Obi Worldphone offers discount for the upcoming Valentine’s Day

Obi Worldphone has announced discount of Rs 1400 on the purchase of Obi SF1 starting from 12th Feb till 14th Feb 2016. The device is available on Amazon.in and NDTV Gadgets 360. Priced at INR 11,999 for the 2GB variant and at INR 13,999 for the 3GB variant, the smartphone boasts a floating glass display.

Obi Worldphone, the former Apple CEO John Sculley-backed company, launched its flagship smartphone the Obi SF1 in India through an exclusive- tie up with Gadgets360, a NDTV venture.  Obi SF1 comes with 4G LTE and supports FDD B3 1800MHz and TDD B40 2300MHz bands.The smartphone comes with a 5-inch JDI In-Cell IPS full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) display offering a pixel density of 443ppi. 

It also comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 for screen protection. It runs Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with the Obi Lifespeed UI, and is powered by a 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (MSM8939) SoC clocked at 1.5GHz coupled with Adreno 405 GPU. The Obi SF1 supports expandable storage via microSD card (up to 64GB). It sports a 13MP AF with LED Flash and houses in a 3000mAh battery.

Vodafone 4G LTE services launched in Mumbai

Vodafone has announced the launch of its high speed 4G network in Mumbai. The roll-out will be completed across all parts of Mumbai after launching it in Kerala, Karnataka, Kolkata and Delhi & NCR. 

Built on the efficient 1800 MHz band, this will enable Vodafone 4G customers to access internet via mobile with speeds across a range of smart devices including Mobile Wi-Fi & dongles. Vodafone 4G services can be readily accessed from 4G enabled handsets offered by leading smartphone manufacturers available across the country. 

Vodafone 4G will significantly enhance the mobile internet experience for customers with faster download/upload of videos and music, seamless video chats and will also facilitate greater ease in using their favorite apps. Customers will also adore features like high definition video streaming, mobile gaming and two-way video calling. 

Vodafone 4G services will be present in 5 circles of Kerala, Karnataka, Mumbai, Delhi & NCR and Kolkata, which today contribute to 30% of industry revenues and close to 50% of Vodafone India data revenues. 

Vodafone’s customers from Mumbai will have special benefits of the 4G experience which includes:

• FREE upgrade to 4G for customers along with high-speed 4G SIM
• 100% extra data for Vodafone 4G RED customers for 1 month, similar offer for prepaid customers to be announced shortly
• Enjoy 3 months complimentary subscription to TV, Movies & Music on VODAFONE PLAY as part of your Vodafone 4G
• 100+ Live TV channels
• HOOQ, premium video-on-demand service with over 35,000 hours of Hollywood blockbusters and popular local programs 
• HUNGAMA PLAY, leading entertainment destination with over 7,500 movie titles 
• VODAFONE MUSIC, stream your favorite music from over 1.2Mn songs
• Array of Data Packs beginning from Rs. 26 to a bonanza pack of 20GB
• 4G Mobile Wi-Fi that supports connectivity for up to 10 devices
• Enhanced customer experience - immediate 4G SIM exchange at multiple touch points; Door-step delivery of postpaid 4G SIMs 
• Country first: 4G customers can avail 4G international roaming in UK, Germany, Romania, Spain and Netherlands with many more countries to be launched in coming weeks. 

Valentine’s Day Special: 9Apps-Uber tie up to take your love for a free ride

9Apps has tied up with Uber in India to give free rides services within 10 cities to celebrate the occasion of Valentine's Day. 100 couples across cities of Hyderabad, Nagpur, Vadodara, Guwahati, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Pune, Surat, Vishakhapatnam and Bhubaneswar will not just get free rides but also surprise gifts and free dinner vouchers when they book an Uber on the weekend leading upto the Valentine’s Day.

The contest will go live on 12th February 2016 at 4pm and will end on 13th February 2016 at 4PM.  9Apps will push out a New User Promo Code worth 1 free ride up to Rs.150 to all its users asking them to use the code and take a ride to qualify. The company has also launched the contest on its social media channels using #9AppsSurpriseLoveWithUber.
So, what are you waiting for? Hurry up.

Asus Xonar U7 Review: A good sound upgrade with driver issues

I was looking for an upgrade for my system from my onboard audio on my motherboard. Of course, anything is better than “onboard audio” most say and they are quite right unless you have really high-end motherboards with really good sound in them. No luck there for me, however I made a checklist of what I want from a new sound card.

- Good clean sound, not audiophile grade
- Good mic boost for gaming
- An analogue volume knob, I love those
- Portable so that I can attach to my laptop when needed, therefore internal cards are out

Surprisingly Asus Xonar U7 ticks all the above points and does a good job at it too.

Performance:
Asus Xonar U7 sports 192kHz/24-bit high-definition sound with a 114dB signal-to-analog ratio (SNR). This means that what you get is a clean sound, no distortions and not prone to line noise caused due to other powered components like CPU, GPU, rotating HDD’s etc especially since the card isn’t in the computer. Interestingly Asus is using two DAC’s (Digital to Analogue Converter), one from Cirrus Logic CS4398 for the headphones and Cirrus Logic CS4362 for the speaker out.

