Tag: india

Microsoft Launches the 4G-Capable Nokia Lumia 638 at an Affordable Price

Redmond giant Microsoft has launched its budget 4G compatible smartphone, called the Nokia Lumia 638. The phone will be available exclusively at the company’s new Microsoft Brand store on Amazon India and is priced at Rs. 8,299. Pre-orders for the Nokia Lumia 638 will kick-ff from tomorrow.

Specs on the smartphone include a 4.5 inch FWVGA (480×854 pixels) ClearBlack LCD display with Gorilla Glass 3, a 1.2 Ghz quad-core Snapdragon 400 SOC chipset along with 1 GB of RAM. Optics will just include a 5 MP rear auto focus camera. On the memory front, there’s an 8GB of internal storage with microSD card compatibility (up to 128GB). Powering the smartphone would be a 1830 mAh battery while the OS on board would be Windows Phone 8.1 with Lumia Denim update.

Commenting on the launch, Raghuvesh Sarup, Director – Marketing, Nokia India Sales Pvt. Ltd. (a subsidiary of Microsoft Mobile Oy), said, “With the Lumia range we have always focused on delivering new experiences and features to our consumers at affordable price points. Now, we are introducing Lumia 638 which is the most affordable 4G smartphone on Windows Phone 8.1. It builds on the success of the Lumia range in the fast growing affordable smartphone segment and aims to address the consumers’ demand for a device that lets them enjoy uninterrupted video content. We are confident of the success of the Lumia 638 as a comprehensive package and are certain that the device will help us consolidate our position in the affordable smartphones segment further.”

In addition, consumers on Airtel postpaid in Bengaluru can avail upto 5GB of free data on 4G for 2 months. The offer will be valid until 31st March 2015. The Nokia Lumia 638 is being touted as the most affordable 4G compatible smartphone yet.

December 16, 2014
Lava’s Affordable Iris Fuel 60 Comes with a Massive 4000 mAh Battery

Indian smartphone company, Lava has launched the Iris Fuel 60. The phone’s USP is the massive 4000 mAh battery which extends its usage time and decreases the frequency of charging. The phone also has multiple gesture features which might make it more attractive to the buyers.

The Iris Fuel 60 is only 1000 mAh short of Gionee’s Marathon M3 which comes with 5000 mAh behemoth. But while the Marathon M3 can set you back by Rs. 13,999, Lava’s big battery bombshell comes at a rather affordable price of Rs. 8,888.

But even at a low price, the device isn’t short on accompanying specs. It comes with a quad-core, 1.3 GHz processor along with 1 GB RAM, which is the same as the Marathon M3. The internal storage stands at 8 GB; that is expandable up to 32 GB, a standard at this price point. It also provides USB OTG support which will take its storage capacity further.

The device flaunts a 720p HD IPS display and is protected by scratch resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 3o. The main camera on the device is a 10 MP shooter while on the front is a 2 MP shooter. The device presently runs on Android 4.4, but the company claims that it will soon be bringing an Android L update for the device.

If battery woes are your biggest concern for a smartphone, then this phone can be your ideal option. It has pretty much the same specs as the Marathon M3 but comes at Rs. 5000 cheaper at a loss of 1000 mAh worth of battery storage. Lava has put a serious contender in the big battery game.

December 16, 2014
Slimmest Phone in the World ‘Vivo X5 Max’ Out in India for Rs. 32,980

Earlier, we reported that the world’s slimmest smartphone will be making its debut in the Indian market soon and today it was officially unveiled. The Chinese electronic giant announced the Vivo X5 Max, which has beaten the present record holder Oppo R5.

With just 4.75 mm thickness, the phone has given slim a new definition. The device is announced at a price of Rs. 32,980, which is a bit more than expected. The X5 Max comes with a 5.5-inch Full HD display and has a screen resolution of 1080x1920p. It runs on 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 and is packed with 2 GB of RAM and Android 4.4 KitKat. On the camera front, it has a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front snapper. The device offers dual-SIM card slots with support for 4G LTE and TD-SCDMA. It holds Hi-Fi 2.0 audio and a Yamaha YSS-205X chip as well.

Oppo confirmed that its upcoming release, the R5, would not be that expensive and will come in a price bracket of Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 30,000. The R5 will launch later this month.

