This week, Sony finally brought its new compact NW-A25HN Walkman with Hi-Res digital noise canceling feature to India. It was introduced at the IFA last September.
The new Sony Walkman has a 2.2-inch (320×240 pixels) QVGA TFT color LCD display and control buttons. It has Hi-Res audio and Sony’s proprietary DSEE technology to upscale compressed audio files to High-Resolution Audio and other features such as ClearAudio+, Clear Bass, Clear Phase, Dynamic Normalizer and 5 band Equalizer. Check out our hands-on impressions of the Sony NW-A25 from the IFA.
httpv://youtu.be/sjN8DCvvrwA
It comes in black, blue, pink, red and yellow colors, is priced at Rs. 13,990 (MRP) and will be available across India.
Intex launched it’s first fitness smart band FitRist, few months after launching its iRist smartwatch. The FitRist tracker has a 0.86-inch OLED display, uses Bluetooth to pair with Android or iPhone, lets you track steps, distance traveled, calories burnt and monitor quality of sleep. It also offers notifications for incoming calls, control music and use it as a remote shutter for the phone’s camera.
Intex says that the FitRist has a long lasting battery, which can last up to 12 days. It is water-resistant and splash proof to prevent it from accidental spills and even rain. The Intex FitRist comes in Dark Blue and White colors and is priced at Rs. 999. It is exclusively available on Snapdeal.
Alongside, the company also launched another budget 4G smartphone Intex Aqua Craze. It has a 5-inch HD IPS display, is powered by 1.0GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6735P 64-bit processor and runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop. It has a 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
It has dual SIM support with 4G connectivity that includes support for both TDD-LTE Band 40 (2300MHz) and FDD-LTE Band 3 (1800MHz) for India. The Intex Aqua Craze comes in Grey, White and Champagne Gold colors and is priced at Rs. 6,190.
Lava launched three new 4G smartphones this week – the Lava A88, A71 and X11. The Lava A71 went on sale online earlier this week. The Lava A88 has a 5-inch FWVGA screen, while the A71 and X11 smartphones have a 5-inch HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection. All these phones run on Android 5.1.1 (Lollipop), but Lava is promising upgrade to Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) for A71 and A88. These smartphones come with dual SIM support and 4G LTE connectivity with both TDD-LTE Band 40 (2300MHz) and FDD-LTE Band 3 (1800MHz) for India. Check full specifications here.
The Lava A88 comes in Black and White colors, and is priced at Rs. 5,499 (MRP). It will be available from February third week. The Lava A71 comes in three colors – Royal Blue, Dream Black and Regal Gold. It is priced at at Rs. 6,499 (MRP). The phone is already available for purchase across country. The Lava X11 features combination of Crystal blue and White with Gold. It is priced at Rs. 7,999 (MRP) and will also be available from February third week like the Lava A88.
Phicomm launched the successor of last year’sEnergy 653 – the Energy 2 E670 in India. It has a 5-inch (1280 × 720 pixels) HD display, is powered by a 1.1GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 SoC, runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop), has a 8-megapixel auto-focus rear camera with LED flash and 2-megapixel front-facing camera, similar to the predecessor, but it has 2GB RAM and 16GB of storage, compared to 1GB RAM and 8GB of storage in the Energy 653.
The Phicomm Energy 2 E670 comes in Black color and is priced at Rs. 5,499. It is exclusively available from Snapdeal.
Advent launched EchoPhonz BT500, it’s latest Bluetooth headset with built-in mic. It uses Bluetooth 3.0 to connect to devices, has chrome borders and promises 4 to 6 hours of playing time using the built-in rechargeable lithium ion battery that can be charged using mini USB cable. It has foldable headband and ear cups, on-ear controls to switch between music, calls and for volume control.
It also has FM radio and a microSD slot that accepts cards up to 16GB to play music easily without connecting it to any device. The Advent EchoPhonz BT 500 is priced at Rs 1,999 and is available across channels.
Panasonic launched P66 Mega, the company’s latest smartphone in the P-series in India. It has a 5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD IPS display, is powered by a 1.3 GHz Quad-Core processor and runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop). It has a 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. It has dual SIM support and comes only with 3G connectivity, and not 4G. It supports 21 Indian languages and has a 3200mAh battery.
