tech2touch

Category: Smartphones

  • Lenovo A328 With Quad Core SOc and Android Kitkat

    Lenovo has launched its budget Android smartphone Lenovo A328 in India. The device runs on latest Android 4.4 Kitkat out of the box and will be available in Black and White colors.  The price of Lenovo A328 in India is Rs.7,299. It will available starting wednesday across company stores and retail outlets.

    The Lenovo A328 is powered by Quad Core Mediatek MT6582M processor clocked at 1.3GHz with 1GB of RAM.  This A series Lenovo smartphone sports 4.5 inch FWVGA display with 217ppi. The built in storage capacity of the device is 4GB and support microSD card upto 32GB.

    Dual Sim Lenovo A328

    Lenovo A328 is a Dual sim Android Kitkat smartphone which comes with 5MP fixed focus primary camera with flash.  There is also a 2MP front facing camera to take selfies and video calling.  This new Lenovo smartphone packs 2000 mAh battery that is rated to provide upto 240 hours of standby time and 21 hours of talk time.

    The Lenovo A328 comes with connectivity features such as GPRS/ EDGE, GPS/ A-GPS, Micro-USB, Bluetooth, 3.5mm audio port, and Wi-Fi connectivity options.  The dimensions of this budget Android Dual sim are 132×68.5x11mm and weighs 140 grams. Lenovo bundled few DOit apps, such as SECUREit which help user track, analyse and optimise their data usage.  There is a one more app called SHAREit, this will enable fast phone to phone data transfer capability  without the need for Wi-Fi or mobile network. SYNCit is another app  which does permanent backup of all data  and make it accessible on any device.

    Looking at the specifications, Lenovo A328 doesn’t looks impressive. The other smartphones such as Xiaomi Redme 1s, Asus Zenfone and Motorola Moto E looks good in terms of price and specification. However, the exact performance will be known during the in depth review on Lenovo A328.

    Lenovo A328 Specification

    • 1.3GHz Quad core Mediatek MT6582M Processor with 1GB RAM.
    • 4.5 inch FWVGA display with 217ppi.
    • 4GB internal storage and support for microSD card.
    • 5MP primary camera and 2MP front facing camera.
    • GPRS/ EDGE, GPS/ A-GPS, Micro-USB, Bluetooth, 3.5mm audio port, and Wi-Fi connectivity options.
    • 2000 mAh battery that is rated to provide upto 240 hours of standby time and 21 hours of talk time.

  • Pros and Cons of Samsung Galaxy Alpha

    Samsung has launched a new smartphone in the name of Galaxy Alpha. The key highlight of this new Galaxy device is its premium build quality with metal frames. Though Galaxy Alpha still has a plastic back but it feels smoother and nicer than that of Galaxy S5. The Samsung Galaxy Alpha price in India is Rs.39,990. We will the specification part before moving on to the pros and cons of Galaxy Alpha.

    Galaxy Alpha Smartphones

    Samsung Galaxy Alpha is powered by Octa Core Chipset based on Exynos 5 Octa 5430 chipset with 2GB of RAM and Mali -T628 MP6 GPU. The internal storage capacity is 32GB and unfortunately there is no provision to add microSD card.  Galaxy Alpha sports 4.7 inch AMOLED 720p display screen with 312ppi pixel density.  The device has 12MP primary camera and 2.1MP front facing camera. The primary camera is capable of recording UHD 4K resolution at 30fps.

    The connectivity features of Galaxy Alpha includes WiFi, Bluetooth, 2G, 3G and USB. The device houses 1860 mAh user removable battery. It runs on latest Android Kitkat 4.4.4 OS with Touchwiz UI.

    Advantages and Disadvantages of  Samsung Galaxy Alpha

    Pros of Galaxy Alpha

    • Premium build feel: The metal frame makes Galaxy Alpha most luxurious Galaxy smartphone. It is a good thing considering a premium look differentiates from the crowd.
    • Good Performance: The Octa core processor with 2GB of RAM provides a good performance. The most of the high end games were able to play without much lag.
    • Good Camera: Like any other Galaxy Smartphones, this too takes good photos and records 4K videos.

    Cons of Galaxy Alpha

    • Average Display: Considering the premium price, the display is not great. The 720p resolution and quality of the display is not at par compared to similar priced smartphones.
    • No expandable storage: There n provision to add extra memory through microSD card. So you have stick to the internal storage.
    • Average Battery Life: The battery performance is average.
    • Over Priced: Looking the specification, pricing of the device just for the metal frame design is not justifiable.

    Samsung Galaxy  Alpha Tips and Tricks

    Galaxy Alpha PC suite: The free download of Samsung PC suite for Alpha is available on the support page, You can refer my earlier on How to download Samsung Kies for more info.

    Galaxy Alpha as Modem: Samsung Galaxy Alpha does provide USB tethering and WiFi hotspot features. Using these methods you can use Galaxy Alpha as modem to connect to internet from other devices. Read How to tether Samsung Galaxy smartphones.

    Taking screenshot on Galaxy Alpha: To take screenshot on Galaxy Alpha, hold volume down and Home button simultaneously. The screenshot will be saved  in gallery. Read: How to take screenshot on Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

    Samsung Galaxy Alpha Specifications

    • Octa Core Processor with 2GB of RAM
    • 4.7 inch AMOLED 720 p Display screen
    • 32GB internal storage capacity
    • 12MP primary camera and 2.1MP front facing camera
    • 1860 mAh battery
    • WiFi, Bluetooth, 2G, 3G ,USB and NFC connectivity

  • Motorola Moto G Price Slashed by RS2000

    Motorola has made Moto G smartphone more pocket friendly.  The new Price of Moto G is reduced by Rs.2000.  With increase in competition in the lower mid range smartphones, Motorola took this step to get more customers. Recently Asus has launched 5 smartphones under ZenFone series and Xiomi Mi 3 also launched at Rs.13,999. All these smartphones comes with better specifications than Moto G.

