Motorola to launch Moto E (2nd-Gen) in India

After unveiling its second generation entry-level Smartphone, Motorola has sent media invites for the launch of the Moto E. The event is scheduled for March 10 in New Delhi. The company has not revealed the phone's pricing for India yet. It's not clear if Motorola will also release the 4G variant of the phone.

The Lenovo-owned manufacturer had announced the second-generation Moto E Smartphone in two variants - one featuring 4G LTE support, while the other compatible only with 3G networks.

The 3G version of the phone is powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 quad-core processor, while the 4G-capable variant has a 64-bit quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 410 chip. Apart from these, both of the phones sport almost the same hardware.

The phone sports a 4.5-inch, 540x960p display and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, same as the one on the first-generation model; and run Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system.

A big change is the arrival of the 0.3MP (VGA) front camera; the original Moto E did not have a Selfie shooter.

Motorola has added autofocus capability to the rear camera. The battery capacity has also increased to 2,390mAh, up from the 2,080mAh powerhouse of the first-generation model.

The rear camera resolution and RAM remain constant at 5MP and 1GB, respectively; Motorola has still not added the flash on the back in the new Moto E. The 8GB of built-in storage can be expanded by micro-SD card up to 32GB.

If the company launches Moto E 4G, Motorola will join the race of budget 4G phones and will compete against the likes of Lenovo A6000, Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G, Micromax's YU Yureka and Microsoft Lumia 638.

Pebble unveils Time Steel, Smartstraps

After the launch of Pebble Time, the company's first colour-screen Smartwatch, Pebble has now unveiled Pebble Time Steel, a premium version of the watch within a week.

According to Pebble, Time Steel emphasizes on different design cues and brings a refined and elegant aesthetic. It features a CNC-finished 316L stainless steel case, a larger battery that offers up to 10 days of normal use and a colour e-paper display bonded directly to the top lens. The watch will be available in Gunmetal Black, Silver Stainless, and Gold colours.

Interestingly, the Gold version of the watch looks pretty similar to the upcoming Apple Watch Edition Gold Smartwatch.

The Time Steel Watch is water resistant, has a stainless Steel bezel with Gorilla Glass lens and comes with a standard 22mm watch band with quick release mechanism. It has a magnetic charging port with data connection for its new Smartstraps.

Pebble Time Steel runs Pebble's new Timeline interface which is used to display user-specific data, events, notifications and reminders in both the past and the future.

Smartstraps are straps that can contain electronics and sensors to interface directly with apps running on Pebble Time. This new initiative will allow hardware developers to make custom straps that extend the functionality of the watch. For instance straps with GPS, heart rate monitor, NFC, and battery extensions will allow users to add new features.

Time Steel has been listed on crowd-funding platform Kickstarter and starts shipping in July. Each reward package includes two straps (leather and stainless steel) for $250, exclusive to Kickstarter. The regular retail price for the package will be $299.

HTC launches One M9

HTC has launched its new flagship phone, One (M9), at its Utopia in Progress event on the sidelines of Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona.

One (M9) features the same design as its predecessors except that the display panel has thinner bezels and the metal body is now two-tone with the edges featuring a different colour tone.

HTC One (M9) sports a 5-inch Super LCD3 full-HD display (1920x1080p). Powered by a 2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 MSM8994 64-bit octa-core processor and 3GB RAM, the phone offers 32GB storage and a micro-SD card slot that supports cards of up to 128GB storage.

The phone sports a 20MP rear camera (BSI, sapphire glass lens) and a 4MP UltraPixel front camera with super-wide angle lens. HTC One (M9) runs Android 5.0 Lollipop with Sense UI 7 running on top.

In line with previous rumours, the Sense 7 UI skin is not very different from its current avatar but now offers the ability to customize the UI theme with a source image and has a location-aware menu that changes app shortcuts depending on the user's location.

It also lets users select theme packs for app icons and the BlinkFeed home screen also offers meal time suggestions. There's also a new photo editor.

In terms of connectivity options, the One (M9) supports Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, GLONASS, GPS, micro-USB, 3G, and 4G LTE.

It has a 2840mAh battery and HTC's BoomSound audio will now be powered by Dolby Audio Surround. The One (M9) will be available starting mid-March in Asia and India in silver, gunmetal grey pink and gold colours.

Samsung unveils Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge

Samsung Mobile has unveiled the covers off its Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge Smartphones, which mark the biggest upgrade in the company's mobile portfolio yet.

With Galaxy S6 Edge, Samsung continues its experiment with the curved screen on the side, which it started last year with Galaxy Note Edge. While the new model has curved Edge screens on two sides, the slant is noticeably smaller than that of Galaxy Note Edge.

Samsung has used a metallic frame in its Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge and claims that the metal it has used is 50% stronger than the materials that rivals employ.

