Chinese Smartphones: 7 Compromises That You Make Against Lower Price

The recent influx of Chinese smartphones in Pakistan has gathered a lot of attention in the past couple of years. The main reason, just if you don’t know, is the affordable prices that come with these Chinese Smartphones.

Nowadays smartphones have changed the way in which most of us communicate and the large inventory of applications has allowed smartphone owners to make the most out of their phones. From playing games to watching videos on YouTube or surfing the internet on a smartphone has become a common practice. But the question that remains is that are these Chinese smartphones up to the task and worth their price?

Let’s find out.

No software updates

Now this might not be a huge problem for all, but all of the Chinese smartphones being launched to date are running Android 4.2 (Jellybean) out of the box which is about to be a year and a half old.

Over the Air updates are not expected to arrive anytime soon at the time of the writing of this article and might not ever become a reality since they require infrastructure which these smartphones companies do not possess.

Timely software updates have been an issue for even major OEM’s, let alone for these cheapo Chinese smartphones rebranding companies.

Performance

Most of the Chinese smartphones use Mediatek processors which are even though advertised as powerful quad core processors, are not that powerful.

They do offer good performance in light to moderate usage; however they still are unable to compete with even midrange offerings from other OEM’s. Most of these processors feature four Cortex A7 cores which are no longer competitive enough so basically it’s outdated hardware that you are going to buy.

Another hardware aspect which is a letdown is the presence of only 512mb of RAM which just isn’t good enough for multitasking. Although some companies have offered premium flagship smartphones with 2 gigs of RAM but their price is way too steep for their quality mobiles (pun intended). At that price point there are many other options to consider.

Just to let you know, that’s how these Chinese smartphone makers keep the prices low, i.e. by using inferior and out-dated hardware.

Poor Developer Support

Now this again might not be a problem for the ordinary Joe but for someone like me who prefers to be running the latest version of Android, even when their device has been discontinued has only one door to knock. Say hello to XDA Developers Forum. As the name suggests these forums are “made by developers, for developers”.

Where do we fit in? Well, as it happens you can always open the forum related to your device and checkout all the cool ROMs (ROMs are custom versions of android) made by developers for your phone. Earlier I mentioned the woes of software updates; the solution is simple just install a new ROM for your device based on a newer Android version. Pretty easy, right? The main problem is that there are no forums for Chinese phones.

Although nowadays one can find a ROM for some of these Chinese efforts, they are buggy and not to mention few in number and mostly based on Jellybean which pretty much kills the whole point.

Poor Customer Support

Most of these companies which introduce Chinese smartphones into Pakistani markets have only a couple of Service Centre’s in major cities which are filled with incompetent staff. Another issue that some handsets face are buggy software’s and corrupt firmware’s which waste a lot of time, energy and money. So buying a Chinese smartphone which works how it should is a blessing indeed.

Other common issues

Firstly, most of these handsets come with low resolution panels, which results in an overall unfavourable viewing experience. The quality of the touch panels are good in some phones whereas poorer in other models offered by the same company. Lastly, some handsets offer really poor rear camera which is a huge disappointment for all those photographer’s in us.

Pricing

Pricing was the essential factor that made these companies emerge so quickly out of the blue. Now these companies are offering smartphones for above 30,000 rupees which is too steep considering all the factors mentioned above but that must be the result of paying all those Bollywood actors, one can suppose.

Resale Value

Sooner or later the time comes when you need to and decide to upgrade your phone. At that point of time many decide to sell their old phone for some extra cash. Gone were the days when those good old Nokia phones fetched a good price. With new classified sites gaining popularity, the resale of smartphones has become very easy and the trend of selling phones after rare usage at a price lower than other sellers has increased which results in an overall decrease of resale value.

Alternatives

Now allow me to point out a few alternatives from recognized OEM’s that are lil old in age but they are still better than their Chinese Counterpart:

1. HTC One X: Equipped with an NVidia Tegra 3 processor clocked at 1.5 GHz and 1 GB of ram, not to forget the gorgeous design. This phone is a crowd pleaser and can be found for up to 25,000 rupees.
2. Samsung Galaxy S3: Even though it’s going to be two years since it was first released; this ex-flagship comes with a large developer support and a good camera is nothing to underestimate. Prices vary from 25,000 to 27,000 rupees
3. Motorola Moto G: One of the best budget phones ever made with timely updates and a striking display the Moto G is a force to be reckoned with. Prices vary from 20,000 to 25,000 rupees
4. LG Optimus G Pro: This is the most powerful and under rated device in this list. With a 1.7 GHz quad core snapdragon 600 processor and 2 GB of ram, this phone is a total beast. It can be found from 25,000 to 30,000 rupees.

Conclusion

At first glance these Chinese smartphones might look like a good bargain but the fact is that all these cons do not make them buying worthwhile especially when few old flagships pose tough competition.

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Hackers turning smartphones into slave armies!

Hackers turning smartphones into slave armies

Mobile security firm Lookout on Wednesday warned that Android-powered smartphones or tablets are being targeted with malicious software that puts them at the mercy of hacker overlords.

The persistence and sophistication of malware dubbed NotCompatible is another sign that cyber criminals are hitting smartphones and tablets with tactics and tenacity once reserved for desktop computers, according to Lookout security researcher Jeremy Linden.

"Mobile is becoming the dominant computing platform and, because it is so ubiquitous, we are seeing heightened malware targeting it," Linden told AFP.

"Mobile malware is becoming very advanced and rapidly reaching parity with PC malware."

Information that can be mined from hacked smartphones includes where people have been, pictures taken and call logs.

