lolox: December 2016

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Best Everything: Best Smartphones 2016

So you're looking for the best Android smartphone or maybe an iPhone upgrade or you're that unique breed of Windows 10 mobile lovers. Worry not, here's the best smartphones 2016 could offer.

Best Overall Smartphone

Samsung S7 Edge

Well, the Note 7 would have been my pick for the best smartphone of 2016, but it kept blasting off... So the second best thing you could get is the S7 Edge. Samsung S7 Edge has used an all new Exynos 8890 SoC coupled with 4GB RAM and a 32GB storage which can be upgraded using a microSD card. It is waterproof, and features an AMOLED display with a 2560x1440-pixel resolution, with a screen size of 5.5 inches.

It is powered by a 3600mAh battery, which allows it to offer better battery life over its last generation and runs the Android 6.0 Marshmallow which may get updated in the coming days to Nougat. Though, the best feature of the smartphone is its new 12MP Dual Pixel camera, which shoots amazing photographs even in low light.

Buy from Amazon.in

Buy from Amazon.com

Best iPhone

iPhone 7 Plus

Apple's 2016 dual-camera bigger screen smartphone is probably one of the best-looking smartphones of this year. The smartphone which sticks to its 2015 design has just made iPhone's look better with its beautiful 5.5-inch screen, improved rerouted antenna lines and a more integrated camera bump. And to provide an icing on the cake, they are available in newer colors - Jet Black and Matte Black which is also water-resistant.

On the inside, it houses Apple's fast A10 Fusion chip and newer stereo speakers. The camera has also received a notable upgrade, with 12MP dual-lens capable of 2x optical zoom. If the 5.5-inch display is large for you, you could also consider the smaller iPhone 7 which lacks the dual camera but packs almost the same magic!

Buy from Amazon.in

Buy from Amazon.com

Best Large Smartphone

Google Pixel XL

After years of partnering with multiple phone makers, this year Google finally made a smartphone which is made by completely by Google. Be it the software of the phone or the design, everything is done by Google. The Google Pixel XL could probably be called the best smartphone of 2016 but Samsung just took the lead thanks to its waterproofing, wireless charging and years of experience.

The Pixel XL packs the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, backed by the Adreno 530 GPU and 4 GB of RAM. The performance of the Pixel XL is amazing thanks to its seamless integration of the clean Android Nougat interface and the Google's exclusive talk assistant Google Assistant. The Pixel XL features a 12.3 MP rear shooter with a f/2.0 aperture and electronic image stabilisation. Of course, if you're not a large screen person the 5.0-inch Pixel is also available, which is identical the XL in terms camera performance, battery life, and overall performance.

Buy from Amazon.in

Buy from Amazon.com

Best Smartphone To Buy

OnePlus 3T

The OnePlus 3T is the probably any reviewer's go-to recommendation for buyers looking for a premium experience at a reasonable price. A slight update over its predecessor, the OnePlus 3T preserves same build quality with an upgrade to the top-line Snapdragon 821 chip. The 6GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, fast fingerprint scanner, Dash charging remain constant, with a slightly tweaked version of stock Android, dubbed Oxygen OS and larger battery of 3400 mAh. The upgrade 16MP camera on the back does not disappoint either and offers PDAF as well as OIS.

Buy from Amazon.in

Buy from Amazon.com

Best Smartphone for Battery Life

Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime

The Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime a compact version of the company's Redmi Note 3 features a 5-inch 720p display, a Snapdragon 430, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage. But features a humongous 4100mAh battery, which Xiaomi incredibly managed to pack into a phone with a much smaller footprint. Because of its less taxing components, the Redmi 3s Prime is one of the best phones with a long battery life.

The camera department comprises a 13MP f/2.0 aperture camera with PDAF and a LED flash and at the front is a 5MP unit with a f/2.0 aperture. The design is excellent, the hardware is very well balanced and the performance feels great for a budget smartphone.

Buy from Flipkart

Best Smartphone for Music

HTC 10

The HTC 10 flaunts the traditional HTC design, with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC, 4GB RAM and 32GB storage. The 12MP UltraPixel rear camera is great to shoot with, and you also get OIS. HTC 10 features a 5.2 inch 2K resolution panel with beautiful viewing angles.

