HTC One Vivid Blue Hands On

If you can’t beat them, then join them – that’s a phrase that is used a lot and HTC have taken this to heart with the new HTC One Blue. Taking their inspiration from chief Android rival Samsung, who release their smartphones in multiple colours, HTC has introduced Red and Blue versions of its HTC One flagship.

Aside from a colour makeover, the HTC One Blue comes with the same premium specs as the Silver and Black versions. The Front features a 4.7 inch Full HD 1080p screen with 468ppi pixel density whilst the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor is clocked at 1.7GHz. Just like the original version, the HTC One Blue comes with 2GB RAM, 32GB internal storage and a unibody design which houses the 2,300 mAh embedded battery.

The back features the same 4MP Ultrapixel camera that debuted on the HTC One and then made its way to the HTC One Mini. The blue coating still produces the same premium aluminium metal feel that we like on the HTC One and as you can see, the HTC One Blue is more a Blue and Black combination with Black highlights and the metal band around the device all black in colour.

The HTC One Blue is very pleasant to the eye and the blue and black combination works well with the naturally black parts of the device, such as the BoomSound speakers and the front facing camera. The blue colouring is closer to sky blue than navy blue and it comes with a metallic shiny finish that looks very impressive when reflecting light.

Acer Liquid S2 vs Liquid S1 Hands On

Acer unveiled the Liquid S2, successor of the Liquid S1 and the company’s latest flagship smartphone ahead of IFA 2013, earlier this week.We managed to compare these two devices at the event. The difference in terms on specifications between these devices are huge. The Liquid S1 has a 5.7-inch 720p HD screen, while the Liquid S2 has a 6-inch (1920 x 1080) Full HD IPS display with curved Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The Liquid S1 has a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor MediaTek 6589T chip, while the S2 comes with a 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor. Both the devices run on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean).

The Liquid S1 has a 8MP auto focus rear camera with LED flash, 1080p HD video recording and a front-facing camera with 88 degree wide angle, while the Liquid S2 comes with a 13MP auto focus rear camera with BSI sensor, LED ring flash and 4K video recording. It has a 2MP front-facing camera with  88 degree wide angle lens, BSI sensor and 1080p video recording.

The Liquid S1 has a 1 GB RAM,  8 GB of internal storage and expandable memory up to 32GB via micro SD. The Liquid S2 has 2GB RAM, 16GB  internal memory and expandable memory up to 128GB with micro SD. The Liquid S1 has a 2400 mAh replaceable Lithium polymer battery, while the Liquid S2 comes with a 3300 mAh battery non-replaceable battery.

Lenovo Vibe X vs HTC One Hands On

Lenovo announced the Vibe X, the company’s latest flagship smartphone at the IFA 2013, and the HTC One is the company’s latest flagship smartphone that was released earlier this year. The Lenovo Vibe X is powered by a 1.5 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6589T processor, while the HTC One is powered by a Snapdragon 600 chip clocked at 1.7 GHz with Adreno 320 GPU. We managed to do a quick hands-on comparison of these devices. Check out the hands on comparison below.

The Lenovo Vibe X has a 5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD display at 441ppi pixel density and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, and the HTC One has a 4.7-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD display with 468ppi pixel density with Corning Gorilla Glass 2 protection.

The Vibe X has a 13-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED Flash with 1080p Full HD video recording, but lacks OIS, while the HTC One comes with a 4MP Ultrapixel camera with 1080p video recording and OIS. The Vibe X comes with a 5MP front-facing camera and the HTC One has a 2MP front camera.

The HTC One has aluminium build with non-removable 2300 mAh battery, while the Vibe X has polycarbonate body with a 2000 mAh battery. The Vibe X is just 6.9mm thick and weighs just 121 grams, but the HTC One is 9.3mm thick and weighs 143 grams.

The HTC One is already available in several countries, and the Lenovo Vibe X would be available in China starting in October and would roll out in range of  countries where Lenovo smartphones are being sold, starting from December, excluding Europe.

Microsoft releases the Xbox Music app for Android and iOS

Microsoft has finally released the Xbox Music app for Android and iOS devices. This lets you enjoy your favorite music from a collection of over 30 million tracks, discover new songs, albums, and artists right from your smartphone. Microsoft has promised that they would bring offline mode to Android and iOS in the coming months. Microsoft has also launched free streaming to Web player and Radio with unlimited dynamic playlist would be available for Android, iOS and the web player later this year.

