This week, Lenovo launched its Vibe K5 Plus smartphone in India, as it teased earlier this month. The smartphone was announced at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona alongside Lenovo K5 last month.
The K5 Plus It packs a 5-inch 1080p display, is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 616 processor, runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) with Lenovo’s own UI on top, has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. Check Lenovo K5 Plus hands on here.
httpv://youtu.be/pkojAgVw7gI
The Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus comes in Platinum Silver, Champagne Gold and Graphite Gray colors and is priced at Rs. 8,499. It will be available exclusively from Flipkart starting from March 23rd through open sale.
OnePlus has finally slashed the price of its flagship OnePlus 2 smartphone in India by Rs. 2,000 on Amazon, a month after it reduced the price on its global portal OnePlus.net. Now the OnePlus 2 is available from Amazon.in at Rs. 20,999 for the 3GB RAM with 16GB storage variant and the 4GB RAM with 64GB storage variant is available from Amazon.in at Rs. 22,999.
To remind you, the OnePlus 2 packs a 5.5-inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 810 processor, Oxygen OS based on Android 5.1 (Lollipop), fingerprint scanner, 13-megapixel rear camera with Laser Auto focus, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), dual LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.
Lava launched two smartphones – all new Lava V2s and 3GB version of its existing Pixel V2. The Lava V2s is a 4G smartphone in the V series. It has a 5-inch HD IPS display, is powered by a 1.0GHz quad-core processor and runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop), which is upgradable to Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) in the future. It has a 8-megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash and a 8-megapixel front-facing camera that also has LED flash. It also has dual-SIM support, similar to most other Lava smartphones.
The Lava V2s comes in Icy White with Mirror Black colors and is officially priced at Rs. 8,750, although it is available through Amazon.in, Indiatimes Shopping and other retailers at a cheaper price.
Coming to the Lava Pixel V2 3GB, the main difference is the 3GB of RAM and out-of-the-box Android 6.0 (Marshmallow). Other specifications and features are similar to the original Pixel V2, which includes 5-inch HD display, 1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6735 64-bit processor, 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 8-megapixel front-facing camera with LED flash, wide-angle lens.
The Lava Pixel V2 3GB comes in Royal Sparkle black, Icy White and Champagne Gold colors and is priced at Rs. 10,750, same as the first Pixel V2.
Infocus launched Bingo 50, it’s latest budget 4G smartphone in the Bingo series – which looks identical to its old Infocus M350. It has a 5-inch HD display, is powered by a 1.3 GHz Quad-Core MediaTek MT6735 processor and runs on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) with InLife UI 2.0. It has a 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 8-megapixel auto focus front-facing camera. It also has dual-SIM support.
The InFocus Bingo 50 comes in Sandstone Gray and Leather Black variants and is priced at Rs. 7,499. It will be exclusively available from Snapdeal starting from March 20th, 1pm.
OPPO launched the F1 smartphone in India in Golden color earlier this year and this week company launched the Rose Gold Edition of the F1. It recently launched exclusive F1 ICC WT20 limited edition smartphone with T20 world cup logo on its rear body, gift kit which includes ICC WT20 2016 key chain, selfie stick to click your selfies with a range and a back cover showcasing the ICC logo in India.
The OPPO F1 Rose Gold edition is priced at Rs. 15,990, same as the Gold version.
SanDisk launched its Connect Wireless Stick in India back in September last year. This week it launched a 200GB variant of the stick. If you don’t know, Connect Wireless Stick is a small USB flash drive that also doubles up as a Wi-Fi media server so that users can access files stored on the drive over multiple devices. It also has a built-in battery that will keep the device running for around 4 and half hours.
The SanDisk Connect app allows you to access your content on iOS and Android devices over a password protected WiFi connection. There is also a USB port to connect it to PCs or Macs. The 200GB SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick comes in silver color, is priced at Rs. 9,990 and is exclusively from Amazon.in. Check out the unboxing below.
httpv://youtu.be/H0iP1mURQ-o
HARMAN launched premium wireless speakers – Harman Kardon ONE and the Harman Kardon Esquire 2 this week in India. The Harman Kardon One offers has 6W stereo speakers and has HTC Connect that lets you easily pair with an HTC smartphone. It has a rechargeable battery that offers up to 5 hours of playtime.
The Esquire 2 is made of premium material and also acts as a teleconferencing system with quad-microphone VoiceLogic noise and echo canceling technology offering 360-degree voice pick-up for crystal clear conference calls. Check more details here.
The Harman Kardon ONE comes in black color and is priced at Rs. 14,990 and the Harman Kardon Esquire 2 comes in graphite, black and champagne colors and is priced at Rs. 19,990.
Sony launched its XB650BT Extra Bass Bluetooth Headphones in India. It was introduced at the CES 2016 earlier this year. It has 1.18-inch neodymium driver unit for EXTRA BASS, promises 30 hours of battery life and also has NFC for One-touch pairing. “The adjustable headband’s structure is optimised for deep bass playback, providing a stable fit to minimise vibration caused by punchy bass notes and soft cushion ear pads provide a largely airtight seal for direct bass transmission,” said Sony.
The Sony XB650BT comes in Red, Blue and Black colors and is priced at Rs. 7,990. It will be available from Sony Center across India.
boAt launched DSP 4000, which is the first earphones with Apple MFI Approved with Lightning Connector to launch in India. It has built-in DAC, 24bit/ 48Khz decoding rate and has 8.6mm drivers that promises balanced Sound without distortion. It comes with 1.2m flat cable that is almost unbreakable and is also resists tangles and knots.
