MOBILE WIKIPEDIA: February 2014

Friday, 21 February 2014

Nokia Asha 503

Asha phones. They take you a long way, but yet make you always want more. In this case, more would mean something with Windows Phone inside. Looks like the right thing for Nokia to do - keep customers in the Lumia waiting room, and away from Android temptation. That said, the Ashas have been putting the smart in dumbphones for a while now, so a cheap droid isn't the only option that users shopping for a touch phone with apps, games and fast data can afford.

The Nokia Asha 501 did well to demonstrate the platform's new look and feel, ticking some right boxes for a smartphone wannabe: touchscreen, Wi-Fi, fresh and reasonably fluid OS, and an app store. The Asha 502 and Asha 503 followed it up - the first one adding to the camera, while the one we are looking at now is the lineup's top spot, the 3G-enabled Asha 503.

The Nokia Asha 503 is obviously the most feature-rich of the new Asha generation, with a Gorilla Glass-covered 3" QVGA capacitive display, a 5MP camera with LED flash, 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, optional dual-SIM support, plus expandable memory and the latest Asha Software Platform v1.2.

Sticking to a proven recipe, the new Asha 503 is available in six different flavors: yellow, black, green, red, blue and white. Nokia has those eye-catching paintjobs coated in an extra layer of icing, a nice and easy way to jazz up the looks. And it's a phone that looks fresh on the inside too - the swipe-driven UI with Fastlane, the ability to run a handful of popular apps and games, a proper app store, social services, good organizing skills and internet connectivity

It's a small handset with an even smaller screen and that won't be everyone's cup of tea. After all, screen real estate has only been getting cheaper. The resolution is nothing to write home about either, Ashas are at the very bottom of the food chain at QVGA. On a second thought, there're still droids launching with this kind of display resolution. On a positive note, the Asha 503's screen is covered with Gorilla Glass 2 and it is the first of its kind to offer Wi-Fi n connectivity, enabling faster data transfers.

Key features

Quad-band GSM, GPRS, EDGE
Dual-band 3G with HSPA
Optional dual-SIM support, dual standby, hot-swappable secondary microSIM
Nokia Asha software platform 1.2
3" QVGA capacitive touchscreen, ~133 ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 2
Proximity sensor
Accelerometer, display auto-rotation
64MB RAM, 128MB ROM, 40MB internal storage
Data-efficient Nokia Xpress browser
Nokia Store and 40 EA games for free
5.0 MP camera, VGA video recording @19fps, LED flash
microSD card support (up to 32 GB) and 4 GB microSD card in the box
Wi-Fi b/g/n connectivity
FM radio with RDS
Bluetooth v3.0
Standard microUSB port, charging
1200 mAh Li-Ion battery
Excellent loudspeaker performance
Solid codec support

Main disadvantages

Low-resolution screen
Fixed-focus camera
No smart dialing

Thursday, 20 February 2014

Nokia Lumia 1520

The Nokia Lumia 1520 is just like the rest of the premium Lumia smartphones we've seen, but bigger and faster. The advanced imaging and the custom app selection by Nokia will make the difference against Android phablets, with the Snapdragon 800 making sure the Finn won't feel outgunned. Sounds like a promise for the best experience yet on Windows Phone.

A few months ago Nokia was in the headlines for what seemed the wrongest of reasons to people who fondly remembered the Finns from their glory days. Voices were rising once again above the lamenting choir, about what might have been had Nokia gone with Android instead.

Oh well, we're well past the what-ifs and should-haves. And no, it's not because Microsoft's check has already been written. Nokia's first phabet has crossed into what was, until now, a strictly Android territory. And not just average droids either, but some of the biggest, meanest species of Android we have seen.

The Nokia Lumia 1520 didn't just tip-toe in, looking over its shoulder. Armed with a PureView camera, a 1080p display and a quad-core Snapdragon 800, the Finnish giant entered with a bang!

The latest GDR3 version of Windows Phone finally has support for quad-core Krait processors and Full HD displays. There's an attempt too, to make better use of the size and resolution by adding an extra column of contents across the interface. It was about time Microsoft brought the platform back in the hardware race and we are delighted to finally meet the first Windows Phone to aim for the pole position.

At first glance the Lumia 1520 looks like a magnified Lumia 1020 - it has the same design and build, only without the camera hump. The trademark unibody is the right bit more impressive at that size, while the PureView camera has lost some of its sensor area and half of its pixels, but hopefully kept the amazing image quality.

