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Salora launches maiden feature rich handset, SM401

The Mobile Indian Network
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Salora, an Indian consumer electronics player, has forayed into the mobile handset market with the launch of its SM401.

SM401 is an entry level phone with multimedia features like K series amplifier, big speakers and 3.5 mm jack. Besides, it can play MP4, 3GP video files as well. The dual phone comes in soothing colors of light green and blue with a 2.2 TFT display.

It has a 1.3 camera with flash and zoom facility as well, which can also be used to record videos. The camera can be used as a webcam and a of a PC as well.

Priced at Rs 2,499, the phone also offers Internet access (WAP / / MMS enabled), Bluetooth, expandable memory up to 16GB, answering machine, dual charging port, FM radio with recording facility, and torch.

How to back-up contacts from iPhone, Android

samir-makwana
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How to back-up contacts from iPhone, Android

Mobile phones available today are feature rich and carry better hardware compared to those available 6-7 years ago. With plethora of smartphones being launched every month, one does get lured to buy a new one. However, majority folks totally miss out on most important part &#151 restoring or moving contacts. Phonebook contacts are the most important components of any mobile phone and back up of the same needs to be taken regularly.

Taking timely back up of contacts is always beneficial instead of facing the awkwardness of asking others.

The simplest way to ensure ease of contacts transfer is to take the back up with cloud-based services. Google Sync is one such service that allows taking backup and syncs the device’s contacts, calendar and mail with a Google account.

At this moment, Google Sync currently allows syncing data for following platforms &#151 Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian S60 devices, iPhone, iPad and Windows Mobile. In matter of minutes, you can take backup of your invaluable contacts. Pre-requisites over here are &#151 Google Account and active data connection (WiFi or GPRS/EDGE/3G).

We recommend creating a new Google account purely for taking backup of contacts and it will keep your phone numbers separate from your Gmail contacts.

Apple iPhone/iPod touch/iPad running 4.0 or higher:

Step one:

Go to mails, contacts, calendars in the Settings app.

Step Two:

Choose Microsoft Exchange from the list of options.

Step Three:

From the available four options, enter your Gmail address in the email option. Leave the domain space blank and jump to the Username where in add your Gmail username along with password. After that, press on the Next button on top right corner.

Step Four:

In the Server option that shows up, enter “m.google.com” without quotes and press Next button again.

Step Five:

From the available Toggle buttons, tap on the one corresponding to contacts. Choose and tap on the option “Keep on My iPhone” because that option leaves a copy of the device’s phonebook data on the iPhone/iPod touch/iPad itself.

After the contacts sync process is complete, you can check out the entire list of contacts at https://www.google.com/contacts . Same process needs to be followed if the contacts are to be restored from Google account to a new iOS device.

Android Smartphones:

Step One:

In the Settings, go to the Accounts & Sync.

Step Two:

Select your Google account you wish to sync your contacts with.

Step Three:

From the options that show up, press on Sync Contacts and let the phone sync your phonebook with your Google account contacts.

Even though when you are not moving your contacts from one phone to other, we always recommend taking back-up of contacts. Backing up contacts with a Google account offers a flexibility to restore it on any device.

Handset Review: Spice Transformer M5500

rahul-gupta
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Let aside the bigger brands, the Transformers movie fever is slowly catching up with our very own homegrown brand like Spice, which has announced a special Transformers branded feature phone.

Design

The best thing about this phone is not the transformer branding or the wallpapers that you generally get with co-branded devices, but the concept that allow this device to transform. Yes you heard it right transform; this device can be made in to a full touch screen based phone or a handset with a full alpha numeric multitap keypad as per the need of the user.

The colour of the device (Red) seems to be inspired by the main character of the movie Transformers – Optimus Prime. Although it would have been real nice to see a combination of both red and blue on this device but still it looks good. A single matter red finish might not appeal a lot of males but for females, the M5500 is a steal. The device is also available in white but again it will appeal females the most.

The phone itself is a touchscreen device with a clip on keyboard that comes as an extension to the device and transforms the whole meaning of this phone. As I said earlier, the concept is really nice and will be appreciated by a lot of users but the execution part is where it lacks behind.

The clip-ons are really difficult to open and there is no indication on as to how to go about swapping between the two. If only the whole process could have been refined just a little bit more, this device or the concept would have really been liked a lot.