But the USP is its audio quality, which gives the best music quality you can get on any Android mobile available for purchase today. The new speaker setup houses dedicated woofer and tweeter (each with its own amp), helping to more accurately reproduce sound across a range of frequencies, along with a certified Hi-Res audio processing system, with high-precision DAC and tuned headphone amp, is ready to make your headphones sound as good as possible. The HTC 10's software includes custom listener profiles, which allow multiple users to configure EQ settings tailor-matched to their particular needs.

Buy from Amazon.in

Buy from Amazon.com

Most Elegant Smartphone

Xiaomi Mi MIX

Xiaomi made quite a splash with what they called a 'concept phone'; a phone that will give us a glimpse into a future where smartphones are nothing but slabs of glass that project the magic that lies within. The phone is nothing but a 6.4-inch bezel-less IPS screen with a 2080x1080-pixel display. The Xiaomi Mi MIX sports the Snapdragon 821 and either 4 or 6GB of RAM depending on the version (and price). The base 4GB model of the MIX comes with a 128GB of onboard storage and the premium 6GB edition has 256GB storage!

The primary camera is a 16MP shooter with a f/2.0 aperture while the secondary camera is a 5MP shooter located below the screen. To run all these pixels, the phone houses a whopping 4400 mAh battery which supports fast-charging through its USB-C port.

Best Windows 10 Smartphone

Lumia 950 XL

Microsoft's Lumia 950 XL ushered in a new era for Windows 10 on mobile with its 1440p 5.7 inch AMOLED display, an octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor, 3GB of RAM, Qi wireless charging capability, a 3340mAh battery, and a great 20-megapixel camera. The Lumia 950 XL comes with 32GB of included storage that can be expanded by up to 200GB with a microSD card.

Windows Phones have always been a pleasure to shoot pictures with. The rear-facing, 20-megapixel PureView camera has a ZEISS f/1.9 lens with a three-LED flash to assist in capturing stunning stills and 4K video, while the front-facing is a 5-megapixel camera.

A built-in iris scanner works with Windows Hello to provided an extra layer of security to your device, Cortana is always there to help and Microsoft Continuum lets you plug in your phone at your desk to take advantage of a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

Buy from Amazon.in

Buy from Amazon.com

Friday, December 30, 2016

BHIM App Launched; Here's some FAQs

Indian PM Narendra Modi on Friday launched a United Payments Interface (UPI) based app called BHIM, short for Bharat Interface for Money. The BHIM app is a UPI app, which would allow anyone to make simple digital payments directly from their bank account. The UPI-based app allows anyone to pay or receive money through online banking, unlike a wallet where you have to first load the money before you can use it.

"Be it a smartphone or feature phone of Rs 1,000-1,200, BHIM app can be used. There is no need to have Internet connectivity, one only needs a thumb. There was a time when an illiterate was called 'angutha chchap'. Now, time has changed. Your thumb is your bank now. It has become your identity now," says PM Modi.

What is BHIM app?

With the BHIM app, anyone can send or request money through the app to make a digital payment. The app is linked to your bank account, so you don't have to load money like a wallet in it, and the also merchant does not have to worry about transferring the money back to their bank account. Download the BHIM app by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Google Play to start using the free Android app. The app will soon come to the iOS platform.

How do I use it?

After you download the BHIM app, you'll have to register your bank account through the app, and set a UPI PIN. Your mobile number is your payment address, and you can start transacting. Through the app, you can send or receive money to a phone number, check balance, or scan a QR code to make a payment without sharing a phone number.

Money can also be sent to non-UPI banks through IFSC, like you do with normal net banking.

Will it work on feature phones?

Apart from an app, the interface can be accessed using USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) from feature phones - you will need to dial *99# to access it. With this method, an Internet connection will not be required.

Which banks support this?

All the major banks are supported by the BHIM app as long as the bank supports UPI, you will be able to access your money through the BHIM app.

The list of supported banks is:

Allahabad Bank
Andhra Bank
Axis Bank
Bank of Baroda
Bank of India
Bank of Maharashtra
Canara Bank
Catholic Syrian Bank
Central Bank of India
DCB Bank
Dena Bank
Federal Bank
HDFC Bank
ICICI Bank
IDBI Bank
IDFC Bank
Indian Bank
Indian Overseas Bank
IndusInd Bank
Karnataka Bank
Karur Vysya Bank
Kotak Mahindra Bank
Oriental Bank of Commerce
Punjab National Bank
RBL Bank
South Indian Bank
Standard Chartered Bank
State Bank of India
Syndicate Bank
Union Bank of India
United Bank of India
Vijaya Bank.

