Micromax launches their new Yu Yutopia flagship smartphone

Is it going to be the world’s most powerful phone? With the tagline of ‘The world’s most powerful phone’, Micromax’s subsidiary Yu has just launched its Yutopia smartphone. The phone is priced at Rs 24,999 (app. 400 USD) and packs in it a 4 GB DDR4 RAM, 32GB internal storage expandable to 128GB.

Yutopia packs a 5.2” screen with WQHD IPS display technology. It runs on 1.5GHz octa-core, Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor and also sports a fingerprint scanner. According to the makers of the device, Yutopia is a revolutionary phone since it features the compelling ‘Around Yu’ services. The ‘Around Yu’ offers services in travel, food, entertainment etc. all packed into one window for the users.

The dual SIM, 4G enabled phone runs on Android 5.1.1 and is powered by 3000mAh battery which also has Quick Charge 2.0 feature that charges 60 per cent in 30 minutes. It comes with a 21 megapixel rear camera and an 8 megapixel front snapper. Additionally the smartphone also features an alert slider for easy and quick access to custom notifications.

“Yutopia was really about proving that we can create a flagship smartphone. We are not in the race to be number one or number two or how much are we going to contribute to Micromax. It’s about our vision as a brand, can we give the customer a special experience. We don’t want to be another version of a similar hardware company,” says YU Advertiser Rahul Sharma.

“We are proud that this flagship is completely designed and made in India. Manufacturing for components is done by Compal in Taiwan, but the rest of the process is done in India in our factory in Rudrapur in Uttarakhand,” YU’s Spokesperson says that the Phone is a made in India, even though the box for the review unit notes that the phone is made in China.

Considering that we have witnessed a really competitive smartphone market this year, where in, the phone makers have tried to provide the best in the most economical way possible, Yu surprises us by overpricing its flagship Yutopia. As per the specifications of Yutopia, except for the 4GB RAM on which Yu claims its powerfulness, one has to hunt for what better and more it offers.

Some of Yu’s competitors are Obi Worldphone SF1, One Plus2, Asus Zenfone 2, Lenovo Vibe S1 etc. some of which offer a similar RAM at a lesser price. However, Yu also comes with a promise of future upgrade to Yutopia 2 with its ‘Assured Upgrade Program’. Pre booking for Yutopia began on Amazon this week and the phones will be shipped from 26^th Dec’15.

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NDTV Gadgets 360 to release Obi Worldphone SF1

NDTV Gadgets 360 to release Obi Worldphone SF1 Obi Worldphone has finally released its first flagship device, SF1 in India, through NDTV Gadgets 360. SF1 is named after the city San Francisco, the place where it was designed, and it is also the first in its series. Its sibling SJ1.5 is soon to follow. The much talked about design endeavour of the company sounds convincingly innovative when we take a look at the device. It is rich, dark, and handsome and is now available at an attractive price too. SF1 is available in two variants, 2GB RAM/16GB and 3GB RAM/32GB internal storage at INR 11,999 and INR 13,999 respectively. Both the variants offer expandable storage up to 64GB.

The San Francisco based design studio Ammunition Group partnered with Obi in designing the phones right from its unique UI called Lifespeed, to its every curve and detail. This is reflected in the raised floating glass 5” screen intended to give a distinct look and also a more engaged experience with the phone. Besides, the glass is further protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and metallic accents at both top and bottom. The Oleophobic coating also prevents from fingerprint smudges and marks. The high Young’s Module makes the device prone to bending and breaking. SF1 comes in the classic black hue which stands rich in contrast to its orange-pink UI.

SF1 comes as a unibody device where the battery is non-removable. The device measures 146x74x8.1mm and weighs 147g. The display is HD with in-cell JDI technology and has 1080x1920, 443ppi resolution. It runs on Android 5.0.2 Lollipop, powered by Qualcomm MSM 8939 64-bit Snapdragon 615 with 1.5GHz Octa-core clock speed. It has 3000mAh battery power with the Quick charge feature. On the multimedia front, SF1 comes with Dolby Surround sound. The rear snapper is 13MP and has a Sony IMX214 sensor with f/2.0 aperture. The front snapper is 5MP and the camera is further supported with Ubi Focus, Opti Zoom and Chroma Flash.

The device is dual SIM and supports most of the connectivity options like WLAN direct Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Dual Band, Bluetooth (v4.0 A2DP) and GPS with GLONASS. Also one can use it right out of the box as it comes equipped with AVG Antivirus software. Also the design theme of the company extends to its custom designed see through packaging. Considering that Apple Alumni John Sculley and Robert Brunner have together envisioned Obi Worldphone, Indian consumers can surely expect something exceptional here.

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Infocus M260, Another Entry Level Phone for Basic Use

These days, the smartphone world is witnessing high end gadget launches one after the other. Amidst all this frenzy, we still have many companies that are focusing on producing entry level budget phones. One such company is InFocus, which is known for giving high value for money. InFocus recently launched M260, which intends to attract the young students’ crowd with its vibrant colours. In this precise review, we will look into what more the device has in store for the young.

Overall, InFocus M260 has a neat and interesting look. It has a dual coloured body, where the main colour is black. Black is teemed with three other vibrant colours like orange, pristine white and fluorescent green. The phone cover is made of plastic, but has a matte finish which keeps the device relatively smudge proof. The device is certainly a little bulky and heavy, but overall it gives a firm grip with the curved edges in place.

