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Redmi Note 10 Pro (Vintage Bronze, 6GB RAM, 128GB Storage) -120Hz Super Amoled Display | 64MP Camera with 5MP Super Tele-Macro

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Redmi Note 10 Pro (Vintage Bronze, 6GB RAM, 128GB Storage) -120Hz Super Amoled Display | 64MP Camera with 5MP Super Tele-Macro

By Sahil Rai → Thursday 24 March 2022

Introduction

At a press conference held yesterday OnePlus presented their third phone - the OnePlus X. The OnePlus X is a significant departure from the Flagship Killer mantra that followed the past two models. This time, OnePlus focused more on delivering a compact device that still retained a good deal of features and specifications but wasn't really a flagship device anymore.


Don't get us wrong, the OnePlus X is a capable device on its own just as well. It's just that it's targeted at another market segment. OnePlus has gone to great lengths to assure there is a premium feel about the phone and their attention to detail (and marketing too) is just as high as before.

OnePlus X at a glance:

  • Body: Metal frame + glass/ceramic back
  • Display: 5.0-inch, 1920x1080 resolution AMOLED
  • Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 with 2.3GHz quad-core CPU, Adreno 330 GPU and 3GB RAM
  • Storage: 16GB, expandable via microSD card slot
  • Camera: 13 megapixel ISOCELL rear camera, phase detection autofocus, single LED flash, 1080p video
  • Secondary: 8 megapixel
  • Connectivity: Dual SIM, LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, microUSB
  • Battery: 2525mAh
  • OS: Oxygen OS 2.1.0 based on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
OnePlus will be launching the OnePlus X in two variants. The mass market version will be the more affordable Onyx Black variant with a glass back, but there is also the Ceramic variant, which will not only be available in limited markets but also in limited numbers. The Ceramic version will be made available a bit later than the standard issue black one (Nov 24) and for now it will be available only the EU and India.
One Plus X hands-on One Plus X hands-on One Plus X hands-on One Plus X hands-on
OnePlus press shots in Onyx Black back
One Plus X hands-on One Plus X hands-on One Plus X hands-on One Plus X hands-on
OnePlus press shots with Ceramic back
The OnePlus X will be launching on November 5 in the EU and India and on November 19 in the US.
We enjoyed our short time with it and here come our first impressions.

Design

Unlike the previous OnePlus devices where the focus was more or less solely on the specifications and performance, with the OnePlus X the company took a step back from creating a spec monster and focused more on the design. It's clear with the OnePlus X that the design is the biggest feature of the device.
One Plus X hands-on Unlike the OnePlus One, which was entirely plastic and the OnePlus 2, which was part metal and part plastic, the OnePlus X is a combination of both metal and glass, making it seem even more premium than both of its elder siblings.
The frame of the device is made out of anodized aluminum with 17 micro cuts running along the edges. The cuts are fine and give the sides a serrated finish making them inherently grippy.
The front and back on the Onyx version are made out of glass with curved edges that flow gently into the metal sides.
On the Ceramic version, the back is made out of ceramic, which is cast out of a zirconia mold and takes 25 days to make, which is why OnePlus will only be making 10,000 of these. The Ceramic version has a high gloss near-perfect mirror-like finish and even more pronounced angled edges. While the process behind it is fascinating and the material is significantly tougher than the glass used on the Onyx material, in reality it is often hard to tell the two models apart, especially in dimly lit indoor environments. This does make it somewhat harder to justify the additional cost of the Ceramic version (it's extra $110/€100/£69).
The front of the device has the 5.0-inch display in the center. Above the display is the earpiece, front facing camera, the sensors, and a tiny LED notification light at the top right.
Below the display are three practically invisible Home, Back, and Overview keys that aren't even backlit.
On the right are the power and volume control buttons with a nice damped feel, tight tolerances, and no unnecessary play.
One Plus X hands-on
OnePlus X right side
On the left is the wonderful slider from the OnePlus 2 with three positions for the silent, priority notifications only, and all alerts modes. The slider has a grippy pattern like the one on the OnePlus 2 and it works great.
One Plus X hands-on
OnePlus X left side
On the top is the headphone jack and on the bottom are the microUSB port, microphone, and a single loudspeaker. It would have been nice to see the USB Type-C connector from the OnePlus 2 on the OnePlus X as well.
One Plus X hands-on One Plus X hands-on
OnePlus X top and bottom
On the back, you find the 13 megapixel camera with single LED flash sitting flush with the back giving it a perfectly flat appearance.
AMOLED displays quite frequently seem to have overdone color saturation and a certain tint but OnePlus has done a decent job of calibrating the 5-inch display that it doesn't seem to suffer from those disadvantages.
One Plus X hands-on The display also gets quite bright, although we couldn't see how it looks under the sun. Viewing angles are decent and the 1080p resolution is more than adequate for a 5.0-inch display. Overall, nothing extraordinary, but for the price this is a pretty good screen.
The overall design of the OnePlus X is impressive and the phone looks and feels premium. But more importantly, for some people, it no longer feels ungainly to use and the compact dimensions make it perfectly usable with one hand while maintaining a decent display size. This is easily one of the most premium looking and feeling phone in its price range, and feels even better than some of the more expensive phones.

