tech2touch

Category: Smartphones

  • Moto G4 Plus Review- Pros and Cons

    Moto G is one of the most popular smartphone in India. Moto G4 Plus is the latest iteration of Moto G smartphone. So the expectation from this device is also very high. Let us have a quick look into whether it is a worthy upgrade to its predecessor in this quick Moto G4 Plus review.

    Moto G4 Plus Review

    Moto G4 Plus comes with noticeable design change. The back is more flatter compared to previous Moto G smartphones. It has plastic back with textured pattern and silver metal frame on the side with round edges. It has slimmer form factor compared to Moto G3. However, the signature curved back is missing in this device. Also water and dust resistant features omitted in the new 4th gen Moto G which is surprising.

    Recommended reading:

    Moto G4 Plus FAQ with Tips and Tricks

    Moto G4 Plus vs Redmi Note 3 Comparison

    Moto G4 Plus sports 5.5 inch full HD display screen. It offers good sunlight legibility and viewing angles. Only con with the display is it is prone to fingerprint smudges. Though it has Corning Gorilla glass, in my limited time with the device, screen got few minor scratches. Hence it is highly advisable to use screen guard.

    Our Moto G4 Plus review unit was powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 617 SoC, which is an octa-core chip running at 1.5GHz coupled with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The phone will also be available in 2GB of RAM with 16GB of internal storage. The connectivity features includes  4G LTE (Category 4), Bluetooth 4.1 Low Energy, dual-band Wi-Fi b/g/n, GPS, GLONASS, USB-OTG, and FM radio. There is a finger print scanner as well. The device runs on stock Android Marshmallow out of the box. The performance of Moto G4 plus was good in our review period. The gaming performance too decent. However, we have noticed that with extended gaming, device tends to heat up a bit.

    Moto G4 Plus excels in camera segment. It has 16MP primary camera with laser auto focus and PDAF. The camera performance was excellent in outdoor and in low light conditions for the price segment.  There is a 5MP front facing camera as well. The Moto G4 Plus comes with 3000mAh battery with fast charging.

    Moto G4 Plus Review Summary:  It is good mid range budget smartphone with decent specification. It offers good camera performance, decent display panel and good performance with stock android.  Main cons of Moto G4 Plus are lack of compass sensor and NFC and heating issues. Overall it is a good phone but not a worthy upgrade over Moto G3.

    Moto G4 Plus Review based on advantages and Disadvantages

    Moto G4 Plus Pros

    • Good display screen.
    • Decent battery life.
    • Stock Android experience.
    • Improved camera performance.

    Cons of Moto G4 Plus

    • No Compass sensor and NFC.
    • Limited functionality of fingerprint scanner: It can be used only for unlocking the device and nothing else.
    • No physical LED notification light.
    • Lacks water and dust resistance which its predecessor had.
    • Display is prone to fingerprint smudges and attracts scratches.

  • Asus Zenfone 3 Variants and Features

    Asus at its Zenvolution event on Monday at the Humble House Taipei, unveiled third generation Zenfone series smartphones. The newly launched devices are Asus ZenFone 3, ZenFone 3 Deluxe, and ZenFone 3 Ultra. Here is the quick summary of newly launched smartphone features and specifications.

    Asus Zenfone 3 variants

    Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe

    This is the flagship model of Zenfone 3 series smartphones. Asus claims that, it is the world’s first full metal smartphone with invisible antenna design.  It sports strong and  light aluminum alloy unibody design.

    Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe

    Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe sports 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with full HD( 1080×1920 pixel) resolution. It is powered by Snapdragon 820 SoC with 6B of RAM and Adreno 530 GPU. It has 64GB of inbuilt storage and support for microSD card upto 256GB. The connectivity features of the device includes WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2, Cat 6 LTE, and USB 3.0 Type-C connector.

    Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe(ZS570KL) houses 23MP rear primary camera which features  Sony IMX318 sensor, f/2.0 aperture lens, and 4-axis optical image stabilization. It also has 3-axis electronic image stabilization for steady 4K UHD videos. This smartphone will be available in Grey, Silver, and Pink colour options.

    Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe(ZS570KL) packs 3000 mAh battery which supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0. There is a fingerprint scanner which is placed in the rear side of the smartphone. Zenfone 3 Deluxe price starts from $499. Asus Zenfone Deluxe Price in India is INR 49,999.

    Key specification of Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe

    • All metal aluminum unibody design.
    • 5.7 inch Full HD Super AMOLED display screen.
    • Snapdragon 820 SoC with Adreno 530 GPU.
    • 6GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage.
    • Support for microSD card upto 256GB.
    • 23MP primary camera which features  Sony IMX318 sensor.
    • 4K video recording with 3 axis electronic image stabilisation.
    • 3000 mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick charge 3.0 support.

