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Nokia Lumia 830 review: A well-rounded smartphone

2014-10-02T04:01:00.000-07:00

TOP FEATURES

- Great build

- Excellent camera

- Good display

Microsoft's new Nokia Lumia 830 aims to reduce the gap between a mid-ranger and a high-end phone. In fact the company has positioned the phone as 'an affordable flagship,' with a premium form factor and a good quality camera. While it's the successor to the Lumia 820, the phone is a major upgrade in terms of both form factor as well as other features.

The phone is also the first one to come preloaded with Nokia's latest Denim software update.

Is the Nokia Lumia 830 worthy of being called a flagship smartphone? We try to find out in our review.

Build and design
Lumia 830 arouses a feeling of familiarity as Nokia has not digressed much from its basic design philosophy which has been consistent across its premium devices, right from Lumia 900 to Lumia 1520. The key highlights of the Lumia 830's form factor is the use of a sturdy metal frame and the company's ability to make the phone slim and handy even though it has a complex camera module incorporating Optical Image Stabilization and its PureView technology.

It is not the first time we're seeing a metal frame on a Nokia Lumia phone. The Lumia 925 also sported one, although the Lumia 930 takes it to the next level. The frame feels very solid and makes the phone look tough as a tank. We had the black variant as our review unit which sported a dark grey frame. The orange and Black units come with a silver coloured frame. The frame has black bands at the top and bottom edges that serve as the antenna. The edges are not curved like the Lumia 925's but flat. You'd mistake it for a perfect rectangle but the corners are subtly rounded.

The phone's back features a removable, polycarbonate cover which is slightly curved towards its edges. This gives the phone a good grip. The cover sports matte finish. The big camera module protrudes out slightly. There's a speaker outlet towards the bottom. The micro-USB port and the headset jack are located at the top edge.

Removing the cover reveals the battery compartment, a micrpSD card slot (hot swappable) and a nano-sim card slot. The phone also supports wireless charging and the cover sports contacts for the same.

The right edge of the phone features metal buttons for volume control, power and camera, and offer good tactile feedback.

The front mainly comprises of the 5-inch display with the three capacitive Windows Phone keys located just below it, backlit in White. The display panel is slightly tapered with the frame at the edges. You can also see the front camera, the earpiece and the Nokia branding.

Nokia Lumia 830 is a good looking phone that also feels solid and durable thanks to its metal frame and high quality construction. Although the back panel is removable, it fits snugly into the frame and there was no wobble. Even though the phone sports a5-inch screen, it is very pocketable and can be easily used with one hand.

Display

Nokia Lumia 830 comes with a 5-inch, 720p (720x1280p) IPS LCD display. Thanks to the use of Nokia's ClearBlack technology, blacks were really deep and Windows Phone's dark theme looked really good. Microsoft and Nokia are calling a 'flagship' and we expected a full-HD panel going by the market trend.

However, we found that the Lumia 830's display looks bright and vivid, rendering sharp and crisp text and graphics. The flat UI elements such as tiles and lists don't pixillate even though the display is low resolution compared to flagships and even mid-range phones. Sunlight legibility was good and viewing angles were wide.

Software

Lumia 830 runs Lumia Denim which is essentially Windows Phone 8.1 with Update 1 with some Nokia-exclusive features.

Windows Phone 8.1 ironed out inconsistencies and achieves feature parity with competing smartphone platforms like Android and iOS. It pretty much covers the basics and would satisfy most casual users. You can read more about Windows Phone 8.1 in our Lumia 630 review.

Update 1 brings features like Live Folders, Cortana support (alpha) for India, SMS merge and forwarding, consumer VPN and Internet Explorer improvements.

You can now organise apps or games by grouping them into folders similar to iOS and Android. You can press, hold and drag an app over another to create a new folder on the Start screen. Folders can be renamed by tapping on the text field above the open folder. The implementation is good, so, better late then never!

You can now select individual text messages to either delete them out of a messaging thread, or copy and past them into a new message to forward them. One can also customize snooze time in the alarm app and configure a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection to access a work network or use a VPN service to bypass geo-restricted website or service.

Another interesting feature is Apps Corner. It lets you create a customised Start screen, where only specific apps or games are accessible. This could be particularly useful in the workplace if you're issuing Windows Phones to employees or if your kids use your phone for games. You can even choose if you want to give access to Action Center and Settings.

The key highlight of the Denim update is the enhanced camera app now known as Lumia Camera. It comes with features like speedy shooting that instantly fires the camera as one presses the hardware camera key. There's a new Moment Capture feature activated by a long press of the camera button, and instantly starts recording the subject in full-HD (high-end Lumia phones will be able to capture in 4K). Each of the frames captured in the video is a 2MP shot that can be saved as an individual photo.

The best part is Rich Capture that allows capturing and merging multiple images together simultaneously, and applying auto HDR with dynamic exposure steps and flash settings. This means that the camera automatically detects if you need a flash and captures a few images with flash and some without it. After the shoot, it lets you merge the best pictures and control the amount of lighting with a slider. The auto-HDR feature works in a similar manner.

Unfortunately, our unit did not come with the Lumia Camera so we could not test out the new features. The app will be rolled out to the phone in the fourth quarter of 2014.

The Denim update also comes with improved image processing algorithms for clearer lowlight photos. It also offers "Hey Cortana" voice activation similar to hands free versions of Siri and Google Now and allows users to say "Hey Cortana" while the phone is idle to activate it.The feature is powered by the phone's SensorCore technology. It didn't work for us as it reportedly supports phones with Qualcomm Snapdragon 80x processors.

Cortana now works in India if you activate and select UK English in the speech settings. It worked fairly well and was able to detect our speech most of the times. It is not as good as Google Now when it comes to localisation but is slightly better than Siri. The feature is still in alpha so we'll not discuss it at length.

The Glance Screen feature has also got an update and now shows more information at a glance on the lock screen including Bing Weather, or Bing Health & Fitness data, in addition to time and date, notifications and application data.

Nokia Lumia 830 comes with a large number of preloaded apps (including Flipboard, BoxTV,PicsArt, Snapdeak, Times City and WeChat) in addition to Nokia and Microsoft apps. Thankfully most of these apps can be removed.

More third party apps and games are now available for Windows Phone 8, but it still pales in comparison to the app selection offered by Android and iOS. Also, official apps for services like Instagram lack some critical features available on other platform. Line, Twitter and WhatsApp (WhatsApp is officially not supported on Denim) notifications are also delayed. The strength of the software, however, is Microsoft Office Mobile and Here Maps.

