Nokia Lumia 625 Review

Nokia has been busy with its Lumia range so far this year. Not only did it show off new devices in February at Mobile World Congress, but it has followed these with other ‘hero’ devices like the Lumia 925 and 1020.

While it’s no range-topper, The Next Web was keen to grab ten minutes hands-on time with the device to see if it could prove an enticing lure for wannabe 4G customers on a budget.

First off, the Lumia 625 is a slightly strange position in the range – it’s the largest handset so in some senses it sits ‘above’ better-specced flagship devices like the 925 or 1020, but sits below them in terms of price, and key specs – but in others it sits above the Lumia 525 (by virtue of being not quite as low-budget) and the 620.

Key features include a 4.7-inch (800 x 480 pixels) display, that, while it comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 2, lacks the sharpness and refinement of more expensive Lumia devices, but that’s to be expected – cutting back on a super-hi-res screen is a sure-fire way to cut down on manufacturing costs and make sure it comes in on budget for your target audience.

There’s also a 1.2GHz processor on board, coupled with just 512MB RAM and 8GB of internal storage. While the processor and RAM specs aren’t the most impressive we didn’t see any juddering or lag, but then again, we weren’t really given the opportunity to properly give it demanding tasks.

The device is, unsurprisingly, reminiscent of the Lumia range as a whole. For a start, it comes with a choice of a range of colors (we got our hands on a green and a black one) and if you get bored, you can just pop the back off and put on a different color instead. Popping off the rear shell also gives quick access to the microSD slot, which will accept cards up to 64GB.

Nokia also said the shells had a matte finish and are “semi-transparent” in order to help create the feeling and visual impression that the handset is smaller than it actually is; while this is good in theory – and it certainly didn’t feel like the monster that some other larger-screened devices can do – the semi-transparency effects were completely lost on me. It simply looked like a standard shell.

It’s obviously not quite as sleek as Nokia’s ‘hero’ devices, but it’s not too bulky either. Officially, it measures 133.25 x 72.25 x 9.15mm thick, and weighs in at 159 grams, which is much more noticeable than its overall size. Below, you can see it sized up next to an HTC One Mini, which also has a stated depth of 9.25mm. The Lumia 625 is on the left.

Software-wise, the Lumia 625 is in familiar territory with Windows Phone 8 (meaning it comes with Office and Microsoft’s other services like Bing out of the box) and includes most of Nokia’s software such as Here Maps, Here Drive Beta and Cinemagraph. It’ll also ship with other camera specific-features (it’s a 5-megapixel affair on the rear) but omits certain functionality, such as City Lens and LiveSight. There’s also no NFC on board, meaning no ‘Tap to Send’ either.

On an otherwise unremarkable device, not to say it’s bad, the possible saving grace for the Lumia 625 is its 4G LTE prowess, which makes it one of the cheapest ways to get your hands on a 4G handset, and certainly the cheapest Lumia with 4G to date.

Although specific retail pricing hasn’t been confirmed on a region-by-region basis the handset will cost around €220 before taxes, Nokia has confirmed.

It’s no show-stopper. The handset is a little chunkier and much heavier than I’d like, and the screen resolution is a little insufficient for someone that watches a lot of content on their phone. However, with a slightly larger chassis, solid essentials on the spec list and 4G connectivity to boot, the Lumia 625 is a more sound proposition for Nokia than anyone might at first think.

China lifting ban on sale of gaming consoles

Gamers in China can now rejoice. The country has officially announced   that it is lifting the ban on the sale of gaming consoles in the country. This is not only good news for many Chinese gamers, but also console-makers Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. The move comes as part of the recently-approved free-trade zone in Shanghai.

If you're wondering why consoles were banned in China in the first place, it's because moral guardians took the idea that "violent games = bad" to its logical extreme back in the year 2000. The country felt that the violent content of games could have negative effects on young children.

There is a catch to being able to sell consoles in China, however. Companies are required to set up operations in the aforementioned free-trade zone before they can start selling their consoles in Mainland China. The free-trade zone is set to open up on September 29.

The free-trade zone is supposedly an experiment by the Chinese government where it wants to test the waters for major financial and economic reforms. It is expected to be a lot like modern-day Hong Kong which, despite being in Chinese territory, has its own laws.

