My Mobile September2018

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The E-Commerce Conundrum Chief Speak Madhav Seth CEO, Realme

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T

hese are indeed good times for the Indian mobile sector. The India smartphone growth story continues to grow and shine amid general slowdown globally. We are already

EDITORI A L

world’s second-largest smartphone market after

Pankaj Mohindroo |

China, having overtaken USA last year. But it is the

Shelley Vishwajeet | Editor

great leap on the manufacturing side that has a deeper and more significant baring for the Indian economy. Our reliance on imports of mobile handset has come down significantly while domestic manufacturing and value addition is going up dramatically, thanks largely to the success

Editor-in-Chief

Haider Ali Khan | Deputy Editor Ramesh Kumar Raja | Assistant Editor Nijhum Rudra | Correspondent Vanshika Malhotra | Correspondent

of ‘Phased-Manufacturing-Program’ (PMP) with able support from the

DESI G N

government and other stakeholders. The impressive growth of mobile and components manufacturing within the country in most simple term means large scale quality employment generation along with lesser foreign currency outgo. A recent study undertaken by the India Cellular and Electronics Association

Ajit Kumar Parashar | Sr. Graphic Designer

M A R K ETIN G

(ICEA) has conclusively proven that the resurgent mobile handset

Puja Mohindroo | Manager - Business

manufacturing eco-system in India has saved the country approximately

Sandeep Kumar | Sr. Manager – Marketing

Rs 3 lakh crores through the replacement of CBU imports, through domestic assembling/ manufacturing of handsets alone during the past

O P ER A TIONS

four years. Had the significant manufacturing growth witnessed under the ‘Make in India’ not kicked off as it did during the past three years,

K. Rajagopalan | Advisor-Legal, Accounts & Administration

India would have continued importing handsets which was approximately

Deepak Kohli | Manager – Accounts

over 80% in 2014-15 over the total market demand. In 2017-18, over

Varun Lama | Sr. Manager – Human Resources

225 mn handsets were assembled/ manufactured in India which was nearly. 80% of the total market requirements. The net foreign exchange savings is estimated to be over Rs 60,000 crores. In last 4 years, India’s Mobile Handset and Components Manufacturing Industry have enabled the establishment of over 120 new manufacturing units generating employment for over 4.5 Lakhs across the states. Our lead story in this issue deals with a very important and complex

CIRC U L A TION B. G. Mathur | Manager- Production & Circulation

A D V ISOR Y BO A RD Bejon Misra

issue of e-commerce market place operations in India. We have attempted

Rajan Mathews

to unravel the maze of e-commerce matrix in a simple manner while

S.D. Saxena

building a case for creating a level playing field between e-tailers and

Subhash Chandra

physical retailers. Unfortunately, the lax implementation of rules and

Sunil Dutt

regulations, coupled with some innovative but illegitimate marketing practices, e-commerce market place tried to drive an unfair advantage over the brick and mortar entities. As India needs to accommodate a large section of competing interests, we need to ensure a level playing field where all players can participate in a gainful manner.

Sonu Bhasin Uvaraj Natarajan

G ET IN TO U CH Editorial : shelley@mymobile.co.in Marketing : sandeep@mymobile.co.in Circulation : bgmathur@mymobile.co.in

Happy Reading! n

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Edited, published, printed and owned by Pankaj Mohindroo, Published from Flat No. 25, First Floor, Shankar Market, Connaught Place, New Delhi – 110001. Printed at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201306

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04 | september 2018

The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for errors and omissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and the views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication, which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the reader’s particular circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged.

Volume XIII, Issue VIII, september 2018

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contents

56

48 61

64 Style Notes 10 letters 12 Cell Speak

56 Infocus

90

INR vs USD Slugfest and its

Head, Barwa Moblink

Impact on the Mobile Phones

14 Rumor Mill 16 NEWS

61

India Smartphone Growth Story

Continues to Shine

64 Chief Speak

devices now in the market

Madhav Seth – CEO, Realme

Face to Face: Interviews with business/

48 Lead Story The E-Commerce Conundrum

06 | september 2018

96

Akhil Gupta – CTO & Co-

Founder, NoBroker.com

99

Kuldeep Malik - Country Head

Corporate Sales BD- India, MediTek

102 India PC Market Comes Alive!

107 My Guide 29 Just In Get a close look at new mobile

Harsh Vardhan – Marketing

Head, Jivi Mobiles

Market Insight 58 The Huaweian Surge!

20 big NEWS

94

Prashant Shah – Business

The Burntest 68 Vivo NEX 70 Oppo A3s 72 TECNO Camon iTwin 74 Comio X1

industry leaders

76 LAVA Z61

66

78 Honor 9N

Rajdip Gupta – MD & Group

CEO, Route Mobile Limited

80 Harman JBL Pulse 3

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What's Inside

contents 82 UE Wonderboom Freestyle 84 Intex Sports Neckband 85 X-Mini Nano-X 86 Oraimo Necklace OEB-E54D

87 Apptastic Rooter: One stop for sports fanatics

100 By Invitation

132 Add Ons

The Rise of Budget

The latest and the best of

Smartphones – Anis Rahman,

gadgets and accessories, from

Vice President, Reach Mobile

earphones to Bluetooth

104 Bazaar Bargain Four phones which are smart buy today

Cherish Your Moments with

107 My Guide - The most comprehensive feature and

Samsung Galaxy Note 9

of Developing a Custom App for Your Business – Sachin Dev Duggal, a Serial Entrepreneur, Co-Founder & Chief Wizard, Engineer.ai

129 Tech Trendz Doubts Over Cloud!

These Camera Beasts

92 Snapshot

148 Vantage Point Overcoming the Challenges

price list of mobile devices

88 Camera Special

speakers

130 Battery Special

88

Feature phones with powerful battery under Rs 1,500

100

129 107

Total number of pages = 150

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ream in a d ellpho c y e t k u o o st zy ab ew lines? an als n the late e a r c c d u n f o u hav o a Are y al to pen a for news our hands u think yo o y ti se poten have a no rave to lay t them? If y CV to r u le, c u Do yo e? Do you world abo . Rush you My Mobi in e in ou headl and tell th king for y your name o s o e o l to se gizm u, we are .co.in ine. o e y l i n b i o it az mym e mag team@ best mobil India’s

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cellspeak

Quotes

“Today we are once again at the historic turning point. Thanks to digital revolution, new opportunities are emerging for us and that is the reason why it is necessary that we be completely ready for the changes that will come out through AI and big data analytics” —Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, addressing the Brics Outreach Session in Johannesburg

“Some people take the line that if you are pro-consumer, you are anti-industry... that is far from the truth. Pro-consumer does not mean anti-industry. It is not a zero-sum game, one should be conscious of that”

—RS Sharma, Chairman, TRAI, talking to a news agency

“India is a very important market for us. We have room for improvements in the smartphone business… Overall, our target is to generate revenue of up to $6 billion in the next five years from India” — Yang Yuanqing, CEO, Lenovo, while participating in a roundtable conference in Bengaluru

“Vajpayee was a great economic reformer and can truly be called the father of modern telecommunication in the country, having ushered in the National Telecom Policy in 1999, which helped the industry overcome some of its toughest early challenges”

— Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder & Chairman, Bharti Enterprises, paying tribute to Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee

12 | september 2018

“From 1st January 2016 to date (August 8), instructions have been issued by the Department of Telecommunications to ISPs for blocking of about 11,045 websites, URLs, webpages” —Manoj Sinha, Union Telecom Minister, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha

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Rumour Mill

Talk Samsung likely to shut down operations at China mobile manufacturing plant South Korean tech major Samsung is reportedly considering suspending operations at one of its mobile manufacturing facilities in China due to slumping sales and rising labour costs. According to Electronic Times, a South Korean newspaper, Samsung might stop producing mobile phones this year at Tianjin Samsung Telecom Technology, located in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin. The report describes the move under consideration as a potential withdrawal. Interestingly, just five years ago, Samsung had 20 percent of the Chinese market only to see that fall to less than 1 per cent this year, outgunned by Huawei, Xiaomi and other Chinese brands, particularly on pricing. The South Korean tech giant is also under pressure to jump-start faltering smartphone sales after posting its slowest quarterly profit growth in more than a year, as rivals nip at its heels with cheaper, feature-packed models.

14 | september 2018

in Tech Corners

Google Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL might be launched on October 4

Xiaomi, Oppo may launch foldable smartphones in 2019

If reports are to be believed, Google has confirmed the launch date of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. The company has reportedly confirmed to YouTube influencers in Canada that the new Pixel family will debut on October 4. This is notably the same date on which the search giant brought the previous Pixel models - since the launch of the original Pixel back in 2016. The latest revelation comes days after the Pixel 3 XL surfaced on a Geekbench listing that confirmed the presence of a Snapdragon 845 SoC and Android P out-of-the-box. As first spotted by YouTuber Brandon of This Is Tech Today, Google accidentally slipped the launch date of the Pixel 3 through a campaign posted on its YouTube-specific influencer marketing platform Famebit. The campaign was aimed to receive participation from Canadian content creators who are not using any Google Pixel handsets but are willing to switch to the Pixel 3.

Amid reports about Huawei and Samsung’s plans for releasing foldable smartphones in the foreseeable future, a new report suggests that brands like Oppo and Xiaomi could be working on foldable smartphones to release next year. According to the report published in a South Korean news outlet ETNews, both the Chinese brands are working with companies that supply components for foldable smartphones. Two key components as explained by Android Authority in this regard are hinges and foldable displays. Xiaomi and Oppo are expected to follow in the footsteps of Huawei, which will reportedly obtain OLED panel from BOE Technology Group. However, LG Display is also expected to be among prospective suppliers to join hands with Oppo and Xiaomi. While Xiaomi is likely to opt for fold-out design as opposed to Huawei and Samsung, there is no report what exactly Oppo is planning to implement. n

team@mymobile.co.in

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What’s Up

newsbits Samsung tops India’s premium smartphone segment in H1 2018

South Korean major Samsung dominated the premium smartphone segment in India in the first half of 2018 with almost half the market share, a new report from CyberMedia Research (CMR) said recently. According to CMR India’s “Mobile Handset Review” report, Samsung (48 per cent) was followed by Chinese smartphone player OnePlus, which grabbed the second spot with 25 per cent share, and Apple with 22 per cent share. “The premium smartphone segment, though small, is driven by aspirational, tech-savvy millennials and in the coming years, will continue to grow significantly. Samsung’s flagship S9 helped it garner a lion’s share of the premium smartphone segment,” Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry Intelligence Group, CMR, said in a statement. One in two premium smartphones shipped in the first half of 2018 was a Samsung device. Android P is now officially Android 9.0 Pie

After announcing its next-gen operating system, dubbed the Android P, Google has now made it official with it being christened as Android 9.0 Pie. The OS is mostly based on AI for a smarter and faster usage. It is adaptive in nature and helps users optimize battery with the Adaptive Battery feature and manage brightness using Adaptive Brightness feature. App Actions predicts tasks users perform to carry out such tasks

16 | september 2018

in future for easy and convenient usage. The new Slices feature brings important portion of a particular app to the display for easy accessibility. Additionally, Intuitive Navigation will allow users to switch between apps using gestures. The new Digital Wellbeing feature (which is currently in beta) allows users to use new tools for a better usage, along with the new Dashboard feature which lets users keep an eye on his or her usage. The new Android 9.0 Pie is now available for Google Pixel users. Oppo to be first to offer Corning Gorilla Glass 6

China’s Oppo will be the first handset manufacturer to adopt global tech firm Corning’s latest cover glass technology, the Gorilla Glass 6. Oppo’s new flagship smartphone utilising Gorilla Glass 6 is slated to release soon. In lab tests, Gorilla Glass 6 survived 15 drops from one metre onto rough surfaces whereas competitive glass compositions, such as soda lime and aluminosilicate, did not survive the first drop. “We are excited to have Oppo adopt Gorilla Glass 6,” John Bayne, Vice President and General Manager, Corning Gorilla Glass, said in a statement. Unveiled in July, Gorilla Glass 6 is the company’s most durable cover glass to date. “Oppo’s new flagship model will provide consumers, who depend on their smartphone for every interaction in their digital lives, increased protection against multiple drops,” Bayne added. With its optical clarity, touch sensitivity, scratch resistance, efficient wireless charging and enhanced durability, the Gorilla Glass 6 is set to enable new design trends. People spent 85 bn hours on WhatsApp in 3 months People globally spent a whopping 85 billion hours on the Facebook-owned WhatsApp in the last three months. As per

a recent Forbes report, the data released by the US-based app analytics company Apptopia showed that over the past three months, users spent 85 billion hours on

WhatsApp that has 1.5 billion users in the world, -- or “11.425 hours for every human being on the planet”. Conversely, users spent 30 billion hours on its parent company Facebook. “It’s clear that WhatsApp is the global messaging app of choice,” Apptopia’s spokesperson Adam Blacker was quoted as saying. The top 10 apps overall -- in terms of time spent globally -- are WhatsApp, WeChat, Facebook, Messenger, Pandora, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Google Maps and Spotify. The data does not encompass all of China’s third-party Android app stores, or WeChat and other China-focused apps would very likely top the standings. Even so, WeChat is in second place overall, the report said. Huawei Nova 3i is the best mid-range smartphone, says Amazon

Huawei recently unveiled the Nova 3i in India, and the smartphone has now become the best smartphone in the midrange smartphone, according to online portal Amazon India. The main highlight of the Nova 3i is the inclusion of the latest Kirin 710 processor by Huawei which is based on 12nm process tech. Another attraction of the Nova 3i is the 6.3-inch FHD+ with a notch which ensures almost bezel-less display. The camera department comes with four cameras; two at the back

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committed around Rs 250 crore in this

rated at 16-megapixel and 2-megapixel with autofocus, and two at the front standing at 24-megapixel and 2-megapixel. The Nova 3i comes equipped with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage which can be further expanded up to 256GB. The Nova 3i is backed by a 3,340mAh battery and runs the company’s EMUI 8.2 based on Android 8.1 Oreo. Priced at Rs 20,990, it is accompanied by GPU Turbo technology, Smart AI shopping, and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. UPI 2.0 officially launched, introduces new features

National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI)’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) has received a new update, known as UPI 2.0 which has resulted in the inclusion of new features on the platform. UPI 2.0 includes the new One time mandate with block functionality which will allow users to block a particular amount of money in the account, reserved for future transaction. Once the user permits, the blocked money will get debited from the account. Additionally, the UPI Mandate is digitally signed by the user prior to its blocking in the holding bank with customer’s PSP bank (app providing bank). The updated platform now has the ability to link overdraft accounts, alongside the linkage of savings and currents accounts. The OD account status can further be viewed in the UPI apps. UPI 2.0 has the digital invoice feature to keep an eye on the transactions made. Facebook Messenger Kids now allows children under 13 to add friends Facebook has added a new feature to its under-13 chat application Messenger Kids, which makes it easier for the children to add their friends on the platform.

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business. The company has partnered with Alibaba for Cloud Computing Infrastructure. It will soon offer enterprise-messaging solution in partnership with DingTalk. “Parents have to turn on a setting that creates a four-word passphrase that is used to generate these contact requests,” Tech Crunch reported recently. The connection requests will be sent directly to the parents, who have to still approve every contact before they can interact with their kids via the platform. Both parents will receive a contact request from their child and both have to approve the request before the kids can begin chatting. The new feature will allow kids between the ages of six and 13 to exchange photographs, videos and text messages with their friends and with adults once they have been approved by their parents. Paytm launches AI cloud for India

One97 Communications, the parent entity of Paytm has announced the launch of its AI Cloud computing platform “Paytm AI Cloud for India” for developers, startups and enterprises. The platform is mainly aimed at offering business-centric apps for organizations that need high-quality solutions for cloud computing, automate their workflow, easy payments, messaging and customer engagement without the hassle of managing hardware and software. In a statement, the largest digital payments company said that Paytm AI Cloud processes and stores all their consumer data locally in servers located only in India while conforming to the highest security and privacy standards. The company has

What’s Up

newsbits

Apple gets patent for Face ID on Mac After incorporating the facial recognition feature in iPhone X, Apple could be replacing its Touch ID in Mac by Face ID with gesture controls in the future as the tech giant has got a fresh patent to the same effect. The patent granted to Apple recently suggests that the “computer may apply a face detection algorithm at step 92 in order to detect the subject’s face of depth map”, 9to5Mac reported. This patent suggests how body language more generally -- head, torso and arm -- could be used to signal intent to the Mac. This is, however, not the first patent application Apple made for facial recognition on the Mac. One predating the launch of iPhone X described a way of allowing Macs to automatically log users in, even if the devices were in sleep mode when users approached them, the report said, adding that the scope of the new patent is a little broader. Vokal now available on Android and iOS Vokal, India’s largest knowledge sharing platform in Indian languages, has launched their product on iOS and Android. Vokal, a peer-topeer knowledgesharing platform, enables knowledge sharing using voice and video. It offers users to ask questions in regional languages and get them answered by experts. Users can ask the question in either voice or text.

september 2018 | 17


What’s Up

newsbits With lakhs of active users and counting, the platform boasts of 250,000+ questions with 1000s of questions pouring in everyday on varied topics that are very unique to India. Vokal is currently available in Hindi but will be launching in other major Indian languages soon. It also has a live video streaming feature where experts share their knowledge with users. It enables the non-English Internet users in India to have a meaningful Internet experience in regional languages, given the fact that close to 90% of India’s population doesn’t know English. Mobiistar appoints new VP for sales in India

Vietnamese handset company Mobiistar has appointed Hardeep Singh Johar as the Vice President for Sales (North and East) in India. With the brand venturing into the offline space, Johar will focus on strategic business expansion and customer and distributor relationship management. “We are excited to have Hardeep onboard. With his vast experience and hardworking nature, we are curious to witness the heights to which he takes Mobiistar,” Carl Ngo, CEO and Co-founder, Mobiistar India and Global, said in a statement. Prior to this, Johar has worked with brands like Gionee, Tata Teleservices, Bharti Airtel, Aircel, Philips, Godrej and Titan. “The smartphone market in India is one of the most dynamic in the world. I am excited to take on the challenge to firmly establish Mobiistar among the top five smartphone brands in the affordable segment,” Johar said. Rent it if you can’t buy a premium smartphone Hefty price tags happen to be one of the

18 | september 2018

biggest turnoffs for some of the latest smartphones. Hence, taking into account the difference between desire and reality which is hard to bridge, homegrown furniture rental service Rentomojo has taken a step ahead to offer premium smartphones for rent through its portal. From its electronics rental section, the company is offering smartphones and smart devices at as low as Rs 399 per month. Currently, the devices on offer include the premium Apple iPhone X 64GB at a rental cost of Rs 4,299 with a refundable deposit of Rs 9,998. So essentially the first-month payment you make for the premium phone is less than Rs 15,000. Now, one of the interesting additions here is you get to own the product, if you wish to, after 24 months of renting it. Hindu temple, auto rickshaw to be soon available as new emojis in 2019

Unicode Consortium, the organisation that regulates emojis has shortlisted 179 candidates - 61 characters plus variants - for release in 2019. Giving a thumbs up to diversity, making up a large chunk of those new emoji are 55 characters to represent couples of different genders and skin tones, The Verge reported recently. Among the new emojis added to the list are Hindu temple, service dog, ringed planet, kneeling person, auto rickshaw etc. The shortlisted emojis include representation of a person with hearing impairment as well. The list of draft candidates will be reviewed and

finalised in the next meeting this month, Unicode Consortium said in a blog post. Additionally, eight “emoji provisional candidates” for 2020 have also been added which includes ninja, military helmet, mammoth, feather, dodo, magic wand, carpentry saw and a screwdriver, it said. Twitter ropes in academic partners to curb abuse, harassment

Micro-blogging site Twitter has now selected two research projects that aim to develop metrics to measure the “health” of public conversation, in line with its efforts to curb abuse and harassment of users on its platform. “An update! We’ve selected 2 partners from 230 idea submissions. Our first goal is working to measure the ‘health’ of public conversation, and that measurement be open and defined by third parties (not by us),” Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said in a tweet recently. Earlier this year, the microblogging site said it would work to increase the collective health, openness, and civility of the dialogue on its service. As part of these efforts, Twitter initiated a programme to suspend millions of fake accounts and in June announced the acquisition of Smyte, a San Franciscobased technology company that specialises in safety, spam, and security issues. Uber rolls out easy to access Safety Toolkit features for Indian riders

Cab aggregator Uber has launched Safety Toolkit, a consolidated and comprehensive

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set of features in its app for riders in India, within months of its US rollout. The Safety Toolkit is aimed at building on the existing safety features available to riders in India and improving both awareness and usage rates of some of the existing as well as newly introduced features. Riders can access the Safety Toolkit on the home screen of the app from the moment the driver accepts the trip through when the trip ends. Sachin Kansal, Director, Product Management, Uber, said, “At Uber, safety is a top priority and we look towards harnessing technology to solve rider and driver safety concerns in more innovative ways. The roll-out of Safety Toolkit to millions of riders across India is an extension of this commitment to the community that we serve. We’ve updated our platform to prioritize awareness and sensitisation and make our safety features more accessible and easier to use.” Little Singham clocks 3 million downloads in the first two weeks of its launch

Mobile game ‘Little Singham’ by Zapak recently clocked close to 50 million minutes and 67 million runs with 3 million downloads in the first two weeks of its launch. The game is free to play on the Google Play Store. Zapak, a leading gaming destination, is owned by Anil D. Ambani-led Reliance Entertainment. The newly-launched game is inspired by the Little Singham TV Series on Discovery Kids produced by Rohit Shetty Picturez & Reliance Animation. Little Singham is a ‘runner’ game based on the protagonist’s quest to stop the ‘Shaitan Shambala’ from escaping. Played on the streets of Mirchi Nagar, it challenges the players to jump, slide, tackle and grab to get over obstacles during its endless missions. There are also rockets on your way which help you collect easy coins. Players can use coins to upgrade power-

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ups and run longer and score higher. The goal is to score the highest and see that no one gets ahead. Eros Now signs strategic partnership with InMobi

Over-the-top entertainment platform Eros Now has partnered with InMobi, a global provider of enterprise platforms for marketers. The association will enable advertisers to directly monetize on Eros Now’s video platform, which boasts an audience of over a 100 million registered users, dedicated to Bollywood and movie streaming. This exclusive partnership will give brands and advertisers in India a unique opportunity to experience an endto-end playbook that spans innovative video and ad formats, dynamic in-content placement of high-quality movies, and music videos and originals across devices. In addition, Eros Now will also adopt InMobi’s disruptive mobile-first advertising platform to market content through the inapp video universe across India. With this partnership, the two companies will work in close cooperation to devise a go-tomarket strategy, offering integrated advertising and marketing solutions for Eros Now. Real-life virtual trial room Try & Buy Fashions raises $1 Mn from Venture Catalysts

Integrated incubator platform Venture Catalysts has made a pre-series A round of funding worth $1 million in the world’s first real-life virtual trial room, Try & Buy Fashions. Backed by prominent influencers from the industry including

Muralikrishnan B. (COO, Xiaomi/ Ex-COO, Jabong & Senior VP Myntra), Vinod Sood (MD Hughes), Bhaskar Raju, Co-Founder Redbus, the Try & Buy Fashions is poised to change the online apparel shopping experience. It aims to bring online shopping as close to the offline experience as possible by allowing trying and buying of apparel through virtual stylists and virtual trial rooms. The platform envisions becoming the world’s biggest human face/body data & intelligence data library, which can create ‘selfie models’ of every online user. An IP protected virtual trial room with an AI-based personalized stylist, the Try & Buy creates life-like animated 3D models of users, customized through their body type, body parts, height, weight, skin tone, hairs etc.

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Goldseat ties up with BNT Motors to expand services in north India

Goldseat, a licensed on-the-go offline entertainment travel services provider, has collaborated with BNT Motors, the largest dealer for Volvo buses in the country, with a primary focus to provide offline entertainment to luxury bus travelers across India. Besides, Goldseat has introduced enhanced features for an overall service experience. With this tie up, Goldseat services will be available in the National Capital Region, Lucknow, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. With Goldseat offline entertainment, passengers get free access to on-board multi-network Wi-Fi to stay connected for most part of their journey. Goldseat mobile app connects to a hardware device installed in the bus which acts as a local server for streaming licensed content available for the travelers. The mobile app, which is just 3MB in size, can be downloaded from either Google Play or App Store when the traveler boards the bus. n team@mymobile.co.in

september 2018 | 19


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‘Bhasantara’ shows ways to overcome the barriers of communication Bhashantara, a symposium on Indian languages technology industry, heralds the beginning of a momentous journey in the history of mobile handset industry in India

I

The MeitY Secretary also launched e-Aksharayan in 7 Indian n order to celebrate the formal adoption of Indian language support on mobile handsets and development of appropriate languages. e-Aksharayan is a desktop software for converting ecosystems around languages, Indian Cellular Association in scanned printed Indian language documents into a fully editable partnership with industry body FICCI, Ministry of Electronics and text format in Unicode encoding. It supports major Indian Information Technology and Technology Development for Indian languages- Hindi, Bangla, Malayalam, Gurmukhi, Tamil, Kannada Languages recently organized Bhashantara, a symposium on and Assamese. He also released Mobile Testing Data in all 22 Indian languages towards IS16333 - part 3 compliance. Indian languages technology industry in New Delhi. This data is useful in testing the display as well Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, MeitY, who “We all know as inputting in mobile handsets IS standard was the chief guest at the event, said that 16333 (Part 3), which defines the barrier-free communication is critical for the about India Stack. We requirements for mobile handset for country and the goal is to have real-time should now come up with ‘India inputting of text in English, Hindi and at translation capability in each of the Indic Language Stack’, which will help least one additional Indian official languages. “We all know about India in overcoming the barriers of language along with facility of message Stack. We should now come up with ‘India readability in the phones for all 22 Language Stack’, which will help in communication” Indian official languages. overcoming the barriers of communication,” —Ajay Prakash Sawhney, The development heralds the beginning said Sawhney. He also added that with of a momentous journey in the history of internet access becoming affordable, demand Secretary, MeitY mobile handset industry in India. for regional content is increasing and will Implementation of the Indian language support continue to grow.

20 | september 2018

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on mobile handsets has already come into applicability from May this year. The mobiles being sold in the country today can support message readability in all the 22 official languages of India and the input of text in English, Hindi and at least one additional Indian language. Pankaj Mohindroo, National President, ICA, said, “All of us should work towards making India multilingual in order to integrate with the rest of the world.” He also underlined about the role of device ecosystem, in expanding the horizons of “All of us Indic Internet to global should work towards address, informed that a huge volume of markets. making India multilingual in Indian language content remains in hard Swaran Lata, Program Head and copy form and suggested, “For digital order to integrate with the Director, TDIL, MeitY, in her address advantage, we need to convert paper form on ‘Indian Government Initiatives in rest of the world” into an electronic form that can be accessed Language Computing’ said that Hindi digitally.” —Pankaj Mohindroo, does not appear among the first 38 Himanshu Sharma, CEO & Co-Founder, languages on the internet and the goal is to National President, ICA Devnagri, said, “India is gearing up for digital enhance digital content in Indian languages. transformation and to reach real India, localisation She elaborated, “We have developed text to is the solution.” speech tech in 12 Indian languages and we are Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, FICCI, said, “Just like working on all languages simultaneously to enhance the content.” She highlighted that the strong foundation of various BPOs created a huge new sector, Indic language program under technologies such as cross-lingual success, machine language the Digital India can create millions of jobs.” Considering that mobile handset remains at the centre of the translation, OCR etc. and standards has been created for industry to leverage for putting in place products such as web series in ‘Digital India’ program of the Government, whereby India aspires to bridge the digital divide between haves and have-nots and which language technology. Virat Bhatia, Chairman, ICT & Digital Economy Committee, in turn expects to propel the nation towards rapid socio-economic FICCI, said that it is crucial to give emphasis to the development transformations; therefore, enablement of Indian language support of Indic languages. He emphasised that internet penetration in on handsets could not have come at a more opportune time India cannot grow without addressing the issue of language of considering that this can play a crucial role in fulfilment of this internet access. Over half a billion users will be added to the vision. As 85-90% of Indians do not speak English, therefore current number of internet users in India but substantial number Indian language support on the devices will solve many of the perennial issues being faced related to disaster management, will come from the Indic internet ecosystem. Chetan Krishnaswamy, Director, Public Policy, Google, said that m-governance, digital payments etc. Notably, ICA, the apex body of handset companies in India, had there is a need to localise Indic languages and find ways to incorporate them into the internet. “Hindi voice search is growing put in tremendous efforts in this important and comprehensive at 400% year on year (YoY). The consumption of local language national program which went on during the past three years or so is increasing. By 2021, Indic language users will grow at a CAGR through joint collaboration with TDIL, a MeitY body, before the of 18% to reach 536 million from current 234 million. English Indian language support program could become a reality with users will grow at 3% YoY to 199 million,” said Krishnaswamy. He regulations identified and frozen. The event also hosted panel discussions on topics related to also added that industry and stakeholders must come together and work in a collaborative environment for successful local language the Indic language development, and deliberated upon other challenges being faced by the ecosystem e.g. content development internet. Santanu Choudhary, Director, CSIR-CEERI, Pilani, in his community, app developers etc. n

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september 2018 | 21


Mobile handset manufacturing has saved India possible outflow of Rs 3 lakh crores: ICEA

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s per a recent study/statistics released by the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), it has been conclusively proven that the resurgent mobile handset manufacturing eco-system in India has saved the country approx. Rs 3 lakh crores through replacement of CBU imports through domestic assembling/ manufacturing of handsets alone during the past 4 years. Had the significant manufacturing growth witnessed under the “Make in India” not kicked off as it did during the past 3 years, India would have continued importing handsets which was approx. over 80% in

Falling Imports of Mobile handsets in India 90%

83%

78%

68%

Percentage

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bignews

59%

56% 45%

45%

Volume (Mn) Volume (Rs/Crs)

30% 22%

23%

16% 6%

0%

2014

2015

2016 Year

2017

8%

2018 Estimated

22 | september 2018

Volume (Rs/Crs)

Volume (Mn)

Percentage

“It is indeed an honourable and proud moment for us at ICEA and the nation considering the momentous achievement that this sector has produced for our country. India’s growth in the captive market demand for handsets is clearly demonstrated with most of the global handset brands/ manufacturers are now eying the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market. India has overtaken USA last year to become the world’s second-largest smartphone market after China. ICEA is also proud to inform you that Mobile Handsets and Component manufacturing ecosystem has emerged as the champion category under the Make in India initiative of the Government,” said ICEA Chairman & National President Pankaj Mohindroo. Mohindroo further added, “In 2015, the question was – who is 2014-15 over the total market demand. Coming under the weight making in India? But now the question is who is not making in of the growing manufacturing initiative, today India is known as India? Mobile Phone imports will trickle down to the insignificant the World’s No. 2 mobile handset manufacturing destination after level of around 5-7% of the market (less than Rs 1000 Cr/month) China. In 2017-18, over 225 mn handsets were assembled/ by the end of FY 2018 and that India is moving towards almost manufactured in India which was Zero Imports for Mobile Phones. We Increased Manufacturing of Mobile handsets in India approx. 80% of the total market understand that Reliance Jio will soon 100% 94% 92% requirements. The net foreign 85% be moving its entire production of Jio 82% exchange savings is estimated to be Mobile handsets to India. We have to 75% 68% 63% over Rs 60,000 crores (while CBU emulate the same success story in 54% imports have come down drastically, 50% other verticals of electronics and 41% import of sub-assemblies and consumer appliances.” 25% 22% 25% components has gone up. Even then Rajesh Agarwal, Co-Founder of the nation has saved an enormous Micromax and General Secretary of 0% amount of foreign exchange). 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Estimated ICEA, said, “The industry has made Year The government’s ‘Make in India’ great sacrifices to move from trading and ‘Digital India’ initiatives are acting as gateways to spur the and imports to first APTP (Assembling, Packaging, Testing and growth of India’s tech and telecom industry. In the last 4 years, Programming) to PCBA population and components manufacturing. India’s Mobile Handset and Components Manufacturing Industry No sacrifice is too great in nation building and we wholeheartedly has enabled the establishment of over 120 new manufacturing support the Hon’ble PM’s Make in India program and are proud units generating employment for over 4.5 lakhs across the that we have played a significant role.” states. Josh Folger, Founder of ICEA, Co-Chairman of the Fast Track The mobile handset manufacturing number in terms of value Task Force and MD of FIH, said, “India has emerged as the 2nd for 2018-19 is expected to touch Rs 1,65,000 crores with approx. highest manufacturer of mobile phones in the world and the a volume turnover of 290 million during the same period. In the successful implementation of PMP (Phased Manufacturing first 2 quarters itself manufacturing is expected to cross Rs 75,000 Program) duly notified by MeitY has been an excellent tool for crores and a volume of 130 million handsets. advance planning.” n

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Apple is a Trillion-Dollar Company! F

rom near bankruptcy in 90s to new high; Apple, the Cupertino tech giant, has become the only second company in the world to achieve the valuation of trillion dollar! PetroChina, an oil and gas company, had topped US$ 1 trillion for a short time on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2007. Apple on November 7, 2012, had crossed the valuation of US$ 900 billion. The latest high came when its share price hit US$ 207.05 on Thursday’s trading. Apple was on the brink of bankruptcy in 1990s but today commands bigger valuation than all but 15 countries’ GDP. Apple also commands over 87% of all profit generated by smartphones sales worldwide. Its premium per unit is far the highest. Samsung is still way behind here while all other smartphone manufacturers have to be content with leftover miniscule profit margin. Aple’s iconic iPhone is one of the best-

selling devices in the world, and commands highest per unit profit premium. At the same time, the company has been expanding into new markets like wearables, and revenue from its software and services, like Apple Music and the App Store, have been soaring, under its unassuming CEO Tim Cook. n

HMD Global expects to double its revenue in 6 months

N

okia brand licensee HMD Global looks forward to double its revenue in the next six months, backed by a slew of device launches, including its 4G feature phone which is said to be a challenger to the JioPhone, besides increasing local production capacity. Ajey Mehta, Country Head-India for HMD Global, said in a report, “We expect to double our revenue and ramp up our manufacturing capacity by about 2x times in the next six months.” HMD Global, which has launched nine smartphones this year and rolled out Nokia 6.1 Plus and 5.1 Plus recently, is reportedly targeting this festive season with several offers. “The

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festival season in India is the largest selling season in the year and we are geared up for it. We have plans in place for every single festival in different states and this may be the best festive season we have had in a long time,” Mehta was quoted as saying in the report. Interestingly, the Finnish brand hasn’t been able to break into the top five smartphones — dominated by Chinese players and Samsung — but has grown its share to 8% from 3% a year ago to grab the third spot in the feature phone segment, which is led by Reliance Industries’ 4G feature phone JioPhone, with a 47% share, followed by Samsung. Nokia, which has eight feature phones in India, reportedly plans to make a bigger impact in this segment with its own 4G feature phone — Nokia 8110 — that will aim to take on the JioPhone. The Nokia 8110, also known as the Banana Phone because of its face fitting shape curve, will try to grab a pie of the 500 million customers who do not own a smartphone. According to reports, HMD has earlier said that it is talking to Indian telcos for a tie up for its 4G feature phone for pricing the device competitively against JioPhone. n

september 2018 | 23


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Oppo finalizes discussions with component partners to set up production facilities in India C hina’s Oppo has reportedly finalized discussions with some of its key components makers to establish production facilities in India, alongside its upcoming tech park in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, as it seeks to deepen its presence in the world’s second largest market. Charles Wong, President, Oppo India, in an interview to a news organization recently said, “We are having ongoing discussions with a number of key component makers. A few have been finalized for important accessories and key components.” Wong said that for Oppo’s bigger unit, it needs all key vendors and suppliers to set up operations in the country. “After China, India is the most important market for Oppo. India is a huge market and offers enormous potential,” Wong was quoted as saying. According to reports, Oppo has already acquired land and has started work to establish operations for the new upcoming bigger facility - Industry Park. Interestingly, Oppo’s bigger rival, Xiaomi, is already pushing the component ecosystem in India and has already brought China’s Holitech Technology to India. Reports say Holitech, which provides components to the world’s top five brands, excluding Apple, will

set up a plant in Andhra Pradesh to locally produce camera modules, touchscreen panels, TFT (thin film transistors), flexible printed circuits and fingerprint modules for Xiaomi to start with. Oppo was the fourth largest smartphone brand in the April-June quarter with 10% smartphone market share -- trailing Xiaomi, Samsung and Vivo -- up from 5.6% share in the January-March quarter. The company recently expanded its handset portfolio with the launch of F9 and F9 Pro, thus increasing its focus on the growing Rs 20,000-Rs 30,000 price category. n

China’s Gome to enter India, hires ex-Foxconn executive as country head C hinese consumer electronics and smartphone retail chain Gome has reportedly chosen to kick off its global expansion by launching its own branded products into the Indian market which will be sold through multi-brand stores and online marketplaces. According to reports quoting two senior industry executives, Gome, which is a $11-billion company, is going to launch its own branded smartphones, televisions and appliances which will be aggressively

24 | september 2018

priced to challenge Xiaomi, Samsung, TCL and Oppo. Gome Electronics India is a fully-owned subsidiary of Gome Telecom Equipment, part of the Hong Kong listed Gome Retail Holdings, which has over 1,700 stores in China. Interestingly, the company has roped in Piyush Puri as head of India operations. Puri was earlier with Foxconn India handling in-house brand, InFocus. Gome will be investing significantly in India to build the brand following the footstep of other Chinese brands. The new Chinese player is said to launch three smartphones in the sub-Rs 10,000 segment by the upcoming festive season through both online and brick and mortar stores, while television, refrigerator, washing machine and kitchen appliances will be launched subsequently through online marketplaces. All these will be smart appliances based on Google’s Android operating system. What’s more, Gome has signed film star Ranveer Singh as the brand ambassador for its smartphones after his endorsement agreement with Chinese rival Vivo ended earlier this year. The company also plans to set up manufacturing operations in the country where all products will be locally manufactured to take advantage of duty benefits. n

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bignews Indians prefer mobiles, not Wi-Fi, to access net

I

ndians largely use smartphones to access the internet, through mobile networks rather than WiFi, according to a study by Bain & Company in partnership with Google and Omidyar Network. This is a unique trend since globally internet users tap WiFi to connect to the World Wide Web. The use of smartphones in India is likely to change the internet economy and open up opportunities worth $50 billion in three-five years, the study showed. On an average, India has added more than 40 million internet users every year in last five years and currently boasts of having the second-highest number of active internet users globally after China. The study suggests that India lags China and Brazil in internet penetration (28% penetration compared with 64% in Brazil and 53% in China), but the country’s user growth has been the highest. Interestingly, India is expected to add more than 500 million new internet users and online shoppers to its current user base of 390 million, the study said. “This could unlock around $50 billion in potential online commerce in the next 3-5 years,” said reports quoting Joydeep Bhattacharya, partner at Bain & Company, as saying. E-commerce retail sales in India were pegged at $20 billion in 2017, which is 2% of overall retail sales of the country. As per the reports quoting Roopa Kudva, partner & MD, India, at Omidyar Network India Advisors, as saying, “The internet over

time has been perceived as a means of social communication and there are many sections of men and women who believe this could be a bad influence on women and can even lead to broken marriages.” n

Trai Chief RS Sharma gets two-year extension

T

he government has extended the tenure of RS Sharma, the high-profile chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), by another two years. This is the first time that a Trai chairman has been given a second term since the inception of the authority in 1997. “The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the re-appointment of Ram Sewak Sharma as chairperson, Trai, for a further period beyond 10.8. 2018 up to 30.09.2020 i.e. the date on which

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he attains the age of 65 or until further orders whichever is earlier,” a notification issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said recently. Sharma, a1978 batch (retired) IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre, who was recently in the news for his ‘Aadhaar challenge’ had assumed office on August 10, 2015. During his three-year tenure as Trai chairman, voice calls became almost free and data tariffs crashed to alltime lows. Under Sharma’s watch, Trai also ushered in a host of regulations, ranging from formulating strong rules to back net neutrality and tightening norms around quality of services as well as around checking pesky calls to controversial ones such as mandating telcos to compensate users for call drops and the predatory pricing tariff order. Sharma’s first term coincided with the entry of Reliance Jio Infocomm in September 2016 with free voice and data offers, triggering the bitterest of fights between the Mukesh Ambani-controlled 4G newcomer and the older carriers — Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Idea Cellular — in the market-place, and off it. The older operators were often at loggerheads with Sharma over a variety of issues, many of whom are still pending in courts or with the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). The earliest skirmish was over the regulator’s move to force telcos to compensate users for call drops. COAI challenged this order in the Supreme Court and it was struck down. n

september 2018 | 25


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bignews WhatsApp may delete your data if you haven’t backed it up in a while

