YU Yutopia: Shine on, YU Crazy Diamond!

Comparisons are dangerous….”
As we have mentioned in the past.
It is one thing to take pride in standing up on your own feet.
Quite another to say that you stand taller than someone else.
One thing to prove you are good.
Quite another to claim you are better.

No, this is not a spiritual saga – it is still a gadget review. A review of a device that is very good on its own, but perhaps bit off a little more than it could chew when it compared itself with the biggest names in cell town. We are talking, of course, of theYutopia, the latest and – yes, we might as well say it – greatest device from Micromax’s sister YU brand, which completed a year of an extremely eventful existence. As a brand, YU seemed a more geeky version of Micromax, sticking to the latter’s “good phones at surprising prices” strategy, but adding better processors and Cyanogen or stock Android to the mix. Until the Yutopia came along, the most expensive phone in the YU stable had been the Yureka Plus, priced at Rs 8,999. In fact, even the most expensive phone from the better known Micromax brand had been the first Canvas Knight, which had been priced in the range of about Rs 21,000. However, by and large both Micromax and YU have operated in the sub-Rs 15,000 price margin, never really challenging for the high-end segment of the market, be it in terms of price or specs.

The Yutopia changes that. Thoroughly.

Specs, style…and software too!

At Rs 24,999, it costs more than the other three YU devices in the market taken together (the Yunique, the Yureka Plus and the Yuphoria). And more significantly, it comes with a spec sheet that is right up there with the best in the business – a 5.2 inch quad HD display with a 565 ppi pixel density, a 2.0 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, 4 GB RAM, 32 GB storage (expandable if you give up one of the dual SIM slots to a memory card), a 21-megapixel camera (with optical image stabilization), an 8.0-megapixel front facing camera, stereo speakers, House of Marley earphones, and 4G, GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity, with a 3000 mAh battery to keep things ticking. That’s a spec sheet that any Android device in the world would be proud of, and most would envy. It is easily the most powerful phone to have come from an Indian brand – and perhaps the first from the country to take on flagships from better-known brands in ALL departments.

Unlike its predecessors which focused more on substance than on style, the Yutopia cuts a smart figure too (check our first impressions). The spherical, slightly raised, camera unit on the back gives it a distinct look (YU refers to it as the Saturn Rings design and says all cameras in the YU range will have it, although not all of them will jut out), and the smooth metal body of the phone is definitely classy. It is a very curve-y phone with no sharp edges and with its length of 146.6 mm width of 72.7 mm and 7.2 mm thickness, will fit most hands. And for a phone with a 5.2 inch inch display and a full metal body, it is remarkably lightweight at 159 grammes. There is a fingerprint scanner at the back, just below the camera, and YU assures us that the raised camera on the back will not pick up scratches when the phone is resting on its back, as the frame around it is very slightly raised. The volume buttons have the power/display button right in between them, which is again a YU characteristic – a trifle eccentric but something one gets used to, and the dual SIM tray is on the left. This is a unibody device. And it definitely is a looker.

Running above all these is Cyanogen 12.1 based on Android 5.1.1 with a few of YU’s own tweaks to it. In an attempt to address the heating issues that have been the bane of the Snapdragon 810 processor, the company has come out with five performance levels, which can be tweaked as per your usage patterns – power saver, efficiency, balanced, quick and performance. And well, if you stick mostly to “balanced,” your phone will work at a pretty decent clip without reaching uncomfortable temperature levels. The default music player on the phone is the Gaana app, which comes with six months of unlimited access to the app’s library comprising millions of songs.

