Review of MOTO E

Motorola has been bullish so far this year with its pricing and strategy for India. After a long absence, it came back with the Moto G and Moto X, and now continues with the Moto E, making other manufacturers sit up and take notice.

At Rs. 6,999, the Motorola Moto E is priced to ruffle feathers. Motorola is clearly sending a message to buyers that they can get a whole lot more for their money than they have before, and competitors had better adapt to this new reality. However, it is rather unfortunate that Motorola has chosen to stick to online sales only in India. Even though it managed to run through its first stock of Moto E within two days on Flipkart, Motorola could have done a lot better with a more traditional retail presence - at least competitors have that advantage for now. There has been lots of buzz around the Moto E even before its official launch, but that's nothing compared to the actual potential of the Indian smartphone market.

We try to find out if the Moto E lives up to the hype surrounding it.

Look and feel
The Moto E follows the same design language of its elder siblings, the Moto X (Review) and Moto G. This is evident in the dimpled chin on the curved back which features the Motorola logo. There are a few subtle differences, though.

At its thickest point, the Moto E measures 12.3mm, making it a bit fatter than the Moto G. Also, at 142g it weighs slightly more, and definitely feels heavier in the hand. Fortunately the heft is reassuring considering its compact size. The body feels sturdy, and we get the impression that it will be able to withstand years of use. 

Despite being predominantly plastic, the Moto E feels premium, almost making us wonder how Motorola could afford to price it so low. Our only complaint is that the rear has a rubbery feel to it which could get oily after prolonged use. The rear cover is interchangeable, and nine  colours will be available, all of which look pretty good.

Above the distinctive dimple is the recessed rear camera module. This protects the lens from scratches - a small example of attention to detail from Motorola that we appreciate. Prying open the rear cover is a rather tedious process. Once opened, there are two slots on the right edge for the Micro-SIM cards and a slot for the memory card. The battery is non-removable.

The right edge of the Moto E houses the volume rocker and power button. Motorola has decided to leave the left edge blank. The ambient light, proximity sensors and a hidden status/charging indicator LED are above the screen. A front-facing mono speaker is masked by a metallic strip below the screen. 

The Moto E uses on-screen buttons for navigation. The bottom of the phone has a Micro-USB port for data transfer and charging, and the top features the 3.5mm jack for headphones. Inside the box, apart from the phone, you'll find a charger and a headset. The absence of a data cable is a downer.

Features and specifications
The Moto E is powered by a low-end Snapdragon 200 dual-core processor clocked at 1.2GHz, with an integrated Adreno 302 graphics processor. There is 1GB of RAM, which is a good sign that the phone will be able to run without stuttering (more on that later). The Moto E has 4GB of internal storage with 2.2GB available for use. Surprisingly, the phone recognizes it as external storage and installs apps to this partition. Unlike the Moto G, Motorola allows expansion of storage by up to 32GB using a microSD card. It supports two Micro-SIM cards in dual-standby mode, each of which can connect to a 3G network. 

The phone has a 5-megapixel rear camera with no flash or auto-focus, and there is no front camera. We can already hear selfie lovers grumbling about this exclusion.

The Moto E's 4.3-inch display is protected by a sheet of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 - a first for a phone in this price range. The display has a qHD resolution of 960x540, which translates to a relatively sharp density of 256ppi. We couldn't really discern individual pixels. The colours displayed are quite vibrant, though viewing angles and sunlight legibility are not up to the mark.

Software
A major complaint among detractors of Android is the fragmentation of software versions across different devices. In that regard, it is extremely heartening to note that Motorola is constantly striving to bring the latest and the best version of Android to its smartphones. The Moto E runs Android 4.4.2 (KitKat), and Motorola has promised that it will get at least one future upgrade. This is another first for any Android smartphone in the sub-Rs. 10k segment.

Motorola leaves the Android software largely untouched, and so we are treated to the taste of unadulterated KitKat (pun intended): clean home screens, a lock screen with a camera shortcut, a whole collection of Google apps, Google Now, and on-screen navigation buttons which hide when you play games and watch videos.

Motorola adds a Moto Assist app that lets users determine which ringing mode the phone should be in at certain times. For example, it syncs with your calendar to check for meetings and enters the meeting mode at the appropriate time. The app offers two presets - meeting and sleep. We don't consider this bloatware because it is actually useful, and owners of other Android devices can also download it from the Play Store. Motorola also preinstalls an app called Moto Migrate that makes transferring important data from an old phone to the Moto E an easy process. Setting it up is quite effortless, and it functions as advertised.

