Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ U.S. price revealed, free Gear VR headset with Controller for pre-orders

Samsung just announced its flagship Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphones at its New York event. It also confirmed that both the phones will be available from AT&T, Cricket Wireless, Sprint, Straight Talk Wireless, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Verizon Wireless starting April 21 with pre-orders starting 12:01 EDT on March 30, 2017. These phones will also be available at Best Buy stores as well as BestBuy.com, ShopSamsung app, Target and Walmart.
Samsung said that consumers who pre-order a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ will receive a free Gear VR headset with Controller worth $129.99 and Oculus content. A limited edition premium bundle also includes Samsung 256GB MicroSD EVO+ card worth $249.99 and Harman AKG Y50BT Bluetooth headphones worth $179.95.
AT&T

• Customers who pre-order the Galaxy S8 or S8+ via AT&T Next  get Up to $750 in credits towards another Samsung Galaxy S8 or S8+, Samsung Gear S3 for $49 with a 2-year service agreement, only 99-cents for Samsung Tab E and/or a Samsung Gear S2 when you activate 2-year service agreements.
• Galaxy S8 at $25 for 30 months
• Galaxy S8+ at $28.34 for 30 months

T-Mobile

• Galaxy S8 – $30/month on Installment Plan ($30 down, FRP: $750 (Rs. 48,660 approx.))
• Galaxy S8+ – $30/month on Installment Plan($130 down, FRP: $850 (Rs. 55,140 approx.))

Verizon Wireless

• Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ – $15 a month for 24 months when you trade in an eligible device and sign up for the new Verizon Unlimited Plan
• Galaxy S8 without trade-in – $30 per month for 24 months; 0% APR ($720 (Rs. 46,660 approx.) retail price)
• Galaxy S8+ without trade-in – $35 per month for 24 months; 0% APR ($840 (Rs. 54,430 approx.) retail price)

Other U.S. operators should also announce their pricing soon.

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DataWind MoreGMax 3G6 is a 6-inch Phablet that Offers 12 Months of Free Internet at Rs. 5,999

DataWind has launched a new tablet in India- the DataWind MoreGMax 3G6. The highlight of this tablet is not its specifications as it comes bundled with free internet offer for 12 months. The MoreGMax 3G6 is priced at Rs. 5,999 and to deliver free data services, the Canada-based company has partnered with RCom. The company just said as free data for one year, there are no details regarding the monthly or daily FUP.

Specifications wise, the MoreGMax 3G6 lacks the essential VoLTE feature, which has become a common affair in smartphones releasing these days. This apparently means that you can’t use a Reliance Jio SIM card in the tablet and that’s a huge letdown. The MoreGMax 3G6 flaunts a 6-inch display, but there is no mentioning of the resolution, though. The tablet is powered by a quad-core chipset with a clock speed of 1.4GHz, clubbed with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of onboard storage. Users can further expand the storage up to 32GB via the microSD card slot.

Speaking at tha launch, Suneet Singh Tuli, President and CEO of DataWind Inc. said: “Today we’ve added a phablet to our lineup with a huge screen that meets the need of people wanting a rich internet experience on their handset. We at DataWind want to cater to the forgotten billion, those that have been left out of the growth and prosperity that India is witnessing. By empowering them with connectivity to billions of pages of the website, we give them the opportunity to take advantage of both educational content and also commerce.”

The MoreGMax 3G6 comes with an 8MP sensor at the rear side of the phone with support for LED flash. Frontal, there’s a 2MP sensor for capturing selfies and video calls. The tablet doesn’t even have support for 4G and includes standard connectivity options such as 3G HSPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and micro USB port. Also, do make a note that the free data can only be accessible via the preloaded browser application.
The tablet boots Android OS, and there’s no mentioning about the Android version and battery capacity. So, a tablet with entry-level specifications offering one year free data? Huh! Sounds interesting. But, at the same price, we have the Xiaomi Redmi 4A with better specifications, albeit the data offer.

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Oppo F3 Plus Gets Online Listed Ahead of its Official Launch Tomorrow

Oppo seems to be not holding back anymore with the Oppo F3 Plus. The Chinese company was teasing the smartphone from the past couple of weeks or so and will be announcing the phone tomorrow. However, before the official launch, the phone gets listed on the company site revealing all the specifications, but the listing was removed immediately.

