Nokia 225 Dual SIM Feature Phone Launched in India at Rs. 3,199

Nokia 225 Dual SIM feature phone has been listed on company's online store at Rs. 3,199. The phone is available in black, white, red, and yellow colour options.

The Nokia 225 Dual SIM and its single SIM avatar, the Nokia 225, were announced in April. The two phones boast identical specifications, apart from the obvious difference in the number of SIMs.

The feature phones come with a 2.8-inch LCD Transmissive display which offers a QVGA (240x320) resolution and a pixel density of 142ppi. They run Nokia OS Series 30+ and sport a 2-megapixel rear camera. Connectivity options include Bluetooth, GPRS and Micro-USB. The phones come with expandable storage up to 32GB with the help of microSD card.

The Nokia 225 and Nokia 225 Dual SIM pack a 1200mAh battery that is rated to deliver up to 21 hours of talk time, and up to 648 hours of standby time on the dual-SIM variant. The phones sport dimensions of 124x55.5x10.4mm and weigh 100.6 grams.

The phones come with a digital clock, recorder, calculator, clock, calendar, converter, alarm clock, reminders, phonebook, alarm clock with ringtones, and flashlight. They also feature the Nokia Xpress Browser, which now includes Bing search built-in.

Nokia 225 Dual SIM

• KEY SPECS
• 
  

Display

2.80-inch

Processor

Front Camera

No

Resolution

240x320 pixels

RAM

OS

Series 30

Storage

Rear Camera

2-megapixel

Battery capacity

1200mAh

Motorola Moto E Launched in India Carrying a Price Tag of Rs. 6,999

Motorola has launched its dual-SIM budget smartphone Moto E in India carrying a price tag of Rs. 6,999. The phone will be available exclusively via online retailer Flipkart from Wednesday.

Motorola Moto E comes with 4.3-inch display with a qHD (540x960 pixel) resolution, and 256ppi pixel density. Motorola is also touting the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 screen of the phone, along with its 'water-nano coating' which provides a measure of water resistance.

It is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor along with Adreno 302 GPU alongside 1GB of RAM. The Moto E is a dual-SIM phone that supports Micro-SIM cards and an 'intelligent calling feature.' It runs on Android 4.4 KitKat.

( Also see: Moto E vs. Moto G )

Motorola's latest budget offering comes with a 5-megapixel rear camera, but just like the Lumia 630 launched on Monday, it has no flash or front camera, which will disappoint many. The Moto E comes with 4GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD card up to 32GB.

The smartphone is backed by a 1980mAh battery and sports 124.8x64.8x12.3 dimensions, while weighing 142 grams. Connectivity options include 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS with GLONASS, Bluetooth 4.0, Micro-USB, FM radio and 3.5mm audio jack.

Moto E comes in multiple colourful rear shell options including Black, Lemon, and Turquoise.

India will be amongst the first set of markets that will be getting the Moto E. The phone is currentlylisted in Black and White variants on Flipkart.

The company also touted some software features of the Moto E, such as Motorola Assist, Alert, and Migrate.

Motorola sees Android 4.4 KitKat as a key differentiator for its range, claiming that 88 percent of Moto G and 91 percent of Moto X users run Android 4.4 KitKat, compared to 8.5 percent of all Android users.

At the launch event in Delhi, Motorola announced that it was now operating in 44 countries. The company claimed that the Moto G had been very successful, terming it the best selling smartphone that Motorola has produced. The Moto G was the "top selling phone in Brazil," Motorola added.

Motorola Moto E

• KEY SPECS
• 
  

Display

4.30-inch

Processor

1.2GHz

Front Camera

No

Resolution

540x960 pixels

RAM

1GB

OS

Android 4.4

Storage

4GB

Rear Camera

5-megapixel

Battery capacity

1980mAh

Samsung Launches Range of Full-HD and 4K UHD Curved LED TVs in India

Samsung on Wednesday announced the launch of its 2014 Curved TV range in India. The lineup includes what the company is calling "the world's first Curved UHD (4K) TV."

While the jury is still out on the advantages of a curved panel, manufacturers like Samsung believe curved TVs are the next phase in the evolution of the home viewing experience; offering "a deeper sense of depth, wider viewing angles and a clearer picture quality with higher contrast levels creating a more immersive viewing experience from virtually any viewing position or angle."

Samsung has launched two range of Curved TVs - ones with UHD (4K) display, that has four-times the resolution of a full-HD panel, and the other with standard full-HD resolution.

The Samsung H9000 Series of curved UHD (4K) LED SmartTVs with 3D support have been launched in two sizes: Rs. 4,49,900 for the 65-inch and Rs. 3,29,900 for the 55-inch.