Xbox Music requires Xbox Music Pass the costs $9.99 per-month or $99.99/ year with one-month trial. It is available in 22 countries, but not available in India yet.

Features of Xbox Music for Android and iOS

• Stream ad-free music from a catalog of tens of millions of songs
• Add songs, albums, and playlists to your Xbox Music collection and access them from other device
• Create playlists that sync across your phone, Xbox 360, PC, tablet, and the web
• Enjoy a rich visual experience for searching, viewing, and playing back music

Download Xbox Music (Free) Android | iPhone | Web (Select countries only)

Acer Liquid S2 vs Sony Xperia Z Ultra Hands On

Acer unveiled the Liquid S2, successor of the Liquid S1 and the company’s latest flagship smartphone ahead of IFA 2013, earlier this week, the Sony Xperia Z Ultra is the company’s large screen phablet. Both are large screen phablets. The new Liquid S2 has a 6-inch (1920 x 1080) Full HD IPS display with curved Gorilla Glass 3 protection, while the Z Ultra comes with a 6.4 inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Triluminos Display with X-Reality engine. Both the phones are powered by a 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor with Adreno 330 GPU.

The Acer Liquid S2 has a 13MP auto focus rear camera with BSI sensor, LED ring flash and 4K video recording, while the Xperia Z Ultra has a 8MP camera with Exmos RS sensor, 1080p video recording, but lacks flash. Both the phones have a 2MP front-facing camera with 1080p video recording.

Both the phones have a 2GB RAM and 16GB of internal memory. The Liquid S2 comes with expandable memory up to 128GB with micro SD, while the Xperia Z Ultra supports cards up to 64GB. The Liquid S2 comes with a 3300 mAh battery non-removable battery, wile the Xperia Z Ultra comes with a 3050 mAh non-removable battery. We will bring you more hands on videos from the IFA.

Lenovo Vibe X vs Sony Xperia Z Hands On

Lenovo announced the Vibe X, the company’s latest flagship smartphone at the IFA 2013, and the Sony Xperia Z was launched earlier this year. We managed do a hands on comparison between these devices. The Lenovo Vibe X is powered by a 1.5 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6589T processor, while the Sony Xperia Z is powered by a 1.5 GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 Processor. Check out the comparison video below.

Both the phones have a a 5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD display at 441ppi pixel density. There is a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection on the Vibe X, while the Xperia Z has a Shatter-proof sheet on a scratch-resistant glass. The Vibe X has a polycarbonate body, while the Xperia Z has glass on the back and is dust and water resistant. The Vibe X is 6.9mm thick and weighs just 121 grams, while the Xperia Z is 7.9mm thick and weighs 143 grams.

Both the phones have a  13-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED Flash with 1080p Full HD video recording. The Vibe X has a 5MP front-facing camera, but the Xperia Z comes with a 2.2MP front-facing camera. Both these phone lacks OIS support.

The Sony Xperia Z launch in several countries earlier this year  and the Lenovo Vibe X would be available in China starting in October and would roll gradually in other countries starting from December, excluding Europe.

Acer Liquid S1 Hands-on

Acer launched their new flagship Acer Liquid S2 just ahead of the IFA and they had announced the Liquid S1 back in Computex which was a couple of months back. The Liquid S1 is quite a big device with a 5.7inch HD display. It comes with Dual-SIM capabilities and is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core processor from MediaTek – MT6589. It has an 8 MP camera at the back along with LED flash and it is capable of recording 1080p videos.

The phone looks huge because of its massive 5.7inch display. On the front, below the display, we have three capacitive touch keys. The build quality is good for the price range. The device runs on Android 4.2.2 Jellybean and has near stock UI with very little customization.

The Acer Liquid S1 may or may not come to India as there is no information about it yet.

You can check out our hands-on video below.

HTC One Mini Hands-On

HTC announced the mini version of their flagship, HTC One, back in July as the HTC One Mini and the phone was on display at IFA 2013 in Berlin. The HTC One Mini looks quite similar to the original HTC One, but comes in a smaller package and a less powerful package.

