Sony Xperia X: Falls short on performance

Sony Xperia X: Falls short on performance

When I first got my hands on the Sony Xperia X, I was filled with a sense of deja vu - the reason being the uncanny similarity the phone shares with the Xperia Z series.

The phone has a metallic back with a 2.5D curved glass front. The corners are more rounded which makes it comfortable to hold. The power button is located in the middle on the right side, just above the volume rocker. The power button doubles up as a fingerprint sensor and setting the sensor up was easy. The sensor is pretty responsive and for people who favour one-handed usage, the sensor placement comes in handy.

specification of sony xperia X

The Xperia X comes with a 5-inch Full HD display. The colours are vivid and sharp and with the correct brightness level, using it in sunlight isn't a problem either.

The phone runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and is devoid of excessive pre-installed apps. The app drawer is akin to that of a stock Android.

Though the Xperia X falls in the premium segment, the hardware doesn't quite match up. Under the hood it houses a hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 processor with 3GB of RAM. I would have expected such a processor in mid-range smartphones. With a price tag of Rs 48,990, Sony could have easily gone for an upgrade. Read More.

HTC One X9: Looks sturdy, works great

HTC One X9: Looks sturdy, works great

If there is one smartphone brand that has always been in the limelight for its looks, undoubtedly it is HTC. And the company has lived up to the benchmark it has set over the years with the launch of its new One X9. Available for Rs 25,990, the smartphone has the premium look to woo the audience along with the power-packed performance it delivers.

The latest launch from the Taiwan-based smartphone maker will take on the likes of the Xiaomi Mi 5, Google Nexus 5X, Moto X Style and Coolpad Max, which are priced under Rs 28,000. The price is a little on the higher side, but then, good things don't come cheap, do they?

The phone comes with a 5.5-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) along with a screen resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels. The screen is coated with scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass. To top it all, the phone has the ability to customise the display option. This includes the ability to manually adjust the colour tint of the display. Now your eyes wont hurt in the dark.

It weighs only 175 g despite having an all-metal exterior which also adds to the sturdiness of the phone. One very trivial yet important quality that the phone boasts of is the amazing grip quality it has because of its oblique edges and a non-slippery back cover. Read more

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Moto G4 Plus: A mixed bag

Moto G4 Plus: A mixed bag



Motorola's newest offering, the Moto G4 Plus, comes with better specs than its predecessor but is that enough to grab one's attention? I wasn't convinced so I took it out for a spin.

The G4 Plus has a plastic back with metal edges, which for a mid-range smartphone feels rather cheap. The fashion conscious would rather go for a Redmi Note 3 or even the LeEco 1s. The phone, however, is comfortable to hold. It comes with a 5.5-inch full HD display with a resolution of 1,080x1,920 p. The colours are vibrant and sharp but could have been a tad better. It has the stock Motorola user interface and runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

Under the hood, it houses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 with 4GB of RAM. The G4 Plus can handle multitasking and RAM-heavy games. However, during one of my missions in Order and Chaos, I noticed a bit of lag. If you prefer games such asCandy Crush or Temple Run, you have nothing to worry about. But, if you like playing heavy games such as Order and Chaos, Injustice and Ashphalt, I'd recommend you choose a different phone.

The G4 Plus also comes with an astonishingly fast fingerprint sensor. Located just below the display, you might mistake the square-shaped sensor as the home button. Setting it up was easy and didn't take much time. Read more

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India the only bright spot for Apple as global iPhone sales fall

India has become the last bastion of growth for technology giant Apple which for the first time witnessed a drop in sales of its flagship iPhone for the quarter that ended March 31. While global iPhone sales fell by 16 per cent in the quarter, iPhone sales in India were up by 56 per cent during the period.

On Wednesday, Apple reported its first drop in quarterly sales in over a decade, with revenues dropping by 13 per cent to $50.6 billion while profits slid by 22 per cent to $10.5 billion for the three months that ended March 31. Growth ofiPhone sales in US and China (the company’s two largest markets) has begun to fall as the markets have hit saturation, forcing the company to turn its attention to India.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, said that with a global smartphone penetration of 42 per cent, there was still room for growth, especially in emerging markets. “For example, in India our iPhone sales were up 56% from a year ago,” he said in a call with investors to review Apple’s financial results.

India has begun showing consistent high double digit growth for iPhone sales, with the Cupertino company registering a 76 per cent increase during the October to December quarter. This demand from the emerging markets (especially India) drove Apple to release its most affordable smartphone yet, the 4-inch iPhone SE that’s now being aimed at people switching over from Android to the iPhone.