P

opular Messaging platform WhatsApp has announced that it will automatically delete data of users if it hasn’t been backed up on Google Drive for over a year. The move comes after a deal between Google and WhatsApp that allows users to back up their data to Google Drive without having to worry about it being counted against the drive storage quota. If you have signed in with your Google Drive account on WhatsApp to back up files but haven’t updated the backup for a while, WhatsApp will automatically delete the last back-up file. In a blog post, WhatsApp wrote, “Back-ups that haven’t been updated in more than one year will be automatically removed from Google Drive storage. To avoid the loss of any back-ups, we recommend you manually back up your WhatsApp data before November 12, 2018.” So if you don’t want to lose it, you will need to manually back up your data before the deadline. Here’s how to manually back up: Tap the Menu option on WhatsApp, Click on Settings and then Tap on Chats. Under that you will be able to see the backup option. You can also turn on automatic backups, now that you don’t have to worry about your Drive space. n

Qualcomm introduces Snapdragon 670 chipset with new AI support

Q

ualcomm has introduced its new midrange chipset, the Snapdragon 670 mobile platform. The latest system-on-chip (SoC) is expected to be available in smartphones in the third quarter of 2018. The latest chipset from Qualcomm comes loaded with 3rd generation AI Engine, which the brand claims to deliver 1.8x AI performance improvements as compared to the previous generation. The ondevice AI capabilities will help improve realtime responsiveness, enhanced reliability and more even when the device lacks network connection. It also features smart camera settings and it uses the same Qualcomm Hexagon 685 DSP, which is present in highend mobile platforms. On the camera front, it also equips Qualcomm Spectra 250 ISP, which supports up to a 25-megapixel single camera or up to 16megapixel dual cameras. With the latest chipset, users could also record Ultra HD videos at 30fps. Performance-wise, Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 mobile platform is based on the 10nm process and it houses eight Kryo 360 CPU cores. Out of eight cores, two are performance cores clocked at 2.0GHz, while six are efficiency cores clocked at 1.7GHz. The company claims that the chipset delivers up to 15 per cent higher performance as compared to its predecessor. The

26 | september 2018

chipset also houses Snapdragon X12 Modem, which offers up to 600Mbps of download speeds and up to 150Mbps of upload speeds. The modem automatically switches between LTE and WiFi, depending on which mode has better signal quality and speed. Further, OEM can also use both LTE and WiFi to boost download speeds. Apart from this, the chipset features Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+ fast charging, support for Full HD+ display, 2x2 802.11ac with Mu-MIMO WiFi, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, SBAS, Qualcomm aptX audio technology and more. n

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bignews Microsoft builds innovative solution for CBSE to prevent paper leaks

T

he Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has partnered with Microsoft India to digitally encrypt question papers for Class X and XII examinations. This initiative was undertaken to enhance security and seamless distribution of the papers. The solution was successfully tested as a pilot project in the recently held Class X compartmental examinations, across 487 examination centers with approximately 4,000 students. The Controller of Examination can track the entire process using a software solution built on Windows 10 and Office 365. The overall process was automated to be highly secure with encryption, two-factor authentication and access to download the exam papers at the examination center only 30 minutes prior to start time. The solution leverages features in Office 365 to encrypt and watermark the papers. The watermark has the individual center’s code imprinted on it which allows for localization and traceability in the eventuality of a paper leak. A CBSE administrator initiates the distribution of exam papers, which results in the generation of emails to the respective centers with a link to One Drive where an exam paper, specific to the exam center can be downloaded. This digitization process saves significant time and cost for exam administrators due to online paper generation, automated delivery process and reduction in approval cycles. Commenting on the partnership, Anil Bhansali, Corporate Vice President, Cloud & Enterprise, Managing Director, Microsoft India (R&D) Private Limited, said, “A strong education ecosystem is

key to our nation’s development and Microsoft and CBSE are deeply committed to digitally transform the sector. Innovative implementation of technology has the potential to solve some of the most pressing issues faced by the sector. The success of this partnership with CBSE is proof of that potential. I am confident we are well on the way towards a digitally empowered education ecosystem.” Widespread adoption of this solution can transform the education sector and essentially change the way students in India take their exams. n

BlueSky Inventions adds four million users

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lueSky Inventions R2E platform, which is India’s first mobile browser platform, has crossed four million users in India. BlueSky Inventions’ Venus Browser is the first Indian smartphone browser app to provide hyper-regional content covering all major Indian states as per users’ preference and location while providing advanced functionalities like browsing, app store, and services. Venus Browser also tackles the three fundamental consumer problems like low memory space, the discovery of applications and services and most importantly accessibility to hyper-local content and applications through its lightweight platform. BlueSky platform has gained good traction through ecosystem collaboration. In an industry first, Venus Browser for smartphones delivers users advanced functionalities like full browsing features, over 400 apps and services under a lightweight 5MB package, one of the lightest browsers in the world. Venus Browser has found

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considerable market traction by becoming a preferred pre-loaded browser for several industry-leading mobile device companies. Venus Browser offers the latest local, national and international hard topics, infotainment and trending video content, including sports apps, business news etc. Currently available in its Android avatar, Venus Browser will soon be launched over other operating systems. Venus Browser in its full version is now available for download on Google Play.n

september 2018 | 27


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bignews App that will extend your smartphone battery life

S

cientists, including one of Indian origin, have developed an app that can help smartphone users reduce the energy consumption and extend the battery life of their device for up to an hour each day. The app was evaluated in an experiment involving 200 smartphone users, who downloaded the software on their devices and used it while they had multiple windows opened. It was found that when the energy saving technique was used it extended their battery life by 10 to 25 per cent. “The built-in multi-window feature released with the new Android operating system allows users to have multiple windows and files open at the same time similar to a laptop, but this results in unnecessary energy drain,” said Kshirasagar Naik, a professor at University of Waterloo in Canada. Naik said, “We have developed an app which users can install on their devices and use to reduce the brightness of non-critical applications. So, when you’re interacting with one application, the brightness of the other window goes down thereby reduces the

energy consumption of the device.” He further said, “What happens now is that you put the phone on a charger for the night and when you leave home the next day the battery is at 100 per cent, but there is a lot of behind the scenes computation and communication going on, and it drains the battery.” Due to the excess energy consumption, the phone becomes warmer and warmer while the frequent charging reduces the life of the battery. So, batteries that are meant to last for three years may have to be replaced in two years, he added. n

Seqrite detects 5000 spam emails daily carrying Trojans targeting businesses, individuals

U

nderlining the complex and ever-evolving nature of the modernday threat landscape, leading enterprise security solutions provider Seqrite has revealed the developments regarding the Emotet Trojan malware. Security researchers at Seqrite have identified an evolution in the infamous Banking Trojan which wreaked havoc four years ago, tracking its transformation into a complex threat distributor distributing multiple attack payloads. The Emotet malware campaign has been around for a long while and has continuously utilised different attack techniques and complex variants to compromise the security profile of the victim. Having utilised PDF and JS file attachments in emails to deliver the attack payload in 2017, the recent spread of the Emotet

malware has been through MS Office Word documents containing heavily obfuscated macros. Seqrite has successfully detected and blocked more than 1.5 lakh instances of the spam email targeting businesses and individuals in the last one month alone, protecting them through advanced threat detection it utilises for identifying such campaigns. Speaking on the discovery, Sanjay Katkar, Joint Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer, Quick Heal Technologies Limited, said, “Threat actors today are modifying older malware to deliver new-age attack payloads. The recent evolution and outbreak of the Emotet Trojan is the perfect example of how rapidly the global threat landscape has been evolving. Combating these sophisticated attacks requires greater security awareness from the end-users as well as state-of-the-art security solutions, such as Seqrite, with proven capabilities to defend against such threats. We will continue to actively track the re-emergent threat of the Emotet Trojan to understand how to better protect our customers against such innovative attack vectors.” According to the security researchers at Seqrite, the Emotet Trojan is delivered through phishing emails containing subject lines such as Invoice, Delivery Details, Shipment Details, and Payment Details etc. in order to trick the victim into opening the email and downloading the attachment. n team@mymobile.co.in

28 | september 2018

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BlackBerry Evolve & Evolve X

O

ptiemus Infracom, the brand licensee of BlackBerry has

with a resolution of 1080x2160 pixels resolution protected

rolled out two new smartphones, known as the Evolve and

by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The two phones also pack the same

Evolve X in India. The new phones are not only made in India

4,000mAh battery along with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0.

but are also designed and conceptualised here.

To click photos, Evolve X has a vertically stacked 12MP +

The Evolve and Evolve X are a strong departure from

13MP dual-camera setup, while the Evolve has pair of vertically

Blackberry’s typical form factor with QWERTY keypads. The

stacked 13MP sensors. On the front, the two phones feature

two smartphones feature a full touchscreen display along with

the same 16MP camera with fixed focus and selfie flash.

Blackberry’s suite of security apps. The Blackberry Evolve X is

Talking about software, both the phones run Android Oreo

pricier of the two phones, retailing at Rs 34,990, while the

8.1 tweaked slightly by Blackberry to accommodate its security

Evolve is priced at Rs 24,990. Although the two phones carry the same design, they are slightly different in terms of hardware. A Qualcomm

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justin

and privacy features that include DTEK security app and Blackberry Hub. The company claims that facial recognition on the phones is also encrypted.

Snapdragon 660 SoC powers the Evolve X, while Evolve runs

Both the phones are Amazon exclusives. Reliance Jio

a lower-spec Snapdragon 450. Evolve X is paired with 6GB of

is offering a cashback of Rs 3,950 and ICICI Bank is

RAM, while the Evolve offers 4GB. The two phones, however,

providing a 5% cashback on EMI transactions for its credit

share the same internal storage of 64GB along with

card holders. n

expandability up to 256GB via a MicroSD card. The two phones are lit up by the same 5.99-inch screen

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september 2018 | 31


First Look

justin

Honor Play

H

uawei’s online sub-brand Honor is the latest to join the

variants - 4GB RAM + 64GB storage and 6GB RAM + 64GB

trend of building gaming phones with the launch of Honor

storage. The two variants are priced at Rs 19,999 and Rs

Play in India recently. The Honor Play is available in two

23,999 respectively. The phone is available via Amazon India. The smartphone comes with top-end specifications, placing special emphasis on gaming and AI capabilities. To supplement these two elements, it comes with the in-house Kirin 970 processor and GPU Turbo technology under the hood. Honor says that “Kirin 970’s NPU is trained with 100 million pictures to enable its AI Camera to detect 22 different scenes from 500 different scenarios and apply the best camera settings for that perfect shot”. The dedicated NPU is said to consume only 2% battery as compared to CPUs capable of performing similar AI tasks. GPU Turbo is essentially an integrated hardwaresoftware graphics processor acceleration technology that helps reimagine the traditional graphics framework at a lower layer system. Talking about the other specs, the Honor Play sports a 6.2-inch full HD+ display with 19:9 aspect ratio. The phone runs on Android 8.1 Oreo-based EMUI 8.2 layered. It sports a 16-megapixel and 2-megapixel dual-camera setup on the back with PDAF. On the front, it has a 16-megapixel selfie camera. Other key features of the phone include a fingerprint sensor, microSD support up to 256GB, and a 3,750mAh battery. n

30 | august 2018

MYMOBILE


Xiaomi Mi A2 hinese company Xiaomi, in partnership with Google

C

The Mi A2 runs on Android Oreo-based Android One

(Alphabet Inc.), has launched its second Android One

platform rather than the MIUI ROM that powers other Xiaomi

phone, dubbed the Mi A2 in India. The Mi A2 is the successor

phones. Being an Android One device means Xiaomi Mi A2 is

to the popular Xiaomi Mi A1 and it comes with major

in a set of priority phones that receive the latest updates and

improvements in terms of design and camera.

security patches from Google. The Mi A2 thus will be eligible

In terms of the specs, the Mi A2 sports a 5.99-inch full HD+ display with a resolution of 2160x1080. It has the

for an Android Pie update whenever Google makes it available for other phones.

conventional aspect ratio of 18:9. Powering the phone is

Connectivity and other conveniences on the phone include

Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC coupled with Adreno 512

dual-SIM functionality, 3,010 mAh battery, Bluetooth 5.0,

GPU. The Mi A2 comes in two RAM variants of 4GB and 6GB

fingerprint sensor and USB Type-C support.

with internal storage options of 64GB and 128GB.

The 64GB variant with 4GB RAM of the Mi A2 is priced at

In the camera department, the Mi A2 features a dual-

Rs 16,999 while the 128GB variant with 6GB RAM is coming

camera setup on the back comprising 12MP Sony IMX 486

soon. It comes in four colour options- Black, Lake Blue, Rose

sensor and 20MP Sony IMX 376 sensor. On the front, it has

Gold and Gold. The phone will be available exclusively through

a 20MP selfie camera with flash, which is capable of delivering

Mi.com and Amazon. Reliance Jio is offering Rs 2,200

a DSLR-like depth-of-field effect.

cashback and 4.5TB free data to its customers. n

www.mymobileindia.com

First Look

justin

september 2018 | 33


First Look

justin

Samsung Galaxy On8

F

ollowing rumours and speculations, South Korean brand

The Galaxy On8 has some highlights; it comes with a

Samsung has added the budget smartphone, the Galaxy

6-inch HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity display with an aspect

On8 in its On series in India.

ratio rated at 18:9 for thin bezels. The camera department (another highlight of the smartphone) houses dual cameras at the back, rated at 16-megapixel and 5-megapixel with LED flash. The front shooter stands at 16-megapixel with support for LED flash. The smartphone comes with Live Focus feature. The Galaxy On8 is accompanied by the Chat-over-Video feature which allows users to simultaneously chat while video calling and My Galaxy Video for a curated list of videos and much more. The smartphone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 mobile platform, coupled with 4GB of RAM. It comes equipped with 64GB of inbuilt storage which can be further expanded with the use of a microSD card. The device houses dual SIM card slots and comes with various connectivity options such as 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS, GLONASS, micro-USB 2.0, 3.5mm audio jack, and FM radio. Additionally, the Galaxy On8 features a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and supports Face Unlock feature. The Samsung Galaxy On8 is priced at Rs 16,990 and is up for grabs exclusively via Flipkart. n

34 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


First Look

justin

Infinix Smart 2

T

ranssion Holdings-owned Infinix has launched its latest

flash. On the front, there is an 8-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0

entry-level smartphone, called the Smart 2 in India. The

aperture lens and dual LED flash.

handset competes with the likes of Xiaomi Redmi 5A, 10.or D, Spice F311 etc. Talking about the specs, the Infinix Smart 2 sports an 18:8 aspect ratio display of 5.45-inch screen size. It has an LCD screen with 500 nits of brightness and 480x960 pixels

The device runs on the latest Android 8.1 Oreo with XOS 3.3.0 on top out-of-the-box and is backed by a 3,050mAh battery. This battery is said to deliver 21 days standby time, 21 hours of 4G talk time and 81 hours of music playback time. Connectivity options on the board include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi

resolution. Powering the device is a 64 bit quad-core 1.5GHz

and Bluetooth, GPS/ A-GPS, Micro-USB, and a 3.5mm

quad-core MediaTek MT6739, paired with 2GB RAM and 3GB

headphone jack.

RAM variants. It offers 16GB and 32GB internal storage and

The Infinix Smart 2 comes at a starting price of Rs 5,999

a microSD card support of up to 128GB. The device comes

for the base variant. This variant offers 2GB RAM + 16GB

with dual SIM support (both VoLTE enabled) and a dedicated

internal storage. The second variant offers 3GB RAM + 32GB

microSD card support so users will not have to compromise on

storage and comes at Rs 6,999. Available in four colour

using two SIM cards.

options -- Bordeaux Red, City Blue, Sandstone Black and

In terms of optics, the Infinix Smart 2 has a 13-megapixel sensor on the back with an f/2.0 aperture along with an LED

www.mymobileindia.com

Serene Gold, the Infinix Smart 2 is available on e-commerce portal Flipkart. n

september 2018 | 35


First Look

justin

Tecno Camon iACE & iSKY 2

T

ranssion Holdings’ subsidiary Tecno Mobile

has launched two new budget-centric

smartphones- Camon iACE and iSKY 2 in India.

The major highlight of both the smartphones is the inclusion of FullView display and AI-infused rear and selfie cameras. Both of them feature a 5.5inch HD+ display with an aspect ratio of 18:9. They are powered by MediaTek MT6739WW quadcore processor clocked at 1.5GHz. Both the devices are backed by 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage with an option to expand the memory up to 128GB via microSD card. On the camera front, the Camon iACE features a 13-megapixel rear camera with f/2.0 aperture and LED flash, while for the front, there is an 8-megapixel sensor with f/2.0 aperture and dual LED flash. The Camon iSKY 2 features dual rear cameras with a combination of 13megapixel primary sensor with f/2.0 aperture and a VGA secondary lens with LED flash. For the front, there is a 13-megapixel shooter for selfies and video calling. The Camon iACE and iSKY 2 run on Android 8.1 Oreo with company’s custom user interface HiOS. The phones run on 3,050mAh battery. The Camon iACE comes with the only Face Unlock feature, while the Camon iSKY 2 is loaded with Face Unlock and fingerprint sensor. On the connectivity front, both the devices support 4G VoLTE, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, GLONASS, dual-SIM and micro USB port. Tecno Camon iACE and iSKY 2 come with price tags of Rs 6,799 and Rs 7,499 respectively. Both the smartphones come loaded with Reliance Jio instant cashback offer of Rs 2,200. Under this offer, the users will get 44 cashback vouchers of Rs 50 each in MyJio account, which can be redeemed by the user on subsequent recharge of Rs 198 or Rs 299. n

36 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


LG G7+ ThinQ

L

G’s recent smartphone in its G series, known as the LG G7+ ThinQ has now officially arrived in India. The LG

G7+ ThinQ has the notch and a 6.1-inch QHD+ FullVision Super Bright display as its main highlight. The display has an aspect ratio rated at 19:5:9 and a screen resolution of 3,120 x 1,440 pixels. Additionally, users have the ability to get rid of the notch using the New Second Screen setting. Another USP is the photography department, which has dual rear cameras, each rated at 16-megapixel. The front-

Priced at Rs 39,990, the LG G7 ThinQ is available exclusively via Flipkart. n

First Look

justin

facing snapper stands at 8-megapixel with 80-degree wideangle lens. Moreover, the device is accompanied by AIbased camera features, Super Bright Camera feature, Live Photos, and Portrait mode for Bokeh. The LG G7 ThinQ has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 mobile platform, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage which is expandable up to 2TB via a memory card. The smartphone is backed by a 3,000mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 tech and wireless charging, and runs Android 8.0 Oreo. Other features include IP68 certification, rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, facial recognition, Hi-Fi Quad DAC, Boombox speaker for ‘louder audio output, dedicated button for Google Assistant, and Google Lens.

www.mymobileindia.com

september 2018 | 37


First Look

justin

Do Mate 1

D

o Mobile, the Indian subsidiary of China-based company

focus (AF) + 0.3MP fixed focus (FF) rear camera, and 8MP

Shenzhen United Time Technology, has come up with a

selfie camera.

new smartphone, known as the Mate 1 in India. The handset comes with a price tag of Rs 6,299. As for the specifications, the dual SIM Mate 1 smartphone

Additionally, the smartphone supports Bluetooth, GPS, WiFi, FM Radio, gravity sensor, light sensor and distance sensor.

comes with a 5.7-inch Full View display. It has 2GB of RAM

In shade of Gold, the product is available with leading retail

and 16GB of internal storage which is expandable up to 32GB

stores across UP, MP, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat,

via a microSD card.

Maharashtra, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, AP,

The 4G VoLTE-enabled handset is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad core processor along with a 2,800mAh Li-ion battery and runs on Android 7.0 Nougat operating system. In the camera department, the smartphone has 13MP auto

38 | september 2018

Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jharkhand, Haryana, J&K, Kerala, Himachal and Punjab. The company also manufactures feature phones and started its operations in 2017 in India. n

MYMOBILE


Coolpad Mega 5A

C

hinese smartphone maker Coolpad has launched a new

through local dealers under the Coolpad panel. These states

smartphone, known as the Mega 5A in the Indian market.

include – Delhi, Haryana, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu,

Key features of the Coolpad Mega 5A include its 18:9 display aspect ratio, dual rear camera setup and the face unlock feature. The company says with this new budget offering, they will be taking on smartphones like the Redmi 5A in the offline market.

Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra. n

First Look

justin

In terms of other specs, the Coolpad Mega 5A sports a 5.47-inch HD+ display with a resolution of 1440×720 pixels. It is powered by 1.3GHz Spreadtrum SC9850K processor with Mali 820 MP1 GPU. The device comes with 2GB of RAM along with 16GB of internal storage expandable up to 64GB via a microSD card. It runs Google’s Android 8.1 Oreo operating system and is backed by a 2,500mAh battery. As for the camera, the Coolpad Mega 5A sports a dual camera setup on the back consisting of an 8MP primary camera sensor paired with a 0.3MP secondary sensor and a LED flash. On the front, the device features a 5MP camera sensor for taking selfies. Both the camera modules support features like time-lapse and slow-motion video recording. The smartphone is priced at Rs 6,999 and will be sold exclusively in the offline market in the Gold colour option. The device is currently available in eight Indian states

www.mymobileindia.com

september 2018 | 39


First Look

justin Mobiistar C1, C1 Lite, C2, E1 Selfie & X1 Dual

V

ietnamese brand Mobiistar made its entry in the offline

recently. All the smartphones are said to be selfie-centric and

smartphone market with the launch of five new budget

are priced between Rs 4,340-Rs 10,500.

handsets- C1, C1 Lite, C2, E1 Selfie and X1 Dual in India

Mobiistar C1 Lite: The C1 Lite comes with a 5.34-inch FWVGA+ IPS display of 480x960 pixels resolution with full view display and a 2.75D curved screen. It offers 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage with 128GB microSD card support. Backed by a 2,700mAh battery, it sports a 5-megapixel front camera and a 5-megapixel rear camera. Price: Rs 4,340. Mobiistar C1: The C1 comes with a 5.34inch FWVGA+ IPS display of 480x960 pixels resolution with a 2.75D curved screen. It offers 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage with 128GB microSD card support. Backed by a 3,000mAh battery, it sports an 8-megapixel front camera and a 5-megapixel rear camera. Price: Rs 5,400. Mobiistar C2: The C2 comes with a 5.34inch FWVGA+ IPS display of 480x960 pixels resolution with a 2.75D curved screen. It offers 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage with 128GB microSD card support. Backed by a 3,000mAh battery, it sports an 8-megapixel front camera and an 8-megapixel rear camera. Price: Rs 6,300. Mobiistar E1 Selfie: The E1 Selfie comes with a 5.45-inch HD+ IPS display of 720x1440 pixels resolution with a 2.5D curved design and a full view display. It offers 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage with 128GB microSD card support. Backed by a 3,000mAh battery, it sports a 13megapixel front camera and a 13-megapixel rear camera. Price: Rs 8,400. Mobiistar X1 Dual: The E1 Selfie comes with a 5.7-inch HD+ IPS display of 720x1440 pixels resolution with a 2.75D curved screen and a full view display. It offers 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage with 128GB microSD card support. Backed by a 3,000mAh battery, it sports a 13megapixel rear camera and dual 8-megapixel selfie camera. Price: Rs 10,500. n

40 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


itel A45, A22 & A22 Pro

T

ranssion Holdings’ mobile brand itel has launched three

features 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage, and it runs

new entry-level smartphones in the market- itel A45, A22

Google’s Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition). The A22 Pro features

and A22 Pro priced at Rs 5,999, Rs 5,499 and Rs 6,499

2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. The phone runs

respectively. The smartphones come with features like HD+

Google’s Android 8.1 Oreo and is backed by a 2,400mAh

full-screen display, dual rear camera setup, and Android Go

battery.n

operating system. All of the three phones will be sold exclusively via the offline market.

First Look

justin

The itel A45 sports a 5.45-inch HD+ display with an aspect ratio of 18:9. It is powered by the MediaTek MT6739 processor paired with the ‎ARM Mali-T720 MP2 GPU. The device comes with 1GB RAM along with 8GB internal storage expandable up to 128GB via a microSD card slot. The A45 runs on Google’s Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition) and is backed by a 2,700mAh non-removable battery. The device features a dual camera setup on the back consisting of a 5MP primary sensor along with a secondary VGA sensor. On the front, it features a 5MP camera for selfies. The itel A22 and the A22 Pro have similar specifications. Both the phones sport a 5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 954×480 pixels. The devices are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor paired with Adreno 304 graphics. Both the smartphones consist of a 5MP camera sensor on the back and a 2MP sensor on the front for selfies. The A22

www.mymobileindia.com

september 2018 | 41


First Look

justin Nokia 6.1 Plus & 5.1 Plus

A

s rumoured previously, HMD Global, the exclusive licensee for the Nokia-branded

devices recently unveiled the Nokia 6.1 Plus and the 5.1 Plus smartphones at an event in India.

camera department

Starting with the Nokia 6.1 Plus, the upgraded version of the Nokia 6.1 has the notched display with an aspect ratio rated at 19:9 as its highlight. The display spans 5.8-inch and is Full HD+ in nature. Additionally, the display is layered with Corning Gorilla Glass and has a pixel density of 432ppi. Another highlight is the

with dual cameras (16megapixel and 5-megapixel) at the back and a 16-megapixel snapper at the front. The smartphone supports various camera features such as bokeh effect, AI-based features, EIS, and HDR imaging technology. The Nokia 6.1 Plus is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, along with 4GB of RAM. It has 64GB of inbuilt storage which can be further expanded up to 400GB via a microSD card. The device is backed by a 3,060mAh battery and runs Android 8.1 Oreo, coming under Google’s Android One initiative for a pure Android experience. Furthermore, the Nokia 6.1 Plus features a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. The Nokia 6.1 Plus is priced at Rs 15,999 and is up for grabs exclusively via Flipkart. Coming to the Nokia 5.1 Plus, the smartphone too has the 5.8-inch notched display with an aspect ratio of 19:9 as its USP. It too, has dual cameras at the back, configured at 13-megapixel and 5-megapixel. The Nokia 5.1 Plus is powered by MediaTek Helio P60 chipset, and it too, comes under the Android One initiative and runs pure Android 8.1 Oreo. However, there is no word on the pricing details yet. n

42 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


First Look

justin Xiaomi Poco F1

technology. The Poco F1 comes in three RAM/ROM variants: 6GB RAM/64GB ROM, 6GB RAM/128GB ROM and 8GB RAM/256GB ROM, all being expandable via a memory card.

X

The Poco F1 runs Android 8.1 Oreo with MIUI on top, has a

iaomi’s sub-brand Poco has finally made its entry in India

fingerprint scanner at the back, and supports infrared facial

with the launch of the Poco F1 smartphone. The Poco F1 is

recognition which also works in the dark. Additionally, the

a performance, battery and camera-centric smartphone. Touted

smartphone comes with various MIUI optimizations with various

to be the ‘master of speed’, the Poco F1 is powered by octa-core

added features.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 mobile platform with LiquidCool Technology to avoid heating of the smartphone. The all new smartphone has a massive 4,000mAh battery backing it which is expected to last up to eight hours of gaming. The Poco F1 has a 6.18-inch Full HD+ display with a notch as another attraction. The camera department (which is also one

The Poco F1 is priced at Rs 20,999 (6GB RAM/64GB ROM), Rs 23,999 (6GB RAM/128GB ROM) and Rs 28,999 (8GB RAM/256GB ROM) and is available at Mi.com and Flipkart. Moreover, the company also introduced the Special Armoured Edition of the Poco F1 with a back panel made of DuPont Kevlar. It comes with 8GB RAM and 256GB of internal storage and is priced at Rs 29,999.

of the highlights) has dual cameras at the back, rated at 12-

In addition to this, the Poco F1 comes with various offers

megapixel and 5-megapixel with AI capabilities and Dual Pixel

such as the Reliance Jio offer with up to Rs 8,000 worth of

Autofocus. The front-facing snapper stands at 20-megapixel

benefits and 6TB of high speed data, and Rs 1,000 off on all

and too comes with AI-based camera features and Super Pixel

the variants during its first sale for the HDFC users.n

www.mymobileindia.com

september 2018 | 43


International

justin Oppo F9 & F9 Pro

F

ollowing leaks and rumours, Oppo has finally launched the

one at the front stands at 25-megapixel with support for AI-based

F9 and the F9 Pro smartphones in its F series in India. Both

camera features (AI Scene Recognition and AI Beautification

the Oppo F9 and the Oppo F9 Pro share resemblance with each other except for the RAM configuration; the former has 4GB of RAM while the latter has 6GB of RAM. The Oppo F9 and the F9 Pro have the company’s proprietary

2.1), sensor HDR, AR stickers, and slow-motion videos. The Oppo F9 and the F9 Pro are powered by MediaTek Helio P60 processors with Mali-G72 MP3 GPU. Both the smartphones come equipped with 64GB of internal storage.

VOOC Flash Charge technology as its USP, which is expected to

The devices are backed by 3,500mAh batteries with smart

charge the smartphone for a 2-hour talk time in just five

battery management system to prevent battery drain, and run

minutes.

Color0S 5.2 based on Android 8.1 Oreo.

Another highlight of the smartphones is the small notched

The Oppo F9 and the Oppo F9 Pro come in Sunrise Red,

display (known as the waterdrop screen) which stands at 6.3-

Twilight Blue and Starry Purple colour variants. Additionally, the

inch and is Full HD+ in nature. It features a screen-to-body ratio

devices sport a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor.

of 90.8 per cent and an aspect ratio rated at 19:5:9.

The Oppo F9 and the Oppo F9 Pro are priced at Rs 19,990

Coming to the camera department (which is another

and Rs 23,990, respectively. While the Oppo F9 Pro is available

highlight), there are dual rear cameras rated at 16-megapixel

to buy via Flipkart, Amazon, Paytm and offline stores, the Oppo

and 2-megapixel with LED flash and bokeh effect support. The

F9 will be available soon. n

44 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


International

justin

Honor Note 10

H

uawei’s sub-brand Honor finally made the much-anticipated Honor Note 10 official at an event in China recently. The Honor Note 10 has

many highlights; first one being the huge 6.95-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with really thin bezels. Another highlight is the company’s proprietary GPU Turbo technology for improved and enhanced gaming experience. The camera department, too is an attraction, comprising dual cameras at the back rated at 24-megapixel and 16-megapixel with autofocus and LED flash. The front-facing snapper stands at 13-megapixel. The device supports Portrait mode and AI-based camera features. The Honor Note 10 is powered by octa-core Kirin 970 chipset with MaliG72MP12 GPU. The smartphone comes in three RAM/ROM variants: 6GB RAM/64GB ROM, 6GB RAM/128GB ROM and 8GB RAM/128GB ROM, all the three options being expandable up to 256GB with the use of a memory card. Taking a look at yet another attraction, the smartphone gets its fuel from a massive 5,000mAh battery which supports fast charging and is expected to fully charge the smartphone in about 1.7 hours. The device runs EMUI 8.2 based on Android 8.1 Oreo. Additionally, the Honor Note 10 is accompanied by a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, and comes in Magic Night Black and Phantom Blue colour options. The Honor Note 10 is priced at CNY 2,799 (6GB RAM/64GB ROM), CNY 3,199 (6GB RAM/128GB ROM), and CNY 3,599 (8GB RAM/128GB ROM). n

www.mymobileindia.com

september 2018 | 45


International

justin LG Q8 (2018)

S

outh Korean brand LG recently launched the successor

snapper with PDAF and LED flash, while the one at the front

to the LG Q8 launched last year, the LG Q8 (2018) in

stands at 5-megapixel with 100-degree wide-angle lens. The

South Korea. The new LG Q8 comes with support for a built-in

LG Q8 gets its fuel from a 3,300mAh battery and runs

stylus which allows users to create memos with added

Android 8.1 Oreo.

features, draw and scribble with several editing features. Speaking of technical specifications, the smartphone comes with a 6.2-inch Full HD+ FullView display with an

The LG Q8 comes with several connectivity options such as 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS, GLONASS, USB Type-C port, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

aspect ratio rated at 18:9 which ensures the presence of

In addition, the smartphone supports IP68 certification

really thin bezels. The LG Q8 is powered by Qualcomm

for water and dust resistance, MIL-STD 810G certification,

Snapdragon 450 mobile platform, coupled with 4GB of RAM.

DTS: X stereo sound technology, Hi-Fi Quad DAC, a rear-

It comes equipped with 64GB of internal storage which can

mounted fingerprint scanner, and LG Pay.

be further expanded up to 2TB with the use of a microSD card. On the camera front, there is a 16-megapixel primary

46 | september 2018

The LG Q8 is priced at 539,000 won (around Rs 32,900) and is available in Aurora Black and Moroccan Blue colour variants. n

MYMOBILE


Meizu 16 & 16 Plus

C

hinese handset maker Meizu recently unveiled the rumoured

While the Meizu 16 comes in 6GB RAM/64GB ROM (for

Meizu 16 and the Meizu 16 Plus smartphones at an event

CNY 2,698), 6GB RAM/128GB ROM (for CNY 2,998) and 8GB

in the home country. Both the Meizu 16 and the Meizu 16 Plus

RAM/128GB ROM (for CNY 3,298) variants, the Meizu 16 Plus

come with the in-display fingerprint scanner as their main

has 6GB RAM/128GB ROM (for CNY 3,198), 8GB RAM/128GB

highlight.

ROM (for CNY 3,498) and 8GB RAM/256GB ROM (for CNY

In terms of specs, the Meizu 16 and the Meizu 16 Plus sport

3,998) options.

a bezel-less display, rated at 6-inch and 6.5-inch, respectively.

The Meizu 16 gets its fuel from a 3,010mAh battery, while

The displays are Full HD+ Super AMOLED in nature. The

the Meizu 16 Plus has a bigger 3,640mAh battery capacity.

smartphones are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845

Both the smartphones run the company’s Flyme OS based on

mobile platform. On the camera front, both the Meizu 16 and

Android 8.1 Oreo.

the 16 Plus house dual cameras at the back, configured at 20megapixel and 12-megapixel. The front-facing snapper stands at 20-megapixel.

www.mymobileindia.com

Furthermore, the Meizu 16 and the Meizu 16 Plus come with

International

justin

support for mCharge fast charging and AI Face Unlock.n team@mymobile.co.in

september 2018 | 47


Limelight

lead story

The E-Commerce Conundrum Much like most parts of the world, the e-commerce phenomenon has overwhelmed the Indian retail landscape too. But is the rapid rise in their popularity and market share purely an outcome of the technological march, fair play and the emergence of a democratic market place benefitting all stakeholders alike as was originally stipulated or is it due largely to factors, which ethically and legally, are in the grey zone but helped e-commerce gain an undue advantage over the physical retail! Amid serious allegations of unfair trade practices leading to unprecedented market disruptions, we take a look at the e-commerce phenomenon as it stands today in India and what the government needs to do to create a level playing among various stakeholders. By Shelley Vishwajeet

E

-commerce was supposed

equitable market acess with unprecedented

to herald a new era of

reach; the government would get enhanced

democratic market place

revenue as tax evasion would minimize with

where all stakeholders – be

every transaction being on record. To top, it

it consumers, retailers, the government –

was supposed to open a whole new world

would be winners. It was supposed to be a

of possibilities. Thus a sculptor infusing life

win-win proposition for all. Thus the great

into stones by a sea-side village in coastal

democratic disruptor was to be welcomed

Odisha could reach directly to a aficionado

despite some anticipated discomforts to the

of traditional craft in Bengaluru; the organic

old order. The benefits were supposed to be

produce form Sikkim would reach homes in

overwhelming.

Gurugram; a small mobile handset dealer

The case for e-commerce was built

in Noida could clear his excess inventory at

around promising premises! Consumers

marginal discount without too much worry

would get a never before choice and

as to from where he will get customers or

convenience; retailers would get a cheap,

his inventory becoming obsolete while a

48 | september 2018


customer in Varanasi could lay hands on

2016 (PN3/2016) was decreed which

into e-commerce platforms, it became a

the biggest spread of shoe brands which he

was supposed to be the light house

high stake game with furious competition

could not get in his city or for that matter a

for e-commerce operations in India.

amongst players to acquire consumer base

housewife who preferred to use authentic

PN3/2016 permitted no inventory based

and retailers.

spices from Malabar coast could order the

trading for e-commerce platforms; it also

The race to the top made had its fallout.

same without much ado! And all this at the

(the amended press note) stated that no

The e-commerce platforms, particularly

click of a mouse with no parking or bargain

one retailers would be allowed to sell more

the big daddies like Amazon, Flipkart and

hassles while shopping at one’s one time

than 25% of the total value of one product

Snapdeal went into ‘innovation mode’ to

and leisure!

on one e-market place. The stipulations

circumvent the regulations. They started

E-commerce was also supposed to be

were supposed to offer adequate protection

acquiring the character of e-tailers although

the gateway to the world for Indian retailers

to conventional Indian retail landscape

taking care to unleash the new game via

and entrepreneurs. It was supposed to

while offering a democratic and equitable

select handpicked ‘third parties’ who

expanding their universe. The whole world

access to all sellers and consumers.

they fostered and patronized. A game of

was to become thier playground! It was to be the dawn of a new era!

But soon the reality turned out to be

market distortion fuelled by questionable

vastly different. As E-commerce start

marketing practices and humungous

Yet, the policy makers also knew

gaining foothold rapidly, especially after

discounts began which soon became a

that despite all the promise and new

the direct entry of Amazon in 2012 aided

cause of concern for physical retailers and

possibilities, the new order would cause

by rising income, increased internet

the government alike. In this scenario,

disruption from which larger stakeholders

penetration and smartphones, the contour

consumers and e-commerce platforms had

needed to be given a fair shield – whether

of this space also started changing

a field day but the physical retailers, small

they be India’s humungous conventional

rapidly. As billions began to be poured

retailers registered with these e-commerce

brick and mortar retailers – the backbone

platforms and the government were big

of economy or the common consumers.

losers. Particularly in high value, high

Thus, a policy note called Press Note 3 of

selling items such as mobile, electronics

Limelight

lead story

goods, clothing, etc e-commerce share

www.mymobileindia.com

june2018 2018 | 49 45 september


Limelight

lead story zoomed up. The games played around

retailers - the brick and mortar masters

retailers was that the fast shrinkage of

mobile handsets in particular turned out

– ones who had dominated India’s retail

their market share was not primarily an

to be symbolic of the malice that had set

landscape since time immemorial had

outcome of the digital march but largely a

in as mobile most suited the e-commerce

little inkling of the disruption that was in

fallout of the unfair trade practices being

space being high demand, good margin

the making. Little surprising, they saw no

employed by e-commerce entities which

but less voluminous product!

need to prepare for a battle nobody could

in all practicality had become e-tailers via

see nor anticipate!

pseudo entities.

Yet nobody had really anticipated the grand disruption in the offing! Back

And as one would expect, the impact

Vikram Mittal, Secretary, Telecom

in 2012, when Amazon had just begun

of online market place has been far bigger

Watchdog is certain that there is no

testing the Indian retail waters via Junglee.

in metros and tier-I cities where incomes

ambiguity in the PN-3/2016.

com, an ‘online retail sites discovery

are high coupled with higher smartphone

circumvent FDI rules, Flipkart and Amazon

platform’ it had acquired in 1999-

ownership and digital penetration and

have created multiple companies, and the

2000, Flipkart was struggling to clock

time is at a premium. These factors

government must stop such activities.