Here is our hands on video from the event -

HTC One Mini comes with a 4.3inch 720p HD Super LCD2 display and is powered by a 1.4GHz dual-core Snapdragon 400 SoC. There is 1GB RAM and 16GB internal storage without a microSD card slot. The main feature about the HTC One Mini is not its spec-sheet, but its design which is almost exactly like the one on HTC One which is consider one of the best built Android smartphones. The HTC One Mini retains the 4 UltraPixel camera from its big brother and has 1080p video recording. On the front,we have a 1.6MP camera that is capable of recording 720p videos. The One Mini has a 1800mAh non-removable Li-Po battery.

The HTC One Mini will be available in Stealth Black, Glacial Silver and Blue.

HTC Desire 500 Hands-on

HTC Desire 500 was announced sometime in August ahead of the IFA and we have the device on display in Berlin for IFA. The Desire 500 borrows some of its design language from the HTC One series with front speakers.

HTC Desire 500 is powered by a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 200 quad-core processor, has 1GB of RAM and Adreno 203. There is 4GB internal storage and there is a microSD card slot for expansion of internal storage. The design is a bit different very rounded corners and stereo speakers on the front along with a 4.3inch display. Desire 500 has a 8MP camera at the back that is capable of 720p videos and there is a 1.6MP front camera. Desire 500 runs on Android 4.2.2 with HTC’s Sense UI on top of it. The Desire 500 comes with a 1800mAh battery. It has the usual smartphone connectivity options with WiFi, 3G, USB, GPS and microUSB port. A dual SIM version is expected to launch in India.

Acer Liquid S2 Hands-on

Acer announced their flagship Liquid S2 just ahead of the IFA and we got to see the device on display here at IFA in Berlin. The Acer Liquid S2 is the first smartphone to come with 4K video recording thanks to the Snapdragon 800 processor powering it. The Acer Liquid S2 is an all in all flagship with top of the shelf specification and features. Check out our Hands-on video right below -

The Acer Liquid S2 has a huge 6inch Full HD IPS display which is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The internals of Liquid S2 are just top of the shelf with a 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 SoC, 2GB RAM and Adreno 330 GPU. There is 16GB internal storage and there is a microSD card slot which support microSD cards upto 128GB.

There is a 13MP camera on the back of the device along with LED ring flash and this camera shoots 4K videos at 23fps and 1080p videos at 60fps. On the front, there is a 2MP camera capable of recording 1080p videos.

The Acer Liquid S2 runs on Android 4.2.2 Jellybean and has near stock UI with some very small customization by Acer. There is DTS sound enhancement for a great audio experience. Liquid S2 is fueled by a 3300mAh battery. The Acer Liquid S2 will be available in Black and Red.

Alcatel One Touch Hero Hands On, the one with a E-ink Flip Cover

As you know by now, we have been walking all over the IFA show floor to bring you some hands on videos of interesting devices and one of them we found really interesting is the recently launched Alcatel One Touch Hero. This device is a proper phablet, sporting a 6 inch full HD display and a very interesting accessory to go with. We’ll tell you more, but watch this video first -

As you can see from the above video, the bezel is insanely thin and makes the large device actually manageable. The 6 inch full HD display is powered by the 1.5 GHz MediaTek MT6589T processor, making sure the device chugs along just fine. The front is completely glass, with a white border running along the sides to the back, giving it a rather unique look.

The interesting thing about the Alcatel One Touch Hero is its accessory – The eInk flip cover. The eInk flip cover can be used to read eBooks from the phone on the eInk screen and it saves a lot of battery. The eInk flip cover is not a touch screen display, but the text can be controlled using the volume buttons. This is pretty interesting and quite a bit of an innovation from Alcatel.

The plastic on the back is matte and feels good in the hands, but it is not as premium as one would expect. There is a 13 megapixel camera on the back that can take full HD video at 30 fps and is accompanied by a secondary microphone fore stereo audio in video and a LED flash. There is 2GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage built in, with options to expand the storage using micro SD cards.

The device runs on Android 4.2, but with a heavily skinned UI, which looks very different from other implementations. With flat icons and no applications lists, the UI tries to be iOS and Windows Phone at the same time, but it actually looks quite good.

Microsoft OneNote for iPhone and iPad updated to v2.1, iPad app gets SkyDrive notebooks

Microsoft has updated its OneNote app for iPhone and iPad to version 2.1 that brings several improvements including, om proved Japanese typing responsiveness, Automatic list detection that lets you spend less time formatting your content and lots of bug fixes. The iPad app  now has support for creating new SkyDrive notebooks and also now lets you  add, rename and delete sections. The iPhone app is now less than half the size in download and installation size. OneNote for iPhone and iPad got a major update back in July that brought lot of new features.