"It is the jackpot when it comes to valuable data, so obviously bad guys are doing a lot of work to get at it," Linden said.

So far, it appears to Lookout that control of smartphones and not pilfering what they hold is the primary use of NotCompatible.

Armies of enslaved mobile devices are used for sending spam hawking goods such as diet pills, or snatching up hot concert tickets when they go on sale so they can be scalped later at higher prices, according to Lookout.

Hackers operating networks of infected mobile devices likely rent out the "botnets" for uses such as unleashing barrages of email ads and attacking websites.

The most common way for the virus to get on a smartphone is by visiting legitimate websites that have been hacked and then booby-trapped to secretly infect visitors, Linden said.

NotCompatible typically introduces itself as an Android system update and asks for permission to install in mobile devices. One way to safeguard against infection is to decline such prompts and go through smartphone settings to check for system updates.

The malware has grown in sophistication since it was first detected in 2012, adopting measures to elude detection by researchers and adding the ability to endure even if servers being used by hackers to control it are taken down, according to Lookout.

Those behind NotCompatible were said to be running it like a savvy business operation, and are doing well enough to invest heavily in beefing up the back-end on which the malware relies.

"While it is true we haven't seen any data stealing, you don't want anything like this on your device," Linden said.

"You are adding to the general danger of the Internet by letting an attacker use your network for something unsavory, and you could be responsible for any data plan charges."

If people use infected smartphones on the job, there is risk the virus could provide openings for hackers to slip into company networks.

AFP

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Apps let parents control children’s usage of electronic devices

Apps let parents control children’s usage of electronic devices:

TORONTO - Parents struggling to get their children away from smartphones and tablets for meals, homework, exercise and other activities can arm themselves with new apps to remotely block access to the devices.

Usage of smartphones and tablets among children has tripled since 2011, according to Common Sense Media, a San Francisco based non-profit that studies the effects of media and technology on young users.
A new app called Dinner Time Parental Control, for iPhone or Android smartphones, enables parents to restrict when children can use their smartphones and tablets.

“The price of entry level smartphones and tablets have come down a lot, and as a result, more and more kids have their own individual devices,” said Richard Sah, co-founder of Dinner Time, based in San Mateo, California.

With the free app, parents can pause activity on a child’s Android smartphone or tablet so that they can focus on things like homework, exercise and family time. Once a device has been paused, all functions on their device are blocked, including the ability to text and play with apps.

To use the app, parents install it on the child’s device and enter in their phone number to link the two devices. Parents can then set specific break times, ranging from 30 minutes to three hours, when the device will be locked. A countdown screen displayed on the child's device shows when they can use it again.
Sah said he was inspired to develop the app by the tradition of family dinners, which he thinks is being lost in the age of technology.

“Dinner time brings families together for quality time and to have lots of different conversations"

We want people to come together for engaging conversations, rather than be distracted by a tablet,” he said.
DinnerTime Plus, another free app from the company, lets parents manage the apps their children use and to views the apps they are using in real time.
Parents can also purchase detailed reporting, which outlines how much time kids spend on certain apps, and how often they used them
.
With another app called ScreenTime, parents can push a button on their phones to block usage on their children's devices. They can also set daily time limits for particular apps. The app, for Android, requires a subscription of $3.99 a month.

Kimberly Young, a psychologist who focuses on Internet addiction, believes parents need to control how much time their children spend on their devices. But she added an app might not be the best way to do it.
“I do not agree that any app is better than good old-fashioned parenting in terms of treating Internet addiction,” said Young, who added that she has seen children as young as 3 years old using mobile devices.
“The larger issue is how young is too young,” said Young.

Sah is also concerned about usage of devices by young children.

"Most kids can use smartphones before learning to write their names or tie their shoes,” he said.

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Google sets sights beyond smartphones at annual developer conference

Google sets sights beyond smartphones at annual developer conference

By Alexei Oreskovic

Reuters 

SAN FRANCISCO — Google Inc, whose Android software reigns as the world’s dominant smartphone operating system, will step up efforts to make inroads into cars, televisions and other devices at its annual developer conference this week, sources familiar with the matter said.

The Internet company is racing against rivals such as Apple Inc, Samsung Electronics Co and other companies to extend its business into a broadening field of Internet-connected devices.

“It's a land grab,” said Sameet Sinha, an analyst with investment bank B. Riley & Co. “The person who gets a platform which controls the devices could be the dominant operating system, not of just devices, it could be the operating system of your home.”

“New platforms offer new opportunities for hardware sales, advertising sales, e-commerce sales, all of these,” Sinha said.

Google would not say whether Chief Executive Larry Page will speak at the two-day Google I/O conference, which begins on Thursday morning and is expected to draw more than 6,000 developers from around the world.

Google's free Android software is used in more than three out of every four smartphones sold globally, providing Google with a valuable entry point for consumers to access its money-making online services such as Web search and maps. In March, Google announced plans to create a special version of Android designed for smartwatches.

Google is expected to provide an update on its plans to integrate Android into automobiles, making it easier for drivers and passengers to access navigation and entertainment features available on their smartphones, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The company could also unveil a new service that tracks a user's health and personal fitness information, similar to recently introduced services from Apple and Samsung, said another person familiar with the matter.
A Google spokeswoman declined to comment on any of the conference's potential announcements.
Among the events aimed at developers during the conference at San Francisco’s Moscone Center are sessions titled “Wearable computing with Google” and “Build for the multi-device Web," according to the official Google I/O website.

There will also be sessions focused on Nest Labs, the maker of smart thermostats and other home appliances which Google acquired for $3.2 billion in January. On Monday, Nest said it would for the first time allow other companies to create apps that communicate with its devices.

