Handsets | Fone Arena

HTC One Max to finally launch on October 16th, comes with a fingerprint scanner

The HTC One Max might be one of the most leaked devices ever, with virtually everything known before its launch. It was rumoured to have launched at IFA, but the company seems to have finally fixed on a date for the official reveal. According to a Taiwanese invite, the One Max is all set to launch on October 18th, in Taiwan, and the existence of a finger print scanner has been subtly hinted on the invite. The invite reads –

One finger opens up a big view

You are invited to immerse in the sound with us

Update: Two days before the Taiwan event, HTC seems to have scheduled another event on the 16th for the same, in Hong Kong.

Continue reading “HTC One Max to finally launch on October 16th, comes with a fingerprint scanner”

Samsung Galaxy Golden Photo Gallery

samsung-galaxy-golden-11

After all the hype surrounding the golden iPhone , we are always on the look out for golden phones.If you have been following us closely , you must have read about the Samsung Galaxy Golden which was launched in South Korea back in August. It is an interesting flip phone running Android and features dual 3.7 inch WVGA AMOLED displays , one on the inside and one on the outside. The phone goes by the model number SHV-E400S in case you are planning to get your hands on one. Sadly no video but we have plenty of photos of the phone and the retail box for your viewing pleasure.

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NEC Medias W Dual Screen Android Phone Unboxing

You might have seen us getting intrigued by the NEC Medias W Android Phone at the Mobile World Congress earlier this year, but we have finally got it with us, in our hands, the wacky yet innovative dual screened Android Phone. The two 4.3″ qHD screens are definitely the unique selling point of the Medias W. It presents really interesting opportunities and even future-looking ideas for a better implementation. Not to say this is bad, but it is really intriguing for a v1.0. We had gotten hold of a retail unit of this unlocked phone that sells only in Japan with a carrier tie-up(NTT Docomo) for 100 Mbps LTE.The device has the model number N-05E.The box contents are bare, but take a look at the device in action in the video below –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKYVs-qgf-s

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Vertu unveils its new Constellation Luxury Android Smartphone

Vertu has launched yet another Android device in the luxury mobile phone segment. The phone is christened , ‘The Constellation’. It is a new entrant in the much popular constellation series. But no new name for the fresh device. Earlier this year, Vertu launched the Vertu Ti, its first android device, which we went hands on after the launch . Vertu was initially a majority property of Nokia, till it was sold to another company in 2012. Vertu was acquired in majority shares by European investment firm EQT. Continue reading “Vertu unveils its new Constellation Luxury Android Smartphone”

HTC Butterfly S Camera Samples

The HTC Butterfly S, as you might have known by now, has landed in our office and we had promptly unboxed it for a quick look. One of the highlights of the Butterfly S is that it has the same 4 MP UltraPixel camera from the HTC One that the company famously proclaimed as one of the best. We had some tests done that proved otherwise, but it was still an impressive direction that HTC had taken. They went against the Megapixel race by introducing larger pixels for the 1/3″ sensor, but cut down the pixel count by half. You get a 2 micron pixel size after the size cut down and effectively, coupled with a f2.0 lens, it directly means great low light performance. There’s one small caveat though, the Butterfly S is not equipped with an OIS unit, so that makes things less interesting for low light, making us think how it can actually handle those conditions.

And that’s exactly what we are going to see right now. How does the camera perform in various lighting conditions? Check out our camera samples after the break.

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HTC Butterfly S Unboxing

The HTC Butterfly S is currently one of the costliest phones available in India. It is even costlier than the already costly Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Launched in India on September 4th with a hefty price tag of Rs. 52,428, the Butterfly S has finally landed in our labs for some extensive testing. We were surprised to see the box was actually from Hong Kong, so we took the box in front of a camera and unboxed it right away. Watch the video below and go past the break for more information on the box contents and a few initial impressions of the device.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fid6L2lSmak

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Lenovo A850, A516, A369i and A269i launched in India, priced between Rs. 15999 and Rs. 5499

Lenovo A850

Lenovo India has launched four new Android smartphones in the A Series. The A850 is a mid-range smartphone is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor, while the other entry-level smartphones, A516, A369i and A269i are powered by dual-core processors. The A850 has a 5.5-inch (960 x 540 pixels) IPS display with wide 178 degree viewing angle, the A516 has a 4.5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) IPS display with wide 178 degree viewing angle and the Lenovo A369i has a 4-inch (800 x 480 pixels) display. All these smartphones come with dual SIM support.

Lenovo A850 specifications

5.5-inch (960 x 540 pixels) IPS display with wide 178 degree viewing angle
1.3 GHz quad-core processor
9.45 mm thick
Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
5MP auto focus camera with Flash
0.3MP front-facing camera
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
1GB RAM, 4GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD
3G (HSDPA: 21 Mbps, HSUPA: 5.76Mbps), WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
2250 mAh battery
Colour – Black and White
Price: Rs. 15999

Lenovo A516

Lenovo A516 specifications

4.5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) IPS display with wide 178 degree viewing angle
1.3 GHz dual-core processor
9.9 mm thick
Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
5MP auto focus camera
0.3MP front-facing camera
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
512 MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD
3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS
2000 mAh battery
Colour – Charcoal grey and White
Price: Rs. 10999

