ZTE Blade G2 Chinese smartphone review

Chinese handset giant ZTE has been on an aggressive path to establish its brand in India. The leading original equipment manufacturer had launched a couple of devices in July this year including this Blade G2 Android smartphone.

It is to be noted that ZTE sells its smartphones to a lot of handset manufacturers who in turn sell them under their own brand. ZTE is one of the leading handset sellers in Western countries too. Thus, we had high hopes from ZTE smartphones, including from Blade G2. But ZTE Blade G2 is currently available for Rs 9,999-a price point at which it faces several threats from both Indian and MNC players, including devices with 1 GB RAM and huge 8 megapixel cameras.

So does ZTE Blade G2 offer quality for which you should buy it? Let's find out.

Design and display 

ZTE Blade G2 comes with a 4.5 inch display with a curved back panel that has the bulk of its mass in the middle, which makes it very easy to handle and carry around. The back panel has a rubberized finish that gives it a good grip. The rear camera panel and LED flash are artistically fitted in the rear panel, which further boosts it look. With 9.9 mm thickness and 145 grams of weight the ZTE Blade G2 is also one of the lightest and thinnest smartphones in the sub-Rs 10,000 price bracket.

As mentioned earlier, the ZTE Blade G2 has a 4.5 inch touchscreen. It is an IPS LCD unit and gives very good viewing angles, which is essential while playing running and racing games. The touch response is equally good. It has FWVGA resolution (480 x 854 pixel,) which is on the lower side considering the fact that most of its competitors come with qHD resolution.

Camera

The ZTE Blade G2 has a 5 megapixel rear camera and a 0.3 megapixel front camera. In the sub Rs 10,000 segment camera quality is a big problem despite the fact that many devices in this bracket come with an 8 megapixel camera.

So rather than talking about the technical aspects of the camera, we have clicked a few pictures (posted below) in different lighting, which should give you a decent idea. You can also use the front camera to click self-portraits and even videos, but you seriously should not try to use the 0.3 megapixel camera if it is not essential.

Note that while capturing the images we opted for the default setting without any modification.

Battery

There is a 2000 mAh battery in the Blade G2, which claims to provide 15 hours of 2G talktime and 12 hours of 3G talktime, which is almost double of what most of its competitors offer. Also, ZTE claims 300 hours of 2G standby.

As far as experience goes, the ZTE Blade G2 gives very good battery backup. Just charge it fully and forget it for 24 hours if you use the phone for about half an hour of gaming, and as much time for browsing the web and for making voice calls. In another instance, we played games on the Blade G2 for half an hour, with maximum brightness and medium volume, during which it consumed only 10 per cent charge. Also, once we watched YouTube videos over WiFi, using a Bluetooth headset, and it consumed only 10 per cent in half an hour.

Memory

Like most of its competitors, the ZTE Blade G2 also has 4 GB of internal memory of which 2.5 GB is available for users. There is an expandable slot where you can use up to a 32 GB micro SD card.

Performance

This smartphone comes with Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean. It has a quad core Mediatek (MT6589) processor but is underclocked to 1 GHz, which is why it gives stable performance. To support the processor there is a 512 MB RAM and PowerVR SGX 544MP graphics processing unit.

The combination is able to give good performance and you would not have a single crash during day to day tasks, even during multitasking when you have to open an array of apps, like camera, web browser, note pad, etc. It can also play a majority of the games in the Google Play Store like Stick Cricket, Temple Run 2, Temple Run Oz, Subway Surfer, and even Dead Trigger, but it cannot play graphics intensive games like Riptide GP2, Modern Combat 3 etc due to obvious reasons and one cannot expect devices in this range to play such games.

Conclusion

The ZTE Blade G2 has a decent display and very good battery backup. Memory-wise too it is like its competitors. However, it has only 512 MB RAM unlike many of its competitors, which otherwise come with 1 GB RAM. Though ZTE claims that the Blade G2 performs better than its competitors, which come with 1 GB RAM, we did not have a chance to check the claim. Low resolution also mars the video viewing experience as well as the fun of playing HD games.

In a nutshell, the ZTE Blade G2 is mediocre vis-à-vis features but provides very good performance nonetheless. It is ideal for those who want good battery backup and decent all round performance.

Android smartphone review-ZTE Blade G2 Specifications
Network
Operating System	Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean
Dimensions	9.9 mm thickness and 145 grams weight
Display	4.5 inch display, FWVGA resolution (480 x 854 pixel)
Input Method	Touch (capacitive)
Processor	1 GHz quad core Mediatek (MT6589), GPU-PowerVR SGX 544MP
Memory	512 RAM, 4 GB of internal memory ( 2.5 GB is available for users), Expandable-32 GB micro SD card
Connectivity	WiFi, Bluetooth
Multimedia	Supports all major audio file types
Camera	5 megapixel rear camera and a 0.3 megapixel front camera
GPS
Additional features
Battery	2000 mAh battery
Warranty	1 year
Price	Rs 9,999

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Karbonn announces four cheap Android smartphones

The new Karbonn A90, Karbonn A35, Karbonn A16, Karbonn A35 are priced under Rs 7,500.