“To

an annual sale of Rs 500 crores (approx

according to a KPMG report had given a

What is not allowed directly cannot be

70 million USD) while the total value of

massive fillip to online commerce. The

done indirectly,” says Mr Mittal.

online merchandize was estimated to be

biggest impact was seen in high value

He further says that marketplaces have

less than USD half billion. Around that

and high selling items such as mobile

to be a neutral place and e-commerce

time, no research body or soothsayer was

phones and electronics goods. Studies

entities cannot indulge in influencing

predicting the kind of online implosion

by Counterpoint Research and e-Marketer

price including discounts with or without

or the market disruption that was about

estimated that online sales constituted

the association of brand product owners.

to begin. But by 2016, the total value of

more than 40% of total smartphones

“All their actions and contrary the rules

online merchandize had crossed USD 15

sales in India in 2017 and its share was

and as such they are illegal.”

billion. Zoom in to 2017 and the value

going to become bigger, spurred by never

Dharmendra Kumar, Director,

had more than doubled! According to a

before super discounts and frequent sale

India FDI Watch too echoes the same

report by Morgan Stanley, online retail in

weekends.

concerns. “India does not allow FDI in

India could grow to over USD 200 billion

The murmur of discomfort amongst

B2C e-commerce, nor does it permit

by 2026, which will be something like

conventional retailers had begun with

inventory based e-commerce model for

12% of India’s overall retail market!

the rise in popularity of e-commerce but

marketplace. But big players have been

On the ground too, there was nothing

it was the massive cornering of lucrative

practicing inventory based model by

really to suggest at the time that the

categories such as electronics and

patronized third parties.” He also points

Indian online market would evolve so

mobiles by big online platforms that really

out that the ‘inventory model’, leads to

dramatically as to send the entire retail

put conventional retailers in the anxiety

the creation of monopolies as big global

space into tailspin. India’s traditional

zone. The contention of conventional

players offer to buy products from sellers

48 | august 2018

MYMOBILE


(largely MSME players) at an attractive

dodging purposes has been the most

price initially, but squeeze their margins

common and contentious practice. Mr

later when these small sellers are entirely

Mittal unravels the structural labyrinth

reliant on them.

created by these companies. “When a

Some serious allegations leveled

consumer tries to buy something from

against e-commerce platforms included (i)

Amazon, he is routed to www.Amazon.in,

Circumvention of Press Note 3/2016 which

which is owned & operated by company

relates to FDI rules in e-commerce space

called Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd

(ii) Indulgence in inventory based trading vai third parties which is not permitted under Indian laws (iii) Cartelization and operations through pseudo distributors/ sellers entities to corner market share (iv) Market distortion via heavy discounts (v) Tax evasion stratagems. Worried market watchers point out that these practices have not only marginalized small retailers, brought undesirable disruptions in Indian retail landscape, but would also lead to loss of mass employment. For brand owners too, experts point out that by indulging in short-terms gains by joining hands with large-ecommerce entities, brands over

“To circumvent FDI rules, Flipkart and Amazon have created multiple companies, and the government must stop such activities. What is not allowed directly cannot be done indirectly” – Vikram Mittal, Secretary, Telecom Watchdog

time would lose their power and hold and would just become a pawn in the hand of

e-commerce platforms buy the branded

e-commerce companies.

goods in bulk (at discounts) from

To repudiate these charges and to

manufacturers rendering small sellers

be part of this critical story, we reached

uncompetitive by a wide margin, thus

out to Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal.

influencing the prices in violation of

Unfortunately only Amazon responded by

FDI norms. As a consequence of this

stating that they do not wish to offer any

FDI norms violation, smaller sellers are

comment while Flipkart and Snapdeal did

unable to participate in the fast growing

not respond to our mails!

e-commerce sector. Because of subsidized

The Modus Operandi Notwithstanding the amazing success

prices on e-commerce platforms, the retailers are unable to sell in the brick and mortar world too.

(“Amazon Seller”), which is a marketplace. This is an entity of concern says market experts. The other entity of concern is Cloudtail India Pvt Ltd (‘Cloudtail’). It

“Inventory model leads to the creation of monopolies as big global players offer to buy products from sellers at an attractive price initially, but squeeze their margins later when these small sellers are entirely reliant on them” – Dharmendra Kumar, Director, India FDI Watch

and growing footprint, the E-commerce

The cumulative impact of this is

market place has become an enigma for

that the marketplaces have usurped the

the retailers and policy makers alike. Dr

space meant for small retailers by turning

is registered as one of the sellers on the

Rashmi Das in her book, “E-com in India:

into proxy sellers. “It is ironical that the

web site of Amazon Seller (the 3rd entity).

Violations & Tax Avoidance” points out

marketplaces, meant to help smaller

Cloudtail is the largest seller on Amazon

that since inventory-based trading is not

sellers grow online have crowded them out

Seller. In FY 2015-16, it ended with a

permitted, to circumvent this rule, large

of not only e-commerce, but also out of the

revenue of Rs 4,591 crore, while Amazon

e-commerce platforms created multiple

brick-n-mortar world,” says Mr Mittal.

Seller posted a revenue of Rs 2,275 crore.

entities or associated with “Name Lending” companies through which they

The Structural Puzzle

started routing hot-selling stocks.

Experts explain that creation or adoption

In FY 2016-17, Cloudtail has posted revenue of Rs 5,706 crore while Amazon Seller has posted revenues of Rs 3,257

Mr Vikram Mittal explains that via

of a web of companies large e-commerce

crore. Cloudtail has reported a loss of

the ‘Name Lending’ companies, the

companies by-pass FDI rules and for tax

Rs 26.67 crore, and Amazon Seller’s

www.mymobileindia.com

Limelight

lead story

september 2018 | 51


Limelight

lead story loss is Rs 4,831 cr. With such a high

technology, employees and business

revenue, they pay no tax. And while FDI is

contract) to Flipkart India Pvt Ltd. Since

not allowed in entity operating on inventory

then, Flipkart has added several other

based e-commerce model but Cloudtail

entities. Flipkart Internet Pvt Ltd now

is essentially doing this. It is registered as

owns the domain name Flipkart.com.

one of the sellers on Amazon Services.”

Flipkart Internet does not sell products

(More on Cloudtail’s modus operandi can

itself. Its revenue comprises listing fees

be read in accompanying interview of

and other platform services provided to

Dr Rashmi Das.)

third-party vendors, including WS Retail.

Besides the above, Amazon arranges discounts to its customers by utilizing the

“If the goal can be achieved through existing laws, then maybe we should focus on that. For example, strengthening the ED to enforce the FDI policy and bringing in clarity on the FDI policy’s implementation would solve a lot of the issues” – Arjun Sinha, Legal Expert & Partner, Cantor Associates following process. “Amazon Wholesale India Pvt Ltd (AWIPL) will buy branded goods in bulk from a manufacturer of mobile phones, electronics, white goods, branded fashion etc. AWIPL will sell the goods to Amazon controlled sellers like Rocket Commerce, Green Mobiles at a discount and will book the resultant loss in its books. Amazon Seller Services will pay for marketing (print & TV advertisements), exchange offers, Zero cost EMIs and some

52 | september 2018

It is now being taken over by US retail giant

“Allowing limited inventory to e-commerce platform is not at all acceptable since they are only technology facilitators and nothing to do with inventory. If they are allowed to keep inventory, it will distort the basic fundamental of the policy” – Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General, CAIT

Walmart.” To avoid payment of income taxes in India, the Bansals established their holding company in Singapore called as Flipkart Pvt Ltd (“FPL”) says Mr Mittal. The ownership of FPL largely rests with US-based hedge fund Tiger Global, Accel Partners, Naspers and the Bansals. Some of its entities registered in Singapore as 100 per cent subsidiaries of FPL are: Flipkart Marketplace Pvt Ltd, Flipkart Logistics Pvt Ltd and Flipkart Payments Pvt Ltd. These companies, in turn, hold stakes in Indian entities through a complex maze of companies. This was deliberately done to circumvent the ban on FDI in online retail in India. WS Retail is one of the most important pieces of the Flipkart puzzle says Mr Mittal.

part of bank offers and will book these

“With as little as Rs 90.50 lakh capital,

expenses in its books. Amazon Seller

WS Retail could achieve a turnover of Rs

Services will undertake all logistics related

13,921 crore in FY16 and got away by

tasks (including packaging, shipment to

paying a meagre sum of Rs 1.89 crore as

buyers, returns, liquidation of damaged

income tax!”

goods, compensation to sellers, cost of

WS Retail was owned by the Bansals

payment gateways etc.). All these expenses

until Sep 2012. They along with two of their

are booked in its books - against an average

relatives were on the board of WS Retail.

cost of Rs 250 per packet, only about Rs

In Nov 2012, Flipkart was forced to sell a

125 is recovered by Amazon Seller Services,

large stake in WS Retail to Rajeev Kuchhal,

thus influencing the price charged to the

former COO of OnMobile Global Ltd, when

consumers via this subsidy.”

the Indian regulatory agencies launched an

Similar route has been undertaken by

investigation into the company’s business

Flipkart to gain market share points out

relationship with WS Retail. Both the

Mr Mittal. “The flipkart.com was owned

Bansals and their relatives gave up their

by Flipkart Online Services Pvt Ltd (FOS). In June 2009, founders set up WS Retail

board seats too. After the PN-3/2016, Flipkart devised a

Service Pvt Ltd as the company’s consumer

new method under which it looked for some

facing entity and FOS was turned into a

Name Lenders who would form companies

wholesale cash-and-carry business. In

and through them the invoicing for goods

2011, FOS sold its entire business (brand,

would be routed. Out of several thousands

MYMOBILE


of brands registered on their web site,

already in place while it needs to focus

acceptable since they are only technology

database analysis showed five brands that

on enforcement. “Strengthening the ED

facilitators and nothing to do with inventory.

appeared frequently and also did not have

to enforce the FDI policy and bringing in

If they are allowed to keep inventory, it

much or no competition in their respective

clarity on the FDI policy’s implementation

will distort the basic fundamental of the

categories on Flipkart’s online marketplace.

would solve a lot of the issues. One also

policy. The term ‘bulk purchases’ currently

To avoid any direct linkages, Flipkart used

has to note that there are also several types

is ambiguous and as such needs to be

completely different brand names, which

defined and clarified. The e-commerce

have no correlation with the names of

companies should not be allowed to offer

their respective companies. For example,

any discount since they are not the owners

Superconnect is the brand name that

of inventory. Each e-commerce company

appears on Flipkart screen, but its company

should be duly registered with authorities,”

name is Shreyash Retail Pvt Ltd.

says Mr Khandelwal.

Given their size and dominance,

Amid this, the silver lining is that the

consumer activists and market watchers

government is looking at all issues with

have overwhemingly focused on

open mind. “The government has an open

operational practices of Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal but they should be seen as symptomatic of widespread malaise in this space.

Needed A Level and Fair E-Market Place Given such practices, it is no surprise that e-commerce market places were able to gain undue advantages over the conventional Indian retailers with ease and

“There should be a fair competition between offline and online trades. These trades must be given equal status” – Sudhanshu Pandey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry

in double quick time. It is also disheartening

mind regarding e-commerce policy and based on suggestions and inputs received from the stakeholders, the second draft of the e-commerce policy would be placed in public domain likely in next fortnight,” Mr Sudhanshu Pandey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry had recently stated while addressing a national convention of physical retailers. Mr Pandey had also raised some points to ponder. “Most e-commerce sites in India mainly sell imported goods due to

to note that a new era of democratic market

of e-commerce businesses that already

which local industries and products are

place which e-commerce platforms were

have a fair amount of regulation (even

impacted. What if some foreign investor

supposed to usher never really happened.

for e-commerce companies) - such as

said he or she is ready to pump in money

This certainly is a cause of concern and

insurance, transport or food delivery. Here

into a marketplace that specializes in

does not augur well for the long term

not only how the business is conducted,

goods that are produced locally?” In

interest of Indian economy. One really

but licences and permits required,

effect, what Mr Pandey was implying that

wished that the government and regulators

pricing and liability related issues are also

Indian needed to have laws that permits all

had been more proactive to check the

addressed by the sectoral regulations,”

kinds of healthy possibilities, rather than

malpractices and circumvention of FDI

says Mr Sinha. He also notes that as a

completely shutting the door for future

rules and regulations.

nation we need to identify the goals we

explorations. But the most comforting note

Thankfully, the rising concerns

want to achieve before bringing in new

by him was that he agreed on the need to

ultimately forced the government to set

regulations. “If the goal can be achieved

create a level playing field between online

up a committee at DIPT under Ministry

through existing laws, then maybe we

and physical retailers. “There should be

of Commerce, GoI to come out with a

should focus on that.”

a fair competition between offline and

concrete set of laws and regulation for

Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary

regulating e-commerce market place.

General, Confederation of All India Traders

The government recently gave the first

(CAIT) is quite categorical that new policy

We too hope that the new e-commerce

insights into its thinking and has invited

on e-commerce must not allow inventory

regime would be a more transparent,

suggestions. Arjun Sinha, legal expert and

based model directly or indirectly, partial

equitable and a really democratic space

Partner, Cantor Associates says that the

or via third party, at any cost.

for all stakeholders! n

government should first take a cue from

“Allowing limited inventory to

the several laws and regulations which are

e-commerce platform is not at all

www.mymobileindia.com

Limelight

lead story

online trades. These trades must be given equal status.”

With Inputs from Ramesh Kumar Raja & Nijhum Rudra

september 2018 | 53


Interview

lead story

“Amazon and Flipkart are in rampant violations of FDI rules” Dr Rashmi Das is author of the book, “E-com in India: Violations & Tax Avoidance”, which provides deep insights into the complex maze of e-commerce operations in India. Dr Das is also the Founder of Live Media and is the Editor of TelecomLive & InfraLive. Shelley Vishwajeet interacted with Dr Das to elicit her informed views on various aspects of e-commerce conundrum. Excerpts.... Do you believe that large online marketplace

undermining conventional retail or eking

e-com & traditional retail. It had a good

/platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart have

out an unfair competitive advantage, these

rationale. Therefore, while it allowed

been circumventing / violating laws and

are serious economic offences of multiple

certain things, it explicitly forbade others.

regulation related to e-commerce in India

dimensions.

PN3/2016 allows 100 pc FDI under

to gain undue competitive advantage over

Both Amazon and Flipkart have created

automatic route in marketplace model of

physical / traditional retail stores? Amazon

multiple entities to carry out their violations

e-com. But there is a rider. Sales volume

and Flipkart are in rampant violations of

and also to influence price. This is done

from a single vendor/group company of the

FDI rules. Both engage in unfair discount

both directly and indirectly through a

marketplace cannot exceed 25 pc of its

practices and have tax avoidance profiles.

complex labyrinth of companies that makes

gross sales. FDI is disallowed in inventory-

FDI violations are comprehensive. It

the clear assessment of price distortion very

based business model. However, in the

is happening both in the marketplace

difficult. Price is influenced through direct

real world, large marketplaces like Amazon

and inventory business regulations. The

price discounts (price drops), marketing

and Flipkart are running inventory-based

methodology for circumventing FDI

expenses (marketing campaigns, EMI,

operations. This, it has achieved through a

rules has three components - creation

exchange offers), logistics (packaging,

network of ‘controlled sellers’ and web-like

of fronts, name lenders and network of

courier, returns etc.), wallet cash backs

company structures. Prior to PN3/2016,

controlled sellers. So, this is just not about

and financing cost.

Cloudtail was the single largest seller for

Both Flipkart and Amazon involve

Amazon and WS Retail for Flipkart. Both

various intermediaries/support entities in

had an individual share of nearly 50 per

the chain to divide these discounts/losses.

cent on their respective platforms. Cloudtail

Ultimately heavy losses or very little profit

and WS Retail were the ‘Big owned sellers’.

is reported. Such practices carried on

Post PN3/2016, instead of single large

relentlessly have severely damaged the

sellers, both marketplaces have created

traditional retail sector.

smaller sellers, with the same amount of control that they had on the Cloudtail & WS

Dr Das, do you believe that e-commerce

Retail. By replacing big ‘owned sellers’ with

platforms have been particularly violative of

smaller ‘controlled sellers’, marketplaces

Press Note 3/2016, especially when it comes

have effectively nixed PN3.

to the circumvention of clauses related

Now let us consider a company structure

to B-2-B & B-2-C norms? Definitely

example. On Amazon Seller Services Pvt

so.PN3/2016 as government

Ltd, Amazon’s marketplace company,

policy arose in the context of

Cloudtail India Pvt Ltd is the largest seller.

bitter legal wrangles and

But Cloudtail is in effect an inventory-

was supposed to be a

based operation and an archetypical

balancer between

FDI violation format. Cloudtail is owned

fast growing

through an intermediary structure, called Prione Business Services Pvt Ltd. Prione in turn is owned 49 pc owned by Amazon and

50 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


51 pc by Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana

Ltd buys branded goods in bulk from

power but while they access funds at 12-14

Murthy and some of his relatives through

manufacturers then routes them through

per cent, e-commerce companies access

Catmaran Advisors. Catamaran holds these

controlled sellers at a discount and books

it at very nominal rates. Physical retailers

equity shares in Prione as trustee of Hober

a loss. Flipkart Internet Pvt Ltd pays for

have been overwhelmed. PN3/2016 shows

Mallow Trust (HMT), the beneficiaries of

marketing, exchange offers etc while

that a good policy can be easily overturned

this trust are not known.

wallets like Phone Pe provide discounts

by bad and negligent implementation.

Amazon created this structure since

through cash backs.

the Indian regulation ignores FDI in the

In this manner, both companies heavily

What is your take on the first glimpse of

intermediary entity if “more than 50 per

influence price. They clock massive

the ‘New Draft Policy on E-commerce’? An

cent of the equity interest in it is beneficially

elaborate structure of a Think Tank, Task

owned by resident Indian citizens and

Force and nine sub-groups was created

Interview

lead story

for e-commerce policy making. Two-Three “Amazon and proposals stand out. First, the ED is to Flipkart influence price and be strengthened, a direct result of do engage in market distortion FDI violations and there is to be a separate wing in the Directorate this is just not the stance of the of Enforcement to deal with traditional sector but an accurate PN3 violations. Second, there is a proposal to introduce 49 pc statement of fact. This triad of FDI in inventory based B2C maximum turnover, no profitabilitymodel. Currently this is disallowed no tax and periodic infusions and seems to be a ploy to regularize the current violations of the e-commerce must be investigated”

Indian companies, which are owned and controlled ultimately by resident Indian citizens.” The beneficent ownership of this company is with Amazon. Mr Narayana Murthy and his relatives are name lenders. , they make no money on this operation, since Cloudtail booked a loss of Rs 30 crore and in signature Amazon style had zero tax liability. Particularly in high demand/high

selling items such as mobile phones, the

companies. This will become very

e-commerce platforms have been accused

controversial. Third, there is a proposal

by physical retailers of indulging in regular

that the restriction imposed on e-commerce

marketing malpractices and distorting the

turnovers because of discounted sales,

marketplace to not influence price of

market itself. Your take on this please! The

at the same time they bear nil tax liability

sale of goods directly or indirectly would

prevalence of a network of controlled-

because they book losses. And they receive

also be applicable to e-com marketplace

preferred sellers have ejected the smaller

periodic infusions from their overseas

group companies. This will be used to

sellers in the online domain. The physical

parent companies. This triad of maximum

show that PN3 was not applicable to e-com

retail business which is worth Rs 4,00,000

turnover, no profitability-no tax and

marketplace group companies and will

crore involving over seven crore retailers has

periodic infusions must be investigated.

become applicable in future. Again, it will

suffered substantial losses. Flipkart and

The Delhi High Court has recently directed

be used for regularising violations.

Amazon control inventory in the popular

the Enforcement Directorate to submit its

categories like mobiles, electronics,

findings on these practices.

kitchen appliances, branded clothes and

Technology is a big disruptor and change will always happen, even in market place

shoes etc and leave no space for small

What does the government / regulators need

/ market formats. Do you think, physical

sellers to participate in a gainful manner.

to do to create a level playing field between

retailers want a protection against something

So how does a regular marketing

E-retailers and Physical retailers? PN3/2016,

that is totally an outcome of technological

malpractice look like? Discounts to the

which is the present policy, takes care

advancements? Yes, change will happen

customers are arranged through a web of

of the level playing field concerns. It has

and it must happen but that process

companies. Amazon Wholesale India Pvt

adequate safeguards like disallowance of

has to be fair. The charges against

Ltd buys in bulk from manufacturers of

FDI in inventory, 25 per cent cap on sales

e-commerce companies are based on

popular categories and routes the goods

from one vendor on the online platform.

empirical data, they are neither conjecture,

to Amazon controlled sellers at a discount

Had it been strictly implemented, small

nor accusations levelled by competitive

and books a loss in its books. Amazon

retailers and MSMEs could have used

sectors. The conduct of e-commerce

Seller Services also pays for other services

these channels to sell across geographies.

companies is indeed a cause of serious

such as marketing and books these as

Physical retailers had also started forming

concern. n

expenses. Similarly, Flipkart India Pvt

clusters for enhancing their purchasing

www.mymobileindia.com

shelley@mymobile.co.in

september 2018 | 55


In focus

Trending

INR vs USD

Slugfest and its Impact on the Mobile Phones

The weakening of the Indian Rupee against the American Dollar has cast repercussion among the mobile manufacturers of rising import bills thus, they are mulling about the most likely price hike on the entry and mid-segment smartphones to sustain this economic jolt during the upcoming festive season.

T

he falling Indian rupee against

prices of mobile phones might rise in

the US Dollar has sent shock

mid of September, as INR 70 per USD

waves across the industry

is unsustainable to hold price increases

verticals; mobileis one of them,

any further. Not only the USD but, INR is

that has started to feel the pressure of this

also declining against the Chinese RNB in

economic slump. The mobile sellers in the

recent time.

country, especially the homegrown players,

“The mobile industry is already under

have echoed the ill effects of this decline

tremendous pressure with the increase

in the valuation of the Indian currency.

in cost of raw material and custom duty.

The prices of entry level and mid-segment

We are currently operating on very thin

mobile phones might go up in the coming

margin. With the strengthening of the dollar

days if the situation does not normalize

vs rupee, the pressure on bottom line has

soon. As the mobile manufacturers are

further increased. As a relatively new player

approaching the festive season of Diwali,

in the Indian mid-segment smartphone

the demand for the inventories will shoot

market, we are reviewing the impact of

up leading to the excess imports which will

the situation on the market place and will

ultimately affect the production cost to the

take a decision on pricing post that,” said

company. The same burden would have

Sanjay Kalirona, CEO and Director, COMIO

to bear by the buyers if the mobile phone

Smartphone.

makers increase the maximum retail/online

While most of the big vendors have SMT

price of their inventories which seems very

facility in India, most of the components are

likely at the moment after September. With rupee crashing to a record low against the US dollar, it is expected that

“With the strengthening of the dollar vs rupee, the pressure on bottom line has further increased. As a relatively new player in the Indian mid-segment smartphone market, we are reviewing the impact of the situation on the market place and will take a decision on pricing post that” – Sanjay Kalirona, CEO and Director, COMIO Smartphone

88 | august

2018

MYMOBILE


still imported from China, and thus remains

decibel marketing, cash back and buy back

highly vulnerable to currency fluctuations.

offers and multiple financing schemes and

And with vendors which operate on very

thus drive overall affordability.”

thin margins and are high volume churners,

Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman of

might fall from their appetite of absorbing

theIndia Cellular and Electronics

this cost any further.

Association, the apex body of handsets

“Looking at the market scenario at the

makers in India,said that there has been

moment, with the increase of Dollar, which

some cushioning because of negligible

is even expected to rise further, the cost

CBU (completely built units) import into

incurred in mobile handsets will increase

India as significant value addition is being

and this will lead to an overall hike in the

done locally.

final cost of the handsets. Therefore, the

“There has been a decline of 6 to 8

impact of pricing on handset because of

percent in the Indian currency which was

the rupee tumbling will affect the overall

around Rs 64 to Rs 66 but, has now gone

market economy,” said Nidhi Markanday,

uptoRs 70 and above. Meanwhile, the effect

Director,Intex Technologies (India) Ltd. For all smartphone vendors, the upcoming festive season is very important. “Since a majority of the components are still imported, if the dollar prices continue to rise, it will have a definite impact on smartphone prices. Smartphone brands operating in the sub INR 20K price band will have to seriously look at increasing prices, since they operate with waferthin margins,” said Prabhu Ram, HeadIndustry Intelligence Group at CMR. Having said that, some vendors already have the inventoriesthat would last until September which means they would not need to increase prices but, if the situation persists beyond a certain point, they will have to re-think about the pricing. The industry experts believe that Premium smartphones should be able to resist increasing prices duringthe festive season, and garner maximum consumer interest through financing options; cash back offers, and aggressive promotional strategies. Upasana Joshi, Associate Research Manager at IDC India said, “July-October time is a very crucial one for all vendors as it leads up to the all-important festival season, which typically starts in September with online sales and remains for entire October up till Diwali. These vendors might try to wrap the price hike via aggressive high

www.mymobileindia.com

“July-October time is a very crucial one for all vendors as it leads up to the all-important festival season, which typically starts in September with online sales and remains for entire October up till Diwali. These vendors might try to wrap the price hike via aggressive high decibel marketing, cash back and buy back offers and multiple financing schemes and thus drive overall affordability.” – Upasana Joshi, Associate Research Manager at IDC India

“There has been a decline of 6 to 8 percent in the Indian currency which was around Rs 64 to Rs 66 but, has now gone upto Rs 70 and above. Meanwhile, the effect can be marginalized to an extent because local value addition has increased”

Trending

in focus

– Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, ICEA can be marginalized to an extent because local value addition has increased,” said Mr Mohindroo.Therefore, the net impact on the bottom line will range between 4 and 6 percent.“The hyper competition in the entry segment could be another reason to delaythe price hike,” he added. As per the latest research from IDC, the smartphone shipments reached to 33.5 million units in the second quarter of 2018, a growth of 20 per cent year-onyearbasis. The feature phone market saw shipments of 44 million units in the said quarter, a growth of 29 per cent over the year-ago period. n

haider@mymobile.co.in

september 2018 | 57


Trendz

market insight

The Huaweian Surge! Huawei breaks seven years dominance of Apple-Samsung to emerge as the second largest smartphone brand globally!

A

fter seven years of Apple-

Samsung dominance. Huawei achieved

at affordable price which is driving growth

Samsung dominance, Huawei

this by launching smartphones in the

in the overseas market. Honor, which is

became the top brand in a

premium segment and capturing the mid-

already strong in the e-commerce segment,

declining China market and

tier segment with its fast-growing Honor

is now adopting a multi-channel strategy

captured the second spot in the global

sub-brand. Huawei with its Honor brand

through branded stores in the South East

smartphone shipment rankings for the

is offering a broad and refreshed portfolio

Asia market. We expect store counts to

first time in a single quarter i.e Q2, 2018.

increase in the future.”

According to the latest research from

Commenting on the increasing trend of

Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service,

average selling price for major smartphone

global smartphone shipments declined

brands, Research Analyst, Shobhit

2% annually in Q2 2018. Top 10 players

Srivastava noted, “Major Chinese brands

now capture 79% of the market thereby

like OPPO, vivo, Huawei are now focusing

leaving 600+ brands to compete for the

on increasing their ASPs through gradually

remaining 21% of the market. The

upgrading their portfolio to higher price

weak smartphone demand is due

bands by bringing in features like Artificial

to a slow-down in developed

Intelligence, bezel-less displays, dual

markets like China, US and Western Europe where replacement cycles

cameras and with innovative industrial design and colors, materials and finishes in the affordable

are lengthening, said

premium segment. Brands

Counterpoint.

in the mid-tier segment now

Commenting on Huawei’s

launch multiple variants of the same

growth, Tarun Pathak Associate

smartphone with different storage

Director at Counterpoint

capacities, tempting customers to

Research, said, “Huawei had

spend more on a higher spec’d device.

a good second quarter in 2018

This also helps drive sales by increasing

as it shipped more smartphones

the portfolio breadth as well increased

than Apple to capture the second

margins by selling devices with a higher

spot in the global smartphone

price point.”

rankings, after 7 years of Apple-

54 | august 2018

MYMOBILE


Global Smartphone Shipments Ranking and Market Share – Q2 2018 Global Smartphone Shipments (Millions Units) 2017Q2

“Huawei achieved this (growth) by launching smartphones in the premium segment and capturing the mid-tier segment with its fastgrowing Honor subbrand. Huawei with its Honor brand is offering a broad and refreshed portfolio at affordable price which is driving growth in the overseas market” – Tarun Pathak, Associate Director, Counterpoint Research Market Summary

2018Q2

YoY% Growth

Samsung

80.4

71.6

-11%

Huawei

38.5

54.2

41%

Apple

41.0

41.3

1%

Xiaomi

23.1

33.0

43%

Oppo

30.5

29.6

-3%

Vivo

25.8

26.0

1%

LG

13.3

10.2

-23%

Lenovo (Includes Motorola)

10.8

9.9

-8%

0.5

4.5

782%

HMD Tecono

2.8

4.4

59%

Others

98.9

75.3

-24%

365.5

360.0

-2%

Total Global Smartphone Shipments (% Share)

2017Q2

2018Q2

Samsung

22%

20%

Huawei

11%

15%

Apple

11%

11%

Xiaomi

6%

9%

Oppo

8%

8%

Vivo

7%

7%

LG

4%

3%

Lenovo (Includes Motorola)

3%

3%

HMD

0%

1%

Tecno

1%

1%

Others

27%

22%

100%

100%

Total

Source : Counterpoint Research: Quarterly Market Monitor Q2 2018

• The top 10 brands accounted for 79%

volumes declined globally, the brand

of the smartphone volumes in Q2

posted a record second quarter in

2018.

India, regaining its top position in India

• Nokia HMD, OnePlus, Tecno, Xiaomi, Infinix and Huawei were the key fast-

smartphone market. • Samsung will be launching its Galaxy

growing brands for the quarter. Lenovo,

Note 9 flagship early to counter the

Gionee, Micromax and Sony registered

string of premium segment launches

the highest shipment volume declines

by its competitors and to gain some

in Q2 2018.

momentum before the launch of new

• Tecno entered the top 10 smartphone

iPhone in September. It will also focus

• Smartphone shipments declined 2%

market for the first time. Together

on launching newer models with high

annually to 360 million units in Q2

the three smartphone brands of

specs in each price segment, to counter

2018.

Transsion holdings (Tecno, iTel and

the growing competition.

• China’s smartphone market has declined

Infinix) accounted for over 9.4 million

• Huawei shipments grew 41% annually

continuously for the last four quarters,

smartphones shipped during Q2 2018.

in Q2 2018. The company managed

affecting the shipment growth of some Chinese brands like OPPO, vivo, Meizu

OEM Performance Insights

and Gionee.

• Samsung led the smartphone market

to be the fastest growing (21%) smartphone brand amid a declining China smartphone market and grew

• Chinese brands have continued

by volume with a market share of 20%

investing in countries and regions

in Q2 2018 even though it registered

• Huawei’s continuous efforts to expand

outside China to offset weak demand

an annual decline of 11% due to weak

in markets outside China has resulted in

in their home market. India, South East

sales of its flagship Galaxy S9 series

strong annual growth in Europe (+75%),

smartphones.

MEA (+67%), and in India (+188%),

Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa being the key markets for expansion.

www.mymobileindia.com

Trendz

market insight

• Even as Samsung smartphone shipment

fully 71% overseas.

where its Honor brand retained its place

september 2018 | 59


Trendz

market insight

Smartphone Average Selling Price (wholsale) Growth by key brand 2017Q2

smartphone asp usd

2018Q2

annual asp% growth

28%

800%

30%

700%

25%

600%

20%

500%

14%

20%

16%

400%

15%

300%

10%

200%

“Major Chinese brands like OPPO, vivo, Huawei are now focusing on increasing their ASPs through gradually upgrading their portfolio to higher price bands by bringing in features like Artificial Intelligence, bezel-less displays, dual cameras and with innovative industrial design and colors, materials and finishes in the affordable premium segment” – Shobhit Srivastava, Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research

100% 0%

5%

0% Samsung

0% apple

huawei

older iPhone models.

xiaomi

oppo

vivo

premium segment by launching devices

• Second quarter Apple shipments remain

like the Find X and Nex. The aggressive

flat in China year over year. During the

expansion of these brands in markets

quarter, share of online sales for Apple

outside mainland China will be the key

grew both sequentially and annually

to growth as the home market reaches

due to comparatively higher discounts available online as compared to offline channels.

saturation levels in 2018. • LG registered 10.2 million smartphone shipments in Q2 2018. LG’s smartphone

• Apple had a slow quarter in India, the

shipments declined 23% annually due

third largest smartphone market globally.

to decreasing sales of its mid and low

It underwent changes in its distribution

segment smartphones in North and

strategy. Apart from this, its domestic

Latin America.

assembling is yet to pick-up pace, which

• Lenovo (including Motorola) captured

means the company is still relying on

the 8th spot with a market share of 3%.

imports for its sales in India. Apple had

While the Motorola brand registered

1% market share during the quarter, its

an annual growth in shipments, it was

lowest in recent history.

eclipsed by the decline in Lenovo-

• Xiaomi shipped 33 million smartphones, capturing 9% market share of the global smartphone market in Q2 2018.

branded smartphone shipments. • Nokia HMD captured a spot on the global top 10 smartphone shipments

• Xiaomi remained one of the fastest growing

ranking for the first time since its re-entry

brands (+43%) in Q2 2018, driven by

into the smartphone market. Nokia HMD

record shipment in India with 112%

has expanded its smartphone portfolio

annual growth. The brand’s shipment

with a series of launches in the recent

beyond China and India increased 186%

quarters, that helped the brand increase

annually in the quarter. in the top five smartphone rankings.

20%

its presence globally.

• OPPO and vivo were the fifth and sixth

• Tecno entered the global top 10

• Apple shipped 41.3 million iPhones

largest brands during the quarter,

smartphone shipments ranking for

during Q2 2018, up 1% compared to

capturing 8% and 7% market share,

the first time. Tecno, a major brand

the same quarter last year. iPhone X

respectively. OPPO recorded an annual

in Middle East & Africa, is positioning

remains the top seller for Apple during

decline of 3% while vivo registered a

itself as a smartphone-only brand in

the quarter. ASP’s fell marginally

growth of 1%.

some of the key countries including

compared to the previous quarter due to

• During the quarter, OPPO and vivo

the greater mix of iPhone 8, 8 Plus and

also expanded their presence in the

60 | september 2018

India. n team@mymobile.co.in

MYMOBILE


India Smartphone Growth Story Continues to Shine Amid global slowdown, Indian smartphone market grew at a healthy 20% in Q2!

A

ccording to the IDC India’s

shipments by offline heavy vendors on the

quarterly Mobile Phone

back of high decibel promotional activities

Tr a c k e r,

and channel schemes.

smartphone

India. Xiaomi remains the leader in the smartphone market with growing offline

companies shipped a total

The market, however, is seeing rapid

presence while maintaining dominance

of 33.5 million units to India during the

consolidation at the top end, as the top 5

in the online space. Xiaomi contributed

second quarter of 2018, resulting in a

vendors made up 79% of the smartphone

more than 56% of the shipments in online

healthy 20% year-over-year growth. IDC

market in 2Q18, marginalizing smaller

space, while 33% of its shipments went

believes that this is the result of a slew

brands� says Upasana Joshi, Associate

through offline channels in 2Q18.

of online exclusive launches and strong

Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC

www.mymobileindia.com

Trendz

market insight

In the online segment, Huawei with

september 2018 | 61


Trendz

market insight strong shipments of its Honor branded

Other online-focused vendors with

phones, climbed to the second position

online exclusive launches were OnePlus

with an all-time high of 8% share in online

with its new launch OnePlus 6, Realme

segment in 2Q18. “Huawei has had a

with Realme1 and Asus with Zenfone Max

stellar quarter worldwide moving into the

Pro series, all of which led to an annual

second position, toppling Apple. In India,

growth of 44% in the online channel

with a refreshed focus it has been able to

shipments and taking the online share to

grow its share in the online space in the

36% of the smartphone market.

last two quarters, on the back of several

Offline segment growth was driven by

new launches across price segments.

vivo which had strong shipments during

IDC believes Huawei should be seen as

the quarter on the back of high decibel

a serious long-term player in India market

marketing campaigns around new

with all the ingredients to challenge Xiaomi

launches like V9 including advertisement

and Samsung” adds Joshi.

campaign featuring popular movie star

Top 5 Smartphone Vendor Highlights

“The growing popularity of financing schemes in the offline channel across model portfolios by almost all vendors is driving affordability and thus pushing the overall smartphone ASP’s to a record high” – Upasana Joshi, Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India Amir Khan, title sponsorship in Indian Premier League cricket tournament and attractive booster schemes available for

Market share Q2 2017

channel partners. “The growing popularity of financing schemes in the offline channel across model portfolios by almost all vendors is driving affordability and thus pushing the overall smartphone ASP’s to a record high of US$167 in 2Q18 from US$157 in 2Q17,” adds Joshi. The premium end of the market (US$500+) grew almost two times yearover-year (YoY) mainly due to continued strong shipments of Samsung Galaxy S9 series and OnePlus 6, with OnePlus surpassing Apple to be the second biggest player in the US$500+ segment with a

Market share Q2 2018

62 | september 2018

share of 21% in 2Q18. The feature phone market remained

MYMOBILE


resilient with shipments of 44.0 million

Redmi 5A, Redmi Note 5 Pro, Redmi Note 5

units in 2Q18, seeing a growth of 29% over

and Redmi 5, together accounting for 26%

2Q17. Reliance Jio, the telecom operator

of overall smartphone shipments.

and the main driver of the 4G feature phone

Samsung:

Samsung

segment with its JioPhone range of phones,

remained at the second

remained the top vendor in the overall

position in the

feature phone market. However, the 4G

smartphone

feature phone market saw a slight decline

market with

of 10% QoQ with 19.0 million units. IDC

an impressive

believes that this drop is due to JioPhone

21% Year-over-year

inventory buildup from 1Q18.

(YoY) growth at the back of its

Reliance Jio, as an attempt for clearing

newly launched “infinity” series model

this inventory, recently introduced the

namely Galaxy J6. The brand continues to

“Monsoon Hungama” feature phone

see strong shipments of its successful low-

exchange offer and brought popular apps

end models – Galaxy J7 Nxt, Galaxy J2

like WhatsApp, YouTube on JioPhone. The

(2017) and J2 (2018), thus driving overall

2G feature phone segment continued to

volumes. The high-end segment (US$500

IDC India Forecast

decline further as local players struggle

and above) saw incremental demand with

IDC believes that India will remain the

for survival in this segment and segment

cash back offers and financing schemes

fastest growing smartphone market for the

is losing relevance due to the aggressive

across channels.

next few years but new brands will find it

push in the 4G feature phone segment by Reliance Jio. Xiaomi: Xiaomi maintained its leadership

vivo: vivo reclaimed its 3rd position,

the low-end segment and strong retailers connect.

increasingly tough to carve out a space.

as its shipments

“India will be

grew more than

the fastest growing

double from the

large smartphone

previous quarter,

market for the next

registering a

few years, making

strong 18% year

it a must for any

on year growth in

smartphone player

2018Q2. The hit

to be here. However,

models namely

with increasing

Y71, V9 and Y83

consolidation, it will

being the key

be difficult for any

volume drivers.

new brand to carve

OPPO: OPPO

a space here,” says

slipped to 4th

Navkendar Singh,

position, however,

Associate Research Director, Client

its shipments grew by 15% Year-over-year (YoY) in 2Q18 due to fewer marketing initiatives and absence of attractive offline channel schemes.

Devices, IDC India. IDC estimates the India smartphone market to continue growing in low double

Transsion: Transsion continued to be at

digits for the next couple of years. It says

the 5th position, as its offline focused Tecno

that second half of 2018 with multiple sale

branded phones grew by 26% followed by

events in the run-up to the Diwali festival,

position with its highest ever shipments

itel with 14% QoQ growth in 2Q18. The

will be even bigger with growing aggression

in a single quarter in 2Q18. The vendor’s

online exclusive brand Infinix grew by 45%,

by online players coupled with the sustained

shipments saw a growth of 10% sequentially

registering an overall 53% Year-over-year

relevance of offline channel and several new

and grew more than two-fold annually. Its

(YoY) growth for the company. Transsion’s

launches planned by key vendors across

four smartphone models captured the top

stability in the market can be attributed to

price segments. n

four slots in top models ranking, namely

successful channel management, focus on

www.mymobileindia.com

team@mymobile.co.in

september 2018 | 63


Exclusive

chief speak

“We are targeting the first time mobile phone users who will use 5K phone and going up for 20K” Couple of months back, Oppo’s subbrand Realme was launched with a wide range of features catering to the requirements of mid-segment consumers in India. It aims to offer competitive specifications at an affordable price. The brand claims to have sold over 4 lakh Realme 1 units in just 40 days of its launch, with the 3+32GB variant being completely sold out. Nijhum Rudra spoke to Madhav Seth, CEO, Realme about the various impediments in Indian smartphone market, the initiatives taken by the brand to break the barriers and its key focus areas. What are the challenges in Indian

is trying to provide latest technology at a

smartphone market? What initiatives are

very affordable price.

taken by your company to break down

Price is not the only strain in the market. In India, the consumers also look for good quality, good service

these barriers? An important impediment

What are the key focus areas of Realme?

in the Indian smartphone market is that

Our key focuses are very clear. It has three

with Realme 1 was we went with P60

consumers are not aware of their exact

aspects:

processor, which has AI capability to

and a complete product. What we did

requirement in the device and they

• Customers- What they want

control the temperature also, this is one

always opt for what they have offered

• Power (Technology)

of the biggest thing that people liked

before. Therefore, for a brand it is a

• Styles (Designs)

about the handset.

challenge to offer their exact requirement

• Price Point- It’s a big challenge for

and technology in six months of time.

us

What are the key technologies focused

We have to understand their pain points

We focus on these key points, because

on in your price segment? We go reverse

on what they need in the next three to

we know this youth we are trying to

calculation; we look that what the

six month. Although, consumers have

target, they want the best of everything

customers looking at that particular

become techier nowadays, they are not

in the budget they want. For example,

price. If a customer is looking at 10 k

aware of what to buy in what price. This

people who purchase a phone under Rs

phone, his important priorities will be:

is where Realme is stepping in to educate

10,000 always have expectations of Rs

• Camera

the customers of their requirements and

13,000-Rs 14,000 smartphone.

