Micromax Yu Yureka Plus launched in India, flash sales on July 24 on Amazon

Micromax sister concern Yu Televentures that manufactures mobiles under the Yu brand has launched its third smartphone, the Yu Yureka Plus in India.  Yureka Plus is the next gen premium version of Yu Yureka that was launched by the company in December last year. The new handset will be sold exclusively on Amazon and is open for registration. It will be sold via flash sale this Friday, July 24th at 12pm Indian time. Yu smartphones have a history of quick sell-out in flash sales in its home country India.

Let’s have a look at the specs of Yu Yureka Plus:

Display

The Yureka Plus sports a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 pixels Full HD resolution capacitive touch screen having a pixel density of 401ppi. It has a gorilla glass 3 protection.

Under the hood

Inside, it has a 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 615 chipset clocked at 1.5GHz and an Adreno 405 GPU for graphics. There is a 2GB RAM and 16GB of internal memory with a microSD card support for additional expansion up to 32GB. The handset will be powered by a 2500mAh battery.

Camera

The new Yu Yureka Plus will be featuring a 13-megapixel primary camera with Sony IMX214 CMOS sensor, autofocus and LED flash. The front-facing camera will be a 5MP one

Operating System

The Yureka Plus will come with custom-built Cyanogen OS 12 (based on Android 5.0 Lollipop) out of the box.

Other features

Dual-SIM support; Cat. 4 4G LTE, 3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and Micro-USB connectivity; Sensors including proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, accelerometer and gyroscope.

Color options include MoonDust Grey and Limited Edition Alabaster White. The new Yu Yureka Plus is priced at INR 9,999 ($157).

Micromax Yu Yureka Plus launched in India, flash sales on July 24 on Amazon

iPhone maker Foxconn set to re-start manufacturing facilities in India

Taiwan-based Foxconn had shut down its Chennai manufacturing plants in February this year after its only client Nokia closed down its operations. The company is planning to re-enter India and set up manufacturing plants in the country. Foxconn is a contract manufacturer handling smartphone manufacturing for several companies including iPhone for Apple.

Reports say that Foxconn plans to make a “huge investment” to set up a smartphone manufacturing plant either in Pune or Aurangabad in the state of Maharashtra.  The state’s Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who visited China along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, confirmed this.  He visited Foxconn’s plant in Henan province which manufactures Apple iPhones, including the latest of the lot, iPhone 6.

“India has the world’s largest number of cellphones but only 7% of these mobile handsets are manufactured in the country. The rest are imported,” said Chief Minister Fadnavis. He added that having a local manufacturing facility would help Foxconn to “gain a foothold in the domestic market” and that the company was keen to set up a “complete ecosystem with (even) suppliers and not just an assembly line.” This also means that people will have a huge employment opportunity.

Other possible places in the country where Foxconn could open a facility are Noida, Gujarat and a trial facility in Andhra Pradesh. If the company begins its operations in India, it may also end up making iPhones. This is a result of Indian Government’s efforts towards its new “Make in India” policy.

After the Nokia-Microsoft deal last year, Foxconn had to shut down all its three plants located near Chennai as they were exclusively catering to Nokia. About 1,700 employees lost their jobs as the company shut down its operations. But now Foxconn seems serious about re-entering India because it has already hired Nokia’s former senior executive Josh Foulger who has the experience of setting up Nokia’s Chennai facility.

iPhone maker Foxconn set to re-start manufacturing facilities in India

The 5-inch ZTE Nubia Z9 mini introduced in India for $267

ZTE has launched Nubia Z9 mini, a smaller and affordable version of its Nubia Z9 flagship in India. This is the first smartphone under the company’s Nubia brand to be made available in India. The handset is being offered exclusively through Amazon India at a price of Rs. 16,999 equivalent to US$ 267. It is available at Amazon through open sale, no flash sales or pre-registration or anything.

The ZTE  Nubia Z9 mini boasts of a 5-inch full HD display with 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution and 441 ppi. It has a Sharp CGS (Continuous Grain Silicon) IPS OGS screen with Corning Gorilla Glass III protection. Under the hood, it has a 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor clocked at 1.5GHz and an Adreno 405 graphics processor.

