Panasonic launches AI-based Eluga Ray Max, Eluga Ray X in India

Aiming to give users a simplified and an enhanced user experience, Panasonic India on Monday launched two new smartphones -- Eluga Ray Max and Eluga Ray X -- that are equipped with "Arbo" -- the company's in-house developed artificial intelligence (AI)-based virtual assistant.

The smartphones are exclusively available on Flipkart. While Eluga Ray Max is priced at Rs 11,499 for 32GB variant and Rs 12,499 for 64GB variant, Eluga Ray X is available for Rs 8,999.

"With the launch of our first AI-enabled smartphones, we are now expanding our product offerings which will help empower our consumer base and assist them in performing tasks in a smarter way," Manish Sharma, President and CEO, Panasonic India and South Asia, and Executive Officer, Panasonic Corporation, told reporters here.

The virtual assistant is a self-learning technology that understands the user behaviour and then maps their daily activities for them accordingly.

"AI has been dubbed as the technology which in future will shape the product interface and the way we interact with our smartphones, with this pilot advancement we hope that this will not only enhance our market share but will also further strengthen our position within the industry," Sharma added. (READ MORE)

Nokia confirms global availability of its smartphones; coming soon to India

Finnish tech firm Nokia, which made a comeback with three Android-based phones -- Nokia 6, Nokia 5, Nokia 3 at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) -- has confirmed that the handsets will be available globally this year.

Parent company HMD Global announced the handsets during the MWC.

"We're planning on a global release so yes they will be. Get the latest updates by registering at http://Nokia.com/phones," the Nokia Mobile Twitter account said in its reply to a Nokia fan query.


@ashutoshkaushal The products will be released globally in Q2, 2017 (April-June). Register at https://t.co/waNGfPppQ8 for updates .

— Nokia Mobile (@nokiamobile) March 25, 2017

Nokia 6 features a 5.5-inch full-HD screen and is crafted from a single block of 6000 series aluminium. The device will be available in four colours -- matte black, silver, tempered blue and copper.

Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 mobile platform and Qualcomm Adreno 505 graphics processor, Nokia 5 features a 5.2-inch IPS HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass.

Nokia 3 is focused on converting feature phone users towards their first smartphone.

The new range of Nokia smartphones will run Android Nougat. (READ MORE)

Review: With 16MP front camera Oppo F3 Plus is a treat for selfie lovers

China-based Oppo has done well in India, capturing 8.6 per cent market share in 2016, and the company has progressively shifted its strategy towards the premium end of devices.

Betting on the selfie culture across the country, the company is now looking to tempt users with the new F3 Plus smartphone.

At Rs 30,990, the Oppo F3 Plus offers a lot for your money. A large battery, a six-inch 1080p display, a dual front camera set-up and plenty of storage — and that's just the beginning.

Here is what works for the device.

The Oppo F3 Plus has a sexy, svelte, metallic body that screams it's a premium device. The "six string" antenna is aesthetically pleasing and ensures solid reception.

The home button doubles up as a fingerprint sensor and looks similar to the one in Samsung's Galaxy line-up of devices.

The sensor recognises the stored print in an instant, only occasionally failing if your finger is wet.

The screen is guarded by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and the full-HD display is bright and detailed, but the colours seem oversaturated at times. (READ MORE)

60 million 4G smartphones to be sold in India in 2019

LATEST BUSINESS NEWS - Nearly 200 million 4G-enabled feature phones will be sold in India in the next five years, triggering a slow-down for the domestic smartphone market, a new report claimed on Wednesday.

"We estimate close to 60 million units of 4G-capable feature phones could ship this year globally from almost a million units last year, with India potentially contributing to almost half of that this year," said the analysts from market research firm Counterpoint Research.

In terms of hardware revenues, it is a $6 billion opportunity cumulatively over the next five years in India.

"Key players to watch out in this segment are Micromax, Intel, Lava, Jio, Nokia and so forth," the report added.

Chipset brands such as Qualcomm with its latest Qualcomm 205 platform specially designed for 4G LTE Feature Phones is poised to drive growth starting with end of Q2 2017.

"More than 400 million feature phones were sold globally in 2016 and we saw smartphone market growth slow down to 3 per cent (year-on-year), portraying that the easy days of smartphone growth are over," the report stated.

The smartphone growth slowing down and the feature phone decline slowing down is the polarisation of market in terms of technology as well as user base.

"This is making a case for the rise of 4G capable feature phones with the core value proposition being VoLTE calls and move the users to the cost efficient 4G networks. We estimate more than half a billion 4G capable feature phones will be sold over the next five years, a 'big short-term opportunity' for players in the mobile industry," the analysts predicted. (READ MORE)