As told previously, BBK Electronics has partnered with Viacom 18 to promote the device. Through this joint venture, the Vivo X5 Max will be advertised on the following platforms: MTV, VH1, Colors and Comedy Central. Also, the company is likely to launch more smartphones in the market within the range of Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 40,000.

December 15, 2014
Micromax Is About To Bring Something Amazing for Yu

The wait for India’s first truly CyanogenMod based device is about to draw to a close. It has certainly been a long wait. CyanogenMod used to be just for the nerds who had the expertise in flashing custom ROMs, but OnePlus One brought it into the mainstream. Indians fans of the ROM maker were truly elated when OnePlus disclosed their plans for India. But they were disappointed to know that it won’t get support from Cyanogen because of their exclusive partnership in India with Micromax. The Indian brand is now ready to unveil its first Cyanogen powered device/devices on the 18th of December and has sent out invites for the launch.

There isn’t a lot known about the smartphone except that it will be a separate entity from Micromax’s usual Canvas line of devices. Micromax has stated some facts about this new family of devices that sound enticing. The company has said that it will service Yu devices even if they are rooted. It also hinted at probable future prospects of wearables under the Yu brand.

Following the footsteps of the OnePlus, Micromax has also set up a developers forum. Here folks can register complaints, provide suggestions and cooperate in the open source process of making the devices better.

The best part about the Yu devices would be their updatability. Updates have been a major topic of contention between Micromax and its customers. Luckily CynogenMod’s proactive update schedule will take care of all that headache. But we seriously hope they add some serious muscle in the hardware too. We really want an international standard Indian brand and Micromax needs to work a bit harder if it wants to be India’s shining glory in the international market.

December 11, 2014
Dell Introduces Rugged Extreme Series in India Starting at Rs. 2.29 Lakh

With all their amazing features, consumer electronics are still extremely delicate. Even the thought of dropping your laptop might give you goosebumps, right? They hold your entire life’s data, but they give up with a spill of water. If you are a traveller, you are always scared for your gadgetry. Dell has a solution to all your worries, well if you have the cash.

The Dell Latitude 12 and 14 Rugged Extreme follow in the footsteps of the Latitude XFR D630, which was so extreme that it was the choice of military men in the field. These badass notebooks can withstand temperatures from minus 29 degree Celsius to scorching 63 degree Celsius. These bad boys can withstand impact from a 6-foot drop. They can also take on blowing dust and rains, so these are perfect for folks whose devices face the brunt of their out worldliness.

They are not just rugged; they look extremely stylish too. They look like the briefcases used by secret agents in espionage-based movies and tv shows. Latitude 12 has the added advantage of a swivel screen with superior visibility that makes it a good outdoor device.

Latitude 12 comes with options for fourth-generation Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors. You can install up to 16 GB of RAM along with 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB hard drive options. The device also has a 8MP rear camera with LED flash. It holds a customisable RGB backlit keyboard. This tough gadget starts at a price of Rs. 2,39,999. On the other hand, Latitude 14 Rugged Extreme costs Rs. 2,29,999 with about the same specification options.

These laptops sure compliment their rugged and extreme title. Though it’s not much use to an average user, but for a man on the move, these hefty-sized laptops would be perfect companions. These are definitely the badasses of the laptop family.

December 11, 2014
Xiaomi Reportedly Banned From Importing and Selling Handsets in India

The Delhi High Court has reportedly put a halt on Xiaomi’s surging sales in India by passing an ex-parte injunction order. Hearing a case filed by Ericsson India against Xiaomi, the court on Monday passed an ex parte order from “selling, advertising, manufacturing or importing devices” that infringe upon Ericsson’s patents. In fact, the judge also directed the customs officials to stop the imports under the IPR Rules, 2007. Moreover, local commissioners too have been appointed to visit Xiaomi India offices to ensure the implementation of the order.

The adverse order in the case seems to have come about after Xiaomi allegedly ignored Ericsson’s repeated communications. Reports indicate that Flipkart is also implicated in the case, and that the Delhi High Court granted the injunction after Xiaomi did not respond to Ericsson’s missives.

In an emailed statement to NDTV Gadgets, Xiaomi India Head, Manu Jain, responded to the Delhi High Court Injunction

While we haven’t received an official notice from the Delhi High Court, our legal team is currently evaluating the situation based on the information we have.

India is a very important market for Xiaomi and we will respond promptly as needed and in full compliance with Indian laws. Moreover, we are open to working with Ericsson to resolve this matter amicably.

