Xiaomi Mi 5 to Launch With MIUI 7 Based on Android 5.1 Lollipop

Xiaomi, the company often referred to as China's Apple, has teamed up with the Android Open Kang Project (popularly known as AOKP) for its MIUI 7 custom user interface based on Android 5.1 Lollipop.

The news was confirmed via AOKP's official blog that revealed both Xiaomi and Team Kang were working closely on MIUI 7, which will debut on the next flagship smartphone, the Mi 5. For the uninitiated, AOKP develops custom Android ROMs for smartphones and tablets, much like what Cyanogen does with CyanogenMod.

The blog said, "With all the pieces of the deal in place, I wish to announce that all Team Kang members are working with Xiaomi on a new and refreshed MIUI 7, which will be finally based on Android 5.1, and be coming on the Mi 5."

The company revealed that MIUI 7 is internally codenamed MiKangy, which will see a new take on the Android UI. It added that the new UI will include popular features from top ROMs such as CyanogenMod, ParanoidAndroid, Omni, and AOKP to "create an experience which completely submerges the user in his own world."

The ROM maker stresses that the upcoming UI of the Mi 5 will evolve with the user and after few months of usage, the UI of each Mi 5 handset will have personalised features.

According to the company, MarcLandis will lead the technical development of MIUI 7 aka MiKangy, while Zaphod will oversee the product development.

The ROM maker also claimed that the tie-up with Xiaomi won't affect the future of AOKP, discarding any acquisition rumours - if any.

Xiaomi earlier this week announced a price cut for the Mi 4, which ties-in well with the company's plans for the Mi 5 release expected this year.

The Xiaomi Mi 4 will retail at CNY 1,799 (approximately Rs. 18,000) for the 16GB variant down from the previous price tag of CNY 1,999 (approximately Rs. 20,000). While a 'lite' variant of the Xiaomi Mi 4 with 2GB of RAM instead of 3GB, will retail at CNY 1,699 (approximately Rs. 17,000) - a CNY 100 price cut from the earlier price of CNY 1,799. Notably, both the Mi 4 variants would be available at reduced priced starting April 8.

Hi guys If u like this post please leave a comment in comment box... comment box will top right of every post and bottom of every post. its useful for me give a better information.. check top of the blog there is menu bar in that go to comments i replied for u r comments because there is no direct option for reply for u r comments. if u want to give any suggestion in bottom of blog there is contact information option please leave a msgs with u r mail id sure i will get u.

Read More

Asus ZenFone 2 to Launch in India by Last Week of April

The Asus ZenFone 2 is set to launch in India by the last week of April, as per a company statement on Monday - in-line with an earlier statement by Asus Taiwan that'd tipped an April launch. The much-anticipated smartphone has several variants, including one with a 5-inch display and a few with 5.5-inch displays, and with memory up to 4GB of RAM.

The top-end Asus ZenFone 2 model (ZE551ML) with 64GB of built-in storage and 4GB of RAM was also recently revealed by the firm, with a price of TWD 9,990 (roughly Rs. 19,900).

Earlier this month, Asus Taiwan had revealed the pricing of all the models of the new ZenFone 2 series. The Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (4GB RAM, and 32GB storage) was priced at TWD 8,990 (approximately Rs. 18,000); the Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (2GB RAM) at TWD 6,990 (approximately Rs. 13,900); the Asus ZenFone 2 ZE550ML at TWD 5,990 (approximately Rs. 11,900), and the Asus ZenFone 2 ZE500CL priced at TWD 4,990 (approximately Rs. 9,900).

All variants of the Asus ZenFone 2 run the company's new ZenUI based on Google's Android 5.0 Lollipop, and feature Intel Atom SoCs. The Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (4GB) features a 64-bit 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3580 processor, while the 2GB of RAM model features a 1.8GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3560. The ZenFone 2 ZE550ML is also powered by the same Intel Atom Z3560 chipset. The basic ZenFone 2 ZE500CL model features a 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Atom Z2560 processor. All the versions support expandable storage via microSD card (up to 64GB).

