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Asus Fonepad 7 Dual SIM tablet 2024

December 5, 2018 Richard Gomez 0

The voice-calling tablet segment is growing with a number of launches from both Indian and international manufacturers such as Samsung, Micromax, Lenovo, and Karbonn.
Asus, following suit, has now launched a refreshed version of its popular Fonepad 7 tablet in a dual-SIM avatar dubbed Fonepad 7 Dual SIM for the Indian market. The Taiwanese tablet maker clearly seems determined to get some market share in India.
Following the strategy, Asus Fonepad 7 Dual SIM has been launched at a price of Rs. 12,999, similar to Samsung's new Galaxy Tab3 Neo tablet which is currently retailing at Rs. 12,740 and is a single SIM device.
It's worth pointing out that the Asus Fonepad tablet line-up now has three generations: the first iteration of the Fonepad tablet with voice-calling support was announced at MWC last year, while the second generation was announced at IFA in 2013, featuring 3G support and lastly, the third generation unveiled at MWC this year.
As the name suggests, the Fonepad 7 ..

Oppo R7 Lite Review 2024

February 17, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

It's been a couple of years since Oppo entered the Indian market and since then, the company has managed to capture the attention of buyers with unique smartphones, right from the swivelling camera on the Oppo N1 to India's first Quad-HD display on the Oppo Find 7. Its most recent launch is the brand new Oppo R7 Lite, a mid-range offering priced at Rs.18,000.

This is a tough segment to compete in, as we have the recently launched OnePlus X, the Gionee Elife S7 (Review | Pictures) from earlier in the year, and the crowd favourite Motorola Moto X Play (Review) – all hovering around the same price point. The R7 Lite is the smaller sibling of the Oppo R7 Plus and our initial impressions of both the phones were on the positive side. Let's find out if our initial thoughts hold true once we've put it through the grind.
Look and feel
The build and finish of the R7 Lite is quite impressive thanks to quality materials used in the construction. The body is made up of a sin..

BlackBerry Priv 2024 Review

May 21, 2018 Richard Gomez 0

We've been following BlackBerry's journey from the top of the smartphone market to the bottom, and it has been extremely tempting on multiple occasions to declare the company effectively dead. Poor decision after poor decision has resulted in the company's products – which were the absolute must-have status symbols of an entire generation – being seen now as relics from the distant past. There are holdouts, no doubt, but their number is diminishing every day.
BlackBerry, the company formerly known as Research in Motion, has had many chances over the past few years to set its course right, but has instead launched one outlandish product after another; trying anything that might work. We liked the unusually shaped Passport (Review | Pictures), but it was never going to be a mass-market success. More recently, the Classic (Review | Pictures) represented a U-turn in strategy to cater to everyone who hated BB10's touch interface, and the Leap (Review) tried to appeal to ..

Micromax Canvas Selfie 2 Review 2024

February 16, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

Indians, like many others, are obsessed with the selfie and smartphone makers are only happy to oblige. While some feel this menace should be banned, there's no denying that the trend has given birth to niche market for gadgets and accessories to fulfil your selfie appetite. After our recent outing with the Asus Zenfone Selfie (Review | Pictures), which happened to be a pretty decent phone, we have the second generation of Micromax's offering based on the same theme, the Canvas Selfie 2.

Unlike Asus, Micromax is targeting the cash-strapped individual for whom pouting in front of a lens is almost a religion. At Rs. 5,999, it's one of the cheapest 'selfie' smartphones in the market, but is it worth it? Let's find out.
Look and feel
The build and finish of entry-level smartphones have certainly improved over the years. The Canvas Selfie 2 actually has decent construction quality and the plastics used don't feel overly cheap. Micromax has borrowed some..

Le Max 2024 Review

May 1, 2018 Richard Gomez 0

China's Letv started making headlines in India back in April 2015, and less than a year later, the company has arrived here to compete in the gruelling smartphone race. Originally one of the largest online video companies in China, Letv has added a couple of 'firsts' to its name within a short span. Its Le Max Pro is the world's first smartphone with Qualcomm's highly anticipated Snapdragon 820 SoC, and the company also had the world's slimmest 65-inch TV to its credit this CES, with a depth of just 3.9mm thick. Other than phones and televisions, the company has a diverse range of products too, which it plans to launch in India over time.
With its sights set on major developed and emerging markets, the company has undergone a rebranding exercise and is now called LeEco, which signifies a whole ecosystem of tech products and services. LeEco has rolled out its first smartphones in India and today, we'll be reviewing its flagship offering, the Le Max. T..

Sony Xperia Z5 Dual Review 2024

February 13, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

Sony's mobile division has been in a rut for a while. If IDC's latest report is anything to go by, dominance by the likes of Huawei and Lenovo is only adding to the company's woes. Rather than sticking with the standard formula of yearly refreshes, Sony decided a few years ago to try bi-annual refreshes in order to keep things exciting and hopefully drive up sales.

Our last outing with Sony's flagship smartphone was the Xperia Z3+ (Review | Pictures) , which didn't exactly blow our socks off. This was just three months ago, and today, we already have its successor in the form of the Xperia Z5 Dual. Our first encounter with the phone was at IFA 2015 where the company announced it along with its two siblings – the Xperia Z5 Premium and Xperia Z5 Compact.
(Also read: Sony Xperia Z5, Xperia Z5 Compact, Xperia Z5 Premium First Impressions)
The Xperia Z5 Dual is on sale right now at Rs. 52,990 and will compete with flagships such as the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, Sam..

