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From china with love

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The iPhone 6 Arrives

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Tested

Nokia Lumia 530, Asus ZenFone 4, Xiaomi Redmi 1S, Panasonic Eluga, Xolo 8X-1000, Acer Iconia Tab 7, Samsung Galaxy Tab S and many more... P 42

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Quad HD Displays

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he national capital has been seeing unseasonal showers in September, but you would have forgiven us for imagining that it was raining gadgets. Rarely have we seen so many devices, so many technologies, and so many apps being released in a short span of time. All of which gave us the one problem that all editors love – a problem of plenty. Of course, there was no doubt about what was to make the lead – the arrival and indeed establishing of Chinese brands in the Indian mobile phone market. In the past, the words “Chinese phone” were used as an expletive but today, the likes of Lenovo, Huawei, Xiaomi and Gionee are changing perceptions about the term. Yes, they are Chinese and yes, they are producing phones that are the envy of the competition and a rage in the market. No longer are Chinese phones considered “cheap” with short lives and next to nothing in terms of service. Today, a phone offered by Xiaomi sells out in lesser time than it takes Usain Bolt to cover a hundred metres at top speed. How did all this change and where are Chinese brands in India headed? These are just some of the issues we are tackling in our lead story. Which brings us to the matter of the gadget rain. Well, there is a special feature on the IFA event in Berlin, which saw some of the most innovative devices that we have seen in recent times being unveiled. Be it Lenovo or Asus, Sony or LG, each manufacturer seemed to have come determined to showcase their best for the event. We have covered the most notable gadgetry seen there in our feature. September also is the month when THAT company in Cupertino shows off the next edition of THAT phone. Well, this time, it did not. Not exactly. This time, Apple CEO Tim Cook showed two new iPhones, the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 plus, signalling the arrival of the phablet era in Apple. More interestingly, he also showed the first major Apple wearable device – the Apple Watch. We have taken a close look at what the devices offer in the pages that follow. Stay tuned for more detailed reviews – the new iPhones are expected in India in October. We also cast a glance at the arrival of quad HD displays in handsets in the Indian market and whether they actually deliver value or are just part of a hype cycle. Then of course, there are our mobile game app reviews, which includes a new app from Instagram – Hyperlapse, which speeds up video, giving you a chance to be Chaplinsque. And last but not least, there is a plethora of phones on review – from the Micromax’s new octa core offering to Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S to the latest device from the darling of the online marketspace, Xiaomi. In short, it is raining gadgets and high-tech in the magazine. Blame it on the tech weather, although we are not complaining. Happy reading and keep sending us your feedback – nothing inspires us more.

EDITORIAL Pankaj Mohindroo |

Editor-in-Chief

DESIGN Ajit Kumar Parashar | Sr. Graphic Designer Pooja Papnai | Assistant Graphic Designer

CIRCULATION Lalit Sharma | Sr. Manager – Circulation

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

Happy reading.

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 My Mobile Infomedia 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.

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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 X, Issue IX, october 2014

content

just in

Lead Story After a slow start, Chinese brands are giving established players a run for the money in India.

Xiaomiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Redmi Note at Rs 9,999 will have people lining up, while the Asus ZenFone 4 delivers KitKat at an affordable price.

sneak peek

The Moto 360 smartwatch is on its way to the market, as is the succesor of the HTC Desire 816, the Desire 820.

face to face

chief speak Vineet Taneja, CEO, Micromax India, shares his views on the company, the competition, the market and what we can expect from Micromax in the future.

Firefox OS is in India, but will it succeed? We speak to Dr James Ho, Senior Director of Mobile Devices, Mozilla, to find out where the OS is headed.

Praveen Gupta, Head-Digital Business, Tata Teleservices on the company's online initiative and the dividends it is yielding.

24 in focus

36 The LG G3 and the Oppo Find 7 herald the era of phones with quad HD displays. But is there substance behind the hype?

06 MYMOBILE october 2014

Letters

News

Consumer Forum 26 Mobile Doctor

Gear Guide

Bazaar Bargain

content

in focus

my guide

IFA 2014 showcased some amazingly snazzy gadgets at Berlin this year. We take a look at eight of the very best gadgets to be shown at the event.

etcetera

Spot Light

BURN TESTS Spice Stellar 526 Acer Iconia Tab 7 Oplus XonPhone 5 Asus Zenfone 4 Zte V5 Nokia Lumia 530 Xiaomi RedmI 1S Micromax Canvas Nitro Panasonic Eluga U samsung galaxy Tab S Milagrow m2 Pro Xolo Hive 8X-1000 Total number of pages= 100 (96 + 4 cover) 08 MYMOBILE october 2014

Casio's new headphones, Amkette's new Bluetooth speaker, a compact and powerful Nikon camera, Seagate's new hard drive, and more.

68 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 50 52 54 56 58

Apple has taken the lid off the next iPhone with larger displays. And yes, there was a watch on show too. We round up all the action.

Boredom Busters Valiant Hearts blends gaming with story telling, there is a new Angry Birds game in town, and more besides.

Smart Apps

62 Add a touch of Chaplin to your videos with Instagram's new app, Hyperlapse, use Swarm to find out where your friends are, and take great selfies with the new Lumia Selfie app.

letters Dear My Mobile, I just adore the content you have in your magazine and read almost every month’s edition. Enjoy keeping myself updated. Keep up the good work. Rohan Chaturvedi, Almora

SEPTEMBER 2014  Rs 100

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WEARABLES SPECIAL 10 OF THE BEST WEARABLES AROUND

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Change Your Phone's Look Mobile launcher apps

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Budget smartphone battle Five of the best value for money handsets face off P 26

SAY HELLO TO OBI OCTOPUS S520 Phone of the month Xiaomi Mi 3 P 46

Tested

Obi Octopus S520, LG G3, Samsung Galaxy K Zoom, Karbonn Octane Plus, HTC Desire 516, Xiaomi Mi 3, Maxx MSD7 Smarty and more P 42

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My Mobile is a magazine of my kind. In the August edition, I read the Burn Test of Samsung Galaxy K Zoom and bought one for my wife. I was following the story since July when the phone appeared in the Just In section. Thanks, My Mobile. Love reading you! Rajesh Chandak, Kolkata Hi Team My Mobile, I am an active reader. Your work is just so good that I can’t keep myself away from your magazine. Apptastic is my favourite section where you mentioned about Yahoo Aviate, Nokia Z launcher and some more apps. It was such a helpful thing which allowed me to choose a right app according to my work. Keep it up, guys. RuchikaTyagi, Gangtok Hi My Mobile, you are the whole galaxy for the mobile lovers and freaks who want to be in touch with the latest trends. The story of your magazine in August which I liked the most was the Wearables story. I just love the way you displayed the article with images. We readers get a good idea to make the right choice for ourselves. Thanks and keep updating us. Pijyush Sabarwal, Amethi My Mobile is a wonderful work of research and gives the youth information about fabulous and beautiful electronic gadgets being launched all over the world. Being a student, I love keeping in touch with friends through social networking and love discussing the latest gadgets and gizmos. Thanks

10 MYMOBILE october 2014

to your magazine, I am never out of touch. Naina Shamrath, Delhi I am a mobile lover and I read My Mobile to keep myself updated about the upcoming as well as existing gadgets in the market. This is the magazine filled with all information related to everything related to mobiles. I even follow the website mymobile.co.in to keep myself informed about all launches and updations. Mantasha Karim, Hyderabad Dear My Mobile, I buy and read your magazine every month and love your versus section. The most amazing versus section which I really enjoyed reading was Asus ZenFone 5 VS Moto G. After reading the section I took the decision of buying the Asus ZenFone 5. Though I have not got it yet as it is out of stock, I would like to thank you for your guidance and for pointing me in the right direction. Ronit Goyal, Bhopal I am somewhat of a miser when it comes to purchasing a handset. I don’t want to purchase a very high end phone, but still wish to own a good feature phone with good camera. Thanks to My Mobile Magazine which gave me options in My Guide, I was able to purchase a phone that met my requirements. Please continue to publish such information which can help us in making purchase decisions and do not just stick to the latest phones like other tech publications. Karuna Saxena, Varanasi

am working, I can fulfil my desires of getting a fashionable smartphone. My Mobile once again gave me the right option to grab the very best option for me – I was lucky enough to purchase a Xiaomi Mi 3, your phone of the month in September. Manisha Mahopatra, Tiruvananthapuram I am a student of and I love e-learning but I don’t have a laptop. With the help of My Mobile Magazine and the website, I chose a reasonable Tablet for me so that I could surf online and find more sources to study, like my friends. And now I find myself being able to do more online. Thanks ever so much to the team and I would like to also request you to include e-learning resources whenever possible. Keep us updated, as you always go. Sukhvinder Chhabra, Amritsar Dear My Mobile, I love the way you showcase any gadget in your magazine. I love the section where you inform readers about the price fall of different handsets. I love reading that and making suggestions to my friends based on it. Keep up the good work. Mridulendu Bajpai, Bhubaneshwar Corrigendum: In the Burn Test segment of our magazine’s September Issue, the price of Huawei Ascend G750 was incorrectly quoted as Rs. 14,999. The correct price of the smartphone is Rs. 24,999. The error is deeply regretted and the Burn Test has been corrected on the My Mobile website.

I have been buying your magazine since I was a college student and now that I

e the nd hav a s e m n a drea ellpho n c i t y u e o k so st y ab es? can al u craz e it he late ew lin Are yo 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

news bits Motorola unveils new Moto G And Moto X exclusively on Flipkart

Edition Phone Aqua Style Mini at Rs 4,990 Intex Technologies has launched a smartphone named Aqua Style Mini, priced at Rs 4,990. The company will be giving out 5,000 limited edition Mary Kom (the Olympic bronze medalist) handsets with her icon embossed at the back panel of the handset. Further, the handset will feature a 1.0 GHz dual core processor, AMOLED display, 5.0-megapixel rear camera, dual-SIM support, Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi, 512 MB RAM, 1.23GB of inbuilt memory, and will contain a G + sensor. The phone will exclusively be available on Snapdeal.com and at Intex retail stores.

Motorola unveiled its new Moto G and Moto X exclusively on Flipkart.com. Both the smartphones run on the latest Android KitKat 4.4 and come with guaranteed updates. The Moto G will come with a 5.0-inch 720p HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad core processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB internal memory, 8.0megapixel rear camera, and a 2.0- megapixel front facing camera, dual SIM support and 2,070 mAh battery. The Moto X comes with a 5.2- inch AMOLED full HD Corning Gorilla Glass 3 display, 2 GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, 13.0-megapixel rear camera and a 2.0megapixel front facing camera, front bottom speaker, and a 2,300 mAh battery.

On Mobile Appoints Praveen Kumar As Global CFO On Mobile, a VAS provider company has appointed Praveen Kumar as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Praveen Kumar will head the company’s global financial operations across 59 countries. Mr. Kumar has been with the company since 2006 and has been an integral part of the company’s growth phases and transitions, including the IPO in 2007. He has 14 years of experience in this area and has expertise in financial accounting and reporting, revenue assurance, systems implementation, partnering with business on strategic initiatives, treasury management, taxation and investor relations. Prior to joining On Mobile he worked with HP, Met Life India, GE Capital and AF Ferguson in multiple positions. He holds a Chartered Accountant degree from ICAI and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Bangalore University.

Yup! One Click Messaging App unveiled by Nucleus Research Nucleus Research has launched one click messaging application, YUP! The application supports both Android and iOS smartphones. The company has hired Honey Singh as their brand ambassador. Yup! users will have Honey Singh as their first friend as they download the app. Nucleus Research is led by the Information Technologist’s professionals with a proven track record in multiple businesses.

Intex releases Mary Kom Limited 14 MYMOBILE october 2014

Asus Unveils MeMO Pad at IFA in Berlin ASUS has unveiled the MeMO Pad 7 (ME572C), a new product designed by the company at IFA, Berlin. MeMO Pad 7 (ME572C) is a 7-inch Android tablet, with a full HD IPS display, ASUS TruVivid technology for clarity, brightness and accurate colors. The tablet is powered by an Intel Atom 64-bit quad-core processor, has a thinness of 8.3mm and weighs 269 grams. The tablet is designed with a look of clutch bags and wallets and supports Wi-Fi. The MeMO Pad runs on ASUS ZenUI interface and is available in burgundy red, champagne gold and gentle black colors.

Portronics Launches Bluetooth Speaker Sublime at Rs 3,299

Portronics has released its Bluetooth speaker Sublime, priced at Rs 3,299. The speaker features a voice guide, a display which shows the current working status of the speaker, and has a Bluetooth range over 10 meters which enables the device to be used freely from anywhere and is powered by a 2,000mAh rechargeable battery. Sublime is made of a high injection-molded plastic and comes with a silicon rubber cover and metallic grill. The speaker is available in three variant colors (blue, black and red) and also features one cable function for USB sound card, card reader and charging as well.

Motorola releases its smartwatch Moto 360 exclusively on Flipkart One of the most awaited smartwatches of the year, the Moto 360 will be made available on Flipkart.com in the coming days. The Moto 360 is powered by Google’s new operating system and a ZenUI Wellness app which allows

users to monitor and track the number of steps taken, calories burned, activity duration, heart rate and intensity of exercise. Further the smartwatch can be paired with any Android device running on Android 4.3 or higher. The watch comes with a soft stitched-leather strap, quick-release clasp and a curved glass display with touch support. The device further features Watch Unlock, Tap Tap, Remote Camera, Cover to Mute, Find My Phone and Presentation Control.

Intex unveils Two 3G Data Cards With Wi-Fi Intex Technologies has launched two 3G wireless data cards. The data cards offer downloading speed of 21.6Mbps and 14.4Mbps and are available at Rs 2,700 and Rs 2,530, respectively. Both data cards will support USB 2.0, and come with an internal antenna, 2G/3G, Wi-Fi, a free adapter, a SIM card slot and support Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, MAC OS X 10.5, 10.6, 10.7 and 10.8 with latest updates and can create a Wi-Fi hotspot for upto 8 devices.

Vavia Technologies Launches Txtbrowser, for Directions On Mobile Handsets Without Internet Vavia Technologies, a mobility and Internet solutions provider, has unveiled its offline Internet access platform named txtBrowser, an SMS based search engine which enables the user to get any information that is available on the Internet. It will allow the user to get route directions on their mobile handsets and also let them send e-mails via text message. To send an e-mail, users need to send a message on 55444. The services can be used from any phone, in simple English language without any complex combinations of keywords and symbols. The company feels that this service will be useful for areas where Internet connectivity is poor or where there is no connectivity at all.

Aircel comes up with new Internet Packs, offers free Facebook and WhatsApp Aircel has launched free Facebook and WhatsApp Messenger for all mobile internet packs across India for its new and existing customers. Customers can also buy the special social Pocket Internet pack at the price of Rs.26 which will be valid upto 28 days depending on their social usage. All new customers taking an Aircel connection will get 100 MB/ month for 2 months to access Facebook and WhatsApp free of cost. While existing 2G and 3G customers will get an additional 10 MB/day extra for usage on Facebook and WhatsApp on all Pocket Internet recharges, the company further added.

Vodafone unveils its 3G Wi-Fi device R206Z at Rs 2,399 Vodafone has joined the battle of the 3G mobile Wi-Fi devices by launching the R206Z.

news bits A high speed 3G Mobile Wi-Fi device targeted at its data customers, it provides data transfer speed up to 21.1 Mbps and is available at a best buy price of Rs 2,399. The Wi-Fi device allows up to 10 users to use the Internet through Wi-Fi. A 1500 mAh battery enables usage of upto 3.75 hours of usage in one charge. The Mobile Wi-Fi offers microSD card support with expandable memory of up to 32 GB. An interesting feature on the device is the WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Set-up) functionality which enables WPS for a safer and more secure browsing experience. The product comes accompanied with accessories like a charger and a USB cable.

Adcom Unveils the A440+ smartphone at Rs 3,499 Adcom, a telecom and IT service provider has unveiled its first Android KitKat smartphone, theA440plus(+) priced at Rs 3,499. The handset is 8.8 mm thin and weighs 135 grams, and has a 4.0- inch WVGA display with a resolution of 480 × 800, and a 1350 mAh Li-Ion battery. Powered by a 1.2 GHz dual core processor, the handset supports 4GB of internal storage and 512 MB RAM. This 3G enabled smartphone, further features a 3.0-megapixel rear camera, and a 1.3-megapixel front camera. On the connectivity front, the handset includes Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth tethering, EDGE and GPRS.

WD Launches Wireless Drive For Smartphones Western Digital has unveiled a new WD My Passport Wireless Drive, which is a storage drive which can be accessed wirelessly through smartphones, tablets and other devices. The new drive comes in 500GB and 1TB variants which are priced at Rs. 11,000 and Rs. 13,000 respectively, and works without ab Internet connection. To connect with the drive, users need to install the WD My Cloud mobile app, available on the iTunes App Store and the Google Play Store. After being set up for the first time, the mobile app gives access to navigation, sharing and control on the drive’s content.

Xolo Win Q900s Unveiled At Rs 9,999 Xolo has unveiled its first Windows Phone device, the Win Q900S priced at Rs.9,999. The handset will exclusively be available on Snapdeal.com. The device features a 4.7-inch Dragontrail coated multi-touch display with a screen resolution of 1280 x 720 and pixel density of 312 ppi. The camera is a 8.0-megapixel

16 MYMOBILE october 2014

affair and there is also a 2.0-megapixel front facing camera for selfie fans. The phone is reputed to be the lightest Windows Phone device around.

Xolo Unleashes the Play 8x-1100 At Rs 14,999 Xolo has had a busy month. The company unveiled the Play 8X-1100 which is the latest in its Play series. The smartphone is priced at Rs 14,999 and the company claims that the handset will provide console-like gaming experience to the user. The smartphone features 1.7 GHz Octa Core processor and is powered by 700 MHz Mali 450 GPU, 2 GB RAM and a Gyroscope for 6-axis motion sensing HD gaming experience. The smartphone runs on Android 4.4 KitKat OS and somes with a 5.0-inch HD IPS display, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, 13.0megapixel rear camera, a 5.0-megapixel front-facing camera, dual speakers with DTS surround sound, 16 GB internal memory expandable upto 32GB and a 2100 mAh Li-ion battery.

Hitech Mobiles Unveils Amaze S-305 At Rs 2,999 Hitech Mobiles, one of the growing mobile handset companies, has unveiled its 3G smart phone, the Amaze S-305 at Rs. 2,999. The handset has a 320 x 480 resolution, 3.5 inch display, runs on a 1.2 GHz dual core processor, with 256 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM has 3G connectivity, a 1500 mAh battery, 6-8 hours talktime, Android KitKat 4.4 OS, dual SIM connectivity, and a 2.0-megapixel primary camera and a 0.3-megapixel front facing camera.

Canvas Nitro A310 Launched On Snapdeal. Com At Rs 12,990 Snapdeal.com has exclusively tied up with Micromax and launched the Canvas Nitro A310 at Rs.12,990. The handset is powered by a 1.7GHz Tru octa-core processor, and comes wih a 5.0-inch HD IPS display, 13.0-megapixel rear camera and and a 5.0-megapixel front facing camera, 2GB RAM and 32GB expandable memory via microSD card. Running on the latest Android 4.4 KitKat, it gives users access to a number of features including voice search, Google Drive, Hangouts for video calls and smart contact prioritization.

Celkon Launches Millennium Glory Q5 At Rs 7299 Celkon Mobiles has joined hand with

Gameloft, the global publisher of digital and social games, and unveiled Celkon Millennium Q5. The smartphone is priced at Rs 7,299 and will come with four games preloaded from Gameloft: Prince of Persia, The Avengers – The Mobile Game, Bubble Bash 3 and Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour. The smartphone supports dual SIM connectivity. runs on Android KitKat and comes with a 5.0-inch QHD IPS OGS display. It is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad core processor, 1GB RAM and comes with 8GB internal memory, a 5.0-megapixel rear camera, a 1.3megapixel front camera, 1800 mAh battery and supports multiple Indian languages.

Asus Sold 1 lakh ZenFones In 45 Days Asus claims that they have sold around 1 lakh units of ZenFones in 45 days since it was unveiled in India. The Taiwanese giant said that the handsets in the ZenFone series will continue to be available in the Indian market, as the company does not wish to upset the buyers. Asus has also declared that it is expecting to become one of the top five vendors in India by 2015. The company launched the Zenfones on July 9.

Lava Launches Selfie Smartphone Iris X5 At Rs 8,799 Lava has attempted to cash in on the selfie phenomenon by releasing the Iris X5 which comes with a 5.0-megapixel frontfacing camera with LED flash. The rear camera is a 8.0- megapixel shooter with support for wide angle shots. The Iris X5 features a 5.0inch IPS display and has a 2,100mAh Li-ion battery. It supports 3G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and has in-built GPS. The handset runs on the latest Android 4.4 KitKat operating system, and is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and boasts 1GB RAM and 8GB internal memory.

ZTE Launches V5 Via Snapdeal At Rs 10,999 Chinese smartphone player ZTE has unveiled a new smartphone named V5 with Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor and the latest Android operating system at Rs 10,999. The handset is available online exclusively on Snapdeal.com. The handset features a 5.0-inch display and has a screen resolution of 1280 x 720. It features 1GB RAM, supports Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, 3G, USB OTG, has a 13.0-megapixel camera and a 2,400mAh battery. n

lead story

Here come the

18 MYMOBILE october 2014

www.mymobile.co.in

Chinese Once considered synonymous with poor quality and low prices, phones from Chinese manufacturers are now carving a niche for themselves in the highly competitive Indian market, and are set to give established players a run for the money. How did this happen and what’s next on the Chinese mobile agenda vis-a-vis India? We take a closer look. Nimish Dubey & Abhijit Ahaskar “Sold out in 2.4 seconds.”

hose words were not being used to describe a high profile device from a well-known brand but actually the relatively lesser known Mi 3 from Xiaomi, a Chinese phone manufacturer that has been making waves of late. If you had told us a few years ago that Indian consumers would be lining up online to purchase a phone from a Chinese manufacturer, we would have laughed at the very notion. Today, however, the fact is that Chinese phones are no longer the object of derision they once were. Devices like Xiaomi’s Mi 3 and Redmi 1S may have acquired a cult status through their online sales, but no less significant are the contributions of Chinese brands like Lenovo, Gionee, Huawei and ZTE. These brands have been around for a longer time and have their eyes on a bigger India that buys from stores and whose real rivals are not Motorola but Samsung and Micromax.

