all-eng-pdf-low-res-nov-dec-2012-1 by My Mobile

www.mymobile.co.in

nov 15 to dec 14 2012  Rs 75 tm

for a connected lifestyle

æ Inside

windows

All that you need to know about the new windows operating systems P 20

æ Chinese Invasion

Handsets from China are gaining ground P 34

æ Processing Power Know what your phone processor can do for you

P 32

BYOND The

affordable tablet range, now available in India

æ Tested

LG Optimus Vu, HTC 8X, Nokia Asha 311, HTC Desire X and more... P 49

æ Exclusive

iPhone 5 and HTC One X+ P 64 & 66

phone of the month htc one x+

first call

t My Mobile, we use words like “paradigm shift” and “market redefining” with due caution. After all, the events they refer to do not occur too many times in one’s lifetime. And yet we must admit that we are tempted to use them to describe the events that have been occurring in our techdominant corner of the universe. For one, the software that most of us use on our computers has just undergone one of its most detailed makeovers. For another, we finally may be on the cusp of an era when we could have similar software running on our PCs, notebooks, tablets and mobile devices. Yes, this is what Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 could do to our tech world. Small wonder then that, our cover story is devoted to these two salvos fired by Microsoft. Yes, I know some will wonder about why a magazine devoted to a mobile lifestyle is talking about a computer’s operating system, but that is because Windows in its new avatar could well play a much larger role in our lives, going beyond the confines of notebooks and desktops. More I refuse to reveal - read our cover story. Of course, software is only as good or bad as the hardware that runs on it. And in this regard, we must confess to being swamped with some of the most cutting-edge devices we have seen in recent years - from the uber muscular HTC One X+ and LG Optimus Vu to the uber sleek HTC 8X (one of the first Windows Phone 8 devices) and the Nokia Asha 308, which delivers a dollop of features at a relatively low price. And all this is without mentioning the iPhone 5, which has made its way to Indian shores in surprisingly quick time and with much fanfare. Yes, we would have loved to lay our hands on Microsoft Surface and Google Nexus tablets to make it a perfect month, but then, no month is perfect, is it? We can just guarantee that you will have a blast reading our Burn Test section this time around. All this treasure of hardware and software, dazzling though it is, has however, not blinded us to other facets of our industry. We have taken a closer look at the increasing popularity of Chinese brands in the Indian market and analysed their prospects. We have also got up and close with location based services that customise offerings depending on your location - now THAT is what we call really using GPS (no, we do not subscribe to the school that says GPS is best meant for maps and navigation). That apart, there is our usual collection of interviews with notable people in the industry, a round up of rumours and stacks of useful features that enable you to do much more with your mobile device. Speaking of which, if you are in the market for a mobile device and are on a tight budget, check out our story on devices that have witnessed spectacular price drops of late and still remain very good propositions. And you did not expect us to forget the most famous secret agent on them all, did you? Yes, we have an element of 007 in this issue. We have just got a licence to thrill and we use it to show you seven gadgets made famous by Mr Bond. Path-breaking software, high-profile devices, elements of Hollywood, devices from our neighbours...well, NOW you know why we were so tempted to use words like “paradigm shift” and “market redefining.” Do let us know if you agree with us. Happy reading.

04 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

Facebook facebook.com/mymobilemag Twitter twitter.com/MyMobileMag

ED I T O R I A L Pankaj Mohindroo |

Editor-in-Chief

DE S I G N Ajit Kumar Parashar | Graphic Designer Cover Photo | Rajkumar

C I R C U L A T I ON Lalit Sharma | Sr. Manager – Circulation Amit Prakash | Circulation Manager

A D V I S O R Y BO A R D Prithipal Singh S.C. Khanna S.D. Saxena Rajan Mathews T.R. Dua T.V. Ramachandran Shiv K. Bakhshi Sonu Halan Bhasin Bejon Misra Edited, published, printed and owned by Pankaj Mohindroo, Published from Flat No. 25, First Floor Shankar Market Connaught Place, New Delhi – 110001. Printed at HT Media Ltd. B-2, Sector 63, Noida. Distributed by Central News Agency Pvt Ltd. Copyright 2005. My Mobile is a registered trademark of My Mobile Infomedia Pvt Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form– electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, without prior permission.

The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for errors and omissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and the views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication, which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the reader’s particular circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged.

Volume VIII Issue X, november 15, To december 14, 2012

content

cell clues

lead Story What all comes in pack with the much awaited Windows 8

40 6 most attractive smartphones that have seen their prices fall, but still a worthy buy

just in

New gadgets launched in our side of the town

Spotlight

Face To Face Dilip Modi, director, Spice Group, discusses his business and presents his views on the domestic market Dr. Giles Nelson, deputy chief technology officer, Progress Software speaks about overall LBS environment in India

Speedy Processor: the powerhouse behind your devices

Manish Jain, director Byond Mobiles, talks about the tablet market and their future plans

37 42 83

in focus Chinese Handsets: Bringing branded Chinese handset revolution to the Indian market

in focus The Bond Connection: Bond and his quirky gadget

Letters

News

Mobile Doctor

Consumer Forum

Gear Guide

My Guide

06 MYMOBILE Nov 15 to dec 14 2012

Location Based Services: get benefits and services on the basis of your location

technology A quick guide for those planning to buy an LED TV

Chief Speak

Amrish Goyal, director, Microsoft Windows Business, speaks about Microsoftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest Windows 8 operating system

content cell-ebrity

114

Raaz behind Esha Guptaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tech love

sneak peEk

versus

Soon to hit Nokia Lumia 820 and HTC Windows Phone 8S

iPhone 5 Vs HTC 8X, which one is the best?

etc

Tips and Tricks

From LED TVs to laptops to projectors, we bring you more

Resetting your phone to factory settings

Apptastic Shop better with these apps

Jargon Buster DLNA demystified

Infographic Smartphone Growth in India

BURN TESTS

persona

Celkon C51

Zopo ZP 900 Leader

Nokia asha 311

sPice Stellar craze

Micromax a90

Htc desire x

Lg optimus vu

htc windows phone 8x

iphone 5

htc one x+

Not so well known facts about Steve Ballmer

rumour mill What they are talking about in the tech world, if not officially

Unveiling the cloud around Aakash

113

they said it Tech leaders speak their mind

08 MYMOBILE Nov 15 to DEc 14 2012

110 112

Telco Trivia

Total number of pages= 116 (112 + 4 cover)

85 109

Boredom Busters Check out for action and sports games

68 smart apps

Become a rapper or tweet in style... go through our selction of apps

letters OCT 15 to NOV 14 2012  Rs 75

www.mymobile.co.in

FOR A CONNECTED LIFESTYLE

 The Gifting Season Forget sweets and clothes, gift a gadget! P 44

 Appy Foodies

Apps for those who love their food P 78

THE

PHABLET WAVE

Are the tablet-smartphone hybrids the heroes of the future? P 22

 Tested 

MapMyIndia CarPad 5, Sony Xperia tipo dual, iBall Andi 5C and more... P 50

SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE II

I read My Mobile for the first time. A few months ago, I was not aware of this magazine and new technological developments in the telecom sector. But after reading this magazine, I have equipped my self with lots of knowledge as it provide its readers with ample information about the mobile phone industry. Kindly publish more new launches which enable us to update our knowledge about new innovations from time to time. -Arun Kumar

I have been listening for quite some now about the Windows 8 operating system. I am curious to know more about it. I will purchase a phone running on Windows Phone only after reading about the OS in My Mobile. I hope you will soon write about this particular operating system. My best regards to your team and I wish you all a very Happy Diwali. -Vikas Bhatia, Jaipur I am a Bollywood freak so what I just love about your magazine is the celebrity column. Despite being a technology magazine, you people include celebrity interviews, which is a great thing. I love reading about Bollywood stars’ likes and dislikes. Last time you covered Alia Bhatt which was really very interesting. Now I am curious to see who will be the next celebrity in the upcoming issue. I would like to make a request here that if you could just make the celebrity column a two pager, it would be great for readers like me who C E L L- E B R I T Y C E L L- E B R I T Y love reading about “I am not that tech savvy at all” “Television tops my chart!” technology as well as entertainment. Keep up the good work. -Regards, Raghav Sharma, via email She is not your regular Bollywood heroine, and is in fact better known for her work in relatively non-commercial films like Dev D and the Girl in Yellow Boots. We caught up with Kalki Koechlin at a product launch to find out if her interest in tech is as off-beat as some of her films are Harshita Rastogi

There is a new Bhatt in Bollywood. Alia Bhatt, the daughter of renowned film maker Mahesh Bhatt, makes her Bollywood debut in Student of the Year, one of the most awaited films of the year. We caught with the star of tomorrow to talk about the film, and of course, her tech side Harshita Rastogi

Tell us a bit about your role in Student of the Year? I play Shanaya Singhania, a character who is obsessed about brands and is very fashion conscious. She belongs to a sort of dysfunctional family and seeks that one person to love her unconditionally. The movie revolves around the friendship, competition and relationship between the other two male characters and me.

Why did you choose to be associated with the brand AOC? For me, the quality in a product is really important and especially when it comes affordable for an average person. My philosophy is not making a film about unreachable dreams but about real people, so in the same way AOC is about real people. It is a pleasure to represent a brand that brings in quality devices at a very affordable price for an average consumer.

You come from one of the most famous families in Bollywood. How did it feel to step into the industry? I would say that belonging to a Bollywood associated family gives a good platform to be recognised but there it really ends. Eventually we have to make it on the basis of our merits. I mean, we have to prove ourselves and our potential by working hard. If Karan did not think that we have something and had not seen some potential in us, we would not have been sitting here talking about our movie.

Your profession involves a lot of travelling so do you really get time to watch TV? Well that I manage. I watch TV during my travels as well. I mean while I am staying in hotels, watching television consumes most of my free time. When I am at home I watch lot of movies. I am a complete movie buff. At home I have got some great stereo and surround sound systems incorporated with my TV.

How has been the experience of working in Student of the Year? The journey has been nice and everything happened really fast, considering that I am just 19 and after completing my schooling I just walked into films. So it is scary and exciting at the same time and I am nervous, but I am taking it as it comes and enjoying every bit of it.

What other gadgets do you use - other than the TV? After television, which tops my chart, is obviously my phone. I can roam around with my phone anywhere, anytime. Which begs the question - which phone do you use? I use the iPhone 4S.

What do you like the most about your phone? I discover new things every day. Right now, I have discovered this camera application called Lens Plus in my iPhone. It does really beautiful things to your pictures. But the best thing about my phone is to be able to be in constant contact with my fans on Twitter and facebook and have access to my e-mails instantly, anywhere I like.

All right, now on to the tech. What all gadgets do you use? I am actually very challenged in this area, and am not that tech savvy at all. I bought my iPad a month ago and I just use it to play games and for browsing.

And which games do you play on your iPad? I like to play Temple Run, Angry Birds and such random games which seem interesting to me.

So you actively use these social networking websites? Not really, really active like many others, but it is an important medium of expressing myself. So when I have something to say to my fans and friends, I use it.

My heartiest wishes to My Mobile team. I like your magazine a lot but every time I feel that it contains more advertisements and less of content. Every month when I purchase it, I hope that this time I will get to read more interesting content, but I often end up finishing all the content within a few hours of getting the magazine in my hands. I request you to kindly increase the content as readers like me are more interested in enriched content then in advertisements. -Piyush Khatri, Kolkata ou When not in gaming mode, what else do you do on the iPad? There is this app called Photo Booth on the iPad which I use to take pictures of my friends et al. It is a good photo-related app.

What about tablets, cameras and other gadgets? I don’t use other gadgets much. In fact, I am terrible with cameras and my phone camera is the only camera I use. I don’t generally carry any other camera along. Rather, I prefer to be in front of camera. 

Do you use social networks? And if you do, are you active on them? I am getting there, trying to use these. I have recently started tweeting on twitter. 

harshita@mymobile.co.in

(We talked about many other things with Kalki Koechlin. You can read the complete interview on your website at....)

84 MYMOBILE SEP 15 to OCT 14 2012

harshita@mymobile.co.in

about the whole month. One of the most pleasant things about the magazine is its design and I must appreciate it for being so colourful. It is complete in itself. I hope that you keep readers like me informed through its pages. -Pankaj Khanna, via email I am a big fan of My Mobile magazine as this magazine stands out from the others. Earlier I didn’t have any information about various phones available in the market, what all technicalities they have and what all models are available but after reading your magazine I feel so knowledgeable. I really like My Mobile a lot as it provides a very clear vision about low end and high end phones. It is a complete guide for the mobile world. I admire it for its unbiased nature towards global as well as Indian brands. Keep the quality of the magazine intact so that readers like me do not think of moving to any other publication. -Pranay Tripathi, Bihar I N F O C U S

WWW.MYMOBILE.CO.IN

ENTER NORMS, EXIT

waves. They can be natural in the form of ultra violet radiations from Sun and man-made in the form of mobile radio communication, radio and television broadcasting, etc. A mobile phone emits electromagnetic radiations to transmit information to the base station and to receive information. A commonly believed myth among people is that these radiations can cause cancer among its users and can also burn ear tissues. But according to a handbook on Mobile Communications - Radio Waves and Safety Guide, released by the Department of Telecom, the radiations emitted by the mobile phone’s antenna are not sufficient to cause any significant heating of tissues in the ear or head of a user, although a rise in skin temperature may occur as a result of placing the mobile phone too close to the ear or head for a long time. The report also states that the research focusing on mobile telephony over the last two decades has shown no conclusive/convincing evidence that the radio signals from mobile phones can have

Not only this, the information on SAR values i.e. which phone emits what amount of radiation, shall be made available to the consumers at the time of purchase and displayed on the handset too. The Government also recommended that the emission standards of mobile towers be lowered to 1/10th of the present ICNIRP standards which are considered to be the safest in the world with over 90 per cent of the countries having adopted them. Telecom service providers also need to establish Base Transmitting Stations (BTS) at suitable locations. By suitable locations, the Government means that towers should be set up at a place where the general public should not get affected. Telecom service providers will also need to obtain site clearance from the Standing Advisory Committee on Frequency Allocation (SACFA) of DoT for every site before installing mobile towers.

Some important guidelines for setting up mobile towers: 

Installation of base station antennas in narrow lanes should be avoided in order to reduce the risk caused by earthquake or wind related disaster.

MOBILE RADIATION I am not a regular reader W of My Mobile but whenever have got a chance, found it a really interesting and good read. I really appreciate the way you keep a balance between the industry as well as consumer oriented stories. I have a keen interest in knowing about the latest happenings and developments in the IT and telecom industry. After all this is one segment which is always changing. -Karan Semwal, Punjab Mobile radiations are in the eye of a storm. There are those who firmly believe that they wreak havoc, others dismissing these claims as pure myths. Is your handset emitting radiation that could kill you? We take a closer look at the issue, check what the new radiation norms say and discover how the mobile industry is reacting to it all Heena Jatav

34 MYMOBILE OCT 15 to NOV 14 2012

hat is the amount of radiation a mobile phone emits, and how do these radiations affect human beings are topics of discussion these days. The wireless telecom subscribers in India have grown significantly in recent times, resulting in far more handsets being sold and more mobile transmission towers being set up as well. And as the usage of mobile phones and tablets has increased so has the concern among users regarding the impact these could have on users’ health. Many studies on national and international levels have been conducted to understand the harmful effects of radiations from mobile phones and towers on the human body and it is commonly believed that these rays can

harm human beings extensively. Keeping this in mind, the Government of India has adopted the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines to safeguard public health. Telecom companies need to adhere to the new prescribed limits for emission of radiations from mobile phones and telecom towers.

Mobile radiation damage: myth or reality? Radio waves around us have been increasing at a rapid pace, thanks to the increasing use of wireless equipment. They cannot be felt or seen but are present just like air in the atmosphere. Electromagnetic radiations that are emitted by mobile towers and cellphones too are radio

adverse health effects. However, the government has adopted some precautionary principles in this regard.

The official line

The Government of India has passed SAR regulations for mobile phones. SAR or Specific Absorption Rate is a rate at which Radio Frequency Energy is absorbed in the human body over a given time. Every mobile handset has its specific SAR value that shows the maximum possible exposure to RF energy. The SAR limit prescribed for mobile phones by the Government of India is 1.6 Watt/KG averaged over one gram of human tissue. And according to new norms that came into effect from September 1, 2012, handset manufacturers have to comply with the new prescribed limit.

Benefits for consumers and environment The guidelines set for mobile phone’s SAR

limits and mobile towers should go a long way towards safeguarding public health. The SAR value information that will be available with mobile handset will help consumers in finding out just how radiation the handset emits and factor this into their purchase. At present there are only a handful of mobile companies that declare the SAR information their handsets emit. With the rising concern among users about mobile phone safety, such information is a move in the right direction. Similarly, setting up of telecom towers at suitable locations would bring relief to many civil societies and resident welfare associations who have been opposing their installation in residential areas. Such a move would not only



Installation of base station antennas within the premises of schools and hospitals may be avoided because children and patients may be more susceptible to electro-magnetic fields. Access to base station antenna site to be prohibited for general public by suitable means such as wire fencing, locking of the door to the roof, etc. Sign boards and warning signs are to be provided at base station antenna sites to alert common public. Consent from the owner is required. No permission for installation of cell site / base station to be granted on buildings which are structurally unsafe.

Mobile manufacturer checklist: 



Mobile SAR level should be maintained at 1.6 Watt/Kg, averaged over 1 gm of tissue by September 2013. Only the mobile handsets with revised SAR value of 1.6Watt/Kg would be permitted to be manufactured or imported in India. SAR level shall be displayed on the handset. The information on SAR values shall be made available to the consumer at the point of sale/ purchase too.

OCT 15 to NOV 14 2012 MYMOBILE 35

I belong to a small town, however, now reside in a metro city. Having stayed in both big as well as small towns, I have used the usual cable TV throughout. Recently, the government has made the digitisation mandatory which has lead to my question that why is the digitisation of cable network important for us? I mean we have been using it since ages, so am not able to understand that what difference would it bring to the consumers. I would like you to please explain the importance and requirement of digitisation. I am looking forward to it. -Vinit Thakur, Bihar

84 MYMOBILE OCT 15 to NOV 14 2012

I am a regular reader of your magazine. I have gained lot of information from it about the Indian telecom sector which I often discuss with my friends too. I specifically like Burn Tests, games and app reviews and other gadgets information in the Etcetera column. I really like the news section in the magazine which provides a lot of information

10 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

e the nd hav a s e m n a drea ellpho n c i t y u e o k ab so st es? crazy can al e it he late ew lin Are y l to pen a f or news and hands on t ink you hav f th ur tia poten have a nose ve to lay yo em? If you h a dia’s to t u r Do yo ? Do you c orld about sh your CV y Mobile, In w u ne headli and tell the g for you. R r name in M n s ou i gizmo e are look .in to see y w o , in you mymobile.c e. n i @ z team bile maga o m best

BE A ZOPO MOBILES DISTRIBUTOR & RETAILER 9958590893

NEWS bits Value Added Services/ Applications/Games Disney UTV brings multiplatform multiplayer cricket game ‘Cricket Fever Challenge’

operators & tariffs SSTL to scale down operations in India Sistema Shyam Teleservices that nationally operates its telecom services under the MTS brand is set to scale down its operations in the country. The telco is expected to trim down voice operations in five regions — Bihar, UP-East, UP-West, Gujarat and Haryana. The move will help the service provider to cut costs and bolster the data services business, which is growing at a decent pace in the country. In February this year, the company lost all of its licenses in the country along with several other telcos, following the verdict given by the Supreme Court. Recently, SSTL had announced that it will not participate in the spectrum auction, which is scheduled for November 12, 2012.

Aircel offers special plans for iPhone 5 DisneyUTV’s has released a multiplatform multiplayer cricket game – ‘Cricket Fever Challenge’ with new features that make playing easier. The game now allow gamers to play or challenge their friends across Android and iOS and online through Facebook. Once logged into the game through a smartphone or Facebook, the gamer starts a match by selecting a friend. The objective of the game is to hit the most runs in one over (6 deliveries) to set a challenge for their opponent to beat. The aim is to win as many challenges as possible to stay at top of the leader board and to move to new skill levels. Cricket Fever Challenge also allows the gamer’s profile to be stored on the cloud server which lets users take a break and resume playing whenever they want.

eScan announces security solutions for Android devices eScan, an anti-virus and content security solution provider, has announced the launch of its security solutions for Android-based tablets and mobile devices. These specialised security solutions are customised in order to ensure com-

Telecom service provider Aircel has brought out a new range of usage plans for the iPhone 5, which it claims will benefit users by more than Rs 20,000 annually. As per the company, Aircel’s postpaid subscribers will enjoy exclusive usage plans which include freedom from monthly rentals and additional benefits of free in-built usage (1GB data per month) bundled with voice (500 mins/month) and SMS (500/month). After 12 months, customers have to pay Rs 399 to avail these benefits. The iPhone 5’s 16 GB variant is available for Rs 45,500 whereas 32 GB and 64 GB are priced at Rs 52,500 and Rs 59,500 respectively at Aircel’s retail stores.

Tariffs to be hiked for industry growth: Airtel CEO India’s largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel reckons that the telecom tariffs in the country may witness another round of hikes. Bharti Airtel CEO (India and South Asia) Sanjay Kapoor said that the current telecom tariffs are unsustainable for the telecom industry. The CEO feels that the tariffs have reduced to unprecedented levels compared to any other part of the world. He however ruled out any tariff hike before the spectrum auction process is completed. The telecom industry has been saying call rates will increase by 30-40 per cent, due to the high base price of spectrum for the upcoming auctions.

Airtel brings its 4G service to Pune Expanding its 4G LTE network in India, Bharti Airtel has brought its LTE services to Pune city in Maharashtra. After Pune, the Punjab circle is the only cirle for which Airtel has bagged a licence which has not seen a rollout. Airtel will soon introduce 4G services for prepaid customers in Pune. The operator recently also launched the 4G enabled Huawei Ascend P1 smartphone on its 4G network.

Byond launches tablets and laplets

plete protection to Android-based devices from evolving cyber security threats in real-time. They facilitate content filtering of calls and text messages based on the set parameters through Whitelist and Blacklist features for Androidbased mobile devices. Moreover, you can backup your contacts and text messages and restore them on your mobile devices, if needed.

14 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

Indian mobile phone brand Byond has entered the tablet market with the launch of a series of tablets. There are nine variants of the tablets released as the “Mi Book” series. Some of the devices were launched with keypads and are called “Laplets” for their build and functionality. The devices launched with 7.0-inch screen sizes are the Mi Book Mi 1, Mi 2, Mi 3, Mi 5, and Laplet L1. And the devices with 9.0-inch displays are the Mi Book Mi 9 and Laplet L9. The 7.0- inch screen tablets support SIM card functionality. Present on the launch of the products, was Bollywood actor Zarine Khan. “I am hooked to my Laplet ever since I have started using it,” she confessed. The tablets are available within the range of Rs. 4,300- Rs 11,000.

NEWS bits Policy & Regulations HANDSETS & MORE iPhone 5 hits the Indian market Apple has made its iPhone 5 available in the Indian market. The phone is available in stores now with various bundled offers. It features a 4-inch capacitive touch screen, which is the largest to be seen on an iPhone till date. It runs on iOS 6, has an 8.0-megapixel rear camera, A6 dual-core 1.2 GHz processor and works using a nano SIM. The phone will be available in 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB variants. The 16 GB version is available for Rs 45,500, 32 GB for Rs 52,500 and 64 GB for Rs 59,500.

HTC releases Windows phone 8X, 8S, One X+ and Desire SV HTC unveiled its first smartphones that run on Windows Phone 8 OS in the Indian market. The HTC 8X features a 4.3-inch HD-resolution super LCD 2 screen with Gorilla Glass whereas the HTC 8S has a 4-inch LCD screen with Gorilla glass. Other offerings in the Android segments are HTC One X+ and Desire SV. HTC One X+ is based on Android Jelly Bean and is powered by a 1.7 GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 AP37 processor, which makes it 27 per cent faster than the HTC One X. The device has 64 GB of internal storage and is priced at Rs 40,190. On the other hand, the Desire SV is a dual SIM phone and is powered by a 1 GHz dual-core processor. It runs on Android 4.0 ICS OS with HTC Sense 4.1 but will soon get Android Jelly Bean OS upgrade. The HTC Desire SV is available for Rs 22,590.

Apple launches iPad mini, MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac Mini Apple has released a series of products in a recent launch. The company has launched the iPad Mini, the iPad (4th generation) a 13-inch MacBook Pro and iMac desktop computers. The iPad mini is 23 per cent thinner and 53 percent lighter than the third generation iPad. It features a 7.9-inch multitouch display, FaceTime HD and iSight cameras. Both the iPad mini and fourth generation iPad (which comes with the same display as the third generation iPad but faster processors) come with iOS 6. The new MacBook Pro is powered by a 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 processor (with the option to choose faster 2.9 GHz Intel Core i7 processors), Intel HD Graphics 4000, 8 GB of 1600 MHz memory, and up to 768 GB of flash storage. The newly unveiled iMac features a third generation quad-core Intel Core i5 processor that can be upgraded to Core i7. It features the latest NVIDIA GeForce processor that delivers up to 60 per cent faster performance for advanced gaming and graphic intensive apps. The Mac mini comes with third generation dual-core Intel Core i5 and quad-core Intel Core i7 processors, and with 4 GB of 1600 MHz memory with support for up to 16 GB.

Nokia launches Lumia 510, Asha 308 and 309 Finnish brand Nokia is strengthening its smartphone portfolio day by day across platforms. The company has recently launched the Lumia 510, an affordable Windows Phone offering, which comes with a 4-inch touchscreen, a 5.0-megapixel camera and a 1,300 mAh battery. The company has also launched Nokia Asha 308 and 309, which are alike apart from the fact that the Asha 308 is a dual SIM phone. The Nokia Asha 308 is available for Rs 5,600 and Nokia Asha 309 is for Rs 5,800 while the Lumia 510 is available for Rs 10,049.

iBall brings dual SIM tablet for Rs 10,999 After dual SIM smartphones, it’s time for consumers to get dual SIM tablets. iBall has launched an Android tablet. iBall Slide 3G 7334, the first tablet with an in-built FM transmitter. It has a 7.0-inch display, runs on Ice Cream Sandwich and is powered by 1 GHz Cortex A9 processor, and supports 3G and 2G.

16 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

EGoM decides to go for partial refarming Providing some relief to incumbents who hold spectrum in the 900 MHz band, the Empowered Group of Ministers has decided to allow operators to retain 2.5 MHz of spectrum in the 900 MHz band. Incumbent players like Airtel, Idea and Vodafone need to match a market determined price and also require an additional 2.5 MHz to operate in the band. In order to create a level field playing earlier, the Telecom Commission proposed to refarm the entire 900 MHZ spectrum band which is considered to be more efficient than the 1800 MHz band. But incumbents opposed the decision saying shifting from the 900 MHz band to the 1,800 MHz would cost them Rs 1,00,000 crore.

TRAI issues fresh guidelines for telemarketers Telelcom watchdog The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued fresh guidelines for the telemarketers over unsolicited commercial communications. Under the new guidelines, TRAI will block the delivery of such communication mediums or spam. It can also disqualify the individuals responsible from accessing resources needed to send such messages/ telecalls for a certain time period. In addition, TRAI will make it mandatory for the telemarketers to take an undertaking from consumers that they will not engage in telemarketing unless allowed to do so.

