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Ericsson to help IIT students develop patents

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Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson has announced a programme to help IIT engineers develop technology patents and said that intellectual property rights will be owned by the developer team or students.<br />
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Under the programme, the company will select two projects which will get a funding of Rs 10 lakh each and developers may even get access to its labs for development of the product.<br />
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"We are seeking to encourage the culture of innovation within the IITs and to support these talented young minds to develop more innovative and relevant solutions for the benefit of industry," Ericsson head of India Region Chris Houghton said in a statement.<br />
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Ericsson will select for two projects for Ericsson Innovation awards. The selected project will be given 10 lakh each. Depending on the nature of project, the developer or team of developers may even get access to Ericsson Lab for development of product.<br />
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"The winners will receive a funding of Rs 10 lakh each for incubation of the project over a two-year period. Secondly, the patents will remain with the students," Houghton said.<br />
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At present, government runs a programme for promoting technical Intellectual Property Rights in which Indian innovator gets only 40% of revenue generated from the patent. India is considered hub of research and development but majority of IPRs are owned by foreign based multi-national companies.<br />
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The award has called for innovations in areas such as web design, cloud computing, storage and networking, human-machine interface, embedded and hardware system design, machine-to-machine or Internet of Things, open source, signal processing, graphics and visualization, as well as research.<br />
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"Ericsson has invited project proposals in these areas from IIT students across Chennai, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Mumbai, Roorkee and Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi," the statement said.<br />
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Following the preliminary screening phase at their respective IITs, the student proposals will be shortlisted through two jury sessions.<br />
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In the first round, the jury will shortlist up to 10 proposals on criteria such as degree of innovation, feasibility, usability, relevance, time to market and the overall impact on masses. Each shortlisted proposal will be given an incentive by Ericsson to complete the initial prototype within three months.<br />
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In the second round, the jury will select up to two innovation projects which will be announced in a ceremony in April 2015 and these projects will get support from Ericsson.<br />
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Ericsson to help IIT students develop patents

Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson has announced a programme to help IIT engineers develop technology patents and said that intellectual p...

Oppo Expected to Bring Out R5 and N3 on 29th October

<p class="article__title  article__title--single"></p><br/>Oppo’s much anticipated N3 and R5 are said to launch at an event in Singapore on 29th October. Previous generation R Series handsets are known for their slim and sleek design and the new R5 is said to be designed along the same lines.<br/><br/>Both the devices are expected to come with support of 4G LTE out of the box. If so, the new R5 will be the slimmest 4G LTE handset available in the market. The recently released teaser shows two devices behind the curtain. The two devices shown are speculated to be the Oppo N3 and R5, however has been no confirmation or any other details revealed.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/oppo_teaser_one_more_step.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-87853" height="624" src="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/oppo_teaser_one_more_step.jpg" title="Oppo Expected to Bring Out R5 and N3 on 29th October" width="440" /></a><br/><br/>Earlier, the company teased the camera module of the expected handsets. Oppo N3 features have been leaked by various enthusiastic Chinese mobile showrooms in past few months. GSM Arena had leaked some renders of what could be the Oppo N3, which showcases a cylindrical rotating camera design.<br/><br/>The leaked teaser doesn’t show the cylindrical rotating camera, also, it is not immediately evident if that is indeed the design of the other phone. Oppo claims that one of its designs will incorporate a lithium-aluminum alloy, whereas the other one will use stainless steel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/oppo-n3-oct-teaser.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-87852" height="498" src="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/oppo-n3-oct-teaser.jpg" title="Oppo Expected to Bring Out R5 and N3 on 29th October" width="580" /></a><br/><br/>Chinese electronic showrooms have already started taking pre-orders of the new Oppo N3. The full-fledged advertising campaigns of the Chinese mobile stores have revealed that the new Oppo N3 will sport a 5.5-inch full HD display and a rotating 16MP camera. If this is true, then the Find 7 will still remain the only Oppo smartphone with a quad-HD display. Another detail revealed is the Chinese pricing of the N3 at 4,928 Yuan which comes to roughly Rs. 43,000.

Oppo Expected to Bring Out R5 and N3 on 29th October

Oppo’s much anticipated N3 and R5 are said to launch at an event in Singapore on 29th October. Previous generation R Series handsets are kno...

