This week the most expected Black Shark Gaming phone was launched, Google launched the Home and Home Mini smart speakers, Samsung launched the Galaxy J7 Duo, Coolpad launched Mega 4A and A1 smartphones, ZTE’s Nubia brand launched Nubia Z18 Mini, Panasonic and Canon launched new cameras, and lots more in our weekly roundup.
The Black Shark Gaming Phone that was introduced this week has a 5.99-inch FHD+ display, is powered by Snapdragon 845 SoC with up to 8GB RAM, liquid cooling to keep the phone cool when gaming by reducing the CPU’s core temperature by up to 8-degrees.
It has a dedicated image processing chip from Pixelworks offering intelligent motion compensation technology, image enhancement, dark scene detail processing, for smooth video quality when gaming. It has ‘X-style’ unique antenna design so that there are no signal issues when hold the phone both vertically or horizontally.
The Gamepad can easily attach to the side of the phone and weighs just 40 grams so it is easy to carry. It has model number H66, uses Bluetooth 4.0, works on devices running Android 4.4 or later and packs a 150mAh battery offering up to 30 hours of usage on a single charge.
It comes in Polar Night Black and Sky Gray colors, is priced at 2999 yuan (US$ 477 / Rs. 31,160 approx.) for the 6GB RAM with 64GB storage version and the 8GB RAM with 128GB storage version costs 3499 yuan (US$ 557 / Rs. 36,375 approx.). The Gamepad costs 179 yuan (US$ 29 / Rs. 1,860 approx.). It goes on sale from April 20th in China.
Google launched Google Home and Google Home Mini smart speakers in India. Google Home is basically a speaker that not only plays music, but also helps in managing your tasks and answer your questions through voice commands. You need to activate it just by saying “Ok Google” and command to play music using Google Play Music, Saavn and Gaana.
Google Home Mini, the compact version of Google Home sports fabric speaker grill at the top and a plastic-looking base at the bottom. It also has three micro-LED lights on top. Check out the Google Home Mini review here.
Google Home and Google Home Mini are priced at Rs 9,999, and Rs 4,499, respectively and will be available for purchase online exclusively on Flipkart, and in over 750 retail stores across the country. It also comes with several launch offers.
Samsung this week officially launched the Samsung Galaxy J7 Duo smartphone in India. It has a 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED display, is powered by Exynos 7 series Octa-Core processor, runs Android 8.0 (Oreo) and comes with 13-megapixel + 5-megapixel dual rear cameras with f/1.9 aperture for capturing portrait shots with background blur and an 8-megapixel front camera.
It has a fingerprint sensor embedded into the home button, comes with a removable back cover, dedicated dual SIM and microSD slots and a 3000mAh removable battery. It comes in Black and Gold colors, is priced at Rs. 16990 and is available across retail stores.
Samsung launched Burgundy Red color variant of the Galaxy S8, a month after the launch of its successor, the Galaxy S9. The color variant was introduced in November last year.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is now available for Rs. 49,990 after the price cut last week. Paytm is also offering Rs. 10,000 cashback. Since this is a limited edition smartphone, there might be limited stocks.
ZTE’s Nubia brand announced Nubia Z18 mini It has a 5.7-inch Full HD+ 18:9 aspect ratio display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection, is powered by Snapdragon 660 with 6GB RAM, runs Android 8.1 (Oreo) with nubia UI on top, has a 24-megapixel rear camera with f/1.7 aperture, PDDF + CAF hybrid focus for 0.1 second quick focus along with a 5-megapixel secondary rear camera for portrait shots. It also has NeoSmart AI engine and Snapdragon 660 AIE Artificial Intelligence Chip promising the best experience.
It has an 8-megapixel front camera with support for Face unlocking that scans up to 106 facial points and also lights up the screen when you lift the phone to unlock the phone quickly. It has a glass back that also has a Corning Gorilla Glass protection, all-metal Aluminum alloy frame and comes with a dedicated voice button. There is a fingerprint sensor on the back and packs a 3450mAh battery.
It comes in Black, White, Blue and Pink colors, is priced at 1799 yuan (US$ 286 / Rs. 18,650 approx.) for the 6GB RAM with 64GB storage version, 2099 yuan (US$ 334 / Rs. 21760 approx.) for the 6GB RAM with 128GB storage version and the Limited Provence Edition with 6GB RAM with 128GB storage in Purple color is priced at 2199 yuan (US$ 349 / Rs. 22,800 approx.). It goes on sale in China from April 19th.
