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com FEBRUARY
january 2020
2019  Rs 100
®

Your gateway to the world of mobility

Will Dominance Shift in 2020?

Realme, Xiaomi March to Lead
Tested Spotlight Apptastic
vivo V17, LG G8s ThinQ, CES 2020 Most Downloaded
Infinix S5 Lite, Nubia Red Apps of 2019 and
Magic 3S, Garmin Forerunner their Controversies
245 Music, HiFuture Olymbuds phone of the month
and many more... realme X2 Pro
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 firstcall

C
ompetition is the need of the hour.
Editorpage
Competition is good for the buyers.
Competition is equally good as an
EDITORIA L
opportunity for the competitors to give
their best. Competition will remain so in the Pankaj Mohindroo | Editor-in-Chief

year 2020. This phrase suits the best for two Haider Ali Khan | Deputy Editor
smartphone brands like many others competing
Ramesh Kumar Raja | Assistant Editor
with each other to win the buyers and the market
dominance. One being a well-established brand Vivek Singh Chauhan | Correspondent
since last five years, and another just twenty
Pahi Mehra | Correspondent
months young and disruptive smartphone company. It’s Xiaomi and Realme!
The disruptor (Realme) and the market king (Xiaomi) competition will drive
market sentiments and growth in 2020 out of which consumers will be the DE S I G N
ultimate winner. We present to you a glimpse of this friendly war between Ajit Kumar Parashar | Sr. Graphic Designer

Realme and Xiaomi as how would it unfold in this New Year.

Xiaomi and Realme were the brands that fought for market dominance
M AR K ETIN G
in 2019 and will continue to do so in 2020. Each one of them launched
Puja Mohindroo | Manager - Business
smartphones simultaneously on the same lines, in the same price bracket
Sandeep Kumar | Sr. Manager – Marketing
and almost having the same sets of specifications. Many experts, industry
veterans and even the people feel that Realme is walking the same path as
once travelled by Xiaomi which is provide best value for money smartphone or
O P ERATION S
any other product for that matter.
Deepak Kohli | Sr. Manager – Accounts
The fight now is not just limited to smartphone only, but has shifted to other
areas such as IoT, connected devices and digital financial support. Technology
is not merely tech now, it has become lifestyle, and both Realme and Xiaomi are
striving hard to gain an upper hand. Xiaomi has built a network of online plus
CIRCU L ATION
offline, penetrated deep inside the arteries of this country, provided door step B. G. Mathur | Manager- Production & Circulation

delivery of products and services and with equally functional and responsive
after-sales services, it has emerged as the top selling smartphone company.
Mi Store and Mi Home have been the backbone for Xiaomi in offline markets AD V I S ORY B OARD
which Realme is now replicating. For Xiaomi it would be much easy to retain Bejon Misra

its top spot in 2020 as Samsung lags behind in budget, mid and mid-premium Rajan Mathews

segment and Realme has a long road to travel. It will not be merely these two S.D. Saxena

brands to compete for dominance but, there are vivo, Oppo, Samsung and Subhash Chandra

OnePlus to make the fight even more interesting. Sunil Dutt

This New Year opens a new era of opportunities for both Realme and Xiaomi. Sonu Bhasin

Both are now well-versed, understand the market and its aspirations, threats; Uvaraj Natarajan

global and local, have dedicated R&D team to meet the demands, and last but
not the least, the control over offline and online channels coupled with good G ET IN TOUCH
after sales servicing is going to decide the new market leader. Editorial : haider@mymobile.co.in
Realme is pegged to cross over vivo, Oppo and might reach at number three Marketing : sandeep@mymobile.co.in
Circulation : bgmathur@mymobile.co.in
in market share by the Q3 of 2020. Collectively, BBK (vivo, Oppo, OnePlus
Phone : 011—46206161 Fax : 011—41520637
and Realme) is going to be the sole dominator in 2020 while Xiaomi has to
battle it out alone.
Edited, published, printed and owned by Pankaj Mohindroo,
Happy Reading! n Published from 203, Kanchenjunga Building | 18, Barakhamba Road
| Connaught Place | New Delhi-110001. Printed at HT Media Ltd. Plot
No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201306

The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for errors
and omissions contained in this publication, however caused.
The opinions and the views contained in this publication are not
necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to
Follow Us: seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in
Pankaj Mohindroo Facebook this publication, which is provided for general use and may not
editor-in-chief facebook.com/mymobilemag be appropriate for the reader’s particular circumstances. The
ownership of trademarks is acknowledged.
Twitter
twitter.com/MyMobileMag Volume XIV, Issue XII, january 2020

04 | january 2020 MYMOBILE

 HR Smart BP DƵůƟƉůĞ
Monitoring EŽƟĮĐĂƟŽŶ Monitoring ^ƉŽƌƚƐDŽĚĞ
 contents

20 34

26 104
Style Notes into Different Industries failing to maintain market
momentum?
104 Most Downloaded Apps of
10  letters 2019 and their Controversies 76 India Fares Better in Spam
Call Ranking
11  Newsbits
Face to Face 77 MediaTek to Focus on 5G
28 Arun Menon – Country Experiences, Robust Product
16 Just In Business Head, Philips Roadmap
Get a close look at new Branded Television and Audio,
smartphones now in the
TPV Technology India Private
market
Limited 40 Spotlight
Trends to look for at CES 2020
66 Rohit Sahni – Director, WK Life
20 Lead Story
Realme and Xiaomi Strive 68 Anurag Prasad – Co-founder
and Product Head, Visit
Market Insight
for Dominance
44 Do Mobile Ads Influence You
in Your Buying Decisions?
Feature In Focus
26 5G wireless revolution, what 36 #THISHAPPENED: Biggest 45 Better Days Ahead for
we know so far! Moments on Twitter in 2019 Hearables Market

30 Most Anticipated Smartphones 72 Telecom Sector Outlook

103 India to sell Connected
to Look out for in 2020 Negative on AGR dues
Consumer Devices worth
34 AI-led Advancements Seeping 74 Why offline retail stores are Rs 3.25 Lakh Crore in 2020

06 | january 2020 MYMOBILE

C

TM
 contents
Burn Test Consumer 108 Add Ons
What's Inside
Insight The latest and the best of
46 realme X2 Pro
64 Showing Robots “Tough Love” gadgets and accessories, from
49 Garmin Forerunner Helps them Succeed, Finds earphones and Bluetooth
245 Music Study speakers to mobile chargers
and power banks
50 vivo V17 78 Internet Emerging as an
Empowering Force for Indian
52 LG G8s ThinQ Women 122 Vantage Point
54 Infinix S5 Lite Trends driving Audio Market

56 Red Magic 3S
70 By Invitation in 2020 – Achin Gupta,
Country Head-India, Zoook
mCommerce Shaping Lifestyle
59 Philips BASS+ SHB3075

60 Infinix Band 5
Industry in India – Mayank
Jain, Managing 36
Partner – Greenways
62 HiFuture OlymBuds
81 My Guide
63 HiFuture NeckLace
The most comprehensive 2019
feature and price list of

81 mobile devices

40 74

70 76

64 Total number of
pages = 124

MYMOBILE
TM
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or the users might not be
e
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nes an ream
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Mobile phone industry seeks tax
rationalisation, clarity on export scheme
Mobile phone industry recently sought
clarity over recent reduction in export
incentives and demanded rationalisation
of tax structure, including GST on handsets,
during a pre-budget meet with Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. According
to India Cellular and Electronics Association
(ICEA), reduction in export incentives will
lead to massive job losses. On the meeting,
ICEA Chairman Pankaj Mohindroo said the
government has strong intention to support
Indian companies as well as attract global
brands to make the country a hub of mobile
manufacturing. “Regarding export
benefits... we have requested that the air
be cleared. There is an incentive package
being worked out for global value chain and
Indian companies to meet mobile export
target of USD 110 billion as per National
Policy on Electronics. We have put forward
a request (on this) strongly,” Mohindroo
said.
The meeting was attended by technology
sector industry bodies ICEA, MAIT,
NASSCOM, Telecom Equipment
Manufacturers Association, Indian Private
Equity and Venture Capital Association
besides representatives from Apple, Lava
International, Reliance Jio etc. On
December 7, the DGFT reduced export
incentive on mobile handsets from 4 per
cent to 2 per cent. “We have requested that
basic customs duty on high phones be
capped at Rs 4,000. We are witnessing lot
of grey market being developed which
should be stopped,” Mohindroo said. The
mobile phone industry has also requested
the finance minister to rationalise GST on
mobile handset priced below Rs 1,200 to
5 per cent from 12 per cent at present as
it will benefit 15 crore people who buy
feature phones, Mohindroo said.
Apple acquires UK-based startup to
enhance iPhone photography
In an endeavour to further improve iPhone
photography, Apple has acquired a UK-
www.mymobileindia.com
based startup Spectral Edge for an
undisclosed sum. The startup is known for
technology that can be used to improve
photos taken on iPhones, according to
reports, citing filings made public recently.
Spectral Edge “has developed
computational photography tech that
could blend data from a standard lens and
an infrared lens to enhance photo quality”.
The startup raised $5.3 million in a funding
round in 2018. Created in 2014 from
academic research at the University of East
Anglia, Spectral Edge’s algorithm is able to
enhance low-light smartphone images
which could improve Night Mode in
iPhones. The iPhone 11 Pro has introduced
a transformative triple-camera system with
all-new Ultra Wide, Wide and Telephoto
cameras, deeply integrated into iOS to
create a pro-level camera experience
designed for everyone.
Xiaomi patent shows Motorola Razr-like
foldable phone with pop-up camera
Chinese handset brand Xiaomi has
patented a new large-display smartphone
which folds in half in the middle like Moto
Razr, protecting the screen as a result.
China’s National Intellectual Property
Administration website shows it’s granted
Xiaomi’s new foldable design patent, which
was filed in August. Unlike the Moto Razr,
Xiaomi’s new foldable smartphone patent
shows a pop-up selfie camera, according
to reports. It is not Xiaomi’s first foldable
design. Recently, the company patented a
foldable smartphone with a five pop-up
newsbits
camera setup. As per the patent, this
What’s Up
foldable phone has an outward-folding
screen and depending on how a user holds
it, the five cameras can either be rear
cameras or front-facing cameras. The
sketches of the device suggest that it will
have a really thin bezels and no display
notch.
Oppo looking to set up R&D centre in
Bengaluru
With its plan to invest $7 billion in research
and development globally in the next three
years, Oppo is looking to expand R&D
centres to cities like Bengaluru, according
to reports. The company currently has one
R&D centre in Hyderabad and the second
centre may come up in Bengaluru. “We
have 6 global institutes and 4 research
centres and one of them is in Hyderabad
in India. So definitely we are going to be
expanding our processes in Hyderabad or
possibly in Bangalore to actually invest
more in R&D,” Alen Wu, Oppo’s Vice
President and President of Global Sales,
was quoted as saying. “In terms of revenue,
we are doing good in India. So far in 2019,
we have witnessed a growth of over 60 per
cent in India and the number will go up by
the year end. I’m happy with the
performance,” Wu said recently.
Vivo in the race to launch Snapdragon
865-powered 5G smartphone
Vivo will be one of the first handset players
to launch a smartphone based on
january 2020 | 11
 newsbits
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 5G mobile
What’s Up
platform, it said recently. Previously, Oppo
also claimed to launch its 5G smartphone
powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
chipset in the first quarter of 2020.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 with the X55
5G Modem-RF System supports 5G
speeds of up to 7.5 Gbps. With the new
upgrade, the AI computing rate can
achieve a strong performing rate of 15
trillion operations per second. In addition,
the faster ISP of the chipset can achieve a
processing speed of 2 gigapixel per second.
The platform also supports 200 MP
camera and 8K video recording, the
company further said. “We believe that
through this meaningful collaboration, we
would be able to provide even better
performance to consumers worldwide.
This work also strengthens our commitment
to be at the forefront in bringing the latest
technology to our fans,” said Jerome Chen,
CEO, Vivo India.
Realme brings Paysa for digital financial
inclusion
Oppo spin-off brand Realme has initiated
its new financial lending service called the
Realme Paysa to disburse loans. It will be
available for both Realme and non-Realme
users across iOS and Android platforms.
This comes right after its immediate rival,
Xiaomi, recently introduced Mi Credit
under the same ambit. Realme Paysa is
available on Google Play Store in beta
version in two languages, Hindi and
English. Soon it will come pre-installed on
all Realme smartphones. Realme is
targeting three areas; lending, savings and
protection, payments and tools for
businesses. Regarding data, the company
has assured that it will be stored locally.
Realme Paysa has features such as Free
Credit Report, Personal Loan, Business
Loan and Screen Insurance. With the
Realme Paysa app, you can now take
personal loans from Rs 8,000 to Rs
100,000 with very limited paperwork, a
12 | january 2020
fully digital process and a repayment
option from 3 to 12 months. Meanwhile,
small or medium-sized businesses can
take a pure digital loan up to Rs 5 lakhs
and a flexible repayment tenure from 12
to 60 months.
Sundar Pichai to take home whopping
$242 mn stock package in new role
Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai
will take home $240 million stock package
($90 million of it tied to Alphabet’s
performance) on top of a $2 million annual
salary in 2020. Alphabet said in a
Securities Exchange Commission filing
recently that Pichai will also start receiving
a substantial raise from January 1 to $2
million a year, reports say. The
compensation package is being given in
recognition of Pichai’s “expanded role as
CEO of Alphabet and Google”. Pichai,
meanwhile, received $90 million in stock
awards that will vest by the end of 2022
“depending on Alphabet’s shareholder
returns compared to the S&P 100”, the
filing said. “Pichai also received two other
stock grants, of $120 million and $30
million, neither tied to performance but
subject to his continued employment,”
the report said, citing the filing. Signalling
the end of an era, Google co-founders Larry
Page and Sergey Brin decided to relinquish
their current positions in the parent
company Alphabet earlier in December,
making India-born Pichai the CEO of both
Google and Alphabet.
LG Electronics appoints TV and mobile
chief as its new CEO
South Korean electronics major LG has
appointed Brian Kwon, head of the firm’s
TV and mobile business, as its new chief
executive officer. The board of directors at
the LG Electronics picked Kwon to replace
incumbent CEO Jo Seong-jin, who took the
top post in 2016. Jo, nicknamed “Legend
of the Washing Machine,” has worked for
LG Electronics for over 40 years and took
credit for successfully launching new
lifestyle appliances, such as clothes dryers
and the steam clothing care system Stylus,
under his leadership. Kwon, 56, is known
for his expertise in the home entertainment
business, taking charge of launching LG’s
premium OLED lineup that improved
profitability in the TV business. LG
Electronics posted strong performance in
its home appliance division with its
premium lineup and new lifestyle gadgets
last year, but it has been grappling with
operating losses in the smartphone
business. As part of cost-cutting efforts,
the company moved its Korean smartphone
factory to Vietnam in October and released
dual screen smartphones with 5G network
connectivity to target the high-end
segment.
Huawei endeavours to build Google
services alternative in India; Oppo brings
global fund
Handset majors Huawei and Oppo have
started engaging with Indian developers
with lucrative incentives under their global
funds to build localized mobile services
that can be offered with their smartphones
in the country. Both handset companies
are incentivizing developers in India
through their global funds to develop these
services. Huawei’s move is more about
building an alternative to Google’s service
suite, called Google Media Services (GMS)
since there is uncertainty on the use of
GMS on Huawei and Honor mobile phones
following restrictions announced by the
US government earlier last year. GMS
includes Gmail, YouTube, Navigation,
Google Drive and Maps. Huawei’s sub-
brand Honor is in talks with 150 top apps
MYMOBILE