Asus earlier this month also launched new smartphone accessories named ZenFlash and LolliFlash

Asus ZenFone 2

• KEY SPECS
• NEWS

Display

5.50-inch

Processor

2.3GHz

Front Camera

 5-megapixel

Resolution

 1080x1920 pixels

RAM

 4GB

OS

 Android 5.0

Storage

32GB

Rear Camera

13-megapixel

Battery capacity

3000mAh

Hi guys If u like this post please leave a comment in comment box... comment box will top right of every post and bottom of every post. its useful for me give a better information.. check top of the blog there is menu bar in that go to comments i replied for u r comments because there is no direct option for reply for u r comments. if u want to give any suggestion in bottom of blog there is contact information option please leave a msgs with u r mail id sure i will get u.

Read More

Going beyond basic Analytics: Making HR strategic

Going beyond basic Analytics: Making HR strategic

Advanced statistical modeling, data-based algorithms and analysis and its `predictive and prescriptive ability’ are hot requirements in the world of HR today.

Despite its process-driven approach HR has been largely dependent on the professional’s intuition. With increased focus on lowering the cost per employee, HR departments and consultancies are adopting a data driven analytics approach for greater accountability. Companies are increasingly relying on the strength this new data-based objectivity brings to businesses.

“The constant quest of `getting the right people for the right job at the best cost and time’ is getting more algorithm-based analytics,” says Yeshaswini Ramaswamy, e2e people solutions. “Corporates are looking to HR for a more strategic role in business operations. With this development the expectation today is to adopt a more data-based objectivity, a language that businesses understand, for the entire HR process.”

HR consultancies that have adopted this scientific method have been able to highlight the benefits of using data while making people decisions, thereby providing greater trackable objectivity. These processes are increasingly being incorporated by not just large MNCs and fast growing SMEs but even startups.

This data driven approach to HR management has given rise to a relatively new skill called HR analytics. Nearly 24 per cent organisations are seeking analytical skills while hiring HR personnel, according to a TimesJobs.com study.

HR analytics

Today, HR analytics is not just a simple head count or employee score or attrition data that HR was expected to do previously,” says Vishnu Sarja, HR head, Uniprof Technologies. “It is much more than simple tracking and evaluation that the HR departments were following previously.”

At the core of HR analytics lies data algorithms which are used today in making people decisions across an employee lifecycle. “HR analytics is a data driven approach that carefully analyses correlated data, which has been systematically collected through the employee’s work-cycle,” says Sarja. “A careful analysis of the data with suitable interpretation results in improved talent management decisions. Thus, it is not purely data management but effective interpretation of the available data.”

The HR community seems to be welcoming this new trend. “For quite some time now the HR community has been considered a core contributor to decisions directly impacting the company’s bottom-line. Now, with the ability to actually demonstrate the value-add that the various HR activities bring to the table, backed by data and analysis, the C-level are able to see the benefit that HR analytics brings to the top-line and the bottom-line,” says Ramaswamy.

HR analytics brings in a metrics approach which showcases aspects such as `efficiency-level analysis’ which also help in lowering the HR cost per employee. Several companies have taken this further and developed algorithms which are able to evaluate `efficiency metrics’ of employee engagement, satisfaction and retention.

“Extensive use of advanced statistical modeling and analysis enables `predictive analysis’, which goes a long way in providing information about employee requirement, satisfaction and retention. This, in turn, can be extended to provide prescriptive analytics which helps the management take preventive steps to address future employee issues,” says Sarja.

Hi guys If u like this post please leave a comment in comment box... comment box will top right of every post and bottom of every post. its useful for me give a better information.. check top of the blog there is menu bar in that go to comments i replied for u r comments because there is no direct option for reply for u r comments. if u want to give any suggestion in bottom of blog there is contact information option please leave a msgs with u r mail id sure i will get u.

Read More

Huawei Honor 6 review: High-end specs at affordable price

The year 2014 witnessed the rise of the 'value for money,' 'feature loaded' smartphone category from Chinese companies, once a domain of only domestic players. The big difference is that these phones are much better built; they don't just boast of 'high-end specifications' on paper, but also offer good performance.

