Mobility june 3 web

Mobility Monthly Magazine

June 2016

Issue 6

Volume 13

Pages 40

20

beyond technology, beyond lifestyle

www.mobilityindia.com

Mobility Monthly Magazine

June 2016

Issue 6

Volume 13

Pages 40

20

www.mobilityindia.com

beyond technology, beyond lifestyle

interaction Mr. Pankaj Rana

Business Head, Mobility Division, Panasonic India

interview Mr. Akhilesh Chopra Operational Director, Bluei

Contents

IoT Emerging as the

Next Technology Mega-Trend

News 10 Launchpad 14 INTERACTION

18

Nearly 95% of Panasonic Smartphones are Made in India

special story

20

IoT Emerging as the Next Technology Mega-Trend

Editor : Chief Editor : Associate Editor (Tech,) : Asst. Editor : Art Director : Creative Head : Acct. & Finance : Marketing Manager : Marketing Executives :

Swapan Roy Manoj Jha Jayanta Ghosh E.J. Jawahardatham Anit Kumar Karmendra Singh Negi Sandip Sarkar Tridip Dey Sujit Goswami, Pratap Biswas S. Dutt Raj Kumar

Circulation Manager

P. Biswas

:

Production :

Ashish Ghosh Ashok Kumar Paul

System Manager

Ajay Biswas

:

review ASUS ZenFone Max Coolpad Max

28 30

H.O.: Delhi / Editorial Office Roy Mediative A-23, 1st Floor, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-I, New Delhi-110020 (INDIA) Mob: 09810380882, 09811346846 Ph: 91-11-41602841, 65683896, 40536384-87

32

Redg.Off.: 38-B / 56 Block, C. R. Park, New Delhi-110019 (India).

Featured STK Explorer WiFi 1080P HD Waterproof Action Camera Kit

Branch Office: Mumbai: E-mail: roy@ mobilityindia.com

channel focus

33

“Our Retailers Maintain MOP Strictly and We Offer Services Efficiently”

Interview 34 Bluei is fast emerging into a big brand in mobile and

Kolkata: 105/12B, Dum Dum Road, Sil Colony, Kolkata-74 Contact: 09330922965; 09903392620 E-mail : roy@ mobilityindia.com Orissa: Saraswati Behera Building, Kharavella Nagar, 2nd Lane, Near Jyoti Nagar, Berhampur-760001 (Orissa) (India) Contact : Raj Kumar-09338410809, 09439263711 Email : info@mobilityindia.com ncn_reporter@yahoo.com

accessories market in India

wearable 36

Mobility Monthly News Paper, Printed, Published & Owned by Swapan Roy at 38-B / 56 Block, C. R. Park, New Delhi-110019 (India).

Doel DV8: Taking Virtual Reality to the next level

Printed at Pushpak Printer, C-96, Okhla Industrial Area-I, New Delhi-20. Retail selling price of a magazine copy Rs. 20/-. Annual subscription Rs. 240.

apps 38

Editor

‘Must Try’ Photo Editor Apps

: edit@mobilityindia.com roy@ mobilityindia.com

Marketing : tridip@mobilityindia.com marketing@mobilityindia.com Info

: info@mobilityindia.com

Subscribe : subscription@ mobilityindia.com

Mobility June 2016

www.mobilityindia.com

8

editorial

Convergence of IoT, Security & Surveillance and smart devices is rapidly evolving

Swapan Roy roymobility@gmail.com

In the era of IoT, the unparalleled connectivity among devices is creating new trends among users as well as providers. One major trend is a big part of IoT is not only about the smart devices, but also about the smart sensors. With IoT and devices connected to one other transmitting enormous amounts of personal, official and confidential data, IoT throws up big challenges and offers a plethora of opportunities for users and providers in the Security & Surveillance space. Our special story this month is focused on the opportunities and challenges IoT offers in the Security and Surveillance segment.

The other topics that could entertain you in this month’s issue include ‘Must-try photo editor Apps.’

Editor’s Choice

Honor 5C powered with Kirin 650 Honor 5C is a phone comes with a powerful Kirin 650 16 nm chipset. This 16 nm chipset offers fast performance compared with previous-generation 28 nm chipsets. The gaming experience becomesbetter with powerful Mali-T830 GPU which ensures seamless gaming experience with 100% increase in GPU performance compared with previous-generation Kirin 620. Honor 5C is loaded with eMMC 5.1-based flash memory chip and all-new EMUI 4.1 OS. 74% screen- to-body ratio. The fingerprint Identification is 2.0 with 0.5 seconds unlocking speed and the display is 1920 x 1080 pixel (423 PPI), 16.7 million color, and full HD IPS display with improved color reproduction. The phone features 13 MP rear cameras and 8 MP front camera with BSI sensor with ten different beauty modes.

www.mobilityindia.com

Mobility June 2016

twitter.com/mobilitymag

facebook.com/mobilityindia2004

edit@mobilityindia.com

10

News

‘Assemble in India’ is not ‘Make in India’

In its recent Notification (No 31/2016-Customs) dated 5 May 2016, the Government of India decided to roll back import duties levied on components of mobile phones in the Union Budget 2016. The notification brought down the duty on chargers, batteries and headsets from 29% to 12.5% (at par with that of imported handsets) and lowered the duty on populated PCBs (printed circuit boards) to 0% from 2% (instead of raising it to 12.5%). Broadband India Forum (BIF) – a dedicated Forum with representation from Telecom Service Providers, Technology Providers, R&D and Chip Design Companies, System Integrator, Project Management, Service & Solution Provide, MSO and DTH, Satellite & VSAT Service Providers – in their appeal to the Ministry of Communication and IT, has requested immediate withdrawal of the Import Duty rollback on populated PCBs and phone accessories in the interest of Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Design in India’, as these equipments provide maximum opportunity for design and R&D.

HARMAN Opens Premium Showroom for High-End Luxury Audio in Ahmedabad

HARMAN opened an exclusive premium showroom for its high-end, Luxury Audio range of products in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. This is the company’s fifth luxury audio showroom in India and offers the most advanced high-performance audio systems available in the country.

The new showroom will showcase full range of HARMAN’s Luxury Audio portfolio of products featuring iconic brands like Revel, JBL Synthesis and Lexicon. These brands come together to offer most advanced high-performance audio systems – from the finest stereo listening to state-ofthe-art multichannel home theater systems.

In addition, the showroom will also feature a dedicated Revel experience center. The unique feature of this 5.1 surround sound system is that it doesn’t occupy any floor-space. All the wires and subwoofer are concealed behind the walls and ceiling – thus appealing to those who want pure, uncompromised sound, without the clutter. The grilles of the speakers can be color matched to the aesthetics of the room, making the audio system an integral part of the ambience.

India IT hardware manufacturers suffer fiscal disabilities estimated at 6.47% Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT), India’s premier ICT hardware industry association hosted an exclusive press meet-cum-industry briefing to unveil the report, “Policy Interventions for Achieving ‘Net Zero’ Imports – IT-Electronics Sector.”

The launch of the report featured an opening address by Nitin Kunkolienker, VP, MAIT and Director, Smart link.

The study seeks to highlight that compared to other low cost jurisdictions; India poses some disabilities for IT-ESDM manufacturers. The cost of manufacturing

Huawei’s Shield Lab Shares Outlook on 5G Security Research at 2016 Future Forum

At the recent 5G Security Technology Workshop hosted by the Future Forum, Huawei shared its outlook on 5G security research and its achievements in areas such as service-driven end-to-end security protection, the multi-party trust model, and the identity management model. By sharing its research results on 5G security, Huawei demonstrated its commitment to creating a more secure 5G network environment for users.

“5G security technologies must evolve in sync with changes to 5G network architecture and diverse application scenarios.

At the same time, new 5G technologies will lead to new security issues. In the 5G era, security technologies for networks and devices will be a fundamental concern of operators, service providers and end users.”

Mobility June 2016

is estimated to be higher in India vis-à-vis other global hubs. These are on account of physical factors such as higher costs of power, real estate, logistics, additional expenses on account of freight, as well as fiscal factors. India has a multitude of taxes and duties imposed by both the Central and State Governments. Because of their flawed structure, these taxes often discriminate against domestically manufactured products.

InFocus Partners with Flipkart for its Range of LED TVs InFocus announced its partnership with India’s leading e-commerce platform – Flipkart for its range of LED TVs. Launched recently in India, InFocus LED TVs have received overwhelming customer response for its unbeatable picture quality and viewing experience.

InFocus TVs use Smart UV2A technology which eliminates light leakage due to the special pixel structure. This technology creates lowreflection and balanced brightness by absorbing all unwanted light. It, therefore, helps in protecting the eyes during long TV watching hours and is especially beneficial for kids who are glued to the TV screen for a long time.