Camera
The less we talk about the Moto E's 5-megapixel camera, the better. Before we get into the performance details, we want to remind users about the HTC Desire 310's abysmal camera performance. The Moto E is only slightly better. We don't expect anyone to buy this phone if they need a device that can take decent photos.

The default camera app on the Moto E is the same as the one on the Moto G. It is extremely basic with very few available settings. There is an HDR mode and a panorama mode. Motorola allows for selective exposure (with a very intuitive interface) but no autofocus. This baffles us, although without an autofocus lag, you can take shots really quickly.

Captured images have a lot of noise even in broad daylight, and low-light performance is a whole lot worse. Colour reproduction is average, which is the only saving grace of the camera. Video performance is dismal too. Then again, we can't expect much more from a phone priced this low.

(Click to see full size)

Performance
Obviously, this phone isn't meant to be a performance beast. The best we can expect of it is to function without lags during everyday use. Thankfully, we found that the Moto E is extremely responsive while browsing through apps and websites . It is a really capable budget smartphone, and really does stand out amongst its competition. The performance benchmark scores are surprisingly good too.

In AnTuTu and Quadrant, the phone registered scores of 12,546 and 5,324 respectively. The Moto E rendered the GFXbench animation at an impressive 10.7 fps. To give users some perspective, this is close to the performance of the Sony Xperia T2 Ultra. We tried Dead Trigger 2, a graphically intense first-person shooter for Android, and it was mostly smooth, with only very few lags.

The default video app doesn't play 1080p videos, but we were completely surprised when third-party apps managed to do so just fine, without any hiccups or dropped frames. The mono speaker's sound quality is just about average, but it is adequately loud. The bundled earphones are uncomfortable to use and just sound bad. The situation did get better with the use of our reference headphones.

We were slightly disappointed with the battery life, considering the phone has a powerful 1,980mAh battery inside. It lasted only 5 hours, 41 minutes in our continuous loop test. This means that users will have to charge it at the end of each day, if not more often. On the flipside, call quality was phenomenally good.

Verdict
What Motorola has done with the Moto E is let loose a performance beast in the sub-10k range of smartphones. It might have a bad camera, but in every other respect the Moto E trumps its competition by a large margin. The only other smartphone that comes close is the Nokia Lumia 525 (review) which runs Windows Phone 8, is more expensive, and has a limited number of applications in the app store.

Motorola is now the Goliath in the budget smartphone battle. We admire this phone immensely, and we're also excited to see how the competition in this extremely important market segment will respond now that the bar has been raised.

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New Xiaomi Redmi 1S and Redmi Note released in India

At the Xiaomi Mi 3 flagship launch in India, the Chinese smartphone and tablet manufacturer has launched two other smartphones in the country, the Xiaomi Redmi 1S and Xiaomi Redmi Note. The Redmi 1S has been priced at Rs. 6,999, while the Redmi Note has been priced at Rs. 9,999.

As for availability, Xiaomi, also referred to as 'China's Apple', said the smartphones are 'coming soon', with the Redmi 1S scheduled for an early August arrival, and Redmi Note for a late August entry into the Indian market.

The dual-SIM (Micro-SIM) Xiaomi Redmi 1S with dual standby was first announced for China in May, and features a 4.7-inch 720x1280 pixel IPS-LCD display with Corning Gorilla Glass 2 protection and a pixel density of roughly 312ppi. It runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with MIUI v5 skinned on top, and no mention of an Android 4.4 KitKat upgrade.

Xiaomi's Redmi 1S is powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 SoC, coupled with Adreno 305 GPU and 1GB of RAM. It has 8GB of built-in storage that is expandable via microSD card (up to 32GB). The Redmi 1S also features an 8-megapixel rear autofocus camera with flash, alongside a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Redmi 1S features 3G, GPRS/ EDGE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with Direct and hotspot functionality, Micro-USB, Bluetooth 4.0, FM radio, GPS/ A-GPS, and USB OTG connectivity options. It is powered by a 2400mAh battery, weighs 158 grams, and has dimensions of 137x69x9.9mm.

