HTC Unveils Windows Phone 8 Smartphones

HTC on Wednesday unveiled two smartphone models running Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 operating system the Windows Phone 8X and the Windows Phone 8S.

The new devices will be marketed as the “signature” Windows Phone 8 smartphones, The HTC WindowsPhone 8X includes a 2.1mp, f/2.0 aperture, 88° wide angle front-facing camera, that also supports 1080pvideo capture. The 8X comes with an 8 megapixel rear camera and the 8S has a 5 megapixel sensor.

The HTC 8X has a 4.3-inch HD-resolution super LCD 2 and the HTC 8S’ super LCD screen measures 4-inches. The 8X and 8S screens have Gorilla Glass protection.

Weighing 130 grams, the HTC 8X is powered by a dual-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm processor. The phone has 1GB RAM and comes with 16GB of storage and an 1800 mAh battery. The comparatively lower specced and lighter at 113 grams, the HTC 8S is powered by a dual-core 1 GHz Qualcomm processor. The 8S has 512 MB RAM and has 16GB of internal storage and a 1700 mAh battery.

The Windows Phone 8X will come in California Blue, Graphite Black, Flame Red and Limelight Yellow colouroptions. The Windows Phone 8S by HTC will be available in Domino, Fiesta Red, Atlantic Blue and High-Rise Gray.

The success of HTC and Nokia Windows Phone 8 devices this holiday shopping season will be crucial to Microsoft, which has been left far behind by Apple and Google in the smartphone software market in the last several years.

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Samsung Star 3 Price in India | Features and Specifications

The Samsung Star 3 Operating System is Proprietary, It comes with Samsung ChatON messenger, 3.2MP Cam and 3.0 Inch QVGA TFT LCD Screen.

Samsung Star 3 Features:

• 3.0 Inch QVGA TFT LCD Screen
• 3.2MP Cam
• Bluetooth
• Opera Mini
• WiFi

Samsung Star 3 Specifications:

Network
Technology / Frequency Bands
GSM : 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

Battery
Type Li – Ion
Capacity 1000 mAh

Built
Dimensions 102x58x11.5 mm
Weight 95 g
Form Factor bar
Colors Black and White

Display
Size 320×480 pixels
Type color : TFT
Colors 262144 colors
Secondary Display no

Camera / Imaging / Video
Camera Yes 3.0 Megapixel
Resolution 2048×1536 pixels
Zoom yes
Flash no
Secondary Camera no

Connectivity
Bluetooth Yes
Irda No
Wlan/Wi-fi Yes
USB yes
GPS no

Data
GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes
3G No
Internet Browsing Yes , WAP

Media
Audio Playback Yes
Video Playback Yes
Ringtones 64 polyphonic MP3/MIDI/WAV
FM Radio Yes
3.5mm Headphone Jack yes

Memory
Inbuilt 20 MB
Memory Slot Yes microSD/TransFlash

Messaging
SMS Yes
MMS Yes
Email Yes

Software
Operating System Proprietary

Mobile Phone: Samsung Star 3
Price (Indian Rupees): Expected Price:Rs.7000
Price (USD): Expected Price: $155.56 approx

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Samsung Galaxy S3 Price in India

Apple was known to be the top leading company in terms of Smartphone and gadgets but suddenly another company started rising at a brisk pace known as the Samsung. This company provided with a huge profit to Google as well because asthe sale of Samsung Smartphone started increasing, the usage of the Android Operating System also started increasing rapidly. They had started with their first mind blowing Smartphone of that time named Samsung Galaxy S which was succeeded by Galaxy S2 which was more amazing than the previous one and finally the god of all phones at this date- Samsung Galaxy S III. This time they had used their full effort to design it. This is the speediest Smartphone on earth as well as an iPhone killing device. Samsung Galaxy S3 is installed with Android OS 4.0.4 Version. 