Lenovo A369i

Lenovo A369i specifications

4-inch (800 x 480 pixels) capactivie touchscreen display
1.3 GHz dual-core processor
11.7 mm thick and weighs 120 grams
Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
2MP rear camera
3.5mm audio jack
512 MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD
3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS
1500 mAh battery
Colour – Black
Price: Rs. 6999

The Lenovo A269i has a 3.5-inch display, powered by a 1 GHz processor and comes in black color. It is priced at Rs. 5,499. These new A Series smartphones would be available across India through Lenovo Exclusive Stores (LES), LFRs, leading multi-brand outlets and thedostore.com from October this year.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 European version is region locked

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is making its way into about 149 countries around the world starting 25th, which is just two days back but we already have reports of the European version of the device being region locked to the continent, making it impossible for travelers to use it with a local SIM when abroad. This comes via our friends at Clove UK who have stated this fact on their blog. The LTE version, going by the model name SM-N9005 will be region locked to Europe and will not be able to access other International networks when abroad. This is really weird, especially for unlocked units.

Check out our Unboxing!

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SmartNaMo Saffron One and Saffron Two with 1080p displays up for pre-order, priced at Rs. 18000 and Rs. 24000

Smart NaMo Saffron One

Back in July SmartNamo, Android smartphone named after Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi was announced. Later in August Smart Namo Phablet with 6.5-inch 1080p display was unveiled. Now new SmartNaMo phones Saffron and Saffron Two are up for pre-order from online retailer Snapdeal. The Saffron One has a 5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD display and the Saffron Two comes with a 6.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD display. Both these phones are powered by a 1.5 GHz quad-core MediaTek MTK6589T processor and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). which is upgradable to future versions. Continue reading “SmartNaMo Saffron One and Saffron Two with 1080p displays up for pre-order, priced at Rs. 18000 and Rs. 24000”

Nokia Lumia 929 heading to Verizon, leak shows off 20MP camera and Windows Phone GDR3

What you see above is a leaked press image of the Nokia Lumia 929, a device heading to the Verizon network in USA, exclusively. The image comes via @evleaks who has a good track record of getting it right. So, assuming the name is right, the Lumia 929 sports a 20 Megapixel PureView Camera on its back, which is purportedly the same one that is coming up on the Lumia 1520 too. The device also looks to have a polycarbonate matte body, which looks similar to the one on the Lumia 720.

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Oppo N1 launches today – what to expect

Ever since we heard of the confirmation that Oppo is launching a new camera-centric flagship device called the Oppo N1, we have been genuinely excited to see what kind of camera innovation the company is going to bring forward. After the confirmation of the product, the company had released an array of teasers, which have revealed quite a lot about the device that is going to launch today. Incidentally, today, or perhaps five years back, was the same day the first ever Android phone(HTC Dream G1) released, and Oppo’s event today is a gentle nod, how cool is that!

Anyway, after looking at all the teasers, we couldn’t help but raise our expectations, especially since the company is already known to produce great handsets like the Find 5. So, we’ve compiled a list of things you need to know about the N1 and what to expect from the launch, read on.

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LG Vu 3 with 5.2-inch HD 4:3 display, Snapdragon 800 processor announced

LG Vu 3
LG has officially announced the Vu 3, the company’s latest smartphone in the Vu series. It has a a 5.2-inch (1280 x 960 pixels) HD + IPS display at 4:3 aspect ratio, powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and runs on Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean). It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a front-facing camera. Even though the phone has a larger display, the size of the phone would be similar, and is just 0.2 inches larger than it’s predecessor, says the company. Continue reading “LG Vu 3 with 5.2-inch HD 4:3 display, Snapdragon 800 processor announced”

Apple iPhone 5S Hands On & Touch ID sensor demo

The new iPhone 5S is finally available to order, except when you place an order online Apple say you’ll need to wait 10 days or more for delivery. So instead of 20th September being the release date (for online orders at least), it’s more like the launch of pre-orders! Nonetheless, we’ve got our hands on the iPhone 5S and we’re bringing you a very quick hands on demo.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP_2HqnY6NE Continue reading “Apple iPhone 5S Hands On & Touch ID sensor demo”

Samsung Galaxy Trend Duos with 4-inch display and Android 4.1 now available in India for Rs. 8490

Samsung Galaxy Trend Duos

Samsung India recently announced that they would release couple of Android mid-range Android smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy Trend Duos (GT-S7392) is now available in India from online retailer Snapdeal. Even though Samsung has not announced the smartphone officially, it is available in China in a different name. The phone has a 4.0-inch WVGA(480×800) capacitive touch screen display similar to the Galaxy S Duos and also comes with Dual SIM support with Dual SIM always-on feature that automatically forwards calls from the phone number on SIM 2, even if a user is on the phone with SIM 1’s number. Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy Trend Duos with 4-inch display and Android 4.1 now available in India for Rs. 8490”

Vestel HL50 smartphone hands on

Vestel-HL50-Front

Whilst in Berlin for IFA 2013, we came across Turkish company Vestel’s booth showing off their latest developments in the fields of television, set top boxes, white goods and mobile devices. The Vestel HL50 is their latest smartphone offering and targets the high end Android smartphone market.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJLNm8I52mI Continue reading “Vestel HL50 smartphone hands on”