Continuing the festive season discounts, Amazon India has kick-started its Great Indian Festival sales starting today. The festival sale will last until October 20. The discounts are mostly on smartphones, accessories, and electronic items on the first day. Xiaomi also announced its “Diwali with Mi” sale on its range of smartphones.
Amazon India is offering an additional 15% discounts for buyers who shop on their app. Also, Citibank credit or debit card users are entitled to get additional discounts. The e-tailer is also offering exchange offers on electronic items. There is also an option to avail EMI options at no additional costs. For Prime subscribers, Amazon India will open deals 30 minutes ahead of general availability.
Here are the top five deals on Amazon India for smartphones.
Apple iPhone 6s (64 GB, Gold and Space Grey): If you are looking for a killer deal on the slightly older iPhone 6S, then Amazon is offering the 64GB variant of the iPhone 6s for Rs 45,999. The Rose Gold colour variant is available for a slightly higher price of Rs 48,290. While Amazon India has also listed the Silver colour variant of iPhone 6s (64GB) for Rs 39,225, note that the offer is not Amazon Fulfilled.
OnePlus 3: The new OnePlus 3 smartphone is available in both colours—Gold and Graphite—for the same price of Rs 27,999. However, there is exchange offer of up to Rs 16,000 at select regions.
LeEco Le Max2: LeEco Le Max 2 (32GB) is available for Rs 17,999 instead of Rs 22,999 during the sale.
Moto G4 and G4 Plus: The new Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus are available at a price of Rs 10, 499 and Rs 13,499 respectively. Also, the budget Moto G4 Play is available for cash back of Rs 1,000.
Lenovo Zuk Z1: If you are looking the best budget smartphone, then check out the Lenovo Zuk Z1 on Amazon India. For a discounted price of Rs 10,999, the device offers top-notch hardware.

Since a longtime, Android users have been waiting to enjoy video calling facility on WhatsApp just like Windows phone users. And it seems that their wait has finally come to an end, hinted WABetaInfo. It tweeted: “I received a report about video calls on WhatsApp for Android (NO ROOT). Are they finalizing the server to enable video calls?”

On October 20, OneWindows.es, a Spanish website, has reported that many Windows Phone users are now able to see the option to make video calls in WhatsApp beta app. The website also cited that the users did not have to re-install the application for using the video calling option as there was a server-side change.

In September 2016, WhatsApp Android Beta version has introduced a number of new features to customize images like Snapchat, i.e., by adding stickers and drawing to add more fun. The users could write a message and add emojis atop the photos and videos. This information was revealed by Android Police.

Besides WhatsApp, Facebook has also initiated steps to improve its FB Messenger app for Windows 10 as users will now be able to make video and voice calls using the Windows 10 app. Earlier, the users had to actually leave the app and use this feature from the web version of Facebook in a web browser.

According to VentureBeat, “Just like on Messenger for Android and iOS, the phone icon in the top right corner of the screen in the Windows 10 app during a chat glows green when the other person is currently active, so you know you can reach them immediately.”

So if you are a Windows user and you are able to use this new feature of video calling on your handset, do let us know your experience in the

After not so successful device IM5, photography company Kodak will launch its new device Ektra  — a smartphone aimed at aimed at shutterbugs — that looks like a camera.

Named after its 1941 rangefinder (and the 1970s 110 film camera range), the handset’s back is wrapped in “leatherette” with a slightly curved grip on one side and a dedicated shutter button on top, Engadget reported.

Also Read: Kodak announces smartphone with 13 MP camera

To be available in Britain from December for 450 pounds ($550), the smartphone has a large, protruding lens pokes out the back and a 21MP Sony sensor (IMX230) under the hood and is photographer-friendly.

Kodak has recruited Bullitt, a phone manufacturer to make the device. The camera app on the smartphone has a digital “Scene Selection Dial” that lets you access different shooting modes.

