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LG Optimus 4X HD Launches In India – First Look

July 27, 2012 by Raj Agrawal 1 Comment

LG isn’t a newcomer when it comes to high end smartphones. They’ve been in the mobile space for a long time, but have never quite been able to penetrate the market as effectively as some of their peers. They were one of the first companies to release handsets with dual core processors, and although the same cannot be said for the quad core sector, they’re here, and they looking to create a stir. With phones such as the One X, and the Galaxy S3, one may say that the quad core scenario has already peaked in terms of popularity. Even so, there is always room for improvement, and the LG Optimus 4X HD seeks to prove as a worthy adversary to the aforementioned heavy hitters and make a name for itself.

At first glance, the Optimus 4X HD looks like a larger version of the much acclaimed Galaxy S2. The edges aren’t rounded, well they are, but they’re still square edges only slightly rounded at the very tip, and the phone is ultra light, exactly the reasons why we loved the S2. Hardware wise, it’s no slouch. The 4.1 core Tegra 3 processor is speedy and keeps response time to a minimum. It comes packed with 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB storage, an 8 mega pixel snapper, and almost all the features you’d expect from a high end smartphone. The screen size is 4.7 inches, on par with the One X and the Galaxy S3, and for such a huge phone, it is surprisingly light. The screen looks gorgeous, but the glare is apparent while viewing the screen under direct sunlight.

But that’s not all the phone has to offer. Quick memo offers the users the ability to quickly edit their photos and videos. Also possible is video zooming with the ability to pan across different sections of the zoomed video without much loss in quality. Using the newly implemented Icon Customizer, you can now have custom icons for all of your apps. Also added is the ability to share files via other devices with the use of NFC. You can also quickly change the settings of the phone with the use of the awesome NFC tag, plus the system. The phone will come packed with three such tags and each can be rewritten to accommodate several settings that the user wishes to achieve. The settings will then change everytime the user simply taps the tag. Also added is the ability to remotely control your phone via your computer using a DLNA specific service called Smartshare.

The 4X HD also sports some India specific features, at the center of which stands LG mobile TV, a television media service which will stream a select group of channels straight to the phone. The service is free for the first 3 months, and will be chargeable after that. There is no online media library on the phone at the moment, but it is in the works and might hit the phone late next year.

The LG Optimus 4X HD is priced at Rs. 34,990

Overall the phone feels like a good edition to the high end paradigm, and although it won’t be giving Samsung of HTC nightmares, it is still looking like a very nice alternative to the other phones in a saturated market. Our little hands on with the phone left us cautiously impressed, but i’m definitely looking forward to seeing more of the phone, to better understand whether it can actually stand the test of time, or fall like countless others. The fact that it even made me contemplate asking that question, is an achievement in todays world, where no two products are very dissimilar or genuine.

The New Galaxy – A Major Collapse At First Sight

May 7, 2012 by Raj Agrawal Leave a Comment

Though it started off as a small venture by an ex-employee of Apple Inc. and later on acquired by Google, Android has now become a tool that device manufacturers heavily rely on and software developers capitalize on. Android has succeeded the existence of several entities in the mobile phone ecosystem. Starting off from its incubation and following the alphabetical desserts/sweet treats – Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo (frozen yogurt), Gingerbread, Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich, there has been a steady growth in its market presence. The current success can obviously be attributed to Google’s smart move of creating the OHA(Open Handset Alliance) and the Open Source Approach(AOSP).

Samsung Galaxy S3 Camera Shot. Courtesy: Engadget

Apart from what’s mentioned above, there have been certain eccentric major ground breaking innovations that has helped Android stand out from other participants (or be the only participant) in the smartphone’s reality show. Samsung, a vital member of the OHA, despite of creating mass market offerings varying on price points, handsets, OS’s have been successful in creating a few top notch premium category devices that has captivated the audiences worldwide (S1,S2). Though a major part of the credit goes to the Google’s mobile OS market leader Android, a major part also goes to Samsung for its technological finesse.

Even though there were several device manufacturers offering several options to choose from, there existed a revolutionary device that changed today’s smartphone scenario, one that took the smartphone standards to the next level and outmatched customers expectation. When we thought of a device that’s fast, powerful & vivid, most of us would agree that it was none other than the Samsung Galaxy S2. Unarguably (the most successful Android phone since the existence of Android and risen from a successful predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S), it stimulated not only Androids but also Samsung’s market presence. Packed under the hood a super fast dual core processor, massive 1GB RAM, huge and lavish Super AMOLED Plus display, astonishing 8 megapixel camera coupled with an amazing 2 megapixel front camera, huge phone memory (16GB built-in plus 32GB ext) and a amazingly slim and light design.

The S2, not only made us think over replacing our current device but had us keenly awaited for the immediate successor to this game changing player. A year passed while the New Galaxy was in the works. On the 3rd of May 2012, the day several Samsung users worldwide eagerly awaited while competitors feared. Press conferences were held, curtains dropped, users hooked onto their PCs, eager to get a peek into what will next occupy their pocket space.

On the first look there were shouts of disappointment (seeing quite an ordinary design for a phone of that caliber), but the whole inspired by nature act which seemed laughable at the first look, was believable post the presentation videos of the amazing fast and fluid display, interface and functions preloaded into the device, some tweaked and some never seen before.

