Monday, November 21, 2011
Limited Budget MTS Android smartphones Review
1:59 AM
Khyati
With the Livewire and Mtag CDMA smartphones (both priced below Rs 6,000), MTS is making Android smartphones available for consumers with limited budgets. Both phones have a 2.8-inch touchscreen display - the Livewire has a resistive display, which is the primary reason for the lower price (Rs 4,999).
Mtag is priced slightly higher at Rs 5,499 and features a more sensitive and higher quality capacitive display. The display resolution on both is same (240 x 320 pixels), though the colors and brightness on the Mtag is clearly better than the Livewire. The build quality of both phones is surprisingly good.
Touch-sensitive Android buttons:
The Mtag has a matte finish on the back - providing better grip whereas Livewire has a white glossy finish on the back with a slot for stylus on the bottom left. Both the phones have touch-sensitive Android buttons at the bottom of the display.
An issue with the Livewire is that it does not have backlit buttons. The Livewire features dedicated call receive/end button at the bottom - helpful for voice calls as the display is resistive and at times does not recognize the finger swipe for receive/end at one go. The power button and the 3.5mm jack are present on the top. However, the power button of the Livewire is a bit too small for comfortable use.
600Mhz processor & Android 2.2:
Both phones run a 600Mhz processor and come with Android 2.2. The Mtag runs a custom user interface with large icons that makes it easy to use the phone on its 2.8-inch display, whereas the Livewire's user interface resembles stock Android. Interestingly, Livewire offers a few more options as compared to Mtag, like call recording and a preloaded task manager.
Connectivity feature: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AGPS and high speed EVDO:
The good thing is that they do not lack any connectivity feature - Wi-Fi with hotspot, Bluetooth, AGPS and high speed EVDO connectivity with full Android market access is present on both devices.
Do you want your own?
A 3MP fixed focus camera is present on both devices (with VGA video recording). The camera quality from both cameras is good enough to view on phone or for occasional posting on social networks. Audio output from both internal and external speaker was loud with good clarity in both phones.
Battery life:
Battery life on both phones came to just about a day - average for most android phones. The only other option for CDMA users is the Samsung Galaxy Pop (Rs 7,500) that has similar hardware with a 3.2-inch display and a 3MP AF camera with Android 2.2 OS.
Specifications & Conclusion:
2.8-inch display - Livewire (resistive), Mtag (capacitive), 600Mhz processor, microSD slot, EVDO, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3MP camera, 3.5mm audio jack, Stereo FM, Android 2.2
Positive: Well-built, all connectivity options, Android market access, sound output
Negative: Poor camera, resistive display on Livewire, small power button on Livewire
Mtag is priced slightly higher at Rs 5,499 and features a more sensitive and higher quality capacitive display. The display resolution on both is same (240 x 320 pixels), though the colors and brightness on the Mtag is clearly better than the Livewire. The build quality of both phones is surprisingly good.
Touch-sensitive Android buttons:
The Mtag has a matte finish on the back - providing better grip whereas Livewire has a white glossy finish on the back with a slot for stylus on the bottom left. Both the phones have touch-sensitive Android buttons at the bottom of the display.
An issue with the Livewire is that it does not have backlit buttons. The Livewire features dedicated call receive/end button at the bottom - helpful for voice calls as the display is resistive and at times does not recognize the finger swipe for receive/end at one go. The power button and the 3.5mm jack are present on the top. However, the power button of the Livewire is a bit too small for comfortable use.
600Mhz processor & Android 2.2:
Both phones run a 600Mhz processor and come with Android 2.2. The Mtag runs a custom user interface with large icons that makes it easy to use the phone on its 2.8-inch display, whereas the Livewire's user interface resembles stock Android. Interestingly, Livewire offers a few more options as compared to Mtag, like call recording and a preloaded task manager.
Connectivity feature: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AGPS and high speed EVDO:
The good thing is that they do not lack any connectivity feature - Wi-Fi with hotspot, Bluetooth, AGPS and high speed EVDO connectivity with full Android market access is present on both devices.
Do you want your own?
A 3MP fixed focus camera is present on both devices (with VGA video recording). The camera quality from both cameras is good enough to view on phone or for occasional posting on social networks. Audio output from both internal and external speaker was loud with good clarity in both phones.
Battery life:
Battery life on both phones came to just about a day - average for most android phones. The only other option for CDMA users is the Samsung Galaxy Pop (Rs 7,500) that has similar hardware with a 3.2-inch display and a 3MP AF camera with Android 2.2 OS.
Specifications & Conclusion:
2.8-inch display - Livewire (resistive), Mtag (capacitive), 600Mhz processor, microSD slot, EVDO, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3MP camera, 3.5mm audio jack, Stereo FM, Android 2.2
Positive: Well-built, all connectivity options, Android market access, sound output
Negative: Poor camera, resistive display on Livewire, small power button on Livewire
Posted in: ReviewsThursday, November 10, 2011
Have you Googled on your Birthday?
Have you Googled on your Birthday? Now you might be thinking, what sort of wielder question is this. What is the connection of Google and your Birthday?
Ok, for those who don't know let me unveil the mystery.
Everybody knows that Google uses special logos (or doodles) to honor famous personalities, especially artists and scientists, on their birthdays. But you might be surprised to know that they do something very similar on your birthday as well.
