Posts made by Toshi Tandon

Noida-based mobile handset maker Lava International introduced a new “Metal Series’ of feature phones. Priced at ₹2000, the Lava Metal 24 is the first feature phone to have a metal body. Though the price gap between feature phone and entry-level smartphone is very narrow, there is an enough scope to tap the demand.

Lava Metal 24 Specifications:

Lava International has targeted it’s Lava Metal 24 at the billions of Indians who can’t afford smartphones. Regarding the specs, Lava Metal 24 sports a 2.4-inch QVGA display and metal back finish. Powered by a MTK6261D processor, the Lava Metal 24 feature phone supports storage expandable up to 32GB via microSD card.

The phone features a 1.3-megapixel rear camera with flash that can even support video recording. The handset is packed with a long-lasting 1,000mAh battery. Connectivity wise, the Lava Metal 24 supports dual-SIM, Bluetooth 3.0, internet browsing (EDGE), and USB.

The company intends to sell the Metal Series of feature phones through retail stores across India and has tied-up with the Snapdeal portal to sell the handset online. Though the company faces a stiff competition from Micromax, Intex, and others, Lava International is aiming 20% mobile handset market share by 2018-end.

Bharti Airtel, the promoter of Airtel Payments Bank, has offered free Airtel-to-Airtel voice minutes of talk time on every rupee deposited in the savings account. As per the offer, the customer having a savings account in Airtel Payments Bank is entitled to get free talk time for the amount deposited.

For example, if a customer opens an account at Airtel Payments Bank by depositing ₹1,000 then he will get 1000 minutes of free voice calls on his Airtel mobile number. The obtained 1000 minutes free talk time can be used for Airtel to Airtel calling including STD calls across the country for a period of 30 days. This exclusive offer is limited to the first time deposits only.

India’s First Payments Bank:

This is to mention that Airtel Payments Bank has started its operations in Rajasthan on a pilot basis at over 10,000 Airtel retail outlets. The company’s retail outlets are acting as Airtel Banking Points to offer the basic banking services. As per a statement, the company reported that a wide network of merchants across Rajasthan is accepting digital payments from Airtel Payments Bank giving a boost to cashless digital payments ecosystem.

Addressing the launch of the offer, Mr. Shashi Arora, M.D & CEO, Airtel Payments Bank, said: “"We are leveraging Airtel’s telecom ecosystem to bring banking services to the doorsteps of every Indian. We are confident that this additional benefit along with the industry-best interest rate on deposits will encourage customers to open accounts with us and give a big boost to customer acquisition.”

Airtel Payments Bank – Disruption or Value Addition:

Bharti Airtel is leaving no stone and trying to push uptake by enrolling over 1 lakh merchants in Rajasthan by the year-end. This digital payment from Airtel Payments Bank is the first of its kind in India and the leading mobile operator will have a full-scale launch soon.

Offering 7.25% rate of interest on savings deposits is far higher than what most banks offer. For every ₹1,000 deposit, Airtel Payments Bank will incur a loss of ₹12.50 per annum or ₹1 a month. Let’s wait a few days and see what happens before one decides whether Airtel Payments Bank is an asset of liability.

Vodafone India, the second largest mobile network operator, launched its SuperNet 4G services in India’s largest state by area. Launching the services from the prominent business and cultural hub Jodhpur, the telecom giant has plans to roll out SuperNet 4G services across all major towns and cities of Rajasthan by March 2017.

The telecom operator has rolled out SuperNet 4G services on the efficient 2100MHz spectrum band to access high-speed internet on smart devices including mobiles, 4G Mi-Fi, and dongles. With high-speed data streaming, the Vodafone subscribers can enjoy HD video streaming, music videos, video calling etc.

Get in Touch with Vodafone:

Announcing the launch, Mr. Naveen Chopra, COO, Vodafone India, said, “As a steadfast partner to Digital India, we are delighted to launch SuperNet 4G in Rajasthan as 4G has the potential to revolutionize the mobile experience through powerful innovation that impacts how we work and live.” Mr. Amit Bedi (Rajasthan’s Business Head) added, “Rajasthan is a key market for Vodafone India and as one of the leading telecom service providers out almost 12 million customers have a lot to look forward to.”

The Vodafone subscriber can check whether their SIM or phone is 4G compatible. Just send an SMS to 199. If you are a Vodafone postpaid subscriber, then can opt for door-step delivery by making a call to the customer care or sending an SMS to 199.