in India to get them on its HMS or Huawei
Media Services, Charles Peng, CEO,
Huawei and Honor India, Consumer
Business Group, said recently. Oppo, on
the other hand, is allocating $143 million
in 2020 for supporting developers across
the globe, including India to develop a
“new intelligent service ecosystem” with
developers and partners around its ColorOS
operating system.
Infinix to foray into smart TV market
Following the footsteps of Xiaomi, OnePlus
and Motorola-Lenovo, Transsion Holdings
smartphone brand Infinix is planning to
foray into the smart TV market, besides
increasing its focus on smart accessories
with the launch of smartwatches and
portable audio products. “Our smart TV
plans are under works for India. Globally,
we have done some work around it,” Anish
Kapoor, CEO, Infinix India, was quoted as
saying by some reports. Meanwhile, sector
watchers say these firms are strategically
placed to capitalize on the brand recall
among consumers and to leverage their
distribution and online channels, along
with their existing manufacturing facilities.
Infinix will also enter the new handset
segments in the first half of this year to
broaden the addressable market. The
company considers India as its most
strategic market, and will continue to have
India-first smartphone launches besides
having some offline footprint this year.
Anita Praveen appointed as additional
secretary in telecom department
The Appointments Committee of the
Cabinet (ACC) recently appointed Anita
Praveen as an additional secretary in the
Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
“The ACC has approved the appointment
www.mymobileindia.com
of Anita Praveen, additional secretary and
finance advisor, Department of Posts (DoP)
as an additional secretary, Department of
Telecommunications (DoT), the notification
read. Praveen is an Indian Administrative
Service (IAS) officer of the 1989 batch
Tamil Nadu cadre. She has also previously
served in the Department of Commerce as
a joint secretary. Praveen will report to the
telecom secretary Anshu Prakash.
267 million Facebook users’ data leaked
with IDs and phone numbers
A database containing personal details of
more than 267 million Facebook users was
allegedly left exposed on the web, according
to a report from Britain-based tech research
firm Comparitech and security researcher
Bob Diachenko. Diachenko believes the
trove of data -- including Facebook user
IDs, phone numbers and names -- is most
likely the result of an illegal scraping
operation or Facebook API abuse by
criminals in Vietnam. “Scraping” is a term
used to describe a process in which
automated bots quickly sift through large
numbers of web pages, copying data from
each one into a database. The information
contained in the database could be used to
conduct large-scale SMS spam and
phishing campaigns, among other threats
to end users, said the report recently,
adding that most of the affected users were
from the US. The revelations come at a
time when Facebook is trying to regain the
trust of its users with protection of their
data following the Cambridge Analytica
scandal that badly hit its reputation.
Likee refreshes iconic in-app functions,
introduces new capabilities
BIGO Technology-owned short video
platform Likee has refreshed its popular
in-app functions - ‘Superme’ and the
newly-introduced feature of ‘FaceMagic’.
The development comes into effect after
the introduction of new features using
advanced AI technology, to highlight the
newsbits
current capabilities of the tools better.
What’s Up
Likee’s FaceMagic is an innovative one-tap
tool that allows
users to morph
celebrity face in
the famous
dance/movie
scene into their
own face. By
doing so, users
can create
highly engaging
and realistic
videos for
entertainment purpose. The FaceMagic
function can be applied to any video
available in the app’s video library. The
Superme function, on the other hand, has
a wide range of tools such as Face change,
Morph, and more to enable users with
advanced editing tools in one tap. With the
aim to enhance the user experience, Likee
is said to be continuously working towards
simplification of the tools as well as
introducing new capabilities to empower
its users.
Kaspersky’s 2020 security solutions for
home users launched
Russian cybersecurity major Kaspersky
recently launched their latest version of
security solutions for home users with their
2020 range in India in association with
their sole national distributor Supertron
Electronics. The company rolls out major
updates in their products once a year to
keep the solutions up to date with the
threat landscape globally. Kaspersky and
Supertron Electronics together feel bullish
about aiming at consumers from developing
cities in India with this update. This year
Kaspersky has focused on strengthening
their defences against threats targeting the
individual systems like PCs, laptop, Mac
and mobile phones. Internet security
solution or Total security solution on the
system will help consumers fight against
attacks like banking fraud, phishing emails,
january 2020 | 13
 newsbits
e-commerce fraud, and will also help
What’s Up
parents keep their child digitally safe.
TikTok owner testing music app ‘Resso’ in
India, Indonesia
TikTok owner ByteDance is testing a new
music app in emerging markets as it tries
to pull off another global sensation akin to
its viral video-sharing service. Called Resso,
the new app is now available in India and
Indonesia, two of Asia’s most populous
countries and places already keenly
familiar with TikTok. Since its initial launch
six months ago, Resso has been installed
by about 27,000 users across the iOS App
Store and Google Play, according to data
compiled by Sensor Tower, which said the
numbers indicate promotion of the app
began in earnest at the end of November.
ByteDance, the world’s most valuable
startup, has been quietly developing the
app to challenge the likes of Spotify and
Apple Music in countries where paid music
services have yet to garner large
audiences.
Airtel VoWiFi service goes live in 5 states
after Delhi-NCR
After rolling out its voice over WiFi service
in Delhi-NCR recently, Bharti Airtel has
expanded the service to Mumbai, Kolkata,
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil
Nadu. ‘Airtel Wi-Fi Calling’ allows Airtel
customers using WiFi calling capable
handsets to make calls using a WiFi
network without costing any extra data
14 | january 2020
cost. ‘Airtel Wi-Fi Calling’ leverages cutting
edge technology to enhance the indoor
voice calling experience for Airtel
smartphone customers. The innovative
service uses WiFi networks to create a
dedicated channel for voice calls and
allows customers to make telco grade calls
to any network. This dramatically improves
customer experience as one can seamlessly
switch to Airtel Wi-Fi Calling. The service
does not require any app and can be
configured on the smartphone by simply
checking smartphone compatibility on
airtel.in/wifi-calling, upgrading device
software to support WiFi calling, and
switching on WiFi calling on the device
with VoLTE enabled for seamless
experience.
Club Factory’s seller base grows four-fold
to scale 20,000
Ecommerce platform Club Factory has over
20,000 registered sellers as of December
2019, registering a four-fold increase in
the second half of the year. The company
has quadrupled its registered seller base
and over-achieved its set target of 10K
sellers for this year. Club Factory is also
strengthening its India leadership team
and will appoint local leaders for key
functions in the next quarter. The Indian
leadership team will further lead the strong
momentum gained by Club Factory in
2019. Club Factory also witnessed over
600% YoY growth with over 200 sellers
clocking in over 15K orders per day, in the
recently-concluded Black Friday Sale in
November. Most of the sellers were
onboarded after June and have grown from
zero since then. Club Factory is currently
the biggest portal for the SMEs.
Netrika Consulting acquires Anti Piracy
Solutions
Risk management and corporate frauds
investigation firm Netrika Consulting has
acquired Hyderabad-based company Anti
Piracy Solutions (APS). With this
acquisition, Netrika will now be better
positioned to effectively lead the fight
against unauthorised leaks and peddling of
copyrighted intellectual properties such as
movies, music albums and even educational
contents online. This synergy will also
boost Netrika’s capability in the fight
against the online sale of counterfeit goods
which is a serious issue facing the growing
popularity of online shopping. APS founder
and CEO Chaitanya N will function as a
Director at Netrika Consulting. Sanjay
Kaushik, Managing Director, Netrika
Consulting, said, “Piracy is a universal
concern which besides being an IPR
concern is causing huge losses to both
corporates as well as governments globally.
We are happy to welcome Anti Piracy
Solutions into our fold and we are confident
to protect our clientele from piracy both
online and offline.”
Helo further strengthens safety features,
content moderation policies
Social media platform Helo has further
strengthened its existing safety features
and content moderation policies, making
them available in 14 Indian regional
languages. This is as part of their growing
commitment to provide a safe in-app
experience for its community, including a
recent partnership with an internationally-
acclaimed fact checker to counter
misinformation and fake news. Shyamanga
Barooah, Head of Content Operations,
Helo, said, “Maintaining a safe and positive
in-app environment is paramount to us,
which is why we continuously enhance and
MYMOBILE

update our policies, safety tools, and online
resources. Taking a step ahead in this
direction, we are delighted to collaborate
with an independent, third-party fact
checker to reduce the prevalence of fake
news on our platform.” Helo has partnered
with third-party fact-checkers like the
Jagran Group, certified by International
Fact Check Network and Poynter Institute
to further intensify its efforts in minimising
misinformation and fake news in the online
community.
AchhaGo makes it big at IEAE 2019
Ecommerce platform AchhaCart’s retail
wing AchhaGo launched its concept of
smart living and showcased new products
and categories at the recently-concluded
India International Electronics & Smart
Appliances Expo in New Delhi. The brand
claims to have received warm responses
from the visitors attending the three-day
B2B and B2C exhibition. AchhaGo aims to
cater to the market, ranging from Tier 1 to
Tier 4 cities through its digital app,
becoming India’s very own Costco, the
company said in a statement. The
homegrown company unveiled the whole
catalog of products, ranging from home
solutions, daily life, travel solutions, office
and health and personal care that will
enable the end consumer to live smart. The
target audience for this setup was the age
group from 18 to 40, especially the middle
class and gadget enthusiasts.
UC Browser ties up with Salman Khan
Films as Dabangg 3 digital partner
In yet another endeavor to promote digital
entertainment content in India, UC
Browser, the world’s No.1 third-party
mobile browser and a content platform, has
tied up with Salman Khan Films (SKF) to
promote the recently-released action
www.mymobileindia.com
comedy film Dabangg 3. UC Browser, as
the digital partner for SKF, has access to
exclusive trailers, bloopers, fun videos
and more from Dabangg 3, bringing a
wide array of entertaining digital content
for its vast user base of 130 million (MAUs).
UC has also run a unique campaign to
amplify the frenzy that surrounds every
Salman Khan-release in the country. UC
recently arranged for 60 cab drivers who
dressed up as Salman Khan’s most loved
character - Chulbul Pandey from the
Dabangg series.
Housing.com redefines virtual reality in
proptech with DigiTour 2.O
Realty platform Housing.com, which also
owns PropTiger.com and Makaan.com, has
launched its new feature DigiTour 2.O,
which enables a super virtual walkthrough
and varied allied features to refine
consumer’s search to the extent that they
may do away with a first level physical recce
of property. With an enhanced user-friendly
design and improved features like ease of
sharing and personalization, the new
version of DigiTour is all set to smudge the
line between what’s real and what’s virtual
and thereby provide a completely new
experience to the customers. “With
DigiTour 2.0, we have ensured a far superior
user experience in terms of access,
visibility, features and navigation,” said
Pallav Pandey, Group CTO, Elara
Technologies. “Our constant endeavour
has been to innovate and bring the best of
technology for our homebuyers. Given that
our major chunk of traffic is on mobile, our
improved version will definitely help them
newsbits
make an informed decision,” Pandey
What’s Up
added.
Average Indian spends one-third of their
waking hours on phone
An average Indian spends one-third of their
waking hours on phone translating to 1800
hours a year, says a joint study by
Cybermedia Research (CMR) and
smartphone brand Vivo. The study titled
‘Smartphone and their impact on human
relationships’ in its report mentioned that
75% of the respondents agreed to have
owned a smartphone in their teens and of
them, 41% were hooked to phones even
before graduating from high school.
Additionally, the study brought out that 1
in 3 people feel that they can’t even have
a 5 minute conversation with friends and
family without checking their phones. Also,
73% respondents agreed that if smartphone
usage continues at the current rate
or grows, that it is likely to impact
mental or physical health. The study
further mentioned that 3 out of 5 people
believed in having a life separate from
mobile phone and that could help them
lead to happier lives. The report is based on
a survey conducted online as well as face
to face across top 8 cities in India. The
report cuts across age-groups and
demographics: youth, working
professionals, housewives spanning the
age groups of 18 to 45. The study had
2000 respondents out of which 36% were
females and 64% were males.
Honor plans to enter India PC market this
year
Honor has plans of entering India’s PC
market with planned launch of two
Windows-based laptops in the initial
quarters of 2020. The laptops will be based
on Intel and AMD chipsets. The company
also has plans of foraying into television
space in India as part of its product portfolio
expansion. n
team@mymobile.co.in
january 2020 | 15
First Look justin

