Today we found this great app known as Google Handwriting Input, which lets you type (or write) in any language, however regional or international.
What is Google Handwriting Input?
A couple of months ago, Google launched a new App, Google Handwriting Input.
‘Google Handwriting Input’ let users to write or scribble texts on the screen and converts it to text. Basically you can write instead of typing in your favourite language however regional or international it may be. It supports both printed and cursive writing input with or without any stylus. The best part it works offline too.
Why should one use this?
There are a lot of reasons, you may like this app, some of which are listed below –
It supports over 80 different languages in about 20 different scripts.
Emoji Support. It lets you draw any emoji, now no more searching for the perfect emoji.
Supports cursive writing too.
Works with or without stylus.
Works online as well as offline.
Typing text on a touchscreen is considered inconvenient by many.
If you just want to experience a new way to type on your phone.
Voice input is, not always available; neither it is available for regional dialects & languages.
It can help you improve your handwriting. 😉 I’m serious.
No more Auto-correct fails.
App Requirements
This app requires around 12MB of downloading for itself and additional download for the language you want to install. For e.g. downloading Hindi language required about 7.5MB. Other languages may require lower or higher data.
It is currently available for Android users only. It will work with Android 4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and above.
How to get and use this app?
Initial Setup –
You can download this app from the following link of Google Play Store.
Install the app. After installation launch the app.
You will see a pop-up of Google Privacy Policy. Tap OK to dismiss it.
Select ‘1 Enable Google Handwriting Input‘, it will redirect you to Language & input Settings. Enable Google Handwriting Input. A pop-up will appear to confirm enabling. Tap OK.
Select ‘3 Select Google Handwriting Input‘, a list of installed keyboards will appear. Select Google Handwriting Input.
Select ‘Configure languages‘, disable ‘Use system language‘, and select the languages you want to use among 82 different languages. I selected ‘Hindi‘. Go back.
Select ‘2 Download languages: xy.z MB‘, it will download your selected languages.
Optional steps –
You may enable ‘Help improve Google Handwriting Input‘ if you want to help Google by regularly uploading your usage statistics. I have disabled it to save my internet pack.
You can choose between 2 themes available for the keyboard, by tapping the ‘Dots on top right corner’ > Settings> Theme.
Adjust the recognition speed to match your writing speed in Settings > Auto Selection.
You can disable the Cloud button completely in Settings.
Using the App –
Globe button on the left of Space bar is used to toggle between Google Handwriting Input and any other installed Keyboard.
Cloud button is used to toggle between Online & Offline mode. Online mode is more accurate in handwriting recognition but requires internet.
Space bar. Holding the space bar toggles between different languages installed on device.
Backspace is used to delete the latest typed word.
Enter key is used to enter. It changes according to Go sometimes, like while in Google Search.
How does it work?
Let me be straight, I don’t know what those technologies mentioned in the next paragraph mean. But they surely make the app extra ordinarily accurate in identifying your handwriting and converting it to typed text.
By using techniques based on large-scale language modeling, robust multi-language OCR, and incorporating large-scale neural-networks and approximate nearest neighbor search for character classification, Google Handwriting Input supports languages that can be challenging to type on a virtual keyboard. For e.g. keyboards for ideographic languages (such as Chinese) are often based on a popular dialect of the language, but if a user isn’t familiar with that particular dialect, they may be hard to use.
Additionally, keyboards for complex vibrant scripts (of many South Asian languages) are less standardized and may be unfamiliar. Even for languages where virtual keyboards are more widely used (like English or Spanish), some users find handwriting to be more intuitive, faster, and generally more comfortable.
Today we are going to get our Android users some paid apps for free via an app called BlackMart Alpha.
Get paid apps for free in iOS 7 to iOS 10 without jailbreak. Read more...
Why a post on Downloading Paid Apps for free?
TechGlobule by no means is supporting or will ever support Piracy. We are with all our might against Piracy.
And the only reason we are showcasing BlackMart Alpha is to provide a way for users who are willing to pay for an app or game but want to try it first before paying their hard-earned money. Many of the times if not all, after buying an app, it seems unworthy of the money spent.
What is BlackMart Alpha?
BlackMart Alpha is an excellent substitute for the Google Play Store, because not only it can get you an app for free, but also it offers its market in multi-language selection which will attract any Android user of any country.
Features –
BlackMart Alpha also has the following features. that makes it easy to use :
Multilingual option for a global user experience.
Completely free, without the need for any payment methods.
It also offers apps that are not yet officially released in one’s country.
It also provides downloading of different versions of the same app.
