Xiaomi Mi 4 and Redmi Note to land in India within 60 days

Xiaomi Mi 4 and Redmi Note to land in India within 60 days
13 OCTOBER, 2014
Xiaomi has so far had great success in India, where it’s been holding weekly flash sales for a while. However, the only two devices that the company has offered Indian buyers until now have been the Mi 3 and the Redmi 1S.

Things will change soon, thankfully. Both the Mi 4 (pictured below), the Chinese smartphone maker’s current flagship handset, as well as the Redmi Note, its first phablet, could become available in India within the next two months.

The information comes from Hugo Barra, Xiaomi’s VP for international markets, so it’s as official as it can be. Keep in mind though that things can change, and a specific release date hasn’t been set for either device.

Also, the Mi 4 won’t arrive in India before December. Xiaomi’s other products, including the Mi Pad tablet and the Mi TV, are only going to reach the subcontinent in 2015. The Mi 3, on the other hand, won’t be sold again.

Xiaomi adds another former Google executive to its team The Chinese

hardware manufacturer Xiaomi added another former Google executive to its team. Jai Mani was a strategy and analytics associate for Google Play during his days at the search giant.

The new hire will lead Xiaomi’s product team in India. According to Hugo Barra, who has worked with Mr. Mani in Google, he will be the connection between Xiaomi’s rapidly expanding user base in the country and the company’s engineering team in Beijing. Xiaomi will soon set up an engineering team in India as well.

Xiaomi’s latest personnel move is yet another indication that the company is serious about expanding internationally. The company is making provisions to sell 100,000 units a week in India this month.

Motorola Nexus 6 goes through CPU-Z, confirms chipset

More details regarding the Motorola-made Nexus 6 (codenamed Shamu) have appeared through the Geekbench benchmark database as well as thanks to a couple of CPU-Z screenshot posted on Twitter.

The 5.9″ Nexus 6 managed a multi-core Geekbench score of 3199, which is more than the score of both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The high result is thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chipset with a 2.65GHz quad-core Krait 450 CPU inside and 3GB of RAM.

Furthermore, the Nexus 6 comes with QHD resolution resulting in a pixel density of 496ppi. The high-end specs sheet also features a 13MP camera with OIS and a dual-flash ring configuration akin to theMotorola Moto X (2014). The battery is rumored to have a capacity of about 3,200mAh, but won’t be removable.

This isn’t the first time we see the Nexus 6 go through a benchmark. The phone also went through the GFXBench, which tested its Adreno 420 GPU. Needless to say, the phone did quite well. Android L is going to debut on the phone, as goes the tradition with new Android releases.

A couple of weeks ago, a photo of the Nexus 6 leaked. In the photo, the phone relaxes next to the LG G3, which gives us a good idea of how big it’s going to be.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 UK launch delayed to October 17

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 was supposed to hit the shelves in the UK tomorrow but there is going to be a small delay. An eager Twitter users asked Samsung Mobile about the launch who confirmed that the flagship phablet will be available a week later than originally planned.

The timeline map released by Samsung a week ago put the UK among the countries where the Galaxy Note 4 will be available on October 10.

That was for Samsung’s own stores though, pre-orders for on-contract devices listed October 17 as the shipping date. A good part of Europe will also get the phablet at that date and now it seems so will the UK. Samsung is citing “amazing interest and demand” as the reason for the delay.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 costs around £575 off contract but can be head for free with a contract worth at least £38 a month.

The Internet in 2025: Blazing Speeds Could Enable Futuristic Tech

The Internet in 2025: Blazing Speeds Could Enable Futuristic Tech

What if the Internet were 100 times faster than it is today? How would this super-high-speed connectivity affect the economy, health care and education?

The Pew Research Center, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., recently posed these questions to experts in a range of Internet-related fields. Predictions about what the future Internet landscape could look like in the year 2025, with blazing-fast connectivity, ran the gamut from pragmatic to fantastical. While some experts envisioned a future in which business meetings take place via 3D hologram, another predicted the rise of immersive 3D pornography.

“These experts generally believe that, if technological change advances as they expect, it will bring about the types of connectivity humans have been dreaming about for quite some time,” said Janna Anderson, co-author of the new Pew report and director of the Imagining the Internet Center at Elon University in North Carolina.

‘It’s been way too long’: Apple sends out invites for Thursday, October 16th iPad & Mac event

Lenovo A328 With Android 4.4 KitKat, Quad-Core SoC Launched at Rs. 7,299

Almost a week after being listed on the company’s site, the Lenovo A328 has been launched in India at Rs. 7,299.
The company has announced that the new A-series smartphone will be available in Black and White colour variants starting Wednesday across the company’s stores and other retail outlets.

Notably, the launch price of the Lenovo A328 is in-line with what an established Mumbai-based retailer claimed last week.

The smartphone runs Android 4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box and features a 4.5-inch FWVGA (480×854 pixels) display. It is powered by a quad-core MediaTek (MT6582M) processor clocked at 1.3GHz, clubbed with 1GB of RAM. There is 4GB of built-in storage, which can be further expanded via microSD card (up to 32GB).
The dual-SIM smartphone sports a 5-megapixel fixed focus rear camera with flash, while also housing a 2-megapixel front camera. The Lenovo A328 packs a 2000mAh battery that is rated to deliver up to 240 hours of standby time and up to 21 hours talk time on 2G network. The handset comes with 3G, GPRS/ EDGE, GPS/ A-GPS, Micro-USB, Bluetooth, 3.5mm audio port, and Wi-Fi connectivity options. The Lenovo A328 measures 132×68.5x11mm and weighs 140 grams.

