Tech2 Touch

Author: Aniruddh

  • Micromax Canvas Spark Cons and Pros Review

    Micromax Canvas Spark is a budget dual sim smartphone running on Android Lollipop. There are very few smartphone in this price segment which runs on latest Android. Micromax Canvas Spark price in India is Rs.4,999 and available exclusively on Snapdeal.

    Micromax Canvas sports 4.7 inch IPS screen with a screen resolution of 540×960 pixels which similar to Moto E resolution. The viewing angles are decent but the sun light legibility is just average. The screen is not sharp enough. The youtube videos look dull and screen is prone to fingerprints.

    Micromax Canvas Spark is powered by 1.3GHz quad core MediaTek MT6582 processor with 1GB of RAM and integrated Mali 400 GPU. Internal storage capacity is 8GB. Unfortunately Micromax has bundled  lot of bloatware which are not usable to most of the  users  and consumes more than 4GB. So the available storage for the users are just less than 4GB. The 1080p files faces frame drop while while playing. The speakers are loud enough but sound breaks at high volume.

    Micromax Canvas Spark Dual sim

    The Micromax Canvas Spark houses 8MP auto focus primary camera with LED flash. There is also a 2MP front facing secondary camera for selfies and video calling. The camera performance is not spectacular. The primary camera performance is not consistent. The outdoor performance is decent but a lot of areas, especially those which weren’t in focus, were clearly underexposed and colours were slightly oversaturated.  Coming to 2MP front facing camera, the performance is not satisfactory.

    Micromax Canvas Spark has 2000 mAh battery which lasted 7 hours and 16 minutes in the video loop test. However, on a daily use, the battery life drops drastically whenever we performed intensive tasks.

    Read:

    Motorola Moto E 2nd Gen Review

    How to use Micromax Canvas Spark as modem

    Advantages and Disadvantages of Micromax Canvas Spark

    Pros of Micromax Canvas Spark

    • Very affordable price
    • Android Lollipop Out of the box
    • Decent Battery life
    • Decent design for the price

    Cons of Micromax Canvas Spark

    • Average Display screen: The screen is not sharp. While watching videos pixelation is visible. Viewing angles are also not great.
    • Lot of Bloatware: Micromax provides stock android experience when comes to UI. But it loaded lot bloatware which cannot be uninstalled by the user unless it is rooted. Most of these bundled apps are useless.
    • Performance Issues: The cpu and ram are same as the Android One smartphone. But performance wise there is no match. But hiccups every now and then. Opening and closing the apps were giving troubles. There is also a gradual slowing down of things as we opened more apps.  Graphic intense games are not not playable comfortably. You can play casual games like candy crush can be played but ensure you are not opened many apps.
    • Disappointing front facing camera: The quality of images taken or video is not satisfactory.

    Micromax Canvas Spark Specification

    • 4.7-inch qHD screen (960×540 pixels) with Corning Gorilla Glass 3
    • MediaTek MT6582 1.3-Ghz Quad-core processor with 1 GB RAM
    • 8 GB internal storage and support for microSD card
    • 8 MP rear primary camera with autofocus and LED flash
    • 2MP front camera
    • 2000 mAh battery
    • Android Lollipop
    • Dual sim with Dual Standby.

  • Lenovo A5000 With 4000 mAh Battery 5 inch HD Display Launched

    Lenovo A5000 officially launched in India.  Unlike previous A series smartphone, this device available on Lenovo official store. Lenovo A5000 price in India is Rs.9,999.

    This smartphone first launched in Russia last week. It is also listed on Lenovo’s official UAE page but there is no mention of the price. In India, Lenovo’s TheDoStore is started taking the pre-order  for Lenovo A5000 and it is mentioned that April 30th as the shipping date.

    Lenovo A5000 with 4000 mAh battery

    Lenovo A5000 key highlight is its 4000mAh battery which is rated to provide upto 17 hours of talk time and upto 792 hours of standby time. Unlike Lenovo A6000 and Lenovo A7000, Lenovo A5000 does not supports 4G network. It supports only 3G connectivity. The company also said that, A5000 has Quick charge feature which allows battery to get fully charged in 3 hours while a 15 minutes charge will offer 4 hours of talk time.

    Read: How to Take screenshot on Lenovo A5000

    Lenovo A5000 is a dual sim(Micro-SIM and regular sim)  running on Android 4.4.4 Kitkat out of the box.  The device sports 5 inch IPS display screen with a screen resolution of 720×1280 and 300 ppi pixel density. The device also comes with rain and splash-proof screen protection according to the company.