The new Smartphones sport 5.1-inch Super-AMOLED screen (1440x2560p resolution), making it the Smartphone with the highest pixel density in the world. Also, the company will use the 64-bit 2.1GHz octa-core Exynos 7 processor based on 14nm process, which makes Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge 35% faster than its predecessor.

The company also announced that it is moving away from the industry-standard DDR3 RAM to DDR4 RAM, which will help boost running memory by up to 80%. It also said that Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge will come with faster flash storage that reduces lag between actions significantly; the company is offering the two Smartphones in 32, 64 and 128GB storage variants, with no micro-SD storage option.

The rear camera's resolution remains constant at 16MP, but gets f1.9 aperture and optical image stabilization. This means that the camera will be able to take photos and videos that are shake-free and brighter. The camera app also gets a huge boost, which will take shots in less than a second.

Samsung has given the front camera a much bigger upgrade, placing a 5MP f1.9 lens, which lets in 60% more light and thus producing much brighter and clearer photos. It also comes with a real-time HDR and mode that combines multiple images to create better images.

Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge's battery will last 4 hours when charged for just 10 minutes, and also take half as long as iPhone 6 to charge from zero to 100%. Marking a first for the Galaxy S range, the two phones' battery will not be removable.

The company also announced Samsung Pay, its rival to Apple's contact-less mobile payment solution at the same event. Unlike other companies that use NFC standard for this technology, Samsung is using MST technology for its mobile payment system. It said that it has partnered with a large number of banks in the US.

Samsung also unveiled its second-generation Gear VR headset that will be compatible with the Galaxy S6 and S6; the first model was compatible only with Galaxy Note 4.

The phones are expected to be available in 20 markets.

Gionee unveils Elife S7, its flagship Smartphone

Chinese mobile device manufacturer Gionee has launched its new flagship Smartphone at the Mobile World Congress. The all-new Gionee Elife S7 will hit the Indian market on April 3 and is expected to be available at a price under Rs 30,000.

Though the new Elife S7 remains among the thinnest Smartphones in the world at 5.5 mm, it is thicker than its predecessor Elife S5.1 as well rivals by the likes of Vivo and Oppo.

Gionee Elife S7 has a 5.2-inch Full HD (1080p) SuperAMOLED screen and runs on a 64-bit 1.7 GHz octa-core Mediatek processor with 2GB RAM. The Smartphone comes with 16GB of internal storage, with no micro-SD card support.

It is powered by the Android 5.0-based Amigo 3.0 operating system that is said to have features like better memory management, audio selection and battery management.

The company's new phone has a 16MP sensor on the back that is flush with the back panel; the front camera's resolution is 8MP. It comes with software features like Intelligent Night and Beauty modes for better photos.

The Smartphone supports two SIM cards, with TDD and FDD network compatibility on both.

Unlike ultra-thin Smartphones by Oppo and Vivo, Gionee Elife S7 has a standard 3.5mm jack. It comes with Hi-Fi level earphones for enhanced audio.

The battery capacity of the Smartphone is 2,750mAh and can last over a day. Gionee also claims that it can last up to 45 hours if the battery saver mode is used.

Lenovo A7000, First Phone with Dolby Atmos

Lenovo has unveiled A7000 at the ongoing Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The Smartphone is the first commercial Smartphone to feature Dolby Atmos technology.

A7000 has 5.5-inch 720p IPS display, is 7.9mm thick and weighs 140gm. The Smartphone runs on a 1.5GHz MediaTek octa-core processor. It has an 8-megapixel autofocus camera on the back and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Smartphone comes with 8GB internal storage, and memory is 2GB. There's dual/micro SIM, and a micro-SD card slot that supports up to 32GB. There's a 2900mAh replaceable battery.

Lenovo A7000 will run the latest version of Google's Android operating system Lollipop.

In terms of connectivity options, the phone includes Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, and Cat 4 4G LTE

The mid-range Smartphone A7000 is expected to be launched later this month.

Microsoft unveils Lumia 640, 640 XL Smartphones

Microsoft's mobile unit has unveiled the Lumia 640, a budget Smartphone that will be compatible with 4G networks.

Available in single- as well as dual-SIM variants, the new Lumia 640 Smartphone has a 5-inch HD screen and runs on a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 1GB RAM. The Smartphone will come with Window 8.1 operating system at launch, but will get Windows 10 update later this year.

The all-new Lumia 640 has an 8MP rear camera with f2.2 lens, while the Selfie camera only has 1MP resolution. The battery capacity of the Smartphone is 2,500mAh and it comes with 8GB internal storage, with micro-SD card support up to 128GB.

The company has also announced its Lumia 640 XL version, which has a bigger 5.7-inch HD screen, 13MP rear camera, 5MP front camera and 3,000mAh battery. The remaining features remain the same as those of Lumia 640.

The company has also announced to release Windows 10 for Smartphones by the end of 2015, with more Smartphones running on the upcoming OS in the pipeline.