Unlock OnePlus X invites with Twitter's 'Flock to Unlock' Win an invite...............

OnePlus has managed to have quite a fan following for itself in India. However, procuring some of its phones could prove to be a hard task. In the past too, the company has come up with open sales and innovative contests to enable new users to get their hands on the device.

Today, the company has launched another unique campaign using twitter's 'Flock to Unlock' tool which allows tweeple to tweet using #UnlockOnePlusX in order to unlock invites for OnePlus X. All OnePlus twitter fans need to do is visit OnePlus' exclusive online partner, Amazon India's official twitter handle @amazonIN and tweet or retweet the following message:

"Tweet to us using #UnlockOnePlusX for a chance to get your hands on a OnePlus X invite. 5000 invites up for grabs!" 

The campaign starts 11:00am today and will run until 5:00pm. Amazon India will 'unlock' 5,000 OnePlus X invites, once the set number of tweets/retweets is reached.

This is how it works:

· A tweet will go out on the Amazon.in twitter account handle and the Flock to Unlock card appears on the timeline
· Tweeple click on 'Tweet To Unlock' button on the card - that's registered as a vote towards reaching the set threshold and an unlocked content is sent to each individual participant
· Once the set threshold is reached, direct messages with the OnePlus X invites will be sent out to 5,000 lucky winners at the end of the day

So, if you want to take home a OnePlus X guess this is what you should be doing.

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​Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg takes a new step to safeguard ‘Free Basics........

The debate on the issue of net neutrality seems to be an unending one in India. As per fresh reports, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has once again voiced in support of its controversial Free Basics Internet service.

Zuckerberg asserted that Facebook's Free Basics Internet service safeguards net neutrality. The social networking giant's Free Basics plan enables users to avail of services like education, health care and employment listings via apps that have been created especially for this platform on their phones without a data plan. On the other hand, it does not enable access to many services like YouTube, Gmail, Google or Twitter. This information was revealed in a Times of India report.

In the new step, Zuckerberg took help of a video to promote Free Basics and also wrote a personal appeal in one of the leading newspapers. According to his video post, "We believe that connectivity is a human right and that getting connectivity for the world is one of the fundamental challenges of our generation. When people are connected, we can accomplish some pretty amazing things."

He further added, "We can get closer to the people that we care about, we can get access to new jobs and opportunities and ideas. We can receive education and healthcare and communication and access to new services."

Zuckerberg said India's progress depended on providing Web access to the one billion Indians without it. It is worth noting that Facebook is shelling out billions of dollars on projects to deliver the Web to under-served areas via drones, satellites, and lasers.

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ASUS ZenFone Go 4.5 launched in India for Rs 5,299...............

ASUS ZenFone Go 4.5 is a slightly smaller version of the ZenFone Go that was unveiled in September. This model lacks 4G LTE support as well, which is disappointing.

Given the kind of devices that are available in the sub-Rs 5,000 price segment, we can find plenty of handsets with 4G LTE on board, so ASUS might have to reconsider its pricing in order to have any impact on the market with the ZenFone Go 4.5.

The handset is an exclusive via Flipkart for now and users can get up to Rs 2,000 off with the exchange of an older device. The exchange amount depends on the kind of device you have, so it will not be the same for every device.

The ZenFone Go 4.5 is meant for the budget conscious public who don't want to shell out a lot up front. However, as we've mentioned before the lack of 4G LTE might prove to be a deal breaker for the customers. But if that's not a priority, the ZenFone Go 4.5 is a solid device with the hardware to take on any budget device in the segment.

Hardware specs of the ASUS ZenFone Go 4.5:

· 4.5-inch FWVGA (480x854) display
· 10.1mm thickness
· 133.5 grams
· Quad-core 1.3 GHz Mediatek MT6580 processor
· 5MP rear camera
· VGA front camera
· 1GB RAM
· 8GB storage (expandable via microSD)
· Android 5.1 Lollipop with Zen UI
· 1,600 mAh battery
· 3G HSPA+ connectivity with dual SIM

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iBall Andi 5.5H Weber released in India for Rs 6,499......................

The iBall Andi 5.5H Weber was officially unveiled by a retailer last week, but has today seen a widespread release in India.

The smartphone packs a very attractive design and will cost Rs 6,499. That being said, the device doesn't come with support for 4G LTE, which is mildly surprising given the price.

The handset comes with support for 21 Indian regional languages, which should appeal to a wide range of customers across the country. The iBall Andi 5.5H Weber is not exactly a beast in terms of internal hardware, but the device makes up for it with the premium design and hardware, although the lack of 4G LTE is a major oversight.

