China iPhone: Xiaomi Mi 3 With Snapdragon 800 Launched in India at Rs. 13,999

Xiaomi has on Tuesday launched its first smartphone for the Indian market, the Mi 3. The smartphone, first announced for India last week, is available from July 22, 12pm IST, exclusively on Flipkart. Pre-registration opens on Tuesday and will last until July 21 midnight.

The company also announced the Redmi 1S and Redmi Note will be launching in India in August.

The Xiaomi Mi 3 runs a highly tweaked version of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, called MIUI version 5. It comes with a 5-inch full-HD LCD display (1080x1920 pixels) offering a pixel density of 441ppi.

With the announcement of Mi 3, Xiaomi has become the first handset manufacturer to offer an Android smartphone with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset below the Rs. 15,000 mark. It is powered by a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM8274AB) processor coupled with 2GB of RAM and Adreno 330 GPU. The Mi 3 is listed with 16GB of inbuilt storage with no word on expandable storage support.

It sports a 13-megapixel rear camera featuring a f/2.2 aperture and dual-LED flash while the front houses a 2-megapixel camera. It is backed by a 3050mAh battery. The Mi 3 measures 144x73.6x8.1mm and weighs 145 grams. It will be available in Metallic Grey colour.

    Notably, earlier this week, Xiaomi, also referred to as 'China's Apple', teased its next flagship smartphone, expected to be called the Mi 4, with images of a 'steel invite' for the July 22 launch event.

    Xiaomi's Google+ page shared the images of the invitation letter made of steel for "The Journey of a Piece of Steel" launch event where the company is expected to reveal the Xiaomi Mi 4 with a metal chassis.

    The company said in a Google+ post, "Invitation letters for the 2014 Xiaomi Annual New Product Launch Event on July 22: The Journey of a Piece of Steel." The Google+ post further confirmed that the Xiaomi's invitation letter has been made of real steel.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 7 available online at Rs 17,825

Samsung has started selling its 7-inch Galaxy Tab 4 tablet (T231) in India through online retailers.

The 3G+Wi-Fi variant of the tablet is now available at e-commerce website, Flipkart at Rs 17,825. The listing was first spotted by AndroidOS.in.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 7 comes with a an LCD display(1280x800p). It is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 1.5GB of RAM, and comes with 8GB internal storage and a microSD card slot. The tablet weighs 281gram and measures 107.9x186.9x9mm.

The tablet sports a 3MP rear camera and a 1.3MP front-facing camera. It runs Android 4.4 KitKat and comes with a 4000mAh battery.

In terms of connectivity, Galaxy Tab 4 supports 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, and Glonass.

Samsung had launched Galaxy Tab 4 10.1 and 8.0 in the Indian market, earlier this month. While Galaxy Tab 4 10.1 is priced at Rs 23,960, Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 costs Rs 30,498. Galaxy Tab 4 10.1 and 8.0 feature 10.1-inch and 8-inch screens respectively, both with 1280x800p resolution. They run a customized version of Android 4.4 (KitKat) and are powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor with 1.5GB RAM.

Samsung Galaxy S5’s price dips to Rs 35k

The price of Samsung Galaxy S5 in India has taken another hit, dropping to nearly Rs 35,000. This price drop comes nearly a month after its price dipped below Rs 40,000.

Online retailer Infibeam has listed Galaxy S5, which was launched in March this year, at Rs 35,649. However, the device is out of stock at this price.

On the other hand, the smartphone is still available for purchase at Flipkart and Amazon.in, which are selling it at Rs 36,500 and Rs 36,900, respectively.

This is a new low for the smartphone, whose price has been in a free fall since launch. The price of the device was Rs 47,000 just three days after it was launched in India.

In fact, less than a fortnight after the Galaxy S5 was launched, Samsung had issued a press release stating that the official price of the smartphone remained unchanged. This was done after its price had dropped on e-commerce sites by several thousand rupees.

Micromax launches Bolt Series with A35 phone

NEW DELHI: The country's leading handset manufacture, Micromax has introduced a new series of feature phones called Bolt. The Bolt series launches with company's new phone A35.

A35 comes with a full-capacitive touch screen, runs on Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread) and is powered by a 1GHz processor. The phone is equipped with a 2.0 MP rear camera and a 0.3MP front camera. A35 comes with an expandable memory up to 16 GB.
Powered by a 1500 mAh battery, the phone provides a talk time of 4.5 hours ensuring a strong battery backup supporting Bluetooth 2.1 and
Wi-Fi.

One of the key features of this latest android device from Micromax is the new Flash Transfer, which promises users a better file sharing experience, making it easier and faster to share images, videos, songs and more.

