tech2touch

Category: Smartphones

  • Asus Zenfone 3 ZE520KL Review- Pros and Cons

    Asus Zenfone 3 ZE520KL is a higher mid range Android smartphone with premium look and decent performance. Though the price looks bit on the higher side, it does manages to get most of the things right. Here is the Asus Zenfone 3 ZE520KL review based on my last 10 days of usage.

    The biggest change in Zenfone 3 compared to its predecessor is the design and build quality. At a time when market is flooded with all metal unibody design smartphones, a smartphone with 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass both on the front and rear which are held by metal frame gives a refreshing feel. The concentric-circle pattern at the rear which is called “Zen design” makes this device more beautiful. The Asus Zenfone 3 ZE520KL is available in Shimmer Gold, Moonlight White, Aqua Blue, and Sapphire Black color variants. The one which I bought is Aqua Blue variant.

    Recommended Reading

    How to set custom ringtone in Asus Zenfone 3

    Asus Zenfone 3 FAQ with Tips and tricks

    Asus Zenfone 3 ZE520KL Review

    Asus Zenfone 3 ZE520KL sports 16 megapixel primary camera with f/2.0 aperture and 6P Largan lens. This is supported by Dual LED flash,TriTech auto-focus technology, optical image stabilisation (OIS) and electronic image stabilisation (EIS) . TriTech auto-focus technology combines laser, phase detection and continuous autofocus.  The pictures taken using the Asus Zenfone 3 ZE520KL came out really good in outdoor and indoor conditions. The low light shots were decent but not great for the price. It supports 4K video recording. For 4K video recording, video stabilisation does not works.  For selfie lovers this smartphone features 8MP front facing camera. Below are the some of the images taken using the Asus Zenfone 3 ZE520KL and video sample.


    Video Sample

    Asus Zenfone 3 ZE520KL sports 5.2 inch full HD IPS display screen. The display is vibrant and offers rich colours. The viewing angles and sunlight legibility are also good. Using the Spledid app, you have the option to change the colour temperature.

    Asus Zenfone 3 ZE520KL is powered by octa-core Snapdragon 625 processor  clocked at 2GHz with 3GB RAM and Adreno 506 graphics. It has 32GB of internal storage in which 8GB is system reserved. Out of the box, there are lot of bloatware. Some of the third party apps can be uninstalled. However, Asus Apps cannot be uninstalled.

    5.2 inch variant of Asus Zenfone 3 comes with hybrid sim card slot. You can use either 1 nano sim card and micro sim  card or one sim card with microSD card. It supports upto 2TB of microSD card. I have not used micro SD card throughout my usage in these days as I use both slots for sim cards.  The connectivity features of the device includes 4G, 3G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac, GPS/A-GPS, and Glonass.

    Coming to performance, I have not faced any lagging or stuttering on regular usage. Gaming performance was also decent. It played games like Asphalt 8, Nova 3, Modern Combat X without any issue. However, it takes a while to open heavy games. The call quality and signal reception was excellant. The output via speakers as well as via headphone is good. The fingerprint scanner is accurate and fast. It recognises even the wet finger and supports 360 degree recognition.

    Asus Zenfone 3 ZE520KL houses 2650 mAh battery with fast charging. It takes around 1 hour 15 minutes to fully charge the battery. Battery life is decent and managed to cover a complete day with regular usage.

    Asus Zenfone 3 ZE520KL Review : Advantages and Disadvantages

    Pros of Asus Zenfone 3 ZE520KL

    • Premium Design.
    • Good camera performance in outdoor and artificial lighting conditions.
    • 4K video recording capability.
    • Excellent call quality and signal reception.
    • Fast and Accurate fingerprint scanner.
    • Good display panel.

    Cons of Zenfone 3 ZE520KL

    • No backlit navigation keys.
    • Hybrid sim card slot.
    • Glass back feels bit slippery. Also, there is a huge possibility of breaking of these glass even if you drop it from 3 to 4 feets.
    • Priced little on the higher side.