Are there transaction limits?

Yes, there is a maximum of Rs. 10,000 per transaction permitted, and Rs. 20,000 within 24 hours.

The government has also introduced Aadhaar Payment app for merchants, which allows you to pay using your Aadhaar card and fingerprint.

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Samsung Announces CH711 Curved Quantum Dot Monitor for Gamers Ahead of CES 2017

Samsung today unveiled a new curved monitor said to be designed for gamers with quantum dot technology. Named the Samsung CH711, the monitor will be officially launched at CES 2017, along with its price and exact availability details.

The Samsung CH711 curved quantum dot monitor will be available in 27-inch and 31.5-inch variants and will be released in early 2017. It features an 1800R radius curvature and a 178-degree viewing angle. Both variants will sport a QHD (2560x1440 pixel) quantum dot panels that are rated to deliver nearly 125 percent sRGB colour gamut coverage.

The monitor can be adjusted both vertically and horizontally, while it can be flipped completely vertical as well - though this might be quite pointless! It sports a three-sided 'Boundless' design, with small bezels on the top and either side. Power and HDMI cables from the monitor are hidden within its neck, giving the configuration a clean look.

At CES 2017, Samsung will also showcase the CFG70 and CF791 curved quantum dot monitors, which were first announced at IFA 2016 in September and released in the US in December. The company will additionally unveil new high-resolution quantum dot monitors at CES 2017, also due to be released in early 2017. These are the 28-inch UH750, as well as the 23.8-inch and 27-inch SH850.

"Today's multimedia consumers, quite rightly, have high expectations and demand a truly cutting edge, totally immersive experience that realizes the full potential of whatever they are playing or watching. This year's lineup of curved Quantum Dot monitors offers brilliant design, richer colour and deeper contrast than ever before. We can't wait to share them with the world at CES 2017 in Las Vegas," said Seoggi Kim, Senior Vice President of Samsung Electronics' Visual Display Business, announcing the new Samsung CH711 monitor.

Source: Samsung Newsroom

IoT solutions introduced to Mori village in Andhra Pradesh by Ericsson

Sweden-based multinational network services firm Ericsson on Thursday demonstrated at Mori village of Andhra Pradesh its two Internet of Things (IoT) solutions for creating smart and sustainable villages in the state. Connected Aquaponics and Smart Water Grid Management, were the two projects demonstrated in the presence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, after a three-month pilot.

"The ‘Connected Aquaponics’ and ‘Smart Water Grid Management’ IoT solutions being demonstrated here will help improve harvest and optimise water distribution. It has the potential to provide an improved life for millions of farmers in the country," said Anand Varadarajan, head of Ericsson Research, Chennai, at Ericsson India, in a statement.

The Connected Aquaponics integrates aquaculture and hydroponics for reuse of the ammonia-rich waste water from aquaculture for organic farming and recycles the water back to the aqua farm.

"Using wireless sensor network and Ericsson's AppIOT platform, we enable the monitoring of the aqua farm 24×7, thereby enabling the farmers with real-time information," the company said.

This enables the farmers to increase the yield as well as bring down the production cost with optimum use of the raw materials and repeated use of water.

On the other hand, the 'Smart Water Grid Management' solution has been designed to enable efficient use of natural water resources in the Godavari basin through the use of sensors and actuators.

The sensors measure the quality of water, flow of water and level in the water storage tanks across the village.

"Ericsson is deploying Smart City solutions in different parts of the world. We have used our global know-how and technological expertise to develop sustainable solutions for rural areas, like the ones being demonstrated at Mori. The connected Aquaponics and Water Grid Management IoT solutions being demonstrated here will help improve harvest, optimise water distribution and has the potential to provide an improved life for millions of farmers in the country," said Anand.

Ericsson earlier this year signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh government and the University of California - Berkley to help improve lives of farmers in and around Mori.

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Hacker group OurMine hacks into Sony Music’s Twitter account

In a yet another high-profile Twitter account compromise this year, the hacker group OurMine broke into Sony Music’s Twitter account, flashing a news that famous singer Britney Spears "is dead by accident".

