Almost an year after it first announced in January 2015, Asus Zenfone Zoom finally launched in India. The main selling point of this Asus smartphone is its 3x optical zoom. As a bundled offer, customer will get tripod and ZenFlash along with this smartphone with discounted additional price. Asus Zenfone Zoom price in India is Rs 37,999 and for the tripod and ZenFlash bundled offer price is Rs 39,999.
The Asus Zenfone Zoom comes with 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. The key feature of the primary camera includes 3x optical zoom, 10-element Hoya lens configuration which uses a dual prism periscope module design to capture more light, 4 stop optical image stabilization which ensures stutter free handheld shots even for 1 sec exposures. The camera also has all the good features we have seen on other Zenfone such as laser auto focus, manual shooting modes, super resolution etc. Apart from this, Zenfone Zoom supports 32 second exposure mode. But do remember that, this feature can only be used along with tripod.
The new Asus Zenfone Zoom comes with Intel Atom Z3590 quad core processor which is clocked at 2.5GHz couples with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The device supports microSD card for additional storage. Unfortunately, Zenfone Zoom supports only one sim card. The connectivity features of the device are Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, 4G LTE (Cat 4) and microUSB 2.0. It runs on Android Lollipop with ZenUI on top.
Asus Zenfone Zoom sports 5.5 inch full HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection. The display offers good viewing angles and good levels of brightness. The device is made up with aerospace-grade alloy which provides a solid-looking construction. Zenfone Zoom houses 3000mAh Li-polymer non removable battery. It comes with 18W power adapter. According to company, this can charge the battery from 0 to 60 percent in just 39mins.
These are only the first impression on Asus Zenfone Zoom. This is done based more by looking at the spec sheet. However, in the coming days we will be making an indepth review on Asus Zenfone Zoom.
Asus Zenfone Zoom Specification
5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) display with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection.
2.5GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3590 processor with PowerVR G6430 GPU.
4GB LPDDR3 RAM, 128GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 128GB via micro SD.
Android 5.0 (Lollipop) with ZenUI.
13MP rear camera with OIS, 3X optical zoom, f/2.7-4.8 aperture, Laser AF, Real Tone flash
5MP front-facing camera.
Dimensions: 158.9 x 78.84 x 5~11.95 mm; Weight 185g.
Motorola has already started rolling out Android 6.0 Marshmallow update to its Moto G Turbo smartphone. The update size is aroung 500MB which comes with January security updates. Below are the few useful new features of Android 6.0 on Moto G Turbo.
Motorola Moto G Turbo Android 6.0 Marshmallow update new Features
Android 6.0 improves overall smartphone performance. It includes better battery life, new app permissions etc. Below are the summary of new features of Android 6.0 on Moto G Turbo.
App Standby: This features provides an option to reduce the battery drain of Moto G turbo by moving rarely used apps to reduced activity state. You can customise on which apps are applicable to App standby. You can follow the steps for the same.
wipe the status bar down with two fingers and tap the gear icon at the top right corner of your screen.
Once in the Settings menu, scroll down and select Battery.
Tap the menu icon (3 vertical dots) at the top right corner of the screen and select Battery optimization. The greyed out list of apps under “Not optimized” cannot be added to App Standby.
Select “All apps” from the drop down list, then tap the app you want to adjust:
Select “Optimize” to include the app in App Standby to optimize battery life when it’s not in use.
Select “Don’t optimize” to remove the app from App Standby. Apps listed as “Not optimized” may keep running in the background and may drain your battery more quickly.
App permissions: With Marshmallow update, you can control what you want to share with the apps. With this new feature apps designed for Marshmallow only ask for permissions at the time it’s needed to use a feature, instead of all at once when you install the app. You can change permissions granted to apps at any time from the settings menu, or you can look at permissions by type and see which apps have that permission granted.
How to change App permission on Moto G Turbo with Android 6.0
Swipe the status bar down with two fingers and tap the gear icon at the top right corner of your screen.
Once in the Settings menu, scroll down and tap Apps, then select the app you want to adjust.
Go to Permissions in the app menu and tap the switch of the permission you want to grant or revoke for that app.
To modify permissions by type:
Swipe the status bar down with two fingers and tap the gear icon at the top right corner of your screen.
Once in the Settings menu, scroll down and tap Apps, then tap the gear icon at the top right corner of the Apps screen.
