Weekly Roundup: HTC U11+, Sony Xperia L2, Infinix Hot S3 and more


This week there were several smartphone launches in India from HTC, Sony, Infinix, Panasonic, Tecno Mobile and there were also launch of accessories from Bose, Harman and Zebronics. Ahead of Valentine’s day next week, Vivo and Intex launched Red Edition smartphones. Check out all the launches and announcement from this week in our weekly roundup.

This week launched the  U11+, the company’s latest flagship smartphone that  was announced  back in November last year. It comes with a 6-inch Quad HD+ 18:9 Full Screen display with 82% screen-to-body ratio and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 coupled with 6GB of RAM. Like the original U11, it comes with Edge Sense technology.

It runs on Android 8.0 Oreo with Sense U.I on top, is rated at IP68 for water and dust resistance and comes with a single 12MP camera. There is no 3.5mm audio jack but the company is bundling USB Type-C headphones with active noise cancellation. Itcomes in Amazing Silver color, is priced at Rs. 56,990 and is available exclusively from Flipkart.

Sony Mobile launched Xperia L2, the company’s latest smartphone in the ‘L series’ in India. It was introduced at the CES 2018 last month and packs a 5.5-inch display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection, is powered by quad-core MediaTek SoC and runs on Android 7.1.1 (Nougat). It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and an 8-megapixel front camera with 120-degree super wide-angle lens.

It comes with dual SIM support with dedicated SIM and microSD slots, features a fingerprint sensor on the back and packs a 3300mAh battery with Qnovo Adaptive Charging tech. It comes in Black and Gold colors, is priced at Rs. 19,990 and is already available from retail stores across India.

Infinix launched Hot S3, the company’s latest mid-range smartphone in the ‘Hot S’ series in India. It has a 20-megapixel front camera with dual LED flash and features a 5.65-inch HD+ 18:9 display, which are the main highlights of the phone. It is powered by Snapdragon 430 with up to 4GB RAM, runs Android 8.0 Oreo with the company’s own XOS Hummingbird V3.0 on top.

It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash, come with dedicated dual SIM and microSD slots, features a fingerprint sensor on the back and packs a 4000mAh battery. It comes in Sandstone Black and Brush Gold colors and is priced at Rs. 8999 for the 3GB RAM with 32GB storage version and the 4GB RAM with 64GB storage version costs Rs. 10,999. It will be available exclusively from Flipkart starting from February 12th. Check out our first impressions here.

China-based Transsion Holdings’ TECNO Mobile launched Tecno Camon i Air, the company’s latest smartphone in India. It has a 5.65-inch HD+ 18:9 FullView display, is powered by quad-core MediaTek processor and runs on Android 7.0 (Nougat) with the company’s own HiOS on top along with a 13-megapixel  rear camera with LED flash quad-LED flash, similar to the Camon i, but this has a 8-megapixel front-facing camera instead of a 13-megapixel camera.

It has 2GB RAM and 16GB storage compared to 3GB RAM and 32GB storage on the Camon i. It comes in Champagne Gold and Midnight Black colors, is priced at Rs. 7999 and will be available from offline stores.

Panasonic launched P100, the company’s latest budget smartphone in India. It has a 5-inch 2.5D curved glass screen with Corning Gorilla Glass protection, is powered by a quad-core MediaTek SoC with 1GB/2GB RAM depending on the model, runs Android 7.0 (Nougat), has an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, both with LED flash.

It has dedicated dual SIM and microSD slots, has a fingerprint sensor on the back and packs a 2200mAh removable battery. It comes in Blue, Black, Gold and Dark Grey colors, is priced at Rs. 5299 for the 1GB RAM version and the 2GB RAM version costs Rs. 5999. It is available exclusively from Flipkart.

Vivo launched V7+ mid-range selfie-focused smartphone in new Limited Edition Infinite Red color variant in partnership with designer Manish Malhotra ahead of Valentine’s Day next week. It is priced at Rs. 22,990 and is available through offline stores across India as well as Amazon.in online with exclusive offers.

Intex launched the ELYT Dual smartphone with dual selfie cameras in new Limited Edition Royal Red version ahead of Valentine’s Day next week. Dual front cameras in the smartphone offers Bokeh effect for portrait selfies with Re-Focus to edit the picture later and Background Effect to easily add, change or edit photo background or foreground. It is available from retail stores for Rs. 6,999.

Bose launched Soundsport Free earbuds and SoundLink Micro Rugged Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker in India. The Soundsport Free earbuds weigh just 10g each and measures just 2.8cm high x 3.0cm deep. They house a new antennae system to maintain a strong and reliable connection between each other, and the phone or tablet they’re paired to – whether the device is 9m away. It promises up to 5 hours of listening time on a single charge, while the case provides 10 hours of battery life. It also has IPX4 ratings for water-resistance.

The Bose Soundsport Free comes in Black, Midnight Blue and Bright Orange colors, is priced at Rs. 18,990 and is available from Amazon.in. The Bose Sound Link Micro comes in  Black, Midnight Blue and Bright Orange colors, is priced at Rs. 8990 and is available from Amazon.in.

JBL Boombox

HARMAN launched the JBL Boombox Bluetooth speaker in India. The speaker is capable of delivering exceptional sound and hard hitting bass. It is also IPX7 rated for Waterproof. It comes with a 20,000mAh rechargeable Built-in rechargeable Li-ion battery.

It is priced at Rs. 34,990 and will be available in black color through HARMAN’s e-commerce platform, various online and retail channels and at 350 key Samsung brand stores across in India.

HP Elitebook 800

HP this week unveiled new Elitebook 800-series, HP ZBook 14u, and HP ZBook 15u laptops. These commercial devices are designed for today’s constantly on-the-go modern workforce. These laptops are powered by the Windows 10  with support for Cortana, cameras, optional fingerprint readers with Windows Hello for fast and secure login, and Windows Ink.

These laptops feature new chiseled linear wedge profiles and anodized aluminum covers. The EliteBook 800 series packs an ultra-bright display that automatically adapts to changing light conditions. The EliteBook 800 series and the ZBook 14u/15u passed the MIL-STD-810G testing to ensure durability and also have Thunderbolt 3 ports. HP also introduced the new HP Thunderbolt Dock G2


Author: Srivatsan Sridhar

Srivatsan Sridhar is a Mobile Technology Enthusiast who is passionate about Mobile phones and Mobile apps. He uses the phones he reviews as his main phone. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram