Meitu is a Chinese company which came into the limelight after they announced a strategic partnership with Xiaomi. The company now holds an exclusive global license that allows them to make use of certain Xiaomi technologies and branding. Meitu is about to launch a luxury smartphone called the Meitu V7. To launch a special Tonino Lamborghini variant, the company has partnered with Italian supercar maker Lamborghini. A listing of the smartphone was previously spotted on TENAA. The listing provides information regarding both, the design and specifications of the smartphone.
Design
The TENAA listing reveals that the Meitu V7 has a symmetrical design with a premium build. The front of the smartphone has an all-glass build with triple selfie cameras. The right side of the Meitu V7 is occupied by the SIM card slot, power button and an unidentified button which might be used to control the camera shutter while the right side of the smartphone is occupied by the volume rockers.
The rear of the Meitu V7 has a very premium looking design with dual cameras which are flanked with dual flash on either side. Additionally, a thick copper coloured metal strip runs across the back which makes the smartphone very attractive. The back of the smartphone is to be made out of pink and green leather-like material.
According to the teasers, the Lamborghini Tonino Edition V7 looks very similar to the regular variant. Most notably, the rear of the special edition smartphone has Lamborghini’s signature Taurus Logo and triple Red, White, Green Racing Stripes. All in all, the smartphone seems to have a robust and stylish build that exudes luxury.
Specifications
Display: 6.21-inch OLED Full HD+ 2248 × 1080 pixels
Operating System: Android 9 Pie
Processor: Snapdragon 845
RAM: 8GB LPDDR4x
Storage: 128GB/256GB
Rear Cameras: 12 MP + 8 MP, 2 x Dual LED Flash
Selfie Camera: 16 MP + 2 MP + 8 MP
Security: 3D Face Unlock + In-display fingerprint scanner
Connectivity: 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac , Bluetooth
The poster of the Meitu V7 reveals that the smartphone will launch on December 21st. Although the price of the smartphone is not yet available, it will have a premium price tag.
With phone prices sky rocketing, it is hard for an average consumer to buy new top end phones. One also often feels uneasy in buying used smartphones devices online. When buying a second hand phone, there are a lot of things that one needs to keep in mind, specially if they are being bought online. More often than not, if a deal is too good to be true, it probably isn’t. In this article, we will discuss the nuances of buying second hand smartphones online and how to make the right buying choices.
Where To Begin?
Before you start searching for a new phone, you need to be sure that you want a new phone. Decide on a budget that suits you and then convince yourself to stick to this budget. There may be instances when you might get a far better model at a price range that may be slightly above yours. Stay away from them as, if the price of a second hand phone is too good a deal, it may have other problems.
Try to stay within your budget. The next thing you need to decide on is the phone you want. If you are a light user and only use your phone to make calls and send text messages and like a little bit of social media time everyday, you may not require a very high end phone at all. But if you have the budget for a high end smartphone that is great too. Now let’s look at the two types of used phones that you will come across online.
Used Phone Sold By User
These are phones that are sold by people who have used the phone they are selling. These are people like us who are either looking to upgrade or switch their own phones for better models. You can often see listings like these on various websites and these sellers will usually not have any ratings. These users do not sell phones often and thus finding a trusting source can be a cause for concern. There will be some listings that use stock photos. You will need to be careful when buying from these sellers and if you do not see photographs of the actual phone then best avoid these sellers.
Always ask for the original product images as it will at least help you understand the condition of the phone from a cosmetic standpoint. If a phone is badly damaged from the outside, absolutely avoid it. A damaged phone from the outside will most certainly have damaged or dinged up interiors as it shows that the owner did not care for the device as much as he should have.
If the device shows normal wear and tear from prolonged use, that should be fine. Ask the user what he will be selling along with the phone. See to it that he shares the box, bill and charger. If you are buying from a website such as OLX or Quikr, then check the IMEI number to make sure it isn’t stolen from someone else.
Refurbished Phone Sold By Seller
These types of phones are relatively safer to buy. Many websites, Amazon being a big example, have sellers who are trusted and sell refurbished phones. They buy phones from other users and repair and sell them after fixing it both internally as well as cosmetically. They will also usually provide a 6 month or 1 year warranty or guarantee (differs from seller to seller) and will fix the phone for you if anything goes wrong. Remember that these warranties are not given by the manufacturer of the phone but the seller themselves. These phones are a little more expensive compared to the phones that are sold directly by the users since the sellers charge for buying, refurbishing and then selling the phone off. There sometimes will be underlying terms and conditions that you also need to look at. Read the description carefully before you buy.
Websites Where You Can Buy Used Phones In India
OLX
Olx is a classifieds website where you can both buy as well as sell phones in India. It has it’s presence in 45 different countries and is headquartered in Amsterdam. Although the website is meant for users to post items for sale, many small businesses also sell smartphones and laptops here. You can directly connect with the seller and meet and buy the phone. While it isn’t exactly an online transaction, it does help you find people who are willing to sell what you are buying. It is safer in a way because you get to hold the phone and test it out before actually buying.
Quikr
Quikr is another classified advertisement website, working on the same model as OLX. It is an Indian platform and is focussed on providing a better experience for buyers and sellers than many other similar platforms. Beware of fake sellers though as many have reported to have received phones with parts replaced with cheaper Chinese made counterparts inside the phone. One can recognise a fake post by looking at the price and images. If you see a Samsung S9 Plus available at Rs 8000, it is probably a copy or has replaced parts. If there are more than 1 phones of the same model, it might be a seller who is buying cheap copies and selling them at a profit.