Go to App permissions and select the type of permission you want to adjust from the list.
Tap the switch for the app you want to grant/revoke that permission.
Expandable Storage: Moto G Turbo supports USB OTG and microSD card. However, option to move apps to microSD card on Moto G Turbo was limited. But with Android 6.0 Marshmallow update, you can set microSD card as internal storage. Once done, you can directly install apps to microSD card or move apps to microSD card. So here is the guide to use microSD card as internal storage in Moto G Turbo after upgrading to Android 6.0.
Back up and preserve any data you have on the card, as formatting for internal storage will erase it.
Swipe the status bar down with two fingers and tap the gear icon at the top right corner of your screen.
Once in the Settings menu, scroll down and tap Storage & USB, then select your portable SD card from the list.
Tap the menu icon (3 vertical dots) at the top right corner of the SD card screen and select Settings.
Select Format as internal and follow the steps in the tutorial.
Note: When the SD card is changed as internal storage, it will get formatted and encrypted to protect the information. One this is done, you cannot remove and transferred stored data to other device. If you want to use the SD card as portable storage or in another device after adopted as internal storage, then you need to format it. When doing so, please remember that formatting erases all the data stored in your SD card.
Direct Share: This is another useful new feature of Android 6.0. It enables sharing something directly to a contact or conversation within an app. Tap the share icon in the app and at the top of the share panel, a list of contacts with app icons next to their names will pop-up. Then just pick the contact and hit send.
These few new features, we think most useful for the users. Other features like Now on Tap, new ways of controling volume, Do not disturb etc are also useful.
How to update Moto G Turbo to Android 6.0 Marshmallow
You can update your Moto G Turbo to Android 6.0 through OTA update. It is highly recommended to connect to WiFi network for uninterupted download.It is also recommended to update the phone while its battery is atleast 50%. Below is the steps to update your Moto G Turbo to Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
If you already got notification for the update follow the steps given below.
Select “Yes, I’m in”.
After the software is downloaded, select “Install now”.
After the software is installed, your phone will re-start automatically.
Your phone is now updated to Android 6.0.
If you have not received a notification message for this update, follow the steps below to manually update Moto G Turbo.
Select the Settings icon in the apps menu.
Select “About phone”.
Select “System updates”.
Select “Yes, I’m in”. After the software is downloaded, select “Install now”.
After the software is installed, your phone will re-start automatically.
Samsung has unveiled the dual sim variant of Galaxy Note 5 in India. It accepts 2 nano sim cards. The price of the device is Rs.51,400 for the 32GB variant in India.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Dual sim sports 5.7 inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display with a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution and a pixel density of 518ppi. It runs on Android 5.1 based TouchWiz UI. The Note 5 Dual comes in 32GB and 64GB variant. As of now, only 32GB variant is launched in India. It does not supports microSD card.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Dual is powered by Samsung’s 64-bit Exynos octa-core (2.1GHz quad-core + 1.5GHz quad-core) processor with LPDDR4 RAM. The connectivity features of the device are Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, GPS, Bluetooth 4.2 and support for NFC. It packs with Li-Po 3000 mAh battery .
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Dual is equipped with 16-megapixel rear camera with f/1.9 aperture and optical image stabilisation, along with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. The dimensions of this phablet are 153.2×76.1×7.6mm, and weights 171 grams. It will be available in Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum, and Silver Titanium colour variants.
The 64GB of Galaxy Note 5 Dual is also due to launch in India soon and it is expected to be priced at Rs. 57,400. In addition, Samsung has announced price cut for the single sim variant of Galaxy Note 5. The 32GB variant of single sim Galaxy Note 5 is priced at 47,900 while the 64GB storage variant will be available for Rs 53,900.
Samsung India, Mobile Business Director Manu Sharma said that “Samsung has always focused on driving innovation based on valuable customer insights. The evolution of the Note series since its launch in 2011 has been attuned to the changing consumer needs and is carried forward in the Galaxy Note5 Dual SIM, which delivers superior productivity packaged in a stylish design. The Dual SIM edition of the Galaxy Note5 complements today’s consumers’ lifestyles by seamlessly balancing their personal and professional lives.”.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Dual Specification
16 MP rear camera with f/1.9 aperture and optical image stabilisation.
It is raining season for launch of budget Android smartphones. This week we have witnessed launch of Lenovo Lemon 3, Xiaomi Redmi 3 and Xiaomi Redme Note 3 . There is new competetor for these smartphones. That is Coolpad Note 3 Lite. Fingerprint scanner, 3GB RAM, 5inch HD IPS display are the key attraction of this new smartphone. Coolpad Note 3 Lite price in India is Rs.6,999 and available exclusively on Amazon India through flash sale method. The registration for the sale starts from today and first flash sale will happen on 28th January at 2PM IST.
