Top 5 free contact apps for Android

Managing contacts spread across several platforms such as SIM card, Facebook and other services is a challenge. One must regularly take backups and keep editing the Address book with updated numbers and emails. However, a good Contacts app minimises the effort of searching and allows the user to quickly make a call, send a message or ping over an instant messenger.

The Google Play Store is flooded with several Contacts and Addressbook management apps of which many are simple clones. We tried to include every possible variety in our list of five interesting apps to manage and organize your contacts on Android devices.

Contacts+

Apart from the native Contacts or People app, we strongly recommend the Contacts+ app for those who have contacts across multiple accounts, SIM cards and social networks. With an amazing layout design Contacts+ is the de facto app of choice for several power users for simple contact viewing and management. The app offers creating groups of contacts and setting favorites for quick access.

This smart app incorporates loads of automations that ease the user's workload-like while syncing pictures from social networks. Contacts from several apps and social networks are organized beautifully in once place. It is easy to sync birthdays from Facebook and even reminders about birthdays. Apart from themes, Contacts+ offers quick call, speed dial and other features.

Sony rumored to consider launching a WP device in 2014

According to a report in The Information, Sony is planning to add another OS to its stable of mobile devices. The tech giant is allegedly considering the launch of a Windows Phone device in 2014.

Reportedly, a future Sony smartphone running Windows Phone will be launched as early a mid-2014 as part of the Vaio product line. The latter is well-established by making hardware running Microsoft Windows for quite some time.

A Windows Phone device from Sony’s mobile unit will represent a massive shift from its current state of affairs. All Sony mobile devices are now running Google’s Android OS.

Microsoft on the other hand, after acquiring Nokia devices and services, is still looking for new hardware partners to help it expand the Windows Phone ecosystem. A possible path to a Sony partnership for Microsoft would be lowering the Windows Phonen licensing fees. Currently, the Redmond giant’s mobile platform is all but synonymous with the Finnish company’s products.

Sony had a Windows Phone 7 prototype in the past. The Japanese company hasn’t officially launched a mobile phone with Windows OS from the days of Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, X2, and Aspen.

Source (registration required) | Via

}

Moto G is coming to Verizon for $100 off-contract

Just when we thought that the price of the Moto G couldn't get any lower, it did just so. The handset's price tag got knocked down to $100, therefore making it the best spec'd Android phone for the money.

Don't get too excited however, as this offer is currently only available for the Verizon-only version of the Moto G, so anyone who resides outside of the US will be out of luck. The Los Angeles Times reported the lower priced CDMA variant of the Moto G, indicating that it will be sold through Best Buy retailers all over the United States.

Best Buy spokesperson Jonathan Sandler confirmed the news: "The phone is currently landing in stores and is available for sale as soon as it arrives."

If you're interested in the Moto G and are currently living in the US, you may want to consider picking one up and using it with Verizon's new and more affordable prepaid smartphone plans.

Source | Via

}

Our team wishes you a Happy New Year 2014!

It's time to bid a farewell to the year 2013 and when we look back at our work in the past 12 months, we are proud of where they took us. Of course, the credit goes to you, our loyal readers for supporting us.

According to the independent internet statistics Alexa.com, our website is now one among the Top 350 websites across the globe (currently at the 334th spot) and we are very thankful to you for pushing us all the way up.

We have been working round the clock to improve the browsing experience for all our users. We moved to CDN servers, which tangibly reduces the page load times, to make your stay pleasant.

Our blog has seen a significant rise in the past year with our extended coverage that had news from all sorts of tech fields. We are also happy to share that our exclusive features such as phone unboxing and battery tests are among the most popular stories out there.

We are thankful to all our readers who favor our video reviews in our YouTube video channel. In the past year alone, our channel ramped up more than 13 million views and we're growing from strength to strength.

The biggest boost came from our social networks and our Facebook community more than doubled to 670,000 members. We also enhanced our presence on Twitter and have more than 60,000 followers in a matter of few months.

It was a great year for news reporting as well and we managed to cook nearly 2,200 news articles along with 1,400 blog posts in 2013. We also published almost 180 of our customary in-depth reviews.

