We've had the Moto E with us and are putting it through its paces. Here's what it packs- A Snapdragon 200 Processor equipped with: + Quad ARM® Cortex™–A5 CPU at up to 1.4GHz per core + Adreno 203 GPU + Hexagon QDSP5 for low-power operations  Benchmarks We benchmarked the Moto E with a smattering of the usual benchmarking tests. Check out the video: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mc7Wul7ZOI&feature=youtu.be[embed] Antutu: Stability test: A Variance of 1.2% is more than acceptable. Further, temperature evens out at 36 degrees C, up 4 degrees from 32, which is decent too. We included this screenshot to clarify which sensors the Moto E does have. So there is an Accelerometer for Auto Rotate. There is a Light Sensor for Auto Brightness. There is a Proximity Sensor to turn the screen off when you hold the phone to your cheek during a call. There isn't a compass/Gyrometer to use Compass Apps and Google Maps Navigation's Auto Rotation of maps. According to their summary, the Moto E performs average on General, Game & Battery Performance. Quadrant Old & Outdated? Possibly. Does everyone still use it? Definitely. Here you can see the Moto E compared to flagships of yesteryear. It comes out somewhere near the top. Slightly below the Tegra 3 running Transformer Prime and slightly above the Tegra 2 running Motorola ATRIX. 3D Mark We ran Ice Storm Unlimited    Vellamo   Note that the flash storage used in the Moto E is by Toshiba. Observations As you can see, it works out to a bit lower than the Tegra 3 packing HTC One X, the same chip found in the 2012 Nexus 7. While the CPU is on the weaker side compared to Quad-Core Mediateks, the combination of 1GB RAM and a strong GPU mean that the phone performs as smoothly, if not smoother, than the Mediateks. Gaming performance too was impressive. We were able to play Asphalt 8, Riptide GP2 and Temple Run 2 decently on the Moto E. Some heavy games like X-Com could not run on it of course, but we didn't really expect them to.

At the China Mobile booth of the Mobile Asia Expo 2014 that is currently going on, sits Lenovo's next flagship device: the Lenovo K920 aka the Vibe Z2 Pro. Now the name sounds like a mashup of LG and Sony's naming systems, but the device sure packs a lot of muscle  

• 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801
• 3GB RAM, 32GB Memory
• 6" QHD 2560x1440 Screen
• 16MP Rear Camera with OIS & 5MP FFC
• 7.7mm Thick
• 4000mAh Battery (!!)
• BT 4.0, NFC, LTE, Dual SIM
• Android 4.4.2 Kitkat with Lenovo's UI Overlay

  What really amazes us is how they've managed to fit a frikkin 4000mAh battery in just a 7.7mm thin phone. The battery must really be flat and large. Here's a video of the device taken by Engadget: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RVwuaawCcw[embed] No pricing or availability details, of course. If this comes to Indian shores and the battery performs well, I know what I'll be recommending to potential phablet buyers! [Source: Engadget China. via TechPP]  

Love them or hate them, there's no denying that phablets are a legitimate and increasingly popular form factor. Started by the Galaxy Note, we are now on the third generation of these devices. LG's first foray into the phablet game with the Optimus G Pro was non spectacular. The market response was lukewarm and we didn't really see it in the hands of the average consumer. The G2 really turned things around for LG. Its combination of great ergonomics, long battery life, decent pricing and the recently launched Snapdragon 800, gave it a boost over the Galaxy S4 and HTC One, the current flagships of the time, that touted the Snapdragon 600. The G2 was priced well too, and sold better than any other LG phone in recent memory. It would be silly to not compare the G Pro range with Samsung's Note range. The Optimus G Pro was half a generation ahead of the Note II. This means when the Note 3 came out, it was no longer the best specc-ed phablet in town. To compete with the Note 3, came the LG G Pro 2. Leaner, meaner, slicker? Lets see. Here's what the G-Pro 2 packs:

• Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 Processor with four 2.26 GHz Krait 400 CPU's and an Adreno 330 GPU
• 5.9" 1080p IPS+ LCD display (373ppi) with Gorilla Glass 3
• Dimensions: 157.9 x 81.9 x 8.3 mm weighing 172 grams
• 3GB RAM, 16GB Storage with microSD Card
• 3200mAh *removable* battery
• microSIM, BT 4.0, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, WiFi b/g/n/ac
• Infrared Sensor to control TV/AC/whatnot
• Supports 3G & 4G LTE Networks in India
• Runs LG's own UI, over Android 4.4.2
• 13MP Rear Camara capable of 4K video
• 2.1MP FFC capable of 1080p video
• Price: Rs. 35,000/-

The Box

You get the usual battery, headset, charger, SIM ejector with the phone. Notably, the Quad Beats 2 are bundled, which are quite premium earphones. You can use these as your daily earphones with zero qualms. The phone is almost as large as the box, at 5.9".

The Device

The front of the device has an interesting Nexus-4-like glitter at the top and under the screen. Aside from the LG brand at the bottom and the earpiece, FFC at the top, it is all screen. The earpiece has an unusual design, right at the top of the display, instead of half an inch below like most other phones. It gives the phone an interesting look though. The back of the device has an interesting textured plastic. Its the kind that makes a grating sound when you run your nails over it. We much prefer the matte feel of this plastic to the glossy back of the G-Flex and G2.  It doesnt' show scuffs and scratches either because of the texture. The back *also* has an LG Logo, in case you forget, along with a single mono loudspeaker. Loudness and clarity were average to above average. The Back Buttons of the G-Pro 2 are  an improvement over both the G2 and G-Flex. They are metallic plastic and have nice feedback on clicking. Further, long pressing Volume Down when screen is off takes you to Camera, while Volume Up turns on the Torch. Definitely handy. Here are the back buttons of the G2, G Pro 2 & G-Flex compared. The Power Button also doubles up as an RGB LED. It turns red while a call is going on. It turns green on incoming calls You can even set it up so that the LED Flash blinks on an incoming call, or notification, right out of the box.  

The Screen

The 5.9" screen has a 1920*1080 resolution. It is an IPS LCD display (or IPS+, in marketing speak) The first thing you notice about the screen is just how much it dominates the front. The G-Pro 2 has the world's most efficient screen to surface area ratio of any phone, at 77.2%. This means this phone has the smallest bezels in the world when compared to its screen size. Even more than the Note 3 (75.5%) G2, the G-Flex, and yes, even the upcoming G3 (76%)! Screen quality was excellent. We found color accuracy to be up to mark. In bright daylight, we often had to disable auto brightness and turn it all the way up, but once we did the screen was legible even in the midday sun.  In the dark, minimum brightness was great with no disfiguration or banding, like displays on some other devices.   Viewing angles are decent too, with very little color loss. That being said, the display's maximum wasn't as bright as the G-Flex, which we recently reviewed. If you are used to Samsung displays, which are infamous for being saturated a little too much, you may find LG's displays a bit lacking in terms of pop.

Software

So you have Android 4.4.2 KitKat, over which sits LG's Software Overlay.

You have a standard scroll left and right Homescreen setup. Clicking on the Apps button opens an apps drawer. You know the drill. A cross between Touchwiz and Stock Android. The Settings Menu can be arranged tab wise or all together. LG gets that a 5.9" screen is too large to do things one handed, so they've included a number of tweaks to help you use the phone one handed. You can shrink the dialler, the lockscreen swipe action and the web browser. You can even go all out and shrink the phone touch screen itself by making it a smaller usable area that you only use with one hand. This sounded comical at first but worked out to be the most efficient way! Further, LG has added tweaks to better make use of the huge screen. Firstly, there's Multi Window. You can also back up all your apps and personal data Titanium Backup style. Further, you have Q-Slide Apps, which allow you to have a window in your screen with a video, web browser, calculator or dialler. One of our favourite features was the customisable soft keys. You can *finally* add a multitasking button, something that the G-Flex and G2 were denied. You can't, however, remove the options button entirely, like you can on the G3. Further, you can adjust the color and gradient of the soft keys. Interestingly, there's a mode called LG Home, for users who want a simpler UI or make a lot of calls.  

