Category: Karbonn

Airtel Rivals JioPhone With A 4G Smartphone At A Price Of Rs 1399

In order to keep up with the growing rise of Jio, Airtel has decided to rival the JioPhone which was recently announced. Airtel has announced a partnership with Indian smartphone manufacturers for its ‘Mera Pehla 4G Smartphone’ initiative. First phone to come our of this initiative is in association with Karbonn, called the Karbonn A40 Indian. The smartphone is said to be available at an ‘effective price of Rs 1399’, clearly taking on the JioPhone with the same terminology.

Talking about the new initiative, Airtel has said that:

This initiative is aimed at enabling every Indian to buy a 4G smartphone and get on to the digital superhighway. This initiative will bring highly affordable bundled 4G smartphone options to the market and fulfill the digital aspirations of millions of Indians.

Raj Pudipeddi, Director – Consumer Business & CMO, Bharti Airtel said:

As the market leader and pioneer of 4G services in India, Airtel’s aspiration is to digitally empower every Indian with high speed data access. We are delighted to partner with Karbonn to remove barriers to smartphone adoption and enable millions of Indians to leapfrog to a full touchscreen smartphone experience. We plan to partner with multiple manufacturers to bring affordable smartphone options to the market and build an ‘open ecosystem’ of low cost devices. This is yet another step in our ongoing journey to deeply understand customers and bring innovation that delights them.

Airtel explained how the Karbonn A40 Indian, a smartphone which was launched in July and has a market price of Rs 3499, will be available at an ‘effective price’ of Rs. 1,399. Customers will have to make a down payment of Rs. 2899 for the device, and then make a minimum amount of recharges over the course of three years to receive cashbacks worth Rs 1500. To put things into perspective, users will need to make recharges worth at least Rs 3000 in the first 18 months to avail a Rs 500 cashback, and then make recharges worth at least Rs 3000 again over the next 18 months to avail a Rs 1000 cashback. Therefore, you are effectively paying Rs 1399 for the smartphone.

In its statement, Airtel mentioned that the phone will be with the customers and the users won’t have to return the phone to Airtel or Karbonn at any point to claim the cash benefit. S The A40 Indian is a smartphone, which means that it will have access to the Google Play Store and apps like Facebook, Instagram and more. These are the apps people use to spend their internet on, something that the JioPhone doesn’t have.

October 11, 2017

Karbonn Launches the Affordable Aura 9 With a 4,000 mAh Battery

Having a smartphone with endless battery is something most of us dream about. Karbonn has launched the new Aura 9 smartphone with a 4,000mAh battery in India, today. This phone is priced at Rs. 6,390 and offers up to 10 hours of talk time and 300 hours of standby time.

The Karbonn Aura 9 comes with a 5-inch HD (1280×720 pixels) IPS-LCD display and a 1.2GHz quad-core processor with 1GB of RAM space. It has an internal storage of 8GB that is expandable up to 32GB via a microSD card slot.

On the camera front, it comes with an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP front camera. Other connectivity options include dual-SIM card slots, 3G support, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. The device is run on the Android 4.4 KitKat OS and also supports the Smart Gesture Control feature that allows for quick navigation, even when the phone is locked. Apart from the powerful battery, another ineteresting feature is that the Karbonn Aura 9 will come with a support for 21 regional languages.

Here are the specifications:

Features	Karbonn Aura 9
Display	5-inch HD, IPS-LCD display
Resolution	1280×720 pixels
Processor	1.2GHz quad-core
OS	Android 4.4 KitKat
RAM	1GB
Storage	8GB internal storage with microSD card expandable up to 32GB.
Rear Camera	8MP with LED flash
Front Camera	5MP
Connectivity	dual-SIM card slots, 3G support, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0
Battery	4,000 mAh
Price	Rs.6,390

Watch this space for more updates.

August 20, 2015

Karbonn Enters the Mobile Accessory Game, Introduces Power Banks and Screen Guards

Karbonn, one of the major Indian smartphone makers, is looking to diversify its offerings. Other than its range of smartphones, the company will soon be selling a variety of power banks and screen guards.

The power banks which will be available in three power variants, 5,000 mAh, 7,000 mAh and 10,000 mAh. The 7,000 mAh and 10,000 mAh devices are equipped with dual charging ports, so that you can charge two devices at once. The 10,000 mAh power bank is fitted with a LED torch which can also be doubled up as a TF card reader and has an LCD, which indicates the amount of charge left and power capacity.

