LG L70 Dual and L90 Dual with Android 4.4 now available online in India

Two of the latest smartphones in the new LG 'L Series III' range, the L70 Dual and L90 Dual, are now available in India via an e-commerce website for Rs. 14,500 and Rs. 17,499 respectively. However, both the devices L70 Dual and L90 Dual are yet to be officially launched by the company.

The South Korean consumer electronics giant had announced that the L90 smartphone would begin rolling out globally starting March. The company had revealed that the biggest smartphone in the L Series III family, the L90, would be initially available in Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region followed by other markets.

Notably, the LG L90 Dual has been listed on the company's official India site without pricing, while the LG L70 Dual is not yet listed.

The LG 70 Dual and L90 Dual are currently listed as available on Snapdeal.

LG unveiled the third-generation of L Series smartphone, the L90, L70 and L40, at MWC 2014.

The LG L70 Dual and L90 Dual run Android 4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box, and this is a highlight of the two devices in LG's budget smartphone line-up.

The LG L70 Dual features a 4.5-inch with an IPS LCD display, packing a 400x800 pixels resolution. The smartphone comes with 1GB of RAM, and is paired with a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon 200 processor. The LG L70 Dual, as the name suggests, comes with dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) functionality. It sports an 8-megapixel rear camera and also houses a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera. It comes with 4GB of built-in storage, which can be expanded up to 32GB. The device will be backed-up by a 2100mAh removable battery. The LG L70 Dual measures 127.2 x 66.8 x 9.5mm in dimensions.

The LG L90 Dual also features dual-SIM functionality, and sports a 4.7-inch IPS display with qHD (540x960 pixels) resolution. Powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor with 1GB of RAM, the L90 Dual comes with 8GB inbuilt storage, which is expandable via microSD card (up to 32GB). The L90 sports an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 1.3-megapixel front camera. A 2540mAh removable battery backs the device. The LG L90 measures 131.6x66x9.7mm in dimensions, with no word on weight.

LG L90

• KEY SPECS
• 
  

Display

4.70-inch

Processor

1.2GHz

Front Camera

1.3-megapixel

Resolution

540x960 pixels

RAM

1GB

OS

Android 4.4

Storage

8GB

Rear Camera

8-megapixel

Battery capacity

2540mAh

See full LG L90 specifications

LG L70

• KEY SPECS
• 
  

Display

4.50-inch

Processor

1.2GHz

Front Camera

0.3-megapixel

Resolution

400x800 pixels

RAM

1GB

OS

Android 4.4

Storage

4GB

Rear Camera

5-megapixel

Battery capacity

2100mAh

Apple developing 12-inch MacBook without fan assembly

If new rumours are to be believed, Apple may soon release refreshed MacBook Air notebooks, may be planning a new type of 12-inch notebook, may keep the release of updated MacBook Pro notebooks for later this year, and may not announce its iWatch anytime soon.

The speculated information comes from an established tipster on Weiphone.com forum, as discovered by MacRumours . The tipster says Apple is working on a 12-inch notebook with a button-less trackpad, and without a fan assembly. This last detail indicates the 12-inch model will be a part of the ultra-slim MacBook Air line-up.

As the report points out, Ming-Chi Kuo, a KGI Securities analyst, predicted the same back in October 2013 supporting the rumours regarding the 12-inch notebook.

"We expect the unprecedented 12" model will boast both the portability of the 11" model, and productivity of the 13" model. The high resolution display will also offer the outstanding visual experience of the Retina MacBook Pro. The offering will likely be lighter and slimmer than the existing MacBook Air to further highlight ease of portability in the cloud computing era," Kuo had said.

The 12-inch notebook's trackpad is said to be button-less, packed with sensors and an actuator to mirror the functions of the current trackpad. This information, as the report notes, goes in line with therecent patent acquired by Apple that describes how the button-less trackpad would work.

The tipster adds that while Apple will be releasing the refreshed version of its MacBook Air notebooks soon, it won't release the new MacBook Pro models until September this year.