October 2014 MYMOBILE 19

lead story “Indian consumers are very smart, and demand the best. If someone were to offer great quality products, with affordable pricing, they would definitely go for it. In our case, we offer highest end specifications, with an amazing software experience, but at an affordable price. This is making our consumers, our brand-advocates. They are talk positively about us in their social circles, which is helping us overcome any initial bias.” -Manu Jain, India Head, Xiaomi. And they are no longer fighting solely on price. These brands have high-end quality smartphones being endorsed by high-profile

brand ambassadors: Oppo has roped in Hrithik Roshan, Ranbir Kapoor endorses Lenovo’s handsets, while Huawei signed popular writer Chetan Bhagat as their ambassador for one of their launches. Meanwhile, Gionee, another notable Chinese brand, unveiled their device on the Formula One circuit in Delhi. In fact, Chinese brands seem more at home in India than many Indian players.

Making their presence count Anand Narang, Marketing Director, Huawei India points out, “According to IDC, India is one of the fastest growing smartphone markets in the Asia-Pacific region. The year-on-year smartphone shipment growth in India in 2014 is over 186 per cent, which is far ahead of China’s 31 per cent.” It is hardly surprising then that Chinese smartphone players are lining up their products in the Indian market. Xiaomi prefers the online model, believes in word to mouth publicity, and relies on social networking to reach out to potential buyers, whereas the likes of Gionee prefers to focus on more conventional methods like advertising and events. Their approach might Lenovobe different but they share the confirmed its commit Beijing based Lenovo objective of getting a foothold – a iness when it bus ne pho art sm ment to the is still toehold will no longer suffice – in but that acquisition acquired Motorola, ll on its we ng doi is y pan the Indian market. And it seems to com The not complete. ecially ts outside China, esp rke be working – Xiaomi has sold over a ma in am ste n ow year ago ts like India. Until a hundred thousand devices through in emerging marke r a yea company but within a purely online approach, while it was mainly a PC than PCs and nes pho art sm re Gionee claims to be selling over ten it has sold mo art cent of the global sm currently has 5.2 per thousand handsets a day through the emil Its t. under its bel phone market share conventional retail chain approach. Z and e Vib 0, K90 the n bee stone devices have and 4, The reasons for their success can 198 in d y was founde Vibe X. The compan be traced to a blend of good prodng. nqi Yua g its current CEO is Yan ucts and clever marketing. Xiaomi surprised everyone with the remark-

20 MYMOBILE october 2014

Xiaomi-

i was founded by Lei Beijing based Xiaom te est man, and in spi rich d 23r s na’ Jun, Chi phone art sm st nge you of being one of the cial , have carved a spe brands in the world unique ir the h oug thr es place for themselv ling iness strategy of sel marketing and bus ne. The alo res sto ine onl devices through sts of some stunning company not just boa its own interface, the ns ow devices but also ices are the Mi3, Mi4 MIUI. Their major dev and Redmi Note.

ably low prices of the Mi 3 and the Redmi 1S – and any doubts people might have had about quality were driven away by the presence of its International Vice President Hugo Barra, the man behind the Nexus range. Gionee similarly surprised people by launching its powerful Elife E7 device backed by Qualcomm’s processing power and the S5.5 which was the world’s slimmest smartphone. Oppo, another Chinese player, was the first to launch a phone with a quad HD display in the Indian market. Then there was Lenovo, a brand most people associated with notebooks, but which grabbed eyeballs with the brilliantly design K900 and Vibe series. Chinese phones are no longer about low prices, but high technology and cutting edge design. Mind you, they have not yet lost their cost edge – most high-end devices from Chinese manufacturers still cost significantly lesser than their counterparts from a Sony or a Samsung.

Fighting negative perceptions That said, the perception that Chinese prod-

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ucts are “cheap and low quality” has been hard to shake off. The brands which created this perception were actually some Chinese distributors who brought low cost-low quality products from China, sold them in the Indian grey market, and after a while disappeared from the market forever, leaving the customer stranded without any support whatsoever. Mysterious Chinese smartphones selling in grey markets like the Gaffar Market in Delhi were responsible for strengthening this negative perception about Chinese brands. Before the Government clamped down on them, they had blemished all things Chinese in the smartphone business. Chinese brands are tackling this negative perception by making reliable products that have done well in western markets, focusing heavily on an area considered their Achilles Heel by many – product quality. Tom Lu, CEO, Oppo Mobiles India says, “We believe that in the consumer electronics segment, products themselves are the key to market success. We are confident of our products in terms of quality and user experience.” Gionee’s country head, Arvind Vohra also believes if products are good it does not take long to draw consumers to your stores. He says, “We did nothing to change perceptions. We just did our work and stuck by certain standards of quality. When users realized that Chinese devices are as good as other brands the perception changed itself.” Sudhir Gaur, Business Head Mobile Sales, ZTE India says, “The perception of China providing low quality products has been overcome by the value propositions being made by new Chinese players who do not compromise on quality. Most players including ZTE have been doing very well worldwide which is also helping change the mindset of customers.” However, selling a product is not enough. In a world driven by social networking a dejected customer can wreak havoc by spewing criticism and abuse. Which is why the new breed of Chinese manufacturers are paying special attention to the consumer. “By sticking to our company philosophy that customer comes first, we hope to create a niche in our service, not only the after-purchase but the overall service,” says Tom Lu. Gionee’s Vohra stresses that the company’s focus is as much on providing excellent service as great products. The attention that Chinese players are getting is making other brands look over their shoulders, even though as per IDC, there is not a single Chinese player in the top five smartphone vendors list in India (Samsung, Micromax, Karbonn, Nokia and Lava).

Vineet Taneja, CEO, Micromax, even had a jibe at the online-only selling model of some Chinese players. “Selling in a few seconds is nothing. The real test lies in selling a product consistently. We sold 1 million units of Unite 2 in 100 days. We sell for business and not for PR. We have a wider product portfolio with products that are designed for Indian consumers.”

And the consumers respond They might have initially been cynical, but of late consumer response to Chinese smartphones has been overwhelmingly positive. Xiaomi has been grabbing the headlines with its multisecond sellouts on Flipkart, while the likes of Gionee, Huawei and Lenovo are becoming increasingly more visible in a crowded Indian market. Tom Lu says, “Till now the market feedback that we have received is good. Till date, we have launched 10 smartphones in the India market and most of them

“Counterfeit Chinese devices selling in grey markets blemished the name of original Chinese brands. We did nothing to change perceptions. We just did our work and stuck by certain standards of quality. When users realized that Chinese devices are as good as other brands the perception changed itself.” -Arvind Vohra India Head, Gionee.

Gionee-

irg, who is also the cha Founded by Liu Li Ron on to become nt we nee Gio 2, 200 man now, in in smartphone sellers one of the leading 4.7 per cent of ng bbi gra r, yea a China within y ne market share. The the Chinese smartpho hin 18 months wit and 3 201 in ia arrived in Ind ble the most recogniza have become one of branding and on us foc ir the h brands throug e imported 1.5 million advertising. They hav ome r and are vying to bec yea s thi smartphones India in nds bra ne pho smart one of the top five ices are rs. Their notable dev in the next few yea 5. the Elife E7 and S5.

have been appreciated for their aesthetic design and innovative technology. As far the market growth is concerned, it meets our expectations.” Xiaomi India Head Manu Jain says, “The response has been phenomenal. We have been surprised by the amazing response from Indian Mi fans. Imagine this: a new brand coming to India without any advertising or marketing, and yet getting support from few hundred thousand fans week on week. This has been purely driven by positive word-of-mouth from our fans. And for us, this has been truly heart-warming and inspiring.” Mind you, there is still ground to be won. Some consumers feel Chinese brands need to engage more with consumers and make their presence felt by reaching out more often. Informing and educating the customer goes hand in hand with winning the customer’s trust. Sandeep Koul, Product Manager Tech-Setters.com says, “There are two types of Chinese devices, those that are manufactured in China by known brands and those that are from Chinese

October 2014 MYMOBILE 21

lead story

ZTE-

companies. I would not hesitate buying a phone from a known brand, but when it comes to buying a device from a Chinese brand, I would think twice as I am not aware of Chinese brands.”

Matters of concern Availability is one area where Chinese devices have a lot of ground to cover. Take Xiaomi for instance. The company did not anticipate the Mi 3 would sell out so quickly and so were not ready with enough devices. It frustrated buyers and drove many to other brands. Chinese brands have tied up with major distributors, and opened stores, yet their presence is not yet in the same league as those of established

22 MYMOBILE october 2014

nductor ongxing Semico Founded as Zh d as a rte in 1984, ZTE sta Company LTD manufacnt me uip eq s ation telecommunic ident, ZTE es Pr by Shi Lirong, turer. Headed ne sellers ho tp ar sm g din is one of the lea most propoey are the fore in the world. Th d have been an y log no E tech nents of 4G LT l deploysfu s its succes working toward in India. o als t bu ina in Ch ment not just Z5s and bia oducts are Nu Their major pr phone. x efo Fir st fir ’s ZTE Open, world

brands like Micromax, Nokia and Samsung. Another concern that many consumers have is of data privacy. Sandeep Koul feels

“Chinese players will have an important role to play in the Indian market as there is a huge opportunity ahead. There is still an enormous chunk of untapped market in India. Chinese players will give the local vendors and other MNC players a run for their share as the pricing from the Chinese players is competitive in every segment. Indian brands have already started rethinking their pricing strategy as the Chinese brands are offering high quality and reliability that too at affordable price points.” -Sudhir Gaur Business Head Mobile Sales, ZTE India.

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“Chinese smartphone brands in India are slowly and steadily gaining ground and popularity among users. Indian users are highly tech-savvy and appreciate good quality and innovation in smartphones. Chinese brands like Oppo are here to deliver on that promise and become a key player in the time to come.” -Tom Lu, CEO, Oppo Mobiles India buyers should be cautious while buying a Chinese smartphone. He points out, “Chinese brands offer quality products at nominal prices, yet one should be careful before considering a Chinese brand, especially one that stores personal data. This perception exists due to limited flow of information between China and rest of the world.” Sandeep is not the

only person who thinks so. A number of people feel that very little is known about Chinese brands and the country where they come from has always been guarded and secretive. Many feel that Chinese smartphones can be misappropriated for user information and data stored on the device. Some argue that this suspicion should stretch to other brands too as most get their devices manufactured in China. However, the claim made by German firm G-Data Software that some Chinese mobiles have hidden spyware inside them has attracted a lot of attention. G-data reportedly pointed out that a spyware is being used by hackers to steal personal data and gain control over a user’s device. While no clear information is available in this regard, such news definitely dents the reputation of the Chinese.

Looking to the future ZTE is optimistic it will do well and hopes to become one of the top five smartphone brands in the country in the next three years. The company says it has doubled its branding and marketing budget, and has also tied up with five seasoned distributors to make their products more easily available. Lenovo too is working on expanding their retail Huaweibig network in tier 2 and tier 3 cities and has rd thi the is ei aw Shenzhen based Hu teamed up with top distributors in the in the world . nes pho art sm of gest seller ation country. Gionee owns about 500 service work telecommunic They started as net diveron r late and rs ure centres, and by next March, 150 more act nuf ma equipment d by ne business. Heade centres will be opened. It is also looking to sified into smartpho see ei since 1987, they offer 4G on all its handsets that cost more president Ren Zhengf private as not and tive lec than Rs 10,000, and is looking to expand its themselves as a col ies t in over 140 countr firm. They are presen market share. Oppo Mobiles too is working nes starting from Rs. and have smartpho on setting up more service centers, buildns tio sec s ng to variou 4,000 to 30, 000 cateri ing their own showrooms and exclusive y workedl ort rep are y The of consumer base. s ice dev stores. Currently they are retailing in ark dm . Their lan ing on a smartwatch over 20 major cities and regions, mainly P7. end Asc are Ascend P6 and through multi-brand stores. They have

Oppo-

nuas an electronics ma Established in 2004 pany’s tryst com the n, Che y facturer by Ton 3 iness started in 201 with smartphone bus acclaimed N1, po Op the ed when it launch tures and revolving for its high-end fea i, they ply mostly in om Xia camera. Unlike all t and are present in the high-end marke ia, where they Ind ing lud inc ts leading marke or Hrithik Roshan as have Bollywood act ts or. Their key produc sad bas their brand am are N1 and Find 7.

also partnered with online stores like Flipkart and Amazon.in. And of course, the battle is on to change the consumers’ negative perception of Chinese phones too, with a generous blend of advertising, celebrity endorsement, and most important of all, very impressive devices backed up by good after sales service. The investments are coming in and now no matter which price segment you think of, there is inevitably a Chinese brand to contend with, from Xiaomi’s Redmni 1S at Rs 5, 990 to Oppo’s Find 7, which comes with a Rs 37,990 price tag. Clearly, Chinese phone brands are not just here to stay, but are rapidly becoming a part of Indian tech life. Their attitude towards the country was exemplified by Xiaomi’s Hugo Barra at the launch of the Redmi 1S. Asked about how difficult it was to be a Chinese brand in an Indian market, Barra smiled and quipped, “We want to be an Indian brand. We do not want to be seen as a foreign brand.” The Chinese are here to stay. And given the quality of products they are bringing at very competitive prices, we do not think the Indian consumer will be complaining one bit. n nimishdubey@mymobile.co.in abhijit@mymobile.co.in

October 2014 MYMOBILE 23

fa c e t o fa c e Firefox OS, the operating system from the company that gave us the popular browser, has now arrived in India and is making waves thanks to its presence on some amazingly low-priced phones – both Spice and Intex have released their Firefox OS devices at prices in the vicinity of Rs 2,000. But will Firefox OS be able to make its presence felt in a market accustomed to low priced Android devices? We met Dr. James Ho, Senior Director of Mobile Devices, Mozilla, to find out more. Nimish Dubey

“We are targeting first time smartphone users” What are your expectations from the Indian market? Mozilla wants more and more people in India to get on the Internet with Firefox devices, which is why we chose leading smartphone brands in India to launch our ultra affordable Firefox. Firefox is being compared to low end Android devices. How is it different? We are seeing a lot of momentum in entry-level smartphones. Firefox OS is a new operating system, based on open web technology. We think by bringing the native web tech to the user at an affordable price, we are giving a user more benefits so he can get on the Internet. That is what makes Firefox special. What would you say is the strong point of Firefox? In our point of view, Firefox OS is a pure Web technology with very low cost involved. It is entirely built on powerful native HTML 5 technology. Its strongest benefit is the strong Web ecosystem. The other

24 MYMOBILE october 2014

benefit is user comfort, which is our primary mission and we want to fulfil that mission. Firefox phones launched in India have surprisingly low specs. Why? We are targeting first time smartphone users who are trying to shift their daily usage from feature phones to smartphones. In that kind of market segment, cost is the number one priority. The good thing about our platform is that it we can have a similar performance as Android with a lower memory configuration that is why we chose 128MB RAM. The lower the hardware configuration, the lower the price would be. We are creating the opportunity for our partners to keep the price low and reach out to more buyers. We have other models with high-end configurations with other partners outside India. We are here in India to address the entry-level smartphone which is why the specs are low. If all the apps on Firefox are Web applications, doesn’t that result in slight compro-

mise in performance? I would have said yes, if you had asked this question two years ago but today we have improved a lot and we are trying to bridge the gap by optimizing every aspect including hardware. All the applications on Firefox OS are Web applications so you can’t tell which application is inferior to the one running on Android. If you update Firefox OS, will it come from Mozilla or a user has to rely on the handset’s manufacturer for it? That depends on our manufacturing partners. What next can we expect from Firefox? You can see new phones coming up in different markets of the world with our mobile OS. Beyond smartphones, we are working with various partners on projects and products in different form factors such as tablets, smart TVs, TV dongles, smart watches and more. Ideally, anything with a display can be an ideal target for us. n nimishdubey@mymobile.co.in

consumer forum Complaint-1 I purchased a Samsung Galaxy Star Pro GT 7262 on May 16, 2014 from Prem Prakash Watch and Mobile store in Makrana, Nagaur. I was offered free 2GB data for two months from Airtel which was valid till June 30. But when I installed my Airtel SIM card on the phone, I didn’t get the free data. I spoke to Airtel’s customer care officer and this speaking has gone over a month now but no action has been taken by them yet. I am fed up. -Vikram Singh

centre, for untimely delivery and for causing physical stress, failing which I will be compelled to take some legal action. -Asap Hangky Nokia’s Response: Awaited

having problems. I gave it to a Kamakhaya Communication in Guwahati for repair but had to follow up with them over 15 times to get it back. I was told that the handset was sent to Gurgaon Nokia care. After I got it back the problem returned in 2-3 days. The last time it arrived, its condition was too pathetic to be used. So I left it at the Nokia care centre for further repair. I have been a Nokia user for more than seven years, but I was never treated like this before. The phone is in such a bad state that I can’t even sell it. I am fed up with Nokia’s service and want them to return my handset in working condition as it was when I first submitted it to them. -Biswajeet Lahon

Airtel’s Response: Awaited Nokia’s response: Awaited

Complaint-2

Complaint 5

I want to port my number from Aircel to Airtel. So I visited the nearest Airtel store and submitted the required documents and unique porting code on June 10, 2014. After that my number was turned off in Aircel on June 20. But my service with Airtel didn’t start and every time I install my Airtel SIM it says registration has failed. Now my mobile number is out of service and Airtel’s customer support officer says that they have not received my documents. When I asked my retailer, he says the documents were submitted properly. My number has been switched off since June 20. Please help me. -Pranav Priya Arya

I asked for the deactivation of international roaming from my number on 9 April, 2014 as it wasn’t worth it. I have been paying the rental for the last two years but the number doesn’t work. Every time I start it, it asks me to visit the nearest Vodafone centre. Where can I find a Vodafone office outside India? Finally, when I came back to India, I went to Vodafone’s office and asked them to deactivate the international roaming and change the plan. They asked me to call the customer care and request for the changes. I called up and asked them to do so. After two days, I called them again and I was told that the plan was changed and international roaming deactivated. But when my bill arrived, it shows I have been charged for international roaming as well as data. What kind of poor service is this? If I go to Vodafone, they will again give a foolish excuse or ask me to visit their office again. -Dheeraj

Airtel’s Response: Awaited

Vodafone’s response: Awaited

Complaint-3 I have been using Nokia Lumia 520 for almost a year. The handset often hangs for no reason and there is some problem with the mute tone and memory card slot. After I was fed up of it all, I went to a Nokia service centre on March 18, 2014 where I was told to wait for 15 to 20 days. It is over three months and my issue is still as it is. I want my money reimbursed along with my phone for the several fruitless visits to the Nokia service

26 MYMOBILE october 2014

Complaint-4 I bought a Nokia Lumia 720 but it started

Are you being harassed by a Telco 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 Telco.

chief speak

“We Sell for Business and not for PR” Few people in the Indian mobile industry know as much about leadership as Vineet Taneja. He has been with Airtel, Nokia and Samsung, the last two when each was at the apogee of its powers. And he is now with a company that many feel will take the numero uno spot in the Indian smartphone market, Micromax. But how exactly does he intend to make that happen? We met Vineet Taneja, CEO, Micromax, to find that out, and a whole lot else besides. Nimish Dubey & Mukesh Kumar Singh How is working in an MNC different from working in an Indian company like Micromax? The biggest difference is that the speed of innovation is much faster in Micromax. We live and breathe in the Indian market so we are not victims of some global strategy of whicb India is just one part. There is greater flexibility here and one’s role isn’t restricted. You have the full freedom to influence any part of the business. One of the challenges you face at Micromax is fighting the perception in some quarters that the brand plays mainly on price. How are you going to go about it? I have always believed that when one has to deal with a perception like that the best way is to correct it by visible action. We will always be a high value product and will never be cheap product. We feel that in this category, a consumer is willing to pay a 5 to 10 per cent premium if you deliver better quality. Micromax Nitro is a good example of this. We are not selling it cheap but selling it at good value price. People would buy it not for its price but for the combination of features and price. That combination is very subtle but very important. What are you expectations from the new Nitro as it lies in the same range in which devices like Moto G and Xiaomi Mi 3 had been selling like hot cakes and selling out in seconds? This is where I don’t agree with you. Selling 10,000 units in 4 seconds is nothing. The real test lies in selling it consistently. We sold 10 lakh units of the Unite 2 in 100 days. We sell for business and not for PR, which is why we didn’t stop sales of Unite 2

30 MYMOBILE october 2014

so we could claim that we sold so many units in a few seconds. We are not selling those products that we are not able to sell in foreign markets where migration from 3G to 4G is happening. We are not dumping products. We are designing them for Indian consumers and selling them to Indian consumers. According to a survey, the online market is growing so rapidly that survival of physical stores is at peril. Would you agree? The Indian model is very different from what exists in other countries. The online model in India is like an exchange. If you are a mobile seller with five extra products, you put it up online. This is an exchange. How can physical stores be in danger when 80 to 90 per cent of the online sales are coming from physical stores! For instance, if I launch a product and sell it through physical stores alone, it still shows up online. It’s the store owners who sell products online. A key challenge Micromax faces is about the quality of its service... My number one priority is to improve the customer care service. The biggest issue with our customer care centers is that they are not working with a system. We are working on changing the entire backend system, in the next two months so we can access all information transparently. It will get rid of all loopholes that a service centre can take advantage of. We will also open our central repair capacity or L3 repair centers in every state to take care of those issues which other service centres can’t handle. We are also working on taking big calls like replacing a product that is stuck at a service centre for a specific period of

time, like 15 days. When is Micromax coming with their wearable device? See, there is no market or ecosystem for wearables yet. We can launch wearables tomorrow. We believe that in a new category it’s good to follow fast and bring in the right innovation at the right price rather than coming out with products that have no market. Right now it is not clear how and why consumers buy wearables. When is Micromax going to become the number one smartphone brand in the country? We are not concerned about the number one position. We want to keep bringing new products in the market and cater to every segment. Market leadership will come by itself. What can we expect from Micromax in the coming days ? We will launch three to four Windows Phone based devices this year. We have no plans for Firefox yet. We won’t say we will never come into it, because we have seen brands who said they will never make dual SIM phones and the market slipped from under their feet. I think in the next 9 months a lot of technology will get destroyed and get redefined. For instance, super AMOLED screens will be available in different products. Each of the high end feature launched by high end players will be redefined and will be available at price that will open a new segment for use. We are also working on having a more coherent strategy on tablets, and we will do something in wearables. n nimishdubey@mymobile.co.in mukesh@mymobile.co.in

www.mymobile.co.in

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Selling 10,000 units in 4 seconds is nothing. The real test lies in selling it consistently. We are not selling those products that we are not able to sell in foreign markets where migration from 3G to 4G is happening. We are not dumping products. We are designing them for Indian consumers and selling them to Indian consumers.â&#x20AC;?