It helps you update your apps before they are officially updated in your country.
How To Get BlackMart Alpha?
Download the latest version (as on date) of BlackMart Alpha from this link of BlackMart.us.
Go to Settings > Security > Unknown Sources. Make sure that Unknown Sources is checked.
Install the BlackMart App.
Launch the app, you will find a magnifying glass icon in the top right corner.
Tap on the icon, and type the app’s name you want.
Select the app you want to download from the search results.
Tap on Install, on the top right corner. You may be asked to one from 2 or more different versions of the same app.
Downloading will start. After downloading, it will ask you to install the app.
After installation of the app, enjoy.
Note – For bigger apps (usually more than 100MB), BlackMart Alpha will download the initial file (small-sized) and install it. When you will launch that app for the first time, it will download the rest.
Limitations
It will display some ads in between downloading and installing other apps.
Unlike Google Play Store, it fails to show compatible apps only, Thus, it is possible that you will not be able to run some of the apps you downloaded.
To prevent the second limitation, you can try to install a lower version of that app. And if needed, update the app from within.
Any app uploaded to BlackMart is instantly available for download without any moderation or testing. Thus, some of the apps may prove harmful to download.
Today, we are reviewing the Sherlock: The Network game based on the Sherlock series.
Sherlock Holmes
If you don’t know already, Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He is a London-based “consulting detective” whose abilities border on the fantastic, Holmes is known for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to adopt almost any disguise and his use of forensic science to solve difficult cases. Even the police forces and other national security forces approached him on cases where they stuck.
Holmes, first appeared in print in 1887, and was featured in 4 Novels and 56 Short stories. The events in the stories took place from about 1880 to 1914. Most of his stories were written in third person by Dr. John H. Watson, his friend, with an exception of 4 stories.
Take this quiz to find out which Sherlock Holmes are you? I'm Dr. Robert Downey Jr. (thanks for asking).
Sherlock
Sherlock is a British crime drama T.V. series and a contemporary adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes detective stories. Created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, it stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson. Nine episodes have been produced, the first three of which were broadcast in 2010. Series two was broadcast in 2012, and a third series was broadcast in 2014. The third series has become the UK’s most watched drama series since 2001. The iMDb ratings for the series are 9.3, in case you wanna watch the whole series like me. 🙂
Critical reception has been highly positive, with many reviews praising the quality of the writing, performances, and direction. Sherlock has been nominated for numerous awards including: BAFTAs, Emmys, and Golden Globe, winning several awards across a variety of categories. The show received the most number of wins at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards including Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special for Moffat, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for Cumberbatch, and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for Freeman. In addition, the show was also honoured with a Peabody Award in 2011.
Game’s Storyline
Become one of Sherlock’s trusted lieutenants by joining The Network (the homeless network). Immerse yourself in the world of Sherlock Holmes by joining The Network and helping him solve a series of new cases.
This official Sherlock app contains a lot of exclusive video and audio content featuring Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch), Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman), Mycroft Holmes (Mark Gratiss) and many other characters from the Sherlock series as well.
Along with above mentioned audio and video clips, it includes a lot of puzzling games, and an entire mystery for you and Sherlock to solve. Answer Sherlock’s messages to source and deliver information to him at 221B Baker Street. Navigate virtual London in search of information. Communicate with Sherlock and others in The Network. The more valuable you are, the higher you will rise in the ranks…
This app is currently available on Android and iDevices only. The game itself is free, and you can play & solve the first 2 cases without paying a cent. But the rest 9 cases, require an in-app purchase. But I assure you that the game is worth every penny.
Android users can download this app from Google Play Store or Amazon App Store. iPhone or iPod users can download it from this Apple App Store link, whereas iPad users can download the HD version of this app from this link.
If you want to buy the app in China, it is only available via the Tencent store for Android devices and Apple for iOS devices. This version is in Simplified Chinese.
Which devices are supported? What are the system requirements?
The app is supported on Appledevices running iOS 6 and above and on Android devices running Android 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and above. Note, the app is only available in English and Simplified Chinese.
The app will requires a considerable but justified amount of storage space, so make sure your device have enough space. Android devices need about 720MB of storage space for this app to work properly, whereas iDevice users need about 520MB of storage space.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have any further queries about the app, you can view the FAQ section of official website of this app.
Personal Experience
I, being an avid Sherlock Holmes fan, just loved this game, after watching the last episode of the Series which is, “His Last Vow“, I became a highly functioning sociopath with a dull routine (which means I was bored). Everything including my life started to seem slow and dull. Learning some tricks from Sherlock, I could easily guess like what my friends had for their breakfast but that didn’t gave me a purpose, I was just left with an option to wait for the Special episode which will come on Christmas, this year.