Battery

With a 3200mAh battery that is removable, the G-Pro  2 matches the Note 3 and one ups the G2. We have always found it exceedingly convenient to use the battery from 100 to 0 and then simply swap it for another fully charged battery. Using this routine we actually went 2 weeks on the Galaxy Nexus without ever plugging it into a charger.     Here is a day of heavy usage, exclusively on 3G. With 14 hours of use and 3.5 hours of screen on time, the phone finally gives way.   According to our aggregate battery stats, we averaged 12 hours of battery life, which for our heavy usage is great. We also observed that standby time is excellent. It loses approx 4-5% overnight if you forget to charge it. It is safe to say battery life won't be a problem on this phone for anyone.      

Benchmarks

The G Pro 2 gets a relatively high score in Antutu, a comprehensive benchmarking test. How exciting. Coming in just a little under the G2.

Camera

The G-Pro 2 has a 16 megapixel rear camera and uses OIS+. This is an improvement over the OIS found in the G2. In fact, the G3 used this same OIS+.   The camera interface is nice and uncluttered, with a row of controls on the right, an a button to show you the additional Camera Settings.   You can use the Volume Key to zoom in or as a shutter key, though its position means its not too useful for either. You can thankfully store files directly onto the SD card.

Camera Samples

We tested out the camera in various lighting conditions. As usual, click through for full res Flickr images. Daylight - Outdoors Artificial Light - Indoors As you can see, daylight and artificial light photographs are just fine as long as you can keep your hand relatively stable while shooting. Low Light Here's where things get interesting. The G-Pro 2's OIS+ really works its magic in medium low light. Check out some of these street shots we took, completely handheld. See how only the moving traffic is blurred, while the rest is sharp and in focus? Low Light Kitten-Shots What about Low Light shots of a moving object, with digital zoom? As expected, this is the unfortunate result. Here is an image with Flash turned off The same image with Flash turned on All in all, we were satisfied with camera performance and it performs at par with flagships like the Note 3, XPERIA Z1.

Video

You have a wide array of video recording options on the G Pro 2. From 4K video @ 30fps, to 1080p @ 60fps, to even 720p @ 120fps. 120fps classifies as 4x Slow Motion Video. Here is a sample of that: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whkkJfzqP0g[embed] For 720p, it gets a bit too grainy. It does manage to slow down movement pretty well though. Also, recording a lot of SloMo video heats up the device, and brightness starts getting regulated. Price: Rs. 40,900/- on Flipkart and just Rs. 35,000 on eBay India (with warranty) . That's cheaper than the Note 3 and XPERIA Z2 and even the S5. At 35k we think its a great deal.

Conclusion

So you have a phone with great performance, great battery life, minimal bezels, great software addons and a great camera. I've always wanted a device with removable battery and microSD card that isn't Samsung, and here is finally one. What's not to like right? Oh wait, those exact characteristics apply to the LG G2 too, except its not a comically large 5.9".After using it for two weeks, we are aching to get back to a smaller screen size. There are just too close calls of almost dropping the device, of having to stretch our fingers too much to reach a spot, and of it sticking out of our front touch pocket. If a 6" device is your thing, this is one of the best to get. That being said, if a stylus is important to you, this lacks one. In that case, the Note 3 is your pick. Looking ahead, the Note 4 will be launched sometime this year, probably with a Snapdragon 805. The Lenovo Vibe Z Pro2 will probably come to India in the next couple of months, touting a Snapdragon 801. The device won't be the latest and greatest for too long, but it will definitely be flagship-level for as long as you use it.  

We love Chromecast. A cheap gadget that makes us use our TV again. At Google I/O 2014 today, Google announced three new features to the Chromecast:   1) Cast without being connected to the Chromecast's WiFi network You go to a friend's house, and want to cast something on their TV. Now they don't have to share their WiFi password with you. With a little Google MoJo, your phone detects a Chromecast nearby and lets you cast to it through your regular 3G/LTE connection. Handy!   2) Phone screen mirroring   You no longer have to root your device, install Koushik Dutta's 'Mirror' app and hope it works on your devices. Native screen casting to the Chromecast from your Android device is coming in a Google Play Services update in the coming weeks!   3) Backdrop They spoke about how your TV is only used for a few hours of the day and is a blank screen the rest of the day. Not anymore. Backdrop allows you to customize the background/screensaver on your TV through your chromecast. You can set Google+ albums, different Art exhibits or even places. We can't wait for this to be pushed to our Chromecast!