    Asus Zenfone 3 Ultra

    Asus Zenfone 3 Ultra features 6.8 inch full HD(1920×1080 pixels) IPS display screen. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 octa-core processor with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of built in storage.  It supports microSD card upto 128GB. Like Zenfone 3 Deluxe, it also features 23-megapixel rear camera with Sony IMX318 sensor. The connectivity features of Zenfone 3 ultra includes WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2, Cat 6 LTE, and USB 3.0 Type-C connector. The device will be available in Grey, Silver, and Pink colour options.  It houses 4600 mAh battery with Quick Charge technology. Asus Zenfone 3 Ultra price starts from $479(Approximately Rs.32,200).

    Asus Zenfone 3 Ultra

    Key Specifications of Asus Zenfone 3 Ultra

    • 6.8 inch full HD(1920×1080 pixels) IPS display screen.
    • Snapdragon 652 octa-core processor with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage.
    • 23 MP  primary camera with Sony IMX318 sensor.
    • 4600 mAh battery with Quick Charge technology.

    Asus Zenfone 3

    This is the base model of 3rd generation Zenfone smartphones.  The Zenfone 3 sports  5.5-inch full-HD (1080×1920 pixels) Super IPS LCD display. It has Corning Gorilla glass 3 on the front and back. The Zenfone 3 is powered by Snapdragon 625 Soc. There will be two variants. One is with 3GB RAM and 32GB of storage and another one which has 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage. It houses 16MP rear camera with Sony IMX298 sensor. Zenfone 3 comes with 3000 mAh battery. The connectivity features of the device are Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2, Cat 6 LTE, and USB 2.0 Type-C connector.

    Key Specifications of Asus Zenfone 3

    • 5.5-inch full-HD (1080×1920 pixels) Super IPS LCD display.
    • Snapdragon 625 Soc with 3GB/4GB RAM.
    • 32GB/64GB internal storage.
    • 16MP primary camera with Sony IMX298 sensor.
    • 3000 mAh battery.
    • Fingerprint scanner.
    • Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2, Cat 6 LTE, and USB 2.0 Type-C connector.

  • Asus Zenfone Max 2016 Review- Good overall performer

    Asus has launched upgraded version of its previous model Zenfone Max. The new Zenfone Max 2016 has retained all the good features of its predecessor and comes with additional new features at the same price. Here is Asus Zenfone 2016 model review with pros and cons.

    New Asus Zenfone Max 2016 Review

    One of the key attraction of Zenfone Max is its massive 5000 mAh battery. It delivers what it was expected to. It has great standby time. With my regular usage which consist of playing few games, usage of WiFi and mobile data,dual sim and few calls it easily lasted for more than 2 days. It also functions as power bank. You can use Zenfone Max as powerbank to charge other devices using the OTG cable provided in the box.  Only concern in this section is charging duration. Out of thebox, device do not come with fast charger. Hence it takes close to 5 hours to charge the battery fully.

    Recommended reading

    New Asus Zenfone Max Frequently asked question and useful tips and tricks

    The new Asus Zenfone Max 2016 comes with 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC with 32GB of internal storage and support for microSD card. You can choose between 2GB RAM or 3GB RAM variant. My review unit has 2GB of RAM. In my usage I have not faced any lag on my day to day activities. I was able to play games such as Asphalt 8, Dead trigger etc without any issue. With extended gaming, device became little warm. The max temperature it touched is around 39 degrees.

    The new Asus Zenfone Max 2016 variant, house 5.5 inch 720 IPS HD screen. The viewing angles, colours accuracy, sunlight legibility are decent. It would have been great if it had a full HD panel and bezels are little narrow.  The signal reception and call quality are excellant. When it comes to noise cancellation, it did perform as expected.

    New Asus Zenfone Max 2016 sports 13MP rear primary camera with laser auto focus, dual flash and PDAF. In good lit conditions, it took good images. The low light performance is decent for the price segment. The wide angle 5MP front facing camera does take good selfies.

    New Asus Zenfone Max Review summary:  The Zenfone Max is a worthy upgrade over its predecessor. With new more powerful SoC, great battery life, Decent camera and bigger storage capacity, it fulfills most of the requirements of a smartphone buyers for the price of Rs.9999. However, there are few cons of Zenfone Max as well. This includes, longer charging time, large bezel size and lack of fingerprint scanner.

    Advantages and Disadvantages of new Asus Zenfone Max

    Pros of Zenfone Max 2016

    • Excellent battery life.
    • Ability to use the device as power bank to charge other devices.
    • Good performance.
    • Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box.
    • Decent camera performance.
    • Good price to performance ratio.

    Cons of Zenfone Max 2016

    • Screen resolution could have been better.
    • Longer charging hours.
    • No fingerprint scanner.

  • Asus New Zenfone Max 2016 Tips Tricks and FAQ

    Today Asus has launched new variants of popular Zenfone Max. The Asus Zenfone Max 2016 runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out of the box. All the good features of earlier Zenfone Max such as 5.5 inch IPS HD display, 5000 mAh battery, 13MP pixelmaster camera with dual LED flash and laser auto focus, 5MP wide angle front facing camera, design philosophy etc are  retained in the new device as well. However, now it comes with more powerful SoC and more storage options. Here is the some of the frequently asked questions along with some of the tips and trick of new Zenfone Max.

