New Tariff For PVRUjjain in Dec 2014

Xiaomi to launch Redmi Note in India next month

Xiaomi has started teasing the first India sale of its phablet, the Redmi Note, via Mi India’s facebook page, and will reportedly start selling the device early next month.

The Techolic claims that the date of the sale will be December 2, basing its conclusion on the fact that Flipkart (Xiaomi's exclusive India partner) is always holding the sales on Tuesday. The date can be off by a week or two course.

The company has also started a contest on Facebook, giving people a chance to win a Redmi Note. To participate in the contest, which runs till Nov 21st, 9PM, all you have to do is to share the company's Facebook post and submit a creative image showing how much you want to own the device.

The phablet sports a 5.5-inch LED IPS display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. It is powered by a 1.7GHz Mediatek’s MT6592 octa-core processor paired with 2GB of RAM, and 8GB of internal storage which can be expanded up to 32 GB via microSD card. The device also features a 13-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel front camera, and a 3,100mAh battery. The whole thing is powered by Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with MIUI v5 on top.

Previous sales saw Xiaomi burn through its Redmi 1S stock in seconds, so you better be ready when the time comes.

New Canvas Gold Phablet

Micromax Canvas Gold A300

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Micromax Canvas Gold A300 smartphone with 5.50-inch 1080x1920 display powered by 2GHz processor alongside 2GB RAM and 16-megapixel rear camera.

Micromax Canvas Gold A300

• KEY SPECS
• NEWS

Display

5.50-inch

Processor

2GHz

Front Camera

5-megapixel

Resolution

1080x1920 pixels

RAM

2GB

OS

Android 4.4.2

Storage

32GB

Rear Camera

16-megapixel

Battery capacity

2300mAh

Micromax Canvas Gold A300 detailed specifications

General
	Release date	June 2014
	Form factor	Touchscreen
	Battery capacity (mAh)	2300
	Removable battery	No
	Colours	White, Black
	SAR value	NA
Display
	Screen size (inches)	5.50
	Touchscreen	Yes
	Touchscreen type	Capacitive
	Resolution	1080x1920 pixels
Hardware
	Processor	2GHz  octa-core
	RAM	2GB
	Internal storage	32GB
	Expandable storage	Yes
Camera
	Rear camera	16-megapixel
	Flash	Yes
	Front camera	5-megapixel
Software
	Operating System	Android 4.4.2
	Java support	Yes
	Browser supports Flash	No
Connectivity
	Wi-Fi	Yes
	Wi-Fi standards supported	802.11 b/ g/ n
	GPS	Yes
	Bluetooth	Yes, v 4.00
	NFC	No
	Infrared	No
	DLNA	No
	Wi-Fi Direct	No
	MHL Out	No
	HDMI	No
	Headphones	3.5mm
	FM	Yes
	USB	Micro-USB
	Charging via Micro-USB	Yes
	Proprietary charging connector	Yes
	Proprietary data connector	No
	Number of SIMs	2
	SIM 1
	SIM Type	Regular
	GSM/ CDMA	GSM
	3G	No
	SIM 2
	SIM Type	Regular
	GSM/ CDMA	GSM
	3G	Yes
Sensors
	Compass/ Magnetometer	No
	Proximity sensor	Yes
	Accelerometer	Yes
	Ambient light sensor	No
	Gyroscope	No
	Barometer	No
	Temperature sensor	No

Error or missing info

Sony Xperia T2 Ultra Dual review: The Ultra

Phablets, which tried to bridge the gap between a smartphone and tablet, were as expensive as flagship devices once upon a time. Slowly and steadily, at least in India, phablets piqued the interest of buyers and created inroads into the market. This rise prompted manufacturers to shed some features and make their products more budget friendly. Many companies latched on to this opportunity early on, but Sony has joined this bandwagon only recently.

Sony's top-end phablet, the Xperia Z Ultra, now has a cheaper alternative in the form of the Xperia T2 Ultra. It is smaller, sleeker, accepts two SIMs, and has stripped down features. More importantly, this six-inch budget phablet faces the mammoth task of proving itself against the competition in a fairly crowded price band. Our review will help us find out if it manages that feat.

Look and Feel
Sony's design philosophy for smartphones underwent a change when the company parted ways with Ericsson. The primary reference for this is last year's flagship, the Xperia Z. A lot of critics praised the design and Sony seems to be going with the 'why fix something if it isn't broken' strategy. This unassuming black slab with clean lines is now typical of the style adopted for all recent smartphone and tablet releases.

