This week, Chinese smartphone company Coolpad launched a smaller variant of its popular Note 3 in India as Coolpad Note 3 Lite.
The Coolpad Note 3 Lite packs a 5-inch HD display, is powered by a quad-core 64-bit MediaTek MT6735 processor and runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) with Cool UI on top. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 5-megapixel front-facing camera and a fingerprint sensor on the back, similar to the Note 3. Coolpad Note 3 Lite full-specifications and Coolpad Note 3 Lite Hands on and Photo Gallery.
The Coolpad Note 3 Lite comes in Black and Champagne White colors, is priced at Rs. 6,999 and will be exclusively available from Amazon.in through flash sale starting from 28th January. Registrations for the sale starts today from 5PM. Check out our hands-on impressions and the photo gallery of the Coolpad Note 3 Lite here.
Lenovo also launched a variant of the A7000 in India this week as Lenovo A7000 Turbo, which has same specifications as the K3 Note. To remind you, the smartphone packs a 5.5-inch 1080p display, is powered by an Octa-Core 64-bit MediaTek processor, runs on Android 5.0 (Lollipop), has a 13-megapixel rear camera with dual-tone LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. It also has dual SIM support and 4G connectivity, including support for LTE bands in India and also features Dolby Atmos.
The Lenovo A7000 Turbo comes in Matte Black color and is priced at Rs. 10,999 that costs Rs. 1,000 more than the launch price of the K3 Note, which is still available for purchase from Flipkart for the same price of Rs. 9,999. The Lenovo A7000 Turbo is now available for order from the Lenovo’s Official Online Store.
Alongside, the firm introduced Lemon 3 (K32C36), the company’s latest mid-range smartphone in the Lemon series in China. It packs a 5-inch 1080p display, is powered by an Octa-Core Snapdragon 616 processor and runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) with Lenovo’s own UI on top. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.
The Lenovo Lemon 3 comes in Gold and Silver colors and is priced at 699 Yuan ( US$ 106 / Rs. 7,107 approx.), same as the latest Redmi 3 smartphone. It is now available for order through the official Lenovo Store in China and ships starting from next week. No details about its global roll out yet.
Xiaomi this week announced the Redmi Note 3 Pro, the company’s latest smartphone in the Redmi Note series in China. It is a high-end variant of the Redmi Note 3 that was introduced back in November. It packs the same 5.5-inch 1080p screen, comes with a metal body and has a fingerprint sensor on the back, but this is powered by a Hexa-Core Snapdragon 650 (Snapdragon 618 previously) processor and has a 16-megapixel rear camera with f/2.0 aperture, LED flash and phase-detection auto-focus (PDAF), resulting in a quick focus of just 0.1 second.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro comes in Dark Grey, Silver and Champagne Gold colors and is priced at 999 Yuan (US$ 151 / Rs. 10,170 approx.) for the 2GB RAM with 16GB storage variant, which will be available in China starting from January 17th. No details about the pricing or availability for the 3GB RAM with 32GB storage variant yet. It is expected to launch in India next month, since the company has started looking for Redmi Note 3 explorers in the country.
The company also announced Redmi 3 in China. It packs a 5-inch HD screen that is clearly visible under bright sunlight, is powered by an Octa-Core Snapdragon 616 SoC, runs on MIUI 7 based on Android Lollipop, has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, phase-detection auto-focus (PDAF), resulting in a quick focus of just 0.1 second and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.
The Xiaomi Redmi 3 comes in Dark Grey, Silver, Gold and Classic Gold colors and is priced at 699 Yuan ($107 / Rs. 7,140 approx.). It will be available in China starting from tomorrow, January 12th. No details about its global roll out yet.
Samsung finally introduced the Galaxy J1 2016, successor of last year’s Galaxy J1 in Dubai. It packs a 4.5-inch WVGA Super AMOLED display, is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, runs on Android 5.1.1 (Lollipop), has a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. It has 4G LTE connectivity and is expected to come with dual SIM support in select markets like India.
The Samsung Galaxy J1 (2016) comes in Black, White and Gold colors and is priced at AED 499 ($136 / Rs. 9080 approx.).
ZTE has introduced Blade D Lux, the company’s latest ‘Blade series’ smartphone in Vietnam and Singapore. It packs a 5.5-inch HD screen, is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 410 64-bit processor, runs on Android 5.0 (Lollipop), has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 8-megapixel rear camera that also has LED flash for capturing better images even in low lighting conditions.
The ZTE Blade D Lux comes in White color and is priced at 3,890,000 Vietnamese Dongs ($173 / Rs. 11,600 approx.) and in Singapore it is priced at SG$ 239 ($166 / Rs. 11,125 approx.). No details about the global roll out yet.
