PhoneRadar Report – Episode 3

This is the third episode of the PhoneRadar Report, where you get to see all the latest happening in all things mobile.

News report:

Proceeding with the announcements in India:

1. This week was the big sale of Xiaomi’s latest flagship in the country. Yes, we are talking about the Mi4 (specs). The 16GB variant of the device went for sale at INR 19,999 on February 10. While the 64GB variant would be coming on February 24 for INR 23,999. (Xiaomi Mi4 Specs)
2. We saw quite a good launch announcements this week. One of them was the Asus Zenfone C , which made its debut in the country for INR 5999 pricing. The device also made went on sale in Taiwan. It is a Zenfone 4 with a bigger 4.5-inch display. It is powered by Intel’s processor and comes with 1GB of RAM. Other features of the device include 8GB of internal storage with microSD card support, a 5MP rear cam, and a VGA front facing camera. (Asus Zenfone C Specs)
3. Whereas Oppo launched Mirror 3, the 64 bit Snapdragon 410 powered processor for INR 16,990. It is exactly the same device that the company launched in China but is named under Oppo 3000. Looks like the manufacturers are cashing in trend of launching a 64bit powered devices. The Mirror 3 features a 4.7-inch HD display, 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, which can be expanded up to 128GB via microSD card. Other notable specs of the device are 8MP rear cam, 5MP front cam, and it also supports NFC connectivity, which is all powered by 2000mAh battery. (Oppo Mirror 3 Specs)
4. There are few other smartphones that also saw the launch in India includes ZTE N919D and Samsung Galaxy J1. These two are the entry level devices and has very basic features that isn’t par with a current scenario of smartphones in this budget range. The ZTE N19D is priced at INR 6999, and it features a 5-inch display, Snapdragon 200 chipset along with the 1GB RAM, 4GB internal storage. Other notable specs include 8MP rear cam, VGA front camera, and 2500mAh battery.
5. Whereas the Samsung Galaxy J1 is priced at INR 7,190, and it has 4.3-inch display, 1.2Ghz processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage, 5MP rear cam, 2MP front cam, Android Kitkat 4.4 and 1850 mAh battery. This device isn’t par with the current smartphones in the market right now. (Samsung Galaxy J1 Specs)
6. Samsung India gave its Galaxy S4 users a surprise when company started to roll out the Android Lollipop update this week. We have made a detailed video of what you would see in this update. Although, we did notice that the battery life started to plum very fast after upgrading to the Lollipop. For more on this, check out the link below in description. (Samsung Galaxy S4 Specs)

Moving on with International Announcements:

1. The 64-bit trend is carry on by the HTC with its Desire 626. A the Snapdragon 410 powered device goes official in Taiwan. The device is priced at approximately $190, which is quite good considering HTC doesn’t have good budget smartphones. The Desire 626 comes with 5-inch 720p display, Snapdragon 410 processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage. As well as it sports a 13MP rear shooter and a 5MP front snapper. The device would be powered by a 2000mAh battery.
2. Ahead of MWC event in Barcelona next month, Sony unveiled its latest E4 with 5-inch display and running on Android 5.0 lollipop. The Mediatek chipset will clock at 1.2GHz, which will be supported by 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage. It will come with 5MP rear camera and the 2MP front facing camera. The device is said to be powered by a 2300mAh battery. (Sony Xperia E4 Specs)
3. BLU launched Studio Energy smartphone, which has a 5000mAh battery, and it is apparently a rebranded variant of Gionee’s Marathon M3. It is available to purchase on Amazon at a price tag of $149. The device features a 5-inch 720p display and is powered by a Quad-core MediaTek processor along with the 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage. Other notable features include 8MP rear camera, 2MP front facing camera. (BLU Studio Energy Specs)
4. Lenovo also launched a device with massive 4000mAh battery, which is now available for sale in China at $225. The P70 is a mid-ranger that claims 34 days of standby time and comes with 5-inch 720p display, 64 –bit Mediatek chipset, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage. Other notable features of the device include 13MP rear shooter and 5MP front snapper. (Lenovo P70 Specs)
5. The Ubuntu concept smartphones that we heard about last year has finally come into the market. The BQ Aquaris E4.5 is said to come with an Ubuntu OS in Europe at an unlocked price of for €170. While the same device is also available with Android OS. The hardware specs include 4.5-inch display, MediaTek processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, as well as dual SIM support. The phone is said to sport an 8MP rear shooter with dual-LED flash and the 5MP front snapper.

Review Report:

This week we reviewed the Samsung Galaxy A3, which is Samsung’s all metal unibody smartphone. Now, for a premium looking and a comfortable design, the Galaxy A3 Duos gets our vote against the plastic devices in the lot. Except for the TouchWiz UI, nothing is so bad in the device, and the Snapdragon 410 was enough to give it the capability for 4G LTE connectivity (single SIM unit), while the cameras were decent enough as well. But, as of late, every Samsung smartphone has been criticized for the UI, which lags even on basic usage, and sadly the story continues even with the Galaxy A3. (Samsung Galaxy A3 Specs)

We would have really loved a better resolution display for a 4.5-inch screen, but that is what Samsung has got in the cards, as some difference had to be there between this and the two other devices in the A series – A5 and A7. There are other brands that would give a good competition, includes Sony Xperia Z3 compact, Lenovo Vibe X2 or from within Samsung’s territory, the Galaxy Alpha. For our detailed review of the Galaxy A3, you can check out the link in the description below.

App Report :

There are instances where in you would have taken a few important notes on a piece of paper with your handwriting and later you wish you quickly get that notes on your PC. Apart from that there are situations where you need to scan a receipt or scan some important documents while on the go and you are away from a scanner.

Here is an Must Have application for your smart phone called as Cam Scanner which uses your phone’s camera to be used as a scanner. The Interface is pretty simple and you just have to capture the photo of the document which would be later aligned and rendered giving you the perfect scan you wanted.

You can later send it as a PDF or export as an Image and share it with anyone. The App us available for both the Android and iOS platforms.

Keep sending your suggestions, feedback & we would love to read them. Hope to see you in the next one.