We hope to get off to a flying start in the year 2014 with one of the most popular events just around the corner. Starting from January 7, we will be reporting live from the Consumer Electronics Show in the US and we will also bring you the live coverage from the Mobile World Congress a couple of months later.

Once again, we thank you for your support in 2013 and we promise to work even harder to bring you some great things in 2014. So, we hope you will stick around to witness all the new stuff.

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones, we wish you happiness, peace and success. Cheers!

The GSMArena team

}

Android 4.4 coming to 10 Micromax smartphones

The Indian cell phone manufacturer Micromax doesn't immediately come to mind as a top player in the cell phone game, but it is sure putting forth an effort to keep its Android handsets up to date.

An internal document reveals that the number 2 Indian cell phone maker will upgrade 10 of its handsets to Kit Kat: the A250, A240, A210, A200, A116, A116, A116i, A111, A110Q, and A110. The leak doesn't indicate a timeframe for the updates, however.

Micromax is best known for its Canvas series of phones. The upcoming Canvas Turbo is being heavily promoted with the help of Hugh Jackman, which most of you probably know as the Wolverine. The Australian actor was named the company's brand ambassador back in October.

Celebrity endorsements aside, Micromax should expect a steady growth if it continues to produce quality handsets, with constant updates, at affordable prices.

Source | Via

}

Samsung Stay New smartphone exchange offer-Why it isn't great?

Samsung has started a new scheme under which consumers are allowed to upgrade to a new Galaxy smartphone by returning their old Galaxy smartphone to Samsung. The scheme, named as Stay New, provides Samsung Galaxy smartphone or tablet users to upgrade to the next Galaxy device after six months by returning their old Galaxy phone.

Here are the details:

The offer is valid for few devices, mostly high end devices, including Galaxy Note III, Note II, Note 10.1, Galaxy S4, S4 Mini, SIII, and Galaxy Tab 3 (7 and 8).

Under the offer consumers can buy above mentioned devices of Samsung through onetime payment or avail EMI option provided by HDFC, ICICI, Citibank and Standard Charted banks to pay price in 18 months. Do remember if you do not have a credit card of these banks, you can't get the installment offer.

Once you purchased the said Galaxy devices, after six months you can call Ingram Micro's toll free no (18001206633) if you want to upgrade to a new Galaxy device. Ingram Micro are the partners of Samsung in the new scheme. They would pick up the phone from you and after some days, post evaluation, offer you a buy back value of your device. If you agree to that amount, they will directly send the amount to your bank and will give you the new Galaxy device after you pay the reminder fee.

The offer is valid till 31st March 2014. However, this is not an innovative offer at all. Such buy back scheme has been offered by many like Apple, Nokia etc in the past itself. It has also been observed in the past that usually handsets offered via such schemes are priced highly while you could get a much better discount if you purchase the same from online dealers, who often give a handsome discount.

Many analysts had in the past advocated a system in which top handset makers could find a system where buyers just need to purchase a handset once and can return their devices to the handset manufacturers after some time to upgrade themselves to a new device launched by the manufacturer. The Mobile Indian is of the opinion that if the buyback offer was extended to all the phones of Samsung it would have been a killer move and would have benefited all the consumers rather than a select few.

Reflections 2013-Sony tastes success after some struggle

Last year, Sony split from the Sony Ericsson joint venture and completed a year of being on its own in February 2013. The new Sony Mobile team was focused on delivering competitive smartphones with the best of Sony's technologies. Most importantly, Sony had laid down the foundation with big plans to compete with the three top Android handset makers: Samsung, HTC and LG. The competition was getting tougher not only on the hardware (physical design) of the smartphone, but also on delivering software updates.

Sony delivered a big promise of rolling out the updates for eligible devices with expected dates. Not only that, Sony introduced the developer program where advanced developers and enthusiasts could download alpha builds of Android 4.x Jelly Bean update for compatible devices. Rolling out updates is still a tedious and lengthy process of ensuring that the update works on each Xperia device. When it comes to services Sony opened up PlayStation Mobile to several countries and introduced new entertainment centric services such as Sony Music and Sony LIV for Indian consumers.

On the tablet front, Sony gifted an amazing tablet that basically has Xperia design married to the tablet form fact as Xperia Tablet Z. In fact, the Xperia Tablet Z also managed to scoop loads of accolades and awards at the Mobile World Congress in 2013. Not to forget, Sony marked its name as the premium handset maker offering certified dustproof and waterproof devices.