Microsoft has already taken the first step forward with the recently-announced entertainment-based joint venture between the company and Shanghai-based BesTV New Media. BesTV earlier revealed that it will hold a 51 percent share and Microsoft will have a 49 percent share in the joint venture, which is currently named E-Home Entertainment Development. The company formed through the joint venture will develop games and related services.

Android KitKat contest goes live in India, winners get Nexus 7 tablets

Those complaining about the Android KitKat contest limited to the US and some other countries can now rejoice. The Android KitKat is live in India and we can confirm that the special contest packs have reached stores. Google is giving away a Nexus 7 tablet every hour to winners and there are a total of 1000 tablets to be won. The contest runs till November 15, 2013.

The contest is limited to the dark and regular varieties of the candy bar. Thanks to the green Android robot on the pack, they are easily recognisable

The contest requires one to buy specific KitKat packages printed with the Android mascot. Each pack contains a special eight digit code which you have to SMS on 9880298802. Users will have to text – SMS KITKAT <space> <8 digit code>. You can also check the kitkat android  page. Unlike US, there is no option to directly key in the code on the company's website, and one will have to send an SMS. Upon sending the message, we were told that we would be contacted soon.

It was earlier this month that Google took everyone by surprise by announcing its latest Android 4.4 Kitkat  (earlier called Key Lime Pie) version earlier this month. To kick off the new partnership between the chocolate makers and Google, the new contest was announced. It is likely to be launched  next month, alongside the Nexus 5. The new Android KitKat version will reportedly also support older phones, bring fragmentation changes i.e. screen resizing, Miracast updates, new APIs regarding animations, a new Gallery visualisation and new notification widgets.

Champion and BSNL launch quad-core Trendy 531 phablet for Rs 13,999

Champion Computers and BSNL have together launched their new phablet dubbed Trendy 531. This BSNL-Champion phablet is priced at Rs 13,999. Both companies have entered a strategic alliance to introduce a range of new mobile computing devices including smartphones, tablets, dongles and wireless networking products. 

The new BSNL-Champion Trendy 531 sports a large 5.3-inch display, but the resolution is unknown. It is powered by a quad-core 1.2GHZ processor, coupled with 1GB RAM. Thsi one runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The phablet has dual-SIM support and includes a 3200 mAh battery. BSNL bundles 500MB of free 3G data per month for a period of one year.

Take a quick look at the specifications of the Trendy 531:

• 5.3-inch IPS display
• Dual SIM, 3G, Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth and GPS
• 13 megapixel rear auto-focus camera, 5 megapixel front-facing camera
• 4GB internal memory, expandable up to 32Gb via microSD card slot

Kapil Wadhwa, MD, Champion Computers Pvt. Ltd. said, “Our collaboration with BSNL celebrates the launch of the BSNL-Trendy 531 phablet in India, the market for which is at an inflection point. With people becoming familiar with technology and its applications, we promise our customers an excellent user experience with the latest technology at a great price.”

Google tweaks New Tab page on Chrome to help you search better

Google is on its way to make your search experience a lot faster and streamlined. If you use Google as your default search engine and Chrome to browse, you will now find a search bar when you open a new tab to help you search better and faster.

In a Google+ post  announcing this new feature, the Google Chrome team explained how speed was one of the core tenets of Chrome and therefore the need to come up with a way to make searching faster. The streamlined New Tab page will feature a search bar right above the speed-dial of pages that you frequently visit.

The good thing about this feature being rolled out is that Google has tried to reduce the amount of change for users. You will not need to compromise on the shortcut to access pages faster now. The speed search feature had been in test mode since last year, according to the chromium blog . It was most visible in the Developer or Beta installs of Chrome. Thanks to feedback from early users, Google has managed to tweak the New Tab search feature to work better. 

Most users would wonder what the point of a search bar in the new tab is, especially since you can use Chrome’s Omnibox to search on Google directly. Google says that the goal here is to “save people time by helping them search and navigate the Web faster.” 

These people are also in the minority since a huge chunk of users would simply open a new tab to type in “Google.com” in order to search for something. The search bar mimicking the Google home page on the new tab bar is sure to save a good few clicks and some time for users.