Bullitt has also made Snapseed the default photo-editing app, believing it is one of the best options on the Play Store.

The phone is powered by a deca-core MediaTek Helio X20 processor and 3GB of RAM. It comes with 32GB of internal storage, which you can supplement with a MicroSD card up to 128GB and a 3000mAh battery that supports “Pump Express” quick charging.

The 5-inch, the 1080p display has a stock version of Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

Motorola is usually fast with updating its phones to the latest Android version, the reason basically is that it uses almost stock Android, hence it doesn’t need to add touch-ups to the OS unlike Samsung, Xiaomi or other companies. Nougat has already reached some Nexus phones, Android One phones, and LG’s V20, now Motorola has announced the list of phones that will get the latest Android 7.0 Nougat.

Earlier a report had said that Motorola will roll out the Nougat update starting with Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and its latest Moto Z line of smartphones. Motorola’s announcement confirms that report as well.

“We’re happy to confirm Android 7.0 Nougat is on its way to a lot of our smartphones, we’ll be starting in Q4 with Moto Z and Moto G (4th Gen),”said the company in a blog post.

Going by the announcement, the Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and the Moto Z phones should be running Android Nougat by the end of this year. Motorola launched the Moto Z and Moto Z Play in India earlier this week, the phone at the sale will come with Android Marshmallow.

Here’s the full list of the phones that will receive Android Nougat update, the list also include Droid phones which are not available in India:

Moto G (4th Gen)

Moto G Plus (4th Gen)

Moto G Play (4th Gen)

Moto X Pure Edition (3rd Gen)

Moto X Style

Moto X Play

Moto X-Force

Droid Turbo 2

Droid Maxx 2

Moto Z

Moto Z-Droid

Moto Z Force Droid

Moto Z Play

Moto Z Play Droid

Nexus 6

Android Nougat update will add more efficient notification controls, improved battery and data saver features. It also promises to offer better security options along with custom quick setting features.

Tuesday when Google launched Pixel phones, it seemingly left out a minor — albeit important — detail from the announcement, probably because there were bigger things to talk about. It didn’t reveal for how long the phone would be supported in terms of software and the security updates, an issue that plagued Android phones. But now India Today Tech can confirm that Pixel and Pixel XL will be different when it comes to updates compared to other Android phones. According to Google, these phones will be supported for at least 2 years after their launch in terms of software updates and for at least 3 years for the necessary security updates.

This is an improvement over the Nexus phones, which are given official support for software updates like next version of Android for 18 months. But at the same time, it falls short of the high standard set by Apple which typically supports the iPhone for 4 years.
“(For Pixel phones) we provide software and security updates for 2 and 3 years, respectively,” a Google spokesperson told India Today Tech. “We provide warranty support for the life of the warranty — 1 year in the US and typically 2 years for the rest of the world, although there are exceptions.”

The two years, although it sounds low compared to what Apple offers with the iPhone, seems fairly decent in the world of Android where most phones never get a software update. The security updates are not so rare, especially for the high-end Android phones from big manufacturers like Samsung, the mainstream, and low-end phones do not get the updates all that frequently. The updates, software or security, are also very rare six months after the launch of a phone.
In fact, prompt updates were one of the big attractions of Nexus phones. They were the most affordable option for consumers wanting to get the direct and prompt Android software updates from Google. Although after the launch of Pixel, now that Nexus product line has ended, even the Nexus phone users seem to be getting a raw deal. Unlike the pre-Pixel world, when Nexus phones were first to get latest Android features, now the users of Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P will have to wait at least couple of months before they get some of the Android 7.1 features that Pixel phones have at the moment.

Cinese company Meizu on Tuesday launched its budget smartphone M3s in India, in exclusive partnership with Snapdeal at a price of Rs.7,999.

The Meizu M3s comes with a 5-inch FullHD screen with a 720X1280 pixel resolution. Meizu’s M3s is powered by a 1GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6750 processor. The handset comes in two variants as 2 GB RAM & 16 GB ROM and 3 GB RAM & 32 GB ROM.