    New Zenfone Max

    Asus Zenfone Max 2016 Tips Tricks and FAQ

    What are the new variants of Zenfone Max? How it is different from previous Zenfone Max which was launched on January 2016?

    Asus has launched 2 new variants of Zenfone Max in India today . Both variants are powered by  Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor which has 64 bit  8 ARM Cortex A53 cores  clocked at 1.5GHz along with Adreno 405 GPU. Whereas older variant was powered by 4 ARM Cortex A53 cores clocked at 1.2GHz. So idealistically, the new device is 2 times more powerful than the older variant. Apart from this, new Zenfone Max comes with 32GB internal storage where as its predecessor had only 16GB of internal storage. Also now user has the option to choose between 2GB or 3GB RAM variants which was not available earlier.

    What is the price of new Zenfone Max in India? Where this device is available for purchase?

    • Zenfone Max  2GB RAM/ 32GB Storage/ Snapdragon 615 price is Rs.9,999.
    • Zenfone Max 3GB RAM/ 32GB Storage/ Snapdragon 615 price is Rs.12,999.

    You can buy this smartphone from the flipkart by clicking here.

    What are the different colour variants available?

    The new Zenfone Max will be available in Black, Orange and Blue colours variants.

     

    What type of SIM cards new Zenfone Max accepts? Does it has separate slot for microSD card?

    The new Zenfone Max accepts 2 micro sim cards along with microSD card.

    What is the capacity of battery? Does it support fast charging? What is the capacity of charger which is bundled in the box?

    New Zenfone max comes with 5000 mAh battery which is rated to provide upto 37.6 hours of talk time or 32.5 hours of Wi-Fi web browsing or 22.6 hours video playback. Asus claims that, the device can hold charge for upto 38 days. The output of the charger which comes within box is 1A 5.2 V. Unfortunately, Zenfone Max do not support fast charging.

    How long does it takes to fully charge the battery from 0% using the bundled charger?

    It takes around 5 to 5 and half hours.

    Is it possible to use Zenfone Max as power bank? Does it supports USB OTG for data sharing?

    Yes. You can use this device as power bank. USB OTG is supported on this device.

    How to take screenshot on new Zenfone Max?

    There are 3 different methods through which you can take screenshot on these devices. I have already made a detailed post on the same. You can refer it here.

     

  • Moto G4 Plus Tips Tricks and FAQ

    Motorola has launched its much expected 4th gen Moto G smartphones in India in two variants. Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus are new smartphones which will succeed the last years Moto G3 and Moto G Turbo. Here are few tips and tricks on Moto G4 Plus with FAQ.

    Moto G4 Plus 2016

    Motorola Moto G4 Plus Tips and Tricks with FAQ

    What are the different variants of Moto G4 Plus available in India?

    The new smartphone will be available in India in two variants based on the internal storage and RAM size. One is 2GB RAM with 16GB of internal storage and another one is 3GB RAM with 32GB internal storage.

    What is the Moto G4 Plus price in India?

    The price of 4th Gen Moto G in India are as follows.

    1. 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage-Rs.13,499
    2. 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage- Rs.14,999.

    What are the different colour variants available?

    Currently, the device will be available in Black and White colour variants.

    What type of sim cards Moto G4 Plus accepts?

    It accepts 2 micro sim cards.

    Is Moto G4 Plus water resistant?

    No. It just has water repellant nano coating which we have seen in Moto G, Moto G2 etc.

    Does it accepts microSD card? What is the maximum capacity of microSD card can be used on these devices?

    Yes. Both variants of 4th gen Moto G plus supports upto 128GB of microSD card.

    What is the SoC is used in Moto G4 Plus?

    It is powered by Octa core Snapdragon 617 Soc(8x ARM Cortex A53) with Adreno 405 GPU.

    Does it has LED notification light?

    Yes. It has white LED light. But it glows only when device is connected to charger and it is charging.

    What are the camera features?

    4th Gen Moto G Plus has 16MP primary camera with f/2.0 aperture. It also has laser auto focus and phase detection auto focus(PDAF). There is a 5MP front facing camera with wide angle lens for selfies and video calling.

    Does Moto G Plus 2016 has fast charging option? Is fast charger bundled in the box?

    Yes. It supports fast charging. The bundled charger supports fast charging. Motorola claims, 15 minutes of charging will give around 6 hours of power.

    How to take screenshot on Moto G4 Plus?

    For taking screenshot, follow the steps given below.

    • Go to the screen on which you want to capture screenshot.
    • Press and hold volume down and power button simultaneously.
    • The screenshot will be taken and saved in the Gallery folder. You can access it from “File Manager” or from the “Photos” app from Google which are preinstalled on your Moto G4 Plus.

    Here is video guide on How to take screenshot in Moto G4 Plus

    How to use Moto G4 Plus as modem?

    The new 4th generation Moto G supports USB tethering, WiFi hotspot and Bluetooth tethering. Using any of this method, you can share your mobile data with other devices. You can read more on this here.