Flipkart sale deals on mobile phones have been revealed by the company a day after Amazon announced that its own sale will coincide with that of the Big Billion Days sale. Smartphones deals will go live on September 21, and there will be offers on Moto, Samsung, Xolo, Swipe, Asus, Micromax, iVoomi and Sansui devices priced under Rs. 7,000. Samsung’s budget range, including the Galaxy On5, Galaxy On7 and Galaxy J3 Pro, will be discounted. Flipkart will also be selling the Infinix Hot 4 Pro for Rs. 6,499 and the Panasonic P85 for Rs. 4,999. The Xolo Era 1X will be listed at Rs. 3,999 and the Yu Yunique 2 at Rs. 5,499.
SBI debit and credit card subscribers will get an additional 10 percent discount. There should also be deals on premium smartphones, and Flipkart has teased a never-before discount on the Samsung Galaxy S7 as well as deals on the HTC U11, and Asus ZenFone 4 Selfie.
Check out what else made news today:
Moto G4 models left out of Android 8.0 party
Lenovo has announced which of its Moto phones will be receiving Android 8.0 Oreo updates, and some surprisingly recent models have not made the cut. The Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus, launched only last year, have been left out. The Moto X4, Moto Z family, and Moto G5 series will all be updated, with rollouts beginning later this year. Motorola made a name for itself by being one of the most prominent brands to use stock Android without any customisation, making updates easier. Android 8.0 will bring new features and capabilities to supported phones including split-screen multitasking, better battery life, improved text selection, and Google Play Protect security.
iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and other products go on pre-order in India
Apple announced a slew of new iPhones and other products at its big launch event earlier this week, and now preorders for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, Apple Watch Series 3 and Apple TV 4K have begun on schedule in the US. Apple will accept bookings at its retail stores and through its own app, while other retailers and mobile operators can also take preorders. All these products are set to begin shipping on September 22. Some third parties are offering deals and discounts on the new iPhones. You can buy them and pay in installments or on contracts through different mobile service operators which will reduce the upfront cost dramatically.
The iPhone X will be available later than the other products, and while it isn’t in people’s hands yet, new details are emerging all the time. Apple has now confirmed that only one face can be registered with the Face ID security feature to unlock the device, whereas up to five fingerprints are allowed with Touch ID. It is not known whether this is a hardware limitation or simply a security measure. Also, users can disable Face ID by pressing the buttons on both sides of the phone simultaneously when they hand it over, to prevent others from forcing them to unlock their phones.
Two Indian Hyperloop proposals win contest
California-based Hyperloop One has announced the winners of a global challenge to devise prototypes for its high-speed transportation tubes, and two of the winning teams are from India. The two winning proposals envision Hyperloop routes between Mumbai and Chennai, and also between Bengaluru and Chennai, and were made by Hyperloop India and AECOM India respectively.
Other winning teams had proposed routes in the US, UK, Canada and Mexico. There were over 2,600 applicants to the contest. If these plans are ever built, they would drastically transform inter-city transportation in India. Another developer called Hyperloop Transport Technologies recently signed an MoU with the government of Andhra Pradesh to develop a route between Vijaywada and Amaravati.
Alleged Nokia 2 press images leak
Press renders of the anticipated Nokia 2 budget smartphone have leaked online, prompting speculation that the device will be launched on October 5 based on the time and date seen on screen. From the images, it seems that the phone will have one camera at the front and one at the back, no fingerprint sensor, and on-screen navigation buttons. Previous leaks have suggested that it will have a 4000mAh battery, 5-inch HD screen, Snapdragon 210 SoC, and 1GB of RAM.
Xiaomi Mi Band HRX Edition launched in India
Xiaomi has launched a new version of its Mi Band called the HRX Edition, in partnership with HRX, a fitness clothing brand associated with Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan. It is a slight variation of the Mi Band 2, without the heart rate monitor, and will be available from September 18 on mi.com, Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra as well as at Mi Home stores. It is priced at Rs. 1,299 and promises 23 days of battery life. It has an OLED screen showing the time and fitness-related statistics. It is splash resistant and also pairs with a smartphone to show notification alerts.
Lenovo K8 Note now available openly in India
Lenovo has made its K8 Note smartphone available through open sale on Amazon, following a series of flash sales with limited quantities. Special offers have been rolled out, including an exchange scheme and cashback for HSBC card holders. The device will cost Rs. 12,999 with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, or Rs. 13,999 with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. It is available in black and gold. Other specifications include a deca-core MediaTek MT6797 SoC, 5.5-inch full-HD screen, dual rear cameras, 4G VoLTE, and a 4000mAh battery.
Vivo V7+ now available in India
The Vivo V7+ was recently announced in India and has now gone on sale for the first time. The defining feature of this phone is its 24-megapixel front camera, and it also has a taller 18:9 screen, Snapdragon 450 SoC, 16-megapixel rear camera, 64GB of storage, 4G VoLTE, and 3225mAh battery. It is priced at Rs. 21,990 and is available in black, gold or rose gold.
Rovio moves forward with IPO plan
Rovio, the studio behind Angry Birds, is planning to float an IPO on the Helsinki Stock Exchange at a valuation of between $950 million and $1.1 billion (approximately Rs. 7,049 crore), which is lower than media speculation has targeted. The IPO has been expected for years, considering the explosive popularity of the original Angry Birds game in 2009 and all the spinoffs and merchandise that have followed since. Its games have been downloaded 3.7 billion times. Estimates had reached $2 billion, though analysts had scoffed at that amount.
