Samsung’s Galaxy Mega and Mini show up with madcap start!

Samsung has unveiled its two most awaited Smartphones in the recent time, Samsung Galaxy Mega and Galaxy S4 Mini. It was merely a month difference between the launch of both the new siblings in the Galaxy family, Samsung sets its eye to achieve something really big. Since Android has been Samsung’s favorite platform, therefore their lies no second thought about their OS. This is far more understood from the company’s previous back to back launches in the same arena. Furthermore, both the high end Smartphones packs absolute workaholic features that promise a line drawing performance without a hitch. Nevertheless, the company has its own set strategies to cope up with. Launching the two similar looking Smartphones in a matter of month means some big planning from company’s end.

Let us get to the nerves of both the flagship models to canvas a better picture about their profile.

Samsung Galaxy Mega

You might have heard about the monsters and beasts in your past and they don’t exist now. True! But over here an equally beastly Smartphone is designed to pack all the mighty features in a compact size. The 6.3 incher Galaxy Mega is a woolly mammoth of a handset that is undoubtedly only one of its kinds in the Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean OS category. Getting more into the details will land us onto a new horizon where we can actually make out what this particular handset is all about. So why wait?

The Smartphone is bolted with massive 6.3 inches Super Clear LCD Capacitive touch screen display having 16 Million color dots set at 720 x 1280 pixels (233 PPI) resolution. This undoubtedly promises rich color output with cutting edge clarity. Perhaps, it offers everything on a silver platter! Despite of the monster sized display screen, the handset is just 8 mm thick which is simply remarkable, whereas the broad display simply loves. Apart from this, the absolute power of packs Dual-core 1.7 GHz Cortex-A15 processor along with 1.5 GB RAM touches the perfection with sheer ease. Thus, multitasking and handling multitude application run in one single go is no more alien. Capturing the most precious moments of your life has always been a cry for one and all. Of course, the phone comes bolted with brilliant 8 Megapixels rear snapper which is partnered with sharp 1.9 Megapixels front snapper that empowers distortion free video calling in vivid clarity. Plus, piling up the multimedia contents is as easy as child’s play. Featuring 8 GB of built in space which can be amplified up to gigantic 64 GB via external flash makes it possible for you to store anything, simply anything.

Now after having a whole eye upon the key specs of this Smartphone, if you’re thinking about its price tag being aggressive then I completely buy your point. The Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 I9200 Price might hold you back for an instance but its prolific features have completely justified its price. It is available at Rs. 29,199 in the Indian market.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini

Samsung Galaxy S4 has played its own legacy of sorts and has become an apple of everyone’s eye in no time. Hoping to strike the same chord again but at a budgeted price, the company has showed up with the successor of SGS4- the Galaxy S4 Mini. The company has been continuously hosting the expansive array of Smartphones one after the other. No matter whether it makes up to the expectations or not, Samsung is still the uncrowned king of the Android market.

The slated design of S4 features 1.7 GHz dual core processor which is intelligently coupled with dexterous 1.5 GB of RAM. Hence having a hold onto the multitude application is pretty easy and relishing a lag free performance is now on your fingertips. The Mini’s 4.3 inches Super AMOLED capacitive touch screen display having 16 Million color dots set at 540 x 960 pixels (256 PPI) makes it a pretty good performer. Relishing the joy of clicking the photographs with its superb 8 Megapixels is something to shout about and the front embedded 1.9 Megapixels snapper offers smearing video calling experience.

Piling up the multimedia contents in its massive built in 8 GB of built in storage makes absolute sense. Plus, you can amplify the built in memory up to 32 GB via external flash mount for an additional space allocation. Talking about the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini I9190 price, the Smartphone is available at Rs. 27,990. However, the tremendous features and specifications that it envelopes in itself compensates the price thing and hence makes it a value for money handset.

About the Author:
Achilla Singh work with naaptol.com. naaptol is a online shopping website that helps users to find the best price of Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 I9200 Price, Online Shopping, Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini I9190 price, and more.

Posted by Ravi Kolhe | 7/23/2013 | Continue Reading...

Android Vs Mozilla Vs Ubuntu- Which Is The Best Os For Your Budget Smartphone?

The 2013 Mobile World Congress (MWC) saw the announcement of new operating systems for smartphones Firefox from Mozilla and Ubuntu Touch from Canonical. These new operating systems are set to enter a world that has been dominated by Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS so far. As Feature phones head for their way into oblivion and Samsung and Nokia fight it out on who will dominate the Feature phone market, manufacturers are keen on making Budget smartphones. With more and more new smartphones being made for the budget category and a majority of phones available on the Android platform, phone manufacturers are looking for innovative ways to set their phone apart from the any other Android smartphone and new operating systems are a good way to do so. Let’s see how these new OS fare against the Android.