One interesting addition here is that the 5MP camera on the device has an enhanced software which can offer images in up to 8MP. The company hasn't talked about an exclusivity deal with any retailer as of yet, so it should be available via multiple retailers in the region.

Hardware specifications of the iBall Andi 5.5H Weber:

· 5.5-inch HD (1280x720) display
· 1.3 GHz quad-core processor
· 8MP rear camera (software enhanced)
· 5MP front camera
· 1GB RAM
· 8GB storage (expandable via microSD)
· 2,200 mAh battery
· Android 5.1 Lollipop
· 3G with dual SIM support

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How to Improve Battery Life on Android 6.0 Marshmallow...........

Smartphone battery life can be difficult to gauge. There are limitless variables affecting it, and while Android has some built-in battery management features, you can still improve your battery life with a few tricks.

For instance, Android 6.0 Marshmallow features Doze mode, which puts your device into a state of reduced battery use after an hour. But some users have found this a little inadequate — after all, why should we wait for an hour for Doze to kick in?

As a result, the developer of Greenify has introduced a tool in the beta version of the app that forces Doze to start as soon as your phone goes into standby. Let’s take a look at how to set this up.

Get Greenify Beta Program Access

To get started with this, ensure that your rooted Android device is running Marshmallow (that’s Android version 6.x) and if your phone isn’t rooted, that you have a USB data cable and PC close to hand.

You should then join the Greenify Beta Program. It doesn’t matter if you have the app installed or not at this stage — just head to this URL and click BECOME A TESTER.

If you already have Greenify installed, wait a few hours for an update; otherwise, head to the Greenify page on Google Play to install. Again, you might need to wait a while for the Beta update to be made available to you.

If you end up waiting several days (not unheard of), you might try downloading it from APK Mirror and manually installing (with Unknown Sources enabled).

Enable Aggressive Doze Mode

With the beta version of Greenify now installed, all you need to do is launch the app and open the menu to switch to the Experimental features… view, and check the box for Aggressive Doze (6.0+).

Once this is enabled, Doze mode will put your battery into a very low-use state whenever your phone is laid flat with the screen off. This has the potential to seriously reduce your battery use, so if you have a rooted Android 6.0 device, this is a great feature to activate with Greenify.

Of course, Greenify has various other power saving features, which we previously looked at in more detail.

Not Rooted? How to Enable Aggressive Doze

Perhaps root isn’t available yet for your recently upgraded Android Marshmallow device. Worry not — you can use the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) to send a command to your phone to enable Greenify’s Aggressive Doze mode. To begin, make sure you have all of the correct USB drivers for your phone installed on your computer, and that you have ADB installed.

If the idea of using ADB fills you with fear, or you’ve previously dabbled with it and found that it either doesn’t install or doesn’t work, it’s worth taking a look at Justin Dennis’ guide to ADB-Helper, which makes everything about ADB a whole lot simpler.

With your phone connected, and ADB debugging enabled (Settings > Developer Options > USB Debugging), run ADB, and in the command prompt, enter:

adb devices

A string of letters and numbers should appear — your phone is detected! You can now proceed with the command to enable Greenify’s Aggressive Doze function on your unrooted phone:

adb -d shell pm grant com.oasisfeng.greenify android.permission.DUMP

You can now disconnect your phone, open Greenify, and enable Aggressive Doze, just as if you were using a rooted device.

Other Ways to Improve Battery Life

Improving battery life has become a sort of Holy Grail for smartphone owners, particular those of us with Android devices. Fortunately, various other options are available to us to help extend battery performance.

For instance, people are more aware of wakelocks, and the art of charging your smartphone battery to 70-80% instead of a full charge for longterm battery health is becoming more widely appreciated. Tweaks can also be made to Android 6.0 for improved battery performance.

Android’s power saving mode (or third party tools), using black lockscreens and backgrounds on devices with AMOLED displays, disabling vibration and many other tips are outlined in Guy McDowell’s collection of 9 tips to extend your Android’s battery life.

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Samsung India celebrating 20 years in the country with attractive discounts and promotions.............

A big milestone....

Samsung has completed 20 years in India, marking a major milestone for the company. To celebrate this accordingly, the company has announced a slew of promotions and discounts to thank their loyal customers. The promotions will run for 20 days between December 11 and December 30.

For mobile users, the company is offering "more than 20" offers via the My Galaxy application which is an exclusive to Samsung phones. Further, you can get 20% discount on extended warranty packages for smartphones and other consumer electronics. The company will offer free one time screen replacement (up to 1 year) on some Samsung Galaxy models as well.

Further, you will be able to get TVs, ACs, refrigerators, washing machines and microwave ovens wth 20 easy EMI options and 20% cashback (on select models). The company will also have special 'wedding packages' on TVs and other home appliances.

Given that the promotion will run almost until the end of the month, it will give users plenty of time to make up their mind. It's good to see that the company is offering discounts and promotions on a wide range of products and not just mobile devices. You can head over to the nearest Samsung retail outlet for more details on the discounts and promotions on offer.

"The trust, belief and expectations of our consumers have inspired us to innovate and address their needs through innovation. This promotion is a way for us to thank our consumers who have stood by us through all these years," Ranjivjit Singh, senior vice president, corporate marketing, Samsung India, said.

HC Hong, President and CEO of Samsung India, said, "The last two decades has been a glorious journey for Samsung India. Along the way, we touched millions of hearts and became one of India's biggest multinational corporations by revenue. This achievement is a result of the collective effort of all our colleagues, partners and consumers who have stood by us and believed in us over these years."

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Xiaomi Mi 5 to have the fastest and smallest fingerprint sensor............

The leaks revolving around Xiaomi Mi 5 just refuse to die. Thanks to these leaks, we already have a good idea of the specifications that this phone will have and how it will look like.

Today, we got another glimpse of what the device will look like, thanks to more purported photos of the Mi 5 that have surfaced online. There is no way to confirm whether these are real renders of the phone, but these images are not in sync with the one of the recently leaked pictures.

The current photo features front of the smartphone. We can see that there is a small home button on the front. It is expected that this button will double up as a fingerprint scanner. As per the leak, this will indeed be the smallest and fastest fingerprint sensor on a smartphone.

The Mi 5 was originally expected to be released by September this year, but the device was a no show at IFA. There were multiple possible release dates after that, but the device never really saw the light of the day. The latest rumours are suggesting that the phone might launch on January 21, 2016 but given the recent track record, we would not have our hopes high.

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun, however, has promised the fans of the company that the Mi 5 will be worth the wait.

As per the latest leaks, Xiaomi Mi 5 will sport a 5.5-inch screen with 2K (1440x2560p) resolution. The phone will be powered by the recently-launched 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset along with 4GB of RAM. There will be 16GB, 64GB and 128GB storage options available to users.

Xiaomi will reportedly use Android 5.1-based MIUI 6 in Mi 5. In terms of camera, it will have a 20MP rear camera and 8MP front snapper. The listing also mentions Xiaomi Mi 5 as a 4G-capable device that will pack 3,800mAh. It is also being touted that the price of the phone to be $599, which translates to roughly Rs 40,000

In the past, we have also heard from the grapevine that the phone will support USB Type C connectivity.

Coming over to the design, leaks suggest that the phone will come with a curved 3D glass. It houses a metal frame and a 2.5D glass on the top of the display. 

Lead Image: Xiaomi Mi 4i

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Lenovo K4 Note launch set for January 5, invites sent out.................

The Lenovo K3 Note has set the benchmark for sub Rs 10,000 phones in the country and has been one of the most popular in this price segment. As per Lenovo, the company has managed to sell 1.2 million units of K3 Note in the June to Nov period.

Thanks to all this, there is already a great hype around the successor of this phone. Thankfully, we will not have to wait long to meet the same in glass and plastic. The company has now sent out an invite teasing the release of what we believe is Lenovo K4 Note. The company released an identical teaser last week as well, but this one here comes with details on the launch, timings, location etc.

Naturally, there's very little that we know about the handset at this point, but we hope for the leaks to clarify our doubts as we lead up to the release of the device. Pricing will obviously be a key selling point here and we can expect Lenovo to leave no stone unturned in making this a capable successor to the K3 Note.

It has been rumored that the Lenovo K4 Note will come with a fingerprint scanner, along with beefed up specs like 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, both more than what's found on the K3 Note.

Other details like the processor, camera, display size etc are still a secret at this point, although one can speculate that the device would pack a premium looking exterior, perhaps with a metal body.

The smartphone is going to be a significant upgrade over the successor, so we can expect the handset to be an attractive proposition in the budget market segment.

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BlackBerry to consider a mid-tier Android phone if the Priv is a success...........

