Windows 10 Free Upgrade (Even For Pirated Windows Versions)

While Microsoft hasn't provide a specific date for the release of it's new operating system, the long hyped OS is said to be released this summer in 190 countries and 111 languages.

The tech giant is going to provide free upgrades to Windows 7 and it's 8.1 users. Before this newly announced upgrade, all the previous ones were primarily allowed for the officially licensed copies of Windows requiring some authentication and license approval along the upgrade steps. This time Microsoft is willing to provide those Windows 10 upgrades to pirated(non-genuine) version too. Though the upgraded Windows will be still in-genuine. 

This will allow some majority users of Windows (currently running mostly Windows 7 and 8.1) to switch to Windows 10 making the transition more smooth.

With all the bug fixes and new features like

• Start Menu (Re-united)
• Multiple Desktops
• Fast Files Search
• Snap Enhancements,

Windows 10 is really worth the trouble of the upgrade. And this time the upgrades are free of hassles. Though it is not recommended without checking the criteria required by the machine for the upgrade.

The 190 countries includes Asian countries like China and it must consist of Nepal too. Though the list of countries hasn't been disclosed yet.

If you cannot wait for the official release, you can download the technical preview of windows 10 from this link.You must know what you are doing while trying this Technical Preview since it is not supported in every device and might require some technical skills to run it.

If you do dare to use the Preview, don't forget to check out the Cortana.

Update Galaxy Note 3 (SM-N900) to Android 5.0 Lollipop manually

Samsung has recently released an OTA update of Android 5.0 Lollipop for it's Galaxy Note 3(SM-N900). It's about 837.27 MB. If you want the update via OTA then you can goto setting>>about phone>>software update>>update. But if you haven't received the update then today we are going to update the Note 3(SM-N900) manually.

Since, this is an official build you will not void your warranty. We will use Odin to flash the offcial update. Odin is an official software provided by Samsung for flashing. So the bottom line is that you will not be using any harmful or risky software to update your Note 3 to Lollipop OS and also you will not lose any of your apps or data from your phone.

Root access isn’t required for this process. But this guide can be completed for both rooted and locked smartphones. Unfortunately, if your Galaxy Note 3 is rooted, after installing Android 5.0 Lollipop OS, root will be revoked(removed) – you will have to follow a new root method that is compatible with the new Lollipop built, or else you might end up in bricking your phone while trying to unlock its system.

Because this is a manual update operation, I recommend you to backup your personal data, info and accounts before going any further. Even though this is not a custom ROM and you are using Odin for completing the flashing process, your data might still get corrupted or even wiped out. Therefore, take your time and use compatible backup and restore apps from Google Play, or other similar tools and save anything that you might use or need afterwards – such as contacts list, call logs, market apps, text messages, EFS folder, internet settings, images, videos or audio files. If possible, save your current ROM too by making a Nandroid backup.

A computer must be used on this process. You also have to use your Galaxy Note 3 as a connection between your devices. On the computer you are using, temporarily deactivate security protection because antivirus-like tools might interfere with the update process. Then, on your smartphone, from “menu >>settings >> developer options” enable USB debugging option (if you don't see developer option then goto about phone >> tap build number rapidly and you'll get developer option) else you might not be able to properly connect your phone with your computer.

Make sure that your Note 3 has enough battery life left – the battery status should indicated more than 50% power left – if different plug in the charger before going any further. Do that as if your phone gets turned off in the middle of the update operation, it might also get bricked. You can perform this step on other model but I'm currently using SM-N900 model for this update.

Note: We are not liable if you damage your phone while performing these steps.