Then there is the Around YU feature, which is accessible with a swipe to the left from the Yutopia’s home screen (no Google Now by that method on this device – you have to access it through the Google app, and whether this is a plus or a minus really depends on how much you use Google Now). The idea of the app is simple – to allow you to access different services without having to download apps for each of them. So for instance, you can find out about shopping, food, cabs, flight timings, buses and train timings by simply swiping to the left from the home screen and entering a search term. And it is not just about seeing options – in many cases, you can actually order a cab, or food or buy something right from the service, without having to go to an app (you will have to open the browser, though). Providing this information are a number of content aggregators that Micromax has invested in. And well, honestly, we found the results to be very impressive, at least in our part of Delhi.

It is this combination of specs, software and style that led YU to be adopting a very aggressive stance in positioning the phone, which it unabashedly called the most powerful in the world. In a high profile social networking campaign leading up to the launch, the company poked fun at the iPhone’s battery, the lack of customization options on the Galaxy S6 and the display of the OnePlus 2. It was a very bold strategy to adopt, as it positioned the device alongside those worthies, and thus also drove up user expectations.

And that is where our reference to comparisons at the very beginning comes in.

And we will be blunt: at its best, the Yutopia is a terrific device. The display and camera are its strongest suits – the display is easily the best we have seen at this price point and is great for viewing videos and even reading text (none of the oversaturation that we have seen in some others) and the camera is terrific when it comes to capturing detail (check the sample pictures below). And Cyanogen runs very smoothly on the powerful hardware within. Throw pretty much any task at it – be it a high definition game or run twenty apps at the same time – and it is a fair chance that the phone will handle them with ease, with zero lags. Sound quality was very good on call and loudspeaker, and well, we can see music fans liking the House of Marley Little Birds earbuds. Battery life is decent too – you will see off a day of normal use with ease.

Note, however, that we prefixed “at its best,” when we started the previous paragraph. For alas, the Yutopia can be a tad inconsistent. And when it is in these moods that chinks start to appear in its armour. Perhaps the biggest is the fingerprint sensor at the back, which seems to be significantly slower than the one we saw on the Qiku Q Terra and even the Coolpad Note 3 and is also prone to being erratic unless you place your finger at the exact right spot. Yes, once you get the “hang” of it, it works well enough but we can see many people losing their tempers when the phone simply refuses to recognize the very fingerprint they had input into it.

Purists will also be quick to point out that the camera is more prone to inconsistency than its competitors in the same price range – yes, it scores in terms of detail but colors at times seem flat and it definitely does not handle glare too well. Around YU is a great idea but still needs polishing and needs to include more vendors – for instance, if I search for a book, I do not get an option to purchase it from Amazon, although Flipkart and Infibeam do pop up. Google Now fans might find it odd that in the Cyanogen world that prides itself on openness, there was no way to replace Around YU with Google Now, or to even customize it – the app has no settings button, so one is pretty much at its mercy, and while it does seem to learn what we like, it would have been nice to be able to tweak it to show only those options we are really interested in. It would have also been helpful if the performance levels for the battery had been easier to access (say, through a special widget) or even better if the phone itself could advise you about them when you accessed apps that would stretch the current performance level- when you want to get into a session of FIFA, you often forget to head over to the settings and tweak performance levels.

And yes, the phone does heat up even in routine tasks – extensive photography or even a long session of Temple Run will push temperatures up. We also encountered some UI issues with the camera in our initial unit, although these were attributed to an earlier build by the company and the second unit we received functioned smoothly. Round that off with the odd lag and crash, and suddenly the Yutopia starts looking a lot more human.

Yes, it is still very good when you factor what you are getting for the price, but it looks well off the pace when compared with some of the very worthies it cocked a snook at. Comparisons are dangerous, remember?

All of which makes us conclude that the Yutopia is more of a rough diamond than a finished product. To be fair, this is not the first time we have seen a high-profile product come with some eccentricities, be it unresponsive touch screens, heating issues, moody cameras or eccentric fingerprint sensors. No, the Yutopia’s sin is not to have erred (heavens, that is human), but to have claimed to be divine.

