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mobility monthly magazine August 2014 issue 03 volume 11
www.mobilityindia.com
Ghaffar Market Drives Delhi’s Smartphones and Accessory Sales
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Beyond Technology, Beyond Lifestyle
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“Oplus- The new price cracker in the Mobile Phone Market“ 15
Reviews • Oplus Xon Phone 5 • HTC One M8 • Harman Kardon's Go+Play Wireless • Canon1200D 14-18
"Due to smartphone the demand of compact cameras are effected but we saw good growth of our DSLRs cameras" 19
Maxtone Forays into Mobile Accessories and Peripherals Market in India 25 CMYK
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Editor
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Swapan Roy
Chief Editor
:
Manoj Jha
Associate Editor (Tech,) :
Jayanta Ghosh
Asst. Editor
:
E.J. Jawahardatham
:
Anit Kumar
Finance
:
Sandip Sarkar
Marketing & Sales Marketing Manager
:
Tridip Dey
Marketing Executives
:
Sujit Goswami
Design Desk Art Director Acct. & Finance
Pratap Biswas S. Dutt Raj Kumar Circulation Manager
:
P. Biswas
Production
:
Ashish Ghosh
System Manager
:
Ashok Kumar Paul Ajay Biswas
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 Redg.Off.: 38-B / 56 Block, C. R. Park, New Delhi-110019 (India). Branch Office: Mumbai: E-mail: roy@ mobilityindia.com Kolkata: 105/12B, Dum Dum Road, Sil Colony, Kolkata-74 Contact: 09330922965; 09903392620 E-mail : roy@ mobilityindia.com Orissa: Krushna Nagar, 5th Lane, Lalji Palli, Berhampur760008 (Orissa) (India) Contact : Raj Kumar-09338410809
Content
Mobility News 8-9 Latest industry news
Mobility Launchpad 10-11 Latest mobile lauches of the month
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Mobility Special Story 12 Ghaffar Market Drives Delhi's Smartphones and Accessories Sales Mobility Review 14-18 Oplus XonPhone 5 HTC One M8 F&D: F1200U Harman Kardon's Go+Play Wireless Canon 1200D Mobility Interview 15 "Oplus - The new price cracker in the Mobile Phone Market
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Mobility Interaction 19 "Due to smartphone the demand of compact careras are effected but we saw good growth of our DSLRs cameras" Mobility Cover Story 20-23 How they emerged and prepared to fight off
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Email : info@mobilityindia.com ncn_reporter@yahoo.com Mobility monthly News Paper, Printed, Published & Owned by Swapan Roy at
Tech Story 24 Video Conferencing Made Easy by Smartphoes
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38-B / 56 Block, C. R. Park, New Delhi-110019 (India). Printed at Pushpak Printer, C-96, Okhla Industrial Area-I, New Delhi-20. Retail selling price of News Paper Rs. 20/-. Annual subscription Rs. 240. Editor
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: edit@mobilityindia.com roy@ mobilityindia.com
Marketing : tridip@mobilityindia.com marketing@mobilityindia.com Info
Mobility Channel Focus 25 Maxtone Forays into Mobile Accessories and Peripherals Market in India
: info@mobilityindia.com
Subscribe : subscription@ mobilityindia.com
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Mobility Trendsetter 26-27 Xiaomi Mi3 : High on specs but low in stock Mobility Made in India 28-29 In this segment we are featuring HIVE
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Mobility Smart Apps 30 UC Web India 4
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Editor’S Choice
LG G Watch R After the LG G Watch company will soon launch its successor at IFA 2014. The South Korean electronics giant is expected to unveil a smartwatch refresh called LG G Watch R that features a more elegant round screen, according to a new video hosted on LG's YouTube channel. The new LG smartwatch appears to be following the lead of Motorola Google's first foray into the smartwatch arena in June, has seen a lot of entrants and interest, but few sales. Now Google is attempting to create a level of consistency with the next wave of smart watches with its Android Wear operating system -- a
India Needs Second Revolution in Telecoms
version of Android customized for wearable products.
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India’s telecom watchdog TRAI’s agenda shouldalso include creating a competitive market for spectrum-sharing, a market for trading in airwaves and business ready and business aware networks that can ensure better profitability for the operators.This is the second revolution that the telecom segment should brace itself to. As Indian market is set to witness another round of market consolidation, mobile call charges in India could go up by many percentage points and India's telecom market, among the cheapest in the world, needs to change and evolve fast. At a time when operators have seen years of making wafer-thin or even non-existent profits, they are now coming together in alliances to ensure that relentless price competition and freebies do not deplete their margins. And a number of telecom players today doubt whether these measures ensure
customer loyalty: more so today they face huge challenge of free pack data usage clogging their networks from upside down. And hence, keeping this in mind, TRAI's goals should include heralding this second revolution in telecom and creating a healthy competitive landscape for spectrumsharing, a market for trading in airwaves and mechanisms to ensure that all operators have the incentive to participate in more efficient use of scarce bandwidth and create new and innovative data driven business models where cutting edge technologies such as LTE and WIFi will play a key role
Swapan Roy roymobility@gmail.com
www.mobilityindia.com
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Mobi li t y N ews
Govt Rolls Out 2nd Phase of National Optical Fibre Network
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hri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister for Communications & IT and Law & Justice, stated that the vision of the Government of India is 'Digital India, Skill India'. This will be achieved
with speed and scale by implementing and executing the e-governance strategy. While addressing 'i-bharat-2014' conference organized jointly by FICCI and the Department of Electronics and IT in the Ministry of Communications and IT, Shri Prasad said that India was sitting on cusp of a big IT revolution. The Government plans to achieve broadband digital connectivity across the country and for this, it has expedited the process of putting in place the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN). The aim is to connect 50,000 gram panchayats
this year, 1 lakh next year and add another 1 lakh panchayats to the network the following year. Shri Prasad emphasized the need for stakeholders to work with greater synergy and cooperation. The Government is in the process of creating an enabling environment and a nondiscriminatory architecture, for public and private sectors. The project for e-governance at the village level has the potential to transform the delivery of video, data, Internet, telephone services in areas such as education, business, entertainment, environment, health households and e-governance services. On the occasion, Shri Prasad released the FICCI-EY report titled, 'i-City: Enabling Cities for Citizens.' Addressing the meeting Mr. Rakesh Garg, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, said that the Government is according high priority to digitalizing India to upgrade the skillsets of the work force and capture the ICT potential for higher access and efficiencies across sector. Mr. Garg underscored the importance of broadband by quoting studies by the World Bank and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) which state that a 10 per cent increase in broadband leads to a 1.38 per cent increase in GDP and that the benefits of broadband accrue more to developing countries.
OnMobile Appoints Nancy Cruickshank and Bruno Ducharme as Independent Directors
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nMobile Global Limited announced the appointment of two new Independent non-executive Additional Directors, Ms. Nancy Cruickshank and Mr. Bruno Ducharme to its Board. Ms. Nancy Cruickshank is a serial entrepreneur and currently the Founder & CEO of MyShowcase Ltd, an innovative online and direct beauty retailer that works on building a distribution channel for leading beauty brands through a growing base of lady stylists. Mr. Bruno Ducharme is Chairman of TIW Capital Partners, a private investment company. “We welcome Ms. Nancy Cruickshank and Mr. Bruno Ducharme on to the Board,” said Mr. H.H. Haight, Chairman of the Board of Directors, OnMobile Global. “Ms. Cruickshank has an enviable reputation for creating innovative business enterprises with a social context. Mr. Ducharme brings onboard impeccable credentials and extensive experience in international telecom markets.” Speaking about the announcement, Ms. 8
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Nancy Cruikshank said, “I thank the OnMobile Board for this nomination. I am a strong believer in listening to consumers and look forward to help OnMobile strongly “I welcome this opportunity to work with OnMobile. With the explosive growth in digital media, OnMobile can play a pivotal role in creating and marketing solutions that are relevant to consumers. I look forward to working with OnMobile during these exciting times,” said Mr. Bruno Ducharme. Ms. Cruickshank was the Launch CEO of Weve, a media & m-Commerce joint venture, leading a team that secured clearance from the European Commission for leading mobile operators in the UK. In 2008 she joined VideoJug, the marketleading How To website, as Global CEO. In May 2009 she moved to the Telegraph Media Group (TMG) as Executive Director, Digital Development where her focus was on growing TMG's digital proposition and revenue. In 2001 she launched Handbag.com, the pioneering A History Honours graduate from Leeds University, Ms. Cruickshank worked for Condé Nast in marketing and advertising handling prestigious titles including Vogue and World of Interior. Ms. Cruickshank actively champions women entrepreneurship and advises on the Board of Telecity Group PLC [London FTSE 250] and MyShowcase Ltd [London].
Samsung Joins Hands with Google and Aircel Samsung has joined hands with Aircel, one of the mobile service providers, and Google's Helping Women Get Online (HWGO) initiative to open up the world of the Internet to more women in India. The partnership will bring the strength of Samsung's user-friendly range of smartphones and Aircel's expertise in mobile network as well as data innovations to the campaign, which will enable women to easily understand the benefits that Internet can bring to their everyday lives. This will be done by increasing their awareness through Internet training sessions provided jointly by Samsung & Google on both Internet usage and Samsung smartphones powered by Aircel data. Google's HWGO was launched in November 2013 to empower women by enabling them to use the Internet. The campaign seeks to address the fact that only 1 in 3 Indian women access the Internet. One of the many activities to address this scenario involves Internet training in cities and towns across 12 states in the country, targeting over 4 million literate women from low income groups. The program also targets girl students with an aim to build them as influencers and bring about a long-term societal change. "At Samsung, we constantly work towards creating technologically advanced devices that empower our customers and make their everyday lives easier and more efficient. Given that Internet access through mobile phones is considered the next technological leapfrog in India, Samsung's association with Google's Helping Women Get Online initiative serves as an ideal platform for the brand's commitment towards opening newer possibilities for people everywhere," said Mr Asim Warsi, Vice President, Mobile & IT, Samsung India. "Helping Women Get Online is an initiative that aims to empower women and give them the tools to access and use the Internet effectively. With the help of mobile Internet, women can leverage new opportunities, educate themselves and lead a better life. We are extremely excited and happy to partner with Samsung to support women and bring them online," said Mr Sandeep Menon, Director Marketing, Google India. Anupam Vasudev, Chief Marketing Officer, Aircel, said, "Aircel has positioned itself as a leading innovative mobile services provider with a focus on data. For the uptake of data services in the country, it is critical to empower the customers to make them realize the immense potential of data in today's digital age and constantly educate them on how it can make their lives better. In line with our objective, we are delighted to partner with Samsung and Google for this unique initiative which will enable women to learn and use internet in their daily lives and benefit from it." www.mobilityindia.com
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Mobi li t y N ews
P Balaji To Quit Nokia
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okia India head P Balaji has put in his papers due to personal reasons, according to Nokia’s statement. According to the company statement, they will look for potential candidates for the position.
Ajey Mehta, the current Head of Sales Operations-India Middle East and Africa, will be the acting Area Head for India. Ajey will continue in his current role at the same time. He is a veteran in the company, having joined Nokia 10 years ago. He has held several key roles in this period including Heading Retail in Singapore, a stint in the global retail team and leading Sales Ops for the erstwhile SEAP region. Balaji will continue to be an Advisor to MDG and Ajey in the transition. He will be with us till Oct 2014. Balaji, joined Nokia in October 2012 as Managing Director, India Area, has been instrumental in driving Lumia and building the X family of phones as well as strengthening Nokia’s Retail execution in the country.