Then, I came across this very particular app, this is the best game of Sherlock ever made on a mobile device.
In the game, you play the role of a nameless member of Sherlock’s homeless network, newly inducted and just starting out on initially menial tasks set by the detective. You journey around London by foot, tube or taxi, the latter two options giving the first of the numerous mini-games that make up the structure of the app. The tube mini-game in particular is enjoyably challenging, I’m not giving any spoilers about the puzzle.
It not only exercises our brain with short games, like visual observation skills, taxi puzzles, or completing tubes, audio decryption or images, a bit of code breaking, but also every clue we find has some significance, and at the end, comes the most difficult part, Sherlock’s Mind Palace. The game also features some TV Trivia from the Sherlock series.
Mind Palace is a memorization technique which allows a person to remember every detail or fact he/she ever came across. In the Mind Palace, we have to use our own mind about which of the clues have some relationship and make sense. There is no hint. This is the best part of the game for me. If you are true fan, you will find the relation between clues in a couple of attempts, Or if you are Sherlock Holmes, you will complete the case in the first attempt only.
I would recommend this game to any fan of Sherlock Holmes, either his books or the Sherlock Series. Even those who haven’t heard of Sherlock Holmes, (which is a an unlikely scenario) should try this Detective game and exercise their mental skills and abilities.
Today, we will discuss how to upgrade your current Android version to Android Lollipop in Micromax Canvas 2 Colours.
Why Android Lollipop?
The reason I like Android Operating System are the increasing customizability options in the Android updates. It is also the reason I and many other users have to find some ways to get Android update when our device’s vendors are not in likely mood to do so.
Today, I am focussing light on a way to get Android 5.1.1 Lollipop in a Micromax Canvas 2 Colours. I’m showcasing this article on the request a lot of my readers who own Micromax C2C. Frankly speaking, the list of people who wanted to get Android 5.1.1 on their C2Cs included me too.
How to Update Micromax C2C to Android 5.1.1 Lollipop via CyanogenMod 12.1 Custom Firmware
About Custom ROM (CM 12.1)
First of all, I would like to specify that Custom ROM and Custom firmware are one of the same thing. Also I may refer Micromax Canvas 2 Colours as C2C.
Android 5.1.1 Lollipop is now available to install on Micromax C2C via the CyanogenMod 12.1, Custom ROM. This CyanogenMod 12.1 custom firmware is an unofficial release which is based on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop and comes with various new and different features and customization tools that resemble Android Open Source Project (AOSP) ROM. But as this update/firmware has been developed by third-party developers, and not officially released by Micromax, it is still in beta and there may be quite some bugs, and it is possible that maybe a feature or 2 will not work completely.
About the Developer
The developer behind this project goes by the name moonrotation and belongs to Spain. So far they have been able to get the video, audio, WiFi, and SIM slots, camera and many other things working perfectly fine. Sadly, the USSD for some networks, GPS is not working; which means some users (not all) will go through a problem with calling or using any location-based service. As the developer has been working on the build and is fixing bugs every now and then, I wouldn’t be surprised if those broken/buggy issues have been fixed by the time you are reading this.
How to Flash the ROM
Material Required –
A working PC.
SmartPhone Flash Tools (SP Flash Tools).
SP Flash Tools is created by MediaTek Inc. and is a trusted software.
The following link will download the latest version of SP Flash Tools as on date 21 May 2015. Download it!
Android USB Drivers
These are needed to operate the Android device via your PC.
The following link will help you download the latest version of ADB Drivers as on date 21 May 2015. Download it!
A ROM.
A ROM will be required to flash and bring back to device to life. But remember flashing a Stock ROM (that originally came with the phone) will also help in getting your phone’s guarantee back; whereas flashing a Custom ROM (any other ROM) has a lesser chance of getting your phone un-bricked and has nothing to do with its guarantee.
You’ll need to Flash Wiko Rainbow SP Flashable ROM, download it from this link.
Follow these steps to install the ROM –
SP Flash Tools
Charge your smart phone to approximately 50 percent or above battery level.
Switch it off and remove its battery, if possible.
Install SP Flash Tools and Android USB Drivers. Download them from above download links.
Extract the Flash Wiko Rainbow SP Flashable ROM from .zip file. Place the extracted folder to the desktop for ease of access. Download link is given above.
Open the Device manager in PC. Go to Start > Run > devmgmt.msc.
Connect your phone to PC through data cable.