  • Moto G4 Play FAQ Tips and Tricks Cons

    Lenovo India on Tuesday launched its most affordable 4th Gen Moto G smartphone variant Moto G4 Play in India. The other two variants from this series are Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus.  In this post we will have quick Moto G4 Play FAQ, Tips and Tricks and Cons.

    Moto G4 Play

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    Redmi 3s Prime Review

    Moto G4 Plus Review

    Moto G4 Play FAQ Tips and Tricks Cons

    What are the different colour variants of Moto G4 Play available?

    The new Moto G4 will be available in Black and white colours.

    What is the price of Moto G4 Play in India? Where can I buy one?

    It is priced in India at Rs.8,999. It will be available in Amazon.in starting 6th September 10pm onwards.

    Does it has dedicated microSD card support?

    Yes.

    What is the CPU, RAM, GPU and Storage available on this device?

    This device is powered by 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 SoC with 2GB of RAM and Adreno 306 GPU. It comes with 16GB of internal storage. In the demo unit, the user available storage was 7.41GB. The retail unit available storage might be slightly different.

    Does it has fingerprint scanner?

    No.

    What is the battery capacity of the device?

    It comes with 2800 mAh battery.

    How to take screenshot on Moto G4 Play?

    Capturing screenshot on Moto G4 Play is identical to  Moto G4 Plus. It works on all the variants of Moto G4. Here is the video guide demonstrating on how to take screenshot on Moto G4 smartphones.

    How to set custom ringtone in Moto G4 Play?

    To set custom MP3 song as ringtone, you need to paste the ringtone to “Ringtones” folder. You can do this by either connecting it to PC or through the File manager.  Here is the video guide on how to set custom MP3 song as ringtone.

    What are the cons of Moto G4 Play?

    This is a not a review. Based on the first impression, we felt following are the cons of the device. The complete list disadvantages will be posted after the detailed review.

    • Compared to competition, low powered Soc.
    • No compass sensor.
    • No fingerprint scanner.

    Image source: Motorola.

  • How to set custom ringtone in Asus Zenfone 3

    When we purchase any new smartphone,  most of us like to customise the phone according to our liking. Our favorite photos as wallpaper, favorite MP3 as ringtone etc. Asus Zenfone are popular for providing lot of customisation for the users. So in this post, we will learn How to set custom ringtone in Asus Zenfone 3.

    Recommended Reading:

    Asus Zenfone 3 FAQ

    How to set  ringtone in Asus Zenfone 3

    For setting the different ringtones for two sim cards, just follow the steps given below.

    • Go to settings->Sound & notification.
    • Tap on to phone ringtone.
    • Now we have the option to select the ringtone to SIM 1 and sim 2.
    • Select the SIM which you want to set ringtone and tap on to the phone ringtone and from the drop down list, select the one which you like.

    How to set custom ringtone in Asus Zenfone 3

    In the above method, you might have noticed that, you have the option to select only the default ringtone. Then how to set your favourite MP3 ringtone in Asus Zenfone?. There are multiple ways to do it. Some of them are given below.

    To set custom MP3 ringtone on Asus Zenfone using PC

    • Connect your phone to PC.
    • Now select file transfer option in the phone.
    • Now from your PC, navigate your phone folder “Ringtones“.
    • It is under Internal storage->Ringtones.
    • Copy ringtone which you want to use to the ringtones folder.
    • Now you can select the ringtone from the above method.

    You can even use File Manager to move ringtone to ringtone folder.

    To set custom MP3 ringtone on Asus Zenfone without using PC

    • Go to file manager on your Asus Zenfone 3.
    • Navigate to the folder where the ringtones are available.
    • Select the ringtone which you want to use.
    • Now tap on to the options(“|”) which is available in the top right corner of file manager.
    • Select “Move to” or copy to. set custom ringtone in Asus Zenfone 3
    • Select the path: Internal storage->Ringtones.
    • How to set custom MP3 ringtone in Zefone 3
    • Confirm your action. Now your custom MP3 ringtone will be available in the dropdown list.

