Top Five Windows Phones : Glimpses and First Impressions

One thing is for sure, the Windows 8 OS has shaken the market with its arrival few weeks back. All the big companies, handset makers are trying their utmost to capture the ground that the newest OS has created for them.  As expected, the Finnish handset maker Nokia came out with the first Windows 8 OS running handset, the Nokia Lumia 920. But the other big players like HTC and Samsung are gearing up for some real action in the foreseeable future.  Today, I will give you a feel of top five Windows 8 phones that, according to me, will rule the smartphone arena for quite some time. 

Nokia Lumia 920

First ever dual core Windows handset is considered by most as Nokia’s last attempt for survival. The handset has a 4.5 inches IPS TFT capacitive touchscreen with 16M colors, Dual-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm  Krait processor, 4G connectivity, NFC, 32GB built-in storage &1GB RAM, 8MP PureView camera & 1.3MP front camera, and 2000mAh battery.  Virtuoso.

Nokia Lumia 820

The little less powerful version of the 920, the Nokia Lumia 820 sports a 4.3 inch capacitive AMOLED touchscreen, 8GB built-in storage, 8MP Carl Zeiss Tessar  primary camera, VGA secondary camera, a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Krait processor seconded by a 1GB RAM, 1650 mAh battery. Like the 920 it is also a 4G handset. Magnificent.

HTC Windows Phone 8X

HTC is planning to rope in HTC Windows Phone 8X in a few days, which will be having a 4.3 inch S-LCD2 capacitive touchscreen, an 8MP HD primary camera and a 2.1MP secondary camera,  this 3G handset will sport the same 1.5 GHz  Qualcomm Krait processor as the Lumia 920 does. Then there will be 16GB internal storage and 1GB RAM. For those who like fast data transfer there is NFC as well.  Excellent, that is the word.  

HTC Windows Phone 8S

This handset is the smaller version of the 8X. It houses a 4 inch S-LCD capacitive touchscreen, 4GB internal storage, 512MB RAM, 1GHz dual core Qualcomm Krait processor, 5MP main camera with 720p HD video recording, VGA secondary camera, 1700 mAh battery,  and yes there is 3G connectivity for faster Internet. I would call it a good low end Windows 8 phone. Classic.

Samsung Ativ S

At last the handset comes that is my personal favorite, the Samsung Ativ S I8750. I have a very strong feeling that this handset will do better than all the above mentioned handsets in the domestic market. It houses a 4.8 inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 3G connectivity, NFC, 16/32GB internal storage avatar, 8MP primary and 1.9MP secondary camera, 1.5GHz dual core processor seconded by a 1GB RAM, and a mammoth 2300 mAh battery. Magnum Opus.  

Wait for a few days folks and choose the handset of your dreams, the all new Windows 8 OS will keep enthralling you all the time. The season belongs to the Windows 8.

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S Huawei Ascend Y100 Review

Indigenous mobile players are in their foray to launch new Android phones that will give users all the functionalities that a renowned player offers; but at a cheaper rate. However, penetrating to the brand conscious customer segment has always been a tough proposition for many native players including Spice. Skepticism on the quality of the materials used in manufacturing the product and the availability and quality of service including repair make such customers reluctant to by the phone from such players, despite their attractive prices.

To grab a major chunk of customers in this segment, the Indian handset maker has now collaborated with international player Huawei and launched a new product Ascend Y100 under a new brand name “S Huawei”. The promises are superior quality product, better service, and better durability. Let’s check how good the product is.

Esthetics

The compact yet stylish look with a small and cute screen makes the handset stand out in the pool. Having dimensions of 106 x 56 x 10.9 mm, the product is considerably light weight and slim. Truly speaking, it is difficult to find such a tiny Android handset in the market these days. Perfectly designed for one hand operation! User friendly illuminated capacitive soft keys with haptic feedback can be used for functions  Back, Settings, and Search. There is a physical Home button. On the left side, there is a volume control key. A 3.5mm audio jack and microUSB port are given on the top.

Screen

The 2.8-inch TFT screen with QVGA resolution displays vivid colors and supports autorotation. Its capacitive touchscreen is highly responsive. The touch UI is the standard Android UI. You can swiftly spin the homescreens by swiping left and right. Like any other Android device , you can customize your homescreens.

Power

The device promises unique power management features. When any normal Android phone takes around 20-30 seconds to boot the device, Y100 can be booted in just 5 seconds! It sports a 1050 mAh battery that gives 300 hours of standby time and 300 min of talktime (both on 2G and 3G). In just 2 hours, you can fully charge the device!