Nokia Mobiles Will Soon Be Officially Known as Microsoft Lumia

<p class="article__title  article__title--single"></p><br/>Well, we had been dreading for this day to arrive and it’s here. <a href="http://www.igyaan.in/87688/nokia-microsoft-lumia/%20http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/21/7026427/microsoft-lumia-nokia-brand-replacement">The Verge reports </a>that Microsoft might announce that it is killing off the Nokia brand. The transition is expected to begin soon in which all the branding of Nokia will be replaced by Microsoft Lumia branding.<br/><br/>We had <a href="http://www.igyaan.in/77410/nokia-failed-microsoft-won/">reported this summer</a> about how Microsoft had planned to do away with the Nokia’s brand identity in its mobile business and seemed like the process has started. The devices are moving to <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/en/mobile/phones/lumia/">Microsoft’s new mobile site</a>. The French division of Nokia will be one of the first one’s to make the transition and adopt the “Microsoft Lumia” for its Facebook, Twitter, and other social media accounts. Microsoft had once claimed that the reason they are quitting the Nokia brand name for their phones is because they felt it comes from a bygone era.<br/><br/>This move is done to absolve all relation to the original Nokia, which will now become a separate entity under the leadership of another Indian, <a href="http://www.igyaan.in/75239/rajeev-suri/" title="Meet Rajeev Suri – As He Takes On The Reigns of Nokia">Rajeev Suri</a>. This Nokia will concentrate on Network, Software’s and Maps divisions. It also has a huge patents division which can ensure its profitability at least for the coming future.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/windows10.jpg"><img alt="" class="size-large wp-image-87690" height="388" src="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/windows10-690x388.jpg" title="Nokia Mobiles Will Soon Be Officially Known as Microsoft Lumia" width="690" /></a><br/><br/>Back at the beginning of the mobile era, Nokia was a brand name that everyone trusted. It had a stature of titans in the mobile phone industry. Now it will limit itself into a tiny corner of the tech industry. We still hope that the company can make a turnabout and see it making a return to compete in the market. Till then we’ll keep our eyes on how Microsoft plans to take on the mobile business. It has great products and a great operating system, it just needs to attract customers to them.

Nokia Mobiles Will Soon Be Officially Known as Microsoft Lumia

Well, we had been dreading for this day to arrive and it’s here. The Verge reports that Microsoft might announce that it is killing off the ...

Windows 10 Preview now available. Get it here

<span class="storycentimg"><img align="left" alt="" border="0" hspace="0" src="http://media2.intoday.in/indiatoday/images/stories//2014October/windows-10-big_650_100214084355.jpg" title="" vspace="0" /></span>True to its word, Microsoft released the Windows 10 Technical Preview on Wednesday night. This is an early version of the operating system and it is meant for tech-savvy users. Microsoft wants them to try out Windows 10 and provide their feedback so that it can polish and improve it before its wide release in 2015.<br/><br/>If you want to try out the Windows 10, there are two ways to get it. We will detail them in a while but before that a few points to remember:<br/><br/>1- The Windows Tech Preview is meant for tech-savvy users. This is how Microsoft explains it: "We're not kidding about the expert thing. So if you think BIOS is a new plant-based fuel, Tech Preview may not be right for you."<br/><br/>2- Windows 10 Tech Preview is likely to have bugs and UI issues.<br/><br/>3- It may even have performance issues. So ideally, you should not install it on your most important computer, unless you are very sure about what you are doing.<br/><br/><b>What sort of computer you need to run Windows 10?</b><br/><br/>Microsoft says that "if your PC can run Windows 8.1, you're good to go". But in case you want it specifically spelled out, here are the system requirements:<br/><br/><i>Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster</i><br/><br/><i>RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)</i><br/><br/><i>Free hard disk space: 16 GB</i><br/><br/><i>Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver</i><br/><br/><i>A Microsoft account and Internet access</i><br/><b><br/>Two ways to get it</b><br/><br/>There are two ways for you to get the Windows 10 Tech Preview. <a href="http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/preview-iso" target="_blank">One is by following instructions here</a> . This will require you to download a program that will update your system to Windows 10 Preview. While this is the easier method, it is also fraught with risk. We suggest that if you are going to use this method, you back up all your important data as well as create a recovery disk for your existing setup.<br/><br/>The other method is to download the ISO and then use it. We suggest this method and advise you to free up some space on your computer's hard disk and then dual-boot. This is much safer.<br/><br/>ISO files can be downloaded from:<br/><br/><a href="http://iso.esd.microsoft.com/W9TPI/FD54DF81A4CCF4511BA1445C606DDBA2/WindowsTechnicalPreview-x64-EN-US.iso" target="_blank">64-bit ISO</a><br/><br/><a href="http://iso.esd.microsoft.com/W9TPI/FD54DF81A4CCF4511BA1445C606DDBA2/WindowsTechnicalPreview-x86-EN-US.iso" target="_blank">32-bit ISO</a><br/><div></div>

