Phicomm Energy 653 review

After launching the mid-range Passion 660, Chinese handset maker Phicomm has introduced an entry level smartphone — Phicomm Energy 653 — with 4G connectivity at just Rs 4,999; making it the cheapest 4G-enabled smartphone along with the ZTE Blade Qlux 4G.

We used the Phicomm Energy 653 to find out if it's worth a buy...

Build and design
The Phicomm Energy 653 smartphone offers nothing new when it comes to design and looks strikingly similar to Huawei Honor 4X smartphone.

The front is dominated by a 5-inch display, and also houses an earpiece, sensor array and the front camera. There are no physical buttons at the front but three capacitive touch keys.

The phone comes with a removable cover with glossy finish and has Phicomm branding at the centre, along with rear camera and LED flash at the top left corner and a speaker grille at the bottom.

Removing the cover reveals two micro sim card slots, with the first one supporting 4G, and a microSD card slot along with a removable battery.

The power and volume rocker keys, made of plastic, are placed at the right edge and offer good tactile feedback.


The 3.5mm headset jack is at the top along with the micro-USB port.

At 144x70x8mm and weighing just 125gm, the phone feels light and durable.

Display
The Phicomm Energy 653 sports a 5-inch screen with HD (1280x720p) IPS display. The phone has a sharp display with good viewing angles. It also has decent sunlight legibility. A little prone to smudges, the smartphone offers a surprisingly good display at this price.


Software
The Phicomm Energy 653 smartphone runs Android Lollipop 5.0 with Phicomm's customized Expect UI skin running on top. The software comes with some tweaks or customizations.

The UI features homescreens with a separate app launcher. The smartphone features some stock Android native apps for Calculator Phone and Messaging, among others with customised Music, Compass, and File Manager apps.

The phone allows users to customize hardware buttons and touch keys. For instance, one can program the power key to end a call or home button to answer incoming calls.

Hardware and performance
The Phicomm Energy 653 is a dual-sim smartphone powered by a quad-core 1.1GHz, Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor and comes with 1GB RAM with 8GB internal storage out of which about 5GB is available to the user. Users who want more storage space can install microSD cards of up to 64GB.

In terms of performance, we didn't notice much lag while navigating through the UI and switching between apps. We were able to play games like Minion Rush without encountering frame drops or freezes.

We did face some problems while using the GPS feature as the phone was unable to detect our location a number of times.


Connectivity features of the phone include 2G, 3G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB. We were able to use Airtel's 4G network in Delhi-NCR without any hiccups.

The phone packs a 2,300mAh battery (removable) and will last you a full day if you use 3G data all the time. You'll be able to make about 1-2 hours of phone calls, play some casual games and browse the web in this time period. Your mileage may vary with different usage patterns.

Camera
Phicomm Energy 653 smartphone features an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and a 2MP front-facing camera. The phone takes good pictures with accurate colour reproduction.

Pictures in daylight turned out to be decent; however, pictures taken in low light were not as good and missed out on detail.

The front camera is good for taking occasional selfies and video chats.

Verdict
At Rs 4,999, the phone joins the ZTE Blade Qlux 4G smartphone as the cheapest 4G-enabled smartphone. Although both phones have similar specs, the Phicomm gains an edge over the Qlux 4G smartphone with better rear camera and HD display. Even though it comes with low-end hardware, the phone doesn't disappoint and offers better than expected performance.

Users who are a little skeptical of buying a phone from a relatively unknown brand can go for the Moto E 4G at Rs 7,499.

How Could You Benefit From Fiber-Optic Broadband?

About the author:

Neal Bricker is a passionate tech blogger and writer and tries to follow all the latest developments in technology.

Dubbed as the future of broadband, fiber optic broadband is the latest and the most important advancement in broadband technology. The transmission of data through fiber optic cables is ultra-fast, thereby providing a high speed internet connection.