It's handsome little unit

What I liked particularly in the Xonar U7 is that it didn’t colour the sound at all. All the instruments sounded right and the muffled sound from onboard audio instantly cleared up. You’ll hear subtleties in music which you might have missed. This was tested with a good pair of Audio Technica ATH-M50s. Xonar U7’s can easily drive your cans between 32 or 64 ohm, those with 150 or 300 ohms headphones ought to look elsewhere, after all impressing audiophiles isn't aim of this soundcard.

One thing to note, those who’d like to hear crystal clear sound, audio cards that bring about that specific ‘snap’ to the sound, will be disappointed by the Xonar U7. If you are that class of audience, higher end audiophile DAC’s is the way to go for you.

Software:
Surprisingly, the volume didn’t sound as loud as I would’ve expected in spite of the high impedance setting. This brings me to software which is excellent and at the same time plain sucky in its implementation. More on both these points later.

Oh god, Asus Xonar U7’s old interface is down-right amateurish

Hell yeah, the new interface breathes new life

Asus has released brand new overhauled drivers which are much better than the previous design. You can find everything you want in one quick panel. There are very useful pre-set profiles to the left which can easily help with EQ as well as clear up voice if aren’t too eager to play around with the sliders and knobs.

Asus Xonar U7’s DTH suite Rocks!

Asus has also included DTH V4 suite (Dobly Digital Home Theatre) which is much better at enhancing the sound than the included Asus drivers. This does colour the sound depending on the setting, however the most important function I felt was the “Volume Leveler” which greatly enhanced the volume level, now I needed go to only till 50% max to comfortably listen to music while giving me enough room to handle movies with lower level volume.

While everything did improve no doubt from the base onboard audio, the one essential thing that really sucked was that Asus Xonar U7 mic doesn't work with steam. WHAT!!?? Steam is the best thing to happen to PC gaming and it doesn't work. The older drivers worked just fine with Steam, but the software interface sucked. After wasting many man hours on this, I realised if I reverted only to the older mic driver, I could use it with Steam while retaining the newer software. Yay! But then none of the mic enhancements worked….AARRGHHH! This honestly has to be the suckiest implementation by Asus and isn't something that anybody ought to be dealing with when buying a sound card of this grade, quality and price.

Would I recommend it?
Yes, definitely would. Overall you’ll love it, if not, you need an audiophile grade sound card, Xonar U7 isn’t aimed at you, or if you are a frustrated gamer that can’t team talk on Steam just because Asus hasn’t implemented it well. I’m seriously hoping Asus will fix this issue in its next software/driver upgrade.

Asus Xonar U7
Official site: https://www.asus.com/us/Sound-Cards/Xonar_U7/
Price – Rs. 6,300 (street price)

What You’ll Love:
- Good sound
- New vastly improved interface
- Small and compact
- Analog rotating volume knob

What You’ll Hate:
- Mic driver implementation has issues in Steam

By: Nikhil Rastogi

HTC slashes pricing of the Desire 626 Dual Sim smartphone

HTC has announced to reduce the pricing by Rs 1000 of the HTC Desire 626 Dual SIM, now costs you Rs 13,990. The HTC Desire 626 Dual SIM will be available IN Blue Lagoon and White Birch colour options. 

The device comes with high definition 5-inch high definition display. It is powered by the 1.7 GHz Octa-Core processor coupled with 2GB RAM. It sports a 13 megapixel BSI sensor main camera and 5MP front camera for selfies. 

It has a dual-SIM (both Nano sim) and comes with Android Lollipop out of the box. Interms of connectivity, it features bluetooth v4.1, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Micro-USB 2.0 and GPS. The handset houses a 2000mAh battery and weighs 135 grams.

OnePlus X smartphone starts at Rs.12,799

Overcart.com has now started sign-ups for the most popular smartphone in the series – the OnePlus X. The recently launched OnePlus X is now available in refurbished and unboxed for Rs. 12,799.

Overcart.com will host a flash-sale of 16GB, dual-sim smartphone OnePlus X on 15th February, Monday at 2pm onwards until the stock lasts. The registrations for the sale are now live at http://www.overcart.com/oneplusx. Customers can register in advance to receive updates leading up to the sale.

The smartphone comes with a 13 megapixel primary camera with advanced sensors. The OnePlus X is equipped with a 64 – bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with Oxygen OS based on Android 5.1. It features a 5 inch display which offers full HD resolution. The OnePlus X also supports expandable storage up to 128GB.

Panasonic launches P66 smartphone at Rs 7,990, features 5-inch display

Panasonic India has launched a budget smartphone, P66 which supports 21 Indian languages. It features a 5-inch HD IPS display and houses in a 3200mAh battery. 

It is powered by 1.3 GHz Quad Core processor coupled with 2GB RAM. and comes with Android Lollipop 5.1. It comes with 16GB internal memory and is expandable up to 32GB. The smartphone sports a 8MP LED-enabled rear camera and 5MP front camera. 

Interms of connectivity, it has Bluetooth, GPS, Dual SIM – 3G and 2G and Wi-Fi Hot Spot options. It is available in three colours – Electric Blue, Rose Gold, and Russet Brown and costs Rs. 7,990. The company is also providing a complimentary screen guard and back cover.