Also Read: Meizu launches Redmi Note 3 rival M3 Note at Rs 9,999

The smartphone is backed by a 3020 mAh non-removable battery along with several features like gravity sensor, ambient light sensor, capacitive touch screen, 24GHz dual band WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and digital compass.

The dual SIM M3s comes with a 13-megapixel camera on the rear and a 5-megapixel at the front. The phone like most of the Meizu’s flagship phones such as M3 Note and MX5 boats of an all-metal body and is available in three colours- Grey, Silver, and Gold.

“M3s generated quite a buzz among our target audience and since the dynamics of the Indian market is similar to any other successful market in the world, it encouraged us to rollout this stunning device here as well. Undoubtedly, we at Meizu always tend to introduce our best in class products here on priority. We firmly believe the level of acceptability m3s would get from Indian consumer will bolster our future growth plans, ” the company said in a statement.

The company earlier this year also launched M3 Note, a strong competitor against Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 3. The M3 Note comes with a 5.5-inch FullHD screen with a 1080×1920 pixel resolution. It is powered by a 1.8GHz octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 processor coupled with Mali T860MP2 GPU and 3GB of RAM. It comes with 32GB of internal memory which is further expandable by up to 128GB via hybrid microSD card slot. The phone costs Rs 9,999 to its buyers.

teresting as it may sound, the truth is that Google, the company that is behind Android, has not made an Android phone. At least not in the way Apple makes the iPhone. This is changing now. Several days ago on October 4, Google announced Pixel and Pixel XL. According to Google, the Pixel phones are the first phones that it has engineered and developed completely in-house. Although technically Motorola phones, when Motorola was a Google-owned company, were also Google official phones and so are the Nexus devices, the Pixel phones are indeed slightly different. Although Google has sold phones using its Play store earlier, this is indeed the first time it is taking full ownership of the phones.

In the coming days, Pixel and Pixel XL will reach shops in India. Pre-orders have already started and Google has already started reaching out to prospective consumers, telling them all about the virtues, as it sees them, of the Pixel phones. Here at India Today Tech, we will take a better look at the Pixel phones in the coming days. But for now, on the basis of a day I have spent with the Pixel XL, there are some quick thoughts on what I make of the Pixels XL (and up to an extent Pixel).

Design from HTC
Although the Pixel XL is a Google phone, it unmistakably looks like an HTC phone. Well, there is a reason for that. The Pixel XL is a phone manufactured by HTC, even though it carries the Big G logo of Google. And its design is a mishmash of HTC phones, primarily the HTC 10 and the HTC A9. As you expect from a mishmash, the design will leave a user with mixed emotions. It is not a bad design. But it is not great either.
The Pixel XL uses an aluminium metal shell, with the left and the right edges carved with clean straight lines, something that we have earlier seen on the HTC 10. On the other hand its curved corners reminded me of the HTC A9 and the iPhone 6. This is a familiar design and we have seen it again and again on high-end — and now mainstream — phones. The unique bits to the Pixel design, however, come from the glass portion on the rear and fingerprint scanner. The phone has a conveniently located — and I must add very fast — fingerprint sensor on the rear cover.

Android in the Pixel XL seems fast and quite beautiful with its clean, flat layer-based users interface. There are no unwanted apps here, unless you count some of the Google apps as unwanted

All in all, my impression of the Pixel XL in terms of design is that this is very utilitarian design, and somewhat boring for a phone that costs Rs 67,000. The bezels are thick and various design elements give the fairly generic look. Although with slim profile and, for a 5.5-inch phone, a compact enough frame also means that you can use Pixel single-handedly. Well, most of the time. Compared to a phone like the Galaxy S7 Edge, the Pixel XL doesn’t look all that well. But it sure is more convenient to use compared to the iPhone 7 Plus.
Google’s Android and possibly a killer camera
The big story with the Pixel XL is not its design. It is the software inside it. With Pixel phones Google is taking charge of Android back from the phone makers in China and Korea and instead trying to give users a version of Android that will fast, good looking and feature rich. The company is also promising timely updates to Pixel users.

