Samsung Galaxy Star Pro Android smartphone with 4-inch display spotted selling for Rs 6,989

By Vijay

Here comes another Samsung Galaxy smartphone which falls in the 4-inch entry level smartphone segment to compete against the likes of Mircomax and other domestic handset vendors ruling this segment. Samsung’s unannounced Galaxy Star Pro S7262 has spotted selling on a popular online retail portal for as little as Rs 6,989. It becomes Samsung’s second 4-inch smartphone priced under Rs 10,000 after the Galaxy Trend Duos.

The Galaxy Smart Pro supports dual-SIM and comes with a 4-inch WVGA display (480×800 pixels) just like the Galaxy Trend Duos. It runs on the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and is powered by a 1GHz single-core cortex A5 processor coupled with 512MB of RAM. In addition to that, there is 4GB of internal storage which can be supplemented with a 32GB of microSD card. Basically, aside the display, it is an extension of the Galaxy Star smartphone launched earlier for Rs 5,240.

It also features a 2-megapixel rear camera which is capable of shooting videos but lacks a front-facing camera like the Galaxy Trend Duos. The Galaxy Star Pro supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, but doesn’t have 3G connectivity. Other features in the phone include an accelerometer and a 1500mAH battery, which is claimed to offer up to 15 hours of talktime and up to 370 hours of standby time. In addition to that the smartphone will come pre-loaded with several Samsung apps including ChatON, as well as other apps like mFluent IM, and ActiveSync.

With this phone, it is clear that Samsung has its eyes set on its domestic rivals, especially Micromax which with 22 percent smartphone market share has become a threat to Samsung’s 26 percent market share in India.

HTC One mini and HTC Desire 500 listed online in India for Rs 37,299 and Rs 21,490

By Vijay 

 

The One mini is available on e-commerce sites in India for Rs 37,299. The Desire 500, on the other hand, is listed online for Rs 21,490 and will ship in the coming days. 

 

 

To recap on the specifications, the One mini flaunts a 4.3-inch HD (1280×720 pixels) display cramming in 341ppi and is powered by a dual-core Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.4GHz. Other features included are 1GB of RAM, Ultrapixel rear camera with LED Flash and a BSI Sensor, 1.6-megapixel front camera, Beats audio support, 16GB of internal storage and a 1,800mAh battery. It runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean wrapped under Sense 5 UI and comes pre-loaded with HTC’s BlinkFeed, Zoe and BoomSound.

The dual-SIM Desire 500, on the other hand, sports a 4.3-inch (480×800 pixels) display and is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 200 processor clocked at 1.2GHz. It features 1GB of RAM, 8-megapixel rear camera, 1.6-megapixel front camera, Beats audio support, 4GB internal storage that is expandable to up to 64GB using a microSD card and 1,800mAh battery. On the software front, it runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean wrapped under Sense 5 UI.

The fact that they have been listed on e-commerce sites in India indicates that an official launch is right around the corner..

Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos Android 4.2.2 update starts rolling out in India.

By Vijay @ 02:09pm

Samsung has finally started rolling out the Android 4.2.2 update for the Galaxy Grand Duos (GT-I9082). The update started rolling out for the Grand Duos starting from Russia last month. . The phone was announced in December last year running Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean). It was launched in India back in January.

The Android 4.2.2 update for the Galaxy Grand Duos brings Quick Setting toggles in the drop-down notification bar, faster performance, lockscreen widgets, improved task switching, Daydream mode and lots more new features.  Samsung confirmed Android 4.1 update for range of Galaxy devices last year, but they are yet to confirm the list of device that would get the Android 4.2.2 or the 4.3 update.

Samsung released regional language support for range of Smartphones and Tablet last month, including the Grand Duos. These features would remain even after the update. We also got couple of updates after the Android 4.2.2 update for stability improvements.

The Android 4.2.2 update for the Grand Duos is 488.76MB and is available over-the-air (OTA) and also via Samsung Kies software. You can check for the update manually from the Settings, About, Software update.

Videocon A42 launched for Rs. 7490/- in INDIA

By Vijay @ 08:42am

Videocon A42 has been launched in India for Rs 7,490/-. The phone features a 4.5-inch FVGA display and is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, with 512MB of RAM, a 5-megapixel rear camera, 1.3-megapixel front camera, a 1,700-mAh battery, and also has a 4GB inbuilt rom with microSD card slot supporting up to 32GB of storage.

The A42 is a dual-SIM device and supports 3G networks and has a dual-standby functionality. The phone runs on a fairly new version of Android – 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.

 

Micromax A240 Android Smartphone with 5.7-inch display launching next week

By Vijay @ 01:41pm

After Canvas 4, Micromax seems to be readying another flagship device. AndroidOS.in  reports  that this forthcoming phone will be called the A240 and could be announced as early as next week.

According to report, A240 is likely to flaunt a 5.7-inch 720p display and will be powered by a quad-core MediaTek MT6589 processor clocked at 1.2GHz. Other features included are 1GB of RAM, 12-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 5-megapixel secondary camera, 16GB of expandable internal memory and a 2,600mAh battery.

Connectivity-wise the device will feature dual-SIM support and on the software front, will run on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean along with the various add-ons like vertical panorama in camera app, video pinning to home-screen support, Flip to mute, and Smart Pause that were introduced on the Canvas 4.

The report further claims that the device will be priced somewhere around Rs 18,000/-, which is similar to the launch price of the Canvas 4. The A240 could be Micromax’s answer to Samsung’s Galaxy Mega series of phablets.