• Battery

64 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


• Processor

the back, does not mean

• RAM

the phone is good

• Performance

and this is what

• Design

we want people

This is how they do priorities all these

to understand.

things and we also prioritize all these

We always try to

features and design in the product

focus that rather

accordingly.

than giving two cameras with

What is your current marketing strategy? We are targeting the customers’ range, who is

13+5MP instead

teams in place, we try to reach

“Realme is trying to provide the combination of Camera and Technology to the consumer at the best price, that’s what we are going to do”

out all our customers, and already have customer service teams working in our office, who are replying all the online consumers, and we try our best to satisfy our consumer

Exclusive

chief speak

the first time mobile phone users, who will use 5K phone and going up to 20k. How Realme is different from its competitors in terms of quality? Every brand has same level of aspirations, to compete with the biggest brand, to give the best offers in the best price segment they try to do it. But, yes, having an aspirations and doing it are both the different things. We have an aspiration; we have done it and will continue to do it repeatedly. You can see our every aspiration bestowed in the product. What are your future plans? Our brand knows what consumers are looking for from Realme1 and we know what the technologies are coming in the future. Hence, Realme is trying to provide the combination of both to the consumer at the best combination price, that’s what we are going to do. Technology evolves every day, we will try and bring that technology into sub-20K. We want that consumer

of why I cannot give one camera with

should think that why they should go for

25MP, which will be a better camera.

Indian consumer wants peace of mind,

40k phone, when they can get everything

60% people don’t know why they need

what we are trying to do the same by giving

in sub-20k.

two cameras or three cameras. They don’t

the best price, best quality of the product

know about the bouquet effect or depth

and best service and this is all what we

effect, so this has to be get educated.

are doing. n

How much market share you have? Currently,

regarding their query.

one model with 40 days of launch we did 1.4 % is the overall market share in online

As a new brand, what are the challenges you

and offline put together.

faced in terms of Customer Service Teams and how do you handle it? We share the

What are your business models in terms

same DNA, what OPPO is having. Our

of products? One of our business model

brand is currently running through 500

is to educate the customers that why do

service centers of OPPO with the aim of

we need two cameras or three cameras?

offering services at the quickest.

If a phone has more than one camera

www.mymobileindia.com

We already have customer service

nijhum@mymobile.co.in

september 2018 | 65


In Conversation

face to face

“RCS and OTT business messaging is the next big thing in the future of A2P messaging” Route Mobile, an A2P messaging company that keeps sending you OTP during transactions, alerts you regarding your upcoming events, has new challenges with the advent of new technologies such as AI, Blockchain and Chatbots, especially in a huge market like India where data connectivity is still an issue. Rajdip Gupta, MD and Group CEO of Route Mobile Limited has his tasks cut out against these emerging enablers to provide safe, secure and encrypted solutions to enterprises and to the end users as well. He had a word with Haider Ali Khan on his application-to-person messaging platform. Excerpts: Route Mobile becomes the third party between

connects to the client’s database, gathers

We have created internal policies and

a customer and a service provider to facilitate

all the necessary information and responds

mandates because we have deployed

businesses. Is it still the trusted source over

to messages in an automated mode without

servers across key regions globally as we

the data-driven services? Keeping customers

any human intervention while ensuring

have global customers. Many analysts now

informed of transactional and promotional

security and integrity of consumer data

agree that a hosted cloud service is as secure

activities and constantly engaging in

through continuous encryption.

as any private IT and communications

communication can be challenging for

network.

many enterprises as these include key

Providing solutions to millions via SMS

factors like infrastructure cost, availability

requires huge data protection. At what levels

Is it the Machine Intelligence that takes care

of skilled resources and adherence to

do you take care of it and do you also store

of the billions of messages, voice calls and

regulatory data security requirements.

the personal data of the end users? Data

emails generated each day? What are the

Route Mobile addresses this concern

protection has always been one of the

chances of duplicity and threats involved

through its core messaging platform that

topmost concerns that make businesses

in it? A robust platform takes care of the

wary of passing the control of critical in-

billions of messages, voice calls and emails

house communication infrastructure to a

generated each day. A preferred interface

third party.

(API, HTTP, SMPP, Web etc) is used to

We are working with enterprises in

deliver specific message content to desired

US and UK since the last 6-7 years and

phones using message, voice or an email.

are already compliant with GDPR and

There is a high chance of duplicity and

international data privacy laws. We have

threats via unsolicited messages.

our own hosted infrastructure where all

An operator may face regulatory

the data is processed and we safeguard

action, lose monetisation due content via

clients’ data by restricting access and

unidentified sources, network overloads

encrypting as per terms to

and may even get blacklisted.

ensure data privacy. What is the scope of Blockchain, AI and Chat Bots in A2P business? With the evolution of the emerging technology trends like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Chatbots, Blockchainetc, we can further enhance customer experience and security. Technology such as AI, Blockchain,

50 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


Machine Learning and Chatbots will become the core foundation of communication along with cloud infrastructure, each with a high growth curve. Whereas, through Artificial Intelligence users will be able to interact directly with brands as well as will be able to conduct various activities like Bill payment, playing games, askingquestions etc. SMSCHAIN (Blockchain based

“We are working with enterprises in US and UK since the last 6-7 years and are already compliant with GDPR and International Data Privacy Laws”

for all SMS supervision and control requirements. It safeguards the network and helps optimize revenue flow while at the same time enhancing your customers’ experience by reducing unsolicited messages. We have good infrastructure, quality connections and 24x7 monitoring via a dashboard that keeps the network load in check and ensures a seamless flow of

technology), will help aggregators minimize the cost of service delivery. Route Mobile is working towards its vision of simplifying communications. I think, in the coming few years the technology will be based on Artificial intelligence, Machine learning, Chatbots, Blockchain etc.

In Conversation

face to face

Be it an AI or Blockchain or machine learning based products/services, Chatbots, Business RCS we are currently working on all.

electricity. The problem is the metros are

traffic across networks.

Route Mobile’s research and

well developed than tier two cities and we

development team is actively working

need to have the infrastructure to match

Will there be an alternative to the SMS while

on each of these emerging technologies

with the surge in the population. A large

completing an online/offline transaction?

to make the process of messaging

telecom operator is doing great stuff by

SMS is still the most convenient channel

more interactive, more engaging, more

bringing 5G and LTE based technology

for the consumers and considered to be

enriching, helping enterprises driving

but, how many people have LTE based

the most effective and efficient marketing

better monetisation opportunities.

devices right now? I think India will take

tool. Text message was always there even

another year or 2 to be a complete 100%

when there were no 2G/3G facilities

Digital.

available. Besides sending promotional

Your businesses have grown manifold with the surge in mobile devices in India. What

and transactional messages, SMS has

are the differences you have observed in

What is the way ahead for Route Mobile

multiple languages feature, which helps

Indian users and the rest of the world? Route

moving in tandem with the emerging

the brands to reach their target group

Mobile enables different enterprises to

technologies to secure the end to end

easily irrespective of their languages.

reach their target audience via messaging,

communication and at the same time

There are alternatives that can be

voice and email, and now we are taking

reducing the network load? With our own

looked at instead of SMS. However, that

communication to the next level. We are

hosted infrastructure, we process all the

will require data/Internet connection and as

very focused on our vision is to simplify

data generated by most of our products

per the source, only 50% of the population

communications and bring best in class

from India at our India data centers or the

in India have the internet connection

products and services for enterprises to

client premise itself. We safeguard clients’

which means that in the absence of data

prosper locally and globally. Our clients

data by restricting access, encrypting as

connectivity, communication won’t be

include some of the world’s largest and

per terms to ensure data privacy. For

possible. This is the major reason why most

well-known organisations, including

e.g, in the case of our BFSI clients, we

of the OTP messages or alert messages are

a number of Fortune Global 500

go through routine audits to safeguard

sent through SMS only. However, RCS and

companies.

data and protect privacy which is utmost

OTT business messaging is the next big

India will take time to be 100% digital.

critical. Hence we are already compliant

thing in the future of A2P messaging. But

If we go out of Mumbai, there are areas

with the important points of the India Data

again, widespread adoption will take time

where we still have 4 hours electricity

privacy laws.

in India. n

cut. The POS will not work without

www.mymobileindia.com

We have our own firewall solution

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Vivo NEX

Makes Concept into Reality

P

ost the launch of X21, Vivo has come up with its one of the

most elegant, futuristic and brilliant smartphone till date which was introduced in the market by the name of Vivo NEX. The smartphone looks and feel gigantic on the first sight. The Vivo NEX boasts on the motorized sliding front camera module which comes out from top each time you wants to click a selfie. Here is the review for our dear readers to know about this new trendsetter from Vivo.

Design The new Vivo NEX in terms of look has an appealing look and aesthetic feel when held in the hands. Despites its big size the phone is easy to hold and operate thanks to the curvy body edges. The phone is not that light which is mainly because of its heavy composition but there is no issue in handling the phone or while carrying it around. The front fascia of the phone is completely dominated by the screen and the front camera is also not on the display which we mainly find in most of the smartphones. It uses screen soundcasting

68 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


technology for the calls. The

with sheer power which is

innovative and have never

rear camera sensors of the

rear side of the phone has

provided by its latest powerful

been seen before which is

phone are of 12MP and 5MP

vertically placed dual camera

processor which is Qualcomm

like a robotic camera which

respectively with an aperture

sensors. The fingerprint sensor

Snapdragon 845 with 8 octa-

automatically pops up from

of f/1.8 and f/2.4. The images

is on the display which we

core and GPU Adreno 630.

the top side of the phone

captured are extremely well

have previously seen in the

There is no application which

and it looks really amazing.

detailed and there is no

Vivo X21. The new Vivo NEX

the device cannot handle

The selfie camera is of

graining effect even when you

has ditched the face unlock

be its games multitasking

8MP but don’t get confused

zoom in. You can click images

feature which is quite odd to

and you can literally play

by the megapixel size of the

in different aspect ratio and

see in phone of such flagship.

two games at the same time

phone because the selfie

can shoot videos in 4K quality

At the left side of the phone

by minimizing one and the

camera has brilliant image

as well.

lies a dedicated button to

device won’t get slow down

trigger Goggle Assistant. The

even when the second game

right side of the phone has

is running in the background.

power button and the volume

The device does not seem to

rockers. The bottom side of

get heated at any occasions

the phone is sporting Type-C

and there is no lag in any

charging port, hybrid SIM tray,

applications.Vivo NEX has

and mono speaker. The top

an impressive RAM size as

side of the phone is sporting

well which is of 8GB and with

the 3.5mm headphone jack

such RAM you can take on

and pop up selfie camera.

any application and still your

Display

device will be at its normal

verdict Looks

10 /10

Cameras

09 /10

Performance

09 /10

Battery

10 /10

Value For Money

09 /10

Gigantic, Futuristic Quite Impressive Heavy Duty Marathon Worth It

OVERALL

94%

Battery The new Vivo NEX is full of power and it is evident in its battery as well which is of 4000mAh. The battery can last throughout the day easily with just a single charge. The phone has Dual Engine fast charging tech which boosts up the charging speed.

state without even getting

Conclusion

The new Vivo NEX has a huge

warmed up a bit. The RAM

The Vivo NEX clearly

6.59 inches Super AMOLED

together with the processor is

scores on the innovation to

capacitive touchscreen. The

the perfect combination which

fingerprint sensor has been

you like to have in your phone.

embedded on the screen

The ROM size of the phone is

which is the NEXt step

impressive as well which is of

towards innovation. The

128GB and with such internal

display is solely dedicated

storage you don’t need to

to the screen space with

expand your memory further

bezel less panel and with

but if you wish to expand

delivering capacity. The selfies

which is quite ambient

no notches. The phone

then it could be done by

are extremely clear with crisp

and attractive, exceptional

has amazing resolution of

sacrificing one of the SIM slot.

quality and there is no detail

camera performances, great

1080x2316 pixels. The

The operating system of the

which seems to go missing

execution on top of a bigger

display provides so much

Vivo NEX includes FunTouch

while capturing the selfie.

battery power.The screen

space that it feels like a mini

OS v4.0 which is based on

The selfie camera has an

soundcasting could have

tab with so much screen size.

Android 8.0 Oreo.

aperture of f/2.0 and also it

been better and there’s scope

has various modes to allow

for improvements in the in-

you to click selfies like

display scanner as well.The

The screen is very well visible

PROS Design, Camera

Cons No Face Unlock

(For detailed specifications, please refer to My Guide)

break the monotony in the industry. The pop up front camera and the in-display fingerprint scanner combines to give a truly innovative and futuristic smartphone of 2018. It has huge display

in sunlight as well and the

Cameras

contents could be seen very

The camera of the phone is

Panorama, Face Beauty,

only thing it has to worry about

easily on screen due to the

one of the main attractant of

Portrait and others. The selfie

is the price. The Vivo NEX is

adaptive brightness feature of

the phone just like any other

camera needs extra precaution

available at Rs 44,990 and

the phone.

Vivo phone which is driving

because while going back

looks a much better option

attention of the users towards

the camera can take dust in

when compared to Oppo Find

itself. The selfie camera of

the phone which will cause

X at around 60K. n

the phone is something very

issues further. The dual

Platform The new Vivo NEX is loaded

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Oppo A3s

Huge Battery and Notch at an Affordable Price

O

ppo has

highlighted by its rear panel

lies the selfie camera. At the

A83 and Oppo A83 Pro which

unveiled a new

which has an elegant cover

left side of the phone lies the

is quite disappointing to see

smartphone,

with light reflecting surface

volume rockers and a SIM

in a budget range smartphone

Oppo A3s, eyeing

and reflects shadow from

tray capable of holding dual

but the new Oppo A3s has

to strengthen its budget

different angles. The body

SIM cards and a microSD

compensated well for its

range segment with this latest

of the phone is prone to

card at the same time. The

lack of fingerprint sensor by

launch. The new Oppo A3s

smudges whether the screen

right side of the phone is

installing face unlock mode

has been designed to deliver

or the rear panel. The rear

sporting a power button. At

which I personally found very

all round performance within

panel of the phone is sporting

the bottom of the phone you

quick and accurate while

an affordable price range. In

dual camera sensor placed

can sport a speaker grille,

testing it.

our review we will cover all the

horizontally and just right next

micro USB port and a 3.5mm

pros and cons of this latest

to the sensors lies the rear

headphone jack while the top

Display

launch by the Oppo.

LED flash. The rear panel of

of the phone is completely

The display of the new

the phone is sporting the logo

blank.The new Oppo A3s has

Oppo A3s is one of the main

Design

of the phone in the centre of

ditched the fingerprint sensor

highlights of the phone

The new Oppo A3s is eye

the rear panel. The front side

which we even saw in its

because in budget range

catchy smartphone with

of the phone is dominated

previous launches like Oppo

it is extremely rare to get a

glossy unique design. The

by the impressive 6.2 inch

6.2inch super full screen. The

beauty of the phone is mainly

display and above the display

display has even impressive

70 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


verdict Looks

09 /10

Cameras

07 /10

Performance

07 /10

Battery

09 /10

Value For Money

08 /10

Attractive Not As Expected Maintains Decency Lasts Long Could be an Option

OVERALL

80%

aspect ratio which you won’t

in any of the processes. The

daytime. While zooming,

find in many budget range

device do seems to get up

the autofocus gets little off

smartphone, i.e. 19:9, which

heated a bit but not that much

balance and you have to

is offering wide angles and

alarming and it is resolved

keep your hands steady while

PROS

more screen space. The

quickly. Gaming experience

clicking the images. There was

Battery

adaptive brightness of the

is good as well but the device

graining effect noted while

screen adjusts itself very

won’t be able to run big games

clicking the images at night,

well according to the lighting

with high graphic and RAM

the LED flash plays it part

conditions and the screen

demand because the phone

well by providing sufficient

color is well adaptive as well

offers 2GB of RAM only. The

brightness to lighten up

with adjusting itself from

RAM size of the phone did

the surrounding. The selfie

with such battery power you

cooler to warmer temperature.

not impress us too much but

camera is of 8MP with an

won’t run out of power shortly

The notch of the screen can

it worked fine in sync with the

aperture of f/2.2 and the

as it can withstand all the

also be made to hide by going

processor. The internal storage

selfie camera is decent as

processes throughout the day

full view display. The display

of the phone is of 16GB which

well. The new Oppo A3s has

providing entertainment and

has screen resolution of

I personally find could have

AI beauty 2.0 selfie camera

still will have some power

720x1520 pixels.

been improved and made

and it will for sure drive the

left in the tank. The charging

32GB but still it is decent

attention of the selfie lovers

speed is moderate and while

Platform

Cons No Fingerprint Sensor

(For detailed specifications, please refer to My Guide)

size to store all the necessary

as it delivers better selfie

charging the device does

The new Oppo A3s runs on

applications and the files and

than most of the budget

seems to get warmed up a

Android 8.1 Oreo. Oppo A3s is

the storage can be further

ranged smartphone. The

bit which is normal in any

providing newest design with

expanded with the help of

selfies captured at night are

smartphone when they are put

the new ColorOS 5.1 brings

microSD card.

averageand the phone lacks

on charge.

forth a brand new UI system and operation interface. The

Cameras

effect of latest OS is clearly visible with comfortable and

front LED flash which is being compensated by screen

Conclusion

The Cameras of the Oppo A3s

flash which works okay to

The Oppo A3s is an all-round

are good and in budget range

helps you take nice selfies in

performer which shines

soft feel while carrying out any

section the phone could be a

unfavorable lighting condition.

mainly on vivid display and

operation.The new Oppo A3s

choice if you love to dual lens

The AI beauty 2.0 has

in battery department. The

has Qualocomm SDM450

with decent picture qualities.

capability of adjusting itself

processor and the camera

octa-core processor clocked

The phone has dual rear

uniquely for each person who

aren’t upto the mark but, not

at 1.8GHz. The processor

camera sensors one of 13MP

clicks selfies from Oppo A3s.

disappointing either. Available

of the phone is efficient and

with an aperture of f/2.2 and

capable of delivering good

other is depth sensor of 2MP

Battery

performances. The processor

with an aperture of f/2.4. The

Oppo A3s has impressive

amongst Realme 1 and Asus

allows multitasking with ease

rear camera of the phone

and powerful non-removable

and we did not find any lag

delivers good images during

battery of 4,230mAh and

ZenFone Max Pro M1. n haider@mymobile.co.in

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at around Rs 10,990, the Oppo A3s makes an option

september 2018 | 71


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TECNO Camon iTwin Shines on Battery and Design

T

ECNO, the

smartphone. Previously, we

offline brand

did review Camon iClick too

beautiful body design with tall

of the phone is dominated by

of Transsion

which was also a decent

and broad screen and curvy

the 6 inch display with selfie

Holdings has

smartphone in its category.

edges which are making the

camera and front LED flash

come up with another

We will find out how the new

device easy to operate. The

on top of the display. At the

smartphone in the budget

Camon iTwin performs on our

phone has used plastic body

back side lies the dual rear

segment under the aegis of

parameters.

which is keeping the weight

camera sensors assisted by

of the device light. The phone

the LED flash. The fingerprint

has premium and solid feel

sensor is also at the rear side

when held. The front fascia

of the phone and is very quick

its Camon series, iTwin, to lure buyers to experience

Design

photography with this new

The new Camon iTwin has a

72 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


in response. The top of the

of 3GB which is sufficient

capabilities and at the same

LED flash which helps to

phone is blank while at the

to let you indulge in multi-

time keeping the device in

fulfil unfavourable lighting

bottom of the phone lies the

tasking without any lag

its neutral state when used

conditions but, ends up giving

micro USB Port, speaker grille

in the applications. The

judiciously. The smartphone

hazy images which are either

and a 3.5mm headphone

RAM size also provides you

manages the daily apps quite

over exposed or dull.

jack. The left side of the

comfortable and satisfying

efficiently but, it tends to

phone is sporting SIM tray

game experience as well

stutter while handling PUBG

which is capable of sporting

verdict

dual SIM and a microSD card at the same time. At the right side of the phone

Looks

08 /10

Cameras

08 /10

Performance

Simple and Sober

Battery

and heavy graphics games and

The TECNO Camon iTwin has

generates heat in the process.

powerful battery of 4,000mAh

Cameras

which is adding to the advantage of the device. The

The new Camon iTwin has

battery can last throughout

07 /10

dual rear camera sensor which

the day with a single charge if

includes 13MP primary sensor

the device is used moderately.

with a wide angle and aperture

The phone heats up a bit while

of f/2.0, 80 degree FOV lens.

charging. The charging speed

The secondary sensor is a

of the phone is moderate as

depth sensing sensor of 2

well and charges the device

Megapixel. The rear camera

at good charging rate. For a

allows you to choose the ratio

moderate user it can go upto

Camon iTwin is sporting a

size of the image like ratio

two days in a single charge.

6 inch HD+ IPS Full View

size of 1:1, 4:3, 16:9, and

lies the volume rockers and a power button.The phone has

Did Well in Daylight

added the face unlock security

Complacent

feature as well to strengthen

Battery

09 /10

Value For Money

07 /10

the privacy and misuse of the device from an unrecognized individual.

Huge

Too Many Choices

OVERALL

78%

Display Display and an aspect ratio

PROS

of 18:9 which is providing

Battery

wide viewing angles and

Cons

18:9. The images captured

Conclusion

Dated Processor

are well detailed and are in

The new TECNO Camon

crystal clear quality while used

iTwin has some good features

in daylight. The night shots

such as full view display, face

are noisy despite the fact that

unlock,huge battery, and latest

the camera uses LED flash to

OS but lags on the processor

brighten up the surroundings.

front as the smartphone

the screen resolution is of 720x1440 pixels.The display has smart features as well

(For detailed specifications, please refer to My Guide)

like adaptive brightness, eye care giving comfort to your

where it can run moderate

The phone also has AI Auto

houses an entry level chipset

eyes reducing the light stress

games comfortably. The

Scene Recognition feature as

which was highly undesirable

produced by the screen.

ROM size is of 32GB which

well. The selfie camera is of

at this price point. Given the

The screen has 2.5D curved

is decent amount of storage

13 Megapixel with an aperture

point that the brand majorly

glass which is guarding the

space and can be further

of f/2.0 and has various modes

operates in the offline market

screen from any damage. The

expanded with the help of

to choose like Panorama

gives it an extra bit of cushion

colours produced are vivid and

microSD card.TECNO Camon

mode, Beauty mode. You

against the competition that

punchy.

iTwin has chosen quad-core

can select the aspect ratio

is there on the online front by

Qualcomm Snapdragon

before clicking image with

Xiaomi, Honor and Asus. It is

425SoC processor to deal

the selfie camera as well.

available at Rs 11,499 in the

The new Tecno Camon iTwin

with the processes and the

The selfies captured during

offline markets but will have

runs on HiOS v3.2.0 on

tasks assigned and has CPU

daylight are well detailed and

to compete with Redmi Y2,

Android 8.0 Oreo providing

with four cores clocked at

the images captured at night

Honor 9N and Asus Max Pro

various smart features.The

1.4GHZ. The processor and

are not upto the expectations.

M1. n

Camon iTwin has RAM size

the RAM exhibits nice working

There is advantage of front

Platform

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Comio X1

An Attractive and Compact Budget Smartphone

C

omio has

review, let’s find out the

view HD display and above

nano-SIM cards and one

launched the

performance of Comio X1 for

the display lies the 8MP selfie

microSD card at the same

predecessor

your reference.

camera with flash. The back

time. The power button is just

side of the phone is sporting

below the volume key on the

of X1 Note

called the Comio X1 with

Design

the rear camera sensor.

right. At the top of the phone

full view display to cater its

The new Comio X1 has

The rear camera is assisted

lies 3.5mm headphone jack

own expanding market in

compact and light weight

by LED flash and below

and the bottom of the device

India. The Comio X1 has

design, with red colour back

the camera sensor lies the

is sporting micro USB port

basic features of the day in

panel which looks interesting

fingerprint sensor. The new

and two speaker grilles.

the budget segment to gain

and has curvy edges around

X1 has Face Unlock security

traction in the offline market

the corner which all together

mode as well which works

Display

for the brand. Previously,

makes the device looks

fine but needs improvements

Comio X1 has an impressive

the X1 Note did quite well

beautiful and at the same

as well. The right side of the

5.5 inch HD+ Full View

for the company due to its

time making it easy to hold.

phone has the volume rockers

Display with an aspect ratio

glossy design and more than

The front fascia of the phone

while on the left it has the

of 18:9. The display has the

six inches of display. In this

is dominated by 5.5 inch full

SIM tray which can hold two

option of manually enabling

70 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


the colour temperature which

do get warmed up otherwise

adjusts itself in accordance

normal games runs causing

with the temperature. The

no changes in the functioning

screen offers wide viewing

of the device. Comio X1

angles and with such big

has fair amount of internal

screen you can easily

storage of 16GB which is

enjoy any game or can

mostly found in budget range

have satisfactory viewing

smartphones having the

experience. The display

same combo of 2+16 variant.

verdict 08 /10

improvement as compared

Cameras

08 /10

to X1 Note which was having

Performance

07 /10

The phone charging speed

Battery

07 /10

Value For Money

08 /10

heat while charging or while

76%

too much of watching video

Compact and Light Shines in Daylight For Daily Tasks Needs Improvements

has screen resolution of

The internal storage can be

720x1440 pixels which is

expanded further with the

quite ambient. The screen is

help of dedicated microSD

OVERALL

protected by Dragontrail glass

card slotupto 128GB. Comio

which can withstand minor

X1 has near stock Android 8.1

damages.

Oreo operating system which

Platform

The company has done an

Looks

Attractive Option

is an advantage to it.

last for a day of normal usage.

a battery of 2,900 mAh cell. is moderate as well.The smartphone does generate being onto calls for long and content as well.

Conclusion PROS Design, OS

Cons Could be the Battery

As we have said that the Comio X1 is the predecessor of Comio X1 Note, it has few

Comio X1 has quad-core

Cameras

MediaTek MT6739 processor

The new Comio X1 sports an

with four cores. The processor

8 megapixel selfie camera

functions quite well, keeping

with flash and has an aperture

the functioning of the device

of f/2.4. The selfie camera

13 MP with flash. The rear

compact which I really

in check. While testing it

of the phone delivers clear

camera delivers clear images

liked about it. There are

was found that the processor

images every time you turn

taking into detail every aspect

improvements on the battery

has average speed while

up the camera to click a

of what you are trying to

and the OS level.The design

multitasking not that fast.

selfie. The advantage of the

capture. The shots captured

remains an attractant in

There were no other issues

selfie camera is that it has

during daytime are in good

Comio X1 at Rs 7,499. We

observed while switching

front LED flash which allows

quality. The rear mode has

could not say that it needs

between apps. The processor

you to take selfies clearly

Light trace mode which offers

improvements as the company

is supported by 2GB RAM of

even in dark. There might be

great advantage while clicking

already has the Note variant

the device which is providing

some occasions where some

pictures at night.

of it. Yet, there are scope for

the power to deal with any

graining effect can be seen

task. The game support of the

when the front LED flash

Battery

game is quite moderate as

comes into play but mostly

The new Comio X1 has 3,050

3 cities that demand huge

well and in case you turn to

it is not observed. Comio X1

mAhbattery power which

battery backup. n

play big games then the phone

has rear camera sensor of

sufficient enough to make it

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(For detailed specifications, please refer to My Guide)

noticeable changes as well. The dual rear lens set up is missing, the screen and the body size has become

improvements in battery as the brand caters to Tier 2 and

team@mymobile.co.in

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LAVA Z61

A Nice Beginner with latest OS

L

AVA, the

OS. Yet, we have to check this

around the phone. The new

of the phone has the 5.45

homegrown

new smartphone from LAVA

LAVA Z61 has a reasonable

inch screen and above the

handset maker,

as how does it behave when

weight as well which allows

display lies the selfie camera

has a new

put to test.

you to use the device for

and the front LED flash plus

long time. The phone has

the notification LED as well.

compact size and it fits

The rear panel of the phone

offering in the entry segment called the LAVA Z61. The

Design

smartphone boasts on some

We have got the Gold variant

perfectly in your hand with

is removable and you have

tried and tested features

of the phone and it looks

every corner of the screen

to remove the back panel

currently available in the

beautiful with its golden back

within the reach of your

to fit the battery because

market today, such as latest

panel and the rim which runs

fingers. At the front side

the battery is removable in nature. After removing the panel you can spot the SIM slots and a dedicated slot for a microSD card to extend the internal storage. At the back side lies the rear camera and alongside lies the LED flash. The top of the phone has 3.5mm headphone jack and at the bottom of the phone lies the micro USB port. The power button and the volume rockers are lying at the right side of the phone while the left side is blank. The speakers of the phone are lying at the back side of the phone which is quite strange to see because most of the phones nowadays place the speakers at bottom of the phone so that when kept at rest the sound of the phone won’t get distorted. The phone has no fingerprint sensor or face recognition feature for security purpose.

Display The new LAVA Z61 issporting a 5.45 inch HD+ Full Screen Display. The display is neither too big nor too small and you can have comfortable experience of engaging in any

76 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


Tried & Tested act on the screen. The screen

is of 5 Megapixel and it does

don’t want to restrict yourself

and files. The internal storage

provides wide viewing angles

a decent job. The selfies

with selfies captured at

can be expanded further with

which is mainly attributed to

captured are well clear and

daytime only.

the help of microSD card.

its 18:9 aspect ratiodisplay

sharp during daylight and at

format. The display has

night the quality seems to go

Platform

Battery

adaptive brightness mode

down a bit. The front camera

The new LAVA Z61 has the

The new LAVA Z61 has

which adjusts itself with

has a front LED flash which

latest operating system which

a removable battery of

the brightness level of the

can attract the attention

is Android 8.1 Oreo with

3,000mAh. The battery for

available light. It has light

because it enables you to

Lite V1.0 Star OS version.

sure can last throughout the

Night Light mode which

click selfies when the lighting

The phone is offering 1GB

day of it is used moderately.

makes the display to look at

conditions are not favorable

RAM (Go Edition)which is

The company has provided

and to read in dim light. The

and at present the selfie trend

enough to handle lighter

1.5A fast charger with the

display is protected by Corning

is all around so you better

applications but when it

phone to charge the phone

comes to big applications

quickly. While charging the

the phone does not perform

phone does get heated up but

07 /10

efficiently. The phone could

after achieving an optimum

08 /10

have supplemented 2GB of

percentage it tends to get

RAM and the lack of RAM size

cool.

Gorilla Glass which is making

verdict

the screen immune to any minor fall or scratches.

Cameras

The new LAVA Z61 has quite good camera power. The

Looks Sleek

Cameras

Upto Expectations

Performance

07 /10

Battery

08 /10

is clearly evident when you open any app like the camera

Conclusion

application takes

The new LAVA Z61 is for the

time to launch itself and

beginners. Do not expect it

when you try to switch

to take away your breath,

between the rear and front

instantly.Those who want an

camera the phone takes time

upgrade from feature phone

but this can be overlooked

to adjust to the command.

can opt for it but, there are

because the LAVA Z61 will be

One could enjoy normal

numerous viable options

a pleasing experience overall.

games like Candy crush,

available in the market as

The shots captured at night

Subway Surfer but, the

well at around Rs 5,750. Yet,

continuous use does heat

it has camera to satisfy the

with clear images and you can

up the phone. The internal

amateurs, latest OS, which

spot graining effect especially

storage of the phone is of

is an advantage to it and a

16GB which can be used to

sustainable battery. n team@mymobile.co.in

phone has an 8 Megapixel rear camera which delivers clear images during daylight but when you zoom in the quality might get distorted as you can easily spot graining effect

from the rear camera areokay

when the LED flash comes into play. The selfie camera

For Normal Usage Lasts a Day

Value For Money Nice Starter

OVERALL

PROS Latest OS

07 /10

74%

Cons RAM

(For detailed specifications, please refer to My Guide)

www.mymobileindia.com

store all the necessary apps

september 2018 | 77


Tried & Tested

burntest

Honor 9N

Premium Design and Impressive Lens To Impress Budget Buyers

“B

eauty

mirror rear panel to drive the

side within the reach of the

within

attention of the users. The

fingers making the device

Reach”

device is light as well and

easy to unlock and operate. At

Display

that’s what

has compact size with curvy

the left side of the phone lies

The new Honor 9N is sporting

you can call the latest launch

body edges which is making

the hybrid SIM tray which can

a very compact display size

from Honor which is Honor

the device easy to hold and

hold either two SIM cards at a

neither too big nor to small

9N. The company seems

operate easily without putting

time or a SIM card and

which is 5.84 inch and

to strengthen its budget

any strain on your hand or on

a microSD card. The top of

having notch on top which

range section even more by

your fingers. The rear panel

the phone is completely blank

you can hide by changing

launching the latest Honor

of the phone is very elegant

while at the bottom of the

display setting. The 5.84 inch

9N. Previously the company

to look at and is sporting the

phone you can sport a

display is full HD+ IPS with

has delivered some brilliant

dual rear camera sensors

3.5mm headphone jack,

an aspect ratio of 19:9 which

power packed smartphones

placed horizontally and

microUSB port and a mono

is in turn providing wide

within affordable range like

following the sensors is the

speaker grille. At the right

viewing angles. The phone

Honor 9i, Honor 9 Lite etc.

rear LED flash. The fingerprint

side of the phone lies volume

offers spacious screen to

In this review we will be

sensor is placed at the right

rockers

shedding light on what all new

position as well on the rear

and the

power button.

features and specifications does this phone has to offer.

Design The new Honor 9N is available in two color variants black and blue. The most attractive variant is the blue edition which has quite an attractive aspect with

78 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


verdict Looks

09 /10

Cameras

09 /10

Performance

08 /10

Battery

08 /10

Value For Money

09 /10

Premium Good Show Maintains Sync Sustains a Day A Good Pick

OVERALL

86%

Cons

PROS Design, Camera

Sluggish EMUI

(For detailed specifications, please refer to My Guide)

without taking much troll.

secondary camera sensor is

While testing we did not found

depth sensor with 2MP. The

any lag in multi-tasking and all

images captured highlighted

Battery

the applications were smooth

vivid details and were clear

The new Honor 9N is backed

when they were put to test.

especially the images the

by 3,000mAh battery power

The touch of the phone is very

captured in daylight. The rear

which is non-removable in

smooth as well and it is mainly

camera takes few seconds

nature. The battery power

1080p@30fps quality.

attributed to the powerful

to adjust its lens and focus

makes itlast throughout the

allow you to perform any

processor. The gaming

quickly and to escape this

day if the phone is used is

task with comfort whether it

experience is good as well

hassle you can autofocus by

moderately with restricted

is playing game or watching

but, the games like PUBG,

clicking the subject on which

use of playing hours and

any video on the phone.

Golf clash, Asphalt were not

you want to focus. You can

watching movies or videos.

The adaptive brightness

that smoothand the phone

see graining effect when you

The charging speed of the

of the screen adjusts itself

does get heated up while

try to zoom in which is one

phone is moderate as well.

very well according to the

indulging in heavy task. The

of the drawbacks of the rear

While charging the device do

lighting conditions and there

phone has RAM size of 4GB

camera. The images captured

seems to get heated up a bit

is eye comfort mode as well

and assisting the processor

at night are clear as well and

which is later resolved once

to adjust the temperature

by getting in complete sync

the LED flash helps you to

the phone attains a certain

of the color according the

with the processor. The ROM

take clear shots. The selfie

charging limit.

environment in which you are

size is of 64GB which is

camera of the Honor 9N is of

using the phone. The display

enough to store any files or

16MP and comparatively the

Conclusion

has an screen resolution of

media without the worry of the

selfie is better in performance

The new Honor 9N has the

1080x2280 pixels.

storage getting filled up any

than the rear camera. The

charm to impress buyers

shortly. The internal storage

selfies captured were of great

with its design, notch, a

can further be expanded with

details and at the same time

compact body size and that

The new Honor 9N runs on

the help of microSD card

they were beautiful as well.

too in reasonable price of

Android 8.0 Oreo OS with

which means you have to

The selfies captured at night

Rs 11,999. The camera

EMUI 8.0 on top of it. The

sacrifice one of the SIM slot.

were also very clear and

performance will surely

crisp and the screen flash do

impress most of you as well

compensate for the lack of the

as the performance of the

Platform

new Honor 9N has an octacore processor with a chipset

Cameras

of HiSilicon Kirin 659 and

The new Honor 9N has

front selfie flash. Overall, the

chipset while the battery is

has 8 cores with four cores

impressive camera with good

cameras of the Honor

on the lesser side. We did not

clocked at 2.36GHz cortex

quality to buy the attention

9N especially the selfie

find an update in the skin

while rest four cores are

of the users. The phone has

camera is very satisfying

version. Yet, Honor 9N can be

clocked at 1.7GHz cortex.

dual rear camera sensors

and you can have satisfying

compared with Moto G6 and

The processor is capable

where the primary sensor is

camera experience. You

Asus Max Pro. n

of withstanding processes

of 13MP with PDAF and the

can record video in

www.mymobileindia.com

Tried & Tested

burntest

haider@mymobile.co.in

september 2018 | 79


Tried & Tested

burntest

HARMAN JBL Pulse 3 The Pleasure of Glowing Sound

E

ver wondered

sound show. I got some time

carry and compact device.

part is home to the necessary

what it is like

to spend with the attractive

The cylindrically-designed

buttons such as the

to see the

speaker and here is what got

portable speaker came in the

Bluetooth button, the power

sound you play?

me singing.

black colour variant (another

on/off button, the volume

colour option being white)

up button, the volume down

with more than half of the

button, and the button which can turn the light on or off.

Well, not quite literally, but Samsung-owned popular

Design

audio accessory maker

Simply put, the JBL Pulse

area dedicated for the light

HARMAN has one such

3 is a pretty-looking speaker

magic to take place. The

offering for us, christened

and I was all excited to use

lower part of the speaker has

beautifully-designed portable

The JBL Pulse 3 is a

JBL Pulse 3 Bluetooth

it; it was capable to inject the

the speaker grille as well as

speaker which raised an

Speaker which acts more or

excitement in me! Shaped

the ‘JBL’ logo.

urge to make it a part of any

less as a portable light and

like a log, it is an easy-to-

80 | september 2018

Additionally, the bottom

party I host or the moments

MYMOBILE


dancing to the tunes being played on the speaker. The bass and treble were perfectly balanced and the higher I went for the volume, the better output I could get. The Pulse 3 is IPX7 certified which makes sure it doesn’t get spoilt by water. While I didn’t go all the way to dip it in water to see the capability, I did get some

Tried & Tested

in literal terms, see the light

amount of water near it, and it passed the water test. As for the voice integration, it worked fine when connected to Google Now and the calls could easily be made and taken while connected to the Pulse 3. Overall, it was a delight to listen to music on the Pulse 3, along with light show I got to see. I couldn’t really find when I just wanted to have the ‘music and me’ time.

lithium-ion battery. In terms of the various

was fully satisfied when I

a flaw to actually convince

finally played my first track

anyone not to buy it.

However, the device is a bit on

features the speaker

on it. The usual process

the heavy end (weighing 960

possesses, it has the

required to connect any

Verdict

grams) and can’t be deemed a

noise and echo cancelling

Bluetooth-enabled speaker to

The HARMAN JBL Pulse 3,

lightweight one.

speakerphone to attend and

a smartphone got done with

during my review period has

make calls, IPX7 certification

ease and the whole ‘binge-

proved to be one of those

looks department, it passed

for water resistance so that

music streaming began in my

devices you would wish to

with flying colours and was

pool parties are fun and

home. From the yesteryears’

make a part of your home.

amazing to own it for a little

tension-free, and the JBL

songs (which was my dad’s

Priced at Rs 15,999, the

while.

Connect+ technology which is

choice) to the current favourite

Pulse 3 might seem a pricey

capable of connecting more

EDM, (which every other kid

one, but has all the qualities

than 100 JBL Connect+-

on block likes) the sound

to be able to carry a price tag

enabled speakers together,

quality was amazing. The

of this kind. The Bluetooth

Going the technical way, the

using the JBL Connect app.

Bollywood songs, the Punjabi

speaker totally and completely

HARMAN JBL Pulse 3 has an

Additionally, there is voice

songs, the pop songs, and

impressed me.

output power rated at 20W

integration too, which can

every possible music genre

along with a frequency range

incorporate the voice of Siri or

I tried, felt really good when

end piece of audio accessory

configured at 65Hz- 20kHz.