Nokia's Lumia Black update isn't bringing as many new features as Amber, while the GDR3 version mostly makes sure the OS would happily accommodate the new chipset and screen resolution. Users will perhaps have to wait for the 8.1 update for a notification center (hopefully) and a file manager (not too likely) among other things.

Key features

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
Quad-band 3G with 42 Mbps HSDPA and 5.7 Mbps HSUPA support
Penta-band LTE Cat4 support, 150Mbps downlink, 50Mbps uplink
6.0" 16M-color ClearBlack IPS CLD capacitive touchscreen of 1920 x 1080 pixels; Corning Gorilla Glass 2; Nokia Glance
20MP PureView sensor (15MP effective), 1/2.5" sensor size, ZEISS lens, Optical Image Stabilization, dual-LED flash
1080p@30fps video recording; 2x lossless digital zoom
1.3MP front-facing camera
Windows Phone 8 GDR3 OS with Nokia Black
2.2GHz quad-core Krait 400 CPU, Adreno 330 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset, 2GB of RAM
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
GPS receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS support
Free lifetime worldwide voice-guided navigation
32GB of inbuilt storage
microSD card slot, up to 64GB
Active noise cancellation with a dedicated mic
Wireless charging with optional accessories
Built-in accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensor
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
microUSB port
Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP and file transfers
SNS integration
Xbox Live integration and Xbox management
NFC support
Digital compass
Nokia Music
FM radio

Main disadvantages

Screen has average sunlight legibility
Non-user-replaceable battery
No system-wide file manager
No lockscreen shortcuts

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo

Three generations on, the Notes are gadgets that people can't seem to get enough of so a new, less expensive, version must be good news for everyone. Well, except perhaps the Note II. Anyway, what was rumored as a Lite version of the Galaxy Note 3, seems to match the description with lower screen and camera resolution, but a brand new chipset with six cores operating simultaneously, sees the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo step out the shadow of its premium namesake.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo is not a mini version per se - with a Duos version in tow, it's more like a new branch in the Note family tree. A fork down the road that shouldn't have been a surprise - Samsung would be fools to not try and capitalize on a popular and successful line of devices.

A six-core CPU based on ARM's big.LITTLE architecture, an 8MP camera with 1080p video and a SuperAMOLED screen are still solid credentials if you're not going to compete at the very top of the league. The S-Pen is of course a prominent part of the deal. Granted, the screen resolution is down but 720p isn't too bad. The screen is decently sharp, while promising to place less strain on the battery and keeping cost down.

Key features

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE; quad-band 3G with HSPA; LTE Cat 4 (LTE+ model only)
5.5" 16M-color 720p Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen; Adobe RGB mode
S Pen
Android OS v4.3 Jelly Bean with TouchWiz UI
Dual-core 1.7GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7, Mali-T624 GPU; Exynos 5260 chipset
2GB of RAM
8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash
1080p @ 30fps; continuous autofocus and stereo sound
2 MP front-facing camera, 1080p video recording
Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA
GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
16GB of built-in storage (11GB user available)
microSD card slot (up to 64GB)
microUSB 2.0 port
Bluetooth v4.0
NFC
IR port for remote control functionality
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
Accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, hall, ambient light and proximity sensors
Smart gestures: Smart stay, Smart pause, Smart scroll
Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
Ample 3,100mAh battery
Smart volume and Adapt Sound features for the music player

Main disadvantages

Large size makes single-hand operation problematic
No dedicated camera key
No FM radio
Shared camera interface makes framing tricky

Wednesday, 19 February 2014

Samsung Galaxy Core LTE

The Samsung Galaxy Core LTE crosses no lines to deliver what the company thinks is the right balance between equipment and price. Focus is on a single feature, until recently exclusive to premium smartphones - LTE connectivity.

It's a simple gameplan the Galaxy Core LTE is following, like a number of namesake predecessors, to offer strictly the essentials and little more. The original Galaxy Core was quite successful, and warranted a couple of upgrades. We guess most of the credit goes to the dual-SIM version. Less than a year later, the Core lineup is promoted to the LTE league.

