Soon, your kirana shopkeeper can help you shop online with Amazon Easy

Amazon Easy, an India-specific innovation where customers not so familiar or comfortable with doing online shopping on their own are assisted in doing so by a trained storekeeper in their neighbourhood, has been formally rolled out in five districts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana by the American e-commerce company on Tuesday.

Amazon has been working on the store partner model to enable online shopping in small towns and cities since 2015 under the code name Project Udaan. Now, it is planning to bring all the existing 14,000 partner stores across 21 states under the brand Amazon Easy by the middle of next year.

"This is in a way getting ready for the next wave of online customers who are going to be very different from the present 100 million online customers in India," Kishore Thota, director (customer experience and marketing) at Amazon India, said, while announcing the launch of Amazon Easy at 200-plus stores in two Telugu speaking states.

Xiaomi Mi A2 to go on sale at 12 PM on Amazon, Mi Store: First impression

Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, is gearing up for the sale of its second-generation Google One platform smartphone – the Xiaomi Mi A2. Priced at Rs 16,999, the smartphone will go on sale today i.e. August 16 at 12 noon on Amazon and Mi online store. The successor of the Xiaomi Mi A1, the Mi A2 features a new design, better hardware, upgraded camera modules and stock Google Android Oreo, which would be upgraded to Android Pie soon, according to company’s claim.

The Xiaomi Mi A2 is a midrange smartphone built on the blueprints of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro. It features an identical design language of the Note 5 Pro with an aluminium body and Glass on the front. However, it is slim and weighs less than the Note 5 Pro, which makes it easy to hold and operate. A 5.99-inch LTPS IPS LCD screen covers the phone’s front. It is of fullHD+ resolution and stretches in an 18:9 aspect ratio. The screen is colourful and has good contrast to it. It is covered with curved Gorilla Glass 5 on top, which makes it less prone to scratches and smudges.

Govt asks Amazon India to set up server to protect customers' personal data

The government has asked American e-commerce major Amazon to set up a server in India as it looks to prevent unbridled migration of the personal data of customers. Recently, Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad conveyed this to Amazon India head Amit Agarwal. In the past too, the government has been vocal about data localisation, engaging with companies such as Google, WhatsApp and Facebook on the issue.

Although currently there is no law in India regarding data safety, the government is working on a data protection framework based on the recommendations of Justice B N Srikrishna-led panel. To start with, foreign e-commerce companies will be asked to set up servers in India, so that the personal data of customers, generated through e-commerce operations, does not go out of the country. The draft national policy for e-commerce also proposes mandatory localisation of customer data. However, once the data protection rules come into effect, all the sectors will fall under their purview.

“Big foreign companies are welcome to join their effort in India. What concerns me is unbridled migration of data, without the consent of Indians. Therefore, location of servers in India and the element of consent of Indians for use of their data become equally important,” Prasad said.

Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm mall freedom sale: Discounts, cashback and more

It is raining offers, again! Some of the country's biggest e-commerce websites such as Amazon, Flipkart and Paytm are holding Independence Day sales and offering huge discounts on products ranging from electronics to home furnishing,

Amazon India is holding 'Freedom Sale' (August 9 to 12); Paytm Mall is running 'Freedom Cashback' sale (August 8 to 15), and Flipkart will hold 'The Big Freedom' sale from August 10 to 12. Flipkart's exclusive fashion arm Myntra will commence ‘Right to Fashion Sale’ from August 9-12. Here's a list of all the offers on Flipkart, Amazon and Paytm Mall:

Flipkart

The Flipkart 'The Big Freedom' Sale will commence tomorrow (August 10) and will last till August 12. A sneak peek into the offers show great deals on top smartphone brands such as Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi and more. There is up to 70 per cent off on TVs and home appliances and up to 80 per cent off on electronics. Books, toys and beauty products are available at a starting price of Rs 99.

Apart from that, the e-commerce giant is offering new deals and discounts every 8 hours. It has also partnered with Citi Bank credit card to offer an extra 10 per cent discount.
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Xiaomi launches Amazon exclusive VoLTE ready Redmi 4A, priced at Rs 5,999

China’s smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi on Monday launched Redmi 4A -- a latest entrant in Xiaomi’s entry-level Redmi series. The Xiaomi Redmi 4A will be available exclusively on Amazon and will be sold at a jaw-dropping price of Rs 5,999.

The latest Xiaomi Redmi 4A, being an entry-level budget smartphone, offers spectacular features. The device flaunts 5-inch HD display, which is enclosed in a polycarbonate body. The dual-sim smartphone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 425, 64-bit quad-core processor and sports 16 GB internal storage – expandable up to 128 GB via microSD card – coupled with 2 GB of RAM.

The Redmi 4A boots Android 6.0 out of the box covered under Xiaomi’s MIUI 8 theme. On the camera front, the smartphone features 13-megapixel (MP) rear camera and 5 MP front-facing selfie camera. The device is powered by 3,120 mAh battery that keeps the show running.

Xiaomi has been quite successful in India and to cement its position even further, the company is commencing operations at its second manufacturing plant in India.

The company claims to employ 5,000 employees in the manufacturing plant that produces  one smartphone every second. Manu Jain, managing director, Xiaomi India claimed that more than 95 per cent of Xiaomi smartphones sold in India come from its Sri City unit manufacturing plant. (READ MORE)