Google Now with just a tap.

played on the JBL Pulse 3.

which is a compact light

(Bluetooth version 4.2) the

Performance

output, mixed with the 360-

doorstep, you should definitely

Pulse 3 gets its energy to play

The level of excitement to use

degree light show, felt just

say yes to the Pulse 3. n

with the help of a 6,000mAh

the Pulse 3 at the beginning

the right thing then. I could,

As for its score in the

Technicalities and Features

With Bluetooth compatibility

www.mymobileindia.com

And the amazing audio

If you are looking for a high-

and sound show right at your

vanshika@mymobile.co.in

september 2018 | 81


Tried & Tested

burntest

UE WONDERBOOM FREESTYLE A Super-Portable Speaker that packs Big Sound

W

hen it

Design

the Ultimate Ears has hid

speaker. Besides, there are

comes to

The speaker is designed and

the charging port – USB 2.0

two buttons on the front of

anytime,

built to survive bumps and

– with a rubber flap. Once

the device – one is the large

anywhere

falls. It is made of mix of

closed, it snaps in place

+ (plus) sign and the other

music, Logitech-owned

plastic and rubber but it is

tightly. It’s difficult to figure

being big -- (minus) sign.

Ultimate Ears is a name to

also wrapped in fabric that

out unless you look carefully.

This is to control the volume.

reckon with, thanks to its

feels like nylon. The speaker

The Wonderboom

The buttons are actually

range of portable speakers.

is very small and cylindrical.

Freestyle looks modest

in the middle of the signs

The company recently

You can easily carry it in one

and attractive. On the top

but their design gives out

launched Wonderboom

hand, put it on your palm,

there are two buttons – one

an impression that you can

Freestyle Collection, which

shove it in some pocket in

for power and the other

press anywhere.

complements the existing

your backpack or use the

(the logo) for skipping the

In spite of its rugged

line of award-winning

attached cable to harness

song, pause or play. There

features, the Wonderboom

Wonderboom speakers

it to your bike. In order to

is also one very small LED,

Freestyle looks pleasing to

launched last year. Boasting

ensure that the speaker is

which glows white when the

the eye. It’s small enough to

the same crisp 360-degree

truly water and dust proof,

speaker is on and the battery

be just another item in your

sound with balanced bass,

doesn’t need recharging. It

drawing room. It looks like

the Wonderboom Freestyle

turns yellowish-brown when

a part of the table on which

comes with a price tag of

it is time to recharge the

you keep it, akin to a paper

Rs 7,995 on the company’s

weight or a table watch.

website. Inspired by global music and fashion trends, the fashion-forward colours of the collection include Concrete, Avocado, Patches, Raspberry and Unicorn. The speaker, which is yet another perfect addition to its evergrowing Boom line, is shorter and wider to make it more compact. This go-anywhere speaker pumps out the sound that belies its stature.

82 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


and then pair it. That is all. Once it is paired, you can

Tried & Tested

the Bluetooth in your phone

play anything and everything on it because it sounds so magnificent. The speaker can be paired to eight Bluetooth devices, connected to two at the same time and has a range of 33 meters. You can connect two Wonderboom speakers together through the Double Up feature.

Conclusion The Wonderboom Freestyle is waterproof and durable, delivering a 360-degree sound that Ultimate Ears helped pioneer. It won’t leave you hanging if the speaker

Performance Although the sound of the speaker is said to be not quite as warm as with the company’s larger speakers, it does deliver the bass where you’d want and pushes highs and mids effectively. It will not blow your mind with detail, but you will not come away thinking the sound was thin either. Just like its predecessors in the series, the sound of the Wonderboom Freestyle is solid top to bottom. It doesn’t leave you questioning the sound, but

simply presents your audio

charging is concerned, the

in a way that’s satisfying, in a

newest member of the family

way that lets you focus on the

takes about two and half hours

music. The best part about the

to fully charge, which feels like

sound of this speaker is that

an eternity in the age of fast

even at higher volume, the

charging employed by most

voice doesn’t distort.

modern smartphones, but is

Battery

said to be an improvement over the Roll 2 which requires

The speaker offers up to 10

an absurd 5.5 hours to charge

hours of battery life, which is

completely.

said to be one more than the Roll 2 and five less than the

Connectivity

Boom 2. Although it has not

Pairing the speaker with

the most robust battery life

your phone or laptop is very

in UE’s lineup, it’s still plenty

simple. All you have to do is

for a day trip. As far as the

switch on the speaker, turn on

www.mymobileindia.com

is fully charged. It is not for those who like to customize the sound experience to the max and prefer to have their Bluetooh speaker on a dais. But if you need a speaker to bring with you wherever you go, especially if that means ending up in the pool, then you won’t find a speaker that’s as party-friendly as the Wonderboom. Considering the performance of the Wonderboom Freestyle, the price part makes it a good value for money. n ramesh@mymobile.co.in

september 2018 | 83


Tried & Tested

burntest

X-Mini Nano-X Speaker Small, but Powerful

T

he concept of

to spend some time with

This little piece for music

at 4 ohms. Furthermore, the

portable audio

the teeny tiny speaker, and

streaming fit well in the

speaker features an inbuilt

accessories has

let’s see whether or not

palm of my hands, in the

microphone.

been of good help

the portable speaker is an

tiny space of my pocket, and

effective one!

the long-lost corner of my

Performance

drawer. It totally fits in the

The Nano-X Ultra Portable

‘portable and lightweight’

Wireless speaker is a good

category.

example for the proverb-

since we got one. And taking portability very seriously, Singapore-based X-Mini

Design

added the Nano-X Speaker

The name: X-Mini Nano-X

to its wide range of audio

Ultra Portable Wireless

products. And this one, is

Speaker is totally at justice

hued one (other two colour

packages”. The little audio

really (I mean really)

as the speaker is an all-

options being Crimson Red

guy offers good performance

portable. I got a chance

portable and compact one.

and Mystic Black) with its

for the size it comes in. The

bottom end and speaker

whole connecting process

grille painted in black. The

via Bluetooth was easy and

bottom part comprised a

once it got paired with my

power on/off button which

smartphone, the speaker was

when long-pressed activates

quite impressive.

I got the Midnight Blue-

the speaker to perform its

I tested most of the

task. The speaker grille lies on

trending genres of music,

the top with the micro-USB

and the audio quality was

port placed at the bottom.

above average. Furthermore,

Additionally, the speaker is

the bass and treble appeared

accompanied by a micro-USB

balanced too. However,

cable and a fastening cord to

‘disclaimer alert’- do not

carry the speaker with great

expect too much out of the

ease.

speaker as it can’t produce

Overall, the design department scores pretty well and the cute little size of the

really great audio outputs you might expect.

speaker acts as a definite

Verdict

USP.

Originally priced at Rs

Technical Details

1,799 and available at Rs 999 via Amazon India, the

The X-Mini Nano-X Ultra

X-Mini Nano-X Ultra Portable

Portable Wireless speaker,

Wireless speaker is a cute little

with a sleek metal body,

one you would love to own.

comes with an operating

While the compact speaker is

frequency range configured

somewhat pricey, the above

at 2.4GHz- 2.48GHz and

average audio quality clubbed

has a wireless range rated at

with its adorable structure

up to 10 meters. The small

proves enough to own it.

speaker comes with Bluetooth

Therefore, if it attracts you,

compatibility with support

you can definitely hit the

for Bluetooth version 4.1 and

checkout button! n

has an impedance standing

84 | september 2018

“Good things come in small

vanshika@mymobile.co.in

MYMOBILE


Intex Sports Neckband Earphones Flexibly Decent

H

omegrown

The ear buds are however,

earphones are compatible

the low or low-to-mid volumes.

company Intex

not as comfortable during the

with both Android and iOS

Another thing which is a

is famous for

usage as they appear, and

devices.

drawback for the earphones

taking care

I was required to often fix

is that it is prone to sound

of the budget mobile phone

them for a comfortable audio

Performance

segment. However, quite

streaming. Additionally, the

The Sports Neckband

Among others, the battery

recently it expanded its

pair comes with extra ear cups

earphones, during the usage

backup was pretty decent and

audio accessory department

for easy usage.

period did a good job. I

worked for a couple of days on

followed the usual directions

a single charge.

and launched a few new

Overall, the Sports

leakage at high volumes.

accessories, the Intex Sports

Neckband earphones are

(turned the earphones on,

In totality, the Intex Sports

Neckband Earphones being

pretty decent in terms of

headed to the Bluetooth

Neckband earphones are

one of them. I got to test its

design and ensure easy

capabilities for some time,

usage.

settings of the phone, and

Tried & Tested

burntest

a decent pair with above

and here is what the litmus test result is:

Design The one word which instantly pops in my head for this piece is flexible. The earphones with a neckband are really flexible and bends in any way you wish to bend them. I got the one hued in black and red and the piece looks pretty fine and is quite lightweight. However, it doesn’t stand so good in quality and feels slightly cheap. The neckband has two protruding earphone cables which ensures the music

Technical Specifications

tapped some options) to pair it

reaches our ears.

The Intex Sports Neckband

up with my smartphone, and

with ear buds on each cable,

average performance.

earphones are Bluetooth-

it got connected with ease in

Verdict

earphone cable has a micro-

enabled with support for

no time.

The Intex Sports Neckband

USB port for charging and

version 4.2 and has a charging

I listened to some music

earphones, coming with

three buttons; the “+” button

voltage of USB 5V. The pair

genres (such as Bollywood,

a price tag of Rs 1,699

allows to play the previous

has a range of 10 meter and

EDM, Punjabi, etc.) and it

are pretty decent ones for

track and increase the

a frequency range rated at

worked fine for most of the

the music enthusiasts,

volume, the Power button

20Hz-20kHz. With the model

songs I played. The audio

however, appears slightly

allows to pause, play, power

number ‘BT-14’ the earphones

output was pretty impressive,

overpriced, coming from Intex.

on/off and answer calls, and

come with a battery capacity

and the bass and treble

Disregarding the price, if you

the “-“ button helps play the

configured at 135mAh, and

seemed fine too. However, the

still wish to go for the recent

next track and decrease the

supports working voltage of

audio quality appeared way

volume.

3.4V- 4.2V. Furthermore, the

too noisy at high volumes than

pair of earphones, I say, yes! n vanshika@mymobile.co.in

The right end of the

www.mymobileindia.com

september 2018 | 85


Tried & Tested

burntest

Oraimo Necklace OEB-E54D A Worthy ‘Necklace’ To Flaunt

O

raimo, a

headphones we have seen

becomes a bit awry at times.

Transsion

that when both the buds get

The earbuds do have some

Holdings

attached to each other from

interference going with

accessories

the base, the music stops.

it while going loud. The

brand, has a new offering in

This feature is lacking in the

connectivity isn’t a problem

the audio segment to have

Necklace, the music keeps on

as the Necklace responds

a say in the accessories

playing. The right side of the

upto 10 meters within the

market across the country.

headphone has the control

Bluetooth range. The voice

The company has launched

panel where you find volume

input during the voice calls

Bluetooth Headphones called

keys, pause/next buttonon

was quite receptive and the

the Necklace OEB-E54D.

the interior and on the top,

headphone output is good as

We have got this “necklace”

it has the on/off button and

well. The battery goes on till

for review, so let’s check this

the microphone and on the

at least 6 hours of continuous

out as how it does when put

bottom of the same panel

music on the go. The charging

to test.

it has the 3.5mm jack for

wasn’t a problem either as it

charging it. The left strap

takes about an hour or so to

holds the battery inside with

get fully charged.It has been

the logo on it.

provided with 220 mAh of

Design The Oraimo Necklace OEBE54D has an ergonomic

battery for the standby.Overall,

design which easily fits around

Performance

the collar with ease. The

The Oraimo Necklace music

competitors to many players

headphone has a light weight

output is pleasing in most

in the market with the kind

build because of the material

of the cases. The drivers

of ruggedness and features it

used. Both the earbuds have

produce ambient sound to

has. While traveling in metro,

magnets in it which helps in

get the soothing experience.

the connection does snap

untangling, much easier and

When the volume is raised

occasionally which can be

is made of metal. But, in other

to the maximum, the output

overlooked.

86 | september 2018

the headphone can be tough

Conclusion The OraimoOEB-E54D Bluetooth headphone has the qualities to be your next headset. The design makes it easy to carry and use. It won’t feel on to your necks. The sound output is soothing, which was something quite unique at this price point of Rs 2,799. This was my first hands on to any Oraimo product in India and has to say that it has been successful in creating a space for itself which can be recommended to others. The aesthetics, build quality the sound output are some of the key factors why Oraimo Necklace can be considered as an option while searching for the Bluetooth headsets. The company is also offering one year replacement warranty on it. n

team@mymobile.co.in

MYMOBILE


Apptastic

Review

Rooter

One Stop for Sports Fanatics

A

s Indians, our slight (or more) inclination towards sports is a must. Among various apps

which open doors to the world of sports for us, we have an app, dubbed Rooter

which has a different and new take on sports, making things quite engaging for us. I got the opportunity to use the app and see for myself what new it offers and this is my take on it:

About the App Driving into the basics, the Rooter app is a platform which allows users to catch matches (of eight sports such as Cricket, Football, Tennis, Hockey, Basketball, Badminton, Formula 1, and Kabaddi) live. Apart from this, the users can get live updates about various matches taking place, know the predictions for the matches,

which is the

interact with other Rooter users for an

Contests section

review period, my

actual game feel, and view updates

which provides users

video streaming

about the matches on social media.

with the opportunity

experience has

to compete in

been good, along

Additionally, the app recently has got the Live Fantasy Cricket game feature which provides users with the

During my

with the score

various contests. Above all the three sections, right at

updates and predictions. However,

opportunity to choose four players

the top (from left to right) lies a Menu

I wasn’t able to utilize the provided

during a live cricket match and go in

option, a Profile option of the user, the

Diamonds and Coins as each time

for a real-time competition, basis the

user’s Coin and Diamond collection,

I went to verify for it (you are required

players’ performance during the match.

and the Notification bell for all the

to verify before its use) an error

notifications.

occurred.

User Interface

Overall, the UI of the app is a well-

In totality, the app is quite a

The Rooter app is primarily divided

arranged one, however, there is too

saviour for people who often miss out

into three sections; the first one

much going on the app which tends to

on matches, for the ones who need

is the Matches section which lists

create a lot of confusion.

an engaging environment during

down all the matches taking place

matches, and for the ones who have a

(recommended by Rooter, Cricket or

My Take

Football) which allows you to have

The app, for all the sports fanatics

a good look at them, and a menu to

is a catchy one which engages you

select the desired sports you wish to

in various ways. From watching the

follow. The second section is the My

live matches, to discussing about the

free via the Google Play Store for the

Feed one which has various enlisted

matches with likeminded people, to

Android users and the App Store for the

tweets by other users, and the third

staying updated with social media

iOS users. n

section is a newly introduced one

about the matches, the app has it all.

competitive spirit in them.

Availability The Rooter app is up for grabs for

vanshika@mymobile.co.in

september 2018 | 87


Feature

camera Special

Cherish Your Moments with These Camera Beasts By Nijhum Rudra

G

one are the days when photography was limited to cameras only. Mobile phones went through a massive evolution over the past couple of years with the inception of new technologies and features. The popularity of camera in a smartphone has gained massive traction among the masses globally, which has offered state-of-the-art camera sensor at the palm of your hands at a very affordable price. The inclusion of various features in the optical department of the phone has greatly

improved the quality of the images clicked including optical image stabilisation (OIS), larger sensors, bright lenses and even optical zoom. We present you some of the top smartphones furnished with sophisticated optical features and lenses, which will help you click crystal-clear images without a professional camera:

Honor 10

iPhone X

T

T

he newly launched Honor 10 appears with the latest AI backed dual rear camera sensors, which will assist

professional and amateur photographers to click crystal-clear

he phone sports a dual 12-mega-

pixel setup, f/1.8 and

images with higher resolution. The rear camera has a 16MP

f/2.4 apertures same

primary color sensor (RGB) of f/1.8 aperture, and a 24MP

as the iPhone 8 Plus

monochrome (Black & White) sensor. Along with this, the

and includes a 7MP

camera is also equipped with 2X optical zoom and DSLR-like

front camera coupled

bokeh effects. The selfie sensor helps click portrait selfies

with the iPhone X’s

with background blur effects, augmented reality (AR) based

True Depth sensing

stickers, and a studio like 3D lighting effects. Moreover, the

technology. The

unique artist mode helps add Prisma-like artwork effects to

Tr u e D e p t h c a m e r a

the photos and selfies.

analyses more than

Additionally, the phone is powered by a 3400mAh battery

50 different muscle

and backed by 1.8GHz octa-core chipset. It appears with 6GB

movements to mirror

of RAM and 128GB ROM, which cannot be expanded. n

your expressions in 16

Price: INR 32,999 via Flipkart

Animoji and includes new telephoto camera with OIS. It has depthsensing cameras and precise facial mapping create striking studio quality lighting effects. The wide-angle and telephoto cameras on iPhone X enable optical zoom, as well as digital zoom of up to 10X for photos and 6X for videos. n

Price: INR 87,000 via Flipkart 132 | september 2018


OnePlus 6

T

he newly launched OnePlus 6 has unleashed innovative optical features with the inclusion of dual rear sensors; 16MP primary sensor and 20MP

secondary sensor. It has a 16MP selfie sensor aperture of f/2.0 for clicking impeccable selfies and video calling. The rear lens supports OIS and EIS both, PDAF and dual LED flash for the dark. The rear camera performs really

well, giving natural and realistic shots. Portrait Mode is an extra advantage added to OnePlus 6. It also records slow motion videos, 480 frames per

Feature

camera Special

second, to give you some cherished possessions. The Selfie camera is of 16 MP with f2.0 and minus LED flash. There’s screen flash for the darkness which isn’t enough in dark and produces graining effect. The selfie shot in normal lighting can compete with Pixels and Galaxies of the town. Other features include HDR, panorama, touch focus and geo tagging. n

Price: INR 34,999 via Amazon.in

Samsung Galaxy S9

C

amera is the major attraction of newly launched Galaxy S9, which offers two f-stop modes, the

category-defining Dual Aperture adapts to bright light and super low light automatically, like the human eye. And you can flex your artistic side, toggling the aperture to create a mood. The phone has a 12MP rear camera

and an 8MP front shooter for selfies. If it’s dark, the lens opens to F1.5 mode to pull in light for a bright and clear photo and in the daylight, the lens shifts to f2.4 mode to help your picture come out sharp. Create captivating Super Slow-mo videos to share with your friends. Add music to your video with a random selection from preloaded choices or use a song from your own playlist. You can also make it a GIF with three styles of looping: reverse, forward, or swing. The phone is powered by a 3000mAh non removable battery and backed by 1.7GHz octa-core processor coupled with 4GB of RAM. The 64GB storage phone can be expanded externally with 400GB microSD card. n

Price: INR 57,900 via Flipkart

Google Pixel 2 XL

T

he Pixel 2 XL has 12.2 MP rear lens. The rear camera

has an upgraded f/1.8 aperture with optical stabilisation. The

rear camera also has laser and dual pixel autofocus. The shots taken by the rear camera are very sharp and clear no matter whether it is day or night. The front camera is of 8 megapixel and the selfies taken by it are very clear. If you like taking selfies then the Pixel 2 XL is your phone and all the filters of Snapchat designed for iPhone works fine in Pixel 2 XL which is not usually found in Android OS smartphones. The camera of the Pixel 2 XL can outlast any dual camera smartphones. The Pixel 2 XL can record 4K video at 30fps or 1080p at up to 120fps. Meanwhile, the front-facing camera can do 1080p at 30fps video. n

Price: INR 62,000 via Amazon.in nijhum@mymobile.co.in

www.mymobileindia.com

september 2018 | 89


In Conversation

face to face

“Barwa studies the trend, buying habits and keep on introducing innovative Mobile accessories� Established in 2011, Barwa Mobilink thinks that the Indian consumers have long been attracted to mobile accessories and gadgets but, were not satisfied with quality, experience, authenticity and warranty. It was then the company decided to take their step forward in the direction of giving Indian consumer the quality, authenticity and warranted products under the brand Barwa. Their commitment is to bring Indian consumer at par with the world on next generation technology, gadgets and accessories. Nijhum Rudra spoke to Prashant Shah, Business Head, Barwa Moblink about the challenges in providing topnotch electronics accessories to the customers and how the company is playing a key role in this scenario. Edited Excerpts: Can you please give an overview of

Currently, what are some of the biggest

ensuring superlative quality and optimum

Barwa Moblink and what is the key value

challenges in providing top-notch

comfort for the user. Barwa products

proposition and business model of your

electronics accessories to the customers

are very well placed in almost all major

firm? Barwa Moblink started its operations

and how Barwa Moblink is playing a key role

Mobile stores, which sell branded and

as a company in the year 2015 with a

in this scenario? The biggest challenge is

quality products.

vision to provide high quality Mobile

to understand the ever changing taste of

Accessories in the Indian Market, which

Indian consumer. We at Barwa study the

What are the current trends in the mobile

was unorganized and unbranded. Very

present trend and buying habits of Indian

accessories space? How will you leverage

few known brands were available in the

consumer, based on which, keep on

them in the next five years? We can

Mobile accessories segment, which

introducing innovative Mobile accessories

say Mobile Accessories have become

were offering quality product but at

at regular intervals.

an integral part for those who use,

a premium price which had led to a

technologically advanced and smart

demand for economical yet high-quality

What are the various mobile accessories

phones. Trend is changing in almost all

mobile accessories and Barwa stepped

do you own now and what are their current

categories of Mobile accessories like:

in. Barwa started operating from the

market shares? Barwa offers almost

1: Wired to wireless audio, with improved

commercial capital of India – Mumbai

all accessories to support your Mobile

wireless connectivity distance with

and kept on expanding on states level

in various categories like Data Cable,

features like light weight, water

through its Super Distributor-Distributor-

Chargers, Earphones, Headphones,

resistant and compact products like

Retail channel.

Speakers, Bluetooth and Power banks,

speakers, Bluetooth headphone set.

90 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


2: Shifting from USB cables to Type-C

brand BARWA in last 3 years.

cables for fast charging.

Mobile Accessories segment. With our vision to bring Indian consumer at par

3: Light weight power banks.

What are some of the biggest differentiating

with the world on next gen technology,

4: Screen Protection with ultra-thin

aspect of Barwa Moblink that helps you

by offering them quality, authenticity

material to preserve look of the mobile

stay ahead of the curve? Undoubtedlyour

and warranted products, today Barwa

device and protect eyes by Anti Blue

products and its unique featuresare our

is a known brand and become a household

Ray Tempered Glass.

biggest differentiating aspect. Barwa

name.

Barwa, with rich experience and

imports only standardized products that get

visionary management, has introduced

manufactured under the supervision of its

Going forward, what are some of your

products with such features and constantly

proficient representatives who perform all

roadmap in the coming year? Operating from

working on further improvement, which

the required quality tests before importing.

commercial capital of India – Mumbai, we

will help gaining business from present

Each product, we try to make it unique

setup and all future territories that will be

hence it has an edge over competition. For

opened in coming years.

instance, our product- ‘Bluetooth BW 303 which is Dual Device Pairing Headset

Who are your current channel partners

with Selfie Feature’, which is

and how do you plan to expand the product

offered by only Barwa

portfolio in the market? Barwa works on

in the market,

a business model of Super Distributor –

makes it stand

Distributor – Retail network. We have taken

out in the

on board very highly efficient business

crowd with

partners to spread our reach in every corner

its innovative

and make our products easily available.

features. The

In Conversation

face to face

To manage the network we have highly motivated team which takes care of sales, marketing & servicing. What is the core business strategy of your products? Besides our conventional business model, we have focus on business from corporate segment. Mobile and Mobile accessories can now be considered as necessity for everyone. Hence our products are widely accepted in corporate sector. Pharmaceutical companies, Service Providers, Gifting

“Barwa offers accessories to support your Mobile in various categories like Data Cable, Chargers, Earphones, Headphones, Speakers, Bluetooth and Power banks”

Companies and other small and medium companies which need products for gifting

product, besides delivering silver-toned

to their clients, approach us due to quality

sound and active noise cancellation,

and easy availability of products at very

also enables users to take a Selfie with

have seen remarkable growth year on year

competitive rates to fit their budgets.

a separate button provided. Like this we

in terms of market share and revenue on

We are also available on online platform,

have products across all categories, which

pan India basis. For the year 2018-19,

which helps us gain business as well as

have certain uniqueness.

Barwa is further aiming to expand to new

suffice our branding requirements.

states and make its presence in 5000 retail

We conduct lot of marketing activities

What has been the response for Barwa Moblink

outlets. Our vision is to make Barwa, the

to build our brand using various media

so far- consumer and business? It’s been

most trusted brand and keep on offering

like print, television, social media and do

almost 3 years, since we have launched

unique yet affordable mobile accessories

lots of promotion activities. All this has

and in this short period we have seen

in India. n

really helped us build and become known

rise and fall of many brands in the

www.mymobileindia.com

nijhum@mymobile.co.in

september 2018 | 91


In focus

snapshot

Samsung Galaxy Note 9

1

This is something we have waited for; the Note 9 has a massive 4,000mAh battery which is expected to last almost a day on a single charge.

2

The new Note member has the humungous amount of internal storage- 512GB with 8GB of RAM (the other option being 128GB with 6GB of RAM) which can let you store as much as you want.

3 4 92 | september 2018

The Galaxy Note 9 is also woven with the AI thread, with AI-driven processor (Exynos 9810 for India and Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 for other markets), AI-enabled camera features and AI for improved performance.

The proprietary S Pen is an improved one which (for the first time) has Bluetooth connectivity, can be used to take pictures and perform various tasks apart from just doodling away.

MYMOBILE


Keeping up with its tradition of adding new members to its high-end Galaxy Note series, South Korean tech major Samsung has very recently added the Galaxy Note 9 to the family. Deemed to be a powerful one, here we list down nine major features the smartphone possesses to be able to be called a successor:

The optics department is a highlight for the smartphone, with a duo at the back (12-megapixel each) and an 8-megapixel front snapper. The camera features which can attract are dual-aperture, Live Focus, AR Emoji, Super Slo-mo, Scene Optimizer, Flaw Detection, and HDR for low-light photography.

5

Among the various highlights, the Galaxy Note 9 (much like the Galaxy Note 8) has the QHD+ Infinity display spanning 6.4-inch, making way for really thin bezels for an edge-to-edge experience.

6

The Note 9 has support for wireless charging and Samsung’s DeX for a desktop experience.

There is IP68 certification for the Galaxy Note 9 to keep it protected from water and dust.

For security, we get a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner for the Galaxy Note 9.

In focus

snapshot

7 8 9

team@mymobile.co.in

www.mymobileindia.com

september 2018 | 93


In Conversation

face to face

“We strongly believe in the value for money concept” Jivi Mobiles is a leading manufacturer of handsets in India with an incredible range of smartphones and multimedia phones at an affordable price. After making its presence felt in rural/semi-urban market, the brand is now climbing up the urban ladder by launching mid-range smartphone series. Ramesh Kumar Raja had an interaction with Harsh Vardhan, Marketing Head, Jivi Mobiles, to discuss about India market opportunities, strategy of the company and service support. Excerpts: Jivi majorly plays into the budget smartphones

this year. The entire range will have specs

irrespective of the segment. We always

apart from the feature phones. Which has

which will compete with high-end phones

try to bring research and innovation into

been the dominant vertical for you? Our major

available in the market but the prices will

our product that has helped us gain the

share of revenues come from the feature

remain most competitive.

trust and confidence of our customers. Jivi

phone segment, we have been testing the

Mobiles started its journey by offering the

water in budget phone segment and now

How’s the brand Jivi positioned itself among

feature phones. We will be a part of digital

ready with all new range of smartphones

the Indian smartphone players as well as

revolution; our focus has also shifted

scheduled to be launched in September

from the dominating Chinese OEMs? Tier 2

towards smartphones. We will continue

and semi urban markets have always been

to strengthen our positioning in both the

the go-to-markets for Jivi mobiles. Our

segments.

major focus so far has been the feature phone segment. We strongly believe in

What is your investment plan and marketing

the value for money concept. Each of

strategy for India? We have already set up

our phones comes with the attributes of

a manufacturing unit in India and are also

providing quality product at the reasonable

continuously working towards bringing

price. We have our manufacturing unit in

innovative products in the country. Our

India and proudly boast the Make in India

presence in terms of feature phones is

concept.

quite strong and now we are planning to make a strong presence in smartphone

94 | september 2018

Which are the areas from where maximum

segment. We are evolving our positioning

demand is coming for Jivi phones? The major

from a rural/semi-urban phone maker to

demand comes from the semi urban and

urban as well.

tier 2/3 cities. Most contributing states

We are launching our mid-range

where market share of Jivi feature phones

smartphone series soon. Also, in terms of

are more than 10 per cent are Haryana,

geography, we have established a strong

UP, MP, Rajasthan, Bihar and the North

dealers’ network across the country that

East. We are working on expanding our

will help us in expanding to other parts of

distribution network in the South.

the country.

How would you prefer to be known; as

Online platforms have made it easier for

a smartphone brand or feature phone

brands to launch their products. How is

player? Jivi Mobiles believes in delivering

Jivi leveraging this trend? Untill now our

the quality and innovative products

major sales have come through the offline

MYMOBILE


centers you have pan India? This is the one

channels due to the segment and product

such aspect where Jivi Mobiles stands out “Our after sales technology and rise in the demand against the competitors. Our after sales service has enabled people of smartphones, we are creating service has enabled people trust us trust us more than ever. We an online sales channel for our more than ever. We have more than upcoming smartphone series. 800 service centers spread across have more than 800 service the country. Our customers don’t centers spread across the country. Has the demonetisation or GST have difficulty in locating the Our customers don’t have difficulty affected your sales last year as service centers as the after sales your large chunk of audiences support team actively resolve all the in locating the service centers as live in non-metro cities? Not issues promptly. the after sales support team really, rather GST has been a actively resolve all the boon for us. GST doesn’t have Jivi has partnered with both Bharti Airtel issues promptly” anything to do with metro and non metro. and Reliance Jio in the recent past. How portfolio we have. With the penetration of

has been your experience of bundling Jivi

The single tax helps the manufacturers.

devices with these telcos? These are a part

Our distribution network has got better due to this. You have Irrfan Khan as the brand

recall value has increased significantly. It

of sales strategy which telcos adopt in

is unfortunate that Irrfan is not well. We

order to provide a better value proposition

wish him a speedy recovery.

to the audience. We have been associated

ambassador. How is he helpful to the brand

In Conversation

face to face

with most of the leading telecom players

and its recall value? Our association with

After sales service remains an issue for

in past and most of the partnerships have

Irrfan has been a fruitful one. We have

majority of handset makers. What is the Jivi’s

been beneficial for all. n

been able to achieve the objectives. Our

approach to it? What are number of service

ramesh@mymobile.co.in

september 2018 | 91


In Conversation

face to face

“NoBroker.com eliminating brokers from the value chain of buying, selling or renting houses� Looking for a property to purchase or rent has mostly been an agonizing experience for Indians. The discovery process is riddled with complexities, unprincipled brokers, and information lop-sidedness. Although the recent proliferation of online property search platforms has brought some respite to the people, NoBroker.com is quite different in its approach and objective. The platform makes extensive use of machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence to solve the property search problems and has devised several innovative tools to facilitate a seamless, data-driven discovery and decision-making process. Ramesh Kumar Raja talked to Akhil Gupta, CTO & Co-Founder of NoBroker.com, to discuss more about the platform, its functionalities and benefits. Excerpts: The role of a middleman in the realty sector

eliminating brokers from the value

prospective properties to home-seekers;

is very instrumental in connecting house

chain with the use of AI and machine

these properties are curated keeping in

owners and seekers, although it comes

learning algorithms to deliver massive

mind the specific needs of every user. All

with some brokerage charge which may be

cost savings. The platform is addressing

this is achieved without the need to pay

hefty enough to make sometimes. In such a

the issues of information asymmetry by

exorbitant brokerage, thus smoothening

scenario, what makes NoBroker.com unique

showing real-time price estimates on

the process of buying/selling/renting

in facilitating services? The real estate

houses.

sector is crippled by discrepancies such as lack of access to adequate information

What is the current user base of NoBroker

regarding availability of properties and

and how many customers does it add every

lack of transparency at each step of

month? NoBroker.com is adding 1.8

the value-chain. Middlemen have been

lakh customers on a monthly basis and

instrumental so far as there is asymmetry

witnessing 10 lakh customer connections

of information with regard to available

every month. In the last financial year,

properties. They show home-seekers the

NoBroker helped more than 1.05 lakh

slow-moving properties first with little

people find houses through its platform

understanding of what the client is looking

which led to a saving of INR 650 crores

for. There’s no end to the harassment

in brokerage. Also, the company has

caused to home-seekers who are asked to

experienced 300% growth in customers

revert almost immediately and finalize the property. Their primary motivation is their own financial gain. NoBroker.com is not only making the process of searching for a house easier and more transparent, but also

96 | september 2018

in the last two years.


The mobile application launched by you

artificial intelligence to solve the property

recently might have attracted more traffic.

search problems and has devised several

Can you please tell us more about the

innovative tools to facilitate a seamless,

app and the services it has simplified?

data-driven discovery and decision-

NoBrokerHOOD app is a tech-enabled

making process.

visitor and community management

Transit & Liveability Score helps users

system aimed at making life more

to gauge the connectivity of a property to

convenient and secure for residents of

essential facilities, while Rent-O-Meter

housing societies and townships starting

uses machine learning to predict current

with Bangalore, Mumbai, and Gurgaon.

rent prices, based on the attributes of the

NoBroker.com aims to add at least 1 lakh

property listed and the historical data of

residential communities across India

the property type and locality. NoBroker.

“NoBroker.com com also offers Life Score, an AI-powered The constant movement of savings report which helps users to is adding 1.8 lakh customers service staff (maids, drivers, calculate the savings they can on a monthly basis and witnessing courier services, delivery unlock in terms of time, money, 10 lakh customer connections every personnel, etc.) and guests and environmental impact make security management by staying at the right place. month. In the last financial year, a hassle. While most Enabling hassle-free and NoBroker helped more than 1.05 lakh apartment buildings and swift discovery is a key focus people find houses through its platform residential complexes do area for NoBroker.com. Its have security measures in Property Discovery Algorithm which led to a saving of INR 650 crores in place, they are either outdated utilizes machine learning to brokerage. Also, the company or rely heavily on manual sort, select, and list properties, has experienced 300% growth registration. Large societies which are then ranked according render human staff inadequate to their Quality Score, Liveability in customers in the last for day to day tasks. Further, such Score and Commutability Score. It uses two years” inadequate management of visitor entry a hybrid collaborative filtering algorithm to onboard by 2020.

also leads to day-to-day challenges for

recommend the most relevant properties

residents, such as unauthorized visitor

accessible anytime and anywhere – and

to home seekers, and also employs a

entries, vehicle parking and record of

automates staff entry through biometric

Decay Algorithm to ensure that only fresh

service staff attendance. Moreover,

processes.

and available properties are listed in the

residents are required to respond to calls

search results. Interested users are also

from the society gate to authorize entry

Please tell us about the technology being

given real-time demand notifications

which might be troublesome and difficult

used and what upgradation we are going

about a particular property, in addition to

if people are not available.

to see, especially in wake of Artificial

instant notifications when a new property

It is this need-gap that the

Intelligence and Machine Learning?

matching their search parameters is

NoBrokerHOOD app is addressing

Searching for a property to buy or rent

activated on the platform. NoBroker.com

through its unique tech-led approach. The

has largely been a painful experience for

also helps homeowners in determining

platform offers a plethora of services and

Indians. The discovery process is riddled

the ideal time to let out a property through

features which enable users to manage

with complications, unscrupulous brokers,

its Property Age Algorithm.

multiple activities inside residential

and information asymmetry. The recent

buildings, housing societies, and gated

proliferation of online property search

How many installs has the NoBrokerHOOD

communities, ranging from finding

platforms has done little to change this,

app amassed till date and what is its

domestic help to monitoring visitor

but NoBroker.com has been making major

retention rate on mobile phones? Since

entry and pre-authorizing guest visits

waves for breaking through the clutter

it was launched more recently, within a

with an OTP. It also further strengthens

and transforming the space through

very short span of time, NoBrokerHOOD

the safety aspect by keeping visual and

technology. The platform makes extensive

has on-boarded around 25 societies in

digital records of all entries and exits –

use of machine learning algorithms and

Bangalore, Mumbai and Gurgaon with

www.mymobileindia.com

In Conversation

face to face

september 2018 | 97


In Conversation

face to face 7.5k app downloads. With this launch, NoBroker.com aims to onboard at least 1 lakh residential communities across India by 2020. What is your monetization model and how do you manage fund? NoBroker.com generates revenue through its multiple streams such as packers & movers, assisting with rental agreement services and house

Since the real estate sector has ballooned “NoBroker.com to a gigantic proportion, what are your end-to-end services for all household works on a fremium future plans to gain traction from needs. It works on a fremium business model. The platform different regions of India? NoBroker. business model. The platform com is currently present across suggests nine properties for free suggests nine properties for free five Indian cities: Bangalore, to its customers before charging to its customers before charging Chennai, Mumbai, Pune and for a minimal subscription. for a minimal subscription. There is Gurugram. Focusing more on There is subscription model business depth than on spread, subscription model for owners as well for owners as well who can sit the platform plans to consolidate and relax while NoBroker.com who can sit and relax while NoBroker. its presence within these cities relationship manager takes com relationship manager takes to solve the multiple issues care of the entire on-boarding faced by home-seekers, such as care of the entire onprocess. those related to rent agreement, boarding process” amongst others. NoBroker.com has also cleaning, in addition to an array of other

What value addition you are going to

associated with leading property

incorporate into the platform to make things easier for housing societies? Diving deeper

of these facilities to the platform,

into the residential real estate market,

NoBroker has plans to add more value-

we realized the need for a solution

added services and become the one-

which could make home-stay safer and

stop-solution for end-to-end household

convenient. Technology has the capability

requirements.

to add convenience and comfort and cut

Housing societies have been facing so

down dependency on humans which is

many day today issues like the constant

the core premise of our company.

movement of service staff (maids, drivers,

NoBroker.com has incorporated

courier services, delivery personnel, etc.)

services like rent agreement which

and guests. Moreover, most apartment

is ensuring comfort for end-users by getting

buildings and residential complexes have

the license (rent) agreement work done

either outdated systems or rely on heavy

at home. The company has also initiated

manual registration dairies. Additionally,

partnerships to solve customers’ shifting

such inadequate management of visitor

woes and help the users with services

entry also leads to day-to-day challenges

post the shift. Additionally, the company

for residents, such as unauthorized visitor

keeps publishing blogs on the platform’s

entries/vehicle parking and maintaining

blog section to help people understand

service staff attendance. NoBroker.com’s

the real estate space through access

new product NoBrokerHOOD is addressing

to unique solutions and guidance with a

all these society issues for a hassle-free

no language barrier. After additions

residential experience.

98 | september 2018

developers/builders, which will help the company understand the behavior of customers in each city and accordingly devise tech-led solutions which cater to their particular needs. The company plans to expand to more cities as well. Do you have any plan to make it global? If yes, which country will be your top choice to do the business? NoBroker.com would look to expand the company’s footprint wherever a similar problem exists. n

ramesh@mymobile.co.in

MYMOBILE


“Our newly announced M-70 chipset integrated with a 5G modem will support both standalone and nonstandalone networks” As 5G becoming increasingly popular to industrial businesses and digitalization, the revenue from the 5G-enabled digitization in India is expected to reach $25.9 billion by 2026. In future, millions of smartphone apps will be joined by billions of IoT devices, thus forcing wireless networks to grip for more airwaves. Couple of weeks back, at the 5G Indian Leadership Summit key firms including global chipset maker MediaTek discussed about the roadmap for 5G deployment, India’s focus on 5G transitions and making the market suitable for 5G adoption. Nijhum Rudra spoke to Kuldeep Malik, Country Head Corporate Sales BD- India of MediaTek about the various challenges in implementing the early adoption of 5G and how MediaTek as a chipset manufacturer is playing its role. What are the various challenges in

and will improve the bandwidth optimum

announced a new chipset called M-70

implementing early adoption of 5G and

usage-the performance. 5G technology is

integrated with a 5G modem will support

MediaTek as a chipset manufacturer

not only about smartphones or tablets, but

both standalone and non-standalone.

playing a pivotal role in implementing

also related to iOT. So, it’s a different kind

the same? The biggest challenge is the

of a device ecosystem within the 5G and

Are you in anyways planning to control

requirement to buy top-notch spectrum

also you need the high bandwidth usage for

call drops? This call drop is not related

and most of the brands are promoted

e.g. smart card driving, virtual surgeries,

to chipset and more about operator

into one device. Therefore, having a truly

virtual reality. You need a different way

deployment. When an operator always

global 5G technology is going to be a

of handling iOT and smartphone device.

moves from 3G to 4G then there are

difficult task. In today’s ecosystem it is

We as a MediaTek investing massively

some handover issues in the initial time

going to be a chicken-egg story where

in 5G NR and there are two parts of it,

frame. In 4G if you have a volte call and

the operators expect the device with the

Standalone and Non-standalone. We as

consistent data usage, the drop call rate is

technology should appear first, while the

a MediaTek investing massively in 5G NR

very less because you are in a VoLTE call,

device ecosystem assumes the opposite

and there are two parts of it, Standalone

which are data oriented calls.

scenario. Once, the investment is done

and Non-standalone. The latter means

by them including the trial roll outs,

you need to have 4G-5G together and

Are we expecting your 5G chipsets by

labs, testing, and certification then the

the former means pure. In computex we

December 2019? In 2019, the early

chipset manufacturer can come together

deployment will start from the US, Korea

for further testing. 5G is under a pre-

and by middle of 2019 in Japan. By

initial development and will have a new

the end of that year, the deployment is

specification known as 5G New Radio (5G

expected to reach Europe and China.