M260 is not so satisfactory when it comes to display, but then at this price, can we expect more? However, InFocus could have probably given a smaller screen size with better resolution. The screen here also includes the navigation buttons that are usually found on the bezel. It is also difficult to read the phone under direct sunlight, as the viewing angle is not so good. However, the touch response of the screen works pretty well.

M260 allows you to do multiple tasks at the same time very smoothly. This sounds good for the youngsters who usually have multiple web pages, videos and applications running at the same time. The multiple cores come handy here, also, it has the most common and recent Android software with custom skin of InFocus. What is impressive is the battery and memory capacity that M260 gives at this price. As a few currencies up this segment also, most phones offer similar storage. The camera of the device delivers decent pics but lacks auto focus and is not useful in low light. While it offers most connectivity options, it misses out on 4G, the very pulse of the youngsters.

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Vivo Y35 vs Obi Worldphone SF1: The winner is clear

While Vivo has been around for sometime, Obi Worldphone is a relatively new entry in the smartphone market. The teasers we have seen so far indicate that both Vivo and Obi Worldphone are targeting youth with their beautiful designs and high-end specifications in a reasonable price range. In this review we are particularly comparing Obi Worldphone SF1 with Vivo Y35 that fall in somewhat comparable price segment to see which one of the two still makes up for a better deal.

Vivo Y35 is elegant, but Obi SF1’s raised glass makes it look premium

Let us start with what strikes the eyes first, the color. Obi SF1 is available in standard black color, where as Vivo Y35 offers multiple options such as white, black and gold color range. In overall physical terms, Obi SF1 measures 146x74x8 mm (7.8 mm body with 0.2 mm floating display) and weighs 147 grams, where as Vivo Y35 measures 143.3x71x6.78 mm and weighs 153 grams. Even though SF1 has a bigger body, it is lighter in weight that Vivo. Obi SF1’s unibody with metallic accents and raised glass display gives it a quite distinctive and premium look, while its rounded edges make it even more comfortable to hold. Although Vivo Y35 looks elegant but apart from that it does not offer anything new in terms of design.

Obi’s SF1 takes a definite lead in display quality and glass protection

Both the devices come with a 5inch display screen, however there is a huge difference in the display quality. While Obi SF1 has an astonishing Full HD (1080x1920 pixels) display with 443 ppi, Vivo Y35 lags behind with HD (720x1280 pixels) with 294 ppi. No doubt Obi SF1 offers much better visual experience whether it is reading or watching graphics. When it comes to screen protection Obi SF1 again moves ahead with the latest Corning Gorilla Glass (CGG) 4 compared to Vivo’s CGG 3. Here it is imperative to note that CGG 4 comes with native damage resistance technology that makes it stronger than CGG3 in terms of resisting scratches and overall durability. Needless to say that Obi SF1 is a clear winner when it comes to display quality and protection.

Obi SF1 maintains the lead at the performance front too 

Obi SF1 is powered by 1.5 GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (MSM8939) processor and Vivo Y35 runs on 1.2 GHz Quad Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 (MSM8916) processor, indicating that Obi SF1 has an edge over Vivo Y35 with faster processor as well higher clock speed. With its Operating System (OS) Android Lollipop 5.0.2, Obi SF1 retains the slight edge over Vivo Y35 which comes in slightly older version of Android Lollipop 5.0. Furthermore, Obi SF1 comes in two variants including 2GB RAM (16GB storage) and 3GB RAM(32 GB storage) which can be expanded up to 64GB via microSD card. On the other hand Vivo Y35 offers only 2GB RAM option with 16GB in-built memory but it can be expanded up to 128GB via microSD card.

Cameras are somewhat comparable, but SF1 comes with a better battery

Both Obi SF1 and Vivo Y35 offer 13 MP primary/rear cameras for an outstanding photography experience. However, Obi SF1 gives user more features with Ubi Focus, Chroma flash and Opti zoom. These features just take the overall camera experience to the next level. For selfies, both devices have a 5 MP secondary/front camera. But, in Obi SF1, there is a LED flash that enables capturing bright and clear selfies even in dark. At the battery front, Vivo Y35 has a 2300 mAh Li- Po battery which clearly lags behind Obi SF1 3000 mAh battery. Also, Obi SF1 supports quick charge 1.0 technology. While the cameras may be somewhat comparable, Obi SF1 jumps ahead in battery capacity too.

The winner is clear

We have noted that SF1 has a clear advantage in terms of resolution, pixel density, CGG4 protection, a slightly higher version of the OS, better processor and superior battery. On the other hand, in comparison, Vivo Y35 offers the singular advantage of higher expandable memory option, which is not all that critical as SF1 too offers the option to expand. If we add in price as a factor, we find out that while Vivo Y35 is available at around USD230, the equivalent Obi SF1 (2GB/16GB) variant is marked at USD199 (Obi’s 3GB/32GB variant costs USD 249), essentially indicating that Obi Worldphone has managed to offer better specifications and premium design at relatively lesser price than Vivo. It is obvious that Obi Worldphone SF1 has clearly established itself as a much better device than Vivo Y35.

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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.

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