Author: Dhruv Bhutani

Your friendly neighborhood techie. Currently using a Pixel 2 XL. Catch him on Twitter (@DhruvBhutani) / Facebook .

BlackBerry Q5, budget BB10 device with QWERTY keyboard announced

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Over at BlackBerry Live in Orlando, CEO Thorston Heins just unveiled the brand new BlackBerry Q5, a BB10 device with a QWERTY keyboard aimed at the budget-minded mass market. The device comes in various colours like red, white, black and pink. It is all set to launch this summer in various emerging markets. The BlackBerry Q5 was previously known or codenamed the R10, and it looks very much like a Q10 with vibrant colours in matte plastic.

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Nokia to bring ‘Amber’ Windows Phone 8 update in July to enable FM Radio and more

Nokia Lumia Amber update
During the Lumia 925 launch event, the Finnish smartphone manufacturer announced an upcoming Lumia exclusive firmware update. Called the Windows Phone ‘Amber’ update, it will bring features that have been lying dormant in the phone. Continue reading “Nokia to bring ‘Amber’ Windows Phone 8 update in July to enable FM Radio and more”

Nokia Lumia 925 with aluminum build announced, coming in June for EUR 469

Nokia Lumia 925

At an event in London, Nokia has just announced its next Lumia phone. Called the Nokia Lumia 925, it provides the features of the Lumia 920 in a slimmer shell. The phone has a metal band running around the body of the phone. The back plate ships in two colors, silver and grey. Over at the back you can spot an OIS capable camera at the back of the phone with an LED flash.

To build on the camera experience, Nokia has added in a new camera lens that tacks on a range of new features. It can take 10 images at one click for powerful new creative possibilities, such as Best Shot,  Action Shot, and Motion Focus. This camera app will be rolled out to the entire Nokia portfolio via an update called the Nokia Lumia Amber update. The phone doesn’t support wireless charging internally but will be compatible with charging covers.

Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 925 with aluminum build announced, coming in June for EUR 469”

Panasonic to introduce its first smartphone in India on 16th May

Panasonic has just sent over press invites for its launch event on 16th May where the company plans to introduce a brand new smartphone in India.
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Nokia Lumia 928 with 8.7 MP PureView camera, OIS and Xenon flash coming to Verizon for $99

Nokia has just announced its new PureView device, the Lumia 928 for Verizon. The highlight of the phone is its pairing of a Xenon flash with the optical image stabilization assembly from the 920. The camera is a 8.7MP unit which will let you shoot images in both 4:3 and 16:9 mode without cropping. The camera module has a f/2.0 aperture.

Nokia Lumia 928 Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 928 with 8.7 MP PureView camera, OIS and Xenon flash coming to Verizon for $99”

Gionee GPad-G2 with 5.3 inch screen launched at Rs. 13,990

Indian budget Android device manufacturer, Gionee, has introduced yet another model dubbed the G Pad – G2. The G2 is the company’s 10th product over the course of three months and features a rather large 5.3 inch display. The phone is powered by a 1.2 GHz Quad Core processor while the operating system is Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. It was launched last month, now the phone is finally on sale. Continue reading “Gionee GPad-G2 with 5.3 inch screen launched at Rs. 13,990”

Nokia Lumia 720 Review

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With the Nokia Lumia 720, the Finnish smartphone manufacturer has revealed the latest element of its strategy to recapture the mobile phone market. Sitting right in the middle of the Lumia Windows Phone family, the Lumia 720 marries sophisticated design and subtle design elements with specifications that are powerful enough to get the job done but is this sufficient to take on the multitudes of midrange Android based competitors ? Read on to find out. Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 720 Review”

UC Web announces partnership with Trend Micro for in-browser mobile web safety assessment

Over at the Global Mobile Internet Conference, UCWeb has announced a new partnership with global internet security expert, Trend Micro. Under the agreement, both companies will work to provide mobile web safety assessments in the browser. The aim is provide a comprehensive safety net for users of the product via cloud based security scans in the browser and also for Android apps downloaded via the UC Web browser.

