Your Guide To Budget Smart Phones

With growing range of smart phones in the budget segment and their amazing value for money proposition, consumers can now choose from a wide range of devices with great performance and features without the need to have a fat wallet. Today, we simplify your buying process by bringing you some of the latest smart phones in the Rs7000 – Rs15000 price bracket that are what we believe, truly worth the amount you spend.

Redmi 2

Redmi 2

A successor to the Redmi 1s, the Redmi 2 has decent built quality which appears to be better that the previous version. It comes with the same 4.7inch HD IPS display with 312 PPI which is crisp and provides enough detail. On the inside, the phone packs a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 MSM8916 Quad Core chipset with Adreno 306 GPU coupled with a 1GB ram. The performance is decent and the phone does not disappoint you for the most part as it is capable enough to handle all day to day tasks with considerable ease including some high end games.

It runs on Android 4.4 KitKat with Xiaomi’s in house MiUI on top. The camera is an 8MP shooter and takes good pictures in appropriate lighting conditions. Xiaomi’s cameras have always impressed us with their image quality. Overall, for a price of Rs7000, this is probably the best smart phone you can currently get in the Indian market since its direct competitor is the Moto E2, which isn’t impressive.

Lenovo A7000

Lenovo A7000

Lenovo has been aggressively pricing their smart phones providing high end features and performance at a lesser price and it has done exactly that in the budget segment as well with its A7000. Sporting a massive 5.5 inch display, an 8MP primary and 5MP secondary camera, it is loaded with a 1.5 GHz MediaTek MT6752m octa core 64-bit processor, a first for the segment. For graphics performance, it has a Mali-760 MP2 GPU along with 2GB ram. The phone also supports 4G LTE and operates on Android 5.0 Lollipop with unique features such as Dolby Atmos sound. For Rs9000, it seems like a good buy, although we will have to do a comprehensive review to test its performance capabilities.

Honor 4X

Honor 4X

Huawei has been making quite a name for itself recently with its Honor brand and its Honor 4X is a good overall package at Rs10500. It has a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 Quad Core processor, 2GB Ram and a 5.5 inch IPS display, which despite not being Full-HD, is good enough. Its 13MP camera takes surprisingly nice pictures. 

Considering its competitor is the Moto G2, the Honor 4X is great for its price tag. The only advantage of the Moto G2 is its stock Android which is the first to get updates.

Zenfone 2

Asus Zenfone 2 (2GB versions)

The Zenfone series consisted of exceptionally high performance phones with the Zenfone 5 still being one of the best budget smart phones in the market. Asus aims to continue this legacy with its new Zenfone 2 series. Its top of the line version comes with a 4GB ram, which is a first for the Android world and costs Rs20000. The one on this list however is the 2GB version which comes with a budget friendly price tag of 13000 bucks. Powered by an Intel Atom Z3560 Quad Core processor clocked at 1.8 Ghz, the phone comes with a Gfx 6 Series Graphic Chip for good graphics performance along with a 13MP rear and 5MP front facing camera. Its supports 4G LTE connectivity and runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box with a layer of Asus’s own Zen UI on top. There’s also another variant available which comes with Full HD screen and is priced at 15k. The rest of the specs for both the variants remain exactly the same. Along with Mi 4i, this is the best Android smart phone in its price range.

                              

Mi 4i

 Mi 4i

A toned down version of the flagship Mi 4, the Mi 4i is impressive with its 1.7 GHz Snapdragon 615 64-bit octa-core chipset and 2GB of ram. Its 5 inch display is Full HD with 441 PPI. Priced at 13000, it ticks almost all the right boxes and fairs well in terms of performance as well. Additionally, its supports dual 4G SIMs and has 5.0 Lollipop version of Android. The only downside to this phone is the limited internal storage of 16GB without the support for expandable storage.

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Tech News: Nokia N1 Tablet Launched

Just when we thought Nokia was walking off into the sunset with its devices business, the company, out of nowhere, launched an Android powered tablet today. The Nokia N1 tablet sports an 8.9-mm display with a quad-core Intel Atom Z3580 64-bit SoC . From the looks, the device looks just like an iPad Mini. It is priced at $249 and runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop with a layer of Nokia's Z Launcher on top. 

Here's a quick look at the technical specifications.

Tech Specs
Height	200.7mm
Width	138.6mm
Weight	318g
Camera	8 MP rear with autofocus 5 MP front, fixed focus 1080p video recording
Display	7.9 inch 2048x1536 resolution Gorilla glass 3 IPS panel with LED backlight
Processor	Intel 64-bit Atom Z3580 Processor, 2.3 GHz
Memory	LPDDR3 (800 MHz), 2 GB
Storage	32 GB
Graphics	PowerVR G6430, 533 MHz
Battery	5300 mAh lithium polymer (3.7 V)
Connectivity	Wi-Fi, (802.11a/b/g/n/ac); dual channel (2.4GHz & 5Ghz) with MIMO Bluetooth 4.0
Software	Android TM  5.0 Lollipop

Nokia N1 - Reveal Video

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Share a drive with everyone on your Wi-Fi network.