Xiaomi had launched its India operations in July 2014 and the country is the second largest market for the company and also the fastest growing one. It sells phones exclusively through online marketplace Flipkart via flash sales in limited numbers. In such a limited span Xiaomi has made an unparalleled impact completely throwing the domestic smart phone players off their game.

Will this injunction imply the end of Xiaomi in India? A similar incident happened with Gionee, early this year when Ericsson had managed to halt sales for the brand, but the case was resolved out of court in a matter of hours.

In Xiaomi’s case, the company may not have enough “moolah” to get away with an out of court settlement. Will India witness the rise and fall of one of the most dynamic smartphone company all in a span of 6 months?

Only time will tell…!

Update :

Not just sales, Xiaomi now shuts down its Indian website too. Following the suspension of its handsets through Flipkart, Xiaomi shut down its Indian website. The company has put out an announcement, which now contains only one page that shows the letter from its global vice president Hugo Barra addressing the Xiaomi fans. On the brighter side, the facebook page of Xiaomi is still live, so all the Xiaomi followers can stay updated.

December 10, 2014
#GOSF2014 : The Best Smartphone Deals in One Place
The Great Online Shopping Festival started today! The season for mega sales is always the best time to invest in new gadgets. This particular festival lacks good offers on smartphones, however we rounded up a few that you should definitely have a look at:

Apple iPhone 5c

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- 8MP primary camera with LED flash, auto focus, geo tagging, face detection, 1.2MP front facing camera with HD video recording and backside illumination sensor
- 4-inch multi-touch retina display with 1136 x 640 pixels resolution
- iOS 7 operating system with 8GB internal memory
- Rechargable battery providing talk-time up to 10 hours on 3G network and standby time up to 250 hours
- 1 year manufacturer warranty for device and in-box accessories including batteries from the date of purchase
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Micromax Canvas Knight A350 (Black-Gold)

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- 16MP primary camera with full HD video recording, flash, auto focus and 8MP front facing camera
- 5-inch IPS Capacitive Corning Gorilla Glass touchscreen with 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution and 16.7M color support
- Android v4.4.2 KitKat operating system with 1.7GHz octa core processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB internal memory and dual SIM (GSM+GSM)
- 2350mAH battery providing talk-time of 7 hours and standby time of 175 hours on 2G networks
- 1 year manufacturer warranty for device and 6 months manufacturer warranty for in-box accessories including batteries from the date of purchase
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Nokia Lumia 625

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- 5MP primary camera with LED flash, full HD video recording, 4x digital zoom and 0.3MP front facing camera
- 4.7-inch WVGA Capacitive touchscreen with 480 x 800 pixels resolution and 16M color support
- Windows 8 (Windows 8.1) with 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual core processor, 512MB RAM and 8GB internal memory expandable up to 64GB
- 2000mAH battery providing talk-time of 23 hours on 2G and 15 hours on 3G networks and standby time of 552 hours on 2G network
- 1 year manufacturer warranty for device and 6 months manufacturer warranty for in-box accessories including batteries from the date of purchase
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Lenovo A526

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- 5MP primary camera with fixed focus and 0.3MP front facing camera
- 4.5-inch FWVGA multi-touch capacitive touchscreen with 854 x 480 pixels resolution
- Android v4.2 Jelly Bean operating system with 1.3GHz quad core processor, 1GB RAM, 4GB internal memory expandable up to 32GB and dual SIM (3G+3G) (GSM+GSM)
- 2000mAH battery providing talk-time of 5 hours on 2G, 3 hours on 3G networks, standby time of 396 hours on 2G and 300 hours on 3G networks
- 1 year manufacturer warranty for device and 6 months manufacturer warranty for in-box accessories including batteries from the date of purchase
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December 10, 2014
#GOSF2014 : The Best Laptop Deals in One Place
The Great Online Shopping Festival started today! The season for mega sales is always the best time to invest in new gadgets. With over 400 participating brands, we help you scour through the deals and highlight the top ones.