Amazon
Amazon has a lot of refurbished phones from different sellers. Being a globally renowned website, their quality control for sellers on the platform will be better. The phones, as mentioned above will be a little more expensive but the quality and the description will be clearer. These listings generally have a “Certified Refurbished” tag on the image and are also written in bold letters. Many descriptions of these listings suggest that the phone is Amazon-qualified and performance managed where the reseller performs a full diagnostic test, replaces any defective parts, and thoroughly cleans the product. The products also reportedly will have minimal to no signs of wear. They also have no visible cosmetic imperfections when held 12 inches away and the batteries will have at least 80% capacity relative to new ones.
CEX
This is an extremely popular website and shop in UK and is slowly gaining ground in India. They have different models of different phones that can be viewed on their website. CEX both buys and sells phones and one can buy phones using CEX voucher or actual cash. There is a flat 2 year warranty on everything they sell. And there is a doorstep buying and selling process as well. You can visit their shop and see the phones and choose from them. The prices of each phone are listed on their website as well. These are also refurbished.
Facebook Groups
Facebook has become home to hundreds and thousands of buying and selling groups and these have thousands of members each. Every city has a group that sells phones. If you find the correct group, then you can chose from a variety of options and connect directly with sellers. You can also meet and see the products yourself. While this may be a great place for phones, do check the profile of the seller once and ensure that the post is not fake or the seller is genuine.
Samsung is expected to launch three variants of the Galaxy S10 in February 2019. The list of upcoming smartphones includes the Galaxy S10, the Galaxy S10 Plus and the Galaxy S10 Lite. The Galaxy S10 Lite will be the cheapest smartphone out of the three and has the model number SM-G970. The Galaxy S10 and the Galaxy S10 Plus are believed to carry SM-G973 and SM-G975 model numbers respectively. A few weeks after the launch of these devices, Samsung will also launch a 5G capable variant of the Galaxy S10.
Galaxy S10 Lite Benchmark
An HTML5 test of the Galaxy S10 Lite has been spotted online. The test results were first discovered by a German website, Mobile Kopen. The smartphone browser scores 499 points out of 599. The test also reveals some details regarding the display of the smartphone. According to the HTML5 test, the smartphone has a screen size of 360 x 760. This converts to 2280 x 1080 px actual resolution.
Previous rumors suggest that the Galaxy S10 Lite will feature the Snapdragon 855 processor with 4 GB/ 6 GB of RAM. Samsung is expected to launch the smartphone with 64 GB and 128 GB internal storage options.
Galaxy S10 Plus Benchmark
The Galaxy S10 Plus browser scores 514 points which are 15 points higher than the S10 Lite’s results. The S10 Plus has a screen size of 869 x 412 pixels which converts to an actual resolution of 3040 x 1080 px. It is expected to have the same Snapdragon 855 processor as the S10 Lite. The key differentiating feature between the two will be the bigger screen size, storage capacity, and RAM.
The Galaxy S10 series of smartphones are expected to launch in February of 2019 which will be soon followed by the 5G capable S10. Although the official prices of the smartphones are unavailable, they are expected to be priced upwards of the $ 1000 mark.
Nikon has finally announced the discontinuance of the popular D5500 and D7200 cameras. Rumours about the same were doing rounds of the internet for the longest time, but it seems like Nikon has finally done it. Both the cameras were released in 2015 and Nikon has better options with even better specifications at the moment. It seems like a good time to discontinue them, as the 24 Megapixel Dx body D5500 was getting old and featured old technology and so did the D7200.
The D5500 was available in several different bundles with different body and lens combinations at the time of it’s discontinuation. The first bundle was priced at Rs. 61,950 with D-ZOOM KIT: AF-P 18-55mm VR + AF-S 55-200mm VRII Kit Lenses. The second bundle available was for Rs. 65,950 which had the AF-S 18-140mm VR Kit Lens. It also had a cheaper option for Rs. 52,950 with AF-S 18-55mm VRII Kit Lens. The camera was worth Rs. 47,450 for the body only version. These were extremely high considering other cameras as well as Nikon’s own D5600 is priced in the similar price range. The D5600 has better specifications and so does the newer D7500. The D7200 had a price range of Rs. 1,08450 to Rs. 69,950 while the D7500 has a price range of Rs. 1,15450 to Rs. 96,950.
This year, Nikon has forayed into the mirrorless segment as well, which are quite expensive. With the discontinuation of the older models it seems highly likely that Nikon might release newer models of the currently available D7500 and D5600 soon. While Nikon itself has discontinued the two cameras they are still available on Amazon’s India website as well as Flipkart.
Xiaomi has shared teasers for an upcoming smartphone on Weibo. The teaser reveals that the smartphone will carry the “Pro 2” suffix. According to the teaser, the smartphone will feature the Snapdragon 675 SoC and a massive 48 MP camera. Earlier this month, Xiaomi President Lin Bin shared a photo of a smartphone that had a 48 MP rear camera and a report claims that it will be a Redmi device. The same report also claims that the upcoming Redmi smartphone will have an in-display cutout for the front-facing camera like the Samsung Galaxy A8s and Huawei Nova 4.
