Moto G Plus | 4th Generation

Motorola launched 4th generation Moto G earlier this year. The device comes in two versions - Moto G Play and Moto G Plus. We got our hands on Moto G Plus.

Lenovo acquired Motorola mobility from Google in January 2016 and this is the first Moto G after the acquisition. The technology sphere was extremely excited and curious to see what value Lenovo could add to an already successful Moto G line up. Right from the 1st generation, the G series has been a budget line but never felt like one. Always packed the best hardware in that price range, decent camera, great quality screen, etc. 4th Generation Moto G Plus is no different. Lenovo has done great, the device is fast, responsive and exciting.

Some of the key features:

• Android™ 6.0.1, Marshmallow
• Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 617 octa-core processor upto 1.5 GHz
• 2 GB / 3 GB RAM
• 16 GB / 32 GB  internal, up to 128 GB microSD 
• 5.5" Full HD screen, 1920 x 1080, 401 PPI
• 3000 mAh Battery, TurboPower support
• 4G LTE, Cat6
• 16 MP Rear Camera, 5 MP Front Camera

Throughout our usage, the phone did not even hang once and we are quite happy with the performance. Camera is great too, lacks OIS though. On the downside, there is no magnetometer - no compass, the phone heats up a little with extensive usage. Nevertheless, the specifications and the performance is way too good for a budget smartphone. 

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Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are now available

A month after Samsung announced it's flagship devices Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, they have now hit the market. Priced approximately at $810 (USD), prices vary marginally from market to market. While both the devices are identical specifications wise, the Galaxy S7 edge has a larger display, bigger battery and an edge display just like its predecessor Galaxy S6 edge primarily for notifications.

This time, the flagship devices are water resistant with IP68 certification and also have a microSD card slot. The camera seems to be a major improvement packing a 12 MP Dual Pixel camera with support for Motion Panorama, Action Autofocus, Hyperlapse, etc.

Key Specs of both the devices:

Samsung Galaxy S7 edge:

• Curved 5.5 inch Super AMOLED display -1440p resolution; 534ppi
• Gorilla Glass 4 front and rear panels
• IP68 certified 
• USA model: Snapdragon 820 chipset - quad-core Kryo processor (2x 2.15GHz and 2x 1.6GHz cores); Adreno 530 GPU; 4GB of RAM
• Global model: Exynos 8890 chipset - octa-core processor with four 2.6GHz Mongoose and four 1.6GHz Cortex-A53 cores; Mali-T880 MP12 GPU; 4GB of RAM
• 12MP f/1.7 dual pixel camera
• 5MP f/1.7 front-facing camera, 1440p video recording at 30fps
• 32/64GB of built-in storage; microSD slot up to 200GB
• Cat9 4G LTE (450Mbps); Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac; Bluetooth 4.2, ANT+, NFC; GPS
• Wireless charging (Qi/PMA)
• 3,600 mAh battery, quick charge

Samsung Galaxy S7:

• 5.1" Super AMOLED display - QHD ,577ppi, 
• Corning Gorilla Glass 4
• Global Model - Exynos 8890 chipset: quad-core 2.6 GHz Mongoose + quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A53, Mali-T880 MP12 GPU (our review unit)
• USA Model - Snapdragon 820 chipset: dual-core 2.15 GHz Kryo & dual-core 1.6 GHz Kryo, Adreno 530 GPU
• 4GB of RAM; 32GB/64GB of built-in storage, microSD up to 200GB
• Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
• 12MP camera, dual pixel
• 5MP front-facing camera, f/1.7 aperture, QHD video, HDR
• Fingerprint scanner
• Cat9 4G LTE (450Mbps); , Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, GPS/GLONASS/Beidou, NFC, IR port, Bluetooth 4.2, ANT+
• 3,000mAh battery
• Wireless Charging
• Quick charging 

Both the devices sport a power pack configuration. Hope they can live up to the expectation and take on the monster flagships from Sony, HTC, etc.

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Sony announced the flashy new Xperia Z5 line

Sony has unveiled the latest Xperia Z series - Sony Xperia Z5. This line will include 3 different phones - Xperia Z5 compact, Xperia Z5 and Xperia Z5 Premium. All phones will be available for purchase starting October 2015.

One of the striking features of the flagship Xperia line is the camera and this time is no different. This series will be shipped with a 23MP 1/2.3-inch Exmor RS rear camera sensor with F2.0 G Lens. Snapdragon 810 will be powering these phones with Android Lollipop 5.1.1. Technical specifications wise all 3 phones are similar except for the display. The Z5 compact will have a 4.6 inch display, the Z5 will have a 5.2 inch display and the Z5 premium will have a 5.5 inch screen and a 4K display achieving an astonishing 806 ppi. The power button will now serve as a finger print scanner.

As usual, this flagship series is dust and water resistant with IP68 certification.

Following are some of the press images by Sony.