Huawei, the Chinese network equipment and devices giant, is the latest entrant to the club. The company has now decided to keep its 'Honor' sub-brand for devices exclusively sold online. This allows companies like Huawei to reduce distribution and marketing costs and offer phones closer to their production price.

Honor 6 is the company's first phone to be sold exclusively on e-commerce website Flipkart. The phone ticks all the right checkboxes when it comes to hardware specifications and features. But we were keen to know if Honor 6 was worth its Rs 20,000 price tag despite very good specifications? Here is our review.

Build and design
Honor 6 doesn't really feature a path breaking design. The phone reminded us of the iPhone 4S with its straight lines, rounded corners, almost flat edges and glass finish back. The design pattern on the back is similar to the one found on the Nexus 4 and Panasonic Eluga U.



The phone feels solid thanks to its unibody design but the glass back felt slippery making the phone susceptible to drops. It would be ideal to use a back case with the phone to enhance grip.

The front is dominated by a 5-inch display, part of a glass panel that also houses a chrome earpiece, sensor array and the front camera. There are no physical buttons at the front.

The three edges of the phone (top, right and left) sport a metallic looking frame. The right edge features the volume rocker key, power key and a flap that hides the micro-sim and microSD card slots. The 3.5mm headset port sits at the top along with an Infrared port, while the micro-USB port is at the bottom.

As mentioned, the glass back has a dotted texture and also holds the rear camera and dual-LED flash, along with a chrome speaker grill. There's some minimalist 'Honor' branding at the back as well.



Overall, the phone is well constructed but there's not much innovation from Huawei, when it comes to design.

Display
Huawei Honor 6 sports a 5-inch Full HD (1080p, 441ppi, 16:9) in-cell display manufactured by JDI. The display is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and a fingerprint resistant coating. We did observe that the phone's display was less prone to smudging.

Text and pictures appeared crisp and sharp and the viewing angles were pretty good. Sunlight legibility was also decent. Touch sensitivity was also great and the screen was extremely responsive. You can turn on the glove mode for increased sensitivity.

We were impressed with the display's brightness and colour rendering. The phone offers a control for colour temperature in addition to brightness.

Software
Huawei Honor 6 runs Android 4.4 with the company's Emotion UI skin version 2.3. The software looks totally different from stock version of Android. The UI also includes on-screen navigation buttons.

The phone's default UI is devoid of an app drawer and app icons and widgets are spread across the home screens. The unified home screen-app launcher style may come across as user-friendly to people who have not used an Android phone before. But it will take some time to get used to if you have already been using an Android smartphone. You can of course download and install an alternate launcher.



The phone also comes with three themes each of which comes with a different set of icons, wallpapers, font style, sounds, and lock screen styles. There's no way to download or install new themes but existing ones can be customized. The themes and skins are not as good as those made for MiUI.

The software does not include any stock Android app and everything including the Gallery, Music, Calculator, Calendar and Email apps are built by Huawei's software team. The apps look beautiful and offer additional value added features.

In addition to the regular UI, the phone also offers a 'simple' Home screen style that features a minimalist tiles-like interface with bigger app icons and menus. This mode is useful for senior citizens and users who don't like the default navigation structure.



The Honor 6 also offers motion gestures such as flip to mute, pick up to reduce ringer volume, and shake to arrange icons, among others. It features a suspend button, which, when enabled can float anywhere on the screen. It houses navigation buttons, a button to lock the screen, another one to clear the cache and one to launch widget-like mini apps for taking notes, messaging, calculator, calendar, and music. Unlike floating apps of Samsung or Sony phones you can only open one at a time on this phone.

The software has built-in security features including a Harassment filter for blocking unwanted calls and messages. You can even choose if you want a particular app to work and connect only when you're connected to the internet via Wi-Fi (or only on 3G.) There's a Notification manager that gives you granular control over notifications, a Phone accelerator and storage cleaner for memory optimization, and power saving and do not disturb modes. The phone doesn't come preloaded with bloatware.

Overall, Huawei Honor 6 offers value added features through the customised Android software allowing a greater level of customization and control.

Camera

Huawei Honor 6 sports a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front-facing camera. The rear camera comes with Sony's stacked BSI sensor, F2.0 aperture, 28mm wide lens, hardware-based HDR, and dual LED flash.



