These days selling of sex become a big business in Hyderabad. Especially in most elite class areas brothel houses turned as regular addas.Brokers are using the latest technologies to attract the customers and recently police has busted the hi-tech sex racket at Panjagutta

The Hyderabad police busted an prostitution racket with the arrest of two persons and rescuing a girl, who were allegedly being supplied to wealthy customers for 'sexual services'.Police  rescued a 20-year-old woman from Urvasi lodge at Punjagutta.Acting on a tip-off, a police team led by Mr. Nagaraj raided the lodge and busted the racket.

The organiser identified as Peter alias Chetan from Delhi brought the girl to Hyderabad in a flight. Peter was running the racket in collusion with a lodge staffer.

Police inquiries revealed that customers were contacting Peter through internet and  they are using WhatsApp application.He would first gain confidence of the customer and later send photographs and sample videos  of the girls along with their age by using the app.After getting a confirmation from the customer, Peter would send the girl in a flight.

Nokia recently launched the Lumia 625 in India, bringing its biggest smartphone to the country. This handset also holds a lot of sentimental value, as it is the last smartphone launched by the Finnish manufacturer before its sale to Microsoft.

The phone matches the specs of key rivals in this segment and does not seem to fall short in most departments, at least on paper, and comes with a host of freebies. Let's see if the sub-Rs 20,000 segment has found a new king, or the Lumia 625 can at best achieve a moderate success in the market. Here's our review to check out the strengths and weaknesses of Lumia 625 and if the phone is worth buying...

Design and hardware: Design-wise, the Lumia 625 is quite similar to Lumia 620, though a little bigger and thinner. You get the same curved edges and removable shells that you got with the Lumia 620, but the thinner design adds to the overall appeal. At 4.7-inch, the screen of Lumia 625 is obviously bigger, the largest for any Nokia smartphone in fact. The design is easy on the eyes and the build quality seems solid. However, it is a tad heavy at 159gram.

The screen of Lumia 625 dominates the front panel and happens to be the chief selling point of the device. In fact, Nokia at the India launch event emphasized how this handset is meant for those who love to watch movies and videos on the big-screen phones. Much to Nokia's disappointment, there are already several phones with bigger screens and same resolution in the Indian market (Canvas 4 and Galaxy Grand for instance).

While the display is supposed to be the key feature of the Lumia 625, we were not exactly impressed by it. With 800x480p resolution and IPS panel, it is not any different from the crop of Android smartphones we have in the market today. Nokia has even left out its ClearBlack display technology from the Lumia 625, which would otherwise have rendered it with the advantage of deeper blacks. The contrast levels are low due to the absence of this display technology, but this is a sacrifice that the manufacturer probably had to make in order to keep manufacturing costs to a minimum.

Incidentally, Lumia 720, priced lower than this handset, has this technology and boasts of one of the best screens we have tried out in this price range.

Other display aspects like viewing angles and sunlight legibility are decent, giving us no problems during daily usage. The screen comes with the super sensitive touch technology that allows users to access the display even while they are wearing gloves; this feature is available even in the low-priced Lumia 520 smartphone.

Software:
The software in Lumia 625 is largely same as the one we have experienced with pervious Nokia Lumia phones, with the exception of coming preloaded with the Amber update. This update brings features like FM radio, Glance Screen and a few camera improvements.

Powered by the Windows Phone 8 operating system, Lumia 625 suffers from the problems that plague it (there is no way out of this for now, sadly). So, you don't get true multitasking, a notification centre, toggles or plenty of apps, which are all necessary for a complete smartphone experience in our opinion. However, future updates are expected to take care of these problems, expected to release the GDR3 update, which resolves some of these problems, soon). The dearth of apps will take some time to resolve.

Camera:
Cameras have always been central to Nokia's smartphone experience. However, the company has left us disappointed with the imaging capabilities of the Lumia 625. This phone has a 5MP camera with LED flash on the back. The photos taken by the smartphone are quite noisy and colours are not exactly vibrant, though they are largely accurate. Some photos show a little softness at the edges and do not capture enough detail.

We have seen better cameras in phones priced under Rs 20,000 and the Lumia 625 leaves us feel a little lacking in this department at least.

