Yup, the Freedom 251 surely exists, and is a great phone.
We enjoyed using the phone which is available at such a cheap price.
This is the video we have been waiting for, we have the Freedom 251 smart phone with us. In this video, we will just show off the phone.
This phone’s market price is 251 Indian Rupees or less than 4 US Dollars. Yes, you heard, that right, less than 4 US dollars.
Now, coming back to the smartphone’s build quality, it has plastic build, and has the Indian national flag printed as the back panel. In the front you get a 0.3 Megapixel camera, below which is a 4′ WVGA display, which is an
IPS display, then there’s a single button acting as the back button, which is similar to an iPhone.
Moving to the back, you get a 3.2 Megapixel camera, with LED flash.
The left side provides the volume rocker with a mute button, similar to that of an iPhone.
The speaker is on the bottom, and the 3.5mm jack along with micro USB port on the top.
Now, coming to the jargon part, which consists of hardware and software quickly, 1.3GHz Quad Core processor, 1GB RAM, 8GBs of internal storage, with 5GB available to the end-user, expandable up to 32GB, Dual SIM with 3G support, a 1450mAh battery, all running on an Android 5.1 Lollipop OS.
Overall, speaking the specs of this phone are quite great, (yes, great) for just the price of a pack of 1GB 3G internet.
Check out our complete Freedom 251 playlist on YouTube.
Stay tuned for more videos of Freedom 251 in the first week of March.
Today we are discussing some tips and tricks for using WhatsApp. We’ve lined up some interesting tricks and tweaks that will improve your user experience.
What is WhatsApp?
I’m summarizing this in as fewer lines as possible, just for the sake of newbies.
WhatsApp is an instant messaging app for smartphones. In January 2015, WhatsApp was the most globally popular messaging app with more than 600 million active users. In September 2015 the user base has grown up to 900 million. WhatsApp Inc., based in Mountain View, California, was acquired by Facebook on February 19, 2014, for approximately US$16 billion.
For most of us, WhatsApp has become the default messaging app, because everyone’s on it, and it’s on nearly every platform. The app has made itself indispensable by adding a browser version and voice calling to its platform.
The following tips and tricks might be available on more platforms, but for the sake of convenience of writing, I’m giving the steps of Android devices and iPhones only. Anyone using a different platform can ask for steps in the comment section below.
Sharing Locations and Contacts
Along with images, videos and music, users can share locations. This might be their current location or any other interesting place around you. Users can also share contacts.
Tap on the Send location in the attachment pane to send your current location or explore interesting hotspots around you. The map is a mash-up of FourSquare check-ins of places around you. You’ll find everything from local tech start-ups to restaurants, marked as blue dots. You can share contacts by choosing Share contact.
Backup Messages on Cloud
Users can back up their messages and media in the cloud. In case of changing the device, or reinstalling WhatsApp, you’ll no longer lose your messages.
Android users can make backups on Google Drive by Menu > Settings > Chats and calls > Chat backup > Google Drive.
iPhone users can make backups in iCloud by Settings > Chats and Calls > Chat Backup > Back Up Now.
Checking Read Status
Users can check the “read status” of individual messages as well as group messages.
Android users can select their message and press the i button above to check the “read status”.
iPhone users can press and hold on to their messages and then tap on Info to check the “read status”.
Send Public Messages Privately
This is known as Broadcasting Message. This feature is equivalent to BCCing an e-mail. That is your message will be sent to a group, but each group member will receive the message personally; in a personal chat.
Android users can broadcast a message from Menu < New broadcast. Add group members. Then send your message.
iPhone users can broadcast a message from Chats < Broadcast Lists < New list. Add group members, then send you a message.
WhatsApp Status
It’s not a trick not an important feature but a cool one though. Many people seem to ignore this feature.
One can also have a status of a max. of 138 characters along with their WhatsApp profile picture.
You can set a message (like an inspirational message) that others can read even when you are offline, or you can select from the default options present in the app.
Android users can change their status from Menu > Status.
iPhone users can change their status from Settings > Profile > Status.