Company of Heroes 2 gets Case Blue DLC for Theater of War

Developer Relic Entertainment has released a new DLC for its World War 2-era strategy game Company of Heroes 2. The DLC, named Case Blue, is specifically for the Theater of War component of the game. It is available on Steam for $9.99, which roughly translates to Rs 627, and consists of both single player as well as co-op scenarios.

All of the new scenarios are based on real-life events from the German campaign on the Eastern Front of World War 2 in the summer of 1942. It has two solo challenges, two AI battles and one co-op scenario. The solo challenges are Tiger Ace and Destroy a Convoy, AI battles are Don River and Kharkov, and the co-op scenario is Voronezh.

Case Blue was earlier part of the Digital Collector's Edition and the Pre-Order Edition of Company of Heroes 2 before the game was launched. Thanks to this, those who missed out on the pre-orders can finally grab it from digital distribution platform Steam.

Theater of War is a mini-campaign of sorts that lets players experience a new single player story from events happening in different parts of the world concurrently to the events taking place in the actual single-player campaign.

The game is a sequel to the original Company of Heroes and has the same setting as that of the original – World War II. The original game was praised for its intensive action and a high requirement of tactics. The game quickly gained a lot of fans in the pro-gaming circuit. While it did have a single player campaign that had some of the biggest events of World War II, its multiplayer was undoubtedly the main pull of the game.

Apple updates iMac with Haswell chip, new GPUs, next generation Wi-Fi and more

Apple has updated its iMac line-up. The new revamped models now get fourth generation Intel quad-core processors, new graphics, next generation Wi-Fi and faster PCIe flash storage options. 

The entry-level 21.5-inch iMac will be powered by a 2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor and new Iris Pro graphics that come with Intel's new Haswell chips. The high-end 21.5-inch model and both 27-inch models will feature quad core Intel Core i5 processors up to 3.4GHz and Nvidia GeForce 700 series graphics with twice the video memory. Apple claims that it will offer up to 40 percent faster performance than the previous generation.

Moreover, those looking for ultimate performance can upgrade to quad core Intel Core i7 processors up to 3.5GHz and Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M series graphics with up to 4GB of video memory. Apple has also added support for next generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi to its updated iMac lineup. With the support “ac” draft, iMac claims to offer up to three times faster wireless performance compared to the previous generation.

The updated iMac series also supports PCIe-based flash storage that promises to make Fusion Drive and all-flash storage options up to 50 percent faster. The Fusion Drive option combines the large storage capacity of a hard drive with the high performance of flash to deliver shorter boot times and faster access to apps and files. Customers can also configure their iMac with a 1TB or 3TB Fusion Drive, and all-flash storage options are now available in configurations up to 1TB.

iMac comes standard with 8GB of memory and a 1TB hard drive, and customers can choose to configure their iMac with up to 32GB of memory and up to a 3TB hard drive. It also gets two Thunderbolt and four USB 3.0 ports for connecting to external storage and other high performance peripherals. It ships with OS X Mountain Lion, bringing access to iMessages, Notification Center, system-wide Sharing, AirPlay Mirroring, Dictation, Game Center and the enhanced security of Gatekeeper. 

The 21.5-inch iMac with a 2.7GHz quad core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.2 GHz and Intel Iris Pro is available for a suggested retail price of $1,299 (approx. Rs 81,500). With a 2.9GHz quad core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6 GHz and Nvidia GeForce GT 750M, it is available for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (approx. Rs 94,000). 

The 27-inch iMac is available with a 3.2GHz quad core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6GHz and Nvidia GeForce GTX 755M for a suggested retail price of $1,799 (approx Rs 1,12,860). The other variant with 3.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.8GHz and Nvidia GeForce GTX 775M is available for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (approx Rs 1,25,000).

The new iMac models are available starting today in the US through the Apple Online Store, Apple's retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. The company hasn't yet announced when these will make it to India.

Samsung working on smartphone with curved display

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said it will introduce a smartphone with a curved display in October, as the world's top handset maker seeks to set the pace of hardware innovation and maintain its supremacy in a fiercely competitive business.

Curved displays are an early stage in screen evolution which is shifting to bendable or foldable designs, eventually allowing mobile and wearable gadgets to take on new forms that could radically change the high-end smartphone market.