The boAt DSP 4000 is priced at Rs. 4,999 (MRP) and is available exclusively from Amazon.in
Weekly Announcements
OPPO announced its flagship R9 and R9 Plus smartphones at an event in China this week. The OPPO R9 has a 5.5-inch 1080p display with 1.66mm ultra-narrow frame and 77.68% screen-to-body ratio, is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio X10 processor, has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and PDAF. The OPPO R9 Plus has a 6-inch 1080p display with 79.3% screen-to-body ratio, is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 652 processor and has a 16-megapixel rear camera with Sony IMX298 sensor, phase-detection auto-focus (PDAF). Check full specifications here.
The OPPO R9 and R9 Plus come in Rose Gold and Golden colors. The OPPO R9 is priced at 2799 Yuan (US$ 430 / 28754 approx.), is now available for order and will go on sale in China starting from March 24 and the OPPO R9 Plus starts at 3299 Yuan (US$ 410 / Rs. 33860 approx.) and will go on sale in China from April 12th. No word on the global roll out yet.
LG officially announced its K8 smartphone, a month after it was listed on its official site. It also introduced K5 smartphone in the K Series. The K8 packs a 5-inch HD screen with 2.5D curved arc glass, is powered by a quad-core MediaTek MT6735 SoC, runs on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow), has a 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and 5-megapixel front-facing camera. It also has 4G LTE support. The K5 packs a 5-inch FWVA screen, runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop), has a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
The LG K8 comes in Gold, Indigo and White colors and will roll out in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, CIS and Latin America. The LG K5 comes in Gold, Silver and Titan colors and will roll out in Europe, CIS and Latin America (Q6 in Mexico).
Samsung announced the Galaxy TabPro S, it’s first 2-in-1 Windows 10 Tablet with a 12-inch (2160×1440 pixels) Super AMOLED display, 6th Gen Intel Core M processor and 4GB of RAM at the CES 2016 earlier this year. This week company first launched the device in the US and UK. It comes bundled with a full-sized keyboard cover that has a flexible hinge enables optimal, dual-angle viewing and connects via Pogo pin that eliminates the need for pairing or charging separately and also has a touchpad.
The Samsung Galaxy TabPro S comes in Black and White colors and is priced at $899.99 (Rs. 59,960 approx.) in the US and £849 in UK. It will be available at Best Buy starting March 18, 2016 and will be available in Microsoft stores and microsoftstore.com starting April 4th, 2016 in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada.
httpv://youtu.be/5rKCRQLduBE
Sony at the annual Game Developers Conference announced that PlayStation VR (PS VR), a virtual reality system that makes use of PlayStation 4 (PS4), will launch from October 2016. It also revealed the the final consumer version of PS VR, including all of the contents that comes in the package, which doesn’t include the Playstation camera ($60) and Move controllers ($50).
The PlayStation VR will roll out worldwide starting from Japan, North America, Europe and Asia in October 2016 and comes at a suggested retail price of US$399 (Rs. 26865 approx.), €399, £349 and 44,980 yen. It will be available for pre-order soon.
Ulefone introduced Vienna, the company’s latest budget 4G smartphone. It packs a 5.5-inch 1080p 2.5D curved glass display from Sharp, is powered by a Octa-Core 64-bit MediaTek MT6753 processor, runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop), has a 13-megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash, 5-megapixel front-facing camera and a fingerprint sensor on the back that can unlock the phone in less than 0.5 seconds.
The Ulefone Vienna Grace Black, Space Grey, Silk White and Rose Golden colors and is priced at $199.99 (Rs. 13,310 approx.). It is now available for pre-order from Gearbest and other retailers and will ship starting from April 30th.
Fossil introduced a range of digital and analog smartwatches along with a new activity tracker this week. The company unveiled Q Marshal and Q Wander Android Wear smartwatches, Q Motion activity and sleep tracker and Q Tailor and Q Nate Smart Analog Movement watches.
The Q Marshal and Q Wander smartwatches are powered by Android Wear. They sport 44mm or 46mm circular cases and come with a variety of body styles and strap options. The watches feature always-on displays so it lets you access all the important information like time, calls and alerts all the time. Both the watches are capable of wireless charging and are compatible with Android devices and iPhone.
Moving on, the Q Motion is an affordable activity and sleep tracker that sends you call notifications, texts and activity as it comes with haptic vibrations and multi-color LED lights. In addition to tracking your sleep and activity, Q Motion features smart tap technology which lets you play music, finds your phone or helps you take selfie with simple taps.
Lastly, Fossil also introduced Q Tailor and Q Nate Smart Analog Movement watches that will alert you about incoming calls as well as notifications from your contacts with just the turn of the watch hands. Check full details here. The Q Marshal and Q Wander Android Wear smartwatches are priced at $275 and will be available later this year. The Q Motion activity and sleep tracker is priced at $95 and will be available this summer.
Vernee, a Chinese company this week showcased its flagship Apollo smartphone at the MediaTek event in China. It has a 5.5-inch Quad HD display with force touch function, is powered by a Deca-Core MediaTek Helio X20 processor, runs on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow), has 6GB of RAM, a 21-megapixel rear camera with Sony IMX230 sensor and a 8-megapixel front-facing camera. It has 4G LTE connectivity and a fingerprint sensor on the back.
Vernee has also introduced a budget smartphone called Thor with MediaTek MT6753 SoC and fingerprint sensor, you can read our full coverage here. The Vernee Apollo come in silver color and will release sometime in April 2016. Price of the smartphone will be announced next month.