This week kicked off with the launch of Lenovo’s first dual-selfie camera phone – the Lenovo Vibe S1. The smartphone boasts of an 8-megapixel front-facing camera along with the secondary 2-megapixel depth-sensing camera,which according to company will be able to deliver crisp images and advanced depth of field including background blur, background swap and improved low-light results.
The Lenovo Vibe S1 packs a 5-inch 1080p display, is powered by an Octa-Core MediaTek MT6752 processor, runs on Android 5.0 (Lollipop) and has a 13-megapixel rear camera with dual-tone LED flash and phase-detection auto-focus (PDAF).
The Lenovo Vibe S1 comes in Pearl White and Midnight Blue colors and is priced at Rs. 15,999 in India. It is available exclusively from Amazon.in . We went hands on with the Vibe S1 at the IFA in September, and recently unboxed it, check out unboxing below.
httpv://youtu.be/fWUxjECx928
Obi Worldphone, backed by John Scully, this week re-entered the Indian smartphone market with newly launched flagship device dubbed the Obi Worldphone SF1, The smartphone was first introduced in August. It has a 5-inch 1080p display from JDI, which is slightly raised giving a floating feel, comes with 4G LTE connectivity with support for FDD B3 1800MHz and TDD B40 2300MHz bands for India, is powered by an Octa-Core Snapdragon 615 SoC, has a 13-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front-facing camera and a fiberglass body and metal accents at the top and bottom of the phone. It is designed by San Francisco-based product studio Ammunition.
The Obi Worldphone SF1 comes in Black color and is priced at Rs. 11,999 for 2GB RAM with 16GB storage version, and the 3GB RAM with 32GB storage version costs Rs. 13,999. It will be available from December 7th exclusively on Gadgets360.
Altec Lansing, after its acquisition, also made its return to India with the launch of three new Bluetooth wireless speakers – Mini H2O, Mini Life Jacket 2 and Life Jacket 2. All three speakers come with IP67 rating, and are completely Waterproof, Dustproof and Shockproof. These also float in water. These new range of speakers are available exclusively from Flipkart in the first week, and will subsequently be available on all leading online portals, and big retail channels across India.
Pricing
Altec Lansing Mini H2O – Rs. 3,600 (MRP) / Rs. 3,240 (MOP)
Altec Lansing Mini Life Jacket 2 – Rs. 8,000 (MRP) / Rs. 7,200 (MOP)
Altec Lansing Life Jacket 2 – Rs. 14,000 (MRP) / Rs. 12,600 (MOP)
Qiku, a new Chinese manufacturer, forayed in India with the launch of Q Terra smartphone. The smartphone has a 6-inch 1080p display with a screen-to-body ratio of 83%, is powered by a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor, has dual 13-megapixel rear cameras, 8-megapixel front-facing camera, runs on 360 OS based on Android 5.1.1 (Lollipop), has a metal body and come with a fingerprint sensor on the back to unlock the phone in just 0.5 seconds.
The QIKU Q Terra 808 comes in silver and gold colors, and is priced at Rs. 21,999 in open sale. If you have a Q-Invite you can get it for Rs. 19,999. It will be available for purchase using a Q-Invite from December 5th exclusively from Gadgets360 and the Invites will be available through Qiku’s website. Click here for more.
Gionee launched its big battery smartphone the Marathon M5 this week. It is the latest smartphone in the M series with whopping 6020mAh battery. It has two 3010 battery cells that promises up to 62 hours of standby even if the phone has only 5% of power left. It has fast dual charging chips and can also be used to charge other devices.
The Gionee Marathon M5 has a 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED Plus display, is powered by a quad-core MediaTek MT6735 64-bit processor and has 4G LTE connectivity. It even has CDMA support. It has unibody metal build with a narrow frame and is just 8.5mm thick (4.75mm edge). Check pricing here.
Huawei launched the Honor Band Z1, sleep and fitness tracking band in India last month, and this week it went on sale for Rs. 5,499. The Huawei Honor Band Z1 has textured rubber strap and comes in Black, Beige, White color band options. It is available exclusively from Flipkart. Check out our photo gallery of the Honor Band Z1.
The Honor Band Z1 has a 1.06 inch (128 x 128 pixels) OLED display, looks like a smartwatch and shows time. It has brushed metal bezel around the dial and doesn’t have any physical buttons. It works with both Android and iOS devices, shows message notifications and incoming call alerts. Check full details here.
Asus this week announced its latest entry-level gaming laptop in India dubbed the Asus R510JX for Rs. 69,990. It is powered by a 4th generation Intel Core i7 4720HQ quad-core processor clocked at 2.6 GHz (6M Cache, up to 3.6 GHz) with NVidia GTX 950M graphics card.
The Nvidia graphic card is based on company’s latest Maxwell architecture that is claimed to deliver and includes NVidia Battery Boost Technology, NVidia Optimus Technology, NVidia GPU Boost 2.0, GeForce Experience and GameStream. Company claims that the ASUS R510JX can handle modern games and high end multimedia content with ease resulting in a rich gaming experience. Check full specifications here.
