WERE YOU SATISFIED WITH THE SMARTPHONES THIS YEAR? I WAS NOT!

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December 27, 2013

Hey folks what’s up! As we all know that the year of the “doomsday” 2013 is finally coming to an end in a matter of few days. With Christmas gone, all the jollity and excitement of the year is coming to an end in few days. But though it was not a year that the world ended, I think this year remarks the doomsday of the smartphones as they got bigger, just got bigger!
head_1 Call me crazy but I am not so satisfied with the smartphones that came out this year. Frankly speaking tell me one new innovation: revolutionary and evolutionary thing that happened this year with the smartphones! Scratching you head right, i was too! YES! YES! YES! We have a 6-inch display device, we have cool tablets and of course we don’t need Password to open our phones! But hey, is that too groundbreaking? Not for me! I was expecting things, some serious things by the manufacturers this year but i got disappointed!

You’re right i don’t call the “Blow to Unlock” or some gesturing features in the smartphones revolutionary. With all due respect to the manufacturers and technical people who put much effort to putting these features all together in a smartphone to make them even better or you may say User-friendly, I’d say that none of this is so “ground-breaking”. I don’t see the point how the feature of “pausing a video when you look away” is ground-breaking. I talk and see my friends’ faces while showing them a super-cool video, Oh wait! It just got paused!! BOOOOO!

So, what do you want Bishwash, you might ask? I want things to be innovative. Things that would change the way you interact with smartphones. Change the way smartphones are or were. Change the way that smartphones interact with us. Maybe throw some flexibility, transparency or even some wearables. Except Google glass nothing was so extraordinary in the gadgets world this year. And I’d like to take this moment and appreciate Google Glass because I don’t know if it will be useful but it’s certainly exciting and innovative to use something like glass in a different way. That’s what I want to see.

Hopefully my wishes will come true on 2014 or maybe I should have wished before Christmas (haha)! But hey, I was wishing all this year for something that would break my heart and I’d say, “Man, that’s something!”

It should happen because I’m practically bored with smartphones just getting bigger and having minor upgrades in their hardware.

Let me know what you think!

Cheers!

“Nepal Load shedding Schedule “Android App Changes their Layout.

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Yural Maskey

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December 22, 2013

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One of the most used android apps for Nepali users has changed their Layout. It now looks crispy and absolutely eccentric. The overall interface is easy and eye-pleasing.

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The widget now is more informative and deserves applaud.

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Moreover, if you are not aware of which group you are in, there is a map view that guides you about the detail. Very intuitive in that case!!

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Yippee!!! Subway Surfers arrives on Windows phone 8!!!

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Yural Maskey

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December 19, 2013

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Subway Surfers, which is one of the most popular Android and IOS game finally arrives for Windows 8 phones. But, Like Temple Run 2 it requires a 1 GB of RAM to run. Although a 512 MB support will be available soon. This is a relief for Lumia 520,620,720 and 625 users.

As per my experience on Lumia 920, it runs absolutely smooth and with no lags.Here’s the small trailer presented by Kiloo Games and Sybo Games.

You can download this game here. Enjoy Windows Users 🙂

Android 4.3 update starts rolling out to Xperia Z1 and Z Ultra

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Yural Maskey

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December 17, 2013

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Angry?? Or Pleased?? Yes its Jelly Bean 4.3 not Kitkat 4.4 Update for Xperia Z1 and Z ultra. Android 4.3 though offers several improvements and tweaks for these smartphones. Along with an improved interface, the Android 4.3 update adds Sony’s Smart Social Camera to the Xperia Z Ultra. Users will also find improvements to Sony’s native apps, including Messaging, MyXperia, Smart Connect, TrackID, and Sony Select.

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Sony also promises better integration between its Walkman, Album, and Movies apps and its cloud-based Entertainment Network. And users will be able to customize their interface via downloadable “Xperia Themes.”

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Earlier this month, Sony confirmed that many of its handsets will be getting an Android 4.4 KitKat update. The Lucky handsets were the Xperia T, Xperia TX, Xperia V, Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR, Xperia Tablet Z, Xperia SP, Xperia Z Ultra and the Xperia Z1.

Micromax unveils the Canvas 2.2 with 5-inch qHD

Yural Maskey

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December 16, 2013

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Micromax unveils the Canvas 2.2 with 5-inch qHD

The Indian smartphone company has launched its new mid-range smartphone — Micromax Canvas 2.2 A114 today in an event in India. Looking at the specifications it seems promising given the price range. It’s available in India at INR. 13000.