Google may also showcase a version of Android designed for televisions, according to technology blog The Verge. A TV version of Android would come four years after Google’s first effort to enter the living room, Google TV, failed to catch on with consumers.

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iPhone 6 and 6 Plus bending fears 'seem overblown'

iPhone 6 and 6 Plus bending fears 'seem overblown'

Samuel Gibbs

The Guardian 

User reports and fears that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus phones are bending in trouser pockets are overblown, according to independent testing by the US non-profit Consumer Reports.
In fact, its tests found that HTC’s One M8 phone bent under the same force as the iPhone 6 - and that the “phablet-size” iPhone 6 Plus was stronger than both. The tests showed, though, that the new phones are substantially less strong than 2012’s iPhone 5, whose body is also used in 2013’s iPhone 5S.

Consumer Reports tested the iPhone 6, 6 Plus and iPhone 5 against the LG G3, Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and HTC One M8 using a compression testing machine to apply a “three-point flexural test”, where a metered force is applied to the centre of the phone while it is supported at each end.
It concluded that “while nothing is (evidently) indestructible, we expect that any of these phones should stand up to typical use.”

It found that the 4.7in iPhone 6, which is 7.1mm thick, would show permanent bending with the equivalent of a 70lb (31.8kg) weight placed on the centre of its back. The 5.5in iPhone 6 Plus deformed at 90lbs, and the 4in iPhone 5 - which is 7.6mm thick - at 130lbs.
The 5in HTC One M8 also bend under a 70lbs weight, and its case separated at 90lb, while the iPhone 6 resisted to 100lb.

The 5.5in LG G3 resisted bending up to 130lbs, the same as the iPhone 5, and the 5.7in Samsung Galaxy Note 3 150lbs.

“While not the strongest smartphones on the market, fears of a serious structural design flaw in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus seem overblown,” explained Glenn Derene, electronics editor for Consumer Reports in a video of the tests.

Most of the phones continued to work after deforming, and required an extra 20 to 30lbs to bend enough to separate the screen from the phone’s case.
Consumer Reports bend testing the iPhone 6, 6 Plus and iPhone 5 with their Android competitors. Apple tests its smartphones using a similar method to Consumer Reports by applying 55lbs of weight to the back of the phones to test resilience to bending, or approximately the weight required to break three ordinary pencils.

Apple said that it only received nine complaints about iPhone 6 Plus phones bending and that it tested 15,000 smartphones during its own investigations.

Previous smartphone tests, which showed the iPhone 6 Plus bending, have used a a less scientific method, with a reviewer applying pressure manually with thumbs pushed into the back of phones.

‘I have a bent iPhone 6 Plus’

Initial reports by users of bending iPhone 6 Plus phones were followed up by video tests displaying a bent 6 Plus. Some reviewers of the smartphone have also found that their iPhone 6 Plus phones were either bent initially or bent during the course of their testing. The Guardian has not seen bending during testing of the iPhone 6 Plus, though it was not carried in trouser pockets.

“Like a lot of people, I have a bent iPhone 6 Plus. It’s almost imperceptible, but it’s there: a slight warp right at the buttons on the side. Put the phone screen down on a table, and it wobbles,” said Mat Hohan in a review of the iPhone 6 Plus for Wired. “I haven’t purposefully bent it and I don’t recall sitting on it (but I probably have).”

How many iPhone 6 Plus phones have been bent in users’ pockets is still unknown. Apple claims that it is not an issue for normal use, but phones from other manufactures have suffered similar bending issues.

As smartphones become thinner and longer with bigger screens, their relative strength decreases while the force applied to them inside pockets can increase due to a lever effect. 

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Smartwatches the next big idea as sales of smartphones slacken

Smartwatches the next big idea as sales of smartphones slacken

Oh, you've got a Pebble," said the security researcher, Mikko Hypponen, looking at the smart watch on my wrist. "Me too. But mine" – he pressed a button on the black device on his wrist, and the small black-and-white screen washed over until a familar shape appeared – "mine has Flappy Bird."
He proceeded to demonstrate how he could play the maddening smartphone game on a wrist-sized screen, pressing the two buttons at its side to make the frequently ill-fated bird avoid the deadly pipes. Hypponen's quirky use of his Pebble is at least one answer to the question: what are smart watches for? As sales of smartphones slacken, because almost everyone who wants one has one, hardware companies are looking around for other gadgets to sell us. And the smartwatch is their latest idea. If they can sell us one each they're in the money. And if they can get us using apps on them, that would be even better.
It is hotly anticipated that LG will join the select group, which includes its South Korean rival Samsung, the US-based Pebble, Japan's Sony and a host of smaller players with names like Meta, Cuckoo and I'm Watch (sic). Motorola, which Google is selling to China's Lenovo, is also expected to introduce a smartwatch – the Moto 360 – this summer.
Although Google's Android software runs about three-quarters of the smartphones on sale outside China, there is more of a battle to see who will dominate the supposedly emerging smartwatch business. There were about 1.1m Android smartwatches shipped in 2013, according to the research company Strategy Analytics, compared to 190,000 Pebbles. But Samsung's new Gear 2 watch, released in April alongside its Galaxy S5 smartphone) uses Samsung's own software, not Google's; Pebble too continues to push ahead.
That could all change imminently: Google is releasing the Android Wear operating system software for LG's G-Watch and Moto 360 – both of which have only been glimpsed so far as Photoshopped mockups. Experience suggests that the real things will probably be less pretty, significantly heavier and have less battery life. But Android Wear will bring information about transport delays, weather and so on via the Google Now software presently found on Android phones.
Two questions about smartwatches. First: what are we really going to do with them? The answer, according to their makers, is see notifications from your smartphone, but without having to take it out of your pocket or bag. Using a low-power Bluetooth wireless connection, your watch can know about the emails, tweets and Facebook updates your phone has received, and show them on its screen. And, perhaps, play Flappy Bird.
Alternatively, the watch can control a phone, answering or rejecting calls, changing the music that's playing, or changing the volume. And with suitable apps on board, the watch becomes a tiny computer in its own right.
But perhaps the most important question is: if smartwatches are so great, why hasn't Apple made one? The answer may be that it just doesn't feel the time is right. Senior Apple executives have expressed interest in my Pebble (they've already bought their own, for experimentation) but Apple tends not to do anything until it judges that a market is ready. However it has registered the "iWatch" trademark in Europe and Japan.
Fewer people will want a smartwatch than a smartphone. A wander through eBay soon turns up people selling their first-generation Samsung Gear ("used once" is a common refrain). No one has yet figured out how to make a wearable computer desirable. Will Android Wear – or an Apple iWatch – change that?
It may be a problem with this whole generation of wearable devices. After six weeks wearing Google's Glass – which has a camera and small screen fitted just above the right eye – the BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones has regretfully decided that "in its present form with its current software, Google Glass is a failure".
It's too early to say that about smartwatches. But there is the risk that like Google Glass, their manufacturers will promise much and find the devices fly no longer than the average Flappy Bird.

