AIRTEL TO LAUNCH I-PHONE 4 IN INDIA.......
Finally, after six months of wait, Indian telecom provider Bharti Airtel has promised to bring Apple iPhone 4 officially in the country. Once again, the launch date is ambiguous as the company's press release says it will be introduced in 'coming months'. So yeah, just when it's time for Apple to introduce the iPhone 5 globally, the company plans to introduce iPhone 4 which would be a year old by then. The major concern for Apple enthusiasts and iPhone admirers of India would be the price.
In July last year, we reported that Bharti Airtel COO Sanjay Kapoor shared plans of launching the iPhone 4 in September-October time frame. But it didn't happen and we aren't given the reasons for the delay. Airtel is said to be working closely with Apple for the introduction of iPhone 4 in India. Two major concerns for any person interested in iPhone 4 would be the price and whether the device would be locked with Airtel.
By now, we're sure you all would be aware of the iPhone 4's features like Retina Display, front facing camera for FaceTime, faster processor, capability of 720p HD recording and many more features. With the advent of 3G Services in India, we hope Airtel has better data plans for iPhone 4.
When the iPhone 4 will be officially launched in India, we believe that Apple will cut the price of iPhone 3GS. So the new price of iPhone 4 32GB model could be somewhere around Rs. 41,500 and the 16GB model would price bit lesser. It's too early to predict the pricing but looking at the history of iPhone pricing with cellular operators, expect it to be on the higher side.
In July last year, we reported that Bharti Airtel COO Sanjay Kapoor shared plans of launching the iPhone 4 in September-October time frame. But it didn't happen and we aren't given the reasons for the delay. Airtel is said to be working closely with Apple for the introduction of iPhone 4 in India. Two major concerns for any person interested in iPhone 4 would be the price and whether the device would be locked with Airtel.
By now, we're sure you all would be aware of the iPhone 4's features like Retina Display, front facing camera for FaceTime, faster processor, capability of 720p HD recording and many more features. With the advent of 3G Services in India, we hope Airtel has better data plans for iPhone 4.
When the iPhone 4 will be officially launched in India, we believe that Apple will cut the price of iPhone 3GS. So the new price of iPhone 4 32GB model could be somewhere around Rs. 41,500 and the 16GB model would price bit lesser. It's too early to predict the pricing but looking at the history of iPhone pricing with cellular operators, expect it to be on the higher side.
NOKIA X-7 to be launched....
Nokia's one of the worst kept secrets - X7-00 phone is now spotted on a video being said to launch for 3 (Three) mobile service provider in UK. In the video, a 3 (three) employee Brandon shows off the upcoming Nokia X7 which sports a new and fresh user interface with icons having rounded corners. However, it doesn't look like a finished version of Symbian UI.
This Nokia X7-00 has four speakers at its front panel and sports a big Clear Back Display that looks good even under daylight. What intrigues us is the new Symbian^3 user interface on it. Check out the video of Nokia X7-00 below:
This Nokia X7-00 has four speakers at its front panel and sports a big Clear Back Display that looks good even under daylight. What intrigues us is the new Symbian^3 user interface on it. Check out the video of Nokia X7-00 below:
Last week, we reported about Nokia holding a special Symbian centric conference in UK on April 12. From the video, we believe Nokia is launching new X7-00 smartphone along with new update for Symbia^3 devices. As of now, there's no word on whether the new update is meant for all Symbian^3 devices or just for Nokia X7.
HOT TECH NEWS.....FACEBOOK WILL NOT BE FREE ANY MORE
This comes as a shocker to us. Facebook has announced that it will charge users for holding an account on the website. Users will get two account options - Free and Pro. Free accounts will let users post photos and links, but will have size limited to thumbnail only, big banner ads and popups. Moreover, users will have to take a paid survey for each login. However, Facebook reassures that the entire process won't take more than 10 minutes. The Pro account will let users post, share and view videos without worrying about the size and quality. Facebook said that starting next month, all users will be migrated to free accounts if they do not pay an amount, which is not disclosed as yet. Reports suggest it won't be more than $10 (Rs. 450 approx.) per month.
As per the information available, the new paid account roll out will start with a pilot testing in U.S. wherein users will be given unlimited cloud storage to upload photos and videos. Following that, Facebook will start rolling out the paid account options across the globe.
