Latest Mobile Phones, News, Reviews in India : FoneArena The Mobile Blog

Tablet optimized MIUI Android ROM makes its way to the Nexus 7

Xiaomi today launched an open beta for a tablet optimized version of the MIUI Android ROM. The company is first targeting the 2013 edition Nexus 7 with versions possibly coming for other devices too. Xiaomi claims that the ROM has a brand new architecture that has been optimized for tablet devices. The MIUI ROM works in both landscape and portrait orientation and has native apps, system menus and screen animations that have been optimized for tablets. Continue reading “Tablet optimized MIUI Android ROM makes its way to the Nexus 7”

Samsung Galaxy Beam successor leaked with a metal build

More than two years ago Samsung announced the Samsung Galaxy Beam – an Android smartphone that came with a projector on its top. The Samsung Galaxy Beam featured mid-range specifications at that time and it was not about specs. As the name suggests, Galaxy Beam was about projection. Last year, we did not see a successor to it, but it seems like Samsung is not giving up so easily. The probably Galaxy Beam successor has been spotted in the wild, but with a metal build.

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MediaTek’s Hotknot technology to take on NFC

mediatek

MediaTek, popular Taiwanese Chip maker is working on a new Hotknot proximity technology, a cheaper alternative to NFC, according to a recent report from EE Times-Asia. This uses a special capacitor touch sensor chip combined with gravity sensor and proximity sensor, that are already present in latest smartphones. Continue reading “MediaTek’s Hotknot technology to take on NFC”

Nomad ChargeKey is a keychain-sized micro USB cable for smartphones

NOMAD CHARGEKEY-4

NOMAD, a company based in San Francisco started crowd funding for ChargeKey, a super-small micro USB cable for Android and lightning cable for iPhone last year on Indiegogo, and exceeded more than three times its goal. It began shipping in December, and the also started selling it on their website recently. The company first launched ChargeCard, a credit card sized iPhone Lightning Cable or micro USB cable on Kickstarter, that exceeded their goal by 300%. We got to check out the micro USB version of the ChargeKey, suitable for Android or other mobile devices with a micro USB port. Continue reading “Nomad ChargeKey is a keychain-sized micro USB cable for smartphones”

Microsoft and Google don’t want dual OS(Windows+Android) devices, Asus Transformer Duet may be cancelled

Earlier this year, at the CES 2014, Asus announced the Transformer Duet which ran Android and Windows side by side. This was probably designed for those who wanted the best of both the worlds and it was quite a hit at the CES 2014. Even an Indian manufacturer – Micromax, announced a similar dual boot device – Micromax Laptab which was supposed to be available in February.

asus-transformer-book-duet-2 Continue reading “Microsoft and Google don’t want dual OS(Windows+Android) devices, Asus Transformer Duet may be cancelled”

Google Search for Android updated with cricket support

Google Search for Android has been updated to version 3.3.11, that finally brings support for cricket, just in time for the upcoming ICC World T20, starting tomorrow in Bangladesh. This lets you get live updates of your favorite teams, just by adding them in the Sports Team list. It offers upcoming fixtures of your favorite teams too. This also had IPL teams. Continue reading “Google Search for Android updated with cricket support”

China welcomes Nokia X with 1 million pre orders

The Nokia X made a huge (green) splash at the Mobile World Congress event a couple of weeks and has been rapidly making its moves into markets, with it launching in Malaysia, India and the Phillipines. It is now all set to launch in China, and just 5 days after announcing the device for the market and opening the pre-orders, Nokia has reportedly received 1 million of them already. The company posted this on its Weibo account with a celebratory image touting the big number.

Continue reading “China welcomes Nokia X with 1 million pre orders”

Amazon Game controller for Android-based console surfaces

Amazon Android Gaming controller

Earlier this year rumors about Amazon’s gaming console running Android surfaced. Today, Dave Zats spotted a gaming controller with Amazon branding at Brazilian cetification website, similar to FCC. It did not have any other details, but we can clearly see a layout, similar to the gaming controllers for Android. You can see three familiar Android buttons for back, home and menu, below the Amazon logo. Continue reading “Amazon Game controller for Android-based console surfaces”

Samsung execs confirm premium smartphones yet deny premium Galaxy S5

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A premium version of the Samsung Galaxy S5 is not happening, the JK Shin, chief of mobile division, Samsung, said to Korean media, according to recent report from K bench. The Samsung Galaxy S5 with a 1080p screen and plastic build did disappoint some fans, since they were expecting a 2K display on the phone. Continue reading “Samsung execs confirm premium smartphones yet deny premium Galaxy S5”

Lenovo Vibe Z Camera Review

The Vibe Z is the Lenovo’s flagship device which is all set to launch in India soon. It is an improved variant of the previous flagship, the K900, in many ways. Sporting improved internals, we were pretty happy to see that Lenovo has stuck to the same camera and lens unit as the K900. A 13 megapixel Sony sensor with the fastest f1.8 lens still has a lot of untapped potential, so we tested it on the road, while in travel to see how it performed in actual use – capturing moments from a trip. Being the only camera at hand, how does it hold up in various conditions? Does it capture all the moments well? Lets go through our Lenovo Vibe Z camera samples for a quick analysis.

Continue reading “Lenovo Vibe Z Camera Review”

Broadcom demos new 5G WiFi 2×2 MIMO Combo Chip for smartphones, to bring 867Mbps downloads

Broadcom-BCM4354-2x2-MIMO

While the 802.11ac standard has started making its way to high end smartphones, they’ve been somewhat gimped compared to more full featured solutions. The new Broadcom BCM4354 SoC is all set to change that as it brings the first 5G 802.11ac 2×2 MIMO system on chip for smartphones. This is an improvement over the 1×1 MIMO devices used by current smartphones. As a side benefit, power efficiency will go up by 25 percent. Continue reading “Broadcom demos new 5G WiFi 2×2 MIMO Combo Chip for smartphones, to bring 867Mbps downloads”

Google Play v4.6.16 brings require password option for in-app purchases and more

Google Play for v4.6.16

Google has started rolling out a new Google Play update for Android, that brings option to always require the account password for purchases, option to batch install applications from the my apps section and more minor changes. It also brings option to force update the app to check for the latest version. Continue reading “Google Play v4.6.16 brings require password option for in-app purchases and more”

Samsung Galaxy S5 Zoom leaked, Samsung hasn’t given up on the Galaxy Zoom series

When Samsung launched the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom last year, a lot of folks were confused if it was a camera or a smartphone – apparently, it was both. Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom, getting its moniker from the then company flagship, was expected to come with the top of the line specs, but it wasn’t true then. Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom was modest in terms of specifications and came with a 16MP camera on its back along with a 10x optical zoom. The device looked more like a camera than a smartphone.

samsung-galaxy-s4-zoom-review-5 Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy S5 Zoom leaked, Samsung hasn’t given up on the Galaxy Zoom series”

HP Slate 7 VoiceTab with 7-inch HD display goes on sale in India for Rs. 16990

HP Slate 7 Voice Tab -1

HP launched the Slate 6 VoiceTab and Slate 7 VoiceTab in the VoiceTab series, in India last month. The Slate 6 VoiceTab went on sale in India immediately, the Slate 7 VoiceTab is now on sale in India from the official HP online store. It has 7-inch HD (1280×800 pixels) IPS display, powered by a quad-core processor and runs on Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean). It has dual SIM support, dual front-facing speakers, 5-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. Continue reading “HP Slate 7 VoiceTab with 7-inch HD display goes on sale in India for Rs. 16990”