NR), a completely new air interface being

MediaTek is currently working with all

developed for 5G.

the operators and equipment vendors like

In Conversation

face to face

Huawei with whom we are also carrying out What’s the concept of 5G New Radio (5G NR)

the testing. We have been able to achieve

and it’s USPs? The USP of this technology

5Gigabits speed with M70 chipset. With

is supporting millimeter wave. Now, the

Docomo, we have done certain cell-side

key question is why do people need 5G?

optimization also. n nijhum@mymobile.co.in

The technology will escalate latency, scale,

september 2018 | 99


Guest Column

by Invitation

The Rise of Budget Smartphones An insight into the phenomenon!

By Anis Rahman

A

century ago the concept of

Rubin, the journey to communication

The last decade has shown phenomenal

telecommunication was a far-

devices and their outreach to the public

growth in the terms of mobile technology

sighted idea. But the evolution

has been a magnificent story in itself.

development, whether it was the

of science and development

With the introduction of smartphones in

introduction of budget smartphones or

of technology made it possible that every

the market, technology took new turns

better mobile and internet networks.

corner of the world is connected to the

and the smartphones and mobile devices

By 2020, the number of mobile users

rest with mobile telephones and devices.

affordable only for the affluent class are

across the world is speculated to cross

From Graham Bell to Steve Jobs and Andy

now truly in a common man’s reach.

the 5 billion mark and a greater share of

88 | august 2018

MYMOBILE


that would be of smartphone users. The

the latest technologies and advanced

the mass. The recent leap was made by

smartphone penetration rate is increasing

features, today’s market competition has

the launch of Reliance Jio in 2016 which

alongside the internet penetration rate

narrowed down to the pricing mainly.

swept away the market by offering data

and, currently hovering around 36% of

This is a high time when budget

access over 4G on very economical prices

the world’s population in 2018. India has

smartphones are playing a big role in

coupled with budget smartphones. This

arisen as the country with second largest

the communication industry as over 70

boosted the smartphone industry in a very

smartphone users after China, and this

million people started using a smartphone

short time and the number of smartphone

projects the enormous growth prospects

for the first time in 2017 only, as per a

users in India increased by leaps and

of business future in Indian smartphone

recent survey. Although the country is

bounds.

industry.

among one of the largest markets in the

To keep their stronghold in the market,

However, the dilemma of a developing

world, the disorganized market structure

other telecom companies too came up

nation is to avail the facility to the larger

has hindered the potential growth to some

with competitive pricing and lucrative

society segment. In India, the major

extent. In such a scenario, the emergence

offers, and the better network connectivity

population resides in tier II and tier III cities

of small markets and new smartphone

in rural and semi-urban areas also added

and the rural areas, where people have an

to the benefit. People have the exposure

average disposable income. Most of these

to internet and telecommunication is

Guest Column

by invitation

making their lives easier and better. “A number of look for affordable smartphones. These days, data is available at programs initiated by the This particular requirement has negligible cost from network government and entry of private created altogether a new segment operators to increase their in the market as ‘Budget customer base, which has players owing to the globalization Smartphones’. additionally helped the paved the path of development for Currently, there are nearly larger population segment 400 million smartphone with less disposable smartphones. As most of the companies users in the country and the income to opt for budget started coming up with the latest number will grow even higher. smartphones. The overall technologies and advanced features, The demand needs to be met Purchase Power Parity in time and many players have (PPP) improvement in today’s market competition has entered the market including the recent time has also narrowed down to the the industry leaders with their helped in the popularity of pricing mainly” exclusive range of budget smartphones. budget smartphones and people people under some financial constraints

These budget smartphones are not only

are migrating from Feature Phones to

reasonably inexpensive but also come

Feature Rich Smart Phones.

with almost all features of a high-end

companies

playing a crucial

The combined effort of smartphone

smartphone. From mobile internet to

role in taking the public outreach to a

companies and network operators has led

camera quality, the variety of budget

higher level.

to the adoption of budget smartphones in

smartphones gives a tough competition

are

the major part of the country. In coming

to prevailing top models of smartphones.

A Paradigm Shift

In the year 2011, there were only around

A different vertical of the communication

global leader in the smartphone industry

10 million mobiles shipped to India

industry has specifically boosted the

segment and this serves a great prospect

which showed a very small exposure

growth of budget smartphone market

for smartphone companies to cater to their

to smartphones in the public. With the

and that is the telecom network providing

customers with latest feature smartphones

recent economic and political changes,

companies. Earlier the internet and

within their budget. The path is bright and

the scenario has completely changed.

calling facilities were quite expensive.

the scope of growth is large for budget

A number of programs initiated by the

Later after certain upgrades by TRAI

smartphones. n

government and entry of private players

(Telecom Regulatory Authority of India),

owing to the globalization paved the path

the call rates dropped. Furthermore, the

of development for smartphones. As most

introduction of 3G, 4G, and VoLTE paved

of the companies started coming up with

the path for affordable internet facility to

www.mymobileindia.com

years, India is speculated to grow as a

The author is Vice President, Reach Mobile. The company has the motto of bringing smartphones and feature phones within everyone’s reach.

september 2018 | 101


Trendz

market insight

India PC Market Comes Alive! Yearly growth driven by strong notebook demand in Q2

I

ndia’s traditional PC market

to school offers with extended warranties,

payment options. Vendors launched

shipments posted a 28.1 percent

cashback offers, and no-cost monthly

exclusive models for both online and offline

growth year-on-year with shipments

channels too.

totalling 2.25 million units in the

“Spending on convertibles and

second quarter of 2018, according to

ultraslim notebooks is increasing due to

IDC India’s Quarterly Personal Computing

the popularity of lighter form factors that

Devices Tracker. According to IDC, the high

facilitate mobility,” says Nishant Bansal,

growth can be partially attributed to the fact

Research Manager, PC, IDC India.

that 2017 Q2 was heavily impacted by the

The commercial PC market grew 23.3

then-upcoming GST implementation.

percent to reach 1.17 million units. This

Notebooks contributed to 61 percent

was driven by both new and replacement

of the overall India traditional PC market

demand from enterprises and SMBs.

with a 45.2 percent year-on-year growth as demand continued across both the consumer and commercial segments. This was mainly driven by ultraslim notebooks, which now account for 20 percent of overall notebooks compared to 11 percent a year ago.

Segment Highlights Consumer PCs grew 33.7 percent to 1.09 million units, mainly because of promotions and new product offerings with updated specifications and aesthetically pleasing designs. Vendors targeted different use cases and provided schemes such as back

102 | september 2018

“Spending on convertibles and ultraslim notebooks is increasing due to the popularity of lighter form factors that facilitate mobility” – Nishant Bansal, Research Manager, PC, IDC India

Public sector demand was driven by the execution of several projects in education and government sector. “Business sentiment has been improving over the settling of reforms, leading to increased demand from medium and small enterprises across verticals like manufacturing, BFSI, and pharmaceuticals as they look to expand their businesses and technology capabilities,” adds Bansal.

Top 3 Company Highlights HP Inc: HP Inc. maintained its leadership

MYMOBILE


on-quarter. On the back of brand pull and

India PC by Product Category, 2018Q2

aggressive pricing, Lenovo managed to remain largely flat in the consumer PC market in 2018Q2. On the commercial side, incremental demand from global accounts and small-medium enterprises contributed to Lenovo’s commercial volumes. However, the company declined by 33.2 percent

Trendz

market insight

quarter-on-quarter due to the lack of execution of manifesto projects.

India PC Market Forecast IDC anticipates the overall traditional India PC market to grow sequentially in Q3 2018 due to seasonality and aggressive efforts from ecosystem players to meet

Source : IDC 2018

the demand. “The consumer market is

with a market share of 31.6 percent in

due to a high decibel marketing campaign

2018Q2, with a growth of 6.1 percent

during the annual Indian Premier League

quarter-on-quarter and 19.8 percent year-

cricket season. The commercial business

on-year growth. HP Inc.’s convertibles

for HP Inc. posted a 6.7 percent quarter-on-

and ultraslim notebooks performed well i

quarter growth on the back of a few key wins

n large format retail and exclusive stores

in the education sector, as well as refresh demand across key enterprise accounts from the IT/ITES and BFSI verticals. Dell Inc: Dell Inc. retained

expected to take-off in the coming quarter as consumer confidence on discretionary spending should remain positive during the upcoming festival season,” said Navkendar Singh, Associate Research Director, IDC India. Commercial spending due to both new

Feature Phone Market Share Q1, 2017 & Q1 2018

the second position with a 23.7 percent market share in 2018Q2; this was a year-on-year growth of 71.3 percent and a quarter-onquarter decline of 2.2 percent.

“The consumer market is expected to take-off in the coming quarter as consumer confidence on discretionary spending should remain positive during the upcoming festival season” – Navkendar Singh, Associate Research Director, IDC India

www.mymobileindia.com

Although the company declined 6.3 percent over the last quarter in the consumer business, its ultraslim notebooks registered a double-digit growth as the company continued its focus on high-end devices. Dell Inc.’s commercial business grew

Source : IDC India

1.2 percent quarter-on-quarter due to its increased focus on a solutioncentric approach, selling both hardware and

and refresh demand by large and medium

services as a bundle for medium and large

enterprises is expected to continue, led by

businesses in the BFSI, PSU, and IT/ITeS

the education, BFSI, and IT/ITeS sectors.

sectors.

The public sector is also expected to utilize

Lenovo: Lenovo remained in the third

allocated budgets for the new financial

position, with a market share of 18.0

year, continuing with the execution of state

percent with a 36.0 percent growth year-on-

manifesto projects. n

year and a decline of 20.6 percent quarter-

team@mymobile.co.in

september 2018 | 103


Great Deals

mobilesensex

bazaar bargain Nokia 6.1 (4GB RAM) The Nokia 6.1 sports a 5.5-inch full HD display with 1080x1920 pixel resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio. The display of the smartphone is protected by Gorilla Glass 3. The device is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor and runs Android 8.0 Oreo operating system. Users can further expand the storage by adding a microSD card. The smartphone is backed by a 3,000mAh battery and comes equipped with a 16MP rear camera with LED flash. The front of the device houses an 8MP camera for selfies. On the connectivity front, the smartphone offers 4G, VoLTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and USB Type C. n

Launched at: INR 9,999 Current Price: INR 9,499

Honor 7C (3GB RAM)

Launched at: INR 18,999 Current Price: INR 17,499

104 | september 2018

Honor 7C adorns a 5.99-inch HD+ FullView 2.5D curved glass display with a resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18:9. The smartphone runs 1.8GHz octa-core Snapdragon 450 SoC based on 14nm processor. It has 32GB of internal storage which can be expanded up to 256GB. It runs Android 8.0 Oreo topped with EMUI 8.0. There is a fingerprint sensor at its rear and Face Unlock feature. It bestows a dual-camera setup at its rear. This camera comprises a 13MP primary sensor and a 2MP secondary sensor. There is an 8MP selfie camera at the front. It gets fuel from a 3,000mAh battery. n

MYMOBILE


Great Deals

mobilesensex

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 The Galaxy Note 8 features a 6.3-inch QHD+ Super AMOLED Infinity display with a screen resolution of 2960 x 1440 pixels. It is powered by Exynos 8895 chipset and has 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage which is expandable up to 512GB. This is the first Samsung smartphone that comes loaded with a dual-camera setup. The dual rear cameras comprise two 12-megapixel sensors. For the front, there is an 8-megapixel shooter. The phone runs on Android 8.0 Oreo and is backed by a 3,300mAh battery. On the connectivity front, you get 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11ac, VHT80 MU-MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, USB Type-C, NFC, MST and hybrid dual-SIM. n

Launched at: INR 18,990 Current Price: INR 16,990

Vivo V9 Youth Vivo V9 Youth comes loaded with a 6.3-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with a screen resolution of 2280 x 1080 pixels. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 octa-core processor clocked at 1.8GHz. The phone is backed by 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage which is expandable up to 256GB. It features dual rear cameras with a combination of 16-megapixel and 2-megapixel sensors along with LED flash. For the front, there is a 16-megapixel shooter. The device runs Android 8.1 Oreo with company’s own FunTouch OS 4.0 running on top of it. It is backed by a 3,260mAh battery with fast charging support. n team@mymobile.co.in Launched at: INR 67,900 Current Price: INR 55,900

www.mymobileindia.com

(Note: Prices are those available at prominent dealers, online and/or offline. They may not reflect official price reductions)

september 2018 | 105


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MY GUIDE While My Mobile tries to ensure accuracy in the pricing and features any discrepancies that may emerge are beyond our control. Please check with the retailer about features of the phone before buying. Feel free to update us.

(Last updated on Aug 22, 2018)

Disclaimer : The prices quoted in My Guide are the Best Buy prices quoted by the respective companies, ex-Delhi. The prices may vary on account of promotional schemes or dealer discretion.

Devices featured in the My Guide have been segregated into different categories based on price and colour-coded as:

Up to Rs. 2,499 Rs. 2,500 – Rs. 5,999 Rs. 6,000 – Rs. 9,999 Rs.10,000 – Rs. 14,999 Rs.15,000 – Rs. 19,999 Rs. 20,000 – Rs. 29,999 RS. 30,000 and above. Tablets

Spreadtrum—ST Intel Atom—IA Qualcomm Snapdragon—QS MediaTek—MT MediaTek Helio—MTH


MYGUIDE UP TO RS. 2,499

UP TO RS. 2,499

MODELS

UP TO RS. 2,499

FOX MOBILES

PARAMETERS

HITECH

BigDaddy V2

Bolt FX241

Champ FX240

F2 Sultan

24 Karat

Gama

Pride 350

2.8-inch QVGA

2.4-inch QVGA

2.4-inch QVGA

2.4-inch QVGA

2.4-inch QVGA

2.4-inch QVGA

2.8 inch

Dimension (mm)

137x58x13.3

127x52x12

125.4x52.5x12.2

125x53.50x14.3

123.7x51.9x12.2

116.5x50.5x15.3

131 x 58 x 10.2

Weight (grams)

137

96

87

117

91

98

82

Model Display (inches/res)

Processor/RAM Operating system

312MHz

312MHz

312MHz

312MHz

312MHz

312MHz

Spreadtrum 6531DA/NA

Nucleus RTOS

Nucleus RTOS

Nucleus RTOS

Nucleus RTOS

Nucleus RTOS

Nucleus RTOS

Nucleus

32MB/32MB/32GB 32MB/32MB/32GB 32MB/32MB/32GB 32MB/32MB/32GB 32MB/32MB/32GB 32MB/32MB/32GB

Storage/Expandable

32+32MB

Rear/Front Camera

VGA

VGA

VGA

VGA

VGA

VGA

1.3 MP/NA

Battery (mAh)

3,600

1,800

1,800

2,500

1,500

2,500

1,800

2G/3G/4G

Yes/No/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/No/No

Dual SIM

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes

Music Player/FM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Launch

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

Launched

1,799

1,549

1,299

1,799

1,799

1,299

1,549

Price Rs.

UP TO RS. 2,499

UP TO RS. 2,499

MODELS

UP TO RS. 2,499

I-SMART

PARAMETERS

LEPHONE

Model

103

102 Cute

K15

K10

K1

K5

K11

Display (inches/res)

1.8

1.8

1.8

2.4

1.8

2.4

1.8

Dimension (mm)

112x46.5x13.5

112x46.5x13.5

121x51.5x13.3

123.5x52x15

112x46.5x13.9

112x46.5x13.9

121x51.5x13.3

Weight (grams)

60

60

89

98

64

86

89

Processor/RAM

Speadtrum 6531da

Speadtrum6533

312MHz /32MB

312MHz /32MB

312MHz /32MB

312MHz /32MB

312MHz /32MB

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

32+32MB

32+32MB

32MB / 32GB

32MB / 32GB

32MB / 32GB

32MB / 32GB

32MB / 32GB

0.8/NA

0.8/NA

Digital Camera

Digital Camera

Digital Camera

Digital Camera

Digital Camera

1,000

850

1000

1800

1000

1450

1,850

2G/3G/4G

Yes/No/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/No/No

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

Music Player/FM

Yes

Yes

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

Launched

Launched

Launched

Launched

Launched

Launched

Launched

650

684

1,099

1,099

1,050

1,099

999

Operating system Storage/Expandable Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Launch Price Rs.

108 I SEPTEMBER 2018

MYMOBILE


MYGUIDE UP TO RS. 2,499

Rs. 2,500 – Rs. 5,999

MODELS

Rs. 2,500 – Rs. 5,999

LEPHONE

PARAMETERS

HITECH

INTEX

I-SMART

Model

K7

Sleek 9

Amaze S9

Air A8

Aqua Classic 2

is-59

i1-Mini

Display (inches/res)

2.4

2.4

5

5.0/ 540 x 960

5/480/854

5/854x480

4.5/854x480

Dimension (mm)

100 x 42 x 13.4

100 x 42 x 13.4

140 x 66.88 x 9.65

140.2 x 72.4 x 8.8

145.2x72.6x10.9

143.5x73.6x9.5

135.2x66x10.8

Weight (grams)

112

90

150

152

120

109

312MHz /32MB

312MHz /32MB

ST 7731/512MB

ST 7731/1GB

qcta-core/1GB

1.2GHz, quad-core/1GB

1.3Ghz quadcore/512MB

NA

NA

5.1 Lollipop

5.2 Lollipop

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.2

32MB / 32GB

32MB / 32GB

4GB/32GB

8GB/32GB

8GB/32GB

8GB/32GB

4GB/32GB

Digital Camera

Digital Camera

5MP/2MP

8MP/2MP

5MP/2MP

5MP/2MP

5MP/2MP

2,500

800

1,400

2,000

2200

2,200

2,000

2G/3G/4G

Yes/No/No

Yes/No/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

YES

YES

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Music Player/FM

YES

YES

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes

Yes

Launched

Launched

-

-

Launched

Launched

1,199

1,499

2,999

4,999

2,999

3,199

Processor/RAM Operating system Storage/Expandable Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Launch Price Rs.

Rs. 2,500 – Rs. 5,999

Rs. 2,500 – Rs. 5,999

MODELS

Rs. 2,500 – Rs. 5,999

4,600

ITEL

PARAMETERS

Model

MICROMAX

Power Pro it1410 Canvas Juice 3 Q393

M-TECH

Canvas Spark 3

Canvas Bolt Selfie

EROS PLUS

TURBO 4G

TEZ 4G

4/ 800 x 480

5.0/720 x 1280

5.5/720x1280

4.5/854x480

5 FWVGA TN

5 FWVGA TN

5 FWVGA IPS

Dimension (mm)

124x64.7x12.2

NA

-

-

144.9x73.3x9.5

146.6x73.6x11.5

144x72.5x8.8

Weight (grams)

-

NA

-

-

142

142

171

Processor/RAM

Dual core, 1.3 GHz/512MB

MT6580/2GB

quad-core/1GB

MTK6735/1GB

Operating system

Android4.4

Android 5.1

Android 5.1

Android 5.1

Android Nougat

Android Nougat

Android Nougat

Storage/Expandable

8GB/32GB

8GB/32GB

8GB/32GB

8GB/32GB

1GB/8GB/64GB

1GB/8GB/64GB

1GB/8GB/64GB

2.0MP/0.3MP

8MP/2MP

8MP/5MP

5MP/5MP

0.3MP/5MP

0.3MP/5MP

2MP/5MP

2,800

4,000

2,500

1,750

2,000

2,000

2,400

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

May, 2016

NA

March, 2016

May, 2016

November, 2017

August, 2017

August, 2017

3,339

4,171

4,848

4,849

4,299

4,699

4,799

Display (inches/res)

Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

www.mymobileindia.com

1.3GHz Quad Core 1.3GHz Quad Core 1.3GHz Quad Core

SEPTEMBER 2018 I 109


MYGUIDE Rs. 2,500 – Rs. 5,999

Rs. 2,500 – Rs. 5,999

MODELS

Rs. 2,500 – Rs. 5,999

M-TECH

VIDEOCON

EROS 4G

Delite11

Astra Metal 4G

Astra Colors 4G

Astra NXT+

Zi-34

Astra Prism

Display (inches/res)

5 FWVGA IPS

5/1280x720

5/480X854

5/720X1280

4 inch

3.5 inch

5 inch

Dimension (mm)

72.4x142.7x9.3

146.66X74.3X10.52

143.8X73.3X10.4

142.9X71.65X11

125.4X64.2X13

116.2X61.4X11.3

134.4X67X10.1

Weight (grams)

136

151

171

182

130

108

119

1.3GHz Quad Core

Quad-core/1GB

1.5Ghz Quadcore ARM

Spreadtrum

Operating system

Android Nougat

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 4.4.2

Android 6.0

Storage/Expandable

1GB/8GB/64GB

8GB/32GB

1GB/8GB

1GB/8GB

1GB/8GB

256 MB/512 MB

512 MB/4GB

0.3MP/5MP

5MP/2MP

5MP/2MP

5MP/5MP

2MP/0.3MP

0.3MP/ 0.3MP

0.3MP/2MP

2,000

3,000

3,000

4,000

2,000

1,200

1,700

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/No

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

October, 2017

NA

Launched

Launched

Launched

Launched

Launched

4,999

5,840

5,553

6,499

3,703

2,993

3,813

PARAMETERS

Model

Processor/RAM

Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

ZIOX

512MB+4GB(DDR2) 2xCortex-A7,32bit

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

MODELS

Rs. 2,500 – Rs. 5,999

1.2 GHz Quadcore

ZIOX

PARAMETERS

ASUS

CELKON

CENTRIC

Zenfone Max

Q550

L3

5.5/720 x 1280

5.5/ 720 x 1280

5.0/720 x 1280

5 HD IPS

135x68x10.2

152.5 x 77.2 x 3.9

156 x 77.5 x 10.55

145.6 x 71.8 x 8

141x70.5x8.6

130

170

202

149

143

QS 410/2GB

QS 615/ 2GB, 3GB

Broadcom/2GB

1.3GHz Quad Core

Astra Zing

Astra NXT Pro

Astra Blaze

4 inch

4 inch

4.5/480x854

Dimension (mm)

124X64X10.1

123.5x64.2x10.5

Weight (grams)

105

111

Processor/RAM

1.2 GHz Quadcore

Model Display (inches/res)

Quad-core A7MP 1.3GHz Quad-Core

Zenfone 2 Laser ZE550KL

Operating system

Android 6.0

Android 7

Android 7

Android 5.0

Android 6.0

Android Kitkat 4.4.2

Android Nougat

Storage/Expandable

512MB/4GB

1GB/8GB

1GB/8GB

16GB/128GB

16GB/32GB, 64GB

16GB/32GB

2GB/16GB/256GB

Rear/Front Camera

0.3MP/2MP

2MP/0.3MP

0.3MP/2MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

8MP/2MP

13MP/5MP

1,400

1,900

2,000

3,000

5,000

2,500

3,050

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Music Player/FM

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Launched

Launched

Launched

August, 2015

May, 2016

2,014

January, 2018

3,653

3,899

4,499

9,299

9,325/ 12,999

7,499

6,749

Battery (mAh)

Launch Price Rs.

110 I SEPTEMBER 2018

MYMOBILE


MYGUIDE RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

MODELS

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

COMIO

PARAMETERS

COOLPAD

C1

C2

S1

P1

Note 3

Note 3s

Note 5 Lite

5 HD IPS

5 HD IPS

5.2 HD IPS

5.5 HD IPS

5.5/720 x 1280

5.5/1920x1080

5/1280X970

Dimension (mm)

143.5X71.3X9.35

144X71.6X9.9

149X72.6X7.9

152.85X76.14X9.2

152 x 77 x 9

154.5x77x8.6

145.3X72.3X8.7

Weight (grams)

175

165

159

178

150

167

148

MT6753/3GB

octa-core/3GB

MT6735/3GB

Model Display (inches/res)

Processor/RAM

1.3GHz Quad Core 1.3GHz Quad Core 1.3GHz Quad Core 1.3GHz Quad Core Android Nougat

Android Nougat

Android Nougat

Android Nougat

Android 5.1

Android6.0

Android6.0

Storage/Expandable

1GB/32GB

2GB/16GB

2GB/32GB

3GB/32GB

16GB/64GB

32GB/32GB

16GB

Rear/Front Camera

8MP/5MP

8MP/8MP

13MP/8MP

13MP/8MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/8MP

2,200

4,000

2,700

5,000

3,000

2,500

2,500

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

August, 2017

September, 2017

August, 2017

August, 2017

October, 2015

November,2016

March, 2017

5,999

7,199

8,999

9,999

8,999

9,999

8,199

Operating system

Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

MODELS

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

PARAMETERS

DAZEN

HONOR

HITECH

IN-FOCUS

6A

Honor Holly 3

Honor Holly 2 Plus

Air A9

M 350 (16GB)

M680

M810

Display (inches/res)

5.7/1440x720

5.5/1920x1080

4.8/720 x 1280

5.0-inch, 720 x 1280

5.0/720 x 1280

5.5/720x1280

5.5/1080x1920

Dimension (mm)

156.9x72.9x8.2

NA

143.1 x 71.8 x 9.7

140.2 x 72.4 x 8.8

151 x 71.5 x 10.6

156 x 76.8 x 7.25

153.70 x 76.20 x 6.99

Weight (grams)

170

NA

160

152

146

158

155

Processor/RAM

1.3GHz Quad Core

Kirin 620/2GB

MT6735P /2GB

MT 3735M/2GB

MT6732/2GB

MT 6753/2GB

QS 801/ 2GB

Android 7.0

Android 6.0

Android 5.1.1

Android 5.1

Android 4.4.2

Android 5.1

Android 5.0

Storage/Expandable

3GB/32GB/128GB

16GB/128GB

16GB/128GB

16GB/32GB

16GB/64GB

16GB/32GB

16GB/64GB

Rear/Front Camera

13MP+0.3MP/5MP

13MP/8MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/8MP

8MP/8MP

13MP/13MP

13MP/5MP

3,000

3,100

4,000

3,500

2,500

2,600

2,600

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

NA

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Music Player/FM

Yes

NA

Yes/-

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Launched

October, 2016

February, 2016

-

June, 2015

December, 2015

July, 2015

7,999

9,999

8,499

6,999

6,999

8,999

9,999

Model

Operating system

Battery (mAh)

Launch Price Rs.

www.mymobileindia.com

SEPTEMBER 2018 I 111


MYGUIDE RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

MODELS

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

INTEX

PARAMETERS

Aqua S7

Model

Aqua Secure

I-SMART Aqua View

IS-57i

IS-56i HD Mercury V6

ITEL Ultra 50

Wish it1512

5/720x1280

4.5/ 480 x 854

5/ 720 x 1280

5/HD IPS, MiraVision, 5.0-inch/480 x 854 5.0-inch/720 x 1280 cast screen

Dimension (mm)

142.5x72.5x8.7

133.5 x 66.5 x 9.4

124 x 64 x 10.3

146.72 x 72.85 x 8.73 143.54 x 71.55 x 8.52 148.24X72.56X11.44

143x72x8.65

Weight (grams)

150

130

146

155

170

186

-

Processor/RAM

Quad core/3GB

MTK6735M/ 1GB

MTK6735P/ 1GB

Quad Core/1 GB

Quad Core/1 GB

1.3GHz Quad Core

Quad core/1GB

Operating system

Android 6.0

Android 5.1

Android 5.1

Android 4.4.2

Android 4.4.2

Marshmallow 6.0

Android 6.0

Storage/Expandable

16GB/64GB

8GB/ 32GB

16GB/ 32GB

8GB/64GB

8GB/64GB

3GB/32GB/64GB

8GB/32GB

Rear/Front Camera

13MP/5MP

5MP/ 2MP

8MP/5MP

8.0MP/3.2MP

8.0MP/3.2MP

13MP/5MP

5.0MP/2.0MP

3,200

1,900

2,200

2,100

2,500

3,000

2,500

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/ Yes/ Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes

Music Player/FM

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

September, 2016

May, 2016

June, 2016

September, 2016

September, 2015

Launched

June, 2016

9,499

6,499

8,999

6,499

6,999

9,990

6,000

Display (inches/res)

Battery (mAh)

Launch Price Rs.

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

MODELS

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

5/FWVGA/TN

PARAMETERS

ITEL

KARA

LAVA

Power Pro it1553

Mega 1

Mega 4

Mega 2

X10

Pixel V2

X50+

5.5)

5.5, Full HD

5.0-inch, HD IPS,

5.0-inch, HD IPS,

5.0/ 720 x 1280

5.0/ 720 x 1280

5.5/1280x720

Dimension (mm)

138.5x69.5x9.8

152.4x77.1x9.5

152.4X77.1X9.5

152.4X77.1X9.5

142 x 70.8 x 7.9

141.6 x 70.8 x 7.6

155x71.8x8.85

Weight (grams)

-

184

184

184

133

128

155

Processor/RAM

Quad core/1GB

1.2 GHz,Quad Core

1.3GHz Quad Core(64bit)

1.3GHz Quad Core(64bit)

Quad core /3GB

Quad Core/ 2GB

quad-core/2GB

Operating system

Android 5.1

Marshmallow 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 5.1

Android 5.1

Android 6.0

Storage/Expandable

16GB/32GB

3GB/32GB/64GB

1GB/16GB

2GB/16GB

16GB/32GB

16GB/32GB

32GB/32GB

8.0MP/2.0MP

13MP/5MP

8MP/2MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/8MP

8MP/5MP

5,050

4,000

2,000

3,000

2,900

2,500

2,800

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes

152.4X77.1X9.5

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

June, 2016

June, 2017

Launched

Launched

November, 2015

September, 2015

7,290

7,950

4,500

6,500

9,999

8,499

Model Display (inches/res)

Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

112 I SEPTEMBER 2018

9,199

MYMOBILE


MYGUIDE RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

MODELS

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

LEPHONE

PARAMETERS

P1

W7

Display (inches/res)

5-inch/1280x720

5/854X480

Dimension (mm)

145.5x72.9x10.35

143.6x72.5x10

143.2x69x9.1

Weight (grams)

150

177

136

Model

Processor/RAM

W8

W15

W21

W7R

5/1280X720

5.5/1280X720

5/ FWVGA/854x480

154.9x79.1x9.4

144.2x72x8.8

152.8x76.9x8.6

145x72x9.6

164

142

164

142

W9

4.7 inch/1280x720 5.5 inch/1280x720

1.3GHz Quad-Core 1.3GHz Quad Core 1.3GHz Quad Core 1.3GHz Quad Core 1.3GHz Quad-Core 1.3GHz Quad-Core 1.3GHz Quad Core Android 7.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

1GB/8GB/128GB

1GB/8GB/32GB

2GB/16GB/32GB

1GB/8GB/32GB

2GB/16GB/32GB

2GB/16GB/32GB

2GB/16GB/32GB

5MP/2MP

5MP/2MP

8MP/5MP

5MP/2MP

8MP/5MP

8MP/5MP

5MP/2MP

2,500

2,000

2,000

2,500

2,000

2,500

2,000

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

"Yes "

"Yes "

"Yes "

Music Player/FM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Launched

Launched

Launched

Launched

Launched

Launched

Launched

4,599

4,999

5,749

4,999

6,499

6,799

5,499

Operating system Storage/Expandable Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Launch Price Rs.

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

MODELS

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

PARAMETERS

Model Display (inches/res)

LEPHONE W10

NEW

5 inch/854X480

Dimension (mm)

145x72x9.6

Weight (grams)

164

LYF

LG

Wind 5

K7

Canvas Unite 4

Canvas Amaze 2

Canvas XP 4G

Canvas 5

5/ 720 x 1280

5/ 480 x 854

5.0/ 1280 x 720

5/ 720 x 1280

5.0/720 x 1280

5.2/1080 x 1920

NA

NA

NA

NA

144.6 x 72.8 x 8.45 143.6 x 72.5 x 8.95 137

MICROMAX

NA

NA

NA

NA

MTK 6735P/1GB

QS415/ 2GB

MT6735P/3GB

MT6753/3GB

1.3GHz Quad Core

MT6735P/ 1GB

1.1GHz Quad Core/ 1.5GB

Android 6.0

Android 5.1

Android 5.0

Android 6.0

Android 5.0.2

Android 5.1

Android 5.1

1GB/8GB/32GB

8GB/ 32GB

8GB/32GB

8GB/64GB

8GB/ 32GB

16GB/32GB

16GB/64GB

5MP/2MP

8MP/ 5MP

5MP/5MP

8MP/5MP

13MP/ 5MP

8MP/2MP

13MP/5MP

2,000

2,000

2,125

2,500

2,500

2,000

2,900

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/ Yes/ Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/ Yes/ Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Music Player/FM

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/-

Yes/Yes

Launched

June, 2016

January, 2016

June, 2016

June, 2016

May, 2016

November, 2015

4,499

6,599

8,690

6,999

7,499

7,499

9,999

Processor/RAM Operating system Storage/Expandable Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Launch Price Rs.

www.mymobileindia.com

SEPTEMBER 2018 I 113


MYGUIDE RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

MODELS

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

MICROMAX

PARAMETERS

Model

MOTOROLA

NOKIA

NUU

PANASONIC

Canvas Unite 4 Pro

Canvas Sliver 5

Moto G4 Play

Moto E4/Plus

Nokia 3

Q626

P55 Max

5.0/ 1280 x 720

4.8/720 x 1280

5/720x1280

5/5.5/1280x720

5/1280X720

5/1280 x 720

5.5/1280x720

143.4x71.4x8.4

141.2x70.3x7.3

152 x 72.6 x 8.7

Display (inches/res) Dimension (mm)

NA

5.1mm thick

144.4x72x9.9

144.5x72x9.3/ 155x77.5x9.55

Weight (grams)

NA

97

137

150,/181

NA

148

180

Processor/RAM

Quad core/ 2GB

QS 410 /2GB

QS 410/2GB

MTK6737

MT 6737

1.3GHz Quad Core

MTK6737

Operating system

Android 5.1

Android 5.0.2

Android 6.0

Android 7.1.1

Android 7.0

Android 6.0

Android 7.0

Storage/Expandable

16GB/32GB

16GB/No

16GB/128GB

2/16/3/32GB

16GB/128GB

2GB/32GB/64GB

3GB/16GB

8MP/5MP

8MP/5MP

8MP/5MP

8MP/5MP/13MP/5MP

8MP/8MP

8MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

3,900

2,000

2,800

28,00/5,000

2,650

2,000

5,000

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

June, 2016

2,015

September, 2016

August, 2017

July, 2017

August, 2017

August, 2017

7,499

8,387

8,999

8,450 onwards

8,635

9,625

7,499

Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

MODELS

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

PANASONIC

PARAMETERS

SAMSUNG

TCL

XIAOMI

TCL 560

TCL 562

Redmi 2 Prime

5/720x1280

5.5/ 1280x720

5.5/1920x1080

4.7/720 x 1280

142.4 x 71.1 x 8.0

142.4x71.1x8

NA

152x77x8

134.00 x 67.20 x 9.4

149

138

138

156

150

133

MT6737/MT6753

Quad core/ 2GB

Quad core/ 1.5GB

Quad core/2GB

QS 210/2GB

MT6755M/3GB

QS 410/2GB

Operating system

Android 7.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 4.4

Storage/Expandable

3GB/32GB

16GB/128GB

8GB/128GB

16GB/128GB

16GB/32GB

32GB/64GB

16GB/32GB

Rear/Front Camera

5/13/13/13

8MP/5MP

8MP/5MP

8MP/5MP

8MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

8MP/2MP

Battery (mAh)

4,000/5,000

2,600

2,600

2,600

2,500

2,960

2,200

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

September, 2017

July, 2016

July, 2016

July,2016

July, 2016

July,2016

August, 2015

8,999/9,999

6,490

6,990

9,090

6,999

9,999

6,999

Eluga Ray 500/700

Galaxy On 5 Pro 5.0/ 1280 x 720

5.0/ 1280 x 720

Dimension (mm)

5/5.5/720 x 1280/ 1080 x 1920 144.3 x 71.3 x 9.2/ 153.8 x 75.4 x 8.9

142.3 x 72.1 x 8.5

Weight (grams)

163/182

Processor/RAM

Model Display (inches/res)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

114 I SEPTEMBER 2018

Galaxy J2 (2016) Galaxy J2 Pro (2016)

MYMOBILE


MYGUIDE RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

MODELS

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

XIAOMI

PARAMETERS

Redmi 3S/ 3s Prime Redmi Note Prime

Model

VIDEOCON

Redmi Note 3

Redmi 3s Plus

Redmi Note 4

Redmi Note 5

Graphite1

5/ 1280X720

5.5/720 x 1280

5.5/1080 x 1920

5/1280x720

5.5/1080X1920

5.9/1080x2160

4.5/1280x720

Dimension (mm)

139.4 X 69.7 X 8.5

154 x 78.7 x 9.45

150 x 76 x 8.65

139.3x69.6x8.5

151X76X8.3

158.50x75.45x8.05

136.76X69X10

Weight (grams)

144

185

164

144

165

180

127

Processor/RAM

QS 430/ 2GB, 3GB

QS 410/2GB

QS 650/2GB,3GB

QS 430/2GB

QS625/2GB,3GB,4GB

QS625/3GB/4GB

Quad-core/1GB

Android 6.0

Android 4.4

Android 5.0.2

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 7.0

Android 6.0

16GB, 32GB/128GB

16GB/32GB

16GB,32GB/32GB

32GB/128GB

32GB/64GB

32GB/64GB

8GB/64GB

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

16MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

12MP/5MP

5MP/2MP

4,100

3,100

4,000

4000/4100

4,100

4,000

2,000

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes (Hybrid)

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/-

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yees

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Launch

August, 2016

December, 2015

March, 2016

October,2016

January, 2017

February, 2018

NA

Price Rs.

6,999/ 8,999

7,999

9,999/ 11,999

9,499

9,999

9,999

6,499

Display (inches/res)

Operating system Storage/Expandable Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

MODELS

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

VIDEOCON

PARAMETERS

YU

ZEN

Delite21

Krypton3

Ultra30

Ultra50

Yunique

Yuphoria

Cinemax 3

5/1280x720

5/1280x720

5/1920X1080

5/1920X1080

4.7/720x1280

5.0/720x1280

5.5/720x1280

Dimension (mm)

146.66X74.3X10.52

144.5X73.14X9.74

144.31X73X10

Weight (grams)

151

153

153

186

128

143

August,2016

Processor/RAM

Quad-core/2GB

Quad-core/2GB

Quad-core/3GB

Quad-core/3GB

QS 410 / 1GB

Quad core / 2GB

Quad core/2GB

Operating system

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 5.1.