Windows 10 Preview now available. Get it here

True to its word, Microsoft released the Windows 10 Technical Preview on Wednesday night. This is an early version of the operating system a...

1 lakh units of Xiaomi RedMi 1S sold out in 4.2 seconds

<h3></h3><br/><a href="http://techprabhu.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/redmi_650_101414034148.jpg"><img alt="redmi_650_101414034148" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-394" height="188" src="http://techprabhu.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/redmi_650_101414034148-300x188.jpg" width="300" /></a><br/><br/>Another Tuesday and this means another bumper sale for Xiaomi. Flipkart, which is the official retail partner of Xiaomi, had put 1,00,000 units of the RedMi 1S smartphone for sale. It went out of stock in seconds.<br/><br/>The sale started at 2pm and finished before many prospective buyers could even click on the Buy button. The sale was open to only the people who had registered for it in advance.<br/><br/>Later, Manu Jain, Xiaomi's head for India, tweeted, "Today's sale: went out of stock in 4.2 seconds. Thanks for all your love and support," he said.<br/><br/>The RedMi 1S has a 4.7-inch screen with 720P resolution. It has 1GB RAM, a quad-core processor, 8GB internal storage and support for microSD card. The phone supports dual-SIM feature. It runs MiUI, a custom ROM based on Android.<br/><br/>

1 lakh units of Xiaomi RedMi 1S sold out in 4.2 seconds

Another Tuesday and this means another bumper sale for Xiaomi. Flipkart, which is the official retail partner of Xiaomi, had put 1,00,000 un...

LG L Bello Launched in India for Rs.18,500

<div class="grid__item  float--left  two-thirds  palm-one-whole  article__featured-image"><br/><div class="image-wrap"><img alt="LG_L_BELLO" class="riloadr-single" data-src-big="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/lg_l_bello-1050x736.jpg" data-src-small="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/lg_l_bello-335x235.jpg" src="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/lg_l_bello-1050x736.jpg" /></div><br/></div><br/><article class="post-article  js-post-gallery  grid__item  main  float--left  lap-and-up-two-thirds"><br/><h1 class="article__title  article__title--single"></h1><br/>LG has officially announced the launch of its L Bello smartphone in India at a price tag of Rs. 18,500. LG believes that the L Bello is an affordable yet powerful alternative to its flagship model  LG G3 and imbibes the same design language.<br/><br/>The smartphone has LG’s trademark rear key design with an arc curved back and tapered edges. It sports a 5-inch IPS 480 x 854 pixels display with 196 ppi pixel density. It is powered by a 1.3Ghz quad-core processor with Adreno 305 GPU, bundled with 1GB of RAM and a 2540 mAh battery to juice it up. The smartphone runs on the latest Android KitKat OS with LG UI 3.0 on top. The phone has an internal memory of 8GB expandable upto 32GB via SD card.<br/><br/>It has an 8MP rear camera along with a 1MP selfie cam, which comes with features such as ‘Touch & Shoot’, ‘Gesture Shot’and more. Also include are some UX features such as Knock Code, Smart Keyboard, Guest Mode, Capture Plus, Easy Home and QSlide<br/><br/>The phone will be available 3 colour variants namely White, Titan Black and Gold. As already mentioned, the LG L Bello is officially priced at Rs.18,500, though you can get it via online retailers in India at a little lower price.<br/><br/><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BbAV5znlEIo?wmode=transparent" width="300" height="150" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br/><br/></article>

LG L Bello Launched in India for Rs.18,500

LG has officially announced the launch of its L Bello smartphone in India at a price tag of Rs. 18,500. LG believes that the L Bello is an a...