The Redmi Pro 2
All the reports suggest that the upcoming smartphone is the Redmi Pro 2. It is the successor to the Redmi Pro which was launched back in 2016. The Pro suffix smartphones are the flagship devices for Xiaomi’s Redmi series and the same is expected from the Redmi Pro 2. Except for the camera and processor information, not many details of the Redmi 2 Pro are available. However, being the successor to the Redmi Pro, it is expected to have better specifications than the latter.
Redmi Pro
The Redmi Pro has a brushed aluminium back. The smartphone has wide top and bottom bezels. The bottom bezel houses the physical home button/fingerprint sensor and two capacitive touch buttons. The smartphone has a 72.2% screen to body ratio display.
Display: 5.5-inch AMOLED Full HD 1920 × 1080 pixels, 401 ppi, 16:9 aspect ratio
Operating System: MIUI, Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
Processor: Deca-Core Mediatek Helio X25
RAM: 4 GB/3 GB
Storage: 32 GB/64 GB/128 GB
Rear Cameras: 13 MP + 5 MP, Dual-LED Flash
Selfie Camera: 5 MP
Security: Fingerprint Sensor
Connectivity: 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, Micro USB
Battery: 4050 mAh
Dimensions: 151.5 x 76.2 x 8.2 mm
Weight: 174 g
Redmi Pro 2 Design
The Redmi Pro 2 is expected to have a similar design and build quality as its predecessor. However, the new phone will have narrower bezels and the company might move the fingerprint sensor to the rear of the device. Alternatively, the official specifications and design of the smartphone will only be available after its official launch.
Although the launch date of the Redmi Pro 2 has not been announced, it is expected to launch soon. Like the Redmi Pro, it is believed to be a sub $400 smartphone.
In today’s world of every growing technology and ideas, companies come and companies go. Most of them exit the scene as rapidly as they climbed the top of the ladder. GoPro is such a success story. Despite still having a relatively good footing in the market, it will be difficult for them to make a comeback unless they change their ways. Action cameras have been there for a while now and it all started with GoPro itself. In 2002 Nick Woodman went on a surfing trip and quickly realised that there was no way to take excellent quality photographs while in the water. While most photographers shooting surfing images usually used DSLR with long tele lenses from the beaches, buying these lenses and equipments and hiring photographers were an expensive affair. This led to the birth of the desire to shoot professional images in dire situations and adventure sports.
In 2004 GoPro built it’s first camera that used 35mm film. The Hero lineup that we see today was born as the GoPro 35mm HERO in 2004.In its first year they sold $150,000 worth of products. Then in 2006 the Digital HERO was released. The camera shot 640×460 resolution photos and VGA definition 320X240 (10 fps) video for a maximum of 10 seconds. The Digital HERO had 32 MB of internal memory without an SD card slot.
Over the years, small improvements were made and the Digital HERO3 was released in 2007. It featured a 3-megapixel camera and shot standard definition 512×384 video. The latest GoPro, which is the Hero 7 shoots 4K images at 60 fps, came after several iterations of the HERO lineup. The cameras that were released between the Hero digital and Hero 7 were Digital, Digital 3, Digital 5, Digital Wide, HERO 2, HERO 3, HERO 3+, HERO5, HERO6, Fusion and HERO (2018). While the development and refining was constant and very smooth, the time taken to do it was not in their favour. But before we go into the reasons of the revolutionary company’s eventual failure in the market, let’s discuss why it succeeded in the first place.
GoPro’s Success
GoPro was released at a time when cameras were bulky accessories that only photographers would buy. Yes, there were point and shoot cameras available, but these cameras were extremely brittle, untrustworthy and weren’t the greatest performers. In other words, they underperformed both in terms of image quality and build quality. Since Sony’s introduction of the world’s first ‘digital’ camera in 1981 called Mavica, there was very little in terms of research and development done in this sphere. While the DSLR technology was being improved with leaps and bounds, the compact camera segment was falling behind. Rangefinders were still in fashion and so was 35mm film. With little or no access to personal computers, the day to day consumer was more inclined towards having a film camera and saving printed positives.
What set the GoPro 35mm Hero apart from the rest of the point and shoot cameras was its ruggedness. It was also quite famous for being small and handy. The camera measured in at just 2.5 x 3 inches (64 by 76 mm) and weighed a mere 0.45 pounds (200 grams). What you got with the camera was a clear case with quick release, a camera strap and a ski glove adapter lash. It was functional in water to a depth of about 15 feet (5 m). The camera was marketed as a “reusable wrist camera” and included a roll of 24 exposure Kodak 400 film.
Many photographers as well as day to day users such as students on a spring break, travellers and family members were using it. People in the United States love water, be it surfing, diving, river cruise, beach holidays or just a simple day relaxing at the pool. The camera struck a chord with these users. For a time when cameras had to be taken extreme care of and maintained like a family jewel, this rugged camera with a case and waterproofing was an excellent choice. Another extremely important reason for the GoPro Hero 35mm’s success was its pricing. Priced at just $20, it was an extremely good deal for photo enthusiasts and families alike.
