Microsoft Lumia 435 & 532 : Review

Microsoft Lumia 435 & 532 : Review

               Microsoft is  trying hard  to get into budget segment markets.Well wanting to grow it's strength in the Indian market , Microsoft launched two new Lumia's the 435 and the 520.Two budget phones tend to capture the Indian market as Microsoft has not got a good position in this region. Let's see how Microsoft tends to do this ??

LUMIA 435 and 532:

DESIGN AND HARDWARE

            Both Lumia's have the same design principle , both do not look good. While the Lumia's are not supposed to appeal those looking for high-end design.It's supposed to appeal the masses and mostly the newbies in the Windows phone.Well it has a boxy appearance , the dull shape is accompanied by the offset colors of the handset.
            Well if observed it looks mostly similar to the Nokia X series , as if Microsoft has just replaced the logo and the software.Well given the fact that it is a budget phone the design part can some what be overlooked.
 

           SPECS :

Lumia 435:

• Single and dual-SIM variants
• Windows Phone 8.1 with Lumia Denim
• 4-inch WVGA LCD (800 x 480)
• 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 CPU
• 1 GB RAM
• 8 GB storage
• Micro SD card support (Up to 128 GB)
• Removable 1560 mAh battery
• 2MP rear camera (fixed focus)
• 0.3MP front-facing fixed-focus camera

Well  the Lumia 532 has the same specs  except for a better quad core processor and a 5MP camera. But the design and hardware remains exactly same. For this kind of handset I am surprised with upgrade from 512MB RAM to 1GB RAM.It has a expandable storage of up to 128 GB via the external Micro SD card .

           The display is bright and colorful and it's pleasant to look at. Looking at the camera at a bit the overall hardware seems okay for a entry segment.

 

SOFTWARE :

              Both the Lumia 435 and 532 come with Denim update .Lumia Denim is  the company's most  recent Windows phone 8.1 update.The Lumia denim brings the live folder , action bar , Cortana and many more . For more on Lumia Denim check out   LUMIA DENIM
            
             Saying all that with such low specifications can the phone run smoothly ?? .That's the best part of Windows Phone OS that even on low specs the device runs smooth as butter.You wont be playing super graphical games but the almost all games are playable at lower frame rates. The effects may not seem real like but the phone handles the games pretty well. Multitasking is also no pain , a smooth experience can be found.
 

CAMERA :             

             Photography fans need not even look , since the Lumia 435 isn't going to scratch that itch. With just a 2MP rear shooter with no flash and fixed focus, to call it average would be polite, even given the entry-level target.
         The best thing we can say about it is that it's there. The Lumia Camera application is far too intense for a phone such as this, but with perseverance you can shoot something semi-respectable. It's not the worst camera in the world, but working with fixed focus is pretty tough. Being able to change a few basic setting does help, though.
   
       While on the other hand you might be wondering the Lumia 532 camera as it is  has a 5MP. The story remains somewhat same with no led flash and fixed focus.Though the Lumia 532 gives far better as of the 435 but overall fits in the average camera category.

BATTERY LIFE :

          You should just about make it through the day even though it's a pretty small 1560mAh. Strangely, even on Wifi all day, the Lumia 435 and 532  both drained its power pack much quicker than other Windows Phones . But, it's also replaceable. So if you're going to be hammering it you've always got the ability to swap out for a fresh one instead of having to carry a USB battery pack. 

 FINAL WORD :

            If you want is a cheap, capable Windows Phone and price is your prime agenda , the Lumia 435 and the Lumia 532 will suit you well. It's a fun little phone that's well built, compact and won't deep hole your pocket .Bothe the Lumia 435 and 532 have average specs at their range.
       
                If overlooking the hardware side of the handsets, both provide a much refined and beautiful Windows phone OS experience.The OS works great and will delight a new user.While both the Lumia will surely get the Windows 10 upgrade.The Lumia 435 and Lumia 532 priced at INR 5999 and INR 6499 respectively. Overall a good first Windows Experience.  
                   
  
WILL MICROSOFT TAKE THE  MOBILE MARKET EVEN SLOWLY ??
         

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BQ AQUARIUS E 4.5 UBUNTU EDITION

BQ AQUARIUS E 4.5 UBUNTU EDITION

                            

           It's been a some quite few years since Conical released their Ubuntu phone future.Though in this time there has been development in the software for quite some time making it more reliable.And now, Conical has announced it's first Ubuntu Phone The BQ Aquarius E 4.5.

            Though this is far away from the Ubuntu Edge plan that conical had and got it funded by crowd funding organization Indiegogo. BQ Aquarius E 4.5 is a model that the company has been selling for some time but packed with Android .BQ Aquarius E4.5 Ubuntu edition will be coming with the Ubuntu OS and will be available across Europe.

            BQ Aquarius E 4.5 is rocking a quad-core MediaTek processor (Cortex-A7) and clocked at 1.3GHz. The handset includes a Mali 400 GPU for handling graphics and supporting it with 1GB of RAM.It is a Dual Sim smartphone and has the same specifications as the BQ Aquarius E 4.5 Android version that is 137 x 67 x 9 mm and weighing around 123g.The phone features a 4.5-inch qHD (540x960 pixels) resolution display with pixel density of 240ppi.The smartphone also sports 8-megapixel rear camera with dual-LED flash and a BSI sensor, apart from a 5-megapixel front-facing camera for video chats. Both the cameras feature interpolation or picture-stitching technology that allows users to take 13-megapixel images with the rear camera, and 8-megapixel images with the front-facing camera.Featuring 8GB of inbuilt storage with microSD card expandability and also all standard connectivity.