12

News

ASUS Wins 16 Awards at Computex 2016

ASUS announced that its products won four Best Choice and 12 d&i (design and innovation) awards at ceremonies held during Computex 2016. ZenFone 3 Ultra won the Best Choice Golden Award and the ZenBook 3 ultralight notebook, ZenBeam Go E1Z projector, and ROG GT51 gaming desktop each won a Best Choice Award in the Computer & System, Peripherals & 3D Printing, and Gaming categories respectively. ZenBook 3 and ROG GT51 also won the Computex d&i Award along with 10 additional products.

Hosted by the Taipei Computer Association (TCA), the Best Choice Awards recognize products at Computex that display excellence in innovation, functionality and marketability. The Computex d&i Awards are held by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and iF Design, a leading international industrial design authority. These internationally recognized awards honor products with exceptional design and technological capability.

Blackberry Enhances Single Secure Platform for Multi-Os Device, Application and Content Management BlackBerry announced that it has completed another step of its integration of the BES 12, Good Dynamics and WatchDox by BlackBerry products for a single, comprehensive management experience. Whereas best of breed management of devices, apps and content has traditionally required multiple consoles from multiple vendors, with BlackBerry´s multi-OS EMM platform administrators will be able to securely manage their full mobile deployment at the device, app and content layer from a single secure platform with unmatched control. In addition, BlackBerry will introduce AtHoc for Good Dynamics and new split billing solutions with BlackBerry WorkLife.

COAI welcomes the Delhi High Court’s decisions to dismiss multiple petitions against mobile towers

COAI welcomes the decisions of the Hon’ble Delhi High Court to dismiss multiple petitions against mobile towers, making it clear that fears of harmful radiation from mobile towers are not based on any scientific evidence. The Court upheld the EMF safety norms implemented by the Government of India, which are one of the most stringent in the world and based on peer reviewed scientific studies approved by such bodies as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and health agencies of many countries, including the UK and Sweden.

The High Court delivered its judgments in two petitions that came within days of each other. On May 5, the Court heard a petition filed against the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to remove towers from a locality in the Lakshmi Nagar area that were allegedly radiating waves “in large quantity” and causing blood pressure, prostate cancer and other heart problems. After listening to both sides, the Court held that there is no scientific data to show that installation of mobile phone towers and the emission of the waves by them is in any way harmful to the health of citizens.

Microsoft Launches Cyber Security Engagement Center in India

Ziox Mobiles announces Pan-India launch of wide range of smartDeepening its commitment to enhancing cyber-se- phones & feature phones

curity, Microsoft has announced the opening of its Cyber Security Engagement Center (CSEC) in Gurgaon, India. The CSEC aims to drive public-private partnerships to fight cybercrime, strengthen the cooperation with Indian businesses, government and academic organizations on c y b e r- s e c u r i t y, and increase its contribution towards securing Indian computer and Internet users from cybercrime threats. It brings together Microsoft’s Digital Crime Unit experts comprising attorneys, investigators and security response experts from across the company. The Gurgaon center is one of the seven centers globally and will serve as a dedicated hub for Microsoft in India.

Mobility June 2016

Ziox Mobiles announced the launch of over 10 best-in-class smartphones and 20 feature phones at its recently concluded annual retreat, Rubaru in Goa. The launch was attended by the senior management from Ziox Mobiles and over 200 top channel partners from across the country.

With an already existing robust presence in Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Karnataka, Delhi, Goa, Bihar & Jharkhand- Ziox Mobiles has now gone national with its announcement of pan-India team alignments with heads roped in for the North, South, East & West regions of the country and planned phase-wise launches of smartphone and feature phones. 3G & 4G supporting devices with configurations ranging from 3.5”, 4”, 4.5” & 5” devices with top quality hardware support including 5000 mAh battery support, Iris support, GPS tracking, 16.0 MP back camera, Gorilla & Dragontrail X scratch resistant glass, and much more as part of the offering.

14

LaunchPad

Panasonic Launches Upgraded Variants of ELUGA I2 with New RAM & Improved Cam

Panasonic launched 2GB and 3GB RAM variants of its successful 4G LTE smart phone ELUGA I2, available at a best buy price of Rs. 7990/and 8990/- respectively.

The other upgrades made in the new variants are – front camera enhancement to 5MP and Voice over LTE (VoLTE) support for Indian specific LTE brands- 3, 5 and 40.

Sony Introduced new G Master Brand Sony India, introduced the new G Master brand of interchangeable lens.

The innovative addition further proliferates its

Alcatel Launches ‘Pop Star’ Smartphones in India Alcatel announced the launch of its new smartphone range, the ‘POP STAR’. The 5-inch POP STAR, part of the mobile brand’s POP series, is uniquely positioned to boost the all new POP lineup. The all new POP STAR range is a highly customizable device where the smartphone users will be spoilt for choices with wild colors and psychedelic designs of the Funky Collection.

Mobility June 2016

Pebble the smartwatch pioneer which recently entered India, has announced the launch of its new product lineup on Kickstarter, the same community-driven platform that helped Pebble introduce the smartwatch to the world four years ago.

HyperX Launches its Cloud Revolver Gaming Headset in India

HyperX announced the launch of its Cloud Revolver the newest addition to the Cloud headset family.

It proudly carries the Cloud name and reputation for great sound, comfort and durability. With an MRP of INR 11,999/-, HyperX Revolver will be available in all the leading Indian retail and e-tail stores.

It features a studio grade sound stage with 50mm directional drivers to deliver wider depth and width for improved audio precision in firstperson shooter and open environment games. The tuning of the driver, mechanical design of the front acoustical chamber, larger ear cups and exhaust vents allow users to hear an opponent more clearly from further away and gain the ultimate competitive advantage. Music lovers will appreciate the concert hall-like experience when listening to their favorite tunes.

YU announced YUNICORN

robust product lineup that effectively responds to the diverse needs of photography enthusiasts.

Representing the ultimate blend of high resolution and beautiful looks, Sony India introduced its flagship G Master brand of interchangeable lenses. The new brand includes three new E-mount full frame lenses including a 24-70mm constant F2.8 standard zoom, an 85mm F1.4 prime and a 70-200mm constant F2.8 telephoto zoom.

Pebble Launches New Product Lineup on Kickstarter

YU completed its successful one year and became the No. 1 online smartphone brand by selling more than 2 million handsets. YU announced the launch of its most awaited smartphone – YUNICORN, the flagship for 2016. The new smartphone is a complete amalgamation of compelling hardware and software capabilities to provide an unmatched smartphone experience that is unparalleled in the category. Priced at a compelling tag of Rs. 12,999/- YUNICORN will be exclusively available on Flipkart.

On the hardware front, the YUNICORN is packed with the might of a 5.5-inch Full HD display, a Mediatek Helio P10 processor, 4GB RAM, a fingerprint scanner (at the front), 4000 mAh battery, 13MP rear camera and 5MP front camera and a lot more to target the consumers who are looking for a seamless smartphone experience backed with an impeccable design language.

Under Kickstarter, Pebble has raised around $5 Million within a few hours of it going live. The company aimed to raise $1 Million in 36 days. The lineup includes two new fitness-focused smartwatches, Pebble 2 ($99) and Pebble Time 2 ($169), with new built-in heart rate monitors and activity tracking.

LG Brings Portable ‘Gram PC’ to India

With computers becoming an indispensable part of our professional as well as personal lives, LG Electronics is all set to bring its very successful Gram PC to India. The Gram PC was first unveiled during CES 2016 and since then has garnered rave reviews from the media and tech enthusiasts worldwide.

In India, the Gram PC is exclusively available on Paytm for the first initial phase from May 15, 2016 post which it will be available at all LG brand stores and IT Multi-brand outlets.

16

LaunchPad

Micromax launches Canvas Mega 2

Aimed at strengthening the company’s portfolio in the phablet segment, Micromax Informatics introduced Canvas Mega 2, its new large-screen smartphone for the young, evolved, hyper-social and on the go consumers. Part of Micromax’s successful Canvas Mega range, the Mega 2 smartphone is a perfect combination of

large screen with slim bezel and increased screen to body ratio, best in class imaging and display technologies and sleek design and long lasting battery life.

Meizu launched its new M3s -All about Metal

Meizu Technology (MEIZU) officially launched its new smartphone M3s, with the storage of 2GB,16G and 3GB, 32G in Beijing. Bai Yongxiang, President of Meizu

Swipe disrupts affordable smartphone segment with Elite Plus

Swipe launched Elite Plus, a combination of aesthetics and power that brings an unmatched experience of craftsmanship without putting a dent on pockets. What gives Elite Plus its wings is its incredible power. With Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 64-Bit 615 Octa-Core processor, a 2GB RAM powers Elite Plus to handle multitasking without breaking a sweat. A 3050 mAh marathon battery powers the Elite Plus for more than one full day’s use. Elite Plus have ensured supports 2G/3G/4G LTE/ EVDO/CDMA standards at breathtaking speeds, helping user make the most of their time.

