Sony unveiled its new Extra Bass headphone and speaker lineup in India on Monday(April 17). Sony has launched three new Extra Bass headphones the MDR-XB950B1, MDR-XB550AP, and MDR-XB510AS. Along with four new Extra Bass Speakers the SRS-XB40, SRS-XB30, SRS-XB20, and the SRS-XB10.
Extra Bass headphones
Sony said that they were committed to providing the best audio technology in India. And to do so they have expanded their EXTRABASS lineup. These include the flagship model - MDR-XB950B1, the mid-range model - MDR-XB550A, and the in-ear model - MDR-XB510AS sports headphone which will retail at Rs 12,990, Rs 3,290, and Rs 2,790 respectively.
Sony also said that EXTRABASS headphones have grown by 40% in FY16 and estimated to further grow by 54% in FY17. Sony with this revamped line-up aims to address a more price conscious space, one that preoccupies a select group of audiophiles interested in deep bass delivery.
The XB950B1 the flagship model of the Extra Bass lineup is a set of wireless circum-aural headphones. The XB550AP is the wired mid-range model and the XB510AS is the sports in-ear model. Both the XB550AP and the XB510AS for the first time ever in the Extra Bass lineup are available in the Army Green colour. Also, the XB510AS is IPX5 certified for dust and water resistance.
Extra Bass wireless speakers
Along with the headphone lineup, Sony also unveiled four Extra Bass wireless speakers, the SRS-XB40, SRS-XB30, SRS-XB20, and the SRS-XB10.
All these headphones are IPX5 dust and water-resistant, support Bluetooth v4.2 and NFC. All the other speakers can connect to up to 10 same speakers to make a surround experience and the XB10 can connect 2 at a time. Also with the XB30 and the XB40, you don't have to worry about your phone running out of battery. As they can double up as power banks.
And these are the first ever Bluetooth speakers with a battery life of 24 hours on a single charge.
Xiaomi Redmi 4A: Is this the best budget phone to purchase?
After Xiaomi had sold over a million Redmi Note 4 smartphones in India, they have come back with another budget smartphone the Redmi 4A. And just like any other Redmi device, they have focused on the budget price range offering. The Redmi 4A just simply amazes us as to how Xiaomi can provide such good specifications at this price-point.
Xiaomi Redmi 4A
Design
The first thing that anybody is going to notice is that the Xiaomi Redmi 4A is not made out of metal. Instead, it is made out of polycarbonate. Though they have tried to mimic the metal bodies with the top and bottom panels being different from the middle part.
the Redmi 4A is rocking a 5-inch display, with a simple design that resonates with the Redmi phones design legacy. The volume rockers and the power button is on the right side. On the left side, you can see the hybrid SIM slot. Charging port on the bottom. And a 3.5mm jack along with an IR blaster on the top.
The rear of the smartphone has been kept exceptionally clean and resembles the Redmi 3S in various ways. Though, the Redmi 4A does not come with a fingerprint sensor. The Redmi 4A has been launched in 3 colours in India - Dark Grey, Gold, and Rose Gold. We had the Rose Gold unit for the review.
Performance
Though the Redmi 4A being aimed at the people who are buying their first smartphone. It impressed us by showing good performance and easy handling which is not expected from a phone at this price. And although we had good times with the phone, there were times that we wished for some other device.
We tested the 4A with games like Asphalt 8 and Injustice. These games though running smoothly would give occasional lags and also would freeze at times. All of that could have been helped with a tad more bit of RAM.
The internal storage on this device is 16GB out of which 10.42GB is usable. We were thankful to god that this storage was expandable, though inserting a memory card means that you are sacrificing the dual SIM capability. The loudspeaker on the Redmi 4A is ok and nothing more. Xiaomi does not provide earphones in the sales package so we had to test the phone with ours and even with the audio tweaking options that they provide the phone on that part was an underperformer.
We also tested the Xiaomi Redmi 4A in Antutu and Quadrant benchmark tests and the scores were 27,567 and 16,693 respectively. Though these scores being nothing to boast about are good enough for this price range.
The battery inside the 4A is a 3120mAh non-removable battery. The smartphone was easily able to last us for a day on average usage. And we also loved the fact that this phone was able to full charge in less than 2 hours, that too without support for fast charging.
Specifications and Software
Redmi 4A sports a 5-inch 720p display with a 296ppi pixel density. The display is a good one and the colour reproduction was great. The 4A is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 425 clocked at 1.4GHz with Adreno 308 GPU. It has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage expandable up to 128GB. The 4A also supports 4G VoLTE which has been a big factor in India since the launch of Jio.