Asus introduced Live (G500TG), a new smartphone in Brazil. Even though it has not launched in the Zenfone category in the country, it has the same specifications as the Zenfone Go that was launched in India last year, but this comes with different colors around the frame and also has built-in digital TV, which is commonly seen in smartphones in Brazil.
To remind you, the phone packs a 5-inch HD display, is powered by a quad-core MediaTek MT6580 SoC, runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop), has dual SIM support, 3G connectivity and a 2070 mAh battery. The Asus Live comes in Blue, Pink and Yellow colors and is priced at 849 Brazilian Real ($211 / Rs. 14,175 approx.).
OPPO recently announced that it will launch camera-centric ‘F series’ smartphones this year in India, and F1 will be the first phone in the series, which will launch on January 28th. But the smartphone went official in Vietnam this week. The main highlight of the smartphone is the 8-megapixel front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, 1/4″ sensor and software features such as Beautify 3.0, 8 live color filters, and option to use the screen as a flash light to capture better images in low lighting conditions.
It also has a 13-megapixel rear camera with f/2.2 sensor and LED flash. It has a 5-inch HD screen with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection, is powered by an Octa-Core Snapdragon 616 processor, and runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) with Color OS 2.1.
The OPPO F1 comes in Golden color, is priced at 6,490,000 Vietnamese Dongs ($290 / Rs. 19,365 approx.) and is now available for order in Vietnam. The smartphone slated to launch in India on January 28.
Micromax launched Canvas Fantabulet F666, the company’s latest phablet. Micromax is calling it a smartphone since it has 3G support and voice calling capabilities. It has a 6.98-inch HD screen, is powered by a quad-core MediaTek MT8382W processor, runs on Android 5.0 (Lollipop), has a 8-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
It has 2.5mm thick dual box speakers made of composite module tooling with Aluminum Film Diaphragm and DTS technology that promise loud and clear surround sound experience. The Micromax Canvas Fantabulet F666 comes in Chrome Gold color and is priced at Rs. 7,499 (available at an offer price, exclusively through Flipkart app).
Intex launched Cloud 4G Smart, the company’s latest budget 4G smartphone in the Cloud series. It has a 5-inch FWVGA display with 65.16% screen-to-body ratio, is powered by 1.5 GHz quad-core Spreadtrum SC9830 64-bit processor and runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop. It has a 5-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. It also has dual SIM support.
The Intex Cloud 4G Smart comes in White and Black colors and is priced at Rs. 4,999. It is available exclusively from Flipkart.
Gionee launched another big battery smartphone in its Marathon series in India dubbed the Marathon M5 Lite. It packs a 4000mAh battery that promises up to 32.7 hours of talk time and 450 hours of standby. It has a full metal body, packs a 5-inch HD display with Dragon trail Glass protection, is powered by a quad-core MediaTek MT6735 64-bit processor, runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) with Amigo UI 3.1, has a 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.
It has Dual SIM support with 4G LTE connectivity on both and is just 8.5mm thick. Since it has a huge battery, you can also change other smartphones using a OTG cable. The Gionee Marathon M5 Lite comes in Golden color and is priced at Rs. 12,999. It is now available from retail stores and official Gionee online store in India.
iBall launched an Android tablet in the Slide series celled the iBall Slide 3G Q81.It has a 8-inch (1280×800 pixels) IPS screen, is powered by an quad-core 64-bit Intel Atom x3 processor and runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop). It has a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. It has 3G support and voice calling capabilities.
The iBall Slide 3G Q81 comes in Blue color and is priced at Rs. 7,999. It will be available through retail stores and e-commerce portals later this month.
UltraProlink, accessory company, launched three Bluetooth speakers in Hi-Q range – UltraProlink Hi-QI, Hi-QII and Hi-Q Lite. The Hi-QII 6-Watt Bluetooth speaker has a 4000mAh battery and also doubles up as a power bank to charge other devices. All these have a microSD slot, FM Radio, AUX In port and a microphone doubling up as hands-free speaker, so that you can easily take calls from your paired smartphone.
The Hi-Q Lite, Hi-QI and Hi-QII are priced at Rs. 1699, Rs. 3499 and Rs. 3999, respectively. Check full details here.
ENRG, a lifestyle electronics company, this week launched a fitness band and sleep monitor dubbed Actiwear. The smart band tracks activities, workouts, calories burned, distance traveled and sleeps patterns along with real-time notifications about incoming calls and messages.
The Actiwear band boasts of sedentary alerts and will vibrate to notify if you have not been active for a long time. The device even comes with gesture control as the device will display time when you turn your wrist. It also provides camera control capability and contact notifications are seen on the touch screen OLED display. The Actiwear band is priced at Rs. 2,999 and is available at www.enrg.in and on Amazon.in.