LG G8X ThinQ

L G Electronics unveiled a new smartphone LG G8X

ThinQ — its newest G series smartphone and a
more advanced LG Dual Screen — in India that is
designed to help users find a whole new way to
multitask while being creative in its design and
outlook.
Taking its consumer experience to the next level,
LG G8X ThinQ with LG Dual Screen will be available
across all retail outlets at Rs 49,999.
LG G8X ThinQ with LG Dual Screen offer
consumers an entirely new way to interact with a
mobile device and usher in new possibilities for
mobile gaming, content creation and consumption,
productivity and much more.
LG G8X ThinQ Dual Screen lets consumers be as
researching stats, sharing and comparing while online shopping,
productive as they can be, quickly and easily. Whether texting a
or writing an email while referencing a presentation, consumers
friend while watching a video, updating fantasy football while
can navigate, research, communicate and more across two
screens simply and efficiently.
What’s more, LG G8X ThinQ Dual Screen features unique
experiences that provide more control for scenarios where two
identical OLED displays simply work better than one, saving
precious screen real estate.
LG gives consumers the option to have the power and
flexibility of two screens, but the freedom to choose one based
on the situation. By detaching LG Dual Screen from LG G8X
ThinQ, going minimal is as simple as a snap.
LG Dual Screen boasts a convenient cover display, with the
essentials like notifications, date, time, battery life available at
a glance. With a 360-degree Freestop Hinge, LG Dual Screen is
able to lock into at any angle, making it practical for use as a
game controller at 120-degree, a mini-laptop at 140-degree, flat
at 180-degree, a stand or tent at 270-degree, or to take a call
flipped back on itself at 360°.
LG Game Pad is an immersive dual-screen experience
designed to level-up mobile gaming and deliver an edge in the
competitive moment. It gives gamers a complete view of a game
on one screen and a full controller on the other, giving the options
to choose from multiple virtual controllers or build a custom
layout to match specific gameplay needs and styles. LG Game
Pad mimics touch input on the main display, making it compatible
with most games.
The LG Smart Keyboard converts LG G8X ThinQ Dual Screen
into a mini-laptop for on-the-go use. The bottom display
transforms into a full-screen virtual keyboard making it easier to
write emails, edit presentations, text, or search the web in full-
screen on the top display. n

16 | january 2020 MYMOBILE

 justin

First Look
Nokia 2.3
H MD Global, the home of Nokia phones, has launched the
Nokia 2.3 for consumers in India with a replacement
guarantee for a 1-year period at Rs 8,199.
In case there are software issues, Nokia Mobile Care is
equipped to resolve the issue by flashing your Nokia 2.3 with
the latest software update. If you have a hardware issue with
Delivering a feature-packed camera fuelled by AI, helping your Nokia 2.3 charger or USB cable, then Nokia Mobile Care
you get the best shot, the Nokia 2.3 features a large 6.2 inches will replace the accessories under their 6-month warranty
HD+ screen (15.74 cm) and two-day battery life for long-lasting terms. n
and immersive entertainment.
Plus, being Android 10 ready, the new Nokia 2.3 will receive
guaranteed monthly security updates for three years and OS
updates for two years, ensuring this smartphone gets better over
time.
The Nokia 2.3 features a dual-camera and comes with
‘Recommended Shot’, a brand-new Nokia phones
feature helping you choose the best picture. Whether it’s
the mid-air backflip, the family portrait where everyone
is actually smiling or the winning goal, ‘Recommended
Shot’ automatically captures alternate images before and
after the shutter button is pressed and suggests the best
one.
Alongside even more AI-powered features such as
‘Portrait Mode’ and low-light imaging, fans can capture
creative images in a variety of settings.
Nokia 2.3 comes with a one-year replacement
guarantee. If you’ve purchased the Nokia 2.3 in India on
or before 31st March 2020 and have found a hardware
failure or a manufacturing defect at any time during the
1-year warranty period of your ownership, just carry your
device to the nearest Nokia Mobile Care center along with
the original invoice to receive a replacement, in
accordance with the terms and conditions.

www.mymobileindia.com
International justin
Motorola One Hyper
M otorola One Hyper has finally been launched after a flurry
of last-minute leaks. It is the first Motorola-branded Android
phone to come equipped with a pop-up selfie camera module
that houses a 32MP sensor at $399.99.
The phone is already up for grabs in the US, Latin America
and some European markets in Deep Sea Blue, Dark Amber,
18 | january 2020
and Fresh Orchid colour options.
Motorola One Hyper is also the first phone from the company
to pack a 64MP main camera and a full-screen display devoid
of a notch or hole-punch. It is powered by the ageing octa-core
Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 SoC and is protected by a layer of
p2i nano-coating.
The dual-SIM (Nano) Motorola One Hyper runs vanilla
Android 10 with a few in-houses features such as Moto Actions
and Moto Display thrown into the mix. It features a 6.5-inch
full-HD+ LCD display with 19:9 aspect ratio and a pixel density
of 395ppi.
Motorola One Hyper offers 128GB of inbuilt storage that can
further be expanded via a microSD card (up to 1TB). Connectivity
options on the phone include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11/b/g/n/ac,
Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, A-GPS, LTEPP, SUPL, GLONASS, and
Galileo.
The phone packs a 4,000mAh battery that supports 45W
Hyper Charge technology. However, the retail package will come
equipped with a 15W TurboPower charger, while the 45W
charger will be sold separately in some regions.
Sensors onboard the Motorola One Hyper include an
accelerometer, ambient light sensor, compass, fingerprint
sensor, gyroscope, proximity sensor, and a SAR (Specific
Absorption Rate) sensor. Dimensions of the phone are 161.8 x
76.6 x 8.9mm and it tips the scales at around 200 grams. The
phone has a plastic build with a water repellent design, and has
a USB Type-C port and 3.5mm headphone jack. n
MYMOBILE
 justin

Redmi K30

International
C hinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has launched the much-
awaited successor to Redmi K20 -- Redmi K30 -- at a press
event in China.
4G variant is powered by the Snapdragon 730G processor.
Internal storage is said to be offered in 64GB, 128GB and 256B
options.Both the phones support a hybrid microSD card slot (up
Xiaomi will be offering the Redmi K30 in 4G and 5G variants. to 256GB) for further storage expansion.
It features a hole-punch display that houses dual selfie cameras, As for the cameras, the Redmi K30 sports a quad rear camera
and a quad rear camera setup that is placed vertically and situated setup placed in a vertical manner and situated in the top-centre
in the top centre. of the back panel with an intriguing circular-shaped ring
The rear camera setup houses a 64MP Sony IMX686 sensor, surrounding it. The quad rear camera setup includes a 64MP
and the phone integrates a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. Sony IMX686 sensor as the main rear camera with f/1.89
Other key features include 4,500mAh battery, 20MP selfie aperture, 1/1.7-inch sensor and 6P lens.
camera and MIUI 11 based on Android 10. The main camera is assisted by a 5MP macro lens, a 2MP
The 4G and 5G variants sport different processors, different depth sensor and an 8MP 120 degree wide-angle sensor as well.
cameras, and other subtle variances as well. Features include Mimoji, Super Night Scene Mode, RAW format
Redmi K30 5G is priced at CNY 1,999 (roughly Rs 20,100) support, and other AI-backed features. On the 4G variant, the
for the 6GB RAM + 64GB storage option, CNY 2,299 (roughly 5MP macro camera is replaced by the 2-megapixel camera.
Rs 23,100) for the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage option, CNY Up front, the Redmi K30 and Redmi K30 5G packs a dual
2,599 (roughly Rs 26,100 ) for the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage selfie camera setup with the cutouts placed on the top right edge
option, and CNY 2,899 (roughly Rs 29,100) for the 8GB RAM of the screen and the cutout is just 4.38mm thin. There’s a 20MP
+ 256GB storage option in China. main front sensor and a 2MP depth sensor for better portraits.
The Redmi K30 5G will be available in Deep Sea Light, Time The phone was joined by the new RedmiBook 13, Redmi AI
Monologue, Flower Shadow, Purple Jade Fantasy colour options. Speaker Play, and Redmi Router AC2100. n
Xiaomi has listed the phone on Mi.com and JD.com, and pre-sale
team@mymobile.co.in
is set to begin today.
The Redmi K30 4G variant, on the other hand, is priced in
China at CNY 1,599 (roughly Rs 16,100) for the 6GB RAM +
64GB storage option, CNY 1,699 (roughly Rs 17,100) for the
6GB RAM + 128GB storage options, CNY 1,899 (roughly Rs
19,100) for the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage option, and goes all
the way up to CNY 2,199 (roughly Rs 22,100) for the 8GB RAM
+ 256GB storage option.
The 4G variant is listed only in Deep Sea Light, Flower Shadow,
Purple Jade Fantasy colour options.
Redmi K30 supports dual-SIM (Nano + Nano) slots, and runs
on MIUI 11 based on Android 10. The phone has a 6.67-inch
full-HD+ (1080x2400 pixels) hole-punch display with 20:9
aspect ratio, 91 percent screen-to-body ratio, Corning Gorilla
Glass 5 protection, and 120Hz refresh rate.
The 5G variant is powered by the 7nm
Snapdragon 765G SoC, whereas the
 lead story

Realme and Xiaomi

Strive for Dominance
The competition between the disruptor and the market king
will drive market sentiments and growth in 2020 out of which
consumers will be the ultimate winner. We present to you a
glimpse of this friendly war between Realme and Xiaomi as how
would it unfold in this New Year.
By Haider Ali Khan

C
ompetition is the need of the
hour. Competition is good for
the buyers. Competition is
equally good as an opportunity
for the competitors to give their best.
Competition will remain so in the year
2020. This phrase suits the best for two
smartphone brands competing with each
other to win the buyers and the dominance.
One being a well-established brand since
last five years and another just twenty
months young and disruptive smartphone
company and I’m quite sure that you must
have guessed it what we are talking about.
Yes, it’s Xiaomi and Realme!
Is Realme
becoming Xiaomi?
Xiaomi and Realme were the brands that
fought for market dominance in 2019
and will continue to do so in 2020. Each
one of them launched smartphones
simultaneously on the same lines, in
the same price bracket and almost
having the same set of specifications.
Their smartphones were so similar that
consumers were left in dilemma that finally
the cashback and credit/debit card options
were chosen as the way of deciding the
purchase. Many experts, industry veterans
and even the people feel that Realme is
walking the same path as once travelled
by Xiaomi which is provide best value for

