tech2touch

Author: Aniruddh

  • TVS Star City Plus 2014 Review

    The 100cc bike segment is most popular segment in India. The segment is one of the most crowded too. TVS Star City was the original bike which got lot of appreciations from the customer. Still it had many drawbacks such as Riding quality, smoothness, stylishness etc. TVS Motors worked on these things and released the TVS Star City +. TVS Star City + price in India starts from Rs.42,444. Is this the best 100cc bike available today in the market?

    TVS Star City +

    TVS Star City Plus comes with lot of modification in the design part. The aesthetics of the bike is improved.  TVS named the new design as modern flowmotion style.  The instrumental panel has a analog speedometer with White Background, digital trip and fuel indicator and econometer which indicates whether you are riding in economy more or in power mode. The company rated  Star City + millage is 85 and on road mileage we have got around 74 in highways and 68 in city.

    The TVS Star City Plus comes with 109cc, 4 stroke,, Eco Thrust engine with max power of 8bhp at 7000 rpm and peak torque of 8.7nm at 5000 rpm.  The new Eco Thrust engine is consider to be fuel efficient and offers decent power.  The engine feels more refined and sounds smooth. Though, the one we tested doesn’t had a smoothest gear shifting, clutch feel is really good.  The top speed of TVS Star City + is 90kmph.

    TVS Star City + comes with 4 speed gearbox which is expected to take this bike from 0 to 60kmph in 8.1 seconds.  The 110cc bike has telescopic  fork in front and 5 way adjustable hydraulic shock absorbers at the rear.  The riding comfort on the new Star City + is very smooth considering its previous iterations. The new Star City plus with tubular single cradle  frame chassis and provides excellent riding comfort with help of nicely padded seat and the tall, upright position.

    The Braking of new TVS Star City Plus is fairly decent. Disc break option might have been good. The kerb weight of 109kg, doesn’t feel light and handles well with the 17inch front and rear rims even on the Corners of the road.

    Key Features of TVS Star City Plus 2014

    TVS Star City + Color Variants

    TVS Star City Plus is available in Oscar Black, Show-Stopper Blue and Celebrity Scarlet color variants.

    Price of TVS Star City Plus 2014(Ex-showroom)

    TVS Star City Price in Bangalore

    • Kick Start Mag: 42,444
      Electric Start Mag: 44,944

    TVS Star City Price in Delhi

    • Kick Start Mag: 41,445
      Electric Start Mag: 44,000

    TVS Star City Price in Chennai

    • Kick Start Mag: 41,836
    • Electric Start Mag: 44,326

    Advantages and Disadvantages of TVS Star City Plus

    Pros of TVS Star City +

    • Good aesthetics
    • Refined engine with smooth riding quality
    • Good on road mileage.
    •  Great Value for money

    Cons of TVS Star City +

    • No Disc brake option
    • Acceleration

  • Nexus Devices start Receiving Android Lollipop from Today

    The Nexus line smartphones will be receiving the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop starting today.  This updated can be obtained through OTA update or through factory image which is available for download.

    The devices which will start receiving the Lollipop update are  WiFi only versions of Nexus 7 2012 tablet and Nexus 7 2013 tablet, Nexus 10 and Nexus.  The Nexus 4 users need to wait for few more days as it is yet receive Lollipop factory image.

    Android Lollipop

    The users of Nexus 7 table of 2012 and 2013 with Cellular version will get Lollipop update little bit late. Apart from this, Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 will also receive some minor bug fix updates today.

    Today, Motorola Moto X 2014 Pure Edition and Moto G 2014 also will get Android 5.0 Lollipop update. LG too not left behind. It announced that, LG G3 has also begun receiving the  heavily customized Lollipop build.

    It is surprising to see that, no word on the Android 5.0 Lollipop update to the Android One smartphones such as Micromax Canvas A1, Karboon Sparkle V and Spice Dream Uno.

  • Lava Iris Selfie 50 With 5MP Front Camera Launched

    Nowadays, selfie focussed smartphone trend are increasing and to cash in such trend  Lava which launched Selfie focussed Iris X5  back in September, launched one more budget Selfie Focussed smartphone Iris Selfie 50.  The Lava Iris Selfie 50 price in India is Rs.7,999.

    Lava Selfie Smartphone
    Lava Iris Selfie 50

    Iris Selfie 50 runs on Android 4.4 Kitkat and supports GSM+GSM dual sim.  It has 5MP front facing camera with auto focus and LED flash. The Iris Selfie 50 sports 5 inch IPS display with resolution of  720×1280 pixels.  The device is powered by 1.2GHz quad core processor with 1GB of RAM.

    Lava Iris Selfie 50 comes with 8GB of inbuilt memory and expandable storage via microSD card upto 32GB.  Apart from the front camera, device also features 8MP  rear auto focus camera with BSI II sensor and dual LED flash.  For connectivity, 3G, GPRS/EDGE, WiFi, Micro USB and Bluetooth options.

    Lava Iris Selfie 50 packs a powerful 2400 mAh battery which is rated to provide upto 10 hours of talk time and 200 hours of standby time on 3G network.  This Selfie smartphone measures 144.5×71.2×9.2mm.

