The Galaxy Note series from Samsung is well known for being the one that started the big screen movement. People used to be dismissive of the concept in 2011 when the original released, but since then, all the flagships have gradually increased screen sizes, with the latest iPhone sporting a 5.5 inch screen and a Nexus sporting a 6 inch screen. Yes, times have changed, and so has the Note.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZBfS472ioY
Micromax’s YU just launched YUREKA (AO5510), the company’s first YU branded smartphone as expected. It has a 5.5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) IPS display, is powered by a Octa-Core 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (4×1.5GHz + 4×1.0GHz) processor and runs on CyanogenMod OS 11 based on Android 4.4 (KitKat) with OTA updates every month. It features a 13-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED Flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. Continue reading “Micromax launches YUREKA with CyanogenMod OS, Snapdragon 615 SoC, 4G LTE for Rs. 8999”
Last night, news broke of a woman passenger allegedly raped by a Uber driver, in New Delhi. Hearing accounts of rape and violence against women is not new in this country, sadly, but what makes this even more shocking is the association with Uber, a disruptive mobile-first taxi platform that claims to have the “safest rides on the road“. According to the well-funded American startup’s website, safety is the second most important thing you need to know about them, right after the app, one of the most important user-facing features of their platform. For a company that prides itself on safety features, this is terrible news. Why and how did Uber let this happen? There are many answers to this question, but let’s give them a shot of reality first, with a warm message they can resonate with, “Welcome to India.”.
In 2007, Apple introduced the iPhone as a one-size-fits-all device. “You can’t get your hand around it”, “no one’s going to buy that.” said Steve Jobs, when asked about big screen phones like the 5″ Galaxy Note. This was 2010, after a controversial launch of the 3.5″ iPhone 4. Two years later, a 4″ iPhone 5 happened, and Tim Cook said “It also provides a larger screen without sacrificing one-handed use.”. People had already wanted a bigger iPhone by then. Even the generally awesome Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak got frustrated and said “Part of me wishes that Apple had not been so, kind of, arrogant and feeling we’re the only one with the right clue. I wish they had made a small and a large version of the iPhone; that would have been great for me.” That was the old Apple.
The new Apple heeded to public demand and released the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus a while back. There are now two kinds of iPhones, not one, and in this review, we are going to focus on the “phablet” from Apple, the 5.5″ iPhone 6 Plus.
Note: The review will focus solely on the 6 Plus, in assumption that you already know about the iPhone 6. In case you don’t, we have our iPhone 6 review available for educational purposes.
Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro recently went through the paces in our labs and our detailed review revealed that the phablet is one of the best out there. Our tests also revealed that the device has a stellar better performance and it’s now time to put some spotlight on it. Continue reading “Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro battery test”
Lenovo has not been a go to brand when it comes to high-end smartphones. Even though, Lenovo is the third biggest manufacturer in its homeland, the company hasn’t managed to make a name for itself in other global markets.
The Chinese manufacturer seems to be determined to change its course and with their latest product – Vibe Z2 Pro the OEM is aiming to become one of the house hold names when it comes to purchasing power packed smartphones. Continue reading “Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro Review”
We heard you! And, we are giving you what you asked for. One of the most requested features by our readers was the battery life test. The sheer number of appeals that we receive every single day meant that we would come up with the feature that matters most to you, our loyal readers. Continue reading “FoneArena Labs: Introducing our all new battery test”
Sony introduced the Xperia Z3 and the Z3 compact recently, at the IFA event in Berlin. The obvious upgrades to the Z2 and the Z1 compact featured a slightly newer design and subtle changes to the hardware. One of the clear USPs of the Z3 is, of course, the camera. Since the Z1, Sony’s hardware for the camera has almost been consistent, but a lot of changes in software have not only added features, but made the experience much better. Another great USP of the Z3 and other Xperia devices is the ability to protect itself from water and dust. Couple these two and you get something that other flagships are not capable of.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy3iTagrSLg
Read our Sony Xperia Z3 Review
We have just heard from Apple that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Pre-orders will start on October 7th in India and the phones will hit stores such as Apple Authorized Resellers on October 17th which confirms our previous exclusive story about the new iPhones going on sale on October 17th in India . Both the 6 and 6 Plus are going to be available but are expected to sell out soon considering the craze surrounding iPhones every time a new iPhone enters the market and Apple is launching it this year during the Diwali shopping season which could help them sell more units than usually. Continue reading “Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus pre-orders start on October 7 in India, will hit stores on October 17th”
FoneArena has got access to what seems like customer invites to buy the Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus on launch day in India which is slated for October 17th 2014 which is about 2 weeks away. Going by the information on the invite the iPhone 6 and its bigger brother 6 Plus will go on sale on 16th night in India. Apple did roll out the iPhone 5s and 5c in India in a similar fashion with customer launch events at major cities including Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai . No information on the pricing at this point but we expect it to be similar to the Europe / UK pricing. Stocks are expected to be extremely limited considering the global demand for the new iPhones with wait times upto 4 weeks in many other launch countries.