Design 

Samsung Galaxy S3 looks much different from its predecessor because both Galaxy S1 and Galaxy S2 were quite rectangular in shape. This time the whole concept has been changed. The device has got slimmer looks and is much more comfortable to hold. This Smartphone has all the edges rounded edges giving it an appearance of a candy device. The body of this Smartphone is also stunningly wonderful with beautiful shades on it like most other Smartphones. There are two colors available for this Smartphone. One is Dark Blue and another is white. The colors are quite different this time because in earlier series of this Smartphone it was available in Black and white but now Black has got replaced with Dark Blue. The button has now got much sleeker and smaller with two Capacitive buttons on its either sides which are for Menu and for Back function. But thedrawback in its appearance is that the front design of the of the Smartphone looks ugly because of many sensors and front face camera filling up the space giving it an appearance as if it has been drilled with phones. Another disappointing fact is that its body is still made of only plastic that is, no other metallic or allow material is used. 

Display

The screen display of this Smartphone is brilliant and the most amazing part of this Smartphone. This Smartphone is protected with the latest technology of Corning Gorilla Glass that is, Corning Gorilla Glass 2 and is a capacitive touch screen. The display is SUPER AMOLED with HD display of 16 M colors. The size of the screen is 4.8 inches. 

Hardware 

The performance of Galaxy S3 was superb because of its mind blowing Hardware specifications. This device has got Quad Core 1.4 GHZ Cortex A9 processor with a Mali-400MP GPU processor which makes it best for gaming and multimedia purpose. In terms of memory this device has got 1GB RAM, up to 64 GB internal storage which is a good thing to know because very few Smartphones are nowadays having extendable memory feature. Also this Smartphone has an internal memory of 16/32/64 GB storage which also beats HTC One X in this case. 

Battery 

Samsung Galaxy S3 has got a whopping 2100 mAh which is like a large battery pack but still it is not enough for Samsung Galaxy S3. The large 4.8 inch screen, quad Core processor and much integration of many sensors makes this Smartphone hungry for power. It would have been better if they had provided more than a 2100mAh battery. 

Camera 

Samsung Galaxy S III has got a Primary camera of 8MP, Autofocus with LED flashlight. The secondary Camera is of 1.9 MP which can record at 720p@30fps. The video recording of this camera is full HD that is, 1080p@30fps. 


Sensors 

There are many sensors integrated with the device which can be listed here in points. Accelerometer, Gyroscope, RGB Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Compass and Barometer.

Specifications:

Display: 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.8 inch 16M display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection.

Processor: Quad-core 1.4 GHz

OS: Android v4.04 Ice Cream Sandwich.

RAM: 1GB

Internal Memory:16/32/64 GB

Camera: 8 MP Primary, 1.9 MP secondary.

Connectivity: HSDPA, 21 Mbps, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth.

Pros

1.4 GHz Quad Core Cortex A9 processor. The most powerful process till now in the mobile industry.

1 GB RAM.

Siri like Voice Assistant clone.

Cons

Battery is still less for the device.

The body is made of full plastic.

Built Design is not very good.

Finally Samsung had officially launched the Galaxy S3 device at big event in New Delhi (India). The price of mobile handset was quoted with MRP Price tag of Rs. 43,000/- in India. But you can find best deals in the market where online shopping market FlipKart offers you best, lowest and cheap price to buy the Samsung Galaxy S3 phone at Rs. 39,000. The device will be available in two colors Pebble Blue and Marble White with same price above we mentioned.

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Samsung dual sim Galaxy Ace Duos launched at Rs 15,090

Korean Phone maker Samsung has launched Galaxy Ace Duos Smartphone at Rs 15,090.
The Galaxy Ace Duos that offers GSM dual SIM functionality is said to be an enhanced version of the Galaxy Ace.

Samsung Galaxy S3 has already created sensation in the market with its astounding features and rave reviews. The new phone from Samsung’s Smartphone range certainly has the potential to be one of the most sought after phones in the mid-range price.


Features:

• Runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS, and has a 3GB internal memory
• Has an 832MHz processor and HSDPA 7.2 mbps
• WiFi b/g/n connectivity
• 8.9cm HVGA screen and a 5 megapixel AF camera
• Boasts of TouchWiz UX interface that enables good navigation experience. 
• Has a powerful 1,300mAh battery that allows close to 6.5 hours of talk time on a 3G network, and approx 16 hrs on a 2G network.

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Nokia debuts new budget mobile phones

The troubled Finnish company Nokia has demonstrated two new mobile phones specifically designed for emerging markets.