HCL bagged Rs 2400 crore deal
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CL Technologies bagged the deal from French telecommunications giant Alcatel Lucent for rolling out 2G/3G support services and R&D development. "In conjunction with the targeted cost savings of our Shift Plan, we
entered into a 7-year master service agreement with HCL Technologies regarding the transfer of a part of our R&D department for certain legacy technologies," Alcatel said in its half yearly report. For HCL, the deal comes on the heels of two other massive deals it signed in the past few months -- a $400 million contract from Norway's DNB Bank to manage IT infrastructure and application operations for all DNB businesses across Norway and its key international locations, and a $500 million contract from food and beverage giant Pepsi. "As part of an initial threeyear transition and transformation phase, we are committed to restructuring those activities, which is estimated to cost $29 million. Overall, AlcatelLucent is committed, under this agreement, to purchase approximately $297 million (about $400 million) of HCL services until 2021," the French telecom giant said in its report. www.mobilityindia.com
Facebook To Stop Sending & Receiving Of Messages On Its App On iPhone and Android
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acebook started toying with the idea back in April when it started asking users to switch to the Messenger app in Europe. The company claims to have seen “positive results” in terms of engagement which led to this decision. Currently, there is a tab in the app that allows you send and receive messages in the Facebook app. Facebook will soon start notifying users to switch to its standalone messaging app. Besides, with new messaging apps for iOS and Android, the company plans to improve the speed and add features such as the ability to take selfies and videos within the app.
Jolla Smartphones Coming to India
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he Finnish start-up Jolla formed by former Nokia employees is expected to ship its first smartphone in India next month. The company has inked an exclusive deal with Snapdeal for
sales. Jolla phone is expected to be backed by a dual-core Snapdragon chipset clicked at 1.4 GHz. It sports a 4.5-inch IPS screen (960x540 pixels) with Corning's Gorilla Glass. Other features include an 8 megapixel camera, 1 GB RAM, 16 GB internal storage, RGB indicator to display notifications, microSD card slot, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G, and 2100 mAh battery. The Helsinki-based company has also licensed HERE maps and services from Nokia. And will use MeeGo software, created by Nokia and Intel in 2010-2011, for its products.
Bansals of Flipkart Inching Closer to Tech Billionaires Like Narayana Murthy
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he four-member Murthy family has a net worth of around Rs 8700 crore in India's second largest IT services company, while the Nilekani family's net worth stands at Rs 6500 crore. From 2011 to 2014, Flipkart grew its sales from $10 million to an annualized $2 billion, an over 100 times growth in three years. There is a huge revolution in e-commerce in India, with the future of retailing coming from the internet, said the Bansals while announcing their latest fund-raise. The Bansals believe that in the next 10 years, India would have several $100 billion companies in the internet space. "Flipkart is much bigger today than we or our investors had ever imagined," Sachin Bansal said. Mobile phone launches that are done online and sold exclusively on the Internet were a dream in India until now, when the Motorola budget smartphone (and maybe the last from Motorola – A Google Company taglines) Moto G launched exclusively on Flipkart. The Motorola Brand has made a comeback with the Moto G and it tied-up with Flipkart to launch this budget smartphone here, but had not made sure that everything would go well. The 16 GB variant which was a more value-for-m0ney offer got sold out within the first 15 minutes. India never seen this types of smartphone craze in India before this. This was the first time people got up at midnight just to get their hands on a phone with some freebies.
Bharti Airtel Crosses 300 million Customers
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harti Airtel announced that it has crossed the 300 million customers mark across its operations. The milestone includes customers across mobile, fixed line & DSL, and DTH services. Bharti Airtel, which began operations in 1995, reached the 100 million customers mark in 2009 and crossed the 200 million mark in 2012. The latest 100 million customers have joined the Airtel family in less than two years. The Company ranks as the fourth largest mobile service provider globally and second largest globally outside of China. Mr. Gopal Vittal, Managing Director and CEO (India and South Asia) Bharti Airtel said, “This milestone underlines the strength of our operations, which is one of the largest on a global scale. It is also a tribute to the ‘Airtel’ brand which is trusted by customers in 20 countries, making it the largest global consumer brand out of India. Today, telecom is at the cusp of transformation, which, going forward will be driven as much by the force of technology as by the changing demographics in emerging markets across Asia and Africa. Accelerated data consumption by the youth is going to be the underlying story. I am confident that Airtel will continue to be at the forefront of this future growth story and continue to delight customers by adding value to their lives.” Bharti Airtel has been one of the pioneers in India’s telecom revolution over the past two decades. mobility August 2014
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XoLo announced hiVE platform preloaded with new 8X-1000
ASUS Announces Fonepad 7 at Rs 8999
Selling through XOLO authorized retail outlets across India
Making the under 10K segment more exciting
HIVE software platform gives users the power to CONNECT online with the software development team, share new ideas and collaborate with like-minded technology enthusiasts. The best ideas that are voted up by the community are chosen by the development team which then are rolled out as OTA updates. CONNECT feature under HIVE also allows users to report bugs and find service centers. HIVE comes pre-loaded on the new octacore smartphone XOLO 8X-1000. Powered by True Octa-Core processor, XOLO 8X-1000 has a 2GB RAM with 16GB onboard ROM memory that is further expandable up to 32GB. An 8MP Exmor R sensor rear camera and 2MP front camera are housed along-with a 5” HD display in a first-of-its-kind glass body. XOLO 8X-1000 with HIVE inside will be priced at Rs. 13,999 and will be available across XOLO authorized retail outlets across India.
Logitech Unveiled its New Bluetooth Audio Adaptor Helps you to get rid of all the wires of your speaker systems Logitech unveiled its new Bluetooth Audio Adaptor that lets you turn your wired speakers into a wireless sound system for your smartphones and tablets. It features a multipoint Bluetooth connectivity that enables one touch pairing for up to two devices. So now you can wirelessly enjoy superb entertainment hassle free. The adaptor is attached to your speakers using a standard analog RCA or 3.5 mm cable helping you to control your speakers with a reliable direct line-of-sight connection from up to 50 feet. Delivering uncompromised entertainment with the highest quality acoustics, the Logitech Bluetooth Adaptor is available in India for a suggested retail price of INR 1995.
Garmin Unveils vívofit in india Exclusively on Flipkart Very handy helathbad but priced a bit high Garmin announced vívofit (veevo-fit)—a stylish, lightweight fitness band designed to turn good intentions into lifelong habits. Vívofit is the only fitness band that automatically greets users with a personalized daily goal, tracks their progress and reminds them when it is time to move. Featuring a unique, curved display that always stays on, vívofit also shows steps, goal countdown, calories, distance and time of day. Vívofit’s user replaceable batteries last over one year and vívofit is water-resistant (50m), as well as being compatible with ANT+ heart rate monitors for fitness activities. Vívofit follows progress 24/7, and it can stay on for more than a year without battery change. Setting the sleep mode when going to bed allows vívofit to monitor the quality of rest. With the touch of one button, users can wirelessly sync vívofit with Garmin Connect, a free online fitness community. Vívofit will be exclusively available on Flipkart at Rs. 9990, in black and slate colour both small and large sizes that come in the box. Customers can also purchase purple, teal and blue colour belts. 10 mobility August 2014
ASUS announced the launch of Fonepad 7 for the Indian market. The Fonepad 7 is a portable
7-inch palm-sized Android tablet designed with narrow bezels to maximize viewing experience. The Fonepad 7 fully supports the Android 4.4 Kitkat upgrade and its 3G function enables ubiquitous internet connection. ASUS Fonepad 7 features a powerful 2X2 Intel Atom Multi-Core Processor 1.2 GHz with Intel Hyper-Threading Technology that puts fast and responsive web browsing, as well as smooth HD video and gaming. ASUS Fonepad 7 utilizes Intel Atom 2520 processors for best-in-class performance and power efficiency. And Fonepad 7 is built to last: Take it to go for 10 hours of 720P video playback or 30 hours of 3G talk time. Fonepad 7 features a MicroSD* slot for an additional 64GB of storage. 3G phone functionality with Dual SIM on one device is perfect for travel. The ASUS Fonepad 7 delivers an intuitive user experience on a highly portable device that is perfect for work or for play. Use it to read ebooks, for gaming or to keep up with friends on social media. It comes in your choice of four vibrant colors: White, Blue, Black and Red.
WeChat 5.3.1 Upgraded for Android and ioS With some key feature updates WeChat 5.3.1 has been upgraded for Android and iOS with new features like Message Recall, Tag for Contacts and Favourite Message in Bulk. The Message Recall feature will render void any message sent within the last two minutes instantly. What you have to do is just hold the message and tap the “Recall” button. The Tag Contacts feature is particularly useful when group chats are created. Favorite Messages in Bulk is the third new feature which will save all favorite messages into one package so that the user could view them quickly without scrolling through the messages individually. www.mobilityindia.com
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Celkon Launched Slim Smartphone, Millennium Vogue Q455 Celkon launched at very affordable price Celkon Mobiles launched Millennium Vogue Q455, a slim smartphone. This latest and stylish handset from Celkon was launched by Sania Mirza in Hyderabad. Celkon has designed its latest Millennium range of advanced smartphones with a vision to make cutting edge technology affordable and accessible to all. Aptly named,
Pioneer Launches ‘True to Life’ Navigationcum-Entertainment System Audio-video system equipped with the latest navigation maps by MapmyIndia
Pioneer India Electronics introduced Pioneer AVIC-F60BT, its premium audio-video system equipped with the latest navigation maps by MapmyIndia and loaded with the latest technological features to ensure an unparalleled user experience. Pioneer AVIC-F60BT is the latest addition to the company’s wide range of touchscreen car entertainment systems. Pioneer has introduced many advanced features in AVIC-F60BT, for both music & technology enthusiasts. With an intuitive user interface, AVIC-F60BT is easy and fun to operate. Pioneer has provided advanced connectivity options for smart-phones, especially Android & iOS users, with builtin MirrorLink and is also Siri Eyes Free compatible. Alternatively one can connect a mobile phone using the latest Bluetooth profiles for clear communication & file browsing. In addition, this state-ofthe-art entertainment navigation system offers a host of unique features such as learning steering wheel remote control, dual back-up (reverse) camera option, HD Video playback via USB/SD, etc.
Acer Unleashes New Iconia A1-713 the new Millennium Vogue is poised to be the trendiest handset available in its range packed with high performance. It is a perfect choice for owning style and latest features at an affordable price. The new Millennium Vogue is available at all retail stores and is reasonably priced at Rs. 7999. A dual SIM model, Vogue has 4.5” QHD Display with IPS /OGS. The phone has 16GB ROM + 1GB RAM providing faster processing and multiapplication functions. The phone is enabled with 3G / Video Calling, has 1.3 MP front camera and 8 MP rear camera with flash light. Vogue has WIFI / Bluetooth, GPS facilities, G sensor, P Sensor, light and Acceleration sensor.
