Tech2 Touch

Author: Aniruddh

  • Phicomm Energy 653 Review- Budget 4G Dual Sim Android Smartphone

    In recent times we have seen many feature rich 4G dual sim Android smartphone at attractive price. China-based Phicomm is taken this competition to next level. It released 4G enabled smartphone Energy 653 at Rs.4,999. At the time of writing this review, this is the most affordable 4G Dual sim Android smartphone in India with 5 inch 720p HD display screen. The device is exclusively available on Amazon.in.

    Phicomm Energy 653 is powered by quad-core 1.1GHz, Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor with 1GB of RAM. It has 8GB of internal storage out of which 5GB is user available. This budget 4G  smartphone runs on Android Lollipop with Expect 5.0 UI. The UI is simple and very close to stock Android experience but there are few customizations and tweaks. The day to day performance is decent on this device for the price. I was able to play basic game like Minion Rush without any issues.  However don’t expect to run graphic intensive games on this device.

    Phicomm Energy 653 houses 8MP rear camera with LED flash and 2MP front facing camera. The pictures taken in daylight came out good. But low light pictures missed the details. The 2MP front facing camera is good enough for occasional video chatting and selfie. Phicomm Energy 653 sports 5 inch IPS screen with 1280x720p resolution. The display is sharp. Viewing angle and sunlight legibility also decent.

    Phicomm Energy 653 4G
    Phicomm Energy 653

    Phicomm Energy 653 connectivity features includes 2G, 3G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB. Unfortunately, it does not support USB OTG. As this device does not have compass sensor, sometimes GPS has shown some issues in locking the locations. The device comes with removable 2300 mAh battery which lasts for a day on normal usage which includes 3G enabled all the time, 1-2 hours of talk time and play few  casual games.

    For the price of Rs 4,999,  Phicomm Energy 653 does offer good features. Though there are few demerits on Phicomm Energy 653, it is acceptable considering the price. If you want branded  budget 4G Android smartphone  then you need to go for Moto E 4G at Rs. 7,999.

    Advantages and Disadvantages Phicomm Energy 653

    Pros of Phicomm Energy 653

    • Affordable price.
    • Dual sim and 4G support.
    • Decent Display screen.
    • Good camera for the price.
    • Good battery life.

    Cons of Phicomm Energy 653

    • No USB OTG support.
    • Glossy back cover. The design feels cheap.
    • GPS fails to lock the location at times.
    • Limited service centers.
    • Availability: Available only through online.

    Phicomm Energy 653 Specification

    • Quad-core 1.1GHz, Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor with 1GB RAM
    • 8GB internal storage and support for microSD card
    • 2G, 3G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB
    • 8MP rear camera with LED flash
    • 2MP front facing camera.
    • Removable 2300 mAh battery.

  • Motorola Moto G3 Cons and Pros Review

    Motorola Moto G3  or Moto G 3rd Gen is not great in terms specifications. We have seen much better spec smartphone for much lesser price.  However Moto G smartphone wins in user experience rather than competing with high end specifications. It is one of the best selling smartphone of Motorola. So is it worth to buy Moto G 3rd gen?

    The Moto G3 comes in 2 variant. One with 1GB RAM and 8GB of internal storage which is available for Rs.11,999. Another one is 2GB RAM with 16GB internal storage which is available for Rs.12,999. Both the variants support microSD card and USB OTG.  It is highly advisable to go for 2GB variant if you are planning to buy 3rd Gen Moto G. First lets us talk about what is new in Moto G 2015 edition.

    Read: Moto G3 comparison with its predecessors and specification.

    One key highlight of 3rd Gen Moto G is its rear camera. It now has 13MP primary camera with dual LED flash. Company claims that, it is the same sensor which is used in Nexus 6. There is huge difference when it comes to camera performance compared to its predecessor. It is not the best, but it is one of the good camera phone in this budget. It also has 5MP front facing camera. Once again there is visible quality upgrade over its predecessor.

    3rd Gen Moto G 2015
    Motorola Moto G 2015

    3rd Gen Moto G houses 2470 mAh battery which is optimised for long usage. If you are a Moto G or Moto G2 user, you will find the difference. Now, the battery lasts around 1 day full with heavy usage. Another addition to Moto G 2015 edition is 4G LTE support. The device is powered by 1.4GHz quad core Snapdragon 410 Soc with Adreno 306 GPU.  Xiaomi Redmi 2, Lenovo a6000 Plus which also uses Snapdragon 410 Soc. But the one used in 3rd Gen Moto G has slightly higher clock speed.

    One more USP of Moto G 2015 is IPx7 certification for water resistance. Motorola also made tweak in design aspect as well. The removable rear back cover is textured and gives good grip.  The connectivity features of the device includes 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, USB tethering and WiFi hotspot. Moto G3 runs on latest Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.