"We plan to introduce a smartphone with a curved display in South Korea in October," Samsung's mobile business head of strategic marketing D.J. Lee said on Wednesday at an event launching the Galaxy Note 3 smartphone in Seoul.

In January Samsung, which has taken over from Apple Inc as the global smartphone leader, showed off prototype products with a flexible screen and a display that extends from the side of a device. But technology firms have yet to figure out how to mass produce the parts cheaply and come up with display panels that can be as thin as a sheet and highly heat resistant.

Curved display is already commercially available in large-screen televisions. Samsung and its home rival LG Electronics Inc had started selling curved OLED TV sets this year priced at about $9,000.

Hasbro to sell toys based on kart-racing game Angry Birds Go

It looks like Rovio's milking the Angry Birds franchise for all it's got. The company is collaborating with toy-maker Hasbro for its upcoming kart-racing game Angry Birds Go. As part of the collaboration, hasbro  will be making and selling toys based on Go. These toys will be Jenga and Telepods tie-ins. Rumours point to Angry Birds Go having a release date of October 31. However, Rovio hasn't confirmed anything yet.

Hasbro will be making five Telepods products and four Jenga games. The company has revealed the approximate pricing and release date for all of these products. They are, the Pig Rock Raceway Telepods set, the Telepods Deluxe Multi-Pack, the Telepods Dual Launcher set, the Telepods Multi-Pack, the Telepods Kart Pack, the Pirate Pig Attack Jenga game, the Trophy Cup Challenge Jenga game, the Tower Knockdown Jenga game and the Rowdy Racers Jenga game. All of these are expected to hit stores in Fall 2013.

Telepods will be compatible with Angry Birds Go in a Skylander-esque fashion, where players can keep these figures on a specific stand to get extra in-game content. The Jenga games will also feature codes that give extra in-game content.

Just recently, Rovio released its latest bird-and-pig offering—Angry birds star wars 2—on iOS and Android devices. The game introduces characters from the prequel trilogy, with the main mascot this time around being Darth Maul of The Phantom Menace and double-bladed Lightsaber fame. Along with this, there are also other characters making a comeback, such as the ever-popular villain Darth Vader and the robotic Sith warrior General Grievous. The light side of the Force has characters such as Yoda, pod-racing Anakin and Mace Windu, among others.

The game costs Rs 55 on iOS and is free but ad-supported on Android

FIFA 14 out now for Android

The latest iteration of one of the most popular sports games in the world, FIFA, has made it to Android. The game, dubbed FIFA 14, is available for free on Google Play, and sustains itself through micro-transactions. The game has touchscreen-optimised controls for smartphones and tablets.

The micro-transactions featured in the game include an upgrade to a “full version”, which unlocks three extra game modes: Manager, Tournament and Kick Off. The changes, when compared to last year’s FIFA 13, are numerous. It features improved graphics, controls, and a better AI. It also has a ton of features, giving players access to 33 leagues, more than 600 teams and more than 16,000 players.

FIFA 13’s EA Sports Football Club Match Day makes a comeback too, which essentially syncs up your game to real-world football, updating the roster with new transfers and injuries where applicable. The game soundtrack includes songs by artists such as Empire of the Sun and Vampire Weekend.

However, EA seems to be doing a staggered launch of the game. It isn’t available in every country just yet, and even with our Galaxy S3, Google Play says that the game is incompatible with our devices.

The decision to make it free-to-play undoubtedly comes hot on the heels of the success of Real Racing 3 and Plants vs Zombies 2, which were launched on mobile platforms earlier this year. Both games, being free, offer microtransactions where players can pay real money to get in-game items and boosts.

FIFA 14 is hitting PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable on September 27.

Angry Birds Star Wars 2 out now on iOS and Android

Rovio has released the newest game in its ever-popular Angry Birds franchise. The game is a sequel to the movie tie-in game Angry Birds Star Wars. Unceremoniously named Angry Birds Star Wars 2, the game introduces characters from the prequel trilogy, with the main mascot this time around being Darth Maul of The Phantom Menace and double-bladed Lightsaber fame.

Along with this, there are also other characters making a comeback, such as the ever-popular villain Darth Vader and the robotic Sith warrior General Grievous. The light side of the Force has characters such as Yoda, pod-racing Anakin and Mace Windu, among others.

