Saturday, 30 June 2012

Byond Q99 - Blackberry-style QWERTY smartphone [Review]




Byond Q99 - 360 degree view
The Q99 body is well built with harder than normal plastic and it still does not feel too heavy, weighing just under 90 grams. The QWERTY keypad incorporates a bevelled key structure to enhance its usability and comfort to some extent. However, the function modifier key (Fn) is faulty and fails to register the user input with 7,8 and 9 number keys while keeping the Fn-key pressed. So, one has to enter the input individually for each of these keys by pressing and releasing the Fn-key after each input. Even though the keypad build quality is quite satisfactory, this technical flaw takes a major hit on the keypad ergonomics by affecting the overall usability and comfort. The optical trackpad is quite sluggish and lacks precision while navigating the menu interface. We found it irritable at times, as it was not registering the input correctly or erred in directions while selecting the intended icons on the screen. The lack of usability and comfort with the trackpad once again takes a hit for the overall ergonomics.

We came across another tricky situation with the SIM two slot. Inserting and removing the SIM two card is a difficult task, as there is no proper latch mechanism for smooth operation. The only way to insert the SIM two card is to bend it a little at a certain angle & slide it inside. Similarly, while removing the SIM two card, we need to follow the same trick; but, slide it out instead.

The menu interface is simple and well-organised. The home screen incorporates six customisable quick launch icons, also known as the toolbar icons: phonebook, SMS, Facebook, FM radio, audio player and camera. The user has the option to enable or disable the toolbar icons on the home screen. In addition, the display properties enable the user to choose either an analog clock or the regular digital clock for the home screen.

Spice Mi-310 - The Mi-300's younger but better Android 2.2 Froyo sibling [Review]



The Mi-310 is solidly built with due credit to its all-metallic body with aluminium finish on the front and back-panels. Owing to its sturdy build, it also grips nicely in your palms. The volume rocker button and camera button are outdented on its left side panel. Meanwhile the power button is etched onto its top surface, which could be easily missed. It also includes a 3.5mm audio jack on the top for the music buffs. The trackball has been replaced with an optical trackpad from its predecessor – Mi-300. The microphone retains the same location below the display, which is quite convenient during voice calls. The four touch sensitive buttons take identical positions on the display, as that of its elder sibling. The battery cover fits snugly into the grooves provided in the battery compartment and there is no loose play. The QWERTY touch-keypad is quite ergonomic and best suited for dual-hand operation in landscape mode. However, the touch-keypad is cramped for space in portrait mode, and might lead to accidental input errors with the hyper-sensitive touch buttons at the bottom of the display. Though the display is quite stylish and portrays expensive looks, its glossy surface makes it vulnerable to smudges.

Features

The noteworthy features on the Mi-310 include the proximity sensor, optical trackpad and the Wi-Fi tethering capability. The proximity sensor is meant to turn off the display and the touchscreen input when the phone is held close to your cheeks during phone calls. Unlike the jerky movements of the trackball, the optical trackpad provides smooth navigation across the menus and also enhances the web browsing experience. The Wi-Fi tethering capability is its main USP, which serves the purpose of creating a USB tethering (connect via USB) or Wi-Fi hotspot on your cellphone and share the access point with laptops & netbooks. This allows you to connect the laptop to the Internet through the mobile data connection. In other words, the cellphone can be setup either as a portable Wi-Fi hotspot or enable the USB tethering to connect a laptop through the USB port. It includes four customisable home screens, where you can shortcuts, widgets, personal folders and wallpapers of your choice.

Friday, 29 June 2012

MTS launches new STD Voice and MBlaze Data packs for Tamil Nadu customers


MTS has launched new STD Voice Special Tariff Voucher (STV) and introduced MBlaze Data packs for their customers in Tamil Nadu. The new Rs.25 Special Tariff Voucher (STV) offers STD calls at 25 paisa per minute with a validity of 30 days. It will be valid for the first 250 minutes of STD calling, post that customers would be charged 50 paisa per minute for STD calls. The data packs start from Rs 96 that offers 1 GB of data to Rs 1499 that offers 15 GB of free data.
New MTS MBlaze Data tariffs for Tamil Nadu customers
Special Tariff VoucherExisting Bundled UsageNew Bundled UsageValidity (Days)
Rs 960.5GB Unlimited1 GB Unlimited1 (24Hrs)
Rs 248350 MB1 GB30
Rs 348512 MB2 GB Unlimited7
Rs 490New3 GB30
Rs 698New4 GB60
Rs 9983 GB6 GB90
Rs 1499New15 GB90
In the Unlimited plans, speed would be throttled from 3.1 Mbps to 144 Kbps after free data usage. The existing customers in Rs 998 STV plan would get 6GB of free data instead of 3GB of data with a validity of 90 days. These plans are available from 18,500 retailers and 83 MTS branded retail outlets across Tamil Nadu.