Built around a once popular chipset

The OnePlus X runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset, with 3GB of LPDDR3 RAM and 16GB internal storage with microSD and USB OTG support. On paper, this might not seem exciting but again, this isn't exactly a flagship device.
The OnePlus X is actually quite impressive in terms of performance. Snapdragon 801 might seem long in the tooth now but being an 800 series chipset it still packs a punch and handily blows the Snapdragon 615, seen on some of the rival devices, out of the water. The phone worked smoothly and apps opened, closed, and switched quickly. The overall performance during our quick hands-on was definitely impressive and assuming it is able to maintain that over a period it shouldn't be a cause for concern to anyone.
One Plus X hands-on One Plus X hands-on One Plus X hands-on One Plus X hands-on One Plus X hands-on
Oxygen OS 2.1 on the OnePlus X
On the software side, the OnePlus X runs on Oxygen OS 2.1 based on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. The software is more or less identical to that on the OnePlus 2 (there is a new FM Radio app), which in theory should be a good thing but considering OnePlus 2 still has plenty of bugs to iron out, we'd hope the OnePlus X is more polished than its elder sibling.
One Plus X hands-on One Plus X hands-on One Plus X hands-on One Plus X hands-on One Plus X hands-on
Oxygen OS 2.1 on the OnePlus X
The OnePlus X is also a dual SIM phone, although the second SIM slot is shared with the microSD, so you can either have a second SIM or a microSD but not both. You're bound to have a microSD in as there is only 16GB of internal space so we'd guess few people would use it for its Dual SIM functionality. In terms of other connectivity features there's the usual LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS but once again, there is no NFC like on the OnePlus 2.

Camera

The OnePlus X has a 13 megapixel ISOCELL camera on the back with f2.2 aperture and hyrid phase detection autofocus. It can also record 1080p video, which seems like a deliberate cutdown considering the chipset does support 4K on other devices, such as the Xiaomi Mi 4. The front camera has a resolution of 8 megapixels with fixed focus and f2.4 aperture.
The image quality can vaguely be described as good. We could only test it indoors in poor lighting conditions. Considering the odds were stacked against it, we'd say the camera fared well and despite the lighting, the images are usable with good amount of detail and acceptable amount of noise. We'd like to test it more thoroughly in different lighting conditions but from our brief experience with it we are willing to bet the overall image quality is going to be pretty good.
One Plus X hands-on One Plus X hands-on One Plus X hands-on
OnePlus X camera samples
One Plus X hands-on One Plus X hands-on
HDR mode: Off • On
The camera speed is also impressive. The camera launches and shoots quickly. The phase detection autofocus occasionally falters but is still quick even in low light.
The camera software is similar to the one on the OnePlus 2, which means it's really not very good. It follows the Google Camera app too closely, which honestly is far from user-friendly. There aren't many shooting options available and the app makes you feel like a novice who has just figured out how to take a picture. Those who want more control are bound to be left frustrated.
The camera app doesn't have any quick launch gesture by default but you can assign any of the capacitive buttons below the display to launch the camera by double tapping, but this only works if the phone is unlocked.

Wrapping it up

OnePlus wasn't keen on letting people spend too much time with the devices and we wish we could have tried a few more things, but then again, that's what the full review is for. From what we gather from this brief hands-on, the OnePlus X is a very solid contender for the best mid-range smartphone of the year.
At $249/€269/£199 for the Onyx Black version, OnePlus has once again set the bar with the pricing, and from what we could tell, there doesn't seem to have been any compromises made to reach that point. The OnePlus X has good design, good display, and good performance. In the end, the catch will always remain OnePlus' frustrating invite system and the lackluster after sales support. Not to mention the software issues that will invariably crop up due to the company's lack of experience in the field. Is the phone really worth dealing with all that, is something we will find out only after a full review.

