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

Apple iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display Live Chat and Discussion

Apple iPad Air and iPad mini 2 Live Chat

Apple finally launched the iPad Air and the iPad mini with Retina display in India last week. This week’s askFA discussion is all about these new tablets from Apple. The iPad Air starts at Rs. 35,900 for the base 16GB WiFi version and goes up to Rs. 65,900 for the 128GB WiFi + 4G variant. The iPad mini with Retina display starts at Rs. 28,900 and goes up to Rs. 58,900. Both these have Retina displays at 2048×1536 pixel resolution, but the iPad Air comes with a large 9.7 inch display and the iPad mini with Retina display features a 7.9 inch screen. Other features are almost similar on both these devices including a new A7 64 bit processor. You can also check out the unboxing of the iPad Air and the iPad mini with Retina display. Continue reading “Apple iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display Live Chat and Discussion”

Pebble Smartwatch gets an update, adds Do not Disturb, Multiple alarms with Snooze and more

Pebble, the popular E-ink Smartwatch just recently got updated to support all iOS notifications and the new 2.0 SDK. But as an early Christmas present, the company has released another Firmware update(v1.14) for the Smartwatch that enables several new must-have features like Multiple Alarms with Snooze, Do not Disturb mode and improved notification control. We have been using this smartwatch for a while, and we must say, these additions were much needed and we are happy to see a small(but growing) company like Pebble deliver. The company, largely known as a Kickstarter success story, is on a path of refining the software for the Smartwatch, and the recent updates show that they are serious. With SDK 2.0 release, Pebble promised more app integration from the like of Foursquare and Runkeeper. While we are still waiting on that, it’s good to see more features added to it in the meantime.

You can update your Pebble by just connecting it to your phone and opening the app. The app will do the rest.

Continue reading “Pebble Smartwatch gets an update, adds Do not Disturb, Multiple alarms with Snooze and more”

Gmail now displays images in messages by default, rolling out to Gmail for Android and iOS early 2014

Gmail images now showing

Google has finally implemented the option to show embedded images in all your email messages by default. This restriction was to prevent users from opening emails from unknown senders who might try to use images to compromise the security of computer or mobile device. Google has implemented new improvements in how Gmail handles images to load all the images from default. Continue reading “Gmail now displays images in messages by default, rolling out to Gmail for Android and iOS early 2014”

Truecaller 4.0 lets you tweet directly to contacts, begins Twitter partnership in India

Truecaller, a really popular phone book/caller ID application, is hugely popular in India. Taking advantage of the user base here, the company has announced a partnership with Twitter for an unique integration into its app. Users can now tweet or follow their contacts, or any number associated with a Twitter account, right from inside the Truecaller app. This unique integration is even more special, as it starts its roll out for Android users, first in India. In a bid to increase engagement, Twitter seems to have handed over its private APIs for accessing stored mobile numbers to Truecaller, as a part of this partnership, so that they can use it for this integration, again, starting with India. This is a genius move for courting the vast number of Truecaller users to Twitter, which is already gaining huge popularity in the country with sports, politics and Bollywood topics being the rage. The update also brings a clean new design and is immediately available for Android, with the iOS version slated for a 2014 release, with no solid dates for other platforms.

Download Truecaller 4.0 for Android

Continue reading “Truecaller 4.0 lets you tweet directly to contacts, begins Twitter partnership in India”

Instagram Direct announced, enables private messaging of photos, videos and text in latest update

Instagram, the popular photo sharing network known for its huge user base and getting acquired by Facebook, today released a new feature called Instagram Direct. The uber popular app has finally received private messaging with the ability to send photos, videos and even text to an instagram user or just your own list of people. This is a bid to take on popular messaging apps like Whatsapp and Snapchat which have offered users with sharing personal pictures, with the latter even offering timed photos. With reports of failed acquisition attempts of Snapchat by Facebook, we had initially thought if this involved the parent company, but doesn’t look like it. True to their initial promise, Instagram is still independent, but has only gained a business model in ads. The update enabling Instagram Direct is immediately available for Android and iOS while the official blog reminds us that the Windows Phone client is still a beta.

Here’s a nicely made video showcasing Instagram Direct –

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Download it here –

App Store | Google Play

Continue reading “Instagram Direct announced, enables private messaging of photos, videos and text in latest update”

Sony WALKMAN app update for Xperia Z series devices bring new features

Sony WALKMAN v8.0.A.0.4

Sony has announced that they have started rolling out a new WALKMAN update (version 8.0.A.0.4) for the Z series devices that brings new playlist features. Sony updated all the media apps on these devices back in August and introduced “smart playlist” feature in the WALMAN app recently. The new update also brings new TrackID features and new playlist and preview features in Music Unlimited regions. Continue reading “Sony WALKMAN app update for Xperia Z series devices bring new features”

Apple iPad Mini with Retina Display Unboxing

apple-ipadmini-retina-unboxing_12

We finally got our hands on the second generation iPad Mini which is also known as the iPad Mini with Retina Display and here is our unboxing which also features the first gen iPad mini and the all new iPad Air alongside for a quick comparison. Find the video below. The iPad mini 2 and the iPad Air went on sale in India on December 7. The iPad mini with Retina Display starts from Rs.28,900 for the base 16GB WiFi only version and the version we are unboxing is the 32GB WiFi+Cellular version which costs Rs.44900. The mini uses a nano SIM card just like the iPad Air and the iPhone 5s and 5c. For the first time there is a 128GB version too on sale costing a massive 49,900 for the WiFi only version and Rs.58,900 for the WiFi+ Cellular version.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDNrzUy9Vsw

