Huawei Launches Android 4.0 MediaPad 7 Lite For Rs 13,700

Chinese telecom-equipment maker, Huawei, has officially launched its MediaPad 7 Lite tablet in India. This has to be one of the few budget slates sporting a metal-clad body. Another aspect that sets it apart from the other 7" tablets, is the onboard 3G slot and voice calling capability. On the software front, the MediaPad 7 Lite offersAndroid 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) out of the box. Moving on to its specs, you get a 1.2 GHz Cortex A8 CPU, coupled with 1 GB of RAM. Here is the complete list of features:

• 1.2 GHz Cortex-A8 CPU, GC800 GPU, 1 GB RAM.
• 7" LCD capacitive multi-touch IPS screen with 1024x600 pixels, 16 million colours.
• 3.2 mp rear camera, 0.3 mp front-facing camera.
• 4 GB of internal storage, MicroSD card slot (up to 32 GB).
• Wi-Fi with hotspot, Bluetooth 3.0, A-GPS.
• Micro USB 2.0 (with OTG support), 3.5 mm jack, Gravity sensor.
• Android 4.0 (ICS).
• Voice calls supported; GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), 3G (2100 MHz).
• 7.6" (l) x 4.7" (w) x 0.4" (11 mm) (d), 370 grams.
• 4100 mAh Lithium Polymer battery, 15 hours of talk time (12 hours on 3G), 5 hours of video playback.
• Package Contents: Charger, Quick Start Guide, Warranty Card, Headset, Data Cable.

The MediaPad 7 Lite is priced at Rs 13,700, and comes with a 1-year warranty. If you're tempted to buy this tablet, do check out Flipkart.com, as it's bundling a free Samsung HM-1100 Bluetooth Headset for a limited time. For the price, you can easily get a dual-core Android tablet, however, not many of them will feature phone functionality. Moreover, its IPS panel is any day better than the washed out screens that most budget tablets offer. Therefore, if you're not hell bent on buying a dual-core tablet, then the MediaPad 7 Lite deserves to be on your wish list.

Karbonn Launches Android 4.0 A21 And A9+ Smartphones Starting At Rs 9000

Adding to the large number of low-cost Android phones being unleashed upon us, Karbonn now has two more handsets under its Smart Duple Series. The A21 and the A9+ have been available at online stores for almost a month now; this official release by the company means you can buy them offline too.
The dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) 3G Karbon A21 is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, and runs Android 4.0 (ICS). Sporting a 4.5" capacitive touchscreen with 480x800 pixels, the handset offers 3G Support in SIM 1 and 2G for SIM2. It works with quad-band GSM (900, 1800, 1900, 2100 MHz) frequencies. The phone comes with 4 GB of internal memory, a 32 GB microSD card slot, 1.3 mp front camera, and 5.0 mp main camera with autofocus and LED Flash. Its 1800 mAh battery claims a talk time of 5 hours and about 8 days of standby time. Other features include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and USB support. Available in Pearl White, the phone is priced at Rs 12,000. You can get it for less online: It costs Rs 10,500 at Snapdeal.com and Rs 10,800 at Flipkart.com.

The Karbonn A9+ is also powered by 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and runs ICS. Sporting a 3.8" WVGA capacitive touch screen with 480x800 pixels, this phone also works with quad-band GSM (900, 1800, 1900, 2100 MHz) frequencies. The phone comes with 4 GB internal memory, 32 GB microSD card slot, 1.3 mp front camera, and 5.0 mp main camera with autofocus and LED Flash. Its 1420 mAh battery comes with claimed talk time of 4 hours and about 8 days of standby time. Other features include orientation sensor, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and USB support. Available in Pearl White the phone is priced at Rs 10,000, and is available on Flipkart.com for one grand lesser.

Karbonn's product page is full of contradictions, and repeated attempts to in touch with the concerned authorities haven't yielded results. So if you do plan to buy either of these handsets, double check on the specs before going for any purchases.

Sony launches Xperia tipo, Xperia tipo dual with Android 4.0

Sony Mobile has launched its Xperia tipo and Xperia tipo dual smartphones in India.

Priced at Rs. 9,999 Xperia tipo is the first sub-Rs. 10,000 smartphone from the company. This smartphone was up for pre-order earlier in the month at a popular e-commerce website for Rs. 9,499. As the name suggests, Xperia tipo dual is dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) version of Xperia tipo and is priced at Rs 10,449.