How to Update Galaxy Note 3 N900 to Android 5.0 Lollipop OS

• On the computer you are using, download Odin and Samsung KIES. (Samsung KIES is required for updating your phone drivers,so it is necessary to download KIES to your PC)
• Unzip Odin and follow on screen prompts for installing the program on your PC.
• Then, use Samsung KIES and install the Galaxy Note 3 USB drivers on your computer.
• Finally, from this page download the Android 5.0 Lollipop firmware according to your region (I'm choosing India). Place the update package on desktop and unzip the files on the same place.
• Run Odin on your computer.
• Enter your Galaxy Note 3 into download mode – just turn off your phone and then press and hold power, volume down and home buttons at the same time.
• Connect your device with your computer via USB cable.
• Once the connection is established, on Odin you should see the “added” message displayed and the ID:COM section turned yellow or blue. (If it doesn't turn yellow or blue then be sure to check your Samsung KIES is turned off. Or uninstall Samsung KIES restart your PC, Install KIES again and restart your PC and turn off KIES from taskbar and then it'll work)
• Now, from the program pick the “PA” option and then pick the Lollipop firmware package.
• Don’t change anything else on Odin (Auto Reboot and F. Reset Time options should be checked) and click on “start”.
• Wait while Lollipop OS is being updated to your Samsung Galaxy Note3.
• When done, the “pass” message will be displayed on Odin while the ID:COM section will turn green.
• Unplug the USB cord and reboot your phone as you are done.

If during the update process Odin gets turned off, you need to close the program and remove the USB cable. Then, you should reinstall USB drivers on your computer and force restart your device. In the end, return to the steps from above and repeat the update process from the beginning.
Also, after completing this update process, your Galaxy Note 3 might get stuck in a boot loop. If that happens, you should enter recovery mode on your Android device(For entering into recovery mode first you have to turn off your device, wait a few seconds and then press power and volume up buttons at the same time for a few seconds.) From recovery mode you should then apply “wipe data factory reset” and “wipe cache partition”. In the end select “reboot system now” and you are done.

Congratulations; you have successfully updated your Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (SM-N900) to Android 5.0 Lollipop firmware. And that's it about how to Update Galaxy Note 3(SM-N900) to Android 5.0 Lollipop manually. Test your software and do share our it with our readers with the help of comment box below.                                                                                                                           

Thanks to Android HOST and SAMMOBILE for providing us the Download Files and Firmware.

Micromax Canvas Fire 4 with Android Lollipop Launched

Indian handset manufacturer Micromax has officially announced the Canvas Fire 4 in India for $113. The handset is available for purchase in India from today, but the pricing is still unknown in Nepal. But we expect this handset to be priced around Nrs.19,000 in Nepal, as due to the popularity of Micromax's Canvas series in Nepal, we expect this handset to be available soon in Nepal.

Now let's talk about the specifications of the Micromax Canvas Fire 4. It features a 4.5-inch FWVGA (480×854 pixels) resolution display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Inside it  is powered by a quad core CPU (unspecified chipset), 1 GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage with microSD card expansion up to 32GB.The Canvas Fire 4 spots a 8-megapixel rear with LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera for taking selfies. It has a 2000mAh battery that provides the standby time of 300 hours according to the company.

The major thing to notice in Canvas Fire 4 is it's software. It runs on Android's latest software , Android Lollipop 5.0 out of the box and is Micromax first smartphone to have it. Like other Canvas Fire series, the Canvas Fire 4 has dual front-firing speakers, but this time the sound quality is enhanced with the Cirrus Logic Wolfsan Stereo DAC (WM8918) audio output.

Looking at it's connectivity feature, Micromax Canvas Fire 4 has dual SIM functionality, Wi-fi b/g/n, Hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, micro USB port, and GPS.  It will be sold in two color options which include Black and Silver color.

Gionee Elife S7 officially launched at MWC 2015

With the day passing, MWC 2015 is bringing more devices for the consumers around Globe. Unveiling of new smartphones has not stopped in MWC 2015. Following the hype about Galaxy S6, HTC One M9, Sony Xperia Z4 tablets, the Company which is slowly following behind them "Gionee"has revealed it's latest flagship smartphone from Elife series which is "Elife S7". It is the successor to the Gionee 5.5 and 5.1 smartphones.The Gionee Elife S7 will launch in Macau on March 18th and India on April 3 for €400 (Rs.45,000). Considering this, we have narrowed our articles to 6 detailed steps, let's see what this phone has to offer