Android 5.1.1

Android 5.1

Storage/Expandable

16GB/32GB

16GB/32GB

32GB/64GB

32GB/64GB

8GB/32GB

16GB/32GB

16GB/32GB

8MP/2MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

8MP/2MP

8MP/5MP

5MP/3.2MP

3,000

3,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

2,230

2,900

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/No

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

NA

NA

NA

NA

September, 2015

May, 2015

August, 2016

7,200

7,999

9,990

9,990

6,300

6,499

6,999

Model Display (inches/res)

Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

www.mymobileindia.com

148.24X72.56X11.44 134.5 x 67.5 x 8.3 142.4 x 73 x 8.2-9.35

SEPTEMBER 2018 I 115


MYGUIDE RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

MODELS

RS. 6,000 – RS. 9,999

ZIOX

PARAMETERS

ZOPO

ZTE

ASUS

Model

Astra Star

Astra Curve 4G

Duopix F1

ZP331

Blade V6

ZenFone 2 (2GB/4GB)

Display (inches/res)

5/480x854

5/480x854

5/1280x720

4.5/ 854 x 480

5/ 1280 x 720

5.5/ 1080 x 1920

5.5/1080 x 1920

Dimension (mm)

145.6x72.7x10.2

146.5x73.1x10.3

145.2x71.7x9.1

133 x 65.7 x 8.5

142X69.5X6.8

152.5 x 77.2 x 10.9

156.5 x 77.2 x 10.8

Weight (grams)

150

160

148

113

122

170

170

Quad core/1GB

MTK 6735/2GB

IA Z3560 /2GB

QS615 /2GB,3GB

Android 5.0

Android 5.0

Processor/RAM

1.3GHz Quad-Core 1.3GHz Quad-Core 1.3GHz Quad-Core

Zenfone Selfie

Operating system

Android 7.0

Android 7.0

Android 7.0

Android 5.1

Android 5.1

Storage/Expandable

1GB/16GB

2GB/16GB

2GB/16GB

8 GB/64 GB

16GB/128GB

Rear/Front Camera

5MP/2MP

5MP/2MP

8MP/8MP+2MP

5 MP/2 MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/13MP

2,350

2,200

2,400

1,700

2,500

3,000

3,000

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/-

Yes/-

Launched

Launched

Launched

-

July, 2016

March, 2015

August, 2015

5,899

7,299

7,499

7,500

9,999

13,999, 18,999

10,999/ 16,999

Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

MODELS

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

16GB,32GB/128GB 16GB,32GB/128GB

ASUS

PARAMETERS

CENTRIC

COOLPAD

GIONEE

Model

Zenfone 3 lazer

ZenFone Max Pro M1

A1

Coolpad Note 5

Cool 1

F 103 Pro

Marathon M5 Lite

Display (inches/res)

5.5/1920x1080

5.9/1080x2160

5.5/1920x1080

5.5/1920x1080

5.50/1080x1920

5.0/ 1280 x 720

5.0/720 x 1280

149x76x7.9

159 x 76 x 8.5

152 x 76 x 7.8

NA

152.00 x 74.80 x 8.20

145.3 x 70.5 x 8.5

143 x 69.9 x 8.5

180

160

NA

173

142

182

Dimension (mm) Weight (grams) Processor/RAM

QS 430.4GB

QS635/3GB

QS 430

QS 617/4GB

1.4GHz octa-core

Quad core/ 3GB

Quad Core/3GB

Operating system

Android 6.0

Android 8.1

Android 7.1.1

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 5.1

Storage/Expandable

32GB/128GB

32GB/64GB

3GB/32GB/256GB

32GB/64GB

32GB

16GB/128GB

32GB/128GB

13MP/8MP

13+5MP/8MP

13MP/8MP

13MP/8MP

13MP/8MP

13MP/5MP

8MP/5MP

3,000

5,000

3,000

4,010

4,000

2,400

4,000

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Music Player/FM

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Launch

October,2016

May, 2018

November, 2017

October, 2016

January, 2017

July, 2016

December, 2015

18,999

10,999

10,999

10,999

13,999

11,999

13,000

Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Price Rs.

116 I SEPTEMBER 2018

MYMOBILE


MYGUIDE RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

MODELS

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

HONOR

PARAMETERS

HTC

INFOCUS

LAVA

Honor 5C

Honor 5X

Honor 6X

Desire 630

Epic 1

Snap 4

V5

Display (inches/res)

5.2/ 1920 x 1080

5.5/ 1080 x 1920

5.5/1080X1920

5.0/ 1280 x 720

5.5/1920x1080

5.2/720x1280

5.5/720x1280

Dimension (mm)

147.1 x 73.8 x 8.3

151.3 x 76.3 x 8.15

150.9X76.2X8.2

146.9 x 70.9 x 8.3

153x76x8.4

147.1 x 73.8 x 8.3

151.9 x 94.7 x 8.3

Weight (grams)

156

158

162

140

162

153

Processor/RAM

Kirin 650/ 2GB

QS 616 /2GB

Kirin 655

QS 400/2GB

Decca-core/3GB

Octa-core/4GB

Quad core/3GB

Operating system

Android 6.0

Android 5.1.1

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 7.0

Android 5.1

Storage/Expandable

16GB/128GB

16GB/128GB

32GB/64GB

16GB/2TB

32GB/128GB

64GB/128GB

16GB/32GB

13MP/8MP

13MP/5MP

12 and 2MP/8MP

13MP/5MP

16MP/8MP

13MP/8MP

13MP/8MP

3,000

3,000

3,340

2,200

3,000

3,000

3,000

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/-

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes

June, 2016

January, 2016

Jnauray 2017

February, 2016

November,2016

September, 2017

January, 2016

10,999

12,999

11,999

10,890

12,999

11,590

11,299

Model

Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

MODELS

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

LENOVO

PARAMETERS

Phab 2

Vibe K4 Note

Vibe S1

Phab Plus

Vibe K5 Note

Phab 2 Plus

K8 Note

Display (inches/res)

6.4/1920x1080

5.5/1080x1920

5.0/1080x1920

6.8/1080 x 1920

5.5/1920x1080

6.4/1920x1080

5.5/1080 x 1920

Dimension (mm)

175x89.5x6.89

186.6 x 96.6 x 7.6

152x75.7x8.49

174x88x5.5

154.5 x 75.9 x 8.5

Weight (grams)

225

158

132

229

165

218

180

Processor/RAM

MTK8735/3GB

MT 6753/3GB

MT6752/3GB

QS 615 /2GB

Helio P10/4GB

MT/3GB

MT Decacore/3GB/4GB

Operating system

Android 6.0

Android 5.1.

Android 5.0

Android 5.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 7.1.1

Storage/Expandable

32GB/128GB

16GB/128GB

32GB/128GB

32GB/64GB

32GB/128GB

32GB/128GB

32GB/64GB/256GB

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/8 MP + 2 MP

13MP/5MP

13MP.8MP

13MP,13MP/8MP

13+5MP/13MP

4,050

3,300

2,420

3,500

3,500

4,050

4,000

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/-

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes

December,2016

January, 2016

November, 2015

October, 2015

Jaunuary,2016

November,2016

August, 2017

11,999

11,999

12,999

14,999

13,499

14,999

12,999

Model

Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

www.mymobileindia.com

153.67 X 76.45 X 9.14 143.3 x 70.8 x 7.8

SEPTEMBER 2018 I 117


MYGUIDE RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

MODELS

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

PARAMETERS

LYF

LG

MICROMAX

MOTOROLA

F1

K 10

X Screen

G4 Stylus

Canvas 6

Canvas 6 Pro

Moto G Turbo Edition

Display (inches/res)

5.5/1920x1080

5.3/ 1280 x 720

4.93/ 1280x720

5.7/ 720 x 1280

5.5/1920 x 1080

5.5/1920 x 1080

5.0/720 x 1280

Dimension (mm)

155.5x77.6x7.9

146.6x74.8x8.8

142.6 x 71.8 x 7.1

154.4 x 79.2 x 9.4

-

-

142.1 x 72.4 x 11.6

Weight (grams)

153

140

120

163

-

-

155

Processor/RAM

QS 617/3GB

QS 410/2GB

QS 410/2GB

QS 400 /1GB

MT6753/3GB

Helio x10/4GB

QS 615 /2GB

Operating system

Android 6.0

Android 5.0

Android 6.0

Android 5.0

Android 5.1

Android 5.1

Android 5.1.1

Storage/Expandable

32GB/128GB

16GB/32GB

16GB/128GB

16GB/32GB

32GB/128GB

Yes/Yes

16GB/32GB

16MP/8MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/8MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/8MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

3,200

2,300

2,300

3,000

3,000

3,000

2,470

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/-

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

October,2016

January, 2016

July, 2016

May, 2015

May, 2016

May, 2016

2,015

13,099

12,999

12,990

13,869

10,999

10,999

10,999

Model

Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

MODELS

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

MOTOROLA

PARAMETERS

NOKIA

NUBIA

Moto G4

Moto G4 Plus

G5 Plus

Nokia 5

Nokia 6

Z11 Mini

N1

5.5/ 1920 x 1080

5.5/ 1920X1080

5.2/1980X1080

5.2/ 720x1280

5.5/1920X1080

5/1920x1080

5.5/1920x1080

Dimension (mm)

153 x 76.6 x 7.9

153X76.6X9.8

153X76X9.6

149.7 x 72.5 x 8.05

154 x 75.8 x 7.85

141.4x70x8

150.9x79x8.9

Weight (grams)

155

155

155

NA

NA

138

190

Processor/RAM

QS 617/2GB

QS 617/2GB,3GB

QS 625 Octa-core

QS 430

QS 430

QS/3GB

MTK P10/3GB

Operating system

Android 6.0.1

Android 6.1

Android 7.0

Android 7.1.1

Android 7.1.1

Android 5.1

Android 6.0

Storage/Expandable

16GB/128GB

16GB, 32GB/128GB

16GB/32GB

2GB/16GB

3BG/32GB

32GB/200GB

32GB/128GB

13MP/5MP

16MP/5MP

12MP/5MP

13MP/8MP

8MP/16MP

16MP/8MP

13MP/13MP

3,000

3,000

3,000

3,000

3,000

2,800

5,000

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/yes

Yes/Yes/yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

yes

yes

Yes/No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

May, 2016

May,2016

March, 2017

July, 2017

July, 2017

October,2016

December,2016

10,499

13,499/ 14,999

12,999

12,499

14,299

12,999

11,999

Model Display (inches/res)

Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

118 I SEPTEMBER 2018

MYMOBILE


MYGUIDE RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

MODELS

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

NUU

PARAMETERS

PANASONIC

SAMSUNG

X5

Eluga Note

Eluga Arc

Eluga Pulse X

Eluga A3/A3 Pro

Galaxy On7

Galaxy J5

5.5/1920 x 1080

5.5/ 1920 x 1080

4.7/720x1280

5.5/1280X720

5.2/720 x 1280

5.5/1280 x 720

5.0/1280 x 720

Dimension (mm)

153x76.5x7.8

146.00x74.50x8.10

139 x 67 x 8.10

139 x 67 x 8.10

148.7 x 72.4 x 9.1

77.5x151.8x8.2

142.1 x 71.8 x 7.9

Weight (grams)

170

142

130

152

161

171

146

Processor/RAM

1.5GHz Octa Core

Octa Core/3GB

QS 410/2GB

Quad-core/3GB

Quad-core/3GB

Quad-core/1.5GB

Quad-core/1.5GB

Android 7.0

Android 6.0

Android 5.1

Android 6.0

Android 7.0

Android 5.1

Android 5.1

3GB/32GB/128 GB

32GB/32GB

16GB/32GB

16GB/128GB

16GB/32GB/128GB

8GB/128GB

8GB/128GB

13MP/5MP

16MP/5MP

8MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/8MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

2,950

3,000

1,800

3,000

4,000

3,000

2,600

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

August,2017

July, 2016

April,2016

March, 2017

August, 2017

October, 2015

June, 2015

12,100

10,290

10,190

10,990

11,290/12,790

10,990

10,390

Model Display (inches/res)

Operating system Storage/Expandable Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

MODELS

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

SAMSUNG

PARAMETERS

XIAOMI

Galaxy J Max

Galaxy J5 (2016)

Galaxy J7

J5 Prime

Galaxy On7 Pro

Mi 4i

Mi Max

7.0/ 1280 x 800

5.2/1280x720

5.5/720 x 1280

5/1080x720

5.5/1280 x 720

5.0/1080 x 1920

6.44/1920x1080

Dimension (mm)

186.9 x 108.8 x 8.7

145.7 x 72.3 x 8.1

152.2 x 78.6 x 7.5

142.8x69.5x8.1

151.8 x 77.5 x 8.2

138.1 x 69.6 x 7.8

173.1x88.3x7.5

Weight (grams)

NA

158

171

143

171

130

203

Processor/RAM

Quad core/1.5GB

QS 410/2GB

Octa Core/1.5GB

Quad-core/2GB

Quad core/ 2GB

QS 615/2GB

QS 650,652/3GB,4GB

Operating system

Android 5.1

Android 6.0

Android 5.1

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 5.0

Android 6.0

Storage/Expandable

8GB/200GB

16GB/128GB

16GB/128GB

16GB/256GB

16GB/128GB

16GB,32GB/No

32GB,128GB/128GB

8MP/2MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

8MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

16MP/5MP

4,000

3,100

3,000

2,400

3,000

3,120

4,850

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

July, 2016

May, 2016

2,015

September,2016

July, 2016

April, 2015

June,2016

11,400

13,990

11,890

12,990

10,900

11,999/ 14,999

10,999

Model Display (inches/res)

Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

www.mymobileindia.com

SEPTEMBER 2018 I 119


MYGUIDE RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

MODELS

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

PARAMETERS

XIAOMI

VIVO

YU

Redmi Note 5 Pro

Y51L

Y55L

Y55S

Yureka Plus (YU5510A,YU5510 )

Display (inches/res)

5.9/1080x2160

5.0/ 540x960

5.2/1280x720

5.2/1280x720

5.5/1080x1920

5.5/(1080X1920)

6.0/1080 x 1920

Dimension (mm)

158.6x75.4x8.1

143.80 x 71.70 x 7.52

147.9x72.9x7.5

147.9x72.9x7.5

155 x 78 x 9

153.3X75.4X8.5

-

Weight (grams)

180

157

142

142

154

172

-

Processor/RAM

QS636/4GB

QS 410/2GB

QS 430/2GB

QS 425/3GB

QS 615/2GB

MT Helio P10/4GB

MTK6753T/3GB

Operating system

Android 7.1.2

Android 5.0.2

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 4.4.4

Androis 5.1.1

Android 5.1.1

Storage/Expandable

64GB/256GB

16GB/128GB

16GB/128GB

16GB/256GB

16GB/32GB

32GB/128GB

16GB/Yes

12MP+5MP/20MP

8MP/5MP

8MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/8MP

4,000

2,350

2,650

2,730

2,500

4,000

4,000

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

yes/yes/yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

yes

Yes

Yes/yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

yes

Yes/Yes

February, 2018

January, 2016

October,2016

March, 2017

July, 2015

May,2016

April, 2016

13,999

10,700

11,980

12,490

8,999

12,999

13,499

Model

Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

RS. 10,000 – RS. 14,999

Yunicorn

Yureka Note

MODELS

RS. 15,000 – RS. 19,999

ZOPO

PARAMETERS

ASUS

CREO

ZP350

ZP370

Hero 1

Z1

Zenfone 2 Laser ZE601KL

Display (inches/res)

5.0 / 1280 x 720

5.5/ 1280 x 720

5.0/1280 x 720

5.5/1920 x 1080

6.0/ 1080 x 1920

5.5/1920x1080

5.5/ 1440x2560

Dimension (mm)

145.9 x 71.4 x 8.5

153.8 x 77.1 x 9

146.1 x 70.6 x 8.65

155.7 x 77.3 x 8.9

164.6 x 84 x 10.6

151.4x76.24x8.3

155.4 x 76.1 x 8.7

Weight (grams)

137

167

136

175

190

175

190

Processor/RAM

Quad-core/1GB

Ouad-core/1GB

Quad-core/2GB

QS 801/3GB

QS 616/3GB

QS 430/3GB

Helio X10 /3GB

Operating system

Android 5.1

Android 5.1

Android 5.1

Android 5.1.1

Android 5.0

Android 6.0

Android 5.1.1

Storage/Expandable

8GB/64GB

8GB/64GB

16 GB/64 GB

64GB/No

32GB/128GB

32GB/128GB

32GB/-

8.0MP/2.0MP

8.0MP/2.0MP

13.2 MP/5.0MP

13MP/8MP

13MP/5MP

16MP/8MP

21MP/8MP

2,100

3,000

2,500

4,100

3,000

4,100

3,100

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/-

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Model

Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

120 I SEPTEMBER 2018

ZENFONE 3 MAX(ZC553KL)

Mark 1

NA

NA

NA

May, 2016

December, 2015

November,2016

April,2016

10,000

11,000

14,500

13,499

16,499

17,999

19,999

MYMOBILE


MYGUIDE RS. 15,000 – RS. 19,999

RS. 15,000 – RS. 19,999

MODELS

RS. 15,000 – RS. 19,999

GIONEE

PARAMETERS

HTC

HUAWEI

Model

Marathon M5

S6

S11 Lite

Desire 728 LTE

Desire 828

Desire 825

P20 Lite

Display (inches/res)

5.5/ 720 x 1280

5.5/ 720 x 1280

5.7/720x1440

5.5/ 720 x 1280

5.5/720 x 1280

5.5/ 1280 x 720

5.8/1080x2280

Dimension (mm)

152 x 76 x 8.6

151.9 x 74.6 x 6.9

153.8 x 72.6 x 7.9

157.9 x 77.8 x 7.8

157.9 x 77.8 x 7.89

156.9 x 76.9 x 7.4

148.6 x 71.2 x 7.4

Weight (grams)

211

147

141

153

148

155

145

Processor/RAM

MT6735/3GB

MT6753T /3GB

QS8937/3GB

MT6753/2GB

MT6753/1.5GB

QS 400/2GB

Kirin 659/4GB

Android 5.1

Android 5.1.1

Android 7.1

Android 5.1.1

Android 5.1

Android 6.0

Android 8.0

32GB/128GB

32GB/128GB

32GB/256GB

16GB/200GB

16GB/2TB

16GB/2TB

32GB/64GB/128GB

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

13+2MP/16MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

16+2MP/24MP

6,020

3,150

3,030

2,800

2,800

2,700

3,000

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

November,2015

November, 2015

May, 2018

November, 2015

November, 2015

February, 2016

April, 2018

17,500

19,999

13,999

12,999

15,300

12,550

19,999

Operating system Storage/Expandable Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

RS. 15,000 – RS. 19,999

RS. 15,000 – RS. 19,999

MODELS

RS. 15,000 – RS. 19,999

LENOVO

PARAMETERS

LYF

MOTOROLA

Vibe P1

Vibe Shot

Vibe X3

Z2 Plus

Earth 1

Earth 2

Moto X Play

5.5/1080x1920

5.0/1080 x 1920

5.5/1080x1920

5/1920x1080

5.5/1080x1920

5/1920x1080

5.5/1080 x 1920

Dimension (mm)

152.9 x 75.6 x 9.9

142.7 x 70 x 7.6

154 x 76.5 x 9.3

140.2x60x6.2

154 x 76.6 x 7.25

142x76x7.9

148 x 75 x 10.9

Weight (grams)

187

145

175

150

162.5.

140

169

Processor/RAM

QS615 /2GB

QS 615/3GB

QS 808 /3GB

QS 820/3GB,4GB

QS 615/3GB

QS 615/3GB

QS615 /2GB

Operating system

Android 5.1

Android 5.1

Android 5.1

Android 6.0

Android 5.1.1

Android 5.1

Android 5.1.1

Storage/Expandable

32GB/128GB

32GB/128GB

32GB/128GB

32GB,64GB/128GB

32GB/32GB

32GB/64GB

16GB,32GB/128GB

13MP/5MP

16MP/8MP

21MP/8MP

13MP/8MP

13MP + 2MP/5MP

13MP/13MP

21MP/5MP

5,000

3,000

3,500

3,500

3,500

2500

3,630

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/-

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

October, 2015

June, 2015

December, 2015

September,2016

January, 2016

15,499

18,500

19,999

19,999

19,499

Model Display (inches/res)

Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

www.mymobileindia.com

Sept, 2015 19,999

15,999

SEPTEMBER 2018 I 121


MYGUIDE RS. 15,000 – RS. 19,999

RS. 15,000 – RS. 19,999

MODELS

RS. 15,000 – RS. 19,999

NEXTBIT

OPPO

Robin

F1 S

Galaxy J7 (2016)

Galaxy On8

On Nxt

J7 Prime

J7 Max

5.2/ 1080 x 1920

5.5/1280x720

5.5/1280x720

5.5/1920x1080

5.5/1920x1080

5.5/1920x1080

5.7/1920x1080

Dimension (mm)

149 x 72 x 7

154 x 76 x 7.38

76 x 151 x 7.8

151.7x76x7.8

151.7x75x8

151.7x75x8

151.7x75x8.1

Weight (grams)

NA

160

169

169

167

167

167

PARAMETERS

Model Display (inches/res)

SAMSUNG

QS 808/3GB

MTK 6750/3GB

Exynos 7870/2GB

Octa-core/3GB

Octa-core/3GB

Octa-core/3GB

OCTA-CORE MEDIATEK

Operating system

Android 6.0

Android 5.1.1

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 7.0

Storage/Expandable

32GB/ 100GB (ONLINE)

32GB/128GB

16GB/128GB

16GB/128GB

32GB/256GB

16MP/256GB

4GB/32GB

Rear/Front Camera

13MP/5MP

13MP/16MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/8MP

13MP/8MP

13MP/13MP

2,680

3,075

3,300

3,300

3,300

3,300

3,300

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

May, 2016

August, 2016

May, 2016

September,2016

October,2016

September,2016

July, 2017

19,999

16,444

14,900

12,090

14,900

14,900

17,290

Processor/RAM

Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

RS. 15,000 – RS. 19,999

RS. 20,000 – RS. 29,999

MODELS

RS. 15,000 – RS. 19,999

VIVO

PARAMETERS

XIAOMI

ZOPO

APPLE

ASUS

V3

V5

MIMax 2

ZOPO SPEED 7 PLUS

iPhone 5S

Zenfone 3

Zenfone 3 Ultra

5.0/1280×720

5.5/1280x720

6.44/1080 x 1920

5.5/ 1920 x 1080

4.0/640 x 1136

5.2,5.5/(1920x1080)

6.8/(1920x1080)

Dimension (mm)

143.6 x 71 x 7.5

153.8x75.5x7.55

174.1 x 88.7 x 7.6

153.6 x 76.5 x 8.8

Weight (grams)

138

154

211

164

112

144

233

Processor/RAM

QS 616/3GB

octa-core/4GB

QS 625/4GB

Octa-core /3GB

Dual-core/1GB

QS 625/3GB,4GB

QS 652/4GB

Operating system

Android 5.1

Android 6.0

Android 7.1.1

Android 5.1

iOS 9.2.1

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Storage/Expandable

32GB/128GB

32GB/128GB

64/128GB

16 GB/64 GB

16GB,32GB,64GB/No

32GB,64GB/2TB

64GB/128GB

13MP/8MP

13MP/20MP

12/5MP

13 MP/5.0MP

8MP/1.2MP

16MP/8MP

23MP/8MP

2,550

3,000

5,300

3,000

1,560

1

4,600

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes/-

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes

Yes

May, 2016

November,2016

August, 2017

NA

September, 2013

August,2016

August, 2016

15,250

16,990

16,999

17,500

19,280 onwards

21,999/ 27,999

29,999

Model Display (inches/res)

Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

122 I SEPTEMBER 2018

123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 146.87 x 73.98 x 7.69 186.4 x 93.9 x 6.8

MYMOBILE


MYGUIDE RS. 20,000 – RS. 29,999

RS. 20,000 – RS. 29,999

MODELS

RS. 20,000 – RS. 29,999

BLACKBERRY

COOLPAD

DTEK 50

Max

M5 Plus

S6 Pro

Honor 8

Honor 7

X9

5.2/1920x1080

5.5/1920x1080

6.0/1920 x 1080

5.5/1920x1080

5.2/1920x1080

5.2/1080 x 1920

5.5/ 1080 x 1920

Dimension (mm)

147x72.5x7.4

152x75.5x7.6

-

153x75.3x7.6

145.5x71x7.45

143.2 x 71.9 x 8.5

153.9 x 75.9 x 7.99

Weight (grams)

135

170

210.8g

170

153

157

170

Processor/RAM

QS 617/3GB

QS 617/4GB

Octa Core/3GB

octa-core/4GB

Kirin 950/4GB

HS Kirin 935/3GB

MT H X10/ 3GB

Operating system

Android 6.0

Android 5.1

Android 5.1

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 5.0

Android 6.0

Storage/Expandable

16GB/2TB

64GB/128GB

64GB/128GB

64GB/256GB

32GB/128GB

16GB/128GB

32GB/2TB

Rear/Front Camera

13MP/8MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/8MP

12MP,12MP/8MP

20MP/8MP

13MP/5MP

3000

2,800

5,020

3,130

2,900

3,100

3,000

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

yes/yes/yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

No

yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

November,2016

May, 2016

May, 2016

October,2016

October, 2016

July, 2015

May, 2016

21,000

24,999

27,000

21,130

29,000

22,999

25,990

PARAMETERS

Model Display (inches/res)

Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

GIONEE

HONOR

RS. 20,000 – RS. 29,999

RS. 20,000 – RS. 29,999

MODELS

RS. 20,000 – RS. 29,999

HTC

HTC

PARAMETERS

LG

MOTOROLA

Model

Desire 10 Pro

Stylus 2

Stylus 2 Plus

Nexus 5X

Moto Z Play

X4

Z 2 Play

Display (inches/res)

5.5/1920x1080

5.7/1280X720

5.7/ 1920 x 1080

5.2/ 1080 x 1920

5.5/1920x1080

5.2/1080x1920

5.5/1920X1080

Dimension (mm)

156.5x76x7.86

155 x 79.6 x 7.4

155 X 79.6 X 7.4

147 x 72.6 x 7.9

156.4x76.4x6.99

148.4x73.4x8

156.2X76.2X5.99

Weight (grams)

165

145

146

136

165

163

145

Processor/RAM

Helio P10/4GB

Quad Core /2GB

Octa Core/3GB

QS 808/2GB

QS 625/3GB

QS630/3GB

QS 626/4GB

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 7.1

Android 7.1.1

64GB/2TB

16GB/2TB

32GB/2TB

16GB,32GB/No

32GB/2TB

32GB/64GB/256GB

64GB/2TB

20MP/13MP

13MP/8MP

16MP/8MP

12.3MP/5MP

16MP/5MP

12+8MP/16MP

12MP/5MP

3000

3,000

3,000

2,700

3,510

3,000

3,000

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

November,2016

May,2016

July, 2016

October, 2015

October,2016

October, 2017

July, 2017

26,490

20,500

24,000

24,490/30,645

20,490

20,990

24,999

Operating system Storage/Expandable Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

www.mymobileindia.com

SEPTEMBER 2018 I 123


MYGUIDE RS. 20,000 – RS. 29,999

RS. 20,000 – RS. 29,999

MODELS

RS. 20,000 – RS. 29,999

MOTOROLA

NUBIA

Moto X Style

Z11

2

3T

OnePlus 5

5T

6

5.7/ 1440 x 2560

5.5/1920z1080

5.5/1080p

5.5/1920x1080

5.5/1080 x 1920

6.01/1080x2160

6.28/1080x2280

Dimension (mm)

153.9 x 76.2 x 11.06

151.8x72.3x7.5

151.8x74.9x9.85

152.7x74.5x7.35

154.2 x 74.1 x 7.3

156.1x75x7.3

155.7x75.4x7.8

Weight (grams)

179

162

175

158

153

162

177

Processor/RAM

QS 808/3GB

QS 820/6GB

QS 810/3GB&4GB

QS 821/6GB

QS 835/8GB

QS835/6GB

QS845/6GB

Operating system

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 5.1

Android 6.0

Android 7.1.1

Android 7.1.1

Android 8.1

16GB,32GB/128GB

64GB/2TB

64GB

64GB

64GB

64GB/128GB

64GB/128GB/256GB

21MP/5MP

16MP/8MP

13MP/5MP

16MP/16MP

16MP/16MP

16+20MP/16MP

16+20MP/16MP

3,000

3000

3,300

3400

3,300

3300

3300

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/No

September, 2015

December,2016

July, 2015

December.2016

June, 2017

November, 2017

May, 2018

26,999/ 28,999

29,999

22,999

22,000

32,999

32,999

34,999

PARAMETERS

Model Display (inches/res)

Storage/Expandable Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

ONEPLUS

RS. 20,000 – RS. 29,999

RS. 20,000 – RS. 29,999

MODELS

RS. 20,000 – RS. 29,999

SAMSUNG

PARAMETERS

Model

Galaxy A5 (2016)

SMARTRON

Galaxy A7 (2016) Galaxy A5/A7 (2017)

SONY

J7 Pro

t phone

Xperia C4

Xperia XA

Display (inches/res)

5.2/1080 x 1920

5.5/ 1080 x 1920

5.2/5.5/1080X1920

5.5/1920X1080

5.5/1920x1080

5.5/1080 x 1920

5.0/1280 x 720

Dimension (mm)

144.8 x 71 x 7.3

151.5 x 74.1 x 7.3

144.8 x 71 x 7.3/ 151.5X74.1X7.3

150.3 x 77.4 x 7.8

158.2x78.2x6.98

150.3 x 77.4 x 7.9

143.6 x 66.8 x 7.9

Weight (grams)

153

169

157/I86

157

149

147

137

QS 810/4GB

MT6752/2GB

MTK H P10/2GB

Octa Core/2GB

Octa Core/3GB

Octa Core/2GB/3GB

Octa core Exynos/3GB

Operating system

Android 5.1.1

Android 5.1.1

Android 6.0

Android 7.0

Android 6.0

Android 5.0

Android 6.0

Storage/Expandable

16GB/128GB

16GB/128GB

32GB/256GB

64GB

64GB/128GB

16GB/200GB

16GB/200GB

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

16MP/16MP/16MP/ 16MP

13MP/13MP

13MP/4MP

13MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

2,900

3,300

3000/3600

3,600

3,000

2,600

2,300

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/yYes

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

April, 2016

December, 2015

March, 2017

July, 2017

July,2016

June, 2015

May, 2016

21,900

25,900

28,990/33,490

20,900

22,999

20,800

20,990

Processor/RAM

Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

124 I SEPTEMBER 2018

MYMOBILE


MYGUIDE RS. 20,000 – RS. 29,999

RS. 20,000 – RS. 29,999

MODELS

RS. 20,000 – RS. 29,999

SONY

PARAMETERS

XIAOMI

VIVO

Xperia Z3+

Xperia C5 Ultra Dual

Mi 5

X5 Pro

V3 Max

VIVO V5 Plus

V7 Plus

Display (inches/res)

5.2/ 1080 x 1920

6.0/1080 x 1920

5.15/1080 x 1920

5.2/ 1080 x 1920

5.5/1080 x 1920

5.5/1080X1920

5.99/720x1440

Dimension (mm)

146.3 x 71.9 x 6.9

164.2 x 79.6 x 8.2

144.5 x 69.2 x 7.25

147.9 x 73.5 x 6.4

153.9x77.1x7.58

152.6 x 74 x 7.3

155.9x75.8x7.7

Weight (grams)

144

187

129

151

168

159

160

Processor/RAM

QS 810 /3GB

MTK6752/2GB

QS 820/3GB

QS 615/2GB

QS 652/4GB

QS 652/4GB

QS450/4GB

Operating system

Android 5.0

Android 5.1

Android 6.0

Android 5.0

Android 5.1

Android 6.0

Android 7.1.2

Storage/Expandable

32GB/128GB

16GB/200GB

32GB/No

16GB/128GB

32GB/128GB

64GB

64GB/256GB 16MP/24MP

Model

20.7MP/5MP

13MP/13MP

16MP/4MP

13MP/8MP

13MP/8MP

12MP and 8MP/ 16 MP

2,930

2,930

3,000

2,450

3,000

3,160

3,225

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

June, 2015

August, 2015

April, 2016

June, 2015

April, 2016

42,736

September, 2017

26,990

27,799

24,999

21,400

23,980

22,990

21,990

Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

RS. 30,000 AND ABOVE

RS. 30,000 AND ABOVE

MODELS

RS. 30,000 AND ABOVE

APPLE

PARAMETERS

iPhone 6

iPhone 6Plus

iPhone SE

iPhone 6S

iPhone 6S Plus

iPhone 7

iPhone 7 Plus

Display (inches/res)

4.7/750 x 1334

5.5/1080 x 1920

4.0/640 x 1136

4.7/750 x 1334

5.5/1080 x 1920

4.7/1334x750

5.5/1920x1080

Dimension (mm)

138.1 x 67 x 6.9

158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1

123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6

138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1

158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3

138.3x67.1x7.1

158.2x77.9x7.3

Weight (grams)

129

172

113

143

192

138

188

Processor/RAM

A8,M8/1GB

A8,M8/1GB

A9,M9/2GB

A9,M9/2GB

A9,M9/2GB

A10 Fusion, M10/2GB

A10Fusion, M10/3GB

iOS 9

iOS 9

iOS 9.3

iOS 9

iOS 9

iOS 10

iOS 10

16GB,64GB/No

16GB,64GB/No

16GB,64GB/No

8MP/1.2MP

8MP/1.2MP

12MP/1.2MP

12MP/5MP

12MP/5MP

12MP/7MP

12MP,12MP/7MP

1,810

2,915

1,614

1,715

2,750

1,960

2,900

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/No

September,2014

September,2014

March, 2016

September,2015

September,2015

October,2016

0ctober,2016

23,999

24,999 onwards

24,000 onwards

39,990 onwards

48,998 onwards

45,775 omwards

59,999 onwards

Model

Operating system Storage/Expandable Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

www.mymobileindia.com

16GB,64GB,128GB/ No 16GB,64GB,128GB/ No 32GB/128GB/256GB 32GB/128GB/256GB

SEPTEMBER 2018 I 125


MYGUIDE RS. 30,000 AND ABOVE

RS. 30,000 AND ABOVE

MODELS

RS. 30,000 AND ABOVE

APPLE

PARAMETERS

ASUS

BLACKBERRY

8

8 Plus

Zenfone Zoom

Zenfone 3 Deluxe

ZenFone AR

DTEK 60

KEYone

4.7/750 x 1334

5.5/1080x1920

5.5/1080 x 1920

5.7/(1920x1080)

5.7/1440x2560

5.5/2560x1440

4.5/1080 x 1620

Dimension (mm)

138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3

158.4 x 78.1 x 7.5

158.9 x 78.8 x 11.95

156.4x74.4x7.5

158.7 x 77.7 x 9

153.9x75.4x7

149.1 x 72.4 x 9.4

Weight (grams)

148

200

185

172

170

165

180

Processor/RAM

A11 Bionic

A11 Bionic

IA Z3590/4GB

QS 820,821/6GB

QS 821/8GB

QS 820/4GB

QS625/3GB/4GB

iOS 11

iOS 11

Android 5.0

Android 6.0

Android 7.0

Android 6.0

Android 7.1

2GB/64GB/256GB

3GB/64GB/256GB

128GB/ 128GB

256GB/128GB

64/256GB

32GB/2TB

32GB/64GB/256GB

12MP/7MP

12MP/12MP/7MP

13MP/5MP

23MP/8MP

23MP/8MP

21MP/8MP

12MP/8MP

1,821

2,691

3,000

3,000

3,300

2,610

3,505

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes

Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

September, 2017

September, 2017

January, 2016

September,2016

August, 2017

November,2016

August, 2017

61,990

70,800

26,999

25,999

49,990

29,999

39,990

Model Display (inches/res)

Operating system Storage/Expandable Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

RS. 30,000 AND ABOVE

RS. 30,000 AND ABOVE

MODELS

RS. 30,000 AND ABOVE

GOOGLE

PARAMETERS

HUAWEI

HTC

Pixel 2

Pixel 2 XL

Nexus 6P

P9

P20 Pro

10

HTC U Play/Ultra

5/1920x1080

6/1440X2880

5.7/1440 x 2560

5.2/1920x1080

6.1/1080x2240

5.2/ 2560X1440

5.2/1080X1920/ 5.7/2560X1440

Dimension (mm)

145.7x69.7x7.8

157.9x76.7x7.9

159.3 x 77.8 x 7.3

145x70.9x6.95

155 x 73.9 x 7.8

145.9 x 71.9x 9.0

162.41X79.79X7.99

Weight (grams)

143

175

178

144

180

161

145/175

Processor/RAM

QS835/4GB

QS835/4GB

QS810 /3GB

Kirin 955/3GB,4GB

Kirin 970/6GB

QS 820/4GB

MediaTek/QS821

Operating system

Android 8.0

Android 8.0

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 8.1

Android 6.0

Android 6/Android 7

Storage/Expandable

64GB/128GB

64GB/128GB

32GB,64GB/No

32GB,64GB,/128GB

32GB/128GB

32GB/2TB

Rear/Front Camera

12.2MP/8MP

12.2MP/8MP

12.3MP/8MP

12MP,12MP/8MP

40+20+8MP/24MP

12MP/5MP

32GB/256GB/64GB/ 2TB 16MP/16MP/16MP/ 12MP

2,700

2,700

3,450

3,000

4,000

3,000

2500/3000

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

October, 2017

October, 2017

October, 2015

August,2016

April, 2018

May,2016

February, 2017

61,000

81,000

34,999/ 39,999

39,999

64,990

34,999

29,999/53,999

Model Display (inches/res)

Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

126 I SEPTEMBER 2018

MYMOBILE


MYGUIDE RS. 30,000 AND ABOVE

RS. 30,000 AND ABOVE

MODELS

RS. 30,000 AND ABOVE

HTC

PARAMETERS

LG

MOTOROLA

OPPO

HTC U11

G4 Dual SIM

G5

V20

Moto X Force

Moto Z

Find X

5.5/2560X1440

5.5/1440 x 2560

5.3/ 2560x1440

5.7/2560x1440

5.4/1440 x 2560

5.5/2560x1440

6.42/1080X2340

Dimension (mm)

153.9 x 75.9 x 7.9

148.9 x 76.1 x 8.9

149.4x73.9x7.3

159.5x77.9x7.6

149.8 x 78 x 9.2

153.3x75.3x5.19

156.7x74.2x 9.4

Weight (grams)

169

155

159

174

169

136

186

Processor/RAM

QS 835

QS 808 /3GB

QS 820/4GB

QS 820/4GB

QS 810 /3GB

QS 820/4GB

QS845/8GB

Operating system

Android 7.0

Android 5.1

Android 6.0

Android 7.0

Android 5.1.1

Android 6.0

Android 8.1

Storage/Expandable

64GB/128GB

32GB/2TB

32GB/100GB

64GB/2TB

32GB,64GB/2TB

64GB/2TB

128GB/256GB

Rear/Front Camera

16MO/12MP

16MP/8MP

16MP/8MP

16MP,8MP/5MP

21MP/5MP

13MP/5MP

16MP+20MP/25MP

3,000

3,000

2,800

3,200

3,760

2,600

3,730

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/No

July, 2017

May, 2015

April,2016

December,2016

November, 2015

October,2016

July, 2017

47,999

34,800

25,999 onwards

54,999

25,990

39,999

59,990

Model Display (inches/res)

Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

RS. 30,000 AND ABOVE

RS. 30,000 AND ABOVE

MODELS

RS. 30,000 AND ABOVE

SAMSUNG

PARAMETERS

Galaxy S6

Galaxy S6 Edge

Galaxy A9 Pro

Galaxy Note 5

Display (inches/res)

5.1/ 1440 x 2560

5.1/ 1440 x 2560

6/1920x1080

5.7/1440 x 2560

5.1/2560 X 1440

5.5/2560 X 1440

5.8/6.2/2960X1440

Dimension (mm)

143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8

142.1 x 70.1 x 7

161.7x80.9x7.9

153.2 x 76.1 x 7.6

69.6x142.4x7.9

72.6 x 150.9 x 7.7

148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0/159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1

Weight (grams)

138

132

210

171

152

157

155/173

Processor/RAM

Octa core /3GB

Octa core /3GB

octa-core/4GB

Quad core /4GB

Exynos 8890/4GB

Exynos 8890/4GB

Exynos 8896

Android 5.0.2

Android 5.0.2

Android 6.0

Android 5.1.1

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 7.0

Storage/Expandable

32GB,/No

32GB/No

32GB/256GB

32GB/No

32GB/200GB

32GB/200GB

64/256GB

Rear/Front Camera

16MP/5MP

16MP/5MP

16MP/8MP

16MP/5MP

12MP/5MP

12MP/5MP

12MP/8MP

2,550

2,600

5,000

3,000

3,000

3,600

3000/3500

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

No

No

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/-

Yes/-

Yes

March, 2015

April, 2015

September,2016

August, 2015

March, 2016

March, 2016

April, 2017

26,990

34,900

32,490

40,900/43,900

32,900

38,900

53,00/58,900

Model

Operating system

Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

www.mymobileindia.com

Galaxy S7

Galaxy S7 Edge

Galaxy S8/Plus

SEPTEMBER 2018 I 127


MYGUIDE RS. 30,000 AND ABOVE

TABLETS

MODELS

RS. 30,000 AND ABOVE

SAMSUNG

PARAMETERS

SONY

VIVO

APPLE

Note 8

Xperia Z5 Dual

Xperia X

Xperia Z5 Premium

NEX

iPad Mini 2

iPad Mini 4

Display (inches/res)

6.3/1440 x 2960

5.2/1080 x 1920

5/1920x1080

5.5/ 2160 x 3840

6.59/1080x2316

7.9/1536 x 2048

7.9/1536 x 2048

Dimension (mm)

162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6

146 x 72 x 7.3

143 x 69 x 7.7

154.4 x 76 x 7.8

162x77x8

200 x 134.7 x 7.5

203.2 x 134.8 x 6.1

Weight (grams)

195

156.5g

152

181

199

331

298.8/304

Processor/RAM

Exynos 8895/6GB

QS 810/3GB

QS 650/ 3GB

QS 810/3GB

QS845/8GB

A7,M7/1GB

A8,M8/2GB

Android 7.1.1

Android 5.1

Android 6.0

Android 6.0

Android 8.1

iOS 8

iOS 9

64GB/128GB/256GB

32GB/200GB

64GB/ 200GB

32GB/200GB

8GB/128GB/256GB

16,32GB/No

16GB,64GB,128GB/No

12MP/12MP/8MP

23MP/5MP

23MP/13MP

23MP/5MP

12MP+5MP/8MP

5MP/1.2MP

8MP/1.2MP

3,300

2,900

2,620

3,430

4,000

23.8w

19.1W

2G/3G/4G

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/No

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes/No

Yes/-

Yes/-

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/No

September, 2017

November, 2015

July, 2016

November, 2015

July, 2018

November, 2015

Spetember, 2015

67,900

37,000

38,990

47,990

44,990

28,460 onwards

44,500

Model

Operating system Storage/Expandable Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

TABLETS

TABLETS

MODELS

TABLETS

APPLE

ASUS

MICROMAX

iPad Pro 9.7-inch iPad Pro 12.9-inch iPad Air 2 with Wi-Fi WiFi/ Wi-Fi + Cellular WiFi/ WiFi + Cellular

ZenPad 8

LapTab

Galaxy Tab S3 9.7

Tab A

PARAMETERS

Model

SAMSUNG

9.7/2048x1536

9.7/1536 x 2048

12.9/2732 x 2048

8.0/1280 x 800

10.1/1280X800

9.7/ 1536 x 2048

8/800 x 1280

Dimension (mm)

240 x 169.5 x 6.1

240 x 169.5 x 6.1

305.7 x 220.6 x 6.9

209 x 123 x 8.5

259.2 x 175.4 x 9.2

237.3 x 169 x 6

212.1 x 124.1 x 8.9

Weight (grams)

437

1

713/ 723

350

1.1kg

429

364

Processor/RAM

A8X,M8/1GB

A9X,M9/2GB

"A9X,M9 /4GB"

QS MSM8929/2GB

Intel 4 Gen/2GB

QS 820/3GB

QS425/2GB

iOS 9

iOS 9.3

iOS 9

Android 5.0

Windows 10

Android 7.0

Android 7.1

16GB, 64GB/No

32GB,128GB,256GB/ No

32GB/No

16GB/-

32GB/64GB

32GB/256GB

16GB/256GB

8MP/1.2MP

12MP/5MP

8MP/1.2MP

8MP/2MP

2MP/2MP

13MP/5MP

8MP/5MP

27.3W

27.9 W

38.5W

4,000

7,700

6,000

5,000

2G/3G/4G

-

Yes/Yes/Yes

-

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes/Yes

Dual SIM

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/No

October, 2014

March, 2016

November, 2015

July, 2015

2,015

June, 2017

October, 2017

38,000

49,900 Onwards/ 61,900 onwards

65,900 nwards/ 85,900 onwards

12,496

10,999

47,990

17,990

Display (inches/res)

Operating system Storage/Expandable Rear/Front Camera Battery (mAh)

Music Player/FM Launch Price Rs.