Xperia Z5 Compact

Xperia Z5

Xperia Z5 Premium

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The flip phones are back in town

Samsung and LG have decided to bring back the flip phones - Samsung Galaxy Folder and LG Gentle; and this time, they come with Android. Both Korean electronic giants announced the launch of their flip phones this month. An android flip phone is something else! We cannot wait to get our hands on one of these phones.

Samsung Galaxy Folder

Key features of Samsung Galaxy Folder:

• 3.8 inches TFT capacitive touch screen
• 480x800 resolution
• 8 GB internal storage with 1.5 GB RAM
• Micro SD slot
• 8 MP rear camera and 2 MP front camera
• Wifi, Bluetooth, GPS
• Android 5.1 Lollipop 
• Quad Core 1.2 GHz processor

While Samsung Galaxy Folder will be available for the global market, it seems as though LG Gentle will be limited to South Korea.

LG Gentle

Key features of LG Gentle:

• 3.2 inches HVGA touch screen
• 1 GB RAM
• 4 GB internal storage 
• Micro SD card slot
• 3 MP front camera
• Android 5.1 Lollipop
• Quad Core 1.1 GHz processor 

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Teclast X98 Air 3G - A dual OS tablet

Teclast X98 AIR 3G is a dual OS tablet that support Android and Windows 8.1; Not Windows 8.1 RT, but the desktop version of Windows. Wondering how is it done? Here is the answer - powered by Intel Bay Trail -T Z3736F processor, a x86 based 64 bit processor which makes it possible to run both Windows and Android on the same hardware architecture.

Intel Bay Trail -T Z3736F is a quad core processor with a clock speed of 2.16 GHz which makes the tablet super fast. With a retina screen and support for 4K video playback, you can enjoy your favorite movies with stunning clarity.

During booting, the boot loader gives you an option to boot either into Windows or into Android. The boot process is seamless.

Some of the key features of this tablet are:

• Intel Bay Trail -T Z3736F 64 bit, 2.16 GHz processor
• 3G support (SIM Slot)
• 2048 x 1536 screen resolution
• 2GB DDR3L RAM
• 32 GB eMMC (Internal Storage)
• GPS with upgraded satellite antenna 
• Bluetooth 4.0
• Windows 8.1 and Android 4.4

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iPhone 6 finally shows it's face

 Apple has finally launched the most awaited iPhone 6. The company has long been criticized for coming up with small sized screens. We believe as a response to the criticism, iPhone 6 has a 4.7 inch screen and along with that, Apple has launched another variant of iPhone called iPhone 6 plus which has a 5.5 inch screen.

There was a lot of news about Apple planning to develop iPhones with bigger screens leading up to the launch event.

iPhone 6 is powered by the Apple A8 processor, carries a 8 MP camera with support for 1080p video recording .

Apple says that the battery life will be better than that of iPhone 5s. It will support GSM, 3G & LTE with support for Voice over LTE. The connectivity also features 802.11ac Wi-Fi chip-set which supports speeds of upto 1000 Mbps.

With a contract of 2 years, the Apple iPhone 6 will cost $199 for the 16 GB model, $399 for the 64 GB model and $399 for the 128 GB model. The unlocked versions will cost between $900 and $1100. Pre order will start on September 12 in the US and the UK and the deliveries will start from September 19.

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Samsung and Apple decide to call off pending patent disputes outside US

Samsung on Wednesday said that Apple and Samsung have decided to call off patent disputes pending in courts outside US. The tech giants have been involved in a patent war in about countries relating to mobile phones and tablet products.

"Samsung and Apple have agreed to drop all litigation between the two companies outside the United States," Samsung said in a statement.

This agreement does not involve any licensing arrangements, and the companies are continuing to pursue the existing cases in US courts," it added.

What happens to US cases?

Both companies will actively fight patent cases in US courts; a probable reason for this could be that Apple has a huge customer base in the US.

A boost to sales

Amidst all this legal battle both companies ended up gaining in sales.

It should be noted that Samsung supplies many semiconductor devices for Apple's products. Can these companies let such a partnership get into jeopardy?

"Samsung and Apple have agreed to drop all litigation between the two companies outside the United States," Samsung said in a statement.

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/39735503.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

"Samsung and Apple have agreed to drop all litigation between the two companies outside the United States," Samsung said in a statement.

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/39735503.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

"Samsung and Apple have agreed to drop all litigation between the two companies outside the United States," Samsung said in a statement.

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/39735503.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

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New HTC J Butterfly unveiled

Taiwanese phone maker HTC has unveiled the new J Butterfly handset in Japan.

The new HTC J Butterfly comes with 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB inbuilt memory, memory card support, 13 MP main camera and 5 MP secondary camera.

The new handset will be available in Japan, there is no intimation on its availability in the global markets.

Here are the specifications:

Model: HTC Butterfly HTL23
Display: 5.0-inch super LCD 3 full HD screen
OS: Android 4.4 KitKat
Processor: 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor
RAM: 2GB
Storage capacity: 32GB
Expandable upto: 128GB
Main Camera: 13 MP
Secondary Camera: 5 MP
Battery: 2,700 mAh

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