Take a look at the screen grab from today's I/O 2014 Live Stream. That's pretty much a summary of the new features introduced in Google L Interesting features include:

• USB Audio (This is huge for audiophiles!)
• Bluetooth 4.1 Support
• H.265 video codec support
• Personal Unlocking
• Document Centric Multitasking
• Do Not Disturb (on stock Android!)
• Closed Caption support
• Time left to charge phone
• Hardware assisted hotword (like the Moto X's Okay Google Now feature!)

We're pretty excited about Android L and we can't wait for Mike to load the Developer Preview on his Nexus 5 and tell us more! It should hit the internet sometime in the next  24 hours.  

After being perpetually stuck on Android 4.2.2, the tribe of Quad-Core-Mediateks seem to finally be making the move to Android 4.4 Kit Kat. In the last few weeks we have seen devices by Xolo, Micromax running KitKat. Instead of supporting their current devices and giving them the software update, manfuacturers decide that launching an entirely new device makes more sense. Now, Spice has became one of those with the Stellar 600.   Specs:   So a 6 inch phablet with a Quad Core Mediatek and a gig of RAM. We like how small the bezels are on this one. Sadly, still the prehistoric Options button from the Android 2.3 Gingerbread era. With the inclusion of Android 4.4 KitKat, we can hope performance will be better than the crop of 4.2.2 devices. It remains to be seen how aggressive Spice's Software overlay is on the device. We can only hope and pray Spice now brings Kitkat to the other devices they have in the market, all released after 4.4, all still on 4.2. Price: Rs. 9,999 After seeing Flipkart exclusively launch the Moto G, X & E, other e-commerce websites don't want to be left out. The Stellar 600 will be available exclusively from Homeshop18 at Rs. 9,999. Which is decent pricing for what is offered.   What do you think of the Stellar 600? Do let us know in the comments below.

Its that time of the year, when a billion people, for an entire month, try to abstain from food, drink, and other distractions from sunrise to sunset, and try to get closer to their Creator. Many people try to finish one reading of the Holy Quran during Ramadan, which translates to one parah a day. We are attempting that this month too, and hence felt the need to settle down with the perfect Quran app on our Android smartphone. We found that there were many, many, many options, both free and paid. Here is our list of the best Quran apps for Android devices. We have split them by the three basic activities you would do. ie: Reading in Arabic, Listening to the Arabic for memorization, and reading the translation in your language of choice. [divide]

  iQuran Pro

Possibly the most well known Quran app out there. It is available for iOS and Android devices. It is easily the most feature rich, boasting of capabilities such as

• A wide wide selection of translations and transliterations, from different English translations, to other languages like Urdu, Bangla, French etc.

• Wide rang of reciters to listen to

• Quranic Supplications Tabs

• Easy downloading and management of audio files of the different reciters. You can even move your library to your microSD card.

• Gapless playback of audio files, ability to group by verses for memorisation, ability to repeat same verses a set number of times.

With all these features, it really seems like the perfect app. Why would anyone need to look at anything else right? Sadly, it has one flaw, which is that it isn't too great for simply *reading* the Arabic of the Quran for long periods of time. This is because it shows each verse on a different line, and there is no way to change that. This provides for a somewhat disjointed reading experience. Secondly, the app displays different font sizes for different screen resolutions. For example, on a QVGA or qHD phone, the font is nice and large. In fact, even on 720p displays the font is readable. However, as you go to a 1080p screen phone, the font size becomes way too small to read comfortably. This is despite using the Zoom In option they provide. Take for example, the display above. From left to right, you see an unbranded 4.5" QVGA phone, the 4.3" qHD Moto E, the 720p 5.5" Galaxy Note II, the 1080p 5.5" Gionee E7 and the 5.2" 1080p LG G2. Notice how small the text is on the 1080p screen phones? Here are the Note II and E7 side by side. Display size is the same, but one has 720p while the other has a resolution of 1080p. While the text is crisp on both displays, it is too small to comfortably read on the 1080p E7. We shudder to think how it will look on the QHD LG G3. Further, we have told Guided Ways, the devs behind iQuran, of this problem before, to no response. Kind of bumming out. Here is a more stark example. An 800x480 screen next to a 1920x1080 screen. iQuran Pro used to cost $6.99, but they have reduced the price to $1.99. There is also a Lite version available for free, with limited features.