    The Lenovo A5000 is powered by 1.3GHz quad core MediaTek(MT6582) processor with 1GB of RAM and Mali T760-MP2 GPU. The internal storage capacity is 8GB and supports microSD card upto 32GB.  The device houses 8MP auto focus primary rear camera and LED flash. There is also a 2MP front facing camera for video calling and taking selfies.

    The connectivity features of Lenovo A5000 includes GPRS/ EDGE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS/ A-GPS, Micro-USB, and Bluetooth. It has sensors such as accelerometer, ambient light sensor, and a proximity sensor. The device measures 140×71.4×9.98mm, weighs 160 grams. The available colors are Black and White.

    The pricing of Lenovo A5000 is confusing. The much better spec smartphones such as Lenovo A6000 Plus or Lenovo 7000 price is lesser than A5000. The extra money for just 4000 mAh battery with compromise on the other specification does not look good. Any way, once we do the complete Lenovo A5000 review, we will come to know whether it is worth or not.

  • How to Clear Cache Partition On Moto G

    Both first gen Moto G and 2nd Gen Moto G received the  Android 5.0.2 Lollipop update. The new Lollipop update brings in lot of new features such as material design, better battery life and better performance.

    But some Moto G owners post updating to Lollipop, started facing issues. Instead of improving Moto G performance,  it became slow and become less responsive. Even few users also notices, sudden draining of battery. Overall phone started behaving weirdly. What is the problem with Moto G Android Lollipop update?

    Android Lollipop has few issues which google already addressed in their latest update Android 5.1 and some are yet to be addressed. Having said that, optimising the Moto G will help to fix some of the issues. Normally, when Moto G becomes slower, users tend to reset to factory reset. If you reset your Moto G, then you will lose all the data. Instead, you can try wiping the cache partition. Clearing the cache memory solves 90% of the problems without losing any personal data. So How to Wipe or clear Cache Partition on Moto G? We will learn more on this.

    Read:

    How to use Moto G as modem

    How to  Clear Cache Partition On Moto G

    1. First switch off your Moto G. Ensure your device is fully charged and charger is unplugged.
    2. Press Volume Down key + Power Key for 2-3 seconds and  release.
    3. The phone will show different Boot Options.
    4. From the “Boot Mode Selection Menu” screen, select Recovery. Use Volume Use the Volume Down button to scroll through the menu options and the Volume Up button to select.
    5. You will see a screen on which Android figure lying on his back and “No Command” written on the screen.Moto G Clear Cache Memory
    6. Press and hold the Power button then press and release the Volume Up button to display the menu options.
    7. From the menu, select “wipe cache partition”. Here you need to use Volume buttons to highlight and the Power button to select.
    8. “Reboot system now” will be highlighted, press the Power button to select it.
    9. It will take several minutes(Around 5-6 minutes on My 1st Gen Moto G) to complete.

    This is the method, if you are running your moto G with Android Lollipop.

    Does Clearing Cache partition on Moto G deletes my personal files?

    No. It will not delete any of your personal files. This will only  remove any temporary files that may be causing the problem.

  • Top 5 Reasons to Buy Asus Zenfone 2

    Asus Zenfone 2 is yet to launch in India. However, I got an opportunity to attend Asus Pre-Launch Showcase  event in Bangalore. It is not a complete review. This is based on the short period of time I spent on Zenfone 2 in the event. You can read more about the specification in the Asus Zenfone 2 official page.

    Top 5 Reasons to Buy Asus Zenfone 2

    Asus Zenfone 2 with 4GB RAM

     

    Image courtesy: Asus India.

    Read: Different variants of Asus Zenfone 2

    1. 64-bit Dual-Channel 4GB RAM: Asus claims that, Zenfone 2 is the first smartphone in India to feature 4GB of RAM. The device is powered by 64-bit Intel Atom 2.3G CPU with 6430 PowerVR 533MHz GPU. In my experience in the event, device worked without any lag even while playing a high end racing game.
    2. 5MP selfie camera with Panorama shots: Zenfone 2 comes with 13MP primary camera with Toshiba sensor and Dual LED realtone Flash. The 5MP front facing camera has F/2.0 apertures  and wide angle lens. You can also take panorama images using the front facing primary camera. There is also a night mode which is quit useful. Overall camera section is one of the segment truly competes with rest in this price segment.
    3. ZenUI and Android 5.0 Lollipop:  We have already seen the ZenUI with last years Zenfone. However, with Android Lollipop, Zenfone 2 comes with much more refined and user friendly ZenUI. The ZenMotion is also works without any issue. Switching users based on the lock screen swipe lock is really innovative.
    4. Asus BoostMaster:  Asus is incorporating the fast charging features with Zenfone 2.  Company claims that, you can charge 60% of your battery in just 39 minutes. According to this 10 mins of fast charging will provide 4 hours of 2G talk time and 2.7hours of 3G talk time. This feature is available only for the 4GB ram model. I will do a detailed review on this once I get the review unit.
    5. Display screen: Zenfone 5 comes with 5.5 inch full HD display screen. Asus has reduced the bezel width compared to previous years Zenfone. Now Zenfone 2 screen-to-body ratio is 72% which is a welcome upgrade. In my short time with Zenfone 2, I felt the quality of the display is good. The viewing angles are good and colors look vivid.