As teased, the Oppo F3 Plus comes with a dual front-facing camera, same as the Vivo V5 Plus launched recently. The Oppo F3 Plus features two sensors on the front- a 16MP standard sensor to capture bright shots and another 8MP sensor for capturing 120° shots wide-angle shots. The F3 Plus also has a 16MP sensor at the rear side of the phone, which is the same camera used in Oppo R9s with Sony IMX398 sensor and a larger f/1.7 aperture. So, expect the same camera performance as the Oppo R9s.
As the name itself suggests, the F3 Plus comes with a 6-inch Full HD screen with a resolution of 1080×1920 pixels. The display is protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass 5 technology. The design of the smartphone resembles a lot with the Oppo R9s, but the new entrant has a bigger screen. Under-the-hood, there is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 chipset, which is an octa-core chip seen on smartphones such as Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro.
Oppo has added 4GB of RAM and 64GB of native storage in the phone, which can be expandable with a microSD card. Oppo teased the VOOC charging technology in the phone, and a 4000mAh battery backs the F3 Plus. Do make a note that OnePlus’s Dash Charge technology is built on Oppo’s VOOC tech.
The Oppo F3 Plus boots Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow based Color OS 3.0. The major issue with Oppo is they won’t provide any software updates. To recall, the Oppo F1s was launched with Android 5.1 Lollipop and still did not receive any update for Android Marshmallow nor Nougat.
Having said that, the phone will be launching in India as well, but we don’t know the exact launch date and the price of the phone. We will keep you updated as always. Keep checking this space for more info related to Oppo F3 Plus.

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OnePlus 3T Midnight Black 128GB limited edition announced, available in India starting March 31

OnePlus said that all-black OnePlus device has been in the works for close to a year now. Since none of the various coloring processes it attempted resulted in the premium deep black coat that it were aiming for, it decided to hold off on releasing a black version of the OnePlus 3T. Over 30 variations later, the company has achieved what it had aimed for, so now it is ready to release the OnePlus 3T Midnight Black.
This limited edition of the OnePlus 3T is hewed out of the same space-grade aluminum that lent the original OnePlus 3 and 3T devices. “A dark coating of just 14 microns in thickness is meticulously applied to the surface of the phone, imbuing the device with a stunning black color built to last, while retaining the look and feel of naked metal,” said the company.

OnePlus 3T Midnight Black will be available exclusively with 128 GB of storage. 250 units will be available for purchase through HYPEBEAST at 4:00 PM GMT on the 24th of March. The company also said that availability will be extremely limited.  It will retail for US$ 479 / EUR 479 / GBP 439 while supplies last.  OnePlus said that fans in North America and Europe will be able to purchase the Midnight Black version on OnePlus.net for a limited time at a later date without giving any date
It will be available in India through Amazon.in and oneplusstore.in at Rs. 34,999 starting at 2:00 PM on March 31st till stocks last. Pre-order on Amazon.in will start 23rd March. It will also be sold through OnePlus Experience Store in Bangalore soon.

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Ulefone Power 2 with 6050mAh battery, 4GB RAM, Android 7.0, fingerprint sensor announced

Ulefone, one of the popular smartphone makers in China has introduced Ulefone Power 2, successor of the Ulefone Power that was introduced back in 2015. We even reviewed the phone last year. This has the same 6050mAh battery as the predecessor with support for 9V/2A fast charging that promises full charge in just 2 hours. The company says the phone will offer up to 4 days of battery life with normal use.

The display is the same 5.5-inch 1080p screen, but the RAM and storage have been upped to 4GB and 64GB. It also has a fingerprint sensor on the front that can unlock the phone in just 0.15 seconds and has a unibody metal design.
Ulefone Power 2 specifications

• 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) LTPS AUO 2.5D curved glass display with  Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection
• 1.5GHz Octa-Core MediaTek MT6750T 64-bit processor with Mali T860 GPU
• 4GB LPDDR3 RAM, 64GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD
• Android 7.0 (Nougat)
• Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano + Nano / microSD)
• 13MP rear camera with LED Flash, f/2.2 aperture, 1080p video recording
• 8MP front-facing camera
• Dimensions:  155×77.6×9.9mm; Weight: 210g
• Fingerprint sensor, Infrared sensor
• 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4GHz / 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, USB OTG
• 6050mAh Lithium-ion Polymer Sony battery with Quick Charging

The Ulefone Power 2 Black, Grey and Golden colors and the pre-sales begin March 29 and costs $179.99 (Rs. 11,770 approx.) during this time. We should know the final price soon.

