This week Samsung introduced the Galaxy A6 and A6+ smartphones in the A Series, LG introduced its flagship LG G7 ThinQ smartphone, Coolpad launched the Note 6 budget smartphone, and more that happened this week in our weekly roundup.
Samsung announced the Galaxy A6 (SM-A600F) and Galaxy A6+ (SM-A605F) smartphones in the ‘Galaxy A Series’ after several leaks. Both the phones come with Super AMOLED Infinity displays with 18.5:9 screen ratio, but the A6 comes with a 5.6-inch HD+ screen while the A6+ features a 6-inch FHD+ screen.
Both the phones have a 16-megapixel rear camera with f/1.7 aperture, and the A6+ also has a secondary 5-megapixel rear camera with Live Focus mode that lets you control the depth of field and bokeh effect before or even after the shot is taken. The Galaxy A6 has a 16-megapixel front camera and the A6+ features a 24-megapixel front camera, both with LED flash.
The Samsung Galaxy A6 and Galaxy A6+ come in Black, Gold, Blue and Lavender colors and will roll out from early May starting in select European, Asian and Latin American markets, before rolling out globally to additional markets throughout South Korea, Africa and China. The Galaxy A6 and the Galaxy A6+ cost €309 (US$ 370 / Rs. 24,722 approx.) and €359 (US$ 430 / Rs. 28,720 approx.) in Europe, respectively.
LG announced the company’s flagship G7 ThinQ smartphone at an event in New York, as it had promised. It has a 6.1-inch QHD+ 19.5:9 FullVision LCD Super Bright display that can be viewed easily even under direct sunlight with brightness up to 1,000 nit, displaying 100 percent DCI-P3 color gamut. The bottom bezel is almost 50 percent slimmer than on the LG G6, says LG. It is powered by Snapdragon 845 with up to 6GB RAM (G7+ ThinQ).
It comes in New Platinum Gray, New Aurora Black, New Moroccan Blue and Raspberry Rose colors and will roll out in the coming days in South Korea followed by major markets in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. It is priced at £649 inc. VAT (US$ 881 / Rs. 58,750 approx.) / £540.83 ex. VAT (US$ 734/ Rs. 48,960 approx.) and €849 (US$ 1,015/ Rs. 67,855 approx.) in Europe and will roll out from May-end.
Coolpad launched Note 6, the company’s latest budget smartphone in the Note series in India, which is offline exclusive. It packs a 5.5-inch 1080p 2.5D curved glass display, is powered by an Octa-Core Snapdragon 435 SoC, runs on Android 7.1 (Nougat), and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera along with a 5-megapixel secondary front camera along with flash and capability to capture 120-degree wide-angle selfies, making it the first selfie focused smartphone from the brand.
It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, fingerprint sensor on the front, dedicated dual SIM and microSD slot and packs a 4070mAh battery that promises standby time of 350 hours. It comes in Gold color, is priced at Rs. 8,999 for the 3GB RAM and 32GB storage version the 4GB RAM with 64GB storage version costs Rs. 9,999. It is available from offline stores at 300+ multi-brand stores across 8 states.
Asus introduced Zenfone Live L1 (ZA550KL), the company’s first Android Oreo (Go Edition) smartphone in Indonesia. It packs a 5.45-inch HD+ display with 18:9 aspect ratio, is powered by Snapdragon 425 with 1GB or 2GB RAM, runs Android 8.1 (Oreo) Go Edition and the 2GB RAM version runs Android 8.0 (Oreo) with ZenUI 5.0. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash 5-megapixel front camera and also has face unlock.
It comes in Black, Blue, Gold and Rose Gold colors, and will go on sale in Indonesia on May 17th.
LG announced K30, the company’s latest smartphone in the ‘K Series’ in the U.S. for T-Mobile. It has similar specifications as the LG X4+ that was introduced in Korea recently, including a 5.3-inch HD screen, Snapdragon 425 SoC , Android 7.1 (Nougat), 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 5-megapixel front camera and a fingerprint sensor on the back.
It comes in Black color, is priced at $9 per month 24-month contract or $225 (Rs. 15,030 approx.) without contract from T-Mobile in the U.S.
Sony launched its new X9000F series of 4K HDR TVs in India, months after it was introduced at the CES 2018. These have X1 Extreme processor that promises striking highlights, deeper darks and vibrant colours. It incorporates technologies like Object-based HDR remaster, Super Bit Mapping 4K HDR and Dual database processing. It runs on Android TV version 7.0 with Sony’s exclusive user interface and also has Chromecast built-in.
The 55-inch Sony Bravia X9000F (KD-55X9000F) is priced at Rs. 2,39,900 and is already available across India. The 65-inch (KD-65X9000F) and 85-inch (KD-85X9000F) models will go on sale soon, and their pricing is yet to be revealed.
Asus launched the Vivobook 15 X507 laptop in India. It comes with 15.6-inches LED-backlit display and is powered up to 6th Gen Intel Core i3 Processor. It weights just 1.68kgs making it one of the most light-weight laptops. It comes in three variants, is available from Paytm Mall starting at Rs. 21,990, and also includes Rs. 2000 Paytm Mall cashback.
Smartron launched tbook flex, an upgraded version of its tbook, with a similar 12.2-inch WQXGA display, but this also supports a stylus pen. It has unique dual tone finish and a flixstand with a step-less hinge design and an ability to flex up to 150 degrees. It has island-style backlit Bluetooth keyboard which is detachable.
The Smartron t.book comes in Orange Grey and Black Grey colors is priced at Rs. 42,990 for the Intel Core m3 SoC and Rs. 52,990 for the Intel Core i5 version. It will be available exclusively from Flipkart starting midnight on May 13, 2018.
GoPro launched Fusion, a 360-degree camera that can record 5.2K 360-spherical videos at 30Fps or 3.2K videos at 60fps back in September last year. Today the company has launched the camera in India. It has built-in, gimbal-like stabilization for super smooth videos and the new Mobile OverCapture allows users to create traditional video from a spherical footage.
The GoPro Fusion is priced at Rs. 60,000 and is available across GoPro’s multiple retail partner channels including select Croma stores and other photo specialist stores across India.
Samsung introduced new PRO Endurance microSDHC/microSDXC card that promised industry-leading endurance and up to 43,8001 hours of continuous video recording. This is targeted to be used in intensive video monitoring applications such as surveillance and security cameras, body cameras and dash cams, making continuous video monitoring fast and stable. It offers up to 100 MB/s read speeds, provides FHD recording and 4K support via write speeds of up to 30 MB/s.
The memory cards are now available for purchase with manufacturer’s suggested retail prices (MSRPs) starting at $24.99 (Rs. 1,665 approx.) for 32GB, $44.99 (Rs. 2,999 approx.) for 64GB and $89.99 (Rs. 5,999 approx.) for 128GB.
iVOOMi launched FitMe, a fitness band that has option to indicate Air Quality Index (AQI) or pollution, which tells you how clean or unhealthy the air around you is, so that you can take necessary steps to prevent the associated health hazards. This feature provides information on AQI across all Indian cities. The FitMe Health Band also provides information about the weather conditions.
The iVOOMi FitMe comes in Black and Blue colors, is priced at Rs. 1999 and is available exclusively from Flipkart.