Samsung India has launched the Galaxy On8 smartphone in India. The 4G-enabled smartphone has a 5.5 inch sAMOLED display. It comes with 3 GB RAM and 16 GB of inbuilt storage, which is expandable up to 128 GB. It is powered by a 1.6 GHz octa-core processor and is equipped with a 3,300 mAh battery. The device has a 13 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front camera with LED flash. It is available on Flipkart in gold, black and white colour variants. The Galaxy On8 is priced at Rs 15,900.
Intex Technologies has launched the Cloud Q11 smartphone in India. It offers dual-SIM support and features a 5.5
inch HD display with a screen resolution of 720×1280 pixels. The device has 8 GB internal memory, which is expandable up to 32 GB, and 1 GB RAM, and is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6580 processor. The phone comes with an 8 megapixel rear autofocus camera with dual-LED flash and a 5 megapixel front camera. It runs on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system (OS) and is packed with a 2,800 mAh battery. The handset offers connectivity options such as 3G (HSPA+), Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, Micro-USB 2.0, GPS/A-GPS, and a 3.5 mm audio jack. The Cloud Q11 is available on Amazon in blue and white colour variants, and is priced at Rs 4,699.
HTC has launched the Desire 10 Lifestyle smartphone in India. The dual-SIM smartphone features a 5.5 inch HD super LCD display with Gorilla glass. It is available in two variants – one with 2 GB RAM and 32 GB of inbuilt storage, and the other with 3 GB RAM and 64 GB of inbuilt storage. The device is powered by a 1.6 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor. It runs on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS and is packed with a 2,700 mAh battery. The phone has a 13 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front camera, and offers connectivity options like Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS/A-GPS, Bluetooth 4.1 and 4G. The smartphone is available online on Amazon and on HTC’s own e-store. It is priced at Rs 15,990.
Xiaomi has launched its first offline only handset, Redmi 3S+, in India. The 4G-enabled smartphone has a 5 inch
720p HD display. It comes with 2 GB RAM and has 32 GB internal storage. The device is powered by a 1.4 GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It has a 13 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front camera. The phone runs on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS and is packed with a 4,100 mAh battery. The connectivity options include 4G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS and GLONASS. It is priced at Rs 9,499.
Lenovo has launched the Moto Z and Moto Z Play modular smartphones along with Moto Mods in India. The Moto Z has a 5.5 inch QHD Amoled display. It comes with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB of internal storage, and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC processor. The dual-SIM device has a 13 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front camera. It runs on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS and is packed with a 2,600 mAh battery. The phone offers connectivity options such as 4G, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v4.1, GPS/A-GPS, NFC and a USB Type-C port. Meanwhile, the dual-SIM Moto Z Play smartphone has 3 GB RAM and 32 GB of internal storage. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC processor. The handset comes with a 16 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front camera. The connectivity options include 4G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0, GPS/A-GPS, NFC, a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a USB Type-C port. The two phones are available on Amazon and Flipkart. Users can also buy Lenovo’s Moto Mods separately and connect them to the smartphones to enable additional features. The Moto Z is priced at Rs 39,999 while the Moto Z Play is priced at Rs 24,999.
Micromax has launched the Canvas 5 Lite smartphone in India. The dual-SIM smartphone has a 5 inch screen with
HD in-plane switching (IPS) display. It has 2 GB RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. The device is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6735P SoC processor. It comes with an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front camera. The phone runs on the Android 5.1 Lollipop OS and is equipped with a 2,000 mAh battery. It offers connectivity options like Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, FM radio, 4G and Micro-USB. The Canvas 5 Lite is exclusively available on Snapdeal and is priced at Rs 6,499.