Continue reading “Apple iPhone 6 India launch invites point to October 17 launch”
Microsoft has finally launched the Nokia Lumia 930, the company’s latest high-end smartphone. It was announced back in April and packs a 5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) full HD ClearBlack AMOLED display with Gorilla Glass 3 protection, powered by a 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and runs on Windows Phone 8.1 OS. Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 930 launched in India for Rs. 38649”
BlackBerry has launched the BlackBerry Passport, the company’s latest high-end smartphone in India. It was unveiled last week and packs a 4.5” diagonal (1440 x 1440 pixels) display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, quad-core Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974-AA) processor and runs on BlackBerry OS 10.3 with new BlackBerry Assistant, BlackBerry own personal assistant. Continue reading “BlackBerry Passport launched in India for Rs. 49990”
We are in London for the launch of the most anticipated BlackBerry smartphone in recent times, the BlackBerry Passport ! QWERTY phones are becoming a rare breed now due to the rise of large screen smartphones but BlackBerry is expected to revive the QWERTY keyboard with the Passport. While most details about the Passport are out there, the device will be unveiled officially today at parallel events in Toronto, London and Dubai and FoneArena is live from the London event! Stay tuned to our live blog for all the updates about the device including the final specifications and the launch price.
Apple started seeding the much awaited upgrade for its mobile operating system about 4 days back. The newest version brings the material design to the OS – after a visual overhaul of iOS 7. We have managed to spend some quality time with the iOS 8 and here’s what we think about it.
Apple’s latest mobile operating system is an attempt to catch up with the Android eco-system. The company has decided to make changes under the hood and doesn’t focus too much on adding new features. Back at its drawing board, the Cupertino giant seems have realised the importance of opening its OS for third-party applications and extensions – of course contradicting the company’s traditional approach from time
With the new iOS operating system, developer community can rejoice as they now have access to the core capabilities of the platform. Apple has opened more than 4,000 APIs to developers, which they can use to integrate applications with Notification Center, Sharing and Action menus, Keyboard and Photos among other things. And, the TouchID can soon be used in many ways other than unlocking your iPhone, as the company is expected to open it in the coming days.
For starters, the iOS 8 doesn’t look any different than the previous version – as the newest release is an attempt to polish the already existing form with improved performance, better spotlight search, attractive user interface and other enhancements. Among the additions in iOS 8, the handoff feature between the iDevices and Macintosh running machines is the most significant one.
All the goodness of iOS 8 can be enjoyed on iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPad Touch 5, iPad mini, iPad mini 2, iPad 2,iPad 3, iPad 4 and iPad Air. If you have any other iDevice apart from the ones listed here, your gadget is likely to miss out on the update.
User Interface
Apple’s iOS 8 update doesn’t bring many changes to the existing user interface and having completely revamped it last year, it makes sense for Apple to leave it as it is. However, the new update is sufficed with few finishing touches.
The control center that can be pulled up from the bottom of the screen has been slightly changed in the newest release. But, the layout of toggles, shortcuts and media controls still remains the same. There’s a slight change in the notification center – all and missed tabs are replaced by a unified tab. Today section now houses edit button at the bottom of the page.
You can now interact with the pop-up notifications directly from the banner, discard alarms, comment or like on facebook and mark tasks as complete.
The task switcher has been re-designed and it now sports an extra row at the top. It features a list of recently contacted friends and you can call or message them right from the task switcher.
As we said before, the spotlight search has got a lot better from the previous release. The tool supports smart suggestions and is capable of showing results from Wikipedia, IMDb, nearby places, App Store, iTunes content, iBooks and other popular news sources.
Developers can now add their own sharing options in the contextual menus. And, users can edit the sharing options in the menu if you think they are cluttered.
Another minor addition is the battery usage stats in the settings menu. With iOS 8 users can find out which of their application is consuming the most juice and what’s causing it to drain the battery.
Handoff and Continuity
The Handoff is the most exciting, advertised feature in the iOS 8. What this option has got to offer will be very handy if you are using multiple iDevices. Handoff allows you to start working on any of your Apple product and end it on another. For example, you can start writing an email on your iPad and you can finish it on your Mac. How cool is it?
Unfortunately, this feature works only between iOS 8 running iPhone, iPods, iPads and Macs with OS X Yosemite.