In the device manager, a yellow line would have appeared after the phone got connected. MT65xx preloader.
Right click on it and click Update. Browse to Desktop and click Next. A red box will appear, press Continue Installation.
Open SP Flash tool folder and click on Flash_Tool.exe.
Browse to the scatter File MT65xx_Android_scatter_emmc_PMT.txt in the folder of that ROM, which was earlier placed on Desktop.
Make sure all the boxes are checked. Then press the Download button.
Then re – connect your mobile phone. You will notice some progress on the CPU screen in the form of blue and red colour.
After a while, you’ll get a Green circle.
Disconnect your phone. Plug in the battery and switch it on.
Now follow these steps –
Download CyanogenMod 12.1 from the given download link.
Place that downloaded zip in your SD card.
Switch off your phone.
Press Power button + Volume up button + Volume Down button simultaneously to enter recovery mode.
Wait for the buzz (vibration) and release those buttons.
Then press Volume Up button, you will see an interface after that click on “install zip”.
Then select “choose zip from SD card ” if your downloaded zip is in internal SD or “choose zip from SD card if your downloaded zip is in external SD.
Browse to your cyanogenmod-unofficial***.zip click on it then click Yes.
You’ll see “installing update”, wait till it completes.
After installation, reboot device, it may take up to 10 minutes to boot. There’s nothing to panic.
It will boot up with CyanogenMod 12.1, which is based on Lollipop 5.1.1.
Screenshots Gallery
If you really liked my post, you can buy me a pint of beer, here, along with other good stuff.
That’s all folks.
Original Thread – xda-developers.com.
Image source – xda-developers.com (Featured image) and Siddhant’s forgotten Micromax Canvas 2 Colours (Screesnshots).
Author – Siddhant Baranwal.
Editor – Abdul Rehman.
Co – Editor – Swapnil Jha.
Today, we are gonna learn how to get In-App purchases for free in any jailbroken iDevice by using this famous or I may say infamous tweak called LocalIAPStore.
Why a post on getting in app purchases for free?
TechGlobule by no means is supporting and will never support Piracy. LocalIAPStore is meant for fun purposes and making gameplay easier for various different apps.
How does the app works?
Freedom acts as an alternative wallet, featuring payments while in-app purchases in almost all the apps.
Who’s the developer? and List of Supported Apps
You can research a little bit about the developers behind Freedom on its official website. The nicknames of developers are ZonD80 and MadKite. You can follow ZonD80 on Twitter, if you know Russian.
LocalIAPStore has published a list of supported apps on their blog; although it is incomplete. You can also help in completing that list.
Will it support my device?
The app supports all jailbroken iDevices running iOS 6 to iOS 8.1. It worked fine on iPhone 4S (iOS 8.1.2) and iPhone 5 (iOS 7.1.2).
In which Repo will I find it?
It is available for free on the In-AppStore.com Cydia Repository in Cydia. Simply go to Sources > In-AppStore.com Cydia Repository > All Packages > LocalIAPStore > Install > Confirm and he tweak will be installed. If you are unsure how to install, see our post or YouTube video to get assistance regarding installations in Cydia. In-AppStore.com Cydia Repo – http://system.in-appstore.com/repo/
How to use it?
Method 1 (Standard Receipt). Follow these steps –
After installing the tweak, go to Settings > LocalIAPStore.
Enable the first option and disable “Generate custom receipts”.
Open any app featuring in-app purchase.
Try to buy something, a pop-up will be displayed asking for your Apple ID’s password. Tap Cancel.
{Optional step}. If the pop-up appears again and again, tap on Cancel only. Sometimes the pop-up appears up to 5 times. But saving a dollar is worth wasting a minute.
You are done. You will get whatever you tried to bought.
Method 2 (Custom Receipt). Follow these steps –
After installing the tweak, go to Settings > iTunes & App Store > Apple ID:abcd@efgh.com.
Tap on your Apple ID, a pop-up will be displayed with options, View Apple ID, Sign Out, iForgot, and Cancel. Choose Sign out.
Then go to Settings > LocalIAPStore. Enable both the options.
Open any app featuring in-app purchase.
Try to buy something, a pop-up will be displayed. Tap Buy, then on Apple ID pop-up, tap Cancel.
You are done. You will get whatever you tried to purchase.
Enjoy!! It works with an internet connection to work.
Screenshots Gallery
Note
It would not work for online apps. I mean it do requires internet to work but it can’t fake purchases with any online app.
It wouldn’t work with any jailbroken app, because jailbroken apps don’t depend on Apple ID for payment
That’s all folks.