           The Linux beast is backed up by a 2150mAh Li-Po battery , the phone comes in black color only. Ubuntu  OS deals with edge interactions and Scopes features in it's OS for phones. So , what is scopes?
  Scopes, or categorised home screens, provide a unified view of content in the particular category.Users can access sections like music, video and social quickly with swipes from the home screen. The sections that show up feature the company's Scopes UI, which is claimed to be a 'reinvention' of the mobile UI.

            The Ubuntu OS for phones run native apps or HTML5 apps. The company has tied up with major developers to ensure Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Evernote and Amazon apps are available at launch.

           BQ Aquarius E 4.5 Ubuntu edition ,will be available across Europe in the 'coming weeks' through a flash sales system.The smartphone is priced at around  EUR 169.90 and no mention of availability of phone  outside Europe.

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BIT DEFENDER BOX

BIT DEFENDER BOX

             All ways had that treat of getting viruses due to the unofficial and Internet connections which are not secure , the solution is to buy Antivirus software. But can you buy every device an antivirus software? Or just protect it from where it comes ? . Mostly all the viruses by a Lehman is downloaded due to downloads or unsafe websites. Bit defender has a solution for this  , not installing AV in all devices but a secured Box to behave secure all devices. The Bit defender Box is a new hardware product by company which connects to your Internet connection (Wifi) at home and protects all the devices.      
          
              The new Bit defender BOX is a mix between a router, network firewall and intrusion prevention system. It is connected to one of the router's  Ethernet ports, so that it protects the router from Internet-based attacks, or can act itself as a router.
 
               The device has a single-core 400 MHz MIPS microprocessor, 16 MB Flash memory, 64 MB DDR2 RAM, two 10/100 Ethernet ports and a wireless chip set that supports the 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi standards and is capable of speeds up to 150Mbps.
 
                Bit defender BOX does not affect the network performance when positioned alongside a router to scan network traffic because it doesn’t perform deep packet inspection.The device intercepts and scans only essential parts of the data packets that flow in and out of a network to identify known malicious patterns.This all operations are done on the cloud service by Bit defender.
           
                Bit defender BOX can identify and block connections to malicious URLs and known bad IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, malware downloads, malformed packets that could indicate incoming attacks and other potential threats.Bit defender will also provide light software agents for Windows, Mac and Android that will communicate with BOX and can act as replacements for antivirus programs
       
                When a computer is taken outside of the user’s home network, the agent can establish a VPN (virtual private network) connection back to BOX, routing all traffic through it and analyzing it for threats. The device is kept as simple for the non technical users can install them easily. An easy setup with just application based installation takes only few minutes.
                          
                  BOX costs $199, which includes the price of the hardware and a one-year subscription. Users will then have to pay $99 for every year after that, regardless of the number of devices protected by the appliance. This might change the way security companies secure your hardware devices ?. 
   

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3DOODLER 2.0

3DOODLER   2.0

                                      

                Last time we saw a device which really changed our thinking of the 3D world was the 3Doodler start-up . This time though it's come around with a 2.0 version , much better around.The original 3Doodler was not all fun with a uncomfortable design and heavy weight of the pen  it was difficult doodling with it. The end result was messy and didn't give the exact results.

              However, the 2.0 is much improved by looking at it in the first sight.The new Doodler is much lighter and thinner too. The new Doodler 2.0 is 75 percent smaller than the original model , which feels much smaller than the size on paper.The weight has also gone down by 50g which makes it quite lighter and just round the pen feeling is given.On the pen there are two buttons to control the speed of the molten plastic and if you double click it will lock the stream of molten plastic.
 
             The new 3Doodler 2.0 does not have a large fan like it's predecessor but redesigned air vents to cool it. This time it cools faster and does not heat during long hours.The 2.0 version also looses the power consumption and has a whole new power bank type accessory.For advanced users can now control the temperature of the flow of plastic also . The 3Doodler will have a range of accessories as well as types of nozzles for better doodling.

                The 3Doodler version 2.0 comes with a  various bundles starting from $89 but the funded ended on 25th January and has completed it's funding goal on the Kickstarter funding.

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MICROSOFT HOLOLENS

MICROSOFT HOLOLENS

               Microsoft on it's 21st event unveiled a little more than it's build of the next Windows 10. With the unveiling of the new Hololens Microsoft has shown a glimpse of future.Microsoft is really enhancing Windows 10 with every possible display , a holographic display makes sense. We have seen through the VR goggles as well as Google glasses but the Hololens is a complete different experience.

   
                The HoloLens headset is described as "the most advanced holographic computer the world has ever seen.". Hololens headset with see-through lenses that merges digital content with the physical. It's a self-contained computer, including a CPU, a GPU, and a dedicated holographic processor. It's a self generated  hologram generator which makes the experience wireless.The dark visor up front contains a see-through display, there's spatial sound so you can "hear" holograms behind you, and HoloLens also integrates a set of motion and environmental sensors.Though two things to discuss in detail :
 
HOLOBUILDER
       
              In simple words you can think of it as a duplicate of Minecraft but this one with a twist.In this version you really feel like the things you build are around you.The effects of the interaction are really impressive but the actual interaction doesn't feel like that.When picking up something rather than grabbing or pulling the object , you have to voice command it.

HOLOSTUDIO
       
            3D designing in computers now take special skills and software's to produce your imagination in reality.In Holostudio you can create actual  3D objects by using variety of Photoshop functionality. This would really help the consumers create worlds but also imagine bizzare things.No doubt that this Studio could make everyone a designer.

Though still early in its development, HoloLens will be made available somewhere in the Windows 10 timeframe and, according to Microsoft it would have a separate pricing for both consumer and enterprise versions. It's impressive, but it's a brand-new entry in a market that doesn't exist yet.

WILL IT BEAT THE RISING VR HEADSETS ?

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