Dell Inspiron 3541

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- AMD E1-6010 APU with Radeon(TM) R2 Graphics
- 4GB RAM DDR3L 1600MHz
- 500GB 5400 rpm SATA Hard Drive
- AMD Integrated Graphics
- 15.6 inch LED Backlit Display
- Truelife and HD resolution (1366 x 768)
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Apple MacBook Air 13-inch

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- Processor: 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache
- RAM: 4GB of 1600MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
- HDD: 128GB PCIe-based Solid State Flash Storage
- Display: 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display (1440×900 native resolution) with Intel HD Graphics 5000
- Operating System: Mac OS x Mavericks
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Asus X550CA-XX545D 15.6-inch Laptop

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- 1.8-GHz Intel Core_i3_3217U Processor
- 2GB DDR3 RAM
- 500GB Hard Disk Size
- 15.6-inch Screen, Intel HD 4000
- DOS operating system
- HD Camera
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Dell Vostro 3546 Laptop with Laptop Bag

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- 1.7 GHz Intel Core i3-4005U 4th Gen Processor
- 4GB RAM
- 500GB Hard Disk
- 15.6 inch Screen
- Linux, Ubuntu Operating System
- Intel HD Graphics 4400
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Dell Inspiron 3542 Laptop (Silver)

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- 1.7 GHz Intel Core i3-4005U 4th Gen Processor
- 4GB RAM
- 500 GB Hard Drive
- 15.6 inch Screen
- Windows 8 Operating System
- Integrated Graphics
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December 10, 2014
It’s Loud and Clear, Cyanogen Not to Provide OTA Updates for Indian OnePlus One

There has been a lot of confusion amongst Indian buyers about the updates on the One. CyanogenMod was one of the most prominent features of the OnePlus One. The regular updates along with amazing customizability features made the phone everybody’s dream come true. The Indian customers have had to wait a long while for the taste of the One and it got soured by the reports of Indian devices not getting any updates. That fear, unfortunately, became officially confirmed today.

CyanogenMod officially announced that it won’t be sending any OTA updates to the OnePlus devices that are bought in India. The company had previously said in a blog post that it will be providing support to the global devices in India. The keyword was “global devices” and devices sold directly in India won’t be getting the OTA updates. The company made it clear this time around saying in its blog post,“If a user in India purchased a OnePlus One global device in channels outside of India, they will receive our OTA firmware updates. However, this excludes OnePlus One regional devices sold directly in India.”

The company also mentioned loud and clear that the reason behind this discrimination is Cyanogen’s exclusive partnership with Micromax to make the YU devices. If you still want to use CyanogenMod on your device then you can easily flash the CyanogenMod ROM on it. OnePlus still has a global partnership with CyanogenMod, so the global Ones are covered for a considerable period.

But this news shouldn’t get the potential customers of the One disappointed as OnePlus has said that it has better backup plans. The company plans to bring in its own OS based on Android Lollipop. The company says that a production build will be ready by as soon as February. OnePlus says that this OS will be bloat-free and will bring a stock Android experience along with the new Material design.

Though it’s an unfortunate news for the Indian consumers, many have waited for months to get their hands on the flagship killer. Cyanogen’s updates made the phone so flawless; OnePlus has a serious challenge of matching the rapid updates and bug fixes provided by Cyanogen. The company would have to come up with an exceptional OS of its own to keep the device on the high pedestal it sits on.

December 10, 2014
Exclusive: Google Chromecast Arrives in India Tomorrow Exclusively via Snapdeal

A source close to iGyaan has revealed that Google Chromecast is now going to be available for purchase in India. The unique device that helps mirror everything from your tablet and smartphone to your TV is arriving on 9th December i.e. tomorrow. Google Chromecast is the perfect device for those who enjoy the luxuries of big screen viewing.

Sources also revealed that the news will be announced at the Google Online Shopping Festival and the device will be available exclusively on Snapdeal. The company is also building a development platform for Chromecast users for easy viewing on smartphones. Google has partnered with telecommunication giant Airtel to provide customers cost-effective data packs for the same.

A Little About Chromecast

Chromecast is a thumb-sized medium through which you can easily transfer viewing from your laptop, Android phone and tablet to TV. For this, your mobile becomes your personalised remote control. You can browse your favourite movies, videos and more and cast it on your TV. You can pause, play, rewind, make playlists and can even control the volume. Just plug in, connect and enjoy. In short, it’s a whole new way to enjoy video viewing.

