Mobile devices
LG has launched the LG Stylus 2 Plus, an upgraded version of the LG Stylus 2 smartphone, in India. It comes with a stylus pen that has a nano-coated tip for better accuracy as compared to the rubber-tipped pen of the LG Stylus 2. In addition, the phone has a 5.7 inch in-palce switching (IPS) Quantum display with a full HD resolution of 1920×1080 pixels, a 1.4 GHz octa-core Qualcomm 64-bit processor and 3 GB RAM. It also has 16 GB of internal storage, which is expandable up to 2 TB. The device runs on the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system (OS). It is equipped with a 3,000 mAh lithium-ion battery that can support up to 450 minutes of talktime and up to 315 hours of standby time. The smartphone comes with a 16 megapixel autofocus rear camera and an 8 megapixel front camera, both with LED flash. It also offers dual SIM, 4G with voice over long term evolution (VoLTE), Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, a micro-USB port 2.0, Wi-Fi hotspot, near field communication, GPS, A-GPS/GLONASS, proximity, ambient light, an accelerometer and a digital compass. The phone is priced at Rs 24,450.
Intex Technologies has launched the Intex Aqua Power 4G smartphone in India. The 4G-enabled smartphone runs
on the Android 6.0 OS and comes with a 5 inch HD screen. It is supported by 1 GB RAM and 8 GB of internal storage, which is expandable up to 32 GB. The device is equipped with a 3,800 mAh battery, and has an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 2 megapixel front camera, with gesture control features. The phone comes preloaded with the Matrabhasha service that enables communication in 21 regional languages, along with applications such as Clean Master, Saavn and Opera Mini. The smartphone is available in gold and deep blue colour variants, and is priced at Rs 6,399.
Gionee has launched the F 103 Pro smartphone in India. The dual-SIM smartphone comes with the Amigo 3.2 user interface based on the Android 6.0 OS. The device offers 4G VoLTE support and is powered by a quad-core processor. It features a 5 inch water drop glass display. On the storage front, it offers 3 GB RAM with 16 GB of internal memory, which is expandable up to 128 GB. The device has a 13 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front camera. The smartphone comes with a 2,400 mAh battery and is priced at Rs 11,099.
Reliance Retail has launched four new dual-SIM 4G-enabled smartphones – Flame 3, Flame 4, Flame 5 and Flame 6.
The phones offer VoLTE support, along with advanced features such as a faster call set-up, HD voice and video calling, seamless switching between voice and video calls, and multiparty conferencing on 4G LTE. The devices are powered by the quad-core 1.5 GHz processor and have an Asahi DragontrailTM glass. The phones are priced at Rs 2,999 and will be available with a free Jio preview, wherein consumers will get three months of free 4G data on Reliance Jio’s network.
TCL, a consumer electronics company, has entered the Indian market with the launch of the TCL 560 smartphone. The 4G-enabled smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8909 processor and is supported by 2 GB RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. The dual-SIM smartphone runs on the Android Marshmallow OS and is equipped with a 2,500 mAh battery. The device features an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front camera. It also offers connectivity options such as Bluetooth 4.1, GPS/A-GPS and 4G. The handset supports all major LTE and GSM bands, and is priced at Rs 7,999.
Panasonic has launched the Eluga Note smartphone in India. The VoLTE-enabled smartphone features a 5.5 inch
full HD screen with a resolution of 1,080×1,920 pixels. It is powered by a 1.3 GHz octa-core processor and has 3 GB RAM. It comes with 32 GB of inbuilt storage, which can be expanded up to 64 GB. The smartphone has a 16 megapixel rear camera with triple-LED flash and f1.9 aperture, as well as a 5 megapixel front camera. It is backed by a 3,000 mAh battery. The dual-SIM smartphone supports 4G Indian LTE bands, 3G HSPA+, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and other standard connectivity options. The phone is priced at Rs 13,290.
Xiaomi has launched its Mi Max smartphone in India. The device is available in two versions, of 32 GB and 64 GB, priced at Rs 14,999 and Rs 19,999 respectively. The dual-SIM phone features a 6.44 inch screen with full HD 342 ppi display. While the 32 GB handset is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 processor and 3 GB RAM, the 64 GB version is backed by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor and 4 GB RAM. Both versions run on the Android 6.0 OS and are equiped with a 4,850 mAh battery. These come with a 16 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front camera. The Mi Max smartphone supports connectivity options such as Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, FM, 3G and 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some LTE networks in India). The smartphone will be available in dark grey, silver and gold colour variants.