Camera

The Nokia Lumia 830 features a 10MP PureView camera with a 1/ 3.4-inch sensor, f/2.2 aperture and Zeiss lens. It features optical image stabilization and unlike the Lumia 1020 and 1520, does not employ oversampling. The camera module comes with 6-lens optics, Backside-illuminated image sensor, and a true 16:9 sensor

While the Lumia 830 features a smaller sensor in terms of Megapixels compared to flagship phones, it still offers one of the best results. The quality of images captured outdoors, in daylight was excellent with good level of detail, accurate colour reproduction, little or no noise and good contrast.

Low-light shots also came out well, though these had some noise, especially under 100% zoom.

The phone offers video recording in 1080p and 720p resolution at 24, 25 and 30fps for each, allowing more creative use of the camera. It also offers the ability to record videos in Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround Sound. Videos shot with the phone were impressive.

Performance

The Nokia Lumia 830 is powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM. The specifications are more mid-range or budget (Android phones like Moto G are powered by Snapdragon 400) than flagship but we must remember that Windows Phone is not a very resource hungry operating system.

The Lumia 830 comes with 16GB internal storage that can be expanded with the help of a microSD card (supports cards of up to 128GB). External storage support is a big plus.

The phone scored 11,939 in Antutu benchmark, and, 1145/10fps and 1737/15fps in GFXBench 2.5 Egypt HD offscreen and onscreen tests, respectively. We don't endorse benchmark tests and do not recommend a phone based solely on benchmarks as real world performance is different at times.

While the phone's hardware is not top-of-the-line, it delivers great performance when it comes to launching and switching between apps, browsing websites and scrolling inside apps.

We were able to play graphics intensive games like Asphalt 8 without any hiccups even at visual effects set to maximum level. The phone was able to play HD videos and supports most popular video formats.

The phone comes with GPS and A-GPS for navigation and maps and was easily able to lock a signal. It also comes with NFC connectivity to initiate file transfers to other NFC-enabled phones and receive data from NFC tags. It worked as promised. It does not support 802.11ac Wi-Fi, which means it will not work with new routers capable of offering higher transfer speeds.

Coming to battery life, the 2200mAh battery of the phone helps in achieving a respectable backup. With the phone's brightness set to automatic and intermittent use of WiFi and 3G, the phone lasted a full day (9-10 hours) with usage comprising few hours of phone calls, casual gaming, an hour of web browsing and accessing Twitter and Facebook, in addition to clicking a few pictures.

We did not encounter any issues with the network reception and call quality was good, most of the times.

Verdict

At a price of Rs 28,799, we don't have any qualms in recommending the Lumia 830. The phone is solidly built, comes with a great camera and offers good performance. It is without doubt a well rounded smartphone, although not a high-end flagship, and offers good value for your money. Having said that, Windows Phone still has a long way to go before it can match up to Android.

There are some good Android alternatives available in the market. The Google Nexus 5 sports high-end hardware and offers stock-Android but sports an average camera and lacks a microSD card slot. The first-generation Motorola Moto X is still an excellent option though it also has the same limitations. Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo is also a good option if you need a phone with a bigger screen and a stylus.

Huawei launches flagship Honor 6 smartphone and Honor T1 tablet

2014-09-29T06:03:00.000-07:00

Huawei has exclusively partnered with online retailer flipkart.com to introduce its new Honor range of devices which includes two smartphones- Honor 6 and Honor Holly and two tablets- Honor X1 and Honor T1. The Honor 6 is the flagship smartphone of Huawei and is priced at Rs. 19,999. The new range of devices will be going on sale starting October 6 on Flipkart.

The Honor 6 runs on an octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 920 SoC processor with 3GB RAM and Mali T628 GPU. Running on Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS along with Huawei’s custom Emotion UI 2.3, the flagship smartphone features a 5-inch JDI full HD in -cell display at 445 ppi of pixel density. It supports LTE CAT6 and is 4G-ready with Band 3 support.

The flagship phone sports a 13 MP rear camera along with a 5 MP front camera and is powered by a 3100 mAh non-removable battery. It offers 16 GB on internal storage

which can be further expanded up to 64 GB.
Along with the flagship Honor 6, Huawei also introduced its MediaPad Honor T1 tablet at a price of Rs. 9,999. Running on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean OS with Emotion UI, the tablet runs on a 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 200 quad-core processor with 1 GB RAM. The Honor T1 tablet allows 2G/3G calling and sports a 5 MP rear camera and a VGA front camera with 8 GB of internal storage which can be expanded up to 32 GB. Featuring an 8-inch HD IPS display, the device is powered by a 4,800 mAh battery.

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge Pre-order in UK: Retail Price Marginally Higher than Note 4

2014-09-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

The retail price of the SIM-free and unlocked variant of Samsung Galaxy Note Edge has been revealed for users in the UK.

When compared to the unlocked and SIM-free Galaxy Note 4, the Galaxy Note Edge is about £75 costlier.

Online retailer Clove UK is now taking pre-order for the Note Edge featuring a unique curved screen which was launched alongside the Galaxy Note 4. The handset costs £650 including VAT.

The Galaxy Note 4 is already on pre-order in the country and is expected to hit the stores in the second week of October.

Other retailers such as Expansys and Handtec have confirmed pre-order but not disclosed the price deals of the handset. Also, the contract price has not been announced as yet.

Those who wish to place pre-order for the Galaxy Note Edge, may head over to the product page on Clove's site.

Earlier this month, Clove stated that the Galaxy Note Edge, a new technology-intensive device that will be released as a "limited edition concept", will not be available in the UK at its launch.

The retailer then promised to bring non-UK stock from the countries where the Note Edge is due to be launched.

The Galaxy Note Edge and the Galaxy Note 4 share most of the features and are equally powerful, according to AnTuTu benchmark tests.

The Note Edge sports a 5.6in Quad HD + Super AMOLED display. It has a 16 megapixel rear snapper and a 3.7 megapixel front-facing camera.

Samsung will use either the Snapdragon 805 or Exynos 5433 chipsets inside the Note Edge, depending on the market where it will go on sale.

Other notable features include a 3,000mAh battery and Android 4.4.4 software.

10 Things About Google's New Android Design That Will Have iPhone Owners Drooling With Jealousy

2014-07-05T21:37:00.001-07:00

If you're an avid Android user, your phone's software is about to look a whole lot different in the next few months.

Google is billing the redesigned user interface as the key feature in its next major mobile software update, Android L.

With Android L, Google is introducing some aesthetic tweaks as part of its Material Design overhaul.

Material Design is a sleek, neat, and colorful new interface that's meant to make the user experience seamless across devices on all screens — whether you're using a smartwatch, phone, or tablet.

In addition to a leaner overall look, Material Design adds a few subtle nuances that make the Android experience seem more interactive and visually pleasing.

Google says it studied paper and ink to achieve the shadowed and textured look you'll find in Android L.

Here are some of the best visual components Android users have to look forward to.