The T2 Ultra Dual is available in three colours: black, white and purple. We reviewed the black one. All the colour options look quite classy and the choice will boil down to personal preference. The top and bottom edges of the device are bare. The right edge is crowded with buttons for power, volume and camera (kudos to Sony for including that). The placement of these buttons at the lower half of the right edge takes some getting used to, but the ease of use is unparalleled. The 3.5mm jack and two SIM slots can be found at the top of the right edge. The left edge has the microSD card slot and Micro-USB port for charging and data transfer. Right above the screen is the 1.1-megapixel front-facing camera, and below it is the microphone. The back has the really long speaker grille, rear camera and flash.

The entire device is glossy and attracts fingerprints very easily. The back, made of plastic, picked up quite a few scratches during our review so we'd suggest using a cover. The device feels sturdy despite being being fairly slim at 7.7mm, and thanks to the rubberised edges, the grip feels solid. Still, those with dainty hands will find the T2 Ultra Dual unwieldy due to its sheer size.

Features and Specifications
The Sony Xperia T2 Ultra Dual has decidedly mid-range specifications. Under the hood is a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core SoC clocked at 1.4Ghz, with Adreno 305 graphics. Out of the 8GB of internal storage, only 4.68GB is available to users. Thankfully, you can increase the storage of the device up to 32GB using a microSD card. Sony also bundles 50GB of free Box storage for life, provided users register by 31 December 2014, though surprisingly, the Box app isn't preloaded. The 13-megapixel rear camera can shoot videos at 1080p resolution. Users who love to use the front camera to capture selfies might be disappointed with the 1.1-megapixel resolution.

The dual-SIM variant of the T2 Ultra accepts two Micro-SIM cards and works in dual standby mode. Both SIMs can connect to the 850/900/1800/1900/2100MHz GSM bands. The phone also has Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP support along with a range of different sensors including an accelerometer, gyro and proximity sensor.

The 6-inch screen has a resolution of 1280x720. The screen springs to life with Sony's proprietary Triluminous display technology. Colour reproduction is fantastic and the contrast is great too. There is a catch, however - the legibility of the screen takes a hit when viewed under bright sunlight.

Software
The T2 Ultra runs a skinned version of Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) with an update to Kitkat promised by Sony in the near future. Sony's skin keeps Android largely untouched, which is great for users who appreciate a vanilla Android experience. The lock screen features a unique swipe animation that replicates a window blind.

The T2 Ultra gives users six home screens to customise. A very interesting addition, which helps with single-handed operation of the large phablet, is that when users double-tap the Home button, the notification slider drops down with all the shortcuts moved to the bottom. Ingenious, we say! Additionally, the app drawer features a sliding panel which pops up when users swipe in from the left of the first screen. This panel has a direct access to the Play Store and Sony Select apart from a few options to rearrange app icons. 

Hitting the Recents key brings up (apart from apps that are open) a 'favourites bar' which lets you add what Sony calls 'small apps' which can be used as movable widgets to make use of the screen space. Along with the regular set of apps, you'll find McAfee Security, Garmin Navigation (trial edition), Neo reader, OfficeSuite, Pixlr Express, Reader by Sony, Playstation Mobile, Sketch, Smart Connect, Socialife News, Sony Select, Support and TrackID. TrackID is similar to Shazam and Soundhound, and works reasonably well. One thing that irked us beyond measure was the sensitivity of the haptic vibration feedback, so much so that we had to switch it off very shortly after we started using the device.

Camera
The camera software is fairly limited, with respect to options, when compared to Samsung's and LG's. There are some really pointless modes such as AR Effect, which is extremely silly, with animations that remind us of Chota Bheem's artwork. The Picture Effects mode has some really garish effects. The background defocus mode, when it works, takes two pictures - one of the background and the other of the foreground - and looks great, provided users have the patience. Panorama stitching is flawless and the effect works really well.

As far as cameras on smartphones go, the T2 Ultra is a great example of why megapixels do not matter. The 13-megapixel shooter on this phablet has problems focusing subjects and captures images which are filled with noise. This is not to say the camera is completely bad. There are a few redeeming aspects, but this is not what we expected from Sony, which is famous for making great sensors.

Details were muted even in daylight shots, but the natural colours are a plus. The white balance in some pictures was not right. The T2 Ultra takes some good macros, though. The camera tested our patience when shooting in low light, and we found the resulting photographs to not be worth the time taken. The less we talk about the 1.1-megapixel front-facing camera, the better. Those who love taking selfies would be well advised to look elsewhere.

(Click to see full size)

Video performance was equally underwhelming, with very little detail captured. Fortunately, there is no skipping of frames.