    3rd Gen Moto G 2015 has the same display as that of its predecessor. This is the one section, Motorola not done any changes.  The device sports 5 inch IPS 720HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The display is crisp and pixelation is hardly visible when holding at an arm length.

    Advantages and Disadvantages of Moto G 3rd Gen 2015

    Pros of Moto G3 2015

    • Excellent battery life: The battery offers close 6 hours of screen on time. On a regular usage, it lasts more than a day.
    • Great user experience: Moto G3 is highly optimised for user experience. There is no log or shuttering while using the device on day to day usage.
    • Stock Android with useful apps: UI of the device is very close to stock Android. It has very less bloatwares. Few Motorola Apps which are pre installed are very useful for most of the users.
    • Good Call quality and great sound output via headphone: The call quality on Moto G3 is good. The sound output via headphone also excellent when we use good quality headphone.
    • Water and dust resistance: It has  IPx7 certification for water resistance.
    • Decent rear camera: The 13MP primary camera does a decent job.

    Cons of Moto G3 2015

    Any device irrespective of the price and specification has its own demerits. Inspite of all great features, we feel if it has this feature, it would have been great. So here are few disadvantages of 3rd Gen Moto G.

    • Same 720p HD display as its predecessor: Considering the competitive smartphones, it would have been great if Motorola added  a full HD(1080p) screen.
    • Long time for charging:  The battery life of the device is good. But one annoying thing is that, Moto G 2015, does not feature fast charging. The bundled 0.5 amp charger takes more than 5 hours to fully charge the device.
    • There is no NFC chip and No Wi-Fi ac support.
    • No stereo speakers( Moto G2 had stereo speaker).
    • Moto Maker is available only for selected markets.

    Motorola Moto G 3rd Gen Tips and Tricks

    How to take screenshot on 3rd Gen Moto G

    For taking screenshot on Moto G 3rd Gen 2015 smartphone, press and hold volume down and power key simultaneously.

    Gesture Controls on Moto G 2015

    • While holding the device, if you shake like chopping, flashlight turns on.
    • If you twist your hands, the camera app opens.

    Verdict on Motorola Moto G 3rd Generation 2015: There is no doubt that, Moto G3 is one best of the best value for money device you can get. If you are planning to buy this device, choose the 2GB variants. With excellent battery life, lag free performance along with water resistant feature, Moto G3 is ideal phone for people who are looking for smartphone in the budget of 15k.

  • New Variants of Asus Zenfone 2

    Asus Zenfestival 2015 witnessed launch of new variants of popular Zenfone 2 smartphone in India. The newly launched smartphones are ZenFone Selfie, ZenFone 2 Laser, the ZenFone 2 Deluxe and ZenFone Max. The common feature of all 4 smartphone includes Android 5.0 Lollipop, 4G LTE support, and  dual-SIM (Micro-SIM) dual active support. Let us have quick look into these new smartphones from Asus.

    New Variants of Asus Zenfone 2

    I have already written a detailed post on comparing different variants of Asus Zenfone 2, in one of  my previous post with the model numbers.  The earlier variants majorly differentiated by the storage limit and display screen. All previous models were powered by Intel Atom processors with different clock speed. But, now Asus Zenfone 2 available with Snapdragon Soc too. We will discuss more on this by looking into individual new Asus Zenfone 2 variants.

    Read:

    Different variants of Asus Zenfone 2

    How to take screenshot on Asus Zenfone 2

    Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe

    The main attraction of the Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe is its design. It also has 13MP PixelMaster camera with laser auto-focus technology. This technology helps to take instant shots on near object. Below are the specification of Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe. There are two sub variants of this model based on the internal storage. Except that, all the other specifications remains same.

    Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe

    • 2.3 GHz Intel Atom Z3580 Quad Core Processor with 4GB of RAM.
    • PowerVR G6430 GPU and  OpenGL 3.2 support.
    • 5.5 inch IPS display with 1920 x 1080 Full HD and Asus TruVivid Technology.
    • 64GB/128GB internal storage.
    • 5GB  Asus Webstorage and 100GB Google Drive storage for 2 years.
    • microSD card support upto 128GB.
    • 13MP PixelMaster rear camera with laser auto-focus technology.
    • 5MP front facing camera with large f/2.0 aperture and wide angle(85 degree) lense.
    • Android 5.0 Lollipop with ZenUI.
    • 3000mAh lithium polymer battery with Boostmaster fast charging technology(Charge upto 60% capacity in 39 minutes).

    Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe Price

    Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe 64GB variant price is Rs.22,999 and 128GB variant price is Rs.29,999.