For, while there is no doubt that the device has its flaws, there can be no denying its strengths too. For Rs 24,999, it plonks some of the best hardware around in the palm of your hand, and that too in a rather svelte design. Only the OnePlus 2 comes close to what it offers, and hey, remember how many software issues it too had? To its credit,Carl Pei and Co stuck to their task in spite of some early criticism and have steadily been ironing out the rough spots in what was otherwise a wonderful device. And that we think is the challenge that lies ahead of YU – the Yutopia is a very good device but we suspect is an update or two away from greatness. And it is delivering these updates in a timely and effective manner that is going to be the next challenge for the young brand, just as it was for OnePlus.

Should you buy it in its present form, though? Or wait for the seemingly-inevitable updates? Well, with cricket being YU founder Rahul Sharma’s favorite sport, it is only fair that we draw a cricketing simile to make matters easy. In the period from 1995 to 2005, Pakistan had a fearsome pace bowler named Shoaib Akhtar. He was easily the fastest bowler in the world, and capable of winning matches on his own. Batsmen quaked at the sight of him running in to bowl. He had just one problem – of being rather temperamental. As a result, one never really knew which Shoaib Akhtar would turn up in a match – the devastating one or the disinterested one.

The Yutopia in its first cut (we are SO sure a big update is around the corner) is like Shoaib Akhtar – at its best, it is phenomenally good, but when the errors creep in, it definitely does not do its specs justice (just as the Pakistani paceman did not do his God-given talent justice).

Which brings us back to the question: should you buy it? Well, it really depends on your patience levels. If you want something that works like clockwork right out of the box and seldom errs, then perhaps it would make sense to bide your time a little and for the Yutopia to get the updates that will help it make that grade. But if what you are looking for is a powerful phone with top of the line hardware that, barring the odd lapse into eccentricity, can mix it with the best, then go right ahead and grab the Yutopia. It is a bit like having Shoaib Akhtar in your team – well worth it if you have the patience, infuriating if you do not. Given the right attention, Akhtar could have been a much greater player. The same applies to the Yutopia.

YU has delivered a diamond, albeit a rough one. Now, it is up to them to shine it and shape it.

Samsung makes the Galaxy A9 official with 6-inch display, 3GB RAM and 4,000mAh battery

After a much detailed leak, the Samsung Galaxy A9 has finally gone official. As of now, the device has been launched in China, but we hope it to be available in other regions as well. The smartphone is available in White, Gold and Pink color variants, however, Samsung has not revealed the pricing and availability information yet.

The Galaxy A9 is the most premium looking smartphone in Samsung’s A-series. It employs the same metal and glass build found on other Galaxy A handsets such as the Galaxy A8. The device comes with 6-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels. It is powered by a Snapdragon 652 (which used to be S620) processor clubbed with 3GB of RAM. There is 32GB Internal Storage onboard, which can be further expanded up to 128GB via micro SD card. The phone also boasts a Fingerprint sensor, which is embedded in the physical home button.

In the imaging department, the Samsung Galaxy A9 features a 13-megapixel primary camera with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), S5K3L2 sensor, f/1.9 aperture, LED flash. It sports an 8-megapixel front-facing camera with an equal lens at f/1.9 aperture. The smartphone runs Android 5.1 Lollipop and supports a variety of connectivity options such as dual-SIM, 4G LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth v 4.1, ANT+, and NFC. Backing the smartphone, is a 4,000mAh battery that is equipped with the QuickCharge technology.

Kim Kardashian’s Buttmoji Owns The App Store

It seems like 2015 was the year of the “emoji.” I mean, a damn emoji was the “word of the year.” This year is ending with a massive bang on the App Store thanks to Kim Kardashian and her…assets.

Fire up the App Store on your devices and here’s what you’ll see for the top paid app:

The app, KIMOJI, costs $1.99. What do you get? Well, emojis having to do with Kim Kardashian, of course. Not bad for a keyboard app, eh?

