Samsung is more serious on its market share. It released innovative smartphones Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. Now, it is moving fast on upgrading its Galaxy smartphones to Android Lollipop update. Not only the high end phones, even budget Samsung smartphones started getting the latest iteration of Android. New addition to this is Samsung Galaxy Core Prime.
Samsung Galaxy Core Prime in particular model no SM-G360F next in line to get the Android 5.0.2 update. The update is available via Over the Air(OTA) as well as through Samsung Kies. The Android Lollipop update for Galaxy core prime brings in latest Touchwiz UI with material design and many improvements of Lollipop such as improved battery life, bug and security fixes, connectivity and performance improvements among other.
Currently Lollipop update for Galaxy Core prime started rolling out in Poland. You will get auto notification about the new update when available. You can also check manually for the Android 5.0.2 update on Galaxy Core Prime. For that follow the steps given below.
How to check for updates on Samsung Galaxy Core Prime
Go to Settings > About phone
Tap on to Software update
It is always better to connect to WiFi while downloading the major Android update.
Xiaomi entered the Indian smartphone market just 9 months back with Mi3. Because of the great value for money, it got huge response. Then Redme 1s, Redme 2, Redme Note followed. With such a huge response, India became second largest market after China. Now Xiaomi is back with great spec to value smartphone called Mi 4i. Is it worth buying. We will try to find out in this Xiaomi Mi 4i review.
Xiaomi Mi 4i is powered by Qualcomm’s new 64-bit 1.7GHz octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor with 2GB of RAM and Adreno 405GPU. The internal storage capacity of the device is 16GB and does not support microSD card. Xiaomi Mi 4i runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop along with MIUI 6 skin. The overall performance is decent. However, heavy games like Asphalt 8, Nova 3 tends lag a bit and frame drops visible even in high performance mode. One more negative of Mi4i is it gets heated up if you are playing for around 10- 15 minutes. While playing Nova 3, after 10 minutes the temperature of the device cross 50 degree Celsius. Even there is a slight UI lag. When opening a app or shifting between apps, there is a slight lag.
Xiaomi Mi 4i houses 5 inch full HD(1920x1080p) IPS display screen which has pixel density of 441 ppi. The display panel used in this smartphone is very good. It is bright and vibrant. The viewing angles and sunlight legibility are also very good. The screen has Corning’s Concore One Glass Solution protection. Mi4i comes with a special technology called Sunlight Display to ensure the display renders graphics well even under direct sunlight. Oveall display segment is one of the biggest positive of Mi4i.
For connectivity Xiaomi Mi 4i offers 4G(Both sim supports 4G), 3G, 2G, WiFi(Dual band 2.4GHz ,5GHz), Bluetooth 4.1, USB OTG, USB tethering and WiFi Hotspot. Mi 4i sports 13MP Sony stacked CMOS primary rear camera(with 5-element lens, f/2.0 aperture) with Dual tone LED flash. There is also a 5MP( with 5-element lens, f/1.8 aperture) front facing camera. The outdoor performance of the camera is excellent in this price segment and indoor and low light performance also decent. Xiaomi Mi 4i has 3120 mAh battery. Overall it lasts more than a day. Having said that, it does not justifies 3120 mAh tag.
Excellent Camera performance: Camera performance of Mi 4i is great for the price of device.
Gorgeous Display screen: Sharp/JDI made 1080P IPS screen is very good.
Decent battery Life: The 3120 mAh battery provides a decent battery life.
Dual sim 4G support: Both the sim slots supports 4G LTE network.
Value for money: For the features it provides, the price is decent.
Cons of Xiaomi Mi 4i
Heating issues: The Mi 4i tends get heated up while playing high end games. Also browsing net on WiFi, it tends get heated up.
Less Storage: Though Xiaomi said that there will be different variants of Mi 4i, currently only 16GB variant is available. Also there is no support for microSD.
MIUI 6 performance issues: The phone tends to lag which browsing through apps. Overall UI itself is bit lagging. Though device runs on Android Lollipop, MIUI 6 does not carry the material designs of Lollipop.
Availability: For buying the Mi 4i, one needs a bit of time and skill. It is a flash sale model. You need to register for the product and then on the predetermined time, you need to quickly hit on the buy button. Otherwise you will not get it.
Bulky updates: Xiaomi provides regular bug fix updates. Most of these updates are huge in size.
Xiaomi Mi 4i Specification
Dual sim with Dual standby(LTE+LTE)
Android 5.0 Lollipop with MIUI 6.0
64-bit 1.7GHz octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor with 2GB of RAM
16GB internal storage
5 inch full HD(1920x1080p) IPS display screen
4G(Both sim supports 4G), 3G, 2G, WiFi(Dual band 2.4GHz ,5GHz), Bluetooth 4.1
Microsoft is doing good work in providing the best value for money smartphones in the budget segment. Lumia 640 is also part of such attempt of attract more customers into Windows platform. Windows Lumia 640 Dual sim best buy price is Rs.9999. Microsoft has promised Windows 10 upgrade to Lumia 640.