Flash transfer enables users to share apps, games, photos, videos, songs and more with just a swipe. According to the company, the app works on Wi-Fi, making one of the devices a Hotspot and sharing files over the private network via Flash Transfer.

Bolt A35 comes is available at a price of Rs 4,250

Micromax A116 Canvas HD selling 25 units per minute

Micromax had recently launched its A116 Canvas HD smartphone. The smartphone was available for pre-booking from company's website and through the deal site snapdeal.com, and a total of 9,000 units were sold out in just 24 hours. As per company's claims this smartphone is being booked at a pace of 25 units per minute.

Shedding more light on the trend, Snapdeal.com has shared that the first lot of the A116 Canvas HD was sold out within 15 minutes of announcing the sale at midnight of 14 February 2013. The second lot which consisted of 300 units and was up for sale at 9:00 AM to was sold out within 15 minutes and the third lot of 1,200 phones took about 45 minutes to be sold out.

Just to recap, Micromax A116 Canvas HD come with 5-inch HD IPS screen that sports 1280x720 resolution and a colour depth of 16.7 million. Micromax A116 Canvas HD is powered by MediaTek's MT6589 quad-core processor that clocks 1.2GHz. It runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) out of the box. It packs in a 2000mAh battery.

For camera, there is an 8-megapixel rear shooter with LED flash and 4X zoom and a VGA front camera. Other features of the smartphone include 1GB RAM and 4GB of internal storage, which can be expanded to up to 32GB via microSD card. It is a dual-SIM GSM + GSM smartphone.

Commenting on the sales, Shubhodip Pal, CMO Micromax, said, "The response from our consumers has been phenomenal and the demand has been increasing every passing minute. After the unprecedented success of the Canvas 2, we are overwhelmed with the customer response for Canvas HD. This is the first time our online sales partners have ever witnessed a digital queue in cyberspace to such an extent for any product, to the traditional cue one normally sees. The data also shows that 60% of the orders received online have come from the metros."

He further added, "It was great to witness consumers wait until 12:00am for their chance to book the Canvas HD on Valentine's Day. We expect the sales of this device to touch a new high in the coming weeks which will soon be available for sale at all leading retail stores in the country. We hope to further strengthen our leadership in the new phablet category in India."

Commenting on the sales Tony Navin, Vice President - Business Development, Snapdeal.com said, "This product, one of the most awaited launches exceeded our expectations by a huge margin. We took this live at midnight and we were completely surprised to see all 500 units which we expected to sell in the entire day sold out within 15 minutes of launch. Our call volume shot through the roof with enquiries and we have replenished inventory levels to cater to more sales. In a category such as Mobiles, this kind of pace of sales beats our previous records that we have witnessed. Our partnership with Micromax is now more than a year old and has been one of the most exciting journeys for both the parties. We look forward to such meaningful associations in the future as well".

Micromax has shared that they are now looking at replenishing the stock at the earliest but did not mention the exact availability date for the same.

Top 5: Smartphones coming to India this Summer

This summer, it will be raining smartphones in India, as we have some amazing new devices coming our way. Listed here are five smartphones which have confirmed their launch in the next couple of months. While there are many other devices which will launch in that period, these have already confirmed their arrival.

Tegra 3 powered LG Optimus 4X HD not far from Indian launch

Since the last year we have seen an increasing number of smartphones populating the Indian market, almost instantly after their international launch. There have been some expections, but it we may not have to wait a long time for the latest flagship smartphones from LG and HTC. The HTC One X and the LG Optimus 4X HD are expected to launch in the Indian market sometime in the next couple of months.

The LG Optimus 4X HD will launch in India sometime in the month of May, as suggested by a post on The Mobile Indian. The post mentions that by the end of this year LG would bring a total of 12 new Android based smartphone in the Indian market. The LG Optimus 4X HD has very similar specifications to that of the HTC One X, just like the latter it is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor, has an 8 megapixel camera and a 4.7-inch HD display.

The pricing for both the smartphone is yet to be officially announced. In my opinion both the device should be priced around 35,000 INR.

CES 2012: Sony announces Xperia S smartphone

Sony has announced its first self branded smartphone at CES 2012 which is will be available in the market sometime later this quarter in select countries. This is the same device which was previously leaked as the Sony Ericsson Nozomi.

The Sony Xperia S has a 4.3-inch 720p Reality display and it is powered by a 1.5 dual-core processor. Additionally, the device sports a 12-megapixel camera, secondary 1.3-megapixel front facing camera with 720p video capture, NFC support and runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread. However it will receive an Android 4.0 ICS update sometime in Q2 2012. It will be a PlayStation certified smartphone and will be available in black and white colors.