December 8, 2014
Apple Finally Gives India the Attention it Deserves, Plans to Set Up More Than 500 Stores

India is fast becoming the go-to market for technology-based companies to try out their luck. A growing middle class with its increased purchasing power is growing more comfortable with experimenting with offerings of various companies. Almost every global company sees India as a potential market for their product. Every company is trying to impress the Indian consumer with better features and improved updates. Apple too understands the importance of this market and hence is pushing for an aggressive growth in the number of stores across the country.

The Cupertino-based technology superpower is planning to set up over 500 stores across the length and breadth of India. The company seems to have finally recognized the importance of our country to increase their hold on the international market. The company is already a major player in next door China and actively competes against the big brands there.

Meanwhile, India has mostly been Android dominated. A mass variety of offerings based on everyone’s preferences and budgets are available in the Android ecosystem. iPhones and other Apple offerings are seen as aspirational, as well as often berated for their high price values. But there is still a large Apple fan base which is almost as fanatical in support of the products from the company.

The stores will be set up in smaller towns and cities such as Amritsar, Pathankot, Moga, Coimbatore, Trichy, Nagpur and Nasik as the company sees a big number of potential consumers there. These stores are going to be small though, about 300-600 sq ft as opposed to the ones in bigger cities with a size of 2,000 sq ft. Apple will also be increasing its investments in direct advertising in the country.

Apple has been in India since 2011 but has till now operated with two distributors, Redington and Ingram. It is not sure as of yet how the business plan will incorporate the distributors as of yet. It is anticipated though that the company might adopt a franchise model to bring its products to the consumers. Reliance is also one of the reseller for Apple and had a 5 year contract with the company. But Apple might drop this partnership as they feel the service offered by Reliance is not up to their standards.

It sure is a great thing that Apple is putting its focus on the Indian soil. The setting up of 500 stores also means that any release by Apple will immediately come to India. This will surely increase competition amongst other brands to counter the giant. In the end, the winner will be the Indian consumer, who is already getting giddy with all the amazing options to choose from.

December 5, 2014
Planning on Buying the OnePlus One in India? Here’s All You Need to Know

OnePlus One is denoted as the smartphone of the decade. The cult smartphone has been termed as the ‘Flagship Killer’ for its amazing features and price, and the good news is that it is now coming to India. OnePlus One will still be sold in India through India-specific invites with an exclusive availability on Amazon.in. The company is holding a press event on 2nd December to launch the smartphone in New Delhi. Here are some pointers to go through before you decide to get the One.

India-Specific Invites Vs. Global Invites

If you have a global invite, you can buy it from http://OnePlus.net/one but then the OnePlus website doesn’t offer shipping to India. However, there is a way around. You can pay a courier forwarding service like PPO Box to get it shipped to India, which will cost some extra bucks. Global invites are easy to come as they are periodically shared on Facebook groups and can be asked from a person who already has a OnePlus One.

The company planned to give away the Indian invites for those who registered at OnePlus.net/in for the newsletter. The selected people will get an email tomorrow with a confirmation link. Once you get the invite, you’ll have 48 hours to purchase the One, otherwise the invite will expire.

Amazon is regularly conducting competitions like ‘One in a 1000’ to give away the invites. In the competition, people were asked to share a photo of OnePlus ‘Never Settle’ and out of those people, invites were given to a selected few. Once the first batch of the One is sold, the users can forward the invites to other people like global invites.

Warranty

The One purchased by global invites will not come under warranty in India as explained by the CEO Carl Pei. There is quite a confusion about this, however, it is said that once India gets included in the list of OnePlus One countries, the global warranty will be valid in India too. Anyhow, this was not an official statement and still it is not clear how the company is planning to handle the warranty system.

Cyanogen Updates

The company has shared some disappointing news on its official blog. Well, Cyanogen had granted exclusive rights in India over the Cyanogen system to another company. That means, the flagship killer will be reaching the country with the popular Cyanogen OS onboard for now. However, it won’t be getting any official support or future updates. The company also added that the One will continue to be supported globally and receive frequent OTAs.

The reason for this disappointment is a recent agreement between Cyanogen and homegrown smartphone maker Micromax, through which the latter has exclusive rights to offer devices with the custom platform in India. So, while the company has no other choice than to bring the OnePlus One to the country with the CM11S OS inside, it’ll be developing its own firmware as a replacement in the future.

Also, people who bought the phone from the global invites will continue to get the OTA updates. However, Indian users can root their phones (which doesn’t void the warranty) and install the CyanogenMod Installer from the Play Store, and the latest version of CM ROM (Android) will run on your One.