Keeping this Diwali season in mind, Karbonn has announced four smartphones including Karbonn A35 and Karbonn A90 2G smartphones, and 3G enabled Karbonn A99 and Karbonn A16.

The Karbonn A16 comes with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system, 1.3GHz dual core processor, 4 inch touchscreen with WVGA resolution, 1350 mAh battery 5 megapixel rear camera, and 32 GB extended memory. The Karbonn A16 is also enabled with Hungama My Play app which offers 1 month unlimited access to Hungama content including music and videos.

Other important features of Karbonn A16 include Dual SIM, Bluetooth/A2DP, 3G, WiFi, Outlook E-mails, G-Sensor, Google Play Store, Karbonn Live, Whatsapp, Office Suite and much more. The Karbonn A16 is priced at Rs 6,490.

Karbonn A99 features the latest Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) operating system, 1.3 GHz dual-core processor and 4 inch IPS display. The Karbonn A99 also has a 1400 mAh battery, 5 megapixel rear camera, Dual SIM, 512MB RAM, 4 GB ROM, WiFi, GPS, and is priced at Rs 6,590.

Karbonn A35 has a 5 inch IPS-LCD touchscreen with qHD resolution. It is available in Black- Silver and White - Silver colours. It boasts of a 1 GHz dual core processor and runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). The Karbonn A35 has a decent 1800 mAh battery as well. The phone comes with a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with flash and a 2 megapixel front camera. Besides, the Karbonn A35 comes with dual SIM, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB ROM, WiFi, and is priced at Rs 7,490.

The 4 inch IPS display bearing Karbonn A90 has a 1 GHz Processor, 5 megapixel camera with flash, Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system, dual SIM, 512 MB RAM, WiFi, and a 1400 mAh battery. The Karbonn A90 is priced at Rs 5,490 and comes with a flip cover.

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Top 5 android smartphones below Rs 10,000 - 15 October 2013

The most popular feature rich devices for a low-budget, within Rs 10,000.

Budget smartphones offer bare minimum hardware specifications and features while high-end devices offer faster and better hardware and features. In recent times this gap has been bridged to a great extent. So much so that devices that fall under the Rs 10,000 price range also offer quad core processors and features, which only flagship devices tended to earlier give.

So to help our readers choose the best devices with a sub Rs 10,000 price tag here we present the top 5 sub Rs 10,000 android smartphones.

1. Xolo Q600 (MRP: Rs 7,500)

The era of single core and dual core smartphones is almost at its end and with manufacturers bringing in quad core devices at sweeter price points, we are definitely heading toward some exciting times. Well, the Xolo Q600 is currently the cheapest quad core processor powered android smartphone. But as with all things this humbly equipped android smartphone comes with killer looks in both black as well as in white.

Powered with android's latest 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system the Xolo Q600 features a 4.5 inch TFT 854 x 480 pixel display with a pixel density of 217 ppi. The smartphone is powered by a 1.2GHz quad core processor and Power VR SGX544 GPU aided with 512 MB RAM. For storage the Xolo Q600 comes packed with 4 GB internal storage, which can be further expanded to 32 GB via a micro SD card.

The smartphone has a 2,000 mAh battery, which is said to power up to 13.4 hours of talktime on 2G and a standby time of 333 hours.

There is a 5 megapixel rear camera that can record videos at 30 frames per second, and a VGAcamera in front for video chat. It is a dual-SIM smartphone with dual standby. Other connectivity options include 3G, Bluetooth, WiFi and GPS.

2. Sony Xperia E (MRP: Rs 8,000)

The list of Sony's android smartphone devices has been growing ever since the split between Sony and Ericsson took place, right from the cheapest ever Sony Xperia Tipo and Miro, Sony has maintained its quality and appeal across devices. The Sony Xperia E sports a 3.5 inch 320 x 480 pixel touchscreen display and is powered by a single core 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7227A processor. There is 512 MB RAM to supplement it and there is 4 GB of internal storage that can be further expanded up to 32 GB using micro SD cards.

The device gets a 1,500 mAh battery that can provide talktime of up to 6.3 hours, or a standby time of up to 530 hours. The Xperia E smartphone also gets a 3.2 megapixel rear camera with auto focus. Sony has revealed the Xperia E in both dual SIM and single SIM versions.