Everything We Know About Apple’s Upcoming iMac

<div class="grid__item  float--left  two-thirds  palm-one-whole  article__featured-image"><br/><div class="image-wrap"><img alt="apple_imac_screenshot_official_website" class="riloadr-single" data-src-big="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/apple_imac_screenshot_official_website.jpg" data-src-small="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/apple_imac_screenshot_official_website-335x250.jpg" src="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/apple_imac_screenshot_official_website.jpg" /></div><br/></div><br/><article class="post-article  js-post-gallery  grid__item  main  float--left  lap-and-up-two-thirds"><br/><h1 class="article__title  article__title--single"></h1><br/><div class="article__title__meta"></div><br/><p class="description">Back in June, Apple unveiled a new cheaper iMac, but that wasn’t the one we were waiting for. Apple is expected to launch its first iMac with Retina screen on 16th October. The company’s last big update for iMac came last year in September when Apple added the Haswell processor, new graphics, next generation Wi-Fi and faster PCIe flash storage options.</p><br/><p class="description">As reported by 9to5Mac, which cites sources that have used the desktop, the rumored new iMac with Retina display will feature a thin profile similar to the current generation of iMac machines, alongside faster processors and improved Wi-Fi connectivity.</p><br/><br/><h3 class="description">RETINA DISPLAY</h3><br/><p class="description">According to the multiple reports, Apple will launch a 27-inch iMac with a 5K ‘Retina display’ screen. The screen will have a 5120 x 2880 resolution. This resolution is mentioned in the OS X Yosemite code. Earlier this year, French site, <a href="http://www.macbidouille.com/news/2014/06/04/il-y-aura-un-imac-retina-tres-bientot" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MacBidouille</a> claimed that the developer preview of Yosemite includes a file that refers to a display scaling resolution option for the iMac. Apparently, the file includes a collection of scaling resolution options for the new iMac. They max out at 6400 x 3600 pixels.</p><br/><p class="description">Also, the recent announcement of DisplayPort 1.3, which can support 5K (5120×2880 pixels) monitors using a single Display Port cable without the use of compression, can also make the 5K resolution in the high-res iMac models a reality. If you compare, the existing 21.5-inch iMac flaunts a 1920×1080 pixels resolution display, while the 27-inch variant boasts a 2560×1440 pixels resolution screen.</p><br/>There were previously suggestions that to qualify for the ‘Retina display’ definition, the resolution would only need to be 3,840 x 2,400 if Apple used ‘pixel doubling’. The cost involved in producing a 27-inch iMac with Retina display may also prove prohibitive, resulting in higher prices.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/retina-imac-2015.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-87083 size-large" height="388" src="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/retina-imac-2015-690x388.jpg" title="Everything We Know About Apples Upcoming iMac" width="690" /></a><br/><h3>INNARDS</h3><br/>According to leaks, new iMac will use the Haswell i7-4790K, with a base clock speed of 4.0GHz. We know, you are waiting for the Broadwell processor to arrive in the Mac, but those new Intel processors will “likely be added in an update next year. Also, it is said that the new iMacs will have AMD graphics rather than the Nvidia graphics of the current generation. Little is known about which graphics processor Apple has in mind, but it’ll need to be quite beefy if there is any hope at running 3D games at the native resolution of the display. Apart from this, some sources also hinted an upgrade in iMovie and Final Cut Pro video editing softwares. The software are likely to feature improved tools for editing 4K footage.<br/><h3>LOW-END IMACS</h3><br/>Well, it is said that the 21.5-inch model won’t be getting any considerable amount of iterations. We can expect the smaller iMac to be pretty much same as the previous generations at 1920×1080 (102 PPI), however, we can expect minor changes in CPU and GPU . While it’s disappointing that only the biggest model is getting a Retina update, it’s not particularly surprising. High-res displays are still very expensive, so it doesn’t make sense for the cheaper low-end iMacs. For now, 5K displays are still a rare and premium feature.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/apple_imac.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-78553" height="475" src="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/apple_imac.jpg" title="Everything We Know About Apples Upcoming iMac" width="635" /></a><br/><h3>WHEN DOES IT ARRIVE?</h3><br/>All the rumors regarding the new iMac have hinted that Apple will launch a new iMac, with a Retina display, at Apple’s confirmed special event on 16 October, which is expected to also see the launch of new <a href="http://www.igyaan.in/86532/upcoming-ipad/" title="Everything We Know About the Upcoming iPad Air 2">iPads</a>.<br/><div class="grid"></div><br/><div class="article__meta  article--single__meta"></div><br/><div id="disqus_thread"></div><br/></article><br/><div class="grid__item  one-third  palm-one-whole  sidebar"></div>