Image Source – youtube.com (Featured image) and Swapnil’s Apple iPhone 5 (screenshots).
Author – Swapnil Jha
In an earlier post, we discussed about jailbreaking iOS 8 to iOS 8.2 Beta 2 via the TaiG Jailbreak Tool v1.2.1 and v1.3. Today, we are gonna discuss about the updated TaiG JailBreak Tool v2.1.2 which can jailbreak devices running iOS 8.1.3 upto the latest iOS 8.3. You can check your iOS version in Settings > General > About > Version.
What is TaiG JailBreak Tool?
A jailbreak tool named TaiG is released by the TaiG Team and is frequently updated to keep jailbreaking latest iOS version. TaiG v1.2.1. This tool allows for an untethered jailbreak on devices, running iOS 8.0 to iOS 8.1.2. Read more. TaiG v1.3. This tool allows for an untethered jailbreak on devices, running iOS 8.2 Beta 2. Read more. TaiG v2.1.2. This is the most anticipated update of TaiG, because as the jailbreak tool for iOS 8.2 Beta 2 came before a tool for iOS 8.1.3, many people believed iOS 8.1.3 along with iOS 8.3 is un-jailbreakable. But nonetheless, Jailbreak community came to rescue as always, this time as TaiG v2.1.2. This tool allows for an untethered jailbreak on devices, running iOS 8.1.3 to iOS 8.3. Read more by scrolling below.
Who are the TaiG Team?
Team TaiG first launched their jailbreak tool on 29 November 2014 which could jailbreak iOS 8.0 to iOS 8.1.2. Not much is known about this group of Jailbreakers, except that they are Chinese Developers or Hackers. We can say that confidently because both their site is in Chinese language 😉. In early 2015, they updated and revised their existing jailbreak techniques to further develop the tool to make it able to jailbreak iOS 8.2 Beta 2.
And here they come again with further updating TaiG tool to v2.1.2, which can now successfully jailbreak iOS 8.1.3 to iOS 8.3.
How to get it?
To use the TaiG JailBreak Tool to jailbreak your iOS device, first you need to install Taig on your PC, which is easily available to download via the following link of TaiG.com. Download it in your Windows PC. Here’s the link – drive.google.com/TaiGJBreak_EN_2.1.20.zip
How to use it?
Preparation –
i) After downloading the zipped file, unzip it in your PC.
ii) Install iTunes, if not installed already via link 32 bit OR 64 bit.
iii) Backup your device using iTunes (or iCloud) before using Taig. If something breaks, you’ll always be able to recover your data. (Personally I prefer to reset my iPhone and not making a full backup, that’s too slow. iCloud is still a better option regarding speed).
iv) Those who use backup passwords in iTunes must disable them for now. After doing so, iTunes makes a brand new backup. Please wait for that backup to complete before proceeding! Feel free to re-enable your backup password after jailbreaking.
v) Disable the lock pass-code of your iOS device before using TaiG via Settings > General > Pass-code Lock.
vi) Disable Find my iPhone (Settings > Privacy > Location Services) and enable AirPlane Mode via Settings.
vii) Make sure to have at least 80% battery in your iDevice, before jailbreaking.
JailBreaking –
viii) Launch iTunes, plug-in your device, once iTunes identifies your device, Launch Taig and kill iTunes via Windows Task Manager.
ix) Keep the Cydia option checked. Make sure to uncheck the second option of 3K assistant or something like that.
x) Click the button of “Start” in the bottom part of Taig window. Just sit back and see its progress.
xi) Avoid using your device or iTunes related tasks until the process is complete. You can just enjoy a brief break from the computer to stretch your legs.
xii) {Optional step} If the process gets stuck somewhere, it’s safe to restart the program, reboot the device (by holding the Power and Home button simultaneously until the Apple Logo appears), and restart the process, with WiFi off.
xiii) Once the process is done, you will find the “Cydia” app on your home screen which is your AppStore for JailBroken devices.
xiv) You can also set a pass code and enable Find my iPhone. Do disable the Airplane mode.
xv) Now enjoy your jailbroken device.
Precautions –
xvi) If you try to update your device’s iOS version through the phone itself (i.e. OTA Updates), it will un – jailbreak your device. Because in higher versions of iOS, often the security holes are patched. These security holes are used to exploit and root the phone which are present in earlier version of iOS.
xvii) But you can again jailbreak the newer version of iOS too. 😉
TaiG’s Gratitude
“This is TaiG’s third time to release a jailbreak tool. For the last two releases, we received great attention from jailbreak users and technology media worldwide, and we want to say thank you.