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Nubia Z11 MiniS Camera-Centric Smartphone With 23MP Sony IMX318 Sensor Launched at Rs. 16,999

Chinese smartphone brands are all over India. After launching the Nubia Z11 and Nubia N1 in India, the company has come out with yet another smartphone, namely, the Nubia Z11 MiniS. With the Nubia Z11 MiniS, the company is betting big on the camera department as it uses a 23MP Sony IMX318 sensor, which was also employed in the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 and Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe which are priced on the higher side.

ZTE’s sub-brand, Nubia has been launching smartphones quite frequently these days. It’s latest offering, the Z11 MiniS comes with pretty competitive specifications alongside the capable camera. The phone features a 5.2-inch Full HD display and boasts a unimetal body design, which has become a norm these days. The phone also has a fingerprint sensor placed on the rear within reach of your index finger.

At the heart of the phone, there’s a Snapdragon 625 chipset with all the eight cores clocked at 2.0GHz. The phone also has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of native storage, which is expandable up to 256GB via a microSD card.
Like mentioned earlier, the Z11 MiniS comes with a 23MP rear camera with PDAF, six-piece (6P) lens, and LED flash support. To accompany the rear camera, the company has added a 13MP front-facing camera that also comes with a screen flash feature.
The Nubia Z11 MiniS comes with several connectivity options such as 4G LTE, VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, and GPS. The phone features a USB Type-C port at the bottom and is armed with a 3000mAh battery. The Z11 MiniS is laden with Android 6.0 Marshmallow with Nubia UI 4.0 on top.
The phone is priced at Rs. 16,999 and will be available exclusively on Amazon India in two color options- Khaki Grey and Moon Gold. Nubia said that the Z11 MiniS would be up for sale starting today. Going by the pricing and specifications, the Z11 MiniS will face stiff competition from the newly announced Motorola Moto G5 Plus, which also features similar specs. However, the camera performance of Z11 MiniS should be far better as it uses a better sensor than the one on Moto G5 Plus.

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Xiaomi Redmi 4A will be an Amazon exclusive, launch likely on March 20

Xiaomi's next Redmi smartphone will be available exclusively on Amazon India. Xiaomi India has started sending out media invites for an event on March 20 where the company is likely to introduce its entry-level Redmi 4A smartphone.
Manu Jain, Xiaomi VP and India Managing Director tweeted that the company will also announce a major milestone in its India journey. Xiaomi made its India debut in 2014 and crossed $1 billion in revenue last year. The company has also embraced the 'Make in India' initiative by assembling its smartphones locally.

20 March: In addition to a new Redmi, we'll also announce a major milestone in @XiaomiIndia's India journey. 3 days to go! #TimeToGetSmarter — Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) March 17, 2017

Xiaomi announced its Redmi 4 series as an update to the Redmi 3 smartphones in China in November. The company introduced Redmi 4A as its entry-level smartphone offering priced at 499 Yuan (around Rs 5,000). The handset features a 5-inch HD display and sports an all-metal unibody design. Powering the device is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 platform coupled with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. The Redmi 4, on the other hand, was announced in two variants: standard and pro. The standard version gets a 5-inch 720p HD display, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage and Snapdragon 430 platform. The Redmi 4 Pro version comes with a 5-inch full HD display, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage and Snapdragon 625 SoC. Xiaomi Redmi 4 and Redmi 4A feature a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. The Redmi 4 series is backed by a 4100mAh battery while the Redmi 4A houses a smaller 3120mAh battery. Both the smartphones support Qualcomm's Quick Charge technology.
Xiaomi recently announced Redmi Note 4 in India at starting price of Rs 9,999. The company claims to have sold 1 million units of Redmi Note 4 in just 45 days. With Redmi 4A, Xiaomi could set new standard for entry-level smartphone segment in India.