So I came across this great article on the web about how you can share your files an all the devices you want without having to transfer those files individually on each device. Now in this day and age, one would think that the only way to do so is by using cloud service. However, cloud storage is expensive and hence not possible to implement on a small scale. But thats not the only way to share your files. There is a simpler and cheaper way. All you need is a USB port on the back of your Wi-Fi router and any USB storage device like a flash drive or an external hard drive. 
When its done, all the files on that drive can be accessed by any device (PC, smart phone, tablet etc.) connected to your Wi-Fi network. Here's how you can do it on windows:

Step 1: Choose your drive

The drive you choose can be as small as a pen drive or as large as an external hard drive. Check your router's manual to find out if there are any storage limitations, since some routers have a storage cap. Once you've chosen your drive, plug it into the USB port.

Step 2: Enable USB drive sharing

On any computer connected to your Wi-Fi network, launch your browser and type your router's IP address. You can find the IP address on the back of the router, in the device manual or go to control panel>>Network and Sharing Center>>Click on your active network connection>>Click Details. In most cases, the IP address looks like 192.168.X.X.

When the page loads, you'll be asked to log in with your username and password. If you changed it, you should know it. If you didn't, it's probably still admin (username), and admin (password) by default.

Every router's interface varies, but if yours has a USB port, you'll find a link entitled something like File Sharing somewhere in the settings. In this window, the file sharing server status (also called SAMBA) is set to disable. Change it to enable. Apply the settings and exit.

Step 3: Access the drive

Now you're ready to read and write to your attached hard drive. Open file explorer window and navigate to the Network folder in the left sidebar. Then, clear out the path at the top of the explorer window, and enter \\[your IP address]. For example, it might look like: \\192.168.1.1

With that, your drive will appear. Open it to access its contents, just like any other folder. If you're asked to log in, simply use your router's login credentials (the same one used to log into the Web interface.)

If you plan on leaving your hard drive attached, so that you can easily access it from any Explorer window, right-click the drive and select "Map network drive..." . Give it a name, and the folder will appear in the sidebar.

To access the drive on other computers on the network, repeat step 3.

Try it out and built your own cloud drive.

5 free softwares for your PC

We tend to load our computers with the most basic and obvious stuff like MS Office, Chrome etc. But have you considered thinking out of the box and trying something different? Well, here are 5 softwares that can enhance your PC experience absolutely free.

Recuva

Data can often get accidently deleted. Recuva recovers deleted files from camera memory cards, USB drives, the computer’s recycle bin or even an MP3 player. There may nor be 100% revival of data but it’s better than a total loss.

Evernote

Evernote is note and web clipping tool using which one save or sync text, audio, video, web pages etc. Into notebooks that can be accessed on various devices. The desktop version particularly has many features and tool for organizing your data.

Rainmeter

A simple to use software, it is useful because windows does not offer much desktop customisation. You can add widgets, notes, launch applications .You can also download and use thousands of skins from the community (for free).

Dexpot

Dexpot is a free virtual desktop software. You can use multiple desktops , categorise them as you wish for activities like work, gaming, internet and so on. Each desktop can have a different wallpaper, different icons and different running applications. You can switch between desktops with the mouse or keyboard shortcuts.

EaseUSPartition Master Home

Windows 7 and Vista have built-in partition software but EaseUS does more than just basic partitioning. The free home version can recover lost or deleted data, copy entire partitions, or run a disk surface test to locate any physical flaws with a hard disk. This program is best for managing and reallocating partition space without affecting your data.


For questions and queries, please leave your comments or visit the contact section.

Tech News: Google Nexus 5 - Details Leak Online

After the Nexus 4, it's successor Nexus 5 is rumored to be launched on 31 October. It's details have been leaked on online. 

According to PhoneArena, Nexus 5 would be available in two storage models; 16GB at about $299 (Rs 18600) and 32GB at $399 (Rs 24800). We can't be sure about the credibility of this report though. 

The Nexus 5 models would come with a different battery capacity. The 16GB would feature a 2300 mAh battery, while the 32GB would have a 3000 mAh cell. 

According to sources, Nexus 5 would feature a 4.97-inch full HD display with 442 ppi (pixels per inch) and is said to be the first Android smartphone to run on the recently unveiled Android v4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box.

On the hardware front, the Nexus smartphone is rumored to come with a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 series quad-core processor, Adreno 330 GPU, 2GB RAM. It is also said to be equipped with an 8.0-megapixel camera with MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical System) technology and a 1.2-megapixel front camera.

