Author: Deviana

Apple and Lenovo Biggest Winners in India, BlackBerry, Sony, and LG Biggest losers

In a recent report for India Smartphone market, Apple and Lenovo have come out on top in the list of fastest gaining Smartphone vendors. While the positions at the top have not changed much, with the top being Samsung followed by Micromax, Intex, Lenovo, and Lava.

Lenovo’s shipments increased 63 percent year-on-year while Apple experienced a shipments increase by 56 percent. The report also mentions the fact the Apple is the most aggressive in terms of growth and also has the largest growth potential.

Apple is outperforming the overall market in India, and still has great growth potentia

Apple recently took a lot of flak for a poor performance in the year on year results for Apple. While their revenue lowered to 10 billion from 13 billion, Apple still had double the sales of any other competition brand. Apple is agressively changing its strategies in India to ensure great results and it appears to be showing. Apple Also recently launched the iPhone SE which despite a huge price difference from global markets is doing well for the brand in India.

Microsoft, BlackBerry, Sony, and LG lost the maximum market share with respect to shipments. Troubled by a market that is trending towards low-cost yet high spec handsets. Micromax on the other hand experienced a slight drop in market share from the year ago quarter to 16.7 percent.

The report mentions that Micromax, in particular, has been through tough times, with key executives leaving. Now the company is aiming to revamp its strategy to incorporate an ecosystem of services around payments and content. Micromax’s market share fell by a couple of percentage points to 16.7% in Q1 2016.

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May 6, 2016
Android Marshmallow is on Only 7.5 Percent Devices

With the launch of the next big Android revision just around the corner, it is disheartening to see that the upgrade cycle of Android is lower than ever. According to Google, Android 6.0 updates have only reached 7.5% devices running the Android OS, and this includes non-Nexus handsets.

In comparison, Android Kitkat and Lolipop have been the most successful for the company with a reach of 32.5% and 35.6% respectively. However, penetration has hugely improved from the 1.2% penetration that Marshmallow had back in February. The large boost is assumed to be from upgrade cycles of companies like Samsung and HTC who recently started to push Android Marshmallow updates.

In comparison 84% iOS devices including iPhones, iPads and iPods are running iOS 9 which almost immediately crossed the 50% penetration.

Android has a far larger fragmentation and the update cycle is controlled by several different manufacturers for their respective cycles. Google is attempting to simplify the upgrades and push for a cleaner and more efficient upgrade capability with Android N which is expected to be released at Google IO.

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May 5, 2016
Apple Will Not Be Allowed to Sell Refurbished iPhones in India

Apple has been denied the request to import and sell refurbished iPhones to the world’s second largest mobile population, a telecommunications ministry official told Bloomberg on Tuesday.

With India inc. heavily pushing “Make In India”, the rejection could simply be rebellion by competition brands who do not want Apple to gain foothold by selling cheaper refurbished phones. Companies started a public campaign against the effort, arguing that such a move would trigger a flood of used electronics while defeating the government’s Make-in-India program to encourage local manufacturing.

India is one the largest smartphone markets in the world, However, Apple has only been able to capture 2% stake in this ever growing region. This is reportedly due to the high prices and less availability of Apple products. Refurbished iPhone sales would have allowed Apple to pentrate a lower segment of the market which would have drastically improved sales and market share for Apple.

Apple is also seeking permission to open its own stores, and drive sales up for the iphone by offering specail Apple financing and deals, as they would in other markets.

VIA

May 4, 2016
Samsung J5 (6) and J7 (6) 2016 Launched, Coming to India Soon

Samsung has launched the J5 and J7 in the home country of South Korea and in China. This time however, the handsets feature a metal frame and improved design and specifications.

The Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) features a 5.2-inch 720p Super AMOLED display and runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. A 1.2 Ghz quad-core processor powers the device, along with 16 GB of internal storage, and microSD expansion slot. It also has a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front facing camera. The Galaxy J5 will come with a 3,100 mAh removable battery.

The Samsung Galaxy J7 has a 5.5-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display an runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It’s powered by 1.6 Ghz quad-core chip and 2 GB of RAM. I 16 GB of internal storage, microSD expansion slot for up to 128 GB support.13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front facing camera It packs in a larger 3,300 mAh removable battery.

Samsung is working to launch these handsets in India soon, and will boast many of the data saving and graphics features, that were a huge hit last year. Both the J5 and J7 have cameras with f1.9 aperture which will truly improve low light camera performance for these phones.

