Blu announces ‘Life Mark’ smartphone in India at Rs. 8,999.

Blu, the US-based smartphone manufacturer, has announced a 4G-equipped smartphone for the Indian market, named as the Blu Life Mark. It is up for sale on Amazon at Rs. 8,999. The main feature of the device is its fingerprint scanner placed on the back panel. The company introduced two Windows-based smartphones for the Indian market, last year.

Blu claims that the Life Mark smartphone features CNC machines-metal build, which gives it a firm look. The smartphone comes with a 5-inch HD (720×1280 pixels) IPS display, and runs Android 5.1 Lollipop. It is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6735 chipset coupled with 2GB of RAM. In the camera segment, the device sports a 13-megapixel autofocus primary camera with LED flash, f/2.0 aperture, and Blue Glass filter, along with a 5-megapixel selfie camera. On the storage front, the device comes with 16GB of internal storage, which can be further increased up to 64GB via microSD card.

In terms of connectivity, the device supports 4G LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Micro-USB with OTG, and A-GPS. Backing the Blu Life Mark, is a 2300mAh battery. The phone will be available in Slate Gary, White, and Gold colour options.

Xolo Era 4K with 4G LTE and 4,000mAh battery unveiled at Rs. 6,499.

Xolo has launched yet another affordable smartphone for the Indian market, the name of the device is Xolo Era 4K. It is a 4G equipped dual-SIM device, which will be exclusively up for sale via Gadget 360 for a price of Rs. 6,499. The registrations for the sale have already started, so interested buyers can head to the website and reserve their spot.

Going by the name of the device, we initially thought that maybe it bears the 4K resolution, but 4K here stands for 4,000mAh of battery power. Xolo touts its battery to deliver up to 17 hours of talk time and 528 hours of standby time on 3G. It comes with a 5-inch HD IPS display (1280 x 720 pixels) with Gorilla Glass 3 protection, and is powered by a 64-bit 1GHz quad-core processor paired with 2GB of DDR3 RAM. In the imaging department, the device features an 8-megapixel primary camera with dual LED flash and 5P Largan Lens, along with a 5-megapixel selfie camera with f/2.2 aperture. The smartphone runs Android 5.1 Lollipop.

The device supports 4G bands — 1800MHz FDD-LTE (band 3) and 2300MHz TDD-LTE (band 40). In terms of connectivity, it supports 4G LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS. It boasts 8GB of internal storage, which can be further expanded up to 32GB via microSD card. It measures 143×71.8×9.2mm, weighs 157 grams, and will be up for grabs in White and Dark Blue colour options.

Xolo Era 4K specifications:

• 5-inch HD IPS display (1280 x 720 pixels) with Gorilla Glass 3
• 64-bit 1GHz quad-core processor paired with 2GB of DDR3 RAM
• 8GB internal storage, expandable up to 32GB via microSD card
• Android 5.1 Lollipop
• 8MP primary camera with dual LED Flash, and 5MP front-facing camera
• Measures 143×71.8×9.2mm; Weighs 157 grams
• 4G LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS
• 4,000mAh battery

Panasonic launches P55 Mega in India with 3,200 mAh battery and 2GB RAM, but lacks 4G LTE

Panasonic has launched yet another smartphone in its P series, named as P66 Mega in India, for Rs. 7,990 . The device’s USP is its support for 21 Indian languages and a 3,200 mAh of battery.

The Panasonic P66 features a 5-inch HD IPS display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, and is powered by a 64-bit 1.3 GHz quad-core processor paired with 2GB of RAM. It sports an 8-megapixel primary camera with 1080p video recording and LED flash, along with a 5-megapixel selfie camera. The device runs Android 5.1 Lollipop, and supports connectivity options such as dual-SIM, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS. It bears 16GB internal storage, which can be further expanded up to 32GB via microSD card.

Well, the absence of 4G LTE connectivity is expected to affect its success as other devices such as Redmi 2 Prime are offering 4G LTE connectivity and that too at a lower price tag. Moreover, going by its specifications and other features, it has some serious competition out there in the form of other smartphones such as Lenovo Vibe P1M and Coolpad Note 3. The pricing of some of its competitors are lower than the Panasonic P66 Mega, maybe Panasonic should have done some market research before fixing its price.

Panasonic P66 Mega specifications:

• 5-inch HD IPS display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels
• 64-bit 1.3 GHz quad-core processor paired with 2GB of RAM
• 16GB internal storage, expandable up to 32GB via microSD card
• Android 5.1 Lollipop
• 8MP primary camera with LED Flash, and 5MP front-facing camera
• dual-SIM, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS
• 3,200mAh battery