We should soon see this smartphone in Nepal as well. The price range should be around NPR 22,000 in Nepal. It sports a 5-inch qHD display, quadcore processor, and 1GB of RAM. Check out the full specs of the Canvas 2.2 here:

SIM: Dual SIM (GSM+3G)
Operating System: Android 4.2. Jellybean
Screen :5.0-inch IPS display with a resolution 960 x 540 pixels (qHD)
Processor: 1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582M
Memory: 1 GB RAM; 4 GB internal memory; External memory card slot expandable up to 64 GB
Camera: 8MP rear camera with LED flash; 2 MP front facing camera
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth, GPS with A-GPS,USB 2.0
Battery: Non-removable Li-Ion 2000 mAh battery
Sensors: Accelerometer, gyro, proximity

Xperia Z ultra: Enormous and Powerful phablet from Sony

Yural Maskey

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December 14, 2013

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Xperia Z ultra: Enormous and Powerful phablet from Sony

Smartphones are getting bigger as time passes. A 5 inch display smartphone are becoming common in 2013.But Sony launched a relatively bigger smartphone in Sony Xperia Z Ultra which is the biggest smartphone of 2013.It’s nearly as big as a tablet. Let’s see how this smartphone takes a toll.

Key Features:

Operating System: Android 4.2.2 Jelly bean, planned upgrade to v4.4 (Kitkat)
SIM: Micro-SIM
Screen: 6.4 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels with 344 ppi
Processor: 2.2 GHz Quad-core Snapdragon 800
GPU: Adreno 330
Memory: 2 GB RAM; 16 GB internal memory; External memory card slot expandable up to 64 GB
Camera: 8MP rear camera without LED flash; 2 MP front facing camera
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with A-GPS,USB 2.0
Battery: Non-removable Li-Ion 3050 mAh battery
Sensors: Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass

Design

Regardless of a larger screen, Sony has done absolutely prodigious in designing this smartphone. It is reedy and well-lit. It has also got an IP-58 certification which means it is dust and water resistant over 1 meter and 30 minutes.

Display

The screen display on the Xperia Z ultra is Ultra-outstanding. It is a 6.4 inch display with a resolution of 1080 * 1920 which makes up a pixel density of 341ppi, slightly lesser than what we have seen in a Full HD five inch smartphones. With a Tri-luminous display and an X-reality Bravia engine from Sony, the screen is absurdly bright, the contrast is outstanding and the clarity is terrific as seen in Samsung Galaxy Note 3. With a bigger screen, carrying the Xperia Z ultra is like carrying a gorgeous HDTV in your pocket, but your pocket has to bigger to fit in 😛

Hardware

Sony Xperia Z ultra has unquestionably fantastic processing mainly because of its Quad core Snapdragon 800 processor clocked at 2.2 GHz and an Adreno 330 GPU. It has a 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory including a micro SD card. The gaming performance is an absolutely delight. Even at the highest of the gaming resolution, it performs with ease. There will be no lag and dropped frame rates. Watching Full-HD movies are also a great experience in Xperia Z ultra. So, if you are a multimedia person and a gamer this phone fits for you.

Camera

This is a disappointing factor of this smartphone. It only has an 8MP rear camera without LED flash. It has a 2MP Front facing camera. So, Xperia Z ultra is not a smartphone for a camera enthusiastic

Software

It runs on Android 4.2.2 jelly bean. The upgrade for Kitkat 4.4 is planned from Sony but official announcement is yet to come.

Here’s our video review of the gadget, make sure you check it out!:

Pros:

Fast Processing ideal to play games
Feels great to watch movies and read eBooks.

Cons:

Awkward size for a phone
No camera flash

GadgetByte Rating: 4.1/5

Google Translate Now Supports Nepali!

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Yural Maskey

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December 11, 2013

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Yeah guys, Google translate now officially recognises Nepali and 79 other languages.

Quoting Google in their official statement, they said,

“Throughout Asia, we’re launching languages spoken in Mongolia and South Asia.

Mongolian (Монгол хэл), official language in Mongolia and also spoken in parts of China with 6 million native speakers
Nepali (नेपाली), spoken in Nepal and India with 17 million native speakers
Punjabi language (ਪੰਜਾਬੀ) (Gurmukhi script), spoken in India and Pakistan with 100 million native speakers”

This is a major news considering the usage of the new “Google Tech” like Glass and other features from “Google Now”. Now even Nepalese languages or phrases could be translated.

But there are bugs as well, For an example you can see the one below:

And how could i not have fun with it, I played around getting some hilarious results, like the one below: (excuse my language, i was just testing 😀 )

Although, its buggy and will take some time & improvement, Isn’t that a yippie moment!???

So, what you’re waiting, click here and see it yourself!!

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3.7.0: A “okay” looking “good” tablet

Yural Maskey

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December 11, 2013

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 3.7.0: A “okay” looking “good” tablet

Samsung has not given much of its focus to the tablet world as Apple or even Nokia in the recent times. But nevertheless, it has been doing an excellent job with Smartphones and Phablets, yeah I’m talking about Note 3. Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 is the latest iteration by Samsung in the tablet market.

Recently we had a chance to see this boy the Galaxy Tab 3.7.0 SM-T111. Though Apple fanatics will not even consider looking into this line-up, I have some different opinion.

Yes, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 may not be as good as an iPad mini Retina but might be worth a shot. Featuring 1 GB RAM and up to 32 GB of storage (with microSD support), this is certainly not a bad buy for starters.