Memory options include 2GB of RAM and 16GB of native storage expandable up to 128GB via microSD card. . A 16MP camera having a Sony IMX234 Exmor RS sensor, f/2.0 aperture and LED flash, is present at the back of the phone. On the front, there is an 8MP camera with Sony IMX179 Exmor R sensor, f/2.4 aperture and an 80 degree wide angle lens. The phone has a 3000mAh battery for power and supports 4G LTE connectivity. It comes with pre-installed Android 5.0 Lollipop topped with ZTE’s Nubia UI 2.8.

The device measures 141.3×69.8×8.2mm and weighs 147g. Other connectivity options it offers are Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, GPS/ A-GPS Bluetooth 4.0 and Micro-USB with OTG The device is currently available in Black color.

The Chinese phone maker has not revealed whether plans to launch other smartphones under the Nubia brand in India.

The 5-inch ZTE Nubia Z9 mini introduced in India for $267

Meizu m1 note launched in India, features a 5.5-inch display and 64-bit octa-core processor

As expected, the Chinese phone maker Meizu is making its foray into the Indian market with the launch of its Meizu m1 note. The company had posted teasers on its official Twitter and Facebook accounts in March announcing its plan to enter India soon.

Meizu has partnered with Amazon to sell the m1 note in India and the sale was to open on 20th May i.e. today, at 2 PM Indian time. Meizu India has posted a tweet to that effect. Meizu is opting for a normal sale and not flash sale Xiaomi is doing. There are no pre-registrations or any invitations either.

 

Meizu #m1note will be available exclusively at Amazon.in on 2:00 PM, May 20th. http://t.co/BmhJ04ACMf pic.twitter.com/eiRL4JCfrv

— MEIZU India (@Meizu_India) May 18, 2015

Although the Meizu m1 note is available in five colors – white, yellow, green, blue and pink, initially only white and blue color devices would be offered. The price tag for the device is Rs. 11,999 (about $188).  

We offer white and blue version of m1 note for you today! Check it out at http://t.co/BmhJ04j1UH pic.twitter.com/RCRwlHx6JU — MEIZU India (@Meizu_India) May 20, 2015

The Meizu m1 note is a mid-range, dual SIM phablet with 4G LTE capabilities. The handset boasts of a 5.5-inch FHD display with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels and a pixel density of 403 ppi and covered by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. Under the hood, it has a octa-core 1.7GHz 64-bit MediaTek MT6752 processor and Mali-T760 MP2 GPU for graphics.

 

Memory options include 2GB of RAM and 16GB/32GB of internal storage (non-expandable- no microSD slot). There is a 13MP rear camera with dual LED flash, 5-element lens, ƒ/2.2 aperture and 5MP front-facing camera with 4-element 69⁰ wide angle lens.

 

A 3140mAh battery provides the power and the device comes pre-installed with Meizu’s Flyme 4 OS based on Android 4.4.4 KitKat. The Meizu m1 note has sturdy a magnesium alloy chassis, a dual microphone setup, gyroscope, gravity sensor, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor and digital compass. Connectivity options include LTE, Micro-USB, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS/ A-GPS. The handset has dimensions of 150.7 x 75.2 x 8.9mm and it weighs 145g.

As per the company’s latest tweet, all the handsets were sold out within a short time.

 

You guys are amazing! Thank you very much for your enthusiasm and support! We are sold out now and will be back soon. pic.twitter.com/Ok8Iki0hCi

— MEIZU India (@Meizu_India) May 20, 2015

Meizu m1 note launched in India, features a 5.5-inch display and 64-bit octa-core processor

Huawei launches two budget-friendly phones Honor 4C and Honor Bee in India

The Chinese smartphone company Huawei has introduced two new budget smartphones in India – Huawei Honor 4C and Huawei Honor Bee. Both the handsets fall in the lower range compared to the mid-range Honor 4X and much lower compared to its flagship phone Honor 6 Plus. Honor Bee, priced at Rs. 4,999 (about $78) is the cheapest and Honor 4C costing Rs. 8,999 (about $141) is the second cheapest phone of Huawei in the Indian market.

The cheapest $78 phone Honor Bee offers a 4.5-inch screen with a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels, a 1.2GHz SC7731 quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of native storage with microSD support, 8MP rear cam with dual LED flash, 2 MP front-facing cam and a 1730mAh battery.