The 4A contains a hybrid dual SIM slot which is a disappointment as the phone only has 16GB of internal storage. The phone also contains the gyroscope, proximity, ambient light, and accelerometer sensors.
Though there is not much to talk about the software as all the Redmi phones use the same, the Redmi 4A runs on MIUI 8 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
Camera
The Xiaomi Redmi 4A comes with a 5 element 13-megapixel primary camera and a 5-megapixel secondary camera. Both the cameras have a f/2.2 aperture.
The primary camera is able to take decent shots in daylight but in low light, the camera is an underperformer. Also taking close-up shots is not a specialty of the camera. The front camera produces good photos but in low light situations, it also fails. The 4A can record 1080p videos at 30fps, which turns out surprisingly good videos.
Inside the box
The box of the Xiaomi Redmi 4A includes the following -
The Redmi 4A
Charger
Micro-USB cable
Warranty Card
User Guide
SIM ejection tool
The box also contains the Made In India tag, as now Xiaomi manufactures 95 percent of its smartphones in India.
Verdict
The Xiaomi Redmi 4A is a good smartphone at its price-point, and we expect it will be a complete hit in the Indian market. Especially with all the features, it offers at Rs.5,999.
But, we would rather recommend our readers to spend the extra 1-2k and go in for the Redmi 3S or the 3S Prime. As those are simply much better smartphones than the 4A. Or you could just simply wait out for the next Redmi smartphone.
As the Samsung Galaxy S8 has taken the world by a storm. We thought why don't we get a unit for giving to you guys and spread the happiness. We here at Beetel Bite are extremely thankful for our reader's constant support.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Giveaway
Though we did have a post on reasons why not to buy the Galaxy S8. But, this phone is the flagship smartphone launched just after the highly controversial Note 7. We knew we had to give it away to one of you guys.
Winner: Allen Birch(Canada)
The Rules are simple you just have to complete the entries below. The giveaway is open to the whole world anyone can enter. The winner will be shipped the unit when the S8 launches in their country directly through an online order via the countries Amazon or an equivalent.
Samsung had started taking pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 a while ago. And now, they have declared that the pre-orders have exceeded those of the Galaxy S7. Today, the mobile business chief Koh Dong-jin said many consumers were unfazed by the last year's Galaxy Note 7 debacle.
Galaxy S8 exceeds the pre-orders of S7
The Samsung Galaxy S8 will start sales in South Korea, United States, and Canada on 21 April 2017. These countries will play a key role in the revival of the tech giant from the Note 7 fires.
This new device has been well-received by the consumers. And analysts have said that the Galaxy S8 will set a sales record for the company. Analysts have also said that they are expecting Samsung to record its best ever quarterly profit in April-June.
It's still a bit early, but initial response to the pre-orders that have begun at various places across the world have been better than expected, The S8 will be the safest Galaxy smartphone to date due to safety measures implemented to avoid the battery failures that caused some Note 7's to spontaneously combust.
Koh Dong-jin said at a media briefing.
The new Samsung Galaxy S8 and the S8+ will sport a 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch curved screens respectively. Thus making this smartphone sport the largest screens to date amongst all the flagship S devices launched.
Qualcomm Inc. the mobile chipmaker was asked to refund $814.9 million to BlackBerry in an arbitration settlement for past sales royalties. This also showed a seismic change in the market for BlackBerry. As its shares were up by 16 percent at $8.94. And Qualcomm was down by 1 percent at $54.81.
Both the tech companies decided back in 2016, to arbitrate a dispute. This was over Qualcomm's agreement to cap-off royalties applied to payments made by BlackBerry under a licensing deal.
Qualcomm issued a statement on Wednesday saying that they do not agree with the decision made by the arbitration panel, But due to this being binding and non-appealable. They will comply.
Qualcomm has been going through a lot with losing this case. And also a lawsuit filed by Apple Inc. Where the company is being accused of overcharging for chips. And refusing to pay the rebates of $1 billion to Apple.
Qualcomm's problems do not end here
Qualcomm is also fighting a lawsuit filed by Apple Inc. Accusing the company of overcharging for chips and refusing to pay some $1 billion in promised rebates. The United States government has also accused Qualcomm of resorting to anticompetitive tactics to maintain a monopoly in the market of mobile phone semiconductors.
BlackBerry also has said that the final amount of the interest and attorneys' fee. Will be issued after the hearing on May 30, 2017. BlackBerry had been represented by Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in the preceding.
