Android, Motorola

Android 4.4.4 KitKat Update rolling out on Moto E, G & X Mobile Phones in India

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Android 4.4.4 KitKat Update shall be available on Motorola Moto E, Moto G and Moto X Mobile Phones from this week in India.

With the KitKat Update, Motorola Customers will be able to enjoy a pure, bloat ware-free and seamless Android experience with the new features that KitKat 4.4.4 brings with it. The KitKat Update also offers an extra layer of security for browsing web content on a Motorola E/G/X phone.

The phased-rollout will see users receive notifications to update their OS. The update can also be accessed through the Settings Menu on the Motorola phone as under:

  1. Select the Settings icon in the Apps Menu.
  2. Select “About Phone”
  3. Select “System Updates”
  4. Select “Download”. After the software is downloaded, select “Install”
  5. After the software is installed, your phone will restart automatically

There is no charge for this Update other than the normal Data Charges. If you have trouble upgrading your handset, please visit :

https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/ci/documents/detail/2/general-registration-en-in.

Android Mobiles, Panasonic

Don’t just Do…Do More with the Panasonic P81 Smartphone with an Octa Core Processor

Panasonic_P81_Octa_Core_Smartphone

There are those who do and those who do more with super speed.

When you want to do more at super speed.. get the Panasonic P81 Smartphone with an Octa Core Processor.

The Panasonic P81 Smartphone offers:

  • super fast processing with an Octa Core Processor
  • multi-window smart app switching
  • a rich browsing experience
  • simplified calling
  • simplified organizing
  • and much more.

The Panasonic P81 is coming soon at a store near you. Watch out for a detailed review in May 2014.

Click below to know more:

 

Android Mobiles, Motorola

Motorola launches Moto E Smartphone in India for Rs. 6,999/-

Moto E Mobile

Today, Motorola has launched Moto E an attractive and rugged Dual SIM Smartphone in India. The Moto E is affordably priced at Rs. 6,999/- and is available exclusively from the online retailer, Flipkart.

The Moto E Smartphone runs on the Android Kit Kat 4.4.2 Operating System and is built using the Snapdragon 200 SOC. The Moto E has a Dual Core 1.2 GHz A7 Processor, Adreno 302 440 MHz Graphics Processor, 1GB RAM and 4GB Internal Storage expandable up to 32GB using a Micro SD Card. The phone does not have any bloatware which conserves its System Resources. It comes preloaded with Moto Alert and Moto Assist; two useful applications.

The Moto E phone has a 4.3″ IPS 540*960 qHD 256 ppi Display with 24 bit Color Depth for Dynamic Colors, Anti Smudge Coating and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for scratch resistance. The Display is optically bonded for less glare/reflection. The Moto E is coated for resistance against water spills, such as in case of rainfall.

The phone is powered by a 1980 mAh non-removable Battery that is claimed to last for a full day on a single charge.

Moto E has a 5MP Camera on its rear with features such as One Tap Capture, 4x Digital Zoom, Burst Mode, Auto HDR and Panorama mode. The Camera does not have Auto Focus capability and is without an LED Flash.  The user has to touch the screen to focus and capture a picture. Auto Focus would have made photography simpler for first time users and beginners. An LED Flash could have been very useful. Due to lack of Flash, the Camera does not take good pictures in a dark environment. There is no Front Camera either, although it is not used much anyway.

The phone can playback high resolution videos of 720p and can record videos in 854x480p (FWVGA) resolution at 30 frames per second.

Moto E has also has an inbuilt FM Radio. Like most other phones, Headphones are required to use the Radio.

Moto E is equipped with WiFi, Bluetooth v4.0, GPS, a 3.5mm Headphone socket and a micro USB port. Micro SIMs are used in the phone. The phone has an Accelerometer, Proximity and Ambient Light Sensors, a Notification LED and Two front Speakers, above and below its Display. At this time we are not sure whether both SIMs support 3G data or only one SIM can be used for 3G data.

The phone bears the design elements of its sibling, the Moto G and is available in Black and White Colors with more than 20 Motorola Back, Flip and Grip Covers for style and personalization. The phone is a bit heavy at 142 grams.

With a rich feature list and an affordable price, the Moto E is for ‘Everyone’ desirous of an ‘Excellent’ Dual SIM Smartphone at an affordable price.

We believe that the Moto E will attract users intending to migrate from Feature phones to Smartphones and shall give good competition to homegrown mobile brands in the Indian market.

To buy the Moto E Smartphone from Flipkart: Click Here

Amkette, Mobile Accessories, Reviews

Amkette Trubeats Metal Wireless Speaker Review

Amkette TruBeats Metal Wireless SpeakerAmkette, the popular manufacturer of Floppy Diskettes during the nineties has diversified into PC Peripherals, Audio Video Accessories and Speakers. Amkette recently launched its Trubeats ‘Metal’ Wireless Speaker, a small ultra portable Power Speaker with an inbuilt rechargeable Battery, Bluetooth and Speaker Phone capability. The Trubeats ‘Metal’ Wireless Speaker is available from online retailers Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal for Rs. 2090/- onwards (MRP Rs. 2995/-).

The Trubeats ‘Metal’ Speaker is equipped with Bluetooth for wireless connectivity with Mobile Phones, Tablets, Laptops and other devices equipped with Bluetooth functionality. It is also equipped with Speaker Phone capability for answering calls using its inbuilt Microphone on the Desk, in the Car or Outdoors.

