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Mediatek expects more than 2 million Android One phones to sell in India

Posted by Unknown | Wednesday, September 17, 2014 | Posted in , ,




Buoyed by the initial response to Android One smartphones, chip maker Media Tek today said it expects as many as two million handsets to be sold this year in India, the world’s second largest market for mobile phones.

The Taiwan-headquartered company has partnered with US-based tech giant Google on Android One, an initiative to provide a family of high-quality, yet affordable Android devices for consumers in emerging markets like India.

Yesterday, Google launched three devices in partnership with Micromax, Karbonn and Spice under the Android One initiative. India is the first country to have the Android One handets, priced at Rs 6,399 onwards.

“We expect 1.5 to 2 million Android One handsets to be sold this year in India,” MediTek VP (US Business Development) Mohit Bhushan told PTI when asked about the his expectations on the sale of the handsets.

With prices starting at Rs 6,399, the hardware and software being provided on Android One will give users an amazing experience, he added.

The first set of Android One devices feature MediaTek’s MT6582 mobile System-on-Chip (SoC), which is based on quad ARM CortexTM A7 processors.

The processors deliver superior multi-tasking performance and excellent sustained performance-per-watt for a premium mobile experience.

When asked about the impact on Android One on the smartphone market, Bhushan said: “In the short term, there can be disruptions. But, this will eventually lead to handset makers not part of Android One to invest on innovating the mobile experience.”

He added that companies will have to realise that Android One will give users an unmatched device experience at affordable prices and for them to match it, they will have to follow suit.

With Android One, Google aims to win customers in the world’s fastest growing smartphone market with low prices and better quality software.

Currently, many affordable smartphones in India already offer customised versions of the Android operating system.

In case of Android One, the eventual software upgrades on the Android One phones would come directly from Google. This would give Google better control of the operating system and ensure users get a consistent service.

Reports suggest, an initial lot of Micromax Canvas A1 handsets, that were put up for sale on Amazon, were sold out.

PwC India Leader (Telecom) Mohammad Chowdhury said: “The festive season regularly sees an uptick in handset sales and we should expect this in the next few months. In particular there is hot competition in the segment priced from Rs 7,000 upwards.

With Android One, Google’s focus on India outshines its smartphone rivals

Posted by Unknown | Tuesday, September 16, 2014 | Posted in ,


Android boss Sundar Pichai at Google I/O

It’s a day after Google launched Android One internationally, but the focus of the event was squarely in India. Android One is supposed to be a global initiative but at the moment it has an Indian tinge that shows Google is focussing on the Indian market more than ever, and possibly more than anyone else.

For all its various services and kooky projects, the past few years have seen tremendous focus on mobile from Google. It makes sense seeing as mobile connectivity is the fastest growing segment when it comes to Internet and Google is all about the Internet. So we saw Android growing with new hardware partners on board and features that made it more accessible. Android rules the smartphone market today, running on over 80 percent of devices shipped last year.

As smartphones grew around the world, India and China emerged as the two fastest growing markets. But China is a wasteland as far as Android is concerned as many vendors eschewed Google Play services to align themselves with third-party services along with an open source Android base. This left Google out of the revenue pie in China.

To not see the same fate in India, Android One is here. Android One is how Google wants us to use Android, a version where its services are front and centre, and softwareupdates will flow for up to two years. More crucially Google controls the experience to a great extent, meaning users should have few complaints about performance even though the price would suggest they would do.

With Android One, Google is focussing on India more than any other smartphone player. Despite making noises about India being an important market, Google’s rivals such as Apple and Samsung have preferred to not put a great deal of resources into the India effort.

Apple acknowledged that India was a key market for iPhone and iPad growth, but has done little outside the buyback schemes and exchange offers for Indian consumers. Samsung has been guilty of constantly churning out mediocre re-iterations of existing phones and has been shown to be completely devoid of any understanding of the Indian market, which is moving to better value smartphones in the mid-range segment. Samsung has also not been able make its mid-range portfolio attractive in the same way as Micromax, Motorola or even Xiaomi. If anything, Samsung is busy promoting its own ecosystem, which has direct rivals to some apps in the Google Play platform.

Meanwhile, Google recognised the strategy to make sure India remained in the favourable Android camp. It’s hoping to emulate iPhone-like performance with Android One at basement prices, but also striking against Samsung’s focus on its home-grown apps. It’sadded key features to sweep the Indian market such as free subscription in Google Play NewsStand; free data usage for app downloads, offline YouTube support in a video-crazy market and regional language support to bolster the search user base through vernacular languages.

