HTC’s New Flagship – A Preview of the new M8

With Samsung launching the S5, the mobile market in India got a new superstar to look up to. Not be left far behind, HTC has come out with a new handset called the ‘M8.’ The new phone from HTC looks really good on paper and we look forward to the launch of yet another awesome mobile.

General Features:
HTC was one of the earliest manufacturers to put out Android phones on a large scale. Looking at the arsenal this phone comes equipped with, it’s no surprise that this is one of the most anticipated handsets in recent times. HTC might have slipped off the radar for most people with Samsung and Apple continuously in the news, but make no mistake about the M8, this phone is a top of the line device.

The phone’s exterior is made of molded metal and it’s quite stunning to look at. With dimensions of 146.36 x 70.60 x 9.35mm, we feel this phone’s size is quite optimum and we’re glad HTC hasn’t succumbed to making phones bigger thereby becoming less comfortable to use.

With a 2.5 GHZ Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, this phone looks like no slouch and with Android 4.2.2 and HTC’s Skin Sense 6.0, you won’t be surprised to find out that tech geeks all over are going gaga over this device.

The rear camera on this phone is an interesting one. HTC says it’s a 4-ultrapixel camera. Dodgy nomenclature aside, we’re really looking forward to trying it out in the real world and see how it performs. No surprises with the front camera though, with a 5MP lens and HTC’s track record in this domain; we expect selfies and video calling to be nothing short of spectacular.




What We Expect:
The phone is going to be launched in India any day now. This phone promises to be something special. To a great extent, it might represent HTC’s resurgence in the Indian market. The features and the composition of the handset indicate that a lot of thought has gone into the making of this phone. We think things in paper look good at the very least and we’re eager to try out the new 4 ultrapixel camera.

Verdict:
The HTC M8 looks like a solid device and HTC seems to have gotten it right this time around. We’ll be reviewing the phone when we get our hands on it. But from what we’ve seen, we like it.

Summary:
It might surprise some to find out that at one point of time, HTC was the brand selling the most Android phones in the world. How things have changed! However, with the new M8 which has a bold new design and some really stellar features, things could be looking up for the Asian manufacturer.  

Samsung Galaxy S5 Preview

Introduction:
The consumer electronics market is moving ahead at breakneck speed. In this, the mobile phone industry seems to be the one churning out new devices literary by the day. In the mobile industry, two manufacturers stand out as the bastions of power – Samsung and Apple. With the latest iPhone garnering some praise and offering something new to the consumers, it was only a matter of time before Samsung came out with its flagship device. Enter the Galaxy S5.

Technical Stuff:
With regards to the specifications, the Galaxy S5 has pretty much everything you’d ever want or need in a mobile phone. The display is Full HD and the dimensions are just about the perfect size for a mobile - 142 x 72.5 x 8.1 mm. We expect the phone to sit well in the average person’s palm.

Combining an Adreno 330 GPU with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor (The Indian market is expected to see the S5 sport a Exynos processor) and a Quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400 CPU, the phone sits at the apex of the smartphone market. We expect this to ensure glitch-free performance and make multi-tasking a breeze.

What’s New?
With every new Galaxy model, especially the high-end ones, we mobile geeks are curious to see if there are any new, interesting features. Well, Samsung hasn’t disappointed. Based on what we know of the phone, it has some really cool new features. It’s got a fingerprint sensor that you can not only unlock your phone with, but also make online payments as its PayPal certified. What good would a brand new phone be if it couldn’t survive the elements, right? Well, this bad boy is IP67 certified which means dust and water can’t harm the phone. And you can even take it swimming – it’s water resistant up to 1 meter for 30 minutes.
 
We’re also curious to try the 16MP camera. It’s got many new features like 1/2.6'' sensor size, 1.12 µm pixel size, Dual Shot, Simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization and HDR.


What We Expect:
Let’s get one thing straight – Samsung has set some insanely high standards. Every year, with the release of a new flagship galaxy model, the Korean manufacturer takes things up a notch. With the S5, that’s exactly what they’ve done. The S4 was a brilliant device; the S5 its evolution. There isn’t a sea change or something drastically different, that we expect, it’s just that Samsung has moved with the times and made a phone that perfectly captures the Korean Phone Maker’s position in the market.

Verdict:
We can’t wait for this phone – simple as that. It’s got so many awesome features that we can’t wait to try it out. This is going to a big hit and we’ll have a full review soon. Watch this space.