The Redmi Note (seen above) on the other hand is the company's phablet offering, and features a 5.5-inch 720x1280 pixel IPS-LCD display with an approximate pixel density of 267ppi. Featuring dual-SIM support with dual standby, the Xiaomi Redmi Note is powered by a 1.7GHz octa-core MediaTek MTK6592 SoC, coupled with Mali-450MP4 GPU and 2GB of RAM.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean with the MIUI v5 skin on top. It features a 13-megapxiel rear autofocus camera with LED flash, as well as a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera. It comes with 8GB of built-in storage along with microSD card expandability (up to 32GB). Connectivity options on the Redmi Note include GPRS/ EDGE, 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with Direct and hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, Micro-USB with OTG, and GPS/ A-GPS.

The Redmi Note features a 3100mAh battery, weighs 199 grams, and has dimensions of 154x78.7x9.5 mm.

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LG Display Unveils 18-Inch Flexible Display

LG Display Co. has developed an 18-inch flexible display that can be rolled into the shape of a thin cylinder, a step toward making a large display for flexible TVs.

The South Korean display panel maker said Friday the flexible display has a resolution of 1200 pixels by 810 pixels and maintains its function when it is rolled up.

While that resolution would fall within the range of high-definition, images on the display would not look as sharp as the latest flat displays that boast ultra-high definition.

LG touted its technology as a significant advance, saying the cylinder's diameter would be just 6 centimetres (2.4-inches). It means LG Display could produce TVs that are larger than 50-inches diagonally and can be rolled up.

It is based on OLED technology, an advanced display that can show images in richer colours.

South Korean display makers are striving to gain an edge in flexible display technology as they see it as a way to set their products apart from their rivals in China, Taiwan and Japan. They also hope that the novel form would give consumers a reason to buy a new gadget.

Last year, Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. each released a smartphone with a curved display to show off their technological prowess.

But it is unclear how the nascent technology would make handsets or televisions more useful. LG said its technology would make large TVs portable and it is up to the TV makers how they expand the use of the technology.

(Also See: LG Launches KizON Wristband to Help Parents Keep Track of Their Kids)

The South Korean company also unveiled a semi-opaque display. Though it is not as transparent as glass, that's the direction that the company is heading. LG named it the transparent display saying its transparency has improved from existing technology.

In the picture provided by LG, it is possible to see hands through the display. LG Display spokesman said it is possible to view images on the transparent display from the front and from the back.

By 2017, LG aims to develop a flexible and transparent display that measures more than 60-inches diagonally, Kang In-byung, head of LG Display's R&D Center, said in a statement.

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Now Dropbox makes syncing your large files faster

Cloud storage service Dropbox has announced a feature called Streaming Sync, which promises to improve the way its platform handles the syncing of large files. Thanks to Streaming Sync, which is part of a revamped desktop client, users will get a major speed boost when syncing any file over 16MB -- up to twice as fast as any regular sync, according to the company. Dropbox notes that it was able to accomplish this by overlapping the upload and download phase of the file synchronization, meaning it can use its servers to push the data to your device, rather than letting your smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop do all the work. Along with Streaming Sync, Dropbox also brought support for four additional languages to the app, as well as the ability to view your most recent account activity via a new notifications menu.

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Google's 3D-mapping tablet

Speck Design's clientele has ranged from Apple to Samsonite to Fisher-Price in its history, and now it can add Google to the list of high-profile companies. But Google -- or its Advanced Technologies and Projects (ATAP) division, to be more specific -- is no ordinary client. The group is modeled after DARPA, which divides its agency into teams, with each one given a limited time to solve a pressing issue. Nearly a year and half ago, ATAP reached out to Speck, led by industrial designers Jason Stone and Vincent Pascual, with one such task: Build a tablet like no other.

The project is known as Tango. Its goal is to create technology that lets you use mobile devices to piece together three-dimensional maps, thanks to a clever array of cameras, depth sensors and fancy algorithms. As if that isn't enough of a challenge, Tango's team only has two full years to make this tech a reality. Those two years will be up in less than five months.

ATAP focuses on cutting-edge projects that push technology forward at a rapid pace, and Tango is a prime example of this. Through a combination of hardware and software, the project aims to give mobile devices a sense of scale and an understanding of space and motion. You could potentially create a three-dimensional mockup of your office building or home just by walking through every room with a Tango-equipped smartphone or tablet. If the project is successful, it means you may someday use an app to hunt down hard-to-find products at the grocery store, the same way you'd locate a house using GPS. You could play Plants vs. Zombies or Portal with your living room as the backdrop, or envision how that IKEA couch would fit in front of your entertainment center. It opens up a lot of new options that, until now, haven't been technically feasible.