As time passed, the cameras became digital and so did people’s ways of interacting with technology. Everyone who was even slightly well off had a personal computer. At the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote address on June 6, 2005 which is a year before the first digital GoPro’s launch, Steve Jobs announced that Apple would begin producing Intel-based Mac computers in 2006. The world around GoPro changed and so GoPro changed along with it. They shifted to digital which was widely accepted by the people. But it also was a sign for future historians to look into since that was the last quantum leap that they took. At least till 2018, when this article is being written. Now that we have a basic idea of where GoPro was headed, let’s find out what led to the near shutdown of the industry leader.
The Downfall
GoPro was never doomed for failure. They had, what people in the industry call the first mover’s advantage in a segment in the photography and videography industry. A segment that they created themselves. Just as the word Xerox had become synonymous with Photocopier machines after the inventors named and trademarked their process under that name, action cameras were at one point known as GoPros. This was because they were for the longest time, the only players in the action camera market. So how did it all change?
Lack Of Research And Development
GoPro, being the leader in a market that previously did not exist, took the sales figures for granted and did not pay heed to what the future of the company was. A company, specially in the tech industry, needs to constantly keep innovating in order to compete. GoPro understood the position it stood in – great sales figures, stock prices increasing, newer markets such as India, South East Asia etc opening up. These made them oblivious of the fact that they need to make their company future-proof. For the longest time, their Hero series of cameras just saw incremental upgrades. This was in terms of video resolution, sensor size and durability. There were very few path-breaking innovations from them.
Higher Cost The prices of the cameras kept increasing. This was partly due to the difficulty to fit all the features that the camera offers into such a tiny package without compromising on the durability. And partly due to them wanting to make huge profit. Their understanding of customer bases were different from their expectations of the same. They wanted to be a niche for adventurers, travellers, trekkers who could afford a $400 camera which gave a decent output but worked on adverse conditions. However the majority of customers for the company were just average day to day people. When it comes to action cameras, buying just the camera is never enough. These cameras require different accessories for different activities. These accessories become a part of the investment that one considers before buying an action camera. The GoPro accessories come at a very high price. For students and young enthusiasts, buying these accessories become extremely difficult. Especially when similar accessories are available in websites such as Aliexpress, Ebay and Gearbest.
Lack Of Understanding Of The Market Another major reason for GoPro’s failure was the lack of understanding of the market. They did not expect or receive any competition from the smartphone market at the beginning of their journey. But as smartphones started to get better and smarter, cameras in smartphones also got better. Every person had a camera in their pocket and GoPro’s USP of it being handy and powerful became redundant. Smartphones became waterproof and much more rugged. GoPro was slowly falling behind due to it’s lack of uniqueness. Both it’s unique selling propositions – ruggedness and being small and handy- were not ‘unique’ anymore. They failed to understand how the market was growing and developing. And they failed to adapt. While their rivals slowly moved into the action camera, drone and gimbal business, GoPro joined the party much later.
Being Out Of Touch With Consumers GoPro wanted to become a niche and desirable product that catered to adventurers, surfers and travellers. Their main customer base was skaters, skiers, holiday makers and just about any average person. While they listened to their ‘Pro’s, they completely forgot about their other customers. They promoted their products using professional athletes and adventure sports enthusiasts. They failed to really showcase how an ordinary family man or woman could use their product too. A person who was thinking of buying an action camera saw only surfers and divers and such using these devices. This led to the customer deciding against buying a GoPro because they felt that the product probably wasn’t for them.
Underestimating Competition This might have been the final nail in the coffin. GoPro was executing their tried and tested formulae over and over again. Meanwhile companies like DJI, Yi and SJCam were developing action cameras, gimbals and drones. GoPro failed to notice the market shift towards drones and birds eye shots in videos and vlogging. YouTubers also slowly shifted to powerful point and shoot cameras. These included cameras such as the Sony RX100 series, Canon’s G9X series. Some even shifted to higher-end and bigger cameras like the Panasonic GH5. While GoPro was releasing it’s first digital action camera, the founder of DJI was still studying in college. However, in 2018, DJI has completely taken over the drone business. So much so that GoPro has finally shut down their drone division and laid-off a lot of employees to cut losses.
The Next Step
Their understanding of the market and industry needs to improve. Within a week of the GoPro Karma launch, DJI announced their own drone – the DJI Mavic Pro. The Mavic Pro was better in terms of features and specifications thus beating GoPro to their game. DJI created quality products at a competitive price. GoPro needs to reduce the prices of their accessories so that more people feel comfortable in investing in a GoPro ecosystem. GoPro badly needs to streamline their work and employees if they wish to stay afloat. New investors are also something they should look into, to keep the company afloat. GoPro needs to get a grip on the ‘Next big thing’ that may hit the market. This will give them a head start compared to Chinese companies who are always on the lookout for the same.
What Else?
They also need to start looking at and listening to customers. They need to market their products by tailoring specifically for consumers. The company has already started to do that through their Instagram account that accepts entries from users. They still need to unify their App ecosystem which now consists of the GoPro App which is 97Mb, Quik App which is 100Mb and Passenger 43Mb. It would be extremely useful if all the three apps were unified into one single app.
They also need to give developers more access to their hardware. This will enable customers to make their cameras more useful in their respective businesses by tweaking the firmware. All in all, GoPro needs to understand the pulse of the industry. They need to create a great marriage of hardware and software. Being user friendly and affordable will also factor in, if they wish to survive in the cut-throat market of technology.