As we know, like every successful device, the Galaxy S3 has its pros and cons.

Where it meets our expectations

4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED with Gorilla Glass 2
1.4 GHz Exynos 4 Quad Processor (Quad-core)
Rear 8-megapixel Camera(AF+HDR) + Front 1.9 Megapixel Camera
133-gram in weight with 8.6mm thickness
2,100mAh battery
1080p playback
NFC technology with Wi-Fi Direct
Android Beam – It allows an NFC enabled device to push an NDEF message by tapping the two devices together. Basically, it enables the convenience of tossing multimedia between phone just by just tapping each other.
Smart Stay – Should we claim this one genius add-on? When the phone screen turns off with the pre-set timer, this phone will actually read your eye movements (with the front camera) and turn the screen on to avoid annoyances. Now that’s a step up!
S Voice – A Siri like feature from Samsung
Android 4.0 ICS
The owners of Samsung Galaxy S3 get 50GB of free Dropbox storage

Where it falters

The design could have been more contemporary.
Too much power which is yet not harnessed completely by most apps out there, while the need has not been yet established. Or has it?

Whether it will live up to match the achievements of its predecessor is yet to be seen. What is your opinion?

NFC Technology – Everything You Need To Know

March 1, 2012 by Raj Agrawal 1 Comment

UPCOMING TECHNOLOGY – NFC Technology (Near Field Communication Technology) will bring in the ‘next level’ convenience and sensibility to the way we exchange information. This technology can easily be scaled up to many areas of applicability, which is what makes it another add-on into the list of ‘Next-Big-Things’. Now, lets look at some of the key aspects of NFC Technology including what it is, how it works, NFC in the market place and it’s future.

nfc-technology-bluebite — *Image credit – BlueBite*

What is NFC?

NFC stands for Near Field Communication and as the name suggests, the key for this technology lies in devices being in close proximity or contact with each other. Once devices have established the proximity, which is enabled very quickly (0.1 sec), the communication is enabled. The distances in terms for NFC must be very small, usually less than an inch and as such it is different from comparable communications like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for which there are natural comparisons.

**How NFC Technology works**

Near field Communication operates through short wave radio transmission. Devices that operate NFC technology like smartphones or PDAs, are equipped with an NFC chip. The process of communication between the chip in one device and the chip in another device is an electronic process called inductive coupling. This coupling is a development of an earlier technology, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). With RFID, the technology had a ‘send and receive’ process and was used in a one directional format. NFC takes this process to the next level and allows two way communication between NFC Technology enabled devices.

NFC in the Marketplace

The current scope of NFC services is in its infancy in terms of market launch and proliferation. The global range of the product is sporadic and there are a variety of test locations which have embraced this technology, the key markets of USA and Japan are showing a steadily growing rise in the number of transactions as the technology takes hold. In recent surveys, a growing number of people have stated that they would much rather pay using their phone than carry cash. The scope is of demand is being trialled in some key market areas in Europe and Asia with a growing body of evidence revealing general product in performance in France, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom and Tanzania.

France offers the earliest evidence of information with NFC technology in operation, during the early May 2010. There, NFC has been used for purchases of civil services like transportation information and ticketing, similar services have been used for the system in South Korea from later in that same year. More recent progress of the technology can be seen in Turkey where, from early 2011 in Turkey up to 55,000 separate retail processes could be operated using the system. A more limited facility (15,000 outlets) mainly through banks and mobile phone companies has been in evidence in the UK through 2011 and Tanzania.

The statistical data on the number of Near Field Communication transactions globally illustrates a growing trend for usage, but one which is only at the tip of the iceberg if general predictions are to be believed. According to statistics released by Juniper Research Visa has issued 20,000,000 NFC enabled cards and Google Wallet can currently operate at 311,000 locations globally. Predictions for the number of transactions to be made using NFC devices over the coming couple of years show a sharp increase to a plausible 50,000,000 global transactions by 2014. The bulk of these will occur in Europe, US and Asia.

Brands already incorporating NFC

It is also estimated the more than 1/10th of the smart phones sold globally were NFC ready devices with many of the major brands including Blackberry, Nokia, Google and Samsung employing the technology in a range of their handsets. In addition to the handsets. the technology is a part of MasterCard and it can even be found in the Wii controller. Although this claim is yet to be verified, it is rumoured that Apple has come on board and has planned to have NFC as part of iPhone 5 and iPad 3.

Emerging markets

The growth of NFC technology is not limited to developed markets either with the rise in usage occurring in a number of emerging markets. A recent report for Financial Firm Citigroup stated that there were,

40 million mobile money users exist in Africa – the lion’s share of this is attributable to the over 20 million users of Safaricom’s M-Pesa offering in Kenya.
A further report by Communications Commission of Kenya highlighted this growing trend,
The continued growth is an indication of subscribers’ preference to mobile money transfer, which could be attributed to accessibility and affordability even to low-income earners who form the bulk of the unbanked population.

The Future of NFC

Near Field Communication is here and set to be the next big thing. Watch out for stores in your locality promoting the use of paying by handset. With key players like Google and Apple preparing themselves for this market, it is inevitable that the NFC Technology (with the era beginning with NFC Phones) will become a part of our society.