Service Centres

As of now, there is no information about how the company is planning to provide services in the country. This is one of the major concerns for the Indian users who have purchased the device through global invites. The company is expected to officially announce what are they planning to do in this area tomorrow, so stay tuned.

The iGyaan Verdict

The Oneplus One 64 GB variant is expected to cost around Rs. 24,990 while the 16 GB variant is likely to come at a price of Rs. 19,990. Although the prices are slightly more than the $ price, they are much less than the Indian price of major flagships. So for the price of one LG G3, HTC One M8 etc you could typically get , “One Plus One” = 2 phones.

If you can get your hands on an invite today, do not think twice and get the phone, in fact you should have owned it yesterday.

For everything else, watch our full review here:

December 1, 2014
Selfie-Friendly Microsoft Lumia 535 Comes to India at Rs. 9,199

Microsoft has today launched the Lumia 535 in India. The first ever non-Nokia Lumia smartphone will be available from 28th November onwards at a price of Rs. 9,199.

The global release of the smartphone held earlier this month. Lumia 535 is an affordable smartphone which will stand against Android blockbusters like Moto E, Zenfone 5 among other. Apart from the affordable price, Microsoft has targeted the selfie market with the 5 MP wide-angle selfie camera at the front. There is also a 5MP camera at the back, which is accompanied by flash.

As for specifications, the Lumia 535 flaunts a 5-inch QHD (960×540 pixels) display and is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor paired with 1 GB of RAM. Also included is 8 GB internal storage that can be further expanded up to 128 GB using a microSD card.

The company is offering 15 GB free OneDrive storage with the phone. The device packs a 1905mAh battery, which the company claims is good enough for 11 hours of talk time and up to 23 days on standby mode. Connectivity options include dual-SIM card slots, 3G support, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, and on the software front, it runs on Windows Phone 8.1 with Lumia Denim update.

In the launch, Microsoft announced a handful of offers with the Lumia 535. These include 500 MB of free data for Vodafone users for a period of two months, Jabong gift vouchers worth Rs. 6,000 applicable for three months, Flipkart eBooks worth Rs. 1,500 and two months of BoxTv subscription worth Rs. 720.

November 26, 2014
The Chronicles of The One : OnePlus One’s Journey To India

OnePlus One, or as it is called the ‘Flagship Killer’, has made numerous followers with its impressive design and built quality at a low-end price. Now that the legendary handset is on its way to India, we are rewinding a year to look at how the company was formed and how they are able to reach where they are now.

December 2013

OnePlus was founded on 17th December 2013, in China by Pete Lau, previous Vice President at OPPO, with its headquarter in Shenzhen. The company’s motto is to ‘bringing the best possible technology to users around the world.’ Created around the mantra Never Settle, OnePlus aims to create beautifully designed devices with premium build quality.

January 2014

On 13th January, 2014, Pete introduced OnePlus in a launch event in Beijing as well as its partnership with CyanogenMod. The company said that it would be responsible for the development and design of the hardware, while CyanogenMod would be responsible for the operating system.

April 2014

On 23th April, 2014, Pete announced that the first OnePlus smartphone, the OnePlus One, which will have Qualcomm SnapdragonTM 801 MSM8974AC processor, 3 GB of RAM, a 3100mAh battery, 5.5-inch, 1080p (401ppi) display, and a 13MP Sony Exmor IMX 214 sensor camera. The phone retails for $299 for 16 GB version and $349 for 64 GB version in the US.

On 25th April 2014, OnePlus began its ‘Smash the Past’ campaign. The promotion asked selected participants to make a video while destroying their phones if they wish to purchase the OnePlus One for $1 (US). However, the promotion was misinterpreted and many unselected users destroyed their phones before the promotion start date.

The campaign was highly criticised for environmental waste and safety concerns as the batteries and phone components could have posed a potential threat to those destroying their phones. The company asked the winners to donate their old phones. There were 140,000 entrants in the contest, while just 100 got the most desired phone.

July 2014

On 22nd July, OnePlus announced the release of Bamboo Back Cover edition of the OnePlus One and attracted the attention of Chinese and global users alike.