"Britney Spears is dead by accident! We will tell you more soon #RIPBrtiney," the tweet from OurMine read late on Monday. As soon as this was tweeted, Sony Music immediately swung into action and tweeted after recovering their handle @SonyMusicGlobal: "We saw a new IP logged in to the account a few minutes ago and the tweet is posted by a new IP so @britneyspears is still alive #OurMine."

Both these tweets have now been removed from Sony Music Global’s account.

Spears' manager Adam Leber was quoted by CNN as saying that the pop star was alive, officially debunking the rumour.

OurMine has previously hacked into some high-profile Twitter handles in the past, including those of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Niantic head John Hanke and Evan Williams, the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter.

OurMine also hacked into BuzzFeed’s website in October and accessed Twitter accounts of Netflix and Marvel.

"We don’t know who is our next target," OurMine had told CNET in an email last week.

Source: CNN

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Gionee M2017 Smartphone With 7000mAh Battery, 6GB of RAM Launched

Gionee has launched its M2017 premium smartphone in China. The smartphone has been made available with a hefty base price of CNY 6,999 (roughly Rs. 68,400) in the country. As of now, the company has not disclosed whether the new Gionee M2017 will be made available in other regions or just stay exclusive to China. Another version with an Italian custom alligator leather back panel costs CNY 16,999 (roughly Rs. 1,66,000) The Gionee M2017 smartphone is up for pre-orders in China, but Gionee's website is already showing the phone as "Fully Booked".

The main USP of the phone is its battery capacity. The Gionee M2017 comes with two 3500mAh batteries inside, that is a total battery capacity of 7000mAh, which also includes support for Quick Charge 3.0. Gionee claims that the M2017 smartphone gives a video playback time of up to 25.89 hours and a standby time of 915.42 hours.

The dual-SIM Gionee M2017 sports a 5.7-inch QHD (1440x2560 pixels) AMOLED display with curved edges, sapphire glass, and an impressive pixel density of 518ppi. The phone is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 (four Cortex-A72 cores clocked at 1.95GHz and four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.44GHz) SoC coupled with 6GB of RAM. Gionee M2017 runs an Android 6.0 Marshmallow based Amigo 3.5 UI.

In terms of camera, Gionee M2017 comes with a dual-camera setup (12-megapixel + 13-megapixel) at the rear end, with support for 2X optical zoom and 8X digital zoom, and an 8-megapixel camera at the front for taking selfies. The Gionee M2017 is available with inbuilt storage of 128GB but there is no microSD card support for expandable storage.

The smartphone features a fingerprint scanner at the front for advanced security and comes with a textured back for a premium feel. The connectivity options for the phone include 4G, GPS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. Interestingly, the phone doesn't come with a 3.5mm headphone jack, but only sports a USB Type-C port. Gionee M2017 is available in a Black and Gold colour variant.

Source: Gionee

Monday, December 26, 2016

Cyanogen Shutting Down Services by December 31; CyanogenMod to Transition to Open-Source Lineage OS

After months of internal disturbance, Cyanogen has finally announced its closure on December 31. It will shut down all services and nightly builds. The company revealed that the move is a part of the ongoing consolidation of Cyanogen.

"The open source project and source code will remain available for anyone who wants to build CyanogenMod personally," the Cyanogen team said in a blog post.With this, CyanogenMod will be killed, though the company has already confirmed its next open-source initiative dubbed Lineage.

With Cyanogen services being shut down, smartphones like OnePlus One and Lenovo Zuk Z1 running CyanogenOS won't be receiving any further updates from Cyanogen, while the CyanogenMod open-source project is officially being shut down - however, the community has a transition plan in mind, to Lineage OS.

"It will come as no surprise that this most recent action from Cyngn [Cyanogen] is definitely a death blow for CyanogenMod," the team wrote. In a separate blog post, the CyanogenMod team explained how decisions taken by Cyanogen were affecting the CyanogenMod development and also approves that the development was dependent on Cyanogen's financial support and the shared source base.