An untethered jailbreak takes not only a slice of fortune but an ascetic perseverance. XN, as an exploit developer of TaiG Jailbreak team, is in fact lonely, of very few words and a socially challenged person. Even so, there is still one of his rare times to tell us: he wants to let his brain stop thinking.
The most exciting part in jailbreak development is the moment to see Jailbreak Succeeded. It is the recognition and support of our users that drive us to keep moving forward. At this moment, no word can express the appreciation, and no word has no vulnerabilities. XN chooses to dedicate his enthusiasm and energy to coding and programming.
Thanks for Apple for the greatest product of this era. Thanks for all the jailbreak developers to make the world even better.”
– TaiG Jailbreak Team, 23rd June, 2015
List of Compatible iDevices
Following is the list of compatible Apple products with above specified iOS version which can be rooted with this method.
Although the list contains only about 350 tweaks out of which many are not compatible but it’s nothing to worry about, because first of all the list is incomplete, and I guess the jailbreak developers will update their tweaks to work properly with the new jailbreak.
Picture Gallery
Give your comments and views in comments below.
That’s all folks.
Note – TechGlobule doesn’t encourages any of its reader to jailbreak his/her iDevice. TechGlobule will not be held responsible for any damage to anyone’s iDevice.
Image source – redmondpie.com.
Tool source – taig.com.
List source – ibtimes.co.uk and taig.com
The design of YU Yuphoria is quite impressive and it does manages to give a premium feel. The rear cover is made up of plastic & rubber and is removable. The rounded frame gives a good grip on the phone, complemented by the matte finish on the rear. It is available in 2 variants Buffed Steel with black cover and Champagne Gold with white cover. I bought the Buffed Steel version.
The front comes with a 5 inch display with thick bezels on the top and bottom, and YU Logo at the top which further contributes to premium design and feel.
On the top, there’s a 3.5 mm audio jack and at the base there’s a micro USB port, which can be used for charging or data transfer.
There are 3 buttons, all on the right side of the phone. The power button is in between the volume rocker. Although it’s an unconventional arrangement, but it’s quite handy.
At the back side of the Phone, the camera is situated in the mid position, with a metallic ring surrounding it, which can confuse you for a ringed flash but the flash is only a small portion.
Speakers
At the base, there is a grill which have the speakers under them. There’s also a YU branding on top of the speaker grill.
Display
The 3 buttons are on-screen and are thus customizable, that is, you can add, edit or remove those buttons, which I feel is great. The display is protected with a Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
The display sports a pixel density of about 294 ppi, although every benchmark results shows a ppi at about 320, which could be an error on the sensor’s part. The phone also have great viewing angles and no distortion of colour is visible.
As per my experience, watching movies on Yuphoria was a pleasant experience.
Hardware
Processor
The YU Yuphoria houses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 MSM8916 system on chip which has 64-bit1.2GHzQuad Core processor Cortex A53 with Adreno 306 GPU, along with a 2GB RAM.
It also offers 16GB storage, out of which 10.56GB is available to users to store data. Usually in a 16 GB Internal memory, 11.8 GB is available, but it seems like the customizations provided by Cyanogenmod have eaten about a gig of space more in Yuphoria.
But as opposed to many other flagship phones, Yuphoria does support micro SD of up to 32 GB, which can give you a total of 48 GB of storage.
Sensors
Here is a screenshot showcasing a number of sensors. This screenshot was taken from CPU-Z App.
It supports Multi touch up to 5 fingers, although the majority of apps don’t require more than 2 fingers.
Dimensions
It measures 8.2 mm thick and weighs about 142 grams. It is 142 mm long and 73 mm wide. It have ~66.3% screen-to-body ratio.
Calling and Network
Yuphoria is a dual SIM phone, in which both the slots support 4G LTE SIM card. But it supports Micro SIM only.
It seems it is a future proof phone regarding 4G networks.
The Phone App supports TrueCaller and TrueDialer integration. There are also dual mics for noise cancellation.
Camera
An 8 MegaPixel Camera, graces the rear side with an f/2.2 aperture and an LED flash unit whereas the front-facing camera is a 5 MegaPixel camera.
The 8 MP camera comes with a OmniVision OV8865 sensor and with an 86 degree wide-angle lens. It can easily capture high quality videos at 1080p.
The Cyanogen OS offers various customizable camera controls like size, quality, shutter speed, focus duration, focus mode, and ISO, among others. Vertical swipe changes scene mode and horizontal swipe lets you browser pictures and videos previously shot.
The app offers Slow motion video recording (Time Lapse), Panorama, Burst and HDR modes.