Karbonn is also offering screen guards under the brand name ‘Ultra Clear’. The company claims that the screen guards offer high touch sensitivity and include anti-fingerprinting coating.

The power banks will be available March 25th, Wednesday, onwards on Snapdeal. The 5,000 mAh power bank is priced at Rs. 999. As of now, there is no word on the price of the remaining power banks or the screen guards. As for the screen guard, it will be available in retail stores as well as e-commerce portals.

March 23, 2015

Karbonn Announces the Titanium Mach Two, Priced at Rs. 10,490

Aiming to expand the Titanium series, Karbonn has launched its latest handset, the Titanium Mach Two. The phone weighs a mere 112 gms and is sleek at 6.3 mm.

The device is encased with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, which makes it resistant to scratches. The device holds a 5-inch HD IPS display and is powered by a 1.4GHz octa-core processor with 1GB of RAM. It consists of 8 GB of internal storage, which is expandable up to 32 GB via microSD card. An 8MP camera with BSI sensor is equipped at its front and back.

Running on Android OS 4.4 KitKat, the Mach Two offers some interesting features like the Smart Eye function, Swipe and Shake for music player, Face Beauty Mode, and few more.

The device is currently available only in deep blue colour and can be purchased at a price of Rs. 10,490. It comes with a free protective silicon case.

With so many reliable, affordable smartphones in the market, Karbonn’s present offering doesn’t seem to stand out. We have a strong feeling it will get lost in the crowd. Xiaomi recently came out with its new Redmi 2, and Motorola too has released its next-gen Moto E. Both these devices hold a similar set of specs and are priced significantly lesser. Other gadgets that can be pitted against the Mach Two are Lava X5 and Yu Yureka.

Check out the specifications of the Titanium Mach Two below:

Specs	Titanium Mach Two
Display	5-inch HD IPS display
Processor	1.4GHz Octa-Core processor
RAM	1GB
Inbuilt Memory	8GB
Expandable Up to	32GB
Rear Camera	8MP
Front Camera	8MP
Operating Stystem	Android 4.4 KitKat
Price	Rs 10,490

March 13, 2015

The Android One Trio is Here! Meet Canvas A1, Sparkle V And Dream Uno

So, we have waited long for the Android One devices. The phones were announced at the Google I/O this year, and they are finally here for the world to see. Today Google launched the three phones that it had announced previously.

The Micromax Canvas A1, Karbonn Sparkle V And Spice Dream Uno is the trio that will begin the big Android One experiment. The phones are presently only available online and will be in stores from next month. They went on sale at 3.30PM today.

Canvas win has a recognizable camera design which is the best amongst competitors

As mentioned earlier, Android One is Google providing standard specifications to OEM’s so that they can provide those features to low-cost devices directly. These devices come with the latest Android operating system, i.e., KitKat 4.4. They all have similar specs and are different only in the way they are designed. Out of these three devices, Micromax gets the pole position on the designing front. The Canvas A1 has a beautiful wooden-like platform for the main camera on the back of the device.

Karbonn Sparkle V comes in many color options.

All these devices have a 4.5 inch FWVGA (854 x 480 Pixels) displays and are powered by a 1700 mAh battery. The processor on the devices is a MediaTek SoC with a 1.3GHz quad-core processor and Mali 400 GPU paired with 1GB of RAM. On the back, the devices have a 5 MP camera with LED Flash. For selfie convenience, the phone provides a 2 MP camera.

It can be observed that the specifications on these devices seem limited in comparison to devices like the Moto E and the Redmi 1S. The advantage these devices have is automatic updates from Google, which keep them up-to-date. This can be a great device for people wanting a stock Android experience.

The companies have chosen different online retail partners for their devices. While Micromax chose Amazon as their exclusive Android One partner, Spice and Karbonn chose Flipkart and Snapdeal respectively. You can expect some competition amongst these e-tail giants too.

This is just the beginning for Android One. Google plans to involve new partners. It has announced that Acer, Alcatel, ASUS, HTC, Intex, Lava, Lenovo, Panasonic and Xolo will soon be launching smartphones under the Android One program.

These phones are pocket friendly and will encourage others to make similar devices

On the price front, the Karbonn Sparkle V is priced at Rs.6399. The Micromax Canvas gets a price tag of Rs. 6499, while the Spice Dream Uno is the cheapest with a tag of Rs. 6299.

