Android

It feels almost as if it was yesterday when eight-year-old me was reading an illustrated book about how life would be like in 2010, when space colonies would abound and our newspapers would be digital screens that we would roll up and carry in our bags. Sadly, we�re still some way away from the space colonies, but with devices like the LG G Flex, we�re one step closer to that flexible-display-future. Here we look closely at a pretty significant leap forward in consumer display tech, if for nothing else other than answering a basic question � does the flexible display really add any value?
 
That Curve�
Initial reactions to the LG G Flex ranged from �It looks like a banana� to �Is there something wrong with this phone?� Curious looks or strange stares apart, what�s certain is that it elicits reactions when you pull this phone out for a call or set it down on the table. What�s drawing attention to the G Flex is the gentle top-to-bottom curve on this baby. Yes, this means that the entire phone � the 6-inch screen, the battery and the casing is bent, which is an impressive technical feat by itself. What�s more, the G Flex quite literally flexes � put it face down on a flat surface and apply some pressure, and you can see the G Flex straightening out into a perfectly flat phone. Stop pushing it and it springs back into its curvy avatar, with everything working as if nothing had happened. Try doing that with some of the other big screen devices out there (warning: don�t!).
 
And the curvature works, at least in some scenarios. The curve puts the microphone closer to your mouth when you�re using it as a phone, which is nice considering its comically-large phablet-sized dimensions� a benefit that we suspect is wasted on many who just wouldn�t want to hold something this big up to their face. It�s also less prone to glare, providing a more immersive video-watching experience (almost mini-IMAX-style, if you stretch that imagination) though I suspect that�s in large part due to the sheer size of the 6-inch display. The curve means you can put it in your back pocket and forget about it. Even if you sit down on it, the phone is none the worse for wear and feels more comfortable than a fat wallet. Front pockets also mostly work, except if you�re driving � the curve makes it more difficult to get out of a jeans pockets where there�s already little room to maneuver!
 
But there�s a big downside to that curved screen. LG�s current curved display doesn�t have an OLED display ready for mass-market, which means that the G Flex has to make do with a 720×1280 pixel screen resolution. For a six-incher, that puts the pixel density at a modest 245 pixels per inch, and the difference in text and image sharpness between the G Flex and say the Note 3 (with a full HD display) shows. That aside, color rendering and brightness are spot on. We�ve heard of image retention/ghosting issues on some devices, but haven�t seen any in our unit.
 
The one feature that is truly useful is the G Flex’s “self-healing” finish, which LG claims repairs minor scratches and dings to the exterior shell. In use, the coating is scratch resistant, plus it actively masks minor damage, and after using it for a week without a case, the phone remained unscathed, despite being tossed into pockets with loose change and car keys. Certainly something we�d like all phones to have, right?
 
�and the rest
While the screen and design are undeniably the headline features on this device, there is a lot more to the G Flex. The phone is packed to the gills with a quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor with 2GB of RAM, a processor that was the flagship chip for 2013. Thanks to both, Android 4.2.2 flies on the G Flex, as do current-gen games�but what�s with launching with Android 4.2.2 when the world has moved onto Android 4.4 Kit Kat? LG�s track record for pumping out updates to devices isn�t particularly good either � the flagship G2 still doesn�t have Kit Kat! Then there�s that massive 3,500mAh battery that keeps the phone going for a day and a half even with heavy use. We often worry about the battery life on our smartphones, but this was just not the case with the G Flex. The camera � a beefy 13-MP shooter � is nothing like the G2�s 13-MP variant: no optical image stabilization, lackluster shots, and very middle of the road.
 
In the end, the G Flex is equal part genius and equal part a letdown. But it�s the price that really kills any possibility of people picking up this device. At Rs. 69,999, the phone just doesn�t live up to the astronomic cost, no matter how much they curve it. With a full lineup of devices coming in 2014 that may lack the G Flex�s headline feature but include all kinds of awesome, this phone will find it very hard to keep up with the hype. It�s almost� behind the curve.
 