20 | january 2020 MYMOBILE


money smartphone or any other product
for that matter. I asked Faisal Kawoosa,
founder and Chief Analyst at techARC
whether Realme becoming second
Xiaomi? To which he says, “Yes and no.
Yes, because it’s using the same route,
offering best of specs at the cheapest
price. However, the difference I see is the
quality of Realme products. Barring a few
products, its quality has only improved.
That answers the No part.”
The fight now is not just limited to
smartphone only, but has shifted to other
areas such as IoT and connected devices
or digital financial support. Technology
is not merely tech now, it has become
lifestyle, and both Realme and Xiaomi are
striving hard to gain the upper hand.
Upasana Joshi, Associate Research
Manager, Client Devices, IDC India,
also feels, “Realme forayed into India
market as a direct competition to Xiaomi
with similar strategies in terms of device
specifications, aggressive pricing, online
first strategy and promotional activities
through fan base communities, social
media engagements etc. In a very less
span of time it has become the second
most shipped brand in the online space
after Xiaomi and 4th largest at an overall
www.mymobileindia.com
level, as per IDC’s Q3 2019 report.”
Man vs Man
The success of Xiaomi in India cannot
be complete without mentioning the role
of Manu Kumar Jain, Vice President,
Xiaomi and Managing Director, Xiaomi
India. He has been the ‘Star’ for the
Chinese smartphone brand in India.
Since the beginning, Manu is associated
with Xiaomi and built company’s profile
among Indians, even though a negative
sense has always prevailed against any
Chinese brand of being untrustworthy
and unreliable. With his efforts and
lead story
commitment Manu has made Xiaomi
Limelight
a household name in India now which
can be trusted and is equally reliable
as any other Korean or Japanese brand.
Manu Jain is now a brand himself and
doesn’t really even need a celebrity to
endorse it. He got into the hearts of young
buyers fed up with erstwhile Nokia and
costly Samsung five years ago and rest
is history. Once established, he created
a community called Mi Fans, interacted
with them on regular intervals and the
end result is known to us all. Manu Jain is
equally active on platforms such as Twitter
and YouTube to disseminate information
and leaks about products and
services. This is why; Xiaomi is
now the undisputed smartphone
king in India.
Similarly, Madhav Sheth, CEO
of Realme India, took lessons
from the Mr. Jain and followed
his footsteps, which isn’t wrong at
all, re-enacted all these marketing
aspects with Realme and because
of these efforts now it has emerged
as the fastest growing smartphone
brand in the country. Now he has
built Realme Fans and holds
#AskMadhav conversation on
Twitter to engage with fans. So I
believe it’s the pure replica going
on for what we saw with Manu
january 2020 | 21
Limelight lead story
Jain. Madhav has been quite successful
in getting connect with the audiences.
Realme now has its own identity in India
and is not being asked to carry the weight
of Oppo or BBK. Madhav also knows
the tricks of the trade and plays it well.
Associate with youths and fests when
needed, conducts photo walk sessions
for the fans and even allow pre-access to
smartphones and ideas to its community
to get it going.
“Xiaomi and Realme have been
caught-up in an intense battle for India
market. As an agile startup, Realme has
focused on aggressively and directly
competing with Xiaomi on online
platforms, offering the latest technological
specs at affordable points. Just like its
popular sister, OnePlus that operates
in premium segment, Realme has
been assiduously building brand loyalty
amongst teens and youth, through events
and music festivals,” said Prabhu Ram,
Head-Industry Intelligence Group, CMR.
In summary, going forward in 2020,
these two men will be responsible for
taking their respective brands to new
heights. Their friendly competition would
definitely fuel the aspirations of market
and the industry.
Potential to Lead
I pose another question to the experts,
would Realme has the potential to beat
Xiaomi in its own game? I got mixed
responses from them saying it’s premature
to predict that. Although, Prabhu made
his point clear saying,”Realme definitely
has the potential to beat Xiaomi. In
order to do so, it would need to ensure
that is current breathtaking growth is
sustainable. In particular, Realme should
tailor its future market strategy in ensuring
optimal inventory, and avoid excessive
shipments. Alongside, it would need to
ensure its product quality does not slip as
it grows bigger and bigger.”
I would say that it may happen but
for that Xiaomi had to act really stupid
and Realme otherwise, which isn’t going
to happen. Xiaomi has built a network of
online plus offline, penetrated deep inside
the arteries of this country, provided door
step delivery of products and services and
with equally functional and responsive
after-sales services, it has emerged as the
top selling smartphone company here.
 lead story

Limelight
Mi Store and Mi Home have been the can go for brands and products which are products and services to the consumers,”
backbone for Xiaomi in offline markets cheap and offer best value for money. said Faisal. Xiaomi sells smartphones, IoT
which Realme is now replicating. “Xiaomi We always think is Xiaomi doing too devices, air purifier, powerbank, organic
which essentially started as an online many things at the same time? Logic T-shirt, earbuds and TV to mention.
brand soon realized the importance of says that it is merely doing as per the And to remain the boss of the market,
offline channel and started expanding demand. Why would any company invest it is expected for a company like Xiaomi
footprints to cater demand arousing in inventories and keep them in waiting? to have a diverse product range, different
outside of the online pie with dedicated “At the end of the day what matters is pricings, and availability across platforms.
channel efforts in terms of width of how much revenue a company is clocking. Upasana says, “In a hyper competitive
distribution, maintaining price parity There is no harm in my mind in Xiaomi’s and dynamic market like India, until a
and investing in marketing initiatives to approach. It’s trying to offer solutions to brand has a wider product portfolio across
increase visibility. Realme which still is existing customers for any product that price segments, is available across all
an online heavy brand, however trying
to build offline presence will still take
some time to step up to the levels of
matching the leader in terms of visibility,
brand awareness and reach/width of
distribution,” said Upasana.
For Xiaomi it would be much easy to
retain its top spot in 2020 as Samsung
lags behind in budget, mid and mid-
premium segment and Realme has a long
road to travel. It would not be merely these
two brands to compete for dominance but,
there are vivo, Oppo and OnePlus to make
the fight even more interesting. As Faisal
points out, “Question is not about the
potential, it’s about does the market has
space to absorb another player? Probably
no, unless something really disruptive
happens.
He elaborates, “For Xiaomi it was
relatively easy to build its empire as there
was no strong player to resist. There could
have been Samsung, but they misjudged
Xiaomi’s potential. For Realme there are
enough of players to fight out. Especially
Xiaomi, which is still in its vigour.”

Complications
The market dynamics isn’t that simple
to argue in an article rather it’s much
more complex and with the economic
uncertainty and pressure/ban on Chinese
brands by United States such as Huawei, could be of millennial’s interest. A basic channels (online/offline), maintains price
there ought to be some complications rule of business, it’s always cheap to sell to parity and channel support (to liquidate
for the growth in 2020. When India’s an existing user than to acquire a new one. old stocks) and still continues to build
economy is at 4 per cent, people tend I wish telcos in India would have used this trust amongst its customers by giving
to shy away in making new purchases or approach, selling as many as possible good quality products and ample service

www.mymobileindia.com january 2020 | 23

Limelight lead story
centers, longer sustainability for any brand
will be at risk if all the above mentioned is
not ensured.”
Recently, Xiaomi started a new digital
financial initiative called Mi Credit to
have a holistic ecosystem under its roof
of IoT, connected devices, smartphones
and smart apparel. So the voices of
dissent may question, would Xiaomi get
caught up in its own web? “I don’t think
any such web exists. On a lighter note,
its leadership, especially Manu Jain is as
dynamic as Spiderman; he should be able
to maneuver out of any such web,” said
Faisal. Going with competition, Realme
has also announced Realme Paysa to
support both Realme and non-Realme
users to get digital loans; personal,
business, etc.
38 | december 2019
To get things going under its belt,
Realme, was also being accused by
consumers of launching half-baked
products in haste. Faisal echoes and says,
“As answered, yes initially, it did appear
so, but for the past 5 or 6 products, I never
felt so. Also we have to remember; Realme
is leveraging on R&D and manufacturing
competencies of OPPO. So a lot of things
are automatically inherited. Just like
MVNOs in case of mobile operators,
Realme has emerged as a MVHO (Mobile
Virtual Handset Operator).” Realme
has grown its reach from smartphone to
powerbanks, earbuds. It still has to launch
TV, air purifier and lots of other IoT devices
to complete its own ecosystem.
Future
“Both Xiaomi and Realme would continue
their fierce battle in the year ahead, and we
would witness increased consolidation in
the market,” said Prabhu Ram. This New
Year opens a new era of opportunities for
both Realme and Xiaomi. Both are now
well-versed, understand the market and
its aspirations, threats; global and local,
have dedicated R&D team to meet the
demands, and last but not the least, the
control over offline and online channels
coupled with good after sales servicing is
going to decide the new market leader.
Both of them have good face value as
well in the form of Bollywood actors and
sportsmen for advertisement.
Xiaomi has to fight for its position, and
will be more in defensive mode. I do see
them losing a few points in the market
share and could even lose the No 1 spot
as there are too many players after its
territory. For Realme, its offline has also
picked up well. The channel response has
been positive and that could be a major
gain for the brand. For now, it appears
the brand is on the growth trajectory, but
eventually can it cross 20% market share?
That’s unlikely.
Upasana concludes, “Fact remains
that 80% of smartphone market is
consolidated within top 5 vendors, and
the rankings within them will be subject
to change. It all depends on the kind
of offline play these online brands like
Xiaomi and Realme undertake and on
the other side, the online growth path for
offline heavy brands like Samsung, vivo,
Oppo. Also important will be the kind of
technological advancement the brands
offer keeping in mind aggressive pricing
and first mover advantage.”
Going by the rate, Realme is pegged
to cross over vivo, Oppo and might reach
at number three in market share by the
Q3 of 2020. Collectively, BBK (vivo,
Oppo, OnePlus and Realme) is going
to be the sole dominator in 2020 while
Xiaomi has to battle it out alone. Overall,
as I said in the beginning, competition is
good for buyers, market and companies.
So be prepared to get your hands on new
innovations by Realme and Xiaomi in a
cut-throat competition with wafer-thin
margin. n
haider@mymobile.co.in
MYMOBILE
 ADVT.

INDIA INTERNATIONAL ELECTRONICS

& SMART APPLIANCES EXPO (IEAE - 2019)
Tracking the Trends & enabling Indian Industry Association to
expand their product & business range

