Domestic handset manufacturer Lava has launched the 4G Connect M1, the first voice over long term evolution (VoLTE), 4G-enabled feature phone in India. It is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor and has 512 MB RAM. It is equipped with a 1,750 mAh battery and has a polycarbonate body that provides greater durability. The phone comes with a VGA camera and is priced at Rs 3,333.
Samsung has launched the Galaxy C9 Pro and Galaxy J2 smartphones in India. The dual-SIM 4G-enabled Galaxy C9
Pro smartphone runs on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system (OS) and is powered by a octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 system-on-chip (SoC) processor. It comes with 6 GB RAM and has inbuilt storage of 64 GB which is expandable up to 256 GB. The device has 16 megapixel rear and front cameras and is packed with a 4,000 mAh battery. It offers connectivity options such as Bluetooth v4.2, Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n), GPS, Glonass, Beidou, near field communication (NFC), USB Type-C, and a 3.5 mm audio jack. The smartphone is available in black and gold colour variants, and is priced at Rs 36,900. Meanwhile, the Galaxy J2 smartphone features a 5 inch HD display and runs on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS. It is powered by a 1.4 GHz quad-core processor, has 1.5 GB RAM and is equipped with a 2,600 mAh battery. The handset comes with 8 GB of inbuilt storage, which is expandable up to 256 GB. It has an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front camera. The phone includes connectivity options like 4G VoLTE support, 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, and USB 2.0. The device is available for Rs 8,490.
Motorola has launched the Moto M smartphone in India. The phone has been launched in two variants: one with 32 GB internal memory and 3 GB RAM, which is priced at Rs 15,999, and the other with 64 GB internal memory and 4 GB RAM, which is priced at Rs 17,999. The dual-SIM smartphone features a 5.5 inch in-plane switching (IPS) display with a screen resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels. It runs on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS and is powered by a 2.2 GHz quad-core MediaTek Helio P15 processor. The device has a 16 megapixel rear camera with phase-detection autofocus and an 8 megapixel front camera. It offers connectivity options such as Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth v4.1, GPS/A-GPS, 4G, USB Type-C, NFC and a 3.5 mm audio jack, and is equipped with a 3,050 mAh battery.
Reliance Retail has launched the Lyf Water 3 smartphone. The 4G-enabled dual-SIM smartphone features a 5.5 inch
HD display and runs on the Android 5.0 Lollipop OS. It is powered by a 1.5 GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 MSM8939 SoC processor and has 2 GB RAM. The device has inbuilt storage of 16 GB, which can be expanded up to 32 GB. The phone comes with a 13 megapixel rear camera and 5 megapixel front camera, and is packed with a 3,000 mAh battery. It provides connectivity options like 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, and micro-USB. The smartphone is exclusively available on Flipkart and is priced at Rs 6,599.
China-based handset manufacturer Oppo has launched the A57 smartphone in India. It features a 5.2 inch display with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and is powered by an octa-core processor. The phone has 3 GB RAM and 32 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 256 GB. It runs on the Color 3.0 OS, which is based on the Android 6.0 OS. It comes with a 16 megapixel front camera and a 13 megapixel rear camera. The device is packed with a 2,900 mAh battery and is priced at Rs 14,990.
Intex Technologies has launched its 4G VoLTE-enabled Aqua Amaze+ smartphone. It features a 4.7 inch HD IPS
display and is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor. The device has 1 GB RAM and 8 GB of internal memory, which is expandable up to 64 GB, and runs on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS. It comes with 5 megapixel rear and front cameras with flash, and is packed with a 2,000 mAh battery. The smartphone is available in black, blue and grey colour variants, and is priced at Rs 6,290.
Chinese smartphone maker Transsion Holdings has launched a new smartphone in India under its brand itel. The 4G-enabled it1518 Selfie Pro smartphone runs on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS and is powered by a 1.3 GHz MediaTek quad-core processor. The device has 2 GB RAM and 8 GB of internal storage, which is expandable up to 128 GB. It features a 5 inch HD IPS display, and comes with an 8 megapixel rear and 5 megapixel front camera. The phone is packed with a 2,500 mAh battery, and is available in black, white and champagne colour variants. It is priced at Rs 7,550.
Zen Mobile has launched the Cinemax 4G smartphone in India. It features a 5.5 inch full wide video graphics array
(FWVGA) display and runs on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS. The dual-SIM smartphone is powered by a quad-core processor and has 2 GB RAM. It comes with 16 GB of inbuilt storage, which can be further expanded up to 32 GB. The smartphone has a 5 megapixel rear autofocus camera with flash and a 5 megapixel front camera and is equipped with a 2,900 mAh battery. As far as connectivity options are concerned, the phone offers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 4G VoLTE support. It comes bundled with a Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited SIM card and the Happy New Year offer. The handset will be available in champagne and rose gold colour variants. It is priced at Rs 6,390.