    Asus ZenFone Selfie

    Asus ZenFone Selfie is designed for selfie lovers. It has twin 13MP PixelMaster cameras and a dual-color, dual-LED Real Tone flash at both front and rear. One more feature of this smartphone is,it is powered by 1.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 MSM8939 Octa Core Processor The specification of this smartphone are given below. This smartphone available with two variants based on storage capacity and RAM capacity.

    • 1.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 MSM8939 Octa Core Processor.
    • 5.5 inch IPS display with 1920 x 1080 Full HD and Asus TruVivid Technology.
    • GB RAM with 16GB internal storage or 3GB RAM with 32GB internal storage.
    •  5GB Asus Webstorage and 100GB Google Drive storage for 2 years.
    • microSD card support upto 128GB.
    • 13MP front facing camera with f/2.0 aperture,wide angle lens and Dual LED real tone Flash.
    • 13MP rear facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, wide angle lens, 5 element auto focus lense/Laser auto focus for 0.3 second focus time and Dual LED real tone Flash.
    • Android 5.0 Lollipop with ZenUI.
    • 3000mAh lithium polymer removable battery.

    Asus Zenfone Selfie Price

    Asus ZenFone Selfie with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage is Rs.15,999. For the variant with 3GB RAM with 32GB internal storage price is Rs.17,999.

    Asus Zenfone 2 Laser ZE550KL

    This one of the most affordable variants of Asus Zenfone 2. It is powered by Snapdragon 410 Soc with 2GB of RAM.  It has 5.5 inch IPS capacitive touch screen with 720HD resolution. The screen has Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection. The other features of the device includes 5MP front facing camera with f/2.0 and wide angle(85 degree) lens. This device too comes with 13MP rear facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, wide angle lens, 5 element auto focus lense/Laser auto focus for 0.3 second focus time and Dual LED real tone Flash.

    Asus Zenfone Laser

    Asus Zenfone 2 Laser ZE550KL Specification

    • 5.5 inch IPS capacitive touch screen with 720HD resolution
    • Snapdragon 410 Soc with 2GB of RAM
    • 5MP front facing camera with f/2.0 and wide angle(85 degree)
    • 13MP rear facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, wide angle lens, 5 element auto focus lense/Laser auto focus for 0.3 second focus time and Dual LED real tone Flash.
    • 3000 mAh battery.
    • Android 5.0 Lollipop with ZenUI.

    Asus Zenfone 2 Laser ZE550KL Price: Rs.9,999

    Asus Zenfone Maxx ZC550KL

    It has many common features of Asus Zenfone 2 Laser. The main difference is battery. Asus Zenfone Maxx houses huge 5000 mAh battery. One more feature of this smartphone is it can be used as power bank.

    Asus Zenfone Maxx ZC550KL Specification

    • 5.5 inch IPS capacitive touch screen with 720HD resolution
    • Snapdragon 410 Soc with 2GB of RAM
    • 8/16GB internal storage.
    • 5MP front facing camera with f/2.0 and wide angle(85 degree)
    • 13MP rear facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, wide angle lens, 5 element auto focus lense/Laser auto focus for 0.3 second focus time and Dual LED real tone Flash.
    • 5000 mAh battery.
    • Android 5.0 Lollipop with ZenUI.

    In the Asus Zenfestival 2015, Asus also launched new variants of Asus ZenPad 7 and ZenPad 8.  As far as accessories Asus has released ZenFlash( Xenon Flash light), ZenEar, View Flip Cover Deluxe and Lolliflash.

  • How to take screenshot on Yu Yureka Plus

    Yu Yureka Plus is one of the feature rich smartphone. It has full HD screen, 4G LTE support, Snapdragon 615 Soc with 2GB of RAM. The device runs custom ROM Cyanogen Mod based on Android Lollipop. I have already made a review on this device. You can refer to that post. Yu Yureka Plus price in India is Rs.8999 after the price cut. For this price, this Dual sim Android smartphone considered to be one of the best value for money device. In this post, we will learn how to do print screen on Yu Yureka Plus..

    Read:

    Yu Yureka Plus Review

    How to take screenshot on Yu Yureka Plus

    The screen capture method on Yu Yureka Plus is very similar to its predecessor Yu Yureka. There are 2 different methods for Yu Yureka Plus screen capture. We will learn one by One.

    1. Default Android Method(Volume Down+Power Key Method): For using this method, go to the screen on which you want to take the screenshot. Now press and hold Volume down key and power button simultaneously. The screen will flicker. The active screen will be captured. The captured screenshot will be saved in Gallery-> Screenshot folder.

    2. Using the Power Menu: There is one more method to do print screen on Yu Yureka Plus. You can choose this  method, if you find the above method difficult.