If you like listening to different Tajweeds and translations, this is a must buy. However, for pure reading, this isn't our app of choice.

Download: iQuran Pro, iQuran Lite

[divide]

Bayan Quran

Bayan Quran is great for reading Quran for long periods of time. Its not feature packed: there is no translation or tajweed rules. It does however, have audio. This needs to be streamed online each time though. We especially like the Landscape Mode. Text is rendered nice and big. You get a pleasant looking animation while swiping between pages too. The app is free and is great for devices with higher resolutions.

Download: Bayan Quran

[divide]

Quran Android

Another good option for simply reading.It is quite feature packed: - Gapless audio playback - Ayah bookmarking & share - Ibn Katheer and Saady Tafsir - Audio recitations are available for streaming and downloading - search - night mode & audio repeat You can change the text to White on Black too.

Download: Quran Android

 [divide]

  Holy Quran Uthmanic Fonts We found this on the Amazon App Store. At $4.99, it is quite pricey. However, the UI is visually very impressive. Text is extremely crisp. Tajweed rules are present. The page animations are pretty but don't slow it down. Great for tablet devices. The only flaw is that you cannot switch to landscape mode.

Download: Holy Quran Uthmanic Version

[divide]

13 Line Quran

A lot of people in the Indian subcontinent have grown up reading Quran in the 13 Line format and find anything else too jarring. This app is for them It isn't the most optimal way to read, but is good for phablet devices and tablets.

Download: 13 Line Quran

[divide]

Al Quran

Not the best option but is free. It has irritating in app advertisments and non continuous verses.

Download: Al Quran

[divide] There you have it. We stick to iQuran Pro and Bayan Quran. What do you use to read Quran on your Android devices? Do let us know. And a (belated) Ramadan Mubarak to you!

When the Moto G launched worldwide, everyone appreciated the mix of Stock Android, great performance and a tempting price. When it was announced in India, it surpassed everyone's expectations with its pricing. It was extremely hard to get your hands on it due to it continually going out of stock. It sold a good number and so did the Moto E, their Rs. 7k wonder. Even their higher midrange entrant, the Moto X, has seen modest sales.

According to the Times of India, in the last 5 months, they have sold a whopping 1 million or 10 Lakh handsets. What is more incredible is that they are selling only via e-commerce site Flipkart, shunning the traditional retail channels.

"We believe these sales figures should put Motorola among the top five mobile brands in the country," said Sachin Bansal, founder and CEO of Flipkart. "Only by selling online and only by selling with one player, a player like Motorola is able to become one of the top five mobile brands in the country. Five years ago this would have been science fiction. Today it's a reality and we believe that's a trend that would continue for a long time."

Even in today's day and age, the turnaround story of Motorola Mobility is something for business school students to spend hours talking about. In a market that traditionally shuns online items, who have an inherent mistrust of plastic money, they have shown that great pricing and less fluff are a formula for success.

In wake of their success, we have seen others trying this model of exclusively launching with one e-commerce retailer. Samsung is currently doing that with Amazon India for the Galaxy K-Zoom. Spice is doing that for their smartwatch. Xolo is doing that for a recently launched Kitkat device.

Looking ahead, Motorola has a big ace up their sleeve with the Moto 360. If they price it right, it could go on to be the bestselling smartwatch in India and in fact make the smartwatch a legitimate form factor in India!

[Via TOI]

Ever so often, people quiz us as to what we think of various phones irrespective of their price, even though they really do not intend to buy one. In fact, they do so every month, just to get an idea of the market. To cater to all such queries, we decided to compile a Smartphone Buying Guide recommending one phone for price segments we drew up for the sake of convenience. If you’ve ever wondered “What Phone Should I Buy?” this should help.