Two years isn't much time to develop bleeding-edge tech from the ground up, let alone two pieces of hardware (a smartphone and tablet) and an entire software platform; heck, even the original iPhone took over three years to blossom from a sparkle in Steve Jobs' eye to a final product release. But what's more impressive is the fact that Speck cranked out a tablet in 16 months. That's similar to a standard development cycle for a regular device. But the Tango slate is nowhere near normal, and it's not just different in its curvaceous appearance. For starters, it's a high-end Android tablet with 4GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage and an NVIDIA Tegra K1 chip (the first in the US and second in the world) that features desktop GPU architecture. It also has a unique design that consists of an array of cameras and sensors near the top and a couple of subtle grips on the sides. It packs 3D-mapping features previously reserved for professional equipment worth thousands of dollars, and it even looks good enough to pass as a consumer device.

Two years isn't much time when you're working on a first-of-its-kind product.

In case it sounds like an easy process, Stone insists it's the complete opposite. Tango and its partners worked at a breakneck pace. The project vision was evolved daily, and the team worked with several different companies simultaneously on various aspects of the product's development. Working on multiple things at the same time isn't uncommon, but the vast number of parties that were involved is; Tango recruited engineers, researchers, universities and manufacturers to help mold what would eventually become the hardware and software we see today.

"It's like they were starting to form a vision on how this thing should actually work while we were doing the industrial design in parallel," Stone says.

Speck was hired in March 2013 to come up with a "shotgun blast" of ideas and conceptual designs, but Stone and Pascual soon realized they were in for a far bigger challenge than they'd expected. Oftentimes clients will have specific design languages or standards for their brands, but because ATAP operates as a separate entity from the rest of Google, there were no established guidelines or rules to help Speck narrow down design options.

"They didn't tell us a lot about what they were doing [with Tango] at first," Stone says. "They didn't really explain about the applications or tech at that point."

Equipped with little more than a high-level understanding of the project, Stone and Pascual crafted dozens of rough, handmade prototypes. "We'd cut out a block and lay some dimensional paper down to make sure it's the right screen and body size," Stone says. "We'd make around three before picking one to take to Google." Some of the more interesting models included a flagpole-shaped option and a tablet with a transparent frame around the edge.

One of Speck's first handmade design prototypes.

While Speck's clients are typically armed with a strict budget, Google had no cost restraints. Price simply didn't factor into Tango early on; to Google's Johnny Lee and Ryan Hickman, it was essential to use the best components, such as cameras, sensors, chipsets and speakers. That became a huge challenge for the designers because blank checks mean even more options.

"Sometimes those restraints around cost can help you make decisions easier and faster," Stone says. "You're like, 'Well, we can't do this so we'll have to do that.'"

Speck wasn't the only company working with Tango on potential designs at first. ATAP, eager to leverage its connection with Motorola and somehow utilize its supply chain and other resources, asked Moto's User Experience Design (UXD) group to experiment with some conceptual designs. Tango even reached out to Google's Nexus team, which wanted to focus on making affordable devices like the Nexus 5 instead.

Speck designed several mockups detailing how Tango could be used.

Soon, Speck received more responsibility. The company was asked to put its Photoshop skills to work by drawing up visualization mockups -- screenshots depicting various use cases for Tango. These mockups helped ATAP sell its vision of Tango to potential hardware partners and Google. Thanks to the project's time constraints, immediate partner buy-in was crucial to its success. Thus, this job was given the same priority as the designer's other tasks; it had to be done as soon as possible.

Pascual said the team came up with hundreds of use cases. For instance, virtually trying a new carpet in your house; seeing how a new pair of glasses would look before a visit to the optometrist; rendering a 3D map of what's under your car's hood; or calculating a route through a crowded museum.

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Adidas Fit Smart Fitness Band With miCoach App

Fitness is the new buzz in town. Adidas on Wednesday announced a new fitness wristband dubbed Fit Smart; an activity tracker designed for running, training, and fitness that is paired with the company's miCoach fitness app. The company has priced it for $199 (approximately Rs. 11,800) and will release in mid-August in the US, and in rest of the world from August 15 through Adidas' website, and from September 1 through Adidas Sports Performance stores.

