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Phone, Tablet & Gizmo Thread

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 7:06 am
by Singha
Starter

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 12:06 pm
by Mort Walker
Singhaji,

So glad you’re here! Welcome!

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 6:52 pm
by AdityaM
Have a brand new LG G Tablet 8.3 obtained from Singapore
Opened it after almost 2 years. And the damn thing has a defect.
The screen backlight doesn't work. The screen is dark and I can see text displayed on it if I flash light on it.

LG doesn't sell tablets in India and won't repair it either. :oops: :cry:

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 4:45 am
by Marten
Next Amazon sale comes up in two days. Reccos for decent phones?

LG Q6 was available for 12k; am expecting the Q6+ to be available for a few rs more. If Asus ZP4 Selfie Pro/S Max are available at that price range, shall plonk for one. Also, decide to pick up an AVR from India itself due to service issues being reported by friends in BOM/BLR. Apparently, even regular paid service is difficult for Denon/Onkyo while Yamaha service centers are sympathetic but charge a fair sum more. Units bought in Japan are treated with a little more respect, but not sure why.

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 5:30 am
by BhairavP
Budget for phone?
If you're spending ~20k, the Moto G5/G5+ should work - they've committed to timely OS updates now.

For the AVR, why not pre-owned? hifivision.com had a Denon X1200W for ~29k, lightly used. Bargain at the price.

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 5:31 am
by Mort Walker
Marten,

Glad to see you here. Have you looked at any of the Marantz AVR lineup? They're pretty good. Onkyo had issues with main boards recently, but I don't know if that is still a problem.

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 5:35 am
by Sridhar k
Marten wrote:
Tue Oct 03, 2017 4:45 am
Next Amazon sale comes up in two days. Reccos for decent phones?

LG Q6 was available for 12k; am expecting the Q6+ to be available for a few rs more. If Asus ZP4 Selfie Pro/S Max are available at that price range, shall plonk for one. Also, decide to pick up an AVR from India itself due to service issues being reported by friends in BOM/BLR. Apparently, even regular paid service is difficult for Denon/Onkyo while Yamaha service centers are sympathetic but charge a fair sum more. Units bought in Japan are treated with a little more respect, but not sure why.
Bought Q6 for shq. Phone is cute, decent display and so far so good. Not sure how does it fare for heavy duty users. Wanted to avoid all Chipanda ones

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 5:48 am
by Marten
Damn, this finally feels like being back home!

BhairavP, shall look it up. Typically I don't trust folks on hts/avf because chaps tend to sell of refurbed pieces as gently used (unless the person is a well known entity on the forum and his selection/purchasing experience was documented on the forum itself). In fact, my BIL bought a 12 yo amp from a "forum friend" and is yet to share model info/pics because he is afraid I will hadap the beauty. My guess is rokson or rega because he's been a fan for a while. I'm also a little scared of buying any items that are out of warranty. I mean, then it would make more sense to buy from Singapore or Malaysia itself.
MWji, Marantz has taken a right beating in India. I don't see any new models in showrooms. As in, perhaps even ads etc. are not as easy to come by. If you mean 7011/7012 (released in Sep, but won't be in India until next yr), I would have to sell one of the kids. hehe.

Q6+ or Asus Zenfone 4s would be about the same price range during the sale. SHQ has citi so that's an added benefit. :D

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:26 am
by Javee
Marten,
Welcome. I second the Malaysia/S'pore purchase, in-fact which ever country has 220V electronics, massa is cheap but it brings some practical issues. My current setup has a (3*1)kw step down transformers to run the gear I have. Another problem I have is that my media room has a 15A breaker and any further load, I may need to upgrade that to 20A load. And all of this is for a 2 channel audio. I'm not intending to spend money on 5.1/7.1. It's better to buy a HTIB and get over with it. :roll:

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:27 am
by Raju
all these duplicate samsung, sony led sets that are sold in ebay etc, how does one find out that in process if landing a *deal*, one has genuine stuff or not ??

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:34 am
by Javee
Samsung and Sony have genuine authorized distributors/dealers, if its a range that's sold in India, even if its slightly higher priced get it from them. If its not a range that's sold in India, I will stay away from them.

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 11:07 am
by Singha
looks like pixel 2 with unlimited cloud storage will be released tomorrow.
a huge ad has been put in blr airport arrivals path.

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 11:16 am
by Gus
unlimited? that could dent into apple which fleeces you after the 5 GB limit.

does it have thin bezels like samsung?

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 11:31 am
by V J
Gus wrote:
Tue Oct 03, 2017 11:16 am
unlimited? that could dent into apple which fleeces you after the 5 GB limit.

does it have thin bezels like samsung?
From the many "leaks"

Pixel 2
Image

Image

Pixel XL 2

Image

Image

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 11:38 am
by Gus
XL has smaller bezels than regular. wonder why..

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 12:19 pm
by Zynda
XL is more premium and is targeted towards consumers willing to spend upwards of $750. Also it seems like the Google Lens feature will be exclusive to Pixel phones line for some time and will debut on Android 8.1.