The iPad Pro 2018 was introduced last month. The new iPad carries a brand new design language and a killer performance, which is worthy to even replace a laptop, in some cases. The new design features slim bezels on all sides and the lack of a home button. The rectangular build sure does look great, but ran it to some problems soon after its release. Users started complaining that the new iPad Pro can be easily bent, thus comprising the integrity of the device. Now, Apple has confirmed that some of the iPads may ship bent. But they do assure customers that this will not affect the performance of the device.
The ‘Bendgate’
Apple says the the bend is a side effect of the manufacturing process involved in making the iPad Pro. A cooling process involving the iPad Pro’s metal and plastic components, results in this bend. They say that this should not worsen over time or negatively affect the performance of the device. Most interestingly, Apple does not consider this to be a defect. This is not limited to just one variant and both the 11 inch and 12.9 inch model of the iPad Pro can exhibit this.
The statement from Apple is not something that they have admitted to on their own. This is a response to many customers after they took to social media to state that their iPad Pro’s developed a slight bend, without any rough usage or mistreatment of the device. Users also said that they had never applied any extra stress to the iPad Pro.
Recently, a video by Jerryrigseverything showed him bending the iPad Pro into half without much of an effort. However, Apple still stands by the quality of its iPad Pro. A lot of experts also said that the video was a bit biased and is more of a publicity stunt. Apple claims that the device is extremely thin and is spread over a large surface area, therefore making it more susceptible to this issue. However, no one has reported this issue causing any issued in the working of the device and the iPad Pro is still the best tablet in the market right now.
Shortly after the launch of the OnePlus 6T, the company announced that other than the next flagship, they will be launching a 5G handset, which will belong to an entirely new lineup. Now, a leak gives us the first look at the alleged OnePlus 5G device. While some may argue that this could be the OnePlus 7 as well, the chances of the same seem to be slim as the 5G phone will launch before the OnePlus 7.
The biggest change we can notice right off the bat is the brand new design language. The rear of the phone houses a circular camera module. While the image is not clear enough to see whether it sports dual or triple rear cameras, we can expect something innovative emerging from this camera setup. It is possible that OnePlus might be experimenting with the newly announced Sony sensor for mobile phones. Sony had announced a 48 MP camera sensor earlier this year. The giant camera module reminds us of the Lumia phones with the unbelievably high resolution.
The edges of the phone also seem to me more squarish when compared to the present OnePlus phones. There are two colours of the phone seen in the image, one being white and the other being red. Seeing the these are not conventional OnePlus colours, it is evident that this is a special edition phone. However, it is also highly possible that this leak could not be so credible. Either the employee who took this picture is out of a job for leaking this phone, or the company has done this on purpose, as most companies do these days.
The OnePlus 5G phone will run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset, paired with the X50 5G modem. The OnePlus 7 will also run on the Snapdragon 855 but will not have the X50 modem. Instead, it will have the 4G X24 modem.
Yi is a Chinese camera manufacturer that is backed by Xiaomi. The company had previously launched the Yi action and Yi 4K action cameras in China. The cameras have a small form factor and can be mounted to various surfaces with the help of brackets which are sold separately. Both the cameras can click still shots, capture videos and also shoot time lapse pictures. The cameras have been unoficially available in India from sites like Amazon and eBay but they were priced much higher due to import duties. Now Yi technology has officially launched the cameras in India which are exclusively available on Flipkart.
Both Yi Action and Yi 4K Action cameras have a cuboidal shape with a protruding camera lens from the front. The biggest difference between the two cameras is that the Yi 4K has a 2.19-inch touchscreen display which the Yi Action camera lags. The devices have side and top mounted buttons which allow for easy operability. The Yi Action camera weighs in at a mere 76 grams and the Yi 4K weighs in at 96 grams.
Specifications And Optics
The Yi Action camera has 16 MP Sony IMX 206 sensor and the Yi 4K Action camera has 12 MP IMX377 sensor. Sensors on both the camera are equipped with f/2.8 aperture and both cameras use Ambarella processors. Both the Yi Action and Yi 4K cameras have a 55-degree field of view. Most notably the former has 6 layered glass while the latter gets 7 layered glass.
The Yi Action cam can capture 1080p videos at 60 fps while the elder Yi 4k can capture 2160p videos at 60 fps. Both cameras have built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth that allows the user to wirelessly share files with a smartphone. The cameras also have a micro USB port which can be used for charging and data transfer. The Yi Action camera duo supports memory cards of up to 128 GB. The Yi 4K has a bigger 1240 mAh battery compared to Yi Action’s 1010 mAh.
Remember when big Bollywood names would advertise for Micromax and a great cricket catch would be known as Karbonn Kamal Catch? These names had become synonymous with smartphones in every household in India. But what happened to them? Why are these names not right next to Xiaomi or OnePlus in the sales records in India? With Micromax just having launched it’s first smartphone with a notch, almost a year behind other smartphone makers, we delve deep into what really happened. In this article we find out, from various reports, previous interviews, sales reports, online user feedback and everything else, how these companies went from being at the pinnacle of smartphone sales to losing everything.
How Did These Companies Come Into Existence?