A great number of people people have switched to this latest broadband invention because of its numerous benefits. You can also check Verizon Fios availability in your area and jump the bandwagon.

A fast internet connection has several advantages. This article will look at some of these benefits:

·      Let’s You Do It Quick

Though the installation of the fiber optic internet can take hours compared to your regular broadband, the fact that it provides a commercial grade internet service cannot be ignored.

Usually there are a lot of users in a single home who use the internet. Your father might want to use the internet for browsing a particularly heavy content website, your brother might want to play an online game while you wish to download a movie. For so many users, it is important that you have access to a high speed internet connection at your home.

Fiber optic broadband allows for downloading movies in mere minutes and streaming takes barely seconds. Moreover you will face no issues of latency and time lag when playing online games. With this website you will not have to scowl and wait for a movie to buffer or download when you call your friends for a slumber party.

Everyone can benefit from high speed internet while simultaneously accessing the internet on different devices and for different purposes.

·      Interference? No More!

Since this type of an internet connection requires fiber optic cables to transmit data and deliver signals, it is resistant to potential interruptions and blockage. Power lines which are nearby or high voltage electrical items are not likely to cause any interference when accessing the internet.

Earlier home users were stuck with copper lines for data transmission which were vulnerable to interruptions and delivered low internet signals. However, with the introduction of fiber cables, you can easily overcome the problems previously experienced with copper wires. 

·      Easy connection to cell phones

The internet has revolutionized the world. Apps like Skype, FaceTime and Viber have overcome traditional phone lines as they offer much more that too at affordable rates. However, for these to work and for you to enjoy an uninterrupted audio or video conversation you need a fast internet connection.

It is no fun if you have slow internet connection because then the audio and video will lag and make it difficult to have fun.

Fiber broadband allows you to have uninterrupted connection with people through such applications as it delivers fast internet speed and has a high bandwidth, allowing you to connect internet to your cell phones and other devices easily and quickly.

·      Sit Down and Relax - It’s Reliable

As mentioned earlier, fiber broadband is resistant to potential interferences; it shows that how reliable it really is. Also, it is not likely to suffer from a power outage. As a result, it is extremely beneficial for home users. Constant connection and access to internet means that your work will face no obstruction or delay.

For home users, fiber optic broadband connection makes a lot of sense. As there are multiple users who require internet access for multiple purposes and on multiple devices. So do not delay, and allow yourself to enjoy a fast internet connection that allows you to do it all.

Mail me for Guest Posts in dilipstechnoblog.com (dilipgeoffrey@gmail.com)

Quality Learning. Technology-based Convenience. Proven Results – BYJU’s Learning App and Tablet Based Courses

The BYJU’s Learning App and Tablet Based Courses provide a student with the opportunity of being trained by some of India’s best teachers, not only helping him/her stay ahead of his/her peers in class, but also helping the student understand the core concepts through logic and inquiry, instead of rote-based or bookish learning. 

The BYJU’s Learning App provides access to video lectures that will help students from Class VII through Class XII for Mathematics and Science, including Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. The lectures are designed depending on the class in which the student is, to ensure that the student develops a sound scientific base from the very beginning.

Furthermore, BYJU’S Learning App offers you the most convenient way to nurture and enhance the quality and effectiveness of learning by allowing the student to study from the comfort of his/her home, and at a pace that is suitable to him/her. Without a doubt, the App sets the stage in India, for being the most effective next-gen learning platform, and arguably, the first ever, designed to deliver and connect with the faculty through video classes. 

The content provided by BYJU’S Learning App is specially designed by well-read IIT & IIM graduates to help a student (or his/her parent) monitor and analyze their (their son’s/daughter’s) progress in an extremely easy and efficient manner; this is just another plus that this App provides in enhancing overall learning experience of the student.