Techiewood Shafqat Ali just loves his Galaxy Tab Iconic classical singer, Shafqat Amanat Ali, has recently been spotted at Radio Mirchi’s launch of two new stations, Meethi Mirchi and Purani Jeans on their mobile service. Speaking to us at the event, he told us about the music services he uses on his device. He said that while earlier he was not able to listen to FM on his Samsung Galaxy Tab, now he can access Radio Mirchi’s regional radio stations using their mobile service. He also confessed about his love for his Samsung Galaxy Tab and often uses it for work, sometimes even for composing music. “Tablets offer a bigger screen, better font size and interesting features. It is easy to operate and manage mails and other applications. I am totally addicted to it. After using this, I wonder how people use small screen phone,” he said.

sj un seta ki np e e k Apple iPod touch (5th Generation)

iPhone 5, minus the phone!

hen it comes to portable media players, the iPod Touch has always been top of the pile, earning the nickname â&#x20AC;&#x153;iPhone without a phone.â&#x20AC;? And in keeping with this tradition, the latest iPod touch has similar features to the iPhone 5 - to start with, it has the same 4.0inch display with 1136x640 pixel resolution, although it is powered by the slower dualcore A5 processor. It runs on iOS 6 and now comes with the intelligent voice driven personal assistant, Siri. And it has finally acquired a decent camera, a 5.0-megapixel iSight camera that can shoot 1080p video with autofocus and face detection. It is now available in a variety of colours and even has a new strap called the iPod touch loop. And of course, it comes with support for almost all iOS apps and with the new EarPod headphones. It is also now available in two variants - the 32 GB one for Rs 22,944 and the 64 GB one at Rs 29,664. n

Sony Xperia J Yet

more Xperia magic

ately it has been raining Xperia handsets of just about every size and configuration. The latest to join the range is the Xperia J. Unlike majority of Xperia devices that still run on Android Gingerbread and are waiting for an upgrade, this one runs on Ice Cream Sandwich and boasts a 4.0-inch scratch resistant TFT touchscreen that supports 16 million colours. It is powered by a 1 GHz Qualcomm processor and comes with 512 MB RAM. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, DLNA, GPRS, EDGE and HSUPA. It has a 5.0-megapixel camera with auto focus along with a LED flash. The camera has features like geo-tagging, self timer, image stabilizer. It is capable of capturing VGA videos at 30 frames per second (fps). The phone comes with a 4 GB internal memory and can be expanded through microSD card up to 32 GB. The device has been launched for Rs 16,950 in the Indian market. n

18 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

www.mymobile.co.in

just in -

Karbonn A21 Dual

core delight

year back, getting a smartphone with a dual-core processor was a costly affair and one had to spend near about Rs 25,000 to get a decent device. A year, however, is a long time in technology and today we have a number of smartphones with dual core processors available at lower prices. One of these is the Karbonn Smart A21, which comes with a 1.2 GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor and runs on Android 4.0. It boasts a 4.5-inch qHD multi-touch capacitive display and is a dual SIM device that supports 3G in one SIM. On camera front, the device sports a 5.0megapixel camera with a LED flash alongside a 1.3-megapixel front camera. Connectivity options include 3G with HSDPA, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Memory can be expandable up to 32 GB. The price? A mere Rs 11,990. n

Nokia Lumia 510 Super

affordable Windows Phone

ven as it readies its array of Windows Phone 8 Lumia smartphones, Nokia has clearly not lost sight of its Lumia devices running on Windows Phone 7.5. The latest from the company is the Lumia 510, an entry-level Windows Phone that aims at the budget smartphone market in India. Much like its predecessors, this too runs on Windows Phone 7.5, but is upgradable to Windows Phone 7.8. In spec terms, it is similar to the Lumia 610, with a 4.0-inch display of 480 x 800 pixels resolution. The device is powered by an 800 MHz Snapdragon processor and has 256 MB RAM. It comes with 4 GB onboard storage which cannot be expanded, and support for 3G and Wi-Fi. Also on board is a 5.0-megapixel camera with features like touch focus, face recognition and geo-tagging. The company is also giving 7 GB of SkyDrive cloud storage with the device, as well as Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive and Nokia Transport. The best thing, of course, is the price - it is as low as Rs 10,049. n

team@mymobile.co.in team@mymobile.co.in

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 19

lead story

windows The Eighth wave

20 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

www.mymobile.co.in

It is a whole new Windows. And promises to change the way we use just about every computing device, from smartphones to tablets to computers. We take a closer look at Windows 8 and its mobile avatar, Windows Phone 8. Team My Mobile

he operating system that for many of us is synonymous with computers is now not just looking to strengthen its hold on desktops and notebooks, but is also on course to grab a massive chunk of the smartphone and tablet market. While a mobile version of Windows has been around for a while (remember Windows Mobile?), its similarity with its desktop counterpart was rather limited. Well, that is all set to change with the arrival of the eighth wave of Windows. With the launch, Microsoft has managed to achieve what many players in the tech market dream of - a synergy across desktops, phones and tablets. The tiled interface that had become iconic with Windows Phone 7 will not be seen not only on phones, but also on computers and tablets, albeit with a few tweaks to suit the hardware it is running on. And the Xbox, which incidentally can now be connected even more seamlessly to Windows and Windows Phone users, could be the next in line to get a similar makeoever. And if we go by rumours, Microsoftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kinect technology, which allows people to control actions on a screen by their gestures, will soon be seen not just on mainstream computers but also on mobile phones and in cars. With Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, Microsoft has embarked on a very ambitious effort to integrate phones, computers, tablets and to an extent consoles. It is still too early to say how successful the Redmond company will be, but if it is, consumers will not be complaining. One could start a presentation on a PC, edit it on a phone, and maybe check out how it looks on a really big screen using your Xbox console, and maybe add gesture controls to it (wave your hands to change a slide) using Kinect. Now how cool would THAT be? It might just happen. But thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in the future. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first check out what the new Windows has in store for us.

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 21

lead story

Windows Phone 8

The Awesome 8 It looks a lot like Windows Phone 7 on the surface, but scratch beneath those tiles and there are changes. And here are the eight that really matter.

More tiles on a screen

Windows Phone 8 has a similar yet different interface from the previous version, i.e. Windows 7.5. The landing screen seems bigger with the deletion of the arrow key, earlier given on the top right of the screen. Now users can simply drag the screen to go to the other homepage (with the list of applications on it). Thinner borders on the sides also means that you have more tiles to fit into one screen. And speaking of tiles, you can resize them now - to small, medium, and large, depending on your requirements. So what you have in essence is the same magical tiled interface experience that everyone loved on Windows Phone 7, only now with more tiles per screen, and of different sizes.

Support for bigger resolutions, multiple cores

Windows Phone 8 comes with support for higher resolution displays and multiple core processors. In fact, many feel that the best of the OS will be experienced on high resolution displays with dual core processors as innards. This paves the way for high quality apps to run on this platform. Yes, this does mean that most initial Windows Phone 8 devices will be pricey, but in the long run, prices will come down, and users will love the experience of using these devices.

22 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

www.mymobile.co.in

Safer for children

We all agree that a mobile phone is a very personal device and one cannot share it with everyone, sometimes not even with family members and for some of us, seeing it in the hands of our children is a nightmare. With Kid’s Corner on Windows Phone 8, one can set the phone in such a way that even if your children grab your handset, they will only be able to access those apps, videos, songs and games which you have chosen for them. Your own data will be password protected. This not just protects your data but also lets your child experience Windows Phone without the chance of accidentally deleting information or being exposed to content that may harm him. Now, that’s smart!

5 4

Pin anything, anyone you want

Windows Phone 8 will let you pin just about anything and anyone you wish to follow on to the homescreen. One can pin apps, people, favourite songs, useful websites, and important documents and thus always see them on the homescreen. The “pins” will be in the form of live colourful tiles and will keep being updated as the person updates them on their end. So you do not need to access an app or the browser to see what the people you follow are doing - just a glance at the tile representing them on the homescreen is all you will need. Incidentally, the OS comes with a Word Flow Keyboard feature which can predict the next word in a sentence one is typing.

Invite people to rooms

Want to have a close conversation with a set of people? Well, this feature will let you do exactly that. Create a room with people in your contact list and share photos, documents, group chats and more with them, all at one place without disclosing them to anyone else. The feature is useful to have private discussions with family members, professional contacts, and of course, friends. One can also create groups of ‘Best Friends’ or ‘Colleagues’ and can text them, share anything and see their social updates, all at once.

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 23

lead story

Take your data and settings everywhere

Windows Phone 8 allows you to take your information like photos, notes, videos and even apps with you. Even when you do not have your mobile phone with you. The OS allows you to store your information on the cloud using its SkyDrive service, letting you to access everything from MS Office files to photographs to your apps on any other device. Now that is freedom to roam, isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t it?

The X(Box) factor

An interesting addition in Windows Phone 8 is the integration with Xbox Cloud. This is Microsoftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music service which supports services like Xbox Music Pass and Xbox Music Store. This helps devices running on Windows Phone 8 to function as an integrated portable music player. One can download or stream music from a global catalogue of 30 million songs and can also integrate iTunes music on the Windows Phone through cloud. One can download, stream, share music from the Xbox Music Store and access the service from every Windows platform. This requires subscribing to the service after using a trial pack valid for 30 days. The Xbox Music service will come pre-installed on all Windows Phone 8 devices, and will be available for a $9.99 monthly subscription for unlimited play and on the pay-per-song model via Xbox Music Store that lets user purchase and download 256 kbps DRM-free MP3s. In addition, Microsoft will also include features like social integration, scan-and-match functionality, and a cloud-based locker in 2013. And of course, there is a gaming angle too - gamers can interact with their Xbox consoles with their Windows Phone device by adding the SmartGlass app to it, whether it is watching aspects of games on the phone or even using it as a controller.

And there is more...

There are a host of other changes and tweaks that let you do more with your device. Windows Phone 8 allows the users to link all the e-mailing accounts into one, making it easy to access all mail at one place. It comes with Phone Wallet which can be used to keep details of reward cards, coupons, credit cards, local deals, and memberships at one password-protected place. And Data Sense is perfect for those who want to keep track of their mobile data consumption. Finally, the OS comes with support for NFC, which means that in the coming days you will be able to interact with other devices wirelessly and without fuss.

24 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

www.mymobile.co.in

Windows Eight With Weight!

It is Windows like you have never seen before, with a much more touch-friendly interface. We take a closer look at eight features that stand out in particular.

Boots in a blink!

The new Windows 8 for computers has not just got a fresh user-interface but a completely sorted out boot process. When you switch on your Windows 8 device, be prepared to be greeted by the homescreen in something like twenty seconds! A far cry from the days of Windows XP and Vista’s tedious start up times, where people used to joke that one could press the Start button and go make a cup of tea and start working when one returned.

Windows gets touchy-Feely!

Windows 8 is packed with full gesture support, providing the user with an intuitive touch experience, which is helpful in multitasking. Yes, even Windows 7 had been touchfriendly but Windows 8 has been built from scratch keeping touchscreens in mind. Users can swipe in from the left to bring the running applications and swipe in from the right to open the Charms menu that carries the start button that helps the user to switch to the

Desktop gets interactive with Live Tiles

One of the rare times when the mobile platform has inspired the computer, the live tile interface (a la Windows Phone) is by far one of the most impressive new features introduced by Microsoft in Windows 8. Users will see information on the homescreen in the form of tiles which can be customised as per their needs. And it works brilliantly with Microsoft’s own applications such as Mail, Calender, Photos and News. The tiles are live so users can actually view updates on them be they e-mail, upcoming events, thumbnail images or the latest headlines. And if you think that all those tiles are cluttering up your screen or are too small, just pinch to zoom in or out. We love it! And fear not, if you are missing the look of your “regular” Windows, you can also switch to it by going to Desktop mode, in which you will get the same familiar interface that has been Windows’ trademark for a while now. tiles interface. And pinch-to-zoom works brilliantly across apps. Users can also swipe in from the top of the screen for app-specific commands and settings and drag their fingers from the top of the screen to the bottom to shut an app. Yes, it can work on non-touchscreen devices too, where you can use the touchpad and mouse for gestures, but we would recommend using them on a touchscreen to experience the real magic of the OS.

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 25

lead story

Appy-ness Happiness

Taking inspiration from other OS ecosystems, Microsoft has finally integrated an app store into Windows 8 to offer apps for download and purchase. The user interface of Windows app store is similar to the tiles interface of the OS and apps. Apps are classified across different categories like Games, Utility, Travel, Food, News, etc. While there are a number of apps already available for download in the store, they are not really in the same class as iOS and Android in terms of quality. But then these are very early days and we can expect many more apps to arrive to Windows 8 - after all, all developers would love to make apps that run on what we are sure will emerge as the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading computer OS. Meanwhile, your regular Windows 7 apps will also work just fine on your Windows 8 device - all you will need to do is switch to Desktop mode while using them.

5 6

Hunt for anything on your device One of the major revamps made to Windows is the introduction of a system-wide search. It is easily the best tool for exploring apps, files, games and even settings of the device. It is present on the Charm bar on the right side of the screen and lets you hunt anything on your device. And like almost everything in Windows 8, it works at the rate of knots.

Snap view for Multitasking, Strictly for workaholics

Now you can work on two applications simultaneously on your Window 8 PC. You can put two apps side-by-side on the screen, with one occupying a part of the screen while the other occupies a larger portion. The feature is very handy for those who like to transfer data from one application to another - such as between a browser and a notepad or from a photo gallery to a presentation. In order to perform this action, you can drag the running app down and snap it into the right or left edge of the screen after which you can open the new application, which will run in the larger portion of the screen.

Make a fresh start

Windows 8 gives you a better hold on the system. You can now refresh your system running on Windows 8 OS just by a single click and that too without changing any of your files, Windows Store apps, or personalisation settings. The refresh option is the perfect solution for those times when you think that your Windows 8 PC is behaving erratically, while the reset option allows you to wipe out all your information, multimedia files, software and even history. You can easily find both these features in the Charms bar.

26 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

Share everything, Jo tera hai...

At the fore of Windows 8 is the ability to share content seamlessly across social networks. If something is shareable you can share it with friends and even with other apps. While you are using an app, tap the share key on the Charms bar and you see options for sharing information. And in what we think is a super cool touch, the Share charm will even start to recognize where and with whom you share the most, saving you a whole lot of trouble when you wish to share information in future.

www.mymobile.co.in

Eight Flagbearers for Even the best software in the world is only as good as the devices it runs on. And in that regard, both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 have got off to a flying start with some awesome hardware complementing them. Here’s our look at eight devices that will be spearheading the charge of the new Windows.

Nokia Lumia 920

Nokia’s Lumia series of phones has been dedicated to Windows Phone, and its next flagship runs on Windows Phone 8. The Lumia 920 is being seen by many as one of the most powerful devices in celltown and with good reason. It sports a 4.5-inch display with 1280 x 768 resolution, and is powered by a dual core Snapdragon S4 processor. But the real highlight of the device is believed to be its 8.7-megapixel camera, which uses Nokia’s PureView technology and performs brilliantly in both still and video mode. It comes with 32 GB of onboard storage, NFC support and wireless charging as well. Don’t be fooled by its slightly thick looks - this is a performer!

Samsung ATIV S

On first glance, this seems another device designed for humans. But then we are not complaining at all. The device’s 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED screen is the biggest we have seen on any Windows Phone 8 device and in best Samsung tradition, it is brilliant. On board are stacks of connectivity options, an 8.0-megapixel camera and some very decent sound. Formidable indeed!

HTC Windows Phone 8X HTC returns to Windows Phone territory with a bang. The Windows Phone 8X is one of the most brilliantly designed phones we have seen for a while, with a large 4.3-inch, 720p display dominating the front, and the back arching out gently. At its thinnest point, it is almost like a sliver. The device also sports an 8.0-megapixel camera with f2.0 aperture, support for 1080p video recording and a dedicated HTC ImageChip. And the front camera has been designed to take better group shots too. Top that off with Beats Audio-driven music and some very funky colours, and this is one device that we can see many people flaunting in the coming days.

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 27

lead story

Nokia Lumia 820

The Lumia 920 might be Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 spearhead, but it is by no means the only arrow in the Finnish company’s WP8 quiver. The Lumia 820 might not possess the hardware muscle of the 920, but it is no pushover either. It comes with a 4.3 inch, 480 x 800 ClearBlack display, LTE support, a 1.4 GHz dual core processor and Adreno 225 GPU. On board also are a 8.0-megapixel camera (no PureView though), 8 GB storage, and support for wireless charging. And it is likely to cost significantly lesser than the 920, which could make it one of WP8’s mainstream warriors.

HTC Windows phone 8S

HTC seems to have borrowed a page from the Nokia Lumia book of releases, clubbing a high-end device with a relatively affordable one. The 8S is not really in the league of the 8X in terms of specs, but could end up attracting a lot of people because it still delivers a lot at a relatively lower price. It comes with an eye catching (if not ultra slim) design, a 4.0 inch display, 5.0-megapixel camera and is powered by a 1 GHz dual core processor. Storage stands at 4GB, expandable to 32 GB. Decent specs to run WP8 well, and the price and colourful looks are a bonus.

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13

The new convertible ultrabook from the kitty of Lenovo comes packed with all advanced features that are required to run the latest Microsoft Windows 8 operating system. You can flip back its screen a full 360 degrees and convert it into a tablet with its multi-touch screen. The ultraboook boasts a 13.1 inch screen (1600 x 900 pixels) and is powered by an Intel Core i5 dual-core processor and 4 GB RAM. A 256 GB SSD ensures that operations will happen at the rate of knots and battery life stand at a very impressive seven hours.

Microsoft Surface RT

Designed and manufactured by the Redmond Giant itself, the Surface is being touted as the flagship device for Windows 8. Primarily a tablet, it features a full-sized USB port, 16:9 widescreen, high-definition display and 22-degree angle that make it optimal for viewing and sharing content easily. However, it attains a different dimension when it is connected to Microsoft’s specially designed keyboard cover which attaches to it using magnets and comes in funky colours, becoming almost like an ultrabook. It looks very good, works a charm and could well provide some stiff competition to the likes of the iPad in the coming days. We just wish we did not have to purchase the keyboard cover separately!

Asus Taichi

Another convertible device to join the Windows 8 powered device gamut is the Asus Taichi, a fusion of notebook and tablet. The device boasts not one, but two 13.3 inch screens --a front ‘normal’ screen and a back screen which is a touchscreen and offers intuitive fingertip control with Windows 8. The lightweight tablet is powered by an Intel Core i7 processor and has built-in motion sensors that make it ideal for mobile gaming, while dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 connect to the latest wireless devices. The two screens mean that two people can use the device at the same time - a person can watch a movie or play a game on the touchscreen while the other person can work on a office presentation on the primary screen.

28 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

consumer forum Complaint 1 The sound of my Nokia C200 which is still under warranty, tends to get distorted whenever there is music playing in the background of any app. My friend had the same problem but his issue was resolved whereas I have been to the Nokia Care center five times and yet the matter has not been fixed. Could you please help me or else I will have to move to the consumer court. - Sunny Kumar

center, who returned the phone after ten days, saying it was fixed. However, the problem persisted. After that it has been the same thing every 10-15 days - the phone behaves properly if not used for a while but starts developing problems when I use it for a while.

Nokia’s response: Working on the matter

Complaint 2 I had purchased a Motorola Fire XT 530 in April 2012 for Rs 11,900. From the very beginning, the phone tended to heat up and within two months, its display had problems. When I gave it to the service center, they changed its display but the heating problem persisted and within 25 days, the display started giving problems again. When I gave it to the service center again, they again changed the display but this time the earphones stopped working. The phone has since been lying with the service center for two months and when I contact them I am told that the motherboard has been damaged and parts are not available. If the phone is damaged, they should give me a new phone or return my money. I am going through a lot of stress because I had purchased this phone after a number of problems. Please help me. My last work order no. pk/mo/12/00270 dated 22.09.12 service center complaint no.121019012371. -Sanjay Mistry, Thane Motorola’s response: Awaited

Complaint 3 I had purchased the MTS Mtag on 31 January 2012 in Allahabad. For five months the phone worked well, but after that it began to show a number of problems, especially on touch and typing. I gave the set to the SRK Electronics Sports House service

I see my account deducted by some automatic deductions in the name of some useless service. And every time I call customer care their executive says that I started this service through the Internet. I don’t know from where I started the service. I don’t even get any kind of popups in the applications I use. The company has deducted about Rs 100-125 by these means. Another thing that the company has started is that I recharge my number every month with the Net pack but the company has started to deduct 10 paise for Net usage. Due to this, I don’t recharge my number by more than Rs 10, but the company still deducts a small amount from my account. Could you please look into the matter and get the amount unfairly deducted refund? -Sudesh Kumar Tata Docomo’s response: This will be resolved soon on priority

that there is no replacement guarantee. After this I lodged a complaint twice at the Start CJ Complaint website, but to this day, there is no response from their side. I request your good self to kindly help me for replacement/repair of the mobile set so that my money does not go waste. -Karan Singh Karbonn’s response: Awaited

Complaint 6 I have recently bought a Spice M 6700 phone. The phone has started giving problems from the last fifteen-twenty days. It is not switching on for some unknown reason. And when it does, that too by itself, get switched on it works fine. I took it to the service center where the customer care representatives tested the charging point, which came out fine. Then they disassembled it and told me that it has got drenched in water. Later, I consulted a local phone repair centre, where the people told me that the charging point has got some problem. I am really disappointed with the service centre people as they could not even figure out the problem, let alone solving it. Please tell me what to do as this is still under warranty. -Arvind Khakhal Spice Response: Awaited n

On September 2, the phone was finally fixed and worked fine for a month. But then the same problem started again. It seems that the phone is defective and cannot be fixed. Would you please help me in getting the handset replaced altogether? -Prem Kumar, Allahabad MTS’s response: This has been taken care of

Complaint 4 For the last two months I am fed up of unfair deductions from Tata Docomo. Every time I recharge my mobile, the very next day

Complaint 5 I purchased a Karbonn A5(ROI)AID Mobile Phone from Start CJ vide Invoice No.201208161667 dated 16/08/2012, Order No. 20120815034653. The Mobile set has gone out of order on the very first day of its receipt. I approached Karbonn Mobiles Service Centre "Talk-to-me" at Pathankot who told that they are unable to repair the set and it can only be repaired at the company's workshop at Delhi. Thereafter I talked to the Star CJ customer care centre with Mr. Harmeet. He flatly told me

Are you being harassed by a celco that doesn’t hear your plea? Email your issues to consumer-forum@my mobile.co.in and we will take up your cause with the concerned company. Kindly mention your contact number at the end of the Email so that we can get in touch with you. Whenever possible, also provide us complete details of the correspondence with the celco.

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 29

chief speak

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are going to give people a connected experienceâ&#x20AC;?

30 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

Microsoft is buzzing. The company has launched a completely revamped version of its desktop operating system and also upgraded its mobile avatar. And then there is the matter of the Surface tablet. We caught up with Amrish Goyal, Director, Windows Business Group- Microsoft Corporation (India), to find out what the big M has up its very ample sleeves. And of course, we asked him eight questions, in keeping with the Win 8 ethos! Sulabh Puri

www.mymobile.co.in

What inspired Microsoft to build an interface like Windows 8? What inspired us is truly a changing consumer trend in the market place when it comes to mobility, natural user interface and devices. In the last two years, the form factor of hardware and technology has advanced to a degree where the type of mobility we used to offer to people changed dramatically. From the previous operating system, we have kept up with that trend. We definitely wanted to make sure the next version of Windows, i.e., Windows 8, not only takes care of mobility which is available in today’s hardware but also should be future-looking. So basically the whole system has been designed while keeping consumer trends and their needs in mind because the consumer wants to interact with technology in a familiar environment. We wanted to make sure that the people’s experience should be seamless across devices. For that we adapted a common design language (live tiles) but the actual feel is still different from device to device. We also made sure that we won’t force people to adapt a design which they can’t change or cannot customise to their needs.

How are consumers adapting to Windows 8? In the twelve months that preceded the launch of Windows, we actually have 16 million downloads of the OS, which is a huge number to get the feedback. What we found was that the people are actually adapting really well. Because the interface is far more intuitive in terms of touch, we try to make sure it is in line with what people would naturally reach out to in due time. We are also making sure that all our marketing communication supports the change we want.

3 4

Is it a deliberate strategy by Microsoft to keep a relatively low price for the Windows 8 digital upgrade? We think it could reduce piracy...The strategy has nothing to do with piracy and legalization. It is to really reward people who have been genuine customers and make sure that they get the best experience possible for a very inexpensive price.

Which is your favourite feature and app in the new Windows 8? My favourite feature is really the live tiles because it saves me a lot of time. It tells me what is happening in my key apps. The visual design is very attractive and as I said, it really helps me save a lot of time as I need not go to different applications. It also gives a very distinctive look to the whole UI. My favourite app is PVR, because the quality of the app is incredible. Another very interesting feature is the search feature. All you need to do is just type the word on the keyboard and it will display the result without using any

search or input box. So basically anything you need to do on a computer, just start typing. For example, to change the language type ‘Language’ on the home screen. No need to go to options or search anything. Titan Fastrack is another interesting app that I like because of its seamless user interface.

How hard was integrating other Microsoft platforms such as Windows Phone 8 with Xbox and Windows 8 for desktop? The app that really integrates Microsoft platforms across devices is Xbox Smart Glass. It allows you to let your tablet interact with your TV screen. That, to me is the future to work across devices. The other feature of Windows 8 desktop that works across devices and I really love is that you can actually go into ‘Settings’ and can personalise what settings roam with you. For example, if you log on with your credentials on my device, your settings and apps will show up on my device. So, because we have your profile saved with us on the cloud, all the settings go with you wherever you go.

6 7

How soon can we see more tablet innovations from Microsoft, like the Surface? It’s difficult to comment on the future roadmap of hardware but right now we are excited about the Surface. Clearly in the market, we are seeing a lot of traction. Even if it is not selling in the market, there’s a lot of traction for it on a number of e-commerce websites. How are your partners adapting to the new experience. We saw a lot of devices, but anything really out of the box that will intrigue the buyer? Hardware is a long journey. It takes a lot of time right from conceptualizing to device manufacturing. A lot of hardware we are seeing is from OEMs and we are excited about them. The next wave of hardware will come in Spring (during March) and I think that will witness even more innovation. So the proportion of touch and standard of tablets as RT devices is going to go up too, in the next few months.

basically the whole system has been designed while keeping consumer trends and their needs in mind because the consumer wants to interact with technology in a familiar environment. We wanted to make sure that the people’s experience should be seamless across devices.

What’s next? What more can we expect from Windows stable? Windows 9...what will that be like? One thing is very clear - from a philosophical standpoint, we are going to give people a connected experience which is across devices. We believe that Microsoft is one of the few companies that can actually do that in a compelling way, and which has the content and also the ubiquity to do it. That’s really the direction we are heading in. We expect more integration across devices, more seamless connectivity and better experiences in terms of content. n sulabh@mymobile.co.in

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 31

spot light

Processors: The Core Score “Processors” are the latest buzzword when it comes to smartphones. Just as they did with computers, manufacturers have started boasting about the clockspeed of the processors powering their devices. We take a closer look at what the processor does and to what exent the tall claims about its speed and cores are justified Ketan Pratap

32 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

sually, when it comes to buying a mobile, we think of owning the trendiest device and hunt for a phone with features like a new operating system, good display, good camera, and connectivity options and so on. And one new feature that has been added to this list in recent times is the processor. Whenever the term ‘processor’ comes, some names

spring to mind- Qualcomm Snapdragon, ARM Cortex, NVIDIA Tegra, Intel Medfield, etc. These names are often tossed around in the spec sheets of devices as well. And now to these have been added terms like clock speed, dual core and quad core. But does all this actually make a difference to the end user or is it just pure marketing hype, just as had happened with megapixels in

www.mymobile.co.in

cameras not too long ago?

What is a processor?

Just as every computer has a processor to handle its functioning, so too does every mobile handset. Technically, a processor is that part of a computer system or device which executes instructions. It functions as a core component and whether a computing device is low-priced or a pricey one, it almost always will have a processor at its core, handling tasks. The smartphone processor acts as a device’s intellect that handles most or all of the CPU’s tasks on a single integrated circuit or chip. In fact, the operating system and even the support for hardware are determined by the type of processor used in a mobile. And what are those cores about? Most people do not know much about the nitty-gritty of how a CPU installed in the mobile device interacts with the software. A simple logic that is followed by most of them is: the more cores a device has, the better it is likely to perform, means the better is it than others. Well, technically that is correct. These days smartphones are being used for doing

multiple tasks, such as browsing, streaming videos, gaming and HD video playback. These tasks are expanding the functionalities of processors and in order to do all these tasks, there needs to be a part of the system that can carry out and process those functions, which is where the multi-core processors come into the picture. Now, whether a processor is single, dual or quad core depends on how many CPU cores it has. Generally, processors with several CPU cores make it easier for a system to multitask without compromising on speed of performance. A smartphone with a multi-core processor will generally allow faster Web browsing, easier watching of 3D content and even run apps that use advanced graphics smoothly. Multi-core processors in mobile devices have enabled advanced use cases such as desktop class Web browsing, console class gaming, panoramic photo stitching, multi-tasking, and advanced image processing. Vishal Dhupar, managing director, Asia South, NVIDIA, explains the role of multicore processors in these terms: “Multi-core processing has been at the heart of the computing revolution for more than a decade. They (multi-core processors) can operate at lower frequency, often consuming less power, and completing work much faster by running tasks in parallel compared to single-core predecessors. Multi-core means increase in the number of cores; however it doesn’t mean that all the cores are used for every task assigned to the device. Every core of a mobile processor is defined with the tasks to be performed, for ease of segregation of tasks. ”

Multiple cores, multiple benefits

means you can run more apps, games and even browse at the same time without affecting the device’s performance. Battery-Life: Although multi-core processors claim to bring better battery management to mobile devices, this is one area where they have not been very convincing - many multi-core devices have suffered from poor battery life. So the ‘more cores = better performance’ argument does seem to have some merit in it. NVIDIA’s Vishal Dhupar explained how the company’s Tegra 3 chip handled operations for users. “NVIDIA Tegra 3’s 4-PLUS-1 quad core architecture with Variable SMP technology intelligently switches between high performance CPU cores and the low power battery saver core to deliver both high performance and long battery life. Tegra 3 has multiple processing cores that not only include a quadcore CPU but also a GPU core, ISP core, audio and video processing cores. Depending on the use case, one or more high-performance CPU cores are used to deliver the required performance. “ On the other hand, Intel’s Prashanth Adiraju, director New Platform Business Group, Intel South Asia told us how Intel’s technology is different from others. “Our Atom Processor is designed to provide all advanced capabilities to a smartphone. It uses the Hyper-Threading Technology that increases performance and system responsiveness to meet the requirements for advanced smartphones. Additionally, Intel Burst Performance Technology enables the Intel Atom processor to burst to higher performance that offers higher performance on smartphones.” Asia.