The Adidas Fit Smart wristband with its soft touch silicon strap weighs in at 58 grams. The company has put in a distinct LED light array (blue, green, yellow and red) that indicates the user's current workout intensity in different colour zones.

"Vibration and visual prompts provide feedback and coaching so the user can make the most out of every workout" the company wrote on its website.

Fit Smart paired with Adidas' own miCoach Train and Run fitness app help users tailor workouts and measure heart rate, calories, pace, distance and stride rate from the wrist. The pairing of wristband and app is done through Bluetooth.

"The key to the Fit Smart is having heart rate technology on your wrist," says Paul Gaudio, general manager for Adidas digital sports. The intend of the company from Fit Smart is helping people set and reach weekly goals, as well as commit to long term training plans. Adidas has also said that it will release an update to the miCoach app in August along with the release of Fit Smart.

The company says that Fit Smart can store up to 10 hours of workout data and its 200mAh battery will offer up to five days on a single charge.
VIA ND TV GADGET

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HTC Desire 616 Dual And HTC One (E8)

HTC has launched two new smartphones - the Desire 616 Dual SIM and One (E8) Dual SIM - in the Indian market. The HTC Desire 616 Dual SIM has been launched at Rs. 16,900 and will be available starting next week, while the HTC One (E8) Dual SIM (seen above) will be available by end of this month at Rs. 34,990.

The Desire 616 Dual SIM (see below) was announced recently as an Asia-specific smartphone without a specific Android version. The dual-SIM smartphone (regular SIM+Micro-SIM) features a 5-inch display with an HD (720x1280 pixels) resolution, a 1.4GHz octa-core processor paired with 1GB of RAM, 8-megapixel autofocus rear and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, 4GB of inbuilt storage (expandable up to 32GB via microSD card), and a 2000mAh battery. The wireless connectivity options for the Desire 616 Dual SIM include Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS, GPRS/ EDGE and 3G.

The HTC One (E8) Dual SIM (launched in June along with the single SIM variant) on the other hand, sports a similar design to the original HTC One (M7), though it features a curvier, plastic body (polycarbonate) instead of a metal casing. For those unaware, the One (E8) is the same phone that the company claimed sold 50,000 units in just 15 minutes in China. The One (E8) was made official in June.

The One (E8), based on Android 4.4.2 KitKat, features a 5-inch SLCD 3 display with a full-HD (1080x1920 pixel) resolution, which translates to a pixel density of 441ppi. It is powered by a 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (MSM8975AC) processor, alongside 2GB of RAM and the Adreno 330 GPU.

The plastic edition of HTC's One (M8) (Review | Pictures) flagship comes with a 13-megapixel rear autofocus camera with LED flash, and also houses a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. However, the One (E8) misses the highlight of the One (M8) - the dual rear camera setup that puts a 4-UltraPixel camera alongside a depth sensing camera.

The One (E8) comes with 16GB of built-in storage, that is expandable via microSD card (up to 128GB). In terms of connectivity options, the HTC One (E8) supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n with Direct and DLNA functionality; 4G LTE; 3G; GPRS/ EDGE; GPS/ A-GPS with Glonass; Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP; Micro-USB; and a 3.5mm audio jack.

It is powered by a 2600mAh non-removable battery, measures 146.4x70.7x9.9mm, and weighs in at 145 grams.

via ND TV GADGETS

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Nokia Lumia 930 gets UK release date

Nokia has revealed the UK on-sale date for its latest Lumia device.

The Lumia 930 will go on sale with UK retailers from July 17 in a range of colours including bright orange, bright green and black, all from £33 per month on contract. Running on the latest Windows Phone 8.1 software, it features a 5-inch OLED display backed by a 2,420mAh battery and other features like built-in wireless charging. With a 20 megapixel PureView camera with optical image stabilisation, the Lumia trademark for solid inbuilt photography is continued. “The Lumia 930 is the perfect blend of design, colour and Microsoft Lumia services, delivering cutting-edge technology to create an unrivalled video and imaging smartphone experience that are instantly shareable”, said Conor Pierce, VP of Microsoft Devices for the UK & Ireland.