The BlackBerry Priv, the company’s first Android smartphone, marked a new page in BlackBerry’s history and the handset could just be the start of a longer chapter. In a recent interview, BlackBerry CEO John Chen stated that the company will consider moving into the mid-range Android market as well, providing that the Priv is seen as a success.

Chen stated that the Priv’s results over the next three to four months are going to be key when determining what the company does next. Chen mentioned that he’s looking at results for the Priv in terms of margin and not necessarily just in terms of sales volume.

If the Priv is well received, and Chen seems rather optimistic that the phone is on the right track, BlackBerry will consider developing a new mid to high end smartphone that could launch sometime in the 2016 calendar year. We are probably looking at a launch in the later half. A low cost smartphone from BlackBerry seems rather unlikely, but its next handset could take the form of the reasonably priced “super-mid” tier of products that have become increasingly popular in Asia and Europe.

When questioned about a further hardware partnership with Samsung, which manufactures the AMOLED display for the Priv, Chen insisted that the two companies continue to work together but don’t have any confirmed long running deals for physical product development. However, the two continue to run joint products in the security space and with Samsung’s Knox products for mobile.

BlackBerry looks to be taking its mobile strategy just one quarter at a time and isn’t making any long term commitments. Given the competitive nature of today’s mobile market, this strategy may pay off.

PROS

Design is sleek despite the extra hardware
Physical keyboard is a throwback but still useful
Display is high quality
Expandable storage
Front facing speaker
BlackBerry's version of Android is full featured and fun to use

CONS

Overall build quality just a little bit questionable
Snapdragon 808 bogged down by lack of software polish
Camera missing a lot of features and lacks in processing, aggressively decent
No fast charging
Battery life only slightly above average, despite size of unit
BlackBerry's own apps need to be updated for current needs

RATING

OUR RATING

BATTERY

7.5

DISPLAY

8.5

CAMERA

6.5

PERFORMANCE

8.0

SOFTWARE

8.0

DESIGN

7.7

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Photo Magic and snow globes come to Facebook Messenger......

Facebook Messenger is rolling out new features to celebrate the holidays, including its instant-photo sharing feature, Photo Magic.

The social media giant first introduced us to Photo Magic last month, when it was still in testing. Photo Magic uses facial recognition smarts whenever you take a photo to remind you to share photos with the friends or family in the snapshot.

It can also automatically tag them as well as set up a private group chat with the people in the image, letting you send them the picture with just a couple of clicks.

Holidays are about sharing

While the Photo Magic update is rolling out to Messenger for Android and iOS this week, if you don't want this feature popping up every time you take a picture, you can disable it. You can decide if you want it to recognize you in photos taken by your friends and family as well.

The new update also bring more customization options to Messenger, including adding colored text, emojis and nicknames to separate message threads.

For group threads, everyone can change around these customizations, and you'll get a notifications each time a change is made - which we're sure won't get annoying.

You also get snow globe heads on Android and a shower of snow flakes whenever you send a holiday-themed emoji on either operating system, even if you're in warmer climes.

• CES 2016 is nearly here

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Galaxy S7 could finally get an awesome version of TouchWiz....

Samsung phones could become more refined and faster if the mooted tie-up with Google to make its software sleeker goes ahead.

Touchwiz, Samsung's overlay for a number of years (including before Android emerged), has been criticised for being too resource-heavy and cartoonish, despite recent attempts by the South Korean firm to improve it in recent years.

So to try and improve things it's reported that Google is now working directly with Samsung to achieve a "non-delayed operating experience" with "greater fluency than iOS".

There's sadly no word on when this could appear, so it's uncertain whether any partnership might bear fruit by February when we're expecting the new Samsung Galaxy S7.

Similar rumours about a tighter partnership in November suggested that RAM management is a particular bugbear - with TouchWiz still causing problems even on Samsung's most high-spec devices.

Teamwork

One of the reasons that iPhones tend to have (on paper) less impressive specs yet run just as speedily is because Apple's hardware and software teams can work closely together to make sure the two work together as efficiently as possible.

For Android devices, this is obviously more tricky given the wider range of hardware, and the fact that hardware and software are made by different manufacturers. So getting a little closer makes a lot of sense for both Google and Samsung.

It also helps that Google's engineers will know the Android operating system inside out, so will know where optimisations for TouchWiz can be made.

Some people would rather see Samsung junk TouchWiz and stick with Google's own reliable user interface, but that would take away another layer of identity in a world where these brands are trying to stand out from Android homogeneity.

• Our review of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.

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The Sony Xperia Z6 could be the phone we've all been waiting for ......coming soon in june

Sony has stuck with it's boxy, bezel heavy design for years now - but we could finally be about to get a new chapter.