Saving Mobile Data
One can save a lot of mobile data by disabling automatic media download.
Android users can disable automatic downloading from Menu > Settings > Chats and calls > Media auto-download > While using mobile data. Remove all the ticks.
iPhone users can disable automatic downloading from Setting > Chat and Calls > Media Auto-Download. Select Wi-Fi for Images, Audio and Videos as well.
Another method to save data is by lowering data usage used in a WhatsApp call.
Android user can do so from Menu > Settings > Chats and calls > Low data usage. Select it.
iPhone users can do so from Settings > Chats and Calls > Low Data Usage. Switch it on.
WhatsApp Call
Yes, WhatsApp didn’t just make SMSing obsolete but is trying to make cellular Calling obsolete as well.
Both Android and iPhone users can call a contact by tapping the phone button on the side of their profile picture.
WhatsApp Web
If you are tired of touchscreens or just want to continue your chats from a laptop or PC. You can do so by WhatsApp Web. On your laptop/PC browser, go to web.whatsapp.com.
Android device users go to Menu > WhatsApp Web. Follow the steps on your phone.
(Only iOS 8.1+) iPhone users head to Settings > WhatsApp Web. Follow the on-screen steps.
That’s not an official feature but a trick. If you are tired of typing. You can just use it as a walkie-talkie. That is hold the little mic while you speak, and leave it to send. To cancel the voice message, you can slide to the left while holding the mic.
Both Android and iPhone users will find the mic over the keyboard on the chat screen.
Tell us something we missed in the comments and we will include it here.
That’s all folks.
Image source – neurogadget.com (Featured image), redmondpie.com (WhatsApp Web image), and Swapnil’s iPhone 5 and Yuphoria for screenshots.
Today, we are going to discuss about an easy & wireless way to share files among smartphones, tablets and personal computers running different operating systems, through an app initially made by Lenovo known as SHAREit.
What is SHAREit?
SHAREit is the fastest file transferring cross-platform application from Lenovo Pvt. Ltd. that allows you to share photos, music, videos, apps (only in Android) or virtually any file regardless of size and type without the use of internet or wires. Lenovo’s SHAREit wirelessly transfers files & data rapidly between devices – either with friends, or to take your personal content on the go.
Features –
It is about 40x faster than Bluetooth.
Eliminates the use of Cables, or BlueTooth.
There are virtually no limits on the size or type of the file to be shared.
Can share any kind of file, from pictures to apps in any format.
Did I mention it is free?
It is cross-platform & lets you share files between iOS, Android, or Windows Devices, which are the most commonly used operating systems out there.
How does it work?
SHAREit uses the WiFi Direct sharing technology, whereas other apps (mostly) use BlueTooth or conventional Wifi network (or sometimes Internet) which is present nearby.
What is WiFi Direct?
Remember the way you shared your internet data through a personal hotspot, in which your device created a WiFi hotspot and let you share your cellular data (2G, 3G or 4G internet) in the form of WiFi to nearby devices.
Now, WiFi Direct is a technology which allows your device to create such a WiFi hotspot but without the use of the internet, intended with a purpose of sharing files over the network. Thus, you can easily connect with each other without requiring any cables, or the internet; and share files with typical WiFi speeds.
My device doesn’t support WiFi Direct. But still, transfers are Fast. How?
It lets you share files with typical WiFi speeds which can be 20MB/s or even higher in some cases.
For devices, without WiFi Direct, it simply Turns on the Personal Hotspot and does its magic in sharing files hyperfast.
App Requirements
This app requires only about 12.1MB (on average) for storage purpose. It is currently available for Android smartphones, iOS Devices, Windows Phone, and blackberry phones. It also supports Windows Desktop currently and is planning to extend its functioning to the Mac OS.
Supported devices with download link
Android Compatibility
It will work with Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and above.
It needs around 6.5MB of storage space.
Download from this Play Store link.
iOS Compatibility
It will work with iOS 8 or more.
It needs around 29.6MB of space.
Download from this link of App Store for iPhones and iPads.