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Asus ZenFone 4 ZenFone 5 ZenFone 6 Launch in India

Asus has launched 3 new smartphone in India, the Asus ZenFone 4, ZenFone 5, and ZenFone 6. The company announced the refreshed version of  voice-calling tablet, the Fonepad 7 (FE170CG). 

The zenFone 4 comes in 2variants, with 4-inch (A400CG) model price at Rs. 5,999, and the 4.5-inch (A450CG) model announce without a price. The ZenFone 5 (8GB) has  price at Rs. 9,999, while the 16GB storage variant pricing has not yet been revealed. The ZenFone 6 (seen above) on the other hand has been priced at Rs. 16,999 for its 16GB storage variant.

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Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10 HD

Lenovo has unveiled the Yoga Tablet 10 HD+ at the MWC 2014 in Barcelona. The Chinese manufacturer has announced that the tablet will be available starting April this year and will ship at a starting price of $349, which translates to roughly Rs. 21,700.

The Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10 HD+ is an incremental update to the Yoga Tablet 10 that was launched last year. The Yoga Tablet 10 HD+, much like its predecessor, is a multimode Android tablet featuring hold, tilt and stand modes.

The new tablet by Lenovo features a 10.1-inch display with a resolution of 1920x1200 pixels resolution and boasts a 178-degree wide viewing angle.

Notably, the Yoga Tablet 10 HD+ will be available in two variants: Wi-Fi and 3G. The 3G model of the tablet is powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon (MSM8228), while the Wi-Fi variant is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8028 chipset. The tablet runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and is upgradeable to Android 4.4 KitKat via over-the-air (OTA) update, according to the company.

The Yoga Tablet 10 HD+ includes 2GB of RAM and comes in two storage variants 16GB and 32GB, and supports additional 64GB microSD card.

The tablet sports an 8-megapixel rear camera and also houses a 1.6-megapixel front camera. The Yoga Tablet 10 HD+ packs a 9000mAh battery, which, the company claims, can deliver up to 18 hours of battery life. The tablet weighs 615 grams.

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Lava Magnum X604

Lava Mobiles on Monday has launched a large-screen smartphone, a 6-inch phablet called the Magnum X604, at Rs. 11,999. While the smartphone will be available across all retail stores in India,Lava has exclusively partnered with Snapdeal for selling it online.

The dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) supporting Lava Magnum X604 runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat out-of-the-box. The large screen Magnum X604 features a 6-inch HD (720x1280 pixel) IPS display and is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core (unspecified chipset) processor with Videocore IV GPU coupled with 1MB of RAM.

It sports an 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera along with LED flash and BSI sensor, while there is a 2-megapixel front-facing camera also onboard. The Magnum X604 supports storage expansion via microSD card (up to 32GB), with 8GB of inbuilt storage already on the device.

The Lava Magnum X604 packs a 2600mAh battery, which is rated for up to 8 hours of talk time (unspecified network) and 200 hours of standby time according to the company.

The various connectivity options on the Lava Magnum X604 include 3G, 2G, Bluetooth, GPRS/EDGE, Wi-Fi, GPS, and GLONASS. The smartphone measures 163.3x84x8.9mm and weighs 207 grams.

Commenting on the launch, Mr S.N Rai, Co-Founder & Director, Lava International Ltd, "With the launch of LAVA Magnum X604 our endeavour was to multiply consumer's experience with its big screen size and high-performance features while being highly pocket-friendly and portable. The Magnum X604 is a perfect companion for consumers who want to stay connected and experience the best of both smartphones and tablets in one device."

check out HTC 'Volantis' Tablet

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HTC Rezound with Beats Audio gets US unveiling

HTC has unveiled the HTC Rezound, a 4.5-inch 'superphone' that packs all of the best tech that HTC has to offer in one incredibly desirable package, all then wrapped in aluminium and Beats Audio technology.

Smaller than the UK HTC Sensation XL but yet also different in design from the Sensation XE it looks as though the Rezound is set to be the new flagship of HTC's US range of smartphones.

HTC Rezound specs

With a 4.3-inch screen the Rezound is the first HTC phone to offer up a true 720p display, yes that's right, it's a 4.3-inch display with a resolution of 1280x720p, to put this into perspective the UK equivalent HTC Sensation XE has a resolution of just 540x960. Under the hood you'll find a huge 1.5GHz dual-core processor and with 1GB RAM this thing is unlikely to slow down, ever.