Performance:
Under the hood, Nokia Lumia 625 packs a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and 512MB RAM. The phone delivers an average score of around 9000 in the Antutu benchmark test, which is not reallyimpressive but shows that the phone can deliver workable performance. While many potential buyers may cry themselves hoarse that 512MB RAM is much too less, especially compared to the 1GB RAM that most Android phones in this segment offer, it must be remembered that Windows Phone platform is better than Android in resource management and very few WP8 apps at present demand 1GB RAM for smooth functioning.

The 2,000mAh battery of the Lumia 625 is okay, giving us approximately 14 hours of life during daily usage. This includes 4-5 hours of music playback, an hour of video playback and web browsing each and around half an hour of gaming. 2G mobile data was turned on for at least eight hours each day. While this seems good, moderate usage should be able to give over a day of battery life.

For connectivity, Lumia 625 has features like 2G, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB 2.0. GPS lock was fast and the Nokia Here maps suite is present, though it does not have as much local information as Google Maps. Lumia 625 loses out on NFC, likely a means of keeping costs down. This feature, though not very widely used as far as we have heard, is present in lower-priced Lumia 720 and Lumia 620.

The complete package:
While launching the Lumia 625, Nokia announced a range of freebies that give the handset an edge in terms of being a far better bundle than what the rival manufacturers offer. First up are free movies worth Rs 4,275 from the YourMovies app for a period of three months, which can be streamed online and even downloaded on the device itself. The collection we checked out in the app was pretty decent, with several new Bollywood and Hollywood films in the list.

Nokia plans to lure avid readers with the free e-books that it is offering with the Lumia 625. The company has partnered with Flipkart to provide 11 e-books for free on the phone, presumably to get users hooked to such digital content for the long term.

The Finnish manufacturer is even offering free internet access on the Lumia 625. It has tied up with Tata Docomo to offer free 3G data for a period of three months, which can also be extended to six months at a nominal charge. The company has also tied up with fast-food chains like Subway, McDonalds and Cafe Coffee Day to provide free access to 10GB of Wi-Fi internet at their outlets.

Of course, just like previous Nokia smartphones, the Lumia 625 comes with free access to song downloads via Nokia Music app for a period of six months.

To us, this set of freebies offered by Nokia make the Lumia 625 stand out in a market filled with phones having similar specifications and features. The phone is at par with competitors and these free goodies make it quite a lucrative choice, especially considering how e-books, movies, songs and internet are quite popular among young smartphone users nowadays.

Rivals:
Nokia Lumia 625 competes against the likes of Samsung Galaxy Grand and Micromax Canvas 4 in the Indian market. The two phones are extremely popular in the country and priced similar to this Nokia smartphone. Moreover, both run on Android, which gives them the advantage of having a more complete software suite under the hood.

Samsung Galaxy Grand has a 5-inch screen, which is slightly bigger than that of the Lumia 625, though both share the same screen resolution. The display panel of the Nokia handset renders better colours and sunlight legibility than that of its Samsung rivals. The design of the Galaxy Grand is also dated, having been in use since the Galaxy S III was launched. However, the phone works quite well and gives better benchmark and camera performance than Nokia's new smartphone.

Micromax Canvas 4 is certainly better than the Lumia 625 when it comes to screen quality, with higher resolution and vibrant colours. In fact, it also boasts of good build quality, including an aluminium frame around the edges that certainly adds to its looks. And just like Samsung Galaxy Grand, its screen size is more, which is all the rage among young buyers in India nowadays. But in the Touch department, Lumia 625 may well be ahead.

Also, the vast range of freebies offered with the Lumia 625 tilt the scales in its favour. The Nokia phone is able to match its two major rivals on most fronts anyway, and with good build quality and acceptable display on its side, we are likely to recommend it to those who are looking for a good smartphone experience.

Another rival phone we would like to talk about here is the Nokia Lumia 720. With a 4.3-inch display, it is obviously not looking to take the fight to phablets in the Indian smartphone market. However, it is the most well-rounded smartphone we have seen under Rs 20,000 in a long time. The Lumia 720 has better screen contrast, good build quality and design and great camera performance, which help it deliver a better experience to the users. You may want to check it out too if screen size is not your priority. However, you will end up losing out on all the freebies expect Nokia Music versus Lumia 625. Only time will tell if Lumia 625 cannibalizes on the sales of Lumia 720!