Nokia 808 PureView Review


Every once in a while a phone is released which showcases the best of technology possible at that time. Back in 2007, it was the Nokia N95 which showcased exactly how to build a mobile computer. The N95 truely was a revolutionary device packing everything but the kitchen sink under its plastic shell ! The very same year Apple announced the iPhone. It single handedly defined how to make a great and easily understood user interface and made Symbian look clunky and redundant overnight. Since then we’ve had various permutations and combinations of the formulae attempted to various degrees of success.
Fast forward to 2012 and we have another revolutionary device. The Nokia 808 PureView is hands down the best camera phone ever released. In fact it might hold its own for a few years given that the phone which comes closest is still only the 808′s two year old predecessor. Dive into the FoneArena Nokia 808 PureView reviewIn Box Contents
The in-box contents of the Nokia 808 are pretty comprehensive and include the following :
Nokia 808 PureView
Nokia AC-50 MicroUSB Charger
Nokia Charging and Data Cable CA-190CD
Nokia stereo Headset WH-209
NFC info card
Nokia Wrist Strap Black
Quick Guide, User Guide and Product information leaflet


Fun2Shoot live mobile video broadcasting app now available for Android



Fun2Shoot live video broadcasting app from Mobile innovator is now available for Android. This app lets you broadcast live videos in near real-time as it is being recorded. You can also share the videos socialnetwork and contacts which can be viewed from the mobile or web browser.  The app is already available for Nokia S60, Symbian ^3 and Windows Phone devices. It also powered Nokia Channel Me.
Features of Fun2Shoot app for Android
  •  Shoot and share live streaming video to any number of viewers using the camera of your device
  • Watch live and recent videos on 2.5G, 3G or WiFi
  • Share the videos to you contacts and facebook friends
  • Easy registration from the application
  • Call Management
  • Zoom option while shooting
  • Search feature while broadcasting
Download Fun2Shoot for Android from the Google Play Store for free.

Samsung Galaxy Beam up for pre-order in India for Rs. 29900



Samsung Galaxy Beam is now on pre-order from the Samsung’s Official eStore. Samsung announced the Galaxy Beam, successor of their previous Beam at MWC 2012 in February. It was expected to be available in South West Asia including India in May, but it got delayed. It has a 4.0-inch 480×800 (WVGA)TFT display and is powered by 1 GHz Dual-Core Processor. It has 15 lumens pico projector that allows users to share photos, videos or other digital media instantly and in crisp clarity up to 50-inch wide. It runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and has 5MP Auto focus camera with flash, 1.3MP secondary camera.
Other features include, 786MB RAM, 8GB Internal Memory, MicroSD slot (up to 32GB), Bluetooth 3.0+HS, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz, MicroUSB, USB 2.0 and aGPS. It has 2000 mAh battery.
The Samsung Galaxy Beam is now on pre-order from Samsung eStore for Rs. 29,900. There are no details about the availability, but we can expect it in early July.

Tata Docomo cuts Photon Plus tariffs, introduces Reload Packs




Tata Docomo has reduced the Photon Plus tariffs for the post-paid customers. The Rs. 950 plan offers 6GB of free data and the Rs.1200 plan offers 11 GB of free data. These plan comes with unlimited data that would offer up to 3.1 Mbps data speeds till the free data limit after that speed would be throttled to 153.6Kbps. These new unlimited plans also offer cash back of Rs 100 per month for 12 months from date of purchase. They have also reduced the cost of base plans.
1GB plan now costs Rs 250 which was Rs 650 earlier. Likewise Rs 450 pack which earlier cost Rs. 750 will offer 2GB.
They have also introduced new Reload packs such as 1GB at Rs 200 and  2GB at Rs 350 so that customers can continue to enjoy uninterrupted high speed internet post consumption of their data limit.
There are also pre-paid plans that starts from Rs. 700 that offers 2 GB of data with 30 days validity.