Huawei’s second offering Honor 4C features a 5.0-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1280×720 pixels, a 64-bit Kirin 620 octa-core processor clocked at 1.2GHz and Mali-T450 MP4 GPU for graphics, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of native storage supporting up to 32GB microSD card, a 13MP rear cam, a 5MP front-facing cam and a 2,550mAh battery. The phone offers dual SIM support

Both the handsets run Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box with Huawei’s EMUI 3.0 on top. They are available online exclusively through Flipkart. Honor 4C is available for purchase immediately while Honor Bee is open for pre-order.

What do you think of Huawei’s two new offerings in India?

Huawei launches two budget-friendly phones Honor 4C and Honor Bee in India

Meizu set to enter the Indian market with m1 note possibly its first offering

Chinese phone maker Meizu has become a well-known company in the smartphone world as a few of its phones have been well received in the market. Its recent handsets Meizu MX4 and MX4 Pro have been quite impressive. In fact, Meizu MX4 topped AnTuTu benchmark site’s list of top scoring Android phones for the year 2014.

Now the company is getting ready to venture beyond China and enter the lucrative Indian smartphone market soon. It has recently posted teasers on its official Facebook and Twitter accounts announcing their plan to shortly enter India:

“Greetings to all the #Meizu fans in India. We are coming!”

The company also hinted that the m1 note will be its first offering in India. Meizu’s m1 note was announced back in December 2014. The device is listed as “Coming Soon” on its international website MeizuMart. Like Xiaomi, Meizu might also partner with major Indian e-retailers like Flipkart, Snapdeal etc. to sell its devices.

 

Greetings to all the #Meizu fans in India. We are coming! Follow us and like us on Facebook: http://t.co/aKfP8T2S7X pic.twitter.com/v2ZlZB20V9

— MEIZU India (@Meizu_India) March 18, 2015

The m1 note is a mid-ranger sporting a 5.5-inch 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution display, 2GB of RAM and 16GB or 32GB of native storage. The handset is powered by MediaTek MT6752 octa-core processor with ARM Cortex A53 clocked at 1.7GHz and a dual-core Mali T760 GPU for graphics. The device has a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP selfie camera, a 3140mAh battery and dual-SIM slots but no microSD card slot. The m1 note comes with Android 4.4 KitKat preinstalled with Meizu’s own Flyme UI on top.

Meizu hasn’t announced its launch date in India but since the company has put out teasers, it won’t be far away. The 16GB m1 note is available for 999 Yuan ($160) and the 32GB version for 1,199Yuan ($192) in China. We will have to wait and see what retail price the company fixes for the Indian market.

Meizu set to enter the Indian market with m1 note possibly its first offering

Google to bring balloon-powered internet and Kite-powered energy to India

India will soon be one of the countries where Google plans to set up infrastructure to provide internet connectivity and power to people in remote areas. The Mountain View giant is reportedly in talks with the Indian Government to set up projects to provide balloon-powered internet and Kite-powered energy in the country.

Google’s “Project Loon” is an internet project under which Google plans to use balloons set up at a high altitude to provide low-cost internet to about 5 billion people across the globe who have currently no access to it.

Mohammad Gawdat, VP of business Innovation at Google X told The Times of India:

“By 2016, we believe we can start to launch a commercial format that allows us to have coverage on every square inch of planet Earth. We are working very closely with telecom providers and governments across the world including India to see how we bring this innovation here”.

The balloons are sent up about 20 km high in the air. Its position is determined by software algorithms in the instruments based on wind direction. In a pilot project, about 30 such balloons were sent high up in the air in New Zealand’s South Island. These balloons were able to beam internet to a small group of people.

Google is also working on another project that uses kites sent up in the air to harness wind energy. Here, aeroplane-like kites tethered to cables are sent up in the sky up to 300 meters high. These kites fly in the air where the wind is the strongest. Wind moving across kite’s rotors rotates them with force, causing the generator to produce electricity. The electricity is then transmitted through the tether onto the grid.

“We believe through this we should be able to get a 100% improvement on the current renewable technology out there. It will be available at a much cheaper cost,” said Gawdat.

He also said that looking to India’s interest in renewable energy, they are in talks with the Indian Government to deploy this technology in India. Google hopes to begin the wind power generation by 2016.