Tablet

Sony has launched only one tablet in India this year - Xperia Tablet Z. Premium Xperia NXT design and looks bearing Xperia Tablet Z was launched for Rs 46,990 and had to survive amidst the battle between Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tabs and the affordable Google Nexus 7. The Xperia Tablet Z is not only splash proof but is also a decent leap from last year's offerings. Sony has started to roll out Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update for Xperia Tablet Z and other devices.

Smartphone s

The mid-range Xperia mobile phones were quite successful last year. At the start of this year, Sony introduced the Xperia Z with a bang in India. Xperia Z became the first top of the line smartphone with certifications for water and dust resistance. Not only that, the Xperia Z flaunted a new impressive design, display and camera. Sony announced spin off models-Xperia ZL and Xperia ZR immediately after that, but made them available only later.

The mid-tier was gifted with Xperia SP and Xperia L handsets that had promising design and hardware. Meanwhile, the entry level segment was filled with Xperia E and Xperia E dual SIM . Sony sort of lost the game after the Xperia Z faced troubled waters. However, the arrival of Xperia Z1 immediately fixed what was missing and it became a true top of the line product for Sony Mobile in the year 2013.

Sony forayed into the phablet race with a large screen, sleek Xperia Z Ultra. This humongous tablet was liked by business folk and big display lovers. Sony also announced the Xperia Z Ultra Google Play Edition-a phablet with the Nexus experience. The last handset launch by Sony was Xperia C with promising specifications, but it had to fight tough competition with the newly launched Micromax Canvas 4 and Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos.

Sony has struggled to keep pricing competitive with its rivals. At the same time, its pricing was a bit heavy for consumers. However, we have observed that Sony handsets go through decent price cuts. That would be fairly evident from our weekly Deals story.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra

Sony Xperia Z1

Xperia C

Apps

Sony Mobile had already opened up its PlayStation Store to the Indian audience, along with the Sony Music and Sony LIV apps. Sony later introduced Sony Select, which gives one stop access to movies, videos and music. Apart from that, Sony also improved the Albums app to make it easily usable over the native Gallery app on Android. The Walkman app for music playback constantly continues to improve.

Great Expectations - 2014

Sony has a plethora of technologies under its umbrella of products, ranging from display to sound. The most recent inclusion in the smartphones was the Triluminos technology also offered in the Bravia family of LED televisions. However, the mind-blowing quality of Sony DSLR cameras is what we expect in the Sony Xperia lineup in 2014. Imaging is one aspect where Sony continues to struggle which is surprising since it offered CyberShot K-series mobile phones in the last decade. We really hope that Sony's mobile imaging team takes up the challenge against Nokia PureView and Apple iPhone cameras.

Sony may have added Walkman but the sound is not that great when it comes from the core level. Probably, high fidelity audio-hub chips along with a rewritten stack of Walkman apps packing a software equalizer and Sony's music specific features can get consumers grooving over Xperia devices.

Lastly, the battery has been the biggest pain for the year 2013 not just for Sony, but for every handset maker. Hopefully Sony also made some advances in tweaking battery technology to deliver better battery life, instead of packing large non-removable batteries.

With top of the line products such as Xperia Z and Xperia Z Ultra Google Play Edition, it is still surprising why Google and Sony have not worked together for a Nexus device. We have our fingers crossed and are expecting to see some really competitive devices from the Sony Xperia family.

Face off-Gionee Elife E7 vs Nokia Lumia 925

A few days back Chinese handset maker Gionee announced its Elife E7 Android smartphone for India. In an extravagant launch ceremony in Noida's Buddha International Circuit, the company formally revealed the device and has been marketing it as the best Android camera smartphone. However, it refrained from comparing the phone with Nokia's devices, which are often regarded as the best camera smartphones-such as the Nokia Lumia 925 available for the same price bracket as the 32 GB Elife E7.

Why not fill the blank that Gionee deliberately left by not comparing Elife E7 and Nokia's famous camera smartphone brigade? We don't want to compare the Elife with Lumia 1020 as the price difference between the two is too huge.