Elite Plus scores a plus with cameras. With its 13MP rear camera and 8MP front camera, It sports a Full High Definition (FHD) 5” 1920x1080 IPS Display and energy-efficient screen.

Lenovo rolls out Android Marshmallow 6.0 for the K4 Note

Lenovo announced that one of the bestselling smartphone of Lenovo, the K4 Note has started to receive the Android Marshmallow 6.0 update through OTA update.

The update will bring an array of new features and support including revamped app permissions, Google Now on Tap, Doze, adoptable storage etc.

Lenovo, in association with Amazon also announced that a total of 600,000 units of the K4 Note &150,000 units of the popular ANT VR headsets have been sold so far. The K4 Note is the first device ever to have the TheaterMax technology that can create an immersive large screen experience boasting smooth graphics, lifelike surround sound and responsive 3D. Without the need for dedicated library of games and apps, TheaterMax turns all your existing media and games into an immersive large screen experience boasting smooth graphics, lifelike surround sound and responsive 3D gameplay.

HP Inc. India Empowers “One Life” with Breakthrough Computing Solutions and Stunning Design HP unveiled its latest computing innovations which will transform the mobile computing experience. Suitable for the ‘Office of the Future’, HP announced thin and light noteb o o k s which will address customers’ needs for devices that take them through the rigors of work and the enjoyment of life.

With work and life converging into “One Life”, there are no longer boundaries between the two. Workplaces are no longer confined to cubicles and have adapted to any space that has an internet connection.

Workstyles have also become more collaborative than ever before. Today’s workforce, consisting of a growing millennial base, expects the technology they use to fulfill both their business and personal requirements.

Zebronics launches the best budget Sound Bar: Zebronics Juke Bar 2 Technology, introduced the new M3s at a spectacular gala event.

The Meizu M3s features a smooth and delicate metal body, which was accomplished by using 360° sand blasting. New Meizu M3s comes with four colors options as silver, grey, gold and rose gold.

Mobility June 2016

With the success of Juke bar came its successor, Zebronics, a brand known for its diversified technological innovations to create enriching experiences, announces the addition to its sound bar range with ‘Zeb Juke Bar 2’ which is not just Wireless but effortless too with great sound only for Rs. 4949/ - undoubtedly one of the best priced sound bars with Bluetooth in this range.

With the room full of sound, and the

World of Wireless Music Zeb Juke Bar 2, is born out of a desire for elegance with glossy front panel and the ultra slim profile to add new dimension to your home cinema set up not only in sound but also in looks. Although slim the incredible sound is really something to behold. The sophisticated matt black finish and high gloss LED display adds a sophisticated touch to your home cinema set up.

30 18

interaction

“Nearly 95% of Panasonic Smartphones are Made in India” Year 2016 has seen the curve moving up for Panasonic. In an interaction with Mobility Magazine, Pankaj Rana, Business Head, Mobility Division, Panasonic India, shares their company’s strategy amd plans.

We are halfway through 2016. How things pan out for Panasonic so far and what to expect more this year from you in terms of new handsets to be released in India?

This year is turning out to be great for Panasonic India smartphone business. In 2016, so far we have launched 15 smartphones. We will be launching 20 more models by the end of the year. All our 4G phones comply with India LTE bands and VoLTE. Currently, we have 3% market share and we aspire to grow up to 10%.

We have seen a massive investment by Chinese handset players in the last few years on retail, branding and products. How you do meet this competition?

Panasonic is also planning good investment in ATL and digital marketing of smartphones. We plan to invest INR 200 crore in the next 6 months in marketing.

Throw some light on Eluga series which got some good response from the market and on the Online platform?

ELUGA series of smartphones are focused on design and user experience. Earlier, ELUGA series of smartphones were very popular in Japan and Europe markets. Panasonic India has 3 series of smartphones: P, T and ELUGA. T is entry level series; P is mid-range and ELUGA is our premium range series.

Mobility June 2016

Mr. Pankaj Rana

Business Head, Mobility Division, Panasonic India

19

Why most of your handsets priced in 10K to 15K category?

Actually, we are selling well in 10K to 15K price range.

Most of our best selling phones such as ELUGA Arc, ELUGA Mark and ELUGA Turbo are in this segment, so we focus more on this segment.

Tell us more about your manufacturing partner Dixon and your Noida manufacturing facility?

Dixon is an old India ODM partner of Panasonic, which has been manufacturing TV and Home appliances for us. Taking the same relationship forward, Dixon has set up smartphone assembly factory for Panasonic, which is a state of the art factory set up with the assistance of Japanese standard & technology. Currently the factory is producing 2 lakh smartphone handsets per month, which we plan to expand to 4 lakh in the coming 3 months. Right now, 95% of the Panasonic smartphones are made in India.

These days every handset player is talking about IoT and ecosystem. How you are addressing this?

Panasonic Corp is a world leader in IoT. In India, Panasonic plans to enter IoT market in two segments: ‘personal health care’ & ‘home automation and security.’

Personal health care shall have devices such as Smart thermometer, Smart blood pressure meter, Smart blood sugar meter, Smart Oximeter, and Smart weighing machine.

These devices shall be IoT enabled and collect all user data on cloud.

From there, doctors and users can analyze. We think of building entire set of services using ODM, SW developers, hospitals and practicing doctors.

Home Security automation can have devices such as smart presence detector, which can detect any new presence in the premises and begin camera recording / send alert, etc. Smart biometric locks which won’t allow any unauthorized access and records / send alert for

each access. We already tied up with Silicon Valley Stat up Peel Inc, to have IR-based smart remote control into our smartphones.

All our 4G phones comply with India LTE bands and VoLTE. Currently, we have 3% market share and we aspire to grow up to 10%.

When can we expect a good premium handset from Panasonic to compete with S6 & S7?

Last year, Panasonic launched CM1 Camera smartphone. Specs are 4.7 inch FHD, Snapdargon 801, 2+16GB, 21MP Camera with Leica Optics. We couldn’t launch this phone in India because of high price like $1000. Now, we are developing the next version of CM1, which we plan to launch in India as well.

What is your forecast about coming trend in smartphone segment in India that will drive the next phase?

In India, 4G and VoLTE will drive the next phase.

Also, we expect ASP of the smartphone devices to improve. Smartphone market size will continue to grow, while feature phone market size will shrink.

Mobility June 2016

20

special story

IoT Emerging as the

Next Technology Mega-Trend By connecting to the Internet billions of everyday devices— ranging from fitness bracelets to industrial equipment—the Internet of Things (IoT) merges the physical and online worlds, opening up a host of new opportunities and challenges for companies, governments and consumers.

T

he IoT will surely indicate the possibilities and the changes in business models, at least for some of the industries. Businesses will most likely concentrate on the consumer behavior, and based on that, they will design their future business strategies. There are definitely many business organizations which would definitely love to get access to this kind of data for branding their products as well as services.

One of the major trends that you must keep in mind is that the big part of IoT is not only about the smart devices, but also about the smart sensors. These kinds of innovations can be influential in terms of production, no matter which industry your business belongs to. You will be able to record the data and send it back to the cloud. It will also allow you to collect specific feedback on how your customers are using your products and services and what exactly they feel about your services.

In fact, these insights also help businesses understand the probable requirements of the customers in future.

Brand and IoT opportunities According to Pankaj Rana, Business Head, Mobility Division, Panasonic India, “We are encouraged to see the growing IoT and Panasonic is looking to engage in the security space as we believe it is one of those areas which will offer us avenues of opportunity. We

Mobility June 2016

will assess where Panasonic can leverage the IoT opportunity and move accordingly. Right now – based on the segments Panasonic is most invested in, we are encouraged to see evolving opportunities in the automotive solutions and security & surveillance businesses.

We would also like to highlight that IoT shouldn’t only be looked at from a consumer point of view; at Panasonic we are more invested in providing B2B solutions and believe this will present us more opportunities to explore the IoT space in India.”

“The IoT has been gaining increasing market traction over the last few years. Need for standardization of all devices across an IoT ecosystem coupled with favorable government policy environment are set to fuel growth in the country’s IoT market over the next five years. For our Zion brand products, we are taking IoT very seriously and keeping a close tab on global developments related to IoT. In fact, we have personally interacted with a few Indian start-ups actively engaged in the field of IoT. We believe that in coming 3-5 years, IoT will be completely dominating our lifestyle, and will be brought to use across the Industry verticals, which is clearly visible with smart watches, remotely controlled and monitored consumer electronic products like ACs, Access controls, electrical systems and several more,” said, Vipul Modi, VP, Marketing & Sales Abacus Peripherals Pvt Ltd.

special story

“With the ever-changing needs of the 21st century, BIOSTAR is a brand that aims to stay relevant to meet the needs of the consumers. Backed by an effective R&D team, BIOSTAR continues to produce a wide variety of products to make users’ lives a better and more convenient,” said, Jesse Chen, Sales Director, Biostar India.

