Spice Mi-270 prices slashed

Even as Android devices are getting cheaper day by day, with the cheapest ones you can get for around Rs. 4,000, consumers are having a field day. Spice Mobiles has also tried to follow the suit by launching a couple of affordable Android running devices like Mi-280 and Mi-350n in the market. To stir up the market, saholic.com has now slashed the price of Spice's premier entry level Android device, the Mi-270 by almost half to just Rs. 3,399, which is the cheapest for any Android device at the moment. Here is a quick round up of its features.

Looks:

The device has rugged build for durability. Measuring 104 x 55 x 12.6 mm and weighting just 98 gms, the device is quite petite. Rubberised front and back panel finish is conducive for enhanced grip and makes Mi-270 very comfortable to hold.

Display:

Spice M-270 features a 2.8 inch TFT resistive touchscreen having resolution of 240 x 320 pixels and pixel density of 143 ppi. The screen supports Multi-touch input method. Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotation of screen also comes inbuilt with the device. A stylus also comes bundled for ease of use.

Processor, OS and Apps

Mi-270 is powered by a 416MHz processor and runs Android Froyo v2.2 smoothly. It also comes with lots of apps preloaded, some of which include Facebook, Justdial, FreeSMS, ibibo, Yahoo Messenger, SpiceGang and YouTube etc in addition to the usual Google app suite.

Music:

Its music player supports multiple music formats. You can enjoy music also through FM Radio by connecting the phone with headphone. A 3.5mm audio jack is given to have a wider choice of headset to suite your needs.

Storage Capacity:

The handset comes with 221MB of memory inbuilt, which is expandable to up to 16GB through microSD card. The slot has been placed under the battery so hot-swapping the memory module is not possible though.

Camera:

Mi-270's 2MP camera packs enough punch to capture your daily photos with ease. The camera has a maximum resolution of 1600x1200 pixels. You can also record videos with the device. Other features include geotagging, 8X digital zoom, self timer, image mode etc.

Connectivity:

The device features all round connectivity suites to keep you hooked to the network anytime. For starters, it’s a dual SIM handset and supports two GSM SIMs. You have GPRS and EDGE for Internet browsing and WiFi for faster downloads. You can also use the phone as a modem as USB tethering is also supported. Other options include Bluetooth and miniUSB slot for charging/tethering.

GPS:

The phone comes with GPS with AGPS support inbuilt along with Google Maps to keep you on track. Additionally, you can also perform functions like location tracking or look for turn by turn directions.

Battery:

The device comes bundled with a standard 1000mAh Li-ion battery, which gives you a solid talk time and a good 13 days of standby time.

The Verdict:

Those who want to have a touchscreen and Android experience for the first time; but don’t want to spend much for it, can definitely go for Spice Mi-270. Very less chance to get an alternative Android phone at this price in the near future!

www.saholic.com

Navigate smartly with your Android!

No matter whether you are a leisure traveller or a daily commuter, just one wrong turn can make your day go awry, especially if you are on a really tight schedule. Carrying a GPS device for navigation is not always possible and in fact quite old-fashioned too when you have a latest Android device in your hands. Most of the smartphones come with GPS reciever inbuilt nowadays, so using one for navigation is a natural extension of one's functionality anyway. Though there are detractors too, who still view smartphone navigation apps with suspicion, still trusting their good old GPS device over smartphones. Searching Android market for navigational apps throws dozens of options at you. So, we tried to analyse some of the best navigation apps available for Android devices out there.

Google Maps Navigation (Free)

 

Google Maps is among the top free navigation apps available for Android today. Backed by terabytes of data Google maps have been generating for quite a few years now, Google navigation app is naturally become incredibly accurate. 3D navigation, the new buzzword among navigation apps which enables you to navigate though the maze of roads by generating a 3D map of the route was first implemented by Google Maps only. The application comes preinstalled on most of the Android devices as part of Google App suite. Top features include live traffic data, location bookmarks, satellite view, search along route and Google's killer Street View.

Navfree (Free)

Navfree is another free navigation app available on Android Market offering turn-by-turn directions, spoken and on-screen instructions, offline map use and address search and live search via Google and Microsoft Bing, among many other features.

Maps can be downloaded for free from Navfree storea and the data is stored in your device itself, making the app useful in areas with limited data connectivity. The app has a huge fanbase already with more than 4,00,000 downloads. Other features of Navfee include live map display, user friendly interface, fast routing engine and destination and PoI search.

Waze (Free)

 

Waze is a unique navigation app which gels social networking with navigation, making it a fun filled experience. The app lets you post the roadside events giving other Waze users heads up about waht to expect on the route real-time, saving you precious time and burns less fuel, with latter more important nowadays given rising fuel cost and rising global warming!

Waze is as interactive as you want it to be - by simply driving with the app open on your phone, you passively contribute traffic and other road data. For example, the app can calculate the vehicle speed and automatically detects traffic jams if the vehicle is moving very slowly for prolonged periods. You can also post your comment on Facebook and Twitter directly from the app interface.

Sygic: GPS navigation (paid)

 

Sygic is a premium navigation app available on Android Market to download for free (With 7 day trial). The app is around 6 MB download and after installing it, users must download the maps, which are stored on SD card for offline usage. The app comes with strong navigation features like 3D view, real-time traffic updates, dynamic lane guidance, speed limit display and audio warningand lets you save routes frequently used by you.

NDrive (paid)

 

NDrive is another paid navigation app for Android. The USP of NDrive is its lightning fast route calculation times and clean UI, which for slower phones. The app is powered by latest maps from NAVTEQ and NDrive, professionally enhanced routing algorithms makes route calculation and navigation a breeze. Other features include real time traffic, Facebook sharing and Foursquare check-in, streaming weather, and more. 


www.saholic.com

Happy B’day Android Phone!

3 years passed after the birth of HTC Dream, (also called as T-Mobile G1) the world’s first commercial Android smartphone!  When it was released in the US on 22 October 2008, neither the carrier T-Mobile nor the manufacturer HTC thought that Android- the little green dude- will make such a big revolution in the mobile world!

Android was conceived by Android Inc., founded in 2003 for developing software for mobile devices. Later, Google surrogated the baby in 2005 and it stayed in the womb of Google for about 5 years. It came into interaction with the mobile world from October 21, under a free and open source software license.  A day later, it was made available to users through HTC Dream on carrier T-Mobile. The release date is globally celebrated as Android birthday!

The OS has evolved consistently with the launch of updated versions, including better features. Interestingly, all updates are christened by names of yummy desserts in alphabetical order!

Android v1.0 Angel Cake

Android v1.1 Battenberg

Android v1.5 Cupcake

Android v1.6 Donut

Android v2.0/v2.1 Éclair

Android v2.2 Froyo

Android v2.3 Gingerbread

Android v3.0/v3.1/v3.2 Honeycomb 

Android v4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Through continuous development and enhancements, the OS has given tough competition to other smartphone platforms including iOS and BlackBerry OS. It has achieved a market share of 36% percent globally (according to Gartner reports). It is gaining high impetus to capture considerable market share in India as well, especially in the high-end handset market. The growth will be driven by the impressive gaming experience, limitless apps made available to users through Android Market, and lowering prices.  ….And hope this journey will go on until Android makes an update by a name starting with Z!!

Celebrating this occasion, Saholic - a Spice Group venture- is offering really attractive discounts for all the Android phones. If you wish to upgrade your existing phone or gift someone with a great phone this Diwali, log on to www.saholic.com and place order for the one you like most!