Windows Compatibility
It needs 3.09MB on Mobile devices and 9.2MB for Desktop Devices.
Download from this link of Windows Store for Windows Mobile.
OR from this link of uSHAREit.com for Windows Desktop.
Mac Compatibility
It needs around 4.6MB of space.
Download from this link of uSHAREit.com for Mac OS.
How to use?
Download and install SHAREit on your devices from the links given above.
Once installed, give a specific name to your device.
You will get the option to either send or receive.
Tap on Send on the device from which you want to share photos, videos, music, contacts, or even apps (only for Android users).
Select all the files that you want to share and tap the OK button.
Tap on Receive on the second device.
For Android: You will see the second device on the first device’s screen Select that.
For Others: You’ll get on-screen instructions, commonly to connect both devices to the same network.
Data transfer will start.
Picture Gallery
That’s all folks.
Image Source – blog.lenovo.com (Featured image) and screenshots by guidingtech.com.
Video Source – shareit.lenovo.com or vimeo.com.
Today we will discuss about the renowned free internet service provided by Facebook Inc. namely Internet.org.
What is Internet.org?
Internet.org is a partnership between Social Networking Services company Facebook and 6 other companies (Samsung, Ericsson, MediaTek, Opera Software, Nokia and Qualcomm) that plans to bring affordable access to selected Internet services to less developed countries by increasing efficiency, and facilitating the development of new business models around the growth of Internet access.
Vision and Goals
Internet.org was founded by Facebook’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2013. It is mainly designed, keeping in mind the people living in developing and underdeveloped countries where they cannot afford the internet. A few countries on the list are Zambia, Kenya, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, South Africa and Philippines. Many others will soon be added to this list. See Launch dates below.
Founders & Partners
Ericsson is a world-leading provider of communications technology and services.
Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.
MediaTek Inc. is a leading fabulous semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions.
Nokia is a global leader in mobile communications whose products have become an integral part of the lives of people around the world.
Opera products enable more than 350 million internet consumers to discover and connect with the content and services that matter most to them.
Samsung is a global leader in technology, opening new possibilities for people everywhere through relentless innovation and discovery.
Qualcomm is a world leader in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies.
Launch
Internet.org was launched on 20 August 2013, at the time of launch, Mark Zuckerberg released a 10-page whitepaper he had written elaborating on the vision. In the paper, he wrote that Internet.org was a further step in the direction of Facebook’s past initiatives, such as Facebook Zero, to improve Internet access for people around the world. He also said that “connectivity is a human right.”
It was launched on different dates in different countries, viz. are –
Only the TeleCommunication Companies which are stated with Countries would be able to access internet.org. Thus, the number of sites freely available to the user also depends on the country from where it is being used.
Controversies
It has been criticized for violating net neutrality and favouring Facebook’s own services over its rivals. An Indian journalist, in his reply to Mark’s article defending Internet.org in India, criticized Internet.org as “being just a Facebook proxy targeting India’s poor” as it provides restricted Internet access to only Reliance ‘s subscribers in India.Until April 2015, Internet.org users could access (for free) only a few websites, and Facebook’s role as gatekeeper in determining what websites were in that list was criticised for violating net neutrality. In May 2015, Facebook announced that the Internet.org Platform would be opened to websites that met its criteria, which is a bit controversial.
List of services once can use via Internet.org
Category
Free Services
Social Networking
Facebook, Facebook Messenger.
Career
Jagran Josh.
Entertainment
Astrology, Hungama.
Government
AP Speaks.
Health
Malaria No More, Facts for Life (UNICEF), Social Blood, BabyCenter & MAMA.
Information
Aaj Tak, AccuWeather, Reuters Market Lite, Amar Ujala, BBC News, IBN Live, Daily Bhaskar, Translator, Dictionary.com, Jagran, Maalai Malar, Maharashtra Times, wikiHow, Wikipedia, Basics of Internet
Women Empowerment
Nike Foundation (Girl Effect), UN Women (iLearn).
Jobs
BabaJob.