“IoT is going to have a unique place in healthcare systems. The perceived value is high. From critical systems in the hospital ecosystems to next-gen training and education systems, IoT, coupled with big data analysis, is going to play a huge role in better patient outcomes. We, at Buzz4health, are working on some interesting prototypes, that will make digital continuous medical education seamless and more accessible,” said, Hitesh Ganjoo, Founder & CEO of Buzz4Health.

“We have a world class IoT application development team which delivers IoT products and applications that drive growth. Our centers focus on supporting the Indian, North American and European clients with applications of IoT through smart products, optimization, automation and decision. With wearables, integrating interactive sensors in the devices will gain popularity yet exchange of data is going to take centre stage is what we believe and will be prominently embedded in sensors, softwares, electronic devices in the initial stages. So for the seamless performance of IoT enabled apps and physical devices, we have a world class team to deliver without any glitches,” opines, Ms. Sonia Sharma, Co-founder & MD of GoodWorkLabs.

“LeEco is an established global Internet and ecosystem conglomerate and we are betting big on the IoT revolution. In fact, our ecosystem is at the heart of our business model that comprises of the following elements - Platform, Content, Device and Applications with seven sub-ecosystems (Internet, Content, Big Screens, Phones, Automobiles, Sports and Internet Finance) making it a unique and future-focused model.

We understand the world is moving towards a smarter ecology that meets the changing consumption patterns of the consumers today. Being connected on the Internet via a plethora of devices that can send across information to garner a smart response is imperative to the future, which is why we are churning out devices that offer a wholesome Internet experience. Our smart devices are only one element of the entire ecosystem, which will

Mr. Pankaj Rana

Business Head, Mobility Division, Panasonic India

“Currently, we are invested in the security & surveillance market as we believe that the IoT ecosystem will be crucial in the government’s Smart Cities initiative. That is where we see opportunities and we believe that Security will play a big role in cities and our daily lives and these security concerns will also be a part of the IoT ecosystem.”

soon be complemented by our Smart TVs and electric vehicles. Through our open and vertically integrated approach, our mission is to open new horizons for our customers by offering the highest-quality products them at disruptive prices,” said, Atul Jain, COO, Smart Electronics Business, LeEco India.

“IoT will shape the future of both telecoms and other global industries. As part of the third wave of the development of the Internet, our initial investment into IoT was $1,000,000 we made in an R&D hub in Israel, Tel Aviv. This hub consists of STK product engineers working on new technology in the IoT space and we will be launching our first ‘connected’ product in July 2016,” said, Henri Salameh, Global Head & Executive Director, STK. “Smartron is founded with a vision to be India’s first global technology OEM brand riding the IoT wave. IoT is the basis for every product we develop. Smartron is working on next generation of smart IoT devices that are more autonomous and intelligent with integrated services and care by investing in the areas of smart, sensor, robotics, artificial intelligence and big data technologies,” said, Mahesh Lingareddy, Co-Founder & CEO of Smartron India Pvt Ltd. “IoT can be as useful to brands as much as the brands are willing to make IoT useful for them. Adoption, with careful execution and clinical promotion will ensure great results for any brand. In the era of IoT, the unparalleled connectivity among devices creates new conveniences for users and consumers. Making everything from refrigerators to automobiles smarter Mr. Mahesh Lingareddy Co-Founder & CEO of Smartron may let consumers keep food temperatures constant or India Pvt Ltd alert them when the air pressure is low in the tires. Last year, Government of India announced that it has plans “We have taken a very unique platform approach that we refer to create a $15 billion IoT market in the country in the to Astronx in building a sucnext five years. SYSKA has always been a pioneer in cessful IoT ecosystem between identifying the opportunities at the very early stage and our tcloud, tcare and open we are in process to bring many more IoT lights and innovation platform, crowdtron. products; Smart Light series is our first step towards the We are also partnering and same. But this is just the beginning,” concluded, Rajesh leveraging some of the existing Uttamchandani, Director of SSK Group. industry alliances.”

Mobility June 2016

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special story

Mr. Jesse Chen

Sales Director, Biostar India

“As a brand that fully supports the development of the IoT, BIOSTAR recently released and showcased its latest Mini-PC – the RACINGP1, as well as the latest industrial-grade cloud closet during COMPUTEX Taipei 2016. This are two of the many upcoming products designed to increase the inclusivity of people from all societal levels to be more interconnected via the IoT.”

Major roadblocks “There are two major roadblocks largely because of two reasons. The first set of hurdles is business-related.

Many organizations are yet to establish a clear picture of what benefits the IoT can deliver. Many have not yet invested the time to develop ideas on how to apply IoT to their business. The second set of hurdles is the organizations themselves. Many of them have insufficient expertise and staffing for IoT and lack clear leadership.

Also the underlined fact being currently IoT is more of a luxury asset than a need in India. The comparatively higher cost of IoT-enabled devices are curbing its mass adoption, in addition to which, the limited broadband connectivity is also a challenge for the common man.

Currently, IoT devices are only being considered by the elite classes who can afford it,” explained, Modi of Abacus Peripherals Pvt Ltd. “The IoT is limited to those with current Internet access and it may not be very inclusive to those without ready Internet access. Also, with the anonymity provided by the Internet, there might be unwanted security threats by black-hat hackers. Hence some major obstacles would be to include the people with no ready Internet access in the IoT system and to ensure the safety and security of confidential information,” said, Chen of Biostar India.

“Ambiguity over IoT standards is one big issue for future. Better standards will also make way for more independent developers to make apps and thus create more use cases for mass adoption. Integration between different IOT devices is also highly dependent on clearer universal standards,” said, Ganjoo of Buzz4Health.

“There can be various challenges that may hamper the viability of IoT. Most importantly, security is one of the major concerns in a connected world. With IoT devices connected with each other, it will be extremely easy for hackers to access and misuse the entire network. One can only fathom the amount of personal and private data the connected devices upload on the IoT network, which can be susceptible to malicious intent.

The major challenge here is to figure out how the communication in the IoT realm can be made truly secure.

Needless to say, seamless data connectivity is also very critical for ensuring smart devices are able to connect and interact with each other,” said, Jain of LeEco India.

Mobility June 2016

“It requires an ecosystem approach, and this requires collaboration amongst companies. It involves hardware, software, cloud, services and support, which is very capital intensive and would take a long time to market. Some of the verticals are not mature hence it requires one to be patient until these markets reach that stage,” said, Lingareddy of Smartron India Pvt Ltd. “There is a huge potential for IoT in India, but there are equally massive roadblocks – like interoperability, standards, regulatory frameworks, data security and skill sets. Also at present, the mass consumer is not yet convinced of the benefits of IoT and so it will take time to educate them. We envisage that IoT will really start to take off in the summer of 2017,” said, Salameh of STK. “There is a huge opportunity in the local and global market for IoT. However, Designing and manufacturing electronics products for IoT have many significant challenges, both technical and business related. Some of the key challenges one might face are slow paced innovations especially in Silicon capabilities, IP, Hardware, Battery Life, cost and network compatibility,” said, Uttamchandani of Syska.

“Robust deployment of IoT technology needs a clear and effective communication channel. The Web is still in a nascent stage which, when addressed the question of reliability, stability, latency of quality and most of all security, has very less to offer. A resilient system is yet to be in place to govern the interoperability of the connected devices if and when product lifecycles come to an end. IoT devices are expected to work and sync with apps other than those with which it had been originally developed, tested and released. So there is a need for a smarter network,” said, Vishwas Mudagal – Co-founder & CEO of GoodWorkLabs.

“Since implementation is still at a nascent stage, we believe the biggest roadblock is infrastructure. We still have major issues when it comes to achieving universal connectivity and that is needed to improve drastically if we are to create the ecosystems at both a consumer and an enterprise levels. Another area where we feel IoT implementations will face major challenges is data security. In fact, with regard to mobility, this will an especially sensitive challenge as surveillance and privacy are always treated as odds. If IoT is to be implement-

Mr. Hitesh Ganjoo Founder & CEO of Buzz4Health

“IoT is definitely on our roadmap with a vision to provide a seamless digital ecosystem for continuous medical education for doctors. Rather than pushing doctors to change their behavior, we are finding ways to fit into their ecosystem and yet provide them with a game changing experience. Having said that, we also realize that strategic partnerships will be key to build this ecosystem.”

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ed, it will be something companies will have to work with improving and showing that security is a pressing concern and needs to be treated very seriously once IoT ecosystems are slowly brought into picture,” concluded, Rana of Panasonic India.

