Android

Kobo Arc [year] review

Kobo Arc 2026 review

June 30, 2017 Richard Gomez 0

Canadian e-reader maker, Kobo, recently launched three of its e-readers (it calls them eReaders), and a 7-inch Android tablet, in the Indian market.
Tablets made by e-book reader companies are essentially multimedia capable devices made to please users who're looking to invest in e-books but don't want an e-ink display and want their device to do much more.
Kobo's Android tablet is called the Kobo Arc and competes with the likes of the Kindle Fire HD. As with the Kindle Fire tablet, Kobo's Arc tablet is deeply integrated with Kobo's 'eBooks'
ecosystem, which is also one of the USPs of the tablets. However, it also features the Google Play Store and Google's natives app, that are missing from Amazon's Kindle offering.
So, in a way it also competes with other 7-inch Android tablets like the Nexus 7 and Galaxy Tab 3. We try to find out if Kobo's been able to strike a balance between an e-reading device and a full-featured Android tablet,..

Acer Iconia B1-A71 [year]

Acer Iconia B1-A71 2026

February 25, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

Acer created a lot of buzz when it announced its decision to jump into the Budget tablet segment with the Acer Iconia B1-A71, that it first announced during CES, and later, as reported by us, launched it in India at an attractive price of Rs. 7,999. Here's our review of the tablet.

Hardware/ Build & Design
The Acer Iconia B1-A71 is a 7-inch tablet, and accordingly comes in a compact form factor. However, the first thing that you notice about the tablet is that it's very apparent that it's made of plastic. The tablet is light-weight but feels flimsy. The hardware doesn't exude the feeling of durability, and if you put even a little bit of pressure on the screen, you'll see that it creaks and pushes through.
Talking of the design and construction, the front of the tablet has a big black bezel, and the screen peeps through it in a manner similar to a digital photo-frame. The top sports Acer branding at the middle and a VGA camera at the right side. There's a..

China's Huawei Backs Apple in Fight Over Encryption

China’s Huawei Backs Apple in Fight Over Encryption

February 22, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

China's Huawei said it backed Apple's chief executive Tim Cook in his stand-off with the United States government over breaking into an iPhone, but stopped short of saying explicitly it would adopt the same stance.
“It is very important, we agree with that,” Richard Yu, chief executive of Huawei's consumer business group, told reporters in Barcelona gathered for the Mobile World Congress. “Privacy protection is very important for Huawei, we put a lot of investment into privacy, and security protection is key, it is very important for the consumer.
“Apple is resisting US government demands that it unlock an iPhone used by Rizwan Farook, who along with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, shot and killed 14 people and wounded 22 others at a holiday party in San Bernardino in December.
(Also see: Why Even the FBI Can't Hack the iPhone)
“Tim Cook spoke up for that (privacy) … for us it is really very important,” Yu said. “I think it's good letting the government understand ..

Fairphone 2 [year]

Fairphone 2 2026

January 5, 2016 Richard Gomez 2

Fairphone is a reasonably one-of-a-kind fashion of smartphone producer. it isn’t out to make the prettiest or essentially the most highly effective handsets, nonetheless essentially […]

Xiaomi Redmi 2 and Xiaomi MiPad [year]

Xiaomi Redmi 2 and Xiaomi MiPad 2026

April 2, 2019 Richard Gomez 0

Xiaomi unveiled the Redmi 2 and MiPad for the Indian market on Thursday. The two devices offer the typical Mi package – great specifications at affordable prices. While the Xiaomi Redmi 2 is priced at Rs. 6,999, the Xiaomi MiPad tablet will be available in India at Rs. 12,999.
We got some hands on time with the Redmi 2 and Mi Pad at the launch event in New Delhi, and while we'll reserve judgement until our full reviews next week, here are our initial thoughts on the design and some of the software elements.
(Also see: Xiaomi Redmi 2 Specifications)
The first thing you notice about the Xiaomi Redmi 2 is that it is lighter than the Xiaomi Redmi 1S and overall easier to hold thanks to the edges that appear smoother than before. The build quality of affordable smartphones has come a long way in the last 12 months and the Redmi 2 is a testament to this. The device doesn't feel cheap in any way, though we can't say the same about the Xiaomi MiPad, which comes across as plastic..

Onida i4G1 Review [year]

Onida i4G1 Review 2026

May 17, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

Onida is a well-known name in the Indian electronics market, and one that is highly associated with televisions. One of India's earliest home-grown manufacturers of TV sets, the company started its operations in the early 1980s in Mumbai and has now grown to become a respected name in home appliances alongside its traditional strength base in televisions and home entertainment.
As with any company looking to grow, Onida has made its way into the competitive but highly lucrative smartphone industry. The company's current flagship device is the low-cost Onida i4G1. Priced at Rs. 8,999, the Onida i4G1 hopes to offer budget users a quality Indian option with good specifications. Whether or not it lives up to expectations is the question that we hope to answer with our review.
Look and feel
When it comes to looks, the Onida i4G1 doesn't break any new ground and is far outmatched by lower priced competitors. At the front, the phone looks plain and ordinary, with no real stylin..