Calling Vineet Taneja Which was your first phone? Motorola StarTAC Which phone are you now using? Micromax Unite 2. I was using a Knight but I asked them to change my phone as I wanted to experience our bestseller) What is your ringtone? I use the default ringtone on the device Which is your favourite app? MyFitnessPal Which is your favourite game 2048

october 2014 MYMOBILE 31

mobile doctor

I am using Galaxy Pocket Neo. I want to buy some advanced version mobile, so that surfing and gaming could be easier for me. I want a small sized phone, so that it could fit into my pocket easily. I have seen S4 Mini & Xperia Z1 Compact, but I am confused, which one will be better. I don’t want a bulky phone, but want anything that can handle Internet surfing and gaming well. -Brajesh Singh

option if you want a good camera performance within a phone-like form factor, while the K Zoom is your camera of choice if you want an optical zoom and can put up with a slightly more bulky frame. The app gap between Android and Windows Phone is no longer as wide as it once was, so that should not be a factor. The Lumia 1020 has a 41.0-megapixel sensor while the Lumia 1520 has a 20.0megapixel camera. The 1520 has a larger, 6.0-inch full HD display and a quad core processor (the Lumia 1020 has a dual core one) which makes it a better device to edit images, but the 1020 is easier to use because of its compact form factor. The Lumia 1020 also has a AMOLED display while the 1520 has an LCD one. In our opinion, however, the 1020 has a much better camera.

in September, which just goes to show you how good it was. However, getting one might be a bit of an issue as it seems to have been withdrawn from the online stores. You could either choose to wait for it or also consider the Micromax Canvas Nitro, which also boasts some impressive specs and comes right within your budget at Rs 12,999 – it has a 720p display, a very good 16.0megapixel camera and is powered by an octa core processor and so should be able to handle your gaming needs. I want to buy a high-end smartphone. I have shortlisted some of them - LG G3, Sony Xperia Z2, Samsung Galaxy S5, Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and HTC One M8. Please suggest which one I should buy. -Jaith

Dear Uday, All the phones that you have listed have excellent cameras on them. If we were to choose, we would go with either the Lumia 1020 or the Samsung Galaxy K Zoom – the former is the better

32 MYMOBILE october 2014

I would like to buy a new phone. The iPhone 5C, Nexus 5 and Moto X are my preferences. Utilities needed for me in the phone are as follows - excellent display, good camera even in dim light and night time, good design, long lasting battery life and the ability to play games without hanging. Can you suggest a phone which contains all these qualities? -Atul Reghu Dear Atul, All the three devices that you have specified are very good ones, but if we had to pick one out of them, we would go with the iPhone 5C, as it has the best display in terms of brightness and detail, the best camera and the best battery life of the three devices. And it will certainly be able to handle any game you throw at it. As it seems that you have a budget around Rs 30,000, so we would also suggest that you consider the Gionee Elife E7, which is powered by a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and also has a full HD display.

Dear Brajesh, Both devices are very good but for the purpose you have stated, and come with good processors and displays, but we would side with the Xperia Z1 Compact as we think it has a much better camera and multimedia performance. I am Uday from Andra Pradesh and have been following your magazine for the past one year. I want to buy a mobile phone with an excellent camera. Kindly suggest which mobile is a better option for me from amongst Nokia Lumia 1020, Nokia Lumia 1520, Samsung Galaxy K Zoom, Sony Xperia Z1 Compact, Sony Xperia Z1. Moreover, kindly suggest me the difference between Nokia 1020 and 1520. Are there any good upcoming camera phones? Please suggest. -Uday Kumar

if we had to narrow things down to a single device, our vote would go to the Sony Xperia Z2 as it has the best combination of display, camera and hardware and also has a very good design. If it is the latest hardware that fascinates, however, go for the G3. We would also recommend that you consider the Nokia Lumia 1520, which is a powerful device in its own right and has got a new lease of life, thanks to the Windows Phone 8.1 update.

I want to buy a mobile phone between the price range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 18,000 with a good camera and a high graphic game handling quality. How is Xiaomi Mi 3? -Pranjal Saikia Dear Pankaj, The Xiaomi Mi 3 is perhaps the best option you could get for a device that meets your requirements of camera and gaming. It was our Phone of the Month

Dear Jaith, It really depends on what your requirements are. All the devices that you have mentioned are excellent in their own ways. The LG G3 has the best display of the lot, the Galaxy S5 has brilliant hardware, the Xperia Z2 is wonderfully versatile, the Note 3 is the doyen of those who like using styluses, and we really think we have not seen too many devices that look better than the HTC One M8 in terms of design. However,

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.

fa c e t o fa c e

“You Need to Give Consumers

Enough Options”

Not too many companies have been able to carve a niche for themselves in the challenging online space as Tata Teleservices. From being super responsive on social networks to making a number of their products available to consumers online with minimum fuss, the company has been making waves with its online and eshopping initiatives. We met Praveen Gupta, Head - Digital Business, Tata Teleservices, to find out more. Nimish Dubey The whole decision to go online on such a big scale. What was the basic rationale behind it because there’s a lot of cynicism on that part of it? There is just a particular percentage in the country that’s online. The cynicism that you are talking of is actually the reality. Having said that, is that a small opportunity? There are about 100 to 125 million Internet consumers in the country. All of these are English speaking people. More often, these are people who are at least able to read English. This is also the younger lot of the population which actually spends a lot of money in terms of online transactions. When did the idea of leveraging the Web and its associated services come to you? While launching of brand Tata Docomo, we started proportionately focusing on social and Internet and we started building assets there. At that point of time, there was no Facebook, but Orkut. So that was the first platform that we actually started working with. And then Facebook came after about a year. But in the meantime what we started doing was, building the two way communication which was this whole concept of Web 2.2.

34 MYMOBILE october 2014

What is that? The Web 2.2 is not about some obscure technology. It is about you and your audience and how the two of you talk to each other. Right from building those items in to the Tata Docomo website wherein the consumer could give feedback, to actively going to blogs and forums. Back in 2009, telecom operators did not go to these blog forums and even if they used to go there, they went through aliases. We were the first brand that has actually gone on social, on blog forums saying that we are intervening here. That’s where we got our first set of advocates. The success of the entire thing actually demonstrated to us the value of the twoway engagement. How has the Eshop

been doing? Eshop as we see it, is a natural culmination of the journey, whereby what we did is that we started with brand and built engagement. Today, we do upwards of million transactions in terms of online recharge and another almost a million transactions in terms of bill payments. So, that is the size of the asset that we have built or of the base that we have built out of the consumer transactions. That is the extent of the impact that we have been able to actually deliver through this entire thing. A lot of brands consider places like Facebook to be a very dangerous place to go to because of

the negative feedback and abuse that sometimes comes there. We experience this day in and day out. Brands especially in the service category need to recognize that in certain situations the customer is going to complain. You need to give them enough options in terms of being able to raise the complaint on your website. When a customer has cited a specific problem, we actually tell the customer to inbox us. Essentially what we are saying is: “You are having a service failure, you are having a negative sentiment. Tell me the specific reason for that. Let’s have that conversation offline in my inbox. I will solve your problem because that is the reason for you to comment and talk negatively.” We are now moving into a 24x7 process which means that there will be agents who will be managing Facebook, Twitter actually throughout the day. These people will intervene, will ask you for your specific details and your problems in an inbox environment. In a one to one conversation. The customer, 9.5 times out of 10, no matter how unhappy he is, is looking for a resolution for his problem. He is not trying to badmouth you. He badmouths the brand when you do not give him the avenue to be able to state what his problem is at that point. n nimishdubey@mymobile.co.in

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in focus

Quad HD and 2K Displays:

High Tech Hope or Hype?

smartphone is no longer a palm-sized device with a tiny screen. They are more in the face now with bigger displays and higher screen resolutions, allowing users to consume multimedia content like HD videos, live streaming, Live TV, HD games and images on their smartphones, which they once entrusted only to their PCs and high definition televisions. But today, high definition is no longer the preserve of monitors and HD televisions. Apple brought really high definition displays to mobile devices with the iPad with Retina Display in 2011 and the period since then has seen even handsets get into full HD territory, to the extent that today Xiaomi offers a full HD handset for as little as Rs 13,990. The leap from non-HD to HD was a significant boost and is still the most preferred resolution among brands. Full HDs are slowly gaining momentum in big screen devices as it is very difficult to incorporate it in smartphones below 5.0-inch screen size. And we have barely had the chance to get accustomed to HD when along comes the next level in the display ladder – quad HD or 2K displays, as seen in the LG G3 and Oppo Find 7. But some are calling the arrival of quad HD premature and gimmicky, firstly, because there is not enough content for it and, secondly, because the difference between a full HD display and a quad HD one is almost impossible to comprehend with bare eyes. So is quad HD just the latest in tech jargon or is there actually some substance behind all the hype?

What is Quad HD?

In layman’s terms, quad HD, also called 2K display, is equivalent to 2560 x 1440 pixels, whereas a full HD is just 1920 x 1080p and a 720p HD display is 1280 x 720p – in simple terms, it is twice the resolution of a 720p HD display. It is true that screen resolution adds more detail to an image, making it sharper and crisper. So by adding a higher resolution, the displays on devices like the new G3

36 MYMOBILE october 2014

and Find 7 are going to be more detailed and advanced. The real issue, however, is whether this level of change is noticeable to the eyes of a normal user. Take the iPhones for instance. They have smaller displays with lower screen resolutions (not even 720p until recently), yet they look as good as and sometimes even superior to any HD smartphone in the market. It is naïve to assume that a high resolution will result in better graphics. The size of the display is important too. So, a 5-inch HD display and a 4.5-inch HD display cannot look the same. Screen size varies and the number of pixels in a given size is equally important - what is referred to as pixel density. Pixel density is the number of pixels in every inch of the display. The higher the pixel density, the superior the display, hence LG has not just upped the screen resolution but also the pixel density in the G3. But, pixel density has its limitations too. Many experts (and Apple) argue that a user cannot clearly discern anything beyond a pixel density of 320ppi with bare eyes on a relatively small display. Going by that logic, a user cannot tell the difference between an iPhone’s 326ppi display and G3’s 538ppi display. According to LG, however, surveys have shown that demand for improved displays has significantly increased over recent years. The growing use of smartphones for sharing high quality videos and images has led to an increase in the demand of high resolution displays. It is this demand which is best served through a quad HD display as it offers better colours, contrast and clarity, resulting in finer visuals than a full HD. Readability on a quad HD display is also much better than on a full HD display as zooming in will not lead to image or text distortion, as is possible with lower resolution displays. Quad HD displays also improve the contrast levels in a smartphone, allowing users to enjoy Blu- rays like videos on their smartphone.

The matter of content

But while there is no doubt that quad HD displays are indeed a notch above full HD

ones, what undermines their utility is content that makes the most of this high resolution. Developers so far have not even ventured too deep into HD content as this makes files heavier and more expensive to stream over connections, especially in a country like India where the majority of the population still

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The world has not even got into full HD mode, and the first wave of quad HD phones have arrived with a lot of hype and hoopla, and with stiff price tags to

boot. But is quad HD just a gimmick to sell devices or is it actually substantial? We take a closer look at the technology, what it promises and what it could deliver. Abhijit Ahaskar

uses feature phones, and is on 2G broadband which is not good enough to stream even a 480p video properly. To stream 2K content, a user will need at least 4G connectivity, which is not only expensive but is barely available in a handful of cities. As a result, developers are not too eager to come out with content

optimized for such displays. The consequence: most apps and videos look almost the same on a full HD and a quad HD display. And that is perhaps where the challenge for quad HD lies. There is no doubt that it does offer more in terms of detail and image quality to a mobile user. But unless there is content that

highlights its benefits, it is of little use to the consumer. A bit like 3D not too long ago. So if you are considering investing in a quad HD display, go right ahead but first make sure if you have enough quad HD content to make the most of it. n abhijit@mymobile.co.in

october 2014 MYMOBILE 37

just in Xiaomi Redmi Note

Xiaomi’s Fantastic Phablet

fter grabbing headlines with the rapid sales of its Mi 3 and Redmi 1S, Xiaomi is expected to re-enter the Indian market, with its Redmi Note phablet. Like its predecessors, the Redmi Note too scores on delivering very good hardware at a surprisngly low price. It comes with a 5.5-inch HD IPS display and is powered by an octa core MediaTek 6592 processor, which promises to deliver excellent performance. Also on board is a 13.0-megapixel rear camera and a 5.0-megapixel front camera. The phone comes with a dual SIM slot and 3200 mAh lithium-polymer battery. And rounding off the feature set are a stack of sensors including a gyroscope, accelerometer, proximity sensor, as well as connectivity options that comprise USB OTG, Bluetooth, GPS, and Wi-Fi. Storage is expandable using a micro SD card and we left the best for last – the device will cost an amazingly low Rs 9,999. We can see this one getting sold out very fast as well the moment it is made available. n

ASUS ZenFone 4 A450CG The ZenFone

With KitKat

he Asus ZenFone 5 might have sold thousands of units but one criticism that was levelled at it was the fact that it ran on an older version of Android, 4.3. Well, that is certainly not an accusation that you can level at the just-released Zenfone 4 A450CG, which features a 4.5-inch capacitive touchscreen with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, is powered by an Intel Atom Processor with Hyper-Threading Technology backed up by 1GB RAM, and is running on the latest Android, KitKat. Also on board are expandable storage up to 64GB, an 8.0-megapixel rear camera and a 0.3-megapixel front facing camera and a 1,750 mAh Lithium Ion battery. Running on top of it all is Asus’ Zen UI and the price remains a pleasant surprise – Rs 6,999. The device is initially available exclusively on Flipkart. n

team@mymobile.co.in

38 MYMOBILE October 2014

sneak peek Moto 360 The

Smartwatch that looks smart too

ne of the biggest complaints being levelled at smartwatches around the world is that they tend to look too much like shrunk phones. Well, that is one fault that cannot be found with the Moto 360 which looks every inch a classy wristwatch with its round face. Powered by the Android Wear operating system, it comes with 1.5inch backlit Corning Gorilla Glass 3 display, along with a leather band. Also on board are 4GB internal storage, 512 MB RAM, Bluetooth, and a wireless charger with a dock. It will let you communicate with your phones, delivering notifications and letting you handle calls and the like, but a neat addition is support for an optical heart rate monitor and a pedometer. Mind you, we still think that many people will buy it as much for its appearance as for its hardware muscle. It is expected to be released in India in late September or early October and could cost in the vicinity of Rs 20,000. n

HTC Desire 820 Very Desire-able indeed

TC has been making waves in the big display device range with its Desire range. The Desire 816 in particular won rave reviews, so it is hardly surprising that HTC has unveiled its successor at IFA Berlin. Featuring a 5.5 inch display (although of the same 1280 x 720 resolution that we saw in the 816), the new handset packs in some heavy processing muscle, running as it does on the 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC (1.5GHz quad-core + 1.0GHz quad-core). HTC has also boosted the front facing camera, taking its megapixel count up to 8. That apart, the device comes with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal memory expandable upto 128GB, and is stacked with connectivity options such as Wi-Fi, FM radio, Bluetooth, GPS/ A-GPS, 3G, and 4G LTE. Making sure all this keeps ticking for a while is a 2,600mAh battery. The big question is whether it will match its predecessor in terms of a relatively low price â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and initial rumours indicate that it will. We are expecting it to arrive in October at a price tag in the vicinity of Rs 27,000. n team@mymobile.co.in

40 MYMOBILE october 2014

burn test Premium features, budget price The Spice Stellar 526 delivers both

Pros Impressive looks Latest Android

martphones in the affordable segment are no longer a slack imitation of highend phones. Devices like the Xiaomi Mi 3 and the Asus ZenFone 5 have changed the whole perception about low cost devices, and strengthening this perception is the Spice Stellar 526, a phone that was designed in London but comes with an affordable price tag.

Conclusion Priced at Rs. 10,999, the new Stellar 526 is an impressive addition to the affordable segment, yet it will not find it easy to make its presence felt in a very competitive market. In this price segment, one can also get the new Moto G and the Micromax Nitro, both of which are priced at Rs. 12,990, and boast some very impressive hardware and software. n team@mymobile.co.in

Good looking indeed! The white finish and metallic exterior of the device reminded us of the Obi Octopus that we reviewed in our previous issue. Since it is a unibody device, it has a closed battery and the card and SIM slots are placed on the top of the back panel, under a small removable wrap. The back carries the Spice logo, saying it was designed in London. The phone looks good and has all the bearings of a high-end smartphone. The metal finish and the metal rim round the display lend it strength and gives it an elegant appearance. The back panel comes with an 8.0-megapixel camera, while the front has a 3.2-megapixel camera. The power button is placed close to the lower bottom making it reachable even for one-handed use. The display is a little glossy and susceptible to smudges.

Latest Android with decent specs

Cons Glossy display Ordinary front facing camera

42 MYMOBILE october 2014

The Stellar 526 runs on Android 4.4.2, which is the latest version of android and comes with plenty of pre-installed apps like Documents to go, Flipkart, Getit, Olx, Hungama, Facebook, Nimbuzz, Google News and Weather, Sound recorder and Spice Cloud app. It has 8GB internal memory and supports expandable memory upto 32GB. It has a 2,500 battery which gives a decent backup and easily survives a whole day on normal use. The phone is as robust from inside as it is from the outside. The 1.5GHz hexacore processor from Mediatek makes gaming, HD playback and shuffling between various tasks a breeze. The 5.0-inch display boasts of 1280x720p screen resolution, which is good enough for a handset in this range. It handled games and movies very well, supplementing its solid sound quality. It also boasts of a simple UI with stock Android apps. The icons have been given a touch or two to look different but otherwise it is plain Android. The camera delivers best results outdoor, serving up decent images and realistic colours. The front camera is best used for basic selfies.

Price: Rs 10,999 verdict perfoRmance

Features

Looks

ease of use

/10

value for money

overall

78%

www.mymobile.co.in

Decent tablet, decent price Acer’s Iconia Tab 7 is

Pros Calling support Good design

targeted at the budget audience

cer’s tryst with the affordable tablet segment dates back to the time when it launched the iconic Iconia B1. It generated a tremendous response then not only because it was a good device but also because it was the only low-end tablet from a reputed brand. The new Iconia Tab 7 marks the company’s second innings in the affordable tablet market.

Slim and stylish with a dab of metal The Iconia Tab 7 is a good looking tablet with a metallic exterior. The back panel comes with matte finish which helps keep it clean and smudge free and also gives better grip to the user. It comes with a 7-inch display, which is why it is called the Tab 7, and has a compact appearance. Being a calling tablet with SIM support, it might be used for taking calls, and it is here that the compact appearance comes into play, just like the Samsung Tabs. The top edge of the back panel features a small removable cover protecting the SIM and micro SD card slots. The removable cover is made of plastic and is easy to remove. Besides the 2.0 megapixel primary camera, it also has a VGA front-facing camera.

Calling tab with a decent display The tablet is powered by a MediaTek quad-core processor, has 1GB RAM and 16GB internal memory. It has a micro SD slot, that lets one expand storage by another 32GB. The 7-inch display looks good but is a bit on the lower side in terms or resolution – we would have preferred 1280 x 720p to the existing 1024 x 600p. Games ran quite well and smoothly and so did movies and all the apps. Apart from the usual suite of Google apps, the tablet also comes with a number of apps like Accuweather, Acer Store, Acer Cloud Storage, Booking.com, Mcafee Security, Evernote, Office suite, Skype, and the Zinio magazine service which has over 5,000 digital magazines. The tablet runs on Android 4.2 and features a stock android interface which makes it fast and smooth.

Old, but very usable Android The Iconia Tab 7 uns on Android 4.2, which is an old operating system but does not hamper it too much in terms of apps and performance. The cameras are ordinary and deliver pictures that are a little pale but tablets are never known to have great cameras at least not in the affordable segment. The battery back-up is good and can easily see the tablet through 8 to 10 hours of regular use.

Conclusion At Rs. 12,999, the new Iconia Tab 7 is not a bad deal at all, even though the segment is not without interesting alternatives. Perhaps its greatest rival is the second generation Asus Fonepad 7, which has a HD display and dual SIM support and is priced at Rs. 11, 999. n team@mymobile.co.in

Acer Iconia Tab 7 A1-713 tech specs

Cons No dual SIM Ordinary cameras

verdict

Price: Rs 12,999

perfoRmance

Features

Looks

ease of use

/10

value for money

overall

76%

october 2014 MYMOBILE 43

burn test The Budget Beauty The Oplus XonPhone

Pros Impressive camera Attractive looks

5 adds looks to a great price

plus was one of the first brands to start the “exclusive online sale” model trend in India when it launched the Xonpad 7 tablet exclusively on Snapdeal. com. The company has now launched the XonPhone 5, an affordable smartphone with impressive features. The XonPhone 5 has a flat 5-inch display on the front and a removable plastic cover on the back. It has been graced with metal on both the side panels to lend it solidity. And with a thickness of 7.8mm, it feels very sleek. The back panel has a dotted design which makes it easy to grip and handle. Overall, it is an attractive device except for the rear camera which juts out a bit.

HD display, quad-core power The device comes with a 5-inch display with 1280 x 720p screen resolution, which is a rarity at this price point. The display is IPS ready and looks good, but lacks protective coating like Gorilla glass. Instead the screen has been laminated. It is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core processor and has 1GB RAM, 16GB internal memory and 32GB expandable memory and a 2,000mAh battery. For photography, it has got an 8.0 megapixel rear camera, and a 2.0 megapixel front-facing camera. Once again, considering the price point of the device, these are respectable specifications.

Easy to use, and the latest Android The XonPhone 5 offers a good user experience and has big and prominent icons. Its touch response is good, but could have been better if it had not been laminated. It runs on the latest Android 4.4 operating system, and the UI is similar to the stock Android interface, although unlike other devices, it allows you to have only two home pages – the number cannot be increased. The handset boasts of a number of pre-loaded games and apps like Snapdeal, Bubble Blast, Pinball, etc.