Coolpad Note 3 2024

June 27, 2018 Richard Gomez 0

Coolpad, a tech company that is still taking baby steps in India, announced last year that it would soon launch its first 'Made in India' handset. As promised at the time of announcing the Coolpad Note 3, the company on Friday introduced a variant called the Coolpad Note 3 Lite, which is manufactured in India in partnership with Videocon. The Chinese firm continues its tie-up with Amazon for exclusive sales of the device. Priced at Rs. 6,999, the Note 3 Lite will be available through scheduled flash sales starting on January 28.
The Coolpad Note 3 Lite is a budget smartphone, but still packs a number of features and some specifications that customers look for in mid-range handsets. Although on paper it is not as powerful as its elder sibling, it does leave us with some overall positive first impressions. It is also one of the least expensive smartphones in India with a fingerprint sensor.
(Also see: Coolpad Note 3 Lite vs. Coolpad Note 3)
The design of the Coolpad Note 3 L..

Gionee S6 Review 2024

February 21, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

Gionee has been rapidly expanding its 'Elife S' series off late. It launched the Gionee S Plus in November and has now launched its fourth offering, the Gionee S6. While the two smartphones come with almost identical specifications, the S6 emphasises on a more premium build, as well as support for VoLTE.
The phone is priced at Rs. 19,999 and in terms of product positioning, the Gionee S6 will go up against the Oppo R7 Lite (Review). Let's see how the S6 fares against the competition.
Look and feel
The Gionee S6 doesn't exactly have an identity it can call its own. Unlike a current-gen Motorola phone – which is instantly recognisable due to its iconic design – one could easily mistake the S6 for a smartphone by Huawei or LeEco. To be fair, this is probably true of most offerings launched by Chinese companies these days. Having said that, Gionee has done a good job with the unibody aluminium build and the phone looks pretty good in rose gold. It's comfortable ..

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Dual SIM Review

June 18, 2018 Richard Gomez 0

Microsoft debuted its Windows 10 Mobile OS with the launch of two Lumia devices in India late last month. The company is going with a top-down approach by first introducing the best it has to offer with the Lumia 950 XL Dual SIM and Lumia 950 Dual SIM and follow that up with more affordable variants across different price segments.
More than the devices though, Microsoft's real aim is to showcase its newest Windows 10 Mobile OS, which it hopes will resonate with consumers who are (hopefully) already using Windows 10 on their desktops and ultimately, coax developers into making more universal apps for the platform.
(Also see: Microsoft Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL – 7 New Features)
Today, we'll be taking a closer look at how this platform as evolved in its third attempt with the Lumia 950 XL Dual SIM. This phone is the Nexus 6P (Review | Pictures) or the iPhone 6S Plus of the Windows world and serves as a template for hardware partners to model their own creations on. Priced ..

Moto X Force 2024

February 21, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

Smartphone screens are brittle, expensive, and downright depressing when broken. We've heard countless stories of how the smallest drop has shattered a screen, followed by the heartbreak of having to shell out a lot of money for repairs and then having to live with a 'fixed' smartphone. According to Motorola's own statistics, 51 percent of smartphone users have shattered or cracked their display at some point.
Manufacturers have tried to do their part to make such damage less upsetting for customers, such as Samsung's offer of a one-time screen replacement during the first year of purchase. Additionally, Apple may soon accept phones with broken screens as part of its trade-in program. While these may be some consolation to victims of a broken screen, why not dream of better?
That's where the Rs. 49,999 Moto X Force comes in. The phone comes with what the company calls a 'ShatterShield' display, and Motorola assures buyers that the screen of the p..

Yu Yutopia 2024 Review

March 5, 2018 Richard Gomez 0

The brand new Yu Yutopia is being touted as “the most powerful phone on the planet”, which is a bold claim from a company's debut entry into the big leagues. Yu Televentures CEO Rahul Sharma seems mighty confident though since the company's marketing department had no qualms about taking digs at Apple and Samsung in the teasers that led up to the phones' debut last week.
Pot-shots aside, it's clear that Yu is going after the Chinese manufacturers like OnePlus, Xiaomi, Gionee and Oppo who have long been offering “flagship killers” without having to empty your bank account. The aptly named Yutopia is an imagining of what a perfect smartphone should be like, while still being affordable to the masses.
Yu has certainly got the ingredients right but how it all comes together in the end, is what really matters. Is the Yutopia every bit as good as it looks on paper? Let's find out.
Look and feel
The aluminium and magnesium chassis is one of the highlights of the p..

Meizu m2 2024

February 22, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

Meizu might have some way to go before establishing itself as a serious player in India, but it's fairly well established in its home market China. In the business of smartphones since 2008, Meizu is one of the top 10 manufacturers in China. Following a heavy infusion of capital investment from Alibaba in February, the company announced plans to launch in India a month later and finally launched the m1 Note in May.
The latest product from its stable to launch in India is the Meizu m2. Priced at Rs. 6,999, the m2 offers a solid set of specifications and features, while keeping the price competitive. We explore the device in our in-depth review.
Look and feel
The Meizu m2 has a distinct look, which follows the same design philosophy that the company has used with all of its devices. It apes Apple's designs to a certain extent, especially the front which has only a single physical button. While this might look good, the button has to serve as both the Home and Back keys, since i..