Vodafone Unveils Ultramodern Customer Experience Center This is the third facility launched by Vodafone Business Services following Mumbai and Pune. Vodafone India Ltd unveiled a Customer Experience Centre (CEC) in Gurgaon for its
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Promises fast speed and ultra-responsive performance Acer India announced the launch of its lightweight, stylish and compact 17.78 cm (7 inch) tablet PC - the Acer ICONIA A1-713. It runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean), upgradable to 4.4 (Kitkat). Encased in a sleek, slim and premium-looking design, the Acer ICONIA A1-713 tablet is light and compact. Designed comfortably to hold and use in a single hand, it is ideal for video calling, browsing, gaming, watching movies and checking emails onthe-go, thereby providing an optimal experience for both work and play. Packed with 16 GB of internal storage, it is also equipped with a MicroSDTM card slot for extended storage and easy sharing. Powered by a Quad Core Cortex A7 1.3 GHz processor, the tablet delivers fast speed and ultraresponsive performance, thereby ensuring all day productivity. The Acer ICONIA A1-713 tablet will be available nationwide at all Acer retail outlets for Rs 12,999 (all inclusive).
Swipe Slice Tablet PC Available Exclusively On Amazon.in Available in five colors Red, Blue, Yellow, White and Black Swipe Technologies announced the launch of its newest tablet PC –‘The Swipe Slice’ available exclusively on the Amazon India marketplace, www.amazon.in. Recently funded by venture capitalist Kalaari Capital, Swipe Technologies introduced the Swipe Slice calling-enabled tablet PC at an irresistible price of Rs. 4990. The Swipe Slice comes in a 7”body and a 3000 mAh battery. Its super compact form factor and Dual SIM compatibility makes it a perfect companion on the go. The powerful and good looking Swipe Slice is packed with a 1.3 GHz Dual Core Processor and 512 MBRAM to allow users to record their names up on gaming leader-boards worldwide. The Slice is equipped with a 2 MP rear camera as well as a 0.3 MP front camera. The 4GB internal flash memory is expandable up to 32GB via micro SD card to store entire music and video collection. mobility August 2014 11
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Ghaffar Market Drives Delhi’s Smartphones and Accessory Sales This unique market carries its own scent of a confluence of white and grey market places all within its own business-oriented ecosystem.
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hen it comes to smartphone sales, Delhi’s GhafferMarket has its own very unique place. It is also popular by the name of Grey Market and is about 1 km from KarolBagh Metro station located in New Delhi. It has been named after the famous Indian freedom fighter Khān Abdul GhaffārKhān (1890– 1988). This market was launched during the year 1952 to sell electrical and electronic goods, but today it has emerged mainly as market for smartphones, tablets and their accessories. In this market, one can get china-made goods without any difficulty. Electronic goods sold here comprise of air-conditioners, cameras, televisions, mobiles, tablets, etc as well as all accessories.
How To Reach Ghaffar Market Gaffer Market is situated at a distance of 20–22 km from the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), and is serviced by the Karol Bagh metro station, located on the Blue Line of the Delhi Metro. Mobility team recently met some of the top traders in the market and hadshort 1:1 interactions with them, which are covered in the following passage. 12 mobility August 2014
Total Traders, led by Ishpreet Singh, provides compatible batteries and handfree for various top brands. Their brands 50 Gold, XP Xtra, Embo, etc are compatible with premium smartphone brands like Samsung, Karboo, Nokia, Lava, Micromax, LG, Sony, etc. Ishpreet Singh states, “We started in 2008 with our main product smartphone battery and then addedhandsfree. We have presence in GhaffarMarket and also all over India. Reasonable prices and good quality are our main selling points. Competition is a challenge, but we maintain good relations with our customers and they trust us and come back to us again and again. Right now we get all the products from China, but our aim is to start our own manufacturing plant in India.” The narrow lanes in this market always remain crowded and at times it becomes difficult for the people to walk comfortably. Although the sewage organization of the MCD is located over the main highway, the market remains dirty at all times. If you want to visit this place, the best days with thin crowds will be Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and the market remains closed on Monday. Other days are usually crowded. Sixteen
cameras were mounted around two years before at significant places for covering the common public movement.
Mobiles and Accessories Galore in a Small Area In GhaffarMarket, in an area of roughly 2 sq km, you find 1000s of shops where different types
Ishpreet Singh, Total Traders
of imported mobile phones and accessories are sold and repaired. Indeed, the iPhone that was launched in Europe and declared as the Discovery www.mobilityindia.com
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J. P. Agrawal, AGS Global Solution P. Ltd.
in that particular year, was obtainable here several months before its initiation, as per reports. Beware that in most cases, sellers may not offer any warrantees or guarantees. But there are honest players who do give warranty and mention it in clear terms. For that you should make sure before you buy that you are buying from a standard player. If you are making high value purchases, it is always better to go there with experienced persons who are familiar with the market and its nuances. Metro Mobile Accessories is a company that deals in all kinds of mobile accessories in the brand name MTR. The company also deals in Chinese mobiles. Rohit Lakhina, Metro Mobile Accessories, Ghaffar Market,asserts, “We started in 2006 and have presence all across India. Good
partners for many global brands, while there are others who deal in old and even repaired, grey handsets. This market has a true confluence of white and grey products in the mobile space. VikasVyas, Hello G, Ghaffar Market, “Headquartered in Mumbai, we are specialized in providing mobile accessories includinghandsfree, headsets, card readers, mobile chargers, bluetooth,
comments, “Our batteries are of medium quality and of medium price. We cater to the mass markets. We plan to expand further in spite of tough competition.” In GhaffarMarket, you can get goods at affordable prices in comparison to other areas in Delhi and you can also get good quality goods if you know how to differentiate between fake and genuine. Sarfaraz from A R Accessories, comments, “We provide good quality products at market prices. Our products go all over India.”
Sarfaraz, A. R. Accessories Vikas Vyas, Hello G, Ghaffar Market
Rohit Lakhina, Metro Mobile Accessories
quality and competitive prices are the selling points of our MTR brand.” Since 1000s of crores of rupees business takes place in Ghaffar Market, it has become an attractive destination for vendors who want to sell goods and for distributors and dealers who want to sell their products. Even though unbranded Chinese goods form a greater share of business here, big brands do not want to lose the opportunities presented by this market. Particularly, the present gen young entrepreneurs are doing aggressive business here.
A Confluence of White and Grey Market As there are a lot of mobile traders in this market, there are many who are official www.mobilityindia.com
etc of several models. Our company is ISO 90012008 certified. Best quality and reasonable prices are our selling points. Our prices are 10% higher than the market prices, but we provide better quality compared to general market products. At present, we do not have any big problems or challenges.” Also many shopkeepers in this market deal in a variety of fake goods and claim that the products are quite good as compared to the original or branded products, but in fact they are often of poor quality dupes. So you should be careful about such sellers. The domestic tourists visit this market in large numbers and are quite familiar with the market. AGS (April Global Solution P Ltd), lead by J P Agrawal, provides all kinds of smartphone batteries. They have presence in UP, Punjab, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra and Delhi. Agrawal
Towering Gaffar Market Over the past many years of its existence, the Ghaffar Market has grown a lot compared to what it was 2 or 3 years back. Now you can find several verticals selling different products—some specializing only batteries, some in smart phones, some in accessories, some in all kinds and so on. Ghaffar Market is one of the well-known markets not only in India, but also in China and other places. Today you find a lot of branded goods and branded showrooms besides unbranded Chinese goods and grey products. Because of the billions of rupees of business that takes place in this market, it has become a coveted and indispensable destination for vendors, distributors and other partners. We hope in the near future, Ghaffar Market will shed its image as a grey market and evolve into a market with standards.
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Oplus Xon Phone 5 Quality spec budget smartphone with a doorstep servicing facility
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aiwanese manufacturer Oplus recently announced the launch its 5” Smartphone – ‘XonPhone 5’ exclusively on Snapdeal.com. Earlier in January Oplus also launched XonPad 7 tablet which was a very decent product for budget buyers. According to Oplus, the main idea behind this product is bringing high value features at low cost to the customers. So to keep the price this competitive without compromising the product quality, they have saved on the distribution and sales network cost by partnering with one of the leading online sellers in India, Snapdeal. This XonPhone 5 is powered by 1.3 GHz Cortex A7 based MT6582 quad core aided by 1 GB RAM. The Display is 5 inches in size and poses 720p HD resolution. It also combines IPS LCD and OGS technology for closer display. The phone is powered by the latest android version Android Kit-Kat 4.4.2. The rear camera is a 8 MP shooter aided by LED Flash capable of recording full HD 1080P videos and a 2 MP front facing shooter. This has a Dual SIM (Micro + Mini), HSPA+, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and WiFi. Micro USB port and Audio jack are both present at the top. XonPhone 5 comes with an internal 16 GB Storage and a card slot supporting micro SD Card up to 32 GB.
Performance: The Xonphone 5 powered by same chipset which we saw in Micromax Unite 2. We find it quite smooth in all kind of multitasking operations. Not much lag in the UI. The 5-inch screen has a quite good display sharpness, brightness and color reproduction. On the software front, it has a customized Android 4.4.2 KitKat. The dimensions are also a highlight as its just 7.8 mm thick which is almost the same as Samsung Galaxy S4. It comes loaded with connectivity features, supports 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other standard connectivity options. Also the sensors used include accelerometer, proximity sensor, light sensor for automatic display brightness, G sensor for motion gaming and also e-compass for better navigation features. The removable Mobility Ratings: Design:
battery capacity is 2000 mAh which can last for 15 hours of talk time and 300 hours of standby time. Apart from that it also has dual camera: the rear cam is an 8 MP camera with LED Flash, auto-focus, Full HD video recording etc and the front cam is a 2 MP camera which is an advantage as you can do high quality video calls.
Verdict: Oplus Xonphone 5 is decent enough and better in specs compared to other models in this price bracket. And another plus about Oplus is they are providing service at your doorstep.
