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Demystifying the Google Nexus 5’s HDR+ mode, what does it actually do?

Demystifying the Google Nexus 5’s HDR+ mode, what does it actually do?

The Google Nexus 5‘s 8 megapixel camera has been a hot topic of discussion ever since it made its way into the market. With people getting their hands on it the day after it released, various reports came in. Some said the camera was average, some said the camera was great, and some said one must always use the in-built HDR mode for the best pictures. It definitely got us intrigued, especially with Google promoting the HDR+ mode one its Nexus 5 product page as “With HDR+, create vivid photos by day and sharper photos by night.” Technically, HDR directly means “Higher dynamic range” which will fuse multiple exposures and output a single photo that is equally exposed, but that doesn’t seem right in line with Google’s description, does it? Well, we set to find out exactly what it does, and the results are quite interesting, to say the least.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2eFmSOvecY

Continue reading “Demystifying the Google Nexus 5’s HDR+ mode, what does it actually do?”

How to setup an ad-hoc WiFi network on your laptop for any Android phone without root

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After some digging and going though a lot of paid apps to share WIFI hotspot, I have stumbled upon a very simple way to share your Laptop WIFI as ad hoc (Infrastructure mode) and use it on any Android phone without having to root and install a custom ROM that supports ad hoc like CyanogenMOD.

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Nexus 5 India launch imminent as stocks begin to arrive across the country

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The much awaited Google Nexus 5 is expected to launch in India as early as next week. LG Stores, LG Shoppes and retailer sources across various cities including Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai have confirmed to us that stocks will be arriving by Monday. Google has already listed the Nexus 5 on the Play Store at Rs. 28,999 for the 16GB version and Rs. 32,999 for the 32GB version, but LG would sell the phones in the market at Rs. 29,999 for the 16GB version and Rs. 33,999 for the 32GB version, which is Rs. 1000 higher than the Play Store pricing.

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Google Places API brings out Autocomplete for better predictions

google places

Google as a part of improving their continuing effort to help 3rd party developers, has brought out Google Places Autocomplete to make things easier for developers to add location awareness to their applications. What does this mean for developers? Well, by adding location-awareness to your application it bring tons of value and joy to the users. The Places API Autocomplete service, a feature of Google Places API and the Google Maps API v3’s Places Library, brings the same type-ahead-search technology from Google Maps to third party apps, helping you soothe some of the users’ address entry frustration. Continue reading “Google Places API brings out Autocomplete for better predictions”

Google Nexus 5 Live Chat and Discussion

Google Nexus 5 Live Chat

Google Nexus 5 manufactured by LG is already out in several countries through the Play Store and several carries. We already know that the Nexus 5 is priced at Rs. 28,999 for the 16GB version and Rs. 32,999 for the 32GB version through the Play Store listing. The phone is expected to launch in India later this month. We got hold of the 16 GB variant of the Nexus 5 from the UK and unboxed it last week. We also brought you the benchmarks and the camera samples of the device. Now you can join the FoneArena team for a live chat and discussion about the Nexus 5 below . Continue reading “Google Nexus 5 Live Chat and Discussion”

Android 4.4 KitKat factory images for Nexus 4, 7 and 10 now available

Google started rolling out the Android 4.4 KitKat update for Nexus 7 and the Nexus 10 few days back. Now the factory images and binaries for both the WiFi and Cellular versions of the Nexus, Nexus 10 and also for the Nexus 4 are available from the Google developers website. Google already announced that they will not release the Android 4.4 update for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus since Google doesn’t update its Nexus device beyond the 18 month period. The Android 4.4 KitKat was announced back in September and was released along with the Nexus 5 last month. Continue reading “Android 4.4 KitKat factory images for Nexus 4, 7 and 10 now available”

Google Chrome v30 for Android brings Printing on KitKat devices, Autofill coming to Chrome for iOS soon

Chrome for Android Autofill-flow

Google has updated the Chrome browser for Android to version 30 that brings printing support for Android devices running on the latest Android 4.4 (KitKat) OS. This update also brings support for stability and security updates. Google has also announced that they would roll out Autofill option for Chrome for iPhone and iPad soon. This would let you you quickly fill out forms on-the-go. This feature is already available on Chrome for desktop and Android. Continue reading “Google Chrome v30 for Android brings Printing on KitKat devices, Autofill coming to Chrome for iOS soon”

Google Nexus 5 Camera Samples

Google unveiled their latest flagship smartphone – Google Nexus 5 on November 1st and the device went on sale immediately in US and other countries. For a change, the Nexus 5 was listed as coming soon in Indian Play Store right from the first day and it is expected to be available before the end of the month(Already available from other online sellers). One of the pitfalls about the Nexus phones have been their poor camera and it was very evident in the Google Nexus 4 which took below average 8MP shots. The latest Google Nexus 5 comes with a similar 8MP unit, but this time it has OIS(Optical Image Stabilization) for better low light photos and shake free videos.