    Yu yureka Plus Printscreen

    First you need to enable screenshot option in Power menu. For doing that, follow the method mentioned below.

    • Go to settings.
    • Go to buttons->Power Menu.
    • Now enable screenshot option in power menu by checking the option in front of screenshot.

    Now for taking screenshot follow the steps given below.

    • Go to the screen on which you want to take screenshot.
    • Now press the power button.
    • You will get a power menu options.
    • In the options you will find Screenshot option.
    • Tap on to it. The screenshot will be taken.
    • Taken screenshot on Yu Yureka Plus will be saved in Gallery-> Screenshot folder.

    Hope this guide on how to take screenshot on Yu Yureka Plus is useful. If you find any difficulties in following this or if you are getting any error message, feel free to share in the comment section below. Your feedbacks are appreciated.

  • Yu Yureka Plus Review – Pros And Cons

    Micromax has launched Yu Brand at the beginning of 2015. It is online only brand. That means you can purchase Yu branded smartphones only from online stores. So far there are 3 phones released in this brand. The previous 2 smartphones were Yu Yureka and Yu Yuphoria. All these smartphones came with great specification at low prices. One more advantage of these smartphone is Cyanogenmod 12 OS which offers great customisability. Yu Yureka Plus is the incremental upgrade over its predecessor. Most of the specifications remained same with minor upgrades such as full HD screen and improved camera. Lets have a quick Yu Yureka Plus which will be helpful is you are planning to buy this smartphone. Also you compare with another great specification smartphone Lenovo K3 Note.

    Read:

    Yu Yureka Plus Vs Lenovo K3 Note Comparison

    Yu Yureka Plus
    Yu Yureka Plus

    Yu Yureka Plus  sports 5.5 inch IPS screen with screen resolution of 1080×1920 pixels and 401 ppi pixel density. The viewing angles and color reproduction are great. Black look splendid and  text on a white background too looks crisp. The sunlight legibility is also good. The Yu Yureka Plus screen has Gorilla Glass 3 protection with oleophobic coating. Due to this screen is almost smudge free.

    Yu Yureka Plus is identical to it predecessor in terms of dimension and look. However, now it has reinforced chassis and tough polycarbonate back panel. The company claims that, the new smartphone can survive a fall. From the outside look, there is no other visible changes.

    Yu Yureka Plus features 13MP rear camera with LED flash and 5MP front facing camera. In Terms of specification, it is the same like its predecessor. However, in Yureka Plus  features Sony IMX214 CMOS sensor whereas Yu Yureka had Sony IMX135 CMOS sensor. There are few tweaks done on camera software. The camera samples taken outside with good lighting condition, came out really well. Objects are sharp, and colors are quite punchy as well. The photos taken on indoor conditions and low light conditions came with bit of noise. Overall there is a good improvement is seen interms of rear camera. The 5MP front facing camera with wide angles lense does its job satisfactorily.

    Other specifications  of Yu Yureka Plus remained same like its predecessor such as Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor,2GB of RAM, 16GB internal storage(Around 12GB usable) and support microSD card. Coming to software it runs on Android 5.0.2 based Cyanogenmod 12 OS. It houses 2500 mAh battery. The connectivity features of the device includes 2G, 3G, 4G, WiFi, Bluetooth and USB. Lets get started with merits and demerits of Yu Yureka Plus.

    Advantages and Disadvantages of Yu Yureka Plus

    Pros of Yu Yureka Plus

    • Improved Display: The full HD display is a welcome addition.
    • Improved camera performance: With new sensor, quality images are improved.
    • Customisable Cyanogen OS: Offers good customisability.
    • Decent performance: On a day to day life, it offers almost lag free experience.
    • Value for money: After today’s price cut, device available for Rs8,999, which makes this device one of the cheapest smartphone with full HD screen.

    Cons of Yu Yureka Plus

    • No Android 5.1.1 out of the box.
    • Heating issue: Yureka plus fixed the major issue of heating. However, there is a still heating issues while playing high end games.
    • Low speakerphone output: The loudness of the speakerphone is bit low.
    • Performance Issue: Occasional app crashes  observed. Though it is not all the time. In most of the cases, the phone performed efficiently.
    • Availability: The device is available only through flash sales.

    Yu Yureka Plus Specification

    • 5.5 inch IPS full HD screen and 401 ppi pixel density.
    • 13MP rear camera with LED flash and 5MP front facing camera
    • Android 5.0.2 based Cyanogenmod 12 OS
    • 2500 mAh battery
    • 2G, 3G, 4G, WiFi, Bluetooth and USB
    • 16GB internal storage(Around 12GB usable) and support microSD card.