A big part of Material Design is the way colors are portrayed. Google developed a color palette specifically to highlight shades and tints, which adds more life to user interface elements.

Notice how the generic form above is highlighted in purple and looks slightly larger than the rest. That effect is meant to draw your eye to information that's more important, such as the title in this case.

App icons in Android L are based on geometric shapes, which make them pop and appear more symmetrical.

Google says that Material Design is based on the same design principles as paper. This means app icons are designed to rise up when you tap them rather than sink down.

Honda Dream CD 110 Price Declared As Rs. 41,110 - The Most Inexpensive Bike In The Series

2014-07-05T21:36:00.002-07:00

Keeping in mind an ever-growing class of 'mileage-oriented' bike commuters, Honda had launched the 'Dream' series in the budget bikes segment by launching the 'Dream Yuga' in January 2012. After the enormous success of Dream Yuga, Honda then launched Dream Neo in 2013 and has now launched the Dream CD 110 which is the third and probably the last bike in this series. The Dream CD 110 is priced Rs. 5000 below the Dream Neo and Rs. 7,000 below the Dream Yuga, making it Honda's most affordable two-wheeler in India.

Boasting the formulaic 110 cc engine used throughout the 'Dream' series, Honda has made no significant changes to the engine specs in this bike. The engine spews out a maximum power at 7,500 rpm and 8.63 Nm of torque at 5,500 rpm. Perhaps the most striking performance of this vehicle is in the mileage category, an impressive figure of 74 Kmpl, as reported in Honda's internal test rides but not yet verified by any external reviewer. Once again, the company's flagship Honda Eco Technology (HET) has been put to use to achieve this mileage. The engine specifications are exactly the same as its companion in this series, the Honda Dream Neo.

CD 110 Dream will feature only a manual start. Body graphics, silver-coloured engine sleeve, silver toned alloy wheels and matching meter console make up the style quotient of the bike. Buyers will have an option of buying spoked wheels if not alloy ones. The bike also features tubeless tyres, maintenance free battery, viscous air filter as its plus points. Continuing the tradition of the Dream series, disc brakes won't be added to the bike and the safety of the CD 110 Dream will rely on traditional drum brakes, perhaps the only down point in the bike.

The Honda CD 110 Dream, a more economical version of the Dream Neo is priced at Rs. 41,100 ex-Delhi, making it the most inexpensive two-wheeler by Honda in the country. Honda will be starting dispatches across the country from mid-July and sales will start from August '14. CD 110 will be available in 3 colours- Black with Red stripe, Black with Blue Stripe and Black with Grey stripe and in the kick/drum/spoke variants.

Hero Honda's CD 100 had found a large Indian fanbase and some of them can also be seen running today. The nomenclature “CD” is a mnemonic for Honda’s mass motorcycles in many countries since 1966 while Dream evokes the legendary success of Honda’s first mass motorcycle “Dream D” launched in 1949 in Japan. Do you think the CD 110 Dream will live up to its name? Let us know in the comments.

Xolo Launches Play 6X-1000 and Q500s IPS With Android 4.4 KitKat

2014-07-05T21:35:00.003-07:00

Xolo has launched two new smartphones, the Q500s IPS and Play 6X-1000, which have been priced at Rs. 5,999 and Rs. 14,499 respectively. Both the smartphones run Android 4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box, and have been listed as new arrivals on the company's site.

The Xolo Q500s IPS is a dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) device that comes with a 4-inch WVGA (480x800 pixels) IPS display offering a pixel density of 233ppi. The Q500s IPS is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582M processor coupled with a Mali 400-MP2 GPU, and 512MB of RAM.

It sports a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, while there is a secondary 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera also onboard. The Xolo Q500s IPS has 4GB of inbuilt storage, which is further expandable via microSD (up to 32GB).

On the connectivity front, the Xolo Q500s IPS includes 3G, Wi-Fi, Micro-USB, GPS/ A-GPS and Bluetooth. It packs a 1500mAh battery, which is rated for up to 16.1 hours of talk time on 2G and up to 7.6 hours of talk time on 3G networks. The Xolo Q500s IPS measures 125x63.2x8.98mm and is available in Black, Blue, Green, Red and White colours.

The Xolo Play 6X-1000 is a dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) device that comes with a 5-inch (720x1280 pixels) HD IPS display offering a pixel density of 294ppi. The Play 6X-1000 is powered by a 1.5GHz hexa-core MediaTek MT6591 processor with a Mali 450 GPU, comes with 2GB of RAM.

It sports a 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and BSI sensor, while there is a secondary 2-megapixel front-facing camera also onboard. The Xolo Play 6X-1000 has 8GB of inbuilt storage, which is further expandable via microSD (up to 32GB).

On the connectivity front, the Xolo Play 6X-1000 includes 3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS/ A-GPS and USB OTG. It packs a 2100mAh battery, which is rated for up to 24.68 hours of talk time on 2G, and up to 14.75 hours of talk time on 3G networks. It measures 139.9x70.2x8.5mm.

Watch Wars: Apple Snags Tag Heuer VP of Sales and Retail

2014-07-05T20:53:00.003-07:00

If there was ever any doubt that Apple is working on some kind of fancy digital wristwatch — insert your own speculation about what it might be called here — then a new bit of news is adding just that much more fuel to the manufacturing fire.
According to multiple sources, ranging from Jean-Claude Biver over at luxury goods conglomerate LVMH (which counts luxury watch manufacturer Tag Heuer among its subsidiaries), to unnamed sources speaking to 9to5Mac, to unnamed Tag Heuer sources talking to Reuters, Apple has poached Tag Heuer senior executive Patrick Pruniaux. Formerly Tag Heuer's vice president of sales and retail, Pruniaux had allegedly been with Tag Heuer for a number of years. His last day will be this coming Monday; after that, he'll join Apple in a yet unknown capacity.
Given Pruniaux's background, however, it's likely that he'll find a home among Apple's sales and marketing efforts for its likely-to-be-named iWatch. Interestingly, 9to5Mac reports that Apple was allegedly attempting to poach more people from Tag Heuer. However, Pruniaux is the only one who agreed to jump ship over to the budding digital watch manufacturer.
It's widely thought that Apple's wrist-based efforts — the speculation around which is doing a great job of instilling fear into various other smartwatch and fitness tracking manufacturers so far — are expected to produce a tangible product by September or October of this year.
The big unknown is just how Apple might merge together fashion and technology in its device, and how recent hires from the fashion world might help Apple make, market, and sell its to-be-unveiled watch. That includes Pruniaux, as well as Burberry's Angela Ahrendts (now Apple's senior vice president of retail and online sales), and Paul Deneve, former CEO of fashion house Yves Saint Laurent who is now working on "special projects" at Apple (and reporting to Apple CEO Tim Cook directly). In other words, the iWatch — as many have been speculating.
Apple senior vice president of technologies Bob Mansfield is said to be leading up the iWatch project over at Apple HQ, alongside Apple vice president of technology Kevin Lynch and Apple's senior director of engineering, James Foster. Apple's overall "iWatch team" also pulls in a number of design, fitness, sensor, and engineering experts (to name a few categories), which gives a little more weight to the idea that Apple's wrist-based device will be as much a luxury item as it is a working fitness accessory.
"The iWatch will have the same status symbol power as many other Apple products, especially at the beginning. I personally believe it has the potential to be a threat for the industry, and it should not stay with its arms crossed," said Biver, in an interview with Reuters.