Everything We Know About Apple’s Upcoming iMac

Back in June, Apple unveiled a new cheaper iMac, but that wasn’t the one we were waiting for. Apple is expected to launch its first iMac wit...

Samsung Gear S Smartwatch Launched in India for Rs. 29,500

<div class="grid__item  float--left  two-thirds  palm-one-whole  article__featured-image"><br/><div class="image-wrap"><img alt="samsung-gear-s-front" class="riloadr-single" data-src-big="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/samsung-gear-s-front-1050x700.jpg" data-src-small="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/samsung-gear-s-front-335x223.jpg" src="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/samsung-gear-s-front-1050x700.jpg" /></div><br/></div><br/><article class="post-article  js-post-gallery  grid__item  main  float--left  lap-and-up-two-thirds"><br/><h1 class="article__title  article__title--single"></h1><br/><div class="article__title__meta"><br/><div class="article__author-name"></div><br/></div><br/>Along with the launch of latest flagship Galaxy Note 4, Samsung has also launched Gear S, the company’s newest smartwatch. The new smartwatch will be available from October 17th at the price tag of Rs. 29,500. Along with that, the company announced the partnership with Vodafone to give 2GB Data free for the users 2 months.<br/><br/>The new Tizen based smartwatch is the first smartwatch from Samsung with built-in 3G connectivity, and  have ability to connect to 3G and 2G networks on its own, meaning users won’t need to keep it wirelessly connected to a smartphone in order to get notifications or make calls.<br/><br/>The Samsung Gear S has a 2-inch curved AMOLED display. It is topped with dual-core 1GHz CPU inside along with GPS, heart rate and motion sensors. It is powered by a 300mAh battery which Samsung says can last up to two days. It runs Tizen instead of Android Wear, with pedestrian navigation available from from Nokia’s HERE and support for Facebook.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/samsung-gear-s_blue-black_2.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-83932 size-full" height="350" src="http://www.igyaan.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/samsung-gear-s_blue-black_2.jpg" title="Samsung Gear S Smartwatch Launched in India for Rs. 29,500" width="350" /></a><br/><br/>It also lets you reply to incoming messages using the onscreen keyboard, or S Voice functionality to complete your tasks. You can also make and receive calls directly from your wrist, or get calls forwarded from your smartphone.<br/><br/>The 2-inch curved AMOLED display is kept at a 360 x 480px resolution, which comes out to a fairly impressive 300 pixels per inch. The smartwatch does not sport a camera, and unlike Samsung’s other Tizen-based Gear watches, it has a standalone music player.<br/><br/></article>

Samsung Gear S Smartwatch Launched in India for Rs. 29,500

Along with the launch of latest flagship Galaxy Note 4, Samsung has also launched Gear S, the company’s newest smartwatch. The new smartwatc...