C
o-organized by Ikonic Exhibition &
Conferences Pvt. Ltd. from India,
alongside Chaoyu Exposition from
China who is also the organisers of IEAE
Series of Exhibitions in Indonesia, the
event was Powered By the most reputed
media house from India - The Economic
Times.
Scheduled from 12 – 14 December, 2019
at Hall 12 & 12A, Pragati Maidan, New
Delhi, the event was in line with the theme
of Make In India – Vision 2025 and was
inaugurated by Shri S. K. Marwaha from
Ministry of Electronics & IT, Government
of India; Shri. Kamendra Kumar from
Telecommunication Consultants of India;
Mr. HE. Li Baijun, Economic & Commercial
Minister , Embassy of the People’s Republic
of China in India; Mr. Miao Huawei,
Ministry of Commerce, People’s Republic
of China and Mrs. Sunanda Rajendran,
Secretary General, Indo-African Chamber
of Commerce & Industry.
The event was an initiative supported
by leading industry association National
Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), Govt.
of India, All India Electronics Association
(AIEA), CMAI Association of India,
Federation of All India IT Association
from India & China Electronics Chambers
of Commerce (CECC), Guangdong
Electronics Chambers of Commerce
(GECC), Dongguan Electronics Chambers
of Commerce (DECC) and various other
partners from both the countries which
also highlighted China International
Consumer Electronics (India) brand expo
theme from China.
Speaking in the occasion HE. Li Baijun
said, “China & India’s relationship have
yielded fruits under the respective
leadership and the bilateral trade between
the two countries in 2018 was $95.5 billion.
China’s cumulative investment in India is
pegged at $8.23 billion and both nations
are focused on Industrial Corporation
and have made progress in Consumer
Electronics segment which is very
significant to China-India economic &
trade corporation.
The two day conference was focused
on the roadmap, challenges and
opportunities for the electronics industry
under the Make In India – Vision 2025.
Conference on the first day was organized
by CMAI, led by the association president
Prof. N. K. Goyal concentrating on
changing trends of consumer electronics,
smart homes & appliances along with the
National Electronics Summit & Awards and
a media round table on smart equipment
manufacturing.
Day 2 of conference was led by Shri
Sanjay Nagpal, President - All India
Electronics Association (AIEA) focussing
on manufacturing challenges within the
framework of Make in India and exploring
the possibilities of joint venture with
international trade partners & technology
transfer and conference on Indo-China
collaboration by All Delhi Computer
Traders Association (ADCTA), led by
the President, Shri Mahinder Aggarwal
followed with the product launch by
Accha Go on home appliances and mobile
accessories.
More than 200+ exhibiting companies
showcased 500+ innovative products
during the 3 days of the expo wherein
All India Electronics Association (AIEA)
had a dedicated Make In India pavilion
promoting the manufacturing in India. Shri.
Sangam Lal Gupta, Member of Parliament
– Pratapgarh, Shri. Gulshan Gugnani,
Business Cell – BJP, Shri. Yogesh Kumar,
Deputy Mayor, MCD Delhi were among
the government dignitaries who attended
the event with a special delegation of
Indo-African Chamber of Commerce and
Industry led & represented by its Secretary
General, Mrs. Sunanda Rajendran.
IEAE 2019 also witnessed the industry
representation by Mr. Manish Jain from
Xiaomi India, Mr. Shyam Khemnai from
Lava International, Mr. Sunil Jatta from
Haeir India, Mr. Sandeep Sawhney from
Intex Technologies, Mr. Manu Seth from
Speaking Mindz Inc., Sunil Vachani from
Dixon Technologies to name a few.
Consumer Electronics & Appliances
Manufactures Association (CEAMA),
Federation of All India IT Association
(FAIITA), India Cellular & Electronics
Association (ICEA), PHD Chamber of
Commerce & Industry (PHDCCI), Invest
India were the other association and
government bodies who participated and
attended the show. n
 Feature
5G wireless revolution,
HotSpot
what we know so far!
By Pahi Mehra
A
fter years of hype and
speculations, network providers
and carriers around the globe
have spent the last few months turning
on their 5G networks. It has become a
race that is aimed to supposedly change
how life works with the revolutionary
speed. But for now, the deployments
remain limited. Don’t be surprised if
you’re nowhere near the service, give it
some time!
Before 5G we have to look back at the
impact of 4G, and 2018 will be known
as the year of 4G in India. An extensive
4G network expansion undertaken by
the telecom operators in the country led
to the remarkable growth of the mobile
internet subscribers and consumption.
This coupled with a significant rise in
the sale of affordable smartphones and
intense tariff war between the telcos. This
evolution fuelled the mobile broadband
market in the country.
Between the end of 2018 through the
first few months of 2019, several network
providers around the globe conducted
5G trials in order to become the first in
the field. Right now only a few parts of
the world have access to 5G, and India is
absolutely not one of them.
All of this means that 5G is slowly
inching from years of promises and
32 | january 2020
becoming a reality. Looking at the
success of 4G networks in India a lot of
companies invested in the Indian market
including the ones here. But with the
high spectrum prices, India’s 5G timeline
seems to be a little distant.
Before asking when the 5G will arrive
we have to know what exactly is 5G. Why
are people so excited? The following is
a breakdown of why the next generation
of wireless technology is more than just
a boost in speed, and why you should be
excited.
What is 5G?
It is the next Fifth generation of cellular
technology, and it promises to greatly
enhance the speed, coverage, and
responsiveness of the wireless networks.
The conducted tests around the world
showed the 5G speed surging past 1
gigabit per second, which is a lot!
That’s almost 100 times faster than
the typical cellular connection we have
right now and even faster than anything
you can get with a physical fiber-optic
cable going into your house. With this
high speed, you can download high
definition videos and movies in seconds.
How does it work?
Now that you have a rough idea about
what exactly 5G is, let’s talk about how it
works.
5G networks will operate on the super-
high-frequency spectrum, between 30
GHz and 300 GHz, which said to have a
shorter range but the higher capacity to
deliver a massive pipe for online access.
The high-frequency spectrum is also
known as the millimeter wave spectrum.
These millimeter waves can transfer
heaps of data at very high speeds, but
they don’t travel as far as the lower-
frequency waves used in 4G networks.
High-frequency millimeter waves also
have difficulty getting around walls,
buildings, and other obstacles. So it is
still very limited.
Think of it as a giant Hotspot medium!
Is it just about the speed?
Speed is supposed to one of the major
benefits of 5G but there’s another key
benefit called “Low Latency”, you might
have heard this term before. Latency is
the response time between when you
click on a link or start streaming a video
on your phone, which sends the request
up to the network, and when the network
responds, delivering you the website or
playing your video.
The lag time with current networks
is around 20 millisecond and more. It
doesn’t seem like much, but with 5G,
that latency gets reduced to as little as 1
millisecond, or about the time it takes for
a flash on a normal camera.
And now the question is why this is
important? Well to answer the question,
this responsiveness is critical for things
like playing an intense video game in
virtual reality or for a surgeon in New
MYMOBILE

York to control a pair of robotic arms
performing a procedure, though latency
will still be affected by the ultimate range
of the connection. The virtually lag-free
connection means self-driving cars have
a way to communicate with each other in
real-time -- assuming there’s enough 5G
coverage to connect those vehicles.
Can we pick up 5G with our
existing smartphones?
Absolutely not 5G technology requires a
specific set of antennas to tap into specific
bands. And the first generation of 5G
phones will be expensive because their
antennas and modems typically work only
with particular 5G networks by specific
mobile carriers.
That could definitely limit our options,
but the initial times would be like this. We
can expect more 5G phones to come out in
mass in 2020.
Anything you should
worry about?
The high-frequency spectrum is the key
to that massive pickup in capacity and
speed, but there are drawbacks. The range
isn’t great, especially when you have
obstructions such as trees or buildings. As
a result, carriers will have to deploy a lot
smaller cellular radios, creatively named
small cells, around any areas that get a 5G
signal.
What about the health risks?
There have been some speculations
and concerns that the cellular signals
of 5G may cause cancer, unfortunately,
there haven’t been a lot of studies to
conclusively prove or disprove a
health risk.
Some of the researchers have argued
that the 5G network will run at super-high
frequencies, which could be harmful to
our cells.
Still, critics say there isn’t enough
research into this issue and that the
studies that have been conducted weren’t
www.mymobileindia.com
adequate. The World Health Organization
lists cellular signals as a potential
carcinogen. But it also notes pickled
vegetables and coffee as carcinogens too.
Still, it’s something people are worried
about.
Will it cost more?
There is still no certain answer to this as
5G is still a work-in-progress for India, but
what we know for certain till now is that 5G
plans will definitely cost more than 4G.
Maybe because of the high prices of
spectrums that will be used to deploy 5G
or simply because it is a new and premium
technology and initially the accessibility
will only be available to fewer areas.
According to some media reports, 5G
was supposed to roll out in India in 2020
but due to the rising prices of spectrums
and economically failing telcos giants the
deployment of 5G has been pushed to 5
years.
When does 5G get here?
Before jumping to the timeline, here’s
another concern - 5G might still be only a
theoretical possibility for a lot of people.
Global Network providers like Sprint,
AT&T, and T-Mobile have already launched
5G in some parts of United Kingdom and
the US, and with their roll-out, it is seen
that it’s still very unclear how wide the
coverage will be.
In the race of 5G technology, China,
Japan, and South Korea are building out
their 5G networks, with Europe turning on
its own 5G networks now. But it is still not
a huge amount of area.
Feature
HotSpot
And with India still in talks for 5G, it
is quite clear that there is no rush to buy
your 5G phones. Also, while some see 5G
helping to improve coverage for everyone,
rural areas will likely miss out for a while,
since they lack the infrastructure to
support all those cell radios.
Will it replace 4G?
While you will need a 5G phone to access
a 5G network, it doesn’t mean you need
one to reap some of its speed benefits. In
fact, as the next-gen network rolls out, you
may experience faster speeds on 4G as
well (more on that below).
In addition, 5G is not replacing 4G
altogether. Rather, it’s building on top of
existing 4G networks. All major carriers in
the US and around the world are a ways
away from a solid network-wide rollout.
Even if 5G is available in your area, your
phone isn’t obsolete just yet. It will still
work perfectly fine on 4G.
Conclusion
The next-generation of high-speed mobile
data is certainly the talk of the town from
quite some time and for some countries, it
is still in ideas and for others, it is live in a
handful of areas. But as this network rolls
out, many misconceptions and confusion
around the new technology remain.
5G will surely have a huge impact on
many people’s lives all around the world,
so there are understandably still a lot
of questions being asked, but very few
answered. It is predicted that there will
be 1 Billion 5G customers by 2023, not
only will these 5G networks connect users
to a superfast mobile network, but many
other industries will benefit from the faster
connectivity of 5G as well, like self-driving
cars, drones and the internet of things, to
name a few.
But one thing is for sure whenever this
new technology comes on-board, it will not
at all how anyone would’ve imagined it to
be like!
pahi@mymobile.co.in
january 2020 | 27
In Conversation face to face

“We will continue

to do our best to
provide quality
products along with
reliable services”
Philips, a renowned electronics brand, recently became
more vocal in India with its new range of audio products targeting youths across price
segment. It aims to build on the legacy of its trusted name by offering competitive yet
attractive and price conscious products led by TPV Technology. We had a conversation with
Arun Menon, Country Business Head, Philips Branded Television and Audio, TPV
Technology India Private Limited to understand company’s vision and lineup for 2020.

How did you establish your brand in an
extremely competitive market in India? Tell
us how your journey has been so far. TPV
Technology has been a trusted partner for
brand Philips globally. We had the rights
for Philips in key global markets such as
Europe and China from 2010 and also
got the brand license rights for Philips
Television and Audio in the Indian market
in June 2018. TPV is one of the largest
manufacturers of monitors and LCD/LED
TVs globally, with its own brands like AOC
and as an OEM for large global brands.
Under the partnership with Philips, we are
bringing-in the new feature packed global
range of Philips Television products to
India the critically acclaimed Philips
Ambilight technology being one of them.
We have also seen a rising demand for
our audio segment which is attributed to
trends like increased music consumption
due to ease of access to music and
increased penetration of smartphones.
We aim to anticipate and keep up with
the consumer aspirations for smarter
products, Bluetooth and true wireless
enabled devices and offer consumers the
right set of solutions that will enhance
their lifestyle. From wireless Bluetooth
headphones such as TAPN505 to
HTL3320 Dolby Digital soundbars, we
have a huge portfolio to meet the needs
of the end consumers.
With constant efforts and newer
technology, we will continue to do our
best to provide quality products along with
reliable services.
What has been the response on the key
launches that have happened in 2019? With
an aim to create new personalized user
experiences through an array of products
and technologies, Philips Television &
Audio range has received a great response.
From our new soundbars that can be easily
connected with the television and gaming
consoles to the flagship Ambilight TV
which is a breakthrough product with its
intelligent LED’s color cast on the wall,
our offerings are innovative and set new
benchmarks.
In case of the headphones, consumers
have appreciated the features of our new
offerings in 2019. Features such as Active
Noise Cancellation, Google Assistant and
Hi-Res Audio have helped us touch the
right chord with them.
What are some of the key new features that
have been added to the product line up?
2019 has been exciting year for us. Philips
Audio showcased a whole new range of
smart enabled devices which includes the
Philips Performance Wireless Bluetooth
headphones. These are equipped with
features like one touch Active Noise
Cancellation and Google Assistant. One
can control the Active Noise Cancelling
function on Philips TAPN505 wireless
in-ear neckband to match the situation.
With 14 hours play time plus flexible quick
charging, one is always covered for the
whole trip. With Google Assistant, along
with listening to music, one can ask it
to open your calendar, read notifications

28 | january 2020 MYMOBILE

 face to face
from your phone, call or send messages to and headphones. presence across 35000+ stores with more

In Conversation
friends, manage playlists, and much more than 200 distributors. Also, we currently
without taking out the phone. What are your sales strategy for online and have 200+ service centers and plan to
Another stylish offering in the audio offline channels? Both the channels are double this number to be able to reach out
segment are the soundbars HTL3320 and equally important for us. While Headphones to our customers more effectively.
HTL3310 with wireless subwoofer which and BT speakers are significantly skewed
are equipped with tweeters and virtual towards online sales, major contribution Ambilight TV has been a breakthrough
surround sound technology, perfect for the for TV and Home Audio still comes from innovation in the television industry, what is
millennials who want an immersive movie offline channel. new in terms of technology? With an aim of
experience. We will also be adding the making television viewing more immersive,
step up three dimensional Dolby Atmos Philips recently did a lot of activations in TPV technology launched the flagship 65”
Soundbar to the existing portfolio which the regional markets, could you tell us television from the Ambilight 6700 Series.
makes you feel like you are inside the more about it. In 2019, we have actively With the Philips patented Ambilight
action. In the TV segment, we launched the showcased our range of television and technology, the Ultra Slim 4K UHD LED
Philips Ambilight TV. Philips Ambilight is a audio products across states in India. Smart TV, with Ambilight 3-sided and
patented Philips technology that enables Saphi system and Pixel Precise Ultra HD
intelligent LEDs behind the TV to cast on- “TPV will be makes the viewing experience look smooth
screen colours onto the walls, and into and sharp.
the room, in real time. The screen
launching 14-16 Philips global TV The 65-inch 65PUT6703S/94
seems bigger, every moment models in India in the coming year is the largest screen in the range
feels closer, and music gets a with focus on large screens. We will strive to and comes fully equipped with
light show. 3-sided Amblight, which
bring the latest global range of products to makes movies and games
Festive season is one of the India, along with specially designed products feel more immersive.
most important times when specifically targeted to meet the technological Intelligent LEDs around
consumer durable brands needs of the Indian consumers. We are the edges of the TV cast
are actively marketing their onscreen colours onto the
products, how have the sales
also looking at a reasonable growth in our walls, and into the room, in
been for you so far? While audio business next year, led real time. You get perfectly
we saw a slowdown across primarily by wireless home audio tuned ambient lighting which
industries this year, the festive makes TV viewing a more
season see some positive shift in the
Bluetooth speakers and relaxing experience as it is easy on
demand for consumer electronics. The TV headphones” eyes and reduces eye strain. With the
segment did not pick up as expected, but ‘Ambilight music mode’ on, the Ambilight
the audio product category did relatively With reference to this festive season, we output will sync with the music converting
well with festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi announced offers specific to each market your living room into a virtual sound and
and Diwali. starting August which included Onam light show. Further, when you’re not
offers in the Southern market, Ganesh watching TV, there’s even an indirect light
What are your plans/expectations from Chaturthi offers in the Western region and mode to turn your set into a sophisticated
2020? TPV will be launching 14-16 Durga Puja offers in the Eastern part of mood-setting lamp — with any colour you
Philips global TV models in India in the India. Also, around Diwali, we rolled out choose.
coming year with focus on large screens. festive offers across our product portfolio
We will strive to bring the latest global in the Northern region. Considering the What is the market share that you are aiming
range of products to India, along with diverse demographics of India, we feel that to capture? India will be a key focus market
specially designed products specifically regional focus and customized campaigns for us and we want to be amongst the top
targeted to meet the technological needs will help us create a personal connect with players in the industry. We will continue
of the Indian consumers. We are also our consumers. to expand our presence in terms of retail
looking at a reasonable growth in our network and will look at providing the best
audio business next year, led primarily by What are your expansion plans in terms of your customers experience. n
wireless home audio Bluetooth speakers service centers? We have an overall retail team@mymobile.co.in

www.mymobileindia.com december 2019 | 61

january 2020 29
 Feature

Most Anticipated
Glimpse

Smartphones to Look
out for in 2020
Now, 2019 is over and 2020 is here with a bang, and if you are due a phone
upgrade you might want to hold off just a little longer. Some great phones are
coming from the big brands and from the long lost brands in the next 12 months,
and we’d hate for you to get tied into a two-year contract and immediately regret
it. Two of the hot new trends are 5G connectivity and foldable designs, but neither
is something you need to worry about right now, with 5G still exclusively available
to small part of the world, it is not expected to make an entry in India this year. And
foldable phones are still very few and far with the price they come with. Saying that
if you intend to hang on to your new phone for a few years and also want some
element of future-proofing, this list is worth considering.
By Pahi Mehra

Apple iPhone X Fold foldable display and body.