As expected, the phones come with 6-month free update and app download package from Airtel. In a press statement, the Chief Product Officer of Bharti Airtel, Anand Chandrasekaran said, “Android One customers on Airtel will be able to stay updated on the latest Android version and update all their apps at no additional data charges. Customers can enjoy 100 MB of data per month for 6 months for software updates and 200 MB per month for 6 months for app downloads and updates on the first prepaid active Airtel SIM inserted in the Android One device.”

The phones come with 6 month data plans from Airtel

Overall, the Android One line of devices seem like Google’s direct link to the lower-end consumers. The biggest issue with Android platform is high levels of fragmentation, devices running older versions of the OS are still available for sale in the market. With the lessons learnt by this initiative, the Android team may be able to provide a better integration of its OS across devices.

It will be interesting to see how this experiment pans out in India as Google intends to expand the initiative to Indonesia, Philippines and other South Asian countries by the end of 2014. It also plans to take to more countries in 2015. It seems the end of woes of lower-end Android customers is close to being over.

September 15, 2014
First Android One Phone, The Karbonn Sparkle V Launched For Rs. 6399

Google has unveiled the first Android One phone in India. The phone will come from the Indian Phone company, Karbonn and will be called the Sparkle V.

The Karbonn Sparkle V is a Dual Sim phone. It comes with Android Kitkat 4.4 out of the box. It has a 4.5 inch FWVGA (480×854) display. The device carries 1 GB RAM and is powered by a 1700 mAh battery.

The internal memory on the device is 4 GB and is expandable up to 32 GB. Sparkle V has a 5 Megapixel camera on the back and a 2 MP camera on the front. It also comes with sensors such as G-Sensor, Proximity sensor, Light sensor, E-Compass and Gyro Sensor.

The phone is future proof as it will automatically update to the next available version of operating system. The makers claim that the phone is capable of handling HD games and provides smooth multi-tasking ability. The phone offers users a variety of applications and features which are pre-loaded in the phone.

The device is priced at Rs. 6399 and is available exclusively on Snapdeal.

September 15, 2014
Karbonn To Launch World’s First Android, Windows Phone Dual Boot Handset

Dual-OS phones running Windows Phone and Android are six months away from launch, according to the chairperson of Karbonn, which has apparently signed a deal with Microsoft to produce them.

It is reported that the dual-OS smartphones will be out by June and will target office-going professionals and ‘techies.’

“Microsoft has eased the regulations and is opening up its platform for other players. We signed the agreement two days ago and will launch a range of Windows phones in about three months” – Karbonn CEO Sudhir Hasija

Price is still a mystery and so are the specs; we can only hope this Karbonn will be a high-end device with Snapdragon 800 quad-core chip. While it may seem a bit surprising that Microsoft would agree to share space on a handset, Microsoft has been taking steps to make it easier for manufacturers to install their software. That includes support for Qualcomm’s Android reference designs which would allow a phone maker to use the same hardware for Android or Windows Phone devices.

Reports surfaced recently that it had asked HTC to combine Windows Phone and Android on one device as well.

March 3, 2014
Karbonn Smart A51 Android Smartphone Available for 3,402 INR

Karbonn has introduced a new budget Android phone, the Smart A51 is available online for 3,402 INR. The device has not got an official launch yet, but the device is available on soholic.com and also on Snapdeal.

The Karbonn Smart A51 has a 3.2 MP rear camera with LED flash and also includes a front facing VGA camera, the Smart A51 comes with a 1100 mAh battery.

The device has a 3.5 inch TFT LCD display with a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels and is is powered by a 1 GHz processor, no details for the chipset is available yet, the device has a 256 MB of RAM. The Karbonn Smart A51 runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and is a dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) device with dual standby time.

The Device has a 512 MB of inbuilt storage which can is expandable up to 32GB via microSD card, this budget device from Karbonn will be available in two colors, Black and White. However, the device will not have 3G support but will have some basic features like WiFi and GPS.

September 25, 2013
Report : 2013 may Unleash the Budget Quad Core in India

With several Indian companies running in haste to deliver smartphones, tablets and now phablets into the market. Most have left out essential ingredients to delivering a smart – experience. Some have shoddy screens others have dwindling hardware and most have little RAM.

