Oppo launches R5, its Slimmest Smartphone at Rs 29,990

China headquartered Smartphone maker Oppo has launched it much awaited device R5 at Rs 29,990; which is said to be one of the slimmest Smartphones on offer at present.

The Smartphone that measures 4.85mm in thickness, will be available starting January 1, 2015 onwards. The phone was launched in late-October at $499.

Powered by a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 Octa Core 64bit processor, Adreno 405 GPU and 2GB RAM, the phone sports a 5.2-inch full-HD AMOLED display. It comes with 16GB internal storage but doesn't feature a microSD card slot.

The phone sports a 13MP rear camera with Sony Exmor IMX214 BSI sensor and a 5MP front facing camera with 83degree wide angle lens. It runs Color OS 2.0, based on Android 4.4 and has a 2000mAh battery. The phone feature Oppo's VOOC charging technology to get a 75% charge in 30 minutes.

In terms of connectivity options, the phone features 4G LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS.

Op R5 also doesn't feature a 3.5mm audio jack but the company ships a USB-to-3.5mm audio adaptor with the phone.

Oppo claims that the phone's micro-arc frame is made from higher-strength stainless steel instead of the commonly used Aluminium alloy to create a more rugged and durable frame.

The R5 was the world's slimmest Smartphone prior to Vivo's unveiling of the X5Max, a Smartphone which measures just 4.75mm in thickness.

Micromax launches Yureka Cyanogen OS Phone

Micromax has launched its first Cyanogen OS-powered Smartphone, Yureka as part of its YU brand at Rs 8,999. It will be available in a moonstone finish with pre-bookings on Amazon.in starting December 19. The first consumers to buy the phone will get a free back cover worth Rs 999.

The phone measures 154.8x78x8.8 mm and features a 5.5-inch full-HD (720x1280p) IPS display with 80 degree viewing angles and Gorilla Glass 3. Powered by a 64 bit 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 Octa Core chip and 2GB DDR3 RAM, the phone has 16GB internal storage which is expandable up to 128GB via microSD card.

The device runs Cyanogen OS, a custom aftermarket version of Android developed by Cyanogen. Cyanogen is known for its customisability, enhanced performance and additional features. The look and feel is very close to stock Android barring a few UI elements, although customization is possible via themes.

YU Yureka features a 13MP rear camera (f2.2 aperture, 75.4 degree angle, capable of 1080p video capture) with Sony EXMOR CMOS sensor and a 5MP front camera with 71 degree field of view.

In terms of connectivity, the dual-SIM phone supports 3G, 4G (CAT 4, including TDD-LTE, Indian 4G bands), Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS. It comes with a 2500mAh battery which the company claims delivers 210 hours of standby time.

Micromax is offering free replacement or repair at doorstep for this device.

BlackBerry launches Classic Smartphone

The Canadian mobile technology company, BlackBerry has launched its long-awaited Classic, a Smartphone it hopes will help it win back market share and woo those still using older versions of its physical keyboard devices.

BlackBerry said the new device, which bears striking similarities to its once wildly popular Bold and Curve handsets, boasts a larger screen, longer battery life, an expanded app library with access to offerings from Amazon.com Inc's Android App store, and a browser three times faster than the one on its legacy devices.

Chief Executive, John Chen said BlackBerry had listened to its fans and brought back the command bar functionality that helped make its legacy phones easy to navigate.

When the company initially introduced its new BlackBerry 10 Operating System and devices early in 2012 it put more emphasis on touch-screens, alienating many fans of its physical keyboard.

Those who moved to the new physical keyboard phones that BlackBerry launched later were unhappy that command keys such as the Menu, Back, Send and End buttons, along with the trackpad had been dropped.

With the Classic and the recent launch of its Passport Smartphone, John Chen is in some ways taking the company back to its roots, re-emphasizing the physical keyboard.

The Waterloo, Ontario based company, which also unveiled a new suite of enterprise applications and software bundles targeted at major corporate clients, said the Classic is on sale immediately on Amazon.com and shopblackberry.com.

Huawei to launch 4G Smartphones under Rs 10,000

Chinese telecom company Huawei has revealed about plans to launch 4G Smartphones for less than Rs. 10,000 within the next six months. The company has thrown such interest to cash in on the next generation high-speed mobile data services.

"We are largest owner of essential patents for 4G technology. The essential patents are technology required to connect with 4G network. Within 3-6 months, we have plans to launch 4G handsets below Rs. 10,000", says Huawei's Director for Devices Sales, P Sanjeev.

Reliance Jio Infocomm, the only pan-India 4G spectrum holder, has plans to launch its 4G services by mid 2015.

Airtel and Aircel have started 4G services in select areas. BSNL, Tikona and Augere too need to launch their services in 2015.

Huawei had filed 12,000 patents till August 2014 for consumer devices and entered into cross patent agreements with leading companies such as Ericsson, Nokia, Microsoft, Alcatel Lucent and Qualcomm.
 
The company claims to have sold 80,000 units of its Honor Holy model priced at Rs. 6,999 within a month of its launch. The 5-inch screen size Smartphone has 16 GB internal memory, 8 megapixel main camera and 2 MP front camera.

"We sell devices which mostly use our patent technologies. Honor series comes up with our patent power saving technology, Quick Power Control, that save 30 per cent power. Like, if battery has 3000 mAH capacity then with QPC it can provide power back equivalent to that of 4000 mAh", says Sanjeev.
    
He said that company's research and development team in India has contributed to its Emotion UI patent which has feature like turning screen in a glass mirror, learn functions of any remote be it TV, DTH and even car and then operate it from mobile phone.

Nokia Lumia 638, Cheapest 4G Smartphone in India

At a low price of Rs 8,229; Microsoft has launched a 4G-enabled Windows Phone 8.1 Smartphone, Nokia Lumia 638. The 638 is the cheapest 4G-enabled Smartphone available in the Indian market currently.

The budget Smartphone sports a 4.5-inch 480x854p (FWVGA, 218ppi) ClearBack LCD display. The phone comes with polycarbonate design with changeable shells available in matte black and white colours.

Lumia 638 is powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor and 1GB RAM. It comes with 8GB internal storage expandable up to 128GB via microSD card.

Lumia 638 runs Windows Phone 8.1, the latest update of the OS. The phone comes with onscreen soft keys for back, search and Home instead of hardware, capacitive keys. This feature has been introduced with Windows Phone 8.1.

The phone features a 5MP auto-focus rear camera but there's no LED flash. The Lumia 638 doesn't come with a front-facing camera.

In terms of connectivity, the phone supports 4G TD-LTE (which supports Indian bands), Bluetooth 4.0, 3G, Wi-Fi, and A-GPS. The phone also includes 'SensorCore', low-power motion sensing for fitness apps. It is powered by an 1830mAh battery.

The company is also offering freebies with the phone. Microsoft will offer Lumia 638 consumers on Airtel post-paid. However this offer is for Bengaluru consumers who get up to 5GB of free data on 4G for 2 months post activation of their sim. The offer will be available until 31 March 2015.