It currently has 2 stars, so maybe people aren’t getting as much out of it as they thought. The initial popularity certainly spun up tons of interest though, as the App Store magically went down during the flurry of asscitement:

No, but it’s still a fun story.

Reliance Jio to launch 4G in select areas on December 28: Report

Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio Infocomm is likely to launch 4G services by the end of December in some select areas, including Mumbai, according to a note by Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoFA-ML). The firm however added that a pan-India commercial start could be delayed till April-June 2016, which would be a relief to incumbent telcos such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea Cellular.

“In a scenario Jio launches by December 28, we remain unsure 1) if it will be a commercial launch with the company disclosing price-points or 2) if it will be an extension of services which are currently being offered to employees to select user group/Jio partners,” the firm said in a note.

Reliance Jio is expected to position itself as an “aspirational brand” offering premium services (high-speed) and is unlikely to target average revenue per users (ARPUs) below Rs 300, the note said.

Jio’s Voice over LTE (VoLTE) calls were working well in Mumbai, even while travelling and inside buildings, BoFA-ML said. Similar findings were revealed by brokerage firm Credit Suisse.

BoFA-ML said that data speeds ranged from 18-30 Mbps while travelling/inside buildings to as high as 60-70 Mbps when outside. “We believe this is largely due to an empty network while Jio currently has. We remain unsure if Jio network is offering similar speeds outside Mumbai particularly in circles where they only have 2300 MHz,” BoFA-ML said.

How to Track a Cell Phone by its Number?

Since I wrote about Free Mobile Phone Tracking, I have been getting queries from a lot of users on “how to track a mobile phone by just having it’s number?” This can be either malicious or well intentioned. But before we go into the details about all those websites which claim to track cell phones by just inputing a number, I would like to discuss few things.

Ethics of Cell phone tracking

Tracking someone else’s phone constitutes a major invasion of privacy, no doubts about it. This is irrespective of your intention being good or bad. Think again if this is the only way out for you, before proceeding further.

Idea behind Tracking Cell Phones

Most cell phone tracking methods work on the premise that the cell phone often “pings” the nearest cell operator’s towers.
GPS-enabled cell phones don’t require cell towers, and may be located anywhere in the world by satellite triangulation in a similar manner. In some countries like US, cell companies are mandated to keep track of cell phones to an accuracy of 100 feet, so that help can be made available in case of emergency.

So far, so good. But is there a way to actually track or locate a mobile phone? Let us check the possible solutions-

Tracking Websites

So, what about all those free and paid websites claiming to track down any mobile phone on click of a button? The one’s where you just need to put in the cell phone number in order to track it? Can they really track a phone?

In simple words, the answer is a big NO. I am yet to come across a website which actually works as claimed. Sites like “Reverse Phone Detective” or “Track the number” never seem to provide accurate location information.

Google the Phone number

If you’re trying to figure out the general location of the owner of the number, as opposed to real time tracking, a good old fashioned Google search will probably do the trick. The person might have been un-paranoid (or unaware) enough to have it publicly posted on a social networking site, along with other potentially location-identifying information. Again, this is a small chance, and it won’t work in real time.

Cell Phone Hacks

Theoretically and logically speaking tracking a cell phone is quite possible. Experienced hackers won’t have any problems with any of this. It is perfectly possible to track a cell phone’s location – after all, the cell operators do it – even if you just know the number and have had no physical access to it, without the user having any indication of this happening. While this hasn’t reached epidemic levels, the possibility is there.

Cell Phone Tracking Software

The only guaranteed way to really track a cell phone is through some sort of installed software on the device itself. There are lots of free and paid solutions for smartphone like Apple iPhones (iPhone Tracking solutions) and Blackberries, and even for general phones like Nokia S60 based phones.

However, this generally requires physical access to the phone, and consent of the user, both of which might be difficult to get, and probably defeats the point of what you’re trying to do here.