Below we have compared the Elife E7 and Lumia 925 on the basis of their features only.

Design and display

Nokia Lumia 925 measures 70.6 x 129 x 8.5 mm (width, height, thickness) and weighs 139 grams. In contrast, the Gionee Elife E7 measures 75 x 150.6 x 9.5 mm and weighs 150 grams.

If you think, from these figures, that the Nokia Lumia 925 is much better, think again. Lumia 925 has only a 4.5 inch screen, while the Elife E7 has a massive 5.5 inch display. So Gionee must be commended here for keeping the weight and profile of Elife E7 to the minimum despite its huge display. Both though have slippery bodies.

Nokia Lumia 925's display has 334 ppi pixel density and comes with ClearBlack technology, which is said to provide deeper blacks and better viewing angles. It also reduces screen reflects. The display is said to have a super sensitive touch response and has Corning Gorilla Glass, which protects it from scratches.

As far as our experience with Elife E7 goes, the Gionee smartphone's display is a bit reflective, so reading on this smartphone will be a bit difficult if there is any source of ambient light. But it has good touch sensitivity and colour output. It also has 400 ppi pixel density, much better than that of Lumia 925, but it lacks Corning Gorilla Glass protection.

Camera

Of course, this is the USP of both the phones. The Nokia Lumia 925 comes with an 8.7 megapixel PureView rear camera with 1/3 inch sensor, F2.0 aperture and 26 mm lens. Besides, it is armed with a Carl Zeiss lens, BSI sensor and high end camera features like optical image stabilisation. Many reviewers in fact said that Lumia 925 is even better than Nokia's current flagship smartphone Lumia 1020 when it comes to low light photography. Besides, Lumia 925 has Nokia's Pro Cam, which gives users thorough control over settings.

Elife E7 comes with a 16 megapixel rear camera and an 8 megapixel front camera. Both cameras have auto focus. The phone has a Largan M8 lens (exactly how it is better than others isn't known right now,) but it is said to deliver sharp images. Moreover, it has a Sapphire lens glass, which is said to be thrice as hard as ordinary glass, and to provide professional level control. The Elife E7's rear camera has 16 megapixel resolution and 1.34 μm pixel size.

In the front, Elife E7 has an 8 megapixel auto focus camera while the Nokia Lumia 925 has a 1.2 megapixel camera which can capture high definition images. We have not reviewed the Lumia 925 but you can check out our first cut of Elife E7 here . During the first cut we clicked a few pictures using both, the front and the rear cameras of Gionee Elife E7.

In a nutshell, though, Elife E7's rear camera has better resolution than the Lumia 925; the latter has bigger sensors and thus its picture quality would be much better. Of course, in terms of front camera, the Elife E7 seems to have an edge.

Connectivity

This is another big difference between the two. The 32 GB ROM and 3 GB RAM model of Elife E7 comes with 4G (TD-LTE ) connectivity and is compatible with India's 2300 MHz 4G band. Besides, this Gionee smartphone has GPS , USB 2.0, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi and NFC . It has a single SIM slot.

In comparison, Lumia 925 comes with a single micro SIM card slot, Bluetooth 3.0, micro USB, DLNA , WiFi, GPS with Glonass support and 3G connectivity. It has neither NFC nor 4G.

Processor, storage, performance

As stated above, here we are comparing the 32 GB version of Elife E7, which comes with 3 GB RAM and a 2.2 GHz Snapdragon 800 quad core processor. The Lumia 925 has 1 GB RAM and a dual core, 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 processor. Clearly, there is no match between the two. The Gionee smartphone is based on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system while Lumia 925 has Windows Phone 8.

In terms of storage too the Elife E7 seems a better choice with its 32 GB expandable storage against 16 GB of Lumia 925. Neither of them comes with expandable storage slots.

Battery

The Nokia Lumia 925 has a 2000 mAh battery, which claims to provide 18 hours of 2G or 12 hours of 3G backup. Its standby too seems quite good-440 hours on 3G.

On the other hand, Elife E7 has a 2500 mAh battery. Gionee has refrained from saying anything about the battery backup but E7's 5.5 inch full high resolution display and quad core processor means the battery will be hard pressed to provide better results than the Lumia 925.