Sony Xperia Z3 review: Pricey but premium experience

<div class="hub-caption"><br/><h3 class="satory-h3">  In less than a year after it launched the Xperia Z2, Sony has come out with Xperia Z3. Announced at recently held IFA 2014, Berlin, along with its younger brother the Xperia Z3 Compact, the Z3 is the new flagship Android phone from Sony. When it comes to Sony smartphones, India is among the first countries to get them after their global launch. With the Z3 too, it is the same. We have been testing the product for more than a week. Read on to find if it is any good.</h3><br/></div><br/><div class="hub-caption"><br/><br/><b>Design</b><br/><br/><span class="storycentimg"><img align="left" alt="" border="0" hspace="0" src="http://media2.intoday.in/indiatoday/images/stories//2014September/dsc00795-650_100714115552.jpg" title="" vspace="0" /></span>When you look at the Sony Xperia Z3, it is easy to mistake it for the Xperia Z2. It seems as if Sony has gone into the 'designer's block' similar to that of Samsung, giving its next-generation smartphones just minor tweaks. But a closer look reveals some differences. The Xperia Z3 measures 5.75 x 2.83 x 0.29 inch (146 x 72 x 7.3 mm), making it slightly shorter, narrower, and much slimmer than the Z2. The device has tall looks due to its 5.2 -inch diagonal display. It is taller than competing phones like the Galaxy S5 and the HTC One (M8), which makes it a bit unwieldy.<br/><br/>It is possible to use the Z3 with a single hand, but it is in no way a pocket friendly smartphone.<br/><br/>Sony uses 'OmniBalance' design language for the Xperia series. The sleek metal-and-glass unibody of the Z3 is part of this design. The device has rounded edges, something that would help users carry it. The glass on the back of the Z3 is a fingerprint magnet. On the black Z3, these fingerprints and smudges are easily visible. The white one fares better in this aspect. It looks neat and the smudges are not all that easily visible on it.<br/><br/><b>Display</b><br/>The display on the Sony Xperia Z3 is very good. The 5.2-inch screen has a resolution 1080x1920 pixels. Sony claims the Z3 display can hit a peak of 600 nits of brightness. While we haven't calculated the numbers in absolute terms, we can confirm the Z3 display is very bright. This makes using it in sunlight a great experience. It is easy to read text on it, even if you are directly under the sun.<br/><br/>The colours are on the cooler side for our liking. They are also not as saturated as the colours on an AMOLED display. Though Sony's proprietary X-Reality engine does a good job of boosting colours to enhance saturation and contrast. However, we feel it could have done a better job.<br/><br/>We also think the Xperia Z2 offered better colour fidelity than the Xperia Z3. But viewing angles on the phone are better than what users got on the previous Xperia phones. Overall the display is really good.<br/><br/><b>Software</b><br/><br/><span class="storycentimg"><img align="left" alt="" border="0" hspace="0" src="http://media2.intoday.in/indiatoday/images/stories//2014September/dsc00788_100714103516.gif" title="" vspace="0" /></span>The Sony Xperia Z3 offers a UI that has some small little goodies that will put a smile on your face. For example, you can double tap on the display to wake up the phone. It runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system but comes with Sony's Xperia user interface. The UI is clean and has been kept minimalistic. Sony has changed the look and feel of some stock apps, but mostly it is for the better.<br/><br/>One great feature that we found on the Z3 was the screen recording function. To record what you are doing on the phone, you can long press the power button and choose from a 1080P or 720P video recording. This feature was introduced on Android KitKat but not many manufacturers have used it. There are also third-party screen recording apps available but they are usually paid apps and not that good. The Sony's screen recording feature is easy to use and has been implemented well on the Z3.<br/><br/>The Z3 includes Sony's DSEE HX (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) technology, which upscales audio tracks (MP3, AAC). The hi-res quality for audio is attained by analysing and enhancing the files, the frequency range, and by reducing noise and distortion. This is a great feature that audiophiles will appreciate, and the difference is quite evident. There is also support for noise cancelling headphones. The Sony Xperia Z3 comes with front-facing stereo speakers, but they are nowhere close to HTC Boomsound speakers found in the HTC One (M8).