    As I mentioned earlier, this is not the complete review. I will be doing a detailed pros and cons review on Zenfone 2 once I get the review unit. The initial impressions on Asus Zenfone 2 looks very impressive. Though there is no information on the price, we can expect it to be very competitive.   The refreshed design and build quality coupled with powerful CPU and 4GB RAM, 13MP primary camera and 5MP front facing camera are very good as per the spec sheet. However, for real time performance, we need to wait for some more time.

  • Samsung Galaxy E5 Cons and Pros Review

    Samsung Galaxy E5 is a mid range Android smartphone. It is dual sim with Dual standby feature. It runs on Android 4.4.4 Kitkat along with Touchwiz UI. The Galaxy E5 price in India is Rs.15,340.

    Samsung Galaxy E5 is powered by 1.2GHz Quad core snapdragon 410 chipset with Adreno 306 GPU with 1.5GB of RAM. The internal storage of the device is 16GB and supports microSD card upto 64GB. Do note that, you can use either 2nd sim or the microSD card. You cannot use both of them simultaneously.

    Samsung Galaxy E5 sports 5 inch Super AMOLED capacitive touch screen with screen resolution of 720×1280 pixels and 294 ppi pixel density. The display screen is vibrant and has very good viewing angles and good sunlight legibility. The device has Accelerometer, proximity sensors. It is sad to see a mid range smartphone which lack Light sensor and a compass.

    Samsung Galaxy E5 Review

    Samsung Galaxy E5 houses 8MP autofocus primary camera with LED flash. There is also a 5MP front facing camera. Outdoor performance of the 8MP primary camera is decent. However, indoor conditions and low light performance is just average. The facing camera performance is good. It is one of the best in this price segment.

    Samsung Galaxy E5 packs 2400 mAh battery. It is highly efficient smartphone with very good battery life. On average user battery lasts for more than 1 and half day. If you are a casual user, then it lasts more than 2 days. For the connectivity, device has 2G, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, USB tethering and WiFi Hotspot.

    Read:

    How to take screenshot on Samsung Galaxy Smartphones

    How to use Samsung Galaxy smartphones as modem

    How to download PC suite for Samsung Galaxy Smartphones.

    Advantages and Disadvantages of Samsung Galaxy E5

    Pros of Galaxy E5

    • Excellent Battery life: The battery life of this smartphone is one of the best in the price segment, The standby time is also very good.
    • Good Super AMOLED screen: The 720p Super AMOLED display screen is very good. The touch response is very good and it support 10 multi touch points.
    • Good cellular call quality: The cellular call quality in Galaxy E5 is excellent.
    • Decent Performance: With trimmed down Touchwiz and 1.5GB of RAM offers good performance. The gaming experience in this device also good. Even games like Asphalt 8, modern combat plays without any issues. The doesnot get heated up while playing these games.
    • Impressive Front facing camera:  Though, primary camera disappoints, front facing camera is very impressive in this price segment. Quality of the selfies and videos looks good.
    • Theme Support: Galaxy E5 comes with support for themes. Though it is in starting stages, it is a welcome move.

    Cons of Galaxy E5

    • Non removable battery
    • No LED notification light
    • No Auto brightness sensor and compass sensor: Though it does not have the compass sensor, the GPS works well.
    • No Android Lollipop Out of the box.
    • Average primary camera: The indoor and low light performance of 8MP primary camera is not impressive.
    • No USB OTG support

    Verdict: If you are looking for a mid range Samsung Galaxy smartphone, then  Galaxy E5 is a worthy contender. It provides excellent battery life, good display screen and good selfie camera. It is also worth noting the availability of the service across the country. It does has cons which mentioned above.

    Samsung Galaxy E5 Specification

    • 1.2GHz Quad core snapdragon 410 chipset with Adreno 306 GPU with 1.5GB of RAM
    • 16GB internal storage and supports microSD card upto 64GB
    •  5 inch Super AMOLED capacitive touch screen with 720p resolution
    • 8MP autofocus primary camera with LED flash
    • 5MP front facing camera
    •  2G, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, USB tethering and WiFi Hotspot
    •  2400 mAh battery.