Until recently, multi-core processors were the preserve to computers. However, they are slowly becoming an integral part of smartphones too. And no, this is not just a matter of jargon. Multi-core processors can deliver the following benefits to users: Gaming: Multi-core powered devices provide support for advanced graphical techniques like anti-aliasing that smooth out rough edges giving stunning visuals, and also allows enable user to play 3D games on these devices. Full HD video: Multi-core processors enable users to access 1080p resolution videos both in terms of device’s camera and movie playback. A multi-core processor powered device can even pump out videos matching a large TV’s resolution. Multi-tasking: The multi-brained architecture of processors suits multi-tasking. This

A multi-core future

Given the speed at which the mobile industry has moved from single to dual to quad-core processors, there is every chance that mobile phones and tablets of the future will come powered by even more core-laden processors. A point to note, however, is that the multiple core phenomenon has so far remained restricted largely to high-end devices. Critics of multiple core processors point out that there are not many apps or even games that are designed to benefit from multi-core processors. That said, we feel it is only a matter of time before multiple core devices become mainstream, just as 1 GHz processors did a year ago. So if you are looking at purchasing a device and want it to deliver stunning performance over a long period of time, it makes sense to count the cores in its processor! n ketan@mymobile.co.in

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 33

infocus

The

Chinese invasion

They might not garner as many headlines and grab as much ad space as the big brands, but Chinese manufacturers are making their presence felt in the mobile market. Danish Khan takes a closer look at what is driving this phenomenon

34 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

www.mymobile.co.in

he last two years have seen smartphones grow at a phenomenal rate, thanks to innovations and high-profile campaigns from companies like Samsung, Apple, HTC, Nokia and Motorola. Smartphones, once considered a niche product, has now reached masses. As a result, the smartphone industry is crowded with numerous manufacturers who are consistently bringing in the latest offerings. However, in spite of countless smartphone offerings in the market, there are only a few handset vendors who can be termed global leaders both in terms of volumes of their products and sales. And over the last year, Chinese smartphone companies have been acquiring a bigger market share with their quality offerings. This in itself is an interesting phenomenon when you consider the fact that Chinese phones were believed to be of poor quality that never lasted for long. Additionally, there were concerns related like absence of IMEI numbers, hacking and phishing. Fast forward to today, and the scenario is very different. Chinese telecom equipment makers like Huawei and ZTE are today bringing out quality products that are made in accordance with the highest international standards. They have also jolted the smartphone market in recent times with featureladen smartphones at affordable prices. And the consumers are responding. These companies have specifically been targeting emerging countries. India’s massive telecom market with a subscriber base of over 930 million users has been one of their prime targets.

India in their sights...why?

Along with market incumbents like Nokia, Samsung, HTC and Apple, the Indian smartphone market is crowded with several domestic companies that offer affordable smartphones to consumers, though these domestic players too import products from China.

It might be large in size but the Indian smartphone market is also very price sensitive as most consumers do not have very high disposable incomes. Most Indian consumers therefore are looking for products that offer them a number of features at a relatively reasonable price. It is this nature of the Indian smartphone market that offers a huge business potential for Huawei and ZTE, due to their strong presence in the low-end smartphone market. Michael Morgan, senior analyst – Mobile Devices at ABI Research, says that Both Huawei and ZTE are doing a great job of only giving consumers what they will use, while not charging extra for features that are not valued by the cost conscious consumers. Consumers in China have accepted both of these companies as smartphone brands, and their acceptance (and recognition) continues to grow internationally, including India and other emerging nations. Sethumadhavan Srinivasan, director – Strategy & Marketing, Huawei India says, “Indian consumers have now realised that we focus on affordable products. We will never enter into a price war with local players. We

Huawei sold over 10.8 million mobile phones in the second quarter of 2012 with a global market share of 2.6 per cent. Huawei has now become the sixth largest mobile phone manufacturer of the world want people to use Huawei devices and then do business with us again.” He adds: “The Indian phone market is similar to that of China and eventually customers would select quality over low prices.”

Expanding market shares

Both ZTE and Huawei are moving swiftly with aggressive product launches and consistent innovations in the smartphone sphere. According to market analysis firm Gartner, both these Chinese companies have raised their global handset market share significantly over the past two quarters. Gartner’s recent handset sales report revealed that ZTE sold over 17.9 million handsets in the second quarter of 2012. Presently, ZTE is the world’s fourth largest handset maker with a global market share of 4.3 per cent, and increase of 3 per cent from the year 2011. For the same quarter, ZTE sold more than 8 million smartphones worldwide and held over 5 per cent of the global market share.

While speaking on the smartphone business of ZTE, Yuan Kang, Director Terminals Business of ZTE India, said, “ZTE’s focus is to provide the best of smartphones at an unbeatable price for the users to enjoy seamless experience. ZTE understands the Indian telecom industry and with its global experience, it will focus on the needs of the Indian market. Its continuous innovation will carry on helping deliver best in class and quality products.” Yuan Kang added that ZTE aims to globally ship 30 million smartphones, which will comprise a considerable share of the Indian smartphone market. On the other hand, Huawei sold over 10.8 million mobile phones in the second quarter of 2012 with a global market share of 2.6 per cent. Huawei has now become the sixth largest mobile phone manufacturer of the world, ahead of the likes of HTC, BlackBerry and Motorola. According to another market research report by IDC, Huawei sold over 7 million smartphones in the second quarter (Jul-Sept) of 2012. “Huawei plans to capture at least 15 per cent share of the Indian smartphone market in the coming next year. Globally, Huawei wants to be among Top 3 OEM brands in mobile devices space over the next 4-5 years,” says Sethumadhavan Srinivasan, Director – Strategy & Marketing, Huawei India. And this is not mere marketing talk. Hauwei is striving hard to achieve this target. It recently launched its Ascend smartphone line in the market and in India is focussing on the affordable smartphone sector, which it aims to lead.

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 35

infocus Changing gear Both ZTE and Huawei have broad ranges of smart and feature phones. However, uptil now both companies have been exploring the low-end handset market segment in India. They have several tie-ups with leading Indian telecom service providers for bundling and reverse-bundling of their mobile phones. Now both the companies have changed their strategies in recent times to go bullish in the Indian mobile handset market. In a bid to become bigger brands in the smartphone market, both companies are showing noteworthy developments. Huawei is developing its own proprietary Android operating system, which will be similar to Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets to create its own space in the market. On the other hand, ZTE is working with Mozilla, maker of Firefox to launch its own Firefox operating system powered smartphone by the end of this year or early next year. In terms of operating systems, both ZTE and Huawei already have Android and Windows Phone portfolios. Interestingly, smartphones with fast quad-core processors were also launched by these companies in global markets.

Both ZTE and Huawei have broad ranges of smart and feature phones. However, uptil now both companies have been exploring the low-end handset market segment in India offerings, both these Chinese companies also need to generate greater brand awareness and also build up quality associations. Michael Morgan, senior analyst, ABI Research, says, “Both of these companies need to further strengthen their international brand recognition in the handset space (they are doing fine in the network equipment space). This will be a challenge when they continue to operate in the operator branded handset segment and seek to establish their brand over that of their customers.” Before the arrival of smartphones, the Indian market was flooded with unbranded Chinese phones that were cheap. There were some security concerns attached with these phones, including the absence of legitimate IMEI number and hacking and phishing issues. While stringent actions taken by the Indian Government restricted the mushrooming of these mobile phones, many customers still retain the same image of the Chinese phones in their minds - that of devices that are easy on the pocket but are not exactly reliable. So, the companies need to not only come up with good products but also work on changing mindsets. Neither of these companies will make it big in the Indian market through their high-end products, but their

Indian market challenges

The Indian smartphone market is exceedingly vibrant with the presence of numerous international and domestic mobile handset vendors. For years, it has been dominated by Finnish handset maker Nokia and the Koreabased Samsung, although Indian players like Micromax, Lava and Spice have also emerged with a gamut of offerings to grab some market share. It is these brands who stand in ZTE and Huawei’s path to Indian market dominance. Not only do ZTE and Huawei need to establish a strong foothold in the Indian market with a broad range of mobile phone

36 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

low-cost affordable smartphone portfolios will make them flourish in the industry, while the high-end devices reassure customers of their ability to churn out high quality products. It is not an easy road for the Chinese duo. Yuan Kang of ZTE India accepts that there are challenges that the company needs to overcome to establish a toehold in the Indian market, but is confident of overcoming them. “In a growing market like India most of the vendors face similar challenges of providing suitable products at reasonable price. However, ZTE continues to focus on providing cost-efficient products and services and

will prevail to deliver with this excellence. ZTE’s determination to overcome challenges has helped in its growth in the Indian market and we are confident about our bright future in India,” he says.

Last, but not least…

And there is more to the Chinese manufacturer story than ZTE and Huawei. Another Chinese handset player-- TCL Communication is also coming aggressively to the Indian handset market under the Alcatel brand through partnerships with the Indian service providers. The company has special partnership with Idea Cellular to bring smartphones, bundled with voice and data plans. Alcatel’s products have been shipped to more than 20 countries all over the world including China, America, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific markets. Players in the Indian handset market, therefore, need to gear up for a Chinese invasion. Just how far it will succeed depends on what they can offer. For the consumer, however, it is a boom time, as they have more brands and offerings to choose from than ever before. n danish@mymobile.co.in

fa c e t o fa c e

“There is an ecosystem problem in India” Spice Group has been in the news recently with its partnership with the Chinese smartphone vendor Huawei. However, the company will also be expanding its ‘Stellar’ smartphone range along with tablets. We met Dilip Modi, director of Spice Group to discuss the company’s plans and the new association with Huawei Danish Khan Your partnership with Huawei has certainly caused a stir in the industry. Do tell us a bit more about it. This is a strategic partnership between both the companies, under which Spice will launch seven to ten 2G + Wi-Fi and 3G Huawei handsets in the near future. The partnership is in line with our strategy to expand our global footprints. Through this association, a new brand has emerged, called S Huawei. We will be doing joint-branding of Huawei smartphones in the country. We believe that the partnership will help Huawei improve its branding in India. The first in a series of 3G smartphone is Ascend Y 100 with more 3G smartphones to come soon. The company will also unveil more 2G+ WI-Fi Android-based smartphones in the country under the sub-Rs 6,000 category. But Spice has had its own range of devices. Wouldn’t this association with Huawei hamper the growth of Spice’s own smartphones? The Stellar range has created its space in the market. Spice’s Stellar smartphone range is well received in the Indian market and the

sales are consistently growing. The company sold over five thousand Stellar smartphones in just two weeks’ time starting from the launch. We will introduce a new range of smartphones under the Stellar portfolio in coming months. Spice aims to break into the top three smartphone vendors in India in terms of number of units sold. Spice also has introduced its tablets in the market. What are your plans for tablets in India? We are readying for the launch of our new range of tablets in the country, which will be introduced later this year. What are your future growth plans? The company is growing at a fast pace both domestically and internationally. At present, more than 50 per cent of the revenue comes from the International market. In Indonesia, we have crossed $1 billion revenue, as of 30 June, 2012 results. We target around $1 billion revenue from our operations in Asia by the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. Additionally, we aim to achieve $500 million revenue from our Indian operations. The company has a good market in the African region, which will

bring around $10 million revenue by the end of aforementioned time period. We target to sell 10 million units globally, including 1.5 million 2G + Wi-Fi and 3G smartphones, 7.5 million feature phones and 1 million phones from S Huawei brand. Do you have any plans to establish your own manufacturing unit in India? There is an ecosystem problem in India, when it comes to telecom, IT and device manufacturing. We have been discussing the issue with the Indian government for the creation of a complete manufacturing ecosystem in India. However, Spice has no plans to establish any manufacturing unit in India any time soon. We believe that a pro-active roadmap and large investment is required to set up one’s own manufacturing unit here. In India, for instance, Nokia has created a decent ecosystem for the manufacturing of its devices. In order to create such ecosystem, certain measurements should be taken, such as creating incentives and shared manufacturing. This could help bringing the manufacturing cost down with high output quality. n danish@mymobile.co.in

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 37

infocus

The Bond Connection

As the new Bond film hits cinema halls across the world, we pay tribute to Agent 007 by remembering seven of his greatest gadgets Harshita Rastogi

07 is not a just any number, it is the number attached to perhaps the most famous secret agent in history. Bond. James Bond. The uncanny secret agent has weaved his way not just in and out of some very tricky situations, but has managed to do so with a degree of flair that has now become legendary. And playing a major role in all his escapades are a bevy of gadgets. In fact, almost every Bond film is marked by a trip to the secret service laboratory where 007 is generally walked through an array of devices or t a s that vary from the brilliant to the banal. So t thi gi in much so that for many people, Bond A d y n k c Bo enc rea s is as synoynymous with babes ni by requ ld b riou e. o n e u r s and villains as with exotic bl -f tS wo igh is co use trou i g h gadgets. Here’s a look at ig ) rin tra . Th ca for e Der Day oking an ul r unitr couldl ring seven 007 gadgets l y a lo g h to o that we wish in Anot utine- ctuall agitaglass n. A re S e a i ro is really existed nic of so (D his vie it so -pro r per o beyond g i m d ullet the le h b ano those labs. ng

si roug s to th urie inj

fcas ’s brie d n o B ll)

derba se (Thun riefca usiecial b b his sp ke a usual li me looked ssory but ca -7 R e c A c g a in s old nes with f rifle loaded ber survival ope, c 22-cali frared teles in w o h r it h t w with a more. along d n a e o if ing kn t that, it als s Not ju d a tear gas ich carrie ge wh s cartrid disguised a der. came w o p talcum Not in Brief? se. this ca

Ericsson JB988 Phone (Tomorrow Never Dies)

ack in 1997, Phones were usually used for calling and texting. But that would never do for Bond, would it? So in Die Another Day, we saw him with a handset that could scan finger prints, hack a 20,000 volt security system, and act as a remote control to navigate Bond’s car. And of course, it was a phone as well.

38 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

www.mymobile.co.in

Lotus Espirit Car

(The Spy Who Loved Me)

ars have played an iconic role in Bond flicks, and this one was one power packed sedan that could even turn into a submarine. Moreover, it housed an array of gadgets disguised as the usual parts of the car. Talk of driving and diving!

Explosive Parker Jotter Pen (Golden Eye)

pen is mightier than the sword, and the pen used in this movie certainly was. The usual looking Parker pen used in Golden Eye doubled up as a powerful grenade. Explosive writing? This pen delivered it and more.

Laser equipped Omega Watch (Die

Another Day)

atches were never this dangerous - this Omega could be used to emit powerful laser rays that could cut through a thick layer of ice with ease.

Aston Martin db7

(Die Another Day)

car that would go invisible - we kid you not! Another masterpiece use in the Bond movie, this vehicle could race on roads, go invisible and had a plethora of defensive armour and gadgets in it.

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 39

cell clues

The Stars Descend:

Super Phones at Low Prices! They were launched with much hype and with stiff price tags to boot. But are now available at far more affordable prices. We take a look at five super phones that are now so much more pocket-friendly Heena Jatav

are is the tech follower who has not experienced the heartbreak of waiting for a product, only to see it arrive with an exorbitant price tag in tow. But as with most clouds, this one too has a silver lining. Particularly for those who are prepared to wait. Given the speed at which technology is progressing and new products are being launched, many products witness a significant drop in prices within months of their release. And for those who have waited, this is the perfect

moment to snap up the device that had once seemed well beyond the reach of their finances. So in this festive season, we take a look at six awesome phones that arrived with stiff price tags but have over the months, dropped down to more affordable levels. They might not be as cutting edge as they were when launched, but remain formidable propositions in their own right.

iPhone 4 (8 GB) Launched at: Rs 38,000 (approx) Now available for: Rs 26,500

Called the Godphone by its supporters, the iPhone is considered to be among the best phones in the world. And when the iPhone 4 hit the market, it grabbed attention for its radical design, its dazzling 960 x 640 retina display and amazingly slim figure. Although initially launched in capacities of 16 GB and above, it also became available later in 8 GB capacity. It has since been succeeded by two other devices, but remains capable of turning heads with its looks, can be updated to the latest version of iOS as well, and runs most of

40 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

the App Storeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s magnificent array of apps very well indeed. The display remains as good as ever, the A4 CPU works briskly and the 5.0-megapixel camera can still give other cameraphones a run for the money. And wonder of wonders, Apple has actually gone and slashed its price.

Samsung Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Launched at: Rs 38,250 Now available for: Rs 28,990 Launched in November 2011, the original Galaxy Note was a surprise hit and can claim to have given birth to the phablet category in

www.mymobile.co.in

the gadget market. The device’s biggest attraction was its massive and spectacular 5.3-inch SUPER AMOLED display. Samsung Galaxy Note was the first phone in the smartphone territory with such a big display. The device also brought the stylus back in vogue with its stylish and yet very functional S-Pen. And along with these, it packed specs that are spectacular even today - a 1.4 GHz dual Core processor, 8.0-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 1080p full HD video recording and playback, 2.0-megapixel front camera for video calling; and connectivity options like 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. It has 16 GB internal memory that could be expandable up to 32 GB with microSD card and came with software like the S Memo, S Planner and S Choice, all tailored for making best use of the S Pen. And the 2,500 mAh battery ensured it lasted through a day of hectic use. Yes, we know its successor has already hit the market, but for sheer value for money we still think that the original Note is a superb deal.

Bluetooth, 3G) as well USB to Go, which allowed users to connect USB drives to the phone. It has since been updated to Symbian Belle and still looks as good as ever. Oh, and its photography remains as amazing as ever.

Nokia Lumia 800 Launched at: Rs 29,999 Now available for: Rs 18,900

while Android updates could be a bit of an issue, the fact that it comes with HTC’s excellent Sense interface more than compensates for it and makes it look still very contemporary indeed.

Nokia N8-00 Launched at: Rs 26,259 Now available for: Rs 18,899

Although more than two years have elapsed since Nokia launched its N8-00, its 12.0-megapixel camera is still considered to be among the best seen in celltown. The device had made a massive splash on its release, coming as it did with a brilliant 3.5-inch scratchproof AMOLED display, a 12.0-megapixel camera, Xenon flash and a sensor that was large by cellphone standards. It was also the first Nokia device to be launched on a touchfriendly avatar of Symbian, called Symbian^3, and of course, same with all the connectivity trimmings of a high-end phone (Wi-Fi,

BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300 Launched at: Rs 18,750 Now available for: Rs 9,999

It arrived with much fanfare being Nokia’s first Windows Phone device. And while it might not have exactly set the markets on fire, what no one could deny was that in terms of design, specs and performance, the Lumia 800 was a very good device indeed. It came with a 3.7-inch AMOLED display, 16 GB onboard memory, an 8.0-megapixel camera with dual LED flash, and was powered with 1.4 GHz processor. And of course, it came with Windows Phone’s smooth interface and Nokia Music and navigation onboard. It will not get Windows Phone 8 but will get the 7.8 update which will allow users to resize tiles. A formidable device, still.

HTC Sensation XL Launched at: Rs 39,990 Now available for: Rs 26,089

HTC launched the Sensation XL in November 2011, showcasing it as one of the most powerful phones in the world. Almost a year later, it remains a formidable proposition with its 4.7-inch display, music with Beats Audio, 8.0megapixel camera with dual LED flash, 16 GB onboard storage (expandable to 32 GB using a memory card) and its speedy 1.5 GHz processor and Adreno 205 GPU. In best HTC tradition, the device stands out in the crowd and

It might not have been the best of times for RIM of late, but there can be no doubting that the BlackBerry brand still has a lot of aspirational value linked to it. And it is no longer a niche product as can be witnessed by the steep drop in the price of this very handy handset (pun intended). Although released in 2010, the Curve 3G 9300 still remains a very good option for those bitten by the BlackBerry bug but on a tight budget. It comes with a 2.46-inch display, 2.0megapixel camera, and support for Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth. Above all, it comes with the iconic BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard and the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) as well as near seamless social network connectivity. The best BB for those not in splurge mode, we say, thanks to its price cut. n heena@mymobile.co.in

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 41

fa c e t o fa c e

“LBS will prove invaluable in all aspects of everyday life” Location based services

(LBS) were introduced It has been around for a while in India quite a while now, but the location base service ago, but have not picked up. Why do you think this (LBS) sector in India has not really has happened? One of the reasons for LBS not picking taken off to the extent most experts up in India could be the lack of awareness amongst the cushad predicted it would. Dr. Giles tomers. However, application developers also need to generate Nelson, Deputy Chief Technology more relevant applications and these solutions must be marketed Officer (CTO), Progress Software, more effectively in the public eye. talks about the possible reasons There are also technological and infrastructure constraints that have for this and the huge potential the limited the adoption of LBS. Privacy concerns of customers is another service has for consumers. prime reason. Subscriber privacy can be protected via advanced privacy Heena Jatav control mechanism and providing full control to the consumer. Telecom companies need to look at LBS as a value-added service that can not only increase their revenues but also provide additional services to customers. Tell us a bit about Progress Software and the role you play in the market... Progress Software offers a real time decision analytics solution to Communication Service Provider (CSPs) that provides them with powerful real-time marketing capabilities. It enables CSPs to continuously monitor and correlate millions of “events” comprising location, context and preferences generated by their customers. It provides CSPs the ability to deliver precisely-targeted, location-based advertising and highlypersonalized promotions using a customer’s cellphone usage patterns, interests, social network preferences and other customer-relevant profiles in real-time. How can LBS help a mainstream phone user in their everyday life? LBS will prove invaluable to consumers and businesses

42 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

in all aspects of everyday life. As it focuses on delivering information upon demand to users, depending on their current location, the subscriber is able to access information and offers relevant to their context, situation and interests. With LBS, customers can get alerts related to the schedule and availability of buses, trains, cabs, auto rickshaws, etc. Therefore, combining LBS with information on demand gives subscribers access to information designed to make life easier. If LBS is to become more widely used, end-users need to know that their data won’t be abused and the operator has their best interests at heart. What kinds of services are most popular among users? Use of LBS for directions and information in real time has increased from 55 per cent to 74 per cent in 2012. Among the most popular location-based services are Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp Check-ins and Facebook Places. Some of the other popular services among users are Groupon, Google Places, Urban Spoon, Instagram, Open Table, Get Glue, and Sonar. People use these applications to locate people on maps, receive alerts on traffic jams within a minimum proximity or area wise, request information on nearest restaurants, cafes, etc. India is a price sensitive market. What role does cost play in mass adoption of such a service? A fair way to look at cost is the overall return that an investment in such solutions may provide. CSPs and consumers, while being price sensitive, need to see the value of LBS. A significant portion of marketing spend can be directed in a more focused way, reducing the “wastage” arising from offers that are potentially irrelevant and therefore do not drive consumer behavior as a CSP may desire. Consumers on the other hand will be only too happy to receive offers that make sense to them, their interest and their context. n heena@mymobile.co.in

sneak peek Nokia Lumia 820 The second Lumia with WP8

he latest addition to the Lumia family is the Lumia 820, which is being seen as a scaled down version of the flagship Lumia 920. That said, it packs quite a punch - it runs on Windows Phone 8, comes with a 4.3-inch ClearBlack display of 480 x 800 resolution, support for 4G network, powered by a Snapdragon S4 1.5 GHz dual core processor and an Adreno 225 GPU, with 8GB onboard storage (which can be expanded upto 32 GB) and 1 GB RAM.The phone also has an 8.0 megapixel main camera with dual LED flash and Carl Zeisss optics (but no PureView) and also has a front camera for video calling. On the software side, the device comes with all the goodies you would expect from a Windows Phone 8 device (support for all popular e-mail services, MS Office, Internet Explorer, and so on) and also with the Nokia Music store. For connectivity there are options like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, NFC and Micro- USB. It has a 1,650 mAh battery and also supports wireless charging. We are expecting it to arrive in the Indian market by late December this year or in early January 2013. n

LG Optimus G Quad

core powerhouse

G seems to be working its way back into the smartphone spotlight with a slew of very good devices. Hot on the heels of the Vu phablet comes the Optimus G, another very impressive phone. It comes with a large 4.7-inch HD-IPS + LCD capacitive display with resolution of 768 x 1280 pixels. And making sure that it works at the rate of knots is the Snapdragon S4 Pro Quad-core 1.5 GHz processor and an Adreno 320 GPU. The phone supports 4G and comes with 2 GB RAM and 32 GB of internal storage stage. Also on board is an 8.0-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and the capability to record full HD videos at 30 frames per second. Ensuring that all this does not make you rush to recharge the phone again and again is a 2,100 mAh battery. The phone also comes with features like Dual Screen Dual Play, Live zooming and Video Wiz.What we cannot understand, however, is why the phone runs on Android Ice Cream Sandwich, although an upgrade to Jelly Bean is expected. The LG Optimus G is expected to reach the Indian market by early next year. n

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 43

in focus

LBS:

Untapped opportunities Location-based services are growing and offering a great opportunity to all players in the ecosystem. We take a look at what direction this direction-oriented service is heading in and what it has in store for solution providers, telcos and customers Danish Khan

Location: big data, big business

his is the era of connectivity. Whether we like it or not, most of us not only spend a lot of time online but are also increasingly more social on the Web, thanks to the social networking revolution. Our zeal to stay connected over these social networks leads to the creation of an enormously huge database, replete with information that would be a dream

for marketers. Making this easier is the smartphone revolution. Globally, smartphones have seen a massive uptake and in India too, consumers are opting for next-gen smartphones that are equipped with GPS (Global Positioning System), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and are capable of running applications and services that utilise or reflect a userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s location.

44 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

The moment you post a tweet on Twitter or update your status on Facebook, some sort of data analytics track your mood based on the information posted by you along with the location and allow the advertiser to serve up messages relevant to you at that point. This phenomenon is referred to as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;big dataâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; which covers data collected from the internet. The data is handier when used with location info and cell id of the consumers. Advertisers and retailers are leveraging this data to target customers very precisely according to their needs. These advertisers and retailers work with location-based solution providers that help them in reaching out to the broader customer base. The purview of this location-based service business (ecosystem) is extremely broad

www.mymobile.co.in

and comprises a gamut of advertisers, technology players, and telecom service providers. The location based services industry has grown significantly in the global arena with massive adoption of technology by service providers, advertisers and consumers. According to a study by market research firm Gartner, the global location based services industry will be generating $13.5 billion in revenues by 2015 with mobile advertising becoming the major driver. Gartner also predicted that these services (also referred to as LBS) can advance service delivery, customer support, and marketing effectiveness. Gartner expects almost 800 million location-based service users worldwide by the end of 2012. Apart from advertisements, Location-based services could be used to offer information services, navigation, city sightseeing, public services ( emergency help), location-based charging services, call routing, assets management, traffic monitoring and mobile yellow pages.

LBS in India

The Indian market has the optimum potential for LBS, as it has one of the largest networks in the world with above 900 million subscribers. However, location-based advertising and consumer engagement is growing in India, but at a slowpace. There are app developers and solution providers who have rolled out the service five years ago in the country but there are certain challenges that exists in the market like investments, co-ordination with retailers/ advertisers and network roll-outs. Ravi BR, co-founder and COO of TeliBrahma, a provider of mobile solutions for location-based advertising, says “The biggest challenge is to reach out to each retailer for a tighter integration and to convince them about the location for the deployment of infrastructure that will deliver the service. Additionally, investments are required to add more locations for delivery of the service, which comprise both pros and cons.” Anubhav Sharma, head of sales, Nimbuzz, feels that LBS technology is expensive, due to the involvement of a number of players, and co-ordination with the retailers/advertisers is tricky. However, opportunities are huge. On the consumer front, concerns over privacy, spamming and security issues have led to a low uptake of location-based advertisements. On the business and ecosystem front, a complex ecosystem, marketing and promotion of services, business models, security/ privacy issues and infrastructure constraints have restricted the growth. In India, telecom service providers could also provide such services over their networks, but they have not adequately invested for the proper deployment

of the needed infrastructure. Ravi BR added that telecom service providers are equally important for the growth of LBS in India. “Although, given the condition of infrastructure on telcos’ part, we are exploring potential in Wi-Fi networks in the country that are being rolled-out by some telcos in India,” he points out. Indian telecom companies are seen to be lagging in deploying LBS solutions in the country, citing various technical and cost related challenges. However, unless such solutions are deployed, the growth of LBS would be hampered due to poor coverage and weak signals in rural and semi-urban areas. After all, LBS needs a network to work effectively.

Government’s mandate for LBS

The Indian Government for its part is pushing telcos to deploy LBS solutions, though the reason is not directly linked to the advertisements or marketing. The Department of Telecom (DoT) has mandated the implementation of LBS solutions by telcos. The Department had told telcos to implement a location accuracy of 50 meters by the end of 31, May 2012. However, the operators have failed to meet DoT’s deadline for the deployment of LBS, citing unavailability of relevant solutions and the gigantic cost factor. In response, the Indian Government has revised the location accuracy percentage and distance for which telcos have to maintain location details of its mobile customers. Indian telcos have also demanded that the Government should provide them monetary aid for the deployment of LBS in the country,

as it requires massive investments. The telcos are of the view that Indian consumers want everything without any expenditure, thus monetary hurdles shall hinder the effective deployment of LBS. But as of now, things seem stuck in a state of inertia.