There is also a major new game mechanic this time around—Telepods. These are essentially a hardware peripheral which work a lot like the stand in Skylanders. You can put an Angry Birds Star Wars Telepods figure on the peripheral, after which, the character will show up as a playable one in-game. The game also features levels from the Pork Side of the Force, along with a bonus reward chapter and a few unlockable achievements.

The game is available for both Android and iOS. Android gamers can get an ad-supported version of the game for free. iOS users will have to shell out Rs 55 for the game, but it won't have ads of any kind. Previous games in the series, including the original Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons, Angry Birds Star Wars and Angry Birds Space, are available on every platform under the sun, including the likes of Android, iOS, PlayStation 3 and PC.

LG Vu 3 announced; 5.2-inch display, Snapdragon 800 processor

LG has now officially announced the Vu 3, the company’s latest addition to the Vu series. A series of leak  had hinted at quite a few of the smartphone’s specifications, but now we have gotten our hands on the official list of what all the device comes packing. Like its predecessors, the Vu 3 comes with an aspect ratio of 4:3. 

The Vu 3 comes with a 5.2-inch HD+IPS display, a pixel resolution of 1280 x 960 and a pixel density of 307ppi. Internally, the smartphone runs on Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) and is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 800 SoC with four Krait 400 CPU cores and Adreno 330 GPU as well as 2GB of RAM. Photography-wise, the smartphone comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera with an LED flash packed in as well as a 2.1-megapixel front shooter. There is no word yet on whether the camera comes with image stabilisation, though. 

The company has said that while the phone comes with a larger display, the size of the new model will be just 0.2 inches larger than its predecessors. LG has also packed in a Rubberdium stylus pen with the Vu 3. The Notebook feature in the new smartphone has also been tweaked, with different inputs like acrylic paint, charcoal and up to eight different drawing tool options now being supported. The Vu 3 has picked up a few things from the company’s earlier launch, the G2, with features like Knock On (waking up the device by double-tapping the screen), Guest Link and QLink (send notifications between the device and a tablet) also being seen.

The Vu 3 also comes with QuickView covers, which are translucent with the screen content shining through. This is a bit different from the covers seen for the LG G2 that feature a simple window. The new cover lets users pick from seven different themes and shows the time, date, currency, messages and notifications. The smartphone also supports LTE-Advanced with speeds of up to 150Mbps as well as TDMB support in Korea. There is still no word on the memory variant and the battery being offered in the Vu 3. The company has said that the Vu 3 will begin to roll out in Korea from September 27 through all major carriers. There is still no word on the price tag that that new smartphone will come sporting or when it will begin rolling out in other parts of the world. 

Here’s a quick look at the specifications of the LG Vu 3:

• 5.2-inch HD+ IPS display with 1280 x 960 pixel resolution, 307 ppi pixel density, 4:3 aspect ratio
• 4G LTE / 3G HSPA+ 42Mbps, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, 
• Bluetooth 4.0, GPS / aGPS
• 13-megapixel 1080p rear camera with LED Flash, 30fps video recording, 2.1-megapixel front camera

Moto X: A specifications review

Motorola’s big union with Google has resulted in Moto X, a phone that looks to end the burgeoning specs war in Android and one that the company says will finally deliver a smart experience to mobile users. Why is Motorola making such tall claims and is there reason to be excited? Let’s break the Moto X down for a better picture.

OS – Nearly stock Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
In a way, the Moto X is the first smartphone produced by Google. No wonder the company is talking it up in the press so much. But what that also means is that users will be getting a largely customisation-free version of Android 4.2.2 (surprisingly, no 4.3).  And we say largely because there are some changes from stock Android but nothing as dramatic as Sense or TouchWiz or even Sony’s UI. In fact, the most obvious change is the way in which Moto X delivers notifications. A few pixels of the AMOLED display light up to indicate an incoming text or message and users can tap on them to enter the app directly or swipe them away and the display goes back to sleep. Motorola says this Active Display functionality helps in conserving battery life. The Camera app’s UI is also different from stock and can take pictures with just a tap and burst images with a tap-and-hold. So even though it may look and feel like stock, there’s a hint of Motorola in the OS. 