Importance of skill development According to Jain of LeEco India, IoT consists of various components integrated to form a seamless ecosystem. Be it the hardware, software or the communications infrastructure required to connect to the Internet, each carries a specific skill set that adds value to the overall ecosystem. Therefore, investment in skill development becomes extremely critical. Also, to be able to provide a smooth experience of IoT, one would require a tremendous investment in infrastructure as well for seamless connectivity. We are already working on our content infrastructure to give consumers seamless access to on-the-go audio and video content. Our plans to set up a manufacturing facility and utilize the benefits of the ‘Make in India’ initiative will help in fostering innovation, protecting intellectual property, and enhancing skill development, to put the consumer in the best position possible to benefit from this IoT boom.

“It is very important. India lacks robust product ecosystem, and IoT requires strong skillset in industrial design, mechanical engineering, hardware, software etc. In addition to this, to be able to provide timely and highly intelligent and personalized services, IoT also requires skills in artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning and big data analytics,” said, Lingareddy of Smartron India Pvt Ltd. “In the wake of the changing economic environment, it is necessary to focus on educating and advancing the skill sets of the young population of the country. IoT has started to and will eventually re-shape the way we live our lives. Investment into R&D, people and skill is essential to drive the new innovations that will essentially connect everything seamlessly,” said Uttamchandani of Syska.

Ms. Sonia Sharma – Co-founder & MD and Mr. Vishwas Mudagal – Co-founder & CEO, GoodWorkLabs “So far we have entered into smart homes for IoT. We have built IoT applications for one of the leading electrical brands in India for controlling fans, lights, air conditioners etc. We are also working with another company for automotive solutions for health check of cars.”

Mr. Atul Jain

COO, Smart Electronics Business, LeEco India

“LeEco’s vision is to deliver the next generation consumercentric products and services through an array of connected devices that seamlessly connect with each other over the Internet via an open and vertically integrated approach. LeEco has taken various steps to tap this ecosystem.”

“Skill development is extremely important for this and we would like to add that part of this bigger picture is making automation inclusive to it. Ecosystems that are technologically developed will require skilled labour to understand and operate at that level. With the government’s Skill India commitments, we feel in order for it to come to fruition, IoT will play a part in the long run as more skilled labour will be crucial in operating a more technologically empowered ecosystem,” said, Rana of Panasonic India.

“The explosion of the IoT holds huge potential for manufacturers in 2016. But in order to fulfill these promises, manufacturers will need skilled workers who can deploy the evolving technology on the plant side.

The skilled workers shall bring IoT to life. It is highly important to invest in the skill development as this is where the consumer preference is heading and sooner or later, corporate will realize its potential and begin to invest,” said, Modi of Abacus Peripherals Pvt Ltd. “It is vital that we invest in skill development to increase the inclusivity of the IoT to the society at all levels, regardless of age or wealth status. The maximum potential of the IoT will be realized only when society at all levels begin to be included. The Internet is a huge resource bank that is mostly contributed by different people from different walks of life and hence making systems easier to be used by everyone will make the Internet a more inclusive place. Furthermore, it is also essential to train a team of formidable white hat hackers to check for security loopholes and to prevent security from being compromised,” said, Chen of Biostar India.

“Extremely important. The next wave of computing will have a very special place for devices that seamlessly fit into the ecosystem and are smart and active, not passive.” added, Ganjoo of Buzz4Health.

“Right now the need of the hour is to get engineers who are comfortable working with code as well as develop physical devices that can exchange data to be analysed. The talent pool for the same is rare more so in India. However, we invest both time and money into training the gene pool that are potentially capable of developing, testing and deploying these applications with ease. More than that it is vital to identify the minds who are passionate about innovation and capable of executing bright ideas with guidance,” stated Ms. Sonia Sharma, Co-founder & MD of GoodWorkLabs.

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Android. On the other hand, the lines will blur between hardware and software on the IoT devices, and more partnerships between companies with cross functional “MediaTek has been conskills will provide great value to the consumer,” said, tinuously investing towards Ganjoo of Buzz4Health. bringing new technological “IoT comes with its own set of data formats, IoT deadvantages to ensure we are vices, standards, protocols and connectivity options. ahead of the growing curve Service providers are forced to integrate a multitude of of IoT adoption. You will see different technologies when developing cross-domain quite a lot of focus on the IoT domain in India as well. We are services. Thus it is vital to channel the enterprise straalready quite actively involved tegically, functionally as well as operationally to effecin three sub-categories: M2M, tively deploy such technologies. So yes, partnerships Wearables and Connected and alliances will definitely play a major role because Homes.” one has to consider that a single company cannot deliver on the value addition and the vision from multiple facets singlehandedly. More than that for seamless perRole of Partnership and Alliances formance and connectivity, monitoring of product lifecy“From hardware to software and even to networks, cles, security, etc, each enterprise will have its own part IoT plays a major role in business model transforma- to play,” said, Vishwas Mudagal, Co-founder & CEO of tion. Market leaders see IoT as a means of enabling de- GoodWorkLabs. vices to provide insight and improve context in interac“The knowledge share with others provides a sustions. The goal is to take the real-time data stream and tainable competitive advantage that helps us direct our apply right-time contextual relevancy, which is where resources and capabilities to provide the best possible partnerships and appliances shall play a major role. It IoT experience to our consumers,” added, Jain of LeEco will certainly help speed up the process and essentially India. maximize the IoT product offering,” said, Salameh of “There is a lot of room to participate. Strategic acSTK. quisitions could be beneficial in rearranging the Tech “The IoT is a mega-trend that offers tremendous landscape,” added, Salameh of STK. potential to innovate. However, while the opportunity is “Noble Skiodo is a perfect example of how imporhuge, so are the technical and business challenges that tant partnerships and alliances are in the field of techaccompany designing products for the IoT era. Seminology and how important a role it plays in the IoT. conductor and systems companies have to partner with Noble is an Indian Manufacturing brand for LED TVs EDA companies that have the breadth and depth of and Skiodo, is a technology company with its forte in technology to help them with product realization,” said, the integration of technologies and networks into its Uttamchandani of Syska. products. Skiodo sitting at the Hub of world technology, “Absolutely but we have to be careful not to get too Silicon Valley has tied up with Noble to form the brand carried away. One of the best places to align our own Noble Skiodo to provide its customers unique display work would be around opportunities emanating from products that can connect the consumers to the world the government’s Smart Cities initiative, something outside and at the same time get them products to their highlighted earlier. Barring that, alliances will be focused on companies who are at a similar wavelength to us,” added, Rana of Panasonic India.

Mr. Srikanth Karnakota “The key to IoT success shall be the strong partnerDirector – Server and Cloud ships. It shall surely play a significant role to bring IoT Business, Microsoft India to the masses. The networked ecosystem shall bring di“When you break down IoT verse stacks together to create massive opportunities. stack, there are 4 key compoThis is the zenith of the IoT business model wherein the nents – 1. Devices, 2. connecmerger of different technologies shall bring mutually tivity, 3. Data Storage, and 4. beneficial alliance, bringing IoT in focus,” said, Modi Analytics and visualization, and we have comprehensive offerof Abacus Peripherals Pvt Ltd. ings across these components.

“By building a common resource platform, everyone From the devices standpoint, will be able to properly consolidate data and easily find we have the Windows 10 IoT what they need/want regardless of where they are in Operating System for devices at the world, free of geographical boundaries. By building endpoints that enable collecting strategic partnership, we will be able to spread the use and streaming of real-time data. of the IoT more efficiently and effectively to the masses We then have technologies on Azure like the event hub and as well as to provide maximum security online,” said, IoT Hub that enable not only Chen of Biostar India. the Windows devices but also “A lot of industry giants like Google, Samsung, devices running Linux / Unix / Apple, etc will have to play a lead role. It’s the kind of RTOS operating systems to conwhat happened at the cusp of mobile revolution with nect seamlessly with the cloud.”

Mr Kuldeep Malik

Country Head – Corporate Sales International, MediaTek India

Mobility June 2016

special story Mr. Henri Salameh

complete satisfaction. Apart from this alliance with the international connect providers, national network providers and the various technological companies will also play a major role,” concluded, Sharan Maini, Director, Noble Skiodo.

Global Head & Executive Director, STK

“We’ve invested heavily into R&D and developed groundbreaking software that is currently in Beta 1 phase. There are several early verticals of adoption to look for, which shall benchmark the future.”

Major Trend “The advent of IoT has not only changed the role of IT in business but also allowed companies to enable smarter operations and to take better business decisions. Microsoft believes IoT is a critical cog in driving digital transformation among organizations and government services - and that is why Microsoft continues to make investments in IoT to enhance its own capabilities and those of its partners,” said, Srikanth Karnakota, Director – Server and Cloud Business, Microsoft India.

