Author: Aniruddh

How to Clear Cache Partition On Moto G
Both first gen Moto G and 2nd Gen Moto G received the Android 5.0.2 Lollipop update. The new Lollipop update brings in lot of new features such as material design, better battery life and better performance.

But some Moto G owners post updating to Lollipop, started facing issues. Instead of improving Moto G performance, it became slow and become less responsive. Even few users also notices, sudden draining of battery. Overall phone started behaving weirdly. What is the problem with Moto G Android Lollipop update?

Android Lollipop has few issues which google already addressed in their latest update Android 5.1 and some are yet to be addressed. Having said that, optimising the Moto G will help to fix some of the issues. Normally, when Moto G becomes slower, users tend to reset to factory reset. If you reset your Moto G, then you will lose all the data. Instead, you can try wiping the cache partition. Clearing the cache memory solves 90% of the problems without losing any personal data. So How to Wipe or clear Cache Partition on Moto G? We will learn more on this.

Read:

How to use Moto G as modem

How to Clear Cache Partition On Moto G
1. First switch off your Moto G. Ensure your device is fully charged and charger is unplugged.
2. Press Volume Down key + Power Key for 2-3 seconds and release.
3. The phone will show different Boot Options.
4. From the “Boot Mode Selection Menu” screen, select Recovery. Use Volume Use the Volume Down button to scroll through the menu options and the Volume Up button to select.
5. You will see a screen on which Android figure lying on his back and “No Command” written on the screen.
6. Press and hold the Power button then press and release the Volume Up button to display the menu options.
7. From the menu, select “wipe cache partition”. Here you need to use Volume buttons to highlight and the Power button to select.
8. “Reboot system now” will be highlighted, press the Power button to select it.
9. It will take several minutes(Around 5-6 minutes on My 1st Gen Moto G) to complete.
This is the method, if you are running your moto G with Android Lollipop.

Does Clearing Cache partition on Moto G deletes my personal files?

No. It will not delete any of your personal files. This will only remove any temporary files that may be causing the problem.
April 20, 2015
Top 5 Reasons to Buy Asus Zenfone 2
Asus Zenfone 2 is yet to launch in India. However, I got an opportunity to attend Asus Pre-Launch Showcase event in Bangalore. It is not a complete review. This is based on the short period of time I spent on Zenfone 2 in the event. You can read more about the specification in the Asus Zenfone 2 official page.

Top 5 Reasons to Buy Asus Zenfone 2

Image courtesy: Asus India.

Read: Different variants of Asus Zenfone 2
1. 64-bit Dual-Channel 4GB RAM: Asus claims that, Zenfone 2 is the first smartphone in India to feature 4GB of RAM. The device is powered by 64-bit Intel Atom 2.3G CPU with 6430 PowerVR 533MHz GPU. In my experience in the event, device worked without any lag even while playing a high end racing game.
2. 5MP selfie camera with Panorama shots: Zenfone 2 comes with 13MP primary camera with Toshiba sensor and Dual LED realtone Flash. The 5MP front facing camera has F/2.0 apertures and wide angle lens. You can also take panorama images using the front facing primary camera. There is also a night mode which is quit useful. Overall camera section is one of the segment truly competes with rest in this price segment.
3. ZenUI and Android 5.0 Lollipop: We have already seen the ZenUI with last years Zenfone. However, with Android Lollipop, Zenfone 2 comes with much more refined and user friendly ZenUI. The ZenMotion is also works without any issue. Switching users based on the lock screen swipe lock is really innovative.
4. Asus BoostMaster: Asus is incorporating the fast charging features with Zenfone 2. Company claims that, you can charge 60% of your battery in just 39 minutes. According to this 10 mins of fast charging will provide 4 hours of 2G talk time and 2.7hours of 3G talk time. This feature is available only for the 4GB ram model. I will do a detailed review on this once I get the review unit.
5. Display screen: Zenfone 5 comes with 5.5 inch full HD display screen. Asus has reduced the bezel width compared to previous years Zenfone. Now Zenfone 2 screen-to-body ratio is 72% which is a welcome upgrade. In my short time with Zenfone 2, I felt the quality of the display is good. The viewing angles are good and colors look vivid.
As I mentioned earlier, this is not the complete review. I will be doing a detailed pros and cons review on Zenfone 2 once I get the review unit. The initial impressions on Asus Zenfone 2 looks very impressive. Though there is no information on the price, we can expect it to be very competitive. The refreshed design and build quality coupled with powerful CPU and 4GB RAM, 13MP primary camera and 5MP front facing camera are very good as per the spec sheet. However, for real time performance, we need to wait for some more time.
April 17, 2015
Samsung Galaxy E5 Cons and Pros Review
Samsung Galaxy E5 is a mid range Android smartphone. It is dual sim with Dual standby feature. It runs on Android 4.4.4 Kitkat along with Touchwiz UI. The Galaxy E5 price in India is Rs.15,340.

Samsung Galaxy E5 is powered by 1.2GHz Quad core snapdragon 410 chipset with Adreno 306 GPU with 1.5GB of RAM. The internal storage of the device is 16GB and supports microSD card upto 64GB. Do note that, you can use either 2nd sim or the microSD card. You cannot use both of them simultaneously.

Samsung Galaxy E5 sports 5 inch Super AMOLED capacitive touch screen with screen resolution of 720×1280 pixels and 294 ppi pixel density. The display screen is vibrant and has very good viewing angles and good sunlight legibility. The device has Accelerometer, proximity sensors. It is sad to see a mid range smartphone which lack Light sensor and a compass.

Samsung Galaxy E5 houses 8MP autofocus primary camera with LED flash. There is also a 5MP front facing camera. Outdoor performance of the 8MP primary camera is decent. However, indoor conditions and low light performance is just average. The facing camera performance is good. It is one of the best in this price segment.

Samsung Galaxy E5 packs 2400 mAh battery. It is highly efficient smartphone with very good battery life. On average user battery lasts for more than 1 and half day. If you are a casual user, then it lasts more than 2 days. For the connectivity, device has 2G, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, USB tethering and WiFi Hotspot.

Read:

How to take screenshot on Samsung Galaxy Smartphones

How to use Samsung Galaxy smartphones as modem

How to download PC suite for Samsung Galaxy Smartphones.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Samsung Galaxy E5

Pros of Galaxy E5
- Excellent Battery life: The battery life of this smartphone is one of the best in the price segment, The standby time is also very good.
- Good Super AMOLED screen: The 720p Super AMOLED display screen is very good. The touch response is very good and it support 10 multi touch points.
- Good cellular call quality: The cellular call quality in Galaxy E5 is excellent.
- Decent Performance: With trimmed down Touchwiz and 1.5GB of RAM offers good performance. The gaming experience in this device also good. Even games like Asphalt 8, modern combat plays without any issues. The doesnot get heated up while playing these games.
- Impressive Front facing camera: Though, primary camera disappoints, front facing camera is very impressive in this price segment. Quality of the selfies and videos looks good.
- Theme Support: Galaxy E5 comes with support for themes. Though it is in starting stages, it is a welcome move.
Cons of Galaxy E5
- Non removable battery
- No LED notification light
- No Auto brightness sensor and compass sensor: Though it does not have the compass sensor, the GPS works well.
- No Android Lollipop Out of the box.
- Average primary camera: The indoor and low light performance of 8MP primary camera is not impressive.
- No USB OTG support
Verdict: If you are looking for a mid range Samsung Galaxy smartphone, then Galaxy E5 is a worthy contender. It provides excellent battery life, good display screen and good selfie camera. It is also worth noting the availability of the service across the country. It does has cons which mentioned above.

Samsung Galaxy E5 Specification
- 1.2GHz Quad core snapdragon 410 chipset with Adreno 306 GPU with 1.5GB of RAM
- 16GB internal storage and supports microSD card upto 64GB
- 5 inch Super AMOLED capacitive touch screen with 720p resolution
- 8MP autofocus primary camera with LED flash
- 5MP front facing camera
- 2G, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, USB tethering and WiFi Hotspot
- 2400 mAh battery.
April 8, 2015
Sony Xperia E4 Dual Cons and Pros Review
Sony Xperia E4 Dual is sub 15k Android Dual sim smartphone. It is meant to compete with the likes of Moto G 2nd gen, Yu Yureka, Lenovo A7000, Redme smartphones etc. How well the smartphone fares when compared with the competitors? We see the pros and cons of Sony Xperia E4 in this review.

Sony Xperia E4 Dual is powered by 1.3GHz quad-core Mediatek MT6582 SoC with Mali-400MP2 GPU and 1GB of RAM. The internal storage capacity of the device is 8GB and supports microSD card upto 32GB. It runs on Android 4.4.4 Kitkat along with Sony’s skin. Though the skin is not heavy, devices comes loaded with many bloatwares.