Coolpad Note 3 Lite is dual sim smartphone with both SIM capable of 4G LTE connectivity. It runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop with Cool UI 6.0 skin on top. The device is powered by 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6735 SoC with 3GB of LPDDR3 RAM. Another key feature of this budget Android smartphone is fingerprint scanner which placed just below the camera in the backside of the device. This is the similar placement which we have seen on Nexux 5X.
Coolpad Note 3 Lite has 16GB of inbuilt storage and microSD card support upto 64GB. The connectivity options available on this device incloudes 4G (with support for Indian LTE bands), Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, and Micro-USB (with OTG). It packs 2500mAh non-removable battery which is rated provide upto 10 hours of talk-time and up to 200 hours of standby time. The sensors in the device are accelerometer, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, and digital compass.
Coolpad Note 3 Lite houses 13-megapixel rear camera with f/2.0 aperture and LED flash along with 5-megapixel front-facing camera. Both primary and secondary camera has CMOS image sensor for better image quality. The device will be available in Champagne white and black colour option.
Coolpad has said that VoLTE (voice over LTE) functionality will be added to the device in the coming days. However, company has not provided any timeline for the same. This applies to Android Marshmallow update as well. After sales support for Coolpad Note 3 will be taken by HCL.
Specificationwise Coolpad Note 3 Lite for the price looks very impressive. However, we will be able to come to conclusion on this only after performing indepth review of Coolpad Note 3 Lite. With options like Lenovo Lemon 3, Redmi Note 3, Redmi 3, how well this device justifies its place will be interesting to see.
Coolpad Note 3 Lite Specification
Dual sim and Android Lollipop with Cool UI 6.0.
1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6735 SoC with 3GB of LPDDR3 RAM.
16GB of internal storage and support for microSD card.
13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and 5MP front facing camera.
4G (with support for Indian LTE bands), Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, and Micro-USB (with OTG).
Fingerprint scanner and 2500mAh non-removable battery.
Soon after launching the Redme 3 smartphone, Xiaomi has unveiled the new variant of Redmi Note 3. The new variant is also called as Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro. This new variant has Snapdragon 650 Soc instead of MTK Helio X10 MT6795 octa-core Soc. Xiaomi Redme Note 3 Pro is priced at CNY 999 (approximately Rs. 10,000) and sale will start in China from 17th January. It will be available in Dark grey, Champagne gold and silver color variants.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro will feature all-metal body and sports 5.5 inch Full HD(1080×1920 pixel resolution) IPS display. The device is powered by hexa-core Snapdragon 650 processor (four cores clocked at 1.2GHz and two cores clocked at 1.8GHz). The new Redme Note 3 will come with 2 variants of RAM and storage capacity. One with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. The other one with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of inbuilt storage. The price of 3GB RAM variant is not yet revealed.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro runs on MIUI 7 which based on Android Lollipop. The device supports dual sim and both sim capable of 4G connectivity. The other connectivity features includes 3G, Bluetooth, GPRS/EDGE, GPS, Glonass, WiFi and microUSB. It packs 4000mAh battery.
Xiaomi Redme Note 3 Pro houses 16-megapixel rear camera with phase detection autofocus (PDAF) and two-tone flash. There is also a 5Mp front facing camera. The device measures 150x76x8.65mm and weighs 164 grams.
Today Xiaomi officially announced the launch of Redme Note 3 in India through its official facebook page. Just 3 days back it has launched Redme 3 in China. Even Lenovo launched Lemon 3 smartphone in China at the same price.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro Specification
5.5-inch Full-HD IPS display.
Fingerprint scanner.
Hexa-core Snapdragon 650 processor.
2GB RAM with 16GB internal storage or 3GB RAM with 32GB of internal storage.
16MP primary camer and 5MP front facing camera.
4000mAh battery.
Dual sim with 4G connectivity.
3G, Bluetooth, GPRS/EDGE, GPS, Glonass, WiFi and microUSB.
