iPhone 5 has been feeling the heat of the launch of the latest crop of flagships from its rivals. And the heat that it’s been feeling for a while is all set to go north with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One. These smartphones will start hitting the stores globally by April end-May start and iPhone 5 will be the one that will be the worst hit in terms of performance so Apple needs something great to bounce back.
Lava, the Indian smartphone manufacturer has been following a dual approach in the Indian market. The slightly premium handsets come under the brand name Xolo whereas the slightly cheaper handsets come under the brand name Lava. Lava had announced a budget 5 inch phablet back in January, the Lava Iris 501 which ran on Android Ice Cream Sandwich but now Lava is upgrading it to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.
That is not all that is going to happen. The smartphone has also been given a price cut and from the previous price of Rs.9,999, the device will now start to retail for Rs.7,999 (Buy Now) which gives the smartphone a big advantage over the similarly specced smartphones. The Lava Iris 501 comes with a 5 inch capacitive display of 800×480 pixels resolution which is similar to the one found on the Micromax Canvas 2 A110.
Karbonn is becoming a key player in the Indian smartphone and tablet arena when it comes to offering class leading products at rock bottom prices. Karbonn has just launched another budget tablet in the Indian market which it has named as Karbonn Ta-Fone A34 for Rs.7,290 and it is available via online retailer Infibeam.com and the retailer is offering an inaugral discount of another Rs.440 if you use the code”KAR440″.
Karbonn Ta-Fone A34 comes with a 7 inch capacitive display which has a resolution of 800×480 pixels. The main selling point of the tablet will be the Dual SIM option it brings along with it. It can work with two GSM sim cards which makes it quite a handy tablet. It runs on a slightly older version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.4 but we can’t ask them for much at this price point. It offers voice calling too which makes those two sim cards all the more functional.
Umi mobiles, a Chinese smartphone maker that is foraying into India slowly has just launched a the cheapest 720p quad core smartphone in India. The UMI S1 has been launched to tighten the noose around the Micromax Canvas HD A116 as it offers similar features at a lower price point. The UMI S1 will retail for Rs.12,000 and the smartphone can be ordered from the company’s website.
Sony has been going all guns blazing by launching some really good Android powered smartphones on the global frontier as well as India. India has been getting Sony smartphones before a lot of major markets and in sync with that, Sony has just launched their mid ranger, the Xperia SP in India for Rs.27,490 and the smartphone is expected to be available through brick and mortar stores by the third week of April 2013.
Zen Mobiles, another player in the budget smartphone market in India has just launched their budget quad core smartphone offering, the Zen Ultrafone 701 HD in the Indian market. The smartphone has not been launched officially but has gone up for ordering on Snapdeal.com which seems to be thier exclusive partner for the launch of the device. The smartphone has a lot going in its favour and might give Zen a strong footing in the market.
As the named suggests, the smartphone will have a HD screen. It comes with a 5 inch screen of 720p resolution like the Canvas HD. The price of the smartphone has been kept Rs.11,999 and is being offered with a screen guard, a spare back panel and a flip cover. It can be pre booked by paying a paltry sum of Rs.101 and it is expected to start the shipping by the time the third week of March ends which is not too far.
Updated on May 11, 2013
Updated on Apr 12 2013
Micromax just can not stay out of the headlines. Their latest entrant in the smartphone arena, the Micromax A116, the cheapest 720p quad core smartphone has received more than what we can call a warm reception and even though the device seems to making its way to the retail stores, it still is out of stock at a lot of places. But Micromax is not done yet. They are all set to bring a new device to the party.
The images of the country’s first ever budget 3D smartphone have skipped on to the interweb and who else but Micromax will be the company launching it. Micromax Canvas 3D A115 will be the name of the device suggesting that it will be slotted below the A116 and a 3D device at a sub Rs.15,000 price surely gets our heartbeat racing. The smartphone will feature a similar body as the Micromax A115.