The two new models feature support for two SIM cards and come to us as Nokia 110 and Nokia 112. Working on the S40 program platform the novelties target users in developing countries or budget conscious users and provide GSM, GPRS and EDGE connectivity. There’s also a microSD card slot that works with memory cards with capacities of up to 32 GB and in the back you also get a VGA camera.

The two phones are very similar except for one thing – the Nokia 112 comes with a 1400 mAh battery, while the Nokia 110 features a 1020 mAh battery.

Expected in Q2 2012 the Nokia 110 will cost 35 EUR, while the 112 model, expected in Q3 this year will retail for 38 EUR. Later on these models will be succeeded by the Nokia 111 and Nokia 113 but they will work with one SIM card only.

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Panasonic debuts 13 MP smartphone

Panasonic has come up with a rather unusual smartphone that comes with a 13 MP camera.

Known as P06D Eluga, the novelty is reserved for the Japanese market only (as of now) and besides the impressive 13-megapixel sensor, the device also comes with Android 4.0 ICS. You will also find a 4.6-inch display at 720 x 1280 pixel resolution, a technology that improves the screen contrast and the so-called Diga function that allows you to stream Blu-Ray content directly on the smartphone. In addition the 13 MP sensor uses the company’s Lumix technology to shoot crisp and nice photos.

The smartphone will be available in black and pink.

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LG working on QWERTY smartphone

LG is working on a new QWERTY smartphone, sources on the Internet claim.

The novelty is known as LS860 Cayenne and works as a slider smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard. The novelty also supports LTE and in the US it will be available through the US company Sprint Nextel Corporation.

The LS860 Cayenne will be based on a 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 processor and will feature a 4-inch IPS display with support for WVGA working at 800 x 480 pixels. The operating system used will be Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Pricing and release date are unknown.

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ZTE prepares world’s thinnest smartphone Again

Just days after the announcement of the Chinese Oppo Finder smartphone, which claimed the title of the world’s thinnest smartphone with its 6.65 mm of thickness, the Chinese ZTE has announced that it is currently working on an even thinner smartphone. Competition on the smartphone market has surely heated up!

Not much is known about the upcoming device but posts on the Internet made by the ZTE’s head of handset strategy himself – Mr. Lu Qianhao – claim that the handset will be called Athena and will feature a 720p ISP display, a Cortex A15 processor, 64 GB of internal storage and ZTE’s Mifavor Android skin.

Also a few pictures of the device were posted but unfortunately not a single one of them offers a clear shot of the exterior or of the on-screen menus.

This is pretty much everything that is known about the mysterious Athena smartphone and as you may already expect the release date and pricing are also unknown.

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Windows 8 Coming in October 2012

Microsoft could finish Windows 8 this summer, with a possible release date in October, Bloomberg reports citing sources familiar with the matter.

Furthermore, according to the same sources, Microsoft’s new OS will support both Intel and Arm processors from the get go. However, as much as 40 Intel devices will be supported in the initial rollout, compared to “fewer than five” ARM devices, Bloomberg reports.

The company will likely host an event in April, in which it will reveal the release date and marketing details for Windows 8.

The October time frame is pretty much the last possible date for Microsoft if it wants tablet manufacturers to ship devices sporting Windows 8 in 2012. A recent report claimed Lenovo plans to launch a Windows 8-based tablet device as early as October 2012.

From what we know, Windows 8 development is on schedule. In February, Microsoft released a Consumer Preview version of the OS; we had a chance to try it out, and it was quite polished — and Microsoft still has plenty of time to work on the details.

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Sony Xperia U review and Specifications

Specifications:

Display
Form Factor	Bar
Screen Type	LED-backlit LCD, capacitive touchscreen
Screen Size	3.5 inches (~280 ppi pixel density)
Screen Resolution	480 x 854
Number of Colours	16M
Processor
Processor	Dual-core
Speed	1 GHz
Memory
Internal Memory	4 GB user available, 512 MB RAM
Camera Features
Sensor Resolution	5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels
Digital Zoom	16x
Video Recording	Yes
General Features
OS	Android
Version	2.3
FM Radio	Yes
Bluetooth Features	Yes, v2.1 with A2DP, EDR
Messaging	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, IM, Push Email
GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support
USB Connector	Yes
Available Colours	Black, White/ exchangeable bottom caps in white, black, pink, yellow
Carrier Networks
2G	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G	HSDPA 900 / 2100 - ST25i
Speed	HSDPA 14.4 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
Data
GPRS	Yes
EGPRS or EDGE	Yes
WiFi	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Body
Dimensions	112 x 54 x 12 mm
Weight(grams)	110
Sound
Media Player	Music formats: MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV - Video formats: MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV
Speakerphone	Yes
Audio connector	3.5mm
Battery
Type	Li-Ion
Capacity(mAh)	1320 mAh
Talk Time with Standard Battery (Minutes)	Up to 381.6 (2G) / Up to 321.6 (3G)
Standby Time with Standard Battery (Hours)	Up to 260 (2G) / Up to 472 (3G)
Miscellaneous Features
Built in Applications	Google Search - Maps - Gmail - YouTube - Google Talk - Google Gallery 3D - Google Maps with Street View and Latitude
After Sales Service
Warranty Period	1 Year

Review:




Sony’s Xperia U joins the line up of smartphones the company announced under their NXT series. Along with the U, Sony now has the Xperia S, P, Sola, Go, Acro S and Miro in the market, which gives customers quite a handful of options to choose from. What’s unique about the Xperia U is that it’s one of the few phones at this price range that comes with a dual core processor. But, the phone also has certain tradeoffs, the most notable one being the lack of an expansion slot.

 

The Neo V was one of the recommended phones to buy in the 17k price slot before it was dethroned by the recently launched and anagrammatic sounding One V. Does the Xperia U have enough substance to reclaim the throne? Let’s find out. 



Design and Build quality

The Xperia U follows a similar pattern in terms of design with the other phones in the NXT series. In fact it looked like the miniature version of the Xperia S we reviewed earlier. The phone comes in an all black casing with a matte finish at the back. Other notable design factors include a silver ring around the camera and the transparent chin with the Xperia branding underneath. The design in particular isn’t too conspicuous but that lit up chin is definitely an eye grabber. It has changeable covers too so if something more bright is your style then you won’t be disappointed. Let’s have a quick tour of the device.

The front sports a 3.5-inch scratch resistant TFT display with a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels along with three capacitive ‘dots’ underneath. Like in the Xperia S, the dots weren’t as responsive as we’d expected them to be, but that could just be a problem with just our handset. The ambient light sensor and the VGA front camera are located above the screen and the 3.5 mm headphone jack is located up top. The micro USB charging slot is placed on the upper left, hence not coming in the way of you using your phone while charging. The right includes the power button, the volume rocker and a rather hard to press camera shutter button. The 5 megapixel camera, LED flash and speaker grill is located at the back. 

At a depth of 12mm, the Xperia U is not the thinnest of phones and comes in a lot thicker than the One V which has a depth of 9.2mm. Also, the extra bezel at the bottom adds to the length of the phone, of which we’re not really big fans. Once the novelty factor of the lit up chin wears off, you’ll be wondering if that extra space could have been put to better use, or eliminated altogether. At 110 grams, the U’s got just about the right weight to give you a reassuring feeling that you’re holding a phone in your hand. 

Sony have managed to pull off a defining style with their NXT series but it comes with its own share of limitations. A phone needs to have the right blend of aesthetics and ergonomics and the U scores high on the former but not the latter, due to the extra chin and length at the bottom. If it were to function as a cool notification LED we’d have been happier. 

 Chin or no chin, the Xperia U still is a major step up from the plasticy phones in the market at this price point. On a comparative basis though, it’s still second best to the HTC One V, which is slimmer, compact and packs in a larger 3.7-inch screen. 


Features and Performance

Interface
The Xperia U comes with a dual core NovaThor U8500 dual-core 1Ghz processor with a Mali 400MP GPU and 512MB of RAM. As far as the internal memory is concerned you have 2GB for your apps and 4GB of storage for data. The user interface on the Xperia U is similar to that on the Xperia S and while everybody is launching Android 4.0 handsets, the U still comes with 2.3.7 Gingerbread on board. On paper, this may be a little disappointing for some, but with the Timescape UI on top, there’s not too much of a difference. The interface is smooth and lag free but it does have that ocassional hiccup, which has now become synoymous with Android. The dual core processor gets the work done for daily tasks and multitasking. However, it’s worthy enough to mention that a few memory intensive apps tend to slow the phone down. This became quite apparent while trying to play 720p content and exciting apps; as the home screen would take a while to load up. Overall, the interface is neat and quick most of the times but if you are installing a ton of content with that limited memory, be sure to increase your levels of patience. 