According to Sony the smartphone offers HD Voice, which makes phone calls clearer than on other devices, and there is a noise cancellation feature that filters out background noise.

3.Samsung Galaxy S Duos (MRP: Rs 8,700)

The Galaxy S Duos is a classic example of how well a budget device can offer users a premium look and feel. It's been quite a while since the Galaxy S duos was launched but till today this phone remains one of the popular devices that Android has seen. The Galaxy S Duos as its name suggests, is a dual SIM android smartphone powered with a 1 GHz Qualcomm snapdragon MSM 7227A processor running the older android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. But Samsung has rolled out android Jelly Bean 4.1 operating system upgrade for the device as well.

The 4 inch LCD display comes with 480 x 800 pixel resolution while the 1 GHz processor coupled with 768 MB RAM takes care of applications well. The device utilizes a slightly older but functional Adreno 200 graphics engine, which will be good enough for most tasks, but HD gaming will be one task where the device will lag.

The device comes with 4 GB of usable onboard storage while another 32 GB can be expanded using a standard micro SDHC card as well. The imaging is handled by a 5 megapixel auto focus camera that can sadly record VGA resolution videos only, but there is an LED flash for illumination in low light conditions. In the front there is also a VGA camera for video calling.

4. Micromax Canvas Doodle (MRP: Rs 9,500)

The Doodle from Micromax is a clear example of how well a stylus goes with a big screen device. Micromax has taken a good quad core processor powered android smartphone and has made it better by adding stylus functionality to it. Although it's not as refined as the Samsung Galaxy Note it is still worth every penny it costs.

The Canvas Doodle gets a 5.3 inch display with 540 x 960 pixel resolution and runs on android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean operating system. The phone gets a Qualcomm Snapdragon Play quad core processor running at 1.2 GHz, with 512 MB RAM. There is 4 GB storage on the device that is further expandable up to 32 GB with the help of micro SD cards.

The phone has an 8 megapixel rear camera and 2 megapixel front camera. The Doodle A111 comes with a complimentary flip cover as well and is powered by a 2100 mAh battery with a claimed 6.5 hours talk time.

5. Karbonn Titanium S5 (MRP: Rs 9,999)

The Karbonn Titanium S5 is a fully loaded android smartphone, or phablet as most call it these days, that offers a powerful set of hardware specifications at a pocket friendly price tag. The Karbonn Titanium range of devices looks grand and stands out in the crowd.

The device is a dual SIM phone with a 5 inch 540 x 960 pixel display. It runs on a 1.2 GHz quad core processor from MediaTek and to top it off it gets 1 GB RAM. The phone runs on the latest Android Jelly Bean OS version 4.1.2. and most likely it will get Jelly Bean 4.2 upgrade as well.

Titanium S5 has an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 2 megapixel front camera. It uses a 2000 mAh battery and connectivity features that include 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth.

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Intel planning affordable Bay Trail processors for next year

ntel is reported to be planning affordable Intel Atom Bay Trail chips for the entry-level tablets in the first half 2014.

Intel is planning to bring affordable mobile processors for the entry-level Google Android tablet segment. DigiTimes reported that sources from among tablet makers point at Intel's plan to bring cheaper Atom Bay Trail mobile chips for the tablet segment. The Mobile Indian reported about the recent launch of the Intel Atom Bay Trail Z3000 series processors for tablet and convertibles.

Intel Atom family's new Z3000 processors codenamed Bay Trail were shown earlier this year. These are quad-core mobile processors for powerful tablets. Now Intel has planned to address the entry-level tablet segment as well with the same Bay Trail core chipsets. Intel is reportedly planning cheaper Atom, Bay Trail processors for affordable tablets thereby compete with tablets running MediaTek and Qualcomm chips.

These processors will be made available in the second half of the next year. The Intel Atom Bay Trail processors are manufactured using 22 nm CMOS process technology. However, releasing those processors before the second half next year would be kind of late. That means one can expect affordable tablets with Intel Atom Bay Trail processors inside only by the second half of 2014. These tablets will run Google Android updates.

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Tegra 3 processor powered Xolo Play Tab launched in India at Rs 12,999.

The 7 inch tablet comes with Tegra 3 quad core processor, 1 GB RAM, and 8 GB in-built memory.

Xolo today launched first Tegra based tablet, called Xolo Play Tab 7.0 for Rs 12,999. This is Xolo's second tablet after the Xolo Tab which was launched some time back with a quad core Snapdragon processor.