The market is filled with patent images, fan-made

A mid all the rumors and speculations, Apple made

it very clear that it wouldn’t be launching any
foldable phone in 2019, but we all know that the
renders and rumors about the upcoming foldable
iPhone, while all these images indicates exactly how
this device is going to be, but nothing much is officially
iPhone company never let go of any challenge. In
confirmed.
February last year the company once again updated
In terms of specifications, we can expect that Apple
its patent application for a clamshell phone with a
will use its top-notch hardware to make it look good
from inside and outside. So, we can also
expect the pricing to be really high this time
as Samsung’s foldable smartphone comes
around a lakh, so, it is quite clear that Apple
iPhone X Fold will be of similar price.
Meanwhile there are strong chances
that Apple will launch its first foldable
iPhone in 2020, but there is no timeline
out yet.

108 | october 2019 MYMOBILE

 Feature
Xiaomi Mi Flex One Plus 8 and 8T

Glimpse
C hinese smartphone maker, Xiaomi, has won a lot of hearts in
India, with its affordable range of smartphones as well as its
premium smartphone segment. And once again the company is all
O nePlus’s whole smartphone-making
mantra has been manufacturing
high-end phones that could compete
set to steal some thunder with its upcoming “Xiaomi Mi Flex” a
against premium phones but with
foldable smartphone with dual display.
affordable prices. And so far the company
According to the rumors and media reports, the foldable phone
has gained a massive momentum in the
will feature a one-3rd camera outback with a pop-up selfie camera.
market and 2019 has been proven to be
And the revealed powerful specs and novel design suggests a
the best year so far, with the launch of its
premium price tag which is not known yet, just like its official
7 Series.
release date, but we can hope this smartphone to come out in 2020.
The company was yet to be done with
Furthermore, a bunch of speculations suggests that the foldable
all the phones of 2019, but the design
phone will include a 6.2 inches display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
of its upcoming OnePlus smartphone
Chipset – partnered with 6GB/8GB RAM and Adreno 630 GPU.
has taken over the internet like a storm.
It is also expected to make its debut in three different colors
However there is nothing extraordinary
– Silver, Black, and White. It’ll run on Android 9.0 Pie operating
about the device that we could anticipate
system and will have 4200mAh battery to power it.
from the leaks and rumors.
The leaks indicate that the device
will feature a punch-hole camera on
the front, which will make it look a lot
like Samsung. However, as compared to
OnePlus 7, OnePlus 8 will have quite a

Microsoft Anderomeda Foldable Phone

S o far, only Huawei and Samsung are the leaders in the world
of foldable smartphones with their Huawei Mate X and Galaxy
Fold smartphones. And just like any other tech giant, Microsoft is
also not planning to step down. It has been rumored that Microsoft
is currently working on a foldable smartphone which is named
Andromeda, and it’s expected to be available in stores to buy
sometimes in 2020.
According to the leaks and media reports, it’ll be a button-less
smartphone with a clamshell design and may arrive with a stylus like
a Microsoft Surface Laptop. This foldable smartphone will have the
functionality to become a tablet by folding it out like Huawei’s Mate
X and a smartphone when folding into half.
Furthermore, we have heard Microsoft is also looking to modify its
Windows platform for foldable devices and is planning some useful
in-built apps to work on dual-screen and foldable devices.
few differences, like a depth-sensing 3D
Time-of-Flight sensor (something that
only comes with premium smartphones),
and a slightly smaller display with a size
of 6.65-inches, OnePlus might also add
“OnePlus Pay” for contactless payments.
The phone is most likely to hold its
position on shelves sometimes in 2020
(as expected), and as far as OnePlus
8 price is concerned, the company is
likely to roll out three variants to satisfy
premium and mid range.

www.mymobileindia.com january 2020 | 31

Glimpse Feature

Nokia 10
Apple iPhone 12 and
5G phone
A mid speculations of 5G coming in India, tech giants are already
gearing up to launch 5G phones beforehand. And it may sound

T he 2020 iPhones
are one of the most
anticipated phones and
unrealistic but, Nokia is expected to launch a 5G Nokia 10 in 2020.
According to the leaks the phone is said to be loaded with a
combination of dual 48MP (wide-angle and telephoto) camera sensors
also said to be the biggest
on its rear with 4-axis Optical Image Stabilization.
upgrades ever for the iPhone
And on the front, it may feature a 16MP selfie snapper, for selfies
family.
and videos calls and importantly, it’ll be capable enough to record
We all know that Apple’s
1080p videos. Rumors suggested that it’s going to have a 6.5-inches
latest smartphone iPhone
display and other features include a dust-resistant, water-resistant and
XR featured an LCD display
quick charge 4+.
got a lukewarm response.
So in the next iPhone 12,
we may see a total shift to
OLED screens. It will also
be Apple’s first and foremost
iPhone to support 5G
networking.
According to the rumors,

LG G9 ThinQ

T here’s not much revealed about this upcoming LG phone but

according to the rumors the LG G9 ThinQ is likely to be launched at
the Mobile World Congress 2020. But we are not sure by when it will hit
the Indian market.
the Apple iPhone 12 will also
According to LG itself, V-series wouldn’t have 5G connectivity
be the first to kill a notch
whereas G-series will be stuck on 4G. So, it doesn’t promise well for
and flaunt in-display Touch
a phone which was already looking for a little dated with its bumpy
ID functionality. Apart from
notched screen, a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, and a dual-lens
this AI will have a big role to
camera.
play as Apple is working on
The LG G8 ThinQ is expected to lack a 3.5mm headphone jack which
a new series of chips called
has been dropped by Samsung in its newly released Samsung Galaxy
the bionic chips. These chips
Note 10. The price of the phone is also not out yet, but it wouldn’t come
are meant for accelerating
as a surprise for sure.
AI-powered processes.
We all have been waiting for an LG phone that really “wows” us; well
As for the pricing, the
we can surely expect this one to make that mark.
2020 iPhones are expected
not to stay widely in line
with 2019’s iPhone devices
– thanks to its significant
upgrades. The pricing range
might go up – maybe even
higher than we think.

32 | january 2020 MYMOBILE

 Feature

Glimpse
TCL Foldable Phone Google Pixel 5

M ostly known for its affordable televisions, Chinese tech

company TCL is working on a foldable phone prototype that
bends not once but twice.
G oogle launched its Pixel 4 series in
2019, but unfortunately it didn’t
hit the Indian market but we can hope
The upcoming device will have flexble AMOLED display that for the best with the upcoming Pixel 5
can bend because of what TCL calls a DragonHinge. Patented by in 2020.
the company, the hinge enables the screens to fold both inward Technology keeps on upgrading each
and outward. TCL estimates that its first foldable phone will be year and we see futuristic smartphones
available in 2020 and that it could cost less than $1,000 -- making every year making entry and Pixel 5
it significantly cheaper than the Galaxy Fold. is also going to be one of it, because
According to some media reports, the phone—is strictly a Android is owned by Google and they
concept and does not have an official name, price or release date.
But unlike its competitors like the Huawei Mate X and the Samsung
Galaxy Fold, both of which open along a single hinge to offer a
larger screen, the TCL phone has a single screen that splits into
three.
Apart from the unique design the smartphone will also come with
four rear cameras, one front-facing camera and a USB-C charger
port, but there appears to be no headphone jack. The concept
certainly is inventive, but as with other offerings in the foldable
market, we have our reservations.

Sony Xperia 2

T here were many smartphone manufacturers who are now almost

wiped out from the Indian market and Sony is also has a name
in it. Smartphone sales are declining day by day it was one of the
always introduce some exclusive out of
companies that used to rule the smartphone market. So it looks
the box features for their devices.
that with their upcoming smartphone Sony is looking to have a huge
In terms of specs there is cutting
comeback.
edge project Soli that will enable you to
According to the leaks, the Xperia 2 (with unconfirmed name) will
use gestures to dismiss calls or swipe
be the first smartphone to have a 5K display with the resolutions of
photos and a lot more. And another
5,040 x 2,160 pixels. It will have a pixel density of up to 899ppi
big update will be the IR face camera
which is great, and a 5k screen on a smartphone will be out of the
like the iPhone Xs Face ID for secure
world feeling.
unlocking.
Rest other things are still unclear about the device but we know
Lastly, the phone will run on the
that cameras on Sony smartphones are always awesome, so we can
latest Android Q, powered by the
expect awesome rear and front cameras. The images are already
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor
leaked you can look above and the device looks very stunning
and 6 GB of Ram.
however there is no notch type design like most of the smartphones
Apart from these, there is no info in
have these days. In terms of the launch date, it is expected to hit in
the market about Pixel 5 but we might
the last quarter of 2019 but some strong rumors also suggest that
witness a foldable device next year from
the Xperia 2 will be launch on MWC 2020.
the company and a regular variant,
solely because the demand of foldable
phones will surely be high this year.

pahi@mymobile.co.in

www.mymobileindia.com january 2020 | 33

 Feature
AI-led Advancements Seeping
into Different Industries
By Vivek Singh Chauhan
C
utting-edge automation, smart
features and productivity
hacks; the advent of Artificial
Intelligence (AI) is here to disrupt
conventional norms. While users may
remain oblivious to the sheer extent and
scale of automation seeping into our
daily lives, we can all take a whiff of the
changing times.
The writing on the wall is clear!
AI is here to make our everyday lived
experiences smarter and more efficient.
To the same end, some of the leading
and fast-growing companies of today
have made AI an integral part of their
34 | january 2020
offerings. From home entertainment
to education, police operations and
more, AI is helping companies turn a
new leaf over. Without further ado, let’s
take a closer look at how top brands
are transforming different industries
through AI.
AI algorithms offering
smart and immersive home
entertainment
Fighting for the remote control of TV is
now a passé! In fact, the idiot box has
smartened up to listen to one’s voice
commands and do as told. And while
we are only getting a hang of voice-
based commands, TCL, the global
Top-2 TV Corporation, has launched its
full-fledged range of AI-powered TVs in
India.
In addition to voice-based control,
TCL has commissioned an AI algorithm
that enhances the sound and picture
quality in real-time, thus offering
an immersive home entertainment
experience. While watching a live-action
game or a thriller, enjoy a dynamic
experience as the AI Android TVs by TCL
would enhance the brightness, contrast,
sound quality etc. in real-time.
MYMOBILE
 Feature