Display and touch

The display on the M5500 is a smaller 2.6 inch with a with a resistive touch interface. The display, although small, is vibrant and good enough for basic phone related tasks and some multimedia playback also. Video playback, however, disappoints a little with the lower resolution but for occasional video watching it is ok.

The touchscreen on the other hand is good considering it is a resistive one. The device requires some time to get used to as the actions or the quick access menus work with specific gestures only, all thanks to the limitations of the resistive touch screen. The company has not included a with this device but at some points you feel that they should have provided one with the device. But as you spend more and more time with the device you understand things better.

Interface and usability

The Interface of the Spice M5500 is a classic example of how well MKT (Dual phone operating system based on Java) operating system is equipped with learning and taking features from other popular operating systems. For instance, the five home screens feature is inspired from Android, then the HTC Sense Watch will be the next big thing you will notice and if that’s not all then the quick access menu will definitely grab your attention.
All in all, the interface or the whole user interface is similar to the ones found on most dual SIM mobile phones but is better customised and has got more features as compared to others.

The interface is responsible for the improved usability of this device; all the shot cut keys and the simplified menus are perfect for a first time user as well as for the experienced one.
The keypad on the Spice M5500 is probably one of the best keypads we have ever seen on a dual SIM phone. The keys are soft to use but have the right pitch and feedback making them easy to use for people with fat fingers too. The keypad also has a big ‘D’ pad in the center for navigation which is more like a silver ring in the upper center of the keypad.

Camera and Multimedia

The Spice M5500 comes with a basic 1.3 camera which is good enough for on device photography only, even if the user wants to take a bigger print of the picture he won’t be able to as the quality really suffers once the picture blows up and the lack of auto focus clearly shows up. The camera is biased for bright light and captures dark images even if there is a slight change in the light.

In terms of multimedia, the M 5500 features a multi format audio video player that supports most popular audio and video formats like MP3, WMA, MP4 and 3GP as well. Plus, the M5500 comes with a standard port so no compatibility issues will be faced by the users.

As far as the expandable memory goes, the M5500 supports up to 8 memory but 4 GB will be suggested for normal functioning of the device as more memory might result in sluggish performance.

The inclusion of a micro USB connector for audio headset is the worst that could have been done for a device and it highly disappoints as it loses on connectivity and even quality of headset is really bad.

Build Quality

Although the device is completely made up of plastic, the build quality of the device is not bad. It will withstand a couple of drops and everyday usage jerks easily. We are not very sure whether the clip on mechanism will hold on much longer or not but otherwise the device is built to last.

Call Performance

Being a dual SIM phone, this phone can be connected to two cellular networks or two different numbers at any given time, but it does not feature two SIM standby feature that allows the other SIM to be active while the first receives a call.

The signal quality of this phone is normal and it works flawlessly in most places. The call sound quality both for the speaker and the receiver are good without any distortion or voice quality loss. The microphone positioning of the phone is good that allows the device to catch to catch minimal ambience noise as well.

Battery life and Conclusion

The Transformer M5500 comes with a 950 battery pack that is enough to powers this for some longer durations. We got a total usage time of three days with moderate usage on this device between charges.

Overall, the Transformer M5500 comes as a bit of over priced feature phone according to the price mentioned on the box which is Rs 4,600 approximately. But in the real world, this device will be available for much lesser and with the kind of concept this device brings along, it is a good phone to have with decent set of features but not many colour options, especially for the males.

Handset Review: Beetel Xpert Connect GD530

prasoon-kumar
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Beetel Xpert Connect GD530 is a dual phone with a keypad, and it comes with useful features for those who text heavily and would love to be socially active and ready to do business all the time. The user interface of the phone is simple. Its icons are slightly too small for comfort, which is understandable as it has a Qwerty keypad that takes up much of the space in front.

In terms of design, the concept appears to be good but the device doesn’t look like a compact whole. The keys are small and slightly difficult to operate for people with large fingers, but then that is a common Qwerty keypad problem. The camera button right in front is a welcome addition, but is misleading because it gives the impression that the camera can be launched at any moment, whereas the button launches the mail service when it is clicked. Only if you have a camera with a timer facility can this button be used to take pictures. At its price a 2 camera is quite decent.