Additionally, the smartphone comes pre-installed with some proprietary DOit apps, such as SECUREit which will help users track, analyse and optimise their data usage; the SHAREit app for fast phone-to-phone data transfer capability without the need for Wi-Fi or mobile network; and SYNCit to let users to have a permanent backup of all their data and whilst making it accessible on any device.

Last week, the Chinese handset maker launched the Vibe Z2 Pro in India, priced at Rs. 32,999. The phablet went on sale via Flipkart on October 6.

Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus official India prices revealed, starts at Rs 53,500 and Rs 62,500 respectively

A day after Apple announced that the iPhone 6 will launch in India on October 17, the official prices of the forthcoming smartphones are out. Prices for the iPhone 6 start at Rs 53,500, while the prices for the iPhone 6 Plus start at Rs 62,500. Preorders for the new iPhones kick off tomorrow.

The iPhone 6 16GB variant is priced at Rs 53,500, which is the same price tag at which the iPhone 5S was launched last year. The 64GB variant is priced at 62,500, and the 128GB variant is priced at Rs 71,500. As mentioned above, prices for the bigger iPhone 6 Plus start at Rs 62,500 for the 16GB variant. The 64GB variant is priced at Rs 71,500, while the 128GB variant is priced at 80,500. These pricing are in line with what leaked over the weekend.

Last night, Apple put all speculations to rest by announcing that the new iPhones will go on sale in India on October 17. The launch date is consistent with what BGR India reported last week. As mentioned above, preorders for the new iPhones will start from tomorrow onwards, and the phone will be available at Apple Authorized Resellers including Ingram Micro, Redington, Rashi Peripherals and Reliance. The company further revealed that those who preorder the new iPhones, will get their hands on the device on the night of October 16 itself.

Moto 360 smartwatch launched today at FLIPKART

Motorola has finally announced it will begin the sale of its Android Wear based Moto 360 smartwatch today at Rs 17,999. The smartwatch will be available for purchase on Flipkart this afternoon.

Moto 360 sports an elegant circular backlit display with a diameter of 1.56 inches and comes with a 320 x 290 resolution that uses a pixel density of 205ppi. It also gets a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 to protect it from minor scratches and bumps.

The smartwatch is powered by the TI OMAP 3 processor coupled with 512MB RAM. It also gets 4GB internal memory for saving music and photos. For tracking activities, it is fitted with a pedometer and optical heart rate monitor (PPG). The IP67-certified Moto 360 is water-resistant and also supports wireless charging.

The support for voice control makes it easy to get things done, even when your hands are full. Users can send texts, set a reminder, check the weather, and even ask for directions by saying ‘Ok Google’. Also, MOTO VOICE  has been updated to bring the features found in the second generation Moto X to the original Moto X device.

Motorola claims the Moto 360 will work on all smartphones running Android 4.3 or higher.

The Moto 360 will be competing with the current top-dogs in the smartwatch market – LG G Watch R  and SAMSUNG GEAR LIVE. The Moto 360 is currently priced higher than its rivals, which are currently selling for 14,999 and 15,999 respectively.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha With Metal Frame Launched in India

Samsung has launched the Galaxy Alpha smartphone in India. The Samsung Galaxy Alpha, which comes with a metal frame around a plastic body, will be available in India starting first week of October at Rs. 39,990.

The alpha  runs the latest Android 4.4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box. It features a 4.7-inch HD (720×1280 pixels) Super AMOLED display. The handset sports dimensions of 132.4×65.5×6.7mm and weighs 115 grams.

The Galaxy Alpha is powered by an octa-core chipset, with 2GB of RAM and 32GB inbuilt storage, which is non-expandable. The Galaxy Alpha sports a 12-megapixel rear camera and also includes 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera. It packs an 1860mAh battery.

Connectivity options include Micro-USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPRS/ EDGE, 3G, 4G/ LTE, and NFC. Samsung says the Galaxy Alpha is compatible with 4G/ LTE bands in India. The Galaxy Alpha also comes with fingerprint scanner and heart rate monitor.

Samsung notes that the Galaxy Alpha at launch will be available in India in Charcoal Black, Dazzling White and Frosted Gold colour variants. The Samsung Galaxy Alpha was unveiled in August.

Commenting on the launch, S.K. Kim, Managing Director, Sales, Samsung Electronics, India said, “As the market leader, Samsung has significantly contributed to the market growth by setting new benchmarks in offering the best-in-class technology and products. With the launch of Galaxy Alpha, Samsung is announcing a new design approach to satiate customer demands for an irresistibly stunning and stylish product. This revolutionary product will change the dynamics of the premium smartphone segment in India.”

“The Galaxy Alpha was built and designed based on the specific desires of the consumers,” said, Asim Warsi, Vice President, Mobile & IT, Samsung India. “With an entirely new appearance, the Galaxy Alpha focuses on both beauty and functionality combining a stunning metal frame and slim, light weight design with the same powerful hardware and features users expect from a flagship Galaxy mobile device.”