Overall, the camera is an underperformer.

Performance
Before we get to the benchmark scores, our experience of using the device in day-to-day situations was filled with niggling issues. Using the default Chrome browser caused the screen to flicker intermittently. The app drawer would freeze from time to time. When it worked well, the T2 Ultra was an adequately fast performer, which is reflected in the scores.

AnTuTu and Quadrant returned scores of 19,358 and 9,138, respectively. In the graphics department, the Adreno 305 lags behind with GFXbench peaking at 10.9 fps. The less intensive 3DMark Ice Storm returned a moderate score of 5,632 points.

Another surprise was the fact that the T2 Ultra had low sound output levels even when tested with reference earphones. We were disappointed by the terrible audio quality of the bundled earphones - Sony seems to have cut corners in another area that is usually considered its strong suit. 

The T2 Ultra's default video player didn't play 1080p videos, but got through the rest of our sample clips without any hiccups. In our looping video battery test, it managed to last for 8 hours, 22 minutes. This should translate to a real-life performance of one day. Voice quality during calls suffered slightly in low network areas, and there was a unique crackling sound at the receiver's end, though this could have been an issue with the service provider.

Verdict
With Sony faltering in areas that are generally considered its strong suit - camera and sound - the Xperia T2 Ultra Dual, priced at Rs. 24,990, is a difficult device to recommend. There is strong competition in this segment from the feature-rich Moto X and the Gionee Elife E7, with its great camera. But if the requirement is a 6-inch screen and nothing less, the T2 Ultra is the best bet at the moment. In short, Sony gets one thing absolutely right - the price.

Android was not a Touchscreen platform in the Pre Apple Era

New documents filed in the never ending Apple vs Samsung battle have revealed that Google’s plans for Android back in 2006 involved physical keys for control and no touchscreen input support.

Google vice president of Android, Hiroshi Lockheimer, walked the jury through early development of Android and said engineers actually tried to make software that was very different from Apple’s iOS mobile operating system. He emphasised that the company liked to have its own identity and ideas, adding that it was very passionate about what it was doing, and it was important that it had its own ideas.

According to the file “the product [Android] was designed with the presence of discrete physical buttons as an assumption. However, there is nothing fundamental in the product’s architecture that prevents the support of touchscreen in the future.”

A lot of differentiating factors also came into light, including  removable storage, third-party application support, widgets, notifications and all those Google services. The design of the 2006 Android beta build lacked touchscreen and required cursors and physical keys, this was changed to a “Touchscreen Required” minimum, in 2007 post the launch of the first Apple iPhone.

Micromax Canvas Knight: Benchmarks and performance comparison

We carry out some synthetic benchmark tests on Micromax’s most powerful smartphone that runs on a true octa-core MediaTek processor.

Micromax announced the Canvas Knight just a few days back and as we know the smartphone runs on a MediaTek Tru Octa-Core MT6592T processor clocked at 2GHz and comes with ARM Mali450 GPU. It has 2GB of RAM, a 5-inch FHD IPS display, a 16MP rear camera, an 8MP front camera, 32GB of internal storage and a 2350mAh battery. The Canvas Knight runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean out of the box.

  

  

  

The new Canvas Knight looks quite tall as compared to the Nexus 5

We got our hands on the device and thought of running some benchmark tests to see how the smartphone performs in terms of raw hardware performance.

For testing we used Antutu, Smartbench 2012, 3DMark and Quadrant and compared it with some other smartphones in the same price segment.

The preliminary benchmark tests do indicate that the Canvas Knight can perform the simpler day to day tasks quite well. But when it comes to productivity and gaming, the Knight does seem to lag behind phones like Moto G and even the Nexus 4 which was announced more than a year ago.

Check out the specs comparison of the Micromax Canvas Knight over here. Stay tuned for a full-on review of the Micromax Canvas Knight.

Micromax Canvas Knight: Build and design overview

The Canvas Knight is the most premium smartphone from Micromax till date.

Micromax has been threatening this for a while now, and in a good way. Each new phone felt better than the previous one as the build quality kept on getting better. But with the Micromax Canvas Knight, it would be safe to say that the new phone from Micromax comes with a build quality of international standards.

Right from the packaging of the phone, you can clearly make out that Micromax has spent a lot of time in designing the smartphone. The tinted black cover sits on top of a matte base, which safely holds the phone, the charger and the headset. The phone itself sits on a transparent plastic cradle, reminding us of the recent unboxing of the Apple iPhone 5c and the Apple iPhone 5s! Minimalistic, yet very classy boxes and packaging everything tightly is one way to save on package costs. This time, Micromax has nailed it in terms of packaging.