The Panasonic P66 Mega comes in Electric Blue, Rose Gold and Russet Brown colors and is priced at Rs. 7,990.
Amkette has launched Evo Gamepad Pro 2, its latest Bluetooth game controller and the successor of last year’s Evo Gamepad Pro controller for Android smartphones and tablets. “The new Evo Gamepad Pro comes with an improved clamp spring for easy, safe and convenient docking of your smartphone,” said the company.
Other features include, Multimedia Keys for easier volume control during gameplay and new sleep mode that turns off the controller after 8 minutes when it is not in use for preventing battery drain. The controller has single button that lets you easily change between mouse and Gamepad. The Amkette Evo Gamepad Pro 2 is priced at Rs. 2,899 (MRP), but it is available at an offer price of Rs. 2,599 exclusively on Amazon.in.
Last in this weekly launches, Reliance Jio introduced the LYF Flame 1, a new 4G smartphone as it got listed on the official Reliance Digital website. It has a 4.5-inch FWVGA display, is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 210, SoC, has a 5-megapixel front and rear cameras and dual SIM support. It runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop).
The Reliance Jio LYF Flame 1 comes in Black, Dark Red and White colors and is priced at Rs. 6490. It is expected to go on sale through Reliance Digital stores and online soon.
Weekly Announcements
After confirming Always ON display for the G5, LG this week introduced a Quick Cover case for the upcoming LG G5 smartphone that will be introduced later this month ahead of MWC in Barcelona. The LG G5 announcement is set for February 21st, Sunday and starts at 14:00 CET (6:30 PM IST).
In addition to offering advantages of previous Quick Covers, the G5 Quick Cover’s semitransparent mesh Cover case also adds a new touch function that was introduced on the K10’s Quick Cover View. This lets users to take calls and control alarm settings easily, without opening the case. You can also check the time, date and notifications on the Always-on Display of the LG G5, even with the cover closed.
Qualcomm introduced three new SoCs – Snapdragon 625, Snapdragon 435 and Snapdragon 425. The Snapdragon 625 is an Octa-Core SoC, which is first in its class of Snapdragon processors to use 14 nm FinFET technology. It also has an integrated X9 LTE modem. The Snapdragon 435 is also an Octa-Core SoC, but this is based on 28nm process technology. It has an integrated X8 LTE modem. The Snapdragon 425 is a Quad-Core SoC based on 28nm process technology and has an X6 LTE modem. Check full details here.
These next-generation Snapdragon 625, Snapdragon 435 and Snapdragon 425 processors are expected to be sampling in mid-2016 and are expected in commercial devices in the second half of this year.
Lenovo introduced a variant of the Vibe P1 with 3GB of RAM in Indonesia dubbed the Lenovo Vibe P1 Turbo. Apart from RAM, other specifications are similar to the P1, including a 5.5-inch 1080p display, octa-core Snapdragon 615 SoC, fingerprint scanner embedded on the Home button, 24W quick charge function that can rapidly charge the 2000mAh of phone’s battery in just 30 minutes and a OneKey Power Saver switch on side to improve the battery life.
The Lenovo Vibe P1 Turbo comes in Silver, Graphite Gray and Gold colors and is priced at IDR 3,999,000 ($297 / Rs. 20,260 approx.). It is available for order from several online retailers in Indonesia only.
Huawei introduced the Y6 Pro, the company’s latest mid-range smartphone. It packs a 5-inch HD screen, is powered by a quad-core 64-bit MediaTek MT6735P processor, runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) OS, comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. It has 4G LTE connectivity and packs a 4000mAh battery with quick charge.
The Huawei Y6 Pro comes in Gold, White and Grey. No details about the pricing or the roll out yet.
ARCHOS announced its latest mid-range 4G smartphone ahead of MWC 2016 dubbed the ARCHOS 50d Oxygen. It packs a 5-inch 1080p display, is powered by a 1.3GHz 64-bit Octa-Core MediaTek MT6753 processor with Mali-T720 GPU, runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop), has a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. It also has dual SIM support.
The ARCHOS 50d Oxygen comes in Black with Gold color and is priced at GBP 129 ($187 / Rs. 12,755 approx.). It will roll out sometime in May 2016.
Do stay tuned to FoneArena for our MWC coverage from Barcelona between February 22nd and February 25th.