OnePlus 3 to be launched in second quarter of 2016

During the last couple of years, we have seen new brands coming up with some quality hardware and giving fierce competition to some of the well established brands.

OnePlus is one such name that garnered a lot of attention with the launch of its OnePlus One smartphone. Last year, the company launched its first successor, the OnePlus 2, which was followed by the launch of a slightly affordable OnePlus X.

So far there has not been any information about the launch of OnePlus 3, but a recent report by Cnet which quoted the company's co-founder Carl Pei, revealed that OnePlus 3 can be launched by the end of the second quarter of 2016.

Though not many details have been revealed about the upcoming flagship device yet, the report says the device will feature a new design and will not be on the lines of OnePlus 2.

Pei also stated that OnePlus 3 will be available as an unlocked device in US as well as other markets.

He also said that the company is looking into 'better buying process' but there isn't any clear mention of abandoning invite system. OnePlus will continue to offer free shipping on its devices and will also accept payments with credit card, rather than only via PayPal.

Xiaomi launches Mi 5 at Mobile World Congress 2016

Xiaomi today launched it's much awaited flagship smartphone Xiaomi Mi5 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

This flagship smartphone comes almost a year and half after Mi 4, of which the company claims to have sold over 16 million units across the world till date.

Xiaomi Mi 5 features a 5.15 inch full HD display, a metal body, 3D ceramic back, which is durable and water resistant. Xiaomi has added a finger print sensor below the display that also bundles as a home button.

The company has designed a sleek device at 7.25mm with a 3000 mAh battery that weighs 129 grams. It will be available in black, white and gold colours.

The device is powered by Qualcomm's latest chipset, Snapdragon 820, which is powering some of the other flagships including Samsung Galaxy S7, Sony Xperia X and LG G5. It is paired with LPDDR 4 4GB of RAM.  

During the launch presentation, the company claimed that the device offers a high score of 142,084 on AnTuTu benchmarks with high specifications. The new chipset used offers double the performance and consumes half the power as compared to the previous generation Qualcomm processor.  

It has Sony IMX298 16MP sensor and Qualcomm Spectra image processor. And also features face detection auto focus, DTI for producing better colours and a 4-axis OIS that helps in capturing better images in low lights conditions as well when hands are shaking. It can capture 4k videos. Other features include sunlight display, reading mode and more.

The device will be available in three variants - the top of the line is called Mi 5 Pro with Snapdragon 820 processor clocked at 2.15GHz paired with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. It will be priced at Yuan 2699 (Rs 28,302 approximately).

Mi 5 with Snapdragon 820 processor, 3GB RAM and 64GB internal storage is priced at Yuan 2299 (Rs 24,107 approximately) and the third one with Snapdragon 820 processor, 3GB RAM and 32GB storage is available for Yuan 1999 (Rs 20,962 approximaely). It will ship Android Marshmallow with MiUi and packs in a 3000 mAh battery and supports Quick Charge 3.0.

The device will go on sale on March 1 in China and is expected to be launched in India soon. The final price for the Indian market will also be revealed closer to the launch.

Gionee S8 with 3D Touch launched at MWC 2016

Chinese handset manufacturer Gionee has announced its next flagship smartphone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The Gionee S8 claims to feature a 3D touch display and 'dual WhatsApp'.

Priced at 499 euros (approximately Rs 34,000), the Gionee S8 has got a metal design and features 3D Touch pressure sensitive display that is similar to the one on the new iPhones. The display on the Gionee S8 can distinguish between three levels of force - touch select and app, tap to preview the content of an app and press to run the app. It features a 5.5-inch full HD AMOLED display.

But the unique feature is the support for Dual WhatsApp accounts. Gionee claims that users will be able to configure two different WhatsApp and WeChat accounts on a single device.

The Gionee S8 is powered by MediaTek Helio P10 octa-core processor and is paired with 4 GB of RAM.  It runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with Amigo OS and comes with 64 GB internal storage and will be equipped with a 16-MP rear camera with f/1.8 and laser autofocus. There will be an 8-MP front facing camera. This is a dual SIM phone with 4G LTE connectivity support. It has also a Hi-Fi an dDTS audio support, fingerprint scanner and a 3,000-mAh battery onboard. 