New Pavlok wristband shocks you into good work and fitness habits

2014-07-05T20:32:00.000-07:00

The Pavlok wristband is a ‘habit-forming’ wearable band which will literally shock you into exercising, waking up on time and what not by administering mild electric jolts to your wrist area when needed. Mind you, developer Maneesh Sethi is the same guy who hired a girl on Craigslist to slap him each time he went on Facebook when he was meant to be doing work.

Designed by Sethi and Behavioral Technologies, the Pavlok is meant to force you into a routine whether it involves going for a jog every evening or waking up early for starters. Apart from taking cues from the ‘Slapping Experiment,’ Sethi also got inspiration for the device from another habit-forming method he uses which has him paying $50 to his friend as a self-imposed penalty each time he eats a cookie or skips the gym.

The wristband in question will be embedded with sensors to detect whether users are following the routine they’ve set for themselves and it will even incorporate certain social aspects. The last mentioned will be integrated with techniques to let friends help each other out of their bad habits by checking in on each other’s productivity or exercise status, for example.

The Pavlok administers electric shocks that set off triggers to change users’ brains and in turn, their bad habits. You may say it’s just negative reinforcement which will have people cheating by simply not wearing the band or conveniently forgetting to charge it. But the developers have also hinted about positive support without offering any specifics.

You can see the full interview with Maneesh Sethi concerning the Pavlok wristband on this TheLipTV YouTube video we posted below. The wearable might cost around $250 once Sethi manages to earn enough in crowd-funded backing to push it through the production process.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Plus 10.1 P8220 Specifications, Price and Overall Ratings

2014-04-23T05:00:00.002-07:00

Price in India: Rs.15000

Overall Ratings: 4.5/5

Specifications:

Tablet with support for GSM voice communication, SMS, and MMS.
Also known as Samsung GT-P8220.

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
	4G Network	LTE
	SIM	Yes
	Announced	Not officially announced yet
	Status	Rumored. Exp. release 2013, Q3

BODY	Dimensions	-
BODY	Weight	-

DISPLAY	Type	Capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	2560 x 1600 pixels, 10.1 inches (~299 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes
	Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 2

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration, MP3 ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes, with stereo speakers
	3.5mm jack	Yes

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD, up to 64 GB
MEMORY	Internal	16/32/64 GB storage, 2 GB RAM

DATA	GPRS	Yes
	EDGE	Yes
	Speed	HSPA+, LTE
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	Yes, v4.0 with A2DP
	NFC	Yes
	USB	Yes, v2.0, USB Host

CAMERA	Primary	Yes
	Features	Geo-tagging
	Video	Yes, 1080p@30fps
	Secondary	Yes

FEATURES	OS	Android OS, v4.2 (Jelly Bean)
	CPU	Quad-core
	Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, compass
	Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
	Browser	HTML5
	Radio	No
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	Silver
		- SNS integration - TV-out - MP4/DivX/Xvid/FLV/MKV/H.264/H.263 player - MP3/WAV/eAAC+/Flac player - Organizer - Image/video editor - Document editor/viewer - Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa - Voice memo/dial - Predictive text input (Swype)

BATTERY		Non-removable Li-Po battery

Samsung Galaxy J Specifications, Price in India and Overall Ratings

2014-04-23T04:55:00.000-07:00

Price:Rs. 41,000 (Expected)

Overall Ratings: 9/10

Specifications:

Product Features:

3G, Wi-Fi, HDMI, NFC
Quad Core, 2.3 GHz Processor
3 GB RAM
16 GB inbuilt memory

5 inches, 1080 x 1920 px display
13 MP Camera with flash
Memory Card Supported, upto 64 GB
Android, v4.3 (upgradable to v4.4 )

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini Specifications, Price and Overall Ratings

2014-04-23T04:51:00.000-07:00

Overall Ratings:3.1/5

Price in India: Rs.30000
Specifications:

Also known as Samsung SM-G800

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
	4G Network	LTE
	SIM	Yes
	Announced	Exp. announcement 2014, Q2
	Status	Rumored. Exp. release 2014, Q2

BODY	Dimensions	-
BODY	Weight	-

DISPLAY	Type	Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	720 x 1280 pixels, 4.5 inches (~326 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD, up to 64 GB
MEMORY	Internal	16 GB, 1.5 GB RAM

DATA	GPRS	Yes
	EDGE	Yes
	Speed	HSDPA, 42 Mbps (LTE model); HSDPA, 21.1 Mbps (3G model); HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE, Cat4, 50 Mbps UL, 150 Mbps DL
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, LE, EDR
	NFC	Yes (market/operator dependent)
	Infrared port	Yes
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0

CAMERA	Primary	8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
	Features	Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, panorama
	Video	Yes, 1080p@30fps
	Secondary	Yes, 2 MP

FEATURES	OS	Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat)
	Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon 400
	CPU	Quad-core
	Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
	Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS
	Browser	HTML5
	Radio	TBD
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	Black, White
		- SNS integration - MP4/DivX/XviD/WMV/H.264/H.263 player - MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3/FLAC player - Organizer - Image/video editor - Document viewer - Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa - Voice memo/dial/commands - Predictive text input (Swype)

BATTERY		Li-Ion 2100 mAh battery

Lenovo Golden Warrior S8 Specifications, Price in India, Releasing Date and Overall Ratings

2014-04-23T04:30:00.001-07:00

Price in India: Rs.18999
Releasing Date: July-August 2014
Overall Ratings: 4.1/5
Specifications:

Unofficial preliminary specifications

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA
	SIM	Dual SIM (Mini-SIM, dual stand-by)
	Announced	Exp. announcement 2014, Q2
	Status	Rumored. Exp. release 2014, Q2

BODY	Dimensions	-
BODY	Weight	-

DISPLAY	Type	Capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	720 x 1280 pixels, 5.3 inches (~277 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes
	Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 3

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD, up to 32 GB
MEMORY	Internal	16 GB, 2 GB RAM

DATA	GPRS	Yes
	EDGE	Yes
	Speed	HSDPA, HSUPA
	WLAN	Yes
	Bluetooth	Yes
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0