"Cyanogen Inc (Cyngn) announced that they were shutting down the infrastructure behind CyanogenMod (CM). This is an action that was not unpredictable given the public departure of Kondik (cyanogen himself) from the company, and with him our last remaining advocate inside Cyngn's leadership. In addition to infrastructure being retired, we in the CM community have lost our voice in the future direction of CM - the brand could be sold to a third party entity as it was an asset that Kondik risked to start his business and dream. Even if we were to regroup and rebuild our own infrastructure, continuing development of CM would mean to operate with the threat of sale of the brand looming over our heads. Then there is the stigma that has grown to be attached to anything named 'Cyanogen'. Many of you reading this have been champions of clarifying that the CM product and CyngnOS were distinct, yet the stain of many PR actions from Cyngn is a hard one to remove from CM. Given CM's reliance on Cyngn for monetary support and the shared source base, it's not hard to understand why the confusion remains," explained the CyanogenMod team.

The company also confirmed its next open-source initiative LineageOS with some of the original team on board carrying forward CyanogenMod development, however, in a new look: "Embracing that spirit, we the community of developers, designers, device maintainers and translators have taken the steps necessary to produce a fork of the CM source code and pending patches. This is more than just a 'rebrand'. This fork will return to the grassroots community effort that used to define CM while maintaining the professional quality and reliability you have come to expect more recently," added the team in blog post.

Source: Cyanogen

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Sony Cyber-shot HX350 With 50x Optical Zoom Launched; To go on sale for €449

Sony has announced the Cyber-shot HX350, which is the follow-up to the super-zoom compact camera HX300. The newer model is announced for the European markets and is said to go on sale for €449 starting next month.

For specifications, not much has changed in the new HX350. The camera features a back-illuminated 20.4-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor and an up-to-date BIONZ X image processor. The ISO range is rated at ISO 80-3200, which can be expanded to 12800 in multi-frame NR mode. You get a focal length of 24mm at the wide end and 1200mm at the telephoto end (35mm equivalent) while the available aperture is f/2.8-6.3 which lets you achieve 50x optical zoom.

The HX350 features convenient options like a manual ring for smooth adjustment of zoom and focus, plus an easily-accessible mode dial and a custom button for quick adjustment of settings. It also has full PASM controls.

The camera is capable of 10fps burst shooting and can record video 60fps 1080p video. It features a tiltable 3-inch LCD display with a 921k-dot resolution but lacks the inclusion of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or NFC on board. It uses a USB 2.0 for interfacing with a PC for transferring content over and Micro-HDMI port for viewing the content you've shot directly on a TV.

The camera doesn't have any microphone or headphone socket present. In order to prevent camera shake, the HX350 retains the optical SteadyShot feature which helps keep the video steady. The inbuilt Intelligent Active Mode keeps full-HD videos sharp and blur-free with Sony's proprietary frame analysis technology.

Source: Sony

Best Everything: Best Free Android Apps 2016

All free apps aren't bad! Here are some of the best free apps available in the Google Play Store this year. I feel every app on this list is worth trying.

Android Pay

Android Pay, with its availability on most NFC-enabled Android phones, could soon become more popular with its introduction in more markets.

Currently available across the US and the UK, it's also simple to use. Just install the app, add details of cards and start spending at any location has contactless terminals, by tapping your phone against the card reader.

Download via Google Play Store

Best File Manager

Solid Explorer

Availability: Free

Like you'd expect from a file manager, Solid Explorer is easy to use offers quick access to frequently used files like photos, music, videos, and even apps. It also allows custom bookmarks to be set for specific locations. So, if you keep accessing the same locations repeatedly, this is a blessing.

There are two versions of Solid Explorer available in the Play Store: one is the Solid Explorer File Manager and another is the Solid Explorer File Manager Classic. The Classic version is just left around for its early users, as they preferred this design over the newer version. I personally prefer the newer application, but it's just based on your preference.

Solid Explorer File Manager: Download via Google Play Store

Solid Explorer Classic: Download via Google Play Store

Best Music Player

Pi Music Player

Availability: Free

With a stylish, simple Material Design look, topped up with three different themes, and easy navigation the Pi Music Player is anything but a simple player, as it includes a 5-band equaliser, a sleep timer, gesture controls, widgets and a tool to help you cut down tracks into ringtones. Along with all the basics, such as lock screen controls, playlists and album artwork. And guess what it's completely free, with no adverts.

