screens under 9 inches”

Nokia Lumia 630 dual SIM Windows Phone 8.1 handset announced

Rounding up the entry level Windows Phone 8.1 handset segment is the newly announced Lumia 630 handset. The phone will ship in both single SIM and dual SIM variants. The phone shares internals with the other budget handset announced i.e. the LTE packing Nokia Lumia 635. Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 630 dual SIM Windows Phone 8.1 handset announced”

Nokia Lumia 635 with 4.5 inch screen and Windows Phone 8.1 announced, brings LTE connectivity for $189

While the Nokia Lumia 930 is the company’s flag bearer for Windows Phone 8.1, the entry level segment remains critical. To meet the demands of the audience in this category, Stephen Elop today announced the Lumia 635 alongside the Lumia 630 today. The phone’s trump card is that it brings LTE connectivity at an exceptionally low price point. Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 635 with 4.5 inch screen and Windows Phone 8.1 announced, brings LTE connectivity for $189”

Nokia Lumia 930 with 5inch Full HD display, 20MP PureView camera announced

At Microsoft’s BUILD conference, Stephen Elop took the stage and announced the new Nokia flagship ie the Lumia 930. The phone will ship with the latest release of Windows Phone dubbed as Windows Phone 8.1. Essentially the international variant of the Lumia Icon, it brings top of the line specifications with a very cool new design that is a departure from the Fabula design language. Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 930 with 5inch Full HD display, 20MP PureView camera announced”

Nokia X Review : This is Not the Droid You’re Looking for

Nokia and Android has been a pipedream that geeks and avid smartphone users have held out for years now. That we’d actually see one in 2014 at the cusp of the Nokia – Microsoft merger is not something we’d expected in our wildest dreams. That said, the phone was announced alongside two other devices ie the Nokia X+ and XL at MWC last month and is now available in retail. We brought your our first impressions of this AOSP running device from the show floor and here’s the complete low down on the Nokia X. Continue reading “Nokia X Review : This is Not the Droid You’re Looking for”

Gionee Elife S5.5 vs Elife E7 Comparison

Gionee S5.5 -10

At the launch of the Gionee Elife S5.5, Gionee President, William Lu and Head of Operations, Arvind Vohra, were quick to point out that the company wants to create two distinct lines of flagship level devices. While the earlier launched E series is for the camera centric, performance focussed devices. The S series is aimed at the fashion conscious and imbibes smart capabilities with stylish sensibilities. This is very evident from the outset and here we list out some of the differentiating criteria between the two devices. Continue reading “Gionee Elife S5.5 vs Elife E7 Comparison”

BlackBerry posts Q4 2014 results, Reports losses of $423 million

BlackBerry has been facing tough times the last few quarters owing to less than stellar hardware offerings and a lack of consumer interest. Even with BlackBerry 10, the company has hardly managed to stem the tide. The company’s bread and butter has been the Bold and Curve lines and as a sign of the times, both the lines have finally stopped being the volume sellers they used to be. The Canadian smartphone manufacturer has reported fourth quarter losses of $423 million. Continue reading “BlackBerry posts Q4 2014 results, Reports losses of $423 million”