This week ZTE launched the Blade Qlux 4G for Rs. 4999, which is currently the most affordable 4G smartphone in India.
It has a 4.5-inch FWVGA screen, is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6732M SoC, runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat), has a 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 5-megapixel front-facing camera, dual SIM support, 1GB RAM, 8GB internal memory with expansion slot and a 2200mAh battery.
Sony showcased the Xperia C4 Dual, its selfie-focused smartphone in India at the launch of M4 Aqua Dual last month. As promised, the company launched the smartphone in India at Rs. 29,490. Apart from the 5-megapixel front-facing camera with 25mm wide-angle lens along with a soft LED flash, which is the main highlight of the smartphone, it has a 5.5-inch 1080 display, 1.7 GHz Octa-Core MediaTek processor, Android 5.0 (Lollipop) and a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash.
It has 2GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage with expansion slot, 2600 mAh battery, dual SIM support and 4G LTE (Bands 1, 3, 7, 8, 28, 40) connectivity. Check out the Xperia C4 Dual hands on.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kYsHmvcwaw
Dell launched the Venue 8 7840 in the 7000 series in India for Rs. 34999. It is the world’s thinnest tablet at just 6mm thickness. It has a 8.4-inch (2560 x 1600 pixel) OLED display, is powered by a 2.3GHz Intel Atom Z3580 processor with PowerVR G6430 GPU, has a 8-megapixel rear camera, two Intel RealSense Snapshot Depth Cameras for depth mapping, measurements and 3D editing and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
It runs on Android 5.0 (Lollipop), packs 2GB RAM, 16/32GB internal memory with expansion slot and a 5670mAh battery. It will go on sale in India in July. We unboxed the tablet recently, check out the video below.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwyAmNo_gJ8
Lenovo launched four Intel-powered Windows 8.1 convertible laptops this week. These offer 360 degrees of flexibility and four modes — Laptop, Stand, Tent, and Tablet. The Lenovo Yoga 300 has a 11.6-inch (1366 x 768 pixels) 10-point multi-touch display, is powered by a Intel Pentium N3540 Baytrail Processor (2M Cache, up to 2.66 GHz) with Intel HD Graphics, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB 7MM 5400RPM HDD and a 2 Cell 30 Wh battery that promises up to 5 hours of battery life. It is priced at Rs. 30,490. Check out the Lenovo Yoga 300 hands on here.
The Lenovo Yoga 500 has 14-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) display, is powered by up to Intel Core i7-5500U Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.00 GHz), Intel HD Graphics or 2GB NVIDIA GeForce 940M GPU, up to 8GB DDR3 RAM, up to 1TB 7MM 5400RPM HDD and a 3 Cell 45WH battery that promises up to 6 hours of battery life. It is priced at Rs. 57,990. Check out the Lenovo Yoga 500 hands on here.
The Lenovo Yoga 3 has a 14.6-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) IPS display, is powered by a Intel Core i7-5500U Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.00 GHz) with 2GB NVIDIA GeForce 940M GPU, has 8GB DDR3 RAM, 256GB SATA SSD and a 4 Cell 45WH battery. The Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro has a 13.3-inch (3200 x 1800 pixels) QHD+ IPS display, is powered by a Intel Core M-5Y71 Processor (4M Cache, up to 2.90 GHz) with Intel HD graphics 5300, 8GB DDR3 RAM, 512GB SATA SSD and a 4 cell 44.8WH battery. These have a HD webcam and 2x 1.5W Stereo Speakers. The Lenovo Yoga 3 and the Yoga 3 Pro are priced at Rs. 86,990 and Rs. 1,14,990, receptively.
Micromax Canvas Hue 2 A316, successor of Canvas Hue AQ5000 went on sale online this week at Rs. 11,736. It has a 5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) AMOLED display and runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat), similar to the Canvas Hue, but this is powered by a 1.7 GHz octa-core processor, has a 13-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED Flash, 5-megapixel front-facing camera, 2GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage with expansion slot and a 2000mAh battery.
Micromax Canvas Fire 3 A096 in the Canvas Fire series with dual front-facing speakers also went on sale in the week at Rs. 6499. It has a 4.5-inch qHD screen, is powered by a 1.3GHz quad core processor, runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat), has a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 2-megapixel front-facing camera, 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage with expansion slot and a 1850mAh battery. Both these Micromax smartphones have dual SIM support and 3G connectivity.
Videocon Mobile launched Infinium Z51 Nova, a budget smartphone in the Infinium series at Rs. 5,400. It has a 5-inch FWVGA display, is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat), has a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, 1GB RAM, 8GB of internal storage with expansion slot and a 2000mAh battery.