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Trend Micro analyzes as much as 4.46TB of data every day and has identified 350,000 high risk Android applications. This number is further expected to grow by 400% to 1.4 million in 2013.

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UC Web with a global userbase in excess of 400 million and with 200 million daily registered clicks aims to provide comprehensive cloud based security for its users through its partnership with Trend Micro. The technology in question is Trend Micro’s Application Reputation Service (MARS) that works with both websites and Android applications. The service has analyzed close to 3 million Android apps to date with about 560,000 of them being flagged as malicious. UC Web has added the feature to version 7.4 of its browser making it the world’s first ‘secure mobile browser’.Considering the browser’s popularity in developing markets, the move is a welcome addition. Available for all major platforms, click through to try out UC Web Browser on your Android phone.

Disclaimer : UC Web sponsored our travel and stay during GMIC

Intel Silvermont architecture targets high performance with low power consumption

Intel today announced the next step of its mobile strategy. The Silvermont architecture is a complete departure from the Clover Trail and Clover Trail+ chips that Intel has been pushing since 2008. With a switch to yearly update cycles, the company hopes to be much more competitive in the extremely hot mobile chipset segment.

Screen Shot 2013-05-07 at 1.00.37 AM Continue reading “Intel Silvermont architecture targets high performance with low power consumption”

Motorola X Phone images show up on the internet

Motorola has long been known to be working on a flagship product to finally make them relevant in the Android smartphone segment. Despite being a part of Google, the company has struggled to be of any significance. The Motorola X is supposed to be the answer to those problems and thanks to Evleaks, we might have got our first look at the handset.

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World’s smallest dual axis OIS gyroscope for smartphones introduced by InvenSense

If the Nokia Lumia 920 and the HTC One are anything to go by then optical image stabilization are all set to become standard features in smartphones over the next year or two. The deterrent so far has been the size of the MEMS gyroscopes which don’t allow ultra slim phones. InvenSense intends to change by introducing the world’s smallest dual axis gyroscope for optical image stabilization in smartphones

InvenSense-OIS Continue reading “World’s smallest dual axis OIS gyroscope for smartphones introduced by InvenSense”

Controversial HDR microphone removed from HTC One’s spec sheet

We’d previously reported on Nokia having tried to get a ban on HTC One sales in the Netherlands due to the use of their proprietary HAAC microphone technology. The high amplitude microphone allows the user to get a clear recording without any clipping in case of extremely loud audio.The blame has been placed on ST Microelectronics who did not have the permission to license out the microphones till February of 2014. HTC has however removed the dual membrane microphone from its spec sheets and is working on their own technology to integrate it into the One.

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The company maintains that all current devices are equipped with the mic and this will not affect sales. In addition, HTC will continue to integrate STM microphones in the One until it exhausts the supplies in its warehouse. HTC has issues a statement on the matter and we’ve included it below for your perusal. Continue reading “Controversial HDR microphone removed from HTC One’s spec sheet”

MediaTek introduces MT6572 chipset for budget Android smartphones

MediaTek’s chipsets are very popular with the range of budget smartphone manufacturers in India. We’ve seen our fair share of smartphones powered by the MT6589 chipset which strikes a good balance between power, battery life and perhaps what is more important for the category, price. The brand new MT6572 chipset will help drive costs even further down while providing more functionality for phones in that segment.

MediaTek Continue reading “MediaTek introduces MT6572 chipset for budget Android smartphones”

Sony Xperia SP Review

Following the lead of the Xperia Z, Sony has introduced a companion mid range offering ie the Xperia SP. Part of the upper mid range Android phone segment, the handset offers a great blend of features and performance while maintaining an affordable price.

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Does the Sony Xperia SP have what it takes to compete with tough competition from erstwhile flagships like the HTC One X or can it hold its own ? Read on to find out. Continue reading “Sony Xperia SP Review”