Facebook has been drawing attention of loads of users, advertisers, companies, game developers and more. The social network already has several addictive games and lets advertisers post ads. Games will be free but can only be played if you buy a special gaming pack at an undisclosed price.
We know that maintaining such a heavy user base and implementing innovation for masses isn't really a cost-effective strategy. However, charging users for holding accounts is a bit too much we think. Leave us a comment and let us know your reaction.
For more details, click here
As per the information available, the new paid account roll out will start with a pilot testing in U.S. wherein users will be given unlimited cloud storage to upload photos and videos. Following that, Facebook will start rolling out the paid account options across the globe.
Facebook has been drawing attention of loads of users, advertisers, companies, game developers and more. The social network already has several addictive games and lets advertisers post ads. Games will be free but can only be played if you buy a special gaming pack at an undisclosed price.
We know that maintaining such a heavy user base and implementing innovation for masses isn't really a cost-effective strategy. However, charging users for holding accounts is a bit too much we think. Leave us a comment and let us know your reaction.
For more details, click here
HTC DESIRE TO ROCK INDIA....
The first Android phone had a QWERTY keypad and was manufactured by HTC. After that there haven t been a lot of droids with QWERTY keypads and HTC in particular never visited that territory. Not until now, that is. The successor to the original droid, the T-Mobile G1 was followed by the G2, which is several leagues ahead of its predecessor. Of course, that phone is restricted to T-Mobile so HTC came up with the Desire Z - the phone that we are reviewing today - where they loaded it with their own Sense UI and are selling it unlocked in other markets. The phone has been selling in the Indian market for some time now but it took HTC a while to send us a review sample. Nevertheless, we have the phone with us now and we have been spending some quality time with it. So read on if you want the full review.
Design and Build
The Desire Z has a slightly subdued design compared to the Desire. You can tell it is designed to suit a businessman more than, say, a college goer. Nevertheless, it is still a handsome phone. The silver brushed aluminum finish goes well with the grey rubberized plastic. Metal is used sparingly on the Desire Z, possibly to keep the weight less; the sliding mechanism already adds a lot to that.
Design and Build
The Desire Z has a slightly subdued design compared to the Desire. You can tell it is designed to suit a businessman more than, say, a college goer. Nevertheless, it is still a handsome phone. The silver brushed aluminum finish goes well with the grey rubberized plastic. Metal is used sparingly on the Desire Z, possibly to keep the weight less; the sliding mechanism already adds a lot to that.
On the front you have the large earpiece on the top with the ambient light sensor and the proximity sense hidden towards its left. Below is the 3.7-inch display covered with a Gorilla Glass. Below the display is a thin row of touch sensitive keys along with an optical trackpad. We preferred the physical controls below the Desire's display; it is much more difficult to press unintentionally. The trackpad has a ring that glows when you have a notification.
n the left side are the volume control buttons and the micro USB port. On the right is the camera shutter button, and the button for releasing the battery cover.
HTC has included couple of shortcut buttons on the keyboard. You can assign a function to them, which can be accessed from anywhere. You can also assign a secondary function to them, which can be accessed by pressing either of the keys and one of the alphabet keys but this only works in the Home screen.
Overall the keypad is decent and definitely beats using a software keypad. But it isn't as good as the one on, say, the Nokia E7.
Hardware
The HTC Desire Z has a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7230 Soc. It has a 800MHz Scorpion CPU and an Adreno 205 GPU. We assume HTC went for the slower MSM7233 instead of the MSM8255 so that it would place the Desire Z in a lower class compared to HTC's other Android smartphones, such as the Desire HD, Incredible S and the new Desire S. It also has 512MB of RAM instead of 768MB.
Software
The Desire Z currently ships with Android 2.2.1 Froyo, although a Gingerbread update is expected soon. It comes with the latest version of the HTC Sense UI. The new version adds useful features such as a new fast boot option, which puts the phone in a low power state when you switch it off so it can quickly resume when you turn it back on. This is similar to the feature that BlackBerry phones have, although HTC phones don't take as long to resume when you remove the battery. You can switch this feature off if you want and HTC advises that you should if you want to use some apps, but which ones exactly is not explicitly mentioned. There is also a new power saver mode, which gets automatically enabled when the battery level drops below a certain value. It disables or alters a variety of options, which you can choose from the settings menu, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, on-screen animations, vibration feedback, screen brightness, backlight duration, etc.