CAMERA	Primary	13 MP, 4128 x 3096 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
	Features	Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection
	Video	Yes
	Secondary	Yes, 5 MP

FEATURES	OS	Android OS, v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
	Chipset	Mediatek MT6592
	CPU	Octa-core 1.4 GHz
	GPU	Mali-450MP4
	Sensors	Accelerometer, proximity, compass
	Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS
	Browser	HTML
	Radio	TBD
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	Golden
		- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - SNS integration - MP4/WMV/H.264/H.263 player - MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC+ player - Organizer - Image/video editor - Document viewer - Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk - Voice memo/dial - Predictive text input

BATTERY		Li-Ion 2000 mAh battery

LG G3 Specifications, Price in India, Releasing Date and Overall Rating

2014-04-23T04:25:00.000-07:00

Price: Around Rs. 50000/-
Overall Rating: 4.3/5
Specifications:

Unofficial preliminary specifications
Available as:
LG G3 D850 for Europe
LG G3 LS990 for Sprint

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
		CDMA 800 / 1900 - CDMA version
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
		CDMA2000 1xEV-DO - CDMA version
	4G Network	LTE 800 / 1800 / 2600
		LTE - CDMA version
	SIM	Yes
	Announced	Exp. announcement 2014
	Status	Rumored. Exp. release 2014, Q4

BODY	Dimensions	-
BODY	Weight	-

DISPLAY	Type	True HD-IPS + LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	1440 x 2560 pixels, 5.5 inches (~534 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes
	Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 3

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration, MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes
		- Dolby mobile sound enhancement

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD, up to 32 GB
MEMORY	Internal	32 GB, 3 GB RAM

DATA	GPRS	Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
	EDGE	Class 12
	Speed	HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSUPA, 21 Mbps; LTE, Cat4, 50 Mbps UL, 150 Mbps DL/ EV-DO Rev. A, up to 3.1 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, LE
	NFC	Yes
	Infrared port	Yes
	USB	Yes, microUSB v3.0 (SlimPort), USB On-the-go, USB Host

CAMERA	Primary	13 MP, 4160 x 3120 pixels, autofocus, optical image stabilization, LED flash
	Features	Simultaneous video and image recording, geo-tagging, face detection, HDR
	Video	Yes, 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, HDR, stereo sound rec., video stabilization
	Secondary	Yes, 2.1 MP, 1080p@30fps

FEATURES	OS	Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat)
	Chipset	Qualcomm MSM8974AA Snapdragon
	CPU	Quad-core 2.26 GHz Krait 400
	GPU	Adreno 330
	Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
	Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS
	Browser	HTML5
	Radio	TBD
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	Black, White, Gold
		- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - SNS applications - MP4/DviX/XviD/H.264/H.263/WMV player - MP3/WAV/FLAC/eAAC+/WMA player - Photo viewer/editor - Document viewer - Organizer - Voice memo/dial/commands - Predictive text input

Google Nexus 6 Specifications and Price in India

2014-04-23T04:20:00.000-07:00

Google Nexus 6 Specifications

It’s not been a month since Google Nexus 5 was launched and now all eyes have shifted towards the next flagship smartphone from Google codenamed Nexus 6 ( successor of Nexus 5). After the successful launch of Nexus 5 and astonishing response from customers around the world, Google will now try to make use of its popularity-wave & bring out the Nexus 6 as soon as possible.

We have a confirmed leaked news (though that may be rumors) about its specifications and features that will simply blow out its competitors next year when it will be launched. Let us see those confirmed specs -

Google Nexus 6

A 5.3″ inches screen with a full HD super AMOLED + edge to edge display is on the line forGoogle Nexus 6.
An Exynos 5-octa core processor with 3-4 GB RAM, and 18 MP back camera with a 4 MP front facing camera embeded with full High Definition video-recording capabilities & a 128GB internal-storage.
Google Nexus 6 will have Android 6.0 Milkshake Operating System. This will be first handset to have 6.0v Android after Android Kitkat 4.4 OS in Nexus 5.
Nexus 6 is also expected to have fingerprint scanning sensors as well as retina scanning sensors giving its competitors a cold shiver next year.
Nexus 6 will also feature metallic body to give direct competition to Galaxy S5 , HTC M8 and iPhone 6.

Google Nexus 6 Release Date is expected to be mid 2014 given the release dates of iPhone 6 and Sony Xperia Z2. The Nexus Series for Google has been successful so far and Google will try to carry on this success as far as possible. The Nexus 6, according to its features which are much hyped and speculated may be priced at about $450 for 32GB variant. Google may also thrill its users with 64GB variant for Nexus 6 this time. We expect Google to bring out something extraordinary now from its next flagship smartphone Nexus 6…

Price: Rs.25000+

Nexus 8 Tablet Rumors: Specs Of Alleged Google Tablet Incl. 8.9-inch Screen And Will Have A ‘Premium Price Tag’ Plus High-End Features

2014-04-23T04:12:00.005-07:00

Nexus 8 tablet rumors: Speculations on the features of the Nexus 8 tablet will turn a year old very soon, fueled primary by an image [see below] that was spotted in Google Android’s website. The photo shows a woman holding a Nexus slab that seems bigger than the current Nexus 7 available.Based on recent reports, it depicts the supposed upcoming tablet as having as being 8.9-inch big and having a premium price tag for its possibly high-end features.

Although the Nexus 8 was said to appear by the holiday season of 2013, nothing was seen in sight. But a new set of predictions has been available lately, this one from Pocket Lint who notes that the Nexus 8 will have an 8.9-inch screen, citing a note from IHS Technology.

The technology consultancy firm told CNET that that is familiar with Google’s plans to release a larger Nexus tablet later this year. It said that the slab will have a “high performance screen,” signifying that the new tablet will have high-end features.

Production for the Nexus 8 tablet is said to begin this summer (July or August 2014) and quantities will be limited. There won’t be as much supply as the Nexus 7 and IHS Technology notes that “it will have a premium price tag to support the specifications.”

The source who shared her knowledge on the Nexus 8 details said that she “would not be surprised if its higher than $299,” reported Pocket Lint. If so, it would put the upcoming device in the range of an Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9. The latter has an excellent screen for the money with a 2560 x 1600 resolution. It’s expected then that this would appear on the Nexus 8 as well.

IHS Technology also said that it is expecting the Nexus 8 tablet to be manufactured by HTC. Previous rumors have suggested that LG and Asus are both in consideration to create the device.

Rumors n the unit is only expected to increase as the market nears the summer season where product releases from notable tech giants are slated.