Download via Google Play Store

Best Antivirus

Bitdefender Antivirus Free

Availability: Free

Bitdefender Antivirus Free is one of the lightest, the most inconspicuous option on this list. It only has two features which are scanning and cleaning your device and it also offers real-time antivirus protection.

The real-time protection keeps an eye on what the installed apps are doing. This is a by-product of the Bitdefender’s antivirus suite, but I that this option requires zero configuration and also lightweight, which could be its advantage.

Download via Google Play Store

Best Photo Scanning App

PhotoScan

Availability: Free

I think it's probably that time of the year where you need to clear up your attic and go through that heap of old photos albums that you know won't last forever. Well, you could make those photos last forever by digitising it maybe. Google's PhotoScan app lets you turn your photos into high-quality digital images in just a couple of minutes.

If you're thinking, this isn't your regular photo scanning app. PhotoScan has you capture a snapshot of the whole photo, then it places four points near each corner of the image, which you need to hover over each of the corners, and then it captures image data. The app then slices up the image into segments and puts them back together as a digital image, barring the glare and distortion. Well, you guessed it right, it then automatically backs up the photos to Google Photos.

Download via Google Play Store

Best Browser

Apus

Availability: Free

Apus is everything its described as, a lightweight and powerful browser that's just right for daily browsing. Apus Web browser is aimed to provide the smooth and fluid browsing experience even on slower internet speeds.

At 2MB it not only provides a great browsing experience but also includes add-ons such as AdBlock, Flash Player, Speed Mode, Full Screen Mode, Incognito Mode, No Image Mode and also the ability to save the web page offline for viewing it later.

Download via Google Play Store

Best Google Maps-Alternative

MapFactor GPS Navigation Maps

Availability: Free

Google Maps is probably the best GPS navigation you could get on the Google Play Store. But you may be a rebel, and wouldn't mind trying out some alternatives. So here's a Google-Maps alternative I would recommend. The MapFactor GPS Navigation Maps is the classic turn-by-turn navigation app that installs and downloads the map files to your SD card so you can use it offline if you need to.

It uses map data from OffStreetMap which supports several countries around the world with the list being updated every day. It’s may not be as polished as Google Maps but it is effective and enjoyable to use.

Download via Google Play Store

Best Photo Filter App

Prisma

Availability: Free

Prisma is an app you probably may have used by now. But it's surely good at what it does. Prisma is basically a photo filter app, which with each of its filters completely reinvents your photo into one of dozen of art styles it features.

It essentially changes your boring photos into interesting ones and eye-catching ones into masterpieces.

Download via Google Play Store

Best Video Player

MX Player

Availability: Free

MX Player is one of the top choices when it comes to Video Player on Android. Well, surely will be all thanks to its wide range of features such as multi-core decoding, CPU optimisations, child lock, and ability to play almost any type of video with subtitles. The player also allows you to control the playback with simple gestures, like swiping up/down for volume adjustments or swiping left/right for rewind/forward.

Download via Google Play Store

Best Photo-Editing App

Photoshop Mix

Availability: Free

So Adobe announced an update to its Photoshop Mix app earlier at the Adobe Max 2016 keynote, and it isn't bad when you consider it for photo-editing. Adobe's Photoshop Mix doesn't quite provide you with the full Photoshop experience, but it is a smooth photo editing app designed for fast and intuitive use on a smartphone. You can quickly use it to crop and merge images, adjust the colours, add filters and do more fine-tuned editing of a specific segment of a picture.

Download via Google Play Store

Best Wallpaper App

Wally

Wally features a collection of full HD, QHD and 4K wallpapers available for easy downloads. You can search by tags, resolution quality, aspect ratio, and category. The wallpaper app is open source and totally free to use. The collections are updated every day and are CC0 photos available for free use.

Download via Google Play Store

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Pokemon Go Finally comes to an Apple Watch Near You!

The popular mobile game Pokemon Go is now available on the Apple Watch, squashing rumours that the game's maker was scrapping the plans.

The game involves catching Pokemon's in an augmented reality version of your surroundings. The Apple Watch version will let you discover nearby Pokemon and collect special items, such as potions, from nearby PokeStops. But once you encounter a Pokemon, you will need to use your iPhone to catch it.

Still, the Apple Watch should make it easier for players to log their steps needed to hatch eggs, and to avoid walking around with their phones held out to search for nearby Pokemons.