Conclusion The Oplus XonPhone 5 is available in India at Rs. 7,999, which is a good price for this device. It faces competition in this segment from Xiaomi Redmi 1s, another 720p display device but with Dragontrail glass, which is selling at Rs. 5,999, although availability is a major issue in its case. Those wanting a pure Android experience can also consider the Moto E while those wanting a snazzy looking device can check out the Lava Iris X1. n team@mymobile.co.in

Price: Rs 7,999

verdict

A decent performer

Cons Smudge prone display Cannot handle heavy games

44 MYMOBILE october 2014

Performance is one area where we have seen a number of budget devices stumble, but the XonPhone 5 to its credit, does not. It can handle relatively smaller games and apps smoothly. It did show some signs of lagging with heavy games but otherwise it worked well. The camera is good, delivering good images in both indoor and outdoor scenarios. A pleasant surprise was the sound – the phone comes equipped with Yamaha speakers, and these do not disappoint. The sound quality is good in both the speaker and earphone mode.

perfoRmance

Features

Looks

ease of use

/10

value for money

overall

78%

www.mymobile.co.in

ZenFone at a Budget Price That’s

the Asus ZenFone 4 for you

sus stirred up the mobile market in India in July with the introduction of the ZenFone 5, a device that packed in very good hardware and was beautifully design but which was available for a mere Rs 9,999. The company now has attempted to repeat the formula albeit with a much lower price tag with the ZenFone 4. Will it manage to pull it off again?

Looks…routine! We have to confess that after the ZenFone 5, we expected the ZenFone 4 also to have a snazzy appearance. However, the ZenFone 4 is built on more conventional, and shall we say, generous lines. Yes, it does have the metal-like plate with concentric circles below the display, but that little bit part, it does tend to look like a budget smartphone, built for substance rather than style. The front is dominated by a 4.0-inch display with three touch buttons beneath it for back, home and multi-tasking. There is a speaker above the display as well as a rather basic front facing camera. The back is plain plastic, though thankfully it is not of the glossy type, and houses the 5.0-megapixel camera and a speaker grille. The home and power buttons have a metallic feel to them and are on the right side of the device, while the micro USB port is on the left. At around 11.2 mm and 115 grammes, this is neither the slimmest not the lightest device we have seen, but it is built on solid lines and will fit smoothly into any hand.

Decent hardware, solid performance In terms of hardware too, the ZenFone 4 is solid rather than spectacular. Yes, once again we have an Intel Atom processor powering the device, and 1GB RAM and 8GB storage at this price point are very decent indeed. However, we did expect a bit more than a 800 x 480 display and some might even be disappointed by the 5.0-megapixel camera, when you consider that some of the local and Chinese players are offering 8.0-megapixel shooters at this price point. The point to remember, however, is that the ZenFone 4 turns in a very good performance indeed. Call quality was spot on and although the display was not the brightest, it was more than adequate for browsing the Web and playing some games like FIFA 14. And do not get fooled by the megapixel count of the camera – it can take some very good pictures. Asus’ decision to use its Zen UI interface on the device makes it easy to

use and delivers a generally smooth performance, although there was just a hint of a lag from time to time. Perhaps upgrading it to KitKat (it runs on Android 4.3) might make a difference.

Conclusion At its price of Rs 5,999, the Asus ZenFone 4 comes across s as a very decent Pro rmer fo performer indeed. per rice d o Asus’ addition of Go cent p the Zen UI adds De a different touch to the device. Mind you, it will face very stiff competition from the Moto E which comes with a better display and a newer version of Android but an inferior camera at Rs 6,999. Then there is the Xiaomi Redmi 1s which packs in better specs and is selling at the same price, but is hard to get. Still if you are in the market for a good smartphone experience on a tight budget, the ZenFone 4 is easily one of the best options available out there. n team@mymobile.co.in

asus zenfone 4 tech specs

Cons Competitors have better displays Old Android

verdict

Price: Rs 5,999

perfoRmance

Features

Looks

ease of use

/10

value for money

overall

82%

october 2014 MYMOBILE 45

burn test ZTEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Powerful Budget Bargain The V5

delivers a lot for not too much

the likes of new Moto G and Redmi 1s.

Pros Impressive display Good performance

Conclusion At Rs. 10,999, ZTE V5 is another impressive addition to the affordable smartphone segment. Despite the 5.0-inch screen it is more compact and sleeker than the Moto G and is cheaper by Rs. 2,000 as well. However, the Moto G has 16GB internal memory. You can also consider the Asus ZenFone 5, selling at Rs. 9,999 or the Xiaomi Redmi 1s. They are excellent devices at this price point but are running on Android 4.3 Jellybean OS. n team@mymobile.co.in

Cons Low internal memory Plain looks

ZTE V5 tech specs Size | 139x72x 10 mm Weight | 165 grams Memory | 4GB, microSD

TE speaks more about creating and offering a unique experience to its users than flooding the market with many devices. The new V5 is one of their few smartphones available in the country, and is by far their best offering to Indian consumers in terms of price and features.

Plain looking but very handy to use The V5 is a flat looking smartphone with a simple design, the kind that is less likely to be impress from the moment you set eyes on it. It is the feel and ease that it brings to the table that makes it special. The staid white colour, sleek black bezels, a big display, matte finish on the back and a sleek form factor are some of the physical attributes of the new V5. The matte finish keeps the back smudge free and the rounded edges makes handling it easy. The front panel boasts a front facing camera on one side of the display and a round backlit home button along with two soft keys, which are not backlit, for back and settings on the other end. The back panel boasts a 13.0-megapixel camera, removable cover, a long 2,400mAh battery, external memory and dual SIM slots.

New Android with an incredible UI Although it runs on the Android 4.4.2 OS which is closest to the latest version, but there is more

46 MYMOBILE october 2014

to it and that is the experience. ZTE has its own user interface, like all Chinese smartphone brands, but unlike some of them, it is more refined. Small and neatly arranged app icons, home screen customisation and a collection of beautiful wallpapers are some of the impressive aspects of the Nubia UI. The OS takes up a lot of memory but performs very smoothly indeed. The apps are accessible right from the home screen, ruling out the need for an app drawer.

Same hardware as used in some bestsellers The V5 is powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor that powered the bestselling Moto G and is currently present in the new Moto G and the Xiaomi Redmi 1S. It has 1GB RAM and 4GB internal memory, out of which about 3.4GB is occupied by the OS and installed apps. So all a user gets in this is a little over 500MB, which is too low. However, the device supports upto 32GB external memory cards and allows installation of apps on them. Its display has a 1280 x 720p screen resolution and good viewing angles. It looks crisp and handles video playback very well. The sound quality is good in both the speakers and earphones. Overall, the V5 works like a breeze and handled games and tasks without any trouble or delay. Its battery back-up is good and can carry on for a day in one go. The 13.0megapixel camera is good and at par with

Price: Rs 10,999 verdict perfoRmance

Features

Looks

ease of use

/10

value for money

overall

82%

www.mymobile.co.in

One step forward, two steps back The Lumia 530 is a mixed bag

t is amazing how all Lumia products have something different about them when it comes to their look and feel. They have the elegant ones, the sophisticated ones too but the one that could be called cute was still to come. The Lumia 530 fits that description to the hilt due to its compact form factor, eye popping colours and curved design. Highly compact and easy to use, the new Lumia 530, at 129 grams, is lighter than many budget smartphones. The fine matte finish and nicely curved edges makes it comfortable to hold. The back panel is removable and so is the 1,430mAh battery. It is a dual SIM device and has a micro SD slot too.

The latest Windows Phone OS in town It runs on Windows Phone 8.1, the latest Windows Phone OS, which brings to table some of the features that have made Android so popular, like the instant notification bar and the swipe keyboard feature, which makes typing faster than tapping every letter at a time. The new OS features the same tile interface but the home and back keys are placed inside the display under the interface, unlike under it as seen in previous Lumia devices. The device boasts of a number of useful apps like Mix Radio, Here Maps, Bookmyshow, Bing Maps, Nokia Music, Facebook, and FM radio.

High on cores, low on memory Lumia 530 is powered by the Snapdragon 200 quad-core processor, which powers the likes of Moto E, and has a 4.0-inch multi-touch display. The display is a little disappointing not because of the low screen resolution of 800 x 480p but because of poor viewing angles, which makes watching videos and even reading text a less than satisfactory experience. Some might quibble at 512 MB RAM but we did see good performance from the Lumia 630 with the same amount of RAM. Surprisingly, the internal memory has been reduced to 4GB, which is the lowest in all recent Lumia devices. Even the 520, which came more than a year ago had 8GB internal memory. That said, it supports expandable memory upto 128 GB and comes with 15 GB of free cloud storage.

Decent device with a decent camera The Lumia 530 can be called a decent

performer. It worked well and showed no signs of slowing or hanging. The touch response is quite good too. It also boasts of a respectable 5.0megapixel camera capable of giving decent outdoor shots and average quality videos. There is no front facing camera so one can forget video chats or taking selfies the easy way. A dual SIM device, the new Lumia supports 3G, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi with hotspot support for upto eight devices. The battery backup is impressive and can last a full day on moderate use. It claims a maximum talktime of upto 10 hours and standby time of 22 days.

Pros New Windows 8.1 OS Great looks

Conclusion The new Lumia scores in looks and camera but disappoints in the display, front camera and internal memory department. A year ago, it would have been called a value for money device but not today. At Rs. 7,199, even if Windows Phone is what one wants, there are better phones like the Lumia 525 around. Among Android smartphones, the list is longer with the likes of Xiaomi Redmi 1s (priced at Rs 5,999), Asus Zenfone 4.5 (priced at Rs 6,999) and Moto E (priced at Rs 6,999) leading the chart. n team@mymobile.co.in

Nokia Lumia 530 tech specs Size | 119.7 x 62.3 x 11.7

Cons Poor display Low internal storage

Weight | 129 grams Memory | 4GB, microSD OS | Windows Phone 8.1

verdict

Price: Rs 7,199

perfoRmance

Features

Looks

ease of use

/10

value for money

overall

78%

october 2014 MYMOBILE 47

burn test Amazing Value For Money…Again! Xiaomi’s

Redmi 1S offers a lot for very little

fter triggering online stampedes for its Mi 3 handset, Xiaomi has now repeated the “amazing specs at an amazing price” formula once again, and if the Mi 3 had taken on the Moto G, the Redmi 1S lays siege to the terrain that had been dominated by the Moto E, by offering surprisingly good hardware for as little as Rs 5,999.

Relatively plain looking Unlike the metallic bodied Mi 3, the Redmi 1S is a glass and plastic affair. But there are some similarities in terms of design in both devices. Like the Mi 3, the Redmi 1S too gently curves towards its plastic back, which has a matte-like feel to it, which steers it clear of smudges and stains. The front itself comprises a 4.7 inch display with three touch buttons beneath it for home, back and settings. The front is made of Dragontrail glass which is not as well-known as Gorilla Glass, but is pretty resistive to scratches and scuffs. The back is

Pros Great specs for the price Superb camera Innovative interface

www.mymobile.co.in

relatively plain and contains the 8.0-megapixel camera, an LED flash and the speaker grille. It can be removed to reveal dual SIM card slots and an expandable memory slot. The volume rocker and power on/off buttons are on the right side of the device and are metallic, the micro USB port is at the base of the device while the 3.5 mm audio jack is right on the top. All in all, the Redmi 1S feels solid rather than spectacular – at more than 150 grammes, it definitely is heavy for its size, but is not uncomfortably so. All in all, the Redmi 1S will not stand out in a mid-segment smartphone crowd but is certainly a notch above the likes of the Moto E when it comes to appearance – at 9.9 mm it is impressively slim too for a device at this price point.

..but packing quite a punch But what really marks the Redmi 1S out as special is the hardware that lies underneath that relatively plain hood. The device is powered by a quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.6 GHz, backed up by 1GB RAM. Storage stands at 8GB and is expandable. Connectivity include GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0, and the 8.0-megapixel camera actually packs quite a punch. But perhaps the most important feature of all is the display – at this price point, getting a 720p display has been unheard of, but the Redmi 1S delivers just that. In short, you are getting hardware that is on par and in some departments superior to what you get in the highly acclaimed Moto X, and at a price that is half as much. Nit pickers might complain about it running an older version of Android, but you would be hard pressed to notice it below Xiaomi’s trademark and innovative MIUI, which was also seen on the Mi 3.

A very good performer And the Redmi 1S is no paper tiger. It handled most tasks very well indeed, and the large screen was brilliant for viewing videos and browsing the Web. The MIUI interface needs a bit of patience to get used to, but once you are familiar with it, you will learn to love its little tweaks, like the ability to switch on the torch by simply pressing the home button while in lockscreen mode. The 8.0-megapixel camera also was a pleasant surprise, delivering photographs and videos that matched those seen on

the more expensive ZenFone 5 in terms of quality. If there was a complaint, it was that the device seemed to stutter when we ran too many apps on it or when we pushed it on high definition games, most notably the Asphalt series. But by and large, the device comfortably delivered a performance that was on par with the likes of the Moto G and ZenFone 5, both of which cost significantly more. We can safely state that at this price, you are unlikely to get a phone that looks as good or performs as well as the Redmi 1S.

Cons Android 4.3 Can lag while playing some games Availability

Conclusion: There is no getting around it – at Rs 5,999, the Redmi 1S offers staggering value for money. Although the likes of the Moto E and the Asus ZenFone 4 do offer competitive specs to an extent, they cannot compete with the display and the camera of the Redmi 1S. The catch, however, is going to be getting a Redmi 1S. As with the Mi 3, the device is being sold online exclusively on Flipkart and is getting sold out literally within seconds on going on sale. The question therefore is not whether you should buy the Redmi 1S – it is miles ahead of the competition at its price point – but whether you can get it. All the best in advance for those setting out to purchase it. It is certainly well worth the money. n team@mymobile.co.in

Xiaomi Redmi 1S tech specs Size | 69x137x9.9 mm Weight | 158 grams Memory | 8GB, microSD OS | Android OS v4.3

verdict

Screen Size | 4.7-inch, Capacitive Battery | Li-Ion 2,000 mAh

perfoRmance

Talktime/Standby | -/GPRS/3G/BT/WiFi | Yes/Yes/Yes/Yes Camera | 8.0-megapixel Others | Mi UI, Dual SIM, AGC Dragontrail Glass

Price: Rs 5,999

Features

Looks

ease of use

/10

value for money

overall

86%

october 2014 MYMOBILE 49

burn test Pros Good design Good hardware specifications Android KitKat

Cons Battery not very great Sound quality not the greatest Interface lags a bit

50 MYMOBILE october 2014

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The Canvas Goes Nitro The Canvas Nitro tries to redefine value for money

t contains the by-now-familiar Micromax formula of good specs coupled with a surprisingly low price. The big question, however, is whether the Canvas Nitro does enough to convince people to step away from competitive devices from the likes of Xiaomi and Motorola?

Turning on the style The past few months have seen Micromax attempt to step away from its more functional design roots and add some flair to its devices – evidence of which was seen in the Micromax Canvas Turbo and the Micromax Canvas Knight. The Canvas Nitro does not quite grab attention like those two worthies, but it nevertheless is a far cry from the earlier devices in the Canvas range. The front is dominated by a 5.0-inch display with Oleophobic coating to keep finger prints at bay, with three touch buttons beneath it for home, back and settings – the phone does seem to have a rather pronounced ‘chin’ and is a bit reminiscent of LG Optimus 2X. Just above the display is also a 5.0megapixel front facing camera. The back, however, is likely to attract more attention coming as it does with a leather finish that is reminiscent of that seen in the much more expensive Galaxy Note series. The 13.0-megapixel camera with flash is housed on the back of the phone with a speaker grille. There is a metal-like band running along the sides of the device, with the volume rocker on the left side of the phone and the display/power button on the right. The cover itself can be removed to reveal dual SIM slots and an expandable memory slot. The phone is available in two colours – Pristine White and Mystic Blue. We got the Mystic Blue version and it cut a very smart figure indeed, fitting easily into our hands with a reassuringly solid feel to it.

And packing in the hardware The Canvas Nitro also comes with some very decent hardware. The 5.0-inch display is a 620p HD one, which is good for this price point. However, the real star of the show is the octa core processor from Media Tek running the hood. Clocked at 1.7 GHz and backed up by an impressive 2GB of RAM (again a rarity at this price point), it promises to deliver a decent performance. Other hardware is impressive too. The 13.0-megapixel camera at the back comes with a Sony IMX 135 CMOS sensor with a F 2.2 aperture, while the front camera is a 5.0-megapixel affair, albeit a fixed focus one. Round that

off with dual SIM connectivity, 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS and 8 GB storage expandable to 32 GB, and you get a very decent spec sheet. On the software front, there is nothing to complain as well – the Canvas Nitro runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat).

A very good performer But where the Canvas Nitro really stars is in its actual performance. Perhaps the most discernable change from its predecessors in the Canvas range is the display, which is one of the best we have seen in a Canvas device and is actually brighter than the one we saw in the more high-profile Canvas Knight. Viewing angles are decent too. Micromax also has thrown in some very neat interface touches which actually make using the Nitro a very pleasant experience. Micromax has added a Quicklook feature that is very similar to HTC Blinkfeed, showing you a glimpse of news and social network updates right next to your main homescreen. The company has also utilized the lockscreen very cleverly, allowing you to get notifications on it in different coloured strips – a red strip means a new mail, a blue strip for a missed call and a green strip for a new message. You can also go straight to the application

micromax Canvas Nitro A310

tech specs Size | 141 x 72 x 9mm

simply tapping on the strips. It looks very good and is actually useful. The phone was also very adept at handling high-definition content, be it in the forms of videos or games, and handled multiple tasks with a degree of ease, although there were times when it seemed to lag ever so slightly. The front facing camera is a bit on the basic side (although good enough for selfies) but the rear one turns in a very good performance in terms of colour and detail. Sound quality was a bit of a disappointment though, especially after the Knight and Turbo, but was adequate. Battery life too is adequate rather than great – if you are a power user and want to make the most of Quicklook, do not go too far from a charging point is our advice.

Conclusion For its price of Rs 12,999, the Micromax Canvas Nitro delivers a very impressive performance indeed. The only devices that we have seen come close to matching it at this price point are the Xiaomi Mi 3 and the Asus ZenFone 5 (the Moto G does not really come close in the camera and design department). And both those devices are difficult to get. At the time of writing, the Canvas Nitro too was available only from Snapdeal, but unlike the Mi 3, it will be available through conventional retail outlets too. Which, combined with its decent performance and excellent price, makes it a very good option for anyone looking for a device that turns in a close to high-end performance while looking good enough and not costing a bomb. n team@mymobile.co.in

Weight | 152 grams Memory | 8GB, microSD OS | Android OS v4.4

verdict

Price: Rs 12,999

perfoRmance

ease of use

Features

Looks

/10

value for money

overall

88%

october 2014 MYMOBILE 51

burn test Pros Impressive Design Good battery back-up Decent camera

Elegant, but expensive The Panasonic Eluga U is a sight for sore eyes

relatively new player in the smartphone segment, Panansonic has released a wide range of devices across various price points in a short time. Their new range named Eluga boasts of devices high on elegance, the pick of which is the Eluga U, which is in a class of its own and is by far the best looking smartphone from the house of Panasonic.

Elegant and glossy The Eluga U bears a striking resemblance to a popular smartphone (Nexus 4) known for its unique design and good looks. Comparison with one of the best looking smartphones is a testimony to its good looks. It is relatively lightweight (141grams), compact, and a finely crafted device with a 5.0-inch display and a non-removable back panel made of glass. The glass panel with the checquered design underneath gives it a premium feel but unfortunately also makes it highly susceptible to smudges. Volume and power keys and the various slots are placed on the side panels. On the front panel, there is a camera along with three touch keys. The back panel features a 13.0-megapxiel camera and a speaker. The SIM card tray and microSD slot are placed together under a movable flap. The side bezel is slightly angled towards the back, making the device comfortable to hold. So, the new Eluga U is not just about stylish looks but is also about ease of use.

New KitKat, new interface The handset runs on Android 4.4.2 OS, which is close to the latest 4.4.4 version of Android. Panansonic has not been shy of trying to do something new with the interface and a completely new interface appears on this one too. Known as Panasonic Fit Home, the new UI draws apps from the bottom of the screen and scrolls sideways, allowing a user to be on the home screen and the app inventory side by side. You can see the widget, wallpaper and shortcut on this inventory if you want, by selecting the option. You can arrange the apps in alphabetical order, or in the order of the most used ones or in the order in which you like. You can clear all apps in the background at once by tapping a single button. The interface is better than the one we saw last time where you could swipe a letter on the screen to open the apps starting with the letter. Besides the regular Google apps, it has a Panasonic TV remote app that works with Panasonic Viera TVs, and one called Hot and Trendy where you can download apps that are trending on the Play Store or the Web.

Cons Slightly overpriced Glossy finish

52 MYMOBILE october 2014

Smooth performer, powered by Qualcomm Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor, also present in the new Moto G and Xiaomi Redmi 1S, the Eluga U boasts an ample amount of RAM (2GB), internal memory (16GB) and expandable memory (upto 32GB). It has a 5.0-inch display coated with scratch resistant Gorilla Glass 3 and has a screen resolution of 1280 x 720. A dual SIM device, it features 3G, Bluetooth,

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Wi-Fi, and EDGE for connectivity. It has a 13.0-megapixel rear camera and a 2.0-megapixel front-facing camera. The front one does not have much to offer, but the rear one is quite good and can click fine looking shots. The Eluga U can handle tasks like games, apps and HD movies with ease, without any lags. The handset scores in the multimedia department too, as it has got a good speaker and the sound is good in the earphones too. The screen size is good but the screen resolution is just 1280 x 720, which is lower than some smartphones at this price point. The games and videos look good but a little washed out. It is powered by a 2,500mAh battery which gives over a dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back up easily.