Micromax Canvas Pace 4G Q416, the company’s latest 4G smartphones in the Canvas series quietly went on sale on eBay.in. It packs a 5-inch FWVGA screen, is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 210 SoC and runs on Android Lollipop. It has a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
The Micromax Canvas Pace 4G Q416 comes in black color and is priced at Rs. 6,821. Check specifications here.
InFocus had launched M808 smartphone in India in July, and now the smartphone is finally on sale in the country. The InFocus M808 comes in Silver and Golden colors, is priced at Rs. 12,999 and is available exclusively from Snapdeal.
The InFocus M808 packs a 5.2-inch 1080p display, is powered by a 1.3 GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6753 64-bit processor with 2GB of RAM, and runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) with Inlife UI. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. Checkout full specifications here.
Weekly Annoucements
HTC announced the One A9 and Desire 828 Dual SIM smartphones in India. Both the phones will go on sale in next two weeks and the pricing will be disclosed closer to the launch, said company at an event in New Delhi this week.
The HTC One A9 packs a 5-inch 1080p AMOLED display, Octa-Core Snapdragon 617 processor, runs on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) with HTC Sense UI on top, has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, phase-detection auto-focus (PDAF), Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), RAW image capture and an Ultrapixel front-facing camera.
The Desire 828 was introduced in China earlier this month, packs a 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) display, is powered by an Octa-Core MediaTek MT6753, has a 13-megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) and an Ultrapixel front-facing camera.
HTC One A9 Hands On and Photo Gallery
HTC Desire 828 Dual SIM Hands On and Photo Gallery
Xiaomi announced the Redmi Note 3, the company’s latest Redmi Note series smartphone, as it promised. It has a 5.5-inch 1080p screen, is powered by an Octa-Core MediaTek Helio X10 processor and runs on MIUI 7 based on Android Lollipop. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and phase-detection auto-focus (PDAF), resulting in a quick focus of just 0.1 second. It also has a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 comes in Dark Grey, Silver and Champagne Gold colors and is priced at 899 Yuan (US$ 140 / Rs. 9,340 approx.) for the 2GB RAM with 16GB storage variant and 1099 Yuan (US$ 172 / Rs. 11,415 approx.) for 3GB RAM with 32GB storage variant. It is currently available in China, but no details about its global launch as yet.
The firm also announced Mi Pad 2, successor of last year’s Mi Pad at an event in China, as it promised, along with the Redmi Note 3. It has the same 7.9-inch (2048 × 1536 pixels) display at 326 ppi as the first Mi Pad, but the NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor has been replaced by a quad-core Intel Atom X5-Z8500 processor.
The Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 comes in Dark Grey and Champagne Gold colors and is priced at 999 Yuan (US$ 156 / Rs. 10,380 approx.) for the 16GB version and 1299 Yuan (US$ 203 / Rs. 13,499 approx.) for the 64GB version. It is also available in China, and the Windows 10 version with 64GB of internal storage will available late December in China.
Xiaomi lastly introduced the upgrade to last year’s Air Purifier – the Mi Air Purifier 2. This compact second generation air purifier from Xiaomi is smaller, measuring just 240mm x 520mm, is 11% quieter and is 58% power efficient compared to the fist Mi Air Purifier. It can be controlled using an app, similar to the first one.
Huawei announced the Mate 8, the company’s latest smartphone in the Mate series at an event in China. It packs a 6-inch 1080p display with 2.7mm ultra narrow frame, 83% screen-to-body ratio and 2.5D glass, is powered by a Octa-Core HiSilicon Kirin 950 SoC with IntelliSense i5 sensor hub and runs on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) with Emotion UI 4.0 on top. It has a 16-megapixel rear camera with Sony IMX298 sensor, dual-tone LED flash, phase-detection auto-focus (PDAF), optical image stabilization (OIS) and uses Huawei’s own ISP. It also has an 8-megapixel front-facing camera.
The Huawei Mate 8 comes in Champagne Gold, Moonlight Silver, Space Gray and Mocha Brown colors and is priced at 2999 yuan (US$ 469 / Rs. 31,240 approx.) for the 3GB RAM + 32GB storage China Unicom version. Check other variants pricing here.
Microsoft introduced Nokia 230 and 230 Dual SIM, two new selfie-focused feature phones with a 2-megapixel front-facing camera with LED flash. It also has premium looks since it has a polycarbonate frame and sand-blasted aluminum back cover. The Nokia 230 and 230 Dual SIM have a 2.8-inch (320 x 240 pixels) QVGA LCD screen, come with Opera Mini browser, Bing Search, and MSN Weather, FM Radio, Bluetooth 3.0 with Slam sharing feature and a 2-megapixel fixed focus rear camera with LED flash.
These phones would be available in black and white colors and are priced at about US$ 55 (Rs. 3,465 approx.) without taxes. Both these would go on sale in India, Asia, and the Middle East starting in December with other markets to follow in 2016.
Lastly, LG announced LG Ray X190, the company’s latest mid-range smartphone with an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. It has a 5.5-inch HD on-cell display, is powered by a 1.4 GHz Octa-Core MediaTek MT6592M processor and runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop). It packs a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, comes with dual SIM support and has 3G connectivity.
The LG Ray comes in Silver, Gold and Titan Black colors. It went on sale in Russia recently for 14 990 rubles ($228 / Rs. 15,160 approx.). Local pricing will be announced at the time of launch, said LG.