"As Xolo continues to deliver on its promise to bring differentiated technology to discerning consumers, we're replicating the success we've achieved in the smartphone category now in tablets. XOLO Play Tab 7.0 marks the first tablet in the XOLO Play category of products, powered by NVIDIA Tegra. Similar to Xolo Play T1000 smartphone launched in July, the Tab delivers similar entertainment now on a bigger 7-inch screen," said Sunil Raina, business head at XOLO.

The Xolo Play Tab comes with Tegra 3 mobile processor which has four performance core and one battery saving core. To assist in high end gaming, there is a 12-core NVIDIA ULP GeForce graphics processing unit in the tablet. The Play Tab has a 7 inch IPS-LCD display with 1280x800 pixels resolution.

Besides, the 338 grams weighing Xolo Play tab has 8 GB in-built memory, 32 GB expandable storage slot, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system, 2 megapixel front camera, and 1 GB RAM. There is no rear camera in the tablet. Also, the tablet has a 4000 mAh battery that is said to provide 8 hours of music playback. The Xolo Play Tab has WiFi, Bluetooth, and micro USB for connectivity but it has no SIM connectivity for either calling or 3G internet access.

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Lava E-Tab Ivory dual SIM tablet launched at Rs 10,199

It has a dual core processor but has 1 GB RAM for decent gamin performance.

Lava has launched a dual SIM tablet, called E-Tab Ivory, for Rs 10,199. The tablet thus comes with 3G video calling facility.

Lava E-Tab Ivory comes with a 7 inch display with 1024x600 pixels resolution. It is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual core processor, Android Jelly Bean 4.1 operating system, Power VRSGX531 Ultra GPU running at 500 MHz, and 1 GB DDR3 RAM - a combination that is expected to give very good gaming performance.

Besides, the E-Tab Ivory has 4 GB internal storage which could be expanded to up to 32 GB. The tablet has also a 2 megapixel rear camera and a 0.3 megapixel front camera. The Lava tablet comes armed with a 3000 mAh battery which looks decent too.

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Google Nexus 5 with Android 4.4 KitKat spotted

A hands-on video showing Android 4.4 KitKat build running on LG Google Nexus 5 was leaked online showing different features of both - hardware and software.

Google and LG are expected to launch the Nexus 5 smartphone with Android 4.4 KitKat (KeyLimePie) operating system on it. A French website (smartphones.sfr) has now posted a video showing off the final version of the Nexus 5.

The LG and Google's Nexus 5 smartphone with model LG-D820 will feature a 4.95-inch display with full HD (1080p) resolution. It is powered by the quad-core 2.3 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 with 2 GB RAM. In the video, the build was still listed as Android 4.4 KeyLimePie update. There are no visual improvements visible so the build is obviously old.

The fresh leaks of the Android 4.4 KitKat will show a transparent like notification bar and overall treatment seems to be inspired by the iOS 7 update. Check out the full video of the slim slab like finish of the Nexus 5.

Google is expect to launch the Nexus 5 smartphone later this month.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014) showed in a teaser video

Samsung has shared teaser video of tablet - Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition with S-Pen optimized for Air Commands, S Finder and Action Memo.

Samsung has shared teaser video showing a sleeker Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition tablet with improved S-Pen and other software improvements.

The Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition features a 10.1-inch display with 2560x1600 resolution. The Galaxy Note 3 design as well as software improvements for the S-Pen were also implemented in the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition.

Under the new textured back bearing Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition is powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 mobile processor and runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with Nature UX baked on it. The powerful processor supports multi-tasking and also support running two apps at the same time on the tablet.

The S-Pen gets the Air Command, S Finder and Action Memo to enjoy the same experience as the Galaxy Note 3 phablet.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition will be launched in the US for $550 (Rs 33,640 approximately).

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Cheapest Android phone: Josh Fortune Square launched at Rs 2,299

Despite being priced so low, the handset comes with Android Gingerbread, 32 GB expandable storage slot, WiFi, Bluetooth, and 2 megapixel rear camera.

Josh Mobiles has announced the launch of an Android smartphone, called Josh Fortune Square, for Rs 2229 only, which makes it the cheapest Android smartphone till date.

The Josh Fortune Square is based on older but powerful Android Gingerbread 2.3.5 operating system and offers a 3.5 inch display. It is powered by a single core processor running at 1 GHzand has a dedicated graphics chip as well. The smartphone comes with 256 MB RAM and has 90 MB of internal storage only. But one can expand its memory to up to 32 GB using a micro SD card.

It has a 3.5 inch display with 480 x 320 pixel resolution and capacitive touch input system supporting multi touch as well. The Josh Fortune Square has a 2 megapixel rear camera which is also capable of recording videos.

The handset comes ready with dual Sim GSM connectivity with 2.5G networks supported over the primary SIM. The device also has Bluetooth and WiFi. There is a 1450 mAh battery pack for powering up the device.

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