OS and Apps

The device runs on Android Gingerbread OS. You can download unlimited apps to suite your requirement from Google Play Store. A very interesting and unique feature of the device is that it allows users to save all applications in memory card. Other Android phones are not offering such convenience to users to optimize the memory usage.

Processor and Memory

The Qualcomm 800 MHz processor is seconded by a 256MB RAM; ROM is 512MB and expansion capacity is 32GB. The Adreno 200 GPU renders smooth graphics. The device gives smooth video playing & 3D games, faster streaming, rich Internet browsing experience, better 3D rendering capability and faster processing of applications.

Multimedia

It comes with a 3.2MP camera, which gives satisfactory pictures. Refer to some of the sample pics and videos given below. You can also record videos on the go, though the video quality is not very superior. It does not have a flash to light up the object, so photos clicked at indoor/poorly lit areas are not so good. But hey folks, there is compensation on offer in form of light settings like day light, incandescent, florescent, and there are image settings as well. The 3x zoom of the handset is excellent.  I would say that the camera passes the litmus test, though  not with distinction. And for music lovers, there is a music player, a loud stereo speaker, a 3.5 mm audio jack to connect your favorite headset, and FM radio. 

Connectivity

The device supports 3G/HSDPA 7.2Mbps and Wi-Fi b/g/n for Internet connectivity. A special 3G data offer is coming with the pack. Users can avail either 1GB data for 3 months from Aircel or 500MB data for 1 month from Airtel. Local file transfer is made possible through Bluetooth v2.1 and MicroUSB 2.0 (HiSpeed). WiFi and USB tethering is possible, which means you can enjoy Internet connectivity on your laptops by connecting it to your Y100. For navigation assistance, it is coming with GPS/AGPS /Compass.

The Verdict

S Huawei brand has not compromised on the quality of this tiny device. The  new international branding strategy is going to win the hearts of many, who are hesitant to go for a product from a native player. 

Spice Stellar Horizon Mi-500 vs Micromax Superfone Canvas A100 : Domestic Phablets in Comparison

When Samsung launched Galaxy Note, critics were a little skeptic about the reception that the phablet would get in the market worldwide. But the phablet, as soon as it was launched, silenced all the criticism and skepticism that was created around it. Gradually the public interest rose and the demand for the new genre of mobile phones called phablet increased. But price, which is the biggest area of concern in the domestic market, comes in the way of most of the folks interested in phablets.

To explore the possibilities, the domestic companies like Micromax, Spice, and others come with phablets, which are not just good but cost effective as well. But then, the vital question is, which one should the buyers take among the plethora of phablets in the markets. And to provide the readers with a solution I am going to do a comparison between the best phablets available in the domestic market, namely: Spice Stellar HorizonMi-500 and Micromax Superfone Canvas A100. So let’s get started, without delay.

Esthetics

Both the devices are equipped with a 5 inch display; both the displays have WVGA (800x480) resolution. Both the handsets are well equipped with sensors like Accelerometer, proximity, G-sensor. In the weight and dimension segment the Micromax handset is a little ahead of the Spice Mi-500 but as far as the looks is concerned Spice turns the table on Micromax. I would call it a tie.

CPU and RAM

In this segment the Spice handset seems to be donning  the victor’s crown as it has got a 1GHz dual core processor, whereas the A100 has got a 1GHz single core processor, the difference is quite conspicuous. Both processors are seconded by a 512MB RAM.

Storage

In the storage segment the Spice Mi-500 and Micromax A100 both offer the users a built-in memory of 4GB and both of them possess an expansion capacity of 32GB. Both are equals here as well.

Camera

The 5MP primary camera of the Mi-500 is supported by a dual LED flash, in reply the Micromax A100 also dons a 5MP camera but has support of a single LED flash. As far as the front camera is concerned, both the handsets has 0.3MP camera on the front side of the body. With a little bit of up and down I would call it a tie.

Battery

For a mobile as big as Mi-500 or A100, the battery spec becomes as pivotal as anything. The Mi-500 houses a mammoth 2400 mAh battery, the Micromax A100 comes in with a 2000 mAh battery. Both the phones have a strong battery capacity but Mi has a conspicuous edge over the A100.

Operating System

Both the handsets are Android IceCream Sandwich powered devices. And there is no need to say that the ICS is the best user friendly Android till date.

The Verdict

After going through all the tech specs of either of the handsets, one feels that there is not much to differentiate between the two of the handsets. But with better battery and faster processor, the Spice Mi-500 becomes the better handset between the two good mobile phones. Go for the Spice Stellar Horizon Mi-500. 

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