The way ahead...

Apart from location-based advertising, navigation and location search will be applications that are likely to generate the highest consumer interest. The location functionality will also be deeply converged with social networking, news, information, search and entertainment services to improve the end user experience. Once an LBS ecosystem is in place, our communication would expand to involve experiences that lay over graphics, audio and other virtual enhancements on a live view of the real world. Augmented reality would become that much more real. Through LBS, network operators can offer location-based and targeted advertisements to the customers by partnering with the advertisers. Additionally, they can offer additional VAS (Value Added Services) to the consumers for information like real-time traffic update along with security measures (location details), as needed by the Government. All these services will create a new revenue stream for the Indian telcos along with app developers, technology providers and system integrators. And of course, the consumer will get so much more relevant information. The promise is there. What LBS needs is a leap of faith. The question is: who will take it? n danish@mymobile.co.in

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 45

technology

The Art of Purchasing an LED TV In the market for an LED TV but totally confused by document and salesperson jargon? We walk you through the process of picking up a new LED TV Ketan Pratap

ech pundits love to say that when it comes to technology, change is the only constant. And that certainly seems to be the case. A decade ago, buying a television was mainly a matter of choosing between different brands and sizes. Today, there is an array of technologies to choose from and with the transformation to digital broadcasting, you need to

make sure your new TV is future proof too, as well as able to handle not just TV programming but high-definition films and in some cases, even console games. Add to this the plethora of confusing terms and jargon that have been added to televisions, and a person venturing out to grab an LED TV today would find themselves assailed by a number of questions: Is LED the best? What screen size

to go with? Which external ports should I have? What to choose- HD 720p or 1080p? Is 3D required? The market is filled with a number of brands and models, each claiming to be the best. And talking to sales executives is unlikely to make things much easier. What could, however, help you is this rather basic Q&A to help you choose a new TV.

Why an LED TV?

LED or Light Emitting Diode TVs are a variation of LCD TVs that use an LED backlighting. To be precise, LED TVs are still LCD TVs but the term is used to describe new HDTV models. LED TVs consume less electricity and are slimmer than normal LCDs. While LCD TVs use tubes to light up images, LED TVs use LED lights positioned along the sides or back of the TV to make the picture vivid and also use a local dimming technology to improve the overall image quality. LED TVs handle contrast and brightness better than LCD TVs, resulting in brighter whites and deeper blacks. There are different types of LED models available - Edge lighting and Full array back-lighting.

2 46 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

Does size matter? Well, bigger is not always better when it comes to screen sizes. So, buying a TV according to the viewing distance and length of the room is very important. The one you choose must depend on the size of the room and very obviously your budget too, as the TV screen size is directly proportional to the hole in your pocket (pun intended).

3 4 5

Do I need HD? When it comes to screen resolution, we would not like to bore you with the ‘i’s and ‘p’s, but would recommend you go for a full HD (or 1080p) TV. With 1080p definition you can enjoy HD media content, Blu-ray quality movies and even HD DTH service. Buying anything lower than this is now not worth spending your money on, as most of the content in the future is likely to be HD optimised.

Should it be 2D or 3D? Yes, 3D can be fun, but it is an expensive proposition. For viewing 3D content one needs to wear 3D glasses (which are expensive). So if you have four people in your family. you will need four pairs of glasses. What’s more 3D TVs are far more expensive than their 2D counterparts right now. Top that off with the relative lack of 3D content, and we have to say that at the moment, a 3D television is best suited to those fanatical about 3D content and with deep pockets.

Be honest! What are the pros and cons of an LED TV? Pros: n It consumes less electricity, when compared to plasma or LCD TVs. n The contrast is much better in LED TV n Colour reproduction is amazing Cons: n While the colour reproduction is good, the overall picture quality is not very different from LCDs n It is difficult to mount an LED TV on the wall as they have more dimensional depth. n They are are still on the expensive side

What should I check the next time I walk into a shop looking for an LED TV? Here is a quick check-list to refer to while shopping for your next TV:

Performance check: Whenever you go to a TV showroom, do check its performance in person. Check how it plays the fast motion videos and if there is any jagged lines, ghosting or blurring. Also check if you can tweak the settings according to your needs. Viewing angles: Do check the viewing angle of a TV. The narrower a TV’s viewing angle, the smaller the range in which it produces a perfect image with no loss of con-

trast or colour.

Price: The bottom line does count.

The price of LED TVs varies from brand to brand but what our research revealed was that a 24-inch LED TV may cost you around Rs 24,000 and this may go up to Rs 3,00,000 for a 65-inch display.

TV inputs: You should always go for

a TV that offers a good number of input ports. Check the type of ports available in the set - HDMI, RGB video, USB, headphones, Ethernet ports, etc.

Sound Quality: Sound quality is one

of the most vital points to check when you consider buying a TV. Even the best picture is of little use if it is accompanied by poor quality sound. Do check the sound options the set includes- Mono, Stereo, surround sound and Dolby.

We would like to advise you to set your price limits before going in for a LED TV because you may end up paying more for features that you never wanted or may not use.

not included all the brands in *Disclaimer: Weourhave research and the prices may vary according to market conditions

Conclusion: At the end of the day, an LED television represents a significant investment for most people. Our advice would be to think things out carefully before you go ahead and purchase one. Do so in haste and it will reproach you from your living room wall every day!

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 47

versus

Apple iPhone 5

HTC Windows Phone 8X They both look mean and keen. They are both flagships. And they come from bitter rivals. And with premium price tags. We pit the iPhone 5 against the HTC 8X. Harshita Rastogi

t is not often that we see two high profile devices hit the market within days of each other. And it is even more rare to see two totally divergent ones, each representing a new phase in its manufacturer’s development. Well, that’s exactly what we have seen over the past few days with Apple’s iPhone 5 and HTC’s Windows Phone 8X being released. While the iPhone has been getting rave reviews for its design, the 8X is being hailed as one of the flagships of the newly launched Windows Phone 8 platform. We threw them both into the ring to see who came out on top.

Design and looks The iPhone 5 comes with a longer, thinner, and meaner build than before but the 8X manages to look just as thin in spite of being actually a bit thicker. However, Apple’s use of glass and aluminum definitely gives the iPhone 5 a more premium look than the HTC 8X, whose smooth unibody frame might however appeal to the younger crowd, especially as it has more colour options. We are giving this one to the iPhone - the diamond polished chamfer did the trick.

Software The iPhone 5 runs on iOS 6, while the 8X

comes with the freshly released Windows Phone 8. And when it comes to sheer ease of use, we must confess to being torn between both. While iOS remains as intuitive as ever, the tiled interface of Windows Phone 8 is very attractive. However, the difference comes in the app department where the iPhone comes out as a clear winner - Windows Phone 8 does not really have the apps yet to challenge it. HTC has better maps but then the iPhone has SIRI. So that’s another round to the iPhone 5.

Hardware This is again a desperately close battle. Both phones come with dual core processors, and with marvellous displays. The iPhone 5’s display is retina and has a 1136 x 640 resolution while the HTC has a bigger 4.3-inch display with a 1280 x 720 resolution. Both also sport 8.0-megapixel cameras and front-facing cameras with face recognition. We would call this a tie, really.

Multimedia Once again, a very close battle. Videos and games look awesome on both displays, and while the iPhone 5 comes with EarPods for improved sound, HTC’s Beats Audio association ensures awesome sound for the 8X.

48 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

Where the difference emerges is in the camera department - the iPhone’s camera comfortably outguns that of the HTC 8X with richer colours and faster results. Another close contest, but we think the camera clinches it for the iPhone 5.

Others The iPhone 5 has received a battery boost and outlasts the 8X in terms of battery life. We also found the HTC 8X heating up all too often, although even the iPhone 5 did tend to get a bit warm at times. In terms of connectivity, both phones tie with similar options. The battery of neither can be removed and neither’s storage expanded. A tie again.

Conclusion Don’t get taken in by all the rounds won by the iPhone 5. The stark fact is that there is very little difference between the two phones and considering that the 8X retails at almost Rs 10,000 less than the iPhone 5 (which starts at a princely Rs 45,500), we can see people being attracted to it. That said, its design, camera performance and of course app strengths make the iPhone 5 a winner. For now. n harshita@mymobile.co.in

www.mymobile.co.in

burn test Sound byte! Sober

one cannot expect much in the software segment. Shortcuts are provided on the homescreen itself to make navigation easy, and these can be used with the help of the D-pad. Some utility apps like alarm, calculator and e-book reader are also on board, as are some basic games.

looks, great music

Looks: Subtle but nothing new Although there is nothing radically new about its appearance, the Celkon Great C51 is easy enough on the eye. It comes in a candy bar form factor, with an alphanumeric keypad and a D-pad below the 2.4-inch display. The back panel of the phone is made up of glossy and shiny plastic which makes the device easy to hold. The camera and loudspeaker are placed on the back panel while the torch and 3.5-mm

Pros  Looks

and build quality

 Torch

114 mm

t a time when most Indian brands seem inclined towards Android, Celkon, a known name, has released the Great C51, a feature phone, showing that there is still room for them.

Multimedia: On expected lines The C51 comes with a 1.3-megapixel camera, which frankly is sub-standard. For music, there is an audio player and FM radio which can be played without earphones but the FM needs a good signal to work. The sound quality is fine and music can be played easily but there are no equaliser settings with the music player - a pity given the sound quality of the device.

Cons  Dual

SIM but only single calling button

and 3.5-mm audio  Low resolution jack camera

tech specs

Hardware: Decent deal

Size | 114 x 43 x 11 mm

The phone has a 2.4-inch TFT display, and even comes with an LED torch, which however does not have a dedicated key - one has to go to the Organiser to switch it on. It has 1.3-megapixel camera, and comes with 10 KB internal memory, which however, can be expanded to 8 GB with the help of a microSD card. It also comes with a 1,000 mAh battery which provided decent battery life and comes with support for two SIM connections. Unfortunately, there’s only one key for using both SIMs. The phone allows calling from SIM 1 through the call key and if a user has to make a call from the second SIM, one has to go to options and select SIM 2 for calling. On the connectivity front, the phone supports Bluetooth and GPRS.

Weight | 82 grams

The C51 is an entry level phone, and as such,

The Celkon Great C51 is an entry level multimedia phone. The build quality of the device is good and it looks immaculate. That said, it has very good sound quality and good battery life - essential in this price segment.

Celkon c51

audio jack are placed on the top. The Charger/ USB slot is on the lower part of the phone. All in all, this is a compact device that can easily slip into any pocket.

Software: Very obvious

User Experience: Satisfactory

43 mm

Conclusion The Celkon Great C51 is priced at Rs 2,250. Those seeking alternatives can consider the Lemon S459 which is available for Rs 2,099. n team@mymobile.co.in

Memory | 10KB, microSD

verdict

OS | MTK

Screen Size | 2.4, TFT display

Looks

Battery | Li-ion 1,000 mAh

Features

Talktime/Standby | up to 6 hours/up to 200 hours

ease of use

performance

GPRS/3G/BT/WiFi | Yes/No/Yes/No Camera | 1.3 megapixel Others | E-book reader, FM radio, Games

Price: Rs 2,250

value for money

overall

74%

nov 15 to dec 14 20121 MYMOBILE 49

burn test Joining the Phablet wars Large display, less

150mm

than large price

4 3 78 mm

highlights 5.3-inch display is delightful to watch videos

Very impressive sound quality with sound effects

Has 2.0-MP front camera for video calling

50 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

The touch of the phone is impressive enough

The dual SIM support is an added advantage

www.mymobile.co.in

Price: Rs 15,999

t seems that big is the flavor of the season in smartphones. Companies are lining up to release large screen devices one after the other. Although such devices used to cost a pretty penny in the past, a number of companies are releasing more wallet-friendly versions of the “phablet”- and one of them is Zopo, a Chinese Android phone manufacturer, which has launched its ZP900 Leader phablet. But how does it stack up against some stiff competition?

Looks: Familiar Our first reaction on seeing the ZP900 was, “Hey, it’s the Galaxy Note 2!” Yes, at first glance, one can easily think that this is Samsung’s new phablet. It comes with a 5.3inch capacitive touchscreen. Its dimensions are 150×78×10.2 mm, and it weighs 198 grams, which is a bit on the heavy side, but then this is a big phone. Despite its large body, the ZP900 is comfortable to hold, although one has to use both hands to type comfortably on it. There’s only one hardware button on the front panel, the Home key, with a touch button on either sides - one for Menu and the other for Back. The 8.0-megapixel camera and speaker grill are placed on the back panel with ZOPO in silver printed on it. We liked the overall look of the phone - yes, it looks a lot like the Note 2, but that certainly is not a bad example to follow.

Hardware: Just about fine The ZP900 phone comes with a 5.3 inch IPS TFT multi-touch capacitive display of 960 x 540 pixels resolution, which is clear and visible in sunlight too. The phone is powered with MTK6577 1GHz dual core processor, thanks to which the device was able to play graphic rich games and 720p HD videos with ease, although 1080p videos were not supported. It comes with a 8.0-megapixel rear camera and 2.0-megapixel front camera. The device supports dual SIM standby, with one connection supporting 3G. The internal storage of the device stands at 4 GB that can be expanded up to 32 GB and it comes with 1 GB RAM. On the connectivity front, the phone supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, A-GPS, 2G and 3G. Making sure there is enough power to keep all this ticking is the 2,300 mAh Li-ion battery.

Pros  Delightfully big 5.3 inch display  Stand-out looks  Memory expandable up to 32 GB

Cons 

Average camera



Tends to heat up



Call quality could have been better

Software: Pretty routine The phone runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). It comes with five home panels that can be customised according to one’s need and usability. Widgets and app shortcuts can be placed on home screen for easy access. And perhaps reflecting its nationality, the device comes along with some Chinese apps on board too. There are also some pre installed apps such as MSN Talk Pro, UC Web, Compass, Documents To Go, Facebook, Gtalk, and We Chat. For game lovers, some popular games like Angry Birds Space, Fruit Ninja and TurboFly 3D are also on board. All in all, we would say that we are reasonably content with what we got with the device although we would have liked a newer version of Android (Jelly Bean has been around for a while now) considering the specs and display size of the device.

Multimedia: We like! The ZP900 gets good marks from us in the multimedia field. The sound quality of the device was very good (especially on headphones) and the onboard music player comes with 3D effect, bass boost and equalizer settings. One can preset reverb as per the size of the room one wants to play music in - small room, large room, large hall, etc. Also on board is FM radio, which has good reception and sound quality. On the video front, the phone was able to play 720p HD videos but not full HD videos. As far as the camera goes, the ZP900 boasts 8.0-megapixel shooter but its results were frankly disappointing, although there are plenty of settings options to play around with. It is a classic case of a camera with a high megapixel count but not with the greatest performance.

User Experience: Satisfactory Our experience with the ZP900 was largely

satisfactory. We liked the large display a lot and our touch experience was also good. However, the device does tend to get heated up while playing games, running videos and during long calls, something which made us distinctly uncomfortable. The voice quality (during calling) was acceptable but nothing to write home about. The score of the device on quadrant is 2739. Those looking for a phablet on a tight budget would definitely not find too much to fault in it.

Conclusion The Zopo ZP900 is priced at Rs 15,999, which we feel is a bit on the higher side when you consider that other players in the budget segment have phablets that cost lesser. Those seeking alternatives can also consider the iBall Andi 5c which is an Android smartphone with a 5.0-inch display and is available for Rs 12,999, and the Micromax A100 which also sports a 5-inch display, runs Android, and is available for Rs 9,000. n team@mymobile.co.in

verdict 8

Looks Features

ease of use

perfoRmance

value for money

overall

76%

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 51

burn test Value for money indeed The Asha 311 takes on the budget Androids

5 2

106 mm

Cons

Pros 

Smooth operation and interface



Small display



Unlimited music download for one year, Maps



Average camera



Not too many apps for the OS

Battery life is impressive

highlights



52 mm

okia has been making waves with its Asha series and one of the latest to join the bandwagon is the Asha 311. The handset comes packed with a number of features, ranging from a powerful processor to music and games. And yes, in best Asha tradition, it does not cost the earth. Far from it.

Looks: A mini delight At a time when phones seem to be getting bigger, the Nokia Asha 311 goes in the opposite direction, opting for a compact build (dimensions measuring 106.0x52.0x12.9 mm). The device is a decent looking touchscreen phone and is pretty light in weight (95gm), sporting a 3.0-inch capacitive display, which works smoothly. At a glance you might think

1 The front panel has only two hardware buttons

that the screen is a tad too small, but the phone itself is very easy on the eye. As for the screen, our advice is not to let first impressions influence you.

It has 40 pre-loaded games and unlimited music service for a year

megapixel camera and a speaker grille on the lower back end of the phone. On the connectivity front, the phone comes loaded with a large number of options including 3G, GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Hardware: Par for the price course

Software: Symbian, smooth

The Asha 311 is powered by a 1 GHz processor. And it certainly performs without any lags or slowdowns. There is a thin metal strip given right below the display which houses two hard keys, call receive and call end, which doubles up as power on/off key as well. We would have liked it to feature a home key as well, but then one gets used to its absence. There is an easyto-access volume rocker and a phone lock key placed on the right side. On the back are a 3.2-

There are three homescreens given in the phone with the centre one being the hub to all the icons. Swiping the screen to the right reveals a screen with all the pre-loaded apps arranged in a matrix and to the left navigates to the dialer. However, you can customise all three screens as per your convenience. Like one can add or delete shortcuts to applications on the first panel, and opt from Music, Radio and Dialer on the third

52 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

www.mymobile.co.in

memory space. The sound quality on both loudspeakers and headphones is impressive. And if you are tired of music on the phone, you can always turn to FM, whose reception is fairly good. The handset has a 3.2-megapixel rear camera, and churns out average results in both video and still image mode. A bit of a disappointment really. But then, one seldom gets awe inspiring cameras in devices in this price segment. And honestly, we think the music really compensates.

Nokia Asha 311 tech specs Size | 106 x 52 x 12.9 mm Weight | 95 grams Memory | 256MB, microSD

User Experience: Surprisingly good

OS | Symbian 40 Asha

The handset offers a simple to use interface and houses a decent set of functions. In fact, we would go so far as to say that it outperforms a number of its competitors in this price segment. Yes, we would have liked a larger display, but on the flip side, its small and light frame make it exceptionally easy to carry and use. And then there are the traditional Nokia strengths to back all this up - network reception on the device is good even in low signal zones, call clarity is good, and well, the battery will comfortably see you through a day and a half! Wi-Fi at this price point is also a welcome bonus.

The phone has 1 Ghz processor which enhances the performance

Conclusion

Price: Rs 6,300

The music quality of the device is excellent on both ear phone and loudspeaker

We would say that at Rs 6,300, the Asha 311 offers a very stiff challenge to the budget Android crowd. Yes, there will be those who will chorus at the relative lack of apps for Symbian, but we think the Asha 311 packs enough out of the box, combined with Nokiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s formidable reputation, to be one of the best value for money offers out there. Those looking for alternatives could consider the Android based Sony Xperia tipo priced at Rs 9,050 and Samsung Galaxy Y costing Rs 6,850. n

The phone has three home panels which are customisable

team@mymobile.co.in

panel. Apart from this, there is a thin drop down panel given on the top of the screen which can be scrolled down to operate shortcut keys to Data connection, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Music given in it. The interface of the phone is plain but relatively easy to use. And there are a number of interesting games preloaded on it like the iconic Angry Birds, and if you want more, well, there are 40 games by EA which can be downloaded for free right after you register. The processor ensures that the games play smoothly without too much hassle. Other pre-loaded apps include Facebook, Twitter, Nimbuzz, Zomato and more. There also are preloaded Nokia Maps given in the device for navigation. And surprisingly, it all works very

smoothly indeed. Even browsing the Web on the relatively small display was a delight - something which we certainly were not expecting. Top that off with access to Nokiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s formidable maps and you can see that this relatively small handset comes really loaded in the software department.

Multimedia: Musical candy Talking about multimedia features lead us to the camera and music player, and music certainly is the forte of the 311. The device comes with unlimited downloads from the Nokia Music store for a year. And downloading is smooth as the songs come compressed to be easily downloadable and occupy minimum

verdict Looks

Features

ease of use

perfoRmance

value for money

overall

84%

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 53

burn test Spiced up Droid Easy on the eye, easy on the pocket

118 mm

62 mm

highlights The touch is quite impressive

NQ Mobile Security antivirus comes preloaded

3.5-inches screen is clear and impressive

1 0.3-megapixel camera for video calling

54 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

5.0 megapixel camera at the back is decent

www.mymobile.co.in

spice stellar craze

tech specs

martphones are getting more walletfriendly with each passing day, thanks mainly to endeavours from newer as well as domestic players. The latest addition to this collection of feature rich and yet affordable handsets is the Stellar Craze Mi-355, a dual SIM Android from Spice.

Size | 118 x 62 x 11.5 mm

Looks: Impressive enough

Price: Rs 5,999

Hardware: On expected lines

Pros 

Good looks



Touch is satisfactory



Battery backup is good

Cons 

Average camera quality



Average sound quality



Runs on an old version of Android

verdict 8

Looks Features

ease of use

perfoRmance

value for money

overall

We like the overall look and feel of the Stellar Craze. The build of the device is solid and comfortable to hold. It comes with a 3.5-inch capacitive display of 320 x 480 pixels resolution which, surprisingly is clear and easily visible outside in the sun also. There are four touch keys placed behind the screen - for Home, Menu, Back and Internet. A lot of space seems to have been wasted above and below the display, making the screen look a lot smaller than it actually is. There’s no company logo or any other mark on the front panel, while the back is plasticky. The silver strip surrounding the phone gives it a classy look. A camera with dual flash and the speaker grille are placed on the back of the device and the power on/off button with a 3.5-mm jack sits on the top. All in all, the Stellar Craze is definitely good to look at.

78%

The Spice Stellar Craze has an 800 MHz processor whose performance was decent enough as long as you did not push it too hard. The device could not handle HD videos and heavy graphics games at all but was very good in other tasks. It comes with 140 MB internal memory, which can be expanded up to 32 GB using a micro SD card, and with 512 MB RAM. This is a dual SIM device, with support for one 3G and one 2G SIM. It supports dual SIM standby. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS are some other connectivity options. The SIM cards and memory card are not hot swappable and one has to remove the battery for it. Speaking of which, the device comes with a 1,420 mAh battery, which can easily last a day. Impressive at this price point, we believe.

Software: The outdated one Spice Stellar Craze runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS, which now is honestly showing its age. We expected at least Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0), as a number of budget devices in the market are running on this OS. There are five customizable home screen panels, and there are four fixed touch keys on the display itself for Calling, Contacts, Messages and Menu. Useful widgets can be placed on homescreen as per the user’s convenience and

needs. On the application front, there are some interesting apps like Spice Gang (to download songs and other stuff) and Vault (to hide messages and call logs) that come pre-installed on the device along with other apps like Google Maps, YouTube, Whatsapp, and Facebook etc. There is also NQ Antivirus comes preloaded on the phone with six months free usage which is an added advantage. The user interface is plain vanilla, as Spice has not really made too many changes to the standard Android UI.

Multimedia: Nothing extraordinary In terms of multimedia, we expected a little more from the Stellar Craze. The sound quality was nothing to rave about, although it certainly was adequate in both loudspeaker and headset mode, although we did notice some cracking on the latter at higher volumes. The music player is rather basic with no settings. Also onboard is an FM radio which is again an average rather than an outstanding performer. On the video front, the phone could not handle HD videos but ran DVD quality videos reasonably well and supported popular formats. The 5.0-megapixel camera turned in acceptable results whenever the light was good but slipped into below average as the lights got dimmer. It did not exactly shine on the video front either, giving results that were at best average. The front 0.3-megapixel camera is good for video chats but not for self-portraits.

User experience: Satisfactory The Spice Stellar Craze’s overall performance was satisfactory, keeping the price of the phone in mind. We were in particular impressed with the build and design of the phone - an Achilles Heel for devices in this price segment. That said we would have loved a more recent version of Android, a better camera and the ability to run 720p videos. But then it does compensate by serving up a smooth Web browsing experience and decent battery life. And of course, the good touch experience and catch looks too makes the phone worth buying.

Conclusion The Spice Stellar Craze is available for Rs 5,999 and we would consider it a good buy for those who are on tight budget but want a good looking phone that is also a decent performer. As an alternative, one can also look at the Idea Aurus 985N which is available for Rs 6,850 and the Samsung Galaxy Y Duos Lite priced at Rs 6,550. n team@mymobile.co.in

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 55

burn test 5

AMOLED delight on a budget Micromax pulls off a surprise

125 mm

Cons

Pros 

Stunning AMOLED display



Camera is average



Good specs



Very affordable price

Battery back up could have been better



Can lag playing heavy apps

65 mm

icromax has been on a roll of late as far as product launches are concerned. After carving a niche for itself in the low end smartphone segment, the company has now set its sights a bit higher and is looking at the relatively high end. And spearheading its endeavour in this range is the feature packed, AMOLED screen toting Micromax A90.

Looks: Eloquent! Micromax has gone with a minimalistic design for the A90 which has nothing unusual, yet is appealing. On first look, the design of the device bears resemblance to Samsung’s Galaxy SII.

The front panel is dominated by the 4.3-inch Gorilla Glass AMOLED display, with no hardware keys below it. It looks good, although we think the space below the screen could have been utilised instead of being left blank. On the right side, there is a power/unlock key and the left contains the volume rocker keys while on the top are charging and audio port. The textured back panel houses an 8.0-megapixel camera with flash, and adds a bit of extra grip to the device.

Hardware: Charged up Micromax has given the device some very impressive specifications. The A90 is powered

56 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

by a 1 GHz MediaTek MT675 processor combined with a PowerVR SGX 531 GPU and 512 MB RAM. To store files and application data, the A90 carries 4 GB internal memory, 2 GB of which is available to the user and can be expanded up to 32 GB through microSD card. The phone supports dual SIMs (GSM+GSM), although it can only support one 3G SIM. The microSD card and the SIM A are placed with the battery and are therefore not hot swappable, while SIM B is placed on the other side so one can pull it out without switching off the device.

Software: Acceptably recent Some might say that with Jelly Bean being

www.mymobile.co.in

with voice assistance (AISHA) which works good enough. All in all, we found both video and still image quality acceptable at this price point. We played some of our favourite videos on the A90 in HD quality and it played without any hassle. We also found the sound quality of the phone acceptable in both loudspeaker and headphone mode.

highlights 1 The device runs on Android 4.0

User Experience: It grows on you The Micromax A90 packs a lot of punch. And even gives you a high end device experience when it comes to the display. The display is very much visible under the Sun and we had no problems working on it. The touch experience was also good and the device managed multitasking with ease, lagging only when we started piling on hefty apps. We can confidently say that high-end device users wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have too many complaints about the A90 in terms of both performance and features. We tested it on quadrant and it scored 2624. We had heard of some complaints about signal reception in the device, but faced none of them in our review. The 1600 mAh battery claims to deliver around five hours of talktime and 174 hours of standby time, but we found ourselves having to charge the phone twice a day when using it extensively. All said and done, the brilliant AMOLED screen is easily the USP of the phone.

Micromax A90 Superfone Pixel tech specs

The 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen is a delight

Size | 125 x 65 x 10.6 mm Weight | 120 grams

The device is powered by 1 GHz processor

4 8.0 megapixel camera takes decent images and is accompanied by a flash

Conclusion

GPRS/3G/BT/WiFi | Yes/Yes/Yes/Yes Camera | 8.0 megapixel Others | TOI, WhatsApp, YouTube, Yahoo!

5 A secondary 0.3-megapixel camera is present

Price: Rs 11,750 released, the fact that the A90 runs on Ice Cream Sandwich is a letdown. However, we really do not mind a smoothly running ICS phone, and the A90 certainly is that. The unlock screen comes with two options either to unlock the screen or directly head to the camera of the device. The notification bar will notify you about Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, data connectivity, brightness, timeout, auto rotation, airplane mode and various user profiles like - general, silent, etc. The app panel is spread across five panes (which can increase if you download more apps) and you can simply swipe sideways to navigate through them. Apart from the usual e-mail support and Google apps,

At Rs 11,750, the A90 Superfone Pixel hits all the right notes, to the extent that you are unlikely to find a device with matching specs at this price point. The Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos at Rs 11,800 and the Motorola Defy Mini at Rs 10,850, are alternatives only in name. n team@mymobile.co.in

Micromax has also thrown in a number of preloaded apps like M! Buddy, TOI, WhatsApp, YouTube, Yahoo! Cricket and Finance; as well as some games like Skyward Run and Sampo Lock.