Conclusion

The Eluga U is certainly going to turn heads. It boasts of an impressive design and features but at Rs. 17,100, it faces serious completion from the likes of the Asus ZenFone 5, the new Moto G, and the Micromax Canvas Nitro. The ZenFone 5 has an edge in the camera department, display quality, and comes at an amazingly low price. Meanwhile, Canvas Nitro comes with an octa core processor and is available at a lower price â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Rs. 12,999. The Eluga U scores on design but some might find it just a little overpriced. n team@mymobile.co.in

verdict

Battery | Li-Ion 2,500 mAh

perfoRmance

Talktime/Standby | -/GPRS/3G/BT/WiFi | Yes/Yes/Yes/Yes Camera | 13.0-megapixel Others | Gorilla Glass 3, Fithome UI, Panasonic TV remote app

Price: Rs 17,100

Features

Looks

ease of use

/10

value for money

overall

76%

october 2014 MYMOBILE 53

burn test Pros Impressive display Octa-core processor 4G LTE support

Cons Little expensive Average camera Plastic body

54 MYMOBILE october 2014

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S for Supertab That is what the Samsung Galaxy

Tab S705 is!

riticised for repeating the same design in their products, Samsung seems to have gone into design overdrive to prove that it too can come up with innovative designs, and not just cutting edge hardware. The new Galaxy Tab S705 is a testimony to this as it not only offers innovative features but also boasts of a very good looking, and more importantly, a very different design – a far cry from the plain looking Galaxy Tab 2 and Tab 3 tablets from Samsung.

Stylish and fresh looking As we said before, the Tab S705 looks very different from the previous tablets made by Samsung and looks and feels more like a premium device. Despite having a big display, it looks sleek and handy. Its dimensions are impressive, especially the depth, which at 6.6mm, makes it one the slimmest devices in the market. Besides being sleek, it is also very light. It weighs 300 grams, which is impressive for a tablet with an 8.4-inch screen. The front panel boasts of a number of sensors, two touch buttons, one hardware button which serves as the Home button as well as a finger print scanner, in case one wishes to use fingerprint lock. The back panel features a camera with flash and two additional push buttons. We could not understand its purpose and were informed by the company that they were service buttons and were not meant for consumers. Finally, we do wish the company had moved away from plastic, which remains a prominent component of this device.

Quad HD display and the power of eight cores The Galaxy Tab S705 can take on any device in the market in terms of features. It features an impressive 8.4-inch multi-touch display with quad HD screen resolution of 2560x1600, which is found in very few devices. It also features two quad-core processors- a 1.9 GHz quad-core processor and a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor, like the Galaxy high-end smartphones. The internal memory is 16GB and one can add upto 128GB more on it through an external memory card. In connectivity, it boasts of 4G LTE, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and infra-

red. With infrared connectivity, one can control one’s TV and other gadgets through the tablet.

device with impressive features.

Great to use

The Galaxy Tab S705 is excellent when it comes to gaming, as it is powered by two quad core processors. We also liked the fact that the tablet does not heat up while playing games and HD movies despite having a sleek form factor. Graphics are impressive and it shows not just in movies and games but also during web browsing. The loudspeakers in the tablet are placed on the upper and lower side panel, ensuring sound does not get stifled when the device is put on a surface. The main camera is of 8.0 megapixels while the front-fcaing camera is of 2.1 megapixels. Image quality from the main camera is good in a well-lit environment, although it tends to fall away in low light conditions. That said, we do not see too many people taking photographs with a tablet even now, so it is hardly a deal breaker.

With so much hardware muscle, it is hardly surprising that the Galaxy Tab S is an impressive device. It is very handy to use, and has a very responsive screen, in terms of touch and looks – it is a Super AMOLED display so colours look just amazing on it. It runs the latest Android 4.4 Kitkat operating system and features Samsung’s TouchWiz UI. One can add upto five screens on the home panel, and to make it more handy and easy to use, widgets have been put on a hidden panel which a user can access by swiping in from either sides of the display. The tab comes with lots of preloaded apps, notable among which are Evernote, Flipboard, and WebX. To download apps and games, the tablet has the Google Play store and also the Samsung app store. The finger print scanner enhances the security element of the device by restricting the unlock option to the user alone. Overall, this is an impressive

Samsung Galaxy

TAB S 705 tech specs

Size | 212.8 x 125.6 x 6.6 mm Weight | 300 grams Memory | 16GB, microSD

Decent performer, excellent graphics

Conclusion The Galaxy Tablet S705 not just looks good but also works brilliantly and has impressive features. Its design is also top notch making it one of the best looking tablets in the market. It is available in the Indian market at Rs. 37,500, which is on the higher side. Those looking for an alternative can check out the iPad Mini (16GB+3G), which is available in the same price range, and comes with more modest specifications but a richer app ecosystem and a very natty design to boot. n team@mymobile.co.in

OS | Android OS v4.4

verdict

Screen Size | 8.4-inch, Capacitive Battery | Li-Ion 4,900 mAh

perfoRmance

Talktime/Standby | Up to 29 hours/ Up to 4332 hours

Features

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

Camera | 8.0-megapixel Looks

Others | Fingerprint Sensor, 4G LTE

Price: Rs 37,500

ease of use

/10

value for money

overall

82%

october 2014 MYMOBILE 55

burn test Stylish Tab The Milagrow M2 Pro Tab

Top looks classy

t has showcased some very very innovative products like an electronic massager and a window cleaner, but Milagrow is best known for its tablets. Although initially the company seemed to have been on a mission to blend the PC with the tablet (adding apps and accessories), the new Milagrow Me Pro Tab Top seems to be targeted at mainstream buyers who buy tablets for entertainment and as a style statement, and not just for work.

Pros g allin ign 3G c es ive d ckup s s e r ba Imp ttery a b Good

Rugged and elegant The Milagrow M2 Pro Tab Top looks a lot like the iPad Mini, courtesy the metallic exterior which is quite in vogue these days in tablets. Yet it looks different, thanks to the plastic panels around it. The metal body makes it rugged and the combination of silver and white makes it more attractive. A unibody device, as almost all tablets are, the Pro 2 is very different from those sober looking plastic bodied tablets the brand is so popular for. The tablet comes with an 8.0-inch screen which is considered by many as the best screen size for movies. It does add a little weight (390grams) but most 8.0-inch tablets in this range weigh about the same. The matte finish on the exterior and the sleek form

Price: Rs 19,990 56 MYMOBILE october 2014

factor makes this tablet handy and comfortable. It supports calling and has a SIM slot along with a micro SD slot for memory expansion. The back panel features an 8.0 megapixel camera, while the front boasts a VGA front camera. Besides the micro USB there is a micro HDMI port on the tablet so one can connect it to a TV display and watch the action on a bigger screen. Both are placed under a removable flap cover, which keeps it well protected and inconspicuous.

Old Android with a simple UI Indian brands rarely overhaul the standard Android UI and stick close to the original in most cases. So has Milagrow. The UI is simple, features four home screens, and has dedicated volume buttons on the tablet’s screen, even though the tablet has dedicated external buttons for the same purpose. Since it is a calling device, specific icons, such as contact book, phone, messaging are present and can be added on the home careen. It takes standard SIM card but calling will not be easy as it will not fit into one hand as easily as a 7.0-inch device would have – we would recommend using a Bluetooth headset for best results in this regard. It runs on Android 4.2 which despite being an older version of android is still used in a majority of tablets. The app comes with very few preloaded apps, which frees the 32GB internal storage

to a great extent, and is a marked step away from Milagrow’s policy of preloading stacks of apps on devices.

Good multimedia device The tablet has a decent looking display with 1024 x 768 screen resolution and has good viewing angles. The colours looked a little worn-off but barring that, it is a good display. The sound quality is passable but is quite good in the earphones. The tab played games smoothly and did not show any signs of lag with social networking or with games. It is powered by a 4,000mAh battery that gives a day’s back-up on normal use and about 5-6 hours on heavy use. The camera quality is decent. It can take decent looking shots and supports touch to focus. The

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Cons Over price Aver age s d pe Olde r ver aker sion of Andr oid

tablet can be connected with upto 1TB hard drives with an OTG cable that comes free with the device. It is powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core processor, features a quad-core GPU based on Cortex A9 and has 2GB RAM â&#x20AC;&#x201C; no wonder it works so smoothly and handles most tasks efficiently.

Conclusion The Milagrow M2 Pro is a neat-looking tablet which scores in design and build quality. The tablet works very well and has a good battery

back-up too but is just a notch below the kind of performance one would get from a Nexus 7 or one of the iPads. That said, there is no doubt that it is one of the best tablets we have seen from an Indian manufacturer. At Rs 19,990, some might feel it is a bit overpriced as one can get an iPad mini or a Nexus 7 by spending a little more. You can also check out the Lenovo Yoga 8, selling at Rs 19,500 or the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4, which runs on Android 4.4 OS and its price starts at Rs 17,999. n team@mymobile.co.in

verdict perfoRmance

Features

Looks

ease of use

/10

value for money

overall

80%

october 2014 MYMOBILE 57

burn test The Hive Phone The

Xolo 8X-1000 has a new interface and an innovative design

hen it comes to smartphones, most Indian manufacturers seem to prefer competing on price rather than design and interface. So you can imagine how pleasantly surprised we were to see the latest Xolo phone, the 8X-1000, not only look different from the Android crowd but also come with an entirely different interface, called Hive. But will it be enough for it to take on some very formidable competition?

Glassy-eyed

Pros Good design Interesting interface Android KitKat

Glass. That is what the appearance of the Xolo 8X-1000 is all about. We are used to see devices with Gorilla Glass displays but the folks at Xolo have parked Gorilla Glass not only on the front of the device but also on its back. The sides are of plastic but with a metallic finish and the net result is a phone that feels reassuringly solid and actually can look very classy. The design is unibody so you do not have the option of taking off the back cover. The front is dominated by the 5.0inch display of 1280 x 720 resolution with three unmarked touch keys beneath it – these are in the form of dots and by use, we figured out that they stood for Home, Back and Options. Honestly, we would have liked them to be labelled, as there is no standard Android layout and this can lead to some confusion. The sides slide out towards the back, giving it a slightly plateau like feel – the dual SIM slot tray is on the left of the device, while the microSD card slot along with the power/display button and the volume rocker are on the right side. The base of the device has the speaker grille, while the top has the microUSB port and the 3.5 mm audio jack. The back also houses a 8.0-megapixel camera with flash, and selfie lovers need not despair – there is also a 2.0megapixel camera on the front. All this in a frame that is a mere 7.9mm thin and weighs about 140 grammes. It feels reassuringly solid, although the glass front and back pick up smudges (though not scratches) very easily indeed.

Good hardware

Cons Tends to lag a bit Picks up smudges easily Battery life is erratic

58 MYMOBILE october 2014

And within this glassy build is some decent hardware. The Xolo 8X-1000 is powered by an octa core processor from Media Tek and comes with 2GB RAM and 16GB of storage which can be expanded to 32GB using a memory card. The display is a 720p HD affair, and the 8.0-megapixel camera on the back comes with autofocus and has Sony’s Xmor R Sensor, which is very decent for a device at this price point. Connectivity wise, the device stacks up with dual SIM connectivity, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS, and well, we were delighted to see it running Android 4.4 (KitKat). It also has an accelerometer, ambient light sensor and a proximity sensor. A slight surprise was the 1920 mAh battery, which we thought was a bit on

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the smaller side for a device with this big a display.

The Hive factor What makes the handset standout from the regular Android crowd is the layer which it has placed over Android, called Hive. Hive attempts to totally redesign the Android experience with new icons, wallpapers and shortcuts. You can manage transition effects, mess around with widgets and download innovative new themes from EDGE. It is all very different from your run of the mill Android skins, although some might miss options like the ability to be able to place shortcuts of your choice on the lockscreen. As of now, the number of themes available on EDGE are limited (there were four at the time of writing), but we liked the way in which they tried to customise our experience. The problem, unfortunately, was that the odd lag tended to creep in to slow down matters. That apart, the device performed very well indeed – the display is bright and handles colours well and the camera takes decent pictures, with a number of shooting modes and options. We did expect a bit more from the speakers, though – volumes seemed to be a bit on the lower side. Ironically, the phone did not lag at all while playing highend games, which just seems to indicate that a bit of work is needed by the company on the interface front to sort out matters. Call quality is not the greatest either, but as we had feared battery life was a disappointment – using heavy games or taking anything more than a dozen pictures left the phone drained. A charge a day is the very least one should be ready for.

XOLO Hive 8X-1000 tech specs Size | 140 x 70 x 7.9 mm Weight | Memory | 16GB, microSD OS | Android OS v4.4

Conclusion At Rs 13,990 the Xolo 8X-1000 offers a very eye-catching design along with decent hardware and a very innovative interface. There are a few glitches but by and large, the device turns in a decent performance for its price and is a worthwhile option for those who want to look beyond stock Android. Mind you, it faces very stiff competition from the second Moto G which offers a quad core Snapdragon processor and a 5.0-inch 720p display for Rs 12,999. Mind you, its interface is stock Android and it comes with only 1GB RAM. n team@mymobile.co.in

Screen Size | 5.0-inch, Capacitive

verdict

Price: Rs 13,990

perfoRmance

Features

Looks

ease of use

/10

value for money

overall

84%

october 2014 MYMOBILE 59

boredom busters Name: Swing Copters Price: Free Tested on: Apple iPhone 5S

RATING



Swing Copters In the tradition of Flappy Bird

ne of the most bewildering gaming success stories of the year was that of Flappy Bird. Developed by Dong Nguyen, the game’s graphics were almost archaic as was its music. What’s more, it was incredibly difficult to play – you had to guide a bird past obstacles, constantly tapping your fingers to keep it flying with even the slightest mistake leading to its crashing and your having to start from scratch again. It was infuriating, it was simple and it became a rage. And now Dong Nguyen has served up another helping of the same in Swing Copters. The graphics remain right out of the eighties, the sound effects ditto and well, gameplay is as simple and frustrating as ever. Your task this time is to keep a helicopter rising upwards past a number of swinging axes. And once again, the timing of your tapping is crucial for success. Once again, failure means starting from scratch. Once again, we are torn between admiration and exasperation. Oh, and once again, we are addicted. Warning: this is not a game for the impatient. n

Angry Birds Stella More

Feather Flinging Fun!

he series might have been trying its best to go off into strategy and racing tangents, but for most people, Angry Birds will always be about throwing birds at pigs using a catapult. And it is this latter crowd that will love the latest edition of the game. For Angry Birds Stella is very much in the bird flinging category. The plot is simple – a young bird (very obviously a lady) arrives at a holiday spot with a mysterious which an evil steals using some very nasty pigs. Obviously, the young lady does not appreciate the map-filching and what follows is a series of birds vs pigs encounters in best Angry Birds tradition. There are the usual “put-bird-in-catapult-and-aim-at-pig” scenarios but there are some neat twists – birds can rebound off surfaces and hit pigs that are not directly in their line of flight, for instance, giving the game a carom like feel. There is a lot of girlish-ness about the game (bright colours, feminine characters) but scrape away all that and what you have is yet another addictive Angry Birds game. We are hooked. n

Name: Angry Birds Stella Price: Free Tested on: LG Google Nexus 5

60 MYMOBILE october 2014

RATING



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Disney Bola Soccer Football at its simple best

ootball may be a simple game, but its digital forms have tended to be a bit on the complex side, with players needing to remember different key strokes for different shots and movements. Trust Disney therefore to come out with a much simpler format of the world’s most famous sport in Bola Soccer– so simple that Disney claims to have ignored the offside rule because it was too complex. The idea of the game is simple: you get hired as the coach of a team by its rather shady owner, who seems more interested in money than in football. You, of course, are more noble in intent and have to lift the team to glory which involves playing match after match against progressively tougher opposition. And it is here that the game comes into its own. Gameplay is very simple – you swipe in the direction you wish to run, tap on a player to pass, and tap and hold on the goal to have a shot at target. It takes a bit of getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, you are guaranteed hours of football entertainment. No, there are no fancy dribbles and tackles, but the graphics are good, the storyline strong and well, the football is fun. A must download for those who love football but find the likes of the FIFA series too complicated. n

Name: Disney Bola Soccer Price: Free Tested on: Nokia Lumia 1520

RATING



Valiant Hearts: The Great War A Classic is Born

an a game on a mobile device move you? Well, after playing Valiant Hearts, our answer is in the affirmative. Yes, this is a game that is based on the First World War (or the Great War, as some call it) but it is not an action or strategy based title. You do not have to work out ways to destroy the enemy and achieve victory. Instead, what you actually do is participate in the lives of four people caught up in the conflict. Yes, there is exploration, running and a fair deal of fighting involved in the process but the whole narration is more in the pattern of an interactive story rather than a game itself – you end up being intrigued about what will happen next rather than racking up a score or defeating an enemy. The graphics are right out of graphic novel territory and the music itself is so good that it has been released independently as an album. Yes, the gameplay does take some getting used to and some might find the tone of the game a bit depressing, but rarely have we seen a more absorbing game than Valiant Hearts. It is almost literary. Worth Rs 300, we say. n nimishdubey@mymobile.co.in Name: Valiant Hearts: The Great War Price: Rs 300 Tested on: iPad With Retina Display

RATING



october 2014 MYMOBILE 61

Smart apps Name: Wynk Price: Free RATING

Tested on: Google LG Nexus 5



Wynk The sound of music from

Airtel

he new Wynk app from Airtel is all about being able to listen to and download music on your phone. A free app, Wynk lets you listen to music free of cost and if you are willing to pay even download music on to your phone. Shades of Saavn and Gaana, you might say. But what makes Wynk very different from the competition are its excellent rates: for Rs 60 per month, iOS users can download unlimited music on their devices, while for Android users the rate is Rs 99 per month. And here comes the good part – this is irrespective of your service provider, and is not restricted to Airtel users. There are plans for Airtel users too – Airtel users on Android can avail it for Rs 29 as part of an introductory offer, and if they are willing to shell out Rs 129 in 3G circles, they can download all they want without incurring data charges. The app has a library of over 1.7 million Indian an international songs. There are some other neat touches too: you can access the app through a English or Hindi menu and see you your data usage. You can also choose from three levels of sound quality. The search could have been better – those spoilt by Lumia MixRadio might find this relatively plain, but if you love music and are sick of spending a bomb on CDs, this is as good as it gets. n

RATING



Hyperlapse from Instagram

Speed video fun

emember all those old film videos where scenes were made to look funny by speeding up the action artificially? Well, you can now do the same. And that too without indulging in any tech wizardry of any sort. Making this happen is an app called Hyperlapse which comes from Instagram and is currently available only for iOS devices (an Android version is being planned). The idea of the app is simple – you hold up your phone, launch the app and record some video and then the app automatically speeds it up by anything from 2x to 12x depending on your inclination. That might not sound like much but the ease with which the app converts a normal looking video into something that seems right out of the world of Chaplin is pretty amazing. You can share your Hyperlapse videos on Instagram and Facebook from the app itself or save them to your device. No, it is not perfect – you have to shoot a video from within the app to Hyperlapse it (you cannot Hyperlapse an older video) and editing options are non-existent – but what makes Hyperlapse special is its ability to add fun to one’s routine existence by adding a dose of speed. And well, it is free. n

62 MYMOBILE october 2014

Name: Hyperlapse from Instagram Price: Free Tested on: Apple iPhone 5s

www.mymobile.co.in

Lumia Selfie Front facing magic

his the age of the selfie – pictures of oneself taken by oneself – and not surprisingly, we are seeing a deluge of apps that claim to enable you to take the ultimate self-portrait. Joining the gang is Microsoft with the Lumia Selfie app targeted at all those with a Lumia device with a front facing camera. The app seems to have sprung from the Nokia Glam Me app which we had reviewed a few months ago, but has more options. Once again, what marks it out as special is its incredible simplicity. Launch the app and you are in front facing camera territory. Tap anywhere on the display and the app will take a picture of you – you can even set a timer on it of 2,5 or 10 seconds. That done, it is time to get into make up mode by using different options like “enlarge eyes,” tweak skin tone, touch up teeth and a bit more. After that, you can choose from twenty effects to give a different touch to your selfie. You can either share it on your social networks or simply save it to your device. Yes, we have seen apps that do more, but none which makes taking and editing selfies such an easy task. Now, a few more filters and shading options would help. But even without them, this is a must-have app all the way for Windows Phone users. n

Name: Lumia Selfie Price: Free Tested on: Nokia Lumia 1520

RATING



For e r a u ursq

Fo cking In y b m r e Swa love Ch

rld the wo all over ses s n io t a u t foc to loc king in it an app tha y. But what e chec it g d a in in k ic m a v t r just your tar, m p tha , the ap en a new ava ing places in close to you o at using e r a u q as rest ours n giv do th iends w out inte has bee rm ou can a rage, telling you ab hich of your fr ions? Well, y n places, Swa nt t a o a n w c o y W ll . lo w e s a r o kn mo rent iend s tot anted to ck ins at diffe which focuse ns of your fr ant to set w l il t s e uare, locatio h the app. W at from if you up ch Foursq to pile th you the nc wanted nlike the new ion and tells rby? Just lau ? You can do e the t a U y k a e . it li c n li t m l app Swar g activ l nds is ns jus re socia h of your frie an interestin ecif ic locatio lace, you wil d o m a p e is p r ic te e s a h c h h e t w to s n t or out con k in bou to f ind for a meeting lets you chec get details a thankfully is d to te s h to p up plan gain. The ap u want the app, whic r those addic nt with a fo f gh if yo te the app quare althou ew version o is is the app not con king n th rs nd are tion for chec , e u a h o m t s F u s s e to ld c n t o d o I p c r . o e a p n m n – r n a in g co wa ict n od have to amlessly to S s the checkin itude is as go ursquare add e o is t s F a m almost re and who oogle L an old school ua think G Foursq app. We still but if you are n u. e, the new ur friends ar he app for yo t o y is e r is e h wh –t nds are thousa uare Foursq G arm by RATIN w S : e Nam

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

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Free Price: xus 5 gle Ne n: Goo o d e t Tes

october 2014 MYMOBILE 63

in focus

The Gadgets That Rocked

IFA

It is one of the oldest and largest tech shows in the world, showcasing some of the snazziest and most amazing gadgets in

tech town. We take a look at eight devices that stood out at the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) at Berlin. Nimish Dubey

or about five days, Berlin was literally flooded with some of the best technology in the world. The whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s who of technology from all over the globe converged on the German capital to showcase their best and brightest products, with thousands of visitors thronging the display halls to check out what the future had in store for them. From Nokia to Samsung to LG, companies competed with each other for a place in the tech spotlight, each showcasing devices that it felt would define the market in the coming days. On display were gadgets that varied from the routine to the exceptional to the downright eccentric - virtual reality displays, smartwatches, televisions, tablets and handsets. And from the dozens that made headlines, some really stood out and could claim to have stole the show at Berlin. We take a look at the eight devices that in our opinion, defined IFA Berlin 2014.