BYJU’s Learning App has the following features:

- Engaging Video Lessons: Designed by some of India’s best teachers in their respective fields, the video class modules provide a seamless learning experience, covering the entire curriculum in the process; clarity and clear dissemination of knowledge, especially for the most complicated topics are the driving concepts of this learning platform; this helps elevate the interest of a child in the subject. Modules cover ICSE, CBSE Sample Papers for Class 7–10 students and AIPMT & IIT JEE curricula for Class 11–12 students.

- Complete Syllabus Coverage: The modules cover the curricula of all State-level Education Boards, and the ICSE as well as the CBSE Boards for Class 7, 8, 9, and 10. For Classes 11–12, the syllabus also includes modules for extensive IIT JEE or AIPMT Preparation depending on the subjects the student has taken up. 

- Chapter wise Tests: Mock Tests, Practice, and Chapter wise tests are designed for CBSE, ICSE, State Boards, IIT JEE, and AIPMT Preparation. 

- Detailed Analysis: Detailed progress and performance reports are provided, which assist in preparing a better study plan to improve the student’s performance.

- Personal Guidance Provided: Expert faculty from India’s top institutes are readily available on call to provide guidance and clear doubts or queries to provide a smooth learning experience. This is done because constant guidance helps in laying a strong foundation for IIT JEE and AIPMT Preparation. 

- Adaptive Learning: Learn in a way that works best for you through our adaptive learning modules, which are designed to cater to each student’s personal learning needs.

Across India, students in their thousands have been using the mobile learning and tablet training modules for the CAT Exam, IAS Exam, & IIT JEE and have been successfully and consistently securing top ranks in the competitive exams. 

With a total of 87 Civil Services selections, 4 rank holders in IIT Top 100, a success ratio of 1 out of every 7 student receiving confirmation from an IIM, and many, many more satisfied students and parents, all in the first year in which this new mode of learning was launched, speaks volumes about the effectiveness of our courses. In addition, we have received more than 6.5 Lakh likes on Facebook, making us the most liked Education and EdTech Company—another testament to the number of people satisfied with our courses

Owing to the effectiveness of their methods, and the quality of their courses, they have been recognized and awarded by various companies and news channels. Some of BYJU’s achievements are as follows: 

1. CNBC TV18 Crisil Emerging India Award for Education

2. Deloitte Technology Fast 50 India and Fast 500 Asia Award 

3. NDTV Profit Business Service Excellence Award

4. ET Now Education Excellence Award

Facebook launches reaction buttons beyond 'like' to become more expressive

Like it or not, Facebook Inc's trademark "like" button is set to get more expressive.

Users will soon be able to do more than "like" posts. They will be able to love them and express sympathy, anger or sadness with animated emoticons.

The social network said on Thursday it was launching a pilot test of "reactions", with users able to select from seven emotions, including "like" and "wow".

"Dislike", however, is not one of the options.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post on Thursday that users had been requesting ways other than "like" to respond to posts, such as when someone posts about the death of a loved one or a tragic news story.

"Not every moment is a good moment, and sometimes you just want a way to express empathy," Mr Zuckerberg wrote, after saying last month the company was working on expanding the like button.

"A like might not be the best way to express yourself."

In a video accompanying a Facebook post by chief product officer Chris Cox, the six new buttons appear as animated emoticons and pop up when the "like" button is long-pressed.

The company said it would pilot the new features in Ireland and Spain on iOS, Android and desktops. The feedback from the pilot test will be used to improve the feature.

The company hopes "to roll it out to everyone soon", Mr Cox wrote in the post, which was "liked" by more than 7,500 people within two hours.

"As you can see, it's not a 'dislike' button, though we hope it addresses the spirit of this request more broadly," Mr Cox wrote.

Mr Zuckerberg's comments last month, which many users took to mean the social network was working on a "dislike" button, spearheaded a debate over whether it would cause cyberbullying and negativity on the site.

But users mostly welcomed Mr Cox's announcement, saying on social media it was a smart idea.

Facebook user Marc Marasco posted on Cox's Facebook page: "Elegant solution", while Tony DeLisi wrote: "Cheers to nuance".