New features in Microsoft OneNote for iPhone and iPad v2.1

• Create new notebooks within SkyDrive  (for iPad)
• Create, rename or delete sections  (for iPad)
• Major reduction in download and installation size  (for iPhone)
• Improved Japanese typing responsiveness
• Automatic list detection
• Bug fixes

Download Microsoft OneNote (Free) –  iPhone | iPad

Sony Xperia Z1 vs Xperia Z Hands On

The Sony Xperia Z1 is the latest flagship device announced at the IFA 2013 earlier this week. We’ve already gone hands on with the device and also brought photo gallery of it. We managed to compare the Xperia Z1, the company’s latest camera-centric smartphone with the Sony Xperia Z, the company’s first smartphone in the Z series that was announced at the CES 2013 earlier this year. Check out the quick hands on comparison below.

Both the phones have 5-inch Full HD (1920×1080 pixels) display, but the Z1 has a Triluminos Display with X-Reality for Mobile that is bright, offers vibrant colors and has better viewing angles, unlike the Xperia Z’s Reality display with mobile Bravia Engine 2. Even though the screen size is same, the Z1 is bigger, thicker and a heavier than the Z.

The Xperia Z21 is powered by a 2.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chip with Adreno 330 GPU similar to the Z Ultra and the Xperia Z has a Snapdragon S4 chip clocked at 1.5 GHz with Adreno 320 GPU. The Xperia Z1 has a 20.7 megapixel rear camera with LED flash and also has a dedicated camera button. The 2MP front-facing camera in the Z1 supports 1080p video recording. Both these have a 2GB RAM,  16GB internal memory, Upto 64GB expandable memory via a microSD card.

Both these phones have IP55 / IP58 rating for dust and water resistance and have non-removable battery. The battery capacity have been bumped from 2330 mAh to 3000mAh in the Xperia Z1.

Sony Xperia Z1 vs HTC One Hands On

Sony announced the Xperia Z, the latest flagship device at the IFA 2013 earlier this week. We already brought you the hands and some comparisons recently. We managed to compare the Xperia Z1, the company’s latest camera-centric smartphone with the HTC One, HTC’s latest flagship smartphone that was released earlier this year. Sadly we did not see the rumored HTC One Max at the IFA. Check out the quick hands on comparison below.

The Sony Xperia Z1 has a 5-inch Full HD (1920×1080 pixels) Triluminos Display with X-Reality for Mobile and the HTC One has a 4.7-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD display with 468ppi pixel density. The HTC One has aluminium build with non-removable 2300 mAh battery, while the Xperia Z1 has a aluminium frame with tempered glass on the front and back. It packs a 3000mAh non-removable battery.

The Xperia Z1 has a 20.7MP  rear camera with 1/2.3″ Exmos RS sensor, 27mm lens, f/2.0 aperture and a 2MP front-facing camera. Both supports full HD video recording. The HTC One has a 4MP UltraPixel rear camera with LED Flash, 1/3″ BSI Sensor,  28mm lens,  f/2.0 aperture and Optical Image Stabilization. It supports 1080p video recording and has a 2.1MP front-facing camera.

The Xperia Z21 is powered by a 2.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chip with Adreno 330 GPU and the HTC One has a Snapdragon 600 chip clocked at 1.5 GHz with Adreno 320 GPU. Both these have a 2GB RAM. The Z1 has 16GB of internal memory and has up to 64GB expandable memory via a microSD card. The HTC One on the other hand has 32GB of internal storage without a SD card slot.

The Xperia Z1 has IP55 / IP58 rating for dust and water resistance, but the HTC One is not water or dust resistant, but has dual front-facing BoomSound speakers. We will bring you more comparison videos from the IFA 2013.

LG G2 vs Sony Xperia Z Ultra Hands On

The LG G2 is the company’s latest flagship smartphone that was launched at an event in New York last month. The Sony Xperia Z Ultra is the first phone to feature a Snapdragon 800 processor. Both the phones are powered by a 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974) processor with Adreno 330 GPU and run on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). Check out the quick hands on comparison from the IFA.

The LG G2 has a 5.2-inch (1920×1080 pixels) Full HD IPS display and the Xperia Z Ultra has a 6.4 inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Triluminos Display with X-Reality engine. The X-Reality option was enabled in arecent update that makes the display sharp . LG uses a 2.2mm thin display and the phone has minimal bezel. The Xperia Z Ultra looks huge next to the G2, of course it larger bezel.

