YU Yuphoria - THE BIG REVIEW

The YU Yureka was a blockbuster hit, wasn’t it? The smartphone sold within seconds on Amazon.in since its release in December last year. Micromax’s subsidiary YU ventures are back with the next one, YU Yuphoria. The name for this smartphone was chosen by the crowd amongst 4 other names. The Yu Yuphoria has 5 inch display with a metal frame which is curved all over and has rounded corners. Yuphoria has the best specifications currently in the 7,000 Rs. category and looks premium in its look and feel.

Read the Micromax YU Yureka review

PROCESSOR

The Yu Yuphoria is powered by Qualcomm's 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor which includes Adreno 306 graphics. The smartphone has 2GB DDR3 of RAM and 16GB of in-built storage. The dual sim phone supports 3G, 4G (CAT 4, including TDD-LTE, Indian 4G bands), Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS. 

DISPLAY & DESIGN

YU Yuphoria is the best looking phone in its category. The mobile made from plastic and the metal is only a trim that runs along its edges. The corners are rounded off smoothly on the Yuphoria. The top and bottom edges of the Yuphoria have strips of plastic in between the metal where the 3.5mm audio jack and micro USB port are placed. There is Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection . The display is sharp thanks to the high pixel density.

CAMERA

It features a 8MP rear camera, f2.2 aperture, capable of 1080p video capture with LED flash and a 5MP front camera (f2.0) with 86 degree wide angle lens. Pictures taken by the camera look quite decent. 

SOFTWARE

Just like Yureka, Yuphoria runs Cyanogen OS. Yu has gone with the latest version, Cyanogen 12, on top of Android 5.0.2. Cyanogen 12 is highly customizable. They include a new feature-rich email client powered by Boxer, AudioFX for equalizer settings, Baton, which can be used to 'cloudify' select apps (currently in beta), and finally Universe - a browser based on Opera Mini.

MEMORY

The smartphone has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of in-built storage. The storage can be expanded by up to 32GB using a microSD card.

BATTERY

Yuphoria comes with a 2230mAh high-density quick charge battery which the company claims delivers 160 hours of standby time and can get a 60% charge in 45 minutes. This is the only aspect where Micromax could have worked a bit better.

PRICE

Yuphoria is priced at Rs. 6,999/- and will be available through amazon only. The first flash sale is on 28^th May 2015 at 2 pm. It is available in 2 colours – Buffed steel and Champagne gold.

As mentioned earlier, the YU Yuphoria has the best specifications in the 7000 rupees category. The smartphone easily beats the Xiaomi Redmi 2, Lenovo A6000 Plus and Moto E 2 in comparison. The battery life could have been better. It has good premium looks and doesn’t look cheap at all. Coupled with fast Snapdragon processor and Cyanogen 12 OS, Yuphoria is a truly exceptional smartphone at a budget price.

Detailed Specifications

SMART CITIES IN INDIA A REALITY ?

This is a century of digital technology. Innovations are made on a daily basis to prosper the growth of mankind in numerous ways. After the industrial revolution, it is the digital revolution that has brought radical changes to the way we live, speak, eat, think and communicate. From the advent of personal computers in 1970s to the mobile phones in 2000s, technology has travelled leaps and bounds. It was only imagination that we could to our phone one day as our personal assistant, but that too has changed with apps like Siri, Cortana and Google Now. Social networking is yet another area that has helped bring people all over the world together on many occasions. In short, electronic devices have become an integral part of our daily lives. All of this gives rise to the concept of – Smart City.

            All over the world, urbanization and globalization is increasing tremendously. The population of India is set to double in the next 70 years. We will need at least 300 more cities to accommodate the increasing population. With this view, the Government of India has launched the Smart Cities Programme this year. The government has declared the mission of creating 100 Smart Cities across the nation based on better technology, superior management and modern governance. In a simpler way, smart city is a city where smart things happen. The idea of Smart Cities ranges back in 2008 when IBM started the ‘Smart planet Initiative’. There will be advanced infrastructure, integrated townships, futuristic communication technology. Economic development will be sustainable and better educational and employment opportunities will be provided. Smart cities are created in such a way that it will benefit everybody including government, citizens and the environment. The cities selected for the initial project are Kochi, Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Manesar, Khushkera, Krishnapatnam, Ponneri and Tumkur. 

           

The question that comes to our mind is regarding the feasibility of these projects. We all are aware of the problems India faces with respect to cleanliness, poverty, education and others. Our government has a lot to do before it starts rolling out a smart city. It has to influence entrepreneurs and investors to participate in this development. The reality sector too needs a boost in order to adjust to a futuristic society. Many new technologies have to be implemented and citizens need to be adaptive to the change. The planning needs to be fool-proof and couple with long term insights. The way we build a smart city will surely be a test of perseverance of India’s youth as well as the government. Detailed consultation with many companies is going on at an advanced stage. Public-Private partnerships will be key to the growth.

What was once a visionary is now the new normal - Technology is as essential as the three utilities – food, clothing and shelter. Technology infrastructure has to be built keeping in mind the approach to revitalize an existing city or designing a futuristic smart city. We have many examples to follow including Amsterdam, Cairo, Lyon and Vienna. Our nation undoubtedly has the potential to develop smart cities with an ecosystem of urban areas having world class facilities. On the whole, it can be said that everyone has the dream to live in a smart city and India can achieve it within 20-25 years provided we get active support from the authorities.

” The more successfully a city mingles everyday diversity of uses and users in its everyday streets, the more successfully, casually (and economically) its people thereby enliven and support well-located parks that can thus give back grace and delight to their neighbourhoods instead of vacuity” –Jane Jacobs