Back in the day, the US market was starting to move towards smartphones from feature phones. In 2007, the first iPhone was introduced to the world, and it revolutionised the mobile phone industry. India was still largely a feature phone market with very few devices from Blackberry and Nokia’s Nseries phones that were called ‘multimedia smartphones’ being sold. These devices were expensive and were sold in high-end stores which almost always had a different section for the customers of such phones. Priced anywhere between Rs 25,000 to Rs 45,000, these phones were the envy of people who couldn’t afford them, and pride of people who could. Feature phones were still a large part of sales for players such as Nokia, Sony and Motorola.
The dealers could make huge profits selling these phones. Now at that point in time, the market was open to any risk taker who could afford to get into the business of making their own brand. And so they did. Companies such as Micromax, Lava, Karbonn etc were all either dealers for smartphones, software companies or telecommunication ventures who wanted to make a mark on the emerging trends of smartphones. They, however did not have the production capability or the funding to start a production unit in India. This brings us to our next point, white labelling.
What Went Right?
White Labelling
To understand white labelling, one needs to know what OEM and ODMs are. Original Equipment Manufacturers are companies that sell product made by other manufacturers under their own brand name. Original Design Manufacturers are companies that design and manufacture a product according to a different company’s needs who sell them under their own brand. Brands like Lava, Micromax and Karbonn saw this OEM and ODM relationship as a great scope for a business model for smartphone manufacturing.
Chinese phones were already available in the Indian market, but they were not well received. No one wanted to invest in a ‘Chinese phone’ because these phones had no warranty and no after sales service. What the Indian companies did was ask manufacturers in China to design and build smartphones according to their needs and these manufacturers would build it and dump it in India. The Indian companies would then add their own branding to these phones and sell them in Indian markets with warranty and an after sales service promise. This was a great business model and these Indian brans gained ground quick!
Cost Effective
One of the several reasons for the success of these phones were their cost effectiveness. They were providing feature rich phones, dirt cheap, compared to their more expensive counterparts like Nokia and Blackberry. iPhones were also seen from time to time, but were rare. Motorola was a big hit with their RAZR and ROKR series models but these were also getting sloppy. At the time, 2G phones were reigning the market and calling and texting were quite expensive for Indian consumers. But with the introduction of 3G in and around 2008, Internet users suddenly blew up.
WhatsApp’s introduction a year or two later was also a major shift. Most of the expensive international brand’s phones wouldn’t support WhatsApp, and many would not support 3G. A massive number of people had to shift and so a great opportunity opened up for all manufacturers. Indian companies cashed in on this by introducing smartphones with bright LED touchscreens, Android based OS and a host of other features. These were priced at around Rs 10,000 – Rs 15,000. There was also one more feature that these companies, along with the internet boom, made famous. Let’s talk about that next.
Dual Sim
When we say that the Indian companies were the talk of the town back then, we really mean it. From students in high schools and colleges to working professionals, everyone was a consumer of these Indian brands. Many shops even raised their prices at one point of time for the Micromax Canvas series of phones because of the high demand and low availability. These phones, among other things, introduced a feature that has stuck on even now. That feature is Dual sim cards.
When companies such as BSNL and MTNL started providing cheap internet options, people wanted to use two sim cards in one phone.This was because porting phone numbers wasn’t really something one could do easily. The Indian manufacturers went to the Chinese ODMs and asked for a phone that could use two SIM cards. Thus in 2010, Spice mobiles launched India’s first dual SIM ( 3G + 2G) phone. Although Dual SIM isn’t a technology the OEM or the ODM invented, it was definitely seen as a useful feature for a particular market and brought into use by these companies.
Faster Turnaround Time
White labelling also worked for these companies because of another reason. These phone manufacturers had a faster turnaround time, compared to Nokia, Sony or Samsung. They did not have to do their own research and development, neither did they have to design the phone, they could just bring a new model to a market much faster. A company like Nokia had to design, manufacture, market and sell these phones. These took at least a few months to achieve, from scratch. The ODMs meanwhile, did not have to worry about marketing and selling their products while an OEM did not have to worry about the design and manufacturing. This symbiotic relationship helped them bring newer models with the latest features to the market faster than many other established phone makers.
What Went Wrong?
Chinese ODMs Started Their Own Branding
Many ODMs in China understood the fact that the real money was to be made in the distribution and marketing of phones in markets like India. Working with the Indian companies, they had already learnt a lot about the market and the distribution channels. Many other established Chinese companies like Xiaomi also set their eyes on India at the time. These ODMs and other smaller Chinese brands started shipping their own branded smartphones to the country with a promise of better after sales service. But in order to compete with the already established brands, they needed o keep the pricing to a bare minimum. This is where the next turning point in the market comes.
Online Sales
Flipkart had already set up a good service channel and delivery channel owing to it’s online model of selling books and then later selling other items. Amazon entered the Indian market in 2013 when they realised the scope this market had. They also started with books and movies and slowly gained the customer’s trust. Indians were sceptical of using online channels to buy expensive products, specially electronics. But as the online revolution progressed, Indians started to slowly indulge in online shopping.
One of the other factors for this was the introduction of 4G in 2012. This made internet services considerably faster and cheaper. These Chinese manufacturers saw the opportunity of cutting costs. Costs for establishment, delivery and distribution as well as a lot of other smaller expenses that the companies would’ve incurred if they sold through offline channels such as retail stores. Online selling allowed the Chinese players to bring phone prices down a lot.