Wickedleak launched Wammy Hero, its first Windows 8.1 Tablet at Rs. 8990. It has a 8-inch (1280×800 pixels) IPS screen, is powered by an quad-core Intel Atom Z3735G processor, has a 2-megapixel rear camera, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, 1GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage with expansion slot, 3G support via SIM slot and a 4000mAh battery.
Xiaomi, this week announced that the 5000mAh Power Bank will go on sale in India through Mi India website on June 16th at 2PM for Rs. 699. The portable power bank is just 9.9mm thick and weighs just 156 grams. It has 9 circuit protection and offers enhanced charge-discharge efficiency. Xiaomi promises up to 93% charging conversion rate for the power bank. It has 2.0A input and 2.1A output, so you can even charge an iPad. Check out the unboxing.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzYUdT4FpRs
Logitech’s Ultimate Ears launched UE BOOM, a new battery-powered 360-degree wireless speaker in India for Rs. 14995. It has specially developed acoustic skin that is both water and stain resistant. You can connect two UE BOOMs together using the free UE BOOM app for Android or iOS that lets you play them in either stereo-to-stereo mode or traditional left/right stereo mode. It promises up to 15 hours of playback with a rechargeable battery.
Tata Docomo launched Photon Max Wi-Fi Duo with a 4400 mAh power bank for Rs. 2899. It offers Wi-Fi connection on-the-go for up to 5 devices and also lets you charge other devices. It also has a microSD expansion slot that lets users create a MicroSD Cloud enabling Internet storage, sharing and access remotely.
Weekly announcements
Gionee announced the Elife E8, the company’s latest camera-centric smartphone at an event in Beijing along with the Marathon M5 smartphone with a 6020mAh battery. The Elife E8 has a 6-inch (2560 x 1440 pixels) AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, is powered by a 2 GHz Octa-core MediaTek Helio X10 (MT6795) 64-bit processor, runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop with Amigo UI 3.1 on top, has a 23.7-megapixel rear camera with Dual tone LED flash capable of shooting up to 120MP images and a 8-megapixel front-facing camera with wide-angle lens.
It packs 3GB RAM, 32GB of internal storage with expansion slot, Fingerprint sensor and a 3520mAh battery. It is priced at 3999 Chinese Yuan ( US$ 644 / Rs. 41118 approx.) and will go on sale in China starting from July 15th. It will launch in India in August.
The Gionee Marathon M5 has a 6020mAh battery with fast dual charging chips and can also be used to charge other devices. It is just 8.5mm thick (4.75mm edge), even though it packs a huge battery. It has a 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED Plus display, is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6735 64-bit processor, runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) with Amigo UI 3.1, has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. It has 2GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage with expansion slot. Both these Gionee smartphones have dual SIM support with 4G connectivity on both.
The Marathon M5 is priced at 2299 Chinese Yuan ( US$ 370 / Rs. 23656 approx.) and will go on sale in China from June 25th. Check out the Gionee Elife E8 and Marathon M5 hands on.
Samsung announced the Galaxy S6 Active, a rugged version of the S6 that is water resistant up to 1.5 metres since it has IP68 certified casing. It is also shock resistant and dust proof. It has a larger 3,500 mAh battery, compared to the 2,550mAh battery on the Galaxy S6.
Other specifications are similar, including a 5.1-inch Quad HD (2560×1440 pixels) 577 PPI Super AMOLED display, is powered by a Octa-Core ( Quad 2.1GHz + Quad 1.5GHz) Exynos processor, Android 5.0 (Lollipop), 16-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, OIS, 5-megapixel front-facing camera, 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It is available exclusively from AT&T. Without contract is costs $694.99 ( Rs. 44,550 approx.).
Smartfren Telecom Tbk, an operator and device maker based in Jakarta partnered with Cyanogen Inc. to launch the Andromax Q smartphone running on Cyanogen OS 12. It has a 4.5-inch FWVGA screen, is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 64-bit SoC, has a 5-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front-facing camera, 1GB RAM, 8 GB internal memory with expansion slot and a 1900 mAh battery. It has dual SIM support with 4G support on one SIM and CDMA or GSM support on the other. It costs Rp 1,299,000 ( US$ 98 / Rs. 6240 approx.) in Indonesia.
Microsoft announced DC-32 5200 mAh, DC-33 9000 mAh and DC-34 12000 mAh portable power banks with dual USB ports to charge two devices at a time. These have a power indicator key on the side along with a LED indicator that shows power levels. These power banks are are priced at an estimated retail price of US$ 35 (Rs. 2,235 approx.) for 5200 mAh, US$ 45 (Rs. 2,874 approx.) for 9000 mAh and US$ 55 (Rs. 3,510 approx.) for 12000 mAh, These will roll out globally in select markets over the next few weeks.