The TVs come with UHD upscaling, which converts full-HD, HD and lower resolution sources to nearly-UHD clarity through a four-step process that includes signal analysis, noise reduction, upscaling and detail analysis.

Samsung's UHD TVs support today's standards like the HEVC, HDMI 2.0, MHL 3.0 and HDCP 2.2 and the company claims they are 'future-proof' thanks to the Samsung UHD Evolution Kit. The One Connect Box essentially houses the brains of the TV externally, enabling customers to switch out the box with the latest Samsung UHD Evolution Kit (at an extra cost) to stay up to date on the latest UHD standards.

Samsung also used the launch event in Delhi to showcases its flagship 105-inch Curved UHD TV which will be available in the country second half of the year.

The Samsung H8000 Series of curved full-HD LED SmartTVs with 3D support have been launched in three sizes: Rs. 3,85,900 for the 65-inch, Rs. 2,51,900 for the 55-inch, and Rs. 1,62,900 for the 48-inch TV.

Samsung also launched the HU7000 series of flat (i.e. not curved) UHD (4K) TVs which will be available at Rs. 4,09,900 for 65-inch, Rs. 2,93,900 for 55-inch, and Rs. 1,04,900 for the 40-inch.

All new TVs come with a new, faster Samsung Smart Hub and the Multi-Link (Dual) feature that lets you access live TV and streaming video/ webpages from the Internet side-by-side. The TVs are now powered by what Samsung calls a "Quad Core Plus" processor that "is up to two times faster and delivers quicker loading and navigation with an overall improved Smart TV performance."

Speaking on the launch, Mr. S.K. Kim, Managing Director, Sales at Samsung India said, "In 2014, Samsung is opening a new era of Curved TV with the ultimate immersive viewing experience. With the launch of world's first Curved UHD TV, Samsung is blending its innovative Curved form factor with its UHD TV technology. With this launch, we are further augmenting our robust product portfolio in the home entertainment segment."

Oppo Find 7 with Quad-HD display to be launched in India by mid-2014

Chinese manufacturer Oppo has announced that the company will launch its latest flagship Find 7 in India in mid-2014. Oppo had recently unveiled the smartphone in China alongside the its lite-variant, the Oppo Find 7a.

In a media statement, Oppo Mobiles India's CEO Tom Lu said the company has plans to expand its India portfolio to 10 smartphones by the end of this year, by releasing five more devices.

"India is emerging as the fastest growing smartphone market in the world. As such, we're very optimistic about the growth of the Oppo brand, which is known globally for its superior technology and innovative products. The Oppo N1 marked our entry into the Indian market and our forthcoming products including the soon-to-be-launched Oppo Find 7 will enable us to replicate our global success story here. We are also aggressively focusing on steady market expansion and after-sales service network in order to enhance our customer outreach and satisfaction" added Lu.

So far, the Oppo Find 7 has been priced only for the Chinese market at CNY 3,498 (Rs. 34,500 approximately), and is scheduled to hit retail shelves in May or June.

The world's first smartphone to sport a QHD display, the Oppo Find 7's 5.5-inch screen offers a resolution of 1440x2560 pixels and boasts of an impressive 538ppi pixel density. The smartphone runs a customised Android 4.3 Jelly Bean OS, which the company dubs Color OS 1.2.

The Find 7 is powered by a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AC) processor, clubbed with 3GB of RAM and 32GB inbuilt storage with expandable storage support.

The Oppo Find 7 sports a 13-megapixel Sony Exmor IMX214 sensor rear camera with LED flash, and also houses a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with BSI sensor. It packs a 3000mAh battery, which the company says can charge up to 75 percent in 30-minutes of charging thanks to the Rapid Charge technology. Connectivity options on the smartphone include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS/ A-GPS, USB OTG (on-the-go), 3G and 4G LTE.

For now, Oppo has not detailed if the lite-variant Find 7a will be launched in India as well, and we'll have to wait and see which devices Oppo plans to bring to the country.

Oppo Find 7

• KEY SPECS
• NEWS

Display

5.50-inch

Processor

2.5GHz

Front Camera

5-megapixel

Resolution

1440x2560 pixels

RAM

3GB

OS

Android 4.3

Storage

32GB

Rear Camera

13-megapixel

Battery capacity

3000mAh

BlackBerry restocks Z10 smartphones in India at Rs. 17,990

Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry on Wednesday replenished stocks of its Z10 touchscreen model that was sold out in India after a 60 percent discount on the price.

"BlackBerry Z10 has now been restocked across BlackBerry's retail network across the country and on Flipkart.com," the company's director for distribution in India, Sameer Bhatia, said in a statement.

The device will be available for Rs 17,990, according to the statement.

BlackBerry launched the Z10 about a year ago for Rs 43,990. The price was dropped to Rs 29,990 in September.