Many Special Offers from Vodafone:

Vodafone India is offering a free upgrade to 4G. Along with it, the company has launched a host of free offers. The Vodafone subscribers will get free 2GB of data on every upgrade. Moreover, the subscribers purchasing higher data than 1GB packs (4G RED) will get double data allowance. The users can access their data packs from as little as ₹9 for 35MB.

To encourage Vodafone 4G subscription, the telecom operator has offered 3 months free access to TV, movies, and videos on Vodafone Play. In partnership with HUNGAMA PLAY and HOOQ, Vodafone has offered maximum entertainment including 18000+ movies, over 100 live TV channels and music.

Starting its SuperNet 4G services from Kerala, Vodafone India has expanded its footprint to other telecom circles including Delhi & NCR, Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala, Kolkata, Mumbai, Rest of Bengal, and UP (East).

Chinese multinational technological company, Lenovo has launched its K6 Power smartphone in the Indian market. Priced at ₹9,999, the successor of Lenovo Vibe K5 series has got pretty solid specifications to impress smartphone enthusiasts. Full HD display, Snapdragon processor, big battery, 4G VoLTE connectivity – all under 10K simply gives wow experience.

K series has been very successful and extending it further, Lenovo will commence the sale of K6 Power via Flipkart starting 12pm IST on December 6. Till date, the eCommerce portal Flipkart has sold more than 13 million Lenovo / Moto handsets in India. Continuing its exclusivity, Lenovo K6 Power will be available in an open sale on Flipkart in India.

Lenovo K6 Power Specifications:

The new Lenovo K6 Power smartphone features a metal unibody design with 5-inch full HD IPS display 441ppi, 1.4GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC processor, Adreno 505 GPU graphics, 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage space that can be expanded up to 128GB via microSD card.

On the camera front, K6 Power sports 13-megapixel rear camera and 8-megapixel front camera with auto beautification for selfies. Post the Reliance Jio launch; one could expect 4G VoLTE feature for making HD voice calls by default. Lenovo packs 4G VoLTE feature for its dual nano SIM card slots.

K6 Power, The Complete All-rounder:

Incidentally, Lenovo K6 Power supports Dual Apps so that the user can run two different accounts of WhatsApp, Facebook etc on the same phone. Additionally, Lenovo has incorporated Dolby Atmos and TheatreMax support for superior audio and immersive content experience in this 10K budget phone.

According to Lenovo, the smartphone is equipped with a 4000mAh battery to last for 2 days on 4G LTE network. It has ‘Ultimate Power Saver’ mode to save more power during low battery charge. The Lenovo K6 Power runs on Android Marshmallow OS with Vibe UI on top and has a fingerprint scanner for extra security. Available in Dark Grey, Gold, and Silver color variants, Lenovo K6 Power will directly compete with Xiaomi’s Redmi 3S Prime though priced 1K higher.

In a nutshell, Lenovo K6 Power is a neat looking smartphone with decent specs.

Last week, Airtel Payments Bank Ltd created a new wave of payments banks after it got the license from RBI. Perhaps, it is the first company to be operated as differentiated bank accepting payments and leveraging the reach of mobile technology to service the unbanked.

Though this pilot launch has been on a low-scale in Rajasthan, it has amassed 10,000 savings accounts in just 2 days of going live. Taking advantage of its vast retail network, Bharti Airtel turned its 10,000 stores as its banking points.

Airtel Payments Bank is offering a personal accident insurance of 1 lakh per account and the highest interest rate of 7.25% a year on deposits held in savings accounts. While the traditional banks such as SBI, ICICI, HDFC, Axis etc are offering 4% interest.

In a statement, Mr. Shashi Arora, MD & CEO, Airtel Payments Bank, said, “We are very encouraged with the response from customers, in particular, from semi-urban and rural areas. We believe that this differentiated banking model will offer a lot of convenience to customers and are hopeful of onboarding more and more customers in the coming days.”

Simple, Paperless Account Opening:

Airtel Payments Bank is following an e-KYC procedure in the opening savings account. Just visit the nearest Airtel retail store along with your Aadhaar Number. Within minutes, your account at Airtel Payments Bank is ready through electronic Know Your Customer process authenticated with your fingerprint.

Currently, this pilot process is limited to Rajasthan and the company will make full-scale India launch next year. With this, money can be deposited and withdrawn from any Airtel outlet across the country.

Though the payments banks can issue ATM or Debit cards, Airtel would like it to be fully digital and paperless as of now. Just visit the nearest Airtel store and withdraw money. The Airtel subscriber can access banking services via Airtel Money App on smartphones, or via USSD by dialing *400# or by calling IVR 400. If you are a non-Airtel customer then call 8800688006 and access Airtel Payments banking services using your basic feature phone.