    This method of setting custom ringtone works on all the Zenfone 3 variants such as Zenfone 3 Deluxe, Zenfone 3 Ultra, Zenfone 3 Laser etc. It also works on some of the previous generation Asus Zenfones as well.

  • Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime Review- Pros and Cons

    Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime is a budget Android smartphone which offers great specification at affordable price.  Within two years of launching its first smartphone in India, the kind of success it achieved is remarkable. So with all these expectations, let’s begin our Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime Review to know whether it really able to fulfil the expectations.

    Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime Review

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    Xiaomi Redmi 3s FAQ with Tips and Tricks

    Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime Vs Lenovo K6 Power

    There are two variants of Redmi 3s are available. One is Redmi 3s and another one is Redmi 3s Prime. Redmi 3s prime has the advantage of Fingerprint scanner, more RAM and more storage space.

    Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime looks a lot like smaller Redmi Note 3 except the placement of the sensors. With all metal body, it is one of the best smartphones in terms of design and build quality in the price segment.

    Redmi 3s prime sports 5 inch IPS display with 720p HD resolution. The screen is vibrant and offers good viewing angles and sunlight legibility. The brightness level also decent on this device.

    Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime is powered by all new Snapdragon 430 Soc with 3GB of RAM and Adreno 505 GPU. It has 32GB of internal storage and support for microSD card(It has hybrid sim slot and there is no dedicated microSD card slot). Out of the box, it runs on MIUI 7.5 which is based on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.

    Coming to performance, we have not faced any lagging in the general usage. Multi tasking and gaming experience also very good considering the price. The call quality and signal reception was  decent. This variant comes with fingerprint scanner which is fast and accurate.  The connectivity features of the device includes 4G with VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS/A-GPS, Glonass, and Micro-USB. It is compatible with all LTE bands in India including the FDD LTE Band 3 and Band 5, as well as TDD LTE Band 40.

    Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime sports 13MP primary camera with PDAF (phase detection autofocus), f/2.0 aperture, HDR mode, 1080p video recording, and an LED flash. There is also a 5MP front facing camera. In good lighting and in indoor lighting conditions, the camera was able to take sharp images with good amount of details. The low light performance also decent.

    One of the biggest USP of Redmi 3s prime is its battery. It comes with non-removable 4100mAh battery which managed to cover entire day with even heavy usage. The bundled 5V/2A charger managed to charge the battery full in around 2 hours.

    Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime Review Summary: It is one of the best sub Rs.10,000 smartphone we have tested till date. Performance, battery life, display quality, availability of all basic sensors and decent camera performance are the key advantage of the device. Coming to disadvantages of Redmi 3s prime, it lacks a dedicated microSD card slot and sound amplification is bit low.

    Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime Review-Advantages and Disadvantages

    Pros of Redmi 3s Prime

    • Great battery life
    • Compact to use in single hand.
    • Decent performance.
    • Fast and accurate fingerprint scanner.
    • Good build quality.

    Cons of Redmi 3s Prime

    • No dedicated microSD card slot.
    • Non user removable battery.
    • Sound output via headphone and speaker is bit low.
    • Available through only flash sales.

  • Asus Zenfone 3 FAQ Tips Tricks Cons

    Asus has finally launched  much anticipated Zenfone 3 range of  smartphones in India during Zenvolution press event last week.  Zenfone 3, Zenfone 3 Deluxe, Zenfone Ultra and Zenfone 3 Laser are the newly launched smartphones. The event also witnessed the launch of Zenbook 3 and Asus Transformer 3 Pro notebooks. In this post, let’s have a quick look into the  Asus Zenfone 3 FAQ Tips and Tricks with cons.