Perspective
The cutting-edge range of AI Android like Doon School have deployed the Assistance Solutions for enterprises
Pie (9.0) TVs by TCL also offers easy AI-driven teacher training solution across industries and geographies.
interconnectedness with other smart ‘Lessonvu’ by ONVU Learning. The In fact, it has led the evolution of
home devices, letting you control robot teacher training program is based on conversational AI, reimaging what
sweepers etc. seamlessly through voice- Video Analytics and AI and helps in chatbots could do through continuous
based commands. identifying different ways in which innovation and capability building that
a teacher can improve the overall has culminated with the development
Enhancing policing classroom engagement, thereby of IVAs, an AI-driven solution that has
operations with AI enhancing the students’ learning enabled enterprises across industries
JARVIS has been Iron Man’s faithful curve. Leveraging AI, it non-intrusively to achieve massive growth in ROI,
assistant; RoboCop is part human, part empowers teachers to reflect on their enhanced customer satisfaction,
machine; Knight Rider found his best classroom training while also assessing greater operational efficiency and more
accomplice in KITT. However, our police the individual engagement of different transparency.
forces have, for long, been working students. With over 3 billion interactions
without any aid of superior technology. The tech-driven solution further processed and more than 135 live
However, a Gurgaon-based start-up is comes loaded with a 360-degree implementations, Haptik’s prowess
bringing in a wave of change, unravelling camera which ensures that there are in the virtual assistance space was
one leaf after another when it comes to no blind spots and the end-to-end further underlined when it was acquired
optimising policing operations with AI.
Staqu commenced on its crusade
with ABHED (AI-based Human Efface
Detection) to digitise criminal and
missing people records. The app
has been adopted by different state-
level police departments, including
Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and
Uttar Pradesh. The AI software is also
integrated with smart glasses to help
police personnel scan crowds during
election rallies or other events and spot
criminals hiding in the crowd.
With JARVIS, the brand’s latest
offering, Staqu has come up with an
classroom activity is effectively covered. by Reliance Industries through its
AI-powered video analytics tool to
It, moreover, has a voice recorder so subsidiary Reliance Jio Digital Services
monitor CCTV footage and provide alerts
that the lesson videos can be extended Ltd. at a transaction size of Rs 700
in real-time. In UP, JARVIS is covering
to students who couldn’t attend the crores. Haptik has developed IVA
70 strategic locations, spanning a
respective classes. Above all, this tech- solutions for companies such as HDFC,
stretch of 900 KM, managing nearly
driven approach ensures comprehensive OYO, Coca Cola, Dream 11, Dr Lal Path
3,000 security cameras. With all the
development of both students and Labs, Viacom 18 among many others.
advancements combined, Staqu is
teachers and ultimately makes them Recently, Haptik acquired LA-based AI
ramping up the nation’s homeland
eager to learn, rather than getting start-up Convrg to make a strong entry
security with artificial intelligence.
education or training forced onto them! into the US IVA market, the largest in

‘Teching’ education and the world. The importance of AI is going

learning a notch above Talking your way to the to more prominent with each passing

with AI bank via AI time. The final goal of AI is one of

A six-year-old enterprise, Haptik is the most ambitious ever proposed by
Thankfully, AI is also finding its good use
India’s biggest success story when it science. n
in the field of education. For instance,
comes to developing Intelligent Virtual vivek@mymobile.co.in
forward-looking educational institutes

www.mymobileindia.com january 2020 | 35

Trending in focus

Biggest Moments on Twitter in 2019

T
witter, the most sought after social
media platform, has released top
trending #hashtags for the year
2019 in which many important
political, sporting and entertainment trends
dominated. It’s interesting to see what Indians
collectively talked about breaking news,
entertainment and sports to politics, social
causes and so much more. Right from the
Lok Sabha Elections 2019 to Chandrayaan 2
and CWC 2019, this year, Twitter in India was
abuzz with conversation and participation.
One of the most exciting and momentous
events for India this year was ISRO’s
Chandrayaan 2 mission. The event
represented a technological leap and
highlighted India’s contribution to space
exploration, as the world took to Twitter to
respond to every development. Not before
long, Chandrayaan 2 had developed into a
phenomenon of sorts, and NASA as well as
people on Twitter applauded ISRO’s work with
this iconic Tweet.
As 2019 has ended, here are some of the
most interesting and talked about topics that
emerged on Twitter.
Golden Tweet of 2019
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
(@narendramodi) Tweet celebrating
BJP’s re-election victory in
#loksabhaelections2019 was the
most Retweeted and Liked Tweet of
the year, making it the Golden Tweet
in India.
The most Retweeted Tweet in
Sports in India
In sports, Vikat Kohli (@imVkohli) wished
M.S Dhoni (@msdhoni) on his birthday, which
became the most Retweeted Tweet in the world
of sports. This heartfelt Tweet by Kohli on Mahi’s
birthday with a picture of the duo together made
for an epic moment for Indian cricket fans.
The Most Retweeted Tweet in
Entertainment in India
The Tamil entertainment industry continued to
rule hearts as well as the Twitter charts. Vijay’s (@
actorvijay) Tweet sharing the poster of his film #bigil
became the Tweet to receive the most Retweets in
the entertainment sector, as well as became the
Tweet to achieve the most Retweets with comments
overall, indicating South-entertainment fans’

2019
active engagement on the platform to discuss their
favourite movies and stars.

36 | january 2020 MYMOBILE


Top 10 most Tweeted about Hashtags in 2019 in India
Hashtags are what tie ideas together around a topic of conversation. They take conversations across timelines,
increase engagement and discoverability of a topic. In 2019, these were the most Tweeted about Hashtags.
1. #loksabhaelections2019: The world’s largest democracy
voted to determine its political future this year, and Indians
took to Twitter to exchange their thoughts, resulting in
#loksabhaelections2019 at the top of the list of most
Tweeted about Hashtags.
2. #chandrayaan2: ISRO’s ground-breaking mission to land
the world’s first robotic rover on the moon’s south pole
was followed closely, not only by millions of Indians but
people all across the world. A Tweet from NASA (@NASA)
commending ISRO became one of the top ten most
Retweeted Tweets this year by Indians on the service.
3. #cwc19: Cricket fans had a busy summer of cricket in
2019 with the Cricket World Cup. Despite India losing to
New Zealand in the semi-finals, Indian cricket fans owned
Twitter, Tweeting about winning moments, shocking
upsets, classic catches, and who can forget all those
memes, making #cwc19 the third most Tweeted about
hashtag this year.
4. #pulwama: The news of the death of 40 Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF) personnel in an attack on the Jammu-
Srinagar National Highway in Pulwama district, resulted
in Indians taking to Twitter to Tweet their reactions.
5. #article370: In August 2019, the Minister of Home Affairs
revoked Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that gave
special status to Jammu & Kashmir, raising opposition
and support on Twitter.
www.mymobileindia.com
in focus
Trending
6. #bigil: Like every year, the Tamil and Telugu entertainment
industries dominated entertainment conversations
on Twitter. Fans of superstar Vijay (@actorvijay)
used the service to discuss and celebrate every
update about the much-awaited Diwali blocker buster
#bigil.
7. #diwali: Like every year, this year the festival of lights
sparked joy as the five days of celebration lit up people’s
timelines. People came to Twitter to talk about their
celebrations, wish loved ones and Tweet about how and
why Deepavali was special to them.
8. #avengersendgame: Like much of the world, Indians
took to Twitter to discuss fan-theories and what to
expect in the anticipated finale of the franchise, making
#avengersendgame one of the most Tweeted about
hashtags this year.
9. #ayodhyaverdict: The Ayodhya dispute has been a political,
historical, and socio-religious milestone in India. As the
final judgement in the Ayodhya dispute was declared
by the Supreme Court of India, people Tweeted their
reactions.
10. #eidmubarak: Audiences on Twitter celebrate
every festival with equal cheer and joy. The tenth most
Tweeted about hashtag this year was the festival of Eid,
as people Tweeted and wished each other prosperity and
goodwill.
january 2020 | 37
Trending in focus
Top Most Mentioned Accounts
The following Twitter accounts were the most mentioned on Twitter in the year 2019, across
topics like entertainment, politics and sports.

ENTERTAINMENT
The Top 10 Most Mentioned Top 10 Most Mentioned Handles
Handles in Entertainment - Male in Sports - Female
1. Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) 1. Sonakshi Sinha (@sonakshisinha)
2. Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) 2. Anushka Sharma (@AnushkaSharma)
3. Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) 3. Lata Mangeshkar (@mangeshkarlata)
4. Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) 4. Archana Kalpathi (@archanakalpathi)
5. Vijay (@actorvijay) 5. Priyanka Chopra Jonas (@priyankachopra)
6. A. R. Rahman (@arrahman) 6. Alia Bhatt (@aliaa08)
7. Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) 7. Kajal Aggarwal (@MsKajalAggarwal)
8. Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn) 8. Sunny Leone (@SunnyLeone)
9. Mahesh Babu (@urstrulyMahesh) 9. Madhuri Dixit Nene (@MadhuriDixit)
10. Atlee (@Atlee_dir) 10. Rakul Singh (@Rakulpreet)

SPORTS
Top 10 Most Mentioned Handles in Sports - Male
1. Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) 6. Harbhajan Singh (@harbhajan_singh)
2. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (@msdhoni) 7. Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12)
3. Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) 8. Hardik Pandya (@hardikpandya7)
4. Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) 9. Ravindrasinh Jadeja (@imjadeja)
5. Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) 10. JaspritBumrah (@Jaspritbumrah93)

2019

38 | january 2020 MYMOBILE

 in focus
POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
Top 10 Most Mentioned Handles Top 10 Most Mentioned Handles

Trending
in politics - Male in politics – Female
1. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 1. Smriti Irani (@smritiirani)
2. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) 2. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi)
3. Amit Shah (@AmitShah) 3. Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj)
4. Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) 4. Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman)
5. Yogi Adityanath (@myyogiadityanath) 5. Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial)
6. Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) 6. Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19)
7. Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) 7. Alka Lamba (@LambaAlka)
8. Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) 8. Mayawati (@Mayawati)
9. Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) 9. Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti)
10. Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) 10. Atishi (@AtishiAAP)

And finally, Twitter is nothing if not fun - and

what says fun more than expressing oneself through
emojis? Below is the list of Most Tweeted emojis on
Twitter in India this year. n

Top 10 Most Mentioned Handles in Sports - Female

1. P.V. Sindhu (@Pvsindhu1)
2. Hima Das (@HimaDas8)
3. Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania)
4. Saina Nehwal (@NSaina)
5. Mithali Raj (@M_Raj03)
6. Mary Kom (@MangteC)
7. Smriti Mandhana (@mandhana_smriti)
8. Dutee Chand (@DuteeChand)
9. Manasi Joshi (@joshimanasi11)
10. Rani Rampal (@imranirampal)

team@mymobile.co.in

www.mymobileindia.com january 2020 | 39

In Focus Spotlight
Trends to look for at CES 2020
C
onsumer Electronics Show
(CES) 2020, an annual trade
show to be held in Las Vegas
in January, revolving around
the latest innovations in the consumer
electronics space, is almost here and once
we see everything revealed at the show, the
tech world will never be the same. CES
helps define the upcoming year in tech,
and with a new decade on the horizon, CES
2020 could help set the tone for the tech
trends that will define the next ten years.
Being a trade show, CES isn’t open to the
public, with attendees having to submit
credentials in advance to score an invitation
to the Las Vegas Convention Center, where
it’s hosted.
When is CES 2020?
CES 2020 will kick off with a handful of
introductory conferences on January 5,
74 | january 2020
but the fun won’t start until the household
manufacturers take to the stage to showcase
their latest hardware during invite-only
media keynotes on January 6. Then, on
January 7, the exhibition floor will open for
all attendees to get hands-on with the goods
(the best bit) through January 10.
As per reports, this year’s show will
have a greater focus on travel and tourism,
data analytics and improving customer
experiences. Of course, there will still be the
usual slew of TVs, speakers, headphones,
laptops and phones - many of which will be
optimized for the 5G/8K revolution.
What’s in store from tech
giants at CES 2020?
Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus stated
that it will unveil a new mystery device at
its event during CES, which the company
is dubbing ‘OnePlus Concept One.’ Given
the phone-shaped silhouette in a photo
promoting the reveal, we’re expecting a
handset - but all the fuss has us wondering
if OnePlus is going to enter the foldable
phone rodeo.
Of course, as a concept, it may never hit
retail shelves. But given the other rumour
about OnePlus potentially releasing true
wireless headphones to rival the AirPods, we
might see a lot more OnePlus at the show
than ever before.
Another rumour suggests new Sony WH-
1000XM4 over-ear headphones are on the
way, a follow-up to the wildly successful WH-
1000XM3 noise-cancelling cans released
in October 2018. While the rumour doesn’t
link the launch to CES, the timing could
be ripe for a January 2020 launch - which
makes CES the logical stage to unleash
them.
Intel has long used CES to announce its
MYMOBILE
 Spotlight