The phone features Huawei's own camera app that offers settings for all optical attributes, HDR, Panorama and Timer modes, among others.



Images captured by the camera in daylight turned out well with decent level of detail, accurate colour reproduction and good contrast. Images shot in low-light were also good but a little grainy. The HDR mode was hit or miss and a lot of times pictures were overexposed.

The front camera also shoots good quality selfies and the phone offers all the tools to make you look as good looking as possible.

The phone is capable of recording 1080p videos and we found the videos shot with the phone to be decent, especially for casual use. Don't expect high-quality videos as the phone lacks optical image stabilization resulting in shake being apparent. It does include electronic image stabilization but turning that on reduces the quality of videos.

Hardware & performance
Huawei Honor 6 is powered by a powered by a 1.7GHz Huawei Kirin 920 chip that has an octa-core processor and 3GB RAM. The chip uses big.LITTLE architecture to optimize power usage by efficiently distributing tasks among low power and high power cores. The phone has 16GB of internal storage and you can use microSD cards of up to 64GB to store multimedia.

Thanks to all the power under the hood, the phone is extremely responsive and snappy even though the Emotion UI software can get heavy on animations and transition effects.



We did not experience any lag whatsoever while navigating through the home screen and menus, launching apps and switching between them. Scrolling was smooth and the phone was able to play full HD video files without any problems.

In synthetic benchmarks, the phone scored 39,409 in Antutu, 11,532 in Quadrant and 58.2 in Nenamark 2 benchmark tests. Some of these scores are much better than the Nexus 5 and Xiaomi Mi3. However, we do not recommend a phone based solely on benchmarks as real world performance is different at times.

Of the 16GB internal storage, about 13GB is available to the user.

The phone offers Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS connectivity options but misses out on NFC and support for Band 40 4G LTE which has been deployed in India. Interestingly, the phone has an Infrared blaster but sadly there's no accompanying software to utilise the feature.

Huawei Honor 6 offers good call quality and signal reception and we did not encounter issues while making calls even in areas where cell signal is relatively weaker. The phone was able to lock to GPS without any hiccups.

It also offers FM radio. We were able to play most popular video and audio file formats.

The external speaker outlet on the phone, located at the back, offers loud sound output but is not stereo. Also, sound gets muffled when the phone is placed on a soft surface.

The phone is backed by a 3,000mAh battery (non-removable) and will last you a full working day (11-12 hours) if you put the screen brightness at the highest level and use 3G data all the time. You'll be able to make about 1-2 hours of phone calls, play some casual games and browse the web in this time period. Your mileage may vary with different usage pattern.

Gaming
We were able to play games like Subway Surfers, Temple Run 2, Banana Kong, Asphalt 8 and Dead Trigger without encountering frame drops or freezes. The phone also did not heat up even after playing games for longer durations.

Verdict
Huawei Honor 6 makes it to the list of contenders running for the throne of the best 'value for money' smartphone. At Rs 19,999, the phone packs in some powerful hardware, great performance, good battery backup and a decent camera. The design is a bit underwhelming but doesn't come in the way of easy access and use.



There are not many alternatives that offer a similar package of top-end specs at this price right now. However, we're expecting the OnePlus One and Xiaomi Mi4 to be priced close to Rs 20,000, when these arrive in India, later this year. The Lenovo Vibe X2, also priced at Rs 20,000, could be another very good alternative but you should wait for our review of Vibe X2 before making a decision.

Hi guys If u like this post please leave a comment in comment box... comment box will top right of every post and bottom of every post. its useful for me give a better information.. check top of the blog there is menu bar in that go to comments i replied for u r comments because there is no direct option for reply for u r comments. if u want to give any suggestion in bottom of blog there is contact information option please leave a msgs with u r mail id sure i will get u.

Read More

Micromax YU Yureka review

Micromax recently unveiled Yureka, its first budget smartphone to be powered by Cyanogen's software under a new sub-brand that it calls YU. Besides running the developer-friendly flavour of Android, known for its customization capabilities, the phone also boasts of the latest hardware and 4G connectivity.