“The trends can be something very simple like how we’ll be able to access email in almost any place and go all the way to enable a VR market. The larger trends in the world of technology are all symbiotically linked to implementation of IoT. Perhaps one area which we feel will become a trend is especially with millennials where more and more employees from companies will work from home or work from various locations. While this may worry some employers, I feel this trend on the Mr. Pankaj Goel, Director, pCloudy Mr. Lalit Jain, Director, pCloudy Mr. Avinash Tiwari, Director, pCloudy “If you are operating in IoT space, you have to realize that there aren’t enough people (not only in India but globally) who possess the skills required to build a quality IoT app or platform. So the mantra at least for the next few years is simple ‘If you can’t hire, you train.’ It is very important to invest in developing the right talent. We see a great demand for people having an understanding of embedded systems and protocols.”

Mr. Vipul Modi

VP Marketing & Sales, Abacus Peripherals Pvt Ltd

“As a matter of fact, we have done very little in this sphere.

We are working on the back end as to how our product line could be made into an IoT product, aligned and adapted with the new technology.”

long run will help in productivity,” said, Rana of Panasonic India.

“Opportunities for building smart ecosystems with monitoring capabilities will be a universal value factor.

From smart healthcare systems that monitor and analyze healthcare information to smart homes and cars, systems will get smarter and having the ability to ‘talk’ and in many places take decisions. This is extremely valuable in healthcare, where patient outcomes will continue to improve with smarter IoT based assistants for doctors,” said, Ganjoo of Buzz4Health.

“With more and more devices joining the ranks of IoT, we will see a rapid growth in the number of connected devices. There is still a gap in knowledge when it comes to the end consumer and IoT, which needs to be bridged. As more companies realize that more initiatives in terms of dissemination of information will be employed, which in turn will drive companies to come up with advanced concepts and methods to ensure growth of this technology,” said, Jain of LeEco India.

“Services will be the key in the long-term while hardware and software is the key for short term. I believe, there is going to be 10x increase in the number of smart devices. The boundary between human and machine is blurring at a rapid pace,” said, Lingareddy, Co-Founder & CEO of Smartron India Pvt Ltd. “Despite huge investments going into the space, IoT is still at a nascent stage in the country. There are also concerns about skillset availability, security of data that these sensors transmit and the need to build a regulatory framework around IoT. However, the government has already taken positive steps by initiating an IoT policy, while industry associations such as NASSCOM and IESA are working together to suggest to the government how IoT could be used to build the nation,” concluded, Uttamchandani of Syska.

IoT and India “The IoT will merge the physical and online worlds, opening up a host of new opportunities for companies, governments and consumers. The IoT building blocks will come from those that can web-enable devices, provide common platforms on which they can communicate and develop new applications to capture new users. Essentially, new products will emerge that will offer the consumer and businesses a solution that will enhance the way they do things daily,” said, Salameh of STK. “The government’s plan to build 100 smart cities, Mobility June 2016

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and the launch of the Digital India programme should provide an impetus to the uptake of IoT applications.

Predictions put India’s share of the IoT pie at 5-6% of the global industry. The IoT framework released by the department of electronics & IT aim to create a $15 billion market by 2020, potentially leading to the growth of connected devices from the current 200 million to 2.7 billion by 2020. The various initiatives proposed to be taken under the Smart City concept and the Digital India Program to set up Digital Infrastructure in the country would help boost the IoT industry. IoT will be critical in making these cities smarter,” said, Uttamchandani of Syska.

“India missed mainframe, PC and mobile waves over the last 50 years. IoT wave offers billions of dollars business and scores of opportunities from hardware to software to services to support. Having said that, for India of Things to become Interent of Things, we will have to address the product ecosystem and innovation infrastructure challeges. Additionally, we will have to bring back our roots of great innovation and shift our focus to products,” said, Lingareddy of Smartron India Pvt Ltd. “India has always been a different market compared to the rest of the world. The marketers should focus on the Indian needs and so do the brands & products across the country. IoT and India when put together will create new ranges, new products and new niches that will change the way the products are used.

IoT is an opportunity that today’s generation and businesses have got, India is a country with one of the largest educated manpower bank, knowledge source and market. This is going to offer many opportunities starting now. Smart is the new way to go, be it a television, be it a mobile or be it an electric appliance. With the IoT, Smart is now a need and not an aspiration. Noble Skiodo hopes to reap the benefits of the IoT by working as per the current trends and by adapting to the very innovative and opportunistic Indian Market,”said, Maini of Noble Skiodo.

“We have watched Indian IoT space maturing over the last couple of years. Though one may argue that there is still a lot of hype, we are seeing significant traction in Government, Manufacturing \ Automobile industries and Startups. With initiatives like Smart City, the government has taken initiative and framed a draft policy to fulfill a vision of developing a connected, secure and a smart system based on our country’s needs.

Government’s objective is to create an IoT industry in Mr. Rajesh Uttamchandani

Mr. Bask Iyer Chief Information Officer, VMware

“We are extremely excited to launch Liota (Little IoT Agent), a vendor-neutral Open Source software development kit (SDK) for building secure IoT gateway data and control orchestration applications: where, when, and how to gather data from attached devices and transfer data to data center components. Liota also supports an application in receiving control signals from the data center components.”

India of USD 15 billion by 2020,” said, Pankaj Goel, Director, pCloudy.

“India is yet to go a long way to realistically adopt IoT. The trust factor for such a technology is not sky high right now. After it becomes mainstream, affordability is going to be one hindering factor for the masses. Enterprise-wise, companies have already begun to prepare themselves in terms of skills and research for the windfall of possibilities that come with IoT,” said, Ms. Sonia Sharma, Co-founder & MD of GoodWorkLabs.

“IoT in India will get a huge push through the Smart Cities project, where IoT will be extensively used in many smart projects like parking, lighting, waste management, etc. One industry estimate puts India’s IoT industry at 5-6 percent of the global IoT industry. As IoT touches more lives in India, a lot of local opportunities unique to India will surely come up,” added Ganjoo of Buzz4Health.

“The year 2016 will be an important milestone for IoT adoption. We are starting to see a wide range of IoT use cases across virtually all industries. But, the big challenge now is demonstrating return on investment. Executives need to validate the contribution that IoT can make in order to justify large-scale rollouts.

Unimaginable opportunities can come from this, if one closely watches,” said, Modi of Abacus Peripherals Pvt Ltd. “Speaking of India, IoT will simply act as a tremendous enabler since a large part of our population is yet to adopt PCs and use the Internet. With better infrastructure, be it via mobility, security and surveillance or just connectivity, millions of Indians can enter the endless knowledge pool of the Internet,” said, Rana of Panasonic India.

Director, SSK Group

“IoT provides an opportunity not only to large vendors but also a plethora of startups who are attracting big investments.

Companies such as Cisco, IBM and Intel are using their venture funds to invest in some of these companies to grow inorganically in the domain.”

Mobility June 2016

At Last The IoT will see a huge range of devices coming online – from a wristwatch to a tractor, a factory pallet or even a simple network sensor increasingly generating data for companies to capture. The ability to process this data autonomously will truly empower marketers by enabling them to analyze customer feedback in real-time and derive actionable insights from multiple data sources.

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review

ASUS ZenFone Max Great combination of style and power

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s smartphones are getting powerful and smarter day by day the demand for battery life keeps on increasing with upgraded specs and features in a smartphone.

In recent times, we have seen many smartphone manufacturers are trying to address this issues and launched smartphones with big mAh backed devices.

Recently ASUS launched ZenFone Max which is meant for users who are always on the move and demand superior performance along with an elegant style.

Features & Looks: The new ZenFone Max is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 Octa-Core processor and provides the users an option to opt for a 2GB or 3GB RAM. The internal memory of the phone has now been increased to 32GB, in addition to an expandable memory of up to 64GB. Equipped with a 5000 mAh battery, the ZenFone Max can last longer without charging and is also capable of being a power bank for other gadgets. Backed by Android M 6.0.1 and ASUS ZenUI, the new ZenFone Max has a 13 Megapixel, f/2.0-aperture rear camera with the ASUS PixelMaster 2.0 technology and dual-LED flash for natural-looking photography. It also features Laser Auto Focus technology that helps photography enthusiasts focus on an object in as fast as 0.03 seconds. ZenFone Max’s front camera is a 5 Megapixel, f/2.0-aperture camera with 85̊ wide-viewing angle that helps in incorporating more information and details into the picture. Featuring a 5.5 inch HD (1280x720) IPS display with full-screen lamination and ASUS TruVivid technology, the battery centric smartphone is not only loaded with mammoth 5000 mAh battery but it also looks sleek that measures only 5.2 mm at its thinnest edge. Its surrounding metallike edge makes it durable while the back with the look

Mobility June 2016

and feel of embossed leather makes the phone look chic and fashionable for every occasion.

Performance: As this is more a battery centric smartphone let’s talk about its battery performance. This smartphone is easily a good choice for a power user and people who always stay web connected. The phone boasts a standby time of over 30 days and up to 37 hours of talktime on 3G or 32 hours of Wi-Fi web browsing. The ZenFone Max can even be used to charge other compatible devices. ZenFone Max includes advanced features to satisfy power users. The Power Saver mode helps users manage and extend the battery life even more. With five battery modes and two smart switches that users can configure to make their own battery optimization settings and help the battery last even longer. Lookwise ZenFone Max looks attractive, may be it feels bulky for some but overall it looks nice in your hand and easy for one hand operations.

