After withdrawing the Summer Surprise offer late last week at the behest of TRAI, as promised, Reliance Jio has come up with new plans and proposals. The company calls it Jio’ Dhan Dhana Dhan’, which gives unlimited voice and data for Rs. 309 (1 GB data per day) or Rs. 509 (2 GB data per day) for three months (84 days) to existing Jio Prime members. As with previous Reliance Jio offerings, the subscription also includes unlimited access to all Jio apps.
You’ll have to pay a little more if you’re not part of Jio Prime. The 1 GB data plan costs Rs. 408, while the 2 GB comes at Rs. 608. The difference between the two essentially comes down to the cost of the Jio Prime membership, which costs Rs. 99. It is clear that Reliance Jio is unwilling to give up on pushing the existing market players, who are forced to come up with their offers.
Let’s take a look at other top stories of the day.
Micromax launches new Evok range, exclusive to Flipkart Micromax has launched a new range of smartphones called Evok Power and Evok Note for Rs. 6,999 and Rs. 9,499, respectively. They are exclusive to Flipkart and makes themidnight Tuesday. Both phones support 4G VoLTE, which means they are compatible with Jio.
The Micromax Evok Power is smaller, with a 5-inch HD display powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM. The Micromax Evok Note gives you a 5.5-inch full-HD show powered by 1.3a GHz octa-core MediaTek (MT6753) SoC and 3GB RAM.
On the front of the camera, Micromax Evok Power has 8-megapixel on the back and 5-megapixel on the show. With Evok Note, the rear camera is 13 megapixels with a 5P Largan lens, and the front camera remains the same. As for storage, Evok Power is available in a 16GB variant, with Micromax Evok Note coming with 32GB. Both phones have a 4000 mAh battery and a fingerprint scanner.
Demand for Galaxy S8 higher than S7, Samsung says. In a statement emailed to CNBC, Samsung said the Galaxy S8 sees “double-digit growth” in terms of pre-orders in the US, with more people opting for the larger Galaxy S8+. That would indicate that most people are not disturbed by the exploding battery scandal surrounding the Note 7, which resulted in a failed global recall. The demand for the 6.2-inch model in the Galaxy S8+ is further proof of that.
Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro is now available in India. While the Galaxy S8 is not officially launched, Samsung has started taking orders for the Galaxy C7 Pro through Amazon India. The phone’s highlight is its metal unibody design to helps it compete with OnePlus’s. It costs Rs. 27,990, andis available in two colors: gold and navy blue.
The Galaxy C7 Pro sports a 5.7-inch full-HD Super AMOLED display powered by a 2.2GHz octa-core Snapdragon 626 SoC and 4GB of RAM. You get 16-megapixel f/1.9 cameras on the front and back, with the former having both a PDAF and dual LED flash. Built-in storage comes at 64 GB and can be expanded up to 256 GB with a microSD card. If you can do without extensive storage, the Galaxy C7 Pro can carry two SIM cards instead. Unfortunately, it runs on the 2015 version of Android, 6.0.1 Marshmallow.
Samsung is said to be hoarding production of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835, and other manufacturers have been forced to release flagship entries. Sony Xperia XZs goes on sale, available through Flipkart. Sony has the Xperia XZs for Rs. 49,990, with a 19-megapixel rear camera that can output 960fps slow-motion video. It uses a 1/2.3-inch Exmor RS memory stacked sensor with a Mobile BIONZ sensor and predictive hybrid autofocus.
On the front, the Sony Xperia XZs has a 13-megapixel shooter with a 22mm wide-angle lens, an f/2.0 aperture, and SteadyShot 5-axis stabilization. The phone has a 5.2-inch full-HD display on the back of a Snapdragon 820 chip and 4 GB of RAM. It runs on Android 7.0 Nougat and has 64 GB of built-in storage, which can be expanded up to 256 GB with a microSD card.
The Sony Xperia XZs is now available through Flipkart and retail stores across India. Sony did show off its Snapdragon 835-equipped Xperia XZ Premium at MWC 2017, but it won’t be available until later in the year.