The interface

Media

The music interface sports a slick look due to the minimalistic design Sony has given it. They’ve added a lock screen widget as well, so you simply swipe right from the time widget to find the music widget. The interface gives you plenty of options including search, automatic music information downloader and SensMe channels that categorize the song based on different mood settings. There’s also a five band graphic equalizer with a bunch of preset and custom setting options. Sound quality is good and the bundled headset gives you an enjoyable music experience with good isolation. 

In a world where bigger is better, we were pretty content with the U’s 3.5-inch screen for personal viewing. The stock video player only supports MP4 and WMV but that’s where the third party apps will help you out. None of the 1080p content we threw at the phone was supported and since we’re talking about a dual core handset, it’s not particularly good news. In the real world scenario, there’s not much difference between 720p and 1080p on a phone, but if the phone’s got the hardware to run it, then it better run it. We tried third party players as well and video would either stutter too much to be playable or wouldn’t play at all, which was a disappointment

Display not as good as the One V

The display is bright enough as colours appear vivid due to the BRAVIA engine on board. However, it still doesn’t stand a chance against the Super LCD 2 display of the One V which produced rich blacks and brilliant viewing angles.



Connectivity

The Xperia U is a quad band GSM handset with 3G, Wi-Fi, DLNA and GPS support. The major addition out here though is USB on the go support. With the limited internal memory, you might just need that feature more often than not. The stock browser is quite slow for even slightly image heavy websites and we’d recommend you get a third party one if viewing web pages on the go is a priority. GPS locking was prompt and quick. With Timescape UI, Sony has handled social integration pretty well. A couple of widgets on the home screen allow you to create favourites and follow them and view their latest updates.

Connectivity


One of the most important grudges we have against the Xperia U is the hearing quality, the inbuilt earpiece wasn’t as loud as we’d wanted it to be causing us to press the phone against our ears. The speaker volume also was way too low for the recipient to be audible. Definitely a major drawback as the conversation has to inadvertently rely more on external factors like environment noise.



Misc Apps

Sony has bundled all the essential apps required for you to get started. There’s OfficeSuite (only viewing, no editing), Play NOW, LiveWare Manager and the standard Wisepilot for your navigation needs.



Camera
The Xperia U comes with a 5 megapixel camera. Indoor shots capture quite a decent amount of detail but noise crept in as well. Outdoor shots are slightly better with more light capture and colour reproduction. Macro shots were pretty ho hum and they summed up what we felt overall about the camera - average.

Camera interface



The U supports 720p video recording at 30fps. It’s good enough for uploading to social media but you’d be better off taking another dedicated device to capture special moments. The phone has a VGA front camera and it’s important to note that the phone hanged quite a bit while initiating video chats. We had to restart the phone often while using video chat with GTalk. 

 

Outdoor shots are good





Ho hum macro shots





Too much noise





Battery Life

The U is strapped with a 1320 mAh battery and the dual core processor shows no mercy towards it. Under normal usage, the phone would run out of battery less than three quarters into the day with the processor being the clear culprit. In our video loop test we managed a shallow five hours twenty minutes of usage.

Dual core processor shows no mercy on battery


In our loop test, the phone survived for six hours fifteen minutes. This included one and a half hours of calling, two hours of video, audio and forty five minutes of streaming via Wi-Fi. Be sure to carry a charger along if you have moderate to heavy usage of the phone.








Verdict

The Sony Xperia U is priced at Rs. 16,400. If the dual core processor had got you excited during the launch, chances are high that you’ve already purchased this device. But, that’s not the whole story. For a grand more, you get the HTC One V, which may have a slower processor on paper, but you won’t be able to tell the difference - as both are equally fast (or slow, for that matter). The One V had the better (and bigger) display, a better camera and came with ICS on board. The cons list for this device includes a poor speaker and earpiece, no expandable memory, no 1080p support, software issues and a poor battery life. The Xperia U is a flawed genius and an accumulation of drawbacks prevent it from being a must buy.

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