Verdict:
Lumia 625 is not an exceptional device by any measure (Lumia 720 certainly has an edge in most departments), even though it is not lacking in any department. However, Lumia 625's list of freebies makes it a smarter choice if you want a good smartphone experience without spending over Rs 20,000. The phone has a lot of things going for it, and is expected to improve on its shortcomings with future updates. Though camera performance is less than stellar, it is still worth buying considering that you get everything, namely hardware, software and the experience, besides freebies.

What we like:
Build quality
Freebies
Battery

What we don't like:
Unremarkable display
Average camera performance

It’s getting harder and harder to invent the iPhone Killer. Even for Apple.

The one truly huge, magnificent, radical idea of the iPhone, back when it was introduced in 2007, was to get rid of buttons. Make the whole phone a black rectangular touch screen.

By now, every company and its brother has done that. Everybody’s added voice recognition, GPS and navigation. Everybody’s sharpened up the screens to the point where you need a microscope to tell the difference.

So now what? How do you distinguish your phone from the more than 4,000 other touch-screen phones? (That’s not a joke. There have actually been 3,997 different Android phone models so far. And six iPhones and a motley assortment of Windows and touch-screen BlackBerry phones. Heaven help the landfills.)
With much fanfare, Google proudly presents its answer: the Moto X.

This phone ($200 with contract, 5.1 x 2.6 x 0.4 inches) is the first that Motorola has produced since Google bought it a year ago for $12.5 billion.

By looking at it, you’d never guess that this is the Android phone that Motorola hopes will change everything. Its curved back is plasticky, not classy metal (like the HTC One) or glass (like the iPhone 5). Its comfortable 4.7-inch screen looks great, but it isn’t as big or sharp as the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One. The phone is plenty fast, but its processor isn’t the latest and greatest.

But the Moto X does offer five features that no phone has offered before.

Feature 1: You can design your own color scheme. You’re offered a choice of 18 colors for the back panel, black or white for the front, and seven colors for the accents (the buttons and ring around the camera lens). The color choices are excellent; the odds of you and your frenemy showing up at a party with an identical Moto X phone are one in 252.

Later this year, you’ll even be able to order a back panel made of real wood — in bamboo, teak, ebony or rosewood. Motorola’s testing shows these beautiful panels to be just as tough as plastic (although more susceptible to termites, I’m guessing).

While you’re online, you can also order color-matched cases and earbuds, specify the wallpaper you want or request an engraved message for the back. For now, only AT&T offers the color choices. Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile will offer only black or white until later this year.

You get your customized phone within four days, courtesy of Feature 2: it’s assembled right here in these United States. The components are still made in Asia, but they’re put together in Texas — you can lose less sleep worrying about underpaid Chinese workers.

Feature 3 is the most useful: touchless mode. As with Siri on the iPhone, you can command the phone to dial a number, send a text, open an app, set your alarm, look up a fact on the Web, and so on.

But unlike Siri, you don’t hold down a button to speak. The phone is always listening, even when it’s in your car’s cup holder.

It works remarkably well, as long as you precede your command with the salutation, “O.K., Google Now.” Without ever taking your eyes off the road, you can say, “O.K., Google Now. Give me directions to the Empire State Building.” Or, “O.K., Google Now. Remind me at 8 p.m. to give the dog his pill.” Or, “O.K., Google Now. Make an appointment for Thursday at noon with Bob.”

This truly inspired idea is a leap forward in both safety and convenience. It owes its success to a special chip that does nothing but listen all day long. It does, however, come with fine print.

For example, you have to train the phone to recognize your voice. In a silent room, you have to say “O.K., Google Now” exactly the same way three times.

If you’ve password-protected your phone, this feature loses much of its power. It won’t execute most commands until you first pick it up and unlock it. So much for touchless.

And Android’s voice commands are still no match for Siri. The phone recognizes the basics, like “Wake me at 7:30 a.m,” “Open Angry Birds,” “What’s Google’s stock price?” and “Check the forecast for Memphis on Friday.”

Unlike Siri, though, it can’t speak answers to queries about movies, sports and restaurants. It doesn’t recognize “Read my new text messages,” “Add pickles to my grocery list” or “Tweet, ‘I just saw a double rainbow.’ ” Android just doesn’t have the smarts.

Or the personality. Try saying “Tell me a joke” or “Do you believe in love?” or “Open the pod bay doors, Hal” to Siri; you’ll get hilarious replies. By comparison, the Moto X feels lobotomized.