Speaking of Apple's rumoured iWatch device, the tipster says that while the smartwatch is real, it is still in the prototype stage and won't be announced anytime soon

LG Smart Bulb unveiled for Android and iOS devices

The LG Smart Bulb is the company's first-ever smart light-bulb, and is compatible with Android and iOS devices. The smart light-bulb is similar to Philips Hue smart bulbs, which were controllable by iPhone.

The company has unveiled the Smart Bulb in Korea at SKW 35,000, which translates to roughly Rs. 2,000. As of now, there is no word whether the LG Smart Bulb will be rolled out in other markets also.

LG claims that the Smart Bulb can work with devices running Android 4.3 and above, and iOS 6 and above. Notably, at launch the Smart Bulb is only compatible with Android devices, according toGSMArena.

The LG Smart Bulb is a 10W LED bulb which the South Korean giant notes can run for more than 10 years if used five hours a day. The LG Smart Bulb can connect with a device via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, and even flashes when its connected device receives a call.

The South Korean giant has also added some fancy features like the 'Security Mode', which puts on the light when the owner is not at home, and the 'Party Mode' (Android only) which flashes the bulb in different colours when music is playing on connected device.

LG seems determined to deliver a new experience to wow its consumers with new devices. In another attempt, LG joined Google and announced its G Watch for a Q2 2014 release, which is powered by 'Android Wear'.

The company has already revealed that the LG G Watch would focus on the users' health and enable them to follow other exercise goals, would let users call for a taxi, send text messages, make restaurant reservations, cast movies on television screens and more.

For those unaware, Philips introduced its 'Hue' light-bulb in October 2012 that could connect to broadband networks and then allowed smartphone users change the colour and brightness with an app sitting anywhere in the world. The bulbs were exclusive to Apple Stores.

Samsung Galaxy S5 launch price roundup

Samsung launched its Galaxy S5 flagship smartphone at MWC 2014 amidst much fanfare, and also announced that the device will go on sale in 150 countries starting from 11 April 2014.

At the announcement however, the South Korean manufacturer did not reveal the price of theSamsung Galaxy S5.

Earlier on Friday, Samsung announced that its Galaxy S5 smartphone, accompanied by the Gear 2 and Gear Fit wearables, will be globally previewed (hands-on demo) and will also go up for pre-order in more than 61 countries starting Friday (21 March 2014).

Now, mobile carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile have revealed the pre-order pricing of the Galaxy S5 and this gives us a rough indication of how much the South Korean giant's latest flagship smartphone might cost when it hits other markets, including India.

AT&T has announced that the Galaxy S5 will be available at $25 per month on an 18 month contract; $32.50 per month on a 12 month contact, or $199.99 on a two-year contract. The mobile carrier has revealed that the Galaxy S5 will be also available at $649.99 (Rs. 39,750 approximately) upfront without any contract. The pre-order for the Galaxy S5 will start in the US via AT&T beginning Friday (21 March 2014). However, the mobile carrier notes that the device will be shipped by early April.

T-Mobile, on the other hand, has revealed that it will start taking pre-orders for the Galaxy S5 from 24 March 2014 and it will be available at $27.50 per month for a two year contract, with zero down payment. The mobile carrier however, has not announced any off-contract pricing for the 2014 Samsung flagship.

Earlier, the Samsung Galaxy S5 was spotted listed at two online retailers in Europe with pricing. The Galaxy S5 was listed for pre-order at GBP 550 (approximately Rs. 56,900) on Clove UK for the 16GB variant, and was available in White, Blue, Black and Golden. However, Clove UK has now removed the pricing of the smartphone and shows 'notify' me option for interested Galaxy S5 consumers.

While on Amazon Spain, the Samsung Galaxy S5 was earlier seen with a price tag of EUR 729 (Rs. 62,200 approximately), however, currently the price tag has been dropped. The Galaxy S5 is listed atAmazon Spain at EUR 689, which is roughly Rs. 58,000. Notably, the price given is for the 16GB built-in storage variant, and available in all four colour variants.

We have been hearing the rumoured lower pricing of the Galaxy S5 since February, which claimed that Samsung would price its latest smartphone lower than the previous Galaxy S flagships. As per the report, the lower pricing suggestion for the Galaxy S5 had been recommended by wireless carriers.

