LG G2 launched in India for Rs 41,500/-

By Vijay

LG has launched the G2 in India for Rs 41,500 for the 16GB model and Rs 44,500 for the 32GB variant. The LG G2 is the company’s flagship smartphone for the second half of 2013. The phone has already been up for pre-order for Rs 40,499.


The phone is packed to the hilt with the latest processing chops and will compete with the Sony Xperia Z1 and the Samsung Galaxy Note III. It packs a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 CPU clocked at 2.3GHz, a 5.2-inch IPS screen with a resolution of 1080p, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB/32GB of internal memory. There is no micro-SD card slot.

It also has a 13-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization, a 2.1-megapixel front facing camera and has an IR Blaster and a 3,000-mAh battery. It also is one of the first smartphones in the world, which will be able to relay 24-bit audio.

Interestingly, LG has innovated with the design of the device and placed the power button and the volume keys on the back right beneath the camera module claiming better ergonomics.

As always the phone runs a custom skinned version of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean on top which LG has implemented its Optimus UI. As a part of this one gets access to a number of Q-Slide applications, a multi-windows mode and new swipe gesture enabled multitasking system. LG also allows the user to choose between various permutations and combinations of on-screen software Android controls. As an introductory offer, LG will also be offering QuickWindow case free for a limited time.

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HTC Desire 500 goes up for pre-order in India

By Vijay @ 06:08pm

 

HTC’s affordable dual-SIM smartphone, the Desire 500, is now available for pre-order in India with deliveries expected to start within a week. It is currently available on Snapdeal, where it can be pre-booked for Rs 999, with the balance to be paid at the time of availability. There is no word on the pricing yet but we would be surprised if it is priced upwards of Rs 20,000, though given HTC’s past record they might just price it higher. 

The Desire 500 features a 4.3-inch WVGA display, a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor clocked at 1.2GHz, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot. It also features dual-SIM card slots (micro SIM) and the regular connectivity options. We expect HTC to highlight the 8-megapixel rear camera with a 1/3.2-inch BSI sensor, f2.0 aperture and 28mm lens. If priced correctly, this could be one of the best camera phones from a global brand in its price segment.

What worries us, however, is the use of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 200 SoC, which has four Cortex A5 cores (there’s a Cortex A7 variant as well but it seems HTC has gone for the Cortex A5 version), which could mean lower performance than competing devices running on MediaTek’s quad-core chipsets. Add to it HTC’s Sense UI and its pricing strategy, which could make the Desire 500, less desirable.

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Nokia announced discounts on its latest Lumia 925 and Lumia 625 buyback offers

By Vijay @ 06:02pm

Nokia has extended the buyback scheme it had started with the Lumia 520 and Lumia 620, and has now included the Lumia 925 and Lumia 625. The company claims to now offer up to Rs 10,000 discount on the Lumia 925 and up to Rs 7,000 discount on the Lumia 625 when customers trade in their old smartphones. Under the scheme, the Lumia 925 is available for Rs 28,529 and the Lumia 625 for Rs 14,919. In reality however, the discounts are much lower.


The said discounts are exaggerated and are given on the phone’s MRP, which is much more than the MOP of these phones. Nokia mentions the MRP of the Lumia 925 to be Rs 38,529 while in India the phone was actually launched at an MOP of Rs 33,499. Similarly, the Lumia 625 was launched at Rs 19,999 and is already available for about Rs 16,000 at popular online retail stores. So the effective discount for exchanging an old smartphone against a new Lumia 925 or Lumia 625 phone would be Rs 5,000 and Rs 2,000 respectively instead of Rs 10,000 and Rs 7,000 as highlighted by the company.

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BlackBerry Z10 price slashed by Rs 11,000, now available for Rs 30,000/- in India

By Vijay @ 02:32pm

 
As expected BlackBerry has cut the price of its first BB10 smartphone. The Z10 is now available for Rs 30,000 at most retailers with BlackBerry dropping the price by Rs 11,000. Last week BlackBerry had announced it would write off between $930 million to $960 million in unsold inventory, mostly related to the Z10. It also said it would reposition the Z10 as an entry-level BB10 smartphone. The Q5 still remains the most affordable BB10 smartphone, available for approximately Rs 24,000. It remains to be seen whether the price cut has the desired effect, considering BlackBerry has agreed to a letter of intent from Fairfax Financial for a $4.7 billion buyout that would take the company private. 

BlackBerry also intends to exit from the consumer market and hopes to focus on the enterprise and prosumer segment. With BlackBerry acknowledging that most of the phones sold in the previous quarter were running BB OS 7 and not BB10, we doubt this would be the last price cut.

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Nokia Lumia 720 and 520 getting GDR2 & Amber update in India Now

By Vijay @ 09:19pm

Nokia Lumia 720 and 520 are getting notifications that the Amber update is now available. The Nokia support site also confirms that Amber has been approved is rolling out in India.

