The new Nokia aka HMD Global further broadened its smartphone line-up on Tuesday with the launch of the entry-level Nokia 2 in India. While the Nokia 2 price in India is not yet known, the company said the handset will launch at a global average price of EUR 99 (roughly Rs. 7,500), which will be available mid-November. Though we don’t have an exact India price yet, it’s clear that HMD Global is targeting the sub-Rs. 10,000 market, which it says accounts for 30 percent of India’s smartphone market.
As for the phone, the Nokia 2 has a 4,100mAh battery powering a Snapdragon 212 chip, 1GB RAM, and a 5-inch HD LTPS display, which allows it run for 2 days on full charge. In terms of optics, there’s a 8-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel fixed-focus front camera. Internal storage is disappointing at a mere 8GB, though it’s expandable via microSD card (up to 128GB). The Nokia 2 ships with Android 7.1.1 Nougat, but HMD Global has promised that it will get an upgrade to Oreo in the near future. It has support for dual-SIM and 4G VoLTE.
OnePlus 5T shows up in press marketing render
We got another look at the upcoming OnePlus 5T on Tuesday thanks to prolific phone tipster Evan Blass, who shared an image of the phone’s top-half on Twitter. It cements the view that the 5T would have a near bezel-less display, improving upon the original that released just earlier this year. Separately, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei tweeted an image featuring a blurred background, likely teasing a new OnePlus phone.
Oppo F5 to be Flipkart-exclusively
The Oppo F5 will likely be a Flipkart-exclusive when it comes to India, if a dedicated page on the e-commerce retailer’s page is to be believed. Flipkart will live-stream the event on Thursday, the page further says. The F5 is the successor to the Oppo F3, and retains its focus on selfies, while adding to it with “AI beauty-recognition technology” and a near bezel-less display.
Nokia 8 won’t end up like Note 7, teardown reveals
Nokia 8 has undergone a full teardown from YouTuber JerryRigEverything, who found out that there’s an advanced heat sink inside the phone, to help keep it cool and avoid any Note 7-type disasters. The phone has a graphite plate that separates the PCB board and the 5.3-inch display, with a special compartment for the 3,090mAh battery. He also noted that replacing the screen and battery would be easy enough.
Samsung soars to record quarter, names three new division heads
Samsung released its Q3 2017 earnings on Tuesday, with the Korean tech giant recording a record profit of KRW 11.2 trillion (roughly $10 billion, or Rs. 64,806 crores). Net profits soared 148 percent on the back of strong demand for memory chips and recovery in smartphone sales, given the Note 7 debacle from last year. The semiconductor unit had a great quarter, with profit up nearly 200 percent.
Meanwhile, Samsung also named three new heads of businesses to steady the ship in the wake of group head Jay Y. Lee’s arrest on bribery charges in August. That includes Kim Ki-nam, who will now head the Device Solutions division; Koh Dong-jin at IT and Mobile Communications; and Kim Hyun-suk for Consumer Electronics. The company will recommend all three as co-CEOs after next shareholder meeting in March.
Razer Phone surfaces on retail website, no official word
A Razer Phone has popped up on a UK retail website, with no official word from the peripherals and laptop maker. Listed as “out of stock”, which is most likely a placeholder given the lack of an announcement, it gives the following specifications: a 5.72-inch IGZO display with 120Hz refresh rate, Dolby Atmos sound on the dual front-facing speakers, a dual-camera setup on the back with a 12-megapixel f/1.75 wide lens and a 13-megapixel f/2.6 zoom lens, a 4,000mAh battery that supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+, and 8GB RAM.
It’s clear that the device is targeted towards gamers given the faster refresh rate and the battery size, but if this is true – which it may very well be given its acquisition of Nextbit – Razer is also not letting up on the entertainment and optics front. Expect a beast of a price if this becomes available.
U11 Life might be Android One, full specs revealed
The HTC U11 Life doesn’t launch until Thursday, but T-Mobile accidentally listed the phone on its website for a few hours, giving everyone the chance to know the exact specifications. The U11 Life will have a 5.2-inch full-HD display, Snapdragon 630, 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, 2600mAh battery, and 6-megapixel sensor on both front and back. It will run Android 7.1.1 Nougat on launch per T-Mobile, though a tipster claims the phone is part of Google’s revamped Android One and so it will have Android 8.0 Oreo.
Cook and Zuck meet Xi in Beijing
At Tsinghua University’s annual gathering of advisers in Beijing, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg met Chinese president Xi Jinping on Monday, where the latter was speaking to business leaders and officials. Both Cook and Zuckerberg are on the advisory board of Tsinghua School of Economics and Management. While Apple prepares to launch the iPhone X on Friday in China, Facebook has been blocked since 2009.
House of Cards to end after season six, curious timing from Netflix
Netflix has brought an end to its hit political drama House of Cards, saying that the decision had been taken months ago, and had nothing to do with the sexual misconduct allegations swarming its male lead Kevin Spacey, who plays Frank Underwood on the show. Still it’s curious timing on part on Netflix. The upcoming sixth season will be the last for the show, which suffered a drop in critical reception this year. Spacey has apologised to Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp for the claims made by the latter.