You can go through the glimpses about what this smartphone has to offer below:-

KEY FEATURES of Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 :

Size: 110.9 x 187.9 x 99mm, 300g
SIM: Micro-SIM (3G)
Display: 16M colours 7″ TFT LCD capacitive touchscreen of 1024 x 600(WSVGA)
OS: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
CPU: 1.2 GHz, Vivante GC1000 graphics accelerator, 1GB of RAM
Camera: 2 MP Autofocus rear camera (720p video recording)
Memory: 8 GB internal memory, microSD card slot
Battery: 3600mAh (Up to 7 hours of video playback)
Market price: Rs.27000/-

Here’s our video review of the gadget, make sure you check it out!:

DESIGN:

The tablet is well designed, a rigid feel nonetheless with a trademark Samsung back plastic. With galaxy note receiving a face-lift, I was not that surprised with the design of the tablet and hence mark it just fine for the build. On the right, you could see the Volume rocker and Lock buttons, which is indeed made of the metal that surrounds the body of the tablet as a ribbon. Below there is the micro USB charger and two stereo speakers and the top is equipped with a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack.

USER INTERFACE:

With Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, there’re not much OS features to talk about however the tablet feels quite snappy and just about does the job it is intended to. The call and messaging apps are pretty basic but quite snappy.

CAMERA:

The camera is the minimal agenda in the tablet manufacturer, at least, this tablet proves that. With just 2 MP okay shooting camera in the rear and a no shooter on the front nothing big can be expected. You won’t be able to Skype your friends!

BATTERY & STORAGE:

With 3600 mAh of Battery, Power shouldn’t be a problem. Samsung says that you can get 7 hours of video playback which is not that WOO factor given that normal seven inches give you 8-9 hrs with an ease.

On the storage, you have an 8GB internal space with up to 32GB of expansion possibility.

WRAPPING UP:

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 is good tablet anyways and perfect for starters, so don’t expect a big thing out of this and don’t be disappointed as well. The best part would be the expandable storage and the functionality of the tablet and on the downside, I’d quote the camera and the build.It would be better if you wait for few days before Samsung Tab 4 and Tab pro series arrives in Nepal

Also, although I am waiting eagerly for Samsung Galaxy S5 which is set to be launched on April 11,2014 here in Nepal.

Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 (S7582): Entry Level Smartphone in Nepal

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Yural Maskey

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December 8, 2013

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Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 (S7582): Entry Level Smartphone in Nepal

The first generation of S Duos was a grand success. So, Samsung Launched its second version-“samsung galaxy s duos 2 ” with almost same exterior design and build but they have improved the RAM, CPU and GPU to make it a worthy addition.
It was announced on the opening day of CAN-infotech 2014 event at a price of NRP 18.5K

Key Features of Samsung S duos 2 :

Operating System: Android 4.2.2 Jelly bean
SIM: Dual SIM ( dual stand-by)
Screen: 4.0 inch LCD capacitive touchscreen, with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, with 233 ppi pixel density
Processor: Dual-core 1.2 GHz
Memory: 768 Mb RAM; 4 GB internal memory; External memory card slot expandable up to 64 GB
Camera: 5MP rear camera with LED flash; VGA front facing camera
Battery: Li-Ion 1500 mAh battery
Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity, compas
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with A-GPS and GLONASS,USB 2.0

Sony Xperia C: A modest smartphone from Sony

Yural Maskey

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December 7, 2013

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Sony Xperia C: A modest smartphone from Sony

Looking for a big screen with dual sim and a Quad core processor?? This might be your next smartphone as it is available in Nepalese market at the moment. This mid-range smartphone is priced around NRP 27000 and promises some outstanding features.

Key Features:

Operating System: Android 4.2.2 Jelly bean
SIM: Dual SIM (Micro-SIM, dual stand-by)
Screen: 5 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels with 220 ppi
Processor: 1.2 GHz Quad-core Cortex-A7(MTK 6589)
GPU: PowerVR SGX544
Memory: 1 GB RAM; 4 GB internal memory; External memory card slot
Camera: 8MP rear camera with LED flash & Exmor R for mobile image sensor; VGA front facing camera
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with A-GPS,USB 2.0
Battery: Li-Ion 2400 mAh non-replaceable battery
Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity, compass
Built-in LED strip provides a breathing light and notification light.

PROS:

Big screen
Better Battery life
Dual SIM

CONS:

Low internal memory
MediaTek MT6589 chipset is not ideal for heavy games

The sony Xperia C offers a big 5 inch screen with a less pixel density of 220ppi. It is powered with a MediaTek chipset MT6589 with a Cortex A7 processor clocked at 1.2 GHz which might not be ideal for high end games. It has a very good 8 MP camera and a powerful 2400mAh battery. Sony Xperia C is indeed a mid-range smartphone, but there are other option to look at at the same price category. Motorola Moto G, Huawei Ascend G700, etc are other choices you can find. So, make sure you do a bit of research before buying or feel free to ask us.