Multimedia: Steady stuff The 8.0 megapixel camera clicks decent images in well-lit conditions, although we did get some noise on the edges. We also would have liked a hardware key for camera as one has to rely on the soft key on the screen to click images. The device also includes a front 0.3 megapixel camera. The video recording is good enough with 720p clarity. The phone comes

verdict Looks

Features

ease of use

perfoRmance

value for money

overall

80%

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 57

burn test Truly Desireable

Pros

Mid-segment phone, high-end features



Very modern design



Good battery life



Good sound quality

118.5 mm

Cons

62.3 mm

hese days when most Android phones look the same, HTC is probably the only manufacturer who is thinking out of the box and giving the consumers new droolworthy contours and designs. The Desire X illustrates this.

Looks: Very modern The Desire X is a perfect example of excellent design and good build. The phone has a large 4.0-inch display, which has a 480 x 800 pixel resolution - pretty much par for the course, we think. The screen glass runs from edge to edge and is prone to smudges. Right under the screen HTC has placed three feather touch buttons for Back, Home and Options. The rear

has a smart white panel and the sides have a nice silver trim as well. Together they give the phone a really youthful appearance. The top of the phone has the audio port along with the power button. The volume rocker is present on the left side of the phone and the power/ USB port is on the other side. The rear has a 5.0-megapixel camera with an LED flash and Beats Audio loudspeaker. Astonishingly, this phone has no front camera, but still, all said and done, the Desire X is a looker.

Hardware: Better indeed Beneath that youthful exterior is lodged a good amount of hardware firepower. The Desire X has a fast dual core 1 GHz processor

58 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012



No front camera



Less onboard storage



Android Jelly Bean would have been nice

and comes with a 1,650 mAh Li-ion battery. However on board storage is pretty low by modern standards - users get 4 GB on-board storage out of which about 1.5 GB is available for storing user and application data. A microSD card slot is located underneath the rear panel, where one can insert a memory card of up to 32 GB, but of course, one would need to shell a little extra for that. Users can insert a normal SIM card in this phone, which is a good thing - no SIM-cutting needed. The phone also has an internal GPS antenna that enables the phone to be used as a navigation device. To further speed apps, the phone also has 768 MB RAM and an Adreno 203 GPU to handle graphics.

www.mymobile.co.in

2 4

highlights 1 5

Excellent touch screen

2 5.0 megapixel camera with flash is good for pics

HTC Desire X

User Experience: Lively, lovely The screen of the Desire X responds well to the touch. The keyboard is fairly big in portrait mode and nine out of ten times will type the right letter. We tested the phone out with Quadrant and it gave us a decent score of 2,517. We suspect It could have been slightly better if the on-board memory was more. Navigation works well and one can easily find their way around the city. The voice search feature works well too.

tech specs 3

Size | 118.5 x 62.3 x 9.3 mm Lot of applications are available

Weight | 114 grams Memory | 4GB, microSD OS | Android 4.0

4 Battery lasts for long

Screen Size | 4.0-inch, capacitive

Conclusion

Battery | Li-ion 1650 mAh

The phone’s battery easily lasted for a day and half under normal use, which is exceptional for a device with this large a screen. All in all, Desire X has the right mixture of looks, multimedia features, sound and camera power - and all at the right price too. A good buy if you are looking for a sub-Rs 20,000 Android phone. Those looking for alternatives in this price segment can consider the Sony Xperia Sola at Rs 18,200, Samsung’s S Duos at Rs 16,800 and HTC’s own One V available at Rs 17,050. n

Talktime/Standby | up to 20 hours/up to 833 hours GPRS/3G/BT/WiFi | Yes/Yes/Yes/Yes

Camera | 5.0 megapixel Beats audio delivers good sound

Others | SoundHound, TuneIn radio

Price: Rs 19,799 Software: Loaded with ICS For the Desire X, HTC has gone with the Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) version of Android. While this is not the latest (that distinction goes to Jelly Bean), there is still lots of life and utility left in ICS, and well, it is familiar territory for most. Unlike some other manufacturers in the segment, HTC packs a lot of pre-installed applications into its devcies. So as soon as you turn on the device, you need not head over to the Play store to download apps- the phone already comes with games and utility apps that the users can explore first. Some good pre-installed apps include Polaris Office that takes care of your text files and spreadsheets; the Rescue app enables

the sound (Beats Audio does wonders to the device). The loudspeaker delivers sound at a reasonably high volume, and sound quality on the headphones is really nice too. We tested some of favourite games on this device and it passed the test with flying colours, with the sound making a whole world of difference to the entire experience. Over that, the phone comes with some good games, as well as audio and video apps like SoundHound, TuneIn radio, and Teeter a popular labyrinth game. The phone even has a voice recorder which can easily be used to record important offline conversations. The phone has a 5.0-megapixel camera that can take decent shots both outdoors and indoors (with flash). Video recording is not bad either.

team@mymobile.co.in

users to get remote technical help for the phone; and Flashlight sparks the rear LED flash at a press of a button, allowing you to use the phone as a torch. The HTC Sense user interface is as usual great to work with and has five customisable home screen panels. With the pre-installed HotSpot app, users can transform the HTC Desire X into a Wi-Fi hotspot as well, letting other devices share its Internet connectivity.

Multimedia: Good sight, great sound Though you cannot play HD video on it, the display quality of the Desire X is definitely very good. The colours are crisp and so is

verdict Looks

Features

8 9

ease of use perfoRmance value for money

8 9

overall

84%

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 59

burn test

Deja Vu! It

is not too little, but is the Vu too late?

139.6 mm

Cons

Pros 

Quad core performance is brilliant



Stylus cannot be docked within the device



The Screen is excellent for games and movies



8.0 MP camera is average

Battery lasts for long



We would have preferred Android Jelly Bean

90.4 mm

t was launched in the international market a few months ago. And has only now made its way to the Indian market, even while people overseas are talking of its successor. Has LG erred by delaying the release of its Vu phablet in India? Let’s find out.

Looks: In a word, chunky We were not too impressed by our first look at the Vu. The phone is definitely on the large side and did not easily fit into even our relatively large palms - it is a bit hard to grip from the sides. However, this inconvenience is forgotten once you turn the phone on- the large 5.0-inch display is brilliant. The colours of the screen are bright and

vivid, just like an LG LED TV. Underneath the display one can find four feather touch keys for functions such as Back, Home, Menu and Search. The build of the phone is pretty solid and sturdy, although the screen does manage to attract lot of fingerprints which can be hard to clean. The rear of the phone has an 8.0-megapixel shooter with flash, and there’s also a secondary front camera. LG has placed a loudspeaker at the lower part of the rear of the phone. The volume rocker key is on the right while the USB charging port is on the top. Like the Samsung Galaxy Note series, the LG Vu also comes with a stylus. However one needs to carry it separately - you cannot slot it within

60 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

the phone.

Hardware: Very quick Though it is a few months old, the hardware within this device is at par with the best. It carries a Quad-core 1.5 GHz CPU along with 1 GB RAM on an NVIDIA Tegra 3 chipset. Together they are a lethal combo and ensure that applications and games simply fly. Of course, a large screen and high-end configuration requires a good number of volts to keep it alive - and LG has put in a large 2,100 mAh battery in the Optimus Vu for this purpose. The result: the phone can do a day easily without you breaking into sweat about

www.mymobile.co.in

Multimedia: Sheer screen magic

highlights 1

Interesting and impressive back panel

2 VGA camera that enables video calling

LG Optimus Vu Size | 139.6 x 90.4 x 8.5 mm Weight | 168 grams

Memory | 32 GB, microSD OS | Android 4.0 Screen Size | 5.0 inch, capacitive

4 Notable voice clarity

Conclusion

Battery | Li-ion 2,080 mAh Talktime/Standby | up to 16.54 hours/ up to 510 hours GPRS/3G/BT/WiFi | Yes/Yes/Yes/Yes

Camera | 8.0-megapixel Number of apps comes preloaded with the device

where to charge it. It comes with 32 GB of on board storage, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about as much as you will get because it has no memory card slot! On the connectivity front the phone features Wi-Fi, USB and Bluetooth. Also on board are a number of sensors such as accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor and a compass. Yes, this is one well-stacked gadget.

Software: What, no Jelly Bean? LG Optimus Vu runs the Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS, which is not bad but is definitely a bit of a let down when you consider the price of the device and the specs that reside

User Experience: A mixed bag We must confess that in spite of its delay, we had been excited when we heard that the Optimus Vu was being launched in India. After using it, we can say that the Optimus Vu does manage to score lot of points in the multimedia and performance segment as it is one of the fastest phones. In fact we ran it through the Quadrant benchmarking tool and it fared better than the leader, the HTC Desire X, scoring an impressive 4,765 marks.

tech specs Capacitive touch of the phone works well

The biggest strength of the Optimus Vu is its large screen that brings movies and games to life. Sound quality is pretty good, whether on loudspeaker or headphone mode. There are some very useful apps on the phone for both music and movies, but if you are looking for something more advanced, then you can download the VLC player from Google Play. The 8.0-megapixel camera, however, fails to deliver - shots are a bit shoddy and decolourisation is apparent. The edges also get blurred, all of which makes the camera so-not-LG. The front 1.3-megapixel is fairly decent for video chatting, though.

Others | Stylus, VLC player, Quad core processor

Price: Rs 34,000

The Optimus Vu weighs 168 grams and is wider than its closest competitor, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 that costs Rs 39,550. We would say it is overall a decent buy for business and multimedia purposes, but would suggest you to wait for a price drop before heading out to purchase it. If you are looking for a phablet alternative, we would suggest the original Galaxy Note available at Rs 28,900 and has a dual core processor but a SUPER AMOLED display and an S-pen stylus. n team@mymobile.co.in

within it. The phone comes with a number of business apps, which also make good use of the supplied stylus (which works well but is not smart like the one found on Samsungâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Note series). That apart, users get the usual Android applications such as maps, audio/video player and numerous widgets, ranging from clocks to weather ones. There are no games on this device, perhaps because of its positioning as a pure business device. However, given the Tegra 3 purring under its hood, we would recommend you head out to the Google Play store and download some hefty games, for this device can handle them, and with elan.

verdict Looks

Features

ease of use

7 9

perfoRmance value for money

overall

78%

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 61

burn test

WinPhone Winner! The 8X showcases WP8 brilliantly

Pros  Brilliant display  Great design and

form factor

 Windows Phone 8

highlights The 4.3-inch touchscreen is awesome for videos and Web pages

here is a new Windows Phone in town. And leading its charge in the Indian market is the HTC 8X, a phone that packs quite a punch inside an amazingly designed frame.

Looks: Slim, Shade-y The first thing that you will notice about the HTC 8X is just how insanely thin it is. In many ways, it reminds us of another amazingly anorexic device, the iPod touch. The front is totally dominated by the 4.3inch touchscreen and the back arches outwards gently, with an 8.0-megapixel camera and Beats Audio grill at the back. The power/ screen button is on the top of the device, and

on the right are the volume rocker and camera buttons, all of which fit smoothly into the unibody frame. Do not get taken in by the official statistic of 10.12 mm - for the most part, the 8X looks incredibly slim, so much so that when you hold it you essentially only feel its edgy borders. But while it is thin, it does not even remotely feel flimsy. It might not be as reassuring to hold as say the iPhone 5 or the Lumia 920, but it will certainly turn as many heads as the former and many more than the latter. Oh, and it is available in a number of shades too - although we got to use the black one. Having colour options at the high-end is always welcomed!

62 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

The 8.0-megapixel camera takes good pictures in decent light conditions

Sound is impressive on loudspeaker and headset mode, courtesy Beats Audio

Hardware: Hunk! Slim it is, but there is nothing lightweight about the 8X when it comes to hardware. The device is powered by a Qualcomm S4 1.5 GHz dual core processor and comes with 1 GB RAM and 16 GB of non-expandable onboard storage. The display has a resolution of 1280 x 720p, yanking Windows Phone firmly into HD territory and for us, is the highlight of the device. And while the 8.0-megapixel camera will be the primary snapper for most users, ignore not the front facing 2.1-megapixel one, for that has been placed at an angle that lets you take some awesome self portraits and group shots, with face recognition for good measure. And of course, this being a smart-

www.mymobile.co.in

headphones as well as the loudspeaker. On the video front, we found the screen to be excellent for viewing videos and images but at times found the blacks not as rich as we have seen on devices from Sony and Samsung. But all said and done, if it is great sounds and decent visuals that you seek, then the 8X delivers on both fronts. We just hope that more apps come along to make the most of its multimedia muscle. The 8.0-megapixel camera, however, is a bit of a damp squib - it works very well in well-lit conditions but tends to start losing detail as darkness descends.

Cons  Tends to heat up  Camera could

132.35 mm

have been better

 Locating the

power button can be a trouble

htc Windows phone 8x

User experience: Very good indeed We loved our time with the 8X. It handled almost everything we threw at it with elan, with no lags or stutters. The design is outstanding although we did have problems finding the power button because it blended in so smoothly into the body of the device. Battery life was good - we saw off a day with Facebook, Twitter and e-mail running merrily, although we did get a bit concerned at the device’s penchant to heat up.

tech specs Size | 132.35 x 66.2 x 10.12 mm Weight | 130 grams Memory | 16 GB, NA

66.2 mm

3 4

The keys are placed flush with the body, which can make them hard to press sometimes

OS | Windows Phone 8

Conclusion

Screen Size | 4.3-inch, capacitive

The HTC 8X is an excellent option for all those seeking a high-end device. It has great hardware and Windows Phone 8 runs brilliantly on it. At Rs 35,000, it is not cheap but is also easily the best Windows Phone device in the market at the moment. Those looking for Windows Phone alternatives could also consider the Lumia 900, which is available for Rs 30,599 but comes with a lower resolution display, single core processor and of course, runs on Windows Phone 7.5. Step away from Windows Phone and the Android driven Samsung Galaxy S3 comes into the picture, with a price of Rs 35,500. n

Battery | Li-ion 1,800 mAh Talktime/Standby | NA/NA GPRS/3G/BT/WiFi | Yes/Yes/Yes/Yes Camera | 8.0 megapixel

The 2.1-megapixel front facing camera is great for selfportraits

phone you get all the connectivity options like 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS.

Software: Welcome, Windows Phone 8 The HTC 8X is the first phone to arrive on Windows Phone 8 platform. And while most newbies would not see too much difference from its predecessors, hardcore users will be delighted to see that while the tiled interface remains, you can also now resize tiles. There is also the option to chat and message people in groups and rooms, and even have a separate section of the phone for children. In terms of pre-installed apps, Windows Phone remains the OS to beat, with

Others | Xbox integration, Beat Audio, Internet Explorer

Price: Rs 35,000

team@mymobile.co.in

versions of MS Office, a fully refurbished Internet Explorer, and support for Facebook and Twitter and most popular e-mail services. And of course, all this with the same buttery smooth interface that made using Windows Phone 7 a delight. Live tiles ensure that you can get live updates on your homescreen and of course, the People feature lets you keep in touch with social network updates.

Multimedia: Beat(s Audio) it! The HTC 8X can handle most audio and video formats without too much hassle but what really works for it is the Beats Audio experience. Sound is crystal clear on both the

verdict 9

Looks Features

ease of use

perfoRmance

value for money

overall

82%

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 63

burn test Godphone Redux The iPhone 5 breaks away from tradition... spectacularly 2

Pros 

Brilliant design



Speed boost, thanks to the processor



Unmatched app strength



Price is on a higher side



Camera could have been better



Maps are not the best

fter five years of sticking to a standard 3.5-inch display size, Apple has finally given the iPhone a larger display. And a massive design makeover. As well as the usual spec boost. But how well does all this add up?

Looks: Droolworthy appearance We have seen our share of gorgeous phones, but nothing prepared us for the understated beauty of the iPhone 5. Although taller than its predecessors, it actually is much lighter (a mere 112 grammes) thanks to the materials used, and at 7.6 mm is the thinnest smartphone we have ever reviewed. But this anorexia does not come at

highlights

Cons 1 Largest display seen on an iPhone - 4 inches

the cost of material quality. The device is a mix of glass and aluminum, with the edge near the display being polished by diamonds to a sheen, the back made of aluminum and even the glass over the camera on the back being made of sapphire crystal. This phone radiates understated class. And it still fits comfortably in even relatively small palms.

Hardware: The expected upgrade We have got used to seeing a new iPhone hit the market every year with improved specs. The iPhone 5 is no different. The biggest

64 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

An extra row for apps is available for app addicts

change is the display - it is the first to sport a larger, 4.0-inch display. It is a retina one with a 326 dpi count, and higher resolution too, although at 1136 x 640, it is not an HD one. It is powered by a faster A6 processor, although the camera remains at 8.0-megapixels camera and connectivity options include LTE, 3G, GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The conventional earphones have been replaced by EarPods designed to fit your ear better. And the connection moves from being a 30-pin affair to a Lightning connector, which can be fitted into the phone from either side up - common sense and so very Apple!

www.mymobile.co.in

3 will not knock third-party headsets out of the market, they do enough to keep one contented with what one has. The camera is as good as ever, although we could not see a massive improvement over the previous edition, and there was a slight purple tinge in some daylight shots, although this seemed a random rather than regular occurrence. Image and video quality on this device remain awesome both in creation and viewing mode.

Apple iPhone 5 tech specs Size | 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm Weight | 112 grams

User Experience: Superb

Talktime/Standby | up to 8 hours/up to 225 hours

We have been using an iPhone 4S for about eight months and we can attest to the fact that the iPhone 5 is much, much faster. Tasks like games, video editing and even routine switching between apps happen at a brisker rate. A pleasant surprise is the battery life. We got through an entire day without once feeling the urge to recharge, with social networks and mail buzzing. The big screen also makes a definite change when it comes to tasks like browsing the Web and viewing video.

GPRS/3G/BT/WiFi | Yes/Yes/Yes/Yes

Conclusion

Memory | 16 GB

123.8 mm

OS | iOS 6 Screen Size | 4.0 inch, capacitive Battery | Li-ion 1,440 mAh

There are no two ways about it - the iPhone 5 is perhaps the best phone around for those who are looking for the perfect balance of style and substance. It looks gorgeous and thanks to the iOS’s app treasury, it lets you do just about everything from playing high end games to editing high definition video on it. That said, it comes with a very stiff price tag - Rs 45,500 onwards. Those looking for a similar display and apps could opt for the iPod touch which is available for Rs 24,000 onwards, although they will have to do without the calling facility and manage with a 5.0-megapixel camera. If you insist on having the phone facility, then there is the iPhone 4S 16 GB which has a similar camera, but a slower processor and smaller screen, and is now available for around Rs 38,500. n

Camera | 8.0 megapixel Others | Retina display, iSight camera, Gyroscope

Price: Rs 45,500

Camera remains eight megapixels but now comes with more features

58.6 mm

The edge of the phone has been polished with diamonds, giving it a sheen

In spite of the larger screen, the phone itself is lighter and slimmer.

team@mymobile.co.in

verdict Software: New iOS...and maps! The iPhone 5 comes pre-installed with iOS 6. The most discussed feature of the new software have been the Maps, and with good reason. Apple’s decision to replace Google Maps with its own has not really worked and suffice to say, if you are planning to use the iPhone 5 to find your way around in India, you are going to have a very tough time indeed. On the positive side, the camera app has received a boost with a really fast moving panorama mode and Siri can now open apps on your device and also let you post status updates and the like.

The bigger screen also means you get an extra row of apps. Critically, iOS remains as easy as ever to use and works with silky smoothness. And the app treasury is as rich as ever, with the big screen making them look even better than before, although not all of them are optimised for it yet (there is some “box”ing).

Multimedia: Sound stuff On the multimedia front, we must confess to being really impressed by the quality of sound served up by the device, both on loudspeaker and in headphone mode. The EarPods actually work and while they

Looks

Features ease of use

perfoRmance

value for money

overall

84%

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 65

burn test Plus One (X) HTC

upgrades the One X..with stunning effect

highlights

145 mm

83 mm

hen released, the HTC One X was about as powerful a handset as you could get with a power packed processor and an awesome camera. And now HTC has just moved it up another notch with an upgrade called, rather appropirately, the One X+. But do all the improvements add up to a much better device?

Looks: Similar When it comes to looks the HTC One X+ has not changed too much from the One X. It has the same large 4.7-inch capacitive touchscreen with three feather touch keys underneath it. The slightly bent uni-body of the phone is sturdy as ever and easy to grip. And the bat-

The screen is bright and vivid, good for videos

tery still cannot be removed (something that is becoming a trend of sorts). HTC has placed the volume rocker and micro USB/charging port on the sides of phone, although we were genuinely puzzled by the absence of a dedicated camera button. The phone runs on a micro SIM that can be inserted in the pop-able slot located at the top. On the top of the device are also a power key and the audio port. Flip the phone around and you will find an 8.0-megapixel camera, just like the one found on the One X. It has a design ring around it in silver colour and is protruding outwards, somewhat like a cone. This is good to look at but could be counter productive as the phone will be resting on it when lying on a surface, and that

66 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

3 The battery lasts for long

could scratch the lens protective screen. The One X+ also sports a secondary front camera, which has been upgraded to 1.6-megapixels.

Hardware: Faster, much faster The HTC One X+ might look like the twin brother of the One X, but there the similarity ends. The One X+ is easily one of the most powerful Android devices around, and comes with a quad-core 1.7 GHz processor, 1 GB RAM and 64 GB storage. On the graphics front the phone has a ULP GeForce graphics card built on the NVIDIA Tegra 3 chipset. This configuration requires lot of power to run and HTC has put in a large 2,100 mAh Li-ion battery in it. Not surprisingly, the phone got a whop-

www.mymobile.co.in

messengers. Apart from that HTC’s music and video apps work well too. They can easily play the latest music formats and HD video files as the phone supports 720 x 1280 pixel resolution. Like most new phones by HTC, the sound is excellent on One X+ too, cheers to the Beats Audio drivers. The loudspeaker is exceptionally loud and adds life to games and films. And it all sounds even better through the supplied headphones. The large screen handles colour brilliantly, making gaming an absolute pleasure. Moving on to the camera, while it has the same megapixel count as its predecessor in the One X, it now features a number of picture effects and shooting options, which can be accessed on the camera’s main screen by pressing the blue lens button. And the camera is as good as ever - the images clicked are sharp and bright, and the HD videos taken by it can give some of the full time HD video cameras a run for their money.

htc one x+

tech specs Size | 145 x 83 x 11.6 mm Weight | 216 grams Memory | 64 GB, No

Pros 

OS | Android 4.1

4.7-inch screen is a treat



Battery | Li-ion 2,300 mAh

Very good camera



High price

GPRS/3G/BT/WiFi | Yes/Yes/Yes/Yes



Some Wi-Fi issues

Camera | 5.0 megapixel

Ring around camera could scratch lens cover

Others | 1.7 GHz Quad core-proces-



If one has used HTC phones in the past, he or she would feel right at home with One X+. The screen responds well to every touch, swipe and swoosh. The phone is big, yet is pocket-able. The battery lasts for long and one need not head over to the charging station for a refill every now and then. Top that off with a wonderful performance in all departments and you can say that we are very impressed by the One X+.

Talktime/Standby | up to 5.30 hours/ NA

Cons

There are plenty of apps on board

User Experience: Very impressive

Screen Size | 4.7-inch, capacitive

Fantastic specs ensure speed



The sound through the loudspeaker is very loud and crisp

sor, unique body design

Conclusion

Price: Rs 40,050

There’s no two ways about it - the HTC One X+ is a great phone. It has the looks, lot of nice features on both the entertainment and utility front. Wi-Fi does give you a bit of trouble with old routers, but is fine with most new ones. A pity it comes with such a stiff price tag. Those seeking alternatives might well be tempted by the Apple iPhone 5 that costs Rs. 45,500 and Samsung Galaxy Note 2 which is available at Rs 39,550. n

It comes with front facing camera for video calling

team@mymobile.co.in

ping 7,406 points in the Quadrant mobile test. Other features in the phone include 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Software: The latest We would have been utterly disappointed if HTC would have not carried the Jelly Bean OS in this phone. Thankfully they did and that too with HTC 4+ Sense user interface on top of it. There are plenty of applications on board, including the likes of Polaris office for your documentation needs, TuneIn Radio, Soundhound and Dropbox to store your files on the cloud. The homescreen is more or less like the one seen on the previous version of HTC Sense but thanks to the boosted innards

of the device, works with silky smoothness, and remains in our very humble opinions, the best ‘skin’ we have ever seen from a manufacturer on an Android device. The third feather touch button also shows the recent apps, which has got a facelift and one can quickly swap between recently opened programs. An interesting app in this phone is the Mirror, which uses the front camera of the device to make you feel as if you are looking at one.

Multimedia: Awesome as ever HTC has added many apps for those seeking entertainment. These include an FM Radio that can be turned on using the supplied headphones, three Mobile TV apps and a couple of

verdict Looks

Features

ease of use

perfoRmance

value for money

overall

86%

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 67

boredom buster

A matter of (dis)honor Dishonored mixes stealth and action with a terrific plot

e have seen our share of first person action games, but Dishonored takes the cake. You play Corvo Attano, who has just returned from a voyage to Dunwall city. He meets the empress and delivers a message, but assassins kill the empress and abduct her daughter. Corvo is captured and put behind bars for the murder of the Empress - the assassins of course have teleported out of the scene, leaving you to cop the blame. Needless to say, there is a fiendish plot afoot and you, as Corvo, have to ensure it gets foiled. And not get killed or executed in the process. Corvo gets a message from a loyalist who gives him the means to escape. Corvo meets other loyalists and embarks a journey to take down the villains who have in the meantime taken over the city, and clear his name. As weapons, you have the trusted dagger in your right hand and a gun in the left, which can be switched to more powerful ones as you progress.