HTC announces One V, entry-level Android smartphone [MWC 2012]

HTC has announced a new entry-level smartphone this year ant MWC 2012 and this one will be known as the HTC One V. The HTC One V would sport a chin back design similar to the one of early HTC Android smartphones like the Hero and Legend.

The device will sport a 3.7-inch WVGA display and it will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, topped with HTC Sense 4.0 UI. The One V is powered by a 1GHz processor, includes 512MB RAM, 4GB ROM, a 5-megapixel rear camera with 720p HD video recording. It will also include a dedicated processing chip which will bring ImageSense, including features like the ability to click photos while recording a video, HDR mode, burst mode and better low light photography. It will have a microSD card slot and will also include 25GB of storage space on Dropbox.

We'll have more details on the phone later this week, stay tuned.

HTC One X coming to India in April

Earlier yesterday, HTC India announced on their Facebook Page that their new flagship device, the HTC One X will make its debut in the country this April. The One X was announced at MWC 2012, and will be launched in India on Airtel's network, but an unlocked version should also be available. From the first look, the HTC One X is a complete stunner, and probably one of the best looking devices we've come across in recent times. But, it is not only the looks that impress us, the One X is also probably one of the most promising devices of 2012. Starting with a 4.7-inch HD display (720x1280p), it is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core processor from Nvidia. It runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, with HTC's own Sense 4.0 skin on top of it. The device is 8.9mm thick, and features an 8MP camera with an LED flash (1080p HD video recording), which is one of the best available in the Android line up. We'll talk more about the camera in a bit. The HTC One X comes with 32GB of internal storage (only 26GB available to user), and 1GB RAM. Apart from that, it has and HDMI port, NFC capabilities, and has built-in Beats Audio technology. The device also houses an average 1800mAh battery pack. HTC has partnered with DropBox, the popular cloud storage service, and is providing One X users with free 25GB of online storage for two years. Cool, right?
The one thing that HTC is really emphasising on in this device, is its camera. The phone's camera is powered by the HTC ImageChip, which allows the camera to turn action shots into crisp photos, focus in 0.2 seconds, take continuous shots, and handle low light conditions very well. You can also take pictures while recording HD video. The device could hit shelves anytime in April, and we are expecting HTC to price the One X upward of Rs. 30,000.

HTC One S announced at Mobile World Congress

HTC has announced another smartphone at the Mobile World Congress, meet the Ones S. This smartphone will also include HTC’s ImageSense technology which will help users capture better quality photos. The HTC One S will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich topped up with HTC Sense 4.0 UI.

HTC ImageSense will include features like improved low-light photo quality, enhanced HDR mode, still photography while recording videos, adaptable flash and more important a superior photography experience, says HTC.

The device will be powered by a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB onboard storage, 8 megapixel camera with an f/2.0 aperture and a 4.3-inch qHD display. It will be a 7.9mm thick smartphone and will include 25GB of cloud storage on DropBox for two years and Beats Audio integration for better music quality.

Meet sub-Rs 10,000 3G mobile phones

Meet sub-Rs 10,000 3G mobile phones

3G services are finally set to revolutionise Indian telecom landscape. With 3G spectrum allocation over, telcos are now gearing up to roll out the services to users. And very soon Indian consumers will be able to do so much more than just voice and text messaging.

3G will allow mobile users to watch TV, play online games, download videos and listen to streaming music straight on their mobile screens.

But in case your handset is still not 3G ready or you are struggling to find one that suits your pocket, here are some 3G phones in the sub-Rs 10,000 range. Read on..



Samsung S5620 Monte

Samsung recently expanded its touchscreen phone line-up in India with the launch of 3G-ready S5620 Monte.

Featuring a 3-inch TFT touchscreen display, the phone comes equipped with Smart unlock, accelerometer sensor, 3.15 megapixel camera and geo-tagging.

Other features include smile detection capability, Bluetooth, 3.5mm audio jack, Google Maps, Stereo FM Radio and image editing applications.

The phone promises to offer 9 hours, 42 minutes of talk time. The phone's internal memory is 200MB which can be expanded using a microSD card. Samsung S5620 is priced at Rs 8,850 approximately.



LG GU285

Korean electronics giant LG has extended its mobile portfolio with the addition of 3G capable LG GU285. Sporting a 2.2-inch touchscreen screen, the phone packs two cameras - a 1.3 megapixel at the back and a VGA camera on the front side for video calling. The phone supports GPRS/EDGE and is 3G ready.