Sony Xperia M2 dual Specifications, Price and Overall Rating

2014-04-23T04:10:00.001-07:00

Price (in India):Rs.21,900/-

Overall Rating: 3.9/5

Spicefications:

Also known as Sony Xperia M2 dual D2302

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
	SIM	Dual SIM (Micro-SIM, dual stand-by)
	Announced	2014, February
	Status	Available. Released 2014, April

BODY	Dimensions	139.7 x 71.1 x 8.6 mm (5.5 x 2.80 x 0.34 in)
BODY	Weight	148 g (5.22 oz)

DISPLAY	Type	TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	540 x 960 pixels, 4.8 inches (~229 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes, up to 4 fingers
	Protection	Scratch-resistant glass

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration; MP3 ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD, up to 32 GB
MEMORY	Internal	8 GB, 1 GB RAM

DATA	GPRS	Up to 107 kbps
	EDGE	Up to 296 kbps
	Speed	HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	Yes, v4.0 with A2DP
	NFC	Yes
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0, USB On-the-go, USB Host

CAMERA	Primary	8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
	Features	Geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization, HDR, panorama
	Video	Yes, 1080p
	Secondary	Yes

FEATURES	OS	Android OS, v4.3 (Jelly Bean)
	Chipset	Qualcomm MSM8226-0 Snapdragon 400
	CPU	Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7
	GPU	Adreno 305
	Sensors	Accelerometer, proximity, compass
	Messaging	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, IM, Push Email
	Browser	HTML5
	Radio	FM radio with RDS
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	Black, White, Purple
		- ANT+ support - SNS integration - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - MP4/H.263/H.264 player - MP3/eAAC+/WAV player - Document viewer - Photo viewer/editor - Voice memo/dial - Predictive text input

BATTERY		Non-removable Li-Ion 2300 mAh battery
	Stand-by	Up to 580 h (2G) / Up to 597 h (3G)
	Talk time	Up to 11 h 14 min (2G) / Up to 12 h (3G)
	Music play	Up to 37 h

HTC to manufacture Google Nexus 8: Report

2014-04-23T03:51:00.003-07:00

NEW DELHI: Google and HTC are set for a reunion. The two companies first came together to bring the world's first Android phone to the market, named HTC Dream. HTC also made the first Nexus smartphone for Google, named Nexus One, before other companies like Samsung, LG and Asus were contracted to make Nexus devices.

However, HTC and Google may be coming together once again, this time to make the first Nexus 8 tablet. According to a report by Digitimes, Google has partnered with HTC to manufacture the upcoming Nexus 8 tablet. The device is set to be launched in the third quarter of 2014, the report added citing "sources from the upstream supply chain."

Google plans to adopt a new design in the next-generation tablet and has thus decided to switch to a new manufacturer.

The report also says that Google tried to contract HTC to make the first-generation Nexus 7 tablet, but was turned down by the Taiwanese manufacturer as it was trying to streamline its own phone business at the time.

Sources also say that the Google does not plan to be as aggressive about Nexus 8 as it was with the first-generation Nexus 7 tablet. As Nexus tablets were introduced to push Android's penetration in the tablet market, a task which now seems to have been accomplished with declining marketshare of Apple's iPad.

The report also adds, "With Nexus tablets no longer having a significant influence in the tablet market, some market watchers believe the new device could be the last tablet Google releases."

According to earlier reports, Google will unveil the Nexus 8 tablet at the I/O developer conference in June this year. The device will run on the upcoming Android 4.5 operating system and will be powered by Intel BayTrail processor, even though Qualcomm is said to be "striving hard for orders."

'2048' is the new 'Flappy Bird:' Adds more frustration to the mobile gaming space

2014-03-22T09:31:00.003-07:00

MENTS

Frustrated that Flappy Bird is gone? Cry not! A new as addicting, as simple, and as frustrating game has hit the mobile gaming space. Haven't heard of "2048" yet?
(Photo : Mikael Co)

The new game on the mobile gaming space is named simply as2048. It can be seen as a game for math lovers but essentially anyone who can recognize numbers will be able to play the game.While the creator of Flappy Bird has announced that the sensational game might make a much-awaited comeback soon, there is another game that is gaining a lot of buzz.

It does not involve any amazing graphics but just numbers popping up on a minimalist, four by four grid. The objective is to combine tiles sporting the same number until you get a tile that shows "2048."

Simple, right? No.

Just like Flappy Bird, it looks utterly simple but far from being simple. It is free. It is addicting. It is frustrating. The game demands a lot of patience and gray matter working to win.

Those who will be playing on their computers just need to press the arrow keys while those on their mobile devices will have to just swipe their screens to move the "2," "4", "8," "16," and so on tiles to add them up together . So, if the gamer can move the "2" and "2" next to each other and push one to the other, that will add up to become "4." Player needs to do that to matching tiles until one tile shows "2048."

There are no Super Mario green pipes or a cityscape background but just likeFlappy Bird, 2048 is designed to be frustrating enough. Players will not see a bird hitting a pipe or hearing a thud as it falls flat face to the ground but the screen will simply show "Game Over"-- over and over again until you solve the puzzle.

The new gaming craze was created by Gabriele Cirulli, a young programmer who lives in northern Italy. The game clearly takes inspiration from Veewo Studio's 1024 and Asher Vollmer'sThrees.

"I like to look at the things I use daily and ask myself questions such as 'Is this good enough?', or 'How could I improve it?'. Something that 'just works' isn't good enough for me. The design and user experience of the tools I use plays a very important role for me, and this aspect of my personality is reflected in my work, too. Almost-maniacal attention to detail is one of my flaws and strengths," wrote the 19-year-old programmer on his website.

"I taught myself a great portion of the things I know, such as the English language and Design and Development for the Web, and I keep learning new things every day. I love to design and build products that look good and express their philosophy through their visual aspect. I also have a devotion to good typography," Cirulli added.

Whether Cirulli will be like Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen who will pull out his creation when it starts to affect people's productivity or life in general is not for certain.

As of reporting, the website of the official version of 2048 has been tweeted almost 75,000 times. On Google Play Store, it has been reviewed 9,411 times and has been recommended by almost 2,500 people.

The statistics on how many smartphones and tablet screens have been thrown onto floors by their owners-- not yet in.

Google announces Android Wear, its Android OS for smartwatches and wearables

2014-03-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

Google - Android Wear (Photo Courtesy of YouTube)

Google has officially announced Android's submission into the wearables community with project 'Android Wear'. The developers behind the project aim to integrate a variety of features into the Android powered wearables which will heavily rely on the Google Now functionality.

Along with this announcement Google stated that they are working with a number of partners which will bring Android powered wearables to the market by the end of the year.

As per reports, Asus, HTC, LG, Motorola and Samsung; chip makers Broadcom, Imagination, Intel, Mediatek and Qualcomm; and fashion brands like the Fossil Group will bring you watches powered by Android Wear later this year.

Google released this on their blog site while making the announcement.