What we liked: The curved screen innovation, powerful hardware
What we didn�t: Average display, dated software and mediocre camera
Killer Feature: Self-healing surface finishPrice: Rs 69,999
Enjoy Guys! and don’t forget to post your comments. � MyTricksTime.com

Remember the Notion Ink Adam tablet? Well we wouldn�t blame you if you have no recollection of that fledgling late-2010 device, despite it packing in pretty bleeding-edge hardware at the time. It had a one-if-its-kind LCD plus e-Ink Pixel Qi display, a front-to-back rotatable camera and the latest Tegra 2 processor, not to forget its made-for-tablets Eden interface. Sadly, insane shipping issues and Google�s Honeycomb version, which soon thereafter brought a tablet-friendly user interface to Android tablets, meant that the Adam was pretty much DOA. Three years later, has Bangalore-based Notion Ink learnt from its mistakes and done enough to redeem itself with the Adam II? We dive right in and find out.
 
Out of the box
The Adam II is quite unlike other tablets you�ll see these days, most of which are rather iPad or generic-Galaxy Tab inspired. Notion Ink has clearly been inspired by the classic book design, giving the Adam II a large bezel on the left edge when you hold it up in portrait mode, indicating you�re meant to hold it this way for the majority of its operation. Strangely enough then, the speakers form part of that left bezel, as does the front facing camera, which means you�re bound to block something or the other when you�re holding the device in portrait orientation. Going with the book look has meant the Adam II is a tad boxy, and the hard edges don�t really help its cause during extended usage� one couldn�t help but feel a smaller form factor, possibly with an 8-inch screen, may have been a better choice in sheer ergonomic terms. That said, the build quality, the materials used and the clean lines far belie the price point, so if you do pick one up you�re getting premium stuff for the money.
 
Spinning it around
A quick glance around the device reveals a device packed to the gills with connectivity and expansion options. There�s a miniHDMI out for connecting to projectors and large screen TVs, a microSD for storage expansion and a full-sized SIM for 3G connectivity, plus 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 (with Low Energy support) under the hood. There�s even USB On-the-Go support for connecting memory sticks via the USB port. It�s along the side of the device � the spine of the tablet (using the book analogy) � that you come across a rather unique feature of the Adam II: the secondary display. A rather novel addition, these are two always-on black-and-white ticker tape type displays, akin to the LCD screens you�d see on digital thermometers or scientific calculators. These are meant to push quick at-a-glance information updates to the owner, such as a custom message (like owner information), the time, currently-running apps or new email notifications. It�s a nice little touch to differentiate the Adam from the hordes of me-too Android tablets, but in use the displays are a bit of a version 1 novelty � there�s no backlight and the text is too tiny to read from a distance.
 
Getting a mixed-bag feel to the Adam II so far? The rest of the device is much of the same. You get a capacious 6000 mAH battery that�s stocked up on juice and a clean, largely unmodified Android 4.2.2 experience, which hopefully should mean faster Android updates in the future. There�s the display, a 10.1 inch IPS LCD screen, which runs at a paltry 1280×800 pixel resolution � a bit of a letdown given how the Nexus 7 (and other tablets) have moved up to a full-HD screen earlier last year. It�s certainly something you cannot overlook in your daily use, even if you try. With the speakers, you get a reasonable stereo effect but the overall volume is just about average. The cameras are just about basic spec for this price point, and suffer from the same issue as most budget tablets � they perform well only in good outdoor lighting.
 
Much of the cuts that have been made to achieve the Adam II�s pricing would have been forgiven if the 1.5 GHz dual core Cortex A9 processor and the Mali 400 quad core graphics held up to the demands of everyday use, which it does but there�s a nagging tendency for the device to slow down to a standstill if you�re multitasking between various apps on the device. However, videos and games play well on the device, which means that better performance should theoretically be just a firmware fix away, should Notion Ink decide to do anything about it.
 
In the end, is the �Created with love by Notion Ink Design Labs in India� enough of a reason to pick the Adam II from amongst its �Assembled in China� brethren? There�s a lot Notion Ink has done right in its second coming, but not enough to earn an unqualified recommendation.
 
What we liked: Build quality, great connectivity/expansion options
What we didn�t: Lags in performance, average display
Killer Feature: That capacious batteryPrice: Rs 16,499 (WiFi only), Rs 18,999 (with 3G)Enjoy Guys! and don’t forget to post your comments. � MyTricksTime.com

Gionee has officially unveiled the Elife E7 in India starting Rs. 26,999. The Chinese handset maker has announced that the smartphone will hit the market by January 15. Gionee globally announced the Elife E7 in November this year, the successor to the Elife E6.

Gionee Elife E7 detailed specifications

Enjoy Guys! and don’t forget to post your comments. � MyTricksTime.com