The video camera also includes a pause button, which pleased me a lot. Many high-end phones don’t have this small feature.
I suggest get the Google Camera app from Play Store, which allows to take Photo Spheres as well. If you are not aware of Photo Sphere have to capability to take 360 degree photograph which you can show anyone on your phone itself. Scroll to the bottom of the post to check out the Yuphoria’s Camera’s photography.
Battery
The device is powered by a removable Lithium Ion 2230 mAh battery.
It takes about only 2 hours to fully charge the phone using its AC adapter. The battery life is nice, I wouldn’t say too good. On a full charge, the battery lasted about a bit more than a day, with moderate to heavy usage. I left location services and cellular data switched on for the whole time, occasionally using WiFi as well. I used a number of different apps like WhatsApp, Telegram etc. Also did gaming like, Leo’s Fortune for an hour and a couple of races in Asphalt 8. But I expected it to last more as earlier I used an iPhone 4S with only 1432 mAh battery which on full charge lasted about 20 hours. So, the battery life is nice but not too good.
Software & UI
Yuphoria comes with an Android 5.0.2 Lollipop in the form of CyanogenMod 12 ROM. The USP or the best part of this phone is its customizability, and thanks to Cyanogen, which offers multiple ways to customize it.
Pre-installed Apps
It comes with some pre-installed apps, in which some of the apps can be removed. Following are the apps –
AudioFX
AudioFX lets you customize the audio output. It can’t be removed.
ScreenCast
ScreenCast lets you record your on-screen navigations with the recording. It also registers where you’ve touched the screen as well. It can’t be removed as well.
YUniverse
YUniverse is the phone’s own browser which is basically a customized version of Opera browser. It can be permanently removed. In case you have uninstalled it and want to use it again, download YUniverse from here.
Baton
Baton is an app which helps you share apps between different Android devices. I prefer SHAREit app for this purpose. It is removable. In case you have uninstalled it and want to use it again, download Baton from here.
TrueCaller
TrueDialler integration is available if you use TrueCaller. It is removable. In case you have uninstalled it and want to use it again, download TrueCaller from here.
GApps or Google Apps
Some Google Apps are obviously pre-installed, which are Google Calender, Google Chrome, Google Drive, GMail, Google, Google Settings, Google Plus, Google Hangouts, Google Maps, Google News & Weather, Google Photos, Google Play Books, Google Play Games, Google Play Movies & TV Shows, Google Play Music, Google Play Newsstand, Google Play Store, Google Voice Search, YouTube. None of which are removable.
Other native Apps
Other native apps include a Calculator, Camera, Clock, Contacts, Downloads, Cyanogen Email, File Manager, FM Radio, Gallery, Messaging, Phone, SIM Toolkit, Sound recorder.
Themer
Yuphoria sports a new Themer feature, which lets you customize the fonts and wallpapers from different themes and make your own custom theme. You can use this to customize almost any app.
To use it, go to Settings > Themes > App Themer. You will get a floating widget with a paintbrush icon. Open any app like Settings, tap on the widget, and choose a theme. The theme will be applied. See screenshots Gallery for Themer.
Customizations
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.
You can also choose program navigation buttons to perform different actions. For instance, you can 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. It’s also one of the cheapest phones to offer double tap to wake and tap to sleep screen gesture.
Privacy Guard
Privacy Guard is a built-in privacy management tool available in CyanogenMod, which aims to help you control the privacy and security of apps installed on your device. You can set preferences for each and every app installed.
To enable Privacy Guard, go to Settings > Privacy > Privacy Guard. Enable it if it is not enabled by default.
You can also select specific apps to be Guarded from, by tapping the lock icon beside that app.
iDevice users must be familiar with these permissions.
Performance
For a budget phone like Yuphoria, 2GB of RAM is more than sufficient. In terms of benchmarks, the numbers were quite good. The phone didn’t lag a single time in usage of over 5 days.
Origin
Unlike what we expected, the Phone is assembled in China and not in India.
Root
The phone is not pre-rooted as many were expecting but supports rooting.That is, you would not void its warranty if you root your YU Yuphoria.
I do not intent to root this device right now since primary reason for rooting is to add a Custom ROM, but Yuphoria comes with the Cyanogenmod out of the box. Though I do intend to root when necessary.
“I’m already using latest Android with a nice Custom ROM, what else do I need… …for a few days.”
– says Swapnil, a happy Yuphoria owner.
Known Problems
Software bugs
Even after removing the plug, it may show charging for a small time.