Source: gsmarena.com

First look OnePlus X hands-on

By Sahil Rai → Sunday 1 November 2015

Gionee's 5.3-inch GPad-G2 Phablet with Quad-Core Processor to Hit Indian Market in May



Chinese smartphone maker Gionee announced another smartphone for the Indian market dubbed GPad-G2,

Gionee which forayed into the sub-continent market with its mid-range Dream D1 will officially launch the GPad-G2 phablet in the first week of May. The price of the handset will be revealed at the launch event. The device is Gionee's third offering to the country.

On the specifications front, GPad-G2 sports a 5.3-inch qHD display with 960 x 540 pixel resolution and is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad core Cortex A7 processor. It comes with PowerVR Series5XT GPU and runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system.

Other specifications include 1GB RAM, 4GB of internal storage expandable up to 32GB via a microSD card, 8-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front facing camera and 3000 mAh battery.

GPad-G2 comes with preinstalled apps such as Facebook, NQ Security, Twitter, YouTube and many more. The device will be available in graphite black and white colour variants. Gionee will launch the phone in India with freebies such as a 16GB microSD card, screen guard and Flip leather case.

Earlier this month, the company had launched its Gionee P1 smartphone in India for Rs 4,999.

Gionee's 5.3-inch GPad-G2 Phablet with Quad-Core Processor to Hit Indian Market in May

By Sahil Rai → Saturday 27 April 2013

Dual-SIM Samsung Galaxy S4 Duos launches with Exynos 5 Octa chip

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Duos is the dual-SIM version of Samsung’s 2013 flagship and it has now gone on sale in Asia under the Samsung I9502 model name. Overall, the single biggest difference from the standard S4 model is the inclusion of two SIM cards slots, it is otherwise almost completely identical to the international Galaxy S4. 

The Galaxy S4 Duos features the same gorgeous 5-inch 1080p full HD Super AMOLED screen and runs on an Exynos 5 Octa chip with each of the cores clocked at 1.6GHz.

Otherwise, here is a quick rundown of the technical specs of the S4 Duos:

5” 1080 x 1920 Super AMOLED screen
Exynos 5 Octa @ 1.6GHz
PowerVR SGX 544MP3 graphics with 2GB of RAM
13-megapixel camera recording 1080p videos at 30fps 
2.1-megapixel front camera
Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Samsung’s new TouchWiz UX 2.0 
Samsung’s Smart Features: Smart Stay, Smart Pause, Smart Scroll and Smart Pause, Air Gestures, S Voice, S Health and S Translator.

Samsung has also launched another Galaxy S4 model for China, the I9506, running on the Snapdragon 600 processor and with TD-SCDMA 3G connectivity.

source: Samsung

Dual-SIM Samsung Galaxy S4 Duos launches with Exynos 5 Octa chip

By Sahil Rai →

Samsung Galaxy S4 root exploit already available



The same kernel cracker that brought us the ability to gain access to the bootloader of the Motorola Droid RAZR, RAZR MAXX, RAZR M and Atrix HD has done his work again and paved the way to gain root access to your brand new shiny Galaxy S4 if you want.

This root exploit will work for Snapdragon equipped Samsung Galaxy S4 devices which means devices sold in the US, the UK and a few other countries.

The process itself is pretty simple, but it is worth reminding folks that since there are no recovery or stock images available, your S4 might become a handy paperweight if you break it in the process. OTA updates to the device will also undo the root access. The warranty on the device will also likely turn to dust and blow away. 

You can get to the exploit package via the XDA source link below. Here are the instructions as outlined by the developer: 

Extract the entire contents of the zip file.
If you are using Windows, ensure you have installed the latest Samsung USB drivers available for your phone.
Ensure USB Debugging mode is enabled on your device.
Connect your device to your PC via USB.
If you are using Windows, navigate to the extracted directory and execute "run.bat". If you are using Linux or OS X, navigate to the extracted directory in a terminal and execute "./run.sh".
Approve the ADB connection from your PC on your device.

Read through the forum posts as well to pick up any hints along the way. 

sources: XDA Developers via Droid Life

Samsung Galaxy S4 root exploit already available

By Sahil Rai →

Comparison of iPhone 5, iPhone 4s Specifications


Apple has finally officially released today the exciting long time iPhone 5 smartphone, appearance and specifications are almost and previously circulated sorta, and therefore less of a mystery. iPhone 5 biggest reform of course is the introduction of a larger four-inch screen, and finally to follow up a 16:9 aspect ratio, the fuselage width remains the same as the with iPhone 4s/iPhone 4, and therefore still suitable for a single hand operation.