Both these smartphones have same specs, which is 3.2-inch TFT display with 480x320 pixel resolution and run on Android 4.0. There is 800MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor on board along with 512MB of RAM. This smartphone comes with 2.5GB internal storage and can be expanded up to 32 GB via microSD. Sony has tied up with Box to offer 50GB of cloud storage for life with the purchase of these Xperia smartphones.

For camera, there's a 3.2MP autofocus rear camera on board. The connectivity options include Wi-Fi, 3G and Bluetooth. Sony Xperia tipo is available in four colour options - black, white, red and blue while Xperia tipo dual is available in two colour options - black and silver. There also a handful of apps such as Bollywood Hungama, Cricbuzz and appXtra that come pre-loaded on both these smartphone.

Launching the smartphone, Kenichiro Hibi, Managing Director, Sony India said, "With the Xperia brand our aim has always been to innovate ahead of consumer demand. After the launch of Xperia NXT series earlier this year, we are now launching the phone that will reach out to entire India".

According to Sony, Xperia tipo and Xperia tipo dual are targeted at the youth and the features and price of these devices are in sync with the same.

Sony had earlier announced that it will be exiting the feature phone market and concentrating only on smartphones and these two new smartphones mark its entry in the entry-level smartphone arena. However, both these smartphones will have a stiff competition at hand.

Sony Xperia tipo is pitted against likes of HTC Wildfire S, HTC Desire C, LG Optimus L3, and Samsung Galaxy Ace. While Sony Xperia tipo dual will have to slug it out with LG Optimus Net Dual, LG Optimus L3 Dual Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos and Samsung Galaxy Y duos.

The advantage that Sony has is that, apart from HTC Desire C, all the other smartphones are running on Android 2.3 while Sony Xperia tipo and tipo dual run on Android 4.0. On the down side, Samsung and HTC have better brand value as against Sony in the smartphone market.

Key specifications

• 3.5-inch (480 x 320 pixels) TFT capacitive touch screen display
• Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
• 800 MHz processor
• 13 mm thick and weighs 99.4g
• 3.2 megapixel camera auto focus camera
• 3.5 mm audio jack, FM Radio with RDS
• 3G, Bluetooth, WiFi
• 512MB RAM, 2.9GB internal memory (up to 2.5GB user-accessible memory), up to 32 GB expandable memory with microSD
• 1500 mAh battery
  
  Source:NDTV

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ANDROID 2.3 (GINGERBREAD) AND ANDROID 4.0 (ICE CREAM SANDWICH) ?

• Android 3.0 was released in between Android 2.3 and Android 4.0
• Android 4.0 was officially released in October 2011, and it’s code named “Ice cream sandwich” while Android 2.3 was officially released in December 2011, and was code named “Gingerbread”
• Android 4.0 is the first Android version optimized for both tablets and smart phones while Android 2.3 is more suitable for smart phones (and Android 3.x is more suitable for tablets)
• Android 2.3 is the more stable and old version
• The user interface of both Android 2.3 and Android 4.0 has been improved and enhanced than their predecessors
• Android 4.0 is more refined and stylish than Android 2.3
• The navigation buttons such as back, home are available as soft keys on Android 4.0 where as Android 2.3 doesn’t have soft keys for similar navigation. In devices with Android 2.3, hardware keys are available for “back”, “home” and “settings” (and in some phones “search”)
• Both, Android 2.3 and Android 4.0 have widgets that allow users to view information without opening the application
• Switching between applications is more convenient in Android 4.0
• Only Android 4.0 has the ability to dismiss individual notifications. This feature is not available in Android 2.3 (the user can only clear all notifications).
• Voice input and voice activated commands are available in both Android 2.3 and Android 4.0
• The new voice input engine on Android 4.0 gives an ‘open microphone’ experience and allows users to give voice commands any time, while a similar capability is not available with Android 2.3
• On Android 4.0, users can do many actions (On Android 4.0 users can do many actions while the screen is locked) while the screen is locked, Android 2.3 only allows to answer a phone call while the screen is locked
• ‘Face Unlock’ feature, allowing users to unlock the home screen by face recognition is only available in Android 4.0
• Android 4.0 image capturing is enhanced with continuous focus, zero shutter lag exposure and decreased shot-to-shot speed
• Between Android 2.3 and Android 4.0, an image editing software is only available in Android 4.0
• Both Android 2.3 and Android 4.0 supports Near Field communication if the device has the capability
• Android “Beem” is only available in Android 4.0
• Android 2.3 has many applications in the Android market than for the newly released Android 4.0 (but they are compatible)
• In terms of the market share also Android 2.3 beats Android 4.0 easily with more devices in the market with Android 2.3 installed

Source: WAVEBOY2U