Pros: Good display, Internal storage, doorstep servicing
Cons: Custom Skin, slightly bulky
Performance:
Value for money:
Specs: Model OPlus XonPhone 5 Display 5 inch HD Processor 1.3 GHz Quad Core MediaTek MTK 6582 RAM 1 GB Internal Storage 16 GB, Expandable up to 32 GB OS Android 4.4 KitKat Camera 8 MP/ 2 MP Battery 2000 mAh
Overall:
From Mobility we have introduced our new review section, in which we will be doing some in-depth analysis of latest products which will guide you to choose right kind of gadgets that you are looking for. This month we are reviewing 4 different products for you, do let us know what’s your take on this. Send us your feedback to Jayanta Ghosh, Associate Editor Tech. at jayanta@mobilityindia.com
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“Oplus- The new price cracker in the Mobile Phone Market“
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plus India, a subsidiary of Oplus Taiwan, has launched their handset XonPhone 5exclusively on Snapdeal, going by the trend of new brands picking online retailers as launch partners. Oplushas entered India as a new player but plans to beat the competition with an entirely new strategy: keep the vendor’s margin at minimum, eliminate all intermediate channel margins and launch only online (Snapdeal) with nominal margin for the portal; this helps to offer the consumer best features at lowest possible prices. Oplus launched XonPhone 5 for the Indian market, priced at Rs 7999. In an interaction with Mobility, Oplus Technologies India CEO, Soumitra Gupta, shares his company’s pricing & marketing strategy and future plans. Soumitra states, “Our tablet XonPad 7, launched a month ago, got an overwhelming response from consumers without the traditional promotional methods. Now we launched our smartphone XonPhone 5exclusively on Snapdeal with a similar strategy. For this product, we kept our margin as low as possible so as to pass on the benefit of low price to the customer. Within a few days of its launch, XonPhone 5 started selling in good numbers and we are expecting 1000 sets a day sale soonand the figure is expected to increase further.” The OplusXonPhone 5 is powered by a MediaTek 6582 quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex A7 processor and sports a 5-inch HD display, 1 GB of RAM and an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 2 MP front camera. The phone is powered by a 2000 mAh battery. The device runs on Android 4.4 KitKat OS, which is the latest version. It comes with an internal memory of 16 GB and a micro SD card slot for up to 32 GB capacity. Soumitra adds, “XonPhone 5 is placed in the below Rs 10000 category, but if you see the features and capabilities, it is similar to an Rs 15000 phoneoffered by big brands. Any big brand would have placed it in theRs 15000-20000 range. Since we are new to the market and we want to create a brand image for ourselves, we put it at Rs 8000.We are the only company providing pickup and drop facility for service in below Rs 10,000 category. Customers need not have to travel to the branch, stand in a queue, etc—all such hassles are eliminated. Our service is of A-class quality. Similar facility and service has been offered by some big brands, but that was only for Rs 30,000 rangephones, but not for Rs 10000 range phones. Pickup and then delivery www.mobilityindia.com
of theserviced products back to the customer takes a max of 5 to 7 days. This can be done even for the customers in the Tier-2 and -3 cities.” Soumitrabelieves that with the rapid expansion of e-commerce in India and with the growing number of Internet users, new brands like Oplus get a large audience online if they sell the best handsets at competitive prices, by eliminating or minimizing intermediary margins and expenses. He thinks e-commerce is spreading fast even to Tier-2 and -3 cities which so far remained beyond the reach. Soumitra asserts, “Today, Indian consumers have become well educated and smart. They do a lot of survey about features, quality, durability, etc before they buy something. The kind of quality, affordability and A-class service we are offering, competition is no challenge for us. Next, we want the consumers to experience it and speak about it and then message automatically spreads through word of mouth and hat will drive our sales graph up. We do not want to go thru the traditional distribution channel either; only through online sales. Since we kept our
We are extremely elated to be launching the XonPhone 5, an innovative smartphone with ultimate features ensuring a unique user experience. Our association with India’s largest marketplace, Snapdeal.com has yielded us great results for our tablet and we are affirmative that our smartphone will also witness great acceptance from the users.”
Soumitra Gupta
CEO, Oplus Technologies India
margins thin, the channel is not suitable for us. We want to pass on max benefit to the end user. And this strategy has started working well.” Oplus has also introduced the “Service at your doorstep” model of support that is revolutionary for smartphones in the particular price point. The highlight of the model is the hassle-free service delivery for the customer who need spend time visiting service centres for his/her XonPhone 5. Oplus’ CRC (Customer Response Centre) will remotely resolve Software issues over the phone and for hardware issues, the device will be picked up, serviced and dropped back to the customer at the place and time of his/her choice. Oplus has also rolled our “Demo Zones” in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Patna & Noida to give the customer a touch and feel experience before buying in case they want – since the XonPhone 5 is going to be sold exclusively online through Snapdeal, the Demo Zones will help showcase the product and its fantastic features to customers who are more orthodox in their purchase methods. Smartphone market in India is highly competitive. In this regard and Oplus’ future plans, Soumitra concludes, “Right now we have launched only 1 model power-packed with best of the specs. Soon we may come up with new models. As far as our goals are concerned, we want to be in the Top 3 bracket in India.”
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HTC One M8 Luxurious and finely crafted smartphone
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TC One M8 is one of the star handsets of 2014 which is a better-designed device that has the expanded features of HTC M7, with some new more features added. Its aluminum build is additional attraction to its overall aesthetic look and feel.
Features: The HTC M8 comes with Qualcomm's best Snapdragon processor, the 801, one step ahead of last year's flagship Snapdragon 800. The M8 in India has a higher clock speed: 2.5GHz as opposed to 2.3GHz in other markets. The device is powered with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage, which can be expanded using a microSD card. The battery is rated at 2600 mAh, which is adequately beefy. Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 4.0 are standard and there is also an infrared emitter and receiver, FM radio and the usual array of sensors. The 5-inch 1080x1920-pixel screen is noticeably larger than the M7's 4.7-inch screen. The M8 runs Android 4.4.2, with HTC's Sense 6 interface on top. This version of Sense is definitely more minimalist than previous versions.
Performance: At our first look we really liked the new design: it looks fresh and inviting. Another thing which we liked about this device is its Duo Camera's new abilities which are fun and useful. HTC M8 really improves in its performance and battery significantly. The new version of HTC Sense is better than M7’s. HTC has slimmed down the screen bezel to minimize the increase in width. One technical issue with making any 'all-metal' mobile device is that wireless antennas struggle to transmit through it. That is why the backplate is 'only' 90 per cent metal. There are two little plastic strips that sit across the top and bottom, and this is where the antennas live. These strips have become part of the series' design language. Clever design like this makes functional choices look like pure style ones. The M8 retains its predecessor's resolution and display tech, but steps up to a slightly larger 5-inch screen. Compared to the last model, the panel looks sharp, bright and vibrant; viewing angles are wide and the display is easy to see in direct sunlight as long as you push the brightness up to 75 percent or higher. The screen itself is protected by a slab of Gorilla Glass 3, which is, of course, designed to be scratchresistant. Most of Sense has been tweaked in one way or another, but all of the basic mechanics
are the same as the last version. First off, HTC is sticking to its UltraPixel philosophy. HTC, king of the UltraPixel, done few updates in the new M8 but still have a space of improvement if it wants to be best in the competition. The new HTC's Duo Camera, however, eliminates the need for these separate modes because it takes just one image and uses the image's depth information to determine which part of the photo to keep in focus.
Verdict: Verdict: This is definitely the best smartphone of this year till date which is built with top-end components and looks ultra premium.
Pros: Design, expandable memory, Dual camera
Cons: Camera images not that sharp, no water resistance.
Price: Rs 49,900.
Specs: • Android OS • 2.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 Quad Core Processor • Full HD Recording • 5-inch Touchscreen • HTC UltraPixel Primary Camera • Wi-Fi Enabled • 5 MP Secondary Camera • Expandable Storage Capacity of 128 GB
Mobility Ratings: Feature: 16 mobility August 2014
Performance:
Value for money:
overall: www.mobilityindia.com
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Harman/Kardon's Go+Play Wireless : Big enough to deliver high-quality sound
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arman/Kardon's Go + Play Wireless, a sequel to Go + Play, virtually identical to the original Go + Play except for changes to the pack-ins and top surface. It is high performance, wireless speaker designed to work with Apple devices as well as Bluetooth-equipped mobile phones, laptops and tablets. Harman effectively cut a large hole in Go + Play’s top, inserting a giant rubber pad in place of what used to be the iPod/iPhone docking area and power/volume buttons. The only cosmetic positive to this odd, inconsistent alteration of the prior design is increased symmetry, as the original Go + Play previously had two silver buttons one off to the left side of the dock and one button on the right. Now, all three of the circular buttons look cheap and rubbery, with volume down, power/Bluetooth button, and volume up buttons spaced nicely in a line across the top. Just with few simple steps you can set up the Go Play Wireless. Just by long press of the power/ source key on the speaker it goes into pairing mode. The power button is ringed by a light that dimly glows white for power, then blue when a Bluetooth connection is established; you can pair it with any smartphone, tablet or laptop. Go Play Wireless and the connectivity in all devices was smooth and without any issues, and it has a good coverage area also. You can also hook up your music player to the Go Play Wireless via the 3.5 mm headphone jack route. If we talk about its audio output, then we can say that the Go + Play Wireless starts strong. It benefits from the continued presence of four drivers—two large Ridge drivers with front and rear ventilation, paired with two small aluminum-domed Atlas tweeters—plus 90 total watts of amplification, slightly but not meaningfully down-specified from the 120-watt package in the original model. Together, these components enable Go + Play Wireless to play at small room-filling volume levels, delivering very nicely equalized audio that is particularly capable in the bass department by comparison with common Bluetooth speakers. We played bass as dominant in songs but never bloated or flattened, which makes this system stand out. Even as the volume levels become dangerous, distortion is not evident, a benefit of Harman’s extremely capable audio engineering and component sourcing teams. While the midrange is not particularly detailed, this remains
Pros: a fun boombox-style audio system, great for rap, dance and rock music, particularly when played loud. .Verdict:
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If you appreciate high-volume, bassy audio and modern design enough to spend a princely sum on them, consider Go + Play Wireless. Price: Rs 24,990
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Mobility Ratings: Features: www.mobilityindia.com
Performance:
Good in high volume levels also, good bass, room feeling, USB charging feature
Cons:
Heavy, no USB drive option
Specs:
Hugo Barra, VP International, Xiaomi Value for money:
Design: mobility August 2014 17
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Good choice for a first time DSLR buyer
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his 1200D is an upgrade of its predecessor 1100D. And they have updated many key features to give this entry level camera a new look and make it competitive. 12 megapixel sensor of 1100D is now upgraded to an 18 megapixel APS-C sensor. Also the 1200D’s 3-inch screen is an upgrade over the 2.7-inch screen on the 1100D. The Canon EOS 1200D also features full HD video, updating the 720p video on the 1100D. As an entry level DSLR there are a number of creative shooting modes, as well as scene modes with simple to operate settings explained so that you don't necessarily have to understand aperture and shutter speed to change settings or create a blurred background or create a brighter image for example. You can simply change an option on screen to change the settings and get the desired results.
Look and Feel: Very compact and feels good in the hand, has good rubber hand-grip with textured rubber on the back for your thumb, along with an improved textured plastic body, better than its predecessor 1100D. The controls on the camera give a good number of external controls, along with a Q button to give quick access to the most commonly used options on the rear screen. The screen is decent enough, with good visible colors, but the screen can be quite difficult to see in bright sunlight. The optical viewfinder has a good rubber padding at the back. Canon has a logical well-laid out menu system, with the shooting menus color coded red, playback menus are color coded blue, setup orange, and My menu is color coded green. My menu allows you to add all your favorite settings onto one page, so that you can quickly access the most regularly used settings. The camera also provides a quick explanation of each menu item, and this all adds up to make it a very easy menu system to use.
Performance: When we start clicking pictures with the 1200D, the very first thing which we noticed is that it has a good focus and shutter response, quick switch on time and shot-to-shot time, even when using the flash. Very easy menu structure: the shooting menus are color coded red, playback menus are color coded blue, setup orange and my menu is color coded green. My menu allows you to add all your favorite settings onto one page, so that you can quickly access the most regularly used settings. As this model is targeted towards the first time users, these easy menus system comes really handy. No noise till ISO800
and in low light it works well under ISO3200. Live view focusing is much slower and best avoided unless photographing static subjects, or where the ability to use the camera away from your eye at different angles would be useful. Video quality is good recording at 1080p at 30/25 or 24fps, although due to the 18-55mm kit lens not featuring image stabilization handheld videos are likely to show camera shake.