On February 25, the company offered the phone at Rs 17,990 for a limited period. The model sold out within a week, although it was available on some e-commerce sites at a 22-50 percent higher price.

Blackberry lowered handset prices in the face of losses due to declining sales and build-up of inventory across the globe. In December, the company offered incentives on handset sales, especially devices built on its latest platform BlackBerry 10.

BlackBerry posted a loss of $4.4 billion in its third quarter ended November 30, mainly due to unsold handsets.

The company recorded a primarily non-cash, pre-tax charge against inventory and supply commitments of approximately $1.6 billion in the quarter of fiscal 2014, which was primarily attributable to BlackBerry 10 devices.

During the quarter, BlackBerry sold about 4.3 million smartphones to customers, of which 3.2 million were BlackBerry 7 devices, including models such as the BlackBerry Curve, Bold and Torch.

Moto X to launch in India on Wednesday carrying a Rs. 23,999 price tag

Motorola's Moto X has reached Indian shores and will be available at Rs. 23,999.

As NDTV Gadgets exclusively reported last week, the phone will go on sale starting Wednesday, 19 March. Flipkart announced the news on Twitter and said, "Big news! The #MotoX will start at Rs. 23999 and is releasing tomorrow!"

Flipkart further revealed that the Motorola's 2013 flagship smartphone will be available in five colour variants, while the wood back version will be retailing at Rs. 25,999.

Flipkart also confirmed in response to a query on Twitter that the 32GB variant of the Moto X has not been planned for the country and the e-commerce website will only be selling the 16GB model of the Moto X in India.

The online retailer has also revealed few launch day offers for the Moto X which includes flat 70 percent off on Moto X cases, on purchase of Moto X smartphone.

In addition, Flipkart has revealed that the Moto X will go on sale during the day, and will not be a midnight release. About the colour variants, the online retailer has confirmed that the Black and White colour variants of Moto X will be in stock on March 19, while other colour options will be available on pre-order.

The Moto X launch comes a few weeks after the successful launch of budget smartphone Moto G(Review) in the country, also via Flipkart.

The Moto X, a customisable Android smartphone was launched in August last year and was initially available in US only. The smartphone natively ran Android 4.2 Jelly Bean; however Motorola rolled out the Android 4.4.2 KitKat update in November last year.

As of now, there is no word from Motorola or Flipkart, whether the Moto X releasing in India on March 19 will run Android 4.4.2 out-of-the-box.

The Moto X features a 4.7-inch display with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels. It is powered by a 1.7GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8960Pro Snapdragon processor along with 2GB of RAM. There is 16GB of inbuilt storage, which is non-expandable. It also sports a 10-megapixel rear camera accompanied by an LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.

Motorola Moto X

• KEY SPECS
• 
  

Display

4.70-inch

Processor

1.7GHz

Front Camera

2-megapixel

Resolution

720x1280 pixels

RAM

2GB

OS

Android 4.2

Storage

16GB

Rear Camera

10-megapixel

Battery capacity

2200mAh

Facebook-WhatsApp deal may be scrutinised by India's fair trade regulator CCI

Facebook's $19 billion deal (Rs 1,16,000 crore) to acquire WhatsApp may face a detailed scrutiny by the country's fair trade regulator CCI, especially since both players have significant presence in India.

The world's largest social networking site Facebook has around 1.2 billion members globally while WhatsApp - a platform that allows exchange of messages and files through mobile phones free of cost - is estimated to have 450 million users worldwide.

All merger and acquisition deals, involving companies having India presence, have to get approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) which has the mandate to keep a tab on unfair trade practices at the market place.

A senior official said the Commission is yet to receive an application seeking approval for the deal, but it would indeed face an elaborate scrutiny.

Both Facebook and WhatsApp have substantial number of customers in India and they may soon file a notice with CCI to seek its clearance for the deal.

While India has nearly 93 million Facebook users, the count of people using the popular WhatsApp service is around 40 million in the country.

Meanwhile, concerns are already being raised in certain quarters about privacy issues post deal. Privacy groups in the US have asked American fair trade regulator FTC to put the deal on hold and probe how the social media giant plans to use subscriber data.

US-based Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) have asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate WhatsApp and enjoin its "unfair and deceptive data collection practices" for any future changes to its privacy policy.

Announcing the deal to acquire WhatsApp last month, Facebook said it would help accelerate growth and user engagement across both companies.

As per the deal, Facebook would shell out USD 16 billion, including USD 4 billion in cash and approximately USD 12 billion worth of shares for WhatsApp acquisition.

Besides, the social networking major would provide additional USD 3 billion in restricted stock units to WhatsApp's founders and employees that would vest over four years subsequent to closing