Android 4.0 ICS:

• Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 features
• Android Ice Cream Sandwich unveiled
• Motorola Razr review: Hands on
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus launched
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus review

 

HTC Rezound features

Top add insult to injury the Rezound also has a 8MP snapper on the back with features like panoramic mode and a huge number of scenes that can be applied to the lens. It'll record full-HD 1080p video and comes with a 2MP front-facing camera and while it may only (we say only) be running the latest version of Android Gingerbread 2.3.4 with HTC Sense 3.5 it's Android Ice Cream Sandwich-ready with an update already confirmed for early 2012.

If those specs haven't made you jealous enough then the final cherry on top is that it has 4G and of course, comes full-loaded with Beats by Dr Dre Audio technology which means integration with all the media functions of the phone and comes with a pair of Beats by Dr Dre in-ear heaphones.

This goliath of the smartphone world is available in the US today with us in Britain only hoping that HTC will pull something similar out of the hat soon. What do you think of the HTC Rezound, is it the best smartphone they've ever made? Let us know what you think via the comments box below..

htc-rezound-with-beats-audio

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Damson Jet Bluetooth Speaker

These wireless NFC mini speakers aim to deliver genuine split-channel stereo sound. It’s a bold move. Does it actually work? Almost… Pairing is pesky, largely because the two speakers have to pair to each other as well as the source. Sound quality, particularly bass, is surprisingly good, providing you have a suitable surface for the music to resonate through – the jets vibrate to spread sonics. It does inevitably sound tinny on some tracks, especially if you turn up the volume, but nine hours of battery and the option to use each speaker individually makes the jets pretty fly.

£150 | Damson Audio

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World Cup versions of Adidas Originals x Monster headphones released

The World Cup is well underway and if, like us, you've been glued to the games then you might just want a spanking new pair of headphones to show off your love of the beautiful game.

Most of these are not available for the public to buy, as they were designed and built especially for the teams. But Monster has struck a UK-exclusive deal with John Lewis to offer us three international colourways: Brazil, England and France.

Two of those teams, ahem, are still in the tournament.

The headphones themselves are the result of a collaboration between Monster and Adidas Originals, fusing audio performance with street cred. Their words, not ours.

The World Cup versions will still be on sale after the end of the tournament, although they are limited edition as only 2,000 of each colour have been produced.

 

At least there's no extra cost though. The World Cup versions retail for the same £219.95 price as the standard colours.

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HTC 'Volantis' Tablet

The alleged HTC 'Volantis', purportedly the next Nexus tablet, has leaked online again, this time in a blurry image accompanied by purported specifications.

Serial tipster, @evleaks, has posted some of the specifications HTC 'Volantis' along with a macro shot of the alleged tablet that shows the rear panel. However, GSM Arena claims that the leaked image is a fake one.

@evleaks also claims that the 'Volantis' will feature an 8.9-inch (2560x1600 pixels) WQXGA display; 5GB DDR3 RAM; 64GB inbuilt storage; 5- or 8-megapixel camera with full-HD recording. In-line with earlier leaks, the alleged HTC Volantis is said to powered by a 64-bit Tegra K1 processor.

However, the serial tipster notes that the RAM value is not final and might change at launch. Further, the HTC-made tablet codenamed Volantis will sport the BoomSound feature, also seen in HTC's flagship devices.

Earlier, a report claimed that the alleged HTC Volantis will see light of the day in Q4 2014 and would be priced at $399 for the 16GB version, and $499 for the 32GB version.

Further, a leaked image of the rumoured Volantis tablet was leaked and appeared to be cross between the LG's Nexus 5 and Asus' Nexus 7 (2013) tablet.

Reports for a while have been indicating that Google's next Nexus tablet could be introduced with Android's newer version and KitKat's successor, the L build of Android, which was unveiled at I/O 2014.

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Xolo Launches Play 6X-1000 and Q500s IPS With Android 4.4 KitKat

Xolo has launched two new smartphones, the Q500s IPS and Play 6X-1000, which have been priced at Rs. 5,999 and Rs. 14,499 respectively. Both the smartphones run Android 4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box, and have been listed as new arrivals on the company's site.