So tracking a cell phone by just having its number is not practical, unless you are/hire an experienced hacker, which isn’t a good idea anyway.

Panasonic Eluga Mark puts the focus on security, now available in India for 11,990

Panasonic India has announced its latest smartphone, the Eluga Mark, positioning it as a security-oriented handset for young professionals and the enterprise segment. A fingerprint sensor at the back allows for an added layer of security, and Android for Work support ensures that the device is compatible on secure corporate networks.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Pankaj Rana, Business Head – Mobility Division, Panasonic India, said:

"With the growing use of smartphones for a wider range of high-risk activities such as access to cloud data and private information, mobile security is a top priority for users. This control-sensitive device, which achieves complex tasks with the press of a finger or a swipe of the thumb, is personalized for the user and protects the smartphone investment."

Powered by a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC, the Eluga Mark features a 5.5-inch 720p display, 2GB of RAM and 16GB internal memory, which is expandable up to 32GB via microSD card. The 4G LTE smartphone sports a 13MP rear camera optimized by an LED flash, 5MP front-facing camera and a 2,500mAh battery along with Android 5.1 Lollipop. The Eluga Mark comes with the FitHome user interface by Panasonic, which enables single thumb-flick access to applications on the home screen. The fingerprint sensor can also store up to eight fingerprints at a time.

Panasonic has mentioned that it launched 16 devices thus far in the country in 2015, and that it intends to launch a few more before the end of the year. The vendor has stated interest in the "Make in India" initiative for 2016, along with targeting international markets and regions with 4G-enabled devices.

The Panasonic Eluga Mark will be available in Royal Gold or Metallic Grey color variants for ₹11,990 ($180).

Li-Fi Probably Won’t Be The New Wi-Fi For Most People

Long restricted to the academic domain, Li-Fi, a light-based data delivery method is suddenly getting all sorts of attention. An Estonian startup Velmenni recently tested an commercial implementation and found it to be superior to Wi-Fi in almost every way – except as something you and I will probably ever use.

Velmenni’s technology, called Jungru, uses an LED bulb and transmits data at gigabit speed. It has a theoretical speed of 224 gigabytes per second, the BBC reported. While the Jungru product is commercially viable, it is still based on what seems to be a laboratory-grade MATLAB and Simulink setup paired with photodiodes as opposed to a final product which must transmit data in real world environments full of light pollution and other variables.

University of Edinburgh Professor Harald Hass first demonstrated Li-Fi as a part of the D-light project at the school’s Institute for Digital Communications back in 2010. He gave a 2012 TED Global talk about it but but despite several companies being interested enough to start a Li-Fi consortium, the technology is still not a commercial contender.

The technology uses protocols similar to the RF-band 802.11 protocols, with additional standards to eliminate the impacts of interference and impacts of ambient lighting. Despite this, however, the technology cannot be deployed in outdoors in sunlight or in other odd conditions.

While Li-Fi does come with the advantage of not interfering with radio signals, a lot of the benefits are overpowered by the simple fact that visible light cannot travel through walls, an essential factor which gives old-school Wi-Fi a huge advantage. This line-of-sight limitation does make the system more secure and gives better control over emissions, but it’s unclear what the minimum distance for signal reception would be if clear line-of-sight is achieved. With that in mind, it is easy to imagine the signal being intercepted by someone with a telephoto lens and an optical sensor tuned appropriately. While Li-Fi was touted as a possible channel for wireless communications on airplanes, widespread adoption of onboard Wi-Fi on most US airlines makes this use case less and less pertinent.

LED lightbulbs that use the technology don’t appear visually different – information is encoded in pulses of light that are small and rapid enough perturbations to be undetectable to the naked eye. While it’s attractive to envision a network of connected lightbulbs all being used to transmit data between nodes, it’s not clear if the benefits of faster wireless communication will outweigh the costs of constantly-on LED lights, as well as the cost of optical detectors requiring clear line-of-sight.