LAVA has launched the A68 3G smartphone, which is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor, has 1 GB RAM and
runs on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS. The device has a 4.5 inch display and is equipped with a 1,750 mAh lithium-ion battery. It comes with a 5 megapixel rear camera and a VGA front camera with LED flash. Further, the smartphone has 8 GB of internal storage, which is expandable up to 32 GB. The dual-SIM handset has connectivity options such as Wi-Fi, USB, 3G, Bluetooth and GPS. It also offers the picture-in-picture video feature that allows users to open any video and play it in the background while performing other tasks like messaging and browsing the internet. The phone is available in gold, silver and black colour variants and is priced at Rs 4,599.
Intex has launched the Intex Aqua Strong 5.1 in India. It offers dual-SIM support and runs on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS. The device features a 5 inch Full Wide Video Graphics Array display with a screen resolution of 480×854 pixels, has Corning Gorilla Glass 2 protection and a pixel density of 196 ppi. It is powered by a 1 GHz MediaTek MT6735 quad-core processor with ARM Mali-T720 MP1 GPU and has 1 GB RAM. The phone comes with 8 GB of inbuilt storage, which is expandable up to 32 GB. It has a 5 megapixel rear camera with dual-LED flash and a 2 megapixel front camera also with flash. The smartphone is packed with a 2,800 mAh battery and offers connectivity options such as 4G, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, micro-USB port, and GPS/A-GPS. The Intex Aqua Strong 5.1 comes with several preloaded applications like Matrabhasha, Clean Master, Opera Mini, Opera Max and Saavn. It is available in white, blue and champagne colour variants, and is priced at Rs 5,599.
Panasonic India has launched the ELUGA Arc 2 smartphone with dual 2.5D curved glass and metal body. It features
a 5 inch display and runs on the Android Marshmallow OS. The 4G device comes with 3 GB RAM and 32 GB of internal storage, which is expandable up to 128 GB. Further, the phone is powered by a 1.3 Ghz quad-core processor and is equipped with a 2,450 mAh battery. It comes with an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front camera. The smartphone also offers some additional features like Turbo Download, OTG USB support and IR Blaster. It is available in gold and rose gold colour variants and is priced at Rs 12,290.
Sony has launched the Xperia XA Ultra smartphone in India. It features a 6 inch full HD display, and comes with a 21.5 megapixel rear camera as well as a 16 megapixel front camera. The 4G-enabled device has a dual Nano SIM capability and is powered by a 64-bit 2.0 GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6755 Helio processor. The phone is packed with a 2,700 mAh battery, has 16 GB internal storage and 3 GB RAM. The device is available for Rs 29,990.
China-based mobile manufacturer Zopo Mobile has launched the Speed 8 deca-core smartphone in India. It features
a 5.5 inch (1080 pixels) full HD IPS symmetrical display. The phone is powered by a 64-bit deca-core Helio X20 processor, and has 4 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage. It is packed with a 3,600 mAh battery and operates on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS. The device comes with a 21 megapixel rear camera with dual-LED flash and an 8 megapixel front camera with flash. The phone is priced at Rs 29,999.
Services
Bharti Airtel has launched the “Happy Hours” offer, which allows its prepaid customers to get back 50 per cent of the 
data consumed for in-app content downloads between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. The data is credited to the customers after 6 a.m. every day. Users of all regular prepaid data packs, except discounted night plans such as double data packs, will be eligible for data back under this offer. Airtel has tied up with applications such as FastFilmz and YouTube for the service, and is in talks with other companies for the same. The applications that have integrated with the operator will show an option for downloading during the happy hours period.
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) has partnered with Hungama, a digital entertainment provider, to offer on-demand entertainment services to its subscribers. As per the agreement, Hungama’s content, comprising over 3 million offerings including films, a music library of Indian and international content, and games will be available to MTNL broadband consumers in Mumbai and Delhi at mtnl.hungama.com. Consumers can access these services while availing of various entertainment packages.
RCOM recently launched a new content-bundled data plan called MoviNet that offers music, movies and internet access. Under the plan, users get a free subscription to the “Entertainment-on-Demand” library of Hungama Play, which comprises 8,000 movies. In addition, the customers can avail of the “Any-Use Data” service. The MoviNet plan blends data and content seamlessly and provides an easy interface along with maximum entertainment quotient. This pack was reportedly launched to bridge the gap between data and content.
