Microsoft launches Nokia 230 dual SIM

Microsoft has launched a new entry-level phone Nokia 230, which has been priced at Rs 3,869.

The dual SIM phone has a 2.8-inch (320x240p) display and runs Series 30+ OS. Nokia 230 has 16MB RAM and can hold microSD cards of up to 32GB.

It has a 1200mAh replaceable battery and sports 2MP rear camera with LED flash along with a 2MP front facing camera.

Nokia 230 comes with basic connectivity features like Bluetooth 3.0 and microUSB and also has an FM radio and MP3 player.

The phone is now available on Microsoft's official store.

OnePlus X Champagne Edition

The Champagne Edition of OnePlus X Smartphone, which was announced globally last week, is hitting the Indian market today, on December 30.

A company statement said the OnePlus X Champagne Edition would be up for sale starting 12am on December 30. Invites for the standard version of OnePlus X can be used to purchase the Champagne Edition model as well.

The OnePlus X Champagne Edition smartphone sports a white body made of glass and gold/champagne coloured metallic frame. This is a variant of the Onyx model, which sports a glass body with black paintjob.

OnePlus has priced the new model at Rs 16,999, the same price as that of the standard Onyx variant.

Samsung launches Galaxy A9

Samsung has released the biggest model yet in its Galaxy A series in the Chinese market. The device has been named Galaxy A9. The key features of the new Smartphone are its 6 inch screen, 4,000 mAh battery and fingerprint sensor.

The Smartphone will be available in China next month, though its price has not been announced yet.

Samsung Galaxy A9 sports a Super AMOLED panel with Full HD (1080x1920p) resolution and runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) operating system. The Smartphone packs the octa-core Snapdragon 652 chipset (four 1.5GHz cores + four 1.2GHz cores) with 3GB RAM under the hood. It comes with 16GB internal storage and has provision for storage expansion up to 128GB via microSD cards.

Galaxy A9 sports a 13MP rear camera with f/1.9 aperture, optical image stabilization and LED flash; an 8MP camera with f/1.9 aperture is in front. Connectivity options in the Smartphone include 2G, 3G, 4G (Cat 7 speeds), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC and microUSB 2.0. The battery of Samsung Galaxy A9 supports fast-charging technology.

Samsung Galaxy A9 features a fingerprint sensor and supports the company's Samsung Pay technology.

Google Nexus 6P Special Edition

Huawei, the company that manufactures Nexus 6P for Google, has released the Special Edition variant of the Smartphone in the Indian market.

Priced at Rs 43,999, the Nexus 6P Special Edition sports a metal body in gold color, has 64GB internal storage and costs Rs 1,000 more than the standard variants. It will be exclusively available on Flipkart starting December 21.

Google had originally released Nexus 6 in silver and grey colors. The 32GB variant costs Rs 39,999, while the 64GB model is priced at Rs 42,999.

The all-new Google Nexus 6P has a 5.7-inch AMOLED display with QHD (1440x2560p) resolution and comes with the integrated Nexus Imprint fingerprint sensor on the back. The Smartphone features an all-metal, 7.33 mm thick body in white, grey and Aluminium finishes, packs a 3,450 mAh battery, and comes with front-facing stereo speakers.

The Smartphone has a 12.3 MP rear camera (1.55 micron sensor which captures more light, thus delivering better low light photos) that supports 4K recording and can capture videos at 240 frames per second; it is backed by a dual-LED flash. On the front is an 8MP camera, the highest resolution for selfie camera for a Nexus Smartphone yet.

Intex launches Aqua Star 4G

Domestic handset maker Intex has launched a budget Smartphone, Aqua Star 4G. the device has been priced at Rs 6,499.

Aqua Star 4G features a 5-inch display with 720x1280p resolution. The dual-SIM Smartphone is available in three colors - black, gray and white color variants.

The new Intex Smartphone comes with a iData Saver feature, with which, one can save data consumption by up to 50% on images, web-pages and streaming via apps.

Aqua Star 4G is powered by 1GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6735P processor and 1GB RAM. It offers 8GB of internal storage and can hold microSD cards of up to 32GB.

The new Intex Aqua Smartphone packs 2,000mAh battery and sports 8MP rear camera with LED flash and 2MP front facing camera.

For the connectivity, it supports 3G, 4G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and microUSB.

At this price, Aqua Star 4G competes with the likes of Lenovo A7000, Yu Yuphoria and Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime.

Micromax launches Canvas Pulse 4G

Domestic handset maker Micromax has expanded its 4G LTE Smartphone portfolio with the launch of Canvas Pulse 4G Smartphone.

The device has been priced at Rs 9,999 and will be available exclusively on Flipkart.

The Smartphone features a 5-inch HD IPS display with One-cell technology. The dual-SIM Smartphone is powered by 1.3 GHz Octa-Core processor and comes with 3GB RAM.

Canvas Pulse 4G Smartphone sports a 13MP primary camera with LED flash and a 5MP secondary camera and packs a 2,100mAh battery.

For the purpose of connectivity, the Smartphone offers 4G, 3G, 2G, GPRS/EDGE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.1 and a micro-USB slot.

Gionee announces P5W Smartphone

Gionee has announced P5W Smartphone. The device will be available in White, Blue, Red,Yellow and Black colors.

Featuring a 5-inch (1280x720p) HD IPS display, the dual sim phone runs Android 5.1 Lollipop and is powered by 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6735 64-bit processor and 1GB RAM.

It offers 16GB of internal storage and can hold microSD cards for extra storage.

Gionee P5W packs 2000mAh battery and sports 5MP rear camera with LED flash and 2MP front facing camera.