Another report on Thursday suggested that the Galaxy S5 would be cheaper than the Galaxy S4 at launch. The report claimed that the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy S4's launch price difference is roughly $83.

It's yet to be seen whether the South Korean giant price its Galaxy S5 reasonably or continues its high flagship pricing tradition.

Samsung Galaxy S5

• KEY SPECS
• 
  

Display

5.10-inch

Processor

2.5GHz

Front Camera

2.1-megapixel

Resolution

1080x1920 pixels

RAM

2GB

OS

Android 4.4.2

Storage

16GB

Rear Camera

16-megapixel

Battery capacity

2800mAh

Nokia 220 Dual SIM with 2-megapixel camera launched at Rs. 2,749

Nokia has quietly launched its budget phone, the Nokia 220 for the Indian market. The Nokia 220 Dual SIM is now available via the Nokia Store at Rs. 2,749. Nokia has not listed the single-SIM variant on its India site.

Nokia announced the budget phone, Nokia 220, at the Mobile World Congress (MWC 2014) in Barcelona.

Notably, the Nokia 220 was launched in two variants: single SIM and dual-SIM. It's worth pointing out that the Finnish giant had listed the Nokia 220 Dual SIM on its India official site in February, without revealing the price. The Nokia 220 Dual SIM has been built on the success of the Nokia 110 budget phone, said the company while announcing the phone at MWC 2014.

The Nokia 220 Dual SIM, as the name suggests is a dual-SIM device. It features a 2.4-inch QVGA (240x320 pixel) LCD display. The Nokia 220 sports a 2-megapixel rear camera and also supports expandable storage up to 32GB via microSD card. Connectivity options on the phone include Micro-USB, GPRS, 3.5mm audio jack, and Bluetooth v3.0.

The newly-launched Nokia 220 Dual SIM packs an 1100mAh battery, which according to the company delivers up to 15 hours of talktime and up to 24 days of standby time (dual-SIM model). The Nokia 220 measures 116.4x50.3x13.2mm, while weighing 83.4 grams. The Nokia 220 comes in five colour variants: Black, Cyan, Red, White and Yellow.

Earlier, Nokia announced its first Android smartphone, the Nokia X, for the Indian market at Rs. 8,599. The Nokia X is based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), and is powered by Microsoft and Nokia services. The highlight of the Nokia X is the highly customised version of Android, with Metro-inspired UI and access to Nokia's own app store.

The Nokia X offers dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) support with dual standby. The first Android phone from Nokia features a 4-inch IPS LCD display with a 480x800 pixel resolution, translating to a pixel density of 233ppi.

Nokia 220 Dual SIM

• KEY SPECS
• NEWS

Display

2.40-inch

Processor

Front Camera

No

Resolution

240x320 pixels

RAM

OS

Storage

Rear Camera

2-megapixel

Battery capacity

1100mAh

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and LG G3 will reportedly be water-resistant

Seems like the idea of creating water-resistant smartphones and phablets is on the rise, as it is now being said that the upcoming but yet-to-be-announced Samsung Galaxy Note 4, LG G3 and Pantech Vega Iron 2 flagship devices will feature water-resistance. All three are South Korean firms.

The report coming from Korean media (via GforGames) suggests that while Samsung had teamed with a Korean firm using the Liquid Silicon Moulding method to make its Samsung Galaxy S5 water-resistant, it is now speculated to use the same technique on the Galaxy Note 4. LG and Pantech firms might go ahead with their own native technologies in the LG G3 and Pantech Vega Iron 2.

Additionally, the report claims both the Vega Iron 2 and LG G3 will show up in May 2014. Talking about the LG G3, the rumoured handset earlier this month was reported to join the dust and water-resistant bandwagon, following the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S5 and a number of Sony Xperia handsets.

The LG G3, codenamed as 'B2', is expected to feature two variants, LG-D851 and LG-VS985, where the latter is the Verizon-branded model. LG's next flagship is rumoured to feature a QHD (1440x3560 pixel) display alongside a 13-megapixel rear camera.