 

Take the phone out of the box, and you can see various design influences. The unibody design feels top notch with the graphite frame. There is absolutely no 'plasticky' feel, and the materials used in the phone have a premium feel. If no one tells you this is a Micromax phone (or you don’t notice the logo on the back for some reason!), you probably wouldn’t know.

Now for the specific design influences, apart from the iPhone influenced packaging. The right and left side spines are pretty much like the iPhone 5S. The way you access the SIM trays requires a pin, just like on the iPhone. Flip over the phone, and there is a distinct influence of the Sony Xperia Z and the Sony Xperia Z1. The glass at the back is a visual delight, but you will have to be careful with how you use it. Any rough handling, and the chances are that this glass will get scratched quite easily; something we had pointed out about the aforementioned Xperia phones as well.

 

 

The 3.5mm headphone jack sits on the top, while the micro USB charging port is on the bottom spine, along with a well chiseled out speaker grille. This looks a lot like the grille design on the HTC One, and even coming close to that effort is indicative of Micromax’s hard work on designing the Canvas Knight.

Design influences aside, it is clear that the focus has been on making the Canvas Knight feel like a top-of-the-line Android smartphone. The glass above the IPS display has reflective tendencies, but blends well with the rest of the design. The three touch sensitive keys below the screen respond quite well. This is a dual SIM phone, and the SIM slots are placed on the left and the right sides towards the top. There is no space expandable memory card slot though. The volume rocker and the power keys are on the right side spine, and towards the middle to make them easily accessible. While the power key position takes some getting used to (ideal being the placement on the top), the volume keys are well within the reach of fingers.

  

The 16MP camera on the back gets a slightly raised housing, possibly because of sensor size demands. When you place the phone on a table or a flat surface, the top of the phone will rest on this bulge. Just be careful so as not to damage the lens by placing the phone on an uneven surface.

Despite the large 5-inch screen, the Canvas Knight is fairly comfortable to hold. For someone with long fingers, the single hand operation is not entirely out of the question. The image above on the right, shows you how the Micromax Canvas Knight compares to the Nexus 5, in terms of the form factor.

All in all, the Micromax Canvas Knight is a phone that excels in terms of the materials that have been used and the way the phone is put together. Clearly, Canvas Knight is the most premium Micromax phone till date, and this could be a benchmark that the company has set for itself. If that is the case, the future is very bright indeed!

Chrome shortcuts

Most of us use Google Chrome for day to day web browsing, so why not be a power user of the web browser and know all of the shortcut keys available within the browser? Here's a quick look at some of them:

Ctrl+Shift+N: Incognito mode is enabled, that is whatever you browse in this window, no history will be saved.

Ctrl+T: Opens a new tab in the current window.

Ctrl+U: View the HTML source code of the current document.

Ctrl+Click on the link: Opens the Hyperlink in a new tab. ( You can also use the middle button in the mouse to do so).

Alt+Home: Opens the home page of the browser.


Ctrl+N: Opens a new window. 

Ctrl+Shift+T: Opens the last closed tab

Ctrl+1..........Ctrl+8: Cycle between the open tabs, 1 for the first tab and so on.

Ctrl+9: Opens the last tab present in the current window.

Ctrl+Tab or Ctrl+PgDown: Switch to the next tab in current window.

Ctrl+Shift+Tab or Ctrl+PgUp: Switch to the next tab in current window. 

Ctrl+G or F3: Move to next Item in the Find Box

Ctrl+Shift+G or Shift+F3: Move to next Item in the Find Box

Ctrl+W or Ctrl+F4: Close current Tab.

Ctrl+J: View your downloads (ones you did using Chrome)

Ctrl+F5: Reload current page and ignore cached content.

Ctrl+H: View your history.

Ctrl+Shift+B: Toggle between the bookmarks bar as on or off.

(You can also drop links to bookmarks bar to add them as bookmarks!)

Ctrl+D: Add current webpage to Bookmarks.

And many a times I faced this issue and this shortcut was useful at those times, when you use Ctrl and + to zoom in or Ctrl and - to zoom out, you cannot quickly get back to the original text size, so use

Ctl+0: returns to original resolution of the page, i.e. normal text size

And yes last but not the least

Middle click on an open tab: Close the tab.

Hope these help you in some form :) - See more at: http://www.tech4every1.com/2012/08/chrome-shortcuts.html#sthash.lsP9ZVFI.dpuf
Read more at http://www.tech4every1.com/2012/08/chrome-shortcuts.html#ybFYxtrIHMLwhuve.99