All of this sounds very promising and Pixel XL does highlight some of the better aspects of Android. It comes inbuilt with Google Assistant. It seems very smart, smarter than Siri, although I need to spend a bit of more time with it. Then there is a new app drawer — swipe up from the bottom edge — and it looks better than the app drawer that is out there by default in the Android 7 aka Nougat. The Pixel XL not only runs a more recent version of Android — Android 7.1 — but also has the exclusive Pixel launcher that Google has created.

In the Android 7.1 on Pixel XL, Google has added a couple of more unique features. The most intriguing of these seems to be the shortcuts. You long press on an app, and it shows a shortcut. For example, long press on the Chrome app and it shows shortcut for opening a tab or opening an incognito tab. This is very neat.

Overall Android in the Pixel XL seems fast and quite beautiful with its clean flat layer-based users interface. There are no unwanted apps here, unless you count some of the Google apps as unwanted. And there is no tacky animations or colours, which we often see on phones made by China-based companies.

It also helps that Pixel XL has pretty good hardware inside it. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor and has 4GB RAM. It also has 32GB internal storage. The AMOLED screen of the phone, at first glance, look beautiful as it shows rich and deep colours. It also seems to be a very bright and vibrant screen, although this is something that will be tested properly once the phone is used outdoors in bright sunlight.
iPhone 7 Plus vs Pixel XL: On the left is image by iPhone. On the right the photo by Pixel. The iPhone exposed the image better and has accurate colours. Pixel image has more details, richer colours.Talking of hardware, probably the best part of the phone seems to be the camera. We haven’t yet really put the phone’s camera through its paces but it seems to capture images that have great detail and extremely punchy colours. Although speed wise — focus and processing — it does seem slower than the camera in the iPhone 7 Plus, or for that matter the camera in the Galaxy S7.
Summing it up
In the coming days I will take a better look at Pixel XL, see how well its battery holds up, whether the phone heats or not, whether its software has bugs or not, and most importantly, see how well it works with the Jio network. You guys do want to know how well it works with Jio, right? But all of that is for later. For now my impression of the Pixel XL is mostly positive, although the design could have been better. For example, it doesn’t have the water and dust resistant body, which is kind of a big miss at a time when both Galaxy S7 and the iPhone 7 have it. Similarly, the glass panel on the back cover looks tacky and useless. But then there is the software and features. The Android 7.1 Nougat inside the Pixel XL looks fantastic and seem to work very very well. It is the kind of software that is going to make you fall in love with Android. And although software is not everything, it matters a lot in a “smartphone”.

Android utility app suite SooperMo, operated by Gurgaon-based SooperMo App studio Pte Ltd, has raised $100,000 (Rs 67 lakh) in seed funding from Dubai-based entrepreneur Lalit Vase. The vase is the chief executive of Red Entertainment Distribution FZCO, a distributor of interactive entertainment software in the Middle East region.

The startup plans to use the capital raised to launch the beta version of its utility apps in Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa, co-founder Pushkar Sinha told Techcircle.

The apps suite is expected to hit the Google Play Store in the first week of November.

Launched earlier this year by Sinha and Tapan Pandey, SooperMo is a single package of utilities that includes disk and battery optimization, clean-up, privacy control, SPAM SMS blocker and malware app checker. The apps suite comes bundled with a brand engagement module that will reward users for engaging with the app on a daily basis. The apps will come in a freemium model.

Both Sinha and Pandey previously worked with desktop-based utility companies Disk Doctor Labs Inc. and Remo Software respectively.