If you own a Lenovo-branded laptop then you might have encountered the message for enabling conservation mode. This message comes up when the battery has stayed at a high percentage for a long time. Moreover, Lenovo doesn't tell you where to enable the conservation mode, it just displays the message.
Enabling the Conservation Mode in Lenovo laptops
Though turning on the conservation mode is extremely simple and does not take up a lot of time. Lenovo just doesn't tell you where to enable it. Hence, you have to figure it out yourself. Thanks to the internet you were able to reach this How To article so that you can enable the mode easily.
To turn on the Conservation Mode the following steps need to be followed -
Click on the show hidden icons on the windows toolbar. At the bottom right corner.
Once clicked it will show all the hidden icons displayed on your taskbar.
Open the Energy Manager from there. You can find it by hovering the pointer on icons till the text is displayed.
A new window of the Energy Manager will show up.
Now, click the circular dialogue box on the top right of the energy manager window.
After that open the Settings panel on that window. And on the right-hand side, you will see the Conservation Mode with a switch.
Now just turn that switch on. This will turn on the Conservation Mode.
Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan Offer unveiled along with new plans
Reliance Jio announced today that the Jio Summer Surprise has been fully withdrawn. Following the advice of TRAI.
Jio further announced new ALLUNLIMITED plans with special benefits, exclusively for its Jio Prime members and aimed at encouraging Jio subscribers to live the Digital Life without restrictions – Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan!
The plans start at the most affordableRs. 309 ALL UNLIMITED PLAN, which provides Unlimited SMS, calling and data (1GB per day at 4G speed) for 3 months on the first recharge.
The company also announced the Rs. 509 ALL UNLIMITED PLAN for daily high data users offering Unlimited SMS, calling and data (2GB per day at 4G speed) for 3 months on the first recharge. Further details of all the plans are posted on the company website www.jio.com.
Considering the special benefits that are available to Jio Prime members, customers who were unable to subscribe to Jio Prime for any reason can continue to do so by paying Rs. 408 or Rs. 608 (Jio Prime + recharge price) to avail these benefits.
These plans will be available starting today. Existing Jio customers who have not done their first recharge so far. Need to do so by 15 April 2017 to avoid degradation and/or discontinuation of services.
Jio is currently implementing the world’s largest migration from free to paid services in such a short period of time. In order to smoothen the migration from free to paid services. Jio has implemented simple, affordable and regulatory compliant plans in customer interest. Jio looks forward to customers making full use of this opportunity to avail the most attractive tariff plans in the industry. Which are unparalleled globally.
With this, Jio extends the benefits of a superior and advanced technology to take India to global digital leadership. Jio’s unmatched data strong network is capable of meeting the burgeoning data requirements of hundreds of millions of Indians. The announcement also marks another step in Jio’s commitment to continuously delight its customers and enable them to live a fully digital life. Jio is thankful to the millions of customers who have taken up Jio services.
Highlights
Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan Offer unveiled by Reliance Jio after the retraction of the Jio Summer Surprise Offer.
JIO INTRODUCES NEW RS 309 ALL UNLIMITED PLAN. WITH SPECIAL BENEFITS EXCLUSIVELY FOR JIO PRIME MEMBERS.
WITHDRAWS JIO SUMMER SURPRISE AS ADVISED BY TRAI.
FACILITATES THE FASTEST CONVERSION FROM FREE TO PAID SERVICES.
Making affordable Digital Life available for all Indians.
Google Inc. has its own operating system Android OS which is one of the biggest mobile operating systems in the world. Now they have also ventured into the hardware side again with the Pixel smartphones. And to take the technology forward Google has offered LG $880 million.
Electronic Times reported citing unnamed sources, Google Inc. has offered LG Display Co. Ltd. an investment of at least 1 trillion won($880.29 million). This investment was offered to boost output of OLED displays for smartphones.
The source said that Google offered LG this investment to have an ample supply of OLED screens for its next Pixel smartphone which is currently rumored to be named Pixel 2. This could make the Pixel 2 take up less battery and also set up a new industry standard for smartphone displays.
Samsung Mobile uses bendable displays in their flagship smartphones. And Apple Inc. is also expected to start utilization of bendable screens in their future iPhones. Thus Google would also need a unique display to match its competitors. That is what Google may be thinking that the OLED screens can do for them.
Both the companies were reached for a comment. But, LG declined, and Google could not be reached due to unforeseen reasons.
Homegrown manufacturer Evidson came out with their new budget offering for the earphone market. The company claimed that the earphones had supreme audio and powerful bass. The company has been very popular and equally successful in the budget market space. But is the Evidson Z4 a notch above the competition? Let's find out.