64 MYMOBILE october 2014

www.mymobile.co.in

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge It pioneered the phablet phenomenon a few years ago, and the years that followed have seen Samsung’s iconic Galaxy Note go from strength to strength. And the IFA saw Samsung further strengthen it with better hardware and more innovative software. The display size now stands at 5.6 inches and comes with quad HD resolution and adds another twist to the range with an innovative interface - and of course, it remains a dazzling Super AMOLED affair. The device is powered by a quad core processor, backed up by 3GB RAM and comes

Nokia Lumia 830 It has been a relatively quiet year for Nokia, by its own very high standards, but the phone giant showed us that it had lost none of its mojo when it revealed the Lumia 830 at Berlin. With its colourful design (yes, the bright Lumia colour options are available for it) and blend of metal and carbonate, the 8.5 mm slim Lumia 830 is a head turner from the word go. And it packs quite a formidable punch in the hardware department as well - it comes with a 5.0-inch 720p display, a 10 megapixel PureView camera (yes, the same technology that powers the amazing snappers on the Lumia 920 and 1020), 16 GB onboard storage (expandable), 1 GB RAM and is powered by a quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor. Running on all this is the latest version of Windows Phone, 8.1. All this for a price that many say will be in the vicinity of Rs 26,000. This could well be the winner Nokia has been seeking for a while.

Sony ILCE-QX1/B Interchangeable Lens Style Camera It cannot be denied that that name is a bit of a mouthful, but what also cannot be denied is Sony’s determination to convert your smartphone into something like a DSLR. The company had made waves with its Lens Style Cameras, which could be attached to a smartphone, and at Berlin, it added to their range. Of the two devices that were introduced, the ILCE-QX1/B was the more impressive - not only does it come with a 20.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, but it also has a Sony’ E-mount, which means you can attach other lenses to it, and get a performance that is similar to that seen in mirrorless cameras. Connectivity and software have been boosted too. Yes, some will say that it makes more sense to buy a real camera, but we really think that devices like these are bridging the gap between DSLRs and camera phones.

with a powerful 16.0-megapixel camera, with the latest version of Android running on top of it. The iconic S Pen stylus comes with added features and functionalities and better pressure sensitivity but the real stand out feature is the display that cruves over the side to let you see notifications and frequently used apps on the edge of the device, hence the Note Edge name. Revolutionary indeed, although it is expected to cost a pretty penny.

october 2014 MYMOBILE 65

in focus Lenovo Vibe X2 Lenovo showed the world that it was capable of turning on the style in the smartphone department with the sleek Vibe X last year. And this year, the company unveiled its successor at Berlin. It was easily one of the most stunning handsets on display with its multi-layered design - it is a surprising 7.3 mm thin. But while some felt that the first Vibe X was a bit of a lightweight in the performance department, the X2 is nothing of the sort. It comes with a full HD 5.0-inch display and is powered by a powerful octa core processor from MediaTek. The twin cameras have megapixel counts of thirteen (rear) and five (front), while on the software front, the device runs the latest Android (4.4), supplemented by Lenovo’s Vibe Xtension smart layers and a stack of handy apps. Round that off with 4G and dual SIM support and a price that is unlikely to be sky high and we are reckoning that the Vibe X2 will be one of the most flaunted handsets in town in the coming days.

LG G Watch R No, Motorola is not the only one who is placing its smartwatch bets on a device with a spherical dial. LG pulled a rabbit out of its hat at Berlin when it showed off the G Watch R. Unlike the first G watch, which screamed ‘smartwatch’ at the viewer, this one actually looks like a proper wristwatch with some very elegant watchfaces. It comes a 1.3 inch P-OLED display which is always on, is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor backed up by 512 MB RAM, and comes with 4GB of storage, which is expandable. Of course, what makes it special is Android Wear, which gives you access to important information right on your wrist with minimum fuss. There is support for voice commands and a bevy of apps that deliver all sorts of information to your wrist. And that snazzy looking frame is dust and water resistant. It is not just a smartwatch, it looks smart too!

Asus ZenWatch After surprising the world with its ZenFone range, which combined stylish design and great hardware with amazingly affordable prices, Asus is now attempting to repeat the formula in the smartwatch category. Its ZenWatch runs on Android Wear and looks very stylish indeed with its curved glass display and its case which features a rose-gold coloured band between two layers of steel. The strap is stitched leather and classy. And backing up all that style is a lot of substance - the display is a 1.63 inch AMOLED one and Asus has placed its innovative Zen UI over Android Wear, adding features like muting a phone call by just placing your hand over the watch or unlock a phone by simply tapping the watch face. The best part? All this is likely to be available at a surprisingly low price - we are hearing rumours that the ZenWatch will be priced at under USD 200.

66 MYMOBILE october 2014

www.mymobile.co.in

Sony Xperia Z3

Samsung Galaxy Gear VR Adding a touch of virtual reality (VR) to the event was Samsungâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Galaxy Gear VR. Based on the famous Oculus Rift, the Gear VR is actually a device that you wear over your eyes. It pairs with a Galaxy Note 4 (which fits into its front portion behind the lenses) and lets you view 3D content in the form of movies, games and even 360 degree videos where you simply keep turning your head to see more. It is like having a massive screen that has been fitted right in front of your eyes and which moves as you do. Yes, it is bulky and some people will complain about the fact that it is optimised to work with the Galaxy Note, but what cannot be denied is that it was also one of the most futuristic pieces of technology that we saw at Berlin. Games and videos will never quite feel the same once you have used it.

Sony has been upping the smartphone ante with its Xperia Z range, delivering supremely good hardware in delectably designed frames and the Xperia Z3 continues that tradition. No, the display has not been upped to quad HD as some expected but even at full HD, the 5.2-inch display with Triluminos technology looks brilliant. The 20.7-megapixel camera claims to be one of the best around. What, however, really grabbed our attention was the PlayStation 4 Remote Play feature which lets you access a PS 4 console over a Wi-Fi network and play games using a dual shock controller. Of course, it has some serious

hardware muscle to deliver this - it is powered by a 2.5 GHz quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. All this while remaining a sight for sore eyes and being almost impervious to water and dust. Chalk up another winner for Sony.

nimishdubey@mymobile.co.in

october 2014 MYMOBILE 67

spot light

The New iPhones Cometh...

Watch Out Too! Apple has taken the lid off the next iPhone. And the iPhone 6 finally sees larger displays than ever seen on an iPhone. But the real show stealer was Apple’s

entry into the world of smartwatches, the Apple Watch.

Nimish Dubey

t might have been known as a company that kept its secrets very close to its chest in the past, but the post-Jobs era at Apple has seen an increase in the number of leaks about forthcoming products. So not everyone was really surprised when Tim Cook stepped on to the stage and introduced two new iPhones, with larger displays than ever before. There was, however, time for ‘one more thing,’ and Apple did manage to pull a rabbit of sorts out of its tech hat after all - the Apple Watch.

Honey, I un-shrunk the iPhone

One of the complaints that many people had about the iPhone in the past was Apple’s determination to keep its display relatively on the smaller side. All the iPhones from the first one to the 4S had 3.5-inch displays, while the 5/5S/5C came with slightly larger, 4.0 inch ones. While many clamoured for larger displays with at least 720p HD resolution similar to that being seen on most Android mid-segment devices, the Apple fan crowd insisted that 4.0 inches was more than enough for most users and the company even released a video explaining why a smaller display was easier to use. Well, all that theorising was laid to rest when Tim Cook released the iPhone 6 - the phone comes with two variants, one with a 4.7-inch display and another with a 5.5-inch one. The former carries the iPhone 6 name, while the latter is called the iPhone 6 plus. Both phones come with considerably improved hardware and software. On the software front, of course, they will be running the latest version of iOS - iOS 8, which comes with a whole new look and feel and a stackful of new features. On the hardware front, the phones come with a new A8 64-bit processor and a M8 motion co processor, and improved cameras. Yes, their megapixel count remains at eight, but now they are capable of recording videos at a mind boggling 240 frames per second. NFC connectivity makes its appearance on the iPhone, with Apple introducing the Apple Pay system which will let you make payments right from your phone. And then there are those displays - the iPhone 6 has a 720p one (1334 x 750) , while the larger 6 Plus comes with a full HD display (1920 x 1080), the first ever seen on an iPhone. Apple claims that the phones are fifty times faster than the original iPhone and is also promising better battery life. And storage capacity has been increased - you can now buy an iPhone with a mammoth 128 GB storage. All this in a new design. From the iPhone 4 onwards, the iPhone’s design had been a bit box-ish. Well, that goes out of the window. The back now gently curves towards the display, giving

68 MYMOBILE october 2014

www.mymobile.co.in

the whole device a curvaceous look. And of course, it remains as good looking as ever, being a very attractive blend of glass and metal, with a remarkably slim figure - the iPhone 6 is a mere 6.9 mm thin, while the 6 Plus is 7.1 mm. A notable point is also the appearance of a display/power on/off button on the right side of the devices, moving it from the top.

Time to Watch it!

And then came the Apple Watch, introduced with Steve Jobs’ iconic “And one more thing...” line by Tim Cook. In best Apple tradition, it was a blend of very classy design (the display is Sapphire Glass and the straps can be attached magnetically and come with some stunning designs) and an interesting interface. It will be available in three editions - Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition - with each having two sizes, for big and small wrists (a neat touch, we think, considering how bulky some smartwatches are). The Apple Watch is the base edition with the Watch Edition is expected to be the premium one with an 18 Karat gold case. The starting price? USD 349, which is definitely on the higher side. The interface of the Apple Watch seems to be a mix of that seen on Android Wear and the Pebble. Like Android Wear devices, you can tap and swipe the watch face to access information, but in a very interesting touch, Apple has kept a digital crown (a bit like the small rotating button seen on many watches for winding them up) on the side of the watch for scrolling and for zooming in and out. There is also another button for letting you access your friends at a touch. There are a host of apps being developed for the watch ranging from utilities to games. Incidentally the watch will also let you make payments using the Apple Pay system, and also supports calls. It has a hear rate sensor on the back, which not only can be used for fitness apps, but also lets you send your heartbeat to another person - sort of eerie and cool at the same time. Mind you, you will need an iPhone 5 or higher to get the most of the watch - it will not work with other platforms.

The India factor - when and how much?

At the time of writing, the two new iPhones were expected in India in October, while the Apple Watch is expected to be released internationally in early 2015. Speculation is rife about prices, with Rs 50,000-65,000 being the range for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, while the Apple Watch is expected to comfortably cost upwards of Rs 20,000. Neither can be said to be really mainstream. And truth be told, neither seems radically innovative by Apple’s previously high standards. Nevertheless, we do expect people to queue up for them when they arrive, thanks to the Apple mystique and the company’s reputation for good design and innovation. Apple has shown its mobile hand - it is now up to the competition to respond. Interesting times indeed. n nimishdubey@mymobile.co.in

october 2014 MYMOBILE 69

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

Wireless Charging Plate

Keep your Nokia Lumia on this sleek plate and watch your battery charge up. It comes with minimalistic design and vibrant colours to match your device. Rs 3,999

Nokia Bluetooth Headset | BH-111

Choose the colour that suits you in a design that’s as comfortable as it is stylish - up to five colours available. It is lightweight and offers long time usage. Rs 2,100

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 its cord. Rs 5,000

Nokia Bluetooth Headset | BH-218

It puts you in control of your hands free calls and keeps you connected all day long. Rs 1,999

Nokia Universal Portable USB Charger | DC-16

You can charge your smartphone anytime, anywhere with this power bank. It is compatible with most of the devices and has a battery capacity of 2,200 mAh. Rs 1,600

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 Mono Bluetooth Headset | BH-109

With Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-109, you can handle calls hands-free, even when you are using two mobile devices at the same time. Rs 1,600

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

70 MYMOBILE october 2014

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

Wireless Charging Shell for Lumia 820 With wireless charging shell make your Nokia Lumia 820 compatible across any Qi wireless charger. Rs 1,999

Nokia Bluetooth Headset | BH-112

Keep it simple - pick up and end calls at the touch of a button. It works with multiple handsets at the same time ideal if you have phones for work and play. Rs 1,450

Wireless Charging Pillow by Fatboy

Now simply place your Lumia on the Fatboy pillow to start charging without even plugging in your Lumia. Rs 5,499

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 1,100

Nokia Mini Speaker | MD-11

Play your music and listen to the radio out loud with this compact, yet powerful mini speaker. You can also connect them 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 enable 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

october 2014 MYMOBILE 71

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

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CDMA Tablet Lifestyle

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 September 10, 2014) Devices featured in the My Guide have been segregated into four categories baswed on price and colour-coded as:

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

OCTOBER 2014 MYMOBILE 73

myguide NOKIA

NOKIA

MODELS

NOKIA

PARAMETERS 105

106

107

108

114

220 Dual SIM

Dimension (mm)

107 x 44.8 x 14.3

112.9 x 47.5 x 14.9

106 x 45.5 x 13.9

110.4 x 47 x 13.5

110 x 46 x 14.8

116.4 x 50.3 x 13.2

Weight (grams)

74.2

75.8

67.9

69.9

83.4

Model

130

NEW

12/840

9.9/840

12.7/576

13/624

13.8/600

10.5/637

24/576

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

65,536/1.45

65,536/1.8

262,144/2.4

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

8MB/No

384KB/No

4MB/16GB

NA/32GB

4MB/32GB

16MB/32GB

-/32GB

Talktime/Standby (hours)

No/No

Yes/No

Camera/Flash/Video

No/No/No

VGA/No/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

500

1000

500

Frequency/Dual SIM

Dual Band/No

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

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

GPRS/EDGE/3G

No/No/No

Yes/Yes/No

Operating System

Series 30

Series 40

Nokia OS

Music Player/FM Radio Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY

No/Yes

Yes/Yes

Bar/No/No

1,170

1,300

1,500

1,850

2,400

2,700

Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

NOKIA

MODELS

NOKIA

PARAMETERS Model

Asha 230 Dual SIM

225

NEW

206

Asha 501

Asha 210

502

301

Dimension (mm)

99.5 x 58.6 x 13.2

124 x 55.5 x 10.4

116 x 49 x 12.4

99.2 x 58 x 12.1

111.5 x 60 x 11.8

99.6 x 59.5 x 11.1

114 x 50 x 12.5

Weight (grams)

89.3

100.6

97.3

100

102

12/504

21/648

20/680

17/624

12/1104

13.7/576

20/504

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

262,144/2.8

65,536/2.4

262,144/3.0

65,536/2.4

262,144/3.0

262,144/2.4

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

64MB/32GB

NA/32GB

64MB/32GB

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Camera/Flash/Video

1.3MP/No/No

2.0MP/No/No

1.3MP/No/Yes

3.15MP/No/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

3.15MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

1,000

Shared

2,000

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

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

Price in Rs

Quad Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Dual SIM/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Asha software 1.1

Series 40

Asha software 1.3

Series 40

Asha software 1.5

Series 40

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

3,300

3,499

3,700

4,000

4,600

4,890

5,300

74 MYMOBILE OCTOBER 2014

myguide NOKIA

NOKIA

MODELS

NOKIA

PARAMETERS Model

Asha 503 Dual SIM

Lumia 520

515 Dual SIM

Dimension (mm)

102.6 x 60.6 x 12.7

115.5 x 63 x 10.4

119.7 x 62.3 x 11.7

115.5 x 63 x 10.4

121.7 x 68.3 x 11.1

119.9 x 64 x 9.9

114 x 48 x 11

Weight (grams)

111.4

128.7

129

128.7

150

124

102

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Lumia 530

NEW

X+

NEW

12/480

13.3/408

13.4/528

13.3/408

10/552

14/360

10.4/432

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

262,144/3.0

16million/4.0

16million/4.3

16million/4.0

262,144/2.4

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

NA/32GB

4GB/32GB

4GB/128GB

4GB/32GB

8GB/64GB

256MB/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Camera/Flash/Video

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

3.15MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/No/Yes

3.15MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

1,000

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/No

Quad Band/GSM+GSM

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Asha Software

Nokia X software platform

Windows Phone 8.1

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

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

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Nokia X software platform Nokia X software platform

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

Windows Phone 8

Series 40

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

6,300

7,000

7,199

8,000

8,700

8,800

9,000

Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

NOKIA

MODELS

NOKIA

PARAMETERS Model

Lumia 630

NEW

Lumia 525

Lumia 630

Lumia 625

Lumia 1320

Lumia 925

Dimension (mm)

129.5 x 66.7 x 9.2

119.9 x 64 x 9.9

141.4 x 77.7 x 10.9

129.5 x 66.7 x 9.2

133.2 x 72.2 x 9.2

164.2 x 85.9 x 9.8

129 x 70.6 x 8.5

Weight (grams)

134

124

190

134

159

220

139

16.4/648

17/336

16/720

16.4/648

23.9/768

25/672

18.3/432

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/4.5

16million/4.0

16million/5.0

16million/4.5

16.7million/4.7

16million/6.0

16.7million/4.5

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

8GB/128GB

8GB/64GB

4GB/32GB

8GB/128GB

8GB/64GB

16GB/No

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

5.0MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.7MP/Yes/Yes

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.

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

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Yes/Yes/HSPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Windows Phone 8.1

Windows Phone 8

Nokia X software platform

Windows Phone 8.1

Windows Phone 8

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

9,200

10,300

10,790

11,590

15,300

19,990

26,500

OCTOBER 2014 MYMOBILE 75

myguide SUB-ENTRY LEVEL (UP TO Rs 2,499)

MODELS

NOKIA

PARAMETERS Model

ADCOM X28

SAMSUNG

Lumia 1520

Lumia 1020

MX153

MX555

E1207Y

162.8 x 85.4 8.7

130.4 x 71.4 x 10.4

126 x 55 x 15

127 x 56x 12

112.5 x 45.5 x 14

122.8 x 51 x 9.8

108.0 x 45.5 x 13.5

Weight (grams)

209

158

96.5

65.1

Talktime/Standby (hours)

X14

MAXX

Dimension (mm)

NEW

27.4/768

19.1/384

30/120

-/350

NA/350

8/430

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/6.0

16.7million/4.5

262,144/2.4

256K/2.8

65,536/1.8

NA/2.6

65,536/1.52

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

16GB/64GB

Yes/Yes

32MB/8GB

NA/NA

NA/No

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

32GB/No

Yes/No

No/No

Camera/Flash/Video

20.0MP/Yes/Yes

41.0MP/Yes/Yes

1.3MP/No/Yes

1.3MP/NO/Yes

VGA/No/Yes

1.3 MP/No/Yes

No/No/No

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

150

300

1,000

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/No

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Yes/No/N0

Yes/No/No

No/No/No

Yes/No/Yes

No/No/No

Windows Phone 8

Proprietary

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 BandGSM+GSM

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

39,000

41,000

1,249

1,299

1,030

2,376

1,370

ENTRY LEVEL (Rs 2,500-5,999)

(Rs 2,500-5,999)

MODELS

(UP TO R s 2,499)

PARAMETERS Model

SAMSUNG

ADCOM 400

OT 2005D

OT 4007D PIXI

A 9 Dual

126 x 66 x 13

136.36 X 66.36 x 8.8

145 x 70 x 9

120 x 50 x 9.95

115 x 62.3 x 12.2

120.5 x 63.9 x 10.6

Weight (grams)

74.98

152

135

162

118

116

NEW

440Plus

NEW

A50

CELKON

Dimension (mm)

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Guru Music 2

ALCATEL NEW

11/800

11/72

14/425

13/500

3/200

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

65,536/2.0

16million/4.0

16million/4 inch

16million/5.0

262,155/2.4

262,144/3.5

16million/3.5

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

NA/16GB

512MB/32GB

4GB/32GB

512MB/32GB

128 MB/8GB

512MB/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

No/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

No/No/No

3.2MP/Yes/Yes

3MP/Yes/Yes

3.2MP/Yes/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

3.2MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Dual BandGSM+GSM Qual BandGSM+GSM Qual BandGSM+GSM Qual BandGSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM

Dual Band/Yes

GPRS/EDGE/3G

No/No/No

Yes/Yes/NO

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes /NO

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/No

Operating System

Proprietary

Android OS v4.0

Android OS v4.4

Android OS v4.2

Android OS v2.3

Android OS v4.2

Yes/Yes

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

1,785

2,599

3,499

3,999

2,750

4,933

3,399

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

Price in Rs.

76 MYMOBILE OCTOBER 2014

myguide (Rs 2,500-5,999)

(Rs 2,500-5,999)

MODELS

(Rs 2,500-5,999)

CELKON

PARAMETERS Model

LAVA

A 15

A64

A 20

A 40

356 3G

402+

T375

Dimension (mm)

119 x 63 x 9.9

124 x 65 x 10.5

125.5 x 64.5 x 11.4

126.2 x 64 x 10.8

116.9 x 62.5 x 12.6

125.50 x 64.50 x 11.40

103 x 59 x 10.7

Weight (grams)

125.6

122

126.5

112

124

Talktime/Standby (hours)

6/150

5/150

4/200

5/200

4/200

12.8/601

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/3.5

16million/4.0

16million/3.5

16million/4.0

262,144/3.2

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

512MB/32GB

4GB/32GB

512MB/32GB

48MB/16GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

3.2MP/Yes/Yes

2.0MP/Yes/Yes

3.2 MP/Yes/Yes

5MP/No/Yes

1.3MP/Yes/Yes

3.0MP/Yes/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

1,000

Frequency/Dual SIM

Dual Band/Yes

Dual band/Yes

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/HSPA

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/No

Android OS v4.2

Android OS v4.1

Proprietary

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 Quad Band/GSM+GSM

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

3,499

3,999

4,599

5,999

3,900

5,699

4,100

(Rs 2,500-5,999)

MODELS

(Rs 2,500-5,999)

PARAMETERS Model

MAXX

T585

Optimus L3 II Single

Optimus L3II Dual

MT401

MSD7

AXD21

AX409 DUO

Dimension (mm)

103.09 x 59.9 x 10.8

102.6 x 61.1 x 11.9

102.9 x 61.3 x 11.9

125.5 X 67 X 12.5

115 x 61 x 11.5

125.30 x 63.83 x 10.10

123.5 x 63.5 x 11

Weight (grams)

103

125

110

140

114

109.3

115.6

Talktime/Standby (hours)

9/560

8/480

16/730

NA/300

2.5/300

4/150

5/200

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

262,144/3.2

NA/4.0

262,144/3.5

256,144/4.0

262,144/4.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

50MB/32GB

4GB/32GB

512MB/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

2.0MP/No/Yes

3.0MP/No/Yes

3.15MP/No/Yes

3.0MP/Yes/Yes

2.0MP/Yes/Yes

3.2MP/Yes/Yes

2.0 MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

1,000

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Dual SIM/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/No

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

Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/No/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/No

Android OS v4.1

Android OS v4.2.2

Android OS v4.4.2

Android OS v4.2.2

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

4,200

5,700

5,900

2,838

3,636

4,020

4,300

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

Price in Rs.

