OnePlus shows Apple how to become the India's top smartphone seller

India is arguably the world’s toughest smartphone market — just ask Apple. Yet Chinese manufacturer OnePlus has found a path to success in the country of 1.3 billion.

As Pete Lau, OnePlus’s co-founder and chief executive officer, describes it, OnePlus targeted younger users with stylish and affordable Android-based phones. Rather than plastering shops with ads, student ambassadors promote the Shenzhen-based company’s products. OnePlus also sponsors cricket games, breaking a no-advertising pledge it has in other places.

Thanks to those efforts, OnePlus commanded 40 per cent of India’s premium smartphone market in June, compared with zero when it arrived in 2014, according to Counterpoint Research, which defines the segment as one where devices cost Rs 30,000 ($435) or more. OnePlus is ahead of Samsung Electronics Co., which has a 34 per cent share, and Apple Inc.’s 14 per cent. Long term, Lau is betting that he’ll be able to outrun rivals at the top end of the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market.

Huawei pips Apple to take 2nd spot in smartphone sales, Samsung tops: Rpt

Chinese tech major Huawei has surpassed Apple to become the second largest smartphone player globally during the June 2018 quarter as the Cupertino giant registered slow sales in India and flat shipment in China, according to multiple industry reports.

Samsung continued to enjoy its leadership position in the global smartphone market, even though its shipments declined in the April-June 2018 quarter over last year. According to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, smartphone vendors shipped a total of 342.0 million units during the second quarter of 2018 (2Q18), resulting in a 1.8% decline when compared to the 348.2 million units shipped in the second quarter of 2017.
The drop marks the third consecutive quarter of year-over-year declines for the global smartphone market and only the fourth quarter of decline in history. IDC believes this is the result of churn in some highly penetrated markets, although many high growth markets still exist and should return smartphone shipments to overall growth.

iPhone X: Apple makes a $999 gamble on its aspirational brand

Apple is taking a calculated risk with the pricing of its new phone. The $999 iPhone X is a bet on users’ loyalty and wealth and is on the surface consistent with the company’s longstanding strategy of differentiation and exclusivity. The danger lies in how the phone sells in the world’s huge and growing emerging markets; Apple clearly thinks it is a risk worth taking.

And it’s not without reason. Apple has always targeted the higher end of the market worldwide rather than just aiming for a larger base of users. In fact, if anything, Apple tends to price phones higher outside the US. The UK has to stomach an inflated price for the iPhone X even when tax differences are allowed for.

To be clear, the top end phone is not the only option. British customers will be able to pick up an iPhone 8 for £699 and an iPhone 8 Plus for £799. This is still more expensive than its direct competitors, but the demand curve for the iPhone is relatively inelastic. This means that for a given percentage increase in price, the percentage reduction in demand is smaller, giving an overall increase in revenues. No wonder the iPhone accounts for the majority of Apple’s revenues and profits.
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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)

Samsung Pay digital payment app launched in India: Know how it works

A few weeks ago Samsung rolled out Samsung Pay for selected users in India. Today, the company launched its digital payment app for the owners of Samsung Galaxy Note5, Samsung Galaxy S7, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) (2017) and Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) (2017).

What is Samsung Pay
The Samsung Pay is a secure and easy to use mobile payment service available exclusively on select Samsung Galaxy smartphones -- Samsung Galaxy Note5, Samsung Galaxy S7, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) (2017) and Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) (2017).

How Samsung Pay works
The above-mentioned smartphone users need to upgrade device firmware (software) first. Post upgrading the firmware, the user can download the Samsung Pay app and save their credit card and debit card information in the app. So, the next time you need to make the payment, you can do so by using the Samsung Pay services using the smartphone.

Banks supported in India

Currently, the Samsung Pay app supports credit and debit cards of Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. For State Bank of India, only the credit cards are supported while the support for debit cards will be added sometime in the future. Support for American Express and Citibank will be added soon, according to the official Samsung Pay website. (READ MORE)

Coolpad launches VoLTE ready Note 5 Lite in India; priced at Rs 8,199

China’s smartphone manufacturer Coolpad on Thursday launched the Coolpad Note 5 Lite in India. The device is the latest addition to the note series, which is known for elegant design, superior features and affordable price tag.

The Coolpad Note 5 sports metal body and features 5-inch IPS HD display. On the camera front, the device offers a combo of 13 megapixel (MP) rear camera and 8 MP front-facing selfie camera, both assisted with LED flash for low-light photography. The device is powered by Mediatek MT6735P, which is a quad-core processor ticking at 1.0 GHz. There is 16 GB of internal memory, expandable using microSD card of up to 64 GB, and 3 GB of RAM. The device boots Google Android 6.0 out of the box covered under the skin of Cool UI 8.0. For enhanced security, the device sports fingerprint sensor as well.

Powering the device is moderate 2,500 mAh battery that keeps the show going and promise to provide a stellar stand-by time of up to 200 hours.

The Coolpad Note 5 Lite uses an aluminium magnesium alloy that makes it durable and sturdy yet light weight at 148g. The device will be available in Gold and Grey colour options.

The Coolpad Note 5 Lite will go on sale starting 21 March, 2017, exclusively on Amazon India. The device is priced at Rs 8,199. (READ MORE)