How different are these OS?

Source: efytimes.com

Since it’s unveiling in 2007, Android, a Linux based operating system designed for touch screens, has become the most widely used operating system for both budget as well as high end smartphones. The OS works on ‘direct interaction’ with the icons. It has an extensive market of third party apps available on Google Play which also makes it highly popular.

Ubuntu is also a Linux based operating system developed by Canonical, a British company, mostly for desktops. Having seen the global rise of smartphones, the company has overhauled the design of its most appreciated OS and customized it for mobile phones. Contrary to Android’s direct interaction, Ubuntu Touch comes with a new user interface that utilizes all four edges of the screen to interact with ‘Apps’ via gestures. It also has the capability to support split screen multi-tasking and can work with native and web based (HTML5) apps like Facebook, Twitter and Evernote as seen on the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 tablets at the MWC. But, at this stage, Canonical is unlikely to launch an app store, a questionable decision considering the overwhelming successes App Stores from Google and Apple have enjoyed.

Firefox OS for smartphones is a HTML 5 based operating system built on an open source platform by Mozilla. This OS has a generated a lot of buzz since it promises the ability to convert websites and make them function like Apps on phones. These apps will run using the Firefox browser engines and therefore the OS will work with less power, demand less powerful hardware, thereby costing less. An app store has been announced for this OS- the Firefox Marketplace which already contains Mozilla’s most popular apps for desktops. The ZTE Open is likely to be the first phone to be powered by Firefox OS and you can expect it to be launched by mid-2013. There is also speculation that Sony will also move to Firefox as its OS but the company has not made an official statement so far.

Which one will be better?

The Ubuntu seems to have an edge over Firefox since Linux fans would want to try the touch optimized OS on smartphones, while Firefox is pitched as an alternative to Android. A lot of new operating systems have been attempted to replace the Android and many are stuck in the pipeline because just a new user interface is not enough to compete with Android. A competitive OS has to bring something to the table that Android is not, and that too at a price comparable to that offered by Android i.e. free. The OS should be less power hungry so that it costs less to make, where Firefox seems to have the advantage. But Firefox might not have a novel look and feel to it and is likely to only attract fans who love their browser. This is where, Ubuntu Touch might be able to make a mark.

Ubuntu Look Image Source: cnet.com

But both these OS would also have to offer a lot more of apps and not just clones of those on Android and iOS to attract genuine customers. Android’s excessive number of apps- some of which are quite useless is the chink in its armour and someone (Read Ubuntu) with a good security or less vulnerable offering can exploit this weakness of Android to their advantage. With a lack of an App Market, Ubuntu really needs to offer some really unique native Apps with less advertisement and better security measures to win over Android users.

Firefox Look Image source: mozilla.org

If we compare hardware requirements, Firefox is less demanding. This means that phones could be powered by as little as a 800MHz processor with 256 MB of RAM- ultimately competing with prices of low end Android phones. Ubuntu on the other hand would have a bit of a challenge as the minimum hardware requirement for Ubuntu is going to be much higher. In such a scenario, Ubuntu will be wishing to carve itself a niche with the backing of Linux enthusiasts.

At this point in time, it looks like Firefox will pose as a good challenger to Android in the budget phone market as long as it can back itself up with a good range of Apps to choose from, a difficult but not an impossible task.

Posted by Ravi Kolhe | 5/28/2013 | Continue Reading...

Micromax A110 Canvas 2 Vs Karbonn S1 Titanium

Micromax A110 Canvas 2 Vs Karbonn S1 Titanium

As the Indian smartphone market is brimming with budget friendly smartphones, the subcontinent is being witnessed the launch of several affordable smartphones with large screens and powerful processors. Indian smartphone manufacturers like Micromax, Karbonn, Lava and its subsidiary Xolo (known for its smartphones powered by Intel) are drooling the market with low-cost big-screen smartphones with high-end features, trying to give a tough competition to multi-national brands Apple, Samsung, BlackBerry, HTC and others. Recently, Micromax and Karbonn have launched their respective products Micromax A110 Canvas 2 and Karbonn S1 Titanium. The Micromax A110 Canvas 2’s price and S1 Titanium’s price are likely even. Lets have a look how these two smartphones are relatively different from each other.

Design and build

The plastic built bar shaped body of Micromax Canvas 2 with a textured back gives a premium feel in hand. The Camera protruding on the back with dual LED flash seems like a little bump on the road, but the phone is neatly designed and it is very slim and comfortable to use. The phone has a microUSB port and audio jack on the top, and volume rockers at the side of the device. The dimensions of the smartphone are 5.79 x 3.01 x 0.38 inches and weighs about 168g.