Here are the rumored specs at a glance.

Model	LG- Google Nexus 5
Display	4.97-inch full HD display with 1080x1920p resolution having pixel density of 442 ppi (pixels per inch)
OS	Android v4.4 Kit Kat
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 series quad-core processor
GPU	Adreno 330
RAM	2GB
Storage	32GB and 16GB
Camera	Main: 8.0-megapixel camera with LED flash, MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical System) technology Front: 1.2-megapixel camera
Battery	2,300 mAh (16GB) and 3000 mAh (32GB)
Network	4G/LTE
Connectivity	Dual-band Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac), Bluetooth v4.0, NFC, GPS, wireless charging ability
Dimensions	131.9 mm tall and 68.2 mm wide

For questions and queries, please leave your comments or visit the contact section.

Cleaning Windows Registry

Registry is a system defined database used by an operating system to store all the required information to configure the windows setting for one or more users, other applications and hardware devices. Information present in the registry includes user profiles, applications installed on the computer, settings for each application folder and icon, existing hardware in the system, and all the ports that are being used. 

Importance of Registry Cleaning

Users don't usually give much importance to the number and frequency of the software they install. As a result of this careless software installation, the registry gets mucked up. This gives rise to consequences such as slower system performance or even a system crash. Improper uninstall of software is also one of the reasons for problems relating to registry. Hence it is always necessary to delete or uninstall applications and software from the Add or Remove Programs feature in control panel. Manually deleting programs without using this feature might mistakenly move away the registry key in the OS or leave behind the orphaned registry key. This will cause the problem of missing/ invalid registry entries. Because of such reasons, cleaning Windows registry is a crucial action that needs to be implemented regularly. Doing it timely will save the user from bearing the loss of important data 

You Cannot Delete the Registry by Yourself

When you attempt to erase the registry by your own, the risk that you may remove the valid registry is high because without a software, it is not easy to determine which registry belongs to which application. This may cause the system to crash or software to malfunction. Therefore, you need a specialized software for cleaning the registry.

5 Free Windows Registry Cleaners

You can either purchase a registry cleaner software or you can download one for free from the internet. These are few of the free cleaners available online:

1. CCleaner

2. Comodo System Utilities

3. TweakNow RegCleaner

4. Wise Registry Cleaner Free

5. AML Registry Cleaner

If the software is run regularly, you will save a lot of disk space for your PC. The system will run smoothly and efficiently.

New Launch: Asus Transformer AiO Review.

Ever since Windows 8 was announced and released, we have witnessed the invention of many new devices to oblige the new generation operating system. We have seen new age tablets, smart devices and even hybrids. But if you think those devices are all cool and breakthrough, then you will be amazed to know that there is a new species of devices in town; the Asus Transformer AiO P1801. 

Of all the devices we have seen so far, this is the strangest of them all; a hybrid tablet and desktop with two separate processors. And that's not it: each of those processors runs a separate operating system, one Windows 8 and the other Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Confused? You must be wondering 'how's that even possible?' Well, that is what we are about to find out. 

Design

TechRadar reviewed the gadget recently. The Transformer AiO's base unit packs a third-gen Intel i5 or i7 processor, and is the part which runs Windows 8. The screen is removable and acts as a tablet when it's not on the base. The tablet part has its own Nvidia Tegra 3 and runs Android Jelly Bean. Which means, the removable tablet portion and the base portion both have their own separate processors and operating systems. The Intel-powered base unit can stream Windows 8 over Wi-Fi to the tablet. So the tablet can really do either.Each portion has its own storage, as well; the tablet has 8GB of eMMC while the base unit packs between 500GB and 2TB of hard drive space.

Tablet Specs

The tablet features up to 8GB of RAM and a graphics chip using 1GB of virtual memory. So the tablet can run on Android separate from the base, while the base when left alone does nothing by itself - the tablet has to be placed on the base or connected via Wi-Fi to take advantage of the base's Intel chip and switch from Android to Windows 8 mode.The AiO tablet alone is quite big; it has an 18.4-inch 10-point multi-touch screen and weighs 2.5kg. The screen offers 16:9 1080p IPS display.   
                           

Base Specs

The base has a DVD drive, four USB ports, an MMC/SD/SDHC card slot, and more. The tablet itself carries its own set of connectors, including a card slot and mini-USB. The wireless Asus keyboard and mouse are included.

We normally feel content with only one OS at a time but in this case, you get  two. This incredibly distinct device defines the computing experience in a whole new way. For some, this might come as a replacement for a home desktop PC. Others looking for portability, this device may seem to be inconvenient because of its large size.

Feel free to drop in your opinions and thoughts on this device in the comments section below and let other know about this blog.