In this week’s weekly roundup of major announcements and launches, Sony and Coolpad took the center stage. Sony brought its M4 Aqua and Xperia C4 to India, and announced a global variant of the Xperia Z4 dubbed Xperia Z3+. Coolpad launched two Dazen smartphones – Dazen X7 and Dazen 1 – in the country.
Starting with Sony’s Xperia M4 Aqua, the waterproof device was first announced at the MWC 2015. Now it has been launched in India at Rs. 24,990. It packs a 5-inch HD (720×1280 pixels) display, is powered by a 1.5 GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor coupled with 2GB of RAM and runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. We went hands-on with the smartphone at the MWC, check out the hands on and unboxing videos below.
httpv://youtu.be/sKlIAO2xCe8
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmSQ1heOIGA
Sony Xperia C4 Dual is a selfie-focused smartphone that comes with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with 25mm wide-angle lens along with a soft LED flash. The primary camera is a 13-megapixel shooter with LED flash.
The Xperia C4 Dual features a 5.5-inch full-HD (1080×1920 pixels) display, a 1.7 GHz octa-core MediaTek processor coupled with 2GB of RAM and Android 5.0 Lollipop. The smartphone will go on sale in mid-June. Pricing will be revealed alongside. Read our hands on here.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kYsHmvcwaw
After a month of teasing its online-only Dazen brand for India, Coolpad – the Chinese manufacture – finally launched two devices in the county – Dazen X7 and Dazen 1 at Rs. 17,999 and Rs. 6,999 respectively.
Coolpad Dazen X7 is company’s flagship smartphone for India in the Dazen Brand. It has a 5.2-inch full-HD (1080×1920 pixels) Super AMOLED display, is powered by a 1.7 GHz octa-core MediaTek processor coupled with 2GB of RAM and runs on Android 4.4.2 Kitkat with company’s CoolUI 6 skinned on top. It has a 13-megapixel auto-focus rear camera with dual LED Flash and an 8-megapixel wide-angle front-facing camera. Here’s our hands on with the device.
The budget Coolpad Dazen 1 features a 5.0-inch HD (720×1280 pixels) IPS display, is powered by a 64-bit quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor coupled with 2GB of RAM and runs on Android 4.4.2 KitKat with CoolUI 6 skin on top. It packs an 8-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED Flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. Read our hands on with the device here.
This week, Indian firm Micromax also launched two new smartphones the Micromax Unite 3 Q372 at Rs. 6,999 and the Micromax Canvas Doodle 4 Q391 at Rs. 9,499.
The Unite 3 Q372 smartphone comes pre-loaded with 10 regional languages that include Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Oriya, Bengali and Marathi. It features a 4.7-inch WVGA (480×800 pixels) display, is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582M processor coupled with 1GB of RAM and runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop out-of-the-box. It packs an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED Flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
Micromax Canvas Doodle 4 Q391 is the successor of last year’s Canvas Doodle 3 A102 smartphone. It has a 6-inch qHD (540×960 pixels) display screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek processor coupled with 1GB of RAM and runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop. It packs an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
Another Indian manufacturer Lava launched the entry-level Flair P1 at Rs. 2,999. It has a 4-inch WVGA (480×800 pixels) display, is powered by a 1GHz single-core processor coupled with 256MB of RAM and runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat). It has a 2-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a VGA front-facing camera. It has dual SIM support and 3G connectivity.
Creative this week launched a new lightweight Bluetooth headset with NFC support in India dubbed the Creative Sound Blaster JAM at Rs. 3,499. It weighs 83 grams, and can also double-up as a Sound Blaster audio-enhanced headphone when connected to a PC/ Mac via USB. It supports Bluetooth 4.1 audio streaming, features Near Field Communication (NFC) for easy one-touch pairing, and has built-in microphone with noise reduction and more.
Xiaomi introduced 16000mAh Mi Power Bank and 5000mAh Slim Power Bank in India for Rs. 1399 and Rs. 699 respectively. Both these have anodized aluminum finish on the outside, similar to earlier Mi Power Banks. The 16000mAh power bank is compact, even though it packs 16000mAh battery, but weighs 350 grams. The 5000mAh portable power bank is just 9.9mm thick and weighs 156 grams. Checkout the unboxing videos below.
httpv://youtu.be/2WnhNxBUBT0
httpv://youtu.be/OzYUdT4FpRs
Lastly, OnePlus finally launched the Bamboo StyleSwap Cover for the One smartphone in India at Rs. 1,499. First introduced last year, the cover accessory is damp-proof, flame retardant and scratch resistant. Each Bamboo StyleSwap Cover is one of a kind, complete with its own distinct set of fibers, nodes, and colours.
Weekly Announcements
Around same time when Sony launched M4 Aqua and Xperia C4 in India, the firm announced global variant of the Xperia Z4 dubbed the Xperia Z3+. It features a 5.2-inch full-HD (1080×1920 pixels) Triluminos display similar to the Z3, is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor coupled with 3GB of RAM, 32GB internal storage and runs Android 5.0 Lollipop. It has Sony’s Omni balance design with glass back and aluminium frame with 6.9mm thickness. It also comes in a dual-SIM variant dubbed the Sony Xperia Z3+ Dual.
The Sony Xperia Z3+ comes in White, Black, Copper and Aqua Green colors. It will roll out globally from June 2015. Read full details here.
Samsung this week announced the Galaxy S6 edge Iron Man Limited Edition smartphone in collaboration with Marvel. The smartphone is available through Samsung online store in Korea starting May 27, priced at 1,199,000 KRW (Rs. 69,500/ $1,092 approx.). Only 1000 units of these limited edition smartphones will be available, and the serial number is stamped on the back of the smartphone. It will also roll out in China and Hong Kong in June.
ZTE unveiled a new low-end smartphone with Android 5.0 Lollipop dubbed the ZTE Q519T in China. It has been priced at CNY 599 (approximately Rs. 6,000/ US$ 95), but there is no word on its global release or availability.
The handset boasts of a massive 4000mAh, which is claimed to deliver up to 35 days of standby time. It also supports OTG, dual-SIM and 4G LTE. It features a 5-inch HD (720×1280 pixels) display and is powered by a 1GHz quad-core MediaTek (MT6735) processor with Mali T720MP1 GPU and 1GB of RAM. It packs a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. The 8GB inbuilt storage on ZTE Q519T is further expandable via microSD card (up to 32GB).
Lastly, Lava’s subsidiary Xolo also announced a new ‘online-only’ brand for India dubbed Black. The company will launch a Black branded smartphone in June.
The Black smartphone from Xolo will come with a dual rear camera setup with depth-sensing support. The smartphone will also come with updated HIVE 1.5 UI based on Android Lollipop. It will be priced under Rs. 15,000 and support 4G LTE.