The other dedicated key on top of the keypad is for Beetel Push Mail, which is useful for people who want to be able to check mail at any time. The internet generation is addicted to emails and Facebook these days, and Beetel Xpert Connect GD530 provides app shortcuts on the homescreen that accelerate the functionalities of the phone and are a joy to work with.

Many Indians find dual SIM phones particularly useful because they give out one number to their friends and acquaintances, while the other number is from a service provider that offers cheap call rates and this SIM is used largely for making calls. The other type of users who like to use dual SIM phones are those who would like to keep their personal and professional lives separate. Whatever the reason, the Beetel Xpert Connect GD530 allows users to easily access two SIM cards, and they have the option to keep both the SIMs working, or can switch one SIM card off.

The camera is located at the top left of the rear of the phone. On the right side of it is a 2.5 mm and it will be difficult for users to get a compatible earphone. The phone’s handsfree kit makes things easier but it has to be bought in addition to the device. Sound in the handsfree’s earphone is clear and talking through it is also a pleasant experience. Its volume controls are on the right side.

The phone is WiFi enabled, has Edge/GPRS support and many useful apps including Facebook, Snaptu, Ibibo, Nimbuzz and Yahoo. Snaptu is especially useful for those who like to access news on the go, and on WiFi it works very smoothly. The device also has a Reuters app to provide users with world news. It has its own as well, which was slightly difficult to locate because its icon was named ‘Services’.

The phone’s user interface is like that of other Java phones, but the number of features available is good enough for budget users to buy this phone at Rs 3,600, though maximum retail price as mentioned by the company is Rs 4,500. Beetel has also provided its own email service called Beetel Push Mail. The phone offers the option to connect with the computer for data transfer. It comes with a 1000 Li ion battery which easily lasts for a day. It is good but there is still scope for improvement.

App Review: Saavn

nilabh-jha
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Here is an application that plays Bollywood music for free on you mobile phone. While the idea is brilliant does the application really delivers. Let’s find out.

You can download the simply by clicking here.

Downloading the app was very quick, over our office WiFi, which is decently fast; over a home WiFi network also, it would not take more than a minute to download.

Design

The app design is minimalistic: on the top you get all the advertisements that keep this app free. Although advertisements have a prominent place in this app, it is non intrusive and doesn’t hinder user experience.

Below the ads, is the search box that allows for music search. Below that lies the toggle between play list and radio. The playlist is divided between Weekly top 15 and Surprise me (random selection of songs) new releases, my playlist and featured playlist.

Features

The app allows you to link it to your Facebook account and to create and save your own playlist so that you can access them whenever you want. You can also share songs through Facebook, and mail.

Radio is another interesting aspect of the app; it picks up from the choice of the songs that you make and then subsequently plays the songs similar in genre or from same actors’ movies or music director wise. It is interesting and fun, I liked the choices that the app made for me. And if you don’t like any song, you can move to the next song in a click.

Featured playlist has songs of similar genre and gets updated regularly and is useful in making quick choices as these are also updated based on the occasions (like Rakhi, Valentine day, Independence day etc).

The app also gives details about the song like movie, year, singer, music director etc.

Performance and Verdict

Although some users of the app have complained that the application is buggy, we did not face any such issues. The application is meant for Bollywood music fans, so listeners who want wider choices like English, Classical etc, this is not the app for you.

But for most of us who do love Bollywood, this is a must have provided you have Android smartphone and WiFi or access. In 2G, the app is slow, which downgrades the user experience.

Huawei’s Vision coming to India in December

Sandeep Budki
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Huawei, a network equipment and handset maker, will launch its cloud computing-based smartphone this December in India. The smartphone, called Vision, will have a 3D user interface and carousel animation display.

“Huawei vision will be launched in the fourth quarter in India and we have still not finalised its price,” Anand Narang, marketing director of Huawei Devices, told ‘The Mobile Indian’.

Huawei Vision will run on Android Gingerbread 2.3 and will be supported by a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM 8255 processor.

The cloud computing feature of Vision will allow users to download applications without the need for much storage space on their devices as data would be stored on servers rather than on the mobile memory, and will be accessible over the mobile internet or WiFi.