68 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

You can kill your foes discreetly by sneaking behind them or by going after them the gung-ho way and tearing everyone down as you see them. You also get time freezing, teleportation and other special abilities. The AI is fairly balanced and will give you a tough time if not tackled well. The game looks brilliant and the sound is spot on. It is not the easiest game to play - those who have played BioShock will tackle it easily though - but once it hooks you, Dishonored will not let you go. It still has us in its vice-like grip. And we are just loving it.n sulabh@mymobile.co.in

Name: Dishonored Price: Rs 3,199 Tested on: PS3

RATING



www.mymobile.co.in

The Beautiful Game...Really Real Football

delivers a good fix for footy fans

very year, digital football fanatics wait eagerly for the arrival of a new edition of Real Football. And this year has been no different, with the launch of Real Football 2012. The game continues in its freemium model, so you can download it for free, although to progress smoothly, you may have to make some in-game purchases. We took it out for a spin (kick) on the iPad. You begin by selecting your team and we would advise you to do so carefully, as once chosen, the team cannot be changed. The game is relatively easy to play - you have the controller to make your player play and move the way you want. The onscreen D-pad and other controllers work fine but we would have liked some classic touchscreen swipes too. Nevertheless, you can easily tackle, pass, or shoot by a tap on the touch keys. The Real Football series has always boasted excellent graphics, and the 2013 version delivers on this front as well, although we could not help but feel that it was not in the same league as its rival, FIFA 13. And while it does feel good to be able to get the game without having to pay a penny, this happiness soon dissolves when one gets stuck at a level and the only way ahead is either to play the same level

again and again or make an in-app purchase. The game was played smoothly, without any glitches. We would say that it is a good option for those looking for an occasional kick in the digital grass without spending too much money. n harshita@mymobile.co.in

Name: Real Football 2012 Price: Free Tested on: iPad 3

RATING



nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 69

Smart apps

Lumia browsing, Xpress mode Nokia’s Xpress (Beta) adds

browsing speed and cuts data costs for Lumias

oday, most people spend a fair amount of time browsing the Web on their smartphone. While this is convenient, it does tend to add up to one’s telephone bill, as browsing costs money, and some of the websites are downright data hungry. Fortunately, there are a number of browsers in app stores around the world that claim to keep your data usage to reasonable levels. And one of these is Nokia Xpress Beta, a new offering from the Beta labs of Nokia. It allows you to browse the Web to your heart’s content, while reducing data consumption in the process. In fact, you can end up consuming 85 per cent less data if you are using this browser. What’s more, it gives you information about the data used on your data connection as well as on Wi-Fi. As a browser too, Xpress Beta works just fine. One can pin the website of their choice on the homepage of the browser to create shortcuts to be used later on, and tapping on a keyword allows you to search it on Bing, Wikipedia and YouTube. There is another feature named the Magazine, which can be used to view websites in a magazine-like layout, provided they have an RSS feed. It does save a lot on data usage and browse the web generally at a decent clip, but be prepared for less than great image quality. There are also a few glitches, but then this is a Beta version and we are sure that these will be ironed out in subsequent editions. But all said and done, if you are using a Lumia phone, this is an app you must download. n

harshita@mymobile.co.in

Name: Nokia Xpress Beta Price: Free Tested on: Nokia Lumia 800

70 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

RATING



www.mymobile.co.in

Tap to rap

Unwrapping the rapper in you!

magine an app that can turn your voice into an auto-tuned rap number without any hassle - a simple tap and the app morphs your speech into a rap! The developers of Magic Piano and Songify, Smule are back with another music app that lets you get the rapper in you out with help of technology. Called Auto Rap, the app not only takes your voice and automatically turns it into a rap but also corrects some of your bad rapping. In both cases the result is the same cool rap music. The app greets you with a TAP TO RAP screen, where you can record your voice. Another tap on the recording screen will stop the recording and will process the voice with a selected style of music. Within seconds the app turns your recorded voice into a rap, which you can share on Twitter and Facebook and show off the rapper in you. The songs are divided into two categories - freestyle and premium. The freestyle section has two free songs that you can use to rap - Turkery Burgers and OneOneOne that can be used any number of times without spending money. The premium category has songs from artists like Snoop Doggy Dogg, Nicki Minaj, the Beastie Boys and other renowned artistes, but these need to be bought using Plays, the currency in the app. If you don’t have enough Plays you can either earn free plays or buy more. The app is available on the iTunes App store and Google Play and can be downloaded for free. n Ketan@mymobile.co.in

Name: Auto Rap Price: Free Tested on: Micromax A90

RATING



nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 71

Smart apps

Appy Tweeting A versatile app for Twitter

re you one of those who likes to tweet regularly from their handsets? Well, there are multiple apps for Twitter available for smartphones these days, but one of the better ones is TweetCaster. Apart from the regular tweets of those you are following, your own tweets and details of mentions, the app has four additional features - Trends, Who to Follow, Search and Nearby. Trends shows which topics are trending on the Twitter network - it shows ten topics that are trending currently on the micro blogging service. Then there is Who to Follow - this feature provides various options for people to follow in different categories like bloggers/journalists, Bollywood, Business, Cricket, Government, Music, News, Sports and other fields. One just needs to specify the category and the app will provide suggestions about whom to follow. The Search option in the app allows one to search in one’s timeline, direct messages, tweets or favourites. So, while typing a particular word, one can search about tweets containing that word or words, people whose

names contain that word, and even about other users who have used the word in their tweets. The app also has some handy features like Smart Filter, in which tweets can be filtered on the basis of images, videos, image gallery and links posted by various people. One can also create a Smart List in which users can organise people into groups and create lists to follow topic of interest. All this on top of a very solid regular tweeting experience. And it comes with no price tag attached. If you are using an Android device, we definitely recommend heading out and downloading it. n

Name: TweetCaster

heena@mymobile.co.in

Price: Free Tested on: Spice Stellar Craze

72 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

RATING



www.mymobile.co.in

etcetera Samsung series 9 Price: Rs 1,02,990

RATING



Pros | Fast boot up, Bright display Cons | Trackpad could be better, Slightly overpriced

A Bit exhorbitant Ultra

fast, ultra smart, ultrabook

amsung’s Series 9 range of notebooks has been known for its sleek and slim form factors, and the new addition to the range is no different, measuring a mere 12.7mm at its thickest point, and tipping the scales at just 1.16 kg in spite of sporting a brushed aluminium chassis. It is no lightweight in terms of specs and performance, though - it recorded one of the fastest boot up times we have seen, and comes with an Intel Core i7 processor, 256 GB SSD, 4 GB RAM, with Windows 7 Home Premium running atop it. The 13.3-inch HD LED display with Intel HD Graphics 4000 provided a great viewing experience, while on the connectivity front, the Series 9 has two USB ports (one USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0), a micro HDMI port, a multi card slot, an Ethernet LAN port, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. It also features a 1.3-megapixel HD webcam, and a battery that lasted around six hours in our rundown test - a decent time, we think. The notebook also scored 3,534 on the PC Mark 7 test, which is again a good score. Where we found the Series 9 to be a bit of a pain was in getting used to the flat, smooth keys on the keyboard and the less than perfect touchpad, both of which were surprising in such a premium product. Speaking of premium, the Samsung Series 9 retails at Rs 1,02,990, making it an expensive proposition. n

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 73

etcetera Dell latitude E6430s Price: Rs 65,000 Pros | Solid build quality, Decent performer, A range of connectivity ports Cons | Scroll pad missing, A bit heavy

RATING



Back to business

The rugged biz notebook returns

business notebook with a 14-inch display built with solid military-grade quality and matte finish that’s the latitude E6430s, the latest feature-laden notebook from the kitty of Dell. The notebook incorporates a strong anodized aluminum back and magnesium alloy edging along its display. It is comfortable to carry, weighing around 1.7 kg. It packs a fair bit in the spec department - an Intel i5 2.6 GHz quad-core processor, 4 GB DDR3 RAM and a 320 GB HDD, with Microsoft Windows 7 Pro, Dell data protection, Intel rapid Storage technology and Intel Management and security software. Additionally, the device comes with the Intel WiDi (Wireless Display) widget that enables a user to project the notebook’s display to a TV wirelessly. The device offers an array of connectivity ports and slots. On the left, there’s a VGA port, a microphone/ headphone combo jack and a smartcard reader. On the right-hand side is a USB 3.0/eSATA combo port, a USB 3.0 port, the optical drive and a 34 mm ExpressCard slot. And that’s not all - the Latitude E6430s features HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports and comes equipped with Wi-Fi along with Bluetooth 4.0 capabilities. It also has a docking port that gives business users the capability to expand the range of existing connectivity ports such as USB, LAN and VGA. The keyboard is solid but the device doesn’t offer a scroll pad. The battery backup was good, as was the overall performance of the device. The notebook seems ideal for multi-tasking and has decent battery life, excellent security and remote management features. A very good option for business users, we think. n

74 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

www.mymobile.co.in

Exquisite shot taker The Nikon D600

excels in all situations

eldom does a year pass without some innovation in the field of photography, especially from camera specialists like Nikon, who have made it a habit of coming out with DSLRs with higher megapixel counts and better optics. And the Nikon D600 proves that the trend is unlike to change. Honestly, no amount of words can express how good this camera is. The D600 is a no-nonsense shooter built for professionals. It has 24.3-MP FX-Format CMOS sensor that is united with a

24-85 mm full frame lens. And when they combine, the results are out of this world snaps. The dial has lot of modes starting from the easy to use Auto mode to the full Manual mode, which gives you more control over your shot. A scene mode has also been added to the camera, which has various shooting modes such as portrait, night and more. These automatically adjust the settings of the camera according to the scene selected. To preview

the shots and videos, which can be recorded at Full HD resolution, the camera has a large 3.2-inch LCD. The D600 is fairly light in weight and has well-placed keys, well within the reach of one’s thumbs. Other features include a 39 point A/F system, dual SD card slots, ISO levels upto 6400 and a 1,900 mAh battery. The price is indeed a bit on the higher side, but then given just how good the camera is, we don’t think professionals would mind shelling it out. n

Nikon D600 with Kit Price: Rs 1,63,950 Pros | Excellent photo quality, Light in weight

RATING



Cons | Price is on the higher side, A larger battery would have been benficial

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 75

etcetera Corsair Force Series GT240 Price: Rs 14,995 Pros | Super fast transfer speed, Loads programs quickly Cons | Price is on the higher side, Storage capacity could have been greater for the price

RATING



Signature Projection It delivers a fair dollop

he latest from Casio’s projector line-up, the Signature XJ-M145, features a light source that is rated 2,500 lumens, has XGA (1024x768) resolution. It is about 3.9 kgs in weight (par for the course, really) and comes with PC free, wireless network presentation capabilities, inbuilt speakers and a number of connectivity options like USB, LAN, audio output, S-video and HDMI. The projector is bright enough and displays a fairly large image on surfaces that can range up to 30 to 300 inch diagonally - we tried it on our office walls and it worked just fine. A new addition are the brightness sensors that detect the level of light in the room and once set on auto Eco mode, minimise power consumption by adjusting the brightness. It also comes with automatic keystone correction and is 3D ready - it can handle 3D presentations from a compatible PC. Incidentally, it can also be connected to Wi-Fi enabled Android, iOS and Windows Phone devices. n

A sound deal Good

quality and amazing music

ebronics has always been known for making good computing accessories. And the latest from the company is the Brio headphone set in the Indian market. This good looking headphone comes packed with some exciting features. The device has a two-pin jack and can be used with a desktop, laptop, or notebook. The headband is made of good quality plastic whose size can be adjusted

Blazingly Fast For excellent

desktop performance

indows operating systems might have become quick to boot of late, but you can further lower the boot times if you have a solid state drive (SSD). It not only adds a filip to startup and shut down times, but also enables you to load games and applications in double quick time - an SSD can load games and utilities in one-fourth the time that is taken by a normal spindle hard drive. So you can imagine our expectations when we got our hands on the latest SSD from Corsair, the Force Series GT240. And we were not disappointed - this drive is super quick. It comes with 240 GB storage, and can transfer files in a blink of an eye - literally. We tested the drive out with HD Tune and we found it could transfer files at 46 MB per second - it took us only 20 seconds to transfer a 1 GB file from a USB 3.0 pen drive. Now that is quick. To give you a better idea - a spindle hard drive would have taken anywhere between 60-90 seconds to do the same. So we have no hesitation in recommending this as a super option for those looking to add a speed boost to their computers. Do remember, however, that this comes at a financial cost - you would need to shell almost three times the amount you spend for a 7200 RPM 1 TB hard drive. Who said speed came cheap? n

76 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

www.mymobile.co.in

Casio xj-m145 Price: Rs 83,995 Pros | 3D ready, Good brightness levels, Built-in speakers Cons | Bulky (and we wish it had been lighter), Pricey affair

RATING

according to the user’s head size. Though the speakers are a little adjustable, they are not foldable. On the positive side, it comes with a two metre long cable and an inbuilt microphone. That said, when the speakers are placed on the ears, the microphone comes too close to lips which we found a bit uncomfortable. But any doubts you may have about the device the moment you start listening to music from it. The Brio delivers amazing sound quality, with 40mm speakers provided to deliver a very good music experience. The sound was crystal clear while using it even on maximum volume. It has a 150 micro watt power capacity and is capable of supporting 20-20, 00 Hertz response which is very decent indeed. We would have liked slightly better build quality, though, as the set does not fit too snugly on one’s ears and after few moments, one starts feeling uncomfortable. The Zebronics Brio is priced at Rs 475, and keeping in mind the quality of sound it delivers, it certainly is a good buy. n



Affordable 3D A

pocket-friendly, 3D-ready camcorder VU 3D Video Camera Price: Rs 19,990 Pros | Relatively low price, Shoots decent 3D/2D video Cons | Build is not too impressive, Menu system not the greatest

RATING



ove it or hate it, the third dimension is here to stay. After 3D televisions, Blu-ray players and 3D still cameras, it is the turn of 3D video cameras to enter the growing pool of 3D products. And VU’s simply named 3D Video Camera lets you record moving pictures in 3D at a surprisingly low price. This 16.0-megapixel camcorder is not the most robust we have seen, though. To turn it on, you have to flip open the lid and rotate the dual lens at the front in an anti-clockwise manner. Picture options are limited and the menu is not very user friendly. Still in spite of minor hiccups, we did manage to get decent 3D and 2D videos (2D being better than 3D) from it. The LCD is all right to watch 2D videos but isn’t great for 3D. VU does seem to have cut some corners to keep the price low, but if you are looking at an affordable 3D option, this is surely one of the better options out there. n

Zebronics Brio Price: Rs 475 Pros | Good sound quality, Reasonable price Cons | A little uncomfortable to wear, Microphone placed too near to mouth

RATING



nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 77

etcetera Affordable entertainment Akai is back with a new LED offering

t might not be making headlines the way it did in the past, but Akai is very much around in the Indian market. And one of its latest offerings is the 29-inch E12. On first glance, it looks decent and will not disappoint design fanatics with its narrow bezel and brush finish body. The stand is solid, but the unit we received did wobble a bit. The time used up to switch between channels was comparatively less - definitely not a concern

for hardcore couch potatoes. The remote is quite handy with the usual controls present on it, although we would have liked it to have been sturdier - do NOT play “catch” with it. At 29-inches, this TV is perfect for your living room and will meet most of your viewing needs. We played some HD videos and it handled them without hiccups. The edge to edge screen delivered a good viewing experience, and the sound was also decent. The TV

had no light leakage or ghosting problems and came with digital noise reduction as well. On the connectivity front too, the E12 certainly does not starve, coming as it does with HDMI input, 3.5-mm headphone jack, and two USB ports. And yes, it is also PC compatible. Of course, in best Akai tradition, all this does not come accompanied by a massive price tag you can get the Akai LED 29 inch E12 at Rs 21,990. n

AKAI LED 29 inch E12 Price: Rs 21,990 Pros | Good design, Easy to use controls RATING

78 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012



Cons | HDMI port not placed well, Remote could have been more solidly built

tips & tricks

How to reset your phone If your handset is misbehaving, one way of setting things right is by resetting it to factory settings. And it takes just a few simple steps to do so. Waseem Ansari

t times, your trusty mobile phone or tablet can just act funny, or just stop functioning altogether. While some would urge rushing to the latest service centre in such a situation, sometimes a simple reset can get your device back to normal. What this basically does is put your device back in the same condition - in software terms - in which it arrived from the factory (which is why some people also refer to it as a “factory restore). Yes, you may end up losing any data or apps that you may have added to the device after you acquired it, but on the flip side, you will more often than not end up with a device that is almost as good as new in software terms. And all it takes is a few simple steps.

Reset your IOS devices by following these steps: First step: Choose the General option in Settings. Second step: Select the Reset option. You will find this as the last option in the General options. After this, you will find a message ‘Erase all content and settings’, select “OK” to reset your device. You can reset your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch using these tips.

Reset your Symbian devices by following these steps: First step: Go to Settings and select ‘Phone.’ Second step: You will find an option called ‘Phone Management’, Select it. Third step: Select ‘Factory Settings’ in the options that appear. Fourth step: Select ‘Delete data and restore.’

If your iOS device screen freezes and stops responding, just hold the power/sleep button along with the home button for a few seconds.

Reset your BlackBerry devices by following these steps: First step: Go to Options and choose ‘Security’. Second step: Select ‘Security Wipe.’

Reset your Android devices by following these steps: First step: Choose the ‘Privacy’ option in Settings. Second step: Select the ‘Factory reset’ option. Then select ‘Erase internal storage’ and select ‘Reset phone.’ (These steps works in most Android devices butcould difffer

After this, you will find an empty box. Type ‘BLACKBERRY’ in it and then select the ‘Wipe’ option.

depending on the model and version of Android) waseem@mymobile.co.in

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 79

a p p ta s t i c

Appy Shopping Mania

With the festival season in full swing, now is the time for all those with a penchant for shopping to wander out into markets and shop to their heartsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; content. And of course, as it is with everything in life these days, there are apps that will help you do just that Harshita Rastogi

he winding down of the year is marked not just by a dip in the temperature but also by a veritable increase in footfalls in most shops. Blame it on the festive season, blame it on wanting to end the year on a high, or go right ahead and even blame it on the rain, but the fact is that people do tend to shop more towards the end of the year. And contrary to popular belief, it is not just the female of the species that heads to the retail outlets but also the male - although each gender does tend to visit different stores. And even if you are not a shopaholic, rare is the day when you do not have to venture out into the market, be it to buy an article of everyday use, just pick up some food, or more often than not, just to see if something new has come in. And of course, there is always the urge and temptation to find out about the latest discounts and deals. Of course, all this is a lot easier said than done. With oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s busy schedule and the need to juggle work, social life and household, time management can become quite

80 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

a headache. As can distances, if one happens to be staying in larger cities, with markets and shops being spread over a wide area. Fortunately, there is a solution to all those who want to go out shopping but are restricted by reasons of profession, time and distance. Well, all you really need to do is reach out for your handset or tablet and

your shopping could be better than ever. And no, we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just mean shopping online. Thanks to the app revolution, you can now not only purchase and browse goods online but also find out the best places to shop and which of them are offering the best deals for you. Making this possible are a host of apps that are adept at spotting shops, discounts,

Check Price India

DelightCircle

Tested on Android Price: Free

Tested on Android Price : Free

Who does not want the best possible deal on the products they wish to buy? This rather handy application provides users with the best price for a product available on various shopping sites and portals. All you need to do is type the name of the product and up comes a list of sites offering the product, with product details and price. And for good measure, you also are shown the lowest price offered on any of these. So simply compare, and work out what suits you best. After all, every penny matters.

Imagine you are out on shopping and just a few clicks on your device update you about the products, offers and deals in the vicinity. Well, this app does just that. And it works a treat. From apparel to electronics to grocery, you name it and the app has something for you. It can be a good companion to shop with as it spots perks and deals as well. You can also get bonus points on walking in a store. A must have for all the shopaholics as well as rare shoppers out there.

deals and just about everything that a shopaholic would go looking for. So considering all shopping factors in mind, here we bring to you a few apps which would not just make shopping easy and fun task, and provide you with an array of options to choose from, but will also ensure that you walk about with the best bargains!

Shops and deals India Tested on Android Price: Free This application is for those who wish to shop online but get confused thanks to a surfeit of options available there. It carries a collection of a number of e-stores categorised as per their genre, making browsing them an easier task. It is almost like a library of a number of online stores, all classified carefully to help you find the one that works best for you. Once you pick your store, you can head right ahead to it with a tap on the screen.

eBay Tested On Android Price: Free Whether you are looking for a product of your choice or are willing to sell off something, this is perhaps the best app to do it all. The best part is that you can sell a product as well as buy new stuff. So you cannot just avail the best deal for your product, but also go right ahead and shop with the money you make out of it. It has a number of features to entice users with a variety of good deals. Perfect for those who want to buy. And sell.

Nokia City Lens

Tested on Windows Phone 7.5, Price : Free Time is money, say the wise men, and many of us would rather spend it in a shop than searching for a shop. Imagine how difficult it becomes to shop without having an idea about the exact location of where it is located. This augmented reality based app gives information about the shopping centres and stores within an area. Simply start the app and move your device around to get details of shopping centres nearby. You can get details of not just the location of the store but also how to get there. n harshita@mymobile.co.in

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 81

Jargon buster

DLNA Simplified!

n To define interoperability instructions for

sharing of media files like photos, music videos between different consumer devices like computers, cameras, mobiles, TVs, printers, etc., Sony in 2003 founded a nonprofitable trade organisation DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance).

uct manufacturers have to pay to use it and also to get their device certified by DLNA. n A DLNA â&#x20AC;&#x153;certifiedâ&#x20AC;? product indicates that

it is capable of sharing media files with other digital products. One cannot share content with a device which is not DLNA supported.

n A sharing can be established between

two types of DLNA products that are DLNA client and DLNA server. The device that sends the content is called DLNA server and on which that sent content can be viewed is called DLNA client. So you can send a picture from your mobile phone while sitting in a living room to a TV set placed in your bedroom. All you need is a good Wi-Fi network to make it workable. n DLNA guidelines are chargeable. So prod-

n The technology is based on Universal Plug

and Play (UNUP) that defines the type of device it supports. There are three classes of devices DLNA support: home network devices such as TVs, gaming consoles; Mobile Handheld devices which include smartphones and tablet PCs; and Home Infrastructure devices like routers. n A non-DLNA certified device can be made

DLNA compatible by installing DLNA software.

82 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

n Almost all major tech companies are mem-

bers of DLNA, but not Apple. The company chooses not to be a part of the association and uses AirPlay for sharing content. n Samsung of late has been seen as a core

user of DLNA in its products like cameras, printers, TVs, mobiles, and tablets. It has placed DLNA under its brand name called Samsung AllShare Play. n Other similar technologies for

sharing media include Media Link HD in HTC phones and NFC in many other phones. n Some of the latest phones having DLNA

installed are Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Sony Xperia Ion, Samsung Galaxy S3, Nokia Lumia 900, and the HTC One X. n heena@mymobile.co.in

fa c e t o fa c e

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We aim to set benchmarks in reliability and pricesâ&#x20AC;? You have recently released an array of tablets and entered in the tablet market in a big way. Which begs the question - what drove you to the decision of entering the tablet segment? There is a huge latent demand in the budget tablet space in India. And knowing this, it is the right time to enter the market. Moreover, we can see the tablet market growing at about 100 per cent a quarter with huge synergies between our existing business of mobile and now, tablets. We are confident that with this synergy we can become a top player in the market. As we all know that the market today is flooded with tablet players. So, how do you see yourself being different or better from your competitors? What apart from the usual, do your products offer to the consumer? We have an in-house design and development team both in China and India, unlike most of our competitors. Also, we have a widespread distribution and service network across India and are already an established name in mobile phones with a well-set supply chain network. With our well developed front end in sales and service networks, and highly developed back in design, development and supply chain in China with strict quality control norms, we will be one of the most formidable players in this space. Moreover, we aim to set a benchmark in both reliability and prices.

As his company strives towards making its presence felt in the very competitive tablet and phone market, Manish Jain, director, Byond Mobile, speaks to us about the challenges they face and their plans for the market Harshita Rastogi

What are the challenges you see in the Indian tablet arena? There are hardly any entry barriers in this space and we expect many players like us joining this fray. The biggest challenge we see is providing after sales service. And this is where, we believe, we will differentiate ourselves. We have currently 300plus service centres across India which we are planning to increase up to 500 by the end of this December. Why did you choose Android as the platform to launch your products? Android is the operating system in vogue. This is an open platform with more than 6,00,000 apps, so it was a natural choice as an OS. How big is the Indian tablet market? What kind of sales and growth do you see for yourself in it? Currently the Indian tablet market has around 3 lakhs units sold in a month which we expect to grow up to 10 lakh a month in a yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time. We are aiming at 15 per cent market share and are confident of achieving it. As far as the future is concerned, we have many plans in the pipe line. We have lot of ATL and BTL activities lined up. What new innovations are you planning to come up with in the near future? We will have the most extensive tablet offerings in the market. Our focus would be more on quality control and giving the most reliable products to the market. Do expect many innovative offerings from our side in the next few months. There are a couple of products which are under development which we believe could turn out to be the bestsellers in their respective categories. n harshita@mymobile.co.in

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 83

mobile doctor

I want to purchase Motorola Defy XT535. Please give me your opinion. -Shekhar. Dear Shekhar, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a CDMA mobile and if you look for CDMA you will get less options, but this model is good and you can go with it. It has 512MB RAM, 1GB ROM, 5MP camera 1 Ghz CPU and most important it comes with Android OS. I have recently considered buying a tablet with Android 4.0 within the price range of Rs 7000. What are the choices do I have in this segment? -David Pakhuongte Dear David there are lot of tablets present in the market these days. As per your Budget, you can consider Micromax FunBook, Zen Ultrtab A100, Karbonn ST-2 and HCL ME U1. I want to buy an Android phone between Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000, basically for facebook chatting. And I have shortlisted Samsung Galaxy Chat for this. I need facebook alerts on the user interface without loging in. I want to stay connected for 24X7 on my phone with FB and should be able to pick up any new message sent to me. Kindly suggest me the best phone for it. -John Aram Dear John, if I am not wrong then the model which you have mentiond is Samsung Galaxy Chat B5330, which comes with QWERTY keypad and there is no dedicated key for FB on the keypad. So, I would suggest you to go with HTC ChaCha, whichcomes with dedicated Facebook key.

I am planning to buy an Andriod tablet under Rs 10, 000. The device must offer fast internet, USB support, 3G, Wi-Fi and a good screen. Please advice. -Dawood Raheem. There are quite a few tablets available in the market, so you can go with these tablets-Micromax FunBook, Zen Ultrtab A100, Karbonn ST-2 and HCL ME U1. But, considering your demands, I would suggest you to go with the Karbonn ST-2.

priced under Rs 10,000. It should be good for browsing and using internet. -Adarsh Jha. Dear Jha, there are lots of mobile phones available within your budget in the market, but you havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mention any specific feature apart from web browsing. You can go with these models-- Samsung Galaxy Y S5360, Samsung Galaxy Y Duos S6102, HTC Explorer, Karbonn A18, Sony

Could you please suggest me a wireless headset for Nokia C500. Price is not a constraint. -Lovey Dear Lovey you can go with Nokia BH-108.

My budget is Rs 6 ,000. I want to purchase a smartphone with Dual SIM, Android, Wi-Fi, good camera, and a good processor. I have shortlisted Micromax Ninja 4 (A87). Please suggest some good options in Samsung as well. Do let me knowwhich would be a better option to buy? -Hari Om Dear OM, considering your budget you can go with SAMSUNG STAR 3 DUOS S5222, although you will get with a bigger screen and a better processor in A87 smartphone. I have Sony Ericsson W8 handset, which I purchased 9 months ago. The problem with the device is that I am unable to save apps in the memory card. Please suggest the resolution. Also, let me know how to upgrade this device to Android 2.3, as it is based on 2.1 version of Android. -Pravin Sharma. Dear Pravin, you can download an app called APP, which will help you to move your applications from phone memory to T-Flash card, if upgrade is available on your device officially. Once you connect with Data, it will automatically give you an indication with notification to upgrade your device. Please suggest me a good phone

84 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

operating system with a good touchscreen and excellent performance. I wish to go for an Xperia model, but I am confused between Xperia S, Xperia P and Xperia Go. Please suggest me the best in these. -Rajesh That sis a touch choice indeed. It is a neck to neck fight between these models, but I would suggest you to go with Xperia Arc S because it has a 4.2 inches screen, HSPDA 14.4 Mbps data speed and 1.4 GHz CPU, which makes your phone perform much faster.

Xperia Tipo, Motorola Milestone XT800, Nokia 500 and Micromax Superfone Canvas A100. I want to buy an Android phone featuring touch screen, a 2.0megapixel camera, fast internet, big display screen (preferably 4.3-inch) and more. Please suggest if Galaxy S ll is a good option to buy or not? My budget is Rs 25,000. -MD Ali Khan. Dear Khan, the mentioned model is a great phone, you should definetly go with this model but I would like to correct you that Samsung S II comes with an 8-MP camera with auto focus and LED flash. I am seeking a good multimedia cellphone runnng the Android

I want to purchase a mobile phone priced between Rs 10,000Rs 13,000. I need a large screen with support for 16 to 16.7 million colors, good battery, large inbuilt memory, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, decent camera with flash, music player, FM radio, full touch and support for 3G. Operating system is not an issue as I am fine with any OS -Windows, Android and even Symbian. -Kim You should go with HTC wildfire S because it runs on Android 2.3 and has 3.2 -inch screen, which is pretty good. It also includes 5.0megapixel camera with flash and Bluetooth.

Is your mobile phone acting strange? Email your queries at team@mymobile.co.in and our mobile doctor Arshdeep Singh will suggest remedies for your ailing device. Disclaimer: The views expressed by Arshdeep Singh are his own and do not necessarily coincide with those of My Mobile.

infograph

Smartphone revolution 55%

of all mobile phones will be smartphones by 2015

Smartphone in 2012

India

Volume

20 million 145-150 million Rs 10,000 NA Rs 20,000 cr NA 12%-15% 33%-35%

Average selling price Total value Share as % of total mobile sales

China

Share of total worldwide smartphone Sales Share of Android-based smartphone Leading Smartphone brand Mobile User

3% 48%-52% Samsung 913.5 million

Most Downloaded apps

77%

people in India have up to 30 apps on their smartphones

81min is average time smartphone users spend on apps in a day

125% Volume

12 million Rs11,250

2013 Volume

Music

41%

Social Networking

41%

Business

27% Photos

22%

$140million is the expected revenue from mobile apps in India by 2015

growth of mobile application market in India between FY11-FY12

2011

27% 81% Samsung 1.05 billion

32 million Rs9,200

2014

50 million Rs8,500

Volume

2015 Volume

70 million Rs8,000

Avg selling price

Total value of smartphone

Rs13,500 cr

Rs29,440 cr

Rs42,500 cr

Rs56,000 cr

Data Source: IHS Suppli Mobile Handset Market Tracker, Indian Cellular Association (ICA) and Analysys Mason Limited 2012

NOV 15 to DEC 14 2011 MYMOBILE 85

Gear guide Disclaimer: The prices have been obtained from companies/ respective showrooms

Nokia Fast Micro-USB Charger | AC-10E

Save energy and save the environment. Based on a common energy-rating system for chargers, it has a 5-star rating for energy saving. Rs 900

Nokia Bluetooth Headset | BH-607

This headset enables you to be connected with little charging. It just requires 15 minutes of charging, giving you up to 5 hours of talk time. Rs 4,500

Nokia Bluetooth Headset | BH-105

This headset enables you to answer, end and reject calls with the convenient built in keys. It has an eye catching design. Rs 900

Nokia Monster Earphone | WH920 The in-ear design of the set isolates external noise to ensure enriched music experience. The earphones have volume controller built in to its cord. Rs 5,000

Nokia Bluetooth Headset | BH-213

With Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-213 talk at length. Keep it ready to use with up to 400 hours of standby time. Rs 2,750

Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset | BH-905i

This Stereo headset has an option of active noise cancellation. With this you can hear your music and calls with low noise and great sound. Rs 3,350

Nokia Play | 360°

Enjoy clear 360-degree audio for your music with Nokia Play 360° (MD-50W). The curved design case brings a modern look and feel. Rs 9,000

Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset | BH-505

Nokia Bluetooth Headset | BH-108

Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-108 helps you to stay in control with just one touch. Check your email, browse the web or write a quick note – this wireless headset gives you the freedom to multitask. Rs 900

Bluetooth Headset BH-505 keeps you active and entertained. The headset features a lightweight neckband for all day comfort. Rs 3,500

86 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

www.mymobile.co.in in Delhi but may vary on account of dealer discretion/company schemes.