Cellular connectivity - LTE
Unfortunately for the rest of the world, the Moto X is a US-only affair right now. It does have Cat3 LTE (50 Mbps UL, 100 Mbps DL) support in addition to HSPA+ (42.2 Mbps DL and 5.76 Mbps UL) and EV-DO Rev. A for CDMA networks. So you are covered for all budgets and needs.

Display – 4.7-inch AMOLED, 720p resolution
While most Android manufacturers have moved to 1080p displays, Google and Motorola have remained steadfast on the 720p resolution while keeping the display a manageable size. The pixel density of around 312 PPI is still very good despite phones breaking past the 400 PPI number. The AMOLED display might seem a disappointment given the sunlight legibility of that particular panel, however early reports speak of a bright and vivid display where colours pop and it’s also said to have good viewing angles. 

Form factor – Go crazy with colours
At 129.3 x 65.3 x 10.4 mm, the Moto X is not the thinnest handset in the world, but its dimensions make it more manageable than the phablets and the near-tablets we are seeing these days. At a fraction over 5-inches tall, the height should not be an issue for most users and at just over 2.5 inches wide, it shouldn’t pose any real problems. The phone is certainly thicker than the iPhone or any of the 2013 Android flagships, but it seems to have a good balance on paper. 

The big USP of the Moto X from a consumer point of view is Moto Maker, which lets buyers personalise the phone with different colour options for the front, back, buttons and accents. You can choose between white and black for the front panel and a total of 18 colours for the back panel (from Cool, Neutral and Warm categories). Plus there are seven colour options for the side-mounted buttons and the ring around the camera lens

Design-wise, Google and Motorola have gone the elegant way. Unlike cold aluminium and metal or glossy plastic, the matte colour options for the back panels give off a warm vibe. The camera lens, the flash and the Motorola batwing logo are centred on the back, which has a curved cut-out that contrasts the otherwise straight lines. The end result is certainly pleasing to the eye. 

Wi-Fi – Cutting edge 
The wireless module of the Moto X has support for Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac. There’s dual-band and DLNA support as well as Wi-Fi hotspot, as is standard for Android phones. It doesn’t get much better than this when it comes to wireless connectivity. 

SoC - Qualcomm MSM8960Pro Snapdragon
This is technically the dual-core Snapdragon S4, which was seen in one of the HTC One S variants last year. The chipset consists of dual Krait cores clocked at 1.7GHz and the Adreno 320 GPU, in addition to two proprietary cores. Motorola has added two more processors for natural language processing and contextual computing. These cores handle the Moto X’s always-on voice recognition or ‘Touchless Controls’ and gesture controls. They also handle the low-power Active Display notification system. This is Motorola’s new X8 chipset, which is also in use in Verizon’s Motorola Droid phones. 

Internal storage – Buyers’ choice
Along with the colour and engraving options, buyers will be able to choose from two storage configurations for the Moto X. It’s either 16 or 32GB, but choose wisely as there is no microSD card slot.

Primary camera – 10.5-megapixel camera with Clear Pixel sensor
Motorola has been talking up the 10.5-megapixel Clear Pixel sensor of the Moto X’s camera. It’s an OmniVision OV10820 sensor, a 1/2.6-inch sensor with a video-friendly 16:9 aspect ratio and large 1.4-micron pixels. Motorola says this camera offers a much-improved low-light performance and this is thanks to a two-chip approach. The sensor captures RAW images using a sensitive RGBC (red / green / blue / clear) colour filter, and a secondary chip converts the resulting shots into the Bayer format that most imaging processors expect. The camera can record full HD video at 30fps and has HDR and panorama mode for stills. 

Front camera – Two-megapixel 
The 2-megapixel camera on the front of the Moto X is also capable of shooting 1080p videos, but it will most likely be helping you on Hangouts sessions, video calls and selfie sprees. For those tasks, it sounds more than adequate. 

Sensors – A few extras
Besides the usual accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, and the compass, Moto X has a barometer and a temperature gauge. We are not sure in what situations these two kick in, but it lends itself very well to the phone’s much-touted contextual awareness, where it can switch modes based on the user’s position (to car mode, for example, when you are driving).

NFC – But, of course    
Google has been pushing for NFC support for a long time now and there was no doubt that the Moto X will be getting this chip. NFC adoption is increasing at points-of-sale and it also ties in well with Google Wallet. 