Anand further said, “Vision will not come locked with any telecom operator. Instead it will be bundled with free data usage plans from multiple operators. By this we plan to encourage Indian consumers to experience internet and data services on mobiles.”

Vision has an aluminium alloy uni-body in rose, gold, silver or charcoal, and a curve touch design. It supports 720p video recording and features a 5 auto focus camera with flash.

On the connectivity front it has 2.1 with A2DP, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, and capabilities including SMS, MMS, email, push mail and IM.

Huawei Vision has a 3D mobile phone interface that bundles handset features into 3D panels on the home screen. The interface allows you to select any panel of the home screen with one swipe and makes it easy to prioritize the application view.

The device will come installed with popular games &#151 Angry Birds, Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, Order and Chaos Online, and Guerrilla Bob HD.

On the availability of Huawei phones in retail outlets in India, Anand said, “As of now we have presence in 10 cities where we have tie ups with different multi-brand outlets and by the time we launch Huawei Vision we would have presence in around 35 cities across the country.”

Mobile internet making inroads

prasoon-kumar
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Way back in 1995, when mobile technology first came to India, the first priority of Indian telcos was to make voice services available in every nook and corner of the country, and data services were last on their list. But things have changed since then and telcos have now started focusing on data services not only to increase revenue but also to meet their consumers’ data needs.

Smartphones are increasingly being used for accessing emails, sending multimedia messages and for interacting on social networks. People are also using music services either by downloading music files or by streaming music over mobile broadband.

“Mobile voice has already been surpassed by traffic on some networks, and this trend will only accelerate,” says ABI Research wireless analyst Bhavya Khanna. “This boom in usage is driven by the rapid adoption of smartphones in these markets.”

According to a Google report, India is the second largest mobile data consumer in the world. Indian users account for 5.9 per cent of mobile web page consumption. Although India is a distant second after the U.S.A. the very fact that we have outdone China underscores how much mobile data we are using.

What to this situation?

With time, the emphasis over feature phones which just concentrated on voice and services reduced and newer feature rich phones with data connectivity options arrived.

Many feature rich phones now come integrated with Opera browser, Facebook and other apps which further drive the need for more data consumption. The arrival of smartphones with bigger screens means better computing capability for users, who can also interact with the phones better, thus extracting more information from the same phone and interacting with their friends more.

The service providers, on the other hand, need to generate more revenue per user, for which providing more and efficient data services was the only way out.

If we look at Aircel, it promised customers internet through the mobile in 2008 and at that time it was promoting mobile internet with music or ring back tones, cheap calling rates and internet usage on the go. Unlike other mobile companies it was concentrating on data rather than voice services.

Also, since early 2010 MTS is eyeing growth through mobile data services as it believes the technology it was using afforded great potential for mobile broadband access.

Current scenario

Nowadays, mobile users have a lot of options to choose from to meet their data needs. According to research reports, data usage is increasing significantly as around 40 million people in the country access the internet through their mobile phones.

For mobile apps, consumers can access stores from telcos, handset companies and independent players, and if they wish to use internet on a mobile they can choose from sachet plans starting from Rs 5 to minimum monthly rental plans of Rs 99.

Also, with the introduction of services, data consumption is on a surge with faster access and an improved user experience letting people access even live music, video streaming services, video calling, and gaming on their handsets.

However, due to expensive 3G services, people are using WiFi wherever possible for data surfing.

Due to this, some operators like Aircel and Tata Indicom are offering data through WiFi hotspots.

Future

With the wide basing of 3G services and the arrival of 4G, data services will become much more main stream and can be offered in areas where people have never experienced an internet connection.

According to an Opera research, Indian consumers want unlimited 2G packs for Rs 50. While this price might be difficult to match, operators definitely need a better pricing structure for both 3G and 2G customers, to introduce to them the benefits of the internet and maybe withdraw or increase pricing later on, as is happening in case of voice tariffs.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 India plans not affected by patent controversy

nilabh-jha
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Samsung had to delay the launch plans of Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia due to a patent controversy, but Samsung’s spokesperson has confirmed to ‘The Mobile Indian’ that the India launch plans are on track and won’t be affected.

Samsung has been accused by Apple of infringing the patents and design copyrights of its iPhone and iPad. Apple filed a complaint with the Federal Court of Australia involving a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. This controversy meant that Samsung could not launch Galaxy Tab 10.1 as scheduled.