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CAT S60 rugged smartphone with thermal camera launched in India at Rs 64,999

The S60's claim to fame is the fact that it is the first smartphone in the world to come with an integrated thermal camera. The camera is sourced from FLIR which is the global leader in thermal imaging technology.
CAT envisages a multitude of use cases for the thermal camera such as detecting heat loss around windows and doors, identifying over-heating electrical appliances and circuitry and seeing in complete darkness. The thermal camera can pick up heat and measure surface temperatures from a distance of up to 50 feet and can even see through obstructions like smoke.

The smartphone also has an IP68 waterproof rating and can withstand immersion in up to 5 metres of water for up to 1 hour. Additionally, it comes with a dedicated SOS button which when pressed, sends your location coordinates to select contacts.The device also comes with a programmable key which can be used to launch any application in a jiffy.
CAT is a US based construction machinery manufacturing company that entered into a partnership with UK-based Bullitt mobile in 2013 to produce CAT branded phones and accessories. These devices are extremely durable and cater to those looking for abuse friendly smartphones.
Specification wise, the CAT S60 comes with a 4.7' HD display with wet finger and glove support, a 3,800mAh battery, the Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor, 32GB internal storage, 3GB of RAM and Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box.

On the imaging front, the device comes with a 13MP main camera with dual LED flash capable of shooting pictures underwater and a 5MP front facing camera. The FLIR thermal camera app offers various features such as changeable heat palettes, temperature spot meter and min, max and average temperature data.
The CAT S60 will be available from March 17 onward from Amazon India as well as prominent offline channels for a price of Rs 64,999. The fact that the CAT S60 is dustproof, shockproof, waterproof and MIL-SPEC 810G certified makes it an attractive proposition for those looking for an extremely durable device that can withstand almost any abuse thrown at it.
Linda Summers, Chief Marketing Officer, Bullitt Group, global mobile device licensee for Caterpillar Inc. said in a statement, "Following our evaluation of the Indian market over the last year, we have spotted an immense opportunity for our devices in the rugged smartphone category. Recognizing India's potential as a sophisticated and fast growing market, we are looking to launch in the country with a highly-targeted offering for both consumers and the B2B sector. Globally we have reached a landmark figure of over 1 million units of Cat phone sales, and are very positive about reaching out to the Indian market."

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Intex Aqua Trend Lite with 5-inch display, 4G VoLTE launched for Rs. 5690

Intex has launched Aqua Trend Lite, the company’s latest budget 4G smartphone with Voice over LTE (VoLTE) support. It has a 5-inch FWVGA display, is powered by 1.25 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6735 64-bit processor and runs on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow). It has a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera that also has LED flash for capturing better selfies in low lighting conditions.
The highlight of the smartphone is the Mega Sound Speaker since the phone has 1.5 W (Dynamic Type) speaker that promises best possible audio to enhance the entertainment experience.
Intex Aqua Trend Lite specifications

• 5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) FWVGA TN display
• 1.25 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6737M processor with Mali-T720 GPU
• 1GB RAM, 8GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 32GB with MicroSD
• Dual SIM
• Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
• 5MP rear camera with dual LED Flash
• 2MP front-facing camera with LED flash
• Dimensions: 146.6×73×11.5mm; Weight: 160g
• 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio, 1.5W speaker
• 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
• 2600mAh battery

The Intex Aqua Trend Lite comes in Champagne color and is priced at Rs. 5690.

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Coolpad Note 5 Lite with 5-inch HD display, 3GB RAM, fingerprint sensor, 4G VoLTE launched for Rs. 8199

Coolpad just launched Note 5 Lite, the company’s latest mid-range smartphone in the ‘Coolpad Note’ series in India.It’s same Coolpad Conjr that was introduced earlier this year at the CES 2017. It has a 5-inch HD 2.5D curved glass display with 70.6% screen-to-body ratio, is powered by a Quad-Core MediaTek MT6735 processor and runs on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) with Cool UI on top.

