Srivatsan Sridhar | Fone Arena

SwiftKey Keyboard v5.3 for Android brings 9 new Indian languages, SwiftKey Hub and more

SwiftKey Indian language layout

SwiftKey for Android has been updated to version 5.3 that adds nine new Indian languages – Bodo, Dogri, Kashmiri, Konkani (in both Devanagari and Kannada scripts), Maithili, Manipuri, Sanskrit, Santali and Sindhi. It also adds a new adaptive new layouts to our Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati, Marathi and Nepali languages. It also adds Emoji Prediction for Tamil, Gujarati, Nepali and Marathi keyboards for the first time. Continue reading “SwiftKey Keyboard v5.3 for Android brings 9 new Indian languages, SwiftKey Hub and more”

OnePlus One Bamboo StyleSwap Cover launched in India for Rs. 1499

OnePlus One Bamboo Back Cover_fonearena-07

OnePlus has finally launched the Bamboo StyleSwap Cover for the OnePlus smartphone. It was introduced last year and is damp-proof, flame retardant and scratch resistant. Each Bamboo StyleSwap Cover is one of a kind, complete with its own distinct set of fibers, nodes, and colors. The production time involves 21 days and 28 different procedures which include drying, carbonising, polishing and laser cut finishing to finally carve it into place, said the company. Continue reading “OnePlus One Bamboo StyleSwap Cover launched in India for Rs. 1499”

Google Chrome for Android to get Network Quality Estimator and Offline mode

Google Chrome Network Quality Estimator

At the Google I/O 2015, Google’s VP of Engineering, Jen Fitzpatrick announced that Google is testing Network Quality Estimator for Chrome, especially for countries like India that has slow internet connection in most areas. This analyzes the network connection to optimize both the search results and any webpages to load pages faster and prioritizing text and information over data-intensive images. Continue reading “Google Chrome for Android to get Network Quality Estimator and Offline mode”

Android M Developer Preview images for Nexus 5, 6, 9 and Player now available for download

Android M for Nexus

Google introduced Android M at the Google I/O 2015 few hours back. Now it has released M Developer Preview for Nexus 5, 6, 9, and Player (for TV), as well as emulator, as it promised. Android M brings new app permissions model which streamlines the process for users to install and upgrade apps, App Links, which improves upon existing link handling by allowing app developers to associate an app with a web domain they own, ‘Now on tap’ that offers contextual information in one click in Google Now, Android Pay & Fingerprint, Doze and App Standby power-saving features, new assist technology and more. Continue reading “Android M Developer Preview images for Nexus 5, 6, 9 and Player now available for download”

Xiaomi introduces 16000mAh and slim 5000mAh Power Banks in India for Rs. 1399 and Rs. 699

Xiaomi Mi 16000 mAh Power Bank_fonearena-004

Xiaomi has introduced 16000mAh Mi Power Bank and 5000mAh Slim Power Bank in India. Both these have anodised aluminium finish on the outside, similar to earlier Mi Power Banks. The 16000mAh power bank is compact, even though it packs 16000mAh battery, but weighs 350 grams. The 5000mAh portable power bank is just 9.9mm thick and weighs 156grams. Continue reading “Xiaomi introduces 16000mAh and slim 5000mAh Power Banks in India for Rs. 1399 and Rs. 699”

Google announces Android M, available in Q3 2015

Android M Developer Preview

Google just announced Android M, an upcoming version of Android that aimed at improving the core user experience. It is the most polished Android release to date, said the company. There are the six important things that Android M concentrates on – App Permissions, Web Experience, App Links, Mobile Payments, Fingerprint Support, Power & Charging.

Continue reading “Google announces Android M, available in Q3 2015”

Xiaomi Mi Note Pro Benchmarks

Xiaomi introduced the Mi Note Pro back in January this year. It went on sale in China few weeks back. We unboxed the smartphone recently, here we have its benchmarks. is powered by an Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 64-bit 20nm processor that has four bigger ARM Cortex A57 cores clocked at 2.0GHz per core and four smaller ARM Cortex A53 cores clocked at 1.6GHz per core with 600 MHz Adreno 430 GPU. It has 4GB DDR4 RAM, 5.7-inch (2560 x 1440 pixels) display and runs on Android 5.0.2 (Lollipop) with MI UI 6 on top. Continue reading “Xiaomi Mi Note Pro Benchmarks”

Micromax Unite 3 Q372 with Android 5.0, translation in regional languages launched for Rs. 6999