HTC has altered the notification menu as well. It now shows the list of last opened apps, although you can still press and hold the Home button to access the same. Along with wallpapers and scenes, you also have skins, which alter the look of the UI elements, such as the notification bar, the bottom bar on the homescreen and the lock screen slider, etc. and come with a matching wallpaper.
HTC now has their own navigation application on the phone, along with Google Maps. They also have their own application store called HTC Likes, although it does not actually house the apps. You are directed to the respective pages when you try to download an app from there. There is also the HTC Hub, where you can download wallpapers, scenes, skins, ringtone sets, etc. for your phone.
Apart from these major changes, the OS is more or less the same as what we saw on the Desire. As usual HTC has done a remarkable job of designing the UI. They have basically redesigned the whole UI, and it almost looks nothing like stock Froyo. Usually, we don't think too highly of custom skins installed by OEMs but we not only like HTC's implementation we think even Google could learn a thing or two from it.
There were certain issues we faced on the Desire Z though. At times the phone would become very sluggish, which does not suit a phone in this price range. For example, when we tried to open the notification tray, the phone would momentarily freeze. After the phone is unplugged from the PC it would become very sluggish till it finishes reading the memory card.
Overall the keypad is decent and definitely beats using a software keypad. But it isn't as good as the one on, say, the Nokia E7.
Hardware
The HTC Desire Z has a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7230 Soc. It has a 800MHz Scorpion CPU and an Adreno 205 GPU. We assume HTC went for the slower MSM7233 instead of the MSM8255 so that it would place the Desire Z in a lower class compared to HTC's other Android smartphones, such as the Desire HD, Incredible S and the new Desire S. It also has 512MB of RAM instead of 768MB.
Software
The Desire Z currently ships with Android 2.2.1 Froyo, although a Gingerbread update is expected soon. It comes with the latest version of the HTC Sense UI. The new version adds useful features such as a new fast boot option, which puts the phone in a low power state when you switch it off so it can quickly resume when you turn it back on. This is similar to the feature that BlackBerry phones have, although HTC phones don't take as long to resume when you remove the battery. You can switch this feature off if you want and HTC advises that you should if you want to use some apps, but which ones exactly is not explicitly mentioned. There is also a new power saver mode, which gets automatically enabled when the battery level drops below a certain value. It disables or alters a variety of options, which you can choose from the settings menu, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, on-screen animations, vibration feedback, screen brightness, backlight duration, etc.
HTC has altered the notification menu as well. It now shows the list of last opened apps, although you can still press and hold the Home button to access the same. Along with wallpapers and scenes, you also have skins, which alter the look of the UI elements, such as the notification bar, the bottom bar on the homescreen and the lock screen slider, etc. and come with a matching wallpaper.
HTC now has their own navigation application on the phone, along with Google Maps. They also have their own application store called HTC Likes, although it does not actually house the apps. You are directed to the respective pages when you try to download an app from there. There is also the HTC Hub, where you can download wallpapers, scenes, skins, ringtone sets, etc. for your phone.
Apart from these major changes, the OS is more or less the same as what we saw on the Desire. As usual HTC has done a remarkable job of designing the UI. They have basically redesigned the whole UI, and it almost looks nothing like stock Froyo. Usually, we don't think too highly of custom skins installed by OEMs but we not only like HTC's implementation we think even Google could learn a thing or two from it.
There were certain issues we faced on the Desire Z though. At times the phone would become very sluggish, which does not suit a phone in this price range. For example, when we tried to open the notification tray, the phone would momentarily freeze. After the phone is unplugged from the PC it would become very sluggish till it finishes reading the memory card.
Verdict
The HTC Desire Z is priced at Rs. 24,999. Although it isn't cheap, you do get a lot for your money. Overall, the Desire Z performs well with no real weakness. There are minor annoyances, but then most phones do and the Desire Z is no exception. But perhaps the problem with the Desire Z is that while it does everything well it isn't great at anything in particular.
The HTC Desire Z is priced at Rs. 24,999. Although it isn't cheap, you do get a lot for your money. Overall, the Desire Z performs well with no real weakness. There are minor annoyances, but then most phones do and the Desire Z is no exception. But perhaps the problem with the Desire Z is that while it does everything well it isn't great at anything in particular.
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