smartphones

Yu Yutopia [year]

Yu Yutopia 2026

January 1, 2018 Richard Gomez 0

The Yu Yutopia, Yu's ticket to enter the high-spec smartphone category, has been teased for months. Now officially announced, the device is up for pre-order via Amazon, priced at Rs. 24,999 and will start shipping on December 25. Yu Televentures CEO Rahul Sharma unveiled the smartphone at a press event and also announced a new service dubbed Around Yu, which aims to reduce the time taken to download apps for different services such as shopping, booking hotels, flights, taxis, and more. Touted as the 'world's most powerful' smartphone, the Yutopia aims to take on OnePlus 2 and others that fall in the same price segment. The smartphone comes with top-of-the-line specifications but does it only look good on paper or does it really perform as promised? We got our hands on a sample device, and here are our first impressions.
The design of the Yutopia takes clues from other Yu siblings. It sports a metal unibody with antennas running around all four corners on the rear p..

Lenovo Vibe X3 Review [year]

Lenovo Vibe X3 Review 2026

February 9, 2016 Richard Gomez 8

Lenovo has been on a bit of a spree, launching a number of new smartphones in quick succession. The company is good at creating models that cater to specific needs, such as the Vibe P1 (Review | Pictures) with its oversized battery, the Vibe Shot (Review | Pictures) for camera lovers, the Vibe S1 (Review | Pictures) for those who care most about looks, and most recently, the Vibe K4 Note for the budget segment. We now have with us the brand new Vibe X3, which takes its place at the top of the heap as Lenovo's latest flagship.
The Lenovo Vibe X3 costs just Rs. 19,999 but packs a number of features and attributes that might make it a competitor to phones that cost way more. The spec sheet alone would give us quite a bit to dig our teeth into, but Lenovo has also tossed in a few things that it says improve the user experience in less tangible ways. We'll have to dig deep to find out if that's just a marketing line or if the Vibe X3 really does blow all its competition away…

Wickedleak Wammy Titan 5 [year]

Wickedleak Wammy Titan 5 2026

December 25, 2017 Richard Gomez 0

Wickedleak is an Indian smartphone company that we'd like to imagine was inspired by Julian Assange's popular whistleblowing website WikiLeaks. Of course, the two have nothing to do with each other, but we still find the name amusing. Formed in 2009, the company has grown to becoming quite a talking point in the Indian smartphone arena.
The Wickedleak Wammy Titan 5 is our review product of the day. This behemoth of a smartphone is large, heavy and undeniably phablet-esque. Does it have what it takes to justify the Rs. 13,990 price tag? We find out in our review.
Look and feel
With its 5.5-inch screen, the Wammy Titan 5 can rightfully be classified as a phablet. It's also incredibly heavy and thick. Although the Wickedleak website specifies the thickness of the phone at 8mm, it feels thicker. The back has a removable textured plastic panel, while the frame and edges are metallic. After a closer look at the phone, we found the build quality and finishing a bit crude. From..

Honor Holly 2 Plus Review

Honor Holly 2 Plus Review

February 9, 2016 Richard Gomez 6

Honor recently added two new smartphones to its roster, the Honor 5X (Review | Pictures) and the Holly 2 Plus, to counter aggressive moves by Lenovo and new entrants like Coolpad and LeEco. The Holly 2 Plus will replace the older Honor Holly (Review), which launched in 2014 and will compete with offerings such as the Coopad Note 3 (Review | Pictures) and Intex Cloud Flash (Review | Pictures), which are some of the better options in this price segment.=””>
Honor will open the retail gates from February 15, when the phone will go on sale at Rs. 8,499. Let's find out if the features and performance are aggressive enough to rival the competition.
Look and feel
The Holly 2 Plus has gotten tiny bit fatter and heavier compared to its predecessor but other than that, it is pretty similar in terms of proportions. The rounded top and bottom of the older model have given way to a more traditional candy bar design. The plastic body has undergone a special treatment to give it a metallic lo..

Lenovo Vibe S1 [year] Review

Lenovo Vibe S1 2026 Review

January 8, 2018 Richard Gomez 0

Lenovo is the leading manufacturer of personal computers in the world, and since entering the smartphone market in 2012, has quickly become one of the top five smartphone vendors as well. Part of this success can be attributed to the Vibe range of smartphones, and today we're reviewing the new Lenovo Vibe S1.
At Rs. 15,999, the Vibe S1 is the company's latest entry in the ultra-competitive mid-range. It's got everything that a good mid-range smartphone needs, from a good specification sheet to the signature dual-camera setup in the front. We go into the finer details of the Lenovo Vibe S1 in our review.
Look and feel
While many phones in the sub-Rs. 20,000 segment lack any real aesthetic appeal, the Vibe S1 really stands out. The frame is metal, with a dull matte finish all around. The phone is available in two colour options, blue and white. Our review sample was blue, and we loved the look of the device.
Although the Vibe S1 is 7.8mm at its thickest point, it has a cu..

