Monday 19 October 2015

Gionee Elife E8 has more to it than its 24MP camera

With phones becoming smarter by the day, it has become possible for us to replace most of our other gadgets with this 5-6 inch small device, the smartphone. One of the most vied achievements of the phone makers has been to be able to replace a camera’s presence with a smartphone in our lives.


The latest to enter this race is Gionee, which announced its flagship killer, Gionee Elife E8, with a 24MP primary camera. The slide below gives us some idea of the device in terms of what all it comes with, including specifications, indicative price and other key offerings.The camera is sure the highlight. One might wonder whether Gionee is being too ambitious by offering a camera brimming with so many pixels. Well, we do want the smartphone makers to be ambitious and raise the bar every time they release a device, however it should not be without substance. What guarantees those perfect clicks in a camera is not just the number of pixels it captures but also the size of the pixel which is determined by the camera sensor.

Here Gionee hasn’t revealed much about its sensor, which again makes us wonder about the quality of images that the 24 MP would produce. However, other features of its optical system, like the dual LED flash, six element lenses with Sapphire glass, image stabilization, phase detection, autofocus and 3 times zoom facility, do add to its credibility. Also, a glance over the specifications makes us realize that, at this price range, Gionee has much more to offer than just great clicks. Moreover, a large phablet size screen, which though makes the device a little heavy, is presented in a classy sleek colour. The CPU, OS and battery of the device have remarkable potential to provide smooth functioning of the system.

Furthermore, the device delights us with a good internal storage capacity, which is further expandable. Another main highlight of the device is its finger print sensor, which in a way also justifies the cost. Considering the above factors, we realize that Gionee is offering a lot more than its peers in the same range, hence making it totally worth giving it a try.

Friday 9 October 2015

Obi Worldphone SF 1 vs Samsung Galaxy E5

In this concise comparative review we take two mid range Android smartphones that entered the market this year, the recently launched Obi Worldphone SF1 and Samsung Galaxy E5. In an increasingly commoditized market, all emerging smartphone brands are vying to claim some differentiation and provide their best without challenging our pockets. In this contest, Obi Worldphone proudly claims a ‘Designed in San Francisco’ model with the best in line technology, while the veteran Samsung is already popular as a global smartphone leader that runs behind Apple. The slide below provides us with a quick comparative view on what the two devices have to offer.


If we look at the specifications, it is clear that Samsung’s E5 falls way short of Obi’s flagship SF1 on several counts. Both the devices are of moderate size, but Samsung E5 is a bit smaller and lighter. The two devices have the same screen size, however, it seems SF1 optimizes the screen better by providing a sharper view due to higher resolution and pixel density. Here Obi Worldphone has sincerely put up a great challenge in terms of innovation in gadgets. On the top, Obi also provides the protection of the latest Corning Gorilla Glass 4.

Also, beside making a difference through its Silicon Valley design, Obi SF1 has a well planned, latest in range OS and CPU backed by a good battery support and Quick Charge 1.0 that saves about 40% of the charging time. The multimedia experience in SF1 is also superior with Sony Exmor sensor camera (UBI Focus, Opti Zoom, Chroma Flash), 4G network, better resolution in display, Dolby Audio sound quality etc where surprisingly the old hand Samsung lags behind. Furthermore, both the devices are dual SIM. 

Considering the differences, it comes as a surprise that Obi SF1 costs lesser than Samsung E5. On the whole, Obi Worldphone SF1 can certainly win many hearts by proving that, if planned well, great design and high-end technology do not necessarily have to be expensive.