Design
You buy Evidson Z4 coupled with 3 sets of silicone and a single pair of foam tips. Foam tips get uncomfortable very fast as they don't squeeze like you would want them to. The body of the driver is made up of metal alloy, which gives a premium feel. The unit is light and comfortable for long term usage.
The 1.2-metre cable looks to be made up of rugged material on first glance but that just design. The cable is not a flat cable but it is coated with a thermoplastic elastomer which helps to untangle the cable easily. Other than that we have an in-line microphone with a single button for navigating between tracks and picking up calls based on how you click it, but no volume control Sad face.
Overall this build is average with cable not good enough and the in-line microphone made up of plastic and the earphones sitting loose.
Performance
The device has 7mm dynamic drivers and a frequency range of 30Hz - 20,000Hz. The device has a Sensitivity of 106dB at 1mW and rated impedance of 15.8 Ohms. Earphones were tested with a Pavilion 15 with Bang and Olufsen audio and other different smartphones. With a mixture of FLAC, mp3 files, and online streaming. Earphones provide what they are made for, i.e bass. Z4 provide punchy bass and a kick to the sound. At high volumes, the voice does not break and the bass is controlled, but mid and highs are quite sharp and become uncomfortable over long usage. Higher notes sometimes break and vocals get sharp. Separation of Instruments is not strong as high and mids perform fairly well when listening to music with less bass.
You are better off using the Silicone tips, which provide good noise isolation and don't leak noise. Whereas, the foam tips are loose doesn't fill up the ear canal and very loose. We recommend buying a separate pair of foam tips for the best experience.
Pros
Good bass production
Metal driver housing
No breaking of sound at higher volume
Comfortable, and good isolation when used with Silicone tips
Cons
Finish could have been better
No flat cable
Only one button on microphone and no volume control
Highs can be sharp which makes listening experience uncomfortable
Verdict
Evidson played their hand to be the winners in the budget earphones market but sadly it has a lot of competition in the market and some of them are better. Evidson Z4 are a bit expensive for what they offer at 1,799. Poor reproduction of mids and lows and steep high could be a deal breaker for some consumers. But if you are a bass lover and listen to songs with a lot of bass music, you will not be disappointed a bit. But overall the earphones has its highs and lows.
Samsung India on Friday launched its newest smartphone in India the Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro. Samsung has made a deal with Amazon for the C7 Pro to be sold there exclusively.
The Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro
Lean
The Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro comes with a slim design at 7mm but, it still has an extremely comfortable grip. The C7 Pro consists of a full-metal unibody with a 2.5D Gorilla Glass up front. The Galaxy C7 Pro has a 5.7-inch AMOLED display for viewing.
Mean
The Galaxy C7 Pro is rocking a 2.2GHz octa-core processor with 4GB of RAM. These specifications of the C7 Pro helps the phone to handle heavy tasks with ease, thus providing a fast and smooth experience to the user. The Galaxy C7 Pro has an internal storage of 64GB. Expanded up to 256GB via microSD card. The C7 Pro also doesn't lag behind in power. It comes with a 3,300mAh non-removable battery, supporting fast charge which helps the phone to get to full power in 100 minutes.
Photography
The Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro helps you in capturing some of the best shots you can take from your smartphone. This has been possible with the help of both the 16MP cameras on front and back and also due to the f1.9 aperture in both the cameras. The rear camera also comes equipped with phase detection autofocus which helps in capturing clearer and more focused shots. The front camera also gives you a whole new selfie experience with beautification effects. And the floating camera button which makes it easy for users to take selfies.
Quotes by Officials
At Samsung, we are committed to meaningful innovations that delight our consumers. Galaxy C7 Pro is a slim and stunning device, which comes packed with powerful features for unparalleled multitasking and multimedia experience making it a Lean and Mean machine for the millennials
Mr. Sandeep Singh Arora, Vice President, Online Business, Samsung India.
We are pleased to be the partner of choice for Samsung and offer our customers a chance to own the exclusive access to Galaxy C7 Pro. Smartphones are one of the fastest growing product lines and have repeatedly been one of the top-selling categories on Amazon.in.
Mr. Arun Srinivasan, Director, Consumer Electronics, Amazon India.
Pricing
Samsung's Galaxy C7 Pro will be available exclusively on Amazon India, in two colour options Gold and Navy Blue. The C7 Pro will retail at a price of Rs.27,990 and will go on sale from April 11, 2017.