Google-LG-Nexus-5-08 Continue reading “Google Nexus 5 Camera Samples”

Android 4.4 KitKat update for Nexus 7, Nexus 10 starts rolling out

The official Android twitter handle just let loose some information that a lot of you having been waiting for. Both the 2012 and 2013 editions of the Nexus 7 will be getting the Android 4.4 update starting today.

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Google Nexus 5 Benchmarks

Google launched the Nexus 5, the company’s latest flagship smartphone last month. We brought you the unboxing of the device earlier this week, here we have the benchmarks of the device. It is manufactured by LG and is powered by a 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974) 28nm HPm quad-core Krait 400 CPU with Adreno 330 GPU. We brought you the benchmarks of the Snapdragon 800 on a reference smartphone few months back. Here we have also compared it in these benchmarks to show you the difference. Since Google has optimized the processor to use the minimal use of CPU cores when the phone is idle, some benchmarks such as Quadrant, AnTuTu and Linpack shows low scores. GPU-based benchmarks doesn’t get affected.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD-aSSHuRcE Continue reading “Google Nexus 5 Benchmarks”

Google Nexus 5 Unboxing

It’s been exactly 6 days since the Google Nexus 5 officially launched, but it had leaked out in full glory earlier, with complete details of specifications and even the information about its build quality. So, we surely knew what to expect when the Nexus 5 landed in our labs today. The latest “Pure Google” experience phone has launched with absolutely tons of retail stock this time, so acquiring it was certainly an easier job than it was with the Nexus 4 last year. Costing roughly around 29K for the 16 GB unit from the UK, the Nexus 5 is ready for the FoneArena treatment, so, lets start with the unboxing. We have shot a video of the retail package contents, a quick rundown of specifications and the hardware overview of the White Nexus 5, watch it below.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMzyLzQmX0c

Did you check out our Google Nexus 5 Photo Gallery?

Continue reading “Google Nexus 5 Unboxing”

Google Nexus 10 coming soon to India ? Gets priced at Rs.29999

nexus-10-india-coming-soon

Looks like Google is bringing one more Nexus device soon to India but in this case a slightly old tablet the Nexus 10. The Nexus 10 was announced last year along with the Nexus 7 and Nexus 4 and went on sale in November 2012. Almost a year later there is an indication of this Android tablet coming to India on the Google Play Store when there are in fact rumors about the Nexus 10 version 2. The pricing is mentioned as Rs.29999 and the same tablet is sold in USA for $399 before taxes which is roughly about Rs.27000 approximately which is a tad high for a WiFi only Android tablet. The Nexus 10 is actually made by Samsung and has some interesting specs.

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Nexus 5 comes with Qualcomm QFE1100 Envelope Tracking chip for 20% more battery life

Google-LG-Nexus-5-16

Google released the Nexus 5 last week, that is coming soon to India. We already know that the phone is powered by the latest Snapdragon 800 chip from Qualcomm. The company has announced that Nexus 5 also features the Qualcomm QFE1100 Envelope Tracking chip, the innovative Qualcomm RF360 front-end that allows OEMs to develop a single, global 4G LTE design. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 that was launched back in September was the first phone to use the world’s first envelope tracking (ET) technology for 3G/4G LTE devices. Continue reading “Nexus 5 comes with Qualcomm QFE1100 Envelope Tracking chip for 20% more battery life”

Google Nexus 5 Photo Gallery

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Our good friend Michael Hell might not be blogging actively here but he still loves gadgets and shiny new phones. He brings us this awesome photo gallery of the just announced Google Nexus 5 made by LG which has gone on sale in several countries including Austria where he managed to get one. The Nexus 5 is coming soon to India as well and even the price has been revealed. The packaging looks pretty similar to the one found on the Nexus 7 2013 which seems like the new design language for the new Nexus lineup. Here we are going to take a look at the wonderful white version of the Nexus 5. There is a black version available as well. It will be available in both 16GB and 32GB capacities. The Nexus 5 is the first device to ship with Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box. Continue reading “Google Nexus 5 Photo Gallery”

Google Nexus 7 2013 32GB LTE Version priced at Rs.25999, coming soon to India

nexus7-2013-lte-4g-version-india

Google seems to be taking India seriously finally regarding launching new devices. The Nexus 5 which went on sale in the US recently is listed on the Google India Play Store as coming soon with even a price tag. Now the Nexus 7 2013 edition seems to have gotten a price on the microsite for the product which was spotted by BGR India . Interestingly only the 4G LTE / Cellular version of the Nexus 7 2013 has gotten a Indian price, the WiFi versions have not got a price yet. The 32GB 4G LTE version which will work over our 3G/HSPA+ networks too is expected to be launched at Rs.25999. The tablet is sold in the US for a price of 349 USD which works out to roughly about Rs.23000 including taxes, so it seems like a fairly decent price for the tablet India if you factor the import duty and shipping costs.

Continue reading “Google Nexus 7 2013 32GB LTE Version priced at Rs.25999, coming soon to India”