review | Fone Arena

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review

This phone needs no introduction and I’m not going to bore you with a history of the Galaxy S lineup since most of you already know it. Almost everyone knows what Samsung has managed to do and the smartphone has been making the headlines for all the right reasons even before and after its announcement and subsequent release. We spent a lot of time with the flagship device from Samsung to see what they bring to the table this year. At a first glance, the smartphone looks like the biggest leap in the Galaxy S lineup since the Galaxy S II. The question is not about whether this smartphone is a worthy successor to the S6 edge or not but whether this is the best flagship smartphone available in the market right now. Let’s find out.

Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review”

Motorola Moto X Force Review

Up until 2014, Motorola had a maximum of 3 or 4 devices on their portfolio at any given point of time. Last year, Moto basically expanded their lineup by introducing not one, but two smartphones in the X lineup. The X Style and X Play were touted as being affordable flagships. While they did offer quite a good package and performance at a relatively low price point, they still did cut corners here and there. Early on in March 2015, Moto introduced the Moto Turbo in India which was a proper flagship by most rights. The only issue was that the smartphone was released in international markets by end of 2014 and as a result, most of the specifications seemed outdated by the time it hit our shores. In 2016, we get the update to the Moto Turbo in the form of the Moto X Force which was announced late last year as well but made its way to Indian territory much sooner. It also seems to hold its own weight against the newer flagships from LG and Samsung. So let’s dive into the review to take a look at how well it performs.

Continue reading “Motorola Moto X Force Review”

Honor Holly 2 Plus Review: Big battery, Solid Performance

The Honor brand has stood for well priced, solid hardware ever since its inception. A while back, the company introduced two handsets that made their mark felt in the ever competitive entry level segment. We brought you the review of the Honor 5X but now here’s the review of the Holly 2 Plus, a device which is priced even more aggressively and is still potentially a very competitive product. With that said, let’s dive straight into the review. Continue reading “Honor Holly 2 Plus Review: Big battery, Solid Performance”

Asus ZenWatch 2 Review

The original ZenWatch from ASUS was a breath of fresh air in the smartwatch industry thanks to its new and beautiful design. However, it wasn’t without faults and the lack of WiFi was a bummer to many especially after the Android 5.1.1 update. The new ZenWatch 2 comes with 2 different models that target different audiences and better protection against the elements thanks to the IP67 rating compared to the IP55 rating of the original. On paper, the smartwatch seems to be a winner but how does it fare in real life? Let’s find out.

Continue reading “Asus ZenWatch 2 Review”

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Pro) Review

Redmi Note 3 Review -2

Has Xiaomi lost its mojo? Is India no longer as big a priority for the messiah of the affordably priced quality smartphones? We’ve personally had quite a positive outlook towards the upstart but we’d be remiss not to mention that the public sentiment has been ebbing to a degree thanks to the proliferation of competitors from the land of the Red Dragon. Clearly these sentiments weren’t lost on Xiaomi as was evidenced by the rather emotional monologue by Hugo Barra, face of Xiaomi India, at a recent event in Delhi. The man who has rapidly become a bit of an icon in the technology world in India led an emphatic if not a rather circuitous presentation answering these concerns and more by announcing the launch of the Redmi Note 3, more specifically the version that is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipset. While the audience cheered, our thoughts veered more towards the handset itself and its role in an ecosystem that is much larger than from two years ago when the Redmi 2 was a trendsetter. We’ve had access to the device for a couple of days now and with the pricing revealed, are now in a position to give a more nuanced opinion on the Redmi Note 3. Read on for our review of Xiaomi’s latest. Continue reading “Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Pro) Review”

Misfit Shine 2 Review

Misift had entered India in September last year with the Shine fitness tracker which we have already reviewed. The company introduced the Shine 2, second generation of the fitness tracker and sleep monitor in October in the US for $99.99. We have got our hands on the Shine 2, so let’s see what does it has to offer and if the device is worth its price tag of $99.99, in this review. Continue reading “Misfit Shine 2 Review”

Ulefone Power Review

Battery life in smartphones has been one of the most ignored aspects in recent years. Sure, there has been several improvements in battery technology with faster charging, wireless charging etc. but the battery life has taken a drastic hit due to the phones becoming more power-hungry. With more and more powerful processors and bigger screens, phones require larger batteries to power them. Sure, optimization will help but only to a certain extent and Ulefone is a brand that seems to understand that. The Ulefone Power as its name implies is a smartphone with a massive internal battery. It packs a 6050 mAH battery into an affordable mid-ranger handset. It even offers DualSIM 4G LTE as well as a fingerprint sensor. Let’s dive into the review to see whether the phone does manage to impress us with its battery life and other features.