Never miss a chance to visit the Google homepage on your birthday. Because Google would be waiting for you to surprise you with a special Birthday logo. And when you hover the mouse over that logo, it will greet you with some personalized text.
Now you might be wondering what is the magic trick behind this?
Its very simple. You provide your Birth date while creating Google Profile. And Google uses this data to know your birth date.
Note:
You must be logged in to your Google Account before Googling anything to see that birthday logo.
Google has introduced this feature for an year. But if you are also "Late Latifs" like me, then dont forget to remember visiting Google.com on your next birthday.
Ok, for those who don't know let me unveil the mystery.
Everybody knows that Google uses special logos (or doodles) to honor famous personalities, especially artists and scientists, on their birthdays. But you might be surprised to know that they do something very similar on your birthday as well.
Never miss a chance to visit the Google homepage on your birthday. Because Google would be waiting for you to surprise you with a special Birthday logo. And when you hover the mouse over that logo, it will greet you with some personalized text.
Now you might be wondering what is the magic trick behind this?
Its very simple. You provide your Birth date while creating Google Profile. And Google uses this data to know your birth date.
Note:
You must be logged in to your Google Account before Googling anything to see that birthday logo.
Google has introduced this feature for an year. But if you are also "Late Latifs" like me, then dont forget to remember visiting Google.com on your next birthday.
Posted in: NewsMonday, November 7, 2011
A comparison: Samsung Galaxy Tab 750 and iPad 2
Hands-on of the handheld touch goodness iPad 2:
My need for a tablet was growing by the day, and I decided to go get a hands-on of the handheld touch goodness that was on display in a nondescript corner of a largely-TV-dominated-electronics store.
Immediately, I asked the not-so-informed executive to point me to the iPad 2, a product that I had my mind set on for a while. Here’s why.
It looks and feels amazingly sleek when you hold it. As Steve Jobs pointed out at the launch event, the device is thinner than the astoundingly thin iPhone. Of course, it’s still not exactly light, weighing in at 1.33 pounds.
Apple has a new 1GHz dual core chip it’s calling the A5, which has more than enough muscle for graphics processing.
There’s 512MB of RAM, which seems on the low side. A device in this class should probably be sporting 1GB, though you won’t run into memory issues. On the specs front the iPad 2 feels very iterative. There's nothing here that is totally mind-blowing, but there’s nothing here that makes it feel far off from its nearest competition.
The iPad 2 cameras are pretty bad, though. They’re not unusable, but it’s clear that the sensors employed are not top shelf by any measure. But the App Store is the leviathan that separates the iPad from the rest of the chaff, and a deal maker if you compare it with any other device. There is absolutely no question about it.
If you want something done using a tablet, there’s an app for that, period. Verdict: No, there isn’t a retina display, and no, it doesn't have the fancy hardware to boot, and yes, the cameras are severely lacking, but it never feels like Apple made a compromise.
If you want everything to just work, be it the web, your books, your movies, or your games, feel free to take a deep breath and dive in — the iPad 2 is as good as it gets right now. And it’s really quite good.
Meet the Samsung Galaxy Tab 750
Everyone was pretty excited about the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (renamed the Galaxy Tab 750 in India) when it launched worldwide earlier this year. Does the Galaxy Tab 750 live up to our long wait for serious competition toApple's iPad 2?
The Tab 750 is 8.6mm thick and weighs a mere 565g. That doesn't stop it from being one of the best tablet displays (if not the best display) available today and performance-oriented hardware. Watch a lot of high-definition movies?
Have no fear, Full HD video playback is here; and Samsung made sure that a wide variety of video formats are supported. The same goes for your music and the two in-built speakers on either side deliver a stereophonic listening experience.
On the communications front, you'll find support for 3G, Wi-Fi, GPRS and Bluetooth 3.0. Finally, we move to software. The Galaxy comes with Google’s Android Honeycomb OS, and you can optionally install Samsung's custom interface.
The multitasking is good, and you’ve got a host of Google services like Samsung Hub (stay connected, download music and e-books), and Polaris Office installed out of the box. Adobe Flash support is also a plus point.
It’s fully compatible with Windows, so adding files and music is as simple as copy-paste, with no extra software required. Verdict: To sum up, it’s a really good effort but there’s much more to be desired. The interface may feel unintuitive at times, the Android isn’t as mature as the iOS, so there are a few bugs and glitches here and there.
The Android Marketplace has limited apps available that take advantage of a tablet’s available resources, so I’d suggest you check if the apps you require are available.
Android is an open platform, so whoever knows how to write software programs may find it useful to make their own private apps. Hardware wise, Samsung really has put together a decent package, which I dare say is superior to the iPad 2.
FACTS SPEAK
APPLE IPAD2
Pros
* Superior market share, you'll usually find what you want and get support
* More mature OS
* Better for gaming
* Very responsive touch-interface
* Greater 3rd-party device support
Cons
* Inferior camera
* Screen resolution could've been better
MRP (for the 16 GB Wi-fi + 3G) Rs 36,990
Samsung Galaxy Tab 750
Pros
* Superior display
* Better or equal hardware to the iPad 2
* Openness and flexibility of android
* Superior 2 and 3 megapixel cameras
* Very responsive touch-interface
Cons
* Occasionally unintuitive software
* Android bugs
* May need experience with software for getting some things done
MRP (for the 16 GB Wi-fi + 3G) Rs 34,000
Posted in: Reviews