[pullquote_right]Have companies like Micromax and Karbonn truly understood the Indian market?[/pullquote_right]Looks like that is about to change, really soon. Have companies like Micromax and Karbonn truly understood the Indian market? Where Micromax broke the barrier with their A100 and A110 Canvas phones along side their Super Amoled based A90 and A90s . Karbonn had several A Series phones to offer to this mashup of Smartphone goodness.

Agreed that these phone truly penetrated the market and gave the user the New Android experience and “somewhat of an upgrade” when it came to hardware capability. However, these devices truly lacked panache, and if the 2012 line of Nexus devices has shown us anything, that price will not equal quality in all cases.

[pullquote_left] Heavily invested in the overall quality and user experience[/pullquote_left]In our recent meeting with one of the Indian Manufacturers, we learnt that the Indian Companies have heavily invested in the overall quality and user experience that users will get from their 2013 lineup of smartphones. With Micromax working on quad core variants of their Canvas and Pixel series, Karbonn has heavily invested in quad core Phablets.

These devices promise, Quad Core Mediatek Processors, bumped up graphics and minimum 1 GB of RAM, Micromax Plans to make 8GB standard the In-Built storage with expandability via a 64GB capable slot. Where as Karbonn is talking about storage size options in their quad core Phablets. Some designers are also hinting at close ties with NVidia, so don’t be surprised if you soon see budget NVidia Tegra 3 based smartphones and Tablets running Google’s flagship OS and running against their own Nexus Series.

However this circle does not stop there, the gap between flagship technologies and cheaper alternatives is soon deteriorating, and we dont see that date far when A flagship Smartphone will see an identical low budget replacement less than weeks from its launch.

December 28, 2012
Karbonn Announces New Android Devices

Indian handset maker Karbonn has announced the launch of two new tablets, and three dual-sim smartphones in its portfolio. Part of Karbonn Smart series, these tablets will join company’s Jelly Bean tablet Smart Tab 1 and have been priced at Rs. 5,990 and Rs. 7,990 respectively, while the smartphones are Karbonn Smart A11, A7+ and A1+.

Karbonn Smart Tab 3 (Blade), is loaded with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) running on a 1.2GHz processor, and features a 7.1-inch capacitive touchscreen. Powered by a 2,600mAh battery, the tablet features 3D gravity sensor, Wi-Fi and 3G support through USB dongle. The Karbonn Smart Tab 3 comes with 1.3MP front camera and various pre-installed applications like Karbonn Smart Browser and Karbonn Smart games.

Karbonn Smart Tab 9 (Marvel), is loaded with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and features a 9-inch capacitive touchscreen. The new tablet is powered by a 1.2GHz processor and runs on a 4,000mAh marathon battery. It features 3D gravity sensor, Wi-Fi and 3G support via USB dongle, comes with a 1.3MP front camera and pre-embedded apps like Karbonn Smart Browser and Karbonn Smart games.

The A 11 is a dual-sim Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) smartphone that boasts of a 4-inch display, 1GHz processor, 1,500mAh battery, and support for up to 32GB microSD card. The new smartphone, costing Rs 9,990, also features a 5MP rear snapper with LED flash, along with a 1.3MP front camera.

Karbonn A7+ and A1+ are the two other dual-sim smartphones launched by the company in India, priced at Rs 8,990 and 4,990, respectively. Both phones have 1GHz processors, 3.5-inch touchscreens, video calling front cameras, 3G support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and microSD card support up to 32GB. The Karbonn A7+ has a 5MP primary camera wih dual LED flash and a 1,420mAh, while the Karbonn A1+ comes with a 3MP camera without flash and 1,500mAh battery.

October 12, 2012
Karbonn Smart A18 Launched At INR 12,990

Karbonn Mobiles has launched the Karbonn Smart A18, a new dual-sim flagship phone under the ‘Smart’ lineup, priced at Rs 12,990/-.

The phone is powered by a 1 GHz processor and comes with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box. The Smart A18 features a 4.3-inch IPS display and runs on a 1,500 mAh battery. It sports a 5.0 MP camera and has a 1.3 MP front-facing camera as well.

Sim 1 of the phone supports 3G, while sim 2 supports 2G. The smartphone has Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi Hotspot, USB tethering capability and supports expandable memory upto 32GB.

The Smart A18 will be competing with the 2 new Micromax phones, the A90 and the A100. Expect a review soon!

September 3, 2012