Verdict: This is a decent enough option for beginners and buyers can also go for the combo offer from Canon with two lens box. But it lacks in few points compared to its rival Nikon D3200
Pros: Nicely built, Easy to operate, good image output
Specs: • 18 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor • 3inch screen, 460k dot resolution • DIGIC 4 processor
Cons:
• 1080p HD video, 25p, 24p
Live view, Autofocus Price: EOS 1200D body only for INR 30,995 EOS 1200D + 18-55 IS II lens for INR 34,995 EOS 1200D + 18-55 IS II & 55-250 IS II for INR 39,995
• Easy to use Intelligent Auto • ISO100 to ISO12800 (extended) • 1/4000s fastest shutter speed • 9 AF points spread across the frame
Mobility Ratings: Feature: 18 mobility August 2014
Performance:
Value for money:
overall: www.mobilityindia.com
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"Due to smartphone the demand of compact cameras are effected but we saw good growth of our DSLRs cameras" In an exclusive interaction with Mobility India , Mr Andrew Koh, Senior Director, Image Communication Products Group, Canon India talks about how they are planning and focused on new target audience and what all expansion plans they have for India in the coming years. With smartphones impacting sales of point-and-shoot cameras, it is extremely critical for Canon to be confident and win the battle with its push on sales of mid to high-end interchangeable lens cameras and DSLR cameras.
how you are planning for 201415? have you made any strategic changes from last year? Last year its was very challenging for us as with the Indian market slowing down and the depreciating value of the rupee to the change in government, etc. But on the positive side our “Double Zoom” concept was real hit last year . This DSLR camera with 2 kit lenses, as a single box pack concept has been introduced first time in the Indian market and its really very successful for us. Overall, Canon’s business witnessed significant growth from 10,000 units in 2007 to 3 lakh units in 2013 and revenue of INR 1,910 crore. DSLR camera market is touching new heights in India. The Digital-SLR category is becoming more aspirational for people, more than last year. Considering the growing interest and demand for DSLR's, Canon plans to expand its DSLR camera business in 2014 by introducing and promoting ground-breaking technologies in DSLR camera range. In 2014 we are focusing more on enthusiasts and first time users of DSLRs in India. The company is offering EOS 1200D, targeting towards first time buyers. Also to further attract potential buyers, the product is available with an exciting double zoom lens under 40k. Considering the growing interest and demand for DSLR's, Canon plans to expand its DSLR camera business in 2014 by introducing and promoting ground-breaking technologies in DSLR camera range. We are also focusing and reworking our compact camera portfolio. A better zoom and image quality; focus on HD video recording and low light photography are some highlights.
how are you looking at the indian market Few years back in India most of the people preferred to buying compact cameras ,as the feel DSLRs are only for professionals or for Weddings and Wildlife photography. But now the trend has changed in last few years and they started to carrying DSLRs more often. And India is no doubt is an emerging photography market and we feel more and more youngsters would be willing to take up photography as a career option. With the evolution of photography in India, people have started experimenting by using various camera products available in the market. www.mobilityindia.com
What kind of promotions are you doing for Photography? Canon has always been passionate about promoting the spirit of photography and is delighted to see how changing trends have interested customers to experiment with their photography skills using a DSLR or a high-end compact camera and make it their hobby or career. Canon regularly organizes and supports various photography platforms to give an opportunity to photography enthusiasts to showcase their work. We launched the Canon EOS Academy under which Canon conducts free and paid workshops; and seminars on various aspects of Photography. These workshops are conducted by a panel of Photography experts and we plan to conduct more than 100 workshops in 2014. Canon is also conducting workshops in schools to promote photography culture amongst youth. We are targeting schools which are running photography clubs. These are majorly for the students who want to start and explore their career in photography.
What are your expansion plans for india? Canon has 111 own retail stores called the Canon Image Square across 58 cities in the country. Canon Image Squares are a great motivator to enhance Canon’s commitment in terms of new product launches, distribution networks, and product zones and services centres. We target to launch 300 Canon Image Square stores in India by the end of 2015. . We have a strong focus on channel expansion and in-store promotions. As part of the plan, we recently launched our stores in Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Jaipur.
tell us more about Canon and Microsoft agreement Microsoft and Canon have a long history of collaborating to bring high-quality, cuttingedge products to consumers, including color technology. With this latest agreement, Microsoft and Canon gain licenses to each other’s highly valued and growing patent portfolios. This agreement covers a broad range of products and services each company offers, including certain digital imaging and mobile consumer products.
Mr Andrew Koh, Senior Director, Image Communication Products Group, Canon India
New line of lenses from Canon 1. EF-S10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM INR 20,995.00 • Filter size: 67mm • Max aperture: f/4.5 - 5.6 • With STM 2. EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM INR 77,995.00 • Filter size: 77mm • Max aperture: f/4 • With Ring-type USM 3. EF-M55-200mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM INR 24995/-
EoS-M series compatible lens What future trends we can expect from Canon Canon plans to expand its DSLR camera business in 2014 by introducing and promoting ground-breaking technologies in DSLR camera range. With much more improved video capabilities like faster auto focus while recording videos, a crop sensor camera that enables auto focus in dark and faster autofocus for Canon DSLR’s Live View mode are some of the breakthrough technologies that tend to dominate the DSLR market in 2014 - 15. Canon has already taken a step ahead with its Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology for the EOS 70D camera. Dual Pixel CMOS AF, a phasedetection AF technology conducted directly on the image sensor plane, employs a CMOS sensor on which all of the effective pixels are able to perform both imaging and phase-detection AF simultaneously to achieve dramatically improved AF performance over prior EOS cameras during Live View and video shooting.
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At a time when India is witnessing an ever increasing demand on the intake for Smartphones, Mobility is presenting the success story of Smartphone Super Stars in India. This is an analysis of best selling smartphones in India and how they are preparing to face the Big brands from China in a better manner? Mobility taking a sneak peek into how these brands have emerged in India and changed the whole market scenario in the smartphone market. We have also asked these leading smartphone players about their thoughts behind this names and how much they are prepared for the Chinese smartphone invasion.
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hether it is the globally much revered brands such as HTC, Nokia or Indian manufacturers like Lava, Iris or Intex, smartphones are truly selling like hot cakes today. Worldwide mobilephones sales, 20 mobility August 2014
which includes both smartphone and feature phone sales, increased to 1.81 billion from 1.75 billion YoY. Smartphone sales in India increased by 166.8% making it the world’s fastest growing smartphone market in the last quarter of 2013,
according to Gartner.However, agile business and marketing strategy with a mix of product innovation will decide the future winners in this war of India’s smartphone supremacy. www.mobilityindia.com
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suppliers and manufacturing process. This ensures that our products are more reliable and give better experience even with the same specifications. To add to it, with a strong software engineering team based in Bangalore and a deep understanding of the needs of Indian consumers, we are gradually changing the user interface on our devices. We are building capability to add consistent value to the consumer’s life even after the purchase and have built many applications that have been liked by our consumers. The recently launched Lava Iris X1 is a testimony to the success of the Iris sub-brand. Currently, X1 contributes to nearly 30% of the total smartphone sales of Lava brand,” he explained. As per the views of Pankaj Rana, Business Head, Smart Phones and Tablets Panasonic India, in order to expand its horizons in the market, Panasonic entered the smartphone segment through the launch of Panasonic P51 which was equipped with high-end innovative features but due to the high-price point (Rs. 26,990), the phone did not receive the right traction in the competitive Smartphone market. “After a thorough analysis of the India smartphone market and the consumer behavior, the company made its second move through the launch of P11, T11, T21 and T31 which focused around the broad messaging of offering basic Android models coupled with an affordable pricing experience with built-in interactive features. This received a positive response and could make an impact in the market. With its increased reliability in the market and expanded customer base, Panasonic recently launched the P31 and P81 offering affordable pricing along with customized features. The launch was a huge success as Panasonic focused on unique software & design based features. These handsets come with latest and most innovative features and have attracted huge customers by its performance and reviews,” he adds on. Talking about the Mr. Pankaj Rana, brand philosophy, Business Head, Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, Smart Phones and Senior General Manager Tablets, Panasonic – Mobile Business, Intex India Technologies (India) says that “Customers have Intex has been at the forefront become very experimental, of innovations. At Intex we especially the teenagers, but have the power to understand they are smart enough to choose the and identify customer needs best for them according to their need and mere which we then work with to experimentation with the handsets cannot be design and create path breaking very benefitting to the brands.” technology. “We believe technology has no barriers. It should be for everyone and it should result
Brand Philosophy
When asked about the importance of naming the Smartphone series Faisal Siddiqui, Country Head, HTC India says that, “HTC is a company that has a history of taking bold risks, to challenge the status quo and drive change within the mobile industry. The many world firsts delivered by the company since its creation in 1997, culminated in the launch of the globally acclaimed HTC One family in 2013 – HTC’s best-ever selling product family. By taking the iconic design DNA of the HTC One, and applying exciting colors and premium materials, we are giving the HTC Desire family its own distinctive flavor. What this means is that people who want a more affordable phone that reflects their individuality won’t have to compromise. This is the story behind our ‘One’ family and ‘Desire’ series which has allowed HTC to create a distinct identity in the market.” Speaking about the brand philosophy, Tarun Verma, Head- Marketing, Lava International Ltd says that the smartphone market today is flooded with Me-too specs and features which cater largely to first or second time smartphone users. There is also a large segment of customers today who are well educated about smartphones and can appreciate the nuances of specs that lead to a completely different experience. “The Iris sub-brand has products that target consumers at both end of the spectrum, a first time smartphone buyer who may be looking for an entry level product and a repeat buyer who is looking for an enhanced smartphone experience. The sub-brand is positioned on the lines of ‘We put the Art in Smart that essentially signifies that the products are great aesthetics without compromising on the functionality side of it. All Iris products are designed on this theme and therefore sport a beautiful design exemplifying sleekness & elegance with best in class features; ultimately offering a great user experience. Churning out such products has largely been possible due to the fact that Lava is the only Indian company to have a 203 member strong Product and R&D team in China and this number is growing with each passing day. Lava has a state of the art testing and quality control facility in China. This infrastructure gives us control on product engineering and design. We also have full control on component
www.mobilityindia.com
Mr. Faisal Siddiqui, Country Head, HTC India “HTC is a company that has a history of taking bold risks, to challenge the status quo and drive change within the mobile industry.”
in customer delight. In all our products the single most important thing we intend to offer is customer satisfaction. Satisfaction does not always come from paying a higher cost of acquisition but from the fact what you can achieve through that technology or gadget. Our strategy has always been around the common man's dreams and we hope to build upon that every day. The Aqua range has been widely accepted by our customers across India. The Aqua Style has been designed keeping in mind, the need for style and quality. We are focused on increasing our footprint in Karnataka and I am certain that our association with Sudeep will be well accepted by the regional audiences. With Aqua Style, we aim to empower youngsters looking for a mobile that speaks about their personality,” he explains further.