The Phones have been launched for KRW 290,000 (around $255 / Rs 14000) and KRW 363,000 (around $320 / Rs 20000) however they are expected to be priced lower in India.

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May 2, 2016
YU and Cyanogen Go Through Breakup Says Lenovo

YU Televentures and Cyanogen seem to be going through a breakup it seems, as Lenovo is shouting that ZUK smartphones with Cyanogen are India bound. The 2014 YU and Cyanogen exclusive partnership left OnePlus in dirty muddy waters struggling to launch the OnePlus One in the region.

This could also mean that the company’s next handset seen running Android 5.1 may or may not come with Cyanogen. Lenovo is working on its online brand ZUK for a while and will be launching in India soon.

The ZUK Z1 running Cyanogen 12.1 based on Android 5.1 Lollipop and comes with 64 GB of storage for a price of Rs. 18500 approximately in China. However it is expected to hit the Indian market for roughly Rs. 19,999.

May 2, 2016
HTC will Make Two Nexus Devices This Year, M1 and S1

Leaks are suggesting that HTC will be launching two Nexus devices in 2016, codenamed M1 and S1. This information comes after previous news of HTC signing a multi-year contract with Alphabet inc.

HTC is building a pair of Android N devices for Google internally dubbed M1 and S1 #nexus
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) April 27, 2016

The devices are also known as ‘Marlin’ and ‘Sailfish’ according to Android Police. A Geekbench score of a device named “marlin” have been leaked with 4GB RAM and still named Nexus 6p, however, running Android N.

Google is rumoured to include universal support for pressure-sensitive display technology, and hence, the HTC Nexus devices will use 3D Touch type technology and will come with 5.2 and 5.5 inch displays. Running the final version of Android N out of the box. The handsets are expected to be made completely out of metal and have impressive camera capabilities.

April 28, 2016
Moto G 2016 aka Moto G4 and G4 Plus Launching 17th May

Motorola’s Next generation G, aka Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus are launching on the 17th of May based on this new invite from Motorola.

The now Lenovo-owned company has had its Moto G4 and G4 plus leak out with specifications that should make it an interesting device, provided it is launched in the same price bracket as every Moto G prior to this.

Leaks had earlier pegged the launch of the Moto G on 9th June but it appears that date will be kept for the Moto X 2016 which leaked out yesterday.

The leaks have already suggested that Moto G4 will sport a front facing square fingerprint sensor. The Moto G4 is expected to have a 5.5-inch display, 13MP camera and 16GB of internal storage. The Moto G Plus is also expected to get a 5.5-inch display, a 16MP camera and 16GB of internal storage with prices set at approximately Rs 21,000 for the G Plus variant, which may become much less at the time of launch.

April 28, 2016
YU 5330 Spotted on Geekbench Browser

Micromax Subsidiary YU Televentures may be working up their next smartphone, and according to the latest leak thanks to benchmarks site Geekbench, the handset will sport 4 GB of RAM and a MediaTek MT6755M also known as the Helio P10 chipset.

The handset still seems to be running Android 5.1 and the benchmark scores can be seen below, or on the source link.

VIA

Source

April 28, 2016
Moto 360 Sport Launched in India

Motorola has launched the Moto 360 sport in India through online website Flipkart. The smartwatch which retails for US $ 299 in the US has been launched for roughly the same price in India Rs. 19999.

The 45 mm smartwatch comes with a sweat and dustproof silicone strap and in only the black color for the Indian market. Its enhanced features are targeted at the fitness enthusiast community, however, it can be used as a regular Moto360 and will work Android and iOS devices.

The iP67 rating keeps the Moto 360 Sport waterproof and can be immersed in water for up to 30 minutes.

The pricing is appreciated as it does not jump much higher than the global pricing, however only the black color has been launched which is a bit of a letdown. We were really digging the Orange and White colors.

April 27, 2016
Apple Posts $ 10.5 Billion Profit This Quarter

While most companies are struggling to get any sales, Cupertino electronics giant Apple just posted a net profit of $ 10.5 Billion. Although, lower than last year’s income of $13.6 billion Apple is still going strong.

The Company posted lower quarterly revenue of $50.6 billion which compared to revenue of $58 billion, in the year-ago quarter, is not a big drop.

“Our team executed extremely well in the face of strong macroeconomic headwinds,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.

We generated strong operating cash flow of $11.6 billion and returned $10 billion to shareholders through our capital return program during the March quarter,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO.