For the connectivity, it supports 2G, 3G, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, and microUSB.

According to Zauba listing, the Smartphone has been imported to India for Rs 6,352 last month.

Coolpad launches Note 3 black variant

Chinese handset maker Coolpad has launched a black variant of its budget Smartphone - Note 3.

Coolpad Note 3 sports a 5.5-inch HD (720x1280p) display, which was launched in October this year. Powered by a 1.3GHz 64-bit Mediatek MT6753 octa-core processor, the phone is the only one in this price range to come with 3GB of RAM. The phone offers 16GB storage expandable up to 64GB via microSD card.

The phone has a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. It runs Android 5.1 Lollipop with Cool UI 6.0 layer running on top.

Coolpad Note 3 is also the only device available under Rs 10,000 to sport a fingerprint sensor at the back that supports authentication and gesture functions to launch apps and perform functions like activating the camera shutter.

For the purpose of connectivity, the dual-sim Smartphone comes with support for 4G LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. The Coolpad Note 3 is backed by a 3,000mAh battery.

It will be available on Amazon just like the white handset variant.

Railway partners with Google for Wi-Fi

RailTel, the telecom wing of the Indian Railway, has signed an agreement with the subsidiary of Google India to provide Wi-Fi facilities at 400 stations across the country.

In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Railways, Manoj Sinha said that RailTel Corporation of India Ltd (RCIL), a PSU under Railway Ministry, signed an agreement with Mahataa Information India Pvt Ltd (MIIPL), an arm of Google Inc, to equip 400 stations with Wi-Fi in two phases.

In first phase, as many as 100 stations out of the total A1 and A categories would be covered with the offering, while the facility would be extended to 300 stations in the second phase.

Non-suburban stations with an annual passenger earning of more than Rs 60 crore are categorized as A1 stations, while those with yearly passenger income from Rs 8 crore to Rs 60 crore fall under the category of A stations.

The capital expenditure for the project would be incurred by RCIL and MIIPL.

Asus launches upgraded variant of Zenfone 2

Asus has launched a new variant of its Zenfone 2 Laser camera-focused Smartphone featuring a 6-inch display and Snapdragon 616 processor.

The new Asus Zenfone 2 Laser ZE601KL model is priced at Rs 17,999 and will be available offline as well as on Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon.

The latest Asus model has Full HD resolution, 3GB of RAM and 32GB on-board memory and microSD card support up to 128GB. Like the original model, it sports a 13 megapixel rear camera and 5 megapixel front-facing camera.

The Smartphone, housing a 3,000mAh removable battery, comes in three colors - red, silver and gold.

Micromax Canvas Pace 4G Q416 now Available

Micromax Canvas Pace 4G Q416 which was launched recently has now been listed at the company's official website and is available for buying via various online stores.

Priced at Rs 6,821, the Smartphone features a 5-inch FWVGA (480x854p) display and is powered by 1.1GHz quad-core Snapdragon 210 processor and 1GB RAM and runs Android 5.1 Lollipop.

At this price, Micromax's new entry-level Smartphone competes with the likes of Yu Yuphoria and Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime.

The phone, available only in black colour, packs 2,500mAh battery and sports a 5MP rear camera along with 2MP selfie camera.

Micromax Canvas Pace 4G offers 8GB of internal storage and can hold microSD cards of up to 32GB.

Apart from 4G LTE, Canvas Pace 4G Q416 supports 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and microUSB for connectivity.

Celkon launches CT722 Tablet

Indigenous brand Celkon has launched its CT722 budget-friendly tablet in the Indian market. Priced at Rs 4,999, the tablet is exclusively available on Snapdeal and it will be available in offline retail stores as well.

Celkon's new CT722 tablet has a 7-inch display with 1024x576p resolution and runs on Intel's Atom X3 C3230RK chipset. This Android 5.1 Lollipop tablet comes with 8GB internal storage, 1GB RAM and microSD card support up to 32GB.

The rear and front cameras of Celkon CT722 have 3.2MP resolution. The single-sim tablet can access the internet over 2G, 3G and Wi-Fi, while its battery capacity is 2,800mAh.

According to Celkon Mobiles, "The CT722 is the best in line in its category with matching those of high-end tablets and smart phones. Moreover it is also supported by the Intel Atom X3 processor and Lollipop 5.1 making it the perfect choice in the generation of tablets."

Motorola launches Moto 360 Smartwatch

For the Motorola fans, the wait is finally over. Motorola has launched the much-awaited second-generation version of its Moto 360 Smartwatch in India with prices starting at Rs 19,999. The Smartwatch will be available on Myntra and Flipkart websites.

Moto-360 (second-generation) was unveiled at IFA in Berlin in early September. The new Moto 360 Smartwatch, from Lenovo-owned Motorola, comes in three variants: A men's watch in two sizes, a women's version and a sports model called Moto 360 Sport.

The men's model comes in 42x11.4mm and 46x11.4mm sizes. The women's version is 42mm. The 42mm Moto 360 comes with a 1.37-inch (360x325-pixel resolution) display, while the bigger 46mm model has a 1.56-inch (360x330-pixel resolution) display. Visually, Moto 360 still sports a round display as last year's model.

Specs include a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400, 512MB of RAM, 300mAh battery and 4GB of internal storage. The new Moto 360 models support wireless charging and packs accelerometer, ambient light sensor, gyroscope and vibration/haptics engine.

For connectivity purpose, the device includes Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g. Similar to so many recent Android Wear watches, Moto 360 second-gen too supports ambient display capability with the watch display switching to a power efficient black and white mode with minimal information, when you're not actively looking at it.