OCTOBER 2014 MYMOBILE 77

myguide (Rs 2,500-5,999)

(Rs 2,500-5,999)

MODELS

(Rs 2,500-5,999)

MAXX

PARAMETERS Model

SAMSUNG

SPICE

AX356

AXD 11

Metro 312

Champ Neo Duos C3262

Galaxy Star Pro

Mi 356

Mi 426

Dimension (mm)

116.3 x 61.1 x 10.4

122.3 x 62.3 x 10.4

112.7 x 46.4 x 13.1

96.9 x 54.3 x 13.5

121.2 x 62.7 x 10.6

119.9 x 63 x 11.5

119.9 x 58 x 10.8

Weight (grams)

107.6

71.10

73.7

121

112

122

Talktime/Standby (hours)

3.5/100

4/150

12/NA

14/550

15/370

7.5/120

6/250

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

262,144/3.5

262,144/4.0

65,536/2.0

262,144/2.4

16million/4.0

16million/3.5

16million/4.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

4GB/32GB

NA/16GB

20MB/32GB

4GB/32GB

NA/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

3.2MP/Yes/Yes

VGA/No/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

1000

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

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

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

No/No/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/Yes/No

Operating System

Android OS v4.2

Proprietary

Android OS v4.1

Android OS, v4.2

Android OS v4.2

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

Price in Rs.

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

4,392

5,184

2,480

3,000

5,500

3,300

4,000

MID LEVEL

(Rs 6000-11,999)

MODELS

(Rs 6000-11,999)

SPICE

PARAMETERS Model

ZTE

ALCATEL

BLACKBERRY

3G MI 438

Mi 435

KIS Flex (V793)

Blade C (V807)

OT 8000D

OT 6012D IDOL MINI

Curve 9320

Dimension (mm)

145 x 79 x 9.5

116.3 x 63 x 11.5

124 x 64 x 11.9

143 x 78.4 X 9.8

127.1 x 62 x 7.9

109 x 60 x 12.7

Weight (grams)

155

117

130

163

103

Talktime/Standby (hours)

4/170

NA/NA

8/340

6.6/220

16/15

9/540

7/432

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/4.0

16million/4.4

16million/3.5

16million/4

262,144/NA

16million/4.3

65,536/2.44

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

NA/32GB

4GB/32GB

512MB /32GB

2GB/32GB

4GB/32 GB

8GB/None

512MB/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

2.0MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

2MP/No/Yes

3.0MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

3.15MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM GPRS/EDGE/3G

Dual Band/GSM+GSM Dual Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Android OS v4.1

Android OS v2.3

Android 4.1

Android OS v4.1

BlackBerry OS 7.1

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/Yes

4,900

5,800

4,300

4,999

9,999

10,900

9,900

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

Price in Rs.

Dual Band/No

78 MYMOBILE OCTOBER 2014

myguide (Rs 6000-11,999)

(Rs 6000-11,999)

MODELS

(Rs 6000-11,999)

PARAMETERS Model

GIONEE

HTC

IDEA

KARBONN

Desire 210

Desire XDS

Desire 310 Plus

Aurus III

Aurus IV

S99 Titanium

Dimension (mm)

129.3 x 68 x 11.1

125.7 x 65 x 10.5

118.5 X 62.3 X 9.3

132.4 x 68 x 11.3

133 x 66 x 9.7

Weight (grams)

130

114

140

130

Talktime/Standby (hours)

NA/NA

11/852

7/350

7.5/400

5/168

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/4.3

16million/4.0

16million/4.5

16million/4.0

16million/4.5

16million/4.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

4GB/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

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

Price in Rs.

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

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA+

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Android OS v4.2

Android OS v4.1

Android OS v4.2

Android OS v4.1

Android OS v4.4

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

7,440

7,300

9,100

11,000

7,790

8,999

5,990

(Rs 6000-11,999)

MODELS

(R s 6000-11,999)

KARBONN

PARAMETERS Model

LAVA

A25

S5+ Titanium

Iris 455

Irish 506Q

Optimus L4 II Dual E445

Optimus L5 II E450

Optimus L5 II Dual

Dimension (mm)

146 x 78.6 x 10.5

137.1 x 68.5 x 9.92

143 x 73 x 8.9

112.8 x 64.7 x 11.9

117.5 x 62.2 x 9.2

Weight (grams)

150

120

125

103

Talktime/Standby (hours)

6/300

NA/NA

8/NA

5.3/230

NA/NA

10/642

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/5.0

16million/4.5

16million/5.0

16million/3.8

16million/4.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

114MB/32GB

1.4GB/32GB

4GB/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

3.15MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Quad Band/No

Quad 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 Quad Band/GSM+GSM Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/HSPA

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Android OS v4.0

Android OS v4.1

Android OS v4.2

Android OS v4.1

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

6,780

11,000

7,200

8,800

7,100

8,800

9,000

OCTOBER 2014 MYMOBILE 79

myguide (Rs 6000-11,999)

(R s 6000-11,999)

MODELS

(R s 6000-11,999)

MICROMAX

PARAMETERS

SAMSUNG Galaxy Ace NXT

Galaxy S duos 2

Unite 2

Canvas Doodle 3

Galaxy Trend

Galaxy Star 2Plus

Dimension (mm)

138.9 x 71.9 x 9.4

121.50 x 63.10 x 10.85

129.7 x 65.9 x 9.4

121.4 x 62.9 x 10.7

121.5 x 63.1 x 10.6

130.3 x 68 x 9.8

Weight (grams)

158

124

123

118

138

Model

Galaxy Core 2

NEW

8/190

9/260

8/-

-/-

8/280

-/-

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/4.7

16million/6.0

16million/4.0

65,536/4.3

16million/4.0

262,144/4.5

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

4GB/32GB

NA/64GB

4GB/32GB

4GB/64GB

4GB/32GB

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

3.0MP/No/Yes

3.5MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/No

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Frequency/Dual SIM

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

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Operating System

Android OS v4.4

Android v4.2

Android OS v4.1

Android v4.4

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

Price in Rs.

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

Android OS v4.2

Android OS v4.4

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/Yes/Bar

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/Yes/Bar

Bar/Yes/No

6,999

8,200

7,000

7334

7,000

8,790

11,790

(Rs 6000-11,999)

(R s 6000-11,999)

MODELS

(R s 6000-11,999)

SONY

PARAMETERS

SPICE

E1 Dual

Xperia M

Stellar Virtuoso Mi 496

Mi 506

Coolpad MI-515

Stellar Virtuoso Mi 495

Dimension (mm)

118 x 62.4 x 12

124 x 62 x 9.3

145 x 72.9 x 9.6

140 x 73 x 9.9

Weight (grams)

120

115

177

161

8.2/498

10.16/498

7.5/200

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/4.0

16million/4.5

16million/5.0

16million/4.5

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

4GB/32GB

NA/32GB

4GB/32GB

NA/32GB

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

3.15MP/Yes/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/No

Quad Band/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/No

Model

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.

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

Yes/Yes/HSPA

Android OS v4.3

Android OS v4.1

Android v4.0

Android v4.2

Android OS v4.1

Android OS v4.0

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/Yes/Bar

Bar/Yes/No

7,500

8,200

11,500

6,500

6,750

7,800

10,499

80 MYMOBILE OCTOBER 2014

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

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

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

myguide (Rs 6000-11,999)

(Rs 6000-11,999)

MODELS

(Rs 6000-11,999)

PARAMETERS

SPICE

XOLO

ZTE

Stellar Virtuoso Mi 530

A600

Q1000 Opus

Q900

Q800

Q1000

G2 (V880)

Dimension (mm)

152 x 79 x 10.3

136 x 67 x 9

143.3 x 72.9 x 9

137 x 70 x 9.9

135.5 x 67 x 9.6

143.5 x 70.8 x 8.8

133 × 66 × 9.9

Weight (grams)

196.3

138

143.5

145

Model

Talktime/Standby (hours)

4.1/696

22/650

18/700

13/384

16/360

14/350

12/300

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/5.3

16million/4.5

16million/5.0

16million/4.7

16million/4.5

16.7million/5.0

16million/4.5

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

16GB/32GB

4GB/32GB

2.5GB/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

5MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Quad Band/No

Dual Band/No

Quad Band/GSM+GSM

Frequency/Dual SIM

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

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Yes/Yes/HSDP+

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Android OS v4.0

Android OS v4.2

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

Android OS v4.1

Android OS v4.2

Yes/Yes/Yes Android OS v4.2

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/Yes/Yes

13,999

7,000

9,000

10,000

11,500

9,500

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

HIGH LEVEL

MODELS

(R s 6000-11,999)

PARAMETERS

ZTE

ALCATEL

APPLE

ATOM

Model

Blade L (V887)

OT 6030

Idol X+

OT 6033X

Iphone 5C

Iphone 5S

Supremus

Dimension (mm)

148 x 78 x 10.5

133 x 67.5 x 7.9

140.4 x 69.1 x 7.9

134.4 x 68.5 x 6.4

124.4 x 59.2 8.97

123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6

157 X 78 X 9.2

Weight (grams)

200

110

130

110

132

112

125

8/320

7.2/415

12/240

16/700

10/250

18/460

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/5

16million/NA

16million/5.0

16million/NA

16million/4.0

16.7million/5.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

2.5GB/32GB

4GB/32GB

16GB/No

16,32/No

16,32,64/No

16GB/32GB

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

5MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

13.1/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

13.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Quad Band/No

Quad Band

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

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

Price in Rs.

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

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/HPSA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Android OS v4.0

Android OS v4.1

Android OS v4.2

Android OS v4.1

iOS7

Android OS v4.2

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Bar/Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

9,900

13,500

16,999

17,900

41,900/53,500

53,500/62,500/73,500

16,999

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

OCTOBER 2014 MYMOBILE 81

myguide Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

MODELS

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

ATOM

PARAMETERS

BLACKBERRY

Ultimus

Maximus

9720

Curve 9360

Q10

Dimension (mm)

157 X 78 X 9.2

167 X 88 X 9.2

120 x 66 x 10.8

114 x 66 x 12

140 x 72.8 x 9.3

112 x 62 x 14.2

119.6 x 66.8 x 10.4

Weight (grams)

125

225

120

164

130

139

Model

18/460

12/336

7/432

15.5/384

5/336

10/NA

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16.7million/5.0

16.7/6.5

16million/3.1

262,144/2.8

16million/5.0

262,144/2.44

16million/3.1

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

16GB/32GB

8GB/32GB

512MB/32GB

8GB/32GB

256MB/32GB

16GB/64GB

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

13.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Quad Band/No

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA

BlackBerry OS 10.2

BlackBerry OS 7.0

BlackBerry OS 10

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Frequency/Dual SIM

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

GPRS/EDGE/3G

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

Price in Rs.

Android v4.2

BlackBerry OS 10

BlackBerry OS 7.1

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/Yes

Bar/Yes/Yes

18,999

23,400

13,990

11,990

15,990

16,990

22,000

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

MODELS

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

Model

CELKON

BLACKBERRY

PARAMETERS

GIONEE

Z10

Z30

CTRL V5

Elife E3

Elife E5

Elife E7 Mini

Dimension (mm)

130 x 65.6 x 9

140.7 x 72 x 9.4

17.8 x 9.8 x 6.5

134.5 x 67.7 x 8.1

137 X 68 X 7.9

137 X 69 X 6.85

139.8 x 66.2 x 8.6

Weight (grams)

136

170

135

103.5

133.9

142.9

10/312

25/384

8/200

14.5/324

14/312

18/200

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/4.2

16million/5-0

16million/5.0

16million/4.7

16Millon/4.7

16millon/4.8

16million/4.7

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

16GB/64GB

16GB/32GB

8GB/32GB

16GB/32GB

16GB/NA

16BG/No

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

13.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

13MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad band/No

Quad Band/No

Dual Band/Yes

Quad Band/NA

Quad 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.

Yes/Yes/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM

Yes/Yes/HSPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

BlackBerry OS 10

BlackBerry OS 10.2

Android 4.2

Android OS, v4.2

Android OS v4.2

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

18,300

28,990

14,499

12,999

13,700

15,700

17,000

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

82 MYMOBILE OCTOBER 2014

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

myguide Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

MODELS

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

GIONEE

PARAMETERS Model

HTC

Elife S5.5

Elife E6

Elife E7

Desire 516

Desire 616

Desire 700

Desire 601

Dimension (mm)

145.1 x 70.2 x 5.6

142.5 x 69.4 x 7.9

150.6 x 75 x 9.5

140 x 72 x 9.7

142 x 71.9 x 9.2

145.5 x 72 x 10.3

134.5 x 66.7 x 9.88

Weight (grams)

120

150

160

150

130

Talktime/Standby (hours)

NA/NA

9/220

14/700

8/338

12.8/440

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/5.0

16.7million/5.0

16million/5.5

16million/5.0

16million/4.5

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

16GB/No

32GB/No

16GB/32GB

4GB/32GB

4GB/64GB

8GB/64GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

13.0MP/Yes/Yes

16MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/No

Quad Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Tri Band/GSM+GSM

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Yes/Yes/HSPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

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

Operating System

Android OS v4.2

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

Price in Rs.

Android OS v4.2

Yes/Yes/HSPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Android OS v4.1

Android OS v4.2

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

20,500

22,300

23,900

13,000

16,500

18,300

19,800

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

MODELS

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

HTC

PARAMETERS Model

Desire 600

Desire 816

One Mini

One (E8)

One DS

One M8

One Max

Dimension (mm)

134.8 x 67 x 9.26

156.6 x 78.7 x 8

132 x 63.2 x 9.25

146.4 x 70.7 x 9.9

137.4 x 68.2 x 10.4

146.4 x 70.6 x 9.4

164.5 x 82.5 x 10.29

Weight (grams)

130

165

122

145

143

160

217

11.4/539

21/737

13.27/692

26.7/504

27/500

14/271

25/585

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/4.5

16million/5.5

16million/4.3

16milliom/5.0

16.7million/4.7

16million/5.0

16million/5.9

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

8GB/64GB

8GB/128GB

16GB/No

16GB/128GB

32GB/No

16GB/128GB

16GB/64GB

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

13.0MP/Yes/Yes

4.0MP/Yes/Yes

13.0MP/Yes/Yes

4.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Quad Band/No

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Frequency/Dual SIM

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

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Android OS v4.2

Android OS v4.4

Android OS v4.2

Android OS v4.4

Android OS v4.1

Android OS v4.4

Android OS v4.3

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

24,000

28,500

35,000

36,000

46,500

50,000

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

Price in Rs.

Quad Band/No

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

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

OCTOBER 2014 MYMOBILE 83

myguide Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

MODELS

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

IDEA

PARAMETERS

KARBONN

LAVA

LAENOVO

Whiz

Ultra

S7 Titanium

S9 Titanium

Irish Pro 30

A850

S890

Dimension (mm)

143.5 x 72 x 9.3

138 x 66.7 x 7.5

79.3 x 9.45 x 153.5

143.6 x 74.2 x 9.3

Weight (grams)

176.5

114

184

176

Model

8.5/NA

16/700

4/200

4.5/400

28.6/490

17/312

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

262,144/4.0

16million/5.0

16million/5.5

16.7million/4.7

16million/5.5

16million/5.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

4GB/32GB

16GB/32GB

4GB/32GB

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/No/Yes

13.0MP/Yes/Yes

13MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/GSM+GSM Tri Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM Quad Band/GSM+GSM

Tri Band/Dual SIM

Tri Band/Dual Band

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA+

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Android v4.0

Android OS v4.1

Android OS v4.2

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

Price in Rs.

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

7,800

12,500

15,500

14,400

13,500

12,000

13,000

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

MODELS

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

PARAMETERS

LENOVO S660

Vibe X S960

Optimus L7 II

Optimus L7II Dual

L70 D310

L90 D410

G Pro Lite Dual D686

Dimension (mm)

137 x 68.8 x 10

144 x 74 x 6.9 mm

121.5 x 66.6 x 9.7

122.2 x 66.6 x 9.7

127.2 x 66.8 x 9.5

131.6 x 66 x 9.7

150.2 x 76.9 x 9.48

Weight (grams)

151

121

118

115.5

126.6

161

36/840

16/288

12/800

4.6/490

14.5/845

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/4.7

16million/5.0

16million/4.3

16 million/4.3

16million/4.5

16million/4.7

16million/5.5

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

8GB/32GB

16GB/No

4GB/32GB

8GB/32GB

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

13.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Dual Band/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/No

Model

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

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

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Operating System

Android OS v4.2

Android OS v4.1

Android OS v4.4

Android OS v4.1

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

14,500

23,500

12,000

12,200

13,200

16,000

18,150

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

Price in Rs.

84 MYMOBILE OCTOBER 2014

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

myguide Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

MODELS

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

PARAMETERS Model

G3 16GB

Optimus G Pro

Nexus 5 16GB/32GB

G2 16GB/32GB

G Pro 2

G Flex

Dimension (mm)

150.2 x 76.1 x 9.4

137.9 x 69.2 x 8.6

138.5 x 70.9 x 8.9

157.9 x 81.9 x 8.3

160.5 x 81.6 x 7.9

146.3 x 74.6 x 8.9

Weight (grams)

170

130

143

172

177

149

NEW

G3 32GB

NEW

31/598

17/300

NA/NA

8/270

15/720

19/565

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/5.5

16million/4.95

16million/5.2

16million/5.9

16million/6.0

16million/5.5

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

16GB/64GB

16GB/No

16GB/64GB

32GB/No

16GB/128GB

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

13.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

13.0MP/Yes/Yes

13MP/Yes/Yes

13.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Sahred

Shared

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/No

Qual Band/No

Quad Band/No

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Operating System

Android OS v4.1

Android OS v4.4

Android OS v4.2

Android OS v4.4

Android OS v4.2

Android OS v4.4

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

Price in Rs.

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

32,000

29,990/34,000

34,000/37,000

49,990

45,000

47,000

50,000

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

MODELS

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

MICROMAX

PARAMETERS Model

Canvas 2.2

Turbo mini

Canvas Doodle 2

Dimension (mm)

147 x 76.5 x 9.7

147x77x9.9

Weight (grams)

147

Canvas XL A119

Turbo

Canvas Knight

141 x 72 x 9

165 x 84.2 x 10.4

128.3 x 71 x 8.6

144 x 70 x 7.3

152

180

7/290

6.5/180

6/220

10/320

9.4/209

7/105

7.5/175

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16 million/5.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

4GB/32GB

16million/4.7

16million/5.3

16million/5.0

16million/6.0

16million/5.0

4GB/32GB

8GB/32GB

4GB/32GB

16GB/No

32GB/No

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

13.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

13.0MP/Yes/Yes

16MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Canvas Nitro

NEW

Frequency/Dual SIM

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

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Android OS v4.2

Android OS v4.1

Android OS v4.4

Android OS v4.2

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

8,900

11,000

12,700

12,999

14,600

14,300

20,000

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

OCTOBER 2014 MYMOBILE 85

myguide Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

MODELS

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

PARAMETERS Model Dimension (mm) Weight (grams)

MICROMAX

OBI

Canvas Gold

Octopus S520

Galaxy Quattro

Galaxy Grand Neo

SAMSUNG Galaxy Grand

145 x 75 x 8.40

133.30 x 70.70 x 9.65

143.7 x 77.1 x 9.6

143.5 x 76.8 x 9.6

Galaxy S4 mini

Galaxy Grand 2

124.60 x 61.30 x 8.94 146.80 x 75.30 x 8.95

143.9

163

161

108

163

8/210

NA/NA

11/210

11/430

10.1/440

12/NA

17/370

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/5.5

16million/5.0

16million/4.7

16million/5.01

16million/5.0

16million/4.3

16million/5.25

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

32GB/No

8GB/32GB

8GB/64GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

16MP/Yes/Yes

13.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

Shared

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Camera/Flash/Video Phonebook Capacity Frequency/Dual SIM

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

Shared

Quad Band/No

Quad Band/GSM+GSM

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Operating System

Android OS v4.4

Android OS v4.1

Android OS v4.2

Android OS v4.1

Android OS v4.2

Android OS v4.3

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

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/HSPA+

19,000

11,990

14,500

14,770

16,500

17,500

18,300

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

MODELS

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

PARAMETERS Model

SAMSUNG Galaxy SIII

Galaxy SIII Neo

Dimension (mm)

136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6

136.6 x 70.75 x 8.6

131.1 x 64.8 x 9.1

167.6 x 88 x 8

151.1 x 80.5 x 9.4

148.4 x 77.4 x 8.6

136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9

Weight (grams)

133

132

120

199

183

162.5

130

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Galaxy S5 mini

NEW

Galaxy Mega 6.3

Galaxy Note II N7100 Galaxy Note 3 Neo

Galaxy S4

22.5/830

14/NA

10/NA

17/420

35/980

18/540

17/370

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/4.8

16million/4.5

16million/6.3

16million/5.5

16million/5.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

16GB/64GB

NA/64GB

16GB/64GB

8GB/64GB

16GB/64GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

13.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/No

Quad Band/GSM+GSM

Quad Band/No

Quad Band/NA

Quad Band/No

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Operating System

Android OS v4.0

Android OS v4.3

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

Android OS v4.4

Android OS v4.2

Android OS v4.1

Quad Band/No

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Android OS v4.3

Android OS v4.2

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

22,500

24,000

26,499

27,500

29,500

30,000

86 MYMOBILE OCTOBER 2014

myguide Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

MODELS

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

SAMSUNG

PARAMETERS Model Dimension (mm) Weight (grams)

SONY

Galaxy S5

Galaxy Note 3

Xperia M Dual

Xperia C

Xperia SP

Xperia M2

142 x 72.5 x 8.1

151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3

124 x 62 x 9.3

141.5 x 74.15 x 8.88

130.6 x 67.1 x 9.98

139.7 x 71.1 x 8.6

M2 Dual

NEW

139.7 x 71.1 x 8.6

145

168

115

153

155

148

21/390

20/490

10.16/498

14.1/588

18/734

13.5/588

11.2/580

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/5.1

16million/5.7

16million/4.0

16million/5.0

16million/4.6

16million/4.8

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

16GB/128GB

32GB/64GB

4GB/32GB

8GB/32GB

Yes/Yes

16MP/Yes/Yes

13.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

Shared

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi Camera/Flash/Video Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/No

Quad Band/GSM+GSM Tri Band/GSM+GSM

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Operating System

Android OS, v4.4

Android OS v4.3

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Bar/Yes/No

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

Price in Rs.

