Launch Pad: Lava Iris 504Q, Project Ara and Drop

Lava Iris 504Q: Aimed at photography enthusiasts, the dual SIM Iris 504Q+ has a 10MP camera that uses Sony's Exmor RS sensor for better low light performance.

It has a 5-inch HD display (1280 x 720 pixels) in a 7.9mm slim body. Hardware includes a 1.3Ghz quad core processor, Mali 400 graphics, 1GB RAM and 8GB storage (expandable, supports up to 32GB).

It also offers gesture control to change music tracks, browse the gallery and voice control to control the camera. Other specifications include 2MP front camera, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, accelerometer and a 2,000mAh battery.

GLOBAL SPOTLIGHT

Project Ara: Google recently displayed a working prototype of Project Ara — the name given to the development of a customisable and modular smartphone. The concept is simple: you choose what you want. Each component (like the camera, battery, processor) comes in the shape of a tile and each tile interfaces with the backbone (called the Endo) to form the complete phone.

Something becomes obsolete? Upgrade it. Screen broken? Simply swap in a new one. Want better battery life? Add in an extra battery. The possibilities are endless and it could mean the end of the traditional smartphone when this becomes mainstream.

APP REVIEW

Drop by Ekata Systems: Need to transfer large files between two Android devices? Drop makes large transfers via WiFi Direct easy. Drop is a proximity based peer-to-peer transfer system: it shows you in the centre with nearly devices arranged in order of their distance from you.

Simply select what you want to transfer, which device to transfer to & you can get it done in seconds. No data connection is needed for Drop to work.