There certainly is room for Li-Fi and other visible light-based communication systems to grow in niche areas, but router manufacturers can rest easy for a while. Wi-Fi isn’t going anywhere soon, and neither is that router you bought on Black Friday and offers “piddly” 1300 mbps speeds with all the benefits of RF.

At 6.9mm Thin, Japanese Yemada Denki Wins the Title of Thinnest Windows Phone Ever

A lot is going on in the Windows ecosystem these days and just when we thought it started to get a tad bit boring, a Japanese phone maker has come up with a weirdly named phone which ironically holds the title for the Thinnest Windows phone ever. Named “Yemada Denki”, which literally translates to Every Phone in Japanese, is an entry level Windows 10 smartphone selling at an USD equivalent of $320.

The Yemada Denki is propelled by a Snapdragon 410 clocked at 1.2GHz and paired with a 2GB of RAM. On the storage front the device offers 32GB of internal storage along with a microSD card slot. The smartphone comes with a 5.5-inch display set at a resolution of 720p, and the imaging front is managed by a 13-Megapixel primary sensor and a 5-Megapixel secondary sensor.

The connectivity features include the standard Bluetooth 4.0, LTE support for band one, three and nineteen. As for the thinnest phone badge, the Yemada phone achieves it by maintaining a thinness of 6.9-inch which is incidentally the same thickness as the iPhone 6S. If not anything else, this phone inadvertently reminds me how thick and bulky Windows phones have been.

The Every Phone will be up for sale upright at a price of $325 and if that seems like quiet a lot of money, you can also go for the monthly payment of $14.63 spread over a time period of two years. The deal is further sweetened by the fact that first 3000 buyers of the phone will be treated with free Bluetooth keyboard and screen protector, the phone will however come with two-year warranty.

The very fact that manufacturers are rushing to release a range of Windows 10 handset is a good vibe for Microsoft. Features like Continuum and Cortana seem to be primary reason for people to be excited about the new crop of Windows phones.

Infocus M808 with 5.2-inch FHD Display and Metal Body Launched in India for Rs 12,999

InFocus M808 will be the latest smartphone from the US based company to launch in India. The Infocus M808 is aimed to render the buyers with a lighter version of the Infocus M812 at a more affordable price tag. The M808 is priced at Rs 12,999 and will be available on Snapdeal in Metallic Silver and Metallic Gold color options, starting today.

The M808 is fitted with a 5.2-inch FHD display and is powered by MediaTek MT6753 Octa Core processor clocked at 1.3GHz and paired with 2GB of RAM. On the storage front, the phone offers 16GB of internal storage along with a microSD card slot that can further accommodate up to 128GB. The back of the phone looks inspired by Huawei’s Nexus 6P, with the black glass panel design for the camera module. The front is just like many other Infocus phones we have seen in the past.

Like the M812 even the Infocus M808 comes clad in an anodized aluminium unibody, which along with the thin profile of 7.56mm impart a sleek look to the device. The front facade of the M808 maintains the bold appeal thanks to the thin bezels and the complete black colour scheme. The smartphone boasts of a 13-Megapixel primary sensor and a 5-Megapixel secondary sensor with a 79-degree wide angle lens.

The M808 claims to come with the NXP Smart AMP technology that optimizes sound by reducing the background noises thus resulting in a much clearer audio. The smartphone is backed by a rather small 2450mAh battery pack and it will be runningAndroid Lollipop 5.1. The M808 comes with the usual set of connectivity features including the dual SIM 4G LTE support.

The Sub Rs 15,000 price category is already crowded with many contenders, phones like Xiaomi Mi 4/4i and the Motorola Moto G 2015 have already established a strong foothold in the segment, and this means that Infocus need to ready itself for an uphill climb to take on its rivals by the horns. That being said, Infocus unlike most of the new entrants, already has 135 service centers spread across 126 cities in India, hinting at a rather strong after sales support.