Sony Xperia E4 sports 5 inch IPS LCD screen with a screen resolution of 540×960(qHD) which translates to approximately 220 ppi pixel density. The screen looks dull even with full brightness. The viewing angles and bright legibility are also not satisfactory. Though there is no mention of what kind of glass is used, the screen is scratch resistant as per the company.

Sony Xperia E4 houses 5 MP primary camera which can record 1080p videos and 2MP front facing camera. There is nothing much to right about primary camera as its performance is below average. The front camera does the decent job. The connectivity features of the device includes 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth and USB. One of the highlight of Xperia E4 is its battery. It comes with 2300 mAh battery. In a video loop test, phone ran for more than 9 hours.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Sony Xperia E4

Pros of Xperia E4
- Good Battery life. The performance of the battery is excellent in this price segment.
- Decent front facing camera.
- Decent cellular call quality.
Cons of Xperia E4
- Average performance: The Xperia E4 performance on day to day usage is mediocre. It lags and shutters. Even swipes registered as taps and opened apps instead of scrolling between home screens.
- Average Camera performance: The primary camera performance is below average when compared with the competition.
- Average Display: It has low resolution screen coupled with low brightness and angles view angles.
- No Android Lollipop Out of the box.
- Expensive
Verdict: Sony Xperia E4 is not recommended at this price. However, you can go for it if and only if you are hard core Sony Smartphone fan. Otherwise you can look for Motorola Moto G(2nd gen), Yu Yureka or Lenovo A6000 .

Sony Xperia E4 Specification
- 1.3GHz quad-core Mediatek MT6582 SoC with Mali-400MP2 GPU and 1GB of RAM
- Android 4.4.4 Kitkat
- Dual sim with Dual standby.
- 8GB internal storage and supports microSD card upto 32GB.
- 5MP primary camera and 2MP front facing camera.
- 2300 mAh battery.
April 3, 2015
Xiaomi Redme 2A Budget 4G Smartphone Unveiled
On the occasion of its 5th Anniversary, Xiaomi has unveiled a new budget 4G Android smartphone called Xiaomi Redme 2A. In simple terms, it is the cheaper variant of Redme 2 smartphone. Along with this device, Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun, also unveiled Mi Note(Pink Edition).

The new Xiaomi Redme 2A has many things identical to Redme 2 in terms of cosmetics. The only difference is the CPU. Redme 2A is powered by 1.4GHz quad-core Leadcore (L1860C) Cortex-A7 processor with 1GB of RAM. Whereas Xiaomi Redme 2 is powered by 64-bit 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 Cortex-A53 processor coupled with 1GB of RAM.

Xiaomi Redme 2A sports 4.7 inch 720P HD IPS display screen with 312 ppi pixel density. This budget 4G Android smartphone comes with 8GB of internal storage and support for microSD upto 32GB. Like Redme 2, this also features 8-megapixel rear camera with f/2.2 lens, 2-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 2200mAh battery. The connectivity features includes TDD-LTE Bands 38, 39, 40, and 41, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with Direct and wireless display functionality, alongside GPS/ A-GPS. The dimensions of Redme 2A is similar to Redme 2 which is 134.00×67.20×9.40mm. Xiaomi Redme 2A price is CNY 599(approximately Rs. 6,000).

Mi Note Pink Edition according to the Xiaomi tailored Edition for modern ladies. Xiaomi Mi Note Pink edition is a dual sim with Dual sim standby support Android smartphone which accepts Micro-SIM and Nano-SIM card. Mi Note Pink edition comes with 5.7-inch full-HD (1080×1920 pixels) display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for protection. This phablet has metal frame.

Mi Note Pink Edition houses 13-megapixel rear camera and 4-megapixel front-camera also onboard with large 2-micron pixels. The device is powered by quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.5GHz alongside 3GB of RAM and Adreno 330 GPU. Connectivity features includes 4G LTE connectivity. It has 3000mAh battery with Quick Charge 2.0 technology. Mi Note Pink Edition price is CNY 2,499 (approximately Rs. 25,000). Xiaomi also offering a 5000mAh battery power bank along with the handset.

Xiaomi Redme 2A Specification
- 1.4GHz quad-core Leadcore (L1860C) Cortex-A7 processor with 1GB of RAM
- 4.7 inch 720P HD IPS display screen with 312 ppi pixel density
- 8GB of internal storage and support for microSD upto 32GB
- TDD-LTE Bands 38, 39, 40, and 41, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with Direct and wireless display functionality, alongside GPS/ A-GPS
- 2200mAh battery
- 8-megapixel rear camera with f/2.2 lens, 2-megapixel front-facing camera
April 1, 2015