Brand Evolution As believed by many market experts, the evolution of brand is very for a smartphone’s success ahead and this is where a lot of brands are scoring over others in a long lasting manner. “For our One series, we are widely acknowledged as the best smartphone in the reviews for last two years. Internationally also, Consumers love our phones - we are the third most preferred smartphone brand in the world (Hall & Partners). The influencers and trend-setters in the mobile space have always loved HTC for our innovation and willingness to take risks, and this year we will bring that brand promise to more people. Positioning and selling our HTC Desire range – we didn’t have enough spectrum of product last year which was one factor why our market share dropped. But we have now rectified that. In Desire 210, 310, 516, 616 and 816; we have some fantastic models in market already this year. We will have more beautiful phones with some knockout but simple benefits, jumping off the shelf soon,” explains, Faisal Siddiqui from HTC India. According to Tarun Verma, Head- Marketing, Lava International, Iris is Lava's sub brand that offers smartphones in the 3k-12k price segment. Knowing that an entry level smartphone buyer has a different profile & needs from a midsegment smartphone buyer, the sub brand was further divided into 3 series. Lava Iris series caters to the entry level mobility August 2014 21
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Mr. Tarun Verma, Head- Marketing, Lava International Ltd. “Indian players have a distinct advantage in the form of their deeprooted distribution network and greater understanding of the consumer’s psychographics and demographics.”
smartphone consumer with products priced between 3k to 6k, Lava Iris X series caters to the mid segment smartphone consumer with products priced between 6k to 9k, Lava Iris pro series caters to the slightly higher mid segment smartphone consumer with products priced between 9-12k. “The flagship product in the 9-12k price segment is Iris pro30 was launched in January this year, followed by Iris pro20. Iris 504q plus is another offering in this segment which was launched a couple of months back after the success of its predecessor Iris 504q (launched in June’13). In the mid segment, X1 is the flagship smartphone for the brand while in the entry level series, there are a plethora of 2G/ 3G enabled smartphones for the 1st time smartphone buyer. Currently, the brand has more than 20 products spread across all the 3 series and is targeting a market share of 7.5% by volume in the sub 10k smartphone category by the end of this FY,” he explains. Pankaj Rana from Panasonic India, said, “With the success of P31 & P81 Smart Phones in the Market, we have further evolved our strategy of product development to focus more on Software and design innovations. Soon Panasonic ELUGA Series of Smart Phones will be launched in the Indian Market with unmatched features and design. This Series will primarily focus on making consumers smart phones experience better over competition with proprietary Panasonic technologies in the all devices. ELUGA Series of Smart Phones will mark a new beginning of Smart Phones Experience for Consumers.” Speaking about the brand evolution, Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, Senior General Manager– Mobile Business, Intex Technologies (India) says that Intex has been at the forefront of innovations. “At Intex we have the power to understand and identify customer needs which we then work with to design and create path breaking technology. We believe technology has no barriers. It should be for everyone and it should result in customer delight. In all our products the single most important thing we intend to offer is customer satisfaction. Satisfaction does not always come from paying a higher cost of acquisition but from the fact what you can achieve through that technology or gadget. Our strategy has always 22 mobility August 2014
been around the common man's dreams and we hope to build upon that every day," he said. “The Aqua range has been widely accepted by our customers across India. The Aqua Style has been designed keeping in mind, the need for style and quality. We are focused on increasing our footprint in Karnataka and I am certain that our association with Sudeep will be well accepted by the regional audiences. With Aqua Style, we aim to empower youngsters looking for a mobile that speaks about their personality. Our new television commercial on Aqua i5 HD is stylish, elegant and youthful which features our brand ambassador Farhan Akhtar. The advertisement is aimed at highlighting the high definition quality which is an important feature desired by users in a smartphone. With our recent TVC campaign we aim to reinforce our imagery as a youth centric brand catering to the needs of young India by giving them the best picture quality and value for money,” concluded, , Sanjay Kumar of Intex Technologies.
Future Plans Dwelling upon the future plans for HTC in India, Faisal Siddiqui from HTC says that, “You will see us continue our brand evolution and you will see us hero our products proudly: both the HTC One family and the HTC Desire family so that it is clear that there are beautifully designed phones for everyone from HTC. Focused and effective marketing and other forms of communication – we will engage more people in the HTC story and give them the chance to experience our products in a way that suits our pocket but also plays to their passions. Getting our share price back to levels where it inspires confidence and rebuilds our credibility – this is about tight fiscal management, excellent execution and having a more accurate corporate reputation than we have achieved in the past,” he adds on. Tarun Verma, Head- Marketing, Lava International says that, “We are already selling more than 1.7 million handsets per month and have an 8.7 % market share in the overall category by volume. The entire value chain is working with ownership to achieve one goal i.e. to become a global consumer from India. To be able to achieve this, we need to build great products to delight the consumers. For this we are focusing on a two pronged strategy for our long term growth: Manufacture great products at the right cost to serve customers across the world. For this, Lava has plans to
set up a very large manufacturing base in India and the company is in the process of bringing the component ecosystem here from various countries. We believe that India has the potential to compete with any other country in the world as our cost of manufacturing is much lower and creating a large employment base in India is a huge inspiration for us. Create a platform that is capable of consistently adding value to the consumers’ experience post purchase and help them unleash the potential of internet. This will increase the affinity towards the brand in the long term.” According to Pankaj Rana from Panasonic India, “There is no doubt in the fact that in order to sustain in the market, brands have to undergo constant innovation to deliver products as per the expectations of the customer. It is a trend that smartphone customers are never satisfied and always want more and more benefits. We at Panasonic understand this need and develop products accordingly; and are coming up with the launch of ELUGA Series of Smart Phones which is expected to set a milestone in the history of smartphone segment. It highlights the innovation and elegance while focusing on the stylish design.” According to Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, Senior General Manager– Mobile Business, Intex Technologies (India), “At Intex development centre, we constantly conducts surveys to study customer preference and usage patterns. We launched Aqua i5 HD at below 10k price tag for users who adore image quality and love seeing the virtual world come alive at a 5-inch OGS display screen. We at Intex, aim to strengthen connect with consumers while we understand their needs and constantly innovate to meet the aspirations at an affordable price point. Last year, Intex sold 11.5 million handsets out of which, Smartphones contributed over 1.5 million. Intex has already launched 32 mid-segment smartphones under its Aqua range and has plans to launch around 8 more models during the next quarter.”
Rise of Chinese Brands With the rapid rise in demand in smartphones, there is also a surge in the availability of Chinese smartphones in India and Indian manufacturers as well as global brands are facing the heat coming from large presence of Chinese brands today. However, right product innovation and brand association is keeping the Chinese threat at bay. Faisal Siddiqui of HTC, explained, “HTC does not feel threatened by Mr. Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, Senior General Manager– Mobile Business, Intex Technologies (India) “Intex has already launched 32 mid-segment smartphones under its Aqua range and has plans to launch around 8 more models during the next quarter.”
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the entry of any other mobile brands be it Chinese brands or local. Nor do we intend to compete on price, which is essentially one of their biggest USPs for many of those brands. The first thing that you will notice when you look at our phones is the better design and better form. We put our heart, mind and soul into it and can compete on pure hardware specs but it will hurt our brand in the long term if we cut corners and compete on cost. Though there will always be a cluster of vendors fitting into a cluster of consumers. We're will not compete on those parameters.” Tarun Verma, Head- Marketing, Lava International, explains, “Yes, we are watching the upcoming Chinese brands closely. They offer good quality products and depending upon the stakes that they plant, they will definitely cut a few slices from the Indian handset market pie, especially from Samsung & Indian brands. However the Indian brand shave a few cards up their sleeves to which the Chinese brands would not have a match at this point in time. Indian players have a distinct advantage in the form of their deep-rooted distribution network and greater understanding of the consumer’s psychographics and demographics. Indian players have been better able to understand the needs of the consumer and bring products according to their need. For example, Lava launched 3G enabled affordable smartphones last year in the range of Rs 4000-5000 to help feature phone users migrate to smartphones and reap the benefits of 3G connectivity and device. “ “Within the Chinese ecosystem, it is very much possible to offer products with best in class components however, it is important to understand the consumer needs. Ultimately the consumer has to see value in the proposition being offered. Chinese brands will take at least 4-5 years to build a robust foundation in distribution set up, sales structure, effective after sales delivery & marketing intelligence. In this scenario, the Chinese brands will need a strong vision, perseverance, considerable experience and maturity to compete in the Indian market and build a strong foundation for sustainable growth. Nevertheless, the opportunity provided by the smartphone boom in India is being cashed in by all players- the global brands, Indian brands, and now the Chinese brands. The consumer will benefit from the abundant options available to him,” he adds on. “Being one of the players in the competitive smartphone segment, it becomes necessary for us to keep a constant watch on the competitors and upcoming brands in the market. In terms of current market image that Chinese brands have, there is still much time for these brands to be accepted as reliable. They will have to make a lot of efforts to sustain in the market with quality being a major issue. Customers have become very experimental, especially the teenagers, but they are smart enough to choose the best for them according to their need and mere experimentation with the handsets cannot be very benefitting to the brands. To sustain in the market these brands have to make their own space in the segment,” concluded, Pankaj Rana of Panasonic India.