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Samsung seeks boost from redesigned Note

Samsung seeks boost from redesigned Note

YOUKYUNG LEE, AP Technology Writer

SEOUL, South Korea — The latest version of Samsung's popular big-screen Galaxy Note has gone on sale at a crucial time for the South Korean company as it suffers a rapid decline in profit from its global smartphone business.

With the Note 4 launch in the U.S. last week, Samsung introduced one of the biggest design changes to the Note series since it started sales three years ago, ditching plastic in favor of metal for its frame.
The choice is not a result of a change in the company's design policy, but a product of what Samsung does well: identifying the consumer trend and improving upon it. Yet it's unclear if that's enough to stanch sliding sales as the holiday shopping period nears.

By the end of 2013, Samsung had sold at least 48 million Galaxy Notes. The company would not reveal more recent sales figures. Even though reviews for the Galaxy Note 4 have been favorable, analysts said its redesign may not be enough as Apple Inc. has entered the large-screen smartphone category with the iPhone 6 Plus.
"It will not be easy," said Lee Sei-chul, an analyst at Woori Investment & Securities. The Note 4 "is a nice product but response to the iPhone 6 Plus has been good. "

Samsung estimated earlier this month that its July-September quarterly profit shrank to 4.1 trillion won ($3.8 billion), a 60 percent plunge from record-high 10.2 trillion won a year earlier. Samsung is scheduled to disclose earnings for business divisions later this month and analysts believe profit from its mobile business plunged to about one third of its level a year earlier.

Samsung's first Note in 2011 is credited with making big-screen smartphones popular, especially in Asia, but the "phablet" market has become crowded with rival models since then. The Note 4 with its 5.7-inch screen faces competition not only from the new iPhone 6 series, but also from Chinese handset makers.

Samsung is also under pressure to make amends for design missteps in the Galaxy S5 smartphone that led to the departure of its design team chief.
Samsung designers and developers said the opinions of consumers and their demands drove the design changes from plastic to metal and guided the direction of the technology behind the S Pen, as the Note's stylus is known.

"Giving the values that consumers want is important. I don't think simply making smartphones beautiful is important," said Kim Nam-su, a senior designer at Samsung's mobile design team.
The Note 4's metal frame is coated in the same color as the rest of the phone's body, except for the polished, chamfered edge.

The painted frame gives a sense of unity but also prevents users from leaving fingerprint marks, one of the main complaints about the Note 3's glossy frame made of polycarbonate, a type of plastic. Though the Note 4 still uses plastic for the back cover, Samsung gave subtle, tactile patterns to imitate leather.

The Note 4's adoption of a metal frame is a first for Samsung's top-of-the-line smartphone and may foreshadow changes in its future flagship mobile devices. The Galaxy Alpha used metal a little earlier but its phone power falls short of the Note 4. Many other high-end smartphones such as iPhones have used metal for a few years.

Critics have long complained the plastic body of Samsung phones makes them look cheap for the price, which is higher than $600. Some reviewers compared the dimpled plastic back cover of the gold version of the Galaxy S5 to a band aid.
"Overall trends cannot be ignored," said Kim.
But he said Samsung's mobile team doesn't think design is so important that other aspects of the phone should be sacrificed.

Though some people have complained about the protruded camera in Samsung phones, Kim said a slight protrusion in the rear camera in the Note 4 shows that when the phone's performance is important, designers should help engineers to achieve their goal. The iPhone 6 also had its camera bulging from the back for the first time in the iPhone's history.

An engineer behind the S Pen stylus said his team's goal was to incorporate a natural note taking feature in the digital device and using the digital pen like a mouse in personal computers by clicking and dragging.

The Note 4's stylus, embedded in the bottom right corner, responds to the screen faster and to more subtle variations of hand pressure than its predecessor, allowing more natural writing experience.
Despite a learning curve that still exists for first time stylus users, Samsung is trying to boost the use of S Pen by improving the user interface.

"There is a great possibility that it would become a major inputting device" for large smartphones, said Lee Joohoon, principal engineer at Samsung's mobile team.