This time around, we've moved the goalposts around a little. We've realised that "Under 10K" is too wide of a segment, and the buyer of a Rs. 6,500 device is very different from the buyer of a Rs. 9,800 device and have added a new "Under 7K" category. Also, categories are no longer rigid and have a buffer of ~Rs. 750. For instance, if a phone costs Rs. 10,500, we will still include it in the 'Under 10,000' segment.

A lot of developments have taken place in the last two months that have changed a lot of our recommendations:

-Xiaomi has stormed the market with their too-good-to-believe priced devices like the Mi-3, Redmi 1S, Redmi Note & Redmi Tab (the last three have not been launched yet)

-Asus has really stepped up their game with the aggressively priced Zenfone series running Intel processors

-Motorola has reacted by slashing its Moto G prices by 15%

-Lenovo has announced the Android 4.4 KitKat update to many of its devices (including the legendary P780!)

-LG has launched the G3,  their successor to the bossphone G2

-Microsoft/Nokia have launched the Lumia 630, a 'budget' device running Windows Phone 8.1

-Samsung still makes overpriced glossy plastic clones that sell thanks to generous Sales Incentives given to stores

-Manufacturers come up with weirder and weirder names. Forget Whammy Passion XL. Now there's an Oplus Xonfone 5 

Note:

• As prices fluctuate and change almost every week, the prices we mention are only for reference. The market prices may vary.
• Occasionally we may recommend phones that are only available via grey market, but will clearly state so if we do
• Owing to Octroi and other charges, allow a fluctuation of 5-7 % between stated and actual prices
• Devices that are about to launch will not be mentioned
• Phone Images and Specs courtesy GSM Arena’s awesome Quick Specs Widget

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1. Under Rs. 7,000

Asus Zenfone 4 (8GB, 1GB RAM variant) - Rs. 5,999 Last time we recommended the Moto E, thanks to its great software experience, latest version of Android and great build quality. However, it had several drawbacks. There was no front facing camera, the rear camera was a rubbish fixed focus one without LED Flash, that could only record QVGA video, there was a paltry 4GB of internal memory. The Zenfone 4 ticks off all the boxes that the Moto E didn't. At Rs. 1000/15% cheaper than the Moto E! Note that it is currently a Flipkart Exclusive. You have a good range of color options: Black, White, Red, Blue, Yellow and White. Pros - Android 4.4 KitKat, Great camera w/LED Flash & 1080p video recording, front facing camera, color options, microSD Card slot Cons - Asus India track record for cell phone after sales service isn't really known (given that they've never managed to sell smartphones in large numbers before) Worthy Alternatives - Redmi 1S (Coming 'Soon'), Lumia 520 (about to get the WP 8.1 update), Moto E (if you can live with its shortcomings and want super-smooth software)

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2. Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 10,000

Asus Zenfone 5 (8GB variant) - Rs. 9999 A phone with an Intel Processor equivalent to a Snapdragon 400, TWO Gigabytes of RAM, a microSD Slot under 10k? A few months ago I marvelled when a phone with these specs was under 20k. Pros - Good camera with 180p@30fps, microSD Card slot, Beefy Processor, 2GB RAM, 720p Display Cons - Currently on Android 4.3 with an upgrade to 4.4 Imminent, 8GB of internal storage can be restricting, Asus India track record for cell phone after sales service isn't really known (given that they've never managed to sell smartphones in large numbers before) Worthy Alternatives - Moto G (8GB), Lumia 630/525

3. Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 15,000

  Asus Zenfone 5 (16GB variant) - Rs. 12999

Even in the 10-15k category, the Zenfone 5 remains a great buy. Pros - Good camera with 180p@30fps, microSD Card slot, Beefy Processor, 2GB RAM, 720p Display Cons - Currently on Android 4.3 with an upgrade to 4.4 Imminent,  Asus India track record for cell phone after sales service isn't really known (given that they've never managed to sell smartphones in large numbers before) Worthy Alternatives - Lenovo P780, Moto G (16GB), Note that our actual recommendation for this category would be the Xiaomi Mi-3. With a Snapdragon 800, 2GB of RAM, great external hardware, a hack-friendly-company like Xiaomi behind it. That being said, they employ the flash-deal method of selling their devices. 10-20,000 units at a time go on sale, available for people who pre-order. There have been 3 such sales so far, all selling out in seconds. With such an unsteady supply it is more of a lottery to be able to buy one. You are welcome to try! Head to Flipkart.