It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. It has full metal unibody design, fingerprint sensor on the back that can unlock the phone in 0.1 seconds, has dual SIM support and a 2500mAh battery.
Coolpad Note 5 Lite specifications

• 5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD IPS 2.5D curved glass display
• 1GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6735CP 64-bit processor with Mali-T720 GPU
• 3GB RAM, 16GB internal memory, expandable memory with MicroSD
• Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) with Cool UI 8.0
• Hybrid Dual SIM (nano+nano/microSD)
• 13MP rear camera with LED Flash, f/2.2 aperture
• 8MP front-facing camera with LED Flash, f/2.2 aperture
• Fingerprint sensor
• Dimensions: 145.3×72.3×8.7mm;148g
• 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
• 2500mAh battery

The Coolpad Note 5 Lite comes in Gold and Grey colors, is priced at Rs. 8,199 and will be available exclusively from Amazon.in via open sale from March 21.
Commenting on the launch, Syed Tajuddin, CEO, Coolpad India said:

We are excited to launch the latest addition to the Note series and the successor of the widely popular Note 5. Coolpad Note 5 received overwhelming response from customers and emerged as a disruptive product in the market. With the launch of Note 5 Lite, we are again reinforcing our commitment to make technology available to everyone at a great price and won’t comprise on best in class features. Time and again, we unveil products that set benchmark in the smartphone category in the industry.

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OPPO F3 Plus with 16MP + 8MP dual front cameras launching in India on March 23

OPPO has announced that it will launch dual selfie camera smartphone -F3 Plus in the F3 series across five markets – India, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam on 23rd March 2017.

OPPO also confirmed that it will feature 16MP front-facing camera along with 8MP secondary front-facing camera to capture depth information. The company did not confirm any other details about the smartphone. This will compete with the V5 Plus that has a 20-megapixel front-facing camera along with a 8-megapixel secondary font-facing camera that was launched in India earlier this year.
OPPO is also expected to introduce a smaller version alongside called the F3 with similar dual front camera arrangement, but it might launch it in the country later. We should know the price of the F3 Plus at the launch next Thursday.
Commenting on the upcoming F3 series, Sky Li, OPPO Vice President and Managing Director of International Mobile Business, said:

At OPPO, product innovation drives everything that we do, and it is our key brand value. The F3 Series will take selfie technology onto another level as well as it sets new trends. We are confident it will be a great success and will set a standard that others will follow.

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Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 sales cross 1 million units in India in just 45 days of launch

Xiaomi today announced that it has sold more than 1 million or 10 lakh units of Redmi Note 4 smartphones in India since the smartphone went on sale at the end of January, making it the fastest selling smartphone in the country online till date

An amazing feat! Redmi Note 4 becomes the fastest device to sell over 1 Million devices in India in just 45 days! #FastestMillion pic.twitter.com/IyrVNpnAmT

— Redmi India (@RedmiIndia) March 14, 2017

Xiaomi launched the Black version of the smartphone earlier this month, and it is in huge demand since it is available only through flash sales in limited number every week through Flipkart and Mi.com.
The Redmi Note 4 is  one of the best smartphones under Rs. 9999 since it packs a 5.5-inch 1080p screen, Octa-Core Snapdragon 625 14nm processor, fingerprint sensor, 4G VoLTE support, Infrared sensor and a 4000mAh battery.
To celebrate the success Xiaomi India VP Manu Kumar Jain says that one lucky winner who retweets this tweet will get a free Redmi Note 4.
Check our Redmi Note 4 Review here. Are you one of the million Redmi Note 4 user?

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Salman Khan to launch 'Being Smart' smartphones, to compete against Chinese phone makers Xiaomi, Oppo,LeEco

Bollywood star Salman Khan is delving into a new venture and this time it's a smartphone business. The Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Dabangg starrer who also owns the Being Human clothing brand has reportedly registered 'Being Smart' trademark for his smartphone venture.
It's still unclear if he'll take a direct majority shareholding or involve his family for ownership.
He has been in talks with several investors for his venture and is building an operational management team that may be headed by an executive with leadership experience in Samsung and Micromax, reported the Economic Times.
Khan has even selected a Chinese plant for the initial models which may run on Android operating system. The report suggests that the phones will fall below  the price tag of Rs 20,000.
Once kick started, Being Smart will compete with Chinese companies like Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi, according to reports.
The proceeds from the venture, like Being Human clothing line, will be directed to charity and social work carried out by the star's Being Human Foundation.
The smartphones will be sold online before it enters retail chains, or even Being Human stores.
Salman Khan had previously indicated his idea to enter the smartphone business two years ago.
However, even as a few Indian brands showed interest, they eventually backed out over high royalty charges demanded by the superstar.
Salman Khan is venturing into the business at a time when India's smartphone market is the third largest in the world, dominated by the Android operating system at nearly 97 per cent.
India has even been tagged at the world's fastest growing smartphone market, expecting more entrants in 2017.

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