Huawei has launched the Honor 8, Honor 8 Smart and Honor Holly 3 smartphones in India. The Honor 8 has 4 GB RAM and 32 GB of internal storage. It comes with a 12 megapixel dual-lens camera that has an RGB sensor and a monochrome lens, as well as an 8 megapixel front camera with full manual control modes. The device runs on the Android 6.0 OS, it is packed with a 3,000 mAh battery. It also features a fingerprint scanner and 2.5D dual glass coating for increased protection. The Honor 8 Smart has a 5.2 inch display, and comes with a 13 megapixel rear camera and an 8 megapixel front camera. Meanwhile, the Honor Holly 3, which is Huawei’s first smartphone made in India, has 2 GB RAM, 16 GB of internal storage and a 1.2 GHz processor. It comes with a 13 megapixel rear camera and an 8 megapixel front camera, and is packed with a 3,100 mAh battery. The smartphones are available on Flipkart, Amazon and Honor e-stores. The Honor 8 is priced at Rs 29,999, while the Honor 8 Smart and the Honor Holly 3 are priced at Rs 19,999 and Rs 9,999 respectively.
Services
Bharti Airtel has launched new international roaming plans for customers travelling to various global destinations. Under the new packs, data charges for international roaming have been reduced from Rs 650 per MB to Rs 3 per MB, an effective reduction of 99 per cent. The validity period for these packs varies from one day to 30 days. The one-day pack, which is designed for short international trips, is priced at Rs 649. It offers free incoming calls, free SMSs to India, 100 minutes of free calling to India and 300 MB of free data. Once the pack is exhausted, data is charged at Rs 3 per MB, calls to India at Rs 3 per minute and local outgoing calls at Rs 3 per minute. The 30-day pack offers connectivity for long-duration trips and is priced at Rs 4,999. It offers 3 GB of data and 400 minutes of free calling to India. On exhaustion of the pack, the charges are the same as those of the one-day pack.
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) has introduced unlimited free calling under some of its broadband combo plans. Under the Freedom ULD-1999, which is priced at Rs 1,999, a user can make unlimited free local and STD calls to all networks in India, including mobile and fixed line networks. Besides, 150 GB of data will be available at a broadband speed of 4 Mbps per month. On exhaustion of the data limit, the user would get a speed of 1 Mbps. Meanwhile, under the plan priced at Rs 1,499, the user would get 100 free calls to any network and unlimited free calls to MTNL numbers in Mumbai and Delhi. In addition, the plan offers 100 GB data at a speed of 4 Mbps and unlimited internet access at a speed of 1 Mbps, post exhaustion of the data limit. Under the Rs 1,299 plan, the user would get unlimited free local calls to only MTNL numbers.
Aircel has launched unlimited local calling across all networks in the Uttar Pradesh (East) circle at Rs 449. The offer has a validity of 28 days and is available to both new and existing customers.
Reliance Communications (RCOM) has launched the DoubleScoop Plan for new prepaid users in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). The Rs 2,141 2G DoubleScoop plan offers a talktime of 2,141 minutes, 5 GB of data and a call rate of Re 0.25 per minute for a period of three months. The Rs 2,295 3G plan offers talktime of 2,295 minutes, 3 GB of 3G data and a Re 0.25 per minute call rate for three months. Meanwhile, the Rs 2,496 plan offers talktime of 2,496 minutes, 10 GB of 3G data and a Re 0.25 per minute call rate for three months. For existing customers in Delhi-NCR, the operator has rolled out the NonStop plan, which offers talktime of 1,000 local and STD minutes, along with unlimited calls to any RCOM number in India.
Vodafone India has launched a new product, called Vodafone FLEX, for its prepaid customers. The product combines voice and data packs into one, thus eliminating the need for multiple recharges. With every recharge, consumers are credited a specific number of FLEXs that would be deducted from the consumer’s account, depending on the usage. One FLEX would be deducted for every 1 MB of data used or one SMS sent, while two FLEXs would be deducted for every minute of voice call. Vodafone FLEX is available in denominations of Rs 119, which offers 325 FLEXs; and Rs 399, which offers 1,750 FLEXs.