It’s not just emails and messages – the continuity feature is designed to work for Safari, Maps, Reminders, Calendars, Contacts, Pages, Numbers and Keynote. Apple also says that you can answer or make calls and iMessages on your Mac via your iPhone if you are on the same Wi-Fi network.
iOS 8 also comes with a new Hotspot feature, which once enabled will automatically set up a mobile connection for your iDevices like iPads and Macs. Your iPhone will exactly know when your iPad or Mac stops using the connection and it will automatically turn the radios down.
Messaging and Keyboard
Apple has retouched the user interface of its messaging application on iOS 8. Now, you can easily attach images or videos with the recent now tab, which shows about 20 of your latest images in the gallery.
You can send audio and video memo on the iMessage. There’s a mic icon on the right and holding it will record your voice and an upward swipe will send it.
The keyboard on the iOS 8 has been updated and it now features a new predictive input, which the company likes to call QuickType. The operating system over time will eventually learn your typing pattern, vocabulary and understand the subject of each thread – to offer you relative words.
Now that the keyboard API is available for developers, there are several third-party keyboards already out in the App Store.
Camera
Apple iOS 8 brings two new camera modes called time lapse and burst. With the time lapse, you can capture 1920 x 1080px frames in order to produce a Full HD video. The burst mode is fun as the iPhone will snap images until you release the camera shutter key.
The good news is the camera API too is available for developers and this means that we can soon see third-party developers use the original camera features, algorithms and come up with some cool applications.
Apple introduced the new photos app at last year’s WWDC and the company has now updated it with new search option. You can now search for images by place, date or location and spotlight is integrated with photos app as well.
If you have one of those hands that accidentally delete images, well you don’t have to worry any longer. There’s a new album called recently deleted and it stores your trashed photos for up to 30 days.
iOS 8 also brings a new image editor that offers advanced options such as exposure, highlights, shadows, contrast, black point, saturation, black and white tone, grain among other options. If you are not more into edition images, you can use the auto enhance feature, which will do a lot of work automatically.
Safari
Apple’s home backed mobile web browser now supports extensions through its contextual menu. Safari can now auto-fill web forms, translate webpages and even use the TouchID features. The private browsing has been improved and it will no longer ask you to convert all your tabs into private.
Since the API is now open for developers, we are quite excited to see what sort of creative features then can come up with in the next few weeks.
Siri
Siri on iOS 8 has improved a lot and it now comes with Shazam integration. You can now just open Siri and let her listen to a song, before she tells you the name of the song and provide you with an iTunes download link.
You can get Siri up and running by simply saying “Hey, Siri”. The virtual assistant now has the ability to dictate in 24 new languages and will help you save a lot of time typing on the keyboard.
App Store and Health Kit
Apple announced some cool new features for its App Store during the iOS 8 announcement. It comes with new interface and has an improved search. You can now get app bundles offered by developers and if you are a developer yourself, you can embed videos in your application description just like the ones on the Google Play Store. Developers can now invite users for beta testing.
The Cupertino company now offers you to share purchases from iTunes, iBooks and App store among 6 members from your family. The credit card holder or the one who purchases will be the group admin and he can opt to authorize a request made by a family member.
HealthKit is another new feature that is a part of the iOS 8 buddle. This application gathers all the data from the tracking and third-party accessories. It offers a medical ID card, which contains all your health related data, medications, doctor’s contact and your emergency contact.
Apple has announced that it has partnered with Nike and Mayo clinic. And, we expect Apple to tie up with a few more brands and offer a lot more to its consumers.
Conclusion
Apple’s latest iOS update doesn’t focus a lot on the visual aspects, but brings a lot of changes under the hood, which in turn gives a lot to the developer community. It’s a direction that Apple wasn’t expected to go, but we don’t think anybody is going to complain about it.
With giving access to its APIs, the third-party developers will now unleash the true potential of Apple iOS platform – at least we are hoping so.
The handoff and continuity options are a great addition and will surely make a huge difference. We just can’t wait for Apple to start seeding OS X Yosemite, so that we can use this feature to its fullest potential. The notification area, keyboards, camera, gallery and safari have all got better.
From a user’s point of view iOS 8 is not a ground breaking update, but it is from a developer’s perspective. iOS 8 will help Apple stay in the competition and rub shoulders against its rivals.
Note: The review is based on the iOS 8 OS, which is installed on the iPhone 5s. And, it reflects only the features that are available on the device.
Apple iPhone 6 is probably one of the worst kept secrets in the tech industry with the device appearing on numerous occasions. Finally, today, Apple has officially unveiled its latest flagship smartphone – the iPhone 6. Continue reading “Apple officially unveils iPhone 6 with 4.7-inch display, coming September 19”