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Oppo Find 7 Review: Built to Last

Oppo Find 7 Review: Built to Last

Ershad Kaleebullah

NDTV

Established manufacturers such as Samsung, HTC, Sony and Apple have contenders in the race for the best high-end smartphone, and the entire world waits with bated breath for their latest iterations year after year. Chinese company Oppo demonstrated its intention to enter this race last year with the Oppo N1. It had a swivel camera and was the first phone to ship with Cyanogenmod out of the box.

Oppo introduced the N1 in India too, albeit without Cyanogenmod, but it failed to create inroads into the market. The company is back again; this time with a phone that features almost all the high-end features one expects from a flagship smartphone, plus a QHD (1440x2560) resolution screen and a new charging technology.

Does the world need another high-end smartphone? Will the Oppo Find 7 manage to wow buyers with its innovative features? We find answers to these questions and more in our review. 

Look and Feel

Oppo might be a Chinese brand but the design and the build quality of its smartphones belies the general perception of cheap phones created by Chinese manufacturers. More importantly, Oppo has been innovative. While the Oppo Find 7 doesn't break the mould as much as the N1 did, it is no doubt a well-built device that oozes premium appeal from every angle.

As we said in our initial hands-on with the device, the nondescript pitch black front of the Oppo Find 7 is mostly taken up by the large 5.5-inch screen and the front face doesn't have any visible branding. The bezels are thin but not LG G3-thin. The phone itself cannot be considered thin by today's standards with its 9.2mm girth, and it is also rather wide at 75mm. Its weight of 172g makes it heavier than a lot of other flagship devices. 

The subtle contours on the rear are supposed to aid grip, but the smooth matte material makes it slippery to hold. We received the Astro Black version for review, and the pattern on the rear remind us of the Motorola Razr's Kevlar back. Initially, we thought the rear cover was fixed in place since the construction is almost as good as any unibody smartphone. However it is indeed removable, and the SIM card slot and memory card slot are beneath it, apart from the battery.

Despite the mostly plastic body, the chamfered edges are metal. On the left edge is the power button and the right edge features the volume buttons. The 3.5mm jack is on top, and the micro-USB port for charging and data transfer is on the bottom. The front camera, earpiece and almost invisible array of sensors sit above the display. Oppo has decided to go with capacitive buttons for navigation. We like the pulsating blue lights below the screen which glow every time a notification pops up.

The diamond-cut bevels, which Dell proudly advertises on its website, form a ridge that makes it easy enough to open the laptop, although you still need to hold the base down with one hand. The hinge feels stiff and sturdy - Dell claims it can withstand over 20,000 uses. The screen is covered with edge-to-edge glass there's a full-sized backlit keyboard along with a number pad on the lower deck. The only things disrupting the premium metallic body's looks are the bright blue and green Intel and Nvidia stickers in the lower right corner. We wish these could have been left off or moved to the rear.

We've found plenty of reasons to criticise Dell's keyboards of late, and the one on the Insprion 15 7000 is no exception. Despite having room for an entire number pad, Dell still chose to squash the arrow keys and remove the Pause/Break, Insert and Windows menu keys. At least the 0 on the number pad doubles as an Insert key. For some reason there's no LED indicator on the Num Lock key and it's off by default unlike it usually is with pretty much every other computer. The secondary functions, such as Home, End and the arrows aren't printed on the key caps either. This could cause massive confusion, since people who aren't used to having a number pad close by could hit keys completely different to what they intended.

The trackpad is pretty spacious but isn't properly centred to the keyboard. Your right wrist will rest on the trackpad when typing, but luckily it's smart enough not to move the cursor around at the wrong time.

Before we get into the nitty gritty, we want to get the obvious out of the way - the QHD (1440x2560) resolution of the 5.5-inch screen is absolutely phenomenal. With its 538ppi density, the screen screams for attention and we couldn't take our eyes off it. Until the LG G3 hits Indian retail shelves, the Find 7 will be the only phone one can buy in India with a 2K resolution screen. Colours are accurately calibrated, viewing angles are great, and sunlight legibility is decent too. That said, when compared to the LG G Pro 2 (review), which has a 1080p 5.9-inch display, we couldn't really tell much difference in screen quality. While it's definitely nice to have, we are of the opinion that a QHD screen is overkill for a smartphone.

Features and Specifications

We aren't surprised that Oppo has fitted the Find 7 with the best components, considering it is their new flagship. It comes with the latest Snapdragon 801 SoC. The quad-core processor is clocked at 2.5GHz and there is 3GB of RAM for running apps without hiccups.

The phone has 32GB of internal storage which can be further expanded by 128GB using external micro-SD cards. On the connectivity front, the Find 7 can technically connect to LTE networks but since it does not operate on the 2,300MHz band it won't work with current Indian 4G networks. The phone has a 13-megapixel rear camera with a Sony Exmor IMX214 sensor and dual-LED flash. It also has a 5-megapixel front camera. Providing the juice is a 3,000MAh battery under the hood.

Software
Oppo has a dedicated research and development team that works on tweaking Android. In a meeting with executives from Oppo's India arm we were made to understand that updates to the ColorOS skin on top of Android take time to engineer, and as result the latest version of Android could not be used on their smartphones. Even so, nearly all other flagship smartphones (and quite a few budget smartphones) come with Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box. The Find 7 runs Android 4.3 Jellybean, and there is no word on an update yet.

The ColorOS skin is a visual departure from regular Android. It doesn't feel heavy and is mostly lag-free. The Find 7 is filled with the regular suite of Google apps and also a ton of Oppo's own apps, not all of which might be useful. For example, the Lock Now app merely replicates the function of the power button. Also present are O-Cloud, Power Manager, Data Monitor, and a ton of other apps which are meant to secure the device. A few boring Gameloft games are also pre-loaded.