Continue reading “Ulefone Power Review”

Coolpad Note 3 Lite Review

The Coolpad Note 3 Lite is a device that follows up one of the most successful devices of 2015. Priced to undercut its stablemate and designed to impress with solid internals, the Coolpad Note 3 Lite is an intriguing device that is poised to surprise and exceed expectations. Add to that the fact that this is a ‘Made In India’ or at least an assembled in India product, you do start getting excited about it. Continue reading “Coolpad Note 3 Lite Review”

Kingston HyperX Cloud Core – Gaming Headset Review

It is easy to find a good pair of earphones that could also be used for gaming. However, they would lack a built in microphone and will most likely be quite costly. What is near impossible to get is a gaming headset that also works really well at music playback. They may be great at providing an acoustic experience while gaming but when you are listening to music or watching movies, that experience is more of a pain that you have to bear with rather than an enjoyable experience. Kingston is a brand that we’ve come to know and like for their wonderful memory product and now, they are dipping their toes in acoustic waters as well. The new Kingston HyperX Cloud aims to be a gaming headset that can provide you with good quality acoustic experience outside the gaming arena as well. Let us take a closer look at the review to see whether it achieves that or not.

Continue reading “Kingston HyperX Cloud Core – Gaming Headset Review”

Google Nexus 6P Review

Unlike their usual style of launching a single smartphone per year, this year Google decided to launch two Nexus smartphones. The 6P is the flagship smartphone of the two. The 5X which we reviewed earlier proved to be a phone with good value for money. Despite previous Nexus phones trying their best to replace or provide alternatives to flagships, they have always failed and given a sub-par experience in some categories. The Motorola Nexus 6 was probably one of the boldest moves in the Nexus lineup and while it did tick many of the right boxes, it too fell short on becoming a suitable alternative to many products. Many people simply got it for the stock Android experience. With the 6P however, it seems that there are several things to make you want to buy the phone other than the stock Android experience alone. How does it perform in real life though? Let us take a look in the detailed review.

Continue reading “Google Nexus 6P Review”

Sony Xperia Z5 Dual Review

As someone who writes about smartphones and gadgets for a living, you are bound to have come across almost every device that releases in the market. In the case of the Sony Xperia family, I had the pleasure of not just using but owning almost every flagship device released in the Z family. This includes the Z, Z Ultra, Z1, Z2 and Z3 in that order.

Continue reading “Sony Xperia Z5 Dual Review”

Lenovo Phab Plus Review

Lenovo Phab Plus -2

With the launch of the Lenovo Phab Plus, we’ve clearly reached peak phablet. A phablet too has a reasonable limit to the size and the Phab Plus clearly surpasses that. Lenovo launched its bizarre smartphone – tablet hybrid a while back and here’s our review. Continue reading “Lenovo Phab Plus Review”

OPPO Neo 7 Review

Back in October, we reviewed the OPPO Mirror 5. A smartphone that came with lower mid-range specification at a mid-ranger price. The smartphone had quite a nice design with the mirror finish at the back. However, the low resolution display, poor battery life and lack of 4G LTE support really didn’t do it any good. The OPPO Neo 7 is basically a slightly different version of the Mirror 5. It is better in some ways especially due to the 4G LTE support however, the RAM has been downgraded from 2GB to 1GB RAM. So, overall the smartphone seems like a mixed bag judging by the specs sheet. Let us take a look at the review to see whether the smartphone impresses us or leaves us in doubt just like the Mirror 5.

Continue reading “OPPO Neo 7 Review”

Lenovo Vibe P1 Review

Competition has never been stronger in the mid-range segment and it has become very difficult for manufacturers to create devices that have a USP compared to other devices in the same category. The price range was primarily dominated by Xiaomi until 2015 where we see new entrants in the form of the Moto X Play and the OnePlus X. But most recently, Lenovo launched the Vibe P1, which at least on paper seems to overcome any of the shortcomings that the other devices have in this price range. The primary focus being on battery life. While the Moto X Play itself had great battery life, the Vibe P1 with its 5000 mAH battery should be even better. So, let us dive into the review to see whether the smartphone ticks all the right boxes and whether it truly is the most worthy contender in the price range like the specifications suggest.

Continue reading “Lenovo Vibe P1 Review”

Gionee Elife E8 Review

Gionee Elife E8 -8

It’s been a long while in the making. The Gionee Elife E7, the erstwhile flagship of the company was launched way back in 2013. Its now almost two years since the day and we are finally getting our hands on the Gionee Elife E8. Sure, it was announced back in June but that has perhaps made the wait harder still. There are improvements all around and it is clear that Gionee has learnt a lot from their first effort however the competition too has improved. The smartphone ecosystem is no longer the same and it remains to be seen if the Gionee Elife E8 and it’s accompanying Amigo OS are competitive enough. We’ll find that out in our review. Continue reading “Gionee Elife E8 Review”