Summary:
The S5 is the latest flagship model and it’s an eagerly awaited one. The S5 is the latest addition to the Galaxy stable and of course it has some great technical features. We like what we’ve seen so far and will be back with a full detailed review when we have our hands on the phone.

Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 Preview

Introduction:

Samsung is the market leader in the mobile phone industry right now. Not only that, it seems that Samsung comes out with a product that is not only a blend of the latest technology and design, but also something that takes the device as well as brand, Samsung, into the upper echelons of the industry, farther from the rest.

In late November, Samsung launched yet another ambitious product – the Samsung Galaxy Grand 2. In this preview, we’re looking at the device, some of the features we’re excited about and what we expect from the handset in the Indian market.

The Basics:

Samsung's Galaxy Grand 2 sports a 5.25-inch screen with a resolution of 1,280x720 and 16:9 aspect ratio. Those are pretty impressive features to start off with. Add to that a 1.2 GHz processor and it’s pretty obvious this not a slouch of a phone. The camera on the back is 8 MP and there are rumours that this camera has seen a few upgrades. We’ll have to wait and watch. Android 4.3 is operating system on the phone. Apart from this, the battery has been upgraded to a 2600 mAh one to address the perennial complain of battery drainage among smartphone users.

What’s New?

First the big one, the phone is a dual-SIM model. This is great news, particularly in the Indian market where there is a huge demand for these phones. Also, we’re excited to see a phone in this segment have some of the features mentioned and can’t wait to try it out. According to the manufacturer, camera specific apps such Best Face, Best Photo, and Continuous Shot come preinstalled. This is a nice touch and along with other preinstalled apps, it’s great to see a manufacturer do something like this. That’s not all; the phone will be released in 3 colours – white, black and pink.

Something Missing:

Yes, we know this is a preview but we couldn’t help but lament the 4G incompatibility of this device. Yes, 4G in India is still some way away, but it would have been great to see it on this model. HSPA+ is standard though and with 3G there’s plenty to keep you satisfied for the moment at least.

What We Expect:

Overall, we are curious to try out this device and experience it. Being a dual-SIM model with high end features, it sure such to appeal to a niche crowd who have for long been asking mobile phone manufacturers for a phone similar to this one. Also, putting out phones in different colours is a trend these days and Samsung seems to following it with colours like White and Black, but adds an unique dimension with a pink coloured device.

Summary:

Samsung for long has released handset after handset hoping to eat into every market segment. However, one area has remained quite unchartered and this phone aims to address that. On paper, things look promising and when this phone does release, expect it to sell like hot cakes.  

Why does it make Sense switching to Nexus 5

Google finally announced the much awaited Android 4.4 KitKat release yesterday along with Nexus 5 handset manufactured by LG which went on sale in 10 countries (Great Halloween treat!). The initial handset inventory got sold off in 27 minutes flat, that goes to prove a strong potential Google has got for Christmas to compete with flagship phones from other companies.

More importantly Nexus 5 got listed immediately on Indian Play Store with a coming soon tag and priced at Rs 28,999 for 16 GB and Rs 32,999 for 32 GB version. Android ecosystem seems to be up for a major overhaul after KitKat OS announcement where Google intends to go with one single version of Android running on almost all devices post Jan 2014, which is a bold move and more concrete step taken to do away with Android OS fragmentation issues.

This does not warranty automatic upgrade for handsets with low configurations released earlier, however Android OS bandwagon would be less crowded post 2014 with version 4.4 targeting major share.

Manufacturers like Samsung, HTC, Sony and LG could be sweating over Nexus 5 soon as their current crop of flagship phones are going to be left far behind in terms of performance and pricing. Also being a stock Google device dependency of being at mercy of these companies to push across new OS upgrades that take too long also goes away.

 There are rumors that Samsung may go for an early Galaxy S5 release next year to compensate for a less blockbuster response to Galaxy S4 sales, they have already announced that the next version of Galaxy phones would be based on 64 bit processing capacity and we may also see more RAM packed in OR better graphical processing power under the hood.

Samsung is not showing any signs of a shift in design, build and quality of it's Galaxy flagship phones. Note 3 is the only phone which comes with a different build quality now and TouchWiz OS gimmicks would continue to be offered as new features which most smartphone users do not actually use.