August 2014

In a contest at the end of August 2014, 10,000 invites were given out, and furthermore it was announced that the invitation system itself would end in October. The company took up #hashtags to choose the lucky winners by launching the contest called #summershot. The interested people had to post a picture that they took in summer and share it on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtags #summershots and #oneplus.

On 13th August, 2014, OnePlus asked its female fans to post a photo of themselves along with OnePlus logo to the company’s forums and the fan with the most votes would receive an invite to purchase a OnePlus One. Hours after the announcement, the campaign was stopped stating that a few ‘rogue’ employees created it.

September 2014

On 18th September, the company announced that it is going to kill off the invite system and stop limiting who gets its unique smartphone. The pre-order page should have been up in September, but unforeseen problems delayed its launch. OnePlus officially announced that starting in late October for a limited time, anyone who wants a OnePlus One can order the phone online. If OnePlus has your phone in stock, it will ship immediately, but if the company’s sold out, you’ll be added to the pre-order list. However, that means if a lot of people order the phone, pre-orders may get pushed back for a long time.

October 2014

The company announced that OnePlus One will soon be launched in India. There was no solid date announced, however, reports hinted the September release. After sometimes, the company confirmed that it will release India-specific invites to prospective ‘One’ consumers online.

November 2014

On 4th November, Co-Founder Carl Pei told Forbes that OnePlus has now sold 500,000 smartphones and is aiming for one million by 2015. In an interaction with The Indian Express, the company claimed that the invite system will prevent shortage of devices for potential customers in India. The invite process is also fair and transparent then the flash sale model. The 64 GB variant is expected to come for less than Rs. 25,000 ($407 approx), which was a bit above the expected price range. However, it still is a great offering if its specs are taken into account.

The company’s newly appointed General Manager for OnePlus India, Vikas Agarwal, posted in a forum on 22nd November, “Firstly, we are thrilled to confirm that the One will be available for our Indian users in December. We can’t wait to bring your favourite phone to your hands. As all the details have now been perfected and last-mile hurdles have been cleared, the exact launch date will soon be announced in the coming days on our forums.”

On 26th November, i.e. today, the company rolled out the invites for the event where it is expected to launch OnePlus One in India. In a teaser image posted on amazon.in, the e-commerce giant said that the smartphone, popularly known as a ‘Flagship Killer’, is expected to be available in the coming days. Amazon India, who has got the exclusive rights to sell the OnePlus One, said on an official teaser, “The Smartphone you have been waiting for, is coming soon,” accompanied by an image of the One and hashtag ‘#TheOneThing’.

Well, we don’t have to wait for long to find out how we can get our hands on the ‘Flagship Killer’.

Our Review of the OnePlus One!

November 26, 2014
Google Rethinking its Sales Strategy for Android One in India

Google’s Android One initiative has been struggling to get hold of the Indian market since its release. However, the budget segment is so crowded with some amazing smartphones like Moto E, Zenfone 5, Redmi 1S and more that there is simply no space for any other device with same specs.

Android One’s first and foremost advantage was the Google’s direct involvement, which meant speedy software updates. However, that also seems to go down the drain as Android One devices still haven’t got the Lollipop update. The company launched the Android One in September, but it has faced some challenges in the market.

Offline retailers have been complaining about low margins for the device. Another big issue was related to its constrained supply. But despite these challenges, around 5 lakh Android One devices have been sold by Micromax, Karbonn and Spice by October-end, according to reports.

Sandeep Menon, Director of Marketing at Google India, commented on the issue, “We continue to get strong consumer demand. We track things like average number of people walking into stores and asking for Android One devices. From that perspective we are extremely happy. Pricing and margins for retailers are in the hands of the OEM partners but we are constantly engaged with them. Our engineers are working with new suppliers in China to benefit OEM partners in terms of choice and availability.”

Even though Menon seemed confident about the sales, the recent reports have shown that Android One devices have been struggling to break into the market and haven’t been able to reach sales goal that the company expected. In order to hook more offline consumers, Google is working on creating awareness about Android One’s features through 30,000 brand ambassadors deployed at various retail outlets.

According to concerned officials, the demand for Android One has increased further after making the product available in the offline channel. Google is trying to make the device a successful initiative as the global rollout of Android One depends on how the device has performed in India.

But that’s not a situation Google has to confront for now. “Our global rollout of Android One is as per the original schedule. There’s no change in that,” said Menon, promising that there would be new announcements on Android One over the next few months.

November 25, 2014