When I checked the battery usage for the first time, all I could see was a vague graph with no usage and time was in negative. LOL
When I tried to run a movie, the phone rebooted. Later, I realized that the movie file was corrupted, but still, a reboot is too much.
Hardware Issues
The back cover is hard to use, and it takes a considerable time in properly opening or closing the cover.
Known Limitations
There is no Notification LED, which may arouse some criticism. There is no OTG support as well. These 2 could have been valuable additions to the phone’s already overwhelming assets.
Heating issues
Yes, it does get heated sometimes, but don’t follow the rumors, The rubberized back and the insulated metallic frame don’t allow the heat to burn you or something like that.
User’s verdict
If you want a good Android smart phone in low-budget then its one of the best phones to get. Though you won’t be able to boast in front of your friends, since no phone comes under 7k, which you can boast of.
“The Yuphoria makes for a good first smart phone, a good built premium feel smart phone, a good gift, a great new Android phone if you are replacing something in this price bracket, or even a second phone to already have a special device. The Yuphoria will not impress the true geeks, the power-hungry or even the benchmark crazy. The Camera is good, the battery is good and phone call capabilities are excellent. Cyanogen makes for the best experience of “Raw Android,” and the Yuphoria gives it at a mighty impressive price tag.
Just like any other domain, you do have alternatives from Lenovo and Xiaomi. But none of them run Cyanogen, and none of them are made of metal.”
YU Yuphoria was released in the May of 2015 as a to the YU Yureka which was released earlier in January 2015 by YU, a subsidiary of Micromax. YU Yureka was the first phone released under the YU tag. At the price point of Rs 9k, Yureka provided many specs which were only to be found in flag-ship phones. Yuphoria, released after a few months is kind of a down scaled version of the Yureka but have its own strengths to boast on.
Without any further words, enjoy the video.
Stay tuned for YU Yuphoria: Review. Give your views in comments below or on YouTube.
Today we are discussing about the Google Search Lite, the latest feature brought to you by Google Inc.
What is Google?
Google.com is basically asearch engine, Android, cloud computing, and various other software.Most of its profits are derived from AdWords,which is basically online advertising service.
Google recently announced that they will be launching a new faster interface known as “Search Lite” especially optimized for slower mobile internet connections.
It is made to work in the low network coverage areas across the developing countries and will be launched in parts of Brazil and India by the end of June 2015. Google has already tested the feature in Indonesia, which has networks very similar to India.
Facebook has also launched a similar app Facebook Lite. Read more...
What’s the need? How is it different from traditional Search?
Companies like Facebook and Google have been focusing on India which is expected to have an internet user base of 550 million by 2018. This is the next step of Google to increase its foothold in the Indian Markets after “Android One“, under which it partnered with 3 Indian Handset Makers (Micromax, Karbonn, & Spice) to make affordable Android smartphones available for a larger number of people.
This feature will transcode pages for quicker delivery whenever it will detect a slow connection. Google claims that the new feature will load pages 4x faster and at the same time will consume 80% lesser data.
Google stated that publishers will also benefit from this, as they will see a 50% more page views. “Monetisation won’t be affected for publishers. There is an opt-out option for the users as well as publishers,” he said. “The feature is good for publishers as it will extend their reach,” he added.
Read Google’sviews on Google Search Lite on Google Plus.
How to use it?
Hiroto Tokusei, Product Manager, Google Inc, stated, “The new feature will come into play whenever a mobile user (will) be access search results from a very slow network. Google will capture the page and make it lighter.” He said, “With over 200 million Indians accessing the Internet from a smart phone, we’re working hard to make access faster and more affordable,” He added in India, where 2G network connections are very slow, getting information on phone can be tough, and frustrating.
The service will be available to users browsing on Chrome and other Android browsers from Google search results.
Limitations
“Some stylesheets… having high image quality take more data on a slow network. These are compressed using the new (Search Lite) feature, and sometimes the page looks slightly different,” said Tokusei.
Although the users will have the option to view the original Web-page, but they would not be able to intentionally switch to Search Lite feature.
Google has not specified how ‘slow’ network will be considered slow enough for Search Lite to kick in automatically. So users don’t really have an option to switch back and forth in Google Search and Search Lite. This might led to some criticism.
Personal Review for Google Search Lite
According to me, the feature is very good as we have nothing to download or update, the feature will automatically switch on or off according to our network speed. This is something I expected from Facebook Lite; but was disappointed.
Screenshots Gallery
Sorry Guys, I couldn’t manage any Screenshots because this feature isn’t rolled in India yet. Also I think there is not much visual difference in Google Search and Search Lite. The difference lies in speed only.