www.mobilityindia.com
Rise and Fall of a Phenomenon called Nokia • Nokia started way back in the year 1865 from a pulp mill in south-west Finland. A century and a half later, Nokia's handset business is being bought by Microsoft for €5.44bn after a troubled few years. But all said and done, the company once undisputedly ruled the global handset turf for many years. Here is the Nokia timeline. • In 1865: Mining engineer Fredrik Idestam sets up a wood pulp mill at the Tammerkoski Rapids in south-western Finland. • 1871: The Nokia name is born, inspired by the Nokianvirta river on the banks of which Idestam opens a second mill. • 1898: Eduard Polon founds Finnish Rubber Works, which later becomes Nokia's rubber business, making everything from rubber boots to tyres. Nokia wellies are still made today, though not by the telecoms company. • 1912: Arvid Wickstrom sets up Finnish Cable Works, the foundation of Nokia's cable and electronics business. • 1981: Launch of the Nordic Mobile Telephone service, the world's first international cellular network, and the first to allow international roaming. • 1982: Nokia introduces the first car phone – the Mobira Senator – to the network. That same year, the Nokia DX200, the company's first digital telephone switch, goes into operation. • 1984: Nokia launches the MobiraTalkman portable car phone – a chunky piece of kit but a start. • 1987: Nokia introduces the MobiraCityman, the first handheld mobile phone. It weighs in at 800g and comes with a price tag of 24,000 Finnish Marks (about £3,400). The Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, is pictured using one to make a call from Helsinki to his communications minister in Moscow. • 1991: The Finnish prime minister, Harri Holkeri, makes the world's first "global system for mobile communications" call, using Nokia equipment. • 1992: Nokia launches its first digital handheld GSM phone, the Nokia 1011. The Nokia president and chief executive, Jorma Ollila, decides to focus on mobile phones and telecommunications, and the process begins of selling off its rubber, cable and consumer electronics divisions. • 1994: Nokia launches the 2100 series, the first phones to feature the Nokia Tune ringtone. It goes on to sell 20m phones worldwide in the 2100 series. Nokia's target had been 400,000. • 1998: Nokia becomes the world leader in the mobile phones market. • 1996-2001: Nokia's turnover increases almost fivefold from €6.5bn to €31bn. • 1999: Nokia launches the Nokia 7110, a phone capable of rudimentary web-based functions, including email. It uses the Orange network to access the internet using Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). • 2000: Nokia does a deal with music publisher EMI enabling users to choose their favourite tunes as their ringtones. • 2001: Nokia launches its first phone with a built-in camera, the Nokia 7650. But a profits warning, blamed on a slowdown in the mobile market, stuns investors. It announces plans to cut 1,000 jobs, but things start to look up by the end of the year. • 2002: Nokia launches its first video capture phone, the Nokia 3650. It also launches its first 3G phone, the Nokia 6650. With 3G technology, phones can now be used to browse the web, download music, watch TV on the move, and more. • 2004: Nokia reveals that although it is still the market leader it is losing share to its rivals, with its 35% share comparing with a target of 40% as it falls behind with its new product range. • 2005: Nokia sells its billionth phone – a Nokia 1100 – in Nigeria, and global mobile phone subscriptions pass 2bn. • 2007: Nokia is forced into one of the world's largest product recalls after it admits the batteries in 46m phones could be faulty. Meanwhile, a longer-term problem emerges: Apple launches the iPhone. • 2008: Nokia reports a 30% fall in third-quarter profits. Nokia smartphone sales fall by 3.1% during the quarter, while sales of Apple iPhones grow by 327.5%. • 2009: Nokia announces plans to cut 1,700 jobs worldwide as the recession hits mobile phone sales. Nokia admits it was slow to react to the rise of new devices such as the iPhone and plans to fight back. But it is too late to avoid the first loss in more than a decade. • 2010: Competitors such as the iPhone and Android-based devices are posing a serious challenge to Nokia's future. It appoints former Microsoft man Stephen Elop as president and chief executive. Nokia cuts a further 1,800 jobs despite a rise in profits. • 2011: Elop warns staff "we are standing on a burning platform", and announces a strategic partnership with Microsoft days later to compete with Apple and Google's Android platform. Nokia cuts a further 4,000 jobs worldwide from its 65,000-strong workforce. Elop denies it is in talks about a takeover by Microsoft. Nokia is overtaken by Samsung and Apple in the smartphone sector as profits and sales dwindle. Nokia launches new smartphones. • 2012: Nokia cuts 4,000 jobs and moves smartphone manufacturing to Asia. Shares fall following a profits warning and it slumps to a €1.3bn loss. Analysts foresee a possible takeover by Microsoft as it cuts 10,000 more jobs and announces its last factory in Finland will close. • 2013: Nokia returns to profit after an 18-month spell of losses. Microsoft buys Nokia's handset business for €5.44bn (£4.6bn) mobility August 2014 23
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Video Conferencing
Made Easy by Smartphones
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s there is a rise in air travel and hotel costs, more and more businesses are taking a fresh look at video conferencing models and there is a growing breed of video conferencing solutions being driven by smartphones today. But really, do the benefits in travel savings outweigh the benefits of traditional in-person meetings? Can an organization become more efficient by replacing conference calls with video conferences? What about reports about early video conferencing technology unreliability? Can video conferencing enhance collaboration with presentations and document sharing? These are some of the questions that small or big organizations need to ask before they decide on the video conferencing solution. Enabled by smartphone revolution, as a communications enabler, video conferencing connects individuals in real time through audio and video commu-nication over cellular networks enabling visual meetings and collaboration on digital documents and shared presentations. In the early days, participants connected between central meeting rooms outfitted with video conference hardware, but new technologies allow participants to connect remotely over a network through multiple devices like laptops, desktops, smartphones and tablets. Let us explore the most important considerations and advantages of video conferencing using smartphones, PCs laptops, and tablets:
Advantages of Video Conferencing Travel Savings: There is an always upswing of air travel prices and this is prompting organizations to look for other cheaper means of meetings. Not only is video conferencing a direct replacement for many in-person business trips, but because there is virtually no cost while adding additional key employees to a virtual meeting; you can easily bring the right team together.
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Better Communication: Video conferencing restores many visual cues necessary in long distance communication. Many experts have proved that non-verbal communication constitutes about two-thirds of the communication between people. For example, eye contact enables us to ‘get’ a message from a speaker that voice communication alone may not successfully convey, creating essential social bonds and shared understandings. Audio conferencing and e-mail lose these non-verbal cues. Driving Increased Productivity: Everyone has experienced the classic never ending ‘conference call from hell,’ and video conferencing all but eliminates such problems, even from large group calls. Important meetings are shorter and more effective. Video conferencing users report saving a minimum of two hours a week with the technology. The interactivity of group collaboration and document sharing greatly increases productivity. Conferencing Quality: All the pros and cons of video conferencing hinge on quality. Early versions of video conferencing quality had uneven clarity of the audio and video broadcast. Today, these problems still remain for low-end and consumer systems. However, state-of-the-art technology now delivers excellent, reliable audio and video quality, making this one-time disadvantage one of perception, not reality. 5 Video Chat Apps for Video Conferencing for Smartphone: As we are living in a smartphone age, today, it is all about video chatting now. Since nearly everyone has a smartphone capable of handling video chats, it is no surprise that more people are discussing business ventures and opportunities via their phones. Video chats are not only convenient – we are always with our smartphones so we can hold a video chat wherever or whenever – it also offers the chance to talk to someone else face-to-face. That can sometimes go a long way. While most smartphones come equipped with built-in
video software, they may not function across all platforms. Here are some of the ways and applications that can drive video conferencing capabilities in your smartphones. Skype: It is one of the oldest and probably the most well-known, video chat apps out there. Skype allows its millions of users to video chat, voice chat and instant messaging each other. That is probably the best thing about Skype – the fact that so many people already have it. This is fast becoming a great application for the business community. Tango: It is a great application that can enable your video conferencing driven by your smartphone, right from your hand. Tango is incredibly simple to use and you don’t need a password, you just need just to enter your phone number, email address and first name. It is also free on iOS, Android and Windows and has some neat features like being able to play darts or tic-tac-toe with friends during a conversation. Hangouts: Since nearly everyone has Google these days, it shouldn’t be difficult to find another person with Hangouts. Besides the typical features – voice and video chat, instant messaging and group video chat for up to 10 people – you can also share photos and emojis. Also, Hangouts is one of the few apps that allow public, live-streamed video chats. Viber: It accomplishes all the usual tasks you’re looking for – free text, calling and photo messages - but you can also share items such as files and your location. Plus, Viber allows group calling for up to 40 participants, just in case there is a need to chat with that many people at once. Camfrog: It allows you to chat with friends, family, and acquaintances, but you can also start or join a chat room if you want to meet new people. In a way, it’s a hybrid between a social discovery app and video chat app, which is pretty cool. It’s free for iOS, Android and Windows.
www.mobilityindia.com
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Maxtone Forays into Mobile Accessories and Peripherals Market in India
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axtone is one of the prominent distributors and manufacturers in India for IT products and services with a strong and trustworthy channel across the country. Champakraj Gurjar, Managing Director, Maxtone Electronics Pvt Ltd., in an interaction with Mobility shares Maxtone’s plans, strategy and vision. Champakraj details, “The current trend is convergence between IT, communications, mobility, eSecurity, etc. We at Maxtone have been providing our own branded IT products as well as we are distributors for other companies for a long time. Now we are adding mobileaccessories and peripherals to our portfolio. We have recently launched unique powerbankswith lithium polymer battery with the brand name Minix. We are the first to launch it in the Indian market.” Maxtone has its own brands HIS & MAXFORCE for products like PCs, motherboards, graphic cards, add-on cards,AIO etc. with presence all over the Asia Pacific including India. Maxtone is a distributor for Compaq/Hpspares and upgrades, . Apart from its own branded motherboard HIS & MAXFORCE,
Maxtone’s foray into mobile accessories and peripherals Today, unlike on feature phones, on smartphones people do many things like surfing the web, watching movies, etc which rapidly discharge the inside battery so powerbanks have become essential nowadays. “What we have in the market are Li-ion batteries which are called 18650 cylinder batteries. Lithium ion batteries are mostly used in laptops. On the other hand, lithium polymer batteries, which are sleeker and slimmer, are comparatively more powerful with
Champakraj Gurjar, Managing Director, Maxtone Electronics Pvt Ltd.
www.mobilityindia.com
greater capacity. These are highly suitable for mobile gadgets like smartphones and tablets where sleep mode is very important. Our ownpowerbanks whichcome with 3000 mAh, 5000 mAH and 10000 mAhare suitable for remote travelers who can charge their mobiles 5 to 6 times. Our powerbanks have dual connectivity mode using which you can charge a smartphone as well as a tab simultaneously. We are also coming up with mobile peripherals like speakers, headphones, etc. We are also introducing mobile paring system where you do not have to carry SIMs separately. You just have to parry themand all your 3 SIMs will be working. This is a new innovation. Soon we will be coming up with portable scanners such as pen scanner. Within 3 months we plan to come up with 15 new products,” adds Champakraj.
Maxtone’s channel strategy and target segments For a company to be successful, besides providing good quality products, it should have the right market strategy to face the competition and should target the right customer segments. In this regard, Champakraj shares, “When we entered motherboard market, there were more than 500 brands, and today there are only 10 surviving brands. Our motherboard brand is an established brand today. We do not buy and trade like others. Our products are unique and time-tested. We have our own labs where we test everything repeatedly. Then only we order componentsand then assemble them. Before we launch products, we examine them and study each of them separately for several months. We use high-class components both for inner quality and outer look. We do not want a single product returned as a reject. This is our motto. There are a lot many competitorsin the market no doubt, but
once customers use our products,they will come back to us in more numbers.” Next important thing for a provider is proper distribution policy and network and an effective service policy. “We already have good presence in Mumbai and we have our own mobile shops and as many as 800 channel partners through whom our products could be made available. Many mobile shops know us very well. In Mumbai we already have 400 mobile shops willing to store our products. In a few months time, we will touch 1000. For other regions, we are initially recruiting 2 or 3 distributors in each state. Our new accessories and peripherals are not only for smartphones but also for IT products such as tablets. IT and mobile shops as well as corporates will be our targets. Corporates want their employees to carry powerbanks because they do not want their work to suffer. We also have cables for chargers where there is a light while charging. The color of the light will automatically change once charge is full. You do not have to pick up the phone and see if it is charged or not. For branding, we are providing danglers and brochures to the shops. Nearly 70% of mobile users do not know what a powerbank is. We want to create this awareness among users. Also we are promoting through magazines which reach different corporates. Soon we will come up with more aggressive branding plans. We are giving 1 yr warranty on our products. We test and assess our products very well and put lots of efforts and time on QC. We test our products through performing discharge-charge cycles multiple number of times for one month besides performing other tests. We are confident that even if we sell 1000 products, not a single one will be returned. But accidentally if someone comes back with a faulty product, we instructed all our partners to just replace the product, do not repair. Our products are not cheap but are affordable and cost-effective.”
Maxtone wants to be among the top 3 players with 20 to 25% market share Regarding other non-mobile IT products and overall future plans, Champakraj asserts, “We already have our own motherboards. Now we have box with Minix brand name that can convert media TV into smart TV. The box has memory, wi fi and everything. You can download any movie. Your TV becomes something like PC. You do not have to spend money to buy a smart TV. This product has a great demand in the market today. We are expecting to hit 20 to 25% market share in the coming years for mobile powerbanks and peripherals. We want to be in top 3 brands in the country. Good quality, better features and affordable price are our main selling points. We are sure that we are going to make it big in the country within a short period.”