 

Source The Times of India

Google to bring balloon-powered internet and Kite-powered energy to India

Samsung unveils its first Tizen-powered handset Samsung Z1 in India

After much speculation, the curtains have finally been lifted on Samsung’s first Tizen-powered smartphone, Samsung Z1. The Korean giant has launched Samsung Z1, running its own homemade Tizen OS, in India.  This is an entry level dual-SIM phone costing INR 5,700 (about $92) and is available in three colors- Black, White and Wine Red.

Samsung said in its press release:

“The smartphone market in India is rapidly evolving, with many consumers using their device as their screen of choice for content including videos, television programs and video games, as well as a range of apps. We have customized the Samsung Z1 to meet these unique, entertainment-focused needs of local Indian consumers for a personal and reliable mobile experience.“

Samsung Z1 features a 4-inch 480 x 800 WVGA PLS screen, 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 768 MB RAM, 4 GB internal memory (expandable up to 64 GB via microSD), a 3.1 MP rear camera and a 0.3 MP front camera. The handset has a 1,500mAh battery with ‘Ultra Power Saving Mode’and runs Tizen 2.3. Samsung is offering a free entertainment package called the ‘Joy Box’ that will allow users to stream and download entertainment content including TV shows, Movies and Music.

According to Samsung, the lightweight Tizen platform on the Z1 helps in faster booting and quick access to apps, giving a seamless and smooth user experience. Samsung Z1 also comes with a built-in Antivirus protection.

Source Samsung

Samsung unveils its first Tizen-powered handset Samsung Z1 in India

Here’s why “Chinese Apple” Xiaomi ’s phones have been banned in India

For Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, the Indian market is its second largest one after China. However, its surging sales in India have received a sudden brake as it is facing certain patent issues in the country.

India’s Delhi High Court has passed an injunction order against Xiaomi banning it from importing, manufacturing, marketing and selling devices that infringe the Standard, Essential Patents (SEPs), in India. This order was issued after telecom equipment manufacturer Ericsson filed a patent infringement case against Xiaomi.

A report by SpicyIP says that the reason for granting of an injuction order is that Xiaomi failed to respond to Ericsson’s repeated requests for communications since July 2014. The patents in question may be the same ones for which Ericsson had filed cases against Gionee, Micromax and Intex. According to the report, the injunction order does not conform to international practice or to the local laws.

Xiaomi India’s head Manu Jain told CNet that,”India is a very important market for Xiaomi and we will respond promptly as needed and in full compliance with Indian laws. Moreover, we are open to working with Ericsson to resolve this matter amicably.“

For Xiaomi, the Indian market is a fast expanding market and the company cannot afford such kind of bans. It is important to note that Xiaomi has put its expansion to other countries on hold in order to focus more on the lucrative Indian Market.

Xiaomi launched its operations in India recently in July 2014 and has already sold over half a million devices till the month of October. It sells online exclusively through Flipkart and its weekly sales are 65,000 to 100,000 units, which surged to 175,000 during the festival season of Diwali in India.

Here’s why “Chinese Apple” Xiaomi ’s phones have been banned in India

Apple’s 8GB iPhone 5c Coming Soon to India

Apple officially unveiled the 8GB variant of iPhone 5c back in March and it was initially made available in UK, Germany, France, Australia and China. Lately, Apple made the device available in a few more countries including Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Spain, Austria, Denmark, Switzerland, Norway and Finland.

Now the company is about to launch the cheapest current-generation 8GB iPhone 5C in India.

The iPhone 5c 16GB variant was launched in India at price Rs.41,900. The 8GB iPhone 5c is obvious cheaper than the 16GB variant by EUR 50 and it would be available in India for Rs.35,000.

Apple’s strategy of offering previous generation iPhone models at lowest price point has worked out well in the past. So probably the 8GB iPhone 5c sales would do well in India market.

Apple CEO Tim Cook did highlight the sales growth in the Inida market during the last financial release. The company has launched various cash backs and exchange offers in the country.

Tim Cook said, “iPhone sales grew by strong double-digits year-over-year, and in India and Vietnam sales more than doubled.”

NDTV Gadgets has learnt that the 8GB iPhone 5c is expected to be launched in India in few weeks. It looks Apple is interested to keep up the momentum in the region.

New all-time record established by Apple for total iPhone sales in BRIC countries in the previous quarter. Apple would likely launch the 8GB iPhone 5c in other emerging markets too after its launch in India.

Apple’s 8GB iPhone 5c Coming Soon to India