While sales of the SE was not reflected in the Jan-Mar quarter since the device launched only on March 31, “so far this quarter we're seeing terrific customer response,” said Cook. “The addition of the iPhone SE in the iPhone lineup places us in a better strategic position to attract even more customers into our ecosystem.”Read More.

India the only bright spot for Apple as global iPhone sales fall

India has become the last bastion of growth for technology giant Apple which for the first time witnessed a drop in sales of its flagship iPhone for the quarter that ended March 31. While global iPhone sales fell by 16 per cent in the quarter, iPhone sales in India were up by 56 per cent during the period.

On Wednesday, 

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Apple reported its first drop in quarterly sales in over a decade, with revenues dropping by 13 per cent to $50.6 billion while profits slid by 22 per cent to $10.5 billion for the three months that ended March 31. Growth ofiPhone sales in US and China (the company’s two largest markets) has begun to fall as the markets have hit saturation, forcing the company to turn its attention to India.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, said that with a global smartphone penetration of 42 per cent, there was still room for growth, especially in emerging markets. “For example, in India our iPhone sales were up 56% from a year ago,” he said in a call with investors to review Apple’s financial results.

India has begun showing consistent high double digit growth for iPhone sales, with the Cupertino company registering a 76 per cent increase during the October to December quarter. This demand from the emerging markets (especially India) drove Apple to release its most affordable smartphone yet, the 4-inch iPhone SE that’s now being aimed at people switching over from Android to the iPhone.

While sales of the SE was not reflected in the Jan-Mar quarter since the device launched only on March 31, “so far this quarter we're seeing terrific customer response,” said Cook. “The addition of the iPhone SE in the iPhone lineup places us in a better strategic position to attract even more customers into our ecosystem.”Read More.

Leaves a mark

Creo, the newest smartphone-maker, claims to deliver a great experience with its Mark 1. With a promised update every month, Creo Mark 1 claims to deliver a better phone with each upgrade. Though, I was not able to test out the monthly update, I decided to see whether the Mark 1 could hold its own.

The phone looks very stylish but the first thing I noticed was how heavy it was. It is a bit uncomfortable to use and it would need some time to get used to it.

The Mark 1 comes with a 5.5-inch screen with a QHD display. The colours are vibrant and the display is crystal clear.

It houses an octa-core MediaTek Helio X10 processor and 3GB of RAM, which is quite decent. I downloaded the usual RAM-heavy games and tested them out. The phone performed well though it did heat up a bit. But as for lag, there was none. I played Injustice, and the experience was pretty smooth.

It has a 21-megapixel (MP) primary and an 8 MP secondary camera. It also has four different camera modes: Panorama, live photos, 3D and normal mode. Live photo mode is basically a 3-second video. The 3D mode is an interesting one. You can focus on an object and then move the camera around it and the resultant picture will give you a 3D view of the object. I tried clicking a picture of a statue in my house in 3D mode and the output was great.

The Mark 1 runs its custom Fuel OS, which is based on Android Lollipop. The user interface is minimalistic and a delight to use. It has some great features such as Sense, Retriever and Echo. Sense is a search feature which searches keywords across the apps while Echo is a voicemail feature which transfers the call to voicemail if the phone is left unattended for 30 seconds. This can be done manually as well by swiping up to the mic symbol on the call screen. Retriever is a very helpful feature; if your phone is stolen or simply lost, with this feature you can locate it and even remotely erase personal data.Read More.

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LG K7: Offers nothing special

The K7 is designed well. LG calls it a glossy pebble design. The main feature of the design is the lack of buttons on the sides



LG launched the K7, along with the K10, last week. This is the company's first big launch in the sub-Rs 10,000 segment this year.

The K7 is designed well. LG calls it a glossy pebble design. The main feature of the design is the lack of buttons on the sides. The clutter-free design will impress anyone who wants a looker. The power button is on the plastic back, close to the camera and flash. The volume buttons flank the power button. The body is curved and it is easy to carry around.

The LG K7 sports a 5-inch display. Its touch interface is smooth and there is no lag. But, the phone's screen makes it difficult for practical use. In direct sunlight, one can read emails only if the brightness is set to 100 per cent; this might be fine in itself but is not on a par with its competitors.

While the display is slightly curved due to LG's Arc glass and is pleasing to the eyes, its resolution of 854x480 pixels is old technology. It is difficult to grasp why LG went in for such an average display. See more features about LG K7.