Apple also means to give back to its shareholders, The company has authorized an increase of $50 billion to the Company’s program to return capital to shareholders. Under the expanded program, Apple plans to spend a cumulative total of $250 billion of cash by the end of March 2018

April 27, 2016
Nokia is Buying Withings for US $191 million

One would imagine that not a lot of strength is left in the once smartphone giant, Nokia. However, that clearly is not the case. The french health company Withings will become a part of Nokia technologies according to reports.

The acquisition will happen over the year for a total cost of US $191 million. The company looks at re-emrging as a consumer favorite brand after major demise and offloading of its smartphone division to Microsoft.

“Withings shares our vision for the future of digital health and their products are smart, well designed and already helping people live healthier lives,” said Ramzi Haidamus, president of Nokia Technologies. “Combining their award-winning products and talented people with the world-class expertise and innovation of Nokia Technologies uniquely positions us to lead the next wave of innovation in digital health.”

Source

April 26, 2016
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Plus & Note 6 will have 5.8 inch Edge Display, Launch in July

Rumors are pegging the release of the Note 6 and the Galaxy S7 Edge Plus earlier than its usual IFA launch for July 2016. The segment defining Note series that still comes with a stylus may launch at the time Samsung launched the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus along with a successor of the same.

One of the smartphones pegged for July will feature a large 5.8 inch Edge display, much like the S7 edge and will come with Android N on board. Soon after which most Samsung flagships will start to get their own builds/ upgrades of Android N. The Other will feature the same size, however with a flat display.

There is also talk of a 4000 mAh battery, which may not be such a problems thanks to the large size. The processors seem to be the same as well, according to the tip, with no major changes under the hood. However, the Note 6 for the US market will get Snapdragon 823.

Both the devices will feature the same cameras already found in the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, along with features like a fingerprint sensor and an iris scanner. While the latter does not seem very likely.

Source

April 25, 2016
Motorola Moto G4 and G4 Plus will Launch 9th June

More Moto news, according to GizmoChina, the Lenovo-owned Moto will launch the revisions to the G3 this June in two variants as the Moto G4 and G4 plus.

The leaks have already suggested that Moto G4 will sport a front facing square fingerprint sensor. The Moto G4 is expected to have a 5.5-inch display, 13MP camera and 16GB of internal storage. The Moto G Plus is also expected to get a 5.5-inch display, a 16MP camera and 16GB of internal storage with prices set at approximately Rs 21,000.

The Rear leaked image suggests a Laser focus style two dots above the camera which may indicate that Motorola is stressing on the camera which has been a big sell point in the past few years. We also expect it to retain the water resistance of the Moto G3 which was a big feature last year.

April 23, 2016
Micromax Canvas Spark 2 Plus has Android Marshmallow for Rs. 3999

Micromax has launched the Micromax Canvas Spark 2 Plus, a ultra budget android phone with Android Marshmallow out of the box.

Specs wise Micromax has thrown in a 5-inch display, a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 3G connectivity, 8GB Storage, a 5 MP rear camera and 1 GB RAM. The Canvas Spark 2 Plus comes loaded with Indus which supports 10 regional languages. The phone also has a 2000 mAh battery and a 2 MP front camera .

Features like a swipe right to translate or left to transliterate their messages in the language they want to communicate in. The phone goes on sale on Snapdeal from April 22^nd 2016 and will be available in three colours- Metallic Grey, Copper Gold and Champagne Gold. One of which is very much like the Rose Gold from Apple.

April 21, 2016
LeEco to Launch Le 2, Le 2 Pro and LeMax 2 in India on May 3

LeEco has just confirmed that they will be launching the Le 2 and Le 2 pro and LeMax 2 in India on the 3rd of May 2016. These phones were launched today at the LeEco event in Beijing, China.

The Phones feature newer chipsets and hardware along with better build and charging capabilities. The company wants to aggressively move sales in India.

According to LeEco, the phones will go on sale in India in the month of may itself on online website Flipkart. The Indian pricing for the phones is presently unknown however they are expected to launch at competitive prices in India

The Le 2 which costs 1,099 yuan ($170) in China will launch in India for Rs. 11999.

The Le 2 Pro, which costs 1,499 yuan ($230) in China, will launch for Rs. 13999.

Whereas the two variants of the LeMax, The Basic (4GB RAM and 32GB storage) which costs 2,099 yuan ($325)in china is expected for Rs. 24999.The high-end(6GB RAM and 64GB storage) version which costs 2,499 yuan ($390) in China is expected for Rs. 27999

The phones will go on pre-order on May 3rd itself. To learn more about specifications click here.

April 20, 2016