Comparison with the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, the new screen lengthened the upper and lower range (can be seen from the chart can to accommodate an APP icon), the new screen 1136x640 pixels (iPhone 4 compared to 960x640 3:2 ratio) only the upper and lower pixel resolution remained 326ppi Retina level, color saturation is increased by 44%. But what is surprising is the iPhone 5 is not only the thickness of the body than the iPhone 4S thin by 18%, weight decreased by 20%, have to admire the design of the Apple foundry technology standards. iPhone 5 also switch to the dual-core A6 processor computing performance and graphics capabilities are A5 processor twice. Most importantly, the battery life than the iPhone 4S increase the number of web browsing time can be stretched to 8-10 hours (iPhone 4s for 6-9 hours), is also improved 4s The criticism electrical problems.


Concern specifications can not help but notice the iPhone 5 Another important new features: 4G LTE support, so the smartphone battlefield officially pulled the 4G era of high-speed transmission (not to use the 4G smartphone Come with me than the specification). iPhone 5 maximum download speeds of up to 100Mbps, much higher compared to the previous HSPA + 21Mbps (of course, also system vendors support).

The details of the iPhone 5 also made some changes, such as switching to a new Lightning connector, of course, through the adapter using the old 30pin connector. But the new connector pin symmetrical, regardless of the pros and cons can be inserted, do not worry edge of errors broken equipment. The iPhone 5 also attach the the new EarPods headset microphone, more suitable for all ears to wear.



The following is the iPhone 5, iPhone 4s Specifications comparison.


Comparison of iPhone 5, iPhone 4s Specifications

By Sahil Rai → Thursday 25 April 2013

Samsung GALAXY S4 stand-alone $ 21900 Listed


Samsung Electronics to redefine the future of mobile devices, to sense your heart and life confidant pioneering concept to launch flagship new machine GALAXY S4, leading the user experience living facilities, entertainment, health management and well-being of the relationship between the wisdom of life. Samsung today announced GALAXY S4 full pre-order the official start, the major telecom and retailers' efforts to co-site blessing, to lead the consumer first to enter the era of ultra-induction wisdom; live demonstration of mobile phones around the Galaxy S4 become an integral part of the perfect life confidant ! 
General Manager of Samsung Electronics, Taiwan Wen Hsing-hyun said: "Samsung has repeatedly broken the limit of science and technology, and a deep understanding of consumer demand, all the creative inspiration are born insight into consumer demand, we hope to help users simplify their lives through GALAXY S4 series from of affection between family and friends, and concerned about their quality of life, so that the interaction between people become more interesting, more colorful life. 



Duwei Yu, general manager of Samsung Electronics Mobile Communications Department, said: "Samsung GALAXY S4 with ultra-sensing smart technology and advanced hardware and software features let this flagship of confidence, we are quite grateful to the consumers and the major carriers and distribution the support and affirmation of the path, look forward to again this year to draw on all partners with leading technology trends, create consumer word of mouth. " open Samsung smartphone milestone first "organic perception of the first "organic "design to create the perfect living confidant Galaxy S4 perception (Sensory Organic) "design concept, and give a new definition of mobile communication products, smart phones are not just communication tools, but to accompany the series from about consumers' lives, work and social activities. Use interface, ultra-sensitive operation to add more life convenience, multiple photos and community interaction to enhance the enjoyment of life, smartphone users' health began to care about life, and trying to draw people together for the user the distance between the a straight cis arc appearance from nature designed to make a full range of hardware and software features, appearance and internal the Galaxy S4 success to become the perfect life of every user confidant.
GALAXY S4 lead the ultra-sense wisdom of age to make life simple joy and comprehensiveness 
Samsung Galaxy S4 unique induction wisdom, the epoch-making gestures function, create unlimited convenience in life; such as "Air View suspension Preview, users can your finger on the phone screen up preview the message, S Planner application. "Air Gesture suspended gesture" the more by waving gesture to replace music and photos; bobbing up and down through the gestures to manipulate web page screen, e-mail and receive calls. In addition, the "Smart Pause wisdom pause" and "Smart Scroll wisdom scroll" can detect whether the user is in the Watch Phone screen, and Browse Videos or page through a more convenient way. The new "S Health Healthy Living" (Note 1) more random mastered the consumer healthy life; "S Translator" support transnational instant communication, the perfect series interpersonal relationship. 