Micromax Canvas Tab P650 [year] review

Micromax Canvas Tab P650 2026 review

August 23, 2017 Richard Gomez 0

One of the most remarkable trends in the Indian tablet industry over the past year has been the rise of the budget segment of tablets. Micromax is one of the major players in this segment, and can take credit for kick-starting the demand with its Funbook tablet, which claimed to combine entertainment with education.
Micromax's Canvas Tab P650 is a tablet with 8-inch display, a segment which has been dominated by Apple and Samsung for quite some time now. But can the Micromax Canvas Tab, the company's first 8-inch tablet and also the first flagship tablet in the Canvas series, repeat the success of the first Funbook, and get ahead of the competition? We try to find out in our review.

Design/ Build
The Micromax Canvas Tab is built along the lines of Micromax's high-end smartphones, like the Canvas Doodle 2. On first look, the Canvas Tab looks like a stretched out or bigger version of the Funbook tablet. However, that is only the case for the front panel of the tablet.
T..

Spice Stellar Pad (Mi-1010) [year]

Spice Stellar Pad (Mi-1010) 2026

February 23, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

Although Spice had launched its first tablet, the MiTab as early as September 2011, it wasn't really able to get a foothold in the highly crowded Android tablets market, dominated by players like Micromax, Zync and Karbonn, amongst others. The company's sort of made a comeback with a new 10-inch tablet, which it calls, the Spice Stellar Pad (Mi-1010). The tablet with impressive specs has been priced well at Rs. 12,999 and runs Jelly Bean, the latest iteration of Android. We've been playing with the device and here's our take on the mid-economy tablet.

Hardware/ Build & design
The tablet feels solid although it's a bit on the heavier side but the weight has been distributed well. The tablet has a 10-inch screen surrounded by a black bezel on the front, and a silver back, which is made of plastic, with a matte finish. The back also sports the Spice logo, placed right at the middle, two speaker grills and the camera lens at the top. There's some branding at ..

MWC 2016: Samsung, LG Improve Smartphone Cameras, Turn to Virtual Reality

MWC 2016: Samsung, LG Improve Smartphone Cameras, Turn to Virtual Reality

February 22, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

South Korean tech giants Samsung Electronics and LG unveiled Sunday new smartphones with better cameras and turned to virtual reality to boost interest in their headsets at a time of slowing sales.
Samsung launched two versions of its flagship phone, the flat screen Galaxy S7 and the curved screen Galaxy S7 Edge, with cameras that can take better pictures under low-light conditions.
The company, the world's number one smartphone maker, also debuted its first 360 degree camera, the Gear 360, in Barcelona where the mobile industry is gathered for the start of the Mobile World Congress on Monday, in its latest attempt to remain ahead of Apple.
The camera is designed to make it easy to take all-around photos and videos that can be uploaded to Facebook and YouTube, or viewed as immersive experiences on Samsung's virtual reality Gear VR headsets which went on sale in November.
(Also see: Samsung Galaxy S7 vs. iPhone 6s vs. LG G5 vs. Sony Xperia Z5)
“User generated 360 degree photos..

Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet [year]

Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet 2026

March 28, 2019 Richard Gomez 0

Reports of Sony's impending exit from the smartphone business have been doing the rounds in the recent past, but that hasn't stopped the Japanese tech giant from announcing a successor to the its Xperia Z2 Tablet – the Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet. Once again Sony is targeting the entertainment junkies with its new tablet.
In typical Sony fashion, the Xperia Z4 Tablet is slimmer, weighs next to nothing, and is waterproof. With the Z4 Tablet, Sony leverages its tried and tested OmniBalance design aesthetics from its Xperia Z range of smartphones for the Xperia Z4 Tablet. We think this design approach works in the favour of the Z4 Tablet but it doesn't look too different from the previous generation tablet from Sony.
A soft stainless steel trim runs along the edges. Additionally, Sony uses a material called mineral glass on the rear; it has a textured pattern and feels a lot like soft plastic to touch. In fact, our very first takeaway after spending time with the tablet was that ..

Amkette Evo Gamepad Pro 2 - [year] Review

Amkette Evo Gamepad Pro 2 – 2026 Review

April 10, 2018 Richard Gomez 0

Delhi-based Amkette has a number of Android-focussed devices, such as the Evo TV which is an Android set-top box; it's also launched the Evo TV MC, which is cheaper and puts the focus mostly on media playback. In August, the company also launched the Evo Gamepad Pro, a controller for Android devices that can be used for gaming, or to navigate an Android set top box interface.
Now, just a little over six months later, Amkette has released the Evo Gamepad Pro 2, available online at Rs. 2,599. Gadgets 360 spent nearly a week with the gamepad, playing various games using it, and found that it was a fairly capable gamepad that's cheaper than similar gamepads from other established brands such as Mad Catz or Steelseries.
Since it's only been six months between the two gamepads, it's not surprising that the controller hasn't changed much. The one big change – pun intended – is to the size of the controller. The first version of the gamepad had a smaller clip to hol..