It's been all 'Omnibalance' for years, the current mix or metal edges and glass backs, but the company's smartphone fortunes have hardly been illustrious worldwide, so a change is needed.

According to a source speaking to cnBeta the Sony Xperia Z6 will have a new design, with metal playing a major role.

That would be good news, as Sony's current design, as seen on the Sony Xperia Z5, is getting a little tired.

Churning them out

That's not all that's been revealed though. According to the same source Sony will launch two new flagships next year. The first, which will presumably be the Xperia Z6, is set to land in June, with another, possibly the Xperia Z7, arriving in October.

That's a similar (ish) schedule to what the company is on now and flies in the face of earlier rumours that it would switch to one flagship launch each year. It would also mean we won't see any new Sony flagships at CES 2016 or MWC 2016.

While things may get freshened up with a new design on the Z6 it sounds like the Z7 could be just a small upgrade, with both phones apparently set to use a Snapdragon 820 processor.

For now, these are nothing more than rumours, but hopefully at least the redesign one ends up being true.

• Sony's most premium phone yet isn't its best.

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Jet Audio Music Player for Android users............

jetAudio Plus is a mp3 music player with 10/20 bands graphic equalizer and various sound effects.
*** You can try FREE jetAudio Basic before you buy Plus version ***

-- Sound Effects plugins --
* AM3D Audio Enhancer (http://www.am3d.com)
* Bongiovi DPS (http://www.bongioviacoustics.com)
(Sound effect plugins will be sold separately through in-app purchase.)
(Some plugins can be purchased in Plus version only.)

jetAudio for Windows is the highest rated and most downloaded media player on CNET.COM and now you can listen to same high-quality sound on your Android phone using jetAudio.
It plays almost any type of digital music files you have (.wav, .mp3, .ogg, .flac, .m4a, .mpc, .tta, .wv, .ape, .mod, .spx, .wma* and more) and, it provides a very high quality sound with various effects and enhancements such as Wide, Reverb, X-Bass.

It comes with 32 equalizer presets that will provide a wide array of listening experience.
For those who would like to customize their own sound experience, it also allows 10/20 bands graphic equalizer and other advanced playback functions including playback speed control,
crossfading, AGC and much more.

Free Basic version provides same features with Plus version except advertisements and some features.
To enjoy full features of jetAudio, please purchase Plus version.

-- Features for Plus version only --
* 20-bands graphic equalizer
* Tag Editor (MP3, FLAC, OGG, M4A)
* Display lyrics in tag (Unsynchronized lyrics)
* 2 lock screens
* 14 app widgets : 4x1 (#2), 4x2 (#3), 4x3 (#3), 4x4 (#3), 3x3, 2x2, 2x3
* Pitch shifter
* Precise playback speed control (50% ~ 200%)
* Light Gray/White theme for browser (Plus only)
* Grid mode for Artist/Song/Folder/Genre browser
* Adjust FF/REW interval
* Expanded notification bar (for JB)
* MIDI playback (using jetAudio WaveTable MIDI synthesizer engine)

-- Features for Basic/Plus version --
* Can choose between 3 List modes or 10 Grid modes for layout style
(In Basic version, layout style can be chosen in Album browser only)
* Find on YouTube
* Last.fm (requires official Last.fm app)
* X-Wide, Reverb, X-Bass sound effects
* AGC (automatic gain control) to avoid volume fluctuations between tracks
* Speed control from 50% to 200% (pitch adjusted)
* Crossfading, Gap-less playback
* Fade-in/Fade-out
* Repeat A<->B
* Browser and play music by artits, albums, songs, playlists, genres and folders
* Balance/Volume control
* Sleep timer up to 24 hours
* Flick up to post what you're listening to on Facebook/Twitter
* Flick down to show Now Playing
* Flick left/right to play next/previous
* Lock screens
* Headset button control (Bluetooth headset)
- press to pause/resume
- double/triple press to play next/prev
- long press to mute or TTS (time, title)
* Bluetooth headphone button control
* Send track information via Bluetooth AVRCP 1.3
* Multi-select function (Delete/Add to playlist)
* Keep screen on, Lock orientation options
* Shake to play next/previous track
* Supporting formats:
MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, M4A, MPC, TTA, WV, APE, MOD (module formats S3M, IT), SPX, AIFF
(WMA may not be supported on some devices. Please check your device specification for WMA support)

What's New
v6.5.2
- Bug fixes

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