'Most of us are rarely without our smartphones in hand. These powerful super computers keep us connected to the world and the people we love. But we're only at the beginning; we’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s possible with mobile technology. That’s why we’re so excited about wearables—they understand the context of the world around you, and you can interact with them simply and efficiently, with just a glance or a spoken word.'

They also released a bit of information about the Android Wear.

'Today we’re announcing Android Wear, a project that extends Android to wearables. And we’re starting with the most familiar wearable—watches. Going well beyond the mere act of just telling you the time, a range of new devices along with an expansive catalog of apps will give you:

Useful information when you need it most. Android Wear shows you info and suggestions you need, right when you need them. The wide variety of Android applications means you’ll receive the latest posts and updates from your favorite social apps, chats from your preferred messaging apps, notifications from shopping, news and photography apps, and more.

Straight answers to spoken questions. Just say “Ok Google” to ask questions, like how many calories are in an avocado, what time your flight leaves, and the score of the game. Or say “Ok Google” to get stuff done, like calling a taxi, sending a text, making a restaurant reservation or setting an alarm.

The ability to better monitor your health and fitness. Hit your exercise goals with reminders and fitness summaries from Android Wear. Your favorite fitness apps can give you real-time speed, distance and time information on your wrist for your run, cycle or walk.

Your key to a multi screen world. Android Wear lets you access and control other devices from your wrist. Just say “Ok Google” to fire up a music playlist on your phone, or cast your favorite movie to your TV. There’s a lot of possibilities here so we’re eager to see what developers build.

Google also released a developer preview that can be downloaded which will allow developers to bring features from their existing Android apps to smartwatches and other wearables that are running Android Wear.

Google coupled this announcement with another another video

Google Makes HTTPS For Gmail Mandatory

2014-03-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

Google no longer allows Gmail users to turn off HTTPS encryption. The move protects data going between Google's servers and users.

Moving to restore trust in cloud computing services, Google said Thursday that it has made encrypted HTTPS connections mandatory for Gmail.

"Today's change means that no one can listen in on your messages as they go back and forth between you and Gmail's servers -- no matter if you're using public WiFi or logging in from your computer, phone or tablet," Nicolas Lidzborski, Google security engineering lead, wrote in a blog post.

The company turned HTTPS on by default in 2010. From then until now, users were able to disable it -- for the sake of marginal speed gains or compatibility -- but no longer.

Google has long been at the forefront of online security, partially out of necessity, because it is frequently targeted by hackers. It was one of the first online companies to introduce two-step authentication. And it says Google Apps for Government was the first set of cloud computing apps to receive Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) certification from the US government. (Microsoft disputed this in 2011, and Google said Microsoft's allegations were false.)

[Take control of your privacy on Google.

Lidzborski wrote that all messages Gmail users send or receive are now encrypted when moving internally. "This ensures that your messages are safe not only when they move between you and Gmail's servers, but also as they move between Google's data centers -- something we made a top priority after last summer's revelations."

The revelations at issue are those that arose from the NSA documents revealed by Edward Snowden. They have called into question the security of cloud computing and have prompted some companies to reconsider their commitment to third-party hosting.

Mandatory HTTPS connections might secure data in transit between Google's servers and its customers, but it should not be mistaken for true end-to-end encryption. Google's Gmail algorithms can still read Gmail text to serve ads. And the company can still access Gmail messages if ordered to do so by a court or at its discretion, as Microsoft did recently when it looked through the communications of a Hotmail-using blogger to identify an employee who allegedly leaked Windows source code to the blogger. However, given the outcry over Microsoft taking such action without a court order, it's doubtful Google is eager to avail itself of the access rights it has under its terms of service agreement.

Lidzborski also wrote that Gmail was up and running 99.978% of last year, which works out to an average downtime of two hours for each user during that period.

Hero MotoCorp showcases concept diesel scooter

2014-03-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

Hero says four models, including a hybrid scooter, would be launched during the next fiscal.

PTI

The country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp on Wednesday unveiled a 150cc diesel concept scooter and four other models, including a hybrid scooter.

Barring the 150cc diesel model 'RNT', the company plans to launch all other four models in the next financial year.

"Barring RNT, which is a concept, all four models, including the hybrid scooter would be launched during the next fiscal," Hero MotoCorp Managing Director and CEO Pawan Munjal told reporters.

"RNT, Leap (hybrid scooter) and 250 cc bike HXR250R are completely new products, while Dash (110cc scooter) and Xtreme Sports (150cc bike) models are based on existing platforms, Munjal added.

"We plan to launch 150cc Xtreme Sports bike in the first quarter, 110cc scooter Dash in the second quarter and Leap and 250cc sports bike in the second half of the next fiscal," he said.

When asked about the time-frame for the launch of the RNT model, which sports a 150-cc diesel engine, Munjal said: "It's a concept and we will have to do much research before we bring it to the commercial arena."

Terming the product unique, Munjal said the company "will take time" and has not put a date for the launch of the vehicle.

"As we go ahead, we would like to add accessories, variants to the model...it will have usage in various countries besides India due to the kind of features it has," he said.

RNT sports great fuel efficiency and would come with various features including two-wheel drive, he added.

Speaking on the hybrid Leap - with both petrol as well electric engine - Munjal said the company would first launch the vehicle in western markets and then bring it to India.

"The hybrid scooter will have a range of around 340 km on one single charge and a tank full...the scooter's range is better than any electric vehicle," Munjal said.

Hero MotoCorp Senior Vice President (Marketing and Sales) Anil Dua said the company has already completed the launch of 11 models of the 15 models it had showcased in October 2013.

"We have already launched 11 models during the last quarter and the remaining four would be launched in the current (Jan-March) quarter," Dua said.

Auto Expo to help revival: Industry

2014-03-19T09:08:00.001-07:00

According to SIAM, as many as 70 new vehicles will be unveiled at the event, including 26 global unveilings of which 15 will be that of cars

New Delhi: The Indian automobile industry Thursday said it expects next week's Auto Expo to help revive the sector.

"With 26 global unveilings and a host of other events we expect the auto expo to generate a lot of interest and revive industry growth," said Vikram Kirloskar, president, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

"Last year was a very tough year for the auto industry on the whole with factors such as slowdown in the economy, rising fuel costs, and less disposable income negatively affecting sales."

Last year, the annual passenger car sales declined for the first time in last 11 years, falling by 9.59 percent at 1,807,011 units sold from an off-take of 1,998,703 units in 2012.

Last month, domestic car sales declined by 4.52 percent at 132,561 units from 138,835 units in the corresponding month of 2012. Total vehicles sales across categories fell by 1.21 percent to 1,431,632 units in December 2013 from 1,449,203 units off-take in the corresponding month of 2012.

According to SIAM, as many as 70 new vehicles will be unveiled at the event, including 26 global unveilings of which 15 will be that of cars.