Unique photos and sharing entertainment at any time record touched with joy 
Galaxy S4 unique "Dual Camera Dual Lens Photography", allowing users while taking advantage of the front and rear camera lens to take pictures, the photographer can easily at any time into the mirror. In addition, the drama "Drama Shot Burst feature can capture continuous action within a specific time, integration in a photo, to keep all details of the action," Sound & Shot the sound Photo can record sound, make your photos more vivid. In addition to the shooting functions, the story of "The Story Album Album feature may be based on shooting time, place or holiday, automatic integration in the different themes of the album. "Group Play Entertainment shared feature, you can no Wi-Fi or mobile phone signal conditions, enjoy shared with friends around music, games, photos and documents brought omnipresent the surprise and omnipotent interesting life 





Samsung GALAXY S4 stand-alone $ 21900 Listed

By Sahil Rai →

Sony Xperia ZL review

Introduction


Having finally scored a homerun, and a desperately needed one at that, Sony is keen to bring another hitter off the bench. And they sure hope it's the Cadillac-driving kind. The Japanese mean business - and the Xperia Z did its best to get that point across. The Xperia ZL now has plenty of momentum to build on but a certain weight of expectations too.
The double-backup is something Samsung has been doing for a couple of years now with a Galaxy S flagship in the spring followed by a Note phablet at the end of summer. Sony's going for what looks more like a one-two punch with the glass-clad, water-proof Xperia Z and the more compact, less extravagant, but just as premium Xperia ZL. The timeframe for their arrival to market has been shortened too - pretty much a must, considering that chipset is only getting older.

   
Sony Xperia ZL

Sony needs users to like the ZL, because the Z probably won't make it on its own. On paper, the Xperia ZL has all the trimmings of its sibling save for the IP57 certification. And it should be just as capable as most other flagships of the latest generation. Here go the specs.

Key features

  • Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support; 3G with HSPA; LTE
  • 5" 16M-color 1080p capacitive touchscreen of 441ppi, Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2
  • Android OS v4.1.1 Jelly Bean with custom UI
  • Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait CPU, 2 GB of RAM, Adreno 320 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset
  • 13 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and geotagging, HDR
  • 1080p video recording @ 30fps with HDR mode, continuous autofocus and stereo sound
  • 2 MP front camera, 1080p video recording
  • Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA; Wireless TV out
  • GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
  • 16GB of built-in storage; microSD card slot
  • MHL-enabled microUSB port
  • Bluetooth v4.0
  • NFC
  • Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
  • Accelerometer and proximity sensor
  • Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
  • Shorter footprint than most 5” smartphones

Main disadvantage

  • Non user-replaceable battery
  • Uninspiring camera performance
  • Notably thicker than Xperia Z
  • Dubious back panel build quality and aesthetics
If you're after a FullHD five-incher the Xperia ZL is the most compact handset that fits the bill. The difference, of course, is by no means huge but having a smaller footprint than the Samsung Galaxy S4 is a great achievement. On the other hand, a 10 mm thick body is nothing to brag about. Yet, if that's the price for getting a proper shutter key and an Infrared port, it should be fine for most people.
Anyway, Sony opted for two distinct versions of a 2013 flagship and then had to sit down and think about how to make them... distinct. Having a more compact option of what's virtually the same package as the flagship makes every bit of sense. But is it worth the extra millimeters around the waistline?
It was probably important to Sony to send a clear message that what's on offer is essentially the same package - the difference boils down to size, choice of finish and waterproofing or not. A sensible plastic case doesn't look half as good as glass but has its advantages. Water resistance is a great asset but not everyone needs it. Plus... a proper shutter key, half press and all, is something we always welcome in a cameraphone.

Source

Sony Xperia ZL review

By Sahil Rai →

Phablet sales expected to reach 150 million in the next five years, Windows gear to get in the mix



Transparency Market Research just published its "Phablets and Superphones Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth and Forecast, 2012 - 2018" report, and it is a doozy for CEO Tim Cook, who yesterday said there are too many tradeoffs with big-screen phones for Apple to pursue this market immediately.

The research firm concludes that the total market for "superphones and phablets" will reach the astounding 825 million units by 2018, making it a $116 billion industry. "Phablet" they define as any handset with screen size 5-7", and 1 GHz or faster processor, so we guess "superphone" is anything fast enough with a screen 4.99" and below.

Phablets are expected to grow as a percentage of total, from 12% now, to 30% in 2018, but we are most interested in this nugget of info the research firm is sharing: "The market for Windows based phablets is expected to grow at a significant rate, with an expected CAGR of 58.8% from 2012 to 2018, which can be primarily attributed to the introduction of new Windows based phablets by manufacturers such as Nokia, HTC, Sony, and ZTE among others."


Wait, what now? Granted, we've already heard that Nokia is prepping a big-screen Lumia of sorts, and HTC has its Windows Phone line, too, but Sony? In any case, five years is a long time to make any final predictions in the breakneck world of mobile

Phablet sales expected to reach 150 million in the next five years, Windows gear to get in the mix

By Sahil Rai →