Conclusion

Though the Gionee Elife E7 has been hailed as the best Android camera phone yet, it doesn't seems to out-class the Nokia Lumia 925. Of course, from a processing point of view Lumia 925 seems no match for the E7. Also, the Gionee smartphone has an edge over the other in terms of display and storage, but not in terms of battery.

Nokia wins an injunction against all HTC devices in Germany

Another one of Nokia’s lawsuits against HTC in Germany ended favorably for the Finnish manufacturer. Nokia won a patent injunction against all Android devices of the Taiwanese manufacturer, including the trio of HTC One devices.

HTC was found to infringe patent number EP1148681. It is related to a method for transferring resource information which allows users to directly connect two HTC devices over Bluetooth or NFC. The patent is deemed not standard-essential, thus meaning that Nokia doesn’t have any FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) obligations.

According to the ruling, Nokia can enforce the injunction on a provisional basis, and recall all infringing HTC devices from the market. In order to do so, the Finnish company must post a bond of €400 million.

HTC is certain to appeal the German court’s decision. The process however, could prove challenging.

Google is also concerned about this litigation. The search giant has filed a nullity complaint which challenges the patent, which can potentially threat the entire Android eco system.

The latest German court ruling comes hot on the heels of another one from earlier this month. Another decision on the case which involves the two companies is expected on January 9, 2014.

HTC has been in a legal tussle with the Finnish company in the United Kingdom as well. It managed to get the UK injunction which Nokia won suspended for the time being.

Source | Via

}

LG reportedly sold three million G2 smartphones

According to a report in Yonhap News quoting local analysts, LG has sold three million G2 smartphones globally since the device's launch. The latest sales number is higher than the previously reported two million units sold by the Korean manufacturer.

One million LG G2 units were sold between August and September - hot on the heels of the flagship's New York City launch. The remaining two million devices got into customers' hands in the last quarter of this year. Out of the three million units, 900,000 are said to be sold in LG's home market in South Korea.

While three million units is undoubtedly a stellar sales number, LG still has a way to go before it reaches its targets for the G2. Back in September, LG announced its intentions to sell 10 million G2 units.

Source (registration required) | Via

}

Huawei Ascend Mate 2 photos leaked

We recently posted some pictures of the Ascend Mate 2 from less than ideal angles, but now there is an entire photo gallery dedicated to Huawei's upcoming phablet.

Huawei Ascend Mate 2

The photographer was kind enough to take pictures of the Mate 2 with the original Mate smartphone to give a better idea of the aesthetic changes the Chinese manufacturer put into the newer device. The Mate 2 is slightly thinner and has a more curved backside. The most intriguing updates, however, are under the hood.

A 13MP primary camera, 1.6 GHz quad-core processor, 16GB internal storage, and 2GB RAM. It has been reported, however, that the screen will not be updated on the Mate 2. It will most likely sport the same 6.1 inch, 720p display as the original Mate, which may be a bit disappointing, considering that the screen is the star of the show. Expect the Mate 2 to debut at CES 2014, which takes place from January 7-10. You can check out the leaked photos, courtesy Engadget China, at the source link below.

Source | Via

}

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 vs. Nokia Lumia 1520: Bigger, better, faster

GSMArena team, 27 December 2013.

Introduction

We venture again into the realm of phablets, one that at the beginning seemed to promise little more than a short burst of action, has become the scene of some of the most thrilling battles this industry has seen. The showdown we're about to witness though could well be the climax and a new beginning, all at once. A new dimension of a rivalry that's been going for years but is now more heated than ever.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 emerged from every battle without so much as a scratch. The lineup has defined the segment and the third generation is an impressive all-rounder with rock-solid still imaging, probably the best video a phone can produce, processing power to spare and plenty of value-adding software features. The S Pen also makes sure the Note 3 caters to artists and creative in a way hardly any device would.

Nokia is only just entering the phablet space, but years of design and imaging excellence are finally made to count, now that Microsoft has finally taken the platform up to speed, enabling support for the latest in screen resolution and computing power. What once put the N and E series at the top of the smartphone food chain must be running in the veins of the Lumia 1520 too.

Ironically, it's phablets where Windows Phone is finally able to stand up to Android in a meaningful, unconditional way. In the end though, there couldn't have been a more appropriate scene for this battle. A battle that may never have happened. A killer droid against a droid killer.