Vivo launched the Y71, the company’s latest smartphone in the ‘Y Series’ in India. It has a 6-inch HD+ 2.5D curved glass screen with 18:9 aspect ratio, 84.4% screen-to-body Ratio, is powered by 1.4GHz quad-core Snapdragon 425 SoC with 3GB RAM, runs Android 8.1 (Oreo), has a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera. It has dedicated dual SIM slots and a microSD card slot, but doesn’t have a fingerprint sensor. It is priced at Rs. 10,990.
Coolpad launched Coolpad A1 and Coolpad Mega 4Abudget smartphones for offline market. Both these have 5-inch HD displays, run Android 7.1 (Nougat) and have Dual SIM support. The Coolpad A1 and Mega 4A comes in Gold colors, are priced at Rs. 5,499 and Rs. 4299, respectively and will be available from 3000 multi-brand stores across 8 states.
Thomson (owned by Technicolor SA, France), the leading French consumer brand launched range of Smart LED TVs in collaboration with Business France (Trade Section of the Embassy of France) and in an exclusive licensing agreement with SPPL (Super Plastronics Pvt. Ltd.), in India.
The list of TVs include 43 UHD 4K HDR, 40 Full HD and 32-in HD smart TVs. The Smart TVs come with Gmail, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Netflix, run on Android 4.4 and have Aptoide store to download any app.
The 32 HD SMART (32M3277) costs Rs. 13,490, 40 Full HD SMART (40TM4099) is priced at Rs. 19,990 and the 43 UHD 4K (43TM4377) is priced at Rs. 27,999 and are available exclusively on Flipkart.
Intex Technologies launched the Intex UDAY smartphone in India. It comes with 5.2-inch HD IPS display and is powered by the 1.3GHz Quad-Core processor coupled with 3GB RAM. It also comes with a Fingerprint sensor. It packs a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera with LED flash on both the sides. It runs on Android 7.0 Nougat despite the availability of Android 8.0 Oreo.
Intex UDAY is available in three colors Black, Champagne, and Blue and is priced at Rs. 7,999.
Huawei introduced Y6 (2018), its latest budget smartphone in the ‘Y Series’ with a 5.7-inch HD+ 18:9 display. It is powered by Snapdragon 425 with 2GB RAM, runs Android 8.0 (Oreo), has a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera. It doesn’t have a fingerprint sensor, but it has face unlock.
Huawei says that its speaker can produce 88 dB at its loudest, delivering 78% more sound from the body speaker while maintaining the nuance in the music, comparing with previous generation. It comes in Blue, Black and Golden colors. No details about the pricing or availability yet.
Kaira Global which is the distribution house for Razer in India announced the availability of the Hammerhead Bluetooth headphones. It comes with an aluminum acoustic chamber which enhances music reproduction. The headphones connect through Bluetooth 4.1 and also packs the Qualcomm aptX codec for low-latency, high-quality audio. The company promises up to 8 hours of battery life while listening to music. It is priced at Rs. 9,699.
Panasonic India launched the new Lumix G7 and G85 Digital Single Lens Mirrorless (DSLM) cameras. The company says that they are aimed at quality of videos for filming, YouTube and still photography. These come equipped with 4K video recording & editing capabilities.
The Lumix G85 is available at a price of Rs. 72,990 and the Lumix G7 costs Rs.53,990. The Lumix G7 also comes with a dual kit option of 1442 mm + 45150 mm at Rs. 58,990.
Canon launched the EOS M50 4K mirrorless camera in India, which is the company’s first mirrorless M-series camera with 4K recording capabilities and features DIGIC 8 processor with a 24.1megapixel sensor. The new DIGIC 8 Image Processor with HD 120p high-frame video rate and built-in OLED electronic Viewfinder with touch and drag autofocus.
The Canon EOS M50 Kit with EF-M15-45 IS STM lens is priced at Rs. 61,995 and is available across India.
HP announced the Chromebook X2 which is the World’s First 2-in-1 detachable Chromebook with 12.3-inches Quad HD display and is powered by the 7th Generation Intel Core-Y series processor. It comes with up to 8GB of RAM and 32GB internal storage.
It sports a 12.3-inches Quad HD (2400×1600) IPS WLED-backlit touchscreen display with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection and features an exterior that has a premium look to it with a ceramic white anodized aluminum finish and an almost leather-like Oxford Blue surface on the keyboard. It comes with a magnetic hinge which makes it easy to switch between productivity mode to a creative mode.
It starts at $599 (Rs. 38,887 approx.) for the base model and will be available through HP.com and Best Buy starting from June 10th.