Search
Bing Search.
Shopping
OLX.
Sports
ESPN Cricinfo.
How to use Internet.org?
First, make sure you have the mobile network of respective Telecommunication company as mentioned above.
Then make sure that you have a working data plan. The mobile data will not be used on sites available on internet.org but in case, you click a link outside that area, data charges may apply.
Go to www.internet.org using a mobile web browser (on any internet supported phone). Or get its app from Google Play Store (only for an Android smartphone). Downloading the app itself will require mobile data, but it won’t consume data while using the app.
Customer will be presented with the language selection page where a choice of language can be selected. By default, the regional language will be selected. The customer can opt for other languages by clicking ‘+’ button on the page.
Click “Continue” to get to the main page of Internet.org, with “Free Services” & “Reliance” sections displayed in the choice of language.
Follow Internet.org
You can follow Internet.org on its own site or YouTube for future updates, but it will require mobile data.
Read Mark’s post regarding Internet.org on Facebook.com
Picture Gallery
That’s all folks.
Data source – rcom.co.in
Image source – en.wikipedia.org, dailytimesgazette.com, timesofbengaluru.com, vrworld.com, techcrunch.com.
Disclaimer- TechGlobule is not responsible if you are unable to experience or use the services listed on this article or any other external or internal links. Hope you have a nice day. And don’t forget to wear your seatbelts.
Author – Swapnil Jha
Co-Author & Idea – Abdul Rehman
Today we are discussing about the Telegram Messenger, an instant message carrier brought to you by Pavel Durov, who also brought VK.
What is Telegram?
Telegram is an instant messaging system mainly focussed on privacy and multi-platform availability. Telegram clients exist for both mobile (Android, iOS, Windows Phone) and desktop systems (Windows, OS X, Linux).
Telegram is run by a German nonprofit organization backed by entrepreneur and philanthropist Pavel Durov. Its client code is open-source software, while its server-side code is currently proprietary.
In short, Telegram is super fast, simple and way more secure than any of the messaging apps out there.
Features –
Connect from most remote locations with even the connections.
Coordinate groups of up to 20,000 members.
Synchronize your chats across all your devices.
Send documents of any type and size.
Encrypt personal & secret messages.
Destruct your messages with a timer.
Store your media in the cloud.
Build your own tools and bots on their API.
Why use Telegram when we have Whatsapp?
You might be thinking that why should one even bother about any other messaging app when one can use WhatsApp, following is the list of differences which make Telegram better than any other messaging app out there including WhatsApp.
It is cloud-based, which lets you access your messages from multiple devices.
It is open source.
It is secure. Not only the messages are encrypted but Telegram also offers Secret chat, in which after a set interval of time, the messages are deleted from all the devices.
It is distributed. Its servers are spread worldwide to enhance speed and security.
It enables you to share unlimited high-resolution photos, videos, and files of any type up to sizes of 1.5 GB.
It has Bots. For e.g. Add @ImageBot in your contacts, whenever you message it something like /get Ferrari, it would reply with an image of Ferrari. Telegram supports many different kinds of bots for different tasks. You can even make a bot for yourself if you want to.
It supports @replies, mentions and #hashtags. No this is nothing complex. It makes Group Chatting easier. For e.g., if I want to reply to person A in a group of 100 people. I can type @A followed by my message, and only A will be notified.
It is free and will stay free forever.
About the Developers
You can follow Telegram on Twitter, for ongoing news about it. Or check out its FAQ section.
Telegram is supported by Pavel and Nikolai Durov.
Pavel Durov is known as the Mark Zuckerberg of Russia because his VK userbase outnumbered Facebook users in own own country that is Russia. Pavel supports Telegram financially and ideologically, while Nikolai’s input is technological. To make Telegram possible, Nikolai developed a unique custom data protocol, which is open, secure and optimized for work with multiple data-centres. As a result, Telegram combines security, reliability and speed on any network.
Supported Platforms with Download links
Telegram is available on a number of different platforms and Operating Systems as listed below.
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.
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.”