    Lava Iris Selfie 50 Specifications

    • Android 4.4 Kitkat
    • GSM+GSM dual sim
    • 5MP front facing camera with auto focus and LED flash
    • 1.2GHz quad core processor with 1GB of RAM
    • 8GB of inbuilt memory and expandable storage via microSD card upto 32GB
    • 3G, GPRS/EDGE, WiFi, Micro USB and Bluetooth options
    • 8MP  rear auto focus camera with BSI II sensor and dual LED flash
    • 2400 mAh battery

  • Micromax Canvas XL2 A109 Review

    If you are looking for a large screen Android smartphone with decent performance in a budget friendly price, then Micromax Canvas XL2 A109 is one of the  option for you.  It has 5.5 inch IPS capacitive touchscreen with 540×960 pixel resolution and 200 ppi pixel density. The price of Micromax Canvas XL2 A109 starts from Rs.7,065.

    Canvas Xl2 Dual sim
    Micromax Canvas XL2

    Micromax Canvas XL2 A109 is powered by 1.4 GHz Quad Core Mediatek Processor with 1GB of RAM. The interrnal storage of the device is 4GB and supports microSD card upto 32GB. Connectivity features of the device includes 2G, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth and USB. It also supports USB tethering and WiFi Hotspot features.

    Micromax Canvas XL2  A109 supports GSM+ GSM Dual sim and runs on Android 4.4 Kitkat.  In the back there is 5MP primary camera and 0.3MP front facing camera.  Canvas XL2 houses Li-ion 2500 mAh battery.

    Advantages and Disadvantages of  Micromax Canvas XL2 A109

    Pros of Micromax Canvas XL2

    • Large Display screen with decent viewing angles: The 5.5 inch IPS screen does provides good viewing angles. Considering the price, big screen is a advantages.
    • Decent performance: The device performance very smoothly most of the times. It shows very less lag.
    • Decent Battery Life: The  Li-ion 2500 mAh battery provides a decent battery life. Considering the screen size, performance is good.
    • Attractive price: The price is features is good for this device.

    Cons of Micromax Canvas XL2

    • Limited Internal storage:  Having internal storage of 4GB limits installing high eng games as well as installing multiple apps.
    • No 720p screen:  Having 5.5 inch screen without even 720p resolution, screen looks little pixelated. Much cheaper devices such as Redme 1s, does comes with a 720p screen.
    • Android 5.0 update: There is no word on the update to latest android version.

    Micromax Canvas XL2 A109 Tips and Tricks

    Canvas XL2 as Modem: You can use Micromax Canvas XL2 as modem using the USB tethering and WiFi Hotspot features: I have written a detailed post you can refer it here: How to use Micromax Canvas as Modem.

    Take screenshot on Canvas XL2: To take screenshot on Micromax Canvas XL2, just press and hold Volume down key and Power button simultaneously. The screenshot will be saved in Gallery.

    Micromax Canvas XL2 Specification

    • GSM+ GSM Dual sim
    • Android 4.4 Kitkat
    • 5.5 inch IPS capacitive touchscreen with 540×960 pixel resolution
    • 1.4 GHz Quad Core Mediatek Processor with 1GB of RAM
    • 4GB internal storage and supports microSD card upto 32GB
    • 2G, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth and USB connectivity features.
    • 5MP primary camera and 0.3MP front facing camera
    • Li-ion 2500 mAh battery

  • Samsung Galaxy Mega 2 Large Screen Phablet

    Samsung has launched its biggest smartphone of the year Galaxy Mega 2 in India.  It will be the successor to the last years Galaxy Mega 6.3 and Galaxy Mega 5.8. The price of Samsung Galaxy Mega 2 in India is Rs.20,900.

    Samsung Galaxy Phablet
    Samsung Galaxy Mega 2

    Samsung Galaxy Mega 2 is powered by 1.2 GHz quad core processor with 1.5 GB of RAM. Like all other recent smartphones, this time too Samsung not revealed the model of the chipset. The device comes with 8 GB of internal storage and supports microSD card upto 64 GB.

    Samsung Galaxy Mega 2 sports 6 inch TFT capacitive touch screen with 720p resolution.  This large screen Galaxy device runs on Android 4.4 Kitkat along with Touchwiz UI.  Samsung Galaxy Mega 2 houses 8MP primary rear camera and 5MP front facing camera.  Connectivity features of the device includes 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB 2.0. It also supports USB tethering and WiFi hotspot features.

    Samsung Galaxy Mega 2 houses 2800 mAh battery.  This new Samsung Selfie Phablet will compete with the likes of HTC Desire 816, Nokia Lumia 1320, Xperia C3 etc.

    Samsung Galaxy Mega 2 Specifications

    • 1.2 GHz quad core processor with 1.5 GB of RAM
    • 6 inch TFT capacitive touch screen with 720p resolution
    •  8 GB of internal storage and supports microSD card upto 64 GB
    • Android 4.4 Kitkat along with Touchwiz UI
    • 8MP primary rear camera and 5MP front facing camera
    • 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB 2.0
    • 2800 mAh battery