<br/><br/><b>Performance</b><br/><br/><span class="storycentimg"><img align="left" alt="" border="0" hspace="0" src="http://media2.intoday.in/indiatoday/images/stories//2014September/dsc00786-650_100714115552.jpg" title="" vspace="0" /></span>The Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor powers the Z3, which is one of the best processors smartphones can currently use. The processor is clocked at 2.5GHz. Overall performance is seamless and smooth whether you are working in apps like Facebook or playing 3D games. The phone does not lag at all. But the prolonged gaming sessions tend to heat up the device a little bit. We tried games like Dead Trigger 2 and Real Racing 3 and the Xperia Z3 was quite responsive and ran these games well.<br/><br/>If you care about the RAM in your phone, you will be happy to know that Sony is giving generous 3GB RAM in the Z3. On board, internal storage is 16GB and the usable space is around 12GB. There is also a microSD card slot that can be used to expand storage. Up to 128GB cards can be used with the Z3.<br/><br/><b>Camera</b><br/><br/><span class="storycentimg"><img align="left" alt="" border="0" hspace="0" src="http://media2.intoday.in/indiatoday/images/stories//2014September/dsc00793_100714103516.gif" title="" vspace="0" /></span>Camera is one of the most used features on a smartphone. And we feel that you will love the Z3 camera. The Z3 offers the same 20.7-megapixel 1/2.3" Exmor image sensor that we saw on the Z2. The size of pixels -- 1.12 micron -- is also same. The major difference is that the Z3 has a new 25mm G Lens (f2.0). The large image sensor also allows Sony to offer ISO of 12800 in the Z3. Though such high ISO is useless in a smartphone -- the sensor is too small -- it is nice to know that the functionality is there.<br/><br/>The Z3's camera app is easy to use, especially the Superior Auto mode, which attempts to automatically pick the best settings for you, depending on the scene you are trying to capture. The Superior Auto mode shoots at 8-megapixels out of the box, but it does use the full resolution of the 20-megapixel sensor. It scales down the images so you end up with high-quality 8-megapixel photos. There are also some other interesting camera modes in the Z3. For example, there is Info Shot, which attempts to give you useful information about the object that you're photographing.<br/><br/><span class="storycentimg"><img align="left" alt="" border="0" hspace="0" src="http://media2.intoday.in/indiatoday/images/stories//2014September/dsc_0007_100714103516.gif" title="" vspace="0" /></span>The images that we shot with the Z3 were good and balanced. The images shot in low light were also mostly noise free and clear. The images captured in daylight have natural tones and are clean. The 2.2-megapixel front-facing shooter does a good job for selfies, with natural colours and details in good light. In low light, the performance of the front camera is not good.<br/><br/>With the Z3 you can also do 1080P video recording, either in 30FPS or more smoother 60FPS. The "steady shot" gives clear and sharp video footage and the stabilisation while panning and tilting is amazing. The Z3 is also capable of shooting 4K video. Though the phone captures a lot of detail in the 4K mode, it also heats up the device and takes a lot of space on the internal storage.<br/><br/><b>Battery life</b><br/><br/><span class="storycentimg"><img align="left" alt="" border="0" hspace="0" src="http://media2.intoday.in/indiatoday/images/stories//2014September/dsc00778-650_100714115552.jpg" title="" vspace="0" /></span>The Z3 has a 3100mAh, non-removable battery. While using the device, we found that it lasts full day of use with ease. According to the company's spec sheet, the Z3 offers 16 hours of 3G talk time or 37 days of stand-by time. It is also capable of delivering up to 130 hours of continuous music listening, or up to 10 hours of video playback. But don't go by big numbers. This is a power-hungry smartphone and even if you are very careful with how you use it, the device will not last more than 24 hours on one full charge.<br/><br/><b>Should you buy it?</b><br/><br/><span class="rupee">Rs.</span>51,990 is a steep price for a smartphone. In fact, the Z3 is just slightly cheaper than the iPhone 6, which will go on sale from October 17 in India. That being true, the Z3 is also an exceptional smartphone. It ticks all the right boxes. It has a good screen, a good camera, fast performance, and superb battery life. It even throws in a slim design which is water resistant, and that is one trick the iPhone cannot replicate. Arguably, at the moment, it is the best large-screen Android smartphone in the market.<br/><br/><img align="left" alt="" border="0" hspace="0" src="http://media2.intoday.in/indiatoday/images/stories//2014September/dsc00777_100714103516.gif" title="" vspace="0" /><br/><br/></div><br/><div></div>

Sony Xperia Z3 review: Pricey but premium experience

In less than a year after it launched the Xperia Z2, Sony has come out with Xperia Z3. Announced at recently held IFA 2014, Berlin, along ...