Nokia’s firmware update enables new features like flip to silence, Glance Screen and camera improvements. When coupled with Microsoft's GDR2 operating system update, users will also receive such features as Data Sense, FM Radio, default-camera selection, Lumia Color Profile, and Call/SMS filtering.

If you haven't seen an update notification on your phone already, you can go to Settings > Phone Update > Check For Updates to see if you can get it.

Nokia had previously planned to bring Amber to all of its devices by the end of September, which is drawing near. So far they have made steady progress, but with one week left, they are cutting it close.

Source: Nokia; Thanks to everyone who tipped us!

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Online store takes pre-bookings for Lumia 1020 before Nokia’s official India launch.

By Vijay @ 02:24pm

A couple of months back, Nokia announced its latest flagship called the Lumia 1020 at an event in New York. This WP is having a massive 41-megapixel PureView camera, and is set to arrive at our shores. Online retail store Snapdeal has started accepting pre-bookings for the Lumia 1020 and will ship the device in the first week of October. 


The Lumia 1020 boasts a class-leading 41-megapixel camera with LED and Xenon flash, Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS), f/2.2 sensor and 3x lossless zoom. It uses a technique called oversampling that combines 7 pixels into 1 super pixel, to create 5-megapixel images that contain the details of a 41-megapixel image. This way the Lumia 1020 is able to not only capture incredible 5-megapixel images that give some point and shoot cameras a run for their money, but also facilitates lossless zoom.

In terms of specifications, the device flaunts a 4.5-inch AMOLED (1280×768 pixels) display and is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor paired with 2GB of RAM. In addition to the aforementioned camera, it also includes a 1.2-megapixel front camera, 32GB of fixed internal memory, NFC connectivity and a 2,000mAh battery with support for wireless charging.

The Lumia 1020 runs on Windows Phone 8 Amber update and comes pre-loaded with a special camera app called Pro Camera and other apps like Nokia Music, Nokia Mix radio, Here Maps suite, Nokia Smart camera and Nokia Rich Recording.

There’s no word on any official pricing for the device yet...

Any guesses????

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Quickoffice for Android, iPhone and iPad now available for free..

By Vijay @ 02:16pm

Google acquired Quickoffice back in June 2012 and made Quickoffice for Android, iPhone and iPad free for enterprise users in April 2013. Now Google has made these apps free to everyone, and all you need is Google account to use these apps. The app lets view and edit Microsoft Office Excel, Word and PowerPoint files. Since Quickoffice is integrated with Google Drive, you can store and access your files across devices. Google has also updated these apps with new features including a new icon, ability to create . ZIP folders and view charts in Excel and PowerPoint files.


New features in Quickoffice for Android, iPhone and iPad

• Works on Android phones, tablets, iPhone and iPad
• Improved Google Drive integration
• Create .ZIP folders
• View charts in Excel and PowerPoint files
• New app icon

If you sign in to your Google Account from the new Quickoffice app by September 26, 2013, you’ll get extra 10GB of Google Drive storage for two years.

Download Quickoffice (Free) – Android | iPhone and iPad
 

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Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos Android 4.2.2 update starts rolling out in India.

By Vijay @ 02:09pm

Samsung has finally started rolling out the Android 4.2.2 update for the Galaxy Grand Duos (GT-I9082). The update started rolling out for the Grand Duos starting from Russia last month. . The phone was announced in December last year running Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean). It was launched in India back in January.




The Android 4.2.2 update for the Galaxy Grand Duos brings Quick Setting toggles in the drop-down notification bar, faster performance, lockscreen widgets, improved task switching, Daydream mode and lots more new features.  Samsung confirmed Android 4.1 update for range of Galaxy devices last year, but they are yet to confirm the list of device that would get the Android 4.2.2 or the 4.3 update.

Samsung released regional language support for range of Smartphones and Tablet last month, including the Grand Duos. These features would remain even after the update. We also got couple of updates after the Android 4.2.2 update for stability improvements.

The Android 4.2.2 update for the Grand Duos is 488.76MB and is available over-the-air (OTA) and also via Samsung Kies software. You can check for the update manually from the Settings, About, Software update.

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

By Vijay @ 02:03pm

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. 


It is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). It has a 3-megapixel rear camera without a front-facing camera. However this comes with proximity and ambient light sensors similar to the S Duos.

Samsung Galaxy Trend Duos Specifications

• 4.0-inch WVGA(480×800) capacitive touch screen display
• 1.2 GHz dual-core processor
• Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) OS
• 11.1 mm thick and weighs 128.5 grams
• Dual SIM (GSM + GSM)
• 3MP rear Camera
• 512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory that is expandable up to 32GB with microSD
• 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth v 3.0 and aGPS
• 1500mAh battery

The Samsung Galaxy Trend Duos comes in Black and White colors and is priced at Rs. 8,490.  The phone has not been listed on the Samsung India website or the Samsung eStore yet. The official launch is expected soon

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