In other countries, customers have the option of buying a Find 7 with Cyanogenmod preloaded instead of ColorOS, and we wish this option was also available here.

Camera
The 13-megapixel rear camera does a really good job of capturing detail and keeping noise levels to a minimum. Even the captured colours are accurate, and exposure levels are quite good.

In our daylight tests we found that green leaves on trees had incredible detail, and despite the overcast conditions, we managed to capture some good photographs. Even in low light the camera performs much better than a lot of other smartphone cameras. Of course there is a noise algorithm that works overtime but it is not too bad. Photos taken in low light look as good as if not better than what's possible with an iPhone 5/5c. The 5-megapixel front camera is also really good, thanks to its BIS sensor. The clarity surprised us, and we would go as far as to say that the Find 7's front camera is better than a lot of other smartphones' primary cameras. Selfie lovers will approve of this.

With respect to the quality of captured 4K video, all we have to say is if video recording is the main reason you're buying a smartphone, then look no further than the Oppo Find 7. This is by a huge margin the best phone for capturing video thanks to the crisp picture definition and near-accurate colours. On the flipside, the 120fps slow motion video capture mode has muted colours and doesn't really do a good job.

On the icon of the camera app it says 'Designed by Oppo' (thanks to the QHD screen it was legible) but the design looks like a mashup between Android's default camera for Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich. An icon floating over the on-screen viewfinder can be tapped to reveal the different camera modes. Scrolling through the vertical list was, however, a bit of a pain.

Performance
The powerful specifications on paper spring to life in our benchmark tests and even in real-life usage. Moving through home screens was a lag-free experience, and apps opened and closed without any hesitation.

In our AnTuTu and Quadrant benchmark tests, the Find 7 scored 37,347 and 23,101 points, respectively. This is the fastest phone we've tested till date. Since the Adreno 330 GPU has to power the QHD screen, the graphics benchmark scores were lower than we would have liked. The phone managed to log scores of 19.6fps in GFXbench and 17,278 in the intensive 3DMark Ice Storm test.

We weren't too surprised to find that the Find 7 managed to play all our test videos including the high-bitrate 1080p videos. We even played a 4K resolution video and the phone had no trouble. The loudspeaker on the phone is very powerful, and thankfully it is pretty clear too. We would easily equate the sound quality to that of HTC's BoomSound speakers on the One (M8). Even the bundled earphones are of premium quality and the bass, treble and mids are well defined.

A new feature in the Find 7 that Oppo is promoting via a melodramatic advertisement is the VOOC charging technology that claims to charge the battery from zero to 75 percent in around 30 minutes. We managed to achieve this in 37 minutes, using the rather bulky bundled charger. Users will probably appreciate this since the 3000mAh battery won't last more than a day. In our battery test the phone went from 100 to zero percent in six hours and 22 minutes. Call quality is decent and the phone manages to hold on to cellular networks even in areas with low signal strength.

Verdict
Oppo's entry into the Indian market was with the N1 and the company got the most important aspect of their retail strategy wrong - the pricing. For a brand that was looking to make inroads in a market saturated with options and dominated by Samsung, N1's premium price tag was a deterrent for buyers. With the Find 7, however, we think Oppo manages to get it somewhat right. It is priced at Rs. 37,990.

It is currently one of the cheapest high-end smartphones in the market and gives tough competition to the likes of the Samsungs, Sonys and HTCs of the smartphone world. The one standout feature of the Oppo Find 7, its QHD screen, is better than what the current crop of flagships such as the Samsung Galaxy S5 (review), the HTC One (M8) (review), Sony Xperia Z2 (review) and even the Gionee Elife E7 (review) have to offer. The Find 7 is a contender for the top spot, and so eventually, it boils down to buyers' brand affinity.

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Samsung Galaxy Alpha review: a direct iPhone 6 competitor

Samsung Galaxy Alpha review: a direct iPhone 6 competitor

Samuel Gibbs

The Guardian 

Samsung’s new Galaxy Alpha Android smartphone finally demonstrates that the South Korean giant can do high-quality design and fantastic build quality, and begs the question why wait till now to do it.
The 4.7in Galaxy Alpha the smallest flagship smartphone in Samsung’s large range of devices. It sits under the 5.1in Galaxy S5 as the “design” smartphone, for people who want a smaller, better designed smartphone that doesn’t have to have all the latest technology packed in. Or at least that’s how Samsung puts it.
In reality it’s the first of a range of Samsung smartphones with metal bodies created in response to criticism over its plastic construction. The second metal smartphone will be the 5.7in Galaxy Note 4, due for release at the end of September or early October.

Premium design, build and feel

The Galaxy Alpha is both the most attractive smartphone Samsung has ever made, and the best built. The metal sides with chamfered edges feel great in the hand, and the plastic back has a soft-touch quality to it feeling a bit like a cat’s ear in texture.
It’s also very light at 114g - that’s 2g heavier than the 112g iPhone 5S, 15g lighter than the iPhone 6 and 31g lighter than the 145g Galaxy S5. It is solidly built with no give or twist in the body at all.
The smaller size of the phone compared to the majority of 5in flagship Android and Windows Phone smartphones makes it much easier to hold and use in one hand.
The 4.7in screen is colour rich and vibrant with good contrast and wide viewing angles. It has a 720p resolution resulting in a pixel density of 312 pixels per inch (ppi). While it is certainly sharp for reading text and viewing photos, it is noticeably less crisp than the Galaxy S5’s 5.1in 1080p screen with 432 ppi. For comparison the iPhone 5S has a 4in 326ppi screen and the incoming iPhone 6 a 4.7in 326ppi screen.

