Tag: Micromax Yu

Micromax Yu Expected to be Priced for Rs.12,999 and Come with 4G Support

UPDATE: Micromax released the device by the name Yureka on the 18th of December and the price was listed as Rs. 8999.

Micromax is all set to unveil its new brand ‘Yu’ tomorrow. The brand will be based on CyanogenMod and will provide immense customization options and regular updates for the customers. The exclusive partnership with Cyanogen will help Micromax battle some of the long-standing grievances against the company. The device under the new brand has been spotted on import/export website Zauba.

According to the listing on the website, the Yu device is imported from China with a unit price of Rs. 8,301. The device has a 5.5-inch display and supports Micro SD cards. It is a dual SIM device with 4G LTE support.

You can expect the price to be around Rs. 12,999 which seems okay for an LTE device. Considering the available data, we can expect a decent spec sheet. But does it have enough to take on the global leader of Cyanogen device, the OnePlus One? Well, today Micromax was in news for filing a case against OnePlus in India to preserve its exclusive rights on Cyanogen, so it doesn’t have to fear any challenges in that sphere. We are still hoping for a good act by Micromax for its new brand and hope the company provides a better quality of service than in the past.

Thanks Pritpal for the tip!

December 17, 2014
Amazon All Set and Ready for the Micromax ‘Yu’ Launch

Micromax’s CynogenMod-powered new brand called ‘Yu’ is just a couple of days away. Amazon, which would be exclusively launching the device, is all prepped to host the new brand. A new page for the brand is up and it will get a lot of folks excited.

Using the strengths of CyanogenMod’s amazing features, Micromax hopes to climb up the ladders in the points tally. This may be possible as CyanogenMod is one of the most appreciated custom ROM’s out there which not just gives you amazing customization features, it also adds regular updates. The updates bit would really help Micromax’s image as the company has been constantly berated for its low quality after sales support.

Amazon is presently hosting a page that simply shows an unmarked phone with the words “Are you ready to Play God” written on it. It is followed by a tagline that says “The Zeus of phones is about to arrive,” which rather sounds like an overstatement.

The accompanying video on the page flaunts the customizability features. But weirdly the phone that they are featuring looks pretty close to the OnePlus One – the smartphone that can be credited with bringing CyanogenMod in the mainstream.

Yu comes to town on the 18th of this month, and we hope with this new release, Micromax raises the standards of Indian made devices. The company has also talked about the possibilities of wearables in the future, which would help it compete with the big brands. It has constantly risen up, and Cyanogen can help the company to rise further in the game. All it needs to do now is revamp and strengthen its after sales service because that will add immense credibility to the company’s reputation.

December 16, 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
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
Micromax Fast Capturing Samsung’s Rapidly Losing Ground

A few months back, Samsung got its first jolt in rating when Xiaomi kicked it from the top of the podium to second spot in China. A few days later, Samsung was overtaken in the Indian market by the homeboy Micromax in Q2 2014. Samsung denied the news and said that it was still at the top. Well, seems like Samsung’s woes have not finished yet.

Market research firm IDC is reporting a drastic fall in Samsung’s market share. At the same time, Micromax is showing positive gains. While Samsung slipped from 29% market share to 24%, Micromax gained a healthy lead of 2 percent and went from 18% to 20%.

Samsung’s sales have been falling over the last couple of years. The culprit can easily be found. The electronic giant has not brought any exceptional device in a while, and even the innovative Note 4 is out of the reach of the average consumers. Samsung is also facing stiff competition from Chinese and Indian brands who are fast adopting high specs, low price formula.

Though Micromax too doesn’t have any exceptional device in its portfolio, its Indian brand appeal comes to its rescue. The company has been berated for its unsavory after sales service. Recently, the company has hinted at making products based on CyanogenMod that would take care of most of its headaches. The custom ROM is known globally for its stock android experience with amazing customisability features and regular updates. The CyanogenMod-based devices will be released under the brand name ‘Yu’ and are expected to be launched next month. If Micromax plays its cards right, it can literally go places with the Yu. The advice for Samsung has been around for a while, it is to go back to the drawing board and start from scratch, and finally the company is paying heed to it. We just have to wait another quarter to know the further fate of these companies.

November 28, 2014
Micromax Launches Cyanogen-Powered Brand ‘Yu’ for Advanced Users

Micromax, the second biggest smartphone company in India, has some great plans for the upcoming future. Now with the intention of providing a unique user experience, the company unveiled their new brand called Yu.

According to the company’s Yu Televentures, will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Micromax Informatics. It’s the offspring of a tie-up between Micromax and Cyanogen. Cyanogen is, of course, known world over for making one of the best custom ROM’s for Android smartphones. So this tie-up will surely mean good things for the Indian consumers.

Micromax co-founder Rahul Sharma said “This will be a game changer, not just in India, but globally too. Yu has been envisioned for building an ecosystem of connected devices and offer customized experience to users.”

Considering the use for a device with heavy customizability is for advanced users, the products of the brand Yu will be sold online. The company is currently in talks with e-commerce companies to pave a path for the roll out of these devices. The first device from this brand will be introduced next month.

In line with the open source nature of Cyanogen, Yu will be setting up a forum where the users can contribute with ideas and tweaks for the operating system. The suggestions from this forum might get incorporated in the fortnightly updates. For folks who complain about the unavailability of updates on Indian manufacturers, this should be welcoming news.

November 18, 2014