Celkon A107+ with Android Jelly Bean smartphone launched for Rs 7,299/-

By Vijay @ 03:21pm

Celkon is taking forward the Signature one series with the launch of its successor named as the A107+ Signature One smartphone. Apart from a few upgrades, this device comes with a similar set of specification as seen on its predecessor.

Feature-wise, the Celkon A107+ Signature One has a 5-inch WVGA display with 480×800 pixels resolution. The phone features an upgrade in the software from Android Ice Cream Sandwich to Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean but runs on the same 1GHz dual-core processor with 512GB of RAM, as was seen on the previous version.

Other features in the phone include an 8-megapixel primary and a 1.3 front camera, which is an upgrade from the predecessor, a 2,100mAh battery, and sensors like proximity, light and G-sensor. On the memory front, it offers 4GB of internal memory expandable up to 32GB through a microSD. For connectivity, it misses on the 3G support but offers dual-SIM compatibility, and Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS support.

The phone is available from today onwards for Rs 7,299/-

Celkon launched A63 Campus in India for Rs 4,499/-

By Vijay @ 11:22pm

Celkon Mobile has been in the limelight recently. You might have observe it has been all over the television with its ads appearing in the India, Sri-lanka and West Indies tri-series and the India’s tour of Zimbabwe. Now, the company has launched the A63 Campus in India which just costs Rs 4,499/-.

The phone has a 4-inch display with a resolution of 800×480 pixels and runs on a dual-core CPU clocked at 1.2GHz. It has 256MB of RAM and 512 MB of ROM and has a 3.2-megapixel rear camera and a front facing camera to boot.The device also runs fresh version of Android Jelly Bean, which is 4.2. It also comes with a standard suite of sensors, a 1,500 mAh battery and has a microSD card slot that supports 32GB of memory.

Xolo A500S launched with Android Jelly Bean(4.2) & dual-core processor for Rs 6,999/- in INDIA

By Vijay @ 01:28pm

Xolo today launched the A500S, a rather affordable smartphone offering which is priced for Rs 6,999/-. This is a dual-SIM phone which is available in black, blue, red and white colors.

Xolo A500S phone comes with a 4-inch TFT display with a pixel density of 233ppi and with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, with a Mali-400 MP GPU, accompanied by 512MB of RAM with 4GB of internal memory which is expandable up to 32GB using a micoSD.

This phone has 5-megapixel camera at the rear, and VGA camera in the front,  which can also be used for video calls. It houses a 1,400mAh battery, which as per company’s claims, offers up to 10 hours of talk time on 2G and up to 8 hours on 3G. Other features in the phone include Xolo Secure app, which is Xolo’s anti-theft solution to protect the phone from data loss or thefts, to take back up of call, SMS and also track the phone’s location remotely recently Google introduce its own phone tracker app for Android.

In this range, the Xolo A500S will compete against the Spice Smart Flo Pace 2, the Micromax A89, and the Videocon A51, but will have an advantage over others in terms of the Android version and processor. It will also have a stiff competition from the likes of the LG Optimus L3 Dual which offers a smaller screen but runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and is available for Rs 6,599.

An Entry level Micromax A34 smartphone launched for Rs 4,399/- in INDIA

By Vijay @ 10:10pm

Micromax has launched a new budget Android smartphone named as the Micromax A34, and its available at online retailers for Rs 4,399.

Coming to features, Micromax A34 is a dual-SIM phone which comes with a 3.95-inch HVGA display offering 320×480 pixels resolution. Weighing in at 85 grams, the phone is powered by a 1GHz processor with 256B RAM and 512MB of ROM. which can be furthur expand the storage space till up to 32GB using a microSD card. The phone runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which is common in sub-Rs 5,000/- smartphones.

It sports a 2-megapixel rear camera with flash light, but lacks a front camera, with a 1,350mAh battery that as per the company’s claims delivers up to 4 hours of talktime and 120 hours of standby time, the phone offers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPRS, and Micro-USB support, but lacking 3G support.

In this price bracket, the phone will compete against Lava IRIS 402 & Videocon A24 which are almost with similar specifications.

3 New Lava IRIS smartphones now available in India through online retailers

By Vijay @ 11:06pm

Lava has started selling three new smartphones in the country recently. These smartphones are IRIS 356, 402, and 349+, which are part of IRIS Series.  All three smartphones are now available at online retailer Flipkart.

Talking about the specific smartphones, Lava IRIS 356 features 3.5-inch HVGA display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, Android 4.2 and dual-SIM support. Other specifications of the phone include 1.3MP rear camera, 256MB RAM and 512MB of internal storage. IRIS 356 has been priced at Rs. 4,199/-.

Lava IRIS 402 comes with 4-inch WVGA display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, Android 4.2 and 3MP rear camera. The phone also features 256MB RAM, 512MB of internal storage, and 1500 mAh battery. IRIS 402 is being sold at Rs. 5,199/-

And Lava IRIS 349+ sports a 3.5-inch HVGA display, 1GHz processor, 256MB of RAM and Android 2.3. The phone also comes with 1,400 mAh battery, dual-SIM support and 256MB of RAM and 2MP rear camera. IRIS 349+ has got a price-tag of INR 3,499.

Lava seems to be banking a lot of the budget smartphone segment, especially on the first time smartphone buyers. While, the specifications of the new smartphones seem fine on paper, just 256MB of RAM looks worrisome and is likely to create performance issues.