ASUS has launched the Zenfone 3S Max smartphone in India. It features a 5.2 inch HD IPS display and has 2.5D contoured glass. The handset is powered by a 1.5 GHz octa-core 64-bit processor and has 3 GB RAM. It has 32 GB of internal memory, which can be expanded up to 2 TB. The device comes with a 13 megapixel rear camera and an 8 megapixel camera front camera. It runs on the Zen user interface 3 based on the Android 7.0 Nougat OS. The smartphone is packed with a 5,000 mAh battery and is available for Rs 14,999.
Services
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has reduced its 3G mobile internet rates by about three-fourths. Under the Rs 291 plan, customers will now get 8 GB of 3G data with a validity of 28 days as compared to 2 GB earlier. Meanwhile, the Rs 78 plan will offer 2 GB of 3G data. BSNL has also launched a promotional monthly plan for landline users priced at Rs 49 called “Experience LL 49”. Under this, the operator is offering unlimited calls to all operators’ networks on Sundays. In addition, customers can make unlimited calls during night hours between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. without any additional cost. The offer will be valid for six months and after the expiry period, customers will be charged as per the existing plan. The operator is also providing a free BSNL prepaid SIM card under this offer.
In a separate development, BSNL has announced a new plan priced at Rs 439, offering free local and STD calls for three months. The same plan will be available for a month as a part of a promotional offer for prepaid users, under which users will have to pay only Rs 149 for free voice calls. However, under the fair usage policy, the calls to other networks have been limited to half an hour per day.
Bharti Airtel is offering double data on the purchase of new 4G dongles and hotspot devices. Under the new offer,
users can select from four different packs priced between Rs 450 and Rs 1,500, while purchasing a new 4G dongle. The pack priced at Rs 450 will now offer 8 GB of data, instead of 4 GB of data. Meanwhile, the pack priced at Rs 650 will now offer 12 GB of data, instead of 6 GB of data. The pack priced at Rs 999 will now offer 20 GB of data and the pack priced at Rs 1,500 will offer 40 of GB data, instead of 20 GB of data. These plans come with a validity of three months.
Vodafone India has revamped its Red post-paid plans to offer unlimited calls and additional data benefits to its users. The plan priced at Rs 499 offers unlimited national and local calls to any network, along with 3 GB of 3G/4G data for 4G-enabled smartphone users and 1 GB of data for non-4G smartphone users. The Rs 699 plan offers the same calling, roaming, and text messaging benefits, along with 5 GB 3G/4G data for 4G-enabled smartphone users and 2.5 GB of data for non-4G users. Idea Cellular has launched a new plan, which provides additional 3 GB of data per month. The offer allows customers to avail of free data worth up to Rs 9,000 for up to 12 months on a new 4G handset. The offer is available for both new and existing prepaid and post-paid customers. Under the plan priced at Rs 348, prepaid customers will get 3 GB of free data along with unlimited voice calling and SMSs. Customers with new 4G handsets will get additional 1 GB of data. The plan comes with a validity of 28 days and can be availed of for a maximum of 13 recharges in a year.
Idea Cellular has also introduced two new “Ultimate” plans priced at Rs 499 and Rs 999 for its post-paid users. Under the plan priced at Rs 499, customers will get unlimited calls along with 3 GB of free data on 4G-enabled handsets. However, non-4G handset users will get unlimited calling benefits along with 1 GB of free data. Under the Rs 999 plan, customers will get unlimited calls along with 8 GB of free data on 4G handsets and 5 GB of data on other handsets. In addition, Idea is offering free subscription to its music and movies packs.
Tata DOCOMO has launched new plans for its prepaid subscribers offering unlimited STD and local calls along with 5 GB of 3G data at Rs 348 and 2 GB of 3G data at Rs 298. Both the packs have a validity of 28 days. Meanwhile, another pack, priced at Rs 148, offers unlimited local and STD calls along with 500 MB of 3G data with a validity of 14 days. In addition, subscribers can avail of unlimited on-net calls for 28 days at Rs 103.
Vodafone India has launched the “Vodafone Sakhi” packs starting at Rs 52. Through this scheme, women can get a recharge done by providing an OTP code without sharing their mobile numbers. In a bid to address the privacy and safety concerns of women, the operator has launched this service in select areas of Dehradun in Uttarakhand, and Saharanpur and Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh (West) circles. Under the new scheme, the Rs 52 pack offers talktime of Rs 42 along with 50 MB of 2G/3G data, the Rs 78 pack offers talktime of Rs 62 along with 50 MB of 2G/3G data and the Rs 99 pack offers talk time of Rs 79 along with 50 MB of 2G/3G data. All the three packs come with a validity of 30 days. Moreover, an emergency calling feature that enables 10 minutes of calling even with zero balance is being offered.