At Rs 8,999, it is one of the most competitively priced smartphones available in the India market. But does it really live up to all the hype surrounding it? We try to find out in our review...

Build & design

At first glance, the Yureka smartphone doesn't look very different from other Micromax budget devices, complete with a glossy, black plastic front panel and capacitive touch keys. The corners are pronouncedly rounded while the edges are flat. Although it falls in phablet territory, the Yureka doesn't feel humongous.




The phone has a removable back panel that has slightly rounded edges and a soft matte finish. Micromax refers to the finish as 'Moonstone Grey' and it does remind us of the OnePlus One although the similarity is more in the grey colour than in texture. The power key is placed at the right edge while the volume rocker sits at the left side. The keys are made of plastic and offer decent tactile feedback.

The 13MP rear camera and LED flash are placed at the back towards the left side and don't protrude out. You'll also find some YU branding (the only bit) and a speaker grill at the back. removing the back cover reveals the battery compartment, two micro-sim card slots and a microSD card slot.

For a phone priced at Rs 8,999, the YU is a decently built device.

Display

Yureka features a 5.5-inch IPS display with HD (720x1280p) resolution. Unlike OnePlus One, the panel is not full-HD and this implies that the number of pixels per inch are less.

We noticed some distortion due to lower pixel density and also found colours to be a little over saturated. The display's colour temperature is on the cooler side resulting in a blue tint. Switching from a OnePlus One, we found the tint to be intimidating resulting in whites looking blue and colours not looking very accurate.



The display is also reflective resulting in slightly less optimum under-sun legibility. We also found that colours appeared slightly different as you change the viewing angle. The display has Gorilla Glass 3 to protect against scratches and an oleophobic coating to prevent smudging.

Touch response was good though. Overall, we feel that Micromax could have used a better display panel.

Software

Micromax YU Yureka runs Cyanogen OS 11 a custom aftermarket version of Android (version 4.4 KitKat) developed by Cyanogen. CyanogenMod, Cyanogen's Android ROM, is known for its customizability, enhanced performance and additional security and privacy features.

The look and feel is very close to stock Android barring a few UI elements, although customization is possible via themes. The default theme has been tweaked a bit and the icons looked different from the OnePlus One which also runs the same OS.

The default theme features the usual lock screen, home screen and app launcher navigation structure. Long tapping on an empty space on the home screen launches a pull-up settings menu that lets you customize the home screen, app drawer and app icons. You can choose the scrolling effect, app shortcuts sorting mode, and icon size among other settings, and customize it. You can also hide app icons in case you don't want someone to see the apps you're using.

The software offers a high level of customization and lets you tweak the lock screen, status bar and notifications panel as per your liking. You can choose to enable direct access to the quick settings panel by pulling the right edge.

There's a dual-view notification tray with the first panel featuring notifications and a quick access ribbon with toggles for select settings and the second one offering the quick settings panel. It also offers pop-up notifications.

You can also choose between on-screen navigation buttons and hardware navigation buttons, and programme hardware buttons to perform different actions. For instance, you can make the Home button the call answer key or make the volume rocker keys wake up the device.

This is just the tip of the iceberg and the phone offers customization at every level thanks to the OS.

CyanogenMod also offers advanced privacy and security features including Privacy Guard through which you can prevent apps from accessing your personal data. There's also support for secure messaging through WhisperPush encrypted SMS.However, these messages are supported between devices running Cyanogen and devices that are TextSecure compatible. The Phone app also allows you to block and blacklist phone numbers.

CyanogenMod also offers a Themes app that lets users browse through, download and apply themes. Themes change the complete look and feel of the phone including the UI style, navigation bars, icons, fonts, boot animation and sounds.

YU Yureka also lets you sync app and game data through the Baton app but we were not able to use the service and it just returned a 'could not connect to server' error message.

The other native apps include a File Manager, a Gallery app, Sound recorder and a Screencast app. The Gallery app automatically organizes local and cloud-stored photos arranging them by time (Moments), occasion (Albums) and type (Media). The phone also includes all Google apps.