Shared

Quad Band/No

Quad Band/GSM

Quad Band/GSM+GSM

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Android OS v4.1

Android OS v4.2

Android OS v4.1

Android OS, v4.3

Android OS v4.3

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

18,600

19,300

38,500

40,000

12,100

17,000

20,000

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

MODELS

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

SONY

PARAMETERS Model

Xperia ZR

Xperia T2 Ultra

Xperia Z

Xperia Z 1 Compact

Xperia Z 1

Dimension (mm)

156.2 x 78.7 x 7.6

131.3 x 67.3 x 10.5

165.2 x 83.8 x 7.7

150.7 x 77 x 7

139 x 71 x 7.9

127 x 64.9 x 9.5

144.4 x 73.9 x 8.5

Weight (grams)

149.7

138

171.8

148

146

137

169

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Xpiria C3

NEW

11/1040

11/470

16/1120

12.7/639

11/550

10/670

14/880

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16milion/5.5

16million/4.6

16million/6.0

16million/5.3

16million/5.0

16million/4.3

16million/5.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

8GB/32GB

16GB/32GB

16GB/64GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

13.1MP/Yes/Yes

13.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

13.1MP/Yes/Yes

20.7MP/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

Price in Rs.

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

Android OS v4.4

Android OS v4.2

Yes/Yes/HSPA+ Android OS, v4.3

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

Android OS v4.1

Quad Band/No

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Android OS v4.3

Android OS v4.2

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

23,000

24,500

23,500

26,700

26,000

32,000

OCTOBER 2014 MYMOBILE 87

myguide CDMA PHONE

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

MODELS

Rs 12,000 UPWARDS

SONY

PARAMETERS

XOLO

CDMA

Model

Xperia Z Ultra

Xperia Z 2

X1000

Q1000s

Q3000

Samsung B229

MTS Striker C121

Dimension (mm)

179 x 92 x 6.5

146.8 x 73.3 x 8.2

147 x 72.1 x 7

164.8 x 81.6 x 8.9

108 x 44.38 x 14.20

106.8×44.7×13.15

Weight (grams)

212

163

158

65.5

11/550

15/690

9.5/336

22/327

33/667

6.5/720

33/360

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/5.4

16million/5.2

16million/4.7

16million/5.0

16million/5.7

65,536/1.5

65,536/1.44

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

16GB/64GB

16BG/128GB

8GB/32GB

16GB/No

16GB/32GB

450KB/No

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

No/No

Camera/Flash/Video

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

20.7MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

13.0MP/Yes/Yes

No/No/No

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

1,000

500

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

Price in Rs.

Quad Band/No

Dual Band/No

Quad Band/GSM+GSM

CDMA/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

No/No/No

Android OS v4.2

Android OS v4.4

Android OS v4.0

Android OS v4.2

BREW

Yes/Yes

No/No

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

38,000

44,000

13,800

14,000

18,500

1,100

1,500

CDMA PHONE

MODELS

CDMA PHONE

CDMA

PARAMETERS Model

MTS Striker C131

MTS Striker C132

Micromax GC222

Lava ARC8c

MTS Mtag 281

MTS Duet

MTS Duet II

Dimension (mm)

108.5 × 46.7 × 12.15

115.5 × 47 × 13.5

110 x 45 x 10

104 x 57 x 13.3

116.36 x 61.7 x 12.7

Weight (grams)

68.2

Talktime/Standby (hours)

16/240

17.9/360

4.5/170

May-90

10/220

NA/NA

10/NA

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

65,536/1.77

262,144/1.8

65,536/2.2

262,144/2.8

242,144/3.5

262,14/4.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

1.29MB/No

59KB/4GB

NA/8GB

170MB/32GB

4GB/32GB

120MB/32GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

No/No

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

No/No/No

VGS/No/Yes

VGA/No/Yes

3.0MP/No/Yes

3.2MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

500

300

100

Shared

Sahred

Frequency/Dual SIM

CDMA/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/Yes/EVDO Rev.0

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/Yes

Operating System

BREW

Brew 3.1.5

Brew 3.1

BREW

Android OS v2.3

Music Player/FM Radio

No/No

Yes/Yes

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

1,550

1,650

2,289

2,699

3,199

5,199

5,648

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Form Factor/T.Screen/QWERTY Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

88 MYMOBILE OCTOBER 2014

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

myguide CDMA PHONE

CDMA PHONE

MODELS

CDMA PHONE

CDMA

PARAMETERS Model Dimension (mm) Weight (grams)

Blackberry 8530

Moto G

BlackBerry Curve CDMA 9350

HTC Desire XC

HTC Desire 700 C

Desire 816

HTC Desire 600 C

109 x 60 x 13.9

129.9 x 65.9 x 11.6

109 x 60 x 11

119.5x 62.3 x 9.4

145.5 x 72 x 10.3

156.6 x 78.7 x 7.9

134.8 x 67 x 9.26

105

143

107

150

165

130

4.5/252

24/NA

NA/NA

8/338

21/737

11.4/539

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

65,536/NA

16million/4.5

NA/2.44

16million/4.0

16million/5.0

16million/5.5

16million/4.5

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

256MB/32GB

8GB/No

512MB/32GB

4GB/32GB

8GB/64GB

8GB/128GB

8GB/64GB

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

2.0MP/NA/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

13.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

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

CDMA/N0

CDMA/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/1xEV-DO

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

BlackBerry OS

Android OS v4.4

BlackBerry OS7

Android OS v4.1

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

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Bar/No/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

12,500

13,490

17,250

18,190

18,300

24,000

TABLET

MODELS

CDMA PHONE

CDMA

APPLE

Model

HTC One Dual SIM

iPad Mini Wi-Fi

i-Pad Wi-Fi

iPad Mini Wi-Fi with iPad Mini W-Fii+3G retina display

Dimension (mm)

137.4 x 68.2 x 10.4

200 x 134.7 x 7.2

241.2 x 185.7 x 9.4

200 x 134.7 x 7.5

Weight (grams)

143

308

662

331

PARAMETERS

i-Pad Wi-Fi+3G

iPad Mini Wi-Fi+3G with retina display

200 x 134.7 x 7.2

241.2 x 185.7 x 9.4

200 x 134.7 x 7.5

312

662

331

27/500

NA/NA

10/720

NA/NA

10/720

NA/NA

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16.7million/4.7

16 million/7.9

262,144/9.7

16 million/7.9

262,144/9.7

16 million/7.9

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

32GB/No

16,32,64GB/No

16GB/No

16,32,64/128GB/No

16,32,64GB/No

16,32,64 GB/No

16,32,64/128GB/No

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

4.0MP/Yes/Yes

5.0 MP/No/Yes

VGA/No/Yes

5.0 MP/No/Yes

VGA/No/Yes

5.0 MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/CDMA+GSM

NA/No

Quad Band/No

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

No/No/No

Android OS v4.1

iOS 7

iOS 6

iOS 7

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

iOS 7

iOS 6

NA/No No/No/No iOS 7

Yes/Yes

No/No

Yes/No

No/No

Yes/No

No/No

Bar/Yes/No

36,000

21,900/27,900/33,900

28,900

28,900/35,900/42,900/49,900

29,900/35,900/41,900

37,900

37,900/44,900/51,900/58,900

OCTOBER 2014 MYMOBILE 89

myguide TABLET

TABLET

MODELS

TABLET

APPLE

PARAMETERS

KARBONN

LAVA

iPad Air Wi-Fi

iPad Air W-Fii+3G

A34 TA-FONE HD

A39 TA-FONE HD

A37 TA-FONE HD

Smart Cosmic

Ivory Tab 702

Dimension (mm)

241.2 x 185.7 x 9.4

197 x 124 x 12.3

194 X 120.5 X 10.8

Weight (grams)

652

662

335

360

Model

NA/NA

8/240

NA/NA

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16 million/9.7

16million/7.0

262,144/7.0

16 million/9.7

16milliom/7.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

16,32,64GB/No

4GB/32GB

1.5GB/32GB

4GB/32GB

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Yes/Yes

No/Yes

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

5.0 MP/No/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

2.0MP/Yes/Yes

2.0MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/No

Tri Band/GSM+GSM

Tri Band/NA

Tri Band/GSM+GSM

No/No/Yes

Dual Band/GSM+GSM

No/No/No

Yes/Yes/HSDPA,HSUPA

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

No/No/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

iOS 7

Android OS v4.0

Android OS v4.1

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

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

No/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Bar/Yes/No

7,200

8,500

8,900

9,000

8,700

Burn test Rating

Price in Rs.

31,900/37,900/43,900 39,900/45,900/51,900

TABLET

MODELS

TABLET

LENOVO

PARAMETERS Model

SAMSUNG

A1000

Yoga 8

Galaxy Tab 3 Neo

Galaxy Tab 4 231

Galaxy Tab 4 331

Galaxy Tab 4 531

Galaxy Tab S 705

Dimension (mm)

199 x 121 x 10.7

213.3 x 114.78 x 7.62

193.4 x 116.4 x 9.7

186.9 x 107.9 x 9

210 x 124 x 7.9

243.4 x 176.4 x 7.9

212.8 x 125.6 x 6.6

Weight (grams)

340

401

322

276

320

487

345.7

8/336

18/NA

20/NA

10/-

-/-

-/432

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/7.0

16million/8.0

16million/7.0

16milliom/8.0

16million/10.1

16million/8.4

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

4GB/32GB

16GB/32GB

NA/32GB

8GB/32GB

16GB/64GB

8GB/128GB

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

VGA/No/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

VGA/No/Yes

3.15/MP/No/Yes

3.15MP/No/Yes

8.0MP/No/Yes

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/HSPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA+/LTE

Android OS, v4.1

Android OS v4.2

Android OS v4.4

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Bar/Yes/No

8,400

19,500

11,300

17,900

23,500

30,498

37,800

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

90 MYMOBILE OCTOBER 2014

LIFESTYLE

MODELS

TABLET

SAMSUNG

PARAMETERS Model

SONY

TAG HEUER Meridiist GMT Stainless Racer Sport Classic Steel/Black PVD

Galaxy Tab S 805

Galaxy Note Pro

Xperia Tablet Z

Racing Carbon

Link

Dimension (mm)

247.3 x 177.3 x 6.6

204 x 295.6 x 7.95

266 x 172 x 6.9

118 x 64.35 x 15.9

112 x 46 x 15.5

118 x 64.35 x 15.9

118 x 67 x 16.6

Weight (grams)

753

495

160

155

160

200

Talktime/Standby (hours)

-/432

54/NA

10/890

3/220

7/392

3/220

6.5/336

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/10.0

16million/12.2

16million/10.1

16 million/3.5

262,144/1.9

16million/3.5

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

16GB/64GB

32GB/64GB

16GB/64GB

8GB/32GB

NA/NA

8GB/32GB

256MB/8GB

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Camera/Flash/Video

3.15MP/No/Yes

8.0MP/Yes/Yes

8.1/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/No/Yes

No/No/No

5.0MP/No/Yes

Phonebook Capacity

Shared

1,000

Shared

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/No

NA/No

Quad Band/No

Yes/Yes/HSPA

Yes/Yes/HSPA+

No/No/HSPA+

Yes/Yes/HSUPA

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/HSUPA

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Android OS v4.1

Android OS v2.3

Android v2.3

Android OS v2.2

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

Price in Rs.

Android OS v4.0 Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

Bar/Yes/No

44,500

57,600

40,000

Starting 2,06,000+

Starting 2,85,000+

3,15,000

Starting 3,40,000+

LIFESTYLE

MODELS

LIFESTYLE

TAG HEUER

PARAMETERS Model

VERTU

Racer Prestige Gold Meridiist Steel & Gold

Ascent

Constellation Ayxta

Ascent Ti

Constellation Quest

Signature

Dimension (mm)

118 x 64.35 x 15.9

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

130 x 42 x 13

Weight (grams)

160

155

148

174

160

165 to 185

166

3/220

7/392

4.8/300

6/300

5/300

7.5/349

3.5/300

Screen (colours)/Size (inch)

16million/3.5

262,144/1.9

16million/2.0

16million/2.4

16million/2.0

16million/2.46

16million/2.0

Inbuilt/Expandable memory

8GB/32GB

NA/NA

8GB/32GB

100MB/8GB

4GB/No

8GB/32GB

4GB/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Camera/Flash/Video

5.0MP/No/Yes

No/No/No

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

3.15MP/Yes/Yes

5.0MP/Yes/Yes

No/No/No

Phonebook Capacity

1,000

2,000

1,500

Shared

2,000

Frequency/Dual SIM

Quad Band/No

GPRS/EDGE/3G

Yes/Yes/HSUPA

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/R99

Yes/Yes/HSDPA

Yes/Yes/R99

Operating System

Android OS v2.3

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Bar/Yes/No

Bar/No/No

Clamshell/No/No

Bar/No/No

Bar/No/Yes

Bar/No/No

4,55,000

Starting 5,45,000+

Starting 2,89,000+

Starting 3,47,000+

Starting 3,75,000+

Starting 3,90,000+

Starting 7,28,000+

Talktime/Standby (hours)

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

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

Price in Rs.

OCTOBER 2014 MYMOBILE 91

mobile senseX

bazaar bargain There is a new iPhone in town (check our piece on the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus in this issue) and while this has not officially affected the price of the iPhone 5S by much, the device has been available on a number of e-commerce sites at prices well below Rs 40,000. Considering that it remains one of the best performing phones around with a brilliant design, camera and app ecosystem, we think it is very good value for money for those wanting a taste of the iPhone magic, but not wishing to dish out anything in excess of Rs 40,000.

Samsung Gear Fit Launched at: Rs 15,900 Current Price: Rs 7,999 Price fall: 49.69 per cent

Apple iPhone 5S Launched at: Rs 53,500 Current Price: Rs 37,990 Price fall: 28.99 per cent 92 MYMOBILE october 2014

When Samsung had launched the Galaxy Gear Fit wearable targeted at fitness enthusiasts in the country, it had impressed people with its beautifully curved display but many considered its price tag to be a bit on the higher side. While its official price has not fallen as steeply, the device is now available on a number of e-commerce sites for almost half its launch price. And at price, it makes very good sense for anyone who owns a relatively new Samsung Galaxy smartphone. For, the one Achilles Heel of the device remains the fact that it is compatible only with a limited number of Samsung Galaxy handsets. n team@mymobile.co.in

etcetera Universal car mount Ultra n Prolink UM0005 The power to charge two!

useful car accessory when you are going on a long trip. Instead of asking others to wait for their turn this charger will allow you to charge multiple devices side by side. Yes, it is a dual USB charger with two USB ports so you can charge a smartphone on the flexible mount by stretching it sideways. It is solidly built so you can relax while your handset is charging. You may, however, have to take care of the other device which you charge as it comes with a single mount. The mount stand is flexible too and can be adjusted. It is a standard USB which makes it compatible with all micro USB ready devices. The mount can be rotated in all directions so one can keep the screen adjusted in any way one wants. At Rs. 1,499, this is an excellent smartphone accessories if you are the type that spends a lot of time driving. n Price: Rs 1,499

Seagate Backup Plus Slim Gigs of storage

eagate’s contribution to the storage devices segment has been exemplary. The company has been at the forefront of change, pushing others to emulate it. They have been making ground-breaking changes and one of them is the increased portability of their products, even while packing more storage space into them. They are growing smaller and smaller in size and becoming faster, even while increasing in capacity. The latest Seagate Backup Plus Slim offers 2TB storage in an unbelievably slim form factor, while the blend of blue on one side and black on the other gives it a stylish appearance. It is highly compact, can be slipped easily into one’s pocket and will come in handy for users who have a lot of travelling to do and a lot of data to carry. It supports USB 3.0, and works with all Windows devices with Windows XP and above and all Mac PCs with Max OS10.6.8 and higher. Interestingly, it is also compatible with iOS 6 and Android 2.3 and above based devices, which makes it usable with smartphones. At Rs 6,500, it’s a prize catch. n

94 MYMOBILE october 2014

Price: Rs 6,500

Telecom Equipment Manufacturersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Association of India

WTA

etcetera Garmin Nuvi 2567LM The

navigation expert

Price: Rs 17,990

Casio XW-H1/2/3 Wired for

sound!

e have used a number of headphones for music, but when it comes to delivering a sound musical experience very few have actually lived up to our expectations. Casioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new headphoneset however does not disappoint on the sound front. It is an impressive addition to the headphone segment as it offers a seamless sound quality along with the comfort that is often missing in most headphones. Both its ear-cups are foldable and the strap connecting them is also very flexible. The ear-cups are not very big and although they do not cover the entire ear, also help in keeping the weight down. At Rs 5,995, it seems a little overpriced, considering that it does not even offer Bluetooth connectivity, nor does it score in the looks department. The headphone comes with a 5.5mm connector, which makes it usable with DJ consoles and other musical devices. We guess, that is one of the reasons why it is priced on the higher side. n Price: Rs 5,995

96 MYMOBILE october 2014

he emergence of smartphones as a navigation device has pushed traditional navigation companies to innovate their PNDs. Garminâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest PND Nuvi 2567LM is one of the most feature rich PNDs we have come across. To offer a seamless experience between your smartphone and the PND, Garmin has added a free app called Smartphone Link, available on both Android and iOS, which allows users to share and access saved locations and parking details from one on another. It also boasts of restaurant reviews, pictures and menus pulled from Zomato and uses landmarks to make navigation easy and provides details and routes to authorized parking spots. Efficient and accurate, the new PND brings in another feature called predictive text input to make searches faster and more intuitive. The Nuvi 2567LM features a resistive 5-inch colour screen, supports voice prompts in multiple Indian languages and has external memory card slots. Guaranteed map updates every three months makes it even more handy. Price is the only issue for the general user who might feel they can get as much from a smartphone. But many in the driving community will love this compact and well-designed device. n

www.mymobile.co.in

Price: Rs 2,195

Amkette Trubeats Pixie A colourful on the go speaker

mkette has been making waves of the sound type in the audio market of late and its latest device in the market is the delightfully named and designed Pixie. As its name indicates, this is a small speaker, compact enough to wrap your hand around it and light enough to be carried in any bag. It is smaller than the barrel shaped Metal and is made of plastic. It pairs with your smartphone or media player over Bluetooth, although you can also connect it using a cable (there is an AUX cable and USB cable within the box). Set up is easy and you can use the speaker to listen to music and if need be even to handle phone calls. A neat touch is the fact that you can actually pair the speaker over Bluetooth with two different devices. And well, you can change the colour and appearance of your speaker using different coloured “sleeves.” Sound quality is pretty good for such a compact device in terms of clarity and can fill a small room or a car in terms of volume. We would have preferred to have the controls for the device on the sides or top rather than on the very base of the device and yes, the four to five hour battery life is a bit on the lower side, but all said and done, the Pixie is a wonderful little device for those who want a portable speaker for their mobile audio needs. n

Nikon Coolpix 9600 Compact, colour-

Price: Rs 16,950

ful, power packed

ome pundits might be predicting that smartphones have ended the era of the point and shoot camera, but when you see devices like the Nikon Coolpix 9600, you realize that the point and shooters might still have some life left in them. The Coolpix 9600 is an incredibly compact device and is small enough to actually slip into a large trouser pocket and within most ladies’ purses. And yet it packs in more shooting power than any smartphone camera and in most conditions could even slug it out toe to toe with some DSLRs and prosumers. It comes with a 16.0-megapixel backside illuminated CMOS sensor, a 22X optical zoom, several scene modes and is powered by the Expeed C2 image processing system. Cutting the jargon short, what it boils down to is some excellent stills and videos – we particularly loved the pre autofocus function which let us focus even without hitting the shutter button. Macro performance was particularly brilliant – this is a great camera for close ups. Round that off with a very snazzy design and a price tag of Rs 16,950 and the Coolpix 9600 emerges as a great option for those whose thirst for photography cannot be slaked by a smartphone and who don’t want the bulk (or cost) of a DSLR or a high-end prosumer camera. n

october 2014 MYMOBILE 97

etcetera Binatone BMF3G2160 Mi-Fi router A multi-tasker

Price: Rs 4,995

Intex IT-5000 SUF Glo speaker system Sound with style!

he new Intex speaker system is perfect party ware for someone looking for high quality music at a low cost. It is stylish and special in more than one way. With DVDs and CDs becoming increasingly rare, speaker systems especially those in the entry and affordable segment prefer to go with USB and SD card support for playback. Intex Glo just does the same. It has a USB slot along with a SD card slot, for instant plug and play music playback. It can also be connected and used with a DVD player, or a PC through AUX cables. It supports AUX but did not work with smartphones, which was a little disappointing. The sound did distort a little on full pitch but by and large the quality was acceptable It can be controlled from the unit, or by the remote. Whichever you choose, the player delivers in all fronts, and at that price, is quite a deal for all those wanting to raise the roof with some music. n team@mymobile.co.in

98 MYMOBILE october 2014

inatoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Wi-Fi router wears may hats, making it a real multi-tasker, whose user not just has Wi-Fi at hand but also a power bank and a data sharing device. Yes, the new MiFi router, as it is called, features a 3G SIM slot and a LAN port. When a power bank, it can provide full charge at least two times in one go, courtesy the 5,000mAh battery. And as network device it can be used to share data with devices on the same wireless network. All you need is an external microSD card to store data on it. It is simple to use but most importantly is highly portable and good looking. This unusual device comes at Rs. 4,995, which might have been considered too much for just a standalone router, or just a network storage device or only a power bank but when you have them all in one package, well, it does not seem that bad a deal at all. A must have if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to carry multiple gadgets on a trip. This is what we call covergence. n

Price: Rs 4,300

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