Continue reading “Apple iPad Mini with Retina Display Unboxing”

Zopo ZP600+ INFINITY with 4.3-inch Glass-free 3D display released

Zopo ZP600 Plus

Zopo, popular Chinese smartphone manufacture has launched ZP600+ INFINITY, the company’s latest smartphone that does not require you to wear 3D glasses to view 3D content as the phone packs a 4.3-inch qHD (960 x 540 pixels) Glass-free 3D capacity touch screen ASV (Advance Super View) LCD display. It is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). It packs a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. It comes with dual SIM support with dual standby and packs a 2640 mAh battery. Continue reading “Zopo ZP600+ INFINITY with 4.3-inch Glass-free 3D display released”

Nokia Lumia 1520, 1320 to launch in India on 16th December

Nokia is all set to unveil the next chapter of its Lumia story in India. The Finnish smartphone manufacturer today sent out invites for a press conference to be held in Delhi on 16th December.

If it wasn’t obvious already then the focus on BIG in the invitation makes it clear that the handsets to be launched will include the Lumia 1520 and 1320. The two phones are the first phablets to be launched by Nokia. Packing 6 inch displays, the differences lie in the resolution and internal capabilities. Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 1520, 1320 to launch in India on 16th December”

Xolo Play Tegra Note launch event set for December 16th

Xolo Play Tegra Note

Xolo Play Tegra Note, the company’s first Tegra 4-powered tablet is already available for pre-order on online retail stores in India. Xolo has just sent us an invite for the launch event of the tablet on December 16th. It was announced back in September as NVIDIA Tegra Note and packs a 7-inch (1280 x 800 pixels) IPS display with support for NVIDIA DirectStylus technology and also comes with a stylus pen. It is powered by a 1.8 GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4 CPU with 72 Core NVIDIA GeForce GPU and runs Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). Continue reading “Xolo Play Tegra Note launch event set for December 16th”

Gionee Elife E7 launching in India on December 24th

Gionee Elife E7 India launch

Gionee announced the Elife E7 at an event in Shanghai, China last month. Gionee has just sent us an invite for the launch event in India on December 24th. It packs a 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD IPS touch screen display based on One Glass Solution from JDI with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection and a 2.33mm ultra-narrow frame, powered by a 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 processor and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) with Amigo 2.0 UI. It packs a 16-megapixel auto focus rear camera with 1/2.3″ 1.34 µm Largan M8 sensor, 5 element Sapphire Lens and a 8-megapixel auto focus front-facing camera. Continue reading “Gionee Elife E7 launching in India on December 24th”

Sony Xperia Z and ZL Android 4.3 firmware leaks ahead of official roll out

Sony Xperia Z Android 4.3 leak

Sony is yet to start rolling out the Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) update for their devices, but an XDA user has posted Android 4.3 (v10.4.B.0.569) ROMs for the Xperia Z (C6603) and the Xperia ZL (C6503). The version is tagged as “Commercial&Journalists”, so it is not clear if this would the final version, which is expected to roll out later this month. Continue reading “Sony Xperia Z and ZL Android 4.3 firmware leaks ahead of official roll out”

Gmail 4.7 update brings zip file downloading, vacation responder and more

Android users have long lamented the absence of the ability to download zip files. In the new Gmail 4.7 update, Google has finally brought in the ability alongside additional features that should be appreciated by most users.

First up is the all new Vacation Responder. What this allows you to do is to set start and end dates along with a subject and text following which you can use the toggle to send your vacation response only to contacts. The vacation responder can also be completely disabled using a toggle.

The next major feature is essentially something that is built into Android 4.4 KitKat. The Gmail 4.7 application gets the ability to print email messages via cloud printing. You can select a single message or all messages in a thread.

The third and most important feature is the ability to download archive formats including zip, gzip, bzip2 and tar amongst others. This has been a long requested feature and it is good to see Google finally implement it. The update should roll out to your phone over the next few days.

[Via – Engadget]

Spotify goes free on iOS and Android, introduces shuffle play

Spotify Free Shuffle Play

Spotify has made its music streaming app free on Android, iPhone and iPad, that doesn’t require a premium subscription. Its new free offering lets you play any artist, album, or playlist in shuffle mode. Spotify is also expanding its reach to 20 new markets today, sadly India is not in the list. Free access to Spotify is only available to iOS and Android users right now in its 55 markets worldwide. Continue reading “Spotify goes free on iOS and Android, introduces shuffle play”

Oppo N1 Review

Oppo N1 Review

After a long period of leaks and teasers, Oppo finally announced its latest flagship device, the Oppo N1 in September. The N1, initially believed to be camera-centric, ended up as a well rounded flagship device for the company. Innovations like the O-Touch rear sensor and the unique rotating swivel unit for the camera made sure that the N1 is not just another Android phone, and has a number of firsts worth looking at. Yes, it is a potential trend setter, but is also a trend follower. With a huge 5.9 inch screen, the N1 brings Oppo to proper phablet territory, addressing the growing trend of massively sized phones that bridge the gap between phones and the most popular form factor in tablets. Makes Oppo one of the first companies to go with this approach for a flagship device. The N1 is a phablet, which is currently considered a niche, but one that represents everything Oppo stands for. But the big question is, at a starting price of 599$, does it have the potential to rival the best Android hardware in the market? Lets find out in our in-depth review.

Video

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKZYC2Vhhkw

Continue reading “Oppo N1 Review”