But the Moto X does come with superb situational awareness. If you turn on the Assist feature, the phone changes modes according to the time and place: Driving, Meeting and Sleeping.

In Driving mode, the phone detects that you’re in motion. It starts reading new text messages aloud, routing calls to the speakerphone and, if you like, responding to calls with an automatic text message: “I’m driving and will get back to you soon.”

In Meeting mode, the phone knows when you’re in a meeting or at a show by consulting your calendar. During those hours, the phone mutes itself and can respond with a text message. (“In a meeting. I’ll get back to you soon.”) Smart little software!

Sleeping mode, as the name implies, mutes the phone during bedtime hours that you specify. (In Meeting and Sleeping modes, you can choose to make exceptions for Favorites and when a caller urgently redials.)
Feature 4: Motorola observed that many people wake their phones many times a day just to check the time or missed messages. The Moto X displays this information briefly — the time and an icon for a missed event — every time you move it. You don’t have to press a button; just pull it from your pocket or lift it from the desk. The company says that there’s practically no penalty to the battery life (which is about the same as its rivals: you have to charge it every night).

If that screen shows an icon (text, e-mail or call, for example), you can hold down your finger on it to view the details. Or swipe upward to open the corresponding app to reply. Sadly, this feature shows you only one notification — the most recent.

Feature 5: You can fire up the Camera app by twitching your wrist a couple of times, as though trying to dislodge a mosquito; it works whether the phone is on or off. Within two seconds, you’re ready to take a shot by tapping anywhere on the screen.

That’s wonderful, and so is the streamlined app itself. But the camera leaves something to be desired. It does a ridiculous amount of focus hunting, so you get blurriness sometimes, and the videos are a bit soft.

It’s nice that Motorola is focused on polishing up a few innovative features that you’ll really use; this isn’t the Samsung Galaxy S4, weighed down by a bunch of unreliable gimmickware. It’s nice that the phone has a splash-resistant coating. It’s also nice that, because this is a Google phone, you’ll be able to upgrade it promptly to new Android versions as they come along. That’s often untrue of the Android phones from other companies.

Unfortunately, the Moto X’s five breakthroughs don’t exactly shake the earth. It’s a fine phone, but it has to compete with the deeply satisfying beauty (and superior speakers) of the HTC One, the seething power (and superior screen) of the Galaxy S4, and the infinite app-and-accessory ecosystem (and superior voice control) of the iPhone.

Moto XI, anyone?

While smartphone market surges, feature phones still make up the greater share of the total mobile phone sales worldwide. Therefore, it makes sense for a titan like Nokia to launch a phone that offers all the goodness of a smartphone at the price of a feature phone. Enter the new Asha 501, launched in India recently by the company's CEO Stephen Elop. This smart feature phone (as Nokia calls its Asha handsets) is an important device for the company, especially since Android devices are getting cheaper by the day (case in point being Samsung Galaxy Star and Intex Cloud X3).

So, does the new Nokia Asha 501 has what it takes to beat low-priced droids and rule the budget handset market? We had the same question when we got our hands on the device. Let's see what we found out in this review...

Design:
Nokia Asha 501 is an attractive little gadget that catches the eye as soon as you set your sight on it. Just like the Lumia 520, it betrays its price tag considering the quality of material used in building it. Its designing has been done well, such that the polycarbonate back and glass front merge seamlessly at the sides.

The front has a single hardware key (the Back button), while right side houses the volume rocker and Power/Lock key. On top are the microUSB port, charger inlet and earphone jack, whereas the left side is bare. Flip it to the back to check out the small rear camera and the key to remove the back.

Overall, we are quite impressed by the design of the Asha 501, which resembles the Lumia series to a considerable degree.

Hardware:
Coming to the specs, the Asha 501 has a 3-inch screen with 320x240p resolution. The display is decent, with good colours and contrast. The phone has 128MB internal storage and 64MB RAM, figures that Android users will scoff at. However, these numbers are decent considering the platform that powers the handset. You get microSD support up to a healthy 32GB capacity, with a free 4GB card coming out of the box.

On the back, you get a 3.15MP camera, but there is no LED flash and front-facing unit. Connectivity options in the device include 2G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0 and microUSB. While the proprietary charger (2mm pin) comes in the box, the phone also supports microUSB charging.