While several mobiles have been waterproof and water-resistant over the years, Sony with the Xperia Z in early-2013 started the trend of making its flagships water-resistant. Since then, it has released the Xperia Z1 and Xperia Z2, with the same IP58 dust proof and water-resistant certification. The Xperia Z2 will hit markets in March

Samsung Galaxy S5 price 'confirmed' to be lower than Galaxy S4 at launch

Samsung Galaxy S5 was announced with much fanfare last month. While Samsung revealed all details about the phone including an availability date of April 11 in 150 countries, it did not disclose the price. Now, we have the first bit of 'official' information.

According to a report in the Korean media picked by a tech blog, the price of the Samsung Galaxy S5 will be cheaper than what the Samsung Galaxy S4 was launched at, in line with the earlier reports:

According to the Korean media, the official Samsung Galaxy S5 "factory price" is 800.000 won (roughly $744). Some of you might remember that Galaxy S4's original asking price, in Korea, was 890.000 won (roughly $827). Therefore, if this is actually Galaxy S5's asking price, the difference between the S5 and S4 launch price tags would be 90.000 won, or roughly $83.

That's a price decrease of just over 10 percent for the Samsung Galaxy S5 as compared to the previous flagship. So does that mean we will see a 10 percent drop as compared to the Rs. 41,500 launch price that we saw for the Galaxy S4? While Samsung will want to be aggressive with its pricing, it's worth pointing out that when the Galaxy S4 launched in India last April, the USD-INR conversion stood at Rs. 55, while it's around the Rs. 61-62 mark now. That a change of just over 10 percent in itself, so Samsung may struggle to pass on much benefit of the lower cost price to the consumer.

Having said that, after the disappointing response to the Galaxy S4, Samsung will want to take no chances with the pricing of the Galaxy S5 and a sub-Rs. 40,000 is very much on the cards.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 will ship with Android 4.4.2 KitKat. It features a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with a 1080x1920 pixel full-HD resolution. It is powered by a 2.5GHz quad-core processor coupled with 2GB of RAM. The Galaxy S5 will be available in 16GB and 32GB variants, with microSD card expandability up to 64GB.

The Galaxy S5 bears a 16-megapixel rear camera with HDR (for video as well), and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera. The rear camera can record UHD video at 30 fps along with HDR and video stabilisation functionality.

( Also see: Samsung Galaxy S5 vs. Samsung Galaxy S4 )

Connectivity options include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac with MIMO functionality, ANT+, Bluetooth 4.0, USB3.0, NFC, and Infrared remote functionality. A Download Booster is also being touted, which combines LTE and Wi-Fi for faster download. It features a 2800mAh battery, rated to deliver 21 hours of talk time, and 390 hours of standby time.

The smartphone weighs in at 145 grams (slightly heavier than the Galaxy S4), and has dimensions of 142x72.5x8.1mm (slightly thicker than the S4's 7.9mm)

Karbonn aiming at Rs. 8,000 crore revenue in FY 2015

Domestic handset maker Karbonn aims to clock a revenue of Rs. 8,000 crores in 2014-15, growing close to 80 percent, as it expands its smartphone portfolio.

Karbonn, which is the country's third largest smartphone maker, expects to close the current fiscal with Rs. 4,500 crores in revenues.

"About 80 percent of our handsets sold are feature phones and the remaining are smartphones. We expect the ratio to change to 50-50 in the next fiscal," Karbonn Managing Director Pardeep Jain told PTI.

Smartphones account for 40 percent of Karbonn's revenues and that is expected to grow to 65 percent, he said.

Also, Karbonn plans to spend Rs. 300 crores on marketing and sales and about Rs. 400 crores on R&D during the next fiscal, Jain said, adding that the spend will focus on smartphones.

The company on Wednesday launched three new smartphones, based on the latest Android KitKat operating system and hexa and octa-core processors, in partnership with mobile chipmaker MediaTek.

The three phones - Titanium Hexa, Titanium Octane and Titanium Octane Plus - are priced at Rs. 16,990, Rs. 14,490 and Rs. 17,990, respectively. The devices will start shipping from the last week of April.

"We are the first Indian brand to offer KitKat OS to the Indian consumers. The smartphone market in India grew by nearly 229 percent in 2013 and the partnership with MediaTek will allow us to further consolidate our position in the domestic market," he said.