Pokemon Go was a huge success when it came out in July. Plans for the watch version had been announced at Apple's iPhone launch event in September. And only recently it was said to have been scrapped, but Niantic had given the players an hope, by tweeting out that the Apple Watch version was in the making.

The game's maker, Niantic, hasn't announced any plans for Android Wear and Samsung Gear smartwatches.

Source: Twitter

LG K3, K4, K8, K10 (2017), and Stylus 3 Smartphones Launched Ahead of CES 2017

LG ahead of the CES 2017 in Las Vegas has announced four new K-series smartphones, and the new Stylus 3. The South Korean company says that the new LG K3, K4, K8, K10 smartphones, and the Stylus 3 will strengthen its portfolio in the mid-range segment. All the new LG smartphones will be showcased at the CES 2017 event.

LG says that the new mid-range smartphones feature a 120-degree wide-angle front camera lens and rear fingerprint scanner. The company adds that the new 2017 K-series smartphones have been designed with the "the diverse needs of consumers in mind." The company has confirmed that the market availability will be announced locally in the weeks to come.

LG K3

The LG K3 (2017) features a 4.5-inch FWVGA (480x854 pixels) IPS display and sport a 1.1GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 MSM8909 processor coupled with 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of inbuilt storage with expandable storage support up to 32GB via microSD card and Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

LG K3 sports a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and also houses a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. Connectivity options include 4G LTE, 3G, GPRS/ EDGE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, and Micro-USB. It is backed by a 2100mAh removable battery and will be available in Metallic Titan as well as Pink Gold colours.

LG K4

The LG K4 (2017) features a 5-inch FWVGA (480x854 pixels) display with a pixel density of 196ppi. It is powered by the same processor as the LG K3. The LG K4 packs 1GB of LPDDR3 RAM and comes with 8GB inbuilt storage with expandable storage support via microSD card (up to 32GB).

It sports 5-megapixel front and rear cameras. The handset packs a 2500mAh removable battery and runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. Connectivity options on the handset include 4G LTE, 3G, GPRS/ EDGE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g, n, Bluetooth 4.1, and Micro-USB. The LG K4 will be available in Titan and Black colours.

LG K8

The LG K8 (2017) features a 5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) display with a pixel density of 294ppi. It is powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 MSM8917 processor coupled with 1.5GB of LPDDR3 RAM. It includes 16GB inbuilt storage and supports expandable storage via microSD card (up to 32GB).

The handset sports a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera. It is backed by a 2500mAh removable battery. The LG K8 runs Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box. Connectivity options include 4G LTE, 3G, GPRS/ EDGE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g, n, Bluetooth 4.2, Micro-USB, and NFC. It will be available in Silver, Titan, Dark Blue, and Gold colours.

LG K10

The LG K10 (2017) (seen above) features a 5.3-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) display with a pixel density of 277ppi. The handset is powered by an octa-core MediaTek MT6750 processor clocked at 1.5GHz. It comes with 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM and the handset will be available in two storage options - 16GB and 32GB inbuilt. The LG K10 supports expandable storage via microSD card (up to 2TB).

It sports a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera. It is backed by a 2800mAh removable battery. The Android 7.0 Nougat-based K10 supports 4G LTE, GPRS/ EDGE, and 3G connectivity options. It will be available in Black, Titan, and Gold colours.

LG Stylus 3

Finally, the LG Stylus 3 features a 5.7-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) display with a pixel density of 258ppi. It is powered by the same processor that powers the LG K10. It packs a 3GB of LPDDR3 RAM and comes with 16GB inbuilt storage. The handset supports expandable storage via microSD card (up to 2TB).

It sports a 13-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front camera. The handset is backed by a 3200mAh removable battery and it runs on Android 7.0 Nougat. As the name suggests, the LG Stylus 3 supports stylus pen and comes with 4G LTE connectivity feature.