Earlier this year, the company raised its first round of funding led by Raj Hajela, who is the founder and director of mobile e-commerce company Estel Technologies. In addition, Estel’s chief operating officer Deepak Luthra also participated in the round. With a majority stakeholding in SooperMo, Hajela undertakes an advisory role in the startup.

SooperMo competes with global brands such as Clean Master and CC Cleaner, among others.

In India, AppsDaily Solutions Pvt. Ltd develops products that include mobile anti-virus, mobile insurance, backup solutions, mobile privacy, SOS, mobile utilities and games. The company raised $2 million (around Rs 13.5 crore) in a bridge round of funding in July this year from Kalaari Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, Russian venture capital fund ru-Net and Zodius Technology Opportunities Fund. AppsDaily had previously raised $26 million in funding.

Samsung India Electronics will make all the future launches, including entry level smartphones, with 4G facilities and it expects to gain the market share in the current year on the back of new launches, a top company official said on Thursday.
“There is huge conversion happening from feature phones to smartphones at the entry level. This migration will continue. All the future launches, including entry level segment, will have 4G facilities and we will sell 4G devices. But at the same time, there will be a certain set of feature phones users because of price points,” said company’s Vice President (Mobile Business) Manu Sharma Yarlesac.
He also said the mobile maker has experienced growth in sales this year but declined to give details of sales figures.
“We expect that the company will gain its market share on the back of new launches,” he said.
According to latest data, in the smartphone market, the mobile maker at present has 48.7 per cent share in terms of value.
Speaking on the Galaxy Note 7, he confirmed that the company would refund consumers who bought the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones outside the country. “They can go to service center and get it refunded,” he said, adding that it “did not sell” the device in India.
In lieu of the Galaxy Note 7 pre-book offer, the company has offered Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 Edge, he added.

Go and update your Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus to Android 7.0 Nougat today!

India Mobile Diwali or IMD, a one of its kind event, is going to be held in New Delhi from 22 October to 24 October at Pragati Maidan. Keeping the upcoming festive season and Indian tradition of buying new products including electronic gadgets during Diwali in mind, around 200 mobile phone brands from China and India are expected to participate in the three-day fair.

Some of the brands who are participating in the fair include Techno, Gionee, Coolpad, Holitech, Micromax, Lava, Videocon, G’Five, Karbonn, Spice, Vodafone, Intex Galaxy Core, Poxiao, Vivo, Sprocomm, Nubia, ZTE, Meizu, Water World, Miki, Acer, Essline, Nuwei, Ramos and Huawei.

The organizers including China’s Shoujibao claim the event is being conducted with the support of Indian government.
“Chinese companies are excited to be a part of the ‘Make in India’ campaign and establish mobile handset & component manufacturing facilities in India. I’m sure that IMD will open ample opportunities to network and join hands and further strengthen investments in India.” said Lingyun Wu, CEO, Mobile World (Shoujibao), Shenzhen & Organizers of India Mobile Diwali Do Some Work Do Some Work.

The Grand first edition of ‘India Mobile Diwali’ is an annual gathering of India and China’s mobile industry with international influence, ‘Rooted in India’, radiated to South East Asia and oriented to the globe. One of the key highlights of ‘India Mobile Diwali’ will be the public voting for ‘India’s most popular mobile brand’ followed by a spectacular award ceremony. Indian government leaders, officials of Chinese Embassy in India and heads of more than 200 popular mobile brands will also gather to witness the glorious moments in the mobile industry.

Meanwhile, ‘The Second India-China Mobile Phone and Its Accessories Manufacturing Summit’, ‘The First India-China Mobile Phone Industry Investment Forum’ and the award ceremony of ‘The most popular mobile phone brand awards ceremony’ will also be held during this period.

“We hope both India and China’s mobile enterprises may enjoy a good communication in this ‘India Mobile Diwali’, acquire more opportunities in business and investment cooperation, and promote jointly the development of India’s mobile industry,” organizers of India Mobile Diwali said in a statement.