Nokia Lumia 1520 over the Samsung Galaxy Note 3

• A little more screen real estate


• More base storage - 32GB vs. 16GB


• Bigger camera sensor - 1/2.5" vs 1/3.06" and higher resolution - 20MP vs 13MP


• Optical image stabilization


• FM Radio


• Superior battery life


• Four microphone setup, WDR audio recording


• Offline maps and voice-guided navigation

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 over the Nokia Lumia 1520

• S-Pen stylus input and good software backing


• Notably Cheaper


• More compact - 151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3 mm vs 162.8 x 85.4 x 8.7 mm


• Lighter - 168 g vs 209 g


• More RAM - 3 GB vs 2 GB


• 64 GB of built-in storage version


• Slightly higher-clocked chipset - 2.3 GHz vs 2.2 GHz


• 4K (2160p) video recording over 1080@30fps


• 2 MP 1080p front-facing camera vs 1.2 MP 720p one


• Temperature and humidity sensors


• IR port for remote control functionality

These two are powered by identical Snapdragon 800 chipsets and have massive full-HD screens. It's Super AMOLED against ClearBlack LCD, PureView against S Pen, Nokia against Samsung, Android against Windows Phone. Apps and services is where the battle will be fought too. PureView and the software behind it, Nokia Music, Nokia Drive and Microsoft Office against the stylus-enabled apps and features, the latest TouchWiz treats, and the Google services.

Both devices at HQ

What will decide this one though is perhaps between the lines of the spec sheets, and the fight will be one to watch, we promise you.

}

Nokia Lumia 635 Moneypenny to have LTE connectivity

Rumors surrounding the most recent Lumia smartphone in development, codenamed "Moneypenny," continue to come fast and fresh, and the latest one indicates that at least one of the Moneypenny variants will have support for 4G LTE.

The leaked shot comes by way of @evleaks, and shows off the Windows Phone 8 OS running on what is purportedly the Nokia Lumia 635 (as indicated by the time). The icon and antenna clearly shows off a 4G connection in the upper left.

We first heard about Moneypenny last week, when @evleaks again released a screenshot showing off a WP8-powered device with a dual-SIM interface - a first for Windows Phone.

It's assumed that that variant of the Moneypenny will see the light of day as the Nokia Lumia 630, again based on the time in the shot. Due to its dual-SIM configuration, it'll likely be available in emerging markets, while the 4G-capable Lumia 635 is expected to hit more developed regions.

Source | Via

}

Nokia Lumia 525 goes on sale for $100 in China

The recently announced Lumia 525 (a version of the Lumia 520 with 1GB RAM) has just made it to select markets putting an end to our guessing about its price. The surprise is that it's got an even more cutthroat pricing than the Lumia 520 right out of the gate.

We just reported yesterday on the strong sales the Lumia 520/521 were accomplishing worldwide, making up 30% of all Windows Phones sold. A lot of it has to do with the fact that the prices of these models are lower than any similar hardware from Android. The Lumia 520, for instance, just recently hit an all-time low price of £70 ($110) SIM-free over at Amazon UK. The Amazon stock is now sold out and the Lumia 520 is back to £100+ ($160+) price levels.

Online Chinese phone retailer Tmall has priced the 525 at ¥629, which is the equivalent of around $100. Amazon China, which sells both the Lumia 525 and Lumia 520 has the first listed as ¥699 ($115). It should be noted that Tmall is offering the 525 for less than what Amazon charges for the 520, despite the 525's better specs.

These prices are very appealing, considering what buyers get: a 4-inch display with the latest Windows Phone 8 and 1GB RAM. The boost in RAM is perhaps the biggest draw of the 525 over its 520/521 counterparts. 1GB of RAM would allow users access to all of the apps in the Windows Phone marketplace (some high-profile apps won't run on any less than that). The expandable storage and the free voice-guided navigation are also very enticing.

There's no official date as to when the 525 will be made available in the US and Europe, but when it comes, we expect the phone to sell just as well, if not better, than the 520 and 521. (Note: Even though the picture at Tmall reads "520" the description indicates it is indeed the 525)

Source | Via

}