"Our 2017 mass-tier, mid-range smartphones focus on giving our customers a wide variety of options and choices for their smartphone lifestyles. What's consistent in all our K Series and Stylus 3 devices is that they look and feel premium, offer replaceable batteries and all come with expandable memory slots, what customers consider key factors when buying smartphones in this category," Juno Cho, president of the LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company commented on the launch.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Samsung SM-G891A Firmware

How to download Samsung firmware with odin tools [ guide ]

Samsung SM-G891A Firmware Android Version 6.0.1

First of all download the firmware and extract it on your computer
Download the latest version Samsung flash tools (odin) here
Now Power off your phone then Hold Volume Down+Power+Home button together for download mode
Now connect your device on the computer and wait for blue sign in odin flash tools
Add the firmware file in odin tool using AP/ADA button
At last click on the start button and wait few minutes to get flash completed

Samsung SM-G891A Firmware

Thank you

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Bluboo b6000 Firmware Official

Bluboo b6000 Firmware Official Stock Firmware

bluboo all latest firmware
Brand Name : Bluboo
Operating System : Android OS
Platform : MTK Chipset
Firmware File Type : MTK Scatter File
Country Support : All Country Supported

Full process of updating software is given below.

1. Download the firmware of your handset from this link and unzip the file.
2. Download “SP Flash Tools & MTK USB Driver”
3. Connect the POWERED ON handset to your computer with USB port and install the driver.
4. Open the downloaded SP Flash Tools
5. On the left side of SP Flash Tools you will see Scatter-Loading button, Click on it. Go to the folder where you extracted the Firmware and select the MTK- Scatter-Loading file.
6. On the left side dropdown menu select Firmware Upgrade and click on the download button. Then turn off you smart phone and connect to computer with USB, Flash will start.
7. After getting 100% you will get a green OK message. It will confirm successful Flash. After completing Flash smartphone will take some time to open. So wait until it gets on.
Thank you.

Bluboo T200 Firmware Official Stock Latest

Bluboo T200 Firmware Official Stock Firmware

bluboo all latest firmware
Brand Name : Bluboo
Operating System : Android OS
Platform : MTK Chipset
Firmware File Type : MTK Scatter File
Country Support : All Country Supported

Full process of updating software is given below.

Best Everything: Best Graphics Cards 2016

Whether you're upgrading your old rig, or working on a new one, every PC needs a graphics processor. A GPU is the most important concern when building a gaming PC. Of course, you may believe that the best one's come at a price. But considering a graphics card is completely base on your needs. So here we'll be looking for the "best" graphics card for your budget and maybe you'll get to know what they're capable of.

Best Graphics Card for 4K and VR

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080

Many may say that the new Titan X is the best GPU for 4K/VR today. But it surely won't offer you the value for the money! So the most obvious choice is NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1080. This incredible graphics card features 8GB GDDR5X video memory, an amazing ACX 3.0 cooling system if you consider EVGA, RGB LED system, 10 power phases, a double BIOS, support for DirectX 12 OSD and supports NVIDIA G-Sync. The base clock frequency is listed at 1721MHz which is boostable up to 1860MHz. It is recommended to be used along with a PSU of minimum 600W.

Buy from Amazon.in
Buy from Amazon.com

Best Budget Graphics Card

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

With low power consumption, NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1050 Ti can practically be put into any PC with a spare PCI-E slot to provide an instant and massive boost to its gaming power. The GTX 1050 Ti requires just a minimum power supply of 300W, and it provides a good 4 GB GDDR5 memory with support for DirectX 12 OSD. This GPU is also NVIDIA G-SYNC ready and lists a base clock frequency of 1354MHz.

Buy from Amazon.in
Buy from Amazon.com

Best Value For Money GPU

AMD Radeon RX 480

The best AMD GPU currently available the AMD Radeon RX 480, offers an impressive 8GB video memory, is VR ready, supports DirectX 12. The graphics card is Crossfire compatible, can connect up to four displays, and of course its 4K compatible with a base clock frequency of 1303 MHz. AMD provides open source standards and APIs including FreeSync, a part of the DisplayPort standard similar to NVIDIA's G-Sync.

Buy from Amazon.in
Buy from Amazon.com

Monday, December 19, 2016

Bluboo B9002 Firmware Official Stock Firmware

bluboo all latest firmware
Brand Name : Bluboo
Operating System : Android OS
Platform : MTK Chipset
Firmware File Type : MTK Scatter File
Country Support : All Country Supported

Full process of updating software is given below.

Bluboo B9202 Firmware Official Stock Firmware

bluboo all latest firmware
Brand Name : Bluboo
Operating System : Android OS
Platform : MTK Chipset
Firmware File Type : MTK Scatter File
Country Support : All Country Supported