The phone's software features AudioFX app that offers equaliser presets for the phone's speaker, headset, Bluetooth output and Wireless output. It also offers a custom equalizer setting and additional settings for Bass boost, Surround sound and reverb.

Camera

YU Yureka features a 13MP rear camera (f2.2 aperture, capable of 1080p video capture) with Sony EXMOR CMOS sensor and a 5MP front camera with 71 degree field of view. The phone can also shoot slow-motion videos as 60 frames per second and a future software update will make it capable of shooting slow motion video at 120 frames per second.



Yu comes with the CyanogenMod Camera app that offers granular settings for controls including size, quality, shutter speed, focus duration, focus mode, and ISO, among others. Vertical swipes change the scene mode while horizontal swipes lets you browse pictures and videos shot with the phone. The app offers Panorama, Burst and HDR modes.



The quality of images captured outdoors, in daylight was satisfactory with good level of detail, accurate colour reproduction, little noise and good contrast.

Low-light shots were not as good and had considerable amount of noise, especially under 100% zoom.

The front camera captures good quality selfies and the Beauty mode really enhances them. It's also good for voice chats.

Performance

YU Yureka sports the latest internals and is one of the cheapest devices to offer 4G connectivity and a chip based on 64 bit architecture.

The phone is powered by a 64 bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa core chip with 1.5GHz processor cores, Adreno 405 graphics and 2GB DDR3 RAM. We've seen the same chip in the recently launched Vivo X5Max phone. Qualcomm's latest chip supports dual-mode 4G LTE connectivity with support for both LTE TDD 2300MHz and LTE FDD 1800MHz bands covering most present and upcoming Indian 4G networks. We were not able to test 4G as our city doesn't have any LTE networks yet.

It's worth pointing out that the 64-bit architecture is not supported by Android 4.4, but Cyanogen and Micromax have promised that the phone will soon get the Android Lollipop update. Phones still need more memory to fully leverage 64-bit capabilities and 2GB would not really suffice.

Thanks to all the power under the hood, we did not notice any stutter or lag while launching and switching between apps, editing photos, browsing the web, clicking pictures, watching high definition videos or playing graphics-heavy games.

In terms of synthetic benchmarks, it scored 16,914 in Quadrant Standard, 30,883 in AnTuTu, 2007 in Geekbench 3 (Multi-core) and 55 in NenaMark 2. The benchmark scores are comparable to that of Xiaomi Redmi Note 3G. We don't endorse benchmark tests and do not recommend a phone based solely on benchmarks as real world performance is different at times.

We were able to play videos of popular file formats without any hiccups.

Call quality was average but at times the other party complained of lower loudness levels. The phone works well even in weak signal areas and we did not face any network-related issue. It comes with GPS and A-GPS for navigation and maps and was easily able to lock a signal.



YU offers dual-sim functionality but doesn't allow you to forward calls from one line to the other. This means it won't notify you and forward calls when you get a call on the other line.

The sound output through the phone's speaker outlet was decent, however, the sound quality was not great. Also, sound gets muffled when the phone is placed on a soft surface.

YU comes with a 2500mAh battery and the results were mixed, especially if you turn on full brightness and keep 3G data on.

With moderate to high usage, including about one to two hours of making calls, playing games, clicking some pictures, listening to music and browsing the web, the phone will last you a full working day (11 to 12 hours with 1-2 hours screen on time) even if you put the screen brightness at the maximum level and keep 3G turned on.

If you switch to auto brightness the backup goes up considerably.

Gaming

We played games like Looney Tunes Dash, Leo's Fortune, Riptide GP2 and Asphalt 8 (with Visual Quality set to High and Engine at 100%) without encountering frame drops or freezes.



Verdict

It's difficult not to recommend the Yureka if you're looking for a premium smartphone and don't want to spend much. It's certainly the best smartphone available for less than Rs 10,000 especially considering that it also supports 4G connectivity.

The build quality and display are not top notch but the performance offered by the phone is superior compared to other phones in the price segment. Of course, availability is difficult due to the flash sales model but if you can get your hands on one, the Yureka is a great buy.