Key features

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE; dual-band 3G with HSPA
4.5" 16M-color qHD capacitive touchscreen; 244ppi
Android OS v4.2.2 Jelly Bean with TouchWiz UI
Dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A9 CPU, PowerVR SGX 544MP GPU
1GB of RAM
2,100mAh Li-Ion battery
5MP autofocus camera with LED flash, 720p video recording @ 30fps, continuous autofocus
0.3 MP front-facing camera, VGA video recording
Wi-Fi b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Wireless Hotspot
GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
8GB of built-in storage
microSD card slot
microUSB v2.0
Bluetooth v4.0
Stereo FM radio
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
Accelerometer and proximity sensor

Main disadvantages

Mediocre performance
Uninspiring screen
Android version is not up to date

Tuesday, 18 February 2014

LG Nexus 5

Nexus phone releases are timed to let Google have the last word - and what a way to have it! A phone that matches any flagship on specs and premieres the latest OS version, but costs barely half as much as some of them. The Nexus 5 promises a great finale to yet another exciting smartphone season and it's not only the droids that stand to attention.

This could have been a deja-vu moment for everybody but the fifth gen Google phone will probably have to work harder than ever. There's already a bunch of Snapdragon-800-powered Android flagships, while Qualcomm's latest is ticking inside Windows Phone-powered devices by Nokia too and Apple has the new 64-bit A7 chipset.

On a second thought, Nexus phones have never been too keen on getting into the skirmish, keeping their distance, aloof and somewhat out of touch, nothing to prove to anyone. The best of Google on your homescreen - that's what it's all about - and at a price that's almost too good to be true.

The search giant is partnering with LG for a second year in a row. Whether the Koreans are offering the best production cost or both sides were happy with the Nexus 4, it's a choice we don't mind at all. Anyway, Android 4.4 KitKat on a five-inch full-HD screen, powered by a Snapdragon 800 is a package no one would say not to.

Check out the key specs to see what we're on about.

Key features

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
Penta-band 3G with HSPA; LTE cat3
4.95" 16M-color 1080p True HD IPS Plus FullHD capacitive touchscreen
Corning Gorilla Glass 3 display protection
Android OS v4.4 KitKat
Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400 CPU, 2 GB RAM, Adreno 330 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset
8MP autofocus camera with LED flash, geotagging, optical image stabilization, photo sphere, 1080p video recording @ 30fps with continuous autofocus and stereo sound; HDR mode, Dual recording, optical image stabilization
1.3 MP front-facing camera
16GB/32GB of built-in storage
microUSB port, USB host support, USB on-the-go, SlimPort TV-out
Bluetooth v4.0
NFC
Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA
GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
Voice commands
Accelerometer and proximity sensor
Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
2300mAh Li-Po battery, wireless charging

Main disadvantages

Non-expandable storage
Poor video and audio codec support out of the box
Non user-replaceable battery
Comparatively poor battery life (except for calls)
Loudspeaker is on the quiet side
Limited availability at launch

Monday, 17 February 2014

HTC Desire 700 dual sim

A flagship, a mini and a phablet. From there on, it's all you Desire. This pretty much sums up the Taiwanese smartphone portfolio where the once premium Desire line is doing double and triple shifts to cover all kinds of price brackets, shapes and sizes in the midrange. It's a place where dual SIM support is closer to a must-have than a nice-to-have.

The HTC Desire 700 dual-SIM has bits of the character of the current flagship but some of the smarts have been obviously traded for size and an extra SIM slot. There's no mistaking where the Desire 700 got its looks from but instead of a gapless aluminum unibody this one has been treated to glossy plastic. The upside is a detachable back panel and hence, a removable battery.

At 5 inches, the Desire 700's screen is bigger than the 4.7-inch screen of the HTC One, but the qHD resolution means that the pixel density is at lower-midrange levels. The good news is the front-mounted stereo speakers are available here as well.

The back isn't adorned in Ultrapixel glory but a regular 8MP camera more than suffices for the price range. The HTC Desire 700 greets you with Sense 5 atop the aging Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean with, hopefully, an update to at least Android 4.3 in the works (and the more advanced Sense 5.5 in tow).

Hoping to balance price-conscious decisions and delivering value to customers, the Desire 700 dual-SIM looks like a good match for the Asian markets where a big screen and multiple SIM slots go a long way. That said, like others before it, the Desire 700 will certainly find its way to the old continent, too.

Let's see everything the HTC Desire 700 dual-SIM has to offer in our breakdown below.