     

    After this price cut, 8GB version of Moto G price is Rs.10,499 and 16GB variant price is 11,999.  Flipkart is the only official retailer for Motorola smartphones in India. According to the listing, price cut is limited time offer which will continue till the stock last. Recently Flipkart gave a exchange offer on Moto G, but price cut is done for the first time.

    Motorola Moto G comes with 4.5 inch 720p resolution  display screen , Snapdragon 400 quad core processor running at 1.2GHz , 1GB RAM, 8GB/16GB internal storage, 5MP primary camera with LED flash, 1.3MP front facing camera. In India, Moto G dual sim variant only available. It runs on Android 4.4 Kitkat. Few days back, it received 4.4.4 update which fixed many bugs and added few enhancements. You can refer on Software update in Moto G Android update.

    Moto G
    Best Dual sim Android smartphone

    Though there are smartphones which are lower the price than Moto G, most of them are running on Android Jelly Bean or Android 4.4.2 Kitkat OS. This is one of the key attraction buy the MotoG. It promised to provide next major Android update too.  I have written few tips and tricks which you can refer in Moto G tips.

  • Using HTC One As WiFi Hotspot

    HTC One M8 has got a huge applause for its beautiful design and build quality.  It is not just beutiful, it is powerful too. HTC One M8 is powered by 2.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 Quad Core Processor with 2GB of RAM and Adreno 330 GPU. The device sports 5 inch Super LCD 3 Capacitive touchscreen with full HD resolution and 441 ppi pixel density. In this HTC One tutorial we will learn how to use HTC One as WiFi Hotspot.

    HTC One WiFi Hotspot
    HTC One M8

    How to Use HTC One as Modem through WiFi Hotspot

    To use HTC One as modem through WiFi Hotspot, please follow the steps mentioned below.

    • Go to Settings, and then under Wireless & networks, tap More.
    • Tap Mobile network sharing.
    • Tap the Portable Wi-Fi hotspot On/Off switch to turn it on.
    • The first time you turn on the Wi‍-Fi hotspot, you can customize the Hotspot name and password .
    • Enter a hotspot name or use the default.
    • Enter a password or use the default.
    • The password is the key other people need to enter on their device so they can connect and use HTC One as a wireless router.
    • To help make your Wi-Fi hotspot more secure, tap Advanced settings.
    • Choose settings such as SSID and the security type, and then press .
    • Tap Next and then tap Done.

    Now you can use you HTC One as Modem through WiFi Hotspot.

    Note:

    Here is the few things you need to keep in mind while you are using HTC One M8 as modem via WiFi Hotspot.

    • Make sure the data connection is turned on.
    • You must have an approved data plan associated with your account from your mobile service provider to use this service. Devices connected to your Wi‍-Fi hotspot use data from your subscribed data plan.
    • Using WiFi hotspot consumes more battery. Hence, when not in use, disable the WiFi Hotspot feature.

  • Samsung Galaxy S5 PC Suite Tips Price

    Galaxy S5 is the new flagship smartphone from the Samsung. The improvements are done in the areas such as processor, RAM size and in design. Samsung Galaxy S5 price in India is Rs.46,450.

    Samsung Galaxy S5 sports 5.1 inch Super AMOLED capacitive touch screen with screen resolution of 1080×1920 pixels and pixel density of 432ppi.  The display screen has the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The device has finger print sensor and Galaxy S5 is a water and dust resistant device.

    Samsung Galaxy S5
    Samsung Galaxy S5

    Like previous Galaxy flasgships, even Galaxy S5 comes in two variants. One with LTE and one with 3G connectivity.  In India, 3G device with Octa Core Exynos 5422 processor with has two clusters.  One cluster consist of high performance four cores that use A15ARM archotectecture clocked at 1.9GHz and 4 cores based on A7 architecture running at 1.3GHz.  The Global variant is powered by Snapdragon 801 processor running at 2.46GHz.  The graphic chips also comes in two variants. The Exynos version comes with multiple cores of Mali-T628 and snapdragon version comes with Adreno 330.

    The Samsung Galaxy S5 comes with 16MP primary camera and 2MP front facing camera. The device is powered by 2800 mAh battery. Internal storage of the device is 16GB/32GB and supports microSD card upto 64GB. Connectivity features of Galaxy S5 are 2G, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, LTE, USB tethering, WiFi hotspot.

    Advantages and Disadvantages of Samsung Galaxy S5

    Pros of Galaxy S5

    • Very good  camera performance
    • Powerfull performance.
    • Fingerprint scanner and heart rate monitoring features.
    • Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
    • IP67 certification for dust and water resistance

    Cons of Galaxy S5

    • There is not much intutive changes compared to Galaxy S4.
    • No Optical image stabilization and dedicated camera key.
    • Expensive. The price is not justifies the features.

    Samsung Galaxy S5 Tips

    Samsung Galaxy S5 tethering

    Samsung Galaxy S5 can be used as modem using the USB tethering features and WiFi Hotspot features. For more read my earlier post on How to use Samsung Galaxy smartphone as Modem.

    Samsung Galaxy S5 PC suite:  The device runs on latets Android 4.0.4 Kitkat.  You can download free Mobile PC suite for Samsung Galaxy S5 from the official Samsung support page or by clicking Samsung Mobile PC suite.