Software:
This is where the magic happens. Nokia Asha 501 runs on the all-new Asha 1.0 platform, a mobile operating system that is heavily influenced by the now-dead MeeGo OS. The software is based on lots of swipes (thus explaining the absence of a Home or Options key) and even supports multitasking in its own unique way.

To unlock the phone, you can either click the Power/Lock key or tap twice on the touchscreen in quick succession. As the screen lights up, you swipe either to the left or right in order to open the apps menu; a swipe to either side from there brings you to the 'other' home screen called Fastland(more on that coming up).

What about apps, we wondered... Well, the revamped Asha 1.0 platform brings a host of apps with it, though many buyers excited about WhatsApp will be disappointed. However, what you do get here are applications like Facebook, Twitter, document reader, Weather, a combined mailbox, notes, calculator, calendar, music player and several others. Nokia is offering 40 free EA games optimized for the OS with this phone as well. If you want more, then you can head to Apps and AppNow. These two are dedicated app stores that stock several applications, like WeChat and third-party web browsers, music players and the likes, along with a host of games (paid as well as free).

All apps are easy to navigate through and you just need to swipe left or press the Back button whenever you want to go return to the previous page or close the app altogether. Each time you are about to close a running app, you are asked if you want to exit, thus avoiding chances of accidentally closing it.

Coming to multitasking, you get Fastlane - a home screen that shows the recent apps you have used, along with reminders. It is quite simple to use, with the whole list accessible via a scroll down the screen. However, the sad part is that you cannot pick up from where you left off when you close an app and each time you need to start from the beginning.

You also have a Notification Bar (just swipe down from top opens it). Here you get push notifications about unread mails and SMSs, missed calls and four toggles (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, mobile data and Silent profile). When the phone is not in use, it displays the time, date, and information like unread SMSs and missed calls on an interface that Nokia calls Glance Screen.

We feel that the platform has a lot of strengths, though it needs to be a little more polished before it can take the fight to budget Androids and score a win.

Performance:
The new Asha 501 smart feature phone by Nokia is not the fastest phone around and it does not pretend to be so. It is a budget device that offers a decent smartphone experience, with no lag. The hardware and software of the phone are tightly integrated, ensuring that the user experience is smooth and largely without the issues that plague cheap handsets (poor build quality, frequent hanging etc).

Instead, we like that the low-power Asha 501's capacitive touchscreen is responsive and the keyboard layout in different apps is well designed. Though we punched the wrong key while typing a few times, once you get used to it, the keyboard becomes easy to handle. Despite the software being so new, we had no trouble at all, meaning that it is well optimized for the tasks it is supposed to handle.

Camera Asha 501's 3.2MP rear camera takes pictures that offer good colours but do not display sufficient contrast and details. However, if you are going to upload most of the images you take on social networking sites, then it will be good enough for the job.

Audio in the phone is quite loud, though not exactly crystal clear. Viewing videos is certainly not a good experience on a device with such a small display and resolution. Its battery lasted nearly a day and a half on a single charge when 2G internet was kept turned most of the time. Usage pattern included a couple of hours of internet browsing, nearly 5-6 hours of music playback, an hour each of gaming and videos and approximately half an hour tinkering with other apps.

While we like several things in this phone, we had trouble setting up email accounts. The phone gave a lot of trouble while setting up Gmail and Yahoo accounts automatically, thus forcing us to do it manually. Similarly, we could not import contacts easily on the device. The absence of 3G meant that we could not use high speed internet on the go (2G remains painfully slow for our taste). Another thing we did not like was that all apps start afresh each time we have to exit them.

Rivals:
Budget Android phones are available aplenty in the market today, with Samsung Galaxy Star being the closest rival to Asha 501. The case against Star is that its 1GHz processor, 512MB RAM and 4GB internal storage (theoretically much superior to Asha 501) do not give it enough muscle to render a smooth user experience. However, it has a bigger selection of apps, though such a low powered device cannot make full use of the functionality of the robust Android platform and there is usually a lot of lag in this device when it is filled with several apps.

This is the strong point of Asha 501, which did not show any signs of lag during our review. (We asked a Samsung salesperson at a New Delhi outlet which of the two is better and he/she pointed towards the Nokia handset, though he/she never said anything out loud.)