Design & Features

The design is not much to complain about, it is a premium feeling phone made of aviation-grade alloy and a stainless steel sheet with nano-molding plastic, making the phone solid and durable with no worry of bending in pockets like competitors’ slim products.which is just 5.5mm thin. It's unibody design consists of Gorilla glass 3 on the front and rear. The body has grooved sides, which Gionee calls a U-shaped skeleton. It is a dual sim phone with 4G LTE capability. It packs 2,750mAh battery which is polished by a number of power-saving features based on its research. It is powered by Mediatek’s new 64-bit 1.7Ghz octa core processor with 2GB RAM and 16GB of storage,sadly the phone doesn't have any micro SD expansion slot so you will have to compromise something. It's good to see that Companies like Gionee are adapting premium design with reasonable pricing.

Gionee Elife S7 comes in three colors: Black, White and Blue.

Display

S7 features a 5.2” AMOLED screen with 1080p resoulution and 424ppi screen, that will provide you vivid colors while consuming media.It also has to offer improved brightness,higher saturation, Its ACL technology is said to reduce the power usage by 25%, while the AMOLED screen are known to be battery efficient then LED and O-LED displays. It uses Corning Gorilla Glass 3 to protect against scratches, so no worries about scratches from keys or other sharp materials. 

Gionee's own Amigo 3.0 on top of Android 5.0

Software and Hardware

The software that Gionee has to offer you is Gionee’s new Amigo 3.0 user interface that is based on the latest Android 5.0, it is also the first Gionee device to get Amigo 3.0 . The device is powered by MediaTek MT6752 chipset which is made up of a 64-bit processor with eight 1.7GHz Cortex-A53 cores and Mali-T760 GPU with 2GB of RAM. The HPM technology enables the processors to run at a high speed. So we can expect some good fluent software experience, hopefully we can see an optimized Amigo 3.0, while we can't promise you about minor bugs and lags(The Company will fix it with future updates).

Camera

Gionee's camera is nowhere to be suspected, Gionee has done a good job in it's recent camera technology and S7 is no exception here. It comes with a 13MP rear camera with Gionee's new “image+” image processing system which enables the phone to capture 6 pictures in 1 second which is really impressive and cool. Gionee has even more impressive feature on the table, that it can capture a picture with only 500 milliseconds, and its focus time is only 300 milliseconds. On the front it has a 8MP sensor. The S7’s 8MP front camera features intelligent Face beauty 3.0 technology with which the device can estimate peoples’ gender and age, and recommend the best over the face beauty effects for more natural selfie photos. We can overall praise Gionee for it's wonderful job in camera department.

Battery

Nowadays most of the user look for impressive battery life and Gionee has also focused more in this department.Gionee has added a lot of optimization to this phone for better battery life with its 2750MAh battery, while Gionee should be praised for the software optimization too. Although the battery is non-removable. ACL technology used in its display reduces power consumption by 25%. There’s also a Dark theme, which further drops power draw by 30% compared to the default theme. A new sensor hub enables the CPU to wake up 20% less. Gionee estimates it has improved battery life by 32% and the phone should go for two days. Gionee has also include a extreme mode in case of emergencies, which restricts the phone features and gives 33hours of standby by freezing functions except calling and text messages to ensure basic communications on just 10% of battery.Clearly a lot of work and hard effort has been put into this phone for a longer battery life.While we still can't confirm about it's battery life now, we can hope to see the battery life of Elife S7 in coming days.   

Audio

S7 has superior sound quality on the table with Hi-Fi standard sound system that features sound restorations.With the built-in tailor-made speaker and Smart PA, users can enjoy consuming media and gaming, bringing a home theater system like experience to an ultra slim phone with  DTS audio enhancement.     

Sony unveiled the new Xperia Z4 tablet at MWC 2015

Following the leaks from last week, that we mentioned as the top 5 hot product to be launched MWC 2015, Sony has just introduced the sleek and sexy 10.1-inch Xperia Z4 tablet at MWC 2015.