The LG G2 has a 13MP rear camera with LED Flash, OIS and 1080p full HD video recording and a 2.1 MP front-facing camera. The Xperia Z Ultra has a 8MP camera with Exmos RS sensor, 1080p video recording, but lacks flash. It has a 2MP front-facing camera.

Both the devices have 2GB of. RAM. The G2 comes with 16GB and 32GB variants without expandable memory, while the Z Ultra comes with 16GB of internal memory and expandable memory up to 64GB via microSD card. The LG G2 has a 3000 mAh battery, on the other hands the Xperia Z Ultra has a 3050 mAh battery and is dust and water resistant.

LG G2 vs Samsung Galaxy S4 Hands On

The LG G2 is the company’s latest flagship smartphone that was launched at an event in New York last month, and the Samsung Galaxy S4 is the latest smartphone in the Galaxy S series that was launchedearlier this year. The LG G2 is powered by a 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974) processor with Adreno 330 GPU, while the Samsung Galaxy S4 is powered by a 1.9 GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 600 / Exynos Octa Processor, here for the comparison we have the Google Play Edition with a Snapdragon 600 processor. Samsung even released the Galaxy S4 LTE-A  with a 2.3 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor in select countries. Both these phones run on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). Check out the quick hands on comparison from the IFA.

The LG G2 has a 5.2-inch (1920×1080 pixels) Full HD IPS display with minimal bezel and the Galaxy S4 has a 5-inch Full HD (1920×1080 pixels) Super AMOLED display. The Samsung Galaxy S4 has a home button and capacitive touch buttons, but the LG G2 relies on on-screen buttons. Both the devices have a 13MP rear camera with LED Flash and Full HD video recording and a 2MP front-facing camera, but the LG G2 comes with OIS support.

Both the devices have 2GB of RAM. The LG G2 comes in 16GB and 32GB variant. The Galaxy S4 comes also in 64GB variant and also comes with expandable up to 64GB in addition to the internal storage. The G2 packs a 3000 mAh battery, while the Galaxy S4 comes with 2600 mAh Battery.

Sony DSC QX10 Unboxing

Sony launched the QX10 smart lens here at IFA in Berlin alongside the QX100 lens. The lenses integrate an AF motor, built in battery that allows them to operate independently from your smartphone.

We’ve got the QX10 here with us and have recorded a quick unboxing video for you. The QX10 is the lower priced version of the two lenses and integrates an f/3.3-5.9 lens with an 18 megapixel 1/2.3 inch sensor. The 10x zoom lens can be operated via the toggle switch on the left of the lens where you can also see the shutter button.

There’s a tripod mount below the lens itself and over on the right you can spot a small lcd that displays the amount of battery left. You can lift the back cover of the lens to place the battery pack and the microSD card. The box contents are fairly minimal and include a lens strap, micro USB cable, the QX10 lens, battery pack and a base to attach to your smartphone. The new Sony smartlenses work with both Android and iOS devices via the PlayMemories app that can be downloaded from the app store. The QX100 operates quite similarly but has a larger 1 inch and 3.6x zoom. The QX10 retails for $250 and we’ll have a full review up very shortly.

Alcatel One Touch Pop C1, C3, C5 and C7 Android 4.2 smartphones announced

Alcatel One Touch has announced range of smartphone in the Pop series, the Pop C1, Pop C3, Pop C5, and Pop C7 at the IFA 2013 in Berlin. These are aimed at youth and offers simplicity and style, says the company. These come in range of display sizes, colors and accessories. All the new Pop C-Series phones run on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean).
The Pop C1 has a 3.5 (320×480 pixels), powered by a 1 GHz dual-core processor. It comes in range of stylish colors including neon green and pink.

The Pop C3 has a 4-inch (800 x 480 pixels) display and comes with a 3.2-megapixel rear camera. It is powered by a 1.3 GHz dual-core processor. It comes in range colors and has colorful protective covers.

The Pop C5 has a 4.5-inch display, powered by a 1.3 GHz dual-core processor and has a 5 megapixel rear camera and a front-facing camera.

The Pop C7 has a 5-inch display, powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor and packs a 5-megapixel rear camera along with a front-facing camera. We will bring you more details and the hands-on videos soon.