The 12th edition of the Auto Expo will also host 55 exhibitors this time, up from from 45 exhibitors at the last show. However, the participation at the component show has come down from 1,500 exhibitors to 1,100.

The expo will have two separate events -- one for the auto show that will take place Feb 7-11 at Greater Noida and the other being a components show which will take place Feb 6-9 at Pragati Maidan.

The organisers said the decision to hold to separate events was due to space constraints.

"This is the first time that the show has been split into two - components and motor show - as the growth in the magnitude of the show warranted it," said Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the co-organiser.

The organisers expect around one lakh visitors per day at the auto show and about 10,000 footfalls per day in the components show.

Mahindra and Mahindra plans new mass-market SUV; eyes lowest-price slot

2014-03-19T09:06:00.003-07:00

The company is currently working on 2-3 platforms for this new SUV, which it plans to launch beginning 2015 at a price even below that of Scorpio.

Davos: After huge success of its existing models like Scorpio and XUV 500, auto major Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) is working on a new mass-market SUV and plans to position it as the lowest-price vehicle in this segment.

The company is currently working on 2-3 platforms for this new SUV, which it plans to launch beginning 2015 at a price even below that of Scorpio, senior executive Pawan Goenka told PTI in an interview here.

Goenka, executive director and President (Automotive and Farm Equipments) at M&M, was here for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, which was held from January 21-25.

Mahindra group, a $17 billion multinational group employing over 185,000 people in over 100 countries, is a major player in automotive business through its flagship entity M&M. Besides, it is also present across various other sectors including technology, aerospace, defence, financial services, hospitality, retail and real estate.

"If you look at journey of Mahindras, starting from Scorpio, we basically have pushed the envelope for making the mass market higher in terms of price," said Goenka, who is known as father of the highly successful Scorpio.

Asked what next to expect from M&M in the Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) segment, Goenka said, "When we started selling Scorpio at about Rs 6 lakh, there was no mass market product being sold at Rs 6 lakh.

"Nothing was sold more than few hundred units at Rs 6 lakh at that time and then we came and sold 3,000-4,000 Scorpios a month at that price.

"Then, when we launched we launched XUV at Rs 12 lakh, again there was no mass market product sold at that price. But we again came in and pushed the envelop. We have done all these," he said.

"Now, going beyond Rs 12 lakh price position is probably unlikely in India right now. There has been a very significant change in the segmentation of this SUV business where the smaller sub-four meter, may be even petrol driven, SUVs are suddenly becoming very popular.

"So for Mahindras, the next big thing would be not to go from Scorpio to XUV to something bigger and more premium, but to come on this end, that is below Scorpio, to see how do we go into the newly created segment of sub-four metre, primarily five-passenger vehicles," Goenka said.

"That is where our next big bet will be," he said. Asked whether this new vehicle could be the lowest price product in the SUV segment, Goenka replied in affirmative.

About the possible timeline, he said, "We will have 2-3 new platforms that we will be launching starting 2015."

Goenka also said that Mahindra group was very active in overseas markets, while the India growth story has also remained intact and the same has been asserted by Indian leaders during WEF summit at Davos, Switzerland.

First all new Renault Koleos owner is Salman Khan

2014-03-19T09:01:00.002-07:00

The Renault Koleos boasts of a 173 PS engine coupled to an automatic 4x4, 6-speed transmission.

The French automobile giant Renault have just unveiled the 2014 edition of their premium SUV, The all new Renault Koleos. The swanky SUV has made a dashing debut with none other than ‘Jai Ho’ star Salman Khan. Salman was handed the keys to the all new Koleos at the Renault Star Guild Awards 2014 by Mr. Sumit Sawhney - Country CEO and Managing Director for Renault Operations in India.

Tata Motors unveils Bolt, Zest — first new cars in four years

2014-03-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

In a bid to revive its fortunes, Tata is pinning its hopes for now on the all-new Bolt hatchback and Zest entry-level sedan to tap into the small car market

New Delhi: India's largest carmaker Tata Motors unveiled its first new models in four years on Monday, banking on two small cars to reverse the company's sliding passenger car sales in the face of growing foreign competition.

Sales of Tata passenger vehicles in India fell an annual 37 percent in the first nine months of the fiscal year that ends in March, according to data from Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the steepest drop in an ailing industry headed for a second straight year of declining sales.

Rising interest rates and high fuel costs in Asia's third-largest economy, growing at its slowest pace in a decade, have pushed consumers to delay the purchase of big ticket items.

In a bid to revive its fortunes, Tata is pinning its hopes for now on the all-new Bolt hatchback and Zest entry-level sedan to tap into the small car market that accounts for the bulk of passenger vehicle sales in India.

Last year, the India autos giant watched as its rivals launched a number of popular models, including Honda Motor Co with its entry-level sedan Amaze and Hyundai Motor Co's Grand i10 hatchback. Tata, meanwhile, only tweaked and refreshed existing models.

Small cars are top sellers in a country where most people prefer to drive cheaper, fuel-efficient compact cars as roads are clogged with traffic and parking in big cities is hard to come by.

Tata will showcase the Bolt and Zest, to be made at its Pune factory in western India, at the Indian auto expo that starts on Wednesday.

"Clearly the compact sedan and the hatch present the biggest opportunity from a market standpoint," said Ankush Arora, Tata Motors' senior vice president and head of the commercial-passenger vehicle business unit, said on Monday.

Over the last two years, Tata has relied on strong performance at its luxury Jaguar Land Rover unit to offset weak sales at home, where it is losing market share to Hyundai Motor, Maruti Suzuki and others.

FRESH DESIGNS NEEDED

Monday's unveiling of the new Tata cars came just over a week after Karl Slym, who was the company's managing director, died after falling from the 22nd floor of a Bangkok hotel, in what police said may have been suicide.

The cars would have been the first new passenger vehicles to be launched under the leadership of Slym, who joined Tata in October 2012 and was tasked with reversing the sales slump.

While his death has caused worries about potential delays to the company's turnaround plans, Tata Motors has said it has a pipeline of products through the next six years.

"What Tata Motors really needs is fresh designs. So far it has been depending on slight changes and model extensions," said Anil Sharma, an analyst with IHS Automotive.

"It doesn't matter which model or what segment they are targeting. It's absolutely critical for them to start somewhere and this is a positive move for them."

The company has not launched an all-new Tata-branded passenger vehicle since its Aria crossover in 2010.

Last month, it unveiled the first variant from its new series of petrol engines, which will power some of its future cars, including the Bolt and Zest. Most of Tata's passenger vehicle sales are for diesel-powered models.

Tata Motors, India's largest maker of trucks and buses, has been posting losses in its domestic operations for the last few quarters, but strong JLR sales have rescued it