We were at least hoping for a new Xperia lineup(Xperia Z4) from Sony, but Sony has surprised us by unveiling the Z4 tablet at MWC 2015. We are somehow happy that we got new Xperia Z4 tablet which is thinner, lighter, has a higher resolution screen, and packs more power.

In terms of design, the Xperia Z4 Tablet looks a lot like its smaller brother, the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact, released last year at IFA. It features the same design like, rounded edges is used to great success on the 10.1 model, and nice to see that Sony managed to make the Z4 Tablet even slimmer(although Sony's tablet has always been slimmer), at 6.1 millimeters (compared to 6.4 millimeters on the previous generation). The device weighs just 389 grams, which is pretty impressive for this range and class. And yes, the device is still water resistant, with a dual IP65 and IP68 rating( Nice for pool parties and shower).

We are happy that Sony managed to pack bigger capacity battery in slimmer body, as the Z4 tablet features a 6000mAh battery, same as Z2. With the trend going on, Sony has fitted a Quad HD display, which is a nice change, but we doubt about the battery life, unless Sony found a way to tickle the way.

The Xperia Z4 Tablet is the first tablet to feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, featuring four fast cores and four power-saving cores arranged, as well as an Adreno 430 GPU. There’s 3GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB of storage, and microSD support. The main camera has been changed to an 8MP sensor, compromised from last gen's 13MP.


Sony is considerably loosing most of the market share in it's mobile business, their may be the question about the Xperia Z4. Even though, we are happy to see some steps taken by Sony in such condition. The Z4 is an good choice for 10-inch tablet lover and if you are looking for a change then we would definitely recommend you to look the Z4 tablet.

Microsoft unveiled Lumia 640 and 640 XL in MWC 2015

With Mobile World Congress 2015 keeping us more exciting about more coming devices, most of the rumors are turning into a big release. Most of the big companies like Samsung and HTC has show cased their flagship devices for the year. While people are still gossiping about HTC One M9 and Galaxy S6 variants, Microsoft on the other side is sticking with their prominent market of budget smartphones at MWC 2015 until the release of Windows 10.

At first, according to this tweet "Microsoft Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL: keeping you prepared for anything," later deleted by Microsoft,we predicted Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL to be launched at MWC 2015. And finally Microsoft revealed the Lumia 640 and 640 XL which falls on the budget smartphone category. Both run on Windows 8.1 OS, but they are not just another Lumia phones- They are better, lighter and faster which can be compared with the likes of Moto G 2ndGeneration, and Asus Zenfone 5.

Microsoft Lumia 640 Specs:

• 5’ IPS display with 1280*720p resolution (294ppi)
• Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Protection
• Snapdragon 400 chipset (quad-core Cortex-A7 at 1.2GHz) with 1GB RAM
• 8 GB internal storage: expandable upto 128GB
• 8MP Rear Camera(with LED flashlight) and 1MP Selfie Camera
• 1080p Video at 30fps(Rear) and 720p Video(Front)
• Dual SIM, both with 3G and LTE
• 2500MAh battery
• Colors Available: Cyan, Orange, Black and White

 Microsoft Lumia 640XL Specs:

• 5.7’ IPS display with 1280*720p resolution and clear black technology (259ppi)
• Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Protection
• Snapdragon 400 chipset (quad-core Cortex-A7 at 1.2GHz) with 1GB RAM
• 8 GB internal storage: expandable upto 128GB
• 13MP Rear Camera (with Carl Zeiss f/2.0 lens and 1/3” sensor) and flashlight.
• 5MP Selfie Camera (with Wide angle 24mm lens)
• 1080p Video at 30fps(Both Rear and Front)
• Dual SIM, both with 3G and LTE
• 3000MAh battery
• Colors Available: Orange, MetroPCS and Telefonica.

Microsoft also promised a free 1 year subscription to Office 365, 1TB of OneDrive storage. Additionally you will also get 60 Skype minutes per month. There has been no words about the pricing and it’s availability, but we shall know in few days time. We can expect Lumia 640 and 640 XL, soon to be available in Nepal through different retail stores.