Key features

SIM 1 GSM 850/900/1800/1900, SIM 2: GSM 900/1800/1900 HSDPA 850/900/2100
5" 540 x 960 pixel Super LCD2 capacitive touchscreen, 220 ppi
Android OS v4.1.2 Jelly Bean with Sense UI 5.0
Spreadtrum Shark chipset, quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU @1.2GHz, Mali-400 GPU, 1GB of RAM
8 MP autofocus camera, 1/3.2'' sensor; LED flash
1080p video recording @ 22fps with HDR mode
2.1MP front-facing camera, 1080p video recording
Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA; Wireless TV-out; Wi-Fi Hotspot
GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
8GB of built-in storage
microSD card slot
Bluetooth v4.0
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
Accelerometer and proximity sensor
Front-mounted stereo speakers with BoomSound tech
FM Radio
USB On-The-Go

Main disadvantages

Not competitively priced (€300 at the time of writing)
Budget-grade chipset
Disappointing camera output in both stills and video
5" screen a tad thin on resolution
No 3G support on the secondary SIM card
No carrier video-call support
Poor video codec support out of the box
No quick settings toggles in Sense 5
MHL, NFC, IR and Beats audio reserved for the top dogs

Sunday, 16 February 2014

Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo

Samsung's Grand lineup, in its short history, has been all about two things: screen size and dual SIM support on a shoestring budget. With screen real estate getting cheaper all the time, Grand phones are targeting fans of big screens who aren't looking to break the bank to have one.

The latest installment in the lineup, the Neo, brings the Galaxy Grand to an even more competitive price point, although understandably, that required a few sacrifices.

But just how good is a Neo going to be when it comes to the Grand concept? Let's take a closer look at the specs, and how they're different from the original Galaxy Grand.

Key features

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE; dual-band 3G with HSPA
5" 16M-color WVGA capacitive touchscreen; 186ppi
Android OS v4.2 Jelly Bean with TouchWiz UI
Quad-core 1.2GHz (3G) Cortex-A7 CPU, VideoCore IV GPU; Broadcom BCM23550 chipset
1GB of RAM
5MP autofocus camera with LED flash, 720p video recording @ 30fps, continuous autofocus
0.3 MP front-facing camera, VGA video recording
Dual-band Wi-Fi b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Wireless Hotspot
GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
8GB of built-in storage
microSD card slot
microUSB v2.0
Bluetooth v4.0
Stereo FM radio
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
Accelerometer and proximity sensor
2,100 mAh battery; user replaceable

Main disadvantages

Not competitively priced (€250 at the time of writing)
Only 4GB user available internal storage
Tired and exhausted design, no differentiation whatsoever
No USB On-The-Go

Saturday, 15 February 2014

Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2

Samsung's pole position in smartphones doesn't necessarily mean a win in tablets but it sure is an advantage and the Koreans won't give up on it easily. The Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is standing at the very top of a lineup, whose fourth generation has hit the fast lane again after a less than impressive showing last season. This here Note Pro has unique size and all the S Features the company has developed so far.

The tablet's business aspirations are made clear by the KNOX enterprise security feature and rich app package that includes a full-blown office document editor, collaboration tools and even subscriptions to business publications.

There's an artistic side to it too, enabled by the S Pen and an advanced drawing app, while the Multi-window split-screen multitasking has grown to support up to four apps at a time (made possible by the larger screen). And that's before the floating apps come in.

Key features

12.2" 16M-color Super Clear PLS capacitive touchscreen of 2560 x 1600 px resolution
Wi-Fi only model: quad-core 1.9 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7, Mali-T628MP6 GPU; Exynos 5420 chipset
LTE model: quad-core Krait 400 processor at 2.3GHz, Adreno 330 GPU; Snapdragon 800 chipset
3GB of RAM
Android OS v4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz UI
S Pen input and great software backend
One of a kind split-screen multitasking and pop-up mini apps
Quad-band GPRS/EDGE/HSPA and hexa-band LTE connectivity Cat.4
32/64 GB of built-in memory
8 MP autofocus camera, 3264x2448 pixels, geo-tagging
1080p video recording @30fps
2MP front-facing camera; 1080p videos
Side-mounted stereo speakers
Wi-Fi 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n Wi-Fi Direct, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot
Stereo Bluetooth v4.0
HDMI TV-out (adapter required), USB host (adapter required), Ethernet (adapter required)
microSD card slot
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
Infrared port
GPS with A-GPS support; GLONASS, digital compass
1080p XviD/MKV video support with subtitles
Accelerometer, three-axis Gyroscope sensor
Office document editor preinstalled
9,500mAh Li-Po battery

Main disadvantages

Sky-high starting price
Size will put some people off
Relatively poor audio and video codec support
Air view works with S-Pen only, no thumb support
Notification area not optimized for the large screen

Friday, 14 February 2014

Nokia Lumia 1320

Large displays are all the rage these days and a phablet with the right price is strategically set to win big. Nokia certainly sees the Lumia 1320 this way, aware of the need of a capable midranger to stand next to the premium 1520.

