Weekly News Roundup #6 – India

In a weekly segment, I’ll be doing a roundup of the mobile technology news in India, including new device announcements and releases from Indian manufacturers, network carrier news, and anything else that captures the pulse of  the Android scene in India.

In today’s “Weekly News Roundup – India,” the Indian Android smartphone world saw Micromax continuing to add to its budget-friendly quad-core smartphone portfolio, a new smartphone from Xolo showing up online, and Chinese company Gionee aggressively marketing its latest smartphone in India. In the Android tablet market, the Sony Xperia Tablet Z gets a price and goes up for pre-order, and iBall introduces a great budget-friendly quad-core tablet.

As you can see, there’s a lot to talk about. Let’s get started!

Android Smartphones

Micromax A110Q Canvas 2 Plus

Early this year, Micromax announced plans to launch over 30 new Android smartphones, and the local manufacturer is certainly on track to do so, with another new smartphone being launched this week. The company started the trend of budget-friendly quad-core smartphones in India, and the competition has taken notice and released amazing rival devices. That being said, Micromax continues to increase the pressure, this week, with the Micromax A110Q Canvas 2 Plus.

The specifications of the Micromax A110Q Canvas 2 Plus include -

The low resolution of the 5-inch display is slightly disappointing, since Micromax was one of the first companies to introduce budget-friendly smartphones with HD displays. The specifications don’t hold any surprises and is what can be found from various similarly priced smartphones from other local OEMs, even though the availability of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean is definitely impressive.

The Micromax A110Q Canvas 2 Plus is available for Rs 12,100 (~$228) from the Micromax eStore here.

Source – Micromax 

Xolo Q1000

Xolo, a sub-brand of Lava International, became popular as one of the first companies to release an Android smartphone powered by an Intel processor. Xolo has continued to expand and diversify its portfolio, with non-Intel smartphones as well, and joining its growing list of quad-core smartphones is the Xolo Q1000, which has been listed by online retailers Flipkart. The Xolo Q1000 is primed to take on the various other budget-friendly quad-core smartphones currently flooding the Indian market, and boasts some great specifications, which include -

The pricing of the Xolo Q1000 isn’t official yet, but one of the listings on Flipkart shows a price point of Rs 14,999 (~$283). Still tagged as “Coming Soon,” you can find the listing here.

Source – NDTV Gadgets

Gionee ELife E3

Gionee, a Chinese manufacturer, has been aggressively marketing its products in India, and following up the GPad-G2, the company has now announced its new ELife series, starting with the Gionee ELife E3. Gionee has been releasing smartphones that can effectively compete against similarly-priced devices from local manufacturers, and the ELife E3 is no different.

The specifications of the Gionee ELife E3 include -

In addition to the impressive specifications, the Gionee ELife E3 comes with an in-built Digital Theatre System (DTS) Sound, for an improved multimedia experience. Compared to other budget-friendly quad-core smartphones, the ELife E3 features a much higher internal storage availability, and even though the device already comes with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, the company promises timely software updates.

The Gionee ELife E3 will be available for Rs 14,999 (~$283) from retail stores around the country by the end of the month. You can find out more about the smartphone here.

Source – IBTimes

Android Tablets

Sony Xperia Tablet Z

The Sony Xperia Tablet Z was first announced back in February at MWC 2013, and has finally made its way to India, with the high-end tablet now up for pre-order for various online retailers.  The Sony Xperia Tablet Z borrows a lot of features and specifications from its smartphone counterpart, the Xperia Z, including being completely dust and waterproof. Here’s a quick recap of the specifications of the Sony Xperia Tablet Z -

The specifications of the tablet are definitely impressive, although the display resolution falls short of the 10-inch Nexus tablet. I would have also liked to see Android 4.2 on-board a high-end device launched in 2013, but Sony does promise quick software upgrades. Complementing the specifications a beautiful and sleek form factor, at only 6.9mm thick, and weighing just 495 grams.

The Sony Xperia Tablet Z is currently up for pre-order from online retailers such as Flipkart and Infibeam, with a first week of June availability, and is priced at a whopping Rs 44,990 (~$848), which includes a leather case worth Rs 3000 for free. If you’re not sure of the tablet is worth the price, take a look at our hands-on video of the Sony Xperia Tablet Z below -

Source – Fone Arena

iBall Slide Q9703

Indian device manufacturer iBall has launched another great budget-friendly tablet offering which could prove to be a very viable alternative to the far more expensive high-end tablets. The iBall Slide Q9703 boasts a Retina display and support for 4K Ultra HD videos. Specifications of the iBall Slide Q9703 include -

The specifications of the iBall Slide Q9703 is very similar to the Zync Quad 9.7, and is comparatively inexpensive alternative to the iPad and other high-end Android tablets. The iBall Slide Q9703 will be available from various iBall retail stores around the country, priced at Rs 15,999 (~$301). You can find out more about the tablet here.

Source – Tech Tree

What are your thoughts? What do you think of the new additions to the growing number of budget-friendly quad-core smartphones? How impressive is the iBall Slide Q9703? Is the high price of the Sony Xperia Tablet Z worth it? Will you be picking up any of the devices mentioned above? Let us know in the comments section below.

Weekly News Roundup #6 – India