Microsoft Lumia 640 sports 5 inch display panel with ClearBlack and IPS LCD capacitive touch screen technology. It has 1280×720(720p) resolution and 294 ppi pixel density. The quality of the display panel is one of the best in this price segment. The colors look vivid and viewing angles are also great. The screen has Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
Microsoft Lumia 640 is powered by 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor with 1GB of RAM and Adreno 305 GPU. This is the same chipset used in Moto G. This provides good day to day usage performance. The internal storage capacity of the device is 8GB and supports microSD card. Out of 8GB internal storage, only around 3GB available for the user and rest is used by the OS.
Microsoft Lumia 640 houses 8MP primary camera with LED flash and 0.9MP front facing camera. The quality of the images taken and video recorded came very well. The device is capable of recording full HD videos. The front facing camera is decent enough but if you are a selfie lover then you might get disappointed a bit as it has only 0.9MP camera. The connectivity features of the device includes 2G, 3G, WiFi, USB, GPS, DLNA and WiFi hotspot. It comes pre loaded with Beidou, with HERE Drive+, HERE Maps, HERE Transit out of the box. Microsoft Lumia 640 has 2500 mAh battery which lasts more than a day on normal usage.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual sim
Pros of Lumia 640
Gorgeous Display screen: 720p HD IPS screen with ClearBlack screen is brilliant in this price segment. The viewing angles great and colours are vivid. The text looks sharp. Sunlight legibility is decent.
Good camera: The primary camera performance is one of the best in this price range. Both videos and photos comes out well.
Decent Battery life: 2500 mAh battery provides longer power backup. For casual users, it lasts close to 2 days and for average users more than a day.
Call Quality and Sound Output: Call quality is good and the speakers on the back of phone are loud enough for day to day use.
Free 1 year Microsoft Office 365 subscription: Lumia 640 comes with a 12-month Office 365 Personal subscription worth Rs 3299. This includes the latest desktop version of Office applications such as MS Word, MS PowerPoint, in addition to cloud storage of 1 TB space for 12 months and Skype.
Cons of Lumia 640
Poor resolution front facing camera: The front facing camera has only 0.9MP sensors. It takes decent images and videos. It could have been better if it could have come with better resolution camera for selfie lovers.
Limited Apps: The app store for Windows platform is increasing. However, it is not comparable to Android Play store apps.
Low available internal storage: Lumia 640 comes with 8GB internal storage. However, available storage space for user is only 3GB rest all used by the OS.
No dedicated camera button: For a such a good camera, like previous Lumia phones, it would have been great if it had dedicated camera button.
Old styled bundled charger: Unlike many budget smartphone which comes with detachable USb cable charger, it comes with permanently attached cable. The charger is not very compact.
Microsoft Lumia 640 Specification
Dual sim with Dual standby
Windows Phone v8.1 with Lumia Denim Upgradeable to Windows v10 OS
8GB internal storage & microSD card support upto 128 GB
1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 Quad Core Processor with 1 GB RAM and Adreno 305 GPU
5 inch 720p HD IPS LCD Capacitive Touchscreen with ClearBlack technology
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML is a Dual sim 4G enabled 5.5 inch phablet. It is very much improved phablet compared to its predecessor. High end specifications and affordable price are key attractions of this phablet. Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML price is $259.29 after a discount of 17% on MRP in Gearbest.com online store. For our reader there is a additional $15 discount. While you are buying ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE551ML use the coupon code ASUSZ2GB for avail the additional discount.
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML is powered by 64-bit Intel Atom Z3580 2.3GHz quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM and PowerVR G6430 GPU. This is the same GPU used in Apple A7 Soc. The internal storage capacity of the device 16GB and supports microSD card upto further expansion of the storage.
One more major upgrade on Asus Zenfone 2 is its design. Now it measures 152.5 x 77.2 x 10.9 mm and weighs 170 grams. Asus has trimmed the bezels to get the screen to body ratio of 72%. One more change is volume rocker is moved to the back of the device and power button moved to top. It has curved back which feels good to hold on hands.
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML sports 5.5 inch IPS capacitive touch screen with a screen resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels which translates to 403 ppi pixel density. The screen has Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The display screen looks vibrant and viewing angles are also good. The device runs on Android Lollipop along with Asus ZenUI.
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML has 13MP primary camera with dual-color Real Tone LED flash. The features of the camera includes PixelMaster options (Low-light mode/Backlight HDR mode/ Enhanced Beautification mode/Manual mode/Zero Shutter lag). The 13MP camera unit consist of 5 element, f/2.0 aperture lens. There is also a 5 MP selfie snapper with wide angle (85 degree) lens. The camera does a decent job. But it is not great. Front facing camera panorama shot is a welcome addition. Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML houses 3000 mAh battery which fast charging option called Boost master.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML
Pros of Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML
Good performance: There is no lag while using the device. While playing the games also there is no much problems seen.