Galaxy Tab is expected to be launched in India this month. However, the dates are not yet confirmed, but are expected to be announced any time soon.

Galaxy Tab 10.1 is based on Google’s 3 or Honeycomb (now upgraded to 3.1). The processing duty has been assigned to Nvidia’s dual core Tegra 2 clocked at 1 GHz and a DDR2 based RAM.

The device is capable so users will get up to 21 download speeds depending on the operator. Galaxy Tab 10.1is aimed to offer better graphics and gaming experiences, and for that it also has a gyroscope and an accelerometer.

For multimedia, other than the 10.1 inch screen, Galaxy Tab features stereo speakers and full 1080p playback at 30 frames per second, which can also be played on a big screen TV with the help of an HDMI out port. As compared to the previous version of Galaxy Tab, the new Galaxy Tab 10.1 features a bigger 6860 mAh battery and comes in 32 and 64 GB variants.

Wimm Labs unveils world’s smallest Android device

rahul-gupta
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Wimm Labs unveils world’s smallest Android device

Is it a phone? Or wait, maybe it is a watch. There can be endless possibilities with the new Wimm One &#151 its platform having been developed and unveiled by Wimm Labs, a device development lab based in California. In a world where manufacturers are fighting to adopt bigger displays on mobile devices, Wimm platform adopts a tiny 1.4 inch display for an based mobile device capable of doing almost anything a smartphone can.

The main attraction of the Wimm One is that it is so small in size that it can be used for almost any application, somewhat similar to a new generation iPod Nano. Wimm Labs has also developed an SDK or software development kit that will allow developers to make applications designed to make full use of its capabilities, which include seamless connectivity between devices and WiFi connectivity as well. So basically, with this the possibilities of use are endless and the platform can easily be employed as a Health monitor, Personal assistant, Shopping helper and multimedia player etc.

To power its device Wimm Labs has taken out components from Android to make its own operating system, which is able to run applications as well. In order to give it better functionality and usability the manufacturer has added a 667 processor and up to 32 of expandable memory as well. The display included in the device is a tiny 1.4 inch one with native of 160 x 160 pixels, but with capacitive touch.

The device comes with other capabilities, such as an inbuilt and a for direction sensing. It will come pre-loaded with a library of custom watch faces and core micro apps, including Caller ID, Preview, Lost Phone Warning, Calendar, Weather, World Clock and more.

“We’ve created an incredibly powerful, yet small, modular device that can be embedded into a wide variety of consumer products. Combined with customizable applications and a branded web interface, the Wimm Labs platform gives licensees the ability to create more personal, intuitive and valuable connections with customers,” said Dave Mooring, chief executive officer of Wimm Labs.

Wimm One is expected to be made available as a developer preview device at first in August&#151September, following which it will be released to the public.

Google Plus app for Android receives update

samir-makwana
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Google has rolled out yet another update for its Google Plus app for Android. The Google Plus app 1.0.5 brings in twelve nifty improvements that aim at improving the usability and the user experience.

Besides improving the reliability of the notifications, the update also brings improvement to the group chat feature &#151 Huddles. Get the new updated Google Plus App for from Android Market here.

In past, we had reported about a persistent issue where in users cannot remove or hide the one to one conversation initiated through the group chat feature – Huddles. The new Google Plus app update will let users start a 1 to 1 Huddle from any user’s profile or a group Huddle from respective Circle profile. Along with that, users can now hide all one on one conversations on Huddles.

All the URLs and Links shared in the Huddles are now clickable. You can now adding people quickly to the Huddles with improved autocomplete while typing user details.

Notifications reliability has also been improved so that you can expect timely updates on the changes taking place in your Google Plus account. The new Google Plus app also provides all “Add to Circle” notifications in bulk.

The +mentions will turn more useful as clicking on them will redirect to the respective user’s profile and the +mentions now autofill from your circles. Accuracy of the Nearby posts have been tweaked to become better and users won’t have to worry about the stream reset whenever the screen is rotated.

Puneet Soni, product manager, Google Plus, promised more updates scheduled to make the user experience more fluid and make the application more user friendly.

However, there is no update as of now for the Google Plus app on platform.

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