In his interviews following the launch, Google VP Sundar Pichai maintained that India is a crucial market for Google as it represents a swathe of people who are not connected or at least not connected to the main stem of the Internet.

Android One is the first step and Pichai said we should expect more India-specific developments from the company. Google has not just talked about how India is an important market, it’s shown it in a very precise manner and the first wave of Android One devices is only the beginning. More partners and better hardware is coming. At the moment, the three phones are not meant to please everyone. But the specific audience Google is targeting (largely first-time buyers) will scarcely get a better smartphone experience elsewhere.

7 Ways Your Smartphone Can Actually Make You Happier

Posted by Unknown | Friday, August 1, 2014 | Posted in



Smartphones get a pretty bad rap, and not without reason. We tap away at our phones instead of talking to our friends, sleep with them instead of people, and miss crucial life moments while staring into screens.

But in a recent study conducted by New York Magazine, every demographic surveyed -- from the “W’Burg Hipsters” to “Playground Parents” -- said their smartphones brought them more more joy than anxiety.

So, is your smartphone good or evil? It all depends on how you use it. Here are seven ways to use your smartphone to make you happier.

Call someone.

Remember the days when you had to pick up the phone if you wanted to know how your friend's day was? Your smartphone can do that too. Firing texts back and forth may seem sufficient, but Sherry Turkle, an MIT psychologist, has found that we “cheat” our relationships when we text instead of call.

“The complexity and messiness of human communication gets shortchanged,” Turkle said, according to Time. “Those things are what lead to better relationships.”

Better yet, FaceTime.

If you’re calling more than texting you’re already doing well -- as Jeffrey Kluger writes in Time, Americans between 18-29 send and receive about 88 texts versus making 17 phone calls per day -- but FaceTime and Skype are even better options.

Studies show that we need close relationships to be happy, and although actually spending time with another person is the best way to forge a real connection, being able to seeing that person’s face on a screen is a close second.
Download happy apps.

Sure, there are a bunch of time-wasting apps out there -- looking at you, Angry Birds -- but apps can also increase the quality of your life. Although we highly recommend escorting your devices out of the bedroom every night, if you insist on keeping your phone around, try downloading a sleep app.

Getting more and higher quality sleep can boost our health and happiness, so try SleepCycle, SleepBot or Sleep As Android.

Other suggestions include Embark and MetroNap, which can help ease the stress of your commute (and help you get more sleep), and Yelp and OpenTable. Hey, it always helps to have the opinions of others when it comes to monumental life decisions ... like where to eat lunch. Don’t forget about Google Maps either -- it always feels a little better to know where you’re going.


Use your smartphone to get fit.

Everyone has fitness goals, and your smartphone can help you get there faster. Using fitness apps can help you improve your exercise regimen, which will produce more endorphins, the happy chemical our brains release during exercise.

Try downloading the apps Endomondo and Runtastic. They'll calculate your daily miles and steps and cheer you on along the way.

Take a “microbreak.”

There’s no question that spending all day on your smartphone will lead to a pretty unproductive day, but one study found that taking short breaks -- adding up to about 20 minutes total -- with your smartphone during the workday can make you happier.

"We found that employees can recover from some of their stress to refresh their minds and take a break," said Sooyeol Kim, a doctoral student at Kansas State University.

Let your Smartphone teach you how to meditate.

Are you one of those people who just can't seem to meditate, no matter how hard you try? With the large number of meditation apps out there, you may finally be able to enjoy meditation's many benefits.

Try downloading Headspace, Calm.com or MindBody Connect and get ready to say so long to all that stress that's been weighing you down.

Allow social media to make you happier.

Scrolling through your Facebook feed for hours feeling jealous of everyone’s lives definitely isn’t healthy, but studies suggest that social media can also boost your happiness.

In fact, Cornell professor Jeff Hancock found that students felt “more loved and worthy” after visiting their Facebook profiles than they did during traditional self-affirmation exercises. So as long as you’re not overdoing it, you can start viewing your social media apps as friends instead of enemies.

To take it to the next level, download Happier, an app that not only helps you express gratitude more regularly but connects you with a positive, supportive community.



Hey, there’s a reason the “W’burg Hipsters,” “Playground Parents” and more said their phones brought them joy. When used in the right way, smartphones are a fun way to pass a few free minutes, make your life easier and, yes, connect with people.