Aadhaar is completely safe, the Indian IT minister claims. During a discussion in the upper house of the Indian parliament, Rajya Sabha, IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad claimed that the country’s unique identification program – Aadhaar – is “robust, safe, secure, and fully responsible”. To serve as evidence, Prasad added that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) – the established authority for Aadhaar – had blocked 32,000 operators in the past six months.
“The policy is ‘minimal information, no profiling’. For example, if a bank asks for information about a potential customer, it will only get limited information for its use,” added Prasad.
Flipkart discounts Samsung phones during ‘Mobile Fest’ sale Flipkart has discounted several Samsung phones in a new sale, including the Galaxy On Nxt, Galaxy J5 (2016), Galaxy On8, Galaxy On7, Galaxy On5, and Galaxy A9 Pro. You can opt for a clear discount or trade your old phone for one of these.
The discounts come at Rs. 3,000 with Galaxy On Nxt, Rs. 2,800 for Galaxy J5 (2016), Rs. 2,910 for Galaxy On8, Rs. 700 for Galaxy On7, Rs. 1,500 for Galaxy On5 and Rs. 2,590 for Galaxy A9 Pro. The exchange offer allows you to go up to Rs. 16,000 discount on your purchase. But that’s essentially pointless, considering you’d have to hand in a Google Pixel to get the Galaxy A9 Pro with the maximum trade-in discount.
There is also a TV sale running in parallel, where all Axis Bank debit and credit card holders can take advantage of an additional 10 percent discount.
iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus (PRODUCT) RED are now available for pre-orders in IndiaThe new iPhone colors announced last month – (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition models of both iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus – are now available for pre-order orders in India. Both phones have two storage options: 128 GB or 256 GB.
You can get the red-colored iPhone 7 for Rs. 70,000 for 128 GB and Rs. 80,000 for 256GB. The iPhone 7 Plus, meanwhile, costs Rs. 82,000 for the 128 GB model and Rs. 92,000 for the 256GB variant. Amazon says shipping will start on Friday, while Infibeam says Saturday.
Xiaomi Mi 6, Mi 6 Plus launch date official, price leaked; Mi VR Play 2 launched Xiaomi will launch the successor to last year’s Mi 5 – the Xiaomi Mi 6 – on April 19 in Beijing, it has been revealed. CEO Lei Jun confirmed an April launch last week. If the leaks are any indication, we will also see a Xiaomi Mi 6 Plus that same day. The Mi 6 costs CNY 2,199 (about Rs. 20,500), while the Mi 6 Plus comes in at CNY 2,699 (about Rs. 25,000).
In terms of specs, the Mi 6 will have a 5.1-inch full-HD display, while the Mi 6 Plus will have a 5.7-inch quad-HD show. The latter will also reportedly have curved edges. Both phones are powered by the same Snapdragon 835 chip, with the Mi 6 featuring 4GB of RAM and the Mi 6 Plus featuring 6GB of RAM.
Xiaomi also launched a newer version of its smartphone-powered VR headset — the Mi VR Play 2 — in China on Tuesday. Interestingly, the Mi VR Play 2 will be available from April 19, which is more proof of the imminent arrival of the Mi 6. It is lighter and comes with a softer fabric.
LeEco launched Le Pro 3 AI Edition smartphoneLeEco has launched its AI-based virtual assistant called LeLe. The voice-based assistant will be available on the new LeEco Le Pro 3 AI Edition smartphone, the company’s first dual-camera rear-facing smartphone. It has two 13-megapixel sensors on the back (one black and white, one color) paired with f/2.0 aperture lenses, PFAF autofocus, and dual LED flash.
The LeEco Le Pro 3 AI Edition has a 5.5-inch full-HD (1080×1920 pixels) screen. The Standard variant is powered by a 2.3GHz deca-core MediaTek Helio X23 SoC, while a 2.6GHz deca-core Helio X27 SoC powers the Eco variant. Both have 4 GB of RAM.