LG K10: Camera saves the day

If you are in love with selfies, then LG K10 should save you from all the hassles for a picture perfect one. The company's first ever "Made in India" smartphone, available for Rs 13,750, is an interesting launch by the South Korean giant. LG is vying to gain a foothold in a heavily competitive market dominated by the likes of Lenovo, Samsung, Motorola and Xiaomi.

However, the latest launch does not look very attractive as the specifications it offers are not on a par with the hole it burns in your pocket. The dual-sim phone comes with built-in memory of 16 GB (with an option to expand it to 32 GB) coupled with a not so effective 2GB of RAM. The K10's competitors, namely the

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, LeEco Le 1s, Lenovo Vibe K4 Note, and the Motorola Moto G Turbo Edition are going to make it difficult for LG to capture a pie of the fiercely contested market share.

The Lenovo Vibe K4 Note offers better specifications than the K10. The K4 Note runs on an octa-core Mediatek MT6753 processor, whereas the K10 boasts of a quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor. The K4 Note is backed by a bigger 3,300mAh battery as compared to the 2,300mAh one that features in the K10. And to top it all, Lenovo's model is priced at Rs 11,999.

LG has kept the graphical user interface of the phone very basic yet informative. The contemporary pebble look laced with a 2.4D arc glass adds an overall style statement to the phone. The standout feature of the phone, however, is the camera and the features that come along with it. It has an interesting fist recognition ability that helps click selfies when you place your fist in front of the camera. It also comes with a front camera flash that enhances the quality of the pictures clicked. The battery backup is quite decent and does not give any trouble while charging either.

But, can brilliant camera add-ons save the day for LG which is trying to compete with the big boys of the smartphone arena? Can LG's new offering carve out a niche for itself in such a crowded space? The answer is for you to find out; go ahead and lay your hands on it.

Vivo V3 Max: Performance to the max

Vivo recently launched the Vivo V3 and V3 Max, boasting of a super-fast fingerprint scanner and overall a powerful phone. I got my hands on the V3 Max. The rose gold metal back and stylish finish makes it look similar to the iPhone 6S plus. So, in terms of appearance the phone is a looker.

The Vivo V3 Max comes with a 5.5-inch full HD display. The colours are sharp and watching videos on the phone is a delight. The phone runs the Funtouch OS based on Android 5.1 Lollipop. Usually, I have a problem with custom OSes, but Vivo's Funtouch managed not to get on my nerves. The phone has a feature called 'Dynamic Sliding Effects', which basically animates the way you scroll through your app drawer. Swiping up on the home screen brings up the control centre. And though it seems novel on Androids, it is a standard feature in iPhones. So one can't help but think, whether Vivo is just trying to knock off iOS at places where its own design lacunae exist.

The phone houses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor with 4 GB of RAM. This is hands down my favourite part - testing a phone's performance. 4 GB of RAM is more than enough for a heavy smartphone user. So, I installed as many as apps as I could and took the phone out for a spin. First, I tried opening the camera app - which is slow to load in most phones - but to my surprise, there was no lag. Next, I played Order and Chaos - a RAM-heavy online game - the phone didn't lag or heat up. So far, so good.

Next on my list was its camera - a 13-megapixel (MP) primary and an 8MP secondary. The photos are clear and sharp; there is no colour loss evident. Low-light photos are better than most but still not the best. The front camera clicks decent selfies and its beauty mode has a hilarious feature called 'Makeup'. Basically, after you select the beauty mode, the 'Makeup' feature will let you choose from different filters called 'Candy', 'Cool', 'Social', etc. Once selected, these filters will make your face appear as if you were wearing make-up. At the risk of sounding sexist, it is safe to say that this feature will attract a lot of attention from women.

The phone has a more-than-enough 3,000-mAh battery which lasted for about one-and-a-half days on a full charge and with heavy usage. It has a battery saver mode which is pretty effective. It supports Qualcomm's Quick Charge 2.0 which boasts of two hours of music playback on a five-minute charge. I tested it out and went through my entire music collection. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised.

The Vivo V3 Max takes multitasking quite literally. It has a split-screen feature which lets you use two apps simultaneously. I tried it out by watching a video and chatting with a friend on WhatsApp.

But the showstealer is the fingerprint sensor. Located at the back of the phone, the sensor is lightning fast. Once your fingerprint is registered, it wakes your phone the moment your skin makes contact with the phone. I've used and reviewed various phones with fast fingerprint sensors, but the V3 Max is hands down the fastest.

Priced at Rs 23,980, the Vivo V3 Max is a pretty good phone with decent specifications. But it may lose out to competitors such as OnePlus which offer similar specifications at a lower price.