Weekly Roundup: Moto X Force, HTC Desire 626, new 2016 Samsung Galaxy A5, A7 and more


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Motorola kicked off this week with the launch of Shatterproof Moto X Force in India. Touted as the “world’s first shatterproof display smartphone”, this was first announced last year in October as the DROID Turbo 2 in United States.

The main highlight of the smartphone is its 5.4-inch Quad HD shatterproof screen with Moto ShatterShield display technology, which is essentially made of an integrated system of five layers that absorbs shock from impact and is guaranteed not to shatter. Checkout our Moto X Force drop test from CES 2016 last month and read our hands on here.

httpv://youtu.be/YqV5V4C0OdU

The Motorola Moto X Force is priced at Rs. 49,999 for 32GB variant and Rs. 53,999 for the 64GB variant in India. It will be available from Flipkart, Amazon.in, Spice Hotspot and Croma starting from February 8th.

This week, Samsung officially launched Galaxy A5 (2016) and A7 (2016) smartphones in India. The second generation of Galaxy A series smartphones come with premium design and enhanced camera features. These were announced in December last year along with A3 2016 edition.

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016-0001

The Galaxy A5 and A7 2016 edition smartphones sport a metal and glass build design similar to the A series 2015 edition. They also get an improved camera with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). The A7 (2016) comes with a front and rear F1.9 lens that allows users to take the optimum photos in dark conditions. Both the phone come equipped with a fingerprint sensor.

 httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyB_TLv4Uwc

Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) is priced at Rs. 29,400 and A7 (2016) at Rs. 33,400. The phones will be available in Gold, Black and White colors. Both the phones will be available on Snapdeal exclusively from February 17th.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvqfWGHEqtQ

HTC launched Desire 626 Dual SIM, a mid-range smartphone in the Desire series in India. Even though it has a 5-inch HD display, 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 1080p video recording and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, similar to the Desire 626 that was introduced last year, the dual-SIM variant that is launching in India is powered by an octa-core MediaTek MT6752 processor and has 2GB of RAM, instead of Snapdragon 410 SoC and 1GB of RAM.

HTC Desire 626 Dual SIM

The HTC Desire 626 Dual SIM comes in Blue Lagoon and White Birch colors and is priced at Rs. 14,990. It will be available across India through major retailers in the coming weeks.

Gionee launched two smartphones this week the metal-body S6 and budget P5W in India. The Gionee S6 (pictured below) was first announced back in November last year. It packs a 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED display with a screen-to-body ratio of 77.8%, is powered by an Octa-Core MediaTek MT6753 processor and runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) with Amigo 3.1 UI. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.

Gionee S6

It has full metal unibody design and is just 6.9mm thick. It also has hybrid dual SIM, 4G LTE connectivity with VoLTE. It has reversible USB Type-C port and a 3150mAh battery. The Gionee S6 comes in Golden, Silver and Rose Gold colors and is priced at Rs. 19,999 in India. It is exclusively available from Flipkart.

The Gionee P5W was introduced back in December last year and packs a 5-inch HD display, is powered by a quad-core MediaTek MT6735, runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop), has a 5-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. It has dual SIM support and 3G connectivity.

Gionee P5W

The Gionee P5W comes in White, Blue, Red,Yellow and Black colors and is priced at Rs. 6,499 in India.

Lava launched X3, the company’s latest budget smartphone. It has a 5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) IPS display, is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek processor and runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop). It has an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. It has dual SIM support, has only 3G connectivity and packs a 2500mAh battery.

Lava X3

The Lava X3 comes in White with Silver and White with Gold colors and is priced at Rs. 6,499. It is available through Flipkart, Amazon.in and other retailers.

InFocus launched Bingo 21, the company’s latest selfie-focused budget 4G smartphone in India. It has a 8-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera that also has an LED flash. It has a 4.5-inch FWVGA screen, is powered by a quad-core Spreadtrum SC9830 processor and runs on Android 5.1 (Lolllipop).

InFocus Bingo 21

The InFocus Bingo 21 comes in White, Blue and Orange colors and is priced at Rs. 5,499. You can register your interest for the sale on Snapdeal, which starts from February 11th.

Chinese smartphone maker ZOPO launched Hero 1, the company’s latest 4G smartphone in India. It packs a 5-inch HD display, is powered by an Quad-Core MediaTek 6735 processor and runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop). It has a 13.2-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, similar to its Speed 7 smartphone that was launched last year. It has dual SIM support and 4G connectivity.

ZOPO Hero 1

The ZOPO Hero 1 comes in Black and White colors and is priced at Rs. 12,000. It will be available online and offline.

Panasonic launched hi-resolution HD5 headphones and BTD5 Bluetooth headphones in India. The company claims that the new headphones offer superior sound quality and portability. The HD5 headphone comes with 40mm HD driver unit that claims to offer high resolution audio even when you are outdoors. The BTD5 on the other hand is a  wireless Bluetooth headphone that comes with Near Field Technology (NFC).

Panasonic BTD5 headphone

The Panasonic HD5 headphone is priced at Rs 9,490 while the BTD5 headphone costs Rs 6,490. Read full details here.

Asus launched its latest Transformer Book T100HA 2-in-1 in India. It was introduced at  the Computex 2015, come with Windows 10 out of the box, has USB 3.1 type C port, 10.1-inch (1280 x 800 pixels) HD display, is powered by Intel Atom X5 Cherry Trail processor, is just 8.45mm thick and weighs 580 grams. As usual you get a keyboard dock with a trackpad.

Asus Transformer Book T100HA

The Asus Transformer Book T100HA comes in Tin Grey and Aqua Blue colors and is priced at Rs. 23,990.

VAIO Corporation this week introduced VAIO Phone Biz, its first Windows 10 smartphone in Japan. It packs a 5.5-inch 1080p display, is powered by an Octa-Core Snapdragon 617 SoC, has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. It has single micro SIM support and 4G LTE connectivity. It also has PC-like experience using Continuum for Phones when connected to an external monitor.

VAIO Phone Biz

The VAIO Phone Biz comes in Silver color, is priced at 50,000 yen ($424 / Rs. 28,740 approx.) unlocked, and will go on sale in through Japanese carrier NTT Docomo sometime in April.

Lastly, Fitbit introduced Alta – its latest slim, sleek and fashionable fitness tracker. It has satin finish, stainless steel body and has a range of optional stylish interchangeable bands in multiple popular colors and premium materials. In addition to activity, exercise and sleep tracker, it offers reminders to move to motivate you to stay active throughout the day, while providing visual feedback on your progress and keeping you connected with the smart notifications.

Fitbit Alta

The Fitbit Alta will be available in India in March at Rs. 12,999 exclusively on Amazon India, and across Reliance Digital, Croma, Helios, Jumbo and Vijay Sales retail stores.


Author: Hitesh Arora

From making Gadget and Auto videos for TV and online media, this guy landed up in Tech Writing. He has his heart at the right place when it comes to finding deals online. You will always find him suggesting people which device to buy. Hitesh calls himself a TV buff, who loves cooking, eating, dancing, and sleeping. You can follow him on Twitter @hitesharoraa