The new ZenUI has more than 1000 features and additions to the Android interface, runs the latest 6.0.1 (Marshmallow) version of the Android OS, so you have new features such as the Now o n Tap. The camera performance is decent but bit inconsistent. Overall, it’s a great package in this price bracket.

Verdict: In this competitive price segment, ASUS succeeded to bring in a quality device which is good looking, powered by great specs and big battery. Good buying option for all power users.

Pros: great design, built quality, battery life Cons: Audio, UI

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Coolpad Max After giving a great security feature like fingerprint scanner in budget budget phone Note 3 and dual system security feature (Dual in One) in Coolpad Max, Coolpad is taking smartphone security to the next level.

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oolpad was originally the smartphone brand of Yulong Computer Telecommunication Scientific (Shenzhen) Co, a subsidiary of China Wireless Technologies Limited. China Wireless was officially renamed “Coolpad Group Limited� at the end of 2013. Coolpad entered Indian market and raised the bar with Coolpad Note 3, which was the first sub 10k smartphone in India with a fingerprint sensor. The company extended its product line-up with Coolpad Note 3 Lite and the recent Coolpad Note Plus in the value for money category. This time they forayed into the upper mid-range smartphone market with its latest handset Coolpad Max.

Features: The Coolpad Max smartphone flaunts a 5.5-inch full HD (1920*1080 pixels) IPS display and Full Metal Unibody. Under the hood is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 octa-core 1.5 GHz Processor paired and 4GB of RAM. Also on offer is 64GB internal storage. It sports a 13-megapixel camera on the rear and a 5-megapixel camera on the front. Also on offer is a 2,800mAh battery, a fingerprint scanner on the back and connectivity options like dual-SIM card slots, 4G LTE support, Wi-Fi, and USB.

Performance: The key feature of Coolpad Max is dual-in-one, Look and Design: which enables users to distinctly manage their perCoolpad did such a great job designing this smart- sonal and professional spaces on their device. With phone, strating from its great elegent packaging. The Dual space, you can create multiple accounts of one phone comes in Metallic body with, 2.5D curved-edge app. Like you can have dual Whatsapp accounts on glass display, It has dual speaker grills on the bottom one phone. Same with Facebook, twitter and other side with a USB port in between. There is a 3.5mm au- apps. Coolpad has defined the two spaces as exterdio jack on top side. The back side hosts 13 Megapixel nal and internal systems. The internal system ensures calls and texts are encrypted for added security. This is a great feature to manage Specifications your personal and professional with one deDisplay: 5.5-inch 2.5D curved Full vice. We really liked the look and feel of this HD (1920x100) display, Gorilla device, the display of the Max smartphone Glass 4 coating has a 2.5D Arc design, which puts a slight OS: Android 5.1 Lollipop with Coolpad UI curve around the edges of the screen. It has CPU: 1.5GHz octa-core Qualcomm a scratch-resistant metal unibody and a Snapdragon 617 CPU, 4GB polished metal lining and continues with a Storage: 64GB storage, microSD matte finish, overall the devcie looks really support by up to 64GB premium. Also liked both camera output Cameras: 13MP rear camera which are decent enough and can compite (dual-tone LED flash), 5MP front with any other smartphone in this category. camera The day to day performance also have no isConnectivity: Wi-Fi, 3G/4G/2G, sues at all. But we noticed some heating isGPS, Bluetooth, USB Type C charging port, USB OTG sues while playing highend games or workBattery: 2,800mAh ing more with the snapper. The fingerprint Dimensions: 152.00 x 75.70 x scanner works perfectly in every situation 6.90mm that we have tried, we can say that they are Weight: 170 grams the best fingerprint scanner in this segment.

Price: Rs 24,999

camera and fingerprint sensor. The back also comes with two thick antenna lines. The box comes with a micro USB cable, power adapter, SIM pin, earphones, screen protector, back cover, user manuals, and of course the handset itself. The phone will be available in royal gold and rose gold colours option.

Mobility June 2016

Verdict: Coolpad Max is a gorgeous device, loaded with great security features and gives good camera output. But failed to balance the cost of this device.

Pros: Built quality, premium looks, Dual mode, fingerprint scanner, good camera Cons: Price

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featured

STK Explorer WiFi 1080P HD Waterproof Action Camera Kit For your next Adventure

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TK, a pioneer of mobile phone accessories recently launched its first ‘explorer camera’ designed not only to endure the extreme outdoor conditions of any adventure but to also capture all the fun and thrills. The action camera is a go anywhere, rugged, compact, waterproof camera complete with 19 accessories. It is high on specs and is best suited for an active lifestyle. From everyday life to those hair raising memories the STK explorer camera will record your favorite memories.

Truly Adventurous: Weighing just 58g including the battery, the compact STK explorer camera records detail packed Full HD video whether you are hiking, biking, surfing, or skydiving.

Its rugged body fits into pockets for easy carrying.

The explorer camera allows you to capture life’s greatest photo opportunities before they are gone. A 6G lens will give you the perfect shot every time. With the Burst mode capturing 3 photos in 1.5 seconds you will never miss a moment and Time Lapse will capture a series of photos at set intervals.

Full HD Experience with photos and video: The stunning camera will capture your memories in crystal clear, high definition. From muddy bike tracks to tropical lagoons, STK explorer captures those oncein-a-lifetime experiences with fantastic Full HD video and detail packed photos. Everything you see is more vivid with 1080P which makes colours brighter.

Control, share and relive memories: After shooting, connect the STK explorer camera to your smartphone via Wi-Fi and transfer and share your pictures and videos instantly with the mobile app.

The free to download iOS or Android app will turn your smartphone into viewfinder to watch recorded action or live streams from the camera as well as making it a fully-functional remote control enabling you to start and stop video recording and take photos via your device.

Mount and Go: With a variety of mounting options, getting started is easy. The handle bar mount easily secures the explorer camera to handlebars, poles and more, while the helmet mount will fix the camera to any helmet.

The explorer camera has a 900mAh battery with 90 minutes standby. With a full range of features including mounts, clips, waterproof case, and a storage case to keep everything in the explorer camera will add fun to all of your recording allowing you to capture the incredible.

Ultra Rugged - Waterproof: The action camera is as tough and durable as it gets. The Explorer comes with a tough waterproof case for use underwater. The case is water resistant up to 30m so you can record your adventures and then relive all your action packed moments again and again.

12 Mega Pixels to capture reality: The explorer camera is a 12 MP camera, which will capture the minutest detail. With a 170 degree wide angle lens, you can capture even more detail while maintaining picture perfect focus.

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Includes 19 different accessories: • Waterproof housing • Handle bar / pole mount • 7 different mounts • 2 different clips • Helmet mounts • Various straps • Battery • 3M adhesive tape • Tethers and cable ties • Spare protective back door • USB cable • Lens cloth

Channel focus

“Our Retailers Maintain MOP Strictly and We Offer Services Efficiently”

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oday, Haryana is one of the regard. For other brands, disparity happening places for mobility between online and offline is a big distribution business. Parvesh problem so we avoid them.”