Lack Of Vision
The Indian companies were heavily invested in marketing and advertising their products and failed to realise that time and technology was moving at a rapid pace. They did not expect that the Indian market would shift so drastically. India, at that time, had come out of recession and the industrial production was growing instead of slowing down. People were slowly getting back their jobs and many started earning more than they were spending. This caused online sales to grow as well. The introduction of 4G was a huge change, and it rolled out in a matter of just a few months. Reliance Jio rolled out 4G phones and 4G connectivity and 3G suddenly became a backdated technology.
Most Indian companies had a huge order booked for a lot of smartphone units. These suddenly became extremely hard to sell to the new customers who were looking to buy 4G phones. With 4G being extremely cheap, the Chinese manufacturers were ready for the 4G wave and they jumped in to sell their phones. This lack of vision for the future affected many companies and brought many more to their knees before their ultimate shut down.
No Or Very Little R&D
The Indian smartphone companies were headed by strong businessmen but not technical or product people. They knew how to conduct a business with a given set of rules. But the smartphone market changes extremely rapidly and they couldn’t catch up. The Indian companies had no proper R&D department put in place. They had no or very few factories and relied mostly on ODMs for their products. With ODMs going their own separate ways to create new models of 4G phones, all the while, marketing and selling their own smartphones. Meanwhile the Indian manufacturers were left stranded with a huge number of smartphones to clear. This was one of the many reasons why a huge corporation like Nokia also fell short. R&D is an integral part of smartphone manufacturing and big companies such as Samsung, Apple and Huawei have a lot of manpower as well as capital dedicated to this sphere.
Bad After Sales Service
There were several reasons for Indian consumers to buy Indian smartphones. But one of the top reasons was the guarantee of repair in case of any manufacturing issues. Most Indian companies failed on this promise. If you do a quick online google search, you will see that a majority of consumers were extremely unhappy with the after sales service. There are complaints of these companies taking the phone for months and not repairing or replacing it. Moreover, bad behaviour from the staff and a rampant complaint of overcharging were pushing customers away. This was the final nail in the coffin. Almost all smartphone users shifted to the newly launched Motorola, Xiaomi and OnePlus phones.
While the Indian companies are slowly dusting off their archaic ways and slowly investing in R&D, they have a long way to go. It would be best if they skipped a few of the popular trends right now. Instead, they should try to predict what trends are to come in the near future and work on that. We surely hope these companies get to play on a level playing field in the years to come, so that the Indian smartphone manufacturing market flourishes as a whole.
Earlier this week, Xiaomi had sent out press invites for the launch of a new smartphone. The new smartphone is called the Mi Play and it is set to launch on December 24th. The company has shared a few teasers of the Mi Play which provide some information about its design.
Design
Mi Play Official Poster
The display of the Mi Play has a high screen-to-body ratio with a small U shaped notch at the top. The rear of the smartphone has a gradient coloured glass back which houses the fingerprint sensor and the dual camera setup. Surprisingly, the design of Mi Play matches to that of a Xiaomi device which was leaked on TENAA. The Xiaomi smartphone with model no ‘M1901F9E/M1901F9E’, was earlier alleged to be the Redmi 7. But the listed pictures look very similar to the teasers of the Mi Play. Therefore, the leaked device could in fact be the Mi Play.
Specifications
Mi Play Leaked On TENAA
Display: 5.84-inch, Full HD+ 2280 × 1080 pixels
Operating System: Android 8.1 Oreo
Processor: Octa-Core 2.3 GHz
RAM: 3 GB/4 GB/6 GB
Storage:32 GB/64 GB/128 GB
Memory Expandability: up to 256 GB
Rear Cameras: 12 MP + 8 MP, LED Flash
Selfie Camera: 8 MP
Security: In-display fingerprint scanner
Connectivity: 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac 2.4G + 5G, Bluetooth 5 .0, GPS, USB Type-C
The Mi Play is set to launch on December 24th and all the specifications will be made official by the company then. The specifications and features of the smartphone indicate that it will be a budget smartphone. It is expected to be priced between 11k-14k and it will compete with smartphones like the Realme U1 and the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2.
2018 has not yet come to a close and the 5G race is already on! Despite 4G not strengthening its roots in most of the countries, many smartphone manufacturers and telecom companies are jumping on to the next big thing in connectivity. AT&T, one of America’s leading telecom operators, is starting its 5G mobile network this week and this marks the start of a new era.
The service will start on the 21st of December and the 5G network will be made public in 12 cities across the US. These include a ‘first batch’ of cities which are Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Louisville, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, San Antonio and Waco, Texas. The first batch title indicates that the rollout will spread to more cities soon. Additionally, AT&T has announced that it will have two Samsung 5G phones next as well, with the first one launching in the early parts of 2019. The company also has offers lined up for early adopters of the latest technology. They are offering free hotspot and data for select consumers and users for at least 90 days.
The 5G Future
5G connectivity will not just limit itself to phones. It will result in opportunities such as self-driving cars, better gaming and a potential replacement to home broadband. However, it is more important for companies to develop proper infrastructure for the same. The presence of 5G infrastructure and 5G capable phones will propel the technology forward.
At the same time, the chances of getting 5G in India soon look very slim. Despite the world moving forward, we still struggle to get proper 4G coverage in most cities of India. Being one of the world’s largest smartphone markets, it is high time that India catches up with the pace at which the rest of the world is moving forward.