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 12:49 pm
by V J
Is this the future?

@AroonDeep https://twitter.com/AroonDeep/status/915138348590575616
Just got my first verified WhatsApp message — a flight ticket.

Image
Or would it better belong in this thread: https://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewt ... &start=920 ?

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 1:20 pm
by jamwal
Why are people here buying Chinese brands ? :evil: :evil:

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 1:39 pm
by V J
jamwal wrote:
Tue Oct 03, 2017 1:20 pm
Why are people here buying Chinese brands ? :evil: :evil:
Obscure Chinese phone companies ring in big plans for India
http://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes ... a/57700361

A Tinno phone? Or a Huaqin or a Malata? The world’s second largest and fastest growing mobile phone market is about to be flooded by virtually unheard of Chinese brands. Not to forget Infinix and Cat phones —products from other countries that are relatively less known but have big plans for India.
............................. Chinese brands have already taken four out of the top five slots in India’s smartphone segment:
Xiaomi at No 2, followed by Lenovo, Oppo and Vivo. The share of China-based vendors is a huge 46% for the October-December 2016 quarter.
Today morning a relative called me to ask, "How is this Tenor phone?"
Me: what? :?
Rel: 10.or
Me: wtf is that?
Rel: Amazon frontpage banner advertising this phone and it has stock Android just like how you always advocate
Me: hang on. (log on to Amazon, boom - front page banner)

Image

Truth be told, it ticks all the boxes in terms of specs:

13MP +13MP dual rear camera with dual tone LED flash
16MP front camera with LED flash
Pure Android v7.1.2 Nougat OS with 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 octa-core processor with Adreno 506 GPU
4 GB RAM and 64 GB internal memory expandable up to 128GB
4000 mAH battery providing up to 2 days of battery life with regular use
13.5 centimeters (5.5-inch) Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS 2.5D curved display with Gorilla Glass 3 protection

My only argument to dissuade him was that its not really a known brand but then again the stock android alternative is a Moto G5 Plus or the Xiaomi Mi A1 - Chinese! :oops:

Why on earth don't the likes of Micromax or the other Indian 'phonemakers' start making decent stock android phones is beyond me :x

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 2:40 pm
by Singha
vivo and oppo have spent untold crores over the last year to flood with ads.

deepika for oppo and ranvir for vivo are on every hoarding and tv channel.

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 2:48 pm
by jamwal
Most non-cheeni phones can be flashed quite easily if one needs stock android or whatever os they want.

A Chinese brand will be my last choice for concerns related to privacy, quality, support and the whole country in general.
I saw some one plus phone with someone I know. 4 ampere charger but a non-standard port. I thought that all companies had agreed to one universal standard

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:09 pm
by Gus
Why on earth don't the likes of Micromax or the other Indian 'phonemakers' start making decent stock android phones is beyond me :x
this was foretold long back by Suraj.

the likes of micromax etc are playing with merely assembling from production runs in China with no real value added IP and brand building etc and are at risk whenever the chinese vendor decides to set up shop directly here.

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 7:25 pm
by Mort Walker
Marten,

Too bad about Marantz. Like all high end audio, markup is 50% of MSRP. In the US, volume authorized dealers will sell for 70-75%. Whatever you do, don’t skimp on amp power. What damages speakers are they are often underpowered and if you overdrive the amp at high volumes you get severe distortion. Music is dynamic so the amp has to deliver lots of current when impedences will often dip down below 4 ohms on 8 ohm rated speakers. There is no such thing as overpowering your speakers.

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 3:48 am
by Singha
Gus wrote:
Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:09 pm
this was foretold long back by Suraj.

the likes of micromax etc are playing with merely assembling from production runs in China with no real value added IP and brand building etc and are at risk whenever the chinese vendor decides to set up shop directly here.
correct. they contributed nothing to the hw and sw design barring a few indian language modules and junk apps. infact the same cheen maker will supply the same base phone to various MMXs over the world who then rebrand in their own logos, boxes and junk apps...in whatever quantity desired. and the models keep moving MMX has been through 10s of 'models' each of which represent a 100k-200k production run, a new name and off they go. ask for support hw on the old models, one gets zero.

i observe the middle class now avoid these junks and go with samsung or apple. even xiaomi and one plus are not so popular outside a narrow itvity munna segment which is a rounding error vs total market size.

with vivo , oppo etc the OEMs spending big here, these mmx/lava/karbonn are penned up in low end which cheen makers have not entered yet. they will never be able to break out even into mid range prominence now, due to missing the chance to invest in manufacturing, design and sw 5 years ago when they were cash rich. and perhaps being a OEM was never the intent of the promoters when 'trading' brings in enough money

actually mmx/karbonn/lava were the launch vehicles of the android one initiative by google flagged off by pichai himself. but it never caught on among consumers as who is interested in pure android - only the enthusiast and itvity munna - they want powerful phones with big snappy screens to enjoy pure android not weak lowered 8k phones as the offerings were

Re: Phone tablet gizmo thread

Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 6:29 am
by V J