Micromax Unite 3 Q372

Micromax has officially launched the Unite 3 Q372 smartphone that went on sale earlier this month. Micromax has partnered with Firstouch for new Unite Messaging Service that lets users to translate and transliterate with patented ‘Swipe’ feature that enables users to communicate in their preferred choice of language. It comes pre-loaded with 10 regional languages that includes, Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Oriya, Bengali and Marathi. Continue reading “Micromax Unite 3 Q372 with Android 5.0, translation in regional languages launched for Rs. 6999”

HTC One M9 Benchmarks

HTC announced the One M9 smartphone at the MWC earlier this year. HTC did not release the smartphone in India, instead, it launched the One M9+ smartphone. The HTC One M9 is powered by an Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 64-bit 28nm processor that has four bigger ARM Cortex A57 cores clocked at 2.0GHz per core and four smaller ARM Cortex A53 cores clocked at 1.6GHz per core with 650 MHz Adreno 430 GPU. It has 3GB RAM. It has a 5-inch 1080p display and runs on Android 5.0 (Lollipop) with Sense 7.0 UI on top. Check out the synthetic benchmark scores.

Continue reading “HTC One M9 Benchmarks”

YU YUPHORIA Battery Life Test

Micromax’s YU launched the YU YUPHORIA smartphone, successor of the YU YUREKA earlier this month, which went on sale in the first flash sale today. We already reviewed the smartphone, here we have the battery life test results of the smartphone. It packs a 2230mAh Lithium-Polymer removable battery, smaller than the Yu Yureka’s 2500mAh battery. It also has Quick Charging capabilities that charges the smartphone from 0 to 50% in 45 minutes. It has a 5-inch HD screen and is powered by a Snapdragon 410 SoC. We tested the phone in balanced battery mode, which is the default mode. Let us check out the test results. Continue reading “YU YUPHORIA Battery Life Test”

Coolpad Dazen 1 with 5-inch HD display, Snapdragon 410, 4G LTE launched in India for Rs. 6999

Coolpad Dazen 1

Coolpad Dazen has launched the Dazen 1, a budget smartphone in India along with the Dazen X7. It has a 5.0-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) IPS display, is powered by a Quad-Core 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor and runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat) with Cool UI 6. It features a 8-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED Flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. Continue reading “Coolpad Dazen 1 with 5-inch HD display, Snapdragon 410, 4G LTE launched in India for Rs. 6999”

Coolpad Dazen X7 with 5.2-inch 1080 display, 4G LTE launched in India for Rs. 17999

Coolpad Dazen X7

Coolpad has entered India with the launch of Dazen X7, the company’s flagship smartphone for India in the Dazen Brand. It has a 5.2-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display, is powered by a 1.7 GHz Octa-Core MediaTek processor and runs on Android 4.4 (Kitkat) with Cool UI 6. It has a 13-megapixel auto-focus rear camera with dual LED Flash and a 8-megapixel wide-angle front-facing camera. Continue reading “Coolpad Dazen X7 with 5.2-inch 1080 display, 4G LTE launched in India for Rs. 17999”

Lenovo Smart Cast laser projector smartphone concept turns any surface into a virtual touch screen

Lenovo Smart Cast

Lenovo showcased Lenovo Smart Cast, a concept projector smartphone with a built-in laser projector at the Tech World. Compared to pico-projector seen on most of the smartphones, this has laser projector, infrared motion detector and high-performance algorithms to offer a virtual projection. It is the first ever technology combination opens a new world of interaction, said the company.

Continue reading “Lenovo Smart Cast laser projector smartphone concept turns any surface into a virtual touch screen”

Asus Computex 2015 teaser hints at slim ZenPad tablet with dual layer design

Asus Zenpad Computex 2015 teaser

Asus has released new teasers ahead of its Computex announcement next week. This hints at the ZenPad tablet with dual layer design on the back with plastic and leather finish, and a slim metal frame. Another teaser shows a part of the back with Asus branding in the center.

Continue reading “Asus Computex 2015 teaser hints at slim ZenPad tablet with dual layer design”

HOOQ video streaming service launching in India in June for Rs. 199 per month

HOOQ

HOOQ, a video-on-demand start-up, which is a joint venture between Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros is coming to India this June. HOOQ has more than 5,000 Hollywood movies and over 10,000 Indian movie and television content, says the company. It costs Rs. 199 for a month for unlimited streaming and also offers offline viewing. You view content on PCs, smartphones, tablets and Android set-top boxes. Continue reading “HOOQ video streaming service launching in India in June for Rs. 199 per month”