The build quality of the Trubeats ‘Metal’ Speaker is solid and impressive. It also looks decent. The Speaker is built with a ‘Metal Alloy Drum’ . The Metal Alloy drum enables the Speaker to produce very clear high and mid frequencies and good low and low-mid frequencies.  The Trubeats ‘Metal’ Speaker is equipped with 4 Buttons for Playback, Fast Forward, Reverse, Volume +/- and Power On/Off functions. The inbuilt Battery of the Trubeats Metal Speaker is charged via its Mini USB Port. It is equipped with Three Color LEDs, which attractively display the status of Bluetooth connectivity as well as Battery Charging.

The Trubeats ‘Metal’ Speaker is magnetically shielded. The anti-magnetic shielding prevents magnetization of nearby Electronic Devices and allows placement of the Speaker near Laptops, external Hard Disks,  and other electronic devices.

The Specifications of the Speaker are as under:

  • Speaker Size: 40 mm
  • Output: 3W
  • Frequency Response: 180Hz-20KHz
  • S/N Ratio: ≥80dB
  • Bluetooth Version: 2.1 Class 2
  • Profiles supported: A2DP V1.2, AVRCP V1.4, HSP, HFP
  • Range: Up to 10 m
  • Playback Time: ~ 8 Hrs
  • Weight: 315 gm

Specifications Source: Amkette website. We tested the Amkette Trubeats Metal Speaker and noted the following:

Pros:

  • Attractive, compact and ultra portable
  • Solid build
  • Anti-magnetic shielding for safe and convenient placement near other electronic devices
  • Clear Sound, specially the high and mid frequencies
  • Quick and easy connectivity with Bluetooth devices
  • Convenient Buttons for Music Playback, Forward, Reverse, Pause, Vol.+/- and Speaker Phone
  • 3 Color LEDs attractively display the battery charging and Bluetooth connectivity status
  • Convenient Interfaces: Wireless: Bluetooth, Wired: Aux-in/Earphones Input, Mini USB Charging Port (although Micro USB would have been more convenient)
  • Playback time of over 5 hours over Bluetooth
  • Reasonable price, almost 50% of other popular Wireless Speakers available in the market.

Cons:

  • Not possible to interconnect Two Trubeats Steel Speakers for Stereophonic Sound
  • Handset compatibility issue over Bluetooth
  • Vol. Buttons do not operate in Aux Mode
  • Short Aux Cable ~18”

The Missing Bits:

  • No Setup/User Guide
  • No Battery Charger

Detailed Review:

Sound Quality using ‘Aux In’ via Laptop

We tested the Amkette Trubeats ‘Metal’ Wireless Speaker with Audio CDs and MP3 Music with Bit rates up to 320 Kbps on a Laptop using the supplied Aux/EP cable. The sound quality of this Speaker is very good, clear and distortion-free. It plays high and mid frequencies very well and responds well to Equalizer Changes. The Speaker also responds well to various Equalizer Settings from the Laptop. Upon playback of music from the Laptop, you do not miss the Second Speaker. However, the Speaker Volume cannot be controlled from Speaker.

Sound Quality on Bluetooth via Mobile

The Amkette Trubeats ‘Metal’ Speaker is connects very easily and quickly (in under 30 seconds) over Bluetooth. However, over Bluetooth, the Amkette Trubeats ‘Metal’ Speaker has Mobile Handset Compatibility issues. We tested the Amkette Trubeats Bluetooth Speaker with multiple Mobile Phones. The sound quality was nice and clear upon playback of music with the Motorola Moto G and Samsung Note (N7000) mobiles. However, upon playback of music with the Samsung Galaxy Grand Quattro mobile, we got an output with intermittent gaps. For as long as the sound played, it was very clear, but the intermittent gaps in music playback spoiled the listening. The intermittent gaps in music playback may be due to Bluetooth version compatibility or buffering issues. To avoid disappointment, before buying the Amkette Trubeats ‘Metal’ Speaker, check its compatibility with your mobile handset by playing music over Bluetooth for a few minutes. Buy this Speaker only if there are no gaps in music playback with your handset.

Call Quality on Bluetooth via Mobile

We tested the call quality of the Amkette Trubeats ‘Metal’ Speaker with Motorola Moto G, Samsung Note (N7000) and Samsung Galaxy Grand Quattro mobile handsets. The Speakerphone Call Quality was very disappointing across all the handsets with which we tested the Speaker. A very annoying echo is heard by the Caller when this Speaker is used. The Microphone of the Speaker is not very effective beyond approx. 12”. The echo received by the Caller might be due to lack of Noise Cancellation, the proximity of the Microphone to the Speaker and the High Output of the Speaker.

The Small but Important Things

  • Playback Time over Bluetooth on Battery: Tested the Speaker over Bluetooth, on Battery for  approx. 6 hours. Amkette claims 8 hours playback time. Sweet!
  • Bluetooth Operating Distance: Approx. 10 feet with a brick wall in between.
  • Sound Output: Loud and Clear for a room size of 100-200 sq. feet.

Conclusion:

A good value-for-money ultra portable wireless speaker at a great price. Not recommended for use as a wireless Speakerphone. If you are not buying it for use as a Speakerphone, you will enjoy using it.