Reliance JioPhone testing begins in three days, bookings to open on August 24

Three days to go for Jio to begin testing of the new JioPhone. Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio will be commercially launching the new 4G feature phone next month. The USP of the device is its price tag and 4G connectivity. The company claims it is effectively free but the user still has to pay a price of Rs 1,500, which can be refunded after three years.

The device was first unveiled on July 21, during the Reliance AGM. The company promised that the device will be available for testing by August 15 and users will be able to pre-book the device on August 24.

Recently, a few reports also suggested that the JioPhone might be able to run a special version of WhatsApp and is in talks with the instant messaging application to make it happen. If the company succeeds in achieving this, it can pose a great threat to the entry level smartphones.

Currently, other than voice over LTE (VoLTE) calls and basic internet browsing, there is hardly anything that the JioPhone user will be able to do with the fast 4G connection. One of the biggest deprivations would be the lack of basic applications like Facebook and WhatsApp.

However, Reliance Jio knows that India's 200 million subscriber base of WhatsApp can increase manifold if they are able to provide a special WhatsApp application for the phone's respective operating system.

JioPhone is being touted as 'India ka Smartphone' as it is aimed at the feature phone market, which is still a majority in the phone market. The company also launched exclusive data plans for the device. JioPhone will be launched for testing on 15 August, will be available for pre-booking from August 24 and will be commercially available by September this year.

Dreading the monopoly Reliance Jio can have on the cheap-segment devices and customers, other telecom operators are jumping into the race with their own offerings. Idea Cellular-Vodafone is also planning to introduce a cheap 4G smartphone at Rs 2,500. Being a smartphone, the company claims that it will be able to run basic applications like Facebook, WhatsApp and Google.

Big Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 sale: Here's how you can get the device at Rs 999

Redmi Note 4 has been a huge success in India and the even six months after its launch, the device is selling like hot cakes. Xiaomi is celebrating the great success of this mid-tier device by launching a Big Redmi Note 4 sale on the completion of six months. The sale begins at 12pm IST on Flipkart and Xiaomi Inida website.

The Chinese company is offering the device with various offers but one offer stands out. The device can be bought at a price as low as Rs 999. Though it might sound too good to be true, the company is offering a exchange offer discount of up to Rs 12,000.

Other than this offer, the buyer can avail the buyback guarantee by paying a small amount of Rs 249. Flipkart is also offering a discount of Rs 500 on Mi Air Purifier 2 on purchase of any variant of Redmi Note 4. Xiaomi India's website will also be offering the phone with various offers on the same occasion.

Recently, there were concerns regarding the safety of the device after a video emerged which showed a smartphone bursting into flames. Despite Xiaomi acknowledging another fire incident, the video happens to be unrelated to Redmi Note 4. According to the company, the burnt Redmi Note 4 they received was not the same as the one showed in the video. 

The device still holds well against competition in the same segment. The likes of Moto G5 Plus and even the upcoming Nokia 6 can pose a serious threat to the Redmi Note 4.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, the phablet from affordable line-up of the Chinese firm will go on sale today at 12:00 pm on company's website Mi.com and Flipkart.

The phone comes at a starting price of Rs 9,999.
The 32GB internal memory, 2GB RAM variant will be available for Rs 9,999, whereas the one with 3GB of RAM will be available for Rs 10,999. The 64GB memory variant with 4GB RAM will be available for Rs 12,999.

The Redmi Note 4 is powered by the Snapdragon 625 and Adreno 506 GPU, which uses a new power efficient 14nm FinFET technology.

The device sports a 13 megapixel rear camera with CMOS sensor and a 5 megapixel front facing camera. The metal body houses a 5.5-inch full HD display with 2.5 D curved glass for smooth touch response.

The phone features a 4100 mAH battery which is just one per cent bigger than the Redmi Note 3 but will apparently add 25 per cent screen on time in comparison to Redmi Note 3. The colour options for the Redmi Note 4 include gold, black and dark grey.