Xiaomi to launch Redmi Note 3 in India on Mar 3

Chinese electronics company Xiaomi has announced the launch date of the much anticipated Redmi Note 3 in India.

The smartphone would be launched on March 3 at Talkatora Stadium.

The Redmi Note 3 would be available in two RAM and storage versions, one including 2GB of RAM and 16GB of inbuilt storage, and other 3GB of RAM and 32GB of inbuilt storage.

The note would come in different colour variants of dark grey, champagne gold, and silver.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 was launched in China at around Rs. 10,000 in January this year and is expected to cost the same in India.

Headquartered in Beijing, Xiaomi is the world's fourth largest smartphone maker. Xiaomi designs, develops, and sells smartphones, mobile apps, and related consumer electronics.

The company's founder and CEO is Lei Jun, China's 23rd richest person according to Forbes. The company sold over 60 million smartphones in 2014.

3G phone like Freedom 251 would cost Rs 2,300, according to Telecom Ministry

With questions being raised over the promised price of Rs 251 for a 3G smartphone by new entrant Ringing Bells, the Telecom Ministry has found that a device with such specifications would cost about Rs 2,300.

"The Ministry has analysed the issue and it feels that such a device can be manufactured for about Rs 2,300," sources said.

However, they refused to say if any action will be taken against the company in the matter.

Earlier this week, Noida-based firm Ringing Bells launched the world's cheapest phone -- Freedom 251 -- priced at Rs 251, hogging limelight globally.

Indian Cellular Association, which represents the handset makers industry in India and has members like Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, Lava and Micromax, had also written to Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

The body said the bill of material value for a product like this when sourced from the cheapest supply chain cost approximately $40 (Rs 2,700).

When translated into retail price after addition of applicable duties, taxes and distribution and retail margins, the cost of the product would be at least Rs 4,100, it added.

ICA requested the Minister to get into the depth of the issue, saying the price could not be below Rs 3,500 even after a subsidised sale.

Ringing Bells, on its part, said the manufacturing cost of the phone is about Rs 2,500, which will be recovered through a series of measures like economies of scale, innovative marketing, reduction in duties and creating an e-commerce marketplace.

Apart from the jaw-dropping price, the company that was set up five months ago by Amity University graduate Mohit Kumar Goel, is also in the midst of controversy with analysts alleging that its maker has merely rebranded a device by its rival, Adcom.

Analysts allege that the design of Ringing Bells' Freedom 251 handset resembles that of Adcom's Ikon 4, which is already available in the Indian market at Rs 3,999.

Interestingly, most built-in app icons on the Freedom 251 seem to be a direct copy of icons on Apple's iPhone, they added.

Despite the controversies, the device has continued to grab attention from consumers. Following a heavy demand, Ringing Bells suspended bookings for 24 hours yesterday. It resumed bookings on Friday.

India's most affordable smartphone, Freedom 251, will be priced at Rs 251

Noida-based smartphone manufacturer Ringing Bells is all set to launch India's most affordable smartphone, the Freedom 251. It is an ultra-affordable 3G smartphone and has been made in line with the Make In India, Digital India and Skill India programmes. While the company is hosting an official launch event later in the evening today, we already have the details about the Freedom 251.

This smartphone will feature a 4-inch qHD (960×540 pixels) IPS display. It will be powered by Qualcomm 1.3-GHz quad-core processor and will be paired with 1 GB of RAM.  It will have an onboard storage of 8 GB with support for expandable memory of up to 32 GB. It will feature a 3.2-MP rear camera and a 0.3-MP front facing camera.

Running on Android Lollipop operating system, it will have connectivity options such as 3G and a 1,450-mAh battery. The device will come preinstalled with apps including Women Safety, Swachh Bharat, Fisherman, Farmer, Medical, WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube and will also have access to Google Play Store.