Battery – Li-Ion 2200 mAh battery
Motorola says the phone will easily last 24 hours of regular usage. While we have our doubts about this, the relatively non-demanding hardware and the extra low-power processors should ideally not tax the battery too much. We’ll have to wait for the first real world numbers to see if Google and Motorola’s tall claims match up.

GPS – With GLONASS
Besides the usual GPS chip, GLONASS support is present along with Assisted GPS. Expect location lock times to be drastically lower thanks to the GLONASS support.

The bottom line
We can’t help but shake the feeling that the Moto X is more Google and less Motorola. That’s because the hardware approach, the design and the crazy colour options all fit the Google scheme of things. It’s definitely a great alternative to the Nexus 4 or last year’s Galaxy S3 and HTC One X. What’s great about the Moto X is that it brings new functionality (innovation in power management, voice and gesture controls, enhanced Google Now) without dumping a bunch of proprietary apps. This means the user experience does not suffer at the hands of bloatware. 

However, the fact that it’s only US-bound at the moment is an impediment. In our opinion, the lucrative price and the personalisation possibilities, make it a sleeper hit in Asia, but at the moment there’s no announcement of a possible Asia or even Europe launch.  

The Moto X is a breath of fresh air - perhaps, even a welcome change - in a market, which lays too much importance on hardware specs and less on the experience. It does not have the best octa-core processor or the largest, most dense display, but it champions good sense and adds a bit of fun while at it, and that’s a wonderful thing.

SAMSUNG SMART CAMERA NX1000

Reality never looked so real
20.3MP APS-C Sensor

Customised for the NX System, the brand-new, professional-grade, 20.3MP APS-C CMOS Sensor produces images that rival those of any premium DSLR. Each individual pixel has a large sensor area and receives more light, guaranteeing low noise levels, high dynamic range and accurate colour differentiation. The higher sensitivity allows you to shoot during low-light situations without graininess or other noise. The new sensor also provides Full HD video output capabilities.

Light as a feather,
yet powerful to the touch
Simple & Emotional Design

The camera is extremely portable and the perfect travel companion. The lightweight body also makes it easier to shoot stills or video for longer periods of time. The exterior of the NX1000 is just as impressive. The modern and sleek body adds another layer of elegance and sophistication to something that’s usually more functional than beautiful. The body of the NX1000 also available in three different colours, while the lenses are available in two. What’s more, the easy-to-use interface make using the NX1000 pure joy.

One-touch wireless
sharing
Wi-Fi (Smart Link)

Forget about bringing the right cable along. Built-in Wi-Fi lets you instantly share special moments with friends and family, even when you’re on the move. Upload photos to Facebook or email them directly from the NX1000 to your loved ones. A dedicated Smart Link hot key makes it easy to save photos you just took to any compatible smartphone, opening up even more sharing possibilities.

Discover the true beauty of HD video
1080p Full HD Stereo Movie Recording

Built with 1080 30p Full HD movie recording capabilities, the NX1000 transforms shooting video with a still camera into an art form. Choose from a wide range of viewing angles and zoom with confidence. The mirrorless CMOS image sensor offers precise auto focus even while you shoot. For a truly cinematic experience, the NX System has been fitted with an 18-200mm lens exclusively for Full HD video.

The simple way to go pro
Smart Auto 2.0

The NX1000’s Smart Auto 2.0 automatically analyses the shooting environment and then chooses the appropriate scene mode for the best possible results. Smart Auto 2.0 analyses key elements in the composition and automatically adjusts its 16 photo modes and 4 movie modes to capture the best shot.

A camera that’s quick on the draw
High Speed Capture

The NX1000’s High Speed Capture capabilities let you catch fleeting moments and fast-moving objects without requiring a separate sensor module. The NX System features an ultra-high-speed Auto Focus that can rival that of almost any system camera. Its all-new, advanced algorithm delivers faster and more accurate auto focus. The NX1000 can shoot at 8 frames per second for better continuous shooting.

Wide Range ISO for perfect exposure
Wide Range ISO (12800, 7 steps)

Wide Range ISO makes any lighting situation the perfect one. The ability to shoot as high as ISO 12800 at normal settings means that even in low light, you’ll get rich tonal gradations and true colours. You’ll also capture clear, crisp images of fast-moving objects.