    Asus Zenfone 3

    Asus Zenfone 3 FAQ Tips and Tricks with cons

    What are the different variants of of Zenfone 3 are available in India?

    At the time of writing this, there are two variants of Asus Zenfone 3 are available in India. The one with 5.2 inch screen and the other one is having 5.5 inch screen. Zenfone 3(ZE520KL) with 5.2 inch screen model has 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. This variant comes with 2650 mAh battery. Zenfone 3(ZE552KL) with 5.5 inch screen model has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. This variant comes with 3000mAh battery. Rest of the specifications such as Octa core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625  Soc with Adreno 506 GPU, 16MP primary camera and 8MP front facing camera, fingerprint scanner and connectivity features are identical.

    What are the different colour variants available?

    These smartphones will be available in Shimmer Gold, Sapphire Black, Moonlight White colour variants.

    What is Zenfone 3 price in India?

    Asus Zenfone 3 price in India is given below.

    • Zenfone 3(ZE520KL) with 5.2 inch display screen price in India is Rs.21,999.
    • Zenfone 3(ZE520KL) with 5.5 inch display screen price in India is Rs.27,999.

    Both the variants can be purchased from Amazon.in as well as from Flipkart.

    What is the size of the sim cards Zenfone 3 accepts? Does it has dedicated microSD card slot? What is the maximum capacity of the microSD card it supports?

    Newly launched Asus Zenfone 3 comes with hybrid sim card slot. It accepts 1 micro SIM card and 1 nano SIM card. There is no dedicated microSD card slot. Instead of 2nd sim card, you can use microSD card.  It supports upto 2TB of microSD card.

    How is the Zenfone 3 camera performance? What are the camera specification?

    Zenfone 3 comes equipped with 16MP primary camera with Sony IMX298 sensor, six-element Largan lens with a large f/2.0 aperture, and subject-tracking TriTech auto-focus. It has Sapphire-glass lens protection. The camera on Zenfone 3 has both optical and electronic image stabilization for blur-free shots and video along with a color-correction sensor for true-color photography. It also supports true 4K UHD video recording. The exclusive TriTech auto-focus technology combines three focusing technologies — laser, phase detection and continuous contrast-detection autofocus.  We will not be able to tell on the real life camera performance as of now as we have spent very time with the device. We will cover it in the detailed review.

    Below is the sample video recorded using Zenfone 3 ZE520KL variant in full HD.

    What are the connectivity options of Zenfone 3? Does it supports VoLTE?

    The connectivity options of the device includes 4G with support for Reliance Jio VoLTE, Bluetooth 4.2, Type-C USB 2.0, WIFI 802.11ac Up to Cat 7 LTE, 5G/2.4G MiMO Wi-Fi. As per the press release, it does supports Reliance Jio VoLTE.

    What are the box content of Zenfone 3?

    In the box we get USB Cable Type C, ZenEar, Adaptor, User Manual & Warranty Card.

    Does the display screen has Corning Gorilla Glass protection? What is the screen to body ratio?

    Yes. It does comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The screen to body ratio on these device is around 76%.

    What are Zenfone 3 Cons?

    This is the not the review. The detailed cons of the device will be known only after we perform the complete review.  As of now, we felt these are the cons of Zenfone 3.

    • No backlit navigation keys.
    • Hybrid sim card slot.
    • Lot of bloatware out of the box.

    How to take screenshot on Zenfone 3?

    There are several methods through which you can capture screenshot on Zenfone 3. Most of them are identical to Zenfone 2. You can refer to my previous post on how to take screenshot on Zenfone.

    Is it possible to use Zenfone 3 as modem?

    You can share mobile internet from Zenfone 3 to PC through WiFi hotspot, USB tethering and Bluetooth tethering.

    How is the fingerprint scanner in Zenfone 3?

    Zenfone 3 comes with fingerprint scanner which is placed in the rear side of the device. We felt it was fast and accurate. It supports upto 5 finger registration. It also has 360 degree recognition.