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4. Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 20,000

Sony XPERIA ZR - Rs. 19,000

 

Pros: Compact Size, Kitkat, Sony-Quality, Good camera, microSD slot

Cons: Not exceptional VFM, 8GB Internal Memory

Worthy Alternatives: Lumia 1320, Lenovo Vibe X, Asus Zenfone 6

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5. Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 25,000

Galaxy Note II - Rs. 24,500 Why in the world would we recommend such an old device, in a world where sub-10k phones have 2GB RAM and Quad Core Processors too, you may ask. When a company makes a flagship device, they take better care of the small things, as compared to releasing a rehashed cheaper cousin to a flagship (*cough* Note 3 Neo *cough* Galaxy Grand). The Note II has aged well. We have one with us and it runs the latest Android 4.4.2 Kitkat, runs nice and smooth, and that screen still looks great and holds its own against today's 1080p devices. For under 25k, you get yesteryear's flagship, with great battery life, smallish bezels and a functional  S-Pen. Please be sure to change the ringtone from that Whistle though.

Pro: Great Battery Life, Solid Hardware/Software, Good Quality Screen & Stylus, Android 4.4.2, microSD slot.

Cons: No chance of Android L, 720p on a 5.5" device

Worthy Alternatives : Galaxy K-Zoom (if you want a camera and can stomach its 200g weight, g for it!), XPERIA Z (if waterproof matters to you)

Moto X - Rs. 23,999

The Moto X  runs near stock Android, comes with some interesting tweaks not found in other phones like Always On Google Now listening (even when the screen is off), Active Notifications and makes an interesting package. It has an interesting variety of colors to choose from including a hazelnut finish. The phone to buy if 5" is too big for you (as a phone)

Pro: Super-smooth software, great build quality, good screen quality, will get software updates quicker than most other devices

Cons: Soon to be replaced with Moto X+1, Not as VFM as the Moto G, Some people may find its 720p screen lacking, Motorola's After-Sales is still a question mark.

Worthy Alternatives : Galaxy K-Zoom (if you want a camera and can stomach its 200g weight, g for it!), XPERIA Z (if waterproof matters to you)

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6. Rs. 25,000 - Rs. 30,000

Google Nexus 5 16 GB - Rs. 27,500

   

An absolute no brainer. If you are looking for the best possible Android experience money can buy, look no further than the Google Nexus 5. With guaranteed quick updates to the latest version, the Nexus brand has now earned a respectable reputation.

 

Pros: Decent 1080p display, Decently Specced, Android 4.4 with a Dev Preview of Android L, Blazingly Quick App Performance

Cons: Fixed storage with no expansion card slot, non-removable battery, S800 is no longer the newest kid on the block

Worthy Alternatives:  XPERIA Z1 Compact (if you find current phones too large), Galaxy S4, iPhone 5 (Grey Market)

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7. Rs. 30,000 - Rs. 35,000

LG G2 32 GB - Rs. 34,500

The LG G2 is still the device to lust for with its best in market minimal bezel and display and retains the tag of our recommended device in this mid-premium price tier. Warning: Be sure to change the ringtone from Vienna Choir Boys immediately.

Pros: 1080p display, Minimum Bezel, S800, 2GB RAM, 13 MP OIS Camera, Quick Window Case

Cons: Glossy Plastic Back, No expansion card slot/removable battery,

Worthy Alternatives: Nexus 5 (32GB), LG G Pro 2 (recently dropped from 47k down to just 31k)

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8. Rs. 35,000 to Rs. 40,000

Surprisingly, this segment is quite empty. The G2, Z1 both have been pushed into the sub-35k category. The Z2, M8 and G3 are comfortably above 40k. This leaves...