Specifications

• Screen: 4.7in 720p Super AMOLED
• Processor: Samsung Exynos 5 octa-core processor
• RAM: 2GB of RAM
• Storage: 32GB
• Operating system: Android 4.4.4 “Kitkat”
• Camera: 12MP rear camera, 2.1MP front-facing camera
• Connectivity: LTE, Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 with BLE, USB 2.0 and GPS
• Dimensions: 132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7mm
• Weight: 114g

Eight cores of power

The Alpha uses Samsung’s Exynos 5 octa-core processor, which has four low-power cores combined with four more powerful cores. Only four cores are used at any one time, with the lower power cores used until something demanding like playing a game or producing video is required to save battery.
The phone feels snappy, apps load instantly with no hint of lag and it handled blasting through graphically intensive games like Asphalt 8 without issue.
The Alpha has a smaller 1,860 milliampere-hour (mAh) battery than Samsung’s other flagship phones with batteries larger than 2,800mAh. The battery lasts about one day of solid use, with constant push email, three hours of listening to music over Bluetooth, two hours of browsing and 30 minutes of playing games. It will have to be charged every night, however. The Galaxy S5 with the 2,800mAh battery can last a day and half without a charge under similar usage.
Samsung’s Ultra Power Saving mode, which was praised in the Galaxy S5, works well, shutting down features, turning the screen black and white and limiting the number of apps available to a small handful, dramatically extending the battery life by days, with 10% battery listing around 24 hours of standby.
Unlike most other Samsung phones the Alpha has 32GB of built-in storage for apps, games, music, photos and movies, but no microSD card slot for further expansion.

Android customisations that you’ll have to live with

The Alpha uses the same version of customised Android as the Galaxy S5, and I have the same complaints. Known as TouchWiz, the customisations add clutter to the already good standard Android experience, duplicate experiences like Samsung’s S-Voice which performs most of the same jobs as Google’s built-in voice search, and has less than premium look.
Samsung’s My Magazine social news app, which sits on the very left most home screen and is powered by the Flipboard app, is slow and a detractor for most. Users can remove it from their home screens.
Some Samsung fans will love TouchWiz, while anyone who has used an Android phone before will know how to use it. There are a few good additions like the aforementioned Ultra Power Saving mode.

Fingerprint scanner

The Galaxy Alpha has the same swipe-over fingerprint scanner under the home button as the Galaxy S5 and Note 4. Samsung has spent a lot of time improving it and the difference is noticeable. You can register three separate fingers, but with each finger you can also record an associated thumb, which is the digit most people will use to unlock the phone.
The fingerprint scanner now has above a 95% success rate for me making it useful and convenient to unlock the phone or authenticate a purchase through PayPal and others. The improvements were recently pushed to the Galaxy S5 via a software update boosting my finger swipe success rate from 75% to above 95%.

Heart rate sensor

There is an optical heart rate sensor beside the camera on the back. It works fine, feeding data into Samsung’s S Health app, but I’m unconvinced as to whether it’s useful for the majority of people.

Camera

The 12-megapixel camera is a step down from the 16-megapixel camera in the Galaxy S5, but it is still a solid camera, with good colour saturation, crisp details and fast auto-focus. Photos in good lighting conditions look great, those snapped in lower light levels can look a bit grainy when enlarged beyond the size of the screen.

Price

The Galaxy Alpha will be similarly priced to the Galaxy S5, available for around £500 without a mobile phone contract from 12 September.

Verdict

The Galaxy Alpha is the best made smartphone Samsung, which shows the Korean giant can make very solid, premium metal smartphones like competitors Apple and HTC. It bodes well for Samsung’s new smartphones that are expected to follow a similar design.
The smaller screen, thin profile, light weight and enhanced thumb-friendly fingerprint sensor make using the Alpha one-handed very easy. It feels great in the hand with the cat-ear-like plastic back and chamfered metal edges. The Alpha is snappy and responsive and the battery lasts a full day.
The screen is noticeably less sharp compared to phones with 1080p screens while the lack of microSD card slot hampers how much music, movies and photos users can store, despite having 32GB of built-in storage.
The Alpha is the best smaller smartphone Samsung has ever made and a solid competitor to the upcoming iPhone 6, which has the same size screen, similar weight and thickness.
Pros: Metal frame, solid build, super thin, decent camera, snappy performance, all-day battery life , one-hand use easy
Cons: Screen less sharp that others, low-light camera performance could be better, no microSD card slot

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Google I/O 2014 to unveil new Android version, wearables:

An Android update, wearable gadgets and so-called smart home devices are just some of the innovations Google is likely to show off at its two-day developer conference, which begins Wednesday in San Francisco.

In recent years, the conference has focused on smartphones and tablets, but this year Google's Android operating system is expected to stretch -into cars, homes and smartwatches.

Pacific Crest analyst Evan Wilson believes Google will unveil a new version of its Android operating system - possibly called Lollipop - with a "heavy focus" on extensions for smartwatches and smart home devices.

"We think Google will directly counter Apple's recent announcements of health products (Apple HealthKit) and home automation (Apple HomeKit)," Wilson wrote in a note to investors.

Google's I/O event comes at a time of transition for the company, which makes most of its money from advertising thanks to its status as the world's leader in online search. The company is trying to adjust to an ongoing shift to smartphones and tablet computers from desktop and laptop PCs. Though mobile advertising is growing rapidly, advertising aimed at PC users still generates more money.