Hi guys If u like this post please leave a comment in comment box... comment box will top right of every post and bottom of every post. its useful for me give a better information.. check top of the blog there is menu bar in that go to comments i replied for u r comments because there is no direct option for reply for u r comments. if u want to give any suggestion in bottom of blog there is contact information option please leave a msgs with u r mail id sure i will get u.

Read More

Gionee Elife S5.1 review: The affordable beauty

Thin is in, and everyone's trying to do it. Samsung recently unveiled its thinnest smartphone, while Vivo and Oppo are breaking the boundaries with smartphones measuring less than 5mm! With companies one upping each other in terms of slimmest smartphones so quickly, it is easy to forget that Gionee smartphones have held the title of being the thinnest models in the market twice in 2014 itself.

Gionee, a Chinese brand, recently launched the Elife 5.1 smartphone in India. It is the thinnest model in the company's portfolio, measuring 5.1mm and is the only affordable ultra-thin phone you can buy in India today. We review the Gionee Elife S5.1 to find out if it is only about the thin body or there's something more to it...

Design
If you want a great looking smartphone under Rs 20,000, look no further. Gionee Elife S5.1 is easily the most beautiful affordable smartphone you can find in the market today, even beating the layered Lenovo Vibe X2, which has a unique look of its own. The smartphone uses premium materials like glass and metal, with no hint of cheap plastic. The edges are more curved than chamefered, so there is very little chance of chipping.



On an individual level, it is easy to mistake the Gionee Elife S5.1 for iPhone 6, as it shares much of its looks with the latest Apple smartphone. The gold coloured version of the Gionee model is strikingly similar to the new iPhone as the edges emulate the new Apple design to a surprising degree, down to the white coloured plastic inserts. On the other hand, the rear panel of the Gionee smartphone, covered by glass, resembles the design language introduced by Sony two years ago with Xperia Z. The glass on the front and the back are protected by Gorilla Glass 3.

But it's not just the design that wins it accolades, as Gionee Elife S5.1's overall profile is worth talking about. At less than 100grams, it is the lightest smartphone in the market; it is lighter than any iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or any other model you can find today. Holding it in the hand is a delight! It's practically weightless compared to other smartphones in the market today. And, of course, it's just 5.1mm thick.



Overall, Gionee Elife S5.1 is certainly a looker, and this was validated by the number of enquiries we received about it not only in the office but also in public places. The number of people asking us about the smartphone beats the enquiries we usually receive for any other smartphone by miles.

Display



Gionee Elife S5.1 has a 5-inch HD (720x1280p) display, with slightly over 300 pixels per inch. Now, this is not pixel density or even what Lenovo Vibe X2 and Huawei Honor 6 offer, but the colour saturation is able to mask over any potential pixilation and we were able to enjoy movies on the phone without a hitch.

The display uses an AMOLED panel, meaning saturated colours but without any hint of oversaturation; however, you cannot change the colour temperature. The viewing angles and brightness levels are as good as you will get on any smartphone at this price range. The text and videos appear sharp,

Frankly, there is nothing to not like about Gionee Elife S5.1's screen, as it easily matches what the best phones under Rs 20,000 offer.

Hardware
Gionee Elife S5.1 is powered by a 1.7GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6592 processor and comes with 16GB storage; in order to keep the phone thin and light, Gionee has scrapped the microSD card slot, so you don't have the option of storage expansion. The phone has 1GB RAM and 2,050mAh, 8MP rear camera and 5MP selfie shooter, along with the usual connectivity options (2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, microUSB 2.0 and Bluetooth 4.0).

Software
The software of Gionee Elife S5.1 still needs some work before it can be called perfect. The Android 4.4 (KitKat)-based Amigo 2.0 skin is way, way different from Google's stock software. You don't have an app drawer and all apps by default are downloaded on the homescreens, something we have seen in a few other smartphones as well. There are three pre-loaded themes and a large number of pre-installed apps; you can uninstall the apps and download more themes.

The main problem we encountered with Gionee Elife S5.1's software is with the task switcher, which appears when you long press the Options button below the screen. If you are operating an app and want to switch to another by long-pressing Options key, the phone won't let you. Instead, you press the Home key first (which takes you to the homescreen) and then long-press the Options key. It is a cumbersome process that needs to be fixed as soon as possible, as it hampers the user experience.