Conclusion:
Nokia Asha 501 is an exciting prospect for people who are graduating from feature phones to internet-connected handsets for the first time. It is well stocked with apps and features and offers all the functionalities of an entry-level smart-device. We like the seamless design as well as how the software and hardware complement each other at all times.

Without a doubt, we would recommend the Nokia Asha 501 to buyers who are looking for a phone under Rs 5,000.

What we like:
No lag
Unique user experience
Design
Price
Battery life

What we don't like:
Below average camera quality
Some key apps missing
No true multitasking
No 3G

Market price: Rs 4,999

The phone market in India is in the middle of a transition. People are moving from feature phones to smartphones. This means a great opportunity for smartphone makers like Micromax, which were nobody in the old market but have potential to be a major player in the new one.

In fact, Micromax is already a big smartphone company in India, at least in terms of volumes. IDC says that with a share of little over 18%, it is the second biggest company in the Indian smartphone market behind Samsung.

One of the primary reasons behind the recent success of Micromax has been Canvas HD. The device had decent internal hardware, a nice big screen and a killer price.

Now, Micromax is opening the next chapter in the Canvas story. The company has launched Canvas 4, aka A210, which is an update to the Canvas HD. There are a lot of expectations from the device. Can it take on Samsung's Galaxy devices? Is it going to be the best value for money phone? Is it a worthy successor to Canvas HD?

We have been using the device for over a week now. Before we talk in detail, let's reveal this much: Canvas 4 is an evolution of Canvas HD. It's not the revolution that many were hoping for.

Glossy plastic with a hint of aluminium
The build quality of Canvas 4 is a notch above Canvas HD. Even though both devices use glossy plastic shells, the quality of material used in Canvas 4 is better. The back cover, which can be removed to access SIM, microSD card slots and battery, is glossy and smooth. But it has a fine pattern - similar to the one seen on some sea shells - which makes the device look premium and polished.

Another highlight of the design is the aluminium strip around the device, which not only adds to the looks of the device but also make more sturdy. The power button located on the right side and the volume rocker on the left have also been made of aluminium. It is a nice touch and a pleasant change from the plastic buttons found on most of the phones.

The screen - and three touch-sensitive buttons under it - are covered with tough Gorilla glass. This high-quality glass cover puts Canvas 4 ahead of other mainstream phones as far as look and feel is concerned.

Overall, Canvas 4 is one of the better looking mainstream phones. It is quite slim at 8.9mm and feels good in hand due to rounded edges, despite having a large 5-inch screen.

Our only complaint as far as design and build quality is concerned is the less than perfect finish. The power and volume buttons do not fit snugly and feel loose and wobbly. Similarly, there is very tiny gap between the strip of aluminium and the phone's body. The aluminum strip has The attention to details sets the big boys from pretenders and while Canvas 4 looks and feels quite good, we feel it can be better. Though to be fair to Micromax, Canvas 4 also costs less than the phones with impeccable build quality.

In terms of hardware, camera and screen deserve mention.

First the screen. For a budget phone, Canvas 4 has a fantastic screen. The resolution is still 720P (1280 x 720 pixels) but the quality of picture is much better. It can show punchy and saturated colours and brightness is higher compared to the screen on Canvas HD. The good resolution means the screen is sharp and text looks clear on it. The touch sensitivity and refresh rate too seem to be slightly better. Of course, there is still room for improvement. Black could have been a bit more darker and users may notice colour gradients if they are looking for it using a single colour image. But considering the screen on other mainstream Android devices, Canvas 4 scores high here.

The camera is the other highlight because it carries the 13MP tag. Yes, Canvas 4 can shoot images that are 13 mega pixels in size. Unfortunately, quality of the pixels that make up these images is not good. The camera captures nice colours but it seems the way the phone processes the images rob them of details. The result is that images suffer from noise as well as lack of detail. In daylight, it is possible to get usable images with Canvas HD. But in low light conditions or if you are shooting close ups, the camera performance is poor. Images that we shot in low light not only had the over-smooth effect and grain but also visible colour noise.

The camera in Canvas 4 also suffers from focus issues. If you are shooting macro or close photos of your friends, the auto focus is slow and inaccurate, especially in low light.

On videos, performance is better. The device can record decent FullHD videos and keeps subjects in focus. We would have liked to see videos recoded in MP4 format instead of 3GP that Canvas 4 uses, but for shooting clear and usable 3 or 4 minutes long clips during family picnic is possible with the device.