The Freedom 251 will come with one year warranty and will have more than 650 service centres across India. The Bookings for the Freedom 251 will start at 6 am on Thursday 18 February.  Earlier, the company has launched the most affordable 4G smartphone for Rs 2,999.
With the Freedom 251 priced at Rs 251, it will disrupt the affordable Indian smartphone market.

Apple to launch new iPhone, iPad in March, says report

Apple Inc is on target to introduce its next iPhone and iPad models on March 15, and aims to start selling the devices in the same week, technology blog 9to5Mac reported, citing sources.

Apple, which will introduce a new 4-inch iPhone, dubbed the "iPhone 5se", and a new iPad Air at a launch event, is unlikely to take pre-orders for the new devices, the blog reported.

The technology giant has hit a trough in iPhone demand. The 0.4 percent rise in shipments in the fiscal first quarter was the slowest-ever increase in iPhone sales since the phone was launched in 2007.

The new 4-inch iPhone 5se is designed to spur iPhone hardware upgrades for customer seeking faster devices without upgrading to the far larger iPhone 6s and 6s Plus screen sizes.

Apple could not be immediately reached for comment.

Lenovo launches Yoga 900 convertible laptop, Tab 3 Pro tablet

Lenovo India has announced the launch of two new products in its Yoga series - the Yoga 900 convertible laptop and Yoga Tab 3 Pro tablet. The Yoga 900 convertible is a high-end machine powered by Intel 6th generation Skylake processor. On the other hand, the Tab 3 Pro is a splash proof tablet with built-in projector.

Lenovo claims Yoga 900 to be the world's thinnest Intel I convertible at 14.9-mm thick. It weights 1.29 kg and can be turned into various modes including laptop, stand, tent and tablet.

Operating System Jan 31, 2016 TnT Editor 0 Comments Windows 10 Cumulative Operating System Update (Build 10586.71) – KB3124262 Direct Download Links

Windows 10 build 10586, also known as version 1511 or Threshold 2, is the stable Windows 10 release available for now. Windows 10 Build 10586.71 contains all previously-released fixes, latest bug fixes, and improvements to enhance the functionality of operating system. If you have installed previous updates, only the new fixes that are contained in this package will be downloaded and installed to Windows 10 PC.
The operating system will update automatically unless Windows 10 users have disabled Windows Update function in Windows 10.
Anyhow, to grad latest Windows 10 cumulative OS update, just head into All Settings or open the settings app > Update & security > Check for updates under the name “Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1511 for x64-based Systems (KB3124262)”.
Microsoft prepared a support page for the update. Windows 10 users also can visit Microsoft official support page for the update KB3124262 here.
Here are Windows 10 build 10586.71 direct download links that can use to install update offline or on multiple Windows 10 PCs.

• Download KB3124262 for Windows 10 build 10586 x86
• Download KB3124262 for Windows 10 build 10586 x64
• Download KB3124262 for Windows Server 2016

LG to launch Signature OLED TVs in India in second half of 2016

Earlier this year, at Consumer Electronics Show, Las Vegas, LG had unveiled its signature product line-up including the 4K HDR-enabled OLED TV.
Comprising a flagship 77-inch and a 65-inch OLED TV, the company claims that the flat panels offer exceptional contrast and colour along with 4K Ultra HD resolution and high-dynamic range (HDR) capability.

OnePlus X withdraws invite-only model from February 5

Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus is known for its invite-only model for selling smartphones.

But only three months after the launch of its most affordable smartphone, OnePlus X, the company has withdrawn the invite-only model. The smartphone will be available for purchase on Amazon India without any invite starting February 5. OnePlus X will be available in three variants - Onyx Black, Champagne Gold, and limited edition Ceramic.

Motorola goes to offline retail with the launch of Moto X Force

Moto by Lenovo has announced the launch its new flagship smartphone in India, the Moto X Force. The highlight of the Moto X Force is its 'ShatterShield' display, which can withstand drops and is non-breakable. The company claims that the phone's display comes with four-year replacement warranty in case of accidental damage. The 'ShatterShield' display is made of an aluminium rigid core, flexible AMOLED screen,  dual-layer touchscreen panels and, in addition, has water-repellent nano-coating.