Nokia Extra Power | DC-8

If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re on the road and away from an AC supply, you can get peace of mind with a reliable, pocket-sized source of backup power. Rs 1,500

Nokia Extra Power | DC-11

Power-up your phone and headset while on the go. Charge the power pack, your phone and an accessory at the same time. Rs 2,550

Nokia Retractable Car Charger | DC-10 With Nokia Retractable Car Charger DC-10 charge your phone in the car. Rs 950

Nokia Monster Headset | WH 930

This Nokia headset boasts of some high end features that are not to be seen in any other headsets available in the market. Rs 10,500

Nokia Stereo Headset | WH-701

It helps to control your calls and music in a world of sound. It features three sets of comfortable ear pads and an integrated remote for controlling volume, calls, and music. Rs 1,110

Nokia Mini Speaker | MD-11

Play your music and listen to the radio out loud with this compact, yet powerful mini speaker. You can connect mini speaker for quality stereo surround sound. Rs 1,100

Nokia Extra Power | DC-11K

Charge two devices at the same time. It is extra compact and lightweight and offers a quick boost of power. Rs 2,400

Nokia Bluetooth Headset | BH-104

With Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-104 you can stay on top of your calls and enables convenient wireless communication throughout the day. Rs 1,000

Nokia Car Charger | DC-4

Simple and compact, this mobile phone charger offers rapid phone charging from a car cigarette lighter socket. Rs 220

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 87

Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best mobile magazine

New Year

Offer 40%

Subscribe This Month Get

Off

YEARS

YEAR

Subscription

Offer

SCRATCH

Subscription

Offer

WIN Free Magazine issues

YEARS

Subscription

Offer

S uNbOs W c r!i b e SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM Term No of (year) issue

Coverprice (Rs.)

2,700

1,800

Option

You pay (Rs)

2,700

Arise Toaster / Timex Gents Watch worth Rs. 2,700 + Scratch Card

1,629

Save Rs. 1,080 i.e 40% discount on cover price

1,800

Arise Electric Kettle /Timex Ladies watch worth Rs. 1,800 + Scratch Card

1,080

Save Rs. 720 i.e 25% discount on cover price

900

Numero Uno Shoes worth Rs. 999 + Scratch Card

540

Save Rs. 360 i.e 40% discount on cover price

900

Cash Benefit/Gift

Yes, I would like to subscribe to My Mobile magazine for______ years with option_____ Name_____________________________________________________________ Age________________ Sex____________________ Job Title___________________________________________________________ Company Name______________________________ Address Office/Residence_______________________________________________________________________________________ Mobile__________________________Phone_____________________________ e-mail_____________________________________ Cheque No.________________________________________________________ for Rs.____________________________________

PAYMENT METHOD By Cheque/Cash No:___________________Amount:__________________________________Bank:_________________Branch:________________ PLEASE *Draw the DD in favour of My Mobile Infomedia Pvt Ltd. *Write your name and address on the reverse of the DD.

Add. - My Mobile Infomidia Pvt. Ltd., # 25, 1st Floor, Shankar Market, Connaught Place, New Delhi - 110001. Phone: 011-46206161, 41081012/13, Fax: 011-41520637 Terms and Conditions: The offer is valid in India only. Gift will be deliverd within a month after clearing of the cheque.Please allow 4 - 6 weeks for processing your subscription. Any request for cancellation of subscription will not be entertained. Copies will be sent by ordinary post. The actual model of Subscription gift may vary from the model shown above. This subscription offer is valid till stocks lasts. All disputes subject to competent courts of Delhi only.

MY GUIDE Disclaimer : The prices quoted in My Guide are the Best Buy prices quoted by the respective companies, ex-Delhi. The prices may vary on account of promotional schemes or dealer discretion. M.O.P. mentiond in My Guide are not applicable in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

While My Mobile tries to ensure accuracy in the pricing and features any discrepancies that may emerge are beyond our control. Please check with the retailer about features of the phone before buying. The ratings that have been included are from the burn tests of the phones that we have reviewed. Feel free to update us.

(Last updated on Nov 3, 2012) Devices featured in the My Guide have been segregated into four categories baswed on price and colour-coded as:

Tablet CDMA Enterprise High-end (Rs 12,000 upwards) Mid-level

(Rs 6,000 - Rs 11,999)

Entry-level (Rs 2,500 - Rs 5,999) Sub-entry level (up to Rs 2,499) Nokia

NR stands for not reviewed M.O.P. stands for Market Operating Price

Y MOBILE 89 NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 MY

myguide MODELS

NOKIA

PARAMETERS 1280

100

101

C1-01

110

C2-00

112

Dimension (mm)

107.2 x 45.1 x 15.3

110 x 45.5 x 14.9

108 x 45 x 14

110 x 46 x 14.8

108 x 45 x 14.65

110.4 x 46.9 x 15.4

Weight (grams)

81.92

69.6

78.8

74.1

Model

Talktime/Standby (hours)

8.30/528

Screen (colours)/Size (inch) Monochrome/1.36 Inbuilt/Expandable memory

NA/No

7.2/840

10.4/540

10.5/637

5.75//460

14/840

65,536/1.8

56K/1.8

NA/No

64MB/32GB

16MB/32GB

No/No

Yes/No

Camera/Flash/Video

No/No/No

VGA/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

500

1,000

Frequency/Dual SIM

Dual Band/No

Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Dual Band/No

Dual Band/GSM+GSM

No/No/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/Yes/No

Symbian S30

S30

Symbian S40

S40

Symbian 40

S40

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System

No/Yes

Yes/Yes

Bar/No/No

Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

960

1,150

1,400

1,850

2,150

2,300

2,550

Music Player/FM Radio

MODELS

Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY

NOKIA

PARAMETERS C2-02

X2-02

C2-03

C2-01

Asha 200

202

Asha 305

Dimension (mm)

102.8 x 51.2 x 17

113 x 50 x 15

103 x 51.4 x 17

109.6 x 46.9 x 14.6

115.4 x 61.1 x 14

114.8 x 49.8 x 13.9

110.3X53.8X12.8

Weight (grams)

110

115

105

5/60x0

9.8/443

5/400

8.4/430

7/888

5/400

14X528

Model

Talktime/Standby (hours) Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

65,536/2.6

262,144/2.2

65,536/2.6

262,144/2.0

65,536/2.4

262,144/2.4

262,144/3

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

10MB/32GB

75MB/16GB

NA/32GB

10MB/32GB

64MB/32GB

Yes/No

Camera/Flash/Video

2.0MP/No/Yes

3.15MP/No/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

1,000

Shared

1,000

2,000

Shared

1,000

Frequency/Dual SIM

Dual Band/No

Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/No

Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/R99

Yes/Yes/No

S40

Symbian S40

S40

Symbian S40

S40

Symbian S40

Yes/Yes

Slider/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

Slider/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

Bar/No/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

3,200

3,175

3650

3,650

3,740

3,770

4,590

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs

YMOBILE NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 90 MY

MODELS

NOKIA

PARAMETERS Model

Asha 308

C5-05

300

Asha 309

302

Asha311

Dimension (mm)

109.9x54x13 mm

105.8 x 51 x 13.8

112.8 x 49.5 x 12.7

109.9 x 54 x 13.2

116.5 x 55.7 x 13.9

115.5 x 58.1 x 13.6

106 x 52 x 12.9

Weight (grams)

104

102

114

Talktime/Standby (hours)

17/600

11.5/620

6.9/550

6/650

9/707

7/800

14/696

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

65,536/3.0

16million/3.2

262,144/2.4

65,536/3.0

262,144/2.4

256144/3.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

64MB/32GB

40MB/16GB

128MB/32GB

55MB/8GB

256MB/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

2.0MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/No/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

3.2MP/No/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

3.2MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

2,000

Shared

2,000

Shared

2000

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

S40

Symbian S40

S40

GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

5,600

5,680

5,850

5,800

5,880

6,100

6,300

MODELS

Price in Rs.

Yes/Yes Bar/Yes/No

NOKIA

PARAMETERS X3-02

303

C5-03

500

Lumia 510

Dimension (mm)

106.2 x 48.4 x 9.6

116.5 x 55.7 x 13.9

105.8 x 51 x 13.8

115 x 58.9 x 12.8

111.3 x 53.8 x 14.1

113.4 x 53 x 16.8

120.7 x 64.9 x 11.5

Weight (grams)

126

150

129

5/430

8.2/731

11.5/600

7.3/400

7/500

11/400

6.2/738

Model

Talktime/Standby (hours) Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

262,144/2.4

262,144/2.6

16million/3.2

262,144/2.36

16million/3.2

16.7million/3.2

65,536/4.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

50MB/16GB

100MB/32GB

40MB/16GB

256MB/32GB

2GB/32GB

200MB/16GB

4GB/No

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

5.0MP/No/Yes

3.2MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/No

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/Yes

Symbian S60

S40

Symbian S60

Symbian Anna

Symbian S 60

Windows Phone 7.5

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Slider/Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

6,650

7,490

8,200

8,500

8,950

10,300

10,099

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

YMOBILE 91 NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 MY

MODELS

myguide

NOKIA

PARAMETERS Model

Lumia 610

Dimension (mm) Weight (grams) Talktime/Standby (hours)

603

119.24 x 62.18 x 11.95 113.5 x 57.1 x 12.7 131.5

700

Lumia 710

701

110 x 50 x 9.7

119 x 62.4 x 12.5

115.5 x 59 x 10.5

117.2 x 56.8 x 11

113.5 x 59 x 12.9

125.5

133

131

135

109.6

10.5/670

8.7/540

7.14/403

7.3/400

14.4/681

17/504

12/390

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/3.7

16.7mollion/3.5

16million/3.2

16million/3.7

16.7million/2.46

16million/3.2

16.7million/3.5

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

8GB/No

NA/32GB

2GB/32GB

8GB/No

8GB/32GB

16GB/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

12.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Quad Band/No

Frequency/Dual SIM GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Operating System

Windows Phone 7.5

Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

Symbian Belle

Windows Phone 7.5

Symbian Anna

Symbian Belle

Symbian^3 OS

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

12,000

12,300

13,500

13,700

15,400

17,250

18,000

MODELS

SUB-ENTRY LEVEL

NOKIA

PARAMETERS Model

BYOND

Lumia 800

808

Lumia 900

Nano

BY002

Dimension (mm)

119.7 x 62.8 x 11.9

123.7 x 62.4 x 13.6

116.5 x 61.2 x 12.1

123.9 x 60.2 x 13.9

127.8 x 68.5 x 11.5

106.3X47.8X14.6

108.3 X 45.2 X 14.2

Weight (grams)

146

176

142

169

160

109

6/450

9/430

13/265

11/465

7/300

NA/NA

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16.7million/4.0

16million/4.0

16miilion/3.7

16million/4.0

16million/4.3

NA/1.8

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

8GB/32GB

16GB/No

16GB/32GB

16GB/No

NA/4GB

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Camera/Flash/Video

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

41.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

1.3MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

300

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/No

Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

No/NoNo

Symbian Anna

Symbian^3 OS

Windows Phone 7.5

Nokia Belle

Windows Phone 7.5

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Slider/Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

20,650

18,900

29,900

30,599

1,250

1,299

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

YMOBILE NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 92 MY

MODELS

BYOND

PARAMETERS Model

INTEX

BY011

Torch

X-5

Dimension (mm)

104.6 X 38.8 X 3.7

115.5 X 50.1 X 14.8

119 X 50 X 10.3

Weight (grams)

118

176

Talktime/Standby (hours)

NA/NA

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

NA/2.2

NA/2.4

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

NA/4GB

NA/8GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

BY015

X-1

Yuvi

97.6 X 51.9 X 13.8

117×50.5×13.8

150

92.5

NA/NA

5/250

NA/2.4

NA/2.6

NA/2.4

262,144/2.4

NA/4GB

NA/8GB

85.5KB/4GB

NA/16GB

Powerhouse

121.8 X 54.6 X 18.7 118.04 X 52.1 X 15.32

Yes/No

Camera/Flash/Video

1.3MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

500

300

500

300

500

Frequency/Dual SIM GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Dual Band/GSM+GSM

YesNo/No

NA/NoNo

Yes/No/No

NA/No/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

1,799

1,999

2,099

2,199

2,250

1,485

MTECH

MODELS

Price in Rs.

Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM

PARAMETERS Model

KARBONN

LAVA

LEMON

ARC21

C31

B629

S459

A 230

ALPHA

Dimension (mm)

115 X 50 x 15.5

110 x 46 x 14.65

103 x 52.5 x 14.5

112 x 46 x 13.5

121.2 x 51.6 x 10.5

108.6 x 46.6 x 13.8

104.2 x 47 x 15.8

Weight (grams)

112

81.4

90.6

6/300

3/120

3/220

NA/550

NA/300

17/809

10/960

Talktime/Standby (hours) Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

262,144/2.4

65,536/1.8

262,144/2.6

NA/2.6

NA/2.3

262,144/1.77

NA/1.8

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

NA/8GB

250KB/8GB

NA/8GB

60KB/8GB

125KB/16GB

25MB/8GB

NA/8GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/No

Yes/NA

No/No

Camera/Flash/Video

1.3MP/No/Yes

No/NoNo

1.3MP/No/Yes

VGA/NA/Yes

1.3MP/NA/Yes

1.3MP/No/Yes

Yes/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

1,000

500

100

1,000

500

Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Frequency/Dual SIM GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Yes/No/No

Yes/Yes/No

No/No/No

Yes/Yes

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

2,100

1,800

2,450

2,099

2,150

1,149

YMOBILE 93 NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 MY

MODELS

MTECH

PARAMETERS Model

SAMSUNG

Beta

M78

M15

M135

M18i

MT279

1200

Dimension (mm)

106 X 48 X 16

112 x 49 x 16

125 X 52 X15.3

117 x 53 x 15.5

118.5 x 55 x 14.7

113 X 54 X 14.3

109.5 x 45.5 x 12.8

Weight (grams)

110

115

110

65.1

Talktime/Standby (hours)

10/960

8/720

10/960

8/720

4/240

8.6/800

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

NA/2.0

NA/2.4

262,144/2.4

262,144/2.6

NA/2.8

65536/1.5

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

NA/8GB

NA/16GB

32MB/8GB

NA/16GB

32MB/No

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/No

No/No

Camera/Flash/Video

Yes/NA/NA

1.3MP/No/Yes

1.3MP/No/No

Yes/Yes/Yes

1.3MP/NA/NA

No/No/No

Phonebook Capacity

500

1,000

500

1,000

500

100

Frequency/Dual SIM GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Dual Band/No

No/No/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/No

YesNo/No

No/No/No

Proprietary

Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Yes/Yes

No/Yes

Bar/No/No

1,299

1,749

1,799

1,849

2,149

1,150

MODELS

ENTRY LEVEL

SAMSUNG

PARAMETERS Model

KARBONN

1205

E1207T

Hero Music

E2232

K1818

KT81 Cosmos

K1616

Dimension (mm)

109.5 x 45.5 x 12.8

108.0 x 45.5 x 13.5

110.6 x 45.35 x 13.9

109.2 x 46.0 x 14.9

106.6 x 54.3 x 12.7

116 x 61 x 12

Weight (grams)

65.1

73.2

135

8.6/800

8/430

11.1/580

NA/500

4/500

NA/NA

6/312

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

65536/1.5

65,536/1.52

65,536/1.8

65,536/1.77

262,144/3.2

NA/3.2

262,144/3.5

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

64MB/No

NA/No

4MB/4GB

20MB/8GB

Yes/8GB

NA/16GB

Yes/8GB

No/No

Yes/No

Camera/Flash/Video

No/No/No

VGA/No/Yes

3.2MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

100

1000

1,000

2,000

Frequency/Dual SIM

Dual Band/No

Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM

GPRS/EDGE/3G

No/No/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/No/No

Operating System

Proprietary

No/Yes

Yes/Yes

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

1,200

1,275

1,580

2,000

3,600

3,100

4,600

Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

YMOBILE NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 94 MY

MODELS

LAVA

PARAMETERS Model

KKT39

A10

A16

GC333

T89

T99

116 x 47 x 11.5

104x50x15.6mm

120 x 47.5 x 13.1

108 X 46.8 X 17.1

115.2 X 59.9 X 9.9

114 X 62 X 11.2

Weight (grams)

80.5

120

105

100

Talktime/Standby (hours)

A11

LEMON

Dimension (mm)

NEW

10/NA

8/500

3.1/220

NA/360

NA/300

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

262,144/2.2

262,144/2.8

262,144/3.0

262,144/2.6

NA/2.2

NA/3.5

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

NA/16GB

48MB/16GB

200MB/16GB

32MB/MicroSD

60KB/8GB

256MB/8GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/No

Yes/NA

Camera/Flash/Video

VGA/No/Yes

2.0MP/Yes/Yes

3.2MP/Yes/Yes

3.2MP/No/Yes

VGA/No/Yes

2MP/NA/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

500

2000

2,000

300

500

Frequency/Dual SIM GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Dual Band/No

Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+CDMA Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Yes/No/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/NA/NA

Yes/No/No

Yes/Yes/NA

Yes/Yes

Bar/No/No

Clamshell/No/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

2,650

2,690

3,800

2,799

3,199

3,599

MODELS

Price in Rs.

Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM

PARAMETERS Model

LEMON

MICROMAX

A200

A350

A290

T375

X259

X445

Dimension (mm)

114.3 x 60 x 12.8

99.8 x 51 x 15.8

116 × 53.3 × 12.85

113.5 x 51 x 13

103 x 59 x 10.7

118 x 50 x 16

110.3 X 55.2 X 14.1

Weight (grams)

91.45

NA/200

12.5/328

25/NA

12.8/601

4.5/200

4/129

Talktime/Standby (hours) Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

NA/3.5

65,536/2.2

262,144/2.2

65,536/2.2

262,144/3.2

262144/2.4

NA/3.2

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

60KB/8GB

128MB/8GB

256MB/32GB

NA/4GB

48MB/16GB

5MB/NA

NA/8GB

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Camera/Flash/Video

2MP/NA/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

1.3MP/No/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

VGA/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

1,000

1000

1,000

Frequency/Dual SIM

Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/No

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/No/No

Genric

Generic

Proprietary

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Slider/No/No

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

5,999

3,550

3,750

3,950

4,599

2,350

2,700

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

Dual Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/No

YMOBILE 95 NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 MY

MODELS

myguide

PARAMETERS

MICROMAX

SAMSUNG

X45

E2152 Guru 36

Metro 2252

Dimension (mm)

122 x 48.8 x 13.5

111.6 x 46.3 x 13.5

113.0 x 46.0 x 13.9

Weight (grams)

80.4

Model

2222

Metro Duos C3322 Champ Neo Duos C3262

109.5 x 61.3 x 11.85 113.97 x 47.9 x 13.99 90

88.9

Ch@t C3222

96.9 x 54.3 x 13.5

109.7 x 58.1 x 12.3

5/360

11/660

11.9/760

11.4/550

10/500

14/550

11/500

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

65,536/NA

262,144/2.0

65,536/1.8

262,144/2.2

262,144/2.4

262,144/2.2

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

10MB/16GB

NA/2GB

NA/32GB

45MB/16GB

46MB/16GB

20MB/32GB

54MB/8GB

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Yes/No

No/Yes

Yes/No

Camera/Flash/Video

VGA/No/Yes

2.0/No/Yes

VGA/No/Yes

1.3MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

1,000

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Frequency/Dual SIM GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Yes/No/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/Yes/No

Proprietary

Yes/Yes

Bar/No/Yes

Bar/No/No

Bar/No/Yes

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/Yes

4,250

2,400

2,450

2,800

2,900

2,950

3,150

MODELS

Price in Rs.

Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM

SAMSUNG

PARAMETERS Model

Champ Delux

C3530

Chat 3G 527

Metro C3752

Champ 3.5G S3770

Primo S5610

Wave 525

Dimension (mm)

101.8 x 55.0 x 12.3

112.2 x 46.7 x 11.9

103 x 55 x 12

97.9 x 19 x 16.4

118.9 x 49.9 x 12.8

109.5 x 55 x 11.9

Weight (grams)

89.7

100

15.8/500

13/550

3/288

13.3/900

6/350

15.67/960

15/900

Talktime/Standby (hours) Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

262,144/2.8

262,144/2.2

262,144/2.4

65,536/NA

262,144/2.8

262,144/2.4

262,144/3.2

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

30MB/16GB

50MB/16GB

80MB/32GB

40MB/16GB

30MB/16GB

110MB/16GB

100MB/16GB

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

1.3MP/No/Yes

3.2MP/No/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

3.0MP/No/Yes

2.0MP/No/No

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

3.2MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

1,000

2,000

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/No

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA, HSUPA

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/No

Operating System

Proprietary

Bada

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

Bar/No/Yes

Slider/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

3,650

4,000

4,250

4,500

5,000

5,500

5,000

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

YMOBILE NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 96 MY

MODELS

MID LEVEL

PARAMETERS Model

SAMSUNG

SPICE

SAMSUNG

SONY ERICSSON

Star 3 Duos

M-6700

cappuccino 2

M-6868

Wave Y

Mix Walkman

Text Pro

Dimension (mm)

102 x 58 x 11.51

111 x 54 x 13.2

107.6 x 55.6 x 13

114.5 x 63 x 12

110.0 x 57.9 x 12.3

95.8 x 52.8 x 14.3

92.0 x 53.0 x 18.0

Weight (grams)

95.5

100

95.5

104.8

136

Talktime/Standby (hours)

14.3/520

6.2/234

6/288

4.5/450

12.1/610

9.6/465

5.1/400

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

262,144/3.0

262,144/3.1

65,536/2.8

262,144/3.4

262,144/3.2

262,144/3.0

16.7million/3.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

20MB/16GB

45MB/16GB

54.7MB/8GB

39MB/8GB

150MB/32GB

256MB/32GB

100MB/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

3.0MP/No/Yes

3.2MP/No/Yes

1.3MP/No/Yes

3.2MP/No/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

3.15MP/No/Yes

3.2MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

1,000

2,000

1,500

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Dual Band/No

Tri Band/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/No

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/No

Operating System

Proprietary

Bada OS v2.0

Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Slider/Yes/Yes

4,800

2,500

2,800

4,999

6,300

5,350

6,800

MODELS

HIGH END

TAG HEUER

PARAMETERS

VERTU

Meridiist GMT Stainless Steel/Black PVD

Link

Meridiist Steel & Gold

Ascent

Constellation Ayxta

Ascent Ti

Constellation Quest

Dimension (mm)

112 x 46 x 15.5

118 x 67 x 16.6

112 x 46 x 15.5

117 x 46 x 19

100 x 48 x 18

115.5 x 49 x 13.1

116 x 60.8 x 12.7

Weight (grams)

155

200

155

148

174

160

165 to 185

7/392

6.5/336

7/392

4.8/300

6/300

5/300

7.5/349

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

262,144/1.9

16million/3.5

262,144/1.9

16million/2.0

16million/2.4

16million/2.0

8GB/32GB

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

NA/NA

256MB/8GB

NA/NA

8GB/32GB

100MB/8GB

4GB/No

16million/2.46

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

No/No/No

5.0MP/No/Yes

No/No/No

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

3.15MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

1,000

Shared

1,000

2,000

1,500

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/R99

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Andriod v2.2

Yes/No

Yes/NA

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

Clamshell/No/No

Bar/No/No

Bar/No/Yes

Starting 2,80,000+/3,50,000

Starting 3,25,000+

Starting 5,40,000+

Starting 2,89,000+

Starting 3,47,000+

Starting 3,68,000+

Starting 3,86,000+

Model

Talktime/Standby (hours)

GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

YMOBILE 97 NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 MY

myguide MODELS

ENTERPRISE LEVEL

PARAMETERS

VERTU

APPLE

BLACK BERRY

Signature

iPhone 4

iPhone 4S

iPhone 5

Curve 8520

Curve 9220

Curve 3G 9300

Dimension (mm)

130 x 42 x 13

115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3

123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6

109 x 60 x 13.9

109 x 60 x 12.7

109 x 60 x 13.9

Weight (grams)

166

137

140

112

106

102

104

Model

3.5/300

14/300

14/200

8/225

4.5/408

7/432

4.5/461

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/2.0

16million/3.5

16million/4.0

65,536/2.46

65,536/2.44

65,536/2.46

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

4GB/No

16GB,32GB/No

16,32,64GB/No

256MB/microSD

512MB/32GB

256MB/32GB

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

No/No/No

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

2,000

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/No

Quad band/No

Quad Band/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

BlackBerry OS

BlackBerry OS 7.1

BlackBerry OS

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

iOS4

iOS 5

iOS 6

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/Yes

Starting 7,22,000+

26,500/31,900

8,500

9,750

38,500/45,500/54,500 45,500/52,500/59,500

MODELS

Price in Rs.

Yes/Yes/R99

BLACKBERRY

PARAMETERS Model

Curve 9320

Curve 9380

Curve 9360

Bold 9780

9860

Torch 9800

Bold 9790

Dimension (mm)

109 x 60 x 12.7

109 x 60 x 11.2

112 x 62 x 14.2 mm

109 x 60 x 13.9

120 x 62 x 11.5

111 x 62 x 14.6

110 x 60 x 11.4

Weight (grams)

103

130

104

135

161.1

107

7/432

5.5/360

5/336

4.5/456

4.7/337

5.5/432

5.1/432

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

65,536/2.44

16million/3.2

262,144/2.44

65,536/2.44

16million/3.7

16million/3.2

16million/2.45

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

512MB/32GB

256MB/32GB

2.5GB/32GB

512MB/32GB

8GB/32GB

Yes/Yes

YesYes

Camera/Flash/Video

3.15MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Dual Band/No

Quad Band/No

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

BlackBerry OS 7.1

BlackBerry OS 7.0

BlackBerry OS

BlackBerry OS 7.0

BlackBerry OS

Blackberry OS 7.0

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Bar/No/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Slider/Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/Yes

12,850

15,500

16,250

18,900

19,500

19,750

23,750

YMOBILE NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 98 MY

MODELS

BLACKBERRY

PARAMETERS Model

HTC

9810

9900

Porche

Explorer

Wildfire S

Desire C

One V

Dimension (mm)

111 x 62 14.6

115 x 66 x 10.5

115 x 67 x 11.3

102.8 x 57.2 x 12.9

101.3 x 59.4 x 12.4

107 X 60 X 11.9

120.3 x 59.7 x 9.24

Weight (grams)

161

130

155

81.3

105

115

Talktime/Standby (hours)

6.5/296

6.3/296

5.5/348

7.6/485

4/120

NA/NA

6.73/261

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/3.2

16million/2.8

262,144/3.2

16million/3.2

16million/3.5

16million/3.7

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

8GB/32GB

90MB/32GB

512MB/microSD

4GB/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/No

3.15MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Quad Band/No

Frequency/Dual SIM GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

BlackBerry OS 7.0

Android OS v2.3

Android v4.0

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Slider/Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/Yes

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

27,800

29,999

1,36,000

7,650

11,500

13,250

17,050

MODELS

Price in Rs.

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

HTC

PARAMETERS Model

Desire V

Desire VC

Desire SV

Rhyme

One S

OneX

Dimension (mm)

118.5 x 62.3 x 9.32

120.5 x 63 x 10.28

119.5 x 62.3 x 9.5

129.7 x 67.9 x 10.7

119 x 60.8 x 10.85

130.9 x 65 x 7.8

134.36 x 69.9 x 8.9

Weight (grams)

114

113

118

131

130

119.5

130

NA/NA

6.3/265

NA/NA

10/290

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/4.0

16 million/4.3

16million/3.7

16million/4.3

16million/4.7

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

4GB/32GB

1GB/microSD

16GB/No

32GB/No

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/No

Quad Band/CDMA+GSM

Quad Band/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/Rev.A

Android v4.0

Windows Phone 8

Android v4.0

Android v2.3

Android v4.0

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

19,000

19,250

19,500

22,500

24,500

32,850

33,250

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

YMOBILE 99 NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 MY

MODELS

myguide

HTC

PARAMETERS

IDEA

Sensation XL

One X+

ID 918

ID 280

Aurus

Blade

Dimension (mm)

132.35 x 66.2 x 10.12

132.5 x 70.7 x 9.9

134.36 x 69.9 x 8.9

111 x 57 x 12

102 x 53 x 13

116 x 56.5 x 11.8

Weight (grams)

130

162.5

135

126

130

Model

NA/NA

11.8/360

NA/NA

4/200

4/288

3.5/200

4/192

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16 million/ 4.3

16million/4.7

262,144/3.2

262,144/2.8

262,144/3.5

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

16GB/No

64GB/No

512MB/32GB

152MB/32GB

256MB/32GB

152MB/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

3.2MP/No/Yes

5.0/NA/Yes

3.2MP/Yes/Yes

Shared

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Camera/Flash/Video

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/No

Quad Band/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/No

Quad Band/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Android v2.3

Android v4.1

Android v2.3

Android v2.2

Android v2.3

Android v2.2

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

35,000

35,500

40,050

4,800

5,000

6,850

6,750

MODELS

Price in Rs.

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Windows Phone 8

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

INTEX

PARAMETERS Model

KARBONN

Aqua 3.2

Aqua Sx

Aqua 5.0

A18

Dimension (mm)

110.5x61x12.6

116×60.5×13

143x80x10.1

120 x 60.5 x 11.3

127 x 67 x 10.5

Weight (grams)

125

138

198.9

4/120

5/360

5/115

4/100

4/200

5/200

Talktime/Standby (hours) Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

262,144/3.5

16million/5.0

NA/3.5

262,144/3.5

NA/3.8

16million/4.3

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

75MB/32GB

128MB/32GB

2GB/32GB

512MB/32GB

4GB/32GB

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

2.0MP/No/Yes

5.0 MP/No/Yes

5.0 MP/Yes/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Frequency/Dual SIM

Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/Yes

Operating System

Android v2.3

Android v4.0

Android v2.3

Android v4.0

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

3,730

4,720

9,890

5,250

7,200

8,900

9,500

Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

YMOBILE NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 100 MY

MODELS PARAMETERS

KARBONN

LAVA

Model

A21

S12

Optimus Me P350

L3 E400

Optimus Pro C660

Optimus L3 Dual

Optimus Net P690

Dimension (mm)

117 x 57.5 x 13.4

108 x 57.5 x 12.2

102.6 x 61.6 x 11.85

119.5 x 59.7 x 12.9

102.6x 61.6 x11.85

113 x 59 x 11.7

Weight (grams)

120

110

129

119

121

Talktime/Standby (hours)

5/200

10.8/590

11/626

12/600

13.5/852

17/1044

12/581

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

NA/4.5

262,144/3.2

262,144/2.8

262,144/3.2

262,144/2.8

262144/3.2

262,144/3.2

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

2.5GB/32GB

120MB/32GB

155MB/32GB

1GB/32GB

170MB/32GB

1GB/32GB

150MB/32GB

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/No/Yes

3.15MP/No/Yes

3.2MP/No/Yes

3.15MP/No/Yes

3.2MP/No/Yes

3.15MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

1,000

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Dual Band/GSM+GSM

QuadBand/No

Quad Band/No

Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Android v4.0

Android v2.2

Android v2.3

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

11,900

7,050

6,850

7,000

8,000

8,150

8,550

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

MODELS

Price in Rs.

PARAMETERS Model

P698

E510

Optimus L5

E730

Optimus L7 P705

Optimus Black P970

Optimus 2X

Dimension (mm)

114 x 59 x 11.7

113.4 x 60.8 x 11.9

118.3 X 66.5 X 9.5

122.5 x 62.5 x 9.8

125.5 x 67 x 8.7

122 x 64 x 9.2

123.9 x 63.2 x 10.9

Weight (grams)

124

123

125

107

124

109

139

11.5/556

10/900

18.5/496

19/902

6/375

14.5/421

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

262,144/3.2

16million/4.0

16million/3.8

16million/4.3

16 million/4.0

16million/4.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

160MB/32GB

Yes/32GB

4GB/32GB

1GB/32GB

2.72GB/32GB

2GB/32GB

8GB/32GB

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

3.2MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/N0

Quad Band/No

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Android v2.3

Android v4.0

Android v2.4

Android v4.0

Android v2.2

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

10,000

11,650

14,250

17,000

17,500

18,500

20,150

YMOBILE 101 NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 MY

MODELS

myguide

PARAMETERS Model

MICROMAX

3D maxx P725

Optimus 4X HD

Optimus Vu P895

A25

A50

A57

A87

Dimension (mm)

126.8 x 67.4 x 9.98

132.4 x 68.1 x 8.9

139.6 X 90.4 X 8.5

104.5X56X13

113 x 61 x 13

116 x 62 x 11.5

124.8 x 64 x 11.7

Weight (grams)

148

133

168

102

116

Talktime/Standby (hours)

17.5/365

9.3/730

16/510

4/180

4/240

4.5/145

5/175

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/4.3

16M/4.7

16million/5.0

262,144/2.8

262,144/3.1

262,144/3.5

262,144/4.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

8GB/32GB

16GB/32GB

32GB/No

NA/32GB

132MB/32GB

512MB/32GB

256MB/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

1.3MP/No/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

3.0MP/No/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Quad Band/No

Frequency/Dual SIM GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Android v2.3

Android v4.0

Quad Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Android 2.3

Android v2.3

Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSUPA,HSDPA

Android v2.3

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

28,000

33,999

34,000

3850

4,450

4,550

5,750

MODELS

Price in Rs.

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

PARAMETERS Model

MICROMAX

MOTOROLA

A52

A100

A90

Defy mini

Defy XT535

Defy+

Atrix 2

Dimension (mm)

1112X61X13.2

142.2 x 72.6 x 11.9

125 x 65 x 10.6

109 x 58.5 x 12.5

115 x 58 x 11.9

107 x 59 x 13.4

125.9 x 66.0 x 10.4

Weight (grams)

112

107

115

118

147

Talktime/Standby (hours)

5/182

5/180

5/174

9.6/420

9/290

7.10/384

8.9/3821

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

NA/3.2

16M/5.0

262,144/4.3

262,144/3.2

16million/3.7

16million/4.3

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

160MB/32GB

4GB/32GB

512MB/32GB

1GB/32GB

2GB/32GB

8GB/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

2.0MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

3.15/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Quad Band/No

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Android v2.3

Android v4.0

Android v2.3

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

6,100

9,000

11,750

10,850

14,200

15,500

22,000

Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

YMOBILE NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 102 MY

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

MODELS PARAMETERS Model

MOTOROLA

SAMSUNG

RazrMaxx

Galaxy Pocket 5300 Galaxy Y Duos Lite

Galaxy Y

Galaxy Y Colour

Galaxy Chat B5330

Galaxy Y Duos

Dimension (mm)

130.7 x 68.9 x 8.99

103.9 x 57.90 x 12.98 103.9 x 57.9 x 12.98

104.0 x 58.0 x 11.5

118.9 x 59.3 x 11.7

109.8 x 60 x 11.95

Weight (grams)

145

97.5

112

109

Talktime/Standby (hours)

17.6/607

15.8/520

15/410

6/120

14/520

17.5/630

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/4.3

262,144/2.8

262,144/3.0

262,144/3.1

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

16GB/32GB

3GB/32GB

2GB/32GB

160MB/32GB

4GB/32GB

160MB/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

3.0MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Quad Band/No

Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/No

Quad Band/GSM+GSM

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Android v4.0

Android v2.3

Android v4.0

Android v2.3

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

28,900

6,500

6,550

6,850

7,000

8,350

8,440

MODELS

Price in Rs.

Quad Band/No Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

SAMSUNG

PARAMETERS Model

Galaxy Y Duos Pro 5512

Dimension (mm)

110.8 x 63.5 x 11.9

Weight (grams)

112.3

Talktime/Standby (hours)

5830 Galaxy Ace

Galaxy Ace Duos

112.4 x 59.9 x 11.5 112.74 x 61.50 x 11.50 113

122

Wave 3

Omnia W I8350

5830 Galaxy Ace Plus

Omina M

125.9 x 64.2 x 9.9

115.6 x 58.8 x 10.9

114.7 x 62.5 x 11.2

121.6 x 64.0 x 10.5

122

115.3

114

120

19.16/740

12/520

16.8/570

14.25/535

7/370

11.1/660

12/530

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

262,144/2.6

16million/3.5

262,144/3.5

16million/4.0

16million/3.7

262,144/3.7

16million/4.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

512MB/32GB

158MB/32GB

3GB/32GB

4GB/32GB

8GB/No

2.7GB/32GB

4GB/NA

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

3.15MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/No

Quad Band/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/No

Quad Band/GSM+GSM

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Operating System

Android OS, v2.3

Android OS, v2.2

Android OS, v2.3

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/Yes NR 8,900

Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Bada OS v2.0

Windows Phone 7.5

Android OS, v2.3

Windows Phone 7.5

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

10,750

11,800

13,800

14,900

14,999

YMOBILE 103 NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 MY

MODELS

myguide

SAMSUNG

PARAMETERS Model

Galaxy S duos

Dimension (mm)

121.5x63.1x10.5

122.4 x 64.2 x 9.9

Weight (grams)

Galaxy S Plus I9001 Galaxy Advance i9070

Galaxy SII i9100

123.20 x 63.00 x 9.79 125.30 x 66.10 x 8.49

Galaxy Beam

Galaxy Note

Galaxy SIII

123 x 59.8 x 14.9

146.9 x 83 x 9.7

136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 133

120

119

120

116

145.3

178

12.8/570

17.3/480

15.5/690

19.3/710

NA/NA

6/100

22.5/830

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16 million/4.0

16million/4.0

16million/4.27

16million/4.0

16million/5.3

16million/4.8

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

4GB/32GB

16GB/32GB

8GB/32GB

16GB/32GB

8GB/32GB

16GB/32GB

16GB/64GB

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/No

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Android OS, v2.3

Android v2.3

Android V2.3

Android v2.3

Android v4.0

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

16,800

20,750

19,000

24,500

27,999

28,900

35,500

MODELS

Price in Rs.

Android v4.0

Quad Band/No Yes/Yes/HSPA+

PARAMETERS Model

SAMSUNG

SONY ERICSSON Xperia Active

Xperia Neo V

Xperia Ray

Xperia Pro

Arc S

Dimension (mm)

151.1 x 80.5 x 9.4

106 x 56 x 14.2

106 x 60 x 14.5

116 x 57 x 13

111 x 53 x 9.4

120 x 57 x 13.7

125 x 63 x 8.7

Weight (grams)

183

115

126

100

142

117

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Galaxy Note II N7100 Live with Walkman

35/980

6.7/350

3.2/416

6.9/430

6.8/430

6.9/430

7.4/460

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16 million/5.5

16million/3.2

16million/3.0

16million/3.7

16million/3.3

16million/3.7

16million/4.2

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

16GB/64GB

320MB/32GB

120MB/32GB

1GB/32GB

300MB/32GB

1GB/32GB

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/No

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Android v4.1

Android 2.3

Android v2.3

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Slider/Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

39,550

13,800

16,000

16,900

17,950

18,750

23,750

YMOBILE NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 104 MY

MODELS PARAMETERS

SONY ERICSSON

SONY

Model

R800i Xperia Play

tipo

tipo dual

miro

Xperia U

Xperia J

Xperia go

Dimension (mm)

119.0 x 62.0 x 16.0

103 x 57 x 13

103 x 57 x 13 mm

113 x 59.4 x 9.9 mm

112 x 54 x 12

124.3 x 61.2 x 9.2

111 X 60.3 X 9.8

Weight (grams)

175

99.4

110

124

110

Talktime/Standby (hours)

8.25/625

5/470

6.6/472

7/618

6.3/520

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16 million/4.0

262,144/3.2

16million/3.5

16million/4.0

16million/3.5

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

512MB/32GB

2.9GB/32GB

4GB/32GB

8GB/No

4GB/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

3.15/No/Yes

5.0/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Quad Band/No

Quad Band/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/No

Frequency/Dual SIM GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Android v2.3

Android v4.0

Android v2.3

Android v4.0

Android v2.3

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

31,000

9,050

9,999

14,000

15,250

16,950

16,999

MODELS

Price in Rs.

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSUPA,HSDPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

SONY

PARAMETERS

SPICE

Neo L

Xperia Sola

Xperia P

Xperia S

Xperia SL

Xperia Ion

Stellar Craze Mi-355

Dimension (mm)

120 X 61 X 12.8

116.0 x 59.0 x 9.9

122 x 59.5 x 10.5

128 x 64 x 10.6

128.0 x 64.0 x 10.6

133.0 x 68.0 x 10.6

118 x 62 x 11.5

Weight (grams)

131.5

107

120

144

Model

8/575

6/475

7.5/450

8/410

10/400

4/192

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/4.0

16million/3.7

16million/4.0

16million/4.3

16M/4.55

NA/3.5

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

1GB/32GB

8GB/32GB

16GB/No

32GB/No

16GB/32GB

140/32GB

Yes/Yes

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi Camera/Flash/Video

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

12.0MP/Yes/Yes

12.1MP/Yes/Yes

12.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/No

Dual Band/GSM+GSM

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Yes/Yes/HSDPA Android v2.3

Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Android v4.0

Android v2.3

Android v4.0

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

17,900

18,200

22,000

28,500

29,800

32,799

5,999

YMOBILE 105 NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 MY

myguide MODELS

CDMA

SPICE

PARAMETERS

XOLO

CDMA

MI 350N

Stellar Mi-425

N900

Samsung Hero Plus 159

Samsung B209

Samsung B229

Samsung Hero B189

Dimension (mm)

116 x 61 x12.75

125 x 63.5 x 12.5

123 x 63 x 10.99

108.5 x 45.8 x 13.3

108.0 x 44.8 x 14.3

108 x 44.38 x 14.20

105 x 44 x 13

Weight (grams)

136

110

124

72.3

Model

5/200

5/NA

14/336

3/230

4.3/470

6.5/720

3.3/250

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

262,144/3.5

262,144/4.0

16million/4.0

65,536/1.52

65,536/1.5

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

170MB/32GB

149MB/32GB

16GB/No

597KB/No

351KB/No

450KB/No

NA/No

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Yes/Yes

No/No

Camera/Flash/Video

3.2MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

No/No/No

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

1,000

500

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/No

CDMA/No

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

No/No/No

Operating System

Android OS, v2.3

Android v2.3

BREW

Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Yes/Yes

No/Yes

No/No

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

6,500

8,500

18,500

1,000

1,100

1,200

MODELS

Price in Rs.

Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM

CDMA

PARAMETERS Model

Samsung Superstar Samsung Hero B319

Samsung B379

Samsung B339

109.5 x 45.4 x 14.2 108.20 x 47.1 x 14.35

Samsung Guru 539 Samsung Guru Muzik 219

Samsung Guru Dual CDMA

Dimension (mm)

108 x 45.4 x 14.7

109.6 x 44.9 x 14.0

112 x 46.3 x 15.3

114.9 x 47.8 x 14.1

Weight (grams)

75.7

77.5

86.7

3.3/212

3/257

4.3/470

6/720

4/230

6.5/300

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

65,536/1.5

65,536/1.52

65,536/1.5

65,536/1.52

65,536/1.77

65,536/1.7

65,536/2.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

NA/No

1MB/No

351KB/No

2.5MB/4+4GB

14MB/2GB

7.41MB/4GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

No/No

Yes/Yes

No/No

Yes/No

Camera/Flash/Video

No/No/No

1.3MP/No/Yes

No/No/No

Phonebook Capacity

500

1,000

Frequency/Dual SIM

CDMA/No

Dual Band/GSM+CDMA

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Talktime/Standby (hours)

No/No/No

Yes/Yes/CDMA1X

Yes/No/No

Operating System

BREW

Music Player/FM Radio

No/No

No/Yes

Yes/Yes

Bar/No/No

1,300

1,380

1,400

16,50

2,100

2,500

3,250

Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

YMOBILE NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 106 MY

MODELS

CDMA

PARAMETERS Mpower TV 239

MTS Live Wire

MTS M-Tag

Samsung Primo Duos

MTS M-Tag 352

MTS M-Tag 351

Samsung Galaxy Y CDMA

Dimension (mm)

118.5 x 50 x 12.45

198 x 54 x 13

113 x 54 x 12

118.8 x 49.9 x 14.07

114.5 x 61 x 11

116x62.2x12.15

104.0 x 58.0 x 11.5

Weight (grams)

103

97.5

Model

Talktime/Standby (hours)

4.4/420

3/200

4.4/200

6.67/160

4/200

5/200

6/120

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

262,144/2.4

262,144/2.8

262,144/2.4

262,144/3.5

262,144/3.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

85MB/16GB

256MB/32GB

170MB/32GB

75MB/-

512MB/32GB

160MB/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

YesNo

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

1.3MP/No/Yes

3.2MP/No/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

3.0MP/No/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

2,000

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

CDMA/No

Dual Band/GSM+CDMA

Quad Band/No

CDMA/No

Yes/Yes/EVDO Rev.0

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/Yes

No/No/Rev.A

Yes/Yes/Rev.A

BREW

Android v2.2

BREW

Android OS v2.3

Android v2.3

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

4,150

4,600

4,699

4,999

5,999

6,900

7,250

MODELS

TABLET

CDMA

PARAMETERS

APPLE

MTS M-Tag401

Blackberry 8530

Galaxy Ace Duos I589

Blackberry Curve CDMA 9350

Dimension (mm)

127 x 64 x 13

109 x 60 x 13.9

112.4 x 59.9 x 12.44

109 x 60 x 11

241.2 x 185.7 x 8.8

241.2 x 185.7 x 9.4

Weight (grams)

132

105

125

607

652

4.3/200

4.5/252

7/300

10/720

9/720

Model

Talktime/Standby (hours)

iPad 2 Wi-Fi

i-Pad 2 Wi-Fi+3G

New i-Pad Wi-Fi

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

262,144/4.0

65,536/NA

16million/3.5

NA/2.44

262,144/9.7

16million/9.7

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

512MB/32GB

256MB/32GB

512MB/32GB

16,32,64 GB/No

16,32 64GB/No

Yes/Yes

YesYes

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

3.0MP/No/Yes

2.0MP/NA/Yes

3.15MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

VGA/No/Yes

5.0MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/No

CDMA/No

Dual Band/CDMA+GSM

CDMA/No

Quad Band/No

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/Rev.A

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/Rev.A

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Android v2.3

BlackBerry OS

Android v2.3

BlackBerry OS7

iOS 4.3

IOS 5

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

7,999

12,050

12,850

19,999

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

23,999/29,500/34,500 32,000/38,000/44,000 29,800/35,899/42,500

YMOBILE 107 NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 MY

MODELS

myguide

PARAMETERS Model

APPLE

HCL

INTEX

MICROMAX

New i-Pad Wi-Fi+3G

ME U1

ME Y2

ME G1

I BUDDY 7.0

Funbook

Infinity

Dimension (mm)

241.2 x 185.7 x 9.4

192.8 x 117.28 x 12.53

120 X 200 X 13

238 X 186 X 11

193x121x9

122 x 192 x 10

192 x 122 x 10.5

Weight (grams)

652

350

370

570

316

360

Talktime/Standby (hours)

9/720

NA/NA

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/9.7

NA/7.0

NA/9.7

16million/7.0

NA/7.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

16,32 64GB/No

4GB/32GB

8GB/32GB

4GB/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

No/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

5.0MP/No/Yes

0.3 MP Front/No/No

2.0MP/No/Yes

VGA/No/Yes

0.3/No/NA

2MP/No/No

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Quad Band/NA

Quad Band/No

No/No/Yes

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

NA/NA/Yes

No/No/NA

No/No/Yes

iOS 5

Android v4.0

Yes/No

Bar/Yes/No

38,500/ 44,500/50,500

7,999

14,550

16,999

6,150

6,000

6,350

MODELS

Price in Rs.

Quad band/No Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

PARAMETERS

MICROMAX

SAMSUNG

SONY

SWIPE

Model

Funbook Pro

Galaxy Tab2 310

Tab 10.1 1750

Galaxy Note10.1N800

Tablet S Wi-Fi

Tablet S 3G+Wi-Fi

X74 3D

Dimension (mm)

122 x 192 x 10

193.7 x 122.4 x 10.5

256.7 x 175.3 x 8.6

262 x 180 x 8.9

241.2 x 174.3 x 10.1

192 X 124 X 10.5

Weight (grams)

600

345

565

600

598

325

5/NA

30/NA

9/NA

NA/NA

11/430

NA/6

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/10.1

7.0/16million

16million/10.1

16M/10.1

16million/9.4

16 million/7.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

8GB/32GB

16GB/32GB

16GB/No

8GB/32GB

16GB/32GB

4GB/NA

No/Yes

Yes/Yes

NA/Yes

Yes/Yes

No/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

VGA/No/No

3.15MP/No/Yes

3.2MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/No/Yes

2.0MP/No/NA

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/No

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

GPRS/EDGE/3G Operating System Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/No/Yes

Android v4.0

No/No/Yes

Android 4.0

Android v3.1

Android v4.0

Android OS, v3.1

Android v3.1

Android v4.0

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Bar/Yes/No

9,050

18,750

32,999

37,500

21,000

26,000

5,999

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

YMOBILE NOV 15 to DEC 14 2012 108 MY

persona

www.mymobile.co.in

Ten Things You Might Not Know About... Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

His full name is Steven Anthony Ballmer.

Steve dropped out of Stanford grad school and joined Microsoft in 1980 as the 24th employee of the company. In college, Ballmer managed the football team and worked on the Harvard Crimson newspaper as well as the university literary magazine. He was the first business manager hired by co-founder Bill Gates. In 1985, he appeared in a commercial, trying to sell Windows 1.0. He is also the first person ever who was not a company founder to become a billionaire. He is variously described as ebullient, focused, funny, passionate, sincere, hardcharging and is very famous for his leadership speeches. Steve is also considered amongst the most successful obese Americans that include men and women who despite being overweight, have found mainstream success. He is a fan of the Detroit Pistons (NBA basketball team). A viral video of Steve giving a very passionate speech where he danced across the stage was nicknamed Dance Monkeyboy and was remixed into a song called Monkey Developers. Like Gates, Ballmer met his wife (Connie Snyder) at Microsoft. She was working in the public relations department and they eventually got married in 1990. *Disclaimer: The information has been collected from the public domain and not from an interview with Steve Ballmer.

NOV 15 to DEC 14 2011 MYMOBILE 109

rumour mill

Talk Apple unveils iPad mini with retina display

If rumours are to be believed, work is underway at Cupertino to address this concern. Evidently, a retina display iPad mini is already being developed, with the same display size and overall design but with a massive 2048 x 1536 resolution (the same as the new iPad). It will be priced at $399 and will be revealed sometime in the first half of 2013 in India. The existing iPad mini however will not be phased out. Of course, all this is just talk. Watch this space for more information.

A gaming Surface...

Microsoft’s Surface RT tablet has certainly been grabbing eyeballs all over the world with its innovative design. And it seems the Redmond giant is going to release another version of it, targeted at gamers. The gaming Surface will evidently come with a Core i7 processor and a 2 GB graphics card built into its slim frame and some rumours say it might even sport a higher resolution and size than that seen on the Surface RT. While the keyboard-cover will remain the new-iconic magnetically attached one, there will also be special keys dedicated to gaming on it. A gaming tablet that you can carry around? Perhaps with superb Xbox integration? We love the idea. Do it, Microsoft. Pretty please!

in Tech Corners

Facebook with facial recognition

Facebook is preparing a massive revamp of its mobile app, with facial recognition being added to the mix. Remember how secret agents in Mission Impossible 4 identified people by just pointing their phones at them, letting the camera collect and collate data by analysing their faces? Well, something similar is evidently coming to Facebook. The company had snapped up a developer who specialised in facial recognition software and now it seems that feature is being incorporated in the next big update of the Facebook app. While some users are delighted by the news, others are concerned about privacy. But then, THAT is one debate at Facebook that never ends.

Asus-Google on the rocks?

We have absolutely no official hints about this but there is talk in corners that all is not well in the Asus-Google relationship. Evidently, the big G was not exactly delighted at the delay in the launch of the Nexus 7 tablet - which was manufactured by Asus - in some key markets (India being one of them). Others say that this is not the case and that Asus is in fact the miffed party because after the acclaim

110 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

garnered by the Nexus 7, it was expecting to be handling the manufacturing of the 10-inch Nexus tablet, an honour which however went to Samsung. As we said, we have absolutely no official word about this, but are watching with interest how Google manages its nexusoriented relationship with various manufacturers. At the moment of writing, three manufacturers are involved in Nexus products - Asus, Samsung and LG - and all of them are each other’s rivals!

Flipkart getting into tablet mode?

India’s e-shopping portal might be joining the tablet wars with a tablet of its own. Evidently inspired by Amazon’s Kindle and Kindle Fire series of devices, Flipkart is now looking at developing a table and/or e-book reader that will allow a user to easily access and purchase its digital content - the company already offers music downloads and is planning to make a big move into e-books and downloadable video/games as well. And of course, a tablet that is locked to its e-store would be inch perfect for it. Evidently, the company is in talks with a number of tablet manufacturers for such a device, with Android being the preferred OS. Watch this space for more developments. n team@mymobile.co.in

Aakash:

Troubled Tablet Skies n Aakash is the cheapest tablet in the world (only Rs 2,500). The device was a part of Indian Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dream to link 25,000 colleges and 400 universities in an e-learning program, spreading education through technology in every nook and corner of India. n The first version of Aakash was launched on 5 October 2011 by the then-HRD minister Kapil Sibal in New Delhi. The upgraded second generation model Aakash 2 was announced in April 2012. n Half of the cost of the tablet was set to be funded by the Government and the rest of the cost by the universities that would use it. n The Government at first decided to give the contract for manufacturing the tablet to PC makers HCL Infosystems but the tender was later

bagged by British company Datawind. n The first Aakash tablet ran on Android 2.2, had a 7.1-inch resistive touchscreen display and weighed 320 grammes. It ran on an ARM 11 366 MHz processor, had 2 MB RAM, 2 GB storage and came with Wi-Fi connectivity. n The product, its maker and the Government were criticised on both the software and hardware front by tech experts and tablet users in the country for the first Aakash, with many pointing out that it was not user-friendly, and not of good quality. This led to an upgraded, improved version of Aakash being announced in April 2012. n Datawind was heavily criticised for its inability to meet the tabletâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s demand. The company

112 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

received huge pre-orders from consumers but could not deliver the device to them for a long period of time. n As if that were enough, Aakash became emroiled in a number of disputes and controversies, with IIT Jodhpur and its assembler Quad Electronics. n The commercial version of Aakash, Ubislate, which has two versions (Ubislate 7+ and Ubislate 7C), was launched later by Datawind with better specifications and a revised price. n As we go to print, the story of the first Aakash tablet seems to be in danger of being repeated with its second edition. Once again, expectations have been high and demand huge, but not too many have yet received the tablet, if our sources are to be believed. n

www.mymobile.co.in

They said it

Talk Time... “I also face lot of problem (pesky calls/SMSes). Every two minutes I get such SMSes.” - Kapil Sibal

at the Worldwide Cyber security Summit, admitting that he too gets his share of spam on SMS.

“Please go out and write lots of applications.”

-Steve Ballmer

Microsoft Chief Executive, urging developers to write applications for Windows 8.

“There is an ecosystem problem in India, when it comes to telecom, IT and device manufacturing.”

“You won’t be able to turn on a TV or open a magazine without seeing a Microsoft Windows ad.”

- Dilip Modi

director of the Spice Group

-Steve Ballmer

ever optimistic, tweets after the launch of Windows 8

“Nokia remains the largest vendor still supporting Symbian, along with Japanese vendors Fujitsu, Sharp, and Sony. Each of these vendors is in the midst of transitioning to other operating systems and IDC believes that they will cease shipping Symbian-powered smartphones in 2013. At the same time, the installed base of Symbian users will continue well after the last Symbian smartphone ships.” - Kevin Restivo

senior research analyst, IDC in the Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report. Symbian is not dead yet.

The Authority through the Telecommunication Tariff (Fifty Fourth Amendment) Order, 2012 has prescribed a tariff of minimum fifty paise for such SMSes beyond the limit of 100 SMS per day per SIM. The changes effected by the regulations and the order have to be implemented within fifteen days. -The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

in an amendment to curb the unsolicited commercial communication menace.

nov 15 to dec 14 2012 MYMOBILE 113

c e l l- e b r i t y

I am quite into gadgets She may be quite new in the Bollywood but her love and fetish for gadgets is not so new. Esha Gupta loves playing around with an array of gadgets she owns. We caught up with her to talk about her tech side Harshita Rastogi You carry a lot of phones with you. Which ones do you use? Well, I currently have three phones - Nokia Lumia, BlackBerry and iPhone. I recently have started using Nokia Lumia, especially after getting to know about the Nokia City Lens app. And believe me, the application is a good one. Apart from that I have been using BlackBerry and iPhone for quite a long time. So can we say that you have an interest in gadgets? You can say that I am quite into gadgets. I actually like using gadgets a lot and have plenty of these. I have a Kindle, iPad, Mac Book Pro and more. And I prefer to have all of these along with me. You mean you carry all of these with you while on travelling? Yes. Mostly. I mean it is very difficult to travel with ALL of them but I try to travel with as many as I can. I can’t think of leaving any of these behind. So, what are your top five gadgets? Umm..I can’t be specific because I like all of them. You have an iPhone, iPad and MacBook Pro. What about an iPod? Yes, that is one gadget missing from the list. Well I would put it this way that I don’t have an iPod because my iPad and iPhone have a lot of music. So, these serve the purpose of that. You use a lot of Apple products. Any particular reason for this preference? I feel these are a lot more convenient and easy to use than most people think. I mean there are people who find it difficult to operate and use these initially but as and when you adopt to the tech, you get a hold over it and cannot think of leaving any of these. Do you also use applications? Any favourites? Well I am really fond of the camera in my phones. So I use applications related to that. n

114 MYMOBILE nov 15 to dec 14 2012

harshita@mymobile.co.in

RNI REG NO./DELENG/2005/15033 DL (ND) - 11/6100/2012-13-14 (Posting Date 19-20 of every month)