Samsung’s plan to reshuffle it’s entire line up of phones is coming to fruition slowly and the M series’ first phone will launch soon. Several leaks have surfaced since the knowledge of the Galaxy M20 phone’s existence. However, most of the rumours have been mostly about the cosmetics and nothing was really known about the internals. But it seems that now new leaks have surfaced that details the phone and camera specifications. The phone will feature a 5000 mAh battery.
The Leak
There are very few phones currently in the market that have a 4500 mAh + battery. Some of these include the Motorola One Power, Honor 8X Max, Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1, Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 and Moto E5 Plus. These phones generally sell quite well since battery is a huge issue for people in India. Bigger screens also require bigger batteries which is why most phablets and bigger screen phones have bigger batteries. The phone will feature a tear- drop notch and will have a dual camera setup at the back. The front camera will supposedly be 8MP and the two cameras at the back will be 13 and 5 Megapixels. The Galaxy M20 measures in at 156.4 x 74.5 x8.8.
It will also retain the fingerprint sensor and will be an entry level phone. The phone is supposed to feature an Exynos 7885 SoC with 3GB of RAM. The Galaxy M20, being an entry level phone, will feature an LCD IPS screen measuring over 6.0 inch in diagonal. It will reportedly be released in the UK, Germany, France, Poland and Scandinavia and may be released in other countries on a later date. There are no leaks for the Galaxy M30 as of now but we are sure there will be more information coming out in the days to come.
Nubia is a Chinese smartphone manufacturer that is based out of Shenzhen. The company was initially started in 2012 by ZTE. But in 2017, ZTE reduced their stake in it after which Nubia became an independent company. Nubia has previously offered some smartphones in India but they have not seen substantial growth. However, this might change soon as the company has launched their gaming oriented Nubia Red Magic smartphone in the country.
The Nubia Red Magic has a striking design with front glass and rear aluminium build. The front of the smartphone has negligible left/right bezels while the top/bottom bezels are quite prominent. The smartphone measures 158.1 x 74.9 x 9.5 mm and weighs in at 185 grams. The power button, volume rockers, and the dedicated GameBoost switch are present on the right side of the device while the left side accommodates the dual SIM slot. The 3.5 mm audio jack rests on the top and the USB Type-C port rests on the bottom.
Display
The Nubia Red Magic has a 5.99-inch Full HD LCD display with a 78.5% screen-to-body ratio. The display panel has a resolution of 2160 x 1080 px and a pixel density of 402 ppi. The screen has an aspect ratio of 18:9. The protect the device from scratches and shocks it gets Dinorex T2X-a glass.
Processor And Operating System
The Nubia Red Magic features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC. The Snapdragon 835 is comprised of an Octa-Core CPU and Adreno 540 GPU. Out of the eight cores, four are clocked at 2.35 GHz and other four are clocked at 1.9 GHz.
Camera And Storage
The Nubia Red Magic has a f/2.0 aperture equipped 8 MP front facing camera and a f/1.7 aperture equipped 24 MP main rear camera. The smartphone can capture 2160p videos at 30fps from the rear camera and 1080p video at 30fps from the front camera. In terms of memory and storage, the Nubia Red Magic has 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of inbuilt storage.
Battery And Operating System
The Nubia Red Magic is powered by a 3,800 mAh Lithium-Ion battery which supports fast charging up to 18 W. Unlike the global variant, the India specific model runs on 8.1 Oreo stock Android.
Connectivity And Other Features
The Red Magic supports dual 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 5.0 and 802.11 ac Wi-Fi. The rear of the device has Red coloured mesh grills which act as the cooling vents for the Multi-Layer cooling technology that the smartphone has.
Price And Availability
The Nubia Red Magic is exclusively available on Amazon and carries a price tag of Rs 29,999.
Xioami unveiled their sub-brand Poco earlier this year in India. The first smartphone that the company launched is the Poco F1. The smartphone was launched in the month of September. Due to its killer pricing and flagship level specifications, it was able to turn a lot of heads globally. The Poco F1 was initially launched in India and it carried a sub 20k price tag for the base variant. Previously there have been claims that the smartphone will carry the Xiaomi branding when it is launched globally.
Mi Play Teaser
Xiaomi is set to launch a new smartphone on the 24th of this month which will be called the Mi Play. The ‘Play’ name suggests that the smartphones will have a focus on gaming, entertainment, and such ‘fun’ activities. There are rumors which claim that the Poco F1, in fact, is the first Mi Play series smartphone.
Poco F1/ Mi Play Tech Specifications
Display: 6.18-inch LCD Full HD+ 2246 × 1080 pixels, 18.7:9 aspect ratio
Operating System: MIUI 10 Android 8.1 Oreo
Processor: Snapdragon 845
RAM: 6 GB/8 GB
Storage: 64 GB/128GB/256GB
Rear Cameras: 12 MP + 5 MP, Dual-LED Flash
Selfie Camera: 20 MP
Security: Rear Mounted Fingerprint Sensor, Infrared Face Unlock
Connectivity: Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 5 .0 , GPS, USB Type-C
Although it is not yet official that the Poco F1 is the Mi Play, fortunately, we won’t have to wait for long as the latter will launch soon. It will be officially launched in China on 24th December 2018.
You can also watch our review video of the Poco F1 aka Mi Play