128 I SEPTEMBER 2018

MYMOBILE


tech trendz

Security

Doubts Over Cloud! Real or perceived vulnerability of cloud based data management has emerged as a key concern for enterprises!

W

hile cloud computing

organization, according to Gartner. As

presents organizations

more sophisticated tactics such as social

with novel opportunities,

engineering are engineered to compromise

a number of new risks -

sensitive data, organizations should expand

including cybersecurity disclosure and

their cybersecurity team to address evolving

General Data Protection Regulation

digital risks.

(GDPR) compliance- make cloud solutions

“Executives are right to expand cloud

susceptible to unexpected security threats.

services as part of their digital business

Little wonder then that cloud computing

initiatives, but they need to ensure their

has emerged as the top risk concern for

cloud security strategy keeps up with this

executives in risk, audit, finance and

growth,” said Matthew Shinkman, practice

compliance, according to a latest survey

leader at Gartner. “Leaders should start

by Gartner, Inc.

by clearly identifying their most at-risk

In Gartner’s latest quarterly ‘Emerging Risks Report’, 110 senior executives in risk, audit, finance and compliance

areas, which remain obscure to many large organization leaders.”

cloud computing as the top concern

Increased Adoption Brings New Risks

for the second consecutive quarter.

Gartner forecasts cloud computing to

Additional information security risks, such

be a $300 billion business by 2021,

as cybersecurity disclosure and GDPR

as companies increasingly adopt cloud

compliance, ranked among the top five

services to realize their desired digital

concerns of the executives surveyed.

business outcomes. Through the use of

at large global organizations identified

The top two fast-moving, high-impact

cloud services, cloud computing provides

risks - those which have the ability to cripple

the speed and agility that digital business

an organization quickly - are also related

requires. Adopting the cloud can also result

to information security threats. Social

in significant cost savings and generate

engineering and GDPR compliance were

new sources of revenue.

cited as most likely to cause the greatest

Results from Gartner’s Emerging Risks

enterprise damage if not adequately

Report, however, reveal that companies

addressed by risk management leaders,

continue to struggle with security. Despite

according to Gartner. However, only 18

record spending on information security in

percent of the cross-functional executives surveyed currently considered social engineering to be a significant enterprise risk. Executives should expect cybersecurity threats to affect organizations in unpredictable ways. Through 2022, at least 95 percent of cloud security failures will be the fault of the

www.mymobileindia.com

“Executives are right to expand cloud services as part of their digital business initiatives, but they need to ensure their cloud security strategy keeps up with this growth” – Matthew Shinkman, Practice Leader at Gartner the last two years, organizations have lost an estimated $400 billion to cyber theft and fraud worldwide. As cybersecurity events and data breaches increase, it is imperative that organizations elevate IT security to a board-level topic and an essential part of any solid digital business growth strategy. “Executives should promote risk awareness throughout the organization,” Mr. Shinkman stated. “A strong risk culture helps employees make the right decisions and mitigates poor outcomes.” n team@mymobile.co.in

september 2018 | 129


Feature

battery Special

Feature phones with powerful Battery Under Rs 1,500 By Nijhum Rudra

I

n spite of wide diversity of spec-packed smartphones available today, the adoration of feature phone still exists in the Indian handset market owing to its ease of use. Feature phones went through a massive revolution for the past one and a half year with the inception of cutting-edge features and internet connectivity. As per a Counterpoint report, the feature phone market doubled in Q1 2018 while the overall smartphone market remained flat. Amongst imperative features like multi-language support, Time talker,

durability, etc., one feature that still makes feature phones a preferred choice in this era of smartphones is the long battery backup. We present you a list of features phones available in the market which offer more than 1,900mAh of battery and are a value for money, being priced under Rs 1,500.

Micromax Bharat 1

M

icromax’s Bharat 1 runs on KaiOS as well and is powered

by Qualcomm 205 processor. It has 512MB RAM and 4GB built-in storage (32GB expandable). The feature phone is powered by 2,000 mAh battery. n

Price: INR 1,999 as a online.

Tambo S2430

Itel it5231

T

T

his feature phone comes with a 1,900 mAh battery which lasts up

to a talk time of 20 hours. The build

id durable and comes with premium metallic finish look. It comes with time talker and an expandable memory of upto 64 GB. The phone has 2.4 inch display, 0.3 MP front camera. n

Price: INR 1,410 (INR 1,225.00 via online)

130 | september 2018

he phone comes with the screen dimension of 2.4 inches with

expandable memory upto 32GB and a decent camera quality with 0.3 MP main camera. The feature phone is powered with 1,900 mAh battery with 17 hours of talk time. n

Price: INR 1,172


Nokia 105 (Dual SIM, Black)

T

he phone features a curved, ergonomic body and an island key layout for easier dialing and texting, the Nokia 105 gives you the

feeling of a solid, quality phone nestled in the palm of your hand. It has built-in flashlight and pre-loaded games including the classic Snake Xenzia, there’s never a dull moment. It has an improved 1.8 inch QQVGA display and its 800 mAh battery offers up to 15 hours

Feature

battery Special

talk time. n

Price: INR 1,072 via Paytm Mall, INR 1,149 via amazon.in

Samsung Guru FM Plus

T

Karbonn K5000 Mahabali

T

he phone has 1.8 inch display, 1.3 MP

camera, and 5,000mAh

his phone weighs

battery. It also includes

only 66 grams

Dual SIM, GSM+GSM, a

and sports a 1.5 inch

TFT display with a pixel

TFT display and 128

density of 114 ppi and

x 128 pixels screen

screen resolution of 128

resolution. The other

x 160 pixels. The optical

features in this phone

department is furnished

i n c l u d e c a l c u l a t o r,

with 1.3 MP Primary

stopwatch, world clock,

Camera

calendar, alarm and FM

and

image

resolution of 1280 x 1024

Radio. It has an 800

Pixels. Users must note

mAh battery, which

that this phone has only

offers a very decent

2G connectivity. n

battery backup. n

Price: INR 1,249 via Amazon India

Price: INR 1,375 via Amazon.in

Reliance JioPhone

A

fter the launch of Reliance’s

primary camera and 0.3MP front

feature phone, the market

sensor. The phone is powered by

has been disrupted and it has, in

2,000mAh battery which enables

turn, created demand for feature

12 hour talk time. n

phones again in India. The dual core (Spreadtrum SC9820A) feature phone appears with 4GB memory coupled with a 2MP

Price: INR 13,75 via Amazon.in, INR 1500 via Flipkart) nijhum@mymobile.co.in

www.mymobileindia.com

september 2018 | 131


Gadget Corner

add-ons Syska Smart Table Lamp One of a kind lamp that listens to your voice

S

yska LED recently introduced WiFi-enabled Smart Table Lamp which is compatible with Amazon

Alexa. Once the smart table lamp synced with Amazon

Alexa, it can be controlled using voice command given by the user. It’s one of a kind lamp, which can help you in choosing from three different colour temperatures

Price: INR 3,699

i.e. Warm White, Day Light and Cool White, which you can adjust according to your requirement and mood. Syska Smart Table Lamp comes with feather touch

extent to provide an effortless reading experience and less strain on your eyes.

controls to switch it on/off, control its colour temperature,

The smart table lamp lasts up to 30,000 hours, and

and its brightness for a seamless experience. The 2

is equipped with a colour changing technology which

mood setting in Syska Smart Table Lamp allows you

allows it to change the colour of the lamp at 3 different

to fix your lighting requirements between reading and

temperatures- Yellow, Warm White & White. The colour

night. It has been designed ergonomically as well as

temperature ranges from 3000K~6000K. It is available

flexible to use. The lamp can be bended up to certain

on Amazon and Flipkart. n

Belkin 3.5mm Audio Cable with Lightning Connector

Connecting your iPhone to speakers becomes more exciting!

B

elkin, a market leader in mobile accessories,

digital signals to analog.

recently expanded its product portfolio in India

This new cable joins the Lightning Audio + Charge

with the launch of a 3.5mm Audio Cable with Lightning

RockStar and the 3.5mm Audio + Charge RockStar

Connector which allows iPhone users to connect directly

to grow Belkin’s portfolio of digital audio products.

to the car stereo or home speakers with a single cable. The

The 3.5mm Audio Cable with Lightning Connector is

new cable outputs high resolution audio by converting

available for purchase at Amazon and Ample store. Belkin has been making audio products for nearly 30 years when the company launched its first stereo cables and has since sold more than 55M audio accessories to date. Product highlights: • Built-in digital to analog converter outputs high resolution audio • 6 ft length for listening to music in different environments • MFi-certification; fully compatible with iOS devices Full Belkin digital audio portfolio: • Lightning to 3.5mm Audio Cable 6 ft

INR 2,999

• 3.5mm Audio + Charge RockStar

INR4,999

• Lightning Audio + Charge RockStar INR 4,999 n

132 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


Digitek Bluetooth Stereo Headphones Experience prime sound quality with ease

S

Price: INR 1,495 (DBH005); INR 1,995 (DBH-011 & DBH-012)

martphone accessories brand Digitek has come up with high-quality Bluetooth stereo headphones in

three variants – DBH-005, DBH-011 and DBH-012. These sleek headphones are claimed to be engineered to deliver the best of acoustics and aesthetics. The devices offer excellent bass with lifelike sound, the company said. These high-performance headphones

the TF Card.

are convenient and comfortable to use for long hours, it

All the three versions of the headphone can be used

added. The headphones can be used with ease in gyms or

with soft ear pads to reduce the noise. They provide an

while engaging in sports with the wireless functionality.

excellent performance of talk time and music playback

All the three variants are light and have a sleek

for at least 8 hours with just 2 to 3 hrs of battery charging

design. The devices are equipped with control buttons

through the USB and offer a standby time of 120 hrs,

for wireless operations and a built-in microphone that

the company claimed. The headphones have Bluetooth

supports hands-free calling. The headphones produce a

4.2+EDR implemented, which make them compatible

stereo effect with loud and clear sound. The DBH-011

with smartphones, iPad, MP3/MP4 players and laptops.

and DBH-012 headphones are foldable that makes them

These devices are available at leading stores and

extremely handy and travel-friendly, and support use of

e-commerce platforms. n

Gadget Corner

add-ons

Quantum QHM 10000 Powerbank Best suited for formal meeting

D

omestic company QHMPL has launched a leather-

of 5V-2AMPS and conversion rate up to 80%, the

finished 10000mAh powerbank, known as the

powerbank adapts to the connected device when in use.

QHM 10000, which comes equipped with 3 USB ports,

With several advanced

pairing elegance with functionality. Suiting the best

safety features, the

for every formal meeting, the QHM 10000 sports a

powerbank upholds

minimalist design in striking black that fits perfectly

against overcharging

in your palm. Its high power capacity makes it great for

and short circuits

charging multiple devices, especially considering its 3

keeping the devices

USB charging ports.

safe all the time.

The powerbank claims to be powerful and durable with

The device comes in

built-in Li-polymer battery cell and intelligent circuitry

shades of Black and

that provides safe, long-lasting charging performance.

White, and is available

With RISC Micro Processor Controlled for fast charging

with leading retail and

and enhanced battery life cycle, the powerbank claims

e-commerce stores in

to allow 500 times charge discharge cycle for continuous use. With maximum output

www.mymobileindia.com

India. n

Price: INR 1,499

september 2018 | 133


Gadget Corner

add-ons boAt Bassheads 235 V2 Earphones An audiophile bass delight

A

udio electronics brand boAt has introduced its

ear fit to reduce

boAt Bassheads 235 V2 earphones in India. The

ambient noise

earphones weigh 26g and come with 10mm drivers with

and enrich

an impedance of 16Ί. The speaker output is 3Mw (rated)

the bass. The

and 10mW (maximum). The boAt Bassheads 235 V2 has

company

got a multi-function button pressing system where users

says

can play/pause music and accept or reject calls. The

changeable

onboard microphone allows accessing voice assistant

eartips will

and taking calls. The earphones come with passive noise

help

isolation and HD audio, the company claims.

access a custom fit.

the

users

The company says that the boAt Bassheads 235 V2

The product carries a 1-year

provides warm and bass-heavy sound that is apt for extra

warranty and is available at

bass lovers. Its 10mm dynamic drivers are encased

Amazon.in at an introductory

in full-metal housings, anodized surfaces and a TPE

price of Rs 499. n

material. The boAt Bassheads 235 V2 earphones come with a metallic finish on the driver housing, with an in-

Price: INR 1,299

F&D W8 Speaker Compact enough to fit in your palm

H

omegrown audio products maker F&D recently

audio-visual sound field, the portable speaker takes

introduced its newest W8 Bluetooth speaker in

entertainment to a whole new dimension, the company

the country. With ergonomic design and 360-degree

says. Devised with the penchant for style yet balanced

Price: INR 2, 490

with excellent sound, the speaker is said to be compact enough to fit in the palm of your hand. The speaker also puts an audio-visual show, playing the songs, perfectly in sync with its programmable LED lights. Playing very loud for its size with the battery life of up to 360 minutes (up to 6hrs) of playback and 10m range, the speaker brings an amplified outdoor entertainment. The ultra-portable speaker seamlessly pairs up with mobile or any Bluetooth device bringing distortion free music. Adding to that, there is a built-in microphone that also allows the user to make and receive calls, at the press of one button. The speaker is compatible with Micro SD Card/AUX Inputs. It also comes with built-in FM, bringing the complete music experience. The product is currently available online with Snapdeal and several leading retail stores. n

134 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


Gadget Corner

Boult Q Headphones Designed to take your listening to the next level

D

omestic audio brand Boult Audio expanded its product portfolio with the launch of wireless Boult

Q headphones in India recently. The Boult Q is powered by CSR 8635 chipset and is said to offer high definition

audio quality. It is equipped with 3D acoustic drivers that the company claims has deep bass and provides clear output. The ear cups of Boult Q fold on two different axis that the company says offers portability and enhances the ease of use of the headphones. In terms of the wireless connectivity, the Boult Q comes equipped with

Price: INR 1,710

audio decode Bluetooth technology for seamless audio

listener gets a braided auxiliary cable that can be used

transmission.

when the device is low on battery.

The Boult Q comes with in-line control for music

The device comes with a battery that is said to deliver

and calls to answer, hang up, and adjust volume levels.

up to 8-10 hours of playback time and two day stand-by

It is said to be compatible with all operating systems

on a single charge. It supports quick charge as well.

including iOS and Android. The company says that the

The device is said to be sweat proof. It is available for

Boult Q comes with dual mode functionality where the

purchase at Myntra. n

Intex Computer Gaming Mouse Made for the gaming buffs

H

omegrown Intex Technologies has launched two feature-rich models of the computer gaming

mouse- GM Drive Gaming Optical & GM Rapid Gaming Optical. The new GM Drive Gaming Mouse is a 6D mouse that comes with six dedicated buttons for independent functioning with 800 to 2400 DoT Per Inch (DPI) optical sensor with appealing black and blue colour combination while the GM Drive

Rapid Gaming Mouse is a 7D mouse that has seven dedicated buttons which can be adjusted to 1000 to 3200 DPI (Dots Per inch) for high-resolution gaming as per the need of the user. It also has a backlight that constantly changes colours with edgy design giving it a premium look. Furthermore, the key functions include programmable buttons, better grip, the higher sensitivity with high DPI settings providing a jitter free experience, adjustable weight and faster response time with greater accuracy.

www.mymobileindia.com

These features allow the mouse to perform better when used with more taxing programs, allowing the user quicker reactions and more comfortable movements, the company claimed. n

Price: INR 450 (GM Drive Gaming Optical); INR 799 (GM Rapid Gaming Optical)

september 2018 | 135


Gadget Corner

add-ons Asus ZenBook Pro 15, ZenBook S & ZenBook 13 Laptops Revolutionizing the path-breaking ZenBook series combine high-resolution fullcolour auxiliary touchscreen with a touchpad. Both the variants include two Thunderbolt ports allowing the user to connect up to two additional 4K external monitors. As for the price, Asus ZenBook Pro 15 with Intel Core-i7 chipset comes for a price of Rs 1,79,990 while the Intel Core-i9 version tags a price of Rs 2,09,990. Asus ZenBook S: It features an ErgoLift hinge design and comes with MIL-STD-810G military grade ranking for reliability. It sports a Full HD NanoEdge display, 8th Gen Intel Core

T

p r o c e s s o r, 5 1 2 G B aiwanese tech major Asus has launched a new

(PCIe SSD) storage. The new Asus ZenBook S claims to

collection of ZenBook Series: ZenBook Pro 15

provide up to 13.5 hours battery life. The laptop includes

(UX580), ZenBook S (UX391) and ZenBook 13 (UX331).

Thunderbolt 3 connectivity which is supported by USB

Touted to be a revolutionary series by Asus, the ZenBook

Type C. Priced at Rs 1,29,990, the ZenBook S is available

Pro 15 promises to be the future, presenting users with

in two colour options, Deep Dive Blue and Burgundy

a faster and advanced Windows 10 laptops. ZenBook S

Red.

packs powerful, world-class features in a thin and portable

Asus ZenBook 13: The ultra-thin Asus ZenBook 13

frame, while ZenBook 13 is a compact, ultra-powerful and

features crystal-like finish and comes with MILMIL-STD-

easily portable laptop.

810G military-grade for better reliability. It is powered by

Asus ZenBook Pro 15: It made its debut along with

8th Gen Intel Core i7 processor coupled with 512GB SSD

ZenBook Pro 14 at Computex earlier this year. One of the

and 16GB RAM. The Asus ZenBook 13 sports NanoEdge

variants features eight generation Intel Core i7-8750H

Full HD with 100 per cent RGB colour gamut and Harman

processor and the other carries a Core i9-8950H chipset.

Kardon audio. Packing a 50Wh lithium-polymer battery,

Both the variants feature a 15.6-inch UHD NanoEdge

the new ZenBook 13 offers up to 14 hours of battery life.

display with 100 per cent AdobeRGB coverage, 16GB

Asus ZenBook 13 retails for a price starting at Rs 66,990

RAM and 1TB (PCIe x4 SSD) storage. The models come

and goes all the way up to Rs 84,990.

with Nvidia GTX 1050i and offer 4GB of graphics memory. ZenBook Pro 15 features ScreenPad which claims to

136 | september 2018

All three models are available on e-commerce platforms, LFR stores and channel partners. n

MYMOBILE


Sony HT-S700RF & HT-S500RF Home Theatre Systems Enjoy the theatre-like ambience at home with these speakers Audio Input along with support for Sony’s Music Center App, using which users can play the music on their smartphones -- both Android and iPhone. Talking about differences, while the subwoofer size in the HT-S700RF is 20 cms, the HT-S500RF

S

ony India recently launched its 2018 line up of home theatre systems, called the 5.1 channel

Soundbar S series in the country. The line up consists of two models – HT-S700RF and HT-S500RF. Both the

new Sony home theatre systems claim to be equipped with “India sound setting”, which is said to deliver more powerful bass sound with clear vocal sound that is designed for Indian consumers. Both the HT-S700RF and HT-S500RF sport a rhombus patterned metal grill on all front and rear speakers and feature 5.1 channel surround systems with a power output of 1000W. Both systems house “special tweeters” that are said to produce high frequency sounds. Connectivity options for both the home theatre systems include NFC, Bluetooth (v4.2), one USB port, one HDMI port, one optical-in and one Analogue

www.mymobileindia.com

home theatre system has an 18cm subwoofer. Also,

Gadget Corner

add-ons

while the former comes with rear ‘Tall Boy’ speakers, the latter system offers book shelf rear speakers. The dimensions of the surround speaker of the HTS700RF are 78x1200x78mm and the subwoofer are 231x438x378mm. As for the HT-S500RF, the dimensions of the surround speaker are 91x216x91mm and the subwoofer are 207x402x330mm. Even the weight of the HT-S700RF is more as it weighs 24kg, while the HT-S500RF weighs 17kg. The home theatre systems are available at all Sony Centers, major electronic stores across India and on e-commerce websites such as Amazon and Flipkart. n

Price: INR 37,990 (HT-S700RF); INR 29,990 (HT-S500RF)

september 2018 | 137


Gadget Corner

add-ons Microsoft Surface Book 2 & Surface Laptop Surface family just got bigger

M

icrosoft recently introduced two new entrants to its

available in 13.5-inch and 15-inch variants. Microsoft

Surface family, dubbed the Surface Book 2 and the

boasts of a 17-hour battery life, making it suitable for

Surface Laptop in India. The expanded Surface family

enterprise users.

provides a strong portfolio of Microsoft devices that will

The Surface Book 2 starts at Rs 1,37,999 for the

allow users in India to unleash their creativity through

base 13.5-inch variant with a Core i5 chip, 256GB SSD,

Windows 10 features.

8GB RAM and Intel HD Graphics 620, and goes up to Rs

Surface Book 2: This is touted to be the most powerful Surface device ever made. Microsoft claims that the Book

2,95,999 for the 15-inch variant with Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM and an NVIDIA GTX 1060 GPU.

2 is up to five times more powerful than the original.

Surface Laptop: It brings the classic laptop form in a

The convertible device features the latest 8th Gen Intel

sleek and elegant clamshell device. The Laptop weighs

Dual-Core or Quad-Core processors, along with NVIDIA’s

around 1.25Kg and is less than 14.5mm thin. The Surface

GeForce GPUs. Some of the highlights of the laptop

Laptop features a signature keyboard covered in Alcantara

include a backlit keyboard and the availability of both

and large precision trackpad. Microsoft offers the 7th

USB Type-A and USB Type-C

generation Intel Core processors with the laptop. Battery

ports. The Book 2 supports

life is claimed to last up to 14.5 hours. The Laptop comes

four different modes — a

preloaded with Windows 10 in S mode, which ensures

Studio Mode, Laptop Mode,

streamlined security and superior performance by only

View Mode, or even Tablet

allowing apps from the Microsoft Store.

mode, which lets you

The Surface Laptop starts at Rs 86,999 for the Core

detach the screen. The

i5 model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB SSD, and goes up

Surface Book 2 will be

to Rs 2,33,999 for the Core i7 variant with 1TB SSD and 16GB of RAM. n

138 | september 2018

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Gadget Corner

add-ons

Price: INR 35,000

BenQ EL2870U A 4K HDR eye-care monitor for video and gaming enjoyment

B

enQ has launched its new 4K HDR eye-care

company claims.

monitor, the EL2870U in India. The device is

BenQ EL2870U also supports AMD’s FreeSync

available exclusively on Amazon India. This is the first

technology, which eliminates any image tearing,

4K UHD monitor to feature a response time of 1ms

broken frames, motion smear and choppy screenplays

designed for eye-care. The new monitor with the help

for fluid gaming and intensive video work.

of HDR technology increases the overall dynamic range

BenQ’s brightness intelligence plus (B.I.+)

between true black and bright white, so that it is able

technology detects the room brightness and colour

to duplicate what the human eyes see in the world.

temperature and then adjusts the display settings

The company claims that the 4K UHD resolution will provide a lot of clarity while using the monitor,

accordingly to avoid overexposure and enhance details in dark areas.

and have a bigger real estate for visual-intensive work.

The company states that eye care technologies

The display comes with a 1ms Gray-to-Gray (GTG)

implemented by BenQ in the EL2870U on top of

response time paired by HDR for intense video graphics

HDR 10 content support help reduce eye fatigue for

performance. The monitor will ensure better gaming

enhanced user comfort, enhanced productivity, and

experience compared to a traditional 4K display, the

workplace safety during extended use. n

www.mymobileindia.com

september 2018 | 139


Gadget Corner

add-ons

Price: INR 59,990

Abaj 55-inch Smart HDTV Promises to bring everything you watch to life

E

xpanding its television portfolio, Abaj has come up

by a Quad Core A7 processor that is clocked at 850MHz

with its latest smart TV, the 55-inch LN 140 SMT

with dual-core MALI450MP2 400MHz GPU.

FHD/SMART in the Indian market. The television runs

Besides, the model comes with HDMI Inputs 3 (CEC/

on Android 4.0 and it comes preinstalled with apps such

ARC/MHL), headphone jack and 2 USB ports. Also, the

as Gmail, YouTube, Twitter Facebook and Netflix.

model utilizes a Linux operating system and offers an

The company claims that by having a slim profile, this

option of a mouse cursor on remote. Integrated with

HDTV blends well into your living space. It states that

the latest technology and features such as the user-

because of the slim bezels, the spotlight is cast directly

friendly interface for easier adaption, 5 band equalizer,

on the pictures being played and not on the frame.

PC compatible endless internet supported with LAN

The television sports a display resolution of 1920 x 1080p which translates to Full HD and come with two speakers that have a sound output of 8W. Apart from this, the Abaj 55-inch SMART LED TV is also powered

140 | september 2018

Connectivity / Built-In WiFi makes this TV to emerge as a distinct face, the company claims. One can purchase this TV from Abaj outlets. It comes with a 3-year warranty. n

MYMOBILE


Fossil Q Venture HR & Explorist HR Tech-packed touchscreen smartwatches for healthy lifestyle

U

S-based luxury brand Fossil has come up with

In terms of design and size, the Q Venture features

its latest smartwatches from the Fossil Q lineup,

a 40mm casing and 18mm interchangeable straps,

known as the Fossil Q Venture HR and Fossil Q

while the Q Explorist HR comes with a 45mm casing

Explorist HR. The fourth-generation smartwatches

and 22mm straps. n

from Fossil come with a bunch of features that were said to be missing on the previous iteration. The allnew smartwatches come equipped with heart rate tracker, NFC payment and built-in GPS. They will be available for purchase in the country by the end of October 2018. The latest Wear OS models from Fossil can track heart rate across ‘multiple types of workouts’ using

Gadget Corner

add-ons

Google Fit. The smartwatches come with watch faces that can display beats-per-minute. Both the fourthgen Fossil Q smartwatches feature a touchscreen display and run Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 2100 platform. The Fossil Q Venture HR and Fossil Q Explorist HR promise a day’s worth of battery life depending on usage. It comes with NFC for mobile payment, however, the Wear OS smartwatches are compatible only with Google Pay. Besides monitoring heart rate, these smart wearables from Fossil can also track walks, runs, cycle rides and other activities.

Price: INR 19,995 (Q Venture HR); INR 21,995 (Q Explorist HR)

www.mymobileindia.com

september 2018 | 141


Gadget Corner

add-ons iBall Tower Speakers Aimed at party enthusiasts

P

lanning an aggressive push in the audio market, domestic brand iBall has announced that it’ll

launch 20 new products, across the audio category in the span of next three months in the coming festive season. The first of the series being the two tower speakers - Twin Tower BTK and Tall Sound H9 are said to be twice more powerful when it comes to the serious business of sound. With its studied styling and unique LED lights, both the tower speakers bring an edgy roughness balanced with style. The speakers deliver symmetrical sound

160W RMS power. With its strong sound technology,

with a wonderful balance between hefty bass, smooth

the speaker comes with Dual 7.62cms (3) Satellites

midrange and a nearly tangible sense of space.

and 20.32 cm (8) Woofer Drivers in both the cabinets.

Aimed at party enthusiasts, the iBall Twin Tower BTK

With iBall Tall Sound H9, the speakers define the power

speaker is equipped with the powerful

of sound loud and clear. With Dual 16.51 cm (6.5) Woofer drivers in each, along with total power of 160W RMS, the beats are said to be unbeatable, to bring the boom to every party. Sporting the powerful dual bass reflex design, both the tower speakers perfectly correspond to the components, creating a dynamic sound with each tone mapping a distortion-free deep bass foundation to crystal-clear highs, thanks, in part, the wooden cabinets, the company claims. Raising the thunder, coupled with groovy, soft and captivating LEDs with six changeable patterns, the speakers present the sound show that can also be turned off when not in mood. Bundled with a wireless Karaoke Mic and a remote controlled access, the speakers bring karaoke sessions live whenever desired. Aided with Bluetooth, USB, SD/ MMC, FM Radio and 2xAUX inputs, your music is a command away. The products are available with leading retail stores across India and come with a one-year warranty. n

Price: INR 17,499 (Tall Sound H9; INR 19,999 (Twin Tower BTK)

142 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


Vivotek Ultra HD Cameras & Network Video Recorders Ability to accurately render fine detail

L

eading IP surveillance provider Vivotek has released four top-tier 4K cameras, the FD9391-

to offer a total solution for users. Under the strategy of “See More in Smarter

EHTV, IB9391-EHT, IP9191-HP and IP9191-HT.

Ways”, the FD9391-EHTV and IB9391-EHT

These four brand new ultra-HD cameras provide

include Vivotek’s latest technology - Smart Motion

3840 x 2160 resolutions at 30 frames per second

Detection. The Smart Motion Detection is able to

and 1920 x 1080 resolutions at 120 frames per

recognize human activities with precise accuracy,

second.

without being affected by a change of lighting or

Compared to other devices with standard 1080p

other factors. In addition, the technology reduces

resolution, the video quality in these cameras has

time spent on configuration and fine tuning, thanks

seen significant advancement, delivering images

to its intuitive configuration panel and clear visual

of four times the resolution to viewers. Taking into

confirmation. The Smart Motion Detection results

account security as well as image quality, these four

in a significant reduction of false alarms and the

flagship cameras have embedded Trend Micro’s anti-

continued protection of people in smarter ways.

intrusion software to provide users higher levels of

The four 4K cameras stock availability may vary

network protection. The resultant combination

by country or region. ND9441P & ND9541P

means that this series of cameras are well suited

will be ready to support 4K imagery in Q3

for city surveillance, transportation and industrial

2018. The Smart Motion Detection in

monitoring due to their outstanding image quality

both 4K cameras will be ready in

and ability to accurately render fine detail.

Q4 2018. n

Gadget Corner

add-ons

Thanks to the unique combination of H.265 compression and Smart Stream III, video compression of these four cameras has been brought into a new generation, enabling savings on both bandwidth and storage consumption of up to 90%. This means that users can enjoy engaging and detailed imagery while compression technology reduces the size of recorded data to a level below that of a 2-megapixel camera. Moreover, Vivotek has launched four network v i d e o r e c o r d e r s ( N V R ) , N D 9 4 2 4 P, NR9782, ND9441P and ND9541P. All four NVRs are capable of supporting 4K Imagery

www.mymobileindia.com

september 2018 | 143


Gadget Corner

add-ons Astrum TM155 India’s first App-based Smart Trolley Multimedia Speaker

N

ew tech brand Astrum has launched India’s first

powerful 80W Total RMS Power and 15” superior drivers,

app-based Smart Trolley Multimedia Speaker -

the TM155 has been designed for crystal clear dynamic

TM155. Defining the engineering brilliance and modern

full range music experience with deep bass. The speaker

design, the speaker claims to

is claimed to be equipped with superior sound technology

deliver deep and powerful

that enables exceptional accuracy.

dynamics that provide

Sporting a portable design, the speaker

the ultimate listening

housed in a trolley structure features a

experience.

telescopic rear handle and wheels which

Outfitted with the

Price: INR 17,490

helps in easy transportation. The stylish and fashionable wireless Bluetooth speaker with silicon finish for shock and water resistance allows it for active outdoor and indoor use. The speaker is also equipped with LED display, with the on-board lighting effects with beat control. Bringing wireless control, download the app ‘Astrum SMARTY’ on Google Play Store to take control of your listening experience. Start streaming music instantly, or use the app to easily personalize the presets for one-touch access to the music you love. With the app convenience, seamlessly jump between stations, playlists and services. Easy to set up, the speaker can be connected to multiple smartphone and tablets to play music. It comes with an AUX input and cable which allows you to connect your headphones, smartphone and MP3 players to it. Furthermore, it also comes with the FM letting you tune into your favorite radio station, with playback time up to 3 hours and 7000mAh rechargeable b a t t e r y. T h e s p e a k e r comes with two mics with individual mic controls, ideally suited for Karaoke nights. It also comes with guitar inputs. The product is available with leading retail and online stores across India. n

144 | september 2018

MYMOBILE


Gadget Corner

add-ons Fitbit Charge 3 Fitness Tracker Claims to be better than ever

Price: INR 14,999

F

itness wearables brand Fitbit has added another fitness tracker to its Charge lineup, dubbed the

Charge 3 in India. The Charge 3 comes with a host of new features over its predecessor such as swim tracking

on the display when under the water. They can also use the SmartTrack feature to see laps and pace in the Fitbit app post-swim. The company claims that apart from offering a host of

technology, an upgraded display and an improved battery

new features, which includes over 15 goal-based exercise

life.

modes, a relative SpO2 sensor, which estimates relative

Talking about features, the new Fitbit Charge 3 sports

blood oxygen levels to detect health conditions like Sleep

an aluminum body and a touchscreen display which is

Apnea, Run Detect and personalised insights features,

protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The

which will be coming to the app soon, the newly launched

company claims that the display on Charge 3 is nearly

fitness tracker comes with a bigger battery, which can

40 per cent larger and brighter than its predecessor.

last up to 7 days.

Remarkably, this is the first fitness tracker in the

The Fitbit Charge 3 will be available in India starting

company’s Charge lineup wherein a physical home-screen

November 2018, across Reliance Digital, Croma, Helios

button has been replaced with an inductive button.

and other major retailers offline and online on Amazon

The Charge 3 sports a swim-proof design and it offers

and Flipkart in two colour variants- black with a graphite

water resistance up to a depth of 50 meters. Furthermore,

aluminum case and blue gray with rose gold aluminum

with the Swim Mode, users can track real-time duration

case. n

www.mymobileindia.com

september 2018 | 145


Gadget Corner

add-ons Noble Skiodo Ultra HD NB55SU01 A+ Smart TV Renders true-to-life HD images

N

oble Skiodo, a part of Veira Group, one of the largest

8GB RAM improves the performance and buffering of

OEMs for consumer durables in India, recently

TV while watching and streaming online or downloading

unveiled its newest 55-inch ultra UHD smart TV, which

the several apps. The TV has inbuilt content of more than

is said to be a step-up model featuring picture with Ultra

1,00,000 hours with content providing apps Netflix,

HD LED display. Equipped with a super narrow bezel,

Hotstar, Amazon Prime and Eros now.

along with a resolution of 3840p x 2160p, the TV delivers

The TV supports multitude of connectivity options

visuals that are said to be beyond imagination. The anti-

which includes 3 HDMI inputs & 2 USB inputs allowing

glare panel and dynamic contrast ratio of 200000:1

you stream movies and music from your Pen drive or

gives in-depth colour reproduction and a comfortable

HDD conveniently. For an enhanced internet connectivity

viewing experience, rendering true-to-life HD images

option, the Ethernet port is also available in the TV. With

that laud your viewing experience immersing you in a

the help of Miracast connectivity, cast your smart device’s

world of endless entertainment.

screen on the TV and enjoy the world of entertainment

The TV features five sound modes with bass and treble adjustment that allows you to experience even the

on a bigger picture, both Android and iPhone (via E-Share).

faintest sound very clearly giving you an intense audio

Apart from the integrated keyboard, the TV also

visual experience. The smart TV runs on Android and

comes with wireless keyboard for smoother experience.

comes with pre-installed applications to let you do more.

In the brighter and better future, the TV comes with

From web browsing to more, you can even play the games

customisable backlight option, enabling least power

and watch the content online streaming it through WiFi

consumption.

and LAN connectivity options and in-built apps.

The smart TV is available online via Flipkart. n

The TV also supports Miracast feature, without the hassle of connecting wires. Additionally, the 1GB +

146 | september 2018

team@mymobile.co.in

MYMOBILE



Exclusive

Vantage Point

Overcoming the Challenges of Developing a Custom App for Your Business

C

By Sachin Dev Duggal hanging market dynamics and a series of successful

or no knowledge of coding or technical bend towards technology

startups breaking the conventional setup have made

are more vulnerable to suffer monetary as well as resource loss. As

it mandatory for businesses to have a custom digital

per the recent study it has been found that businesses with new

identity for their offerings/solutions. While such

ideas associating with local vendors suffer a failure rate of around

platforms and apps represent a brand’s vision for sustenance

97% due to several reasons unknown to them i.e. inability of the

and delivery, they are considered to be a key touch point

organization to provide exact or proper specifications to

between the organisation and its customers. It’s

the developer, unregulated local market allowing

vendors to overcharge business entities, idea “Software with the values that the organization loss due to time delays etc. development market in India stands for and promotes. Apps are Software development market in is mostly unregulated and is powerful, as they add value to the India is mostly unregulated and is customer experience and create a dominated by organized developers dominated by organized developers with differential customer engagement, with no standard structure for no standard structure for pricing. Such out spacing competition. pricing. Such an environment an environment poses a big challenge to However, the road towards poses a big challenge to small developing a successful app may enterprises trying to build their small enterprises trying to build become confusing, time taking and idea to reality, especially when their idea to reality, especially when expensive if proper planning and they have a strict timeline as well they have a strict timeline as well right selection of the delivery team is as budget constraints. Majority of not done. Usually, the basic challenges small business entities while trying to as budget constraints” critical that the experience is in rhythm

as faced by many business entities include

get delivery with such local vendors either

vendor selection, creating right specifications as most of the ideas are new to the market, time constraint,

end up being overcharged or flawed products due to inaccurate specifications.

threat of the idea being lifted and post app delivery maintenance.

While the booming startup segment in the Indian market provides

Also, since the Indian market is still dominated with unorganized

a huge scope for the growth of software development business,

software development companies, startups or individuals with a little

need for organized players has become a mandate. Few organized players have already made entry into the market with distinguished one acting like a marketplace for software development where the software can be built as per assembly line manufacturing process without wasting time, money & resources. Therefore, while building an idea, enterprises especially startups should be critical about the accuracy of specifications, timeline, exclusivity of the idea and selection of the right developer which may further confirm a smooth delivery and development matching their expectations. Also, post-delivery maintenance of the app should be taken into consideration while deciding upon the vendor. n

The author is a serial entrepreneur, Co-founder & Chief Wizard, Engineer.ai, a tech facilitation company whose mission is to turn ideas into developed products for everyone. In 2004, he had co-founded Nivio, world’s first cloud computing company which the promoters exited at USD 100 million in 2012

148 | august 2018

MYMOBILE



RNI REG NO. DELENG/2005/15033 DL (ND) : 11/6100/2018-19-20 Posting Date 26th to 31st every month Publishing Date : 22-08-18


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