Vivo Nex review: Setting stage for future generation bezel-less smartphones

The Nex's performance is top-notch, but the native user interface and cameras to an extent subdue its overall flagship appeal

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo seems to have taken a lead in the smartphone industry by coming up with innovations to address the legacy issues faced by devices of the current generation, including the premium phones. After launching in India the first in-display fingerprint sensor-based smartphone, the Vivo X21, the company has now brought another technologically farsighted device, the Vivo Nex.

With screen becoming the centre for innovation in smartphones, it is about time most of the hardware traditionally kept on phones’ front – ambient light sensor, earpiece, front camera and notification LED, for instance – were moved elsewhere. Xiaomi, another Chinese smartphone manufacturer, has been striving to beat the puzzle: Its latest iteration of bezel-less smartphone, the Mi Mix 2S, relocates most of the front components to new places, but they remain on the front and somewhat obstruct the phone’s all-screen outlook.

The Vivo Nex is a step further in the all-screen smartphone game. The phone boasts a bezel-less design on the front, with no visible obstructions like notch or front camera on the lower chin. Instead, the phone brings a mechanical motorised module with the front camera that pops up from the top, and the fingerprint sensor is placed under the screen. It is the second Vivo smartphone in India to boast this technology. The company claims the Nex will be the next wave of innovation in the smartphone industry. But, how innovative is it really? Let’s find out:

Design

The Nex features a classic Vivo design, but in a bigger and taller form factor. The phone’s front gets a major redesign in terms of looks. But the back looks bland with a reflective glass prone to fingerprints. Speaking of the front, it is covered by a 6.59-inch screen that stretches from edge to edge, thereby allowing a bezel-less design; there are negligible bezels on the top and sides, and a thin one at the bottom. The front looks neat, thanks to the all-screen visage, with no notch, camera or any other visible hardware component.

Holding the glass build is a metallic chassis, which houses the motorised camera module on the top, along with a 3.5mm audio port and secondary microphone. The bottom side of the chassis covers the charging-cum-data transfer USB type-C port, along with a dualSIM tray, speaker and primary microphone. The power key and volume rocker keys are placed on the right side, whereas the left side sports a dedicated key for Google lens.

Overall, it is just the pop-up front camera module that looks interesting and adds to the phone’s design quotient. Otherwise, the phone has a bland look with a big stature, which some might find difficult to hold and operate.

Article Source : BS

OnePlus 3 smartphone with fast charging technology now in India

OnePlus 3 smartphone with fast charging technology now in India

Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus on Wednesday launched its flagship device OnePlus 3 with 6GB RAM and a unique dash charge feature that gives 60% of battery in a flat 30 minutes.

Threat to several flagship devices, the Rs 27,999 smartphone is available on Amazon .in starting from June 15. The device is also available on the pop-up stores located at The Collective in New Delhi (June 15) and Mumbai (June 17) and Indelust stores in Bengaluru (June 18).

"OnePlus 3 delivers the ultimate experience that our customers already love about our products," Pete Lau, Founder and CEO, OnePlus, said in a statement.

The dash charge feature charges the smartphone even when a user is gaming or working on it. The feature shifts the heat generated while charging back to the adapter, thus keeping the device cool.

"Dash charge has set a new standard for the fast-charging technology. It's a flagship smartphone inspired by -- and made for -- our fans," Pete added.

The device has Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 processor clocked at 2.2 Ghz, 6GB LPDDR4 RAM, a 16MP rear camera with optical stabilisation and a smart capture feature. It sports an 8MP selfie camera with Smile Capture feature.

The smartphone incorporates a fingerprint scanner that unlocks the device in 0.2 seconds, the company said. Read More.

LG G5: Banking on lights, camera and innovation

LG G5: Banking on lights, camera and innovation

Let's get this straight. LG's latest flagship, the G5 isn't exactly Project Ara. But it is possibly the world's first modular flagship phone. I hadn't received any modules (a release from LG says they would have a camera module, an audio module and a 360° camera module) till the time of going to print, but I was curious about how it performed as a phone.

The metallic G5 is a marked change from its plastic and leather predecessor, the G4. While it feels nice in the hand, I felt its peers have a more premium feel. The G5 sports a unibody design and the phone's "chin" detaches to reveal a removable battery and take in modules; this part doesn't feel flush with the rest of the body. Every time you swap a module, the battery would need to be removed and in turn lead to several reboots. Also, the groove running round the edge felt a bit uncomfortable in sweaty hands.

That said, the power button-cum-fingerprint scanner on the back is extremely intuitive. Gently place your finger on it and the phone unlocks. A caveat: Wet fingers won't work.

Read more.

Trai may issue fresh paper on WhatsApp, Skype

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is contemplating issuing a fresh consultation paper for regulation of over-the-top (OTT) messaging services like WhatsApp and Skype in accordance with recently announced net neutrality principles.

"The issues have changed over the past year when the consultation paper was first announced. We have to look at the OTT industry together with net neutrality as many aspects are interlinked," a Trai official told Business Standard. No decision has yet been taken on whether there should be a fresh paper on the issue. "It is in the very initial stages," the official said. Mobile users can access OTT services via the Internet but these ride on telecom networks and are not bound by any regulations.

The availability of affordable Smartphones has led to the growth of OTT services, which in turn increases data volumes for telecom companies. But for increased traffic, telecom companies need to invest in upgrading their networks.

The Trai paper was issued in March 2015 and comments were received under the earlier chairman Rahul Khullar. Khullar retired in mid-May and the regulator got a new chairman, RS Sharma, in August 2015. But final recommendations are yet to be announced.

The major contention in the OTT paper is voice calls offered by WhatsApp,Skype and others, which telecom operators allege is eating into their revenue. Voice calls on telecom networks are 12.5 times more expensive than those through OTT services; in the case of messages, the difference is 16 times. A one-minute phone call costs 50 paise, while a one-minute call made through the Internet costs 4 paise, according to Trai.

"Technology can't be stopped. We can't kill innovation but we need to address the regulatory arbitrage between telecom operators and OTT players. One is under a licensing regime, while the other is not. No doubt OTT is driving the data revenue of telecom players, but one has to look at the security aspect as well," another Trai official added.

WhatsApp now has a billion users globally

Mobile messaging app WhatsApp today said it has crossed the one billion user milestone globally with the addition of 100 million users in last five months.

"As of today, one billion people are using WhatsApp. That's nearly one in seven people on Earth who use WhatsApp each month to stay in touch with their loved ones, their friends and their family," WhatsApp said in a blogpost.

In February 2014, WhatsApp was acquired by social networking giant Facebook, its biggest buyout till date, for a whopping $19 billion.

Smartphones would be outdated in five years

Smartphones will become obsolete within five years and would be replaced with artificial intelligence, according to a consumer survey by the Ericsson owned Consumer Lab.

Half of the study’s respondents said they thought mobile technology would be redundant by 2021 as the growth of artificial intelligence starts enabling interaction with objects without the need for a phone or tablet, Sydney Morning Herald reported.

“A smartphone in the hand, it’s really not that practical. For example, not when one is driving a car or cooking. And there are many situations where display screens are not so good. Therefore, one in two think that smartphones will belong to the past within five years,” Ericsson Consumer Lab’s Rebecka Cedering Angstrom was quoted as saying.

The research lab surveyed 100,000 people across Sweden and 39 other countries.

With around 1.9 billion smartphone users globally, this means Consumer Lab covered just 0.0052 per cent of active users for its study.