(Don't) Blow to unlock
Canvas 4 is powered by Android 4.2.1 aka Jelly Bean. Unlike on the previous Canvas phones, Micromax hasn't made any significant visible changes to the user interface. This means barring a few icons here and there, users get almost a stock version of Android. The default user interface of Android looks good and works well compared to some of the customized interface that phone makers love to put on their devices.

Canvas 4 performs well. There is no noticeable lag when you open the app drawer or switch between tasks. Games like Temple Run 2 can be played without any lag, web browsing is smooth even when you have five or six tabs open in the browser and FullHD videos can be watched. The speaker in the device sounds a bit low but fortunately it doesn't distort the audio the way some mainstream Android phones do. Voice quality during calls is average and we did not have any noticeable signal strength issues.

The only area of concern as far performance is concerned is GPS. Just like other Android phones sold by local manufacturers, Canvas 4 takes its own sweet time while connecting to satellites. Instead of seconds, GPS connects in minutes . This affects user experience in apps like Google Navigation.

In a bid to differentiate its phone, Micromax has equipped Canvas 4 with several gesture-based features. For example, it comes with a new video player that can pause the video if you look away from the phone. It also has features like 'blow (or shake) to unlock' which allow a user to unlock the phone by blowing air on its screen or by shaking it.

In our use, we found these features to be gimmicks. Worse, they adversely affect the experience. For example, the video pause feature is so sensitive that even if you tilt your head or move the phone a bit while watching a movie, playback is paused. The blow or shake to unlock, meanwhile, are not intuitive and user friendly. Fortunately, you can turn off these features. Disabling M! Unlock restores the swipe-to-unlock screen.

Battery life of the device is average. When used with a 3G connection, the battery in the device lasts for over 12 hours.

Should you buy it?
Barring the camera performance, Canvas 4 is a very good mainstream Android phone. In terms of looks and feel it is better than others in its category. Screen is fantastic, performance is fast and overall experience is pleasant. Unfortunately, at an MRP of Rs 17,999 it is pricey for what it offers.

Unlike Canvas HD, which brought a significantly better smartphone experience below Rs 15,000, Canvas 4 doesn't succeed in setting any new benchmarks. Yes, it is nice but then it also costs significantly more compared to Phones like Lava Iris 504Q, Zen Ultrafone 701HD and Canvas HD, which have similar hardware and performance. And unlike Samsung's Galaxy Grand phones it doesn't offer enough in terms of brand image and unique software to command a premium.

If you care for premium looks and design, you can get Canvas 4. It is a really good mainstream Android phones. But it is not the best value for money.

Specs
*5-inch capacitive touchscreen (1280 x720 pixels resolution)
*1.2GHz MediaTek 6589 quad-core processor
*PowerVR SGX 544 graphics chip
*1GB RAM
*16GB internal storage with support for up to 32GB MicroSD card
*13-megapixel camera, 1080P video recording
*5MP front-facing camera
*3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
*Dual-sim support
*2,000mAh battery
*Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean
*158gms

US technology giant IBM reported a second-quarter profit that beat analyst estimates and raised its full-year outlook on the growth from its software and outsourcing segment, raising hopes for better performance from its Indian outsourcing rivals. 

New outsourcing signing at IBM rose $8.9 billion up 31% in constant currency and transactional signings rose by 14% $7.5 billion. IBM has been focusing on software and services as the mainframe and hardware business it once dominated loses ground. 

IBM Chairman and CEO Ginni Rometty said the company had significantly increased its services backlog on growth in new business. The services backlog was up 7% in constant currency to $141 billion, the strongest growth the company has seen in four years. 

IBM signed 15 deals over $100 million and multi-billion dollar deal in the second quarter. 

"This was a healthy quarter from IBM, with some recovery in growth for software and services supported by a strong order backlog. Management has indicated an improving outlook for services. From an Indian IT perspective, the read-across is positive and we maintain our preference for large-caps - Infy, TCS are our top picks," Religare analyst Rumit Duggar said in a note to clients. 

Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest IT outsourcing company, is slated to report fiscal first-quarter results later today. Analysts expect TCS to grow its revenue, as reported in dollars, by 3-4%. 

Infosys, the number two player in the sector, reported stronger-than-expected revenue for the April-June quarter, last week.