Smartphone News

Blackberry will launch its new flagship smartphone Blackberry Z30 (also known as A10 or A-Series under the codename 'aristo') on October-24 in India, to be priced below Rs.45000. It runs on company's latest 10 OS version 10.2, with a 5-inch display and 8MP rear camera. Powered by 1.7Ghz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, it has 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage.

Nokia accidentally revealed the specifications of its biggest upcoming smartphone, the 6-inch Lumia 1520, on Tmall store - Nokia's official Internet marketplace for the Chinese market. Lumia-1520 will be the company's first phablet with quad-core processor (Snapdragon 800) and sport a full-HD display. The listing also says the device will feature a 20MP PureView camera and cost 4,999 yuan ($819).

Entering into two new segments, Finnish manufacturer Nokia unveiled its first tablet(Nokia Lumia 2520) and phablets(Nokia Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320) at an event in Abu Dhabi. The Tablet is Windows RT-based with a 10-inch 1080p HD display whereas phablets have 6-inch display and run on Microsoft Windows Phone 8 OS with the recently unveiled GDR3 update.

Samsung has launched the 2014 Edition of Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet in India priced at Rs.49,990 for the 32GB variant. It has a 10.1-inch Super clear LCD display with 2560x1600 pixels resolution. Powered by a 1.9GHz Exynos-5 Octa processor and 3GB of RAM, it runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and features a 8-megapixel rear camera and an 8,220mAh battery.

Snapdeal has made the yet to be launched smartphone- Micromax Canvas Magnus available for sell at Rs 14,999. The dual-sim Magnus, latest entry to Micromax's Canvas family, features a 5-inch IPS display and 12MP primary camera. It runs on Android 4.2 Jellybean and is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core processor along with 1GB RAM.

According to Phones Review website, Google has delayed the launch of Nexus 5 smartphone and Android 4.4 Kitkat that was scheduled for Oct-28, by a month. Speculations are there that delay in release of LG's curved smartphone G Flex which runs on Kitkat has affected the timings. However, there is no official word from Google or LG on the issue.

Apple Inc has signed a deal with Reliance Communications wherein a user will get the 16GB iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s at zero upfront cost, for a monthly fee of Rs.2,500 and Rs.2,800, respectively. Under the scheme, the user wil be under two-year of RCom's contract. This is the first time an Indian telecom company is subsidising an iPhone.

On Wednesday, Motorola announced its re-entry into the Indian market with Moto G smartphone, to be launched in January-2014. The android smartphone, priced at $179 for 8GB storage model and $199 for 16GB variant in US, has a 4.5-inch 720x1280p display, 5MP camera, 1.2GHz processor with 1GB Ram. Notably, there is no option for expandable storage available.

After tasting success with the buyback offer for iPhone 4 earlier this year, Apple has re-started the exchange offer. Under the scheme, users will get a minimum discount of Rs. 13,000 in the price iPhone 5C and 4S in exchange of iPhone 4. The buyback offer is also valid for select other smartphones including BlackBerry Z10, Lumia 925, Galaxy S3.

BitTorrent on Monday announced it has passed 40 million mobile downloads across its Android, iOS, and Windows Phone apps. The milestone comes some seven months after the 20 million download milestone, meaning not only is there continuous growth, but it is accelerating. The milestone means BitTorrent is adding some 10 million downloads every quarter.

With an addition of 100 million users in last four months, the instant messaging app Line, claims to have crossed the 300 million mark, worldwide. Reportedly, it took the company 19 months to reach the 100 million mark, 6 more for 200, and 4 more for 300. Line's biggest competitor, WhatsApp, claimed 350 million monthly active users, in October.

Aiming to make a mark in the thriving Android phone market, BSNL has launched it's first smartphone called Penta Smart PS501 priced at Rs 6,999. It has a 5-inch display with 854x480p resolution and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). The phone is powered by a 1,800mAh battery.

Telecom operator Reliance Communications has increased 3G mobile internet rates by 26%. The company has increased the cost of 1GB pack to Rs156 from Rs123 and the Rs123 mobile internet pack will now offer only 400MB. Also, for the internet pack of Rs 246, the company has reduced usage limit from 2GB to 1.5GB.

On Wednesday, a unique smartphone with two screens was launched by the Russian tech company, Yota Devices. The smartphone, assembled in China, features a backlit LCD screen on one side and an e-paper display on the other side. The Android phone will be available for $600 in Russia. The company has already received about 10,000 pre-orders.

LG India finally introduced its curved product range in India on Wednesday, including a curved OLED TV for Rs.9,99,000 and the G-Flex smartphone coming in Feb 2014. Though the exact pricing of the curved smartphone has not been revealed, it is expected to be priced between Rs.60,000-65,000. The curved OLED television is a Red Dot design award winner.

Nokia on Monday launched its new flagship smartphone, Lumia 1520 - the first Nokia device with a 6-inch screen, in the Indian smartphone market. At Rs 46,999, it is among the most expensive Nokia smartphones in the market. The smartphone has a full HD (1080p) display, 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB RAM and 32GB internal storage.

Lenovo on Tuesday launched its first Vibe smartphone in India, priced at Rs 25,999. The android smartphone has a 5-inch full HD display, 1.5GHz quad-core MediaTek (MTK 6589T) processor and 2GB of RAM. The highlights of the device include its thin frame measuring 6.9mm and its weight, 121g, possibly the lightest in its class.

Within a fortnight of launching the Galaxy Duos 2, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Grand 2 phablet in the Indian market on Monday. The android smartphone has 5.25-inch HD screen, 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1.5GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, 8MP camera. Reportedly, the device which will hit the markets in January will cost between Rs 19,000 and 21,000.

Within a fortnight of the global unveiling, Sony has launched the world's first range of pen drives for smartphones in India. The new 2-in-1 flash drives, which can be used in laptops as well as smartphones, is available at Rs 746 (8GB), Rs 1,399 (16GB) and Rs 2,633 (32GB).

Speaking about the development in the low-cost Aakash tablet Project, telecom minister Kapil Sibal said - "Aakash was my dream but it was not fulfilled, I tried hard... some departments of my government did not support me... despite that I continued to strive and then I brought the project in my ministry and now specifications for Aakash-4 have been completed."