According to research firm IDC, smartphone sales surpassed 44 million units in 2013, up from 16.2 million in 2012.

This surge has been mainly powered by home grown vendors which have shown a tremendous and consistent growth over the past four quarters of 2013.

Samsung led the Indian smartphone market (37 percent), followed by Micromax (16 percent), Karbonn (10 percent) and Sony (5 percent) in the October-December 2013 period.

The overall phone market in India stood at close to 257 million units in 2013, an 18 percent increase from 218 million units in 2012, with a remarkable migration from feature phones to smartphones primarily due to the narrowing price gaps between the two product categories

Micromax expects to hit $1 billion revenue this fiscal

Helped by growing sales of its affordable and entry-level smartphones, domestic handset maker Micromax expects to hit $1 billion (over Rs. 6,100 crores) in revenues this fiscal, ending March 31.

The New Delhi-headquartered company's revenues were Rs. 3,168 crores for the financial year 2012-13.

Micromax, which is the second largest smartphone player in India, held about 16 percent market share in Q4 2013. Some of the top selling models were the entry level smartphones like A35 Bolt and A67, IDC data showed.

The Canvas range of devices has also done well in terms of volume contribution owing to the marketing campaigns launched around them.

"We have seen huge growth in business, especially in the smartphone category (mid and entry-level). We expect to close this fiscal will a billion in revenues," Micromax co-founder Vikas Jain told PTI.

The firm will continue to launch innovative and affordable products for the market across platforms, he added.

"We will introduce a product based on Android Kitkat within the next 60 days," Jain said.

Asked if the company would introduce a device with Windows Phone OS, he said the company is in discussions with Microsoft on bringing out "products relevant to the Indian market".

Micromax on Thursday announced a strategic partnership with chipset maker MediaTek and telecom services provider Aircel.

"This is aimed at offering the best out-of-the-box experiences for the Indian users and the partnership will see a unique amalgamation of the expertise of the three companies," Jain said.

While, Aircel will offer one stop solutions to address the increasing data demands, MediaTek along-with Micromax's expertise in product design and performance will redefine the user experience creating a win-win ecosystem for the Indian users, he added.

Under this alliance, Aircel will team up with Micromax to introduce a range of offers for the consumers which will be almost equivalent to cost of the device.

Powered by MediaTek chipsets, the devices promise to deliver a seamless and a powerful user experience, while the bundled Aircel offers will drive data growth in the country.

The offers initially will be available across 4 Micromax devices - MMX 377G, Funbook Mini 410i, A090 and X070 - to be available next month.

The co-developed smart devices by the three pioneers will deliver seamless experience for consumers, driving enhanced performance and data experience for customers across the country

Google Nexus 8 to feature 8.9-inch 'high performance' display

Google is said to be planning to release a Nexus 8 tablet later this year, with reports indicating the production of the tablet will commence in the month of July or August.

The rumoured Nexus 8 is now reported to feature a 'high performance' 8.9-inch display, according to Rhoda Alexander, the director of tablet and monitor research at IHS Technology, as reported by Cnet.

The proposed Google Nexus 8 tablet is said to arrive in limited units compared to its predecessor, theGoogle Nexus 7, and is said to sport a "premium price tag to support the specifications."

As far as the price of the rumoured Nexus 8 goes, Alexander says that she "would not be surprised if it is higher than $299," which roughly amounts to Rs. 18,300, and which will definitely shoot up after the inclusion of VAT and other taxes. HTC is said to be the sole manufacturer of the Nexus 8 tablet.

The $299 mark for the rumoured Nexus 8 tablet would make the device fall in the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 range. Since the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 sports a 2560x1600 pixel resolution screen, one can expect at least the same from the Nexus 8 tablet.

A similar report coming from Digitimes indicates the Nexus 8 device will sport a 2K resolution or higher. While Digitimes is considered as a hit-and-miss for rumour accuracy, it does back up the information with market analyst IHS Technology.

Previous rumours also suggest the Google Nexus 8 device will be powered by a 64-bit quad-core Intel Bay Trail-T chipset. However, since Google is far from confirming any such information, one can only wait for its official release for the Google Nexus tablet