Samsung Galaxy S5 - Rs. 36,000

The S5 had actually come down to Rs. 33,000 in some online portals last month. However, a concerted effort by Samsung India has been made to curtail these discounts from happening, mainly because offline retailers were getting cranky about not being able to sell it at 37k.      

Pros: Waterproof, The latest-and-greatest Galaxy, great screen, great camera, removable battery/microSD

Cons: Looks like a band-aid, loses the SGS4's small bezels, only 16GB Internal Memory

Worthy Alternatives: Galaxy Note 3

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9. Rs. 40,000 onwards

LG G3 - Rs. 44,000

   

If you want top of the line, the LG G3 is the way to go right now. The highest res screen, the latest internals and LG's flattened version of their launcher that is actually quite nice.

Pros: Most pixels you can get on a mobile screen (this actually matters to some folk!), super-small bezels, interesting camera tech, Android 4.4

Cons: Snapdragon 801 in a world thats about to get Snapdragon 805's, Slightly inconvenient to use with one hand, some people find contrast to be lacking on the G3's screen

Worthy Alternatives:  Sony XPERIA Z2,  HTC One (2014),

This month has been interesting because all the action is now happening in the midrange! The below Rs. 10,000 and below Rs. 15,000 categories have seem immense changes, with the Zenfone range making even the Moto G and E look like less VFM. You can forget the plastic 'phones' Samsung peddles at that range when you have such alternatives.

Xiaomi is planning to bring more devices to India, like the Redmi S1, Redmi Note and their Tegra K1 Tablet. If they can make enough stock to sell here for longer than one second at a time, I can see them grabbing a good share of the smartphone market.

We have continued to try and avoid recommend certain brands, because their company's still insist on producing new variants of their phones every 2-3 months and not supporting the older model. They also do not provide decent after-sales-support and this leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

So we bit the bullet and picked up Motorola’s Android Wear smartwatch, the Moto 360 (now ‘available’ on Flipkart). We have the black one (the other variant is silver) with the black leather strap (metal straps coming in November) and boy is it gorgeous!

Box Contents 

• The watch (surprise surprise!)
• Wireless charging stand
• Charger + microUSB cable
• Moto 360 manual + Safety Guide
• All in an interesting circular box

Pretty barebone. We wouldn’t have minded a cleaning cloth and a screwdriver to remove the straps, as some traditional watches have.

For those of you who don’t know (seriously?) the Moto 360 is one of the most awaited products of 2014. An Android Wear smartwatch that doesn’t look like you bought it from a vending machine. One can see why since, unlike a smartphone, the watch is always visible to both you and the world.

We especially liked the Qi Charging Mechanism for the watch. The Gear Live and G-Watch have somewhat fiddly charging mechanisms. Neither comes close to the convenience of dropping your watch onto the charger. Mind you, you are going to be doing a lot of that, because the 300-320mAh battery will not last you more than a day in most scenarios, forcing nightly charging. Nightly may not be the right word for it though, since the device just takes about an hour to charge from 0 to 100.

The circular box goes well with the 360 degree mantra.

So far, the watch has been incredibly comfortable to wear thanks to the soft leather.

We have been using it for just a couple of days now, so we can’t really talk about how a smartwatch has altered/not altered by smartphone usage habits yet.  However, after reading a lot of reviews of the device around the internet, all we can say is this: Motorola really should have fixed their software before launching the device.

The first iteration of the Moto 360 software caused some horrendous battery life. On top of that, it frequently disconnected from the phone, and lagged during general use. Thanks to most reviews being written up then, this issue got so widely known and put off millions of potential buyers. A couple of weeks later, Motorola issued OTA Firmware Updates and fixed *all* those issues. Battery life pretty much doubled. Random disconnections stopped. There was no lag to be experienced.

Here is what we are currently running on our Moto 360:

Moto 360 Firmware: FW 4.4Q.1

Build No KGW42R 

Android Wear v.1.0.1.1448224

The device has been smooth and enjoyable to use. There are at least hundreds of Android Wear apps out there, and thousands of custom watch faces made specifically for round faces! We’re still forming our impressions about Android Wear and the Moto 360, so stay tuned for more!