Both Sony and HTC has received decent response on Xperia Z1 and One phones which can provide them much required impetus to challenge Samsung's Android smartphone dominance in India.I am not sure how successful LG has being with G2 however Nexus 5 has got just the right pricing for Indian market which can boost prospects for this company next year.

Apple's iPhone 5C has got limited success until now where it has launched and 5S would be priced under premium category going beyond Rs 50,000 range as the case is with all new Apple iPhone's which get launched in India. I am doubtful how would Apple push their device adoption even with 5C (expected pricing around 41/42K) and EMI schemes across smaller cities and town in India?

Google device upgrades have being more balanced and well paced compared to yearly ritual now adopted by most companies, There's a limit to the upgrades we're going to see in smartphone hardware and software, and as the market saturates, the pressure to compete on price is going to become more intense. In such scenario a phone like Nexus 5 can be a value for money upgrade, which has got me planning to sell my S4 and go for this phone as it launches in India.

Would you go for Nexus 5 with the price it would be launched in India or prefer to wait for Galaxy S5 Or iPhone 5s, It would be interesting to read through your response on this.

Nokia Lumia 1020 Preview

Introduction:

Nokia seems to have gotten its act together with the launch of some exciting new phones in the Lumia series. No phone however, has been responsible for the kind of market buzz as the new Lumia 1020. With a jaw-dropping 41MP camera, the phone raised a lot of eyebrows and it finally makes its way to Indian shores in the last week of October.

Design:

The Nokia Lumia 1020 looks no different to some of the other phones in the ‘Lumia’ series from the front. The 4.5 inch screen is scratch resistant and is surrounded by a plastic body. This is available in several colours including yellow, black and white. The 41MP camera on the back protrudes out of the phone and hence the phone does not lie flat against a surface. 

All the buttons are to the side of the phone as the plastic polycarbonate makes for a great grip – the phone feels phenomenal to hold in the hands.  

Technical Features:

The Nokia Lumia 1020 is built around the 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 SoC — the same as used in the Lumia 920 and 820; but the Lumia 1020 received an upgraded 2GB of RAM.

There's a generous 32GB of internal storage as well as 7GB of free SkyDrive storage. There’s no option to add a micro SD card so the 32GB in the phone is all you get. 

This is a top-end handset with a full set of connectivity options, including dual-band Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth (3.0), pentaband LTE (100Mbps down, 50Mbps up) and NFC. However we expected better from the device's 2,000mAh battery which struggled to keep it going for 24 hours — particularly when we made use of the camera's Xenon flash.

Camera:

Nokia first unveiled the technology that now graces the 1020 in its 808 Pureview in July last year. At the time it was hailed as spectacular, but a dead end, as it was part of the Finnish company's final Symbian phone.

The camera's 41-megapixel sensor is undoubtedly the Lumia 1020's major selling point. Those 41 megapixels aren't, of course, the full story. Other camera features include image stabilisation and 3x (digital) zoom, ISO settings between 100 and 4000, and shutter speeds between 1/16,000 of a second to 4 seconds.

When you take a photo, two images are captured. One is a 5-megapixel version that you can share by email, drop into your SkyDrive allowance or view on the handset. The other is a 34-megapixel image that you can't access until you connect the handset to a computer, at which point it can be copied or moved onto your hard drive. Both images are linked on the handset so that deleting the one you're viewing deletes the other.

Nokia makes a Camera Grip accessory which increases the handset size considerably, but is intended to help you keep a steady hand while shooting. It incorporates a second (1,020mAh) battery and a power level indicator, and also has a universal tripod connector. 

Conclusion:

In our opinion, this is a great phone offering several unique features. The sterling camera coupled with the fresh Windows 8 operating system make the Lumia 1020 a great device for people looking for a great phone and a camera to boot. The Windows 8 app base keeps growing daily and is not as unfashionable as it once was. 

Information - Reliance Digital Stores

Galaxy Note 8.0 launched at MWC 2013

Samsung has launched it's 8 inch tablet at MWC 2013 in Barcelona, Spain. It mark's entry of it's Galaxy Note range in tablet category moving up from the phablet series. Samsung already has Galaxy Tab in the 7 inch segment which has not garnered the level of popularity Galaxy Note was able to manage as a hybrid tablet/phone device.

In my opinion it could help Samsung gain a significant market share in the tablet category with the introduction of S-Pen with this tablet, as it comes loaded with 4.1.2 Jelly Bean OS on TouchWiz interface, has 5 MP rear camera and a 1.3 MP front camera.