On the other hand Karbonn has a very sturdy chassis but overall the built quality of the phone is hideous comparing to the Canvas 2, the device has a tacky fake-brushed metal design, which is not metal in fact. The rear panel of the phone looks pristine until you take off the protective cover over it. The phone does look premium but it is not as durable as its competitor in the line. We have a microUSB port on the bottom of the device and volume rockers on the side and the power and audio jack on the top of the device. The dimensions of Karbonn S1 Titanium are 2.60 x 5.30 x 0.36 inches
Both the devices have Dual Mini-SIM slots to make your work and personal life easy.

Display

When it comes to the screen size and resolution, Karbonn has 4.5-Inch qHD multi-touch touchscreen display giving the resolution up to 540 x 960 pixels with light sensor, proximity sensor and accelerometer. The screen has 245ppi pixel density, which is actually pretty good comparing to Canvas 2, which has a larger display than Karbonn’s S1 Titanium but less resolution. The Canvas 2 has a 5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with resolution of 480 x 854 pixels and has only 196ppi pixel density. The device also features light and proximity sensors and also an accelerometer. Both the phones have multi-touch feature. Colors are nearly perfect and vivid on both the screens, decently legible even under sunlight. But S1 Titanium takes a step ahead with more pixel density and sharper image quality.

Interface and Hardware

Micromax Canvas 2 and Karbonn S1 Titanium are not just different in terms of screen size, the devices have many things in different, but both the devices run on same Android v4.1 (jelly Bean) Operating System. Now the differences are that the A110 Canvas 2 features a Mediatek MT6577 Dual-Core 1GHz cortex-A9 processor and powerVR SGX531 graphics for a decent graphical interaction. The device is powered with 512 MB of RAM. On the other hand Karbonn S1 Titanium features a more powerful processor, a Quad-Core 1.2GHz with 1 GB of RAM, making it much faster and better when it comes to the performance.

Camera and Multimedia

The Canvas 2 features an 8 MP camera with autofocus and Dual-LED flash allowing you to capture your moments with the resolution of 3264 x 2448 pixels. The camera application offers features like Geo-tagging, touch focus and face detection. The camera works very well in both daylight and dim light. Dual flash makes the camera more powerful in the dark.
Karbonn S1 Titanium has a 5 MP camera with single LED flash and autofocus and it just have Geo-tagging feature excluding the evens of Micromax canvas 2. You can take picture at the resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels.
Both the smartphones don’t offer HD video recording but you can record a video of decent quality. These phones have secondary cameras for video calling over the Internet.

Audio quality of both the devices is equally good enough for that price range. With 3.5mm audio jack you can enjoy the music through any headphones you like. Videos on S1 Titanium look more sharp and rich comparing to the Micromax Canvas 2. The 245ppi pixel density in S1 Titanium makes sure that you see everything in detail.
These two phones support music and video files such as MP3, AAC, WMA, WAV, MP4, WMV, H.264 and H.263.
Internet and Connectivity

The Internet is one of the things that transported us to the smartphone boom, so it is very important for a smartphone to have all the regular features for you to be connected to your social life. Micromax A110 Canvas 2 works on GPRS, EDGE, 2G (900 / 1800) and 3G (HSDPA 2100) networks. The device is Wi-Fi enabled too with Wi-Fi Hotspot if you wish to lend your Internet data to your near ones. The phone has a Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP to transfer multimedia and data files.
Karbonn S1 Titanium works on GPRS, EDGE, 2G (900 / 1800 / 1900) and 3G (HSDPA 2100) networks. The device is Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) enabled with Wi-Fi Hotspot. The phone also has Bluetooth with A2DP.

Battery and Storage

Micromax A110 Canvas 2 Is well powered with 2000mAh Li-Ion battery giving the phone at least a day long battery life with that 5” display, the phone’s standby time is up to 180 hours and talk time is up to 5 hours respectively.
This phone comes with 4 GB of internal storage and only 2 GB is available for the user and can be expandable up to 32 GB with an additional memory card slot provided in the unit.
Karbonn S1 Titanium comes with a 1600mAh Li-Ion battery giving a standby time of up to 200 hours and talk time of 4 hours, which is very less comparatively but for the phone with such powerful factors, it is worth it.
The device comes with 4 GB of internal storage and can be expandable up to 32 GB with an additional memory card slot provided inside.

Conclusion

Look wise The Micromax A110 Canvas 2 has the appealing factors but for the power and to support the apps available on android market, you need to have power, which Karbonn’s S1 Titanium holds in it. The prices of these phones are about the same. Though the phone’s built quality is not so appealing and durable, the phone makes everything worth it from the power under the hood. So for us, Karbonn S1 Titanium holds the crown. But if you want a large screen and long battery life then sure Micromax A110 Canvas 2 is not a bad deal either.

Posted by Ravi Kolhe | 5/04/2013 | Continue Reading...