Other features include expandable memory upto 8GB, music playback, FM Radio and ‘Try & Games’ which has games like Sudoku, and Ferrari GT.

LG GU285 is priced at Rs 6,000.



Nokia 2730 classic

Finnish cellphone maker too offers a low-price 3G phone in its India line-up. Called Nokia 2730 classic, the phone is equipped with Nokia's Ovi Mail, Nokia Messaging, Nokia Life Tools and browsing. The phone also comes with an integrated Opera mini browser.

Available in black and dark magenta colour, the handset measures 109.6 mm x 46.9 mm x 14.4 mm and weighs 87.7 grams. The battery life offers maximum of 7.4 hours talktime and 16.5 days standby time.

The 3G capable phone comes with A2DP Bluetooth, USB port with microUSB but with no WLAN and infrared. The handset also packs a 2 megapixel camera with 1600 x 1200 pixels with video recording of 176 x 144 at 10 fps(frames per second).

As for memory, Nokia 2730 Classic has 30MB internal memory which supports microSD card upto 2GB. The handset is priced at Rs 4,499



Samsung Metro 3G

Samsung recently added another 3G phone to its India line-up. Called Metro 3G, the phone has metallic exterior and is 11.9mm in thickness.

Samsung Metro 3G provides users with easy access to nine social networking sites, including Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Picassa, Friendster and Photobucket.

Metro 3G also comes equipped with a chat messenger and supports GTalk, AIM and Palringo chat. Other features include 3.2 megapixel camera, with Smile shot and Panorama shot technology, and Bluetooth 2.1 which offers wireless connectivity to headsets, printers as well as mobile and PC devices.

The mobile phone has 105MB internal memory and a microSD support for upto 16GB. Metro 3G is also the first phone in Metro series to offer support in nine regional languages.

The phone is priced at Rs 8,250 approximately.



LG Cookie Plus GS500v

LG has refreshed its touchscreen lineup in the country with the launch Cookie Plus GS500v.

The 3G-capable model LG Cookie Plus GS500v sports a 3-inch LCD touchscreen display and has a 3 megapixel camera. The phone's key features include one touch social networking, editable screen shot, MMS and a 3-way user interface.

The phone comes with 3.5 mm jack and connectivity options include Bluetooth 2.1 and micro USB. The handset also comes with Facebook auto update feature. The phone has 30MB of internal memory that can be expanded up to 8GB.

LG Cookie Plus GS500v is priced at Rs 7,999.



Nokia C5

Nokia recently added 3G phone to its C-series in India called Nokia C5. Sporting a 2.2-inch display with 240 x 320 pixels, C5 comes with 3.5 megapixel camera with LED Flash and video recording VGA at 15 fps (frames per second).

The phone also offers support for Nokia Ovi Maps which enables free global navigation. Running on Symbian OS 9.3, the phone comes pre-loaded with a 2GB memory card. The memory can be expanded upto 16GB.

Other key features include front-facing VGA camera, Class 32 GPRS and EDGE, FM radio, 3G support, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP and microUSB 2.0 port.

The phone is priced at Rs 7,999.



INQ Mini 3G and Chat 3G

UK-based handset maker INQ recently added two 3G handsets in India -- INQ Mini 3G and Chat 3G. Measuring 114.5 x 61 x 12.8 mm, INQ Chat 3G mobile comes with QWERTY keypad. The device supports push email, Facebook, Twitter and IM.

The other key features include QVGA display, music player and a 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera. The phone has 100MB of internal memory and can be expanded upto 4GB. INQ Chat 3G is priced at Rs 7,600.

The second handset Mini 3G comes with a 2.2 inch QVGA TFT display. The integrated INQ apps boast of Facebook, Skype, Twitter, and Instant Launcher.



HTC Smart

Priced below Rs 10,000, HTC Smart is the cheapest device ever launched by the company in the Indian market. Sporting a 2.8-inch TFT-LCD touchscreen with QVGA resolution, the phone comes with 3.5 mm stereo audio jack, HTC Sense UI and a 3 megapixel camera.

Other features include GSM/GPRS/EDGE, Bluetooth 2.0, HSDPA/WCDMA and microSD memory card with SD 2.0 support. Smart promises 370 minutes of talktime for WCDMA and upto 450 minutes of talktime for GSM.

The phone has a 300 MHz processor with 256MB RAM and 256MB ROM. The mmory can be expanded upto 16GB. The smartphone is powered by Qualcomm’s Brew operating system.

Smart offers support for Bluetooth withA2DP, 3G, Mini USB connectivity, 3.5 mm headphone jack, FM radio with RDS and music player. However, Smart is not Wi-Fi enabled.