Body design follows Galaxy Note / S3 phone build, weighing at 338 grams and 7.95 mm thin. Would have being worth to launch this device with Exynos 5 processor, however it comes with 1,6GHz Exynos 4 Quad Core Processor, has 2 GHz RAM, 16/32 GB Sotrage along with Micro-SD card slot for expandable memory, 1280 x 800 display at 189 ppi which is higher than that of Apple at 163 ppi, along with 4,600 mAH battery which should provide decent usage for this device.

No Official word on the pricing yet by Samsung, expect it to be available in the range of INR 25,000 - INR 27,000 considering additional calling ability available with the tablet

I was surprised to know that at this screen size level, Samsung has not shyed away from offering calling feature on this tablet which is also present in Galaxy Tab, pretty bold move. Do you think Galaxy Note 8.0 would act as a game changer in the tablet space for Samsung to fight it out with iPad mini and maybe surpass the popularity enjoyed by Kindle Fire and Nexus 7 in the Android arena?

Watch the hands on video below by engadget and leave your views in the comments below this article.

Watch Dogs - Everything is connected

If you had being following a series aired on Star World by the name Person of Interest, you would be in a better position to relate to the plot of this upcoming game from Ubisoft - Watch Dogs, another Open World Stealth game which has got me interested, it's trailer caught my attention on YouTube recently.

The much touted AI system rumoured to be the roving eye for the government to keep a watch on it's citizen is in the heart of this game, a concept in gaming never tried before. I can anticipate it would turn out to be a key element in driving the plot within the game and slow motion action stuff combined with stealth and skill also seems to be included in the game. 

I have being already awed by Far Cry 3 graphics this year, if you take a look at the game play trailer, there's a similar effort visible in capturing very detailed and natural ambient lights around the character, rain effect looks rich and pretty realistic, I already have few game titles on my wishlist for 2013 like Crysis 3, Army of Two 3, Splinter Cell Blacklist and now this one looks a promising contender too.

Check out the blackout trailer for this game

Visit the official site for this game to check out the demo showcased during E3 2012 event

Small and Beautiful : Evolving Asthetics for car market in India

Both Honda and Hyundai are up for important launch in the compact car segment with Brio and Eon. Global car manufacturers are taking note of the taste of Indian consumers for design and decor while buying a new car which could turn out to be the differentiating factor beyond the bells and whistles of features that may turn out to be common over a period of time. While every car consumer zeroes in on a vehicle choice with a specific budget, they definitely look at Value for Money proposition offered by a specific variant of the same car model.

Honda's Brio could land up giving competition to Hyundai's i10/Chevrolet Beat/Ford Figo/Nissan Micra. It comes with a 1200 CC engine and claims to deliver a mileage close to 18 kmpl with an entry level model pricing at Rs 3.95 Lakh. I liked the rear windshield design of the car which gives it a tall look and enhances rear view visibility for the driver. Noticeable curves streaming from the front and rear section of the car, compact grill in the front with a wide stance complement the interior of the car as well. I noticed 4 fan blowers on the front dashboard of the car in the 360 interactive view on their website, which also is an intelligent feature allowing cooling to be available equally for the driver and passenger on the front seat. With the kind of quality and customer service Honda is known to deliver, Honda Brio should be able to find a sweet spot with consumers with their new launch offering with the sales picking up by the arrival of Diwali festival.



Hyundai too is ready to take on Maruti in the small car segment directly with their upcoming car Eon scheduled for October launch pitching it directly against Alto, It has got ARAI ceritified mileage of 21.1 kmpl which goes beyond Alto's 19 kmpl benchmark. Powered by a 814cc petrol engine it is aiming entry level variant pricing at Rs 2.5 Lakh. This car looks well styled for a small car segment category. Hyundai could be looking at a potential winner on hands for offering a much needed option for small car buyers interested to look beyond Maruti, given that Hyundai is the 2nd largest car manufactuer in India today after Maruti with a very strong after sales and service network. Personally i never liked Hyundai Santro/i10 in terms of the design, post the launch of i20 Hyundai made serious efforts to enhance the wow factor for consumers and they now seem to be committed in this direction with Eon's upcoming launch.

Hopefully amidst rising petrol prices and interest rates, these new launches could bring the much required cheer to both consumers and car manufacturers during the upcoming festive season.