The Lumia 1520 was the latecomer that went on to steal the show, but not all Nokia had to say in phablets in 2013. The door was left open and the Lumia 1320, which is probably more important to Nokia in the long run, didn't need a second invite.

The Nokia Lumia 1320 is toned down version of the Lumia 1520 and is tailored to fit both the needs and budget of its potential customers. We are more than used to seeing Lumia smartphones do well enough on far from stellar hardware, and Nokia's choice of the trusty Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset and a 5MP camera, seems to make sense on a device like the Lumia 1320.

Here's what the Nokia Lumia 1320 is all about.

Key features

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
Quad-band 3G with 42 Mbps HSDPA and 5.7 Mbps HSUPA support
Penta-band LTE Cat4 support, 150Mbps downlink, 50Mbps uplink
6.0" 16M-color ClearBlack IPS CLD capacitive touchscreen of 1280 x 720 pixels; Corning Gorilla Glass 3; Nokia Glance screen
5MP sensor, 1/4" sensor size, LED flash
1080p@30fps video recording
VGA front-facing camera
Windows Phone 8 GDR3 OS with Nokia Black
1.7GHz dual-core Krait 300 CPU, Adreno 305 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset, 1GB of RAM
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band
GPS receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS support
8GB of inbuilt storage
microSD card slot, up to 64GB
Active noise cancellation with a dedicated mic
Built-in accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensor
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
microUSB port
Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP and file transfers
SNS integration
Xbox Live integration and Xbox management
Digital compass
Nokia Music
FM radio
Excellent battery life
Exchangeable back covers

Main disadvantages

Non-user-replaceable battery
No system-wide file manager
No lockscreen shortcuts
No NFC

Thursday, 13 February 2014

Micromax Canvas Knight

Micromax of late has been aggressive in launching smartphones in India, and a new leak claims that the popular domestic handset maker might unveil two new smartphones soon.

The two alleged smartphones include the Canvas Knight (A350) which is rumoured to be company's first smartphone with a octa-core processor, while another is the Canvas Tube (A118R) which is said to be targeted for Russian market.

MMXNewscaster, which is a source related to Micromax's yet-to-be-launched smartphones has posted purported specifications of the alleged Canvas Knight (A350) which include a 2GHz octa-core processor, 32GB inbuilt storage, 2GB of RAM, 16-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front-facing camera. The alleged Canvas Knight is also said to come with a 5-inch full-HD display and is rumoured to sport a 7.3mm thin profile. Notably, the tipster claims that the alleged Canvas Knight will come in Gold colour variant. The tweet said, "Micromax Canvas Knight A350 GOLD. 2 GHz Octa Core, 32 GB, 2GB,16MP,5MP,5" FHD. 7.3mm." Unfortunately, there is no word on the Android version of the alleged Canvas Knight.

Notably, a Russian site claims that Micromax has reportedly launched the alleged Canvas Knight in the country. However, the site does not reveal any details about the price and availability of the device.

In addition, the alleged Canvas Tube (A11R) has also been purportedly leaked, with a report citing the company's presentation during the launch of its Russia operations.

Micromax announced its Russia operations recently and announced two new smartphones (Canvas Beat A114R and Canvas Social A94) for the country, apart from saying it would be launching 14 Bolt and Canvas series smartphones totally in the initial phase.

Preliminary specifications

Dual Sim
IPS LCD Capacitive Touch Screen 16M colours
1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.0 inch(441 ppi pixel density)
No External Card Slot
Internal Memory : 32 GB
RAM 2 GB
Camera 16MP Auto Focus,LED Flash
5MP secondary
Video 1080p @30fps
Android 4.2.2 Jellybean
Octa Core 2 GHz
Battery 2350 mAh