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Wickedleak Wammy Neo

The budget smartphone race in India is getting hotter by the day. It is increasingly becoming difficult to weed out the best from the rest. The entry of smaller, unknown brands might not seem to be any threat to established companies, but anyone could potentially disrupt the market with an attention-grabbing new product. Isn't this how Micromax rose to fame?

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Bose SoundTrue On-ear

Bose might be one of the best known names in audio equipment, but these days when you look at headphones, you see popular brands such as Beats and Skullcandy beginning to displace it in the high-end space. We tried out the Bose SoundTrue on-ear headphones, which feel like a response to this trend. The headphones have a sleek design and good sound, but at a price of Rs. 13,388, the question most people will ask is, "are these worth the money?" Read on to find out more:

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WD My Cloud

The term "cloud" has been used and abused to the point where it really encompasses anything that's connected to the Internet. WD is also somewhat guilty of misusing the term by calling its latest network-attached drive My Cloud, since it's nothing of the sort. Sure, you can connect it to the Internet and access your files from pretty much anywhere on the planet - which is nothing new - but you're also giving up some of the best advantages of hosted services. Read on to find out what we think of the product.

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Air Force Bugbots

It’s a hot summer day and you’re enjoying a family barbeque in the backyard when a small yet annoying bug enters your field of vision, it gently lands on your forearm and just before you are about to squash it, you notice a tiny flashing light. As you begin to scrutinize this strange insect you suddenly realize the awful truth, it’s not a bug at all, it's a “bugbot” and someone is watching you.

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Parrot Bebop Drone

Parrot has been making automated flying drones for a while. The first of them was the AR.Drone. While at least one person has hacked their AR.Drone to be controlled using an Oculus Rift, Parrot has unveiled that it’s next drone – dubbed the Bebop – will offer optional Oculus Rift support.
Using that VR headset, and the optional Parrot Skycontroller, users can have an immersive view of what the drone’s camera sees as it flies. The Bebop’s fixed camera is a 14MP unit with a fisheye lens that can shoot 1080p video. The camera also has a robust image stabilization system, and its software lets you zoom in and move around the image, rather than using a motorized gimbal like other competing quadrotors. The Bebop also has GPS support and can be programmed to fly between waypoints autonomously, and return home when done.

Read more: http://technabob.com/blog/2014/05/12/parrot-bebop-drone/#ixzz36QTD6LXa 

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4

1. The two colour options of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 include Dazzling White and Titanium Bronze. It was launched in India alongside the Galaxy Tab S 10.5, which has the same specifications but a larger display.

2. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 runs Android 4.4.2 Kitkat.

3. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 is powered by an octa-core Exynos 5 SoC (quad-core 1.9GHz Cortex-A15 and quad-core 1.3GHz Cortex-A7) processor coupled with 3GB of RAM.

4. Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 with 8.4-inch screen offers a resolution of 2560x1600 pixels and boasts of an impressive 359ppi pixel density.

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Samsung Galaxy K zoom

The camera-variant of the Samsung Galaxy S5, the Galaxy K zoom, has been launched in India, and is now up for pre-order exclusively on Amazon India at Rs. 29,999. The latest Samsung camera phone's pre-orders started midnight on Wednesday, and will be available for delivery from July 9.

The Internet retailer has also announced some of the launch offers for the first 1000 customers pre-booking the Galaxy K zoom, which will get Rs. 6,000 worth of offers. These offers include free Samsung Pop out case; Sandisk 32GB microSD card; six free movie tickets; Rs. 1,000 value off coupon on purchase of select handbags on Amazon India; Rs. 1,000 value off coupon on purchase of select watches. Earlier this week, Amazon India had teased the Galaxy K zoom launch.

Initially announced in April, the Galaxy K zoom is the second camera-specialised smartphone from the company, the first being the Galaxy S4 Zoom.

Notably, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom launched in India on July 9 last year, the same day which will see the Galaxy K zoom get availability in India this year. The Galaxy S4 Zoom (Review | Pictures) was launched at Rs. 29,900.

The Galaxy K zoom sports a 20.7-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor at the back accompanied by a Xenon flash and also features optical image stabilizer (OIS) for low-light imaging. The rear camera supports 10x optical zoom. The rear camera comes with some advanced camera usability features and functions, including AF/AE Separation (/Auto Focus/ Auto Exposure Separation); Pro Suggest mode that offers 5 optimized filter settings, Selfie Alarm offers users to take timed selfies. The Galaxy K zoom also houses a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.

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