Honor Holly 2 Plus [year]

Honor Holly 2 Plus 2026

February 9, 2016 Richard Gomez 6

Huawei, one of the top-ranked Chinese tech companies, expanded its Honor smartphone portfolio in India on Thursday by unveiling two new models – the Honor 5X and the Honor Holly 2 Plus. Both budget offerings will be available only through Flipkart and Amazon. The Honor 5X is already up for pre-order, with sales set to begin on February 1. It costs Rs. 12,999. The Honor Holly 2 Plus on the other hand will go on sale from February 15 priced at Rs. 8,499. Here are our initial impressions of the the more budget-minded smartphone of the two – the Holly 2 Plus.
(Also see: Honor Holly 2 Plus vs. Samsung Galaxy On5 vs. Lenovo Vibe P1m vs. Lenovo K3 Note)

With the Honor Holly 2 Plus, the company aims to go head-to-head with smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy On5, Lenovo Vibe P1m and even the Lenovo K3 Note. While the majority of its features have been borrowed from the Honor 5X, the company has made cuts in several areas of the handset in order to reach the Rs. 8,499 price point. The Hono..

Obi Worldphone SF1 - [year] Review

Obi Worldphone SF1 – 2026 Review

January 5, 2018 Richard Gomez 0

Obi Mobiles made its debut in India last year as a provider of low-cost Android smartphones. What made this company different from numerous others newcomers is that it had a strong backer; ex-Apple CEO John Sculley to be precise. However, Obi Mobiles seemed like every other company, picking an Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) from China to design and manufacture phones to sell under its own name. The company's debut offering, the Obi Octopus S520 (Review | Pictures) only focused on specifications but failed to address other key areas like aesthetics and user experience.
Cut to 2015 and Obi Mobiles has reemerged as Obi Worldphone. The focus of the company continues to be budget smartphones for emerging markets, but it's now putting the user experience and aesthetics first. The phones and their UI are now designed by a Californian design studio called Ammunition, founded by Robert Brunner, who was the Director of Industrial Design at Apple in the past.
Today, we'll be..

Honor 5X [year] Review

Honor 5X 2026 Review

February 9, 2016 Richard Gomez 8

Huawei's online-only Honor range of smartphones has been developed and positioned as complementary to the parent company's more premium products. Naturally, it's targeted at developing markets such as India, and the phones have managed to generate enough buzz and attention to make Honor a significant player in the budget and mid-range smartphone segments in India.
The newest product from the Honor stable is the Honor 5X. This mid-range smartphone has a little bit of everything that you might be looking for in a smartphone. With a fingerprint sensor, 4G dual-SIM connectivity and the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 SoC, the Honor 5X has a lot to offer for Rs. 12,999. There's also Huawei's reputation, which got a significant boost after the Chinese company was chosen to manufacture the Google Nexus 6P (Review | Pictures). Does the Honor 5X live up to or even exceed typical mid-range expectations? We find out in our review.
Look and feel
One of the Honor 5X's key ..

Gionee Marathon M5 [year] first impressions

Gionee Marathon M5 2026 first impressions

December 28, 2017 Richard Gomez 0

Coming from a brand that's famous for super slim phones such as the Elife S7, the Gionee Marathon M5 might be the thickest phone the company has ever made. It's aimed at solving a major pain point for most smartphone users – battery life.
The phablet-sized Gionee Marathon M5 is fitted with a 6020mAh battery as well as plenty of other features meant to extend its life. Considering that there are power banks with smaller capacities than what you get with this phone, battery life promises to be off the charts – it can run without for two days between charges for heavy users, and four days for moderate/light users, according to a company spokesperson.
Announced in June 2015, the phone has finally made its way to India as a Flipkart exclusive, and is priced at Rs. 17,999. The Indian version has improved internal specs – it's fitted with 3GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage. The starring feature of course is the battery, which is actually two cells of 3010 mAh, each with its own c..

Asus Fonepad 7 (FE171CG) [year] Review

Asus Fonepad 7 (FE171CG) 2026 Review

December 5, 2018 Richard Gomez 0

We wouldn't be surprised to hear that people are beginning to lose count of how many Fonepad models Asus has released. This is a product line that Asus has been pushing for a while now, attempting to solidify its position in the voice-calling tablet market. Although a lot of people laugh at the idea of using a 7-inch tablet as their primary phone, Asus evidently has enough reason to believe that it's a product category worth investing in.
The new Asus Fonepad 7 (FE171CG) offers improved specs and features over previous versions of the device, including a better camera and more storage. It sticks to the 7-inch display and Intel Atom SoC, and retains the typical Asus tablet look and feel. Performance is of course important, but we are also eager to see whether the Rs. 10,999 price tag is justified by the inclusion of a few new features and hardware upgrades.
Look and Feel
Ever since the success of the Asus Google Nexus 7, Asus has tried to stick to the same design formula as fa..