Great display screen: Asus has added a very good quality display screen. The colors look vivid and viewing angles as well as the sunlight legibility are decent.
Decent build quality: The build quality of the Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML is good in the segment.
Customisable UI: The current ZenUI with Zenmotion like features really feels innovative. It is welcome move from the Asus.
Fast charging: With boost master technology, Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML comes with fast charging feature. This works great.
Cons of Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML
No 2160p video recording: Despite having the great specification, missing the 2160p video recording is a bit surprising as there are many devices coming with this in this price segment.
Rather large and hefty: Though Asus has tried to trim the bezels to make the device compact, it is still a phablet. All will not be happy to carry such big smartphone. It also weighs 170 grams which bit heavy for a smartphone.
Average camera performance: Both primary as well as front facing camera has many features. But overall, the camera performance is not that great compared to the competitors.
Weak Speaker: The inbuilt speaker of this device is not great.
Confusing naming conventions: Asus Zenfone 2 has many variants. It is very difficult remember the naming conventions of the variant.
Asus Zenfone 2 Tips and Tricks
How to take screenshot on Asus Zenfone 2
Asus ZenUI provides an easy way to take screenshots apart from the default android way of taking print screen. I have written a details instructions on this. For more details read my post how to take screenshot on Asus Zenfone.
How to download Asus Zenfone 2 PC Link PC suite
You can download the latest Asus PC suite from the official support page. You refer my earlier post on How to download Asus PC suite for more information.
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML Specification
Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box with Asus ZenUI
5.5-inch IPS capacity touch screen with 1080p resolution and 403ppi density and Gorilla Glass 3 protection
Intel Atom Z3560 chipset with a 1.8GHz quad-core processor, PowerVR G6430 GPU with 2GB of RAM
16GB of storage and a microSD slot
Dual-SIM, Dual Standby capability
LTE Cat.4, NFC, Bluetooth; GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
Asus ET2040 IUK comes with large screen, sleek design and has power backup. Coupled with decent specification and affordable pricing, this seems to be a good All in One. I received the review unit last week and I am using the Asus All in One as my primary PC till then. Based on my experience, here is my Asus ET 2040 IUK Review.
The Asus ET2040 is powered by 2.5 GHz Pentium J2900 quad core processor with 2GB of RAM and the 500GB hard disk. My review unit came with 4GB of RAM where as the retail unit which is available in India has only 2GB of RAM. The processor is not the fastest but it is suffice for the most basic day to day activities. The normal Word processing, Excel sheets and Power point presentations worked well. Even I played 1080p HD sample video, which played without any issues.
The Asus ET2040IUK All in One Desktop sports 19.5 inch display screen with a screen resolution of 1366×768 pixel. The brightness and colors look good on the screen. Even the viewing angles are decent enough but not great. There is a hands free gesture control which covers few of the drawbacks of not having touch screen. It does its job but I felt it could have been better.
Another main aspect of Asus ET 2040 All in One is its power back up. In my usage, I got around one to one and half hours of battery backup on my regular usage when connected to WiFi. Other features of this Asus All in One includes three usb 3.0 ports, three USB 2.0 ports, HDMI output and card reader. There is also inbuilt speaker. The quality of sound output of the built in speaker is not great.
If you are feeling your Asus All in One is slow, then uninstall the McAfee. It will boost your All in One performance by very much. The built in Windows Defender does the work done.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Asus ET2040 All In One
Pros of Asus ET2040
Power Backup: Asus ET2040 has a good power backup considering the size of the screen.
Simple and Portable: It is very easy to transport or move within your house. It saves place as it requires very less space compared to regular desktops.
Good Display screen: The display screen is decent enough to watch videos or browsing the net.
Connectivity Options: Asus has done a good job by providing 3 USB 3.0 ports, 3 USB 2.0 ports and a HDMI ports.
Cons of Asus ET2040
Non Touch screen: Though there is a gesture control support, it would have been great if would have come with touch screen.
No RAM upgradation option: Having only 2GB of RAM might limit multi tasking of this device. However, the review unit with 4GB RAM does multi tasking decently. I have tried opening simultaneously 1080p video, Chrome Browser with multiple tabs and a word processor. I have not felt any lagging or slowness. So it would have been great of the Asus All in One comes with 4GB RAM out of the box.
Sound Volume and clarity: The sound volume of inbuilt is not high enough. Even clarity of sound not great.
Trial version of McAfee Anti virus: The Asus All in One comes with trial version of McAfee anti virus. Considering the specs, it would been great if this does not comes with McAfee out of the box as McAfee slows the All in One significantly. However, you have the option to uninstall the McAfee Anti virus programme.
Asus ET2040IUK All in One Specification
Processor: 2.5GHz Pentium J2900 quad-core
RAM: 2GB
Display: 19.5” 1366x768p
Internal storage: 500GB
1MP Camera, Built in Speaker
Power Backup
Windows 8.1
Ports: 3 USB 3.0 ports, 3 USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, LAN port.