At the same time, Google is angling to stay at the forefront of innovation by taking gambles on new, sometimes unproven technologies that take years to pay off -if at all. Driverless cars, Google Glass, smartwatches and thinking thermostats are just some of its more far-off bets.

On the home front, Google's Nest Labs -which makes network-connected thermostats and smoke detectors- announced earlier this week that it has created a program that allows outside developers, from tiny startups to large companies such as Whirlpool and Mercedes-Benz, to fashion software and "new experiences" for its products.

Integration with Mercedes-Benz, for example, might mean that a car can notify a Nest thermostat when it's getting close to home, so the device can have the home's temperature adjusted to the driver's liking before he or she arrives.

Nest's founder, Tony Fadell, is an Apple veteran who helped design the iPod and the iPhone. Google bought the company earlier this year for $3.2 billion.

Opening the Nest platform to outside developers will allow Google to move into the emerging market for connected, smart home devices. Experts expect that this so-called "Internet of Things" phenomenon will change the way people use technology in much the same way that smartphones have changed life since the introduction of Apple's iPhone seven years ago.

Google is also likely to unveil some advances in wearable technology.

 In March, Google released "Android Wear," a version of its operating system tailored to computerized wristwatches and other wearable devices. Although there are already several smartwatches on the market, the devices are more popular with gadget geeks and fitness fanatics than regular consumers. But Google could help change that with Android Wear. Android, after all, is already the world's most popular smartphone operating system.

Google may also have news about Glass, including when the company might launch a new and perhaps less expensive version of the $1,500 Internet-connected eyewear. Google will likely have to lower the price if it wants Glass to reach a broader audience. But that's just one hurdle. Convincing people that the gadget is useful, rather than creepy, is another one.

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Apple, Samsung Strike Deal to End Patent Suits Outside U.S.

Apple, Samsung Strike Deal to End Patent Suits Outside U.S.

Adam Satariano and Joel Rosenblatt

Bloomberg

 

Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. are starting to wind down their global patent battle.

The companies said in a joint statement today that they have agreed to drop all suits against each other in countries outside the U.S. Claims are being abandoned in Australia, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Netherlands, the U.K., France and Italy.

The agreement shows Apple and Samsung may be nearing a conclusion to what has been a drawn-out and occasionally nasty worldwide patent fight, which has sprouted alongside the booming market for touch-screen smartphones. Apple has accused Samsung of copying its iPhone designs, while Samsung has countered that Apple is using pieces of its wireless-transmission technology without permission. Neither side won an overarching decision harming the other’s sales, and judges repeatedly urged the companies to settle rather than play out their dispute in court.

There had already been signs of de-escalation prior to today’s announcement. Apple and Samsung agreed in June to drop their appeals of a patent-infringement case at the U.S. International Trade Commission that resulted in an import ban on some older Samsung phones. Apple and Google Inc., which makes the Android mobile operating system that Samsung uses in many of its handsets, also announced a deal in May to drop lawsuits against one another related to Motorola Mobility.

Still, they said in the statement that they aren’t ending the legal battles completely, nor have they reached any cross- licensing agreement.

U.S. Cases

“Apple and Samsung have agreed to drop all litigation between the two companies outside the United States,” the companies said in the statement. “This agreement does not involve any licensing arrangements, and the companies are continuing to pursue the existing cases in U.S. courts.”

Michael Risch, a law professor at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, said in an e-mail that the deal shows how Apple and Samsung see their “mixed worldwide results as not worth the effort.” Yet he cautioned that since there is no cross- licensing agreement, the companies may “just be taking a breather before the next skirmish begins.”

The U.S. continues to be a legal battleground, Risch added, as the smartphone market shares for Apple and Samsung are shifting and are “still really in play.” Chinese makers Huawei Technologies Co. and Lenovo Group Ltd. are gaining ground by offering feature-packed phones at lower prices.

Sales Swell

The patent fights grew out of the surging sales for smartphones. After Cupertino, California-based Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, popularizing the use of phones with touch screens and Internet access, Samsung followed suit with a wave of models with different styles and prices.

The rivalry sparked two protracted patent-infringement cases in federal court in San Jose, California. Apple scored victories in the two California suits, including a $930 million verdict in 2012 and a $120 million result earlier this year.

The hearings unveiled a trove of internal company documents on both sides, including e-mails showing Samsung’s urgency to quickly get a smartphone on the market to match Apple’s iPhone, and notes from Apple executives complaining about the effect of Samsung’s advertising on the iPhone.

Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, Samsung mobile chief Shin Jong-Kyun and other executives from both companies attended a full-day session with a mediator in the first week of February, and representatives from both sides had several follow-up phone calls with the mediator, according to a report the companies filed that month. Other sessions in 2012 and 2011 also failed to generate a deal.

Partners, Rivals

The settlement comes as Samsung grapples with declining demand for its smartphones and slumping earnings. Its global market share declined 7.4 percentage points last quarter from a year earlier, and the company lost the top spots in key markets China and India.

Samsung last week also posted its smallest quarterly profit in two years, with its China shipments dropping 15 percent.

“The whole industry paradigm is changing,” Lee Seung Woo, an analyst at IBK Securities Co. in Seoul, said by phone. “Apple and Samsung have no time to waste and it’s time to get back to work.”

Complicating the legal spat has been that Apple and Samsung are close business partners, with Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung providing critical components like semiconductors and memory chips for Apple’s mobile devices.

The world’s top two smartphone makers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees on battles across four continents to dominate a market that was valued at $338.3 billion last year, according to IDC. Samsung controlled about 31 percent of the global market last year, compared with Apple’s 15 percent, the market researcher said.

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