The notification panel has a whole screen dedicated to toggles (accessed by a swipe to the left once the notifications appear). All your usual toggles appear there, barring the flashlight. You can download a flashlight app of course, but you can't place it among the toggles. Then the one-touch button that lets you control the screen timeout is faulty. It gives three options: 15 seconds, 30 second and 1 minute, but it reverts to 15 seconds automatically even if you select either of the two other timeout options.

We also don't really like the fact that Gionee's Amigo 2.0 software changes the app icon, which takes away any app's default look and replaces it with the look designed for the theme use you are using on the phone.

Gionee Elife S5.1's software, despite all its faults, is still usable, even though it gets a little bit of getting used to.

In pics: Gionee Elife S5.1 smartphone

6 of 6

Though 1GB of RAM may seem insufficient, we observed no lag or jittery performance from the phone during our review period. The 2,050mAh battery may also be cause of some concern, but the phone delivers battery life of nearly a day on one charge with moderate usage.

Performance
When you are competing with the likes of Huawei Honor 6 and Lenovo Vibe X2, you better come all guns blazing. Well, Gionee Elfie S5.1 doesn't come strapped to the boot with the top hardware, but it does well enough to hold its own amid tough competition.

The Amigo 2.0 OS, despite needing polish, is pretty light and supports the octa-core processor and 1GB RAM so well that the smartphone does not lag at all, though closing apps that you don't much would help the performance. Sure, it's not the snappiest performers in this range, but it is easily among the faster ones. Spending over a week, we did not notice even a hint of lag even though 1GB RAM had us worried for a while (hey, Huawei Honor 6 has 3GB RAM at the same price).

The 2,050mAh battery was also a cause of concern for us when we started the review, but that also turned out be unfounded. Even with the screen at full brightness and 3G/Wi-Fi turned on, the software ensures that the battery is conserved as much as possible, and you can eke out a full day of battery life with moderate usage. It will last you 8-10 hours even if you stream videos a lot or use it actively for several hours.

Gionee Elife S5.1's multimedia performance is a mixed bag. You get a very good screen that offers great colours and no pixilation, but the loudspeaker audio dampens the experience a little. The audio is okay at best, never truly capturing the accurate tone; we also noticed some distortion at high volumes, which is pretty common in sub-Rs 20,000 smartphones.

The calling experience is good, with no dropped calls. It also latches on to the network signal so you can get at least 2G internet if accessing 3G is a problem in certain areas.

Though the smartphone comes with 16GB internal storage, nearly 6GB is reserved for system files, leaving you with approximately 10GB to store all your data as there is no provision for storage expansion.

Camera



The camera performance of Gionee Elife S5.1 is good. The colours and contrast levels are optimum, so you get nice looking photos, but you lose out on the finer details in many photos taken with this phone. This is due to the glazed look that appears when the phone tries to reduce noise, thus taking a toll on the overall image quality.

However, photos taken in areas with sufficient sunlight appear very, very good. Images shot in overcast wintery conditions also appear okay, such as the one below:



The default camera app is sufficiently well-stocked, but misses out on filters; for filters, you need to open the pre-loaded Charm Cam app.

Verdict
If you are looking for a smartphone that will turn heads, Gionee Elife S5.1 is the one for you. No questions about that. It is thin, it is light and it is beautiful.

But if you want more than that, you will have to look at the balance it offers. Gionee Elife S5.1 is a good performer, though not the best out there. Its battery life is surprisingly good and the camera quality is acceptable. The call quality is good and display is as good as it gets.

Do we recommend it? Yes. However, remember that Lenovo Vibe X2 edges past it on most counts due to better hardware.

Hi guys If u like this post please leave a comment in comment box... comment box will top right of every post and bottom of every post. its useful for me give a better information.. check top of the blog there is menu bar in that go to comments i replied for u r comments because there is no direct option for reply for u r comments. if u want to give any suggestion in bottom of blog there is contact information option please leave a msgs with u r mail id sure i will get u.

Read More