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Xiaomi Mi3: High on specs but low in stock
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iaomi , the startup founded in China in 2010, released its first smartphone recently, globally as well as in India. The device experienced an astonishing response from the buyers, often stocks finishing in minutes at their online retailers. Xiaomi announced Singapore as its first international stepping stone outside China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In India, Xiaomi Mi3 went on sale on July 22. They opted for the online distribution model with an exclusive tie-up with Flipkart, rather than setting up a local sales base or its own online retail channel. Xiaomi claimed that they received around 100,000 registrations by July 21 itself, though that didn’t guaranteed a unit for the buyer, and as soon as the Mi3 went live, Flipkart site crashed and the e-commerce site claimed the Mi3 was out of stock, but the site promptly said it would bring in the next batch on July 29 while the registration would begin on July 28. And the second batch too sold in five seconds. In Its third batch, the Mi3 sold out at a record less than two seconds. This was because Flipkart had changed the process for the second batch wherein users simply needed to add the device to their carts, and could make the payment any time later that day. So every time Xiaomi Mi3 went for sale, there were more unsatisfied customers than the lucky Mi3 buyers. Many said the sale was a scam, but the reality was that Flipkart has been receiving just small batches of handsets for every sale. India is not the first country in which Xiaomi phones have been selling at this pace. In Malaysia, the Mi3 handsets disappeared in 17 minutes when they were launched in May. In early March, the Mi3 model was sold out in Singapore in 2 minutes. Its latest phone, the Mi4, for instance, sold out in China in 37 seconds last week. Without any TV commercials or celebrity brand ambassador, Xiaomi has really succeeded in creating a big hype in spite of being an unknown brand. Manu Jain, Head of India operations for Xiaomi, stated, “We are overwhelmed by the response in India. For our last sale on July 29, 26 mobility August 2014
Lin Bin, Co-founder of Xiaomi more than 200,000 people had registered. Flipkart saw an unprecedented 250,000 users simultaneously accessing the Mi3 page shortly after the last sale opened on July 29.” Flipkart’s Co-founder, Sachin Bansal, asserted, “Mi sales model is a new concept for us at Flipkart. Now we are working towards improving customer experience. We are also working towards ensuring a more seamless experience in the future at our website.” Xiaomi’s International Vice President, Hugo Barra, clarifies, “We are not expecting big profits in India any time soon. First, Xiaomi is planning to build India-specific features for its phones and set up a local team to help penetrate one of the world’s fastest growing smartphone markets.” Lin Bin, Co-founder of Xiaomi, said, “We can become bigger in India than we are in China, in future. Our first objective is to see how Indian users perceive our products and make our products user delights. Market share is not a priority.” www.mobilityindia.com
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Few tips to successfully fetch the unit when the next available again on Flipkart # Use the Flipkart App’s counter: The website counter rolls by minutes but the App counter shows seconds as well. The right time to hit the add button is when the counter on Flipkart app hits zero.
# Multiple Accounts: If you have multiple accounts, it will increase your chances of hitting a successful buy.
# Go for Cash-on-delivery option: That works better
Why everyone is after Mi3
Cheapest smartphone with top-of-the-line specifications: Mi is a budget winner with an aluminum body and ergonomically designed handset. Great build quality, speedy performance and an unbelievably low price make Xiaomi Mi3 a perfect big brand killer. Xiaomi has the Corning gorilla glass 3 scratch resistance display. Xiaomi Mi has custom UI, it is easy-to-use and it offers some handy shortcuts along the way.
Compare/Specifications Model
Processor
Display
Memory
Battery
Camera
M8
2.5GHz
5
2GB/16GB
2600mAh
2x4MP
35900
45300
Sony Xperia Z2
2.3Ghz
5.2
3GB/16GB
3200mAh
20.7MP
32974
44999
Samsung Galaxy S5
1.9Ghz
5.1
2GB/16GB
2800mAh
16MP
36161
37199
Nexus 5
2.3GHz
5
2GB/16GB
2300mAH
8MP
23225
28690
Moto X
1.7Ghz
4.7
2GB/16GB
2200mAh
10MP
19286
23999
Micromax A350
1.7GHz
5
2GB/32GB
2350mAh
16MP
30592
19165
Xiaomi Mi
2.3Ghz
5
2GB/16GB
3050mAh
13MP
36634
13999
www.mobilityindia.com
Antutu
Price
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Made in India
In this Segment this month we are Featuring HIVE
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n a bid to differentiate itself from other Android smartphone vendors, Indian handset brand Xolo has introduced a new software user interface which it calls HIVE. Built on an Android core, HIVE is a “Made in India, Made for India” platform designedby our Software Design Centre at Bangalore. The UI has a unique interactive feature wherein users will be able to interact with the company’s developers to give them feedback as well as request new features for their smartphone. Xolo has developed its own custom UI for Android, which will be introduced along with its forthcoming smartphone — Xolo Play 8X-1000. Xolo 8X-1000 runs Android 4.4 KitKat, the latest version of the OS with its own HIVE UI interface. Xolo has customized all elements of the OS including the app launcher, quick settings toggles, Phone and Contact apps, gallery and media apps, among others.
HIVE
Welcome to HIVE - the software suite for the next level smartphone experience. Built on Android, HIVE offers a host of new features and enhancements that change the way you interact with your device. It allows users to join in and become a part of the development team by sharing ideas.
Connect - Give Life To Your Ideas
CONNECT is an exciting, one-of-a-kind platform that fosters and encourages collaboration. It’s where like-minded technology enthusiasts partner with us, to make HIVE better by constantly connecting, collaborating and sharing new ideas. The best ideas that are voted up by the community are chosen by us, which then are rolled out as updates. It is your creative playground.
EDGE - Where designers meet users
EDGE is creative community and customization space, all rolled into one. It provides a platform for emerging artists, musicians and photographers to collaborate with us and design exclusive content as themes, ringtones and wallpapers.
Desinger Themes
Whether it is the lock screen, the apps, its icons, colors, system wide controls, widgets, or even the experience within individual apps; HIVE has a range of wholesome Themes that blend themselves perfectly to the minutest detail.
Integrated Media Intelligence
HIVE comes equipped with Fusion X which combines the music player, video tracks and radio into one centralised core. Integrated with last.fm, Fusion X enables artist recommendations based on what you’re listening to. Fusion X is also tightly integrated with YouTube, wherein you can access trending songs by your favourite artist. This entire experience coupled with Dolby DTS, and an equalizer that comes with a lot of presets provides an auditory experience unlike any other. 28 mobility August 2014
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Launcher
Hive Launcher makes management of applications a no brainer by means of distinct filters for categorization. Launcher also comes equipped with one touch RAM cleaner that clears background applications to free precious RAM space for an uninterrupted experience.
Controls
HIVE comes with a stylish set of Controls that mimic real life actions. The conventional straight line bar slidergives way to the sleeker looking circular controls. Quick Settings include a toggle switch that lets you alternate between dual SIM cards for calls and messages. Simply touch to switch the flashlight on/off or to take a screen grab.
Contacts
Contacts has been designed to meet the needs of a connected generation. It's a smart and simple way of keeping in touch with your friends, family and colleagues via Gmail & Facebook sync. It also provides a unified view of the message threads and the call logs of every contact.
Camera
The Camera has been designed to capture vivid pictures with a single click. It provides a wide range of configurable controls like ISO, Exposure or White Balance for professional photographers. It also includes multiple filters and image enhancement modes to make moments more memorable and fun-filled.
Gallery
It’s time to bid farewell to the regular square grid view. Gallery provides distinct album views by source and category, unique quilt view within albums, powerful editing tools and filters. Gallery supports sync with your online albums from various sources.
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Vishal Sehgal, Cofounder & Director, LAVA International, said "We are excited to announce HIVE to our XOLO customers. Built on an Android core, HIVE is a “Made in India, Made for India” platform designedby our Software Design Centre at Bangalore. With user empowerment at its core, HIVE enables users to contribute creatively to the platform, taking smartphone personalization to The Next Level”
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UC Web India “Our UC Browser with unique features is available in 150 countries and across all major mobile platforms. In India, we have 35% and in China over 65% market share�
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CWeb is a globally used web browser on mobile platforms with unique features. Kenny Ye, General Manager & Director International Business Development, UCWeb India, shares his views and outlook for UC Browser in an interaction with Mobility magazine.
Tell us about new development and features in UC Browser UC Browser is a mobile browser developed by UCWeb Inc. with features meticulously curated for faster mobile Internet experience. Its key features
include fast browsing, localized content and services (for Indian users), smart downloading (supporting multi-tasking, background and cloud downloading with auto reconnection), customized UI, speed dial, incognito browsing and speed mode among others. UC Browser also features a unique Add-on Platform where the user can find various add-ons that enhance and personalize their browsing experience.
What is your overall market share In India and globally? UC Browser is available in 150 countries and across all major mobile platforms. With over 35% market share according to Stat Counter, UC Browser is the most popular mobile browser in India. It is also the leading mobile browser in China with over 65% of the market share and has also witnessed strong growth in many other countries.
Which part of India have you seen maximum downloads and usage of UC browser and why? UC Browser is the most popular mobile browser in India and has users from all across the country. Some of the bigger states such as Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu have witnessed a the maximum number of downloads and active user base. Having said that, we have a substantial user base in other states as well.
What makes your browser unique from other web browsers?
Kenny Ye, General Manager & Director International Business Development, UCWeb India
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UC Browser was the first mobile browser to introduce cloud computing technology back in the year 2004. With more people accessing Internet on their mobile phones for the first time, we have developed a very easy-touse navigation and home page which is a unique initiative. Distinctive features like speed mode, background download, download manager and multiple add-
ons distinguish UC Browser from other products in the market. We have also pioneered to give the users a fast browsing speed on social networks and currently our Android Browser loads Facebook faster than any other mobile browser. We also cater to local user demands by providing upto-date services. For example, we teamed up with local content service providers to provide numerous Bollywood movies with copyrights to Indian users. Users can also check their PNR status directly from UC Browser. That’s something our peers do not provide.
What are the new trends you are expecting in this segment in near future? In India, we are seeing m-commerce growth taking place at a fast pace. India is a mobile-first market and most of the Internet population accesses it for the first time using their mobile phones. This is especially the case in lower-tier cities and rural areas. Therefore the e-commerce market is expected to get an impressive growth through mobile phones. M-commerce is taking off in India and UC Web is accelerating the growth in this area.
Do you have any new tie-ups with mobile manufacturers (Indian or foreign)? UC Browser comes preloaded on Gionee handsets currently. We are in discussions with other handset manufacturers and once something finalizes, we will announce the same.
Which Indian mobile handset brand do you prefer? Which brand do you feel will make it big in next few years? The mobile handset market in India is currently buzzing with options and it is difficult to predict who will come out on top in coming years. With several new entrants, many already established global mobile giants and some existing homegrown companies everyone making their own efforts in the market, it is difficult for a single player to remain on top for a long period of time. We as a mobile Internet company will continue to provide users in India with relevant and localized content and services.
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Date of Pub: 22 July 2014 | Postal Dt.: 27th & 28th of same Month/ Posted at NDPSO
R.N.I. No. DELENG/2004/14198 Postal Reg. No.: DL(S)-01/3442/2013-15
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