Garg and Pradeep Garg lead a Regarding their USPs, Parvesh group of 5 sister organizations, all Garg comments, “Our main functioning under one umbrella selling points are uniform MOP based out of Kurukshetra, Haryana. and prompt & efficientafter-salesThese 5 organizations deal with service. We guide our retailers how distributing mobile phones and to handle service issues smartly. offering after-sales-services for Our sales personnel are available mobile phones in Haryana state. in all the locations in Haryana The details of different verticals in where we operate. As soon as a the group are as follows: complaint comes, they go to the 1. Pushpak Enterprises (estd retailer, collect the gadget, get 2007): This vertical deals with only the necessary servicing done services to Sony mobile phones in and then deliver the product at Mr. Parvesh Garg Pan-Kurukshetra; 2. PNS Telecom the retailer’s doorstep.Our group (estd 2010): Provides products and provides services for both Lava and Director, Pushpak Enterprises services of Lava. They have been Sony. For Vivo, we do not directly distributors for Lava since Lave has been launched provide service, but we formed a team that coordinates beginning; 3. Trimurti Associates (estd 2013): This continuously between the customers and Vivo service operates in G.T. Karnal belt which includes Panchkula, centers. Since our people have experience with what Ambala, Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar and Sonipat. kind of problems the customers face and their pattern, This vertical deals in selling Sony mobile products; they are able resolve the issues effectively by being in 4. Pushpak Networks (estd 2005): At present this the background. In general, Vivo sets come with good organization distributes Vivo products (no after-salesquality and reliability, so complaints are very rare.” services) in 4 districts names, Kurkshetra, Ambala, Regarding their strategy on positioning of Panchkula and Yamuna Nagar; and 5. Trimurti products and services, Parvesh Garg explains, “Our International: Is a Retail Point in Kurukshetra. They also Sony products are premium high-end smart phones provide relevant accessories for the models they offer. rangingRs 30K and above, Vivo products we sell are In an interaction with Mobility magazine, Parvesh in the range of 10K-30K and Lava products are Rs 800 Garg shares about their group’s objectives, vision and to 10K. Our Lava brand portfolio also includes latest values. Regarding their marketing strategy, Parvesh models of feature phones, which are preferred by Garg comments, “The main principle in our business traditional users in the rural areas of Haryana. This strategy is we maintain price parity across all the differentiated positioning of our products prevents locations and across all our retailers who operate in the three brands competing with each other. And this those locations. In our meetings with all our retailers, strategy is working well for us.” we explain them the importance of maintaining MOP. Regarding challenges and future plans, Parvesh Then we closely monitor all our retailers so that they Garg concludes, “China-based companies are posing maintain the MOP and do not divert from that principle. a challenge by selling products a low cost. Next, as So far all our retailers have been very cooperative on far as Make in India program is concerned, Chinese this aspect. We keep targets to our retailers and we brands, who could invest big sums, are making best reward them when they perform better in terms sales use of the program and reaping the benefits, as volumes and services handling.” compared to Indian brands. As for growth rate, Sony Price disparities and uncertainties between offline and Vivo phones are growing well. Lava is about to channel and the online channel have become a big start manufacturing mobile phones in India in their threat to the channel players nowadays. Regarding own plant under Make in India and once that happens this, Parvesh clarifies, “There is a lot of confusion when we are expecting good growth of Lava phones in the the same models are available via online channels and market. In general, trends and demands are changing offline channels. All the three brands we are dealing very fast nowadays in the mobile phone market, so with, Sony, Lava and Vivo, maintain price parity between it is difficult to project things beyond a year or two. online and offline. And that is the reason we chose However, we are encouraged by our growth so far and them as our vendors. They are very aggressive in this hope to grow further in the coming years.”

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interview

Bluei is fast emerging into a big brand in mobile and accessories market in India Rather than selling cheap products and giving consumers a costly bitter experience later, Bluei encourages consumers to pay a little more and get products with a lot more quality.

I

n an interaction with Mobility Magazine, Akhilesh Chopra, Operational Director, Bluei, shares their brand’s philosophy, strategy and vision.

Please brief us about the inception and outlook of Bluei brand.

A. Bluei was first bought into picture in 2011. Before that we had our first brand named Unique.

Even our office and retail outlet were started by the name Unique Telecom, where Unique was our brand name. The organization was the brain-child of our Managing Director, Mr Rajesh Chopra. Since beginning our effort and vision was to bring quality and innovative products to the Indian market.

After we started, we witnessed rapid growth in the market in a very short period of time. As more players jumped into market, trend turned to focusing more on bulk trading, and the market was driven by either quality or price. Then we offered both things in the market: our products were not too costly nor we offered low quality products.

Though we had been doing well in the business, we felt that we should focus on something targeted at youth and that is more trendy at the same time.

What are the new ideas that are driving your business today?

A. One day while casually discussing, we got the idea that we should launch our new brand Bluei. This is again a brain-child of Mr. Rajesh who felt that with this new brand, we can bring premium and quality products with a fresh approach.

And from the very beginning, we tried to provide new products that were not offered by Unique brand. So we tried to bring new and premium product-line under our brand Bluei targeted towards youth.

Mobility June 2016

How do you position and drive Bluei brand?

help to households and repair centers. These products have been in high demand since their launch and are well accepted in the Indian market.

A. From day one, we have been very much committed and Please brief about focused about your present product what we need portfolio. to do. We set the A. After we separated tag-line which from Unique brand, we says ‘You Think, added products like Mr. Akhilesh Chopra We Create’ Operational Director, Bluei card-readers, hands-free, as young universal chargers, etc generation to Bluei line. And 3 years loves innovations and we tried to back, we saw a huge potential for offer products they dream about. power banks in India, and soon Initially, we had some challenges we launched power banks under to convince new and young clients, Bluei. At that time power bank and also we were offering products was still a new concept, and our with a premium quality but at prices power banks in the 2600mAh & higher than the market average.

5200mAh categories were loaded But we knew that it would take with laser light and other features. time for the consumers who buy They were an instant hit and we our products to understand and got huge orders from corporate experience our quality. So we gave for corporate-gifting and after that them time, worked hard to promote there was no looking back. our products and convince the Today, we have 80+ mobile buyers. And our efforts paid and accessories in our portfolio. We our brand Bluei started to generate manufacture and sell about 8000 more than expected demand in the cameras; and sell about 15000 market; it even became difficult for power banks a month. If you talk us to supply and meet the demand, about handsfree, we are selling initially. more than 3-4 lakh pieces a month,

What do you feel is the key to success of Bluei?

A. Market has been playing only on two factors: quality and price.

We offer better quality products at reasonable prices. Once customers use, they feel that Bluei products are equal in quality to top brand products, while at the same time offer great value for money. And that is how Bluei took off. Today, our customers are ready ot pay a little extra to get our better quality Bluei products.

Which was your first star product under Bluei brand?

A. Our multipurpose tool kits 6032 and 6036 were the first products under Bluei which were a smash hit. These products were a great

and our chargers and tools are also going in good numbers. We are also into car accessories, and recently we have started selling a good number of products in car audio and TFT monitor categories.

We are growing at a good pace of 30-40% of growth year on year.

How is your presence in different parts of India?

Apart from strong hold in North India, we have a good market share in South from where we regularly get huge orders. We are also focusing on expanding to other parts of India soon. We take on competition positively, as we believe healthy competition always makes us work hard and develop & improve ourselves further.

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wearable tech

Doel DV8:

Taking Virtual Reality to the next level

P

lay amazing games, watch movies in your own private cinema, be at the center of everything, The DV8 VR drops you right into the action-and it’s only.

This VR gives you freedom to use it wirelessly as everything is built-in to the visor. Its also helps to put on the device for longer hours as it removes the additional burdain of extra weight of your smartphone.

Very easy connectivity options and the controlls are very user friendly, once you know the functions of each button it becomes more easy for your to operate without taking off the deadset.

This is an Android-based device that provide a Gear VR-like solution without using a phone. It has a 5-inch display, that pumps out 1080p per eye, with a 100-degree Field of View. The processor is a 1.8 GHz quad-core Rockchip RK3288 which has dedicated high resolution/UHD video decoders. On Full charge it gives your around 6-7 hrs of battery life.

You can even load software onto the VR set over

WiFi onto the 16GB storage -- expandable with SD cards up to 64GB. You need no other kit to get going except a headphones, which can be connected over Bluetooth or 3.5mm jack..

Specs: Chipset: Rockchip 3288, Quad core, 1.8Ghz, Cortex A17 Android 5.1 RAM: 1 GB/2GB LCD: 5.5’ FHD 1080 x 1920 resolution WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 9axis sensor: Gyroscope, Gravity, geomagnetism Battery: 3500 mAh Movie Decode: 4K/ H.265 and ect For more information : Sudip De Email: sudip@doel.in Mobile.: +91-9899013070

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APPS

‘Must try’ Photo Editor Apps T

hese days people clicking pictures more with their smartphones than with digital cameras. That’s why there is a huge demand for and availability of mobile photo-editors in the market. We picked some of the best and versatile Photo editor Apps that will help you to enhance and develop your creativity.

Bonfire Photo Editor Pro It is a popular photo editor with some fun features and a number of filters that it supports. It also comes with some unique features like Fancy, a filter that turns your photos into watercolors. It does have some basic editing tools, like skin smoothing and blemish removal as well.

In this app, the new Android Lollipop camera mode that includes manual controls and more to access the new camera go to New Capture - More – ‘Material’ Camera (only accessible on Android L).

Material camera supports full background capture with device screen off or Lapse It on background.

Photo Mate R3 It also has native support for RAW files which is great for photographers. The app also comes with a Lens Collection so you can fix lens issues including vignetting, distortion and chromatic aberration.

AirBrush This is a must have app for selfie lovers. It specializes in quick-fixes and edits made to face and skin including a blemish remover, teeth whitening, a function to make eyes look brighter, reshaping tools and, of course, plenty of filters to add some pizzazz.

Mobility June 2016

Lapse It - Time Lapse Camera

Snapseed Last and certainly not the least is Snapseed. This unique photo editor was scooped up by Google a few years ago and has since turned into one of the premiere photo editing apps for Android. It has support for RAW photos which will please photographers greatly.

Date of Pub: 10th June, 2016 | Postal Dt.: 16th & 17th of same Month/ Posted at NDPSO

R.N.I. No. DELENG/2004/14198

Postal Reg. No.: DL(S)-01/3442/2016-18