In Focus
latest chipsets, notably taking the wraps
off the first 10nm Ice Lake CPU at CES
2019. Pundits expect it to follow suit
for CES 2020, using the trade show as
a platform to announce some new, more
advanced 10nm CPUs. We could even see
some fresh low-end and midrange CPUs
were thrown into the mix and the launch
of its Intel Xe GPUs, too.
South Korean company LG has a long
history of announcing everything from
smart washing machines and home-
brewing systems to mirrored doors with
built-in touchscreens at the tech bonanza,
as well as new OLED TVs, envelope-
pushing developments, like rollable and
transparent screens, and mid-range
Android smartphones.
But that’s just speculation. What do we
know? Well, LG announced on December
11 that it will unveil three new LG Gram
laptops — a refreshed LG Gram 14, LG
Gram 15, and LG Gram 17, each of which
will feature the latest 10th-generation Intel
Core (Ice Lake) CPU and a maximum of
24GB of DDR4 32000MHz RAM — and
one 2-in-1 at its press conference on
January 6.
The company has also confirmed that it
will be showcasing a range of 8K TVs at CES
2020, which the Consumer Technology
Association (CTA) says are the first to
have received 8K Ultra HD certification. have become part of our daily lives, and several that claim to use brain waves to
This has resulted in LG branding them the these subscriptions are expected to take improve learning.
first “real 8K TVs’ — a dig at arch-rival centre stage this year among the tech One company to watch is Owlet
Samsung’s current 8K TVs, which lack the companies showcasing their innovations -- maker of the popular Smart Sock to
accreditation. at CES 2020. We’ve seen a rise in interest monitor newborns. It’s an Innovation
With Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Tech in services among all of the major tech Award honoree for its new personalized
Summit only just in the rear-view, it’s players in the past year (hello, Apple TV video sleep training program, Owlet Dream
unlikely we’ll see any new hardware Plus, Disney Plus, Google Stadia and Lab. A few smart bassinets will also be on
at CES 2020. Instead, the American Apple Arcade) and more are likely to follow display, including the Innovation Award
company will probably use the event suit, particularly in the health and wellness honoree mamaRoo sleep bassinet, which
to showcase developments in 5G in and family and kids spaces. moves to mimic motions that are calming
consumer technology from both itself and Services for families and kids are to babies, like a car ride, a tree swing and
its partners, including new milestones in another trending area for CES 2020, rock-a-bye, along with built-in noises that
self-driving cars and home appliances. where we’ll see a lot of gadgets, some parents can control via an app.
of which will be connected to apps and
Services services. In the education space, hundreds Focus on Privacy
Services ranging from TV streaming to of digital education apps and services will Privacy has been a major topic in the smart
clothing boxes to meal kits to toothbrushes be on display on the show floor, including home, but home security companies could

www.mymobileindia.com january 2020 | 41

In Focus Spotlight
be doing more -- and CES would be a
great opportunity for brands to address
it. Moving more of your interactions with
smart home products to local control is
one good option. Local MicroSD card
storage for security cameras (versus cloud
storage) is a good place to start.
With cloud storage, your footage goes
to a remote server to be saved for however
long your cloud subscription allows. With
local storage, your clips get saved on a
microSD card that you can then transfer
to your computer to view -- without having
to enlist a remote server. Some security
cameras -- like the Wyze Cam and the Arlo
Ultra hub -- offer a local storage option,
but it isn’t as common as you’d think.
We also know that Apple is attending
CES 2020. The last time Apple officially
appeared at the CES was back in 1992.
That’s changing in 2020, as an Apple
executive is scheduled to speak at CES
on a roundtable discussion about digital
privacy.
Jane Horvath, Apple’s senior director
of global privacy, will be participating
in the discussion alongside executives
from Facebook, Procter & Gamble, and
the Federal Trade Commission. The
panel will focus on how companies could
42 | january 2020
build privacy at scale, the role regulation
could play in furthering privacy, and
what consumers want when it comes to
privacy.
Streaming Services
Consumer spending on software and
services -- including music, video and
gaming services -- was projected to hit
nearly $76 billion in 2019, 14 percent
growth over the year before, according to
the CTA. TV streaming services spending
alone grew by 25 percent, it found.
CES and the various companies
attending and presenting there are well
aware of this trend. Linda Yaccarino,
NBCUniversal’s chairman of advertising
and partnerships, will be a keynote speaker
at the show, and we expect that she will
discuss its upcoming Peacock streaming
service, set to launch in April 2020. Quibi
executives will present another keynote
likely discussing the short-form mobile
video platform, also expected in April.
Executives from WarnerMedia will also
speak at a CES event, discussing HBO
Max, which is planned to roll out in May.
All of these new platforms will enter
an increasingly crowded field, and go to
bat against Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus,
Netflix, Hulu and a bevvy of others.
Health and Wellness
subscriptions
Services have also infiltrated the health
and wellness space, including fitness
clothing subscription boxes, and smart
gym equipment with workout subscription
classes. At CES 2020, we’ll see hundreds
of digital health companies exhibiting
current and potential future products and
services.
A panel discussion called the Peloton
Factor -- referring to the company behind
the $2,245 exercise bike with a $39
monthly subscription fee to access
exercise classes, and, yes, that disastrous
commercial -- will discuss how the fitness
industry is partnering with music, video
and live streaming device companies
along with wearable tech producers to
take advantage of new fitness trends.
Outside of services, you can also
expect to see a good amount of sex tech
and sleep tech at CES 2020. We’ll also
see innovations in areas like blood sugar
monitoring -- company AerBetic is a CES
2020 Innovation Award honoree for its
noninvasive, wearable diabetes alert
device that pairs with an app. n
team@mymobile.co.in
MYMOBILE
 ADVT.

INDIA INTERNATIONAL ELECTRONICS

& SMART APPLIANCES EXPO (IEAE - 2019)
Tracking the Trends & enabling Indian Industry Association to
expand their product & business range

C
o-organized by Ikonic Exhibition &
Conferences Pvt. Ltd. from India,
alongside Chaoyu Exposition from
China who is also the organisers of IEAE
Series of Exhibitions in Indonesia, the
event was Powered By the most reputed
media house from India - The Economic
Times.
Scheduled from 12 – 14 December, 2019
at Hall 12 & 12A, Pragati Maidan, New
Delhi, the event was in line with the theme
of Make In India – Vision 2025 and was
inaugurated by Shri S. K. Marwaha from
Ministry of Electronics & IT, Government
of India; Shri. Kamendra Kumar from
Telecommunication Consultants of India;
Mr. HE. Li Baijun, Economic & Commercial
Minister , Embassy of the People’s Republic
of China in India; Mr. Miao Huawei,
Ministry of Commerce, People’s Republic
of China and Mrs. Sunanda Rajendran,
Secretary General, Indo-African Chamber
of Commerce & Industry.
The event was an initiative supported
by leading industry association National
Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), Govt.
of India, All India Electronics Association
(AIEA), CMAI Association of India,
Federation of All India IT Association
from India & China Electronics Chambers
of Commerce (CECC), Guangdong
Electronics Chambers of Commerce
(GECC), Dongguan Electronics Chambers
of Commerce (DECC) and various other
partners from both the countries which
also highlighted China International
Consumer Electronics (India) brand expo
theme from China.
Speaking in the occasion HE. Li Baijun
said, “China & India’s relationship have
yielded fruits under the respective
leadership and the bilateral trade between
the two countries in 2018 was $95.5 billion.
China’s cumulative investment in India is
pegged at $8.23 billion and both nations
are focused on Industrial Corporation
and have made progress in Consumer
Electronics segment which is very
significant to China-India economic &
trade corporation.
The two day conference was focused
on the roadmap, challenges and
opportunities for the electronics industry
under the Make In India – Vision 2025.
Conference on the first day was organized
by CMAI, led by the association president
Prof. N. K. Goyal concentrating on
changing trends of consumer electronics,
smart homes & appliances along with the
National Electronics Summit & Awards and
a media round table on smart equipment
manufacturing.
Day 2 of conference was led by Shri
Sanjay Nagpal, President - All India
Electronics Association (AIEA) focussing
on manufacturing challenges within the
framework of Make in India and exploring
the possibilities of joint venture with
international trade partners & technology
transfer and conference on Indo-China
collaboration by All Delhi Computer
Traders Association (ADCTA), led by
the President, Shri Mahinder Aggarwal
followed with the product launch by
Accha Go on home appliances and mobile
accessories.
More than 200+ exhibiting companies
showcased 500+ innovative products
during the 3 days of the expo wherein
All India Electronics Association (AIEA)
had a dedicated Make In India pavilion
promoting the manufacturing in India. Shri.
Sangam Lal Gupta, Member of Parliament
– Pratapgarh, Shri. Gulshan Gugnani,
Business Cell – BJP, Shri. Yogesh Kumar,
Deputy Mayor, MCD Delhi were among
the government dignitaries who attended
the event with a special delegation of
Indo-African Chamber of Commerce and
Industry led & represented by its Secretary
General, Mrs. Sunanda Rajendran.
IEAE 2019 also witnessed the industry
representation by Mr. Manish Jain from
Xiaomi India, Mr. Shyam Khemnai from
Lava International, Mr. Sunil Jatta from
Haeir India, Mr. Sandeep Sawhney from
Intex Technologies, Mr. Manu Seth from
Speaking Mindz Inc., Sunil Vachani from
Dixon Technologies to name a few.
Consumer Electronics & Appliances
Manufactures Association (CEAMA),
Federation of All India IT Association
(FAIITA), India Cellular & Electronics
Association (ICEA), PHD Chamber of
Commerce & Industry (PHDCCI), Invest
India were the other association and
government bodies who participated and
attended the show. n
 Market insight
Do Mobile Ads Influence You in Your
Trendz
Buying Decisions?
Majority of Indians feel so that they were persuaded by advertisements
on their mobile phones, finds a study
M
obile advertising in India
has been making major
inroads in the past couple
of years and 70% of
mobile phone users agree that they were
influenced in their buying decisions after
seeing a video or a text ad, according to
a survey.
The survey by tech firm MoMAGIC-
invested platform mChamp on Mobile
Advertising Trends in India was conducted
for over a period of 2 months (October
10 - December 10, 2019) with around
4,749 respondents (unique numbers)
participating across India.
The survey also showed that 89% of the
respondents stated seeing an ad on mobile
phones in the recent past indicating the
reach of mobile advertising in India.
“Mobile advertising is becoming more
and more mainstream with significant
number of Indian consumers viewing ads
on their mobile phones. We believe new
and exciting ways of user experience will
be the deciding factor for the success of
any mobile advertising campaign, other
than the content and localization. Video
ads, with regionalised approach would gain
more traction, ensuring better engagement
right call to action,” said Arun Gupta, CEO
44 | january 2020
and Founder, MoMAGIC Technologies.
The survey further showed that 24%
of Indians have seen maximum ads, text/
video, on their mobile phones on popular
social media sites followed by mobile
games and e-commerce apps/sites at
14%.
With video consumption on mobile
phones at an all-time high and still
growing at a breathtaking pace, 10% of
the respondents also saw ads on video
aggregator/creators apps and website on
“We believe new and
their mobile phones. exciting ways of user
A new trend among video content is the experience will be the
vertical format. 35% of the respondents
agreed that they prefer to watch video ads
deciding factor for the
in a vertical format. success of any mobile
However, most of the respondents advertising campaign,
surveyed, were not happy with the user
other than the content and
experience of mobile ads currently they
see. 72% of the respondents are looking
localization. Video ads,
for a better user experience for mobile with regionalised approach
ads. would gain more traction,
Indian language Punjabi has seen
maximum traction among major Indian
ensuring better engagement
regional languages with 17% of the right call to action”
respondents stating to see ads in Punjabi – Arun Gupta,
language the most, as per the survey CEO and Founder, MoMAGIC
conducted among mobile phone users. Technologies
Bengali came at second position with
9% followed by Telgu and Marathi at 7%.
Mobile ads in Urdu was at just 2%.
The survey question was intended for
major vernacular language mobile ads
sans English and Hindi. Due to plethora
of other regional languages in India, 51%
of the respondents chose others as their
answer. In the scope of this survey, only 6
languages were chosen. n
team@mymobile.co.in
MYMOBILE

Better Days Ahead for
Hearables Market
The global true wireless hearables market is
expected to grow by 90% to 230 million units
in 2020, finds a study
T
he size of the global market
for true wireless hearables
is expected to reach 230
million units in 2020, growing
90% YoY, according to the findings of
Counterpoint Research’s Hearables Market
Forecast.
Even though Apple’s market share fell
to 45% in Q3 2019, it will likely take
more than 50% of the market share on an
annual basis. Apple is expected to show a
significant turnaround in Q4 fueled by its
new model, AirPods Pro, which has gained
huge popularity since the launch in late
October. In 2020, Apple will maintain a
strong market leadership based on its loyal
customer base, with advanced product and
marketing strategies.
In 2020, the market will be more
dynamic as tech giants such as Amazon,
Google and Microsoft are entering the true
wireless hearables industry, and existing
smartphone makers such as Samsung,
Xiaomi and Huawei will expand their
business aggressively. While the rapid
growth of the Chinese market is prominent,
Market insight
“The true wireless
hearables market will
have a similar growth
momentum as the early
smartphone market a
decade ago. The CAGR of
the smartphone market
from 2009 to 2012 was
80%, and the true wireless
hearables market is
expected to grow at 80%
CAGR from 2019 to 2022 as
well”
– Liz Lee,
Senior Analyst, Counterpoint
Research
Chinese players are expected to pick-up
further in 2020. Not only global brands but
the emerging Chinese local brands in low-
end products will also command attention.
Now new models are ceaselessly
released with various features and
functions, including noise cancellation,
bio-sensing, waterproofing and integrated
AI voice assistants in broader price ranges
from low-cost entry to high-end premium.
In addition, demand for replacements from
consumers who purchased first generation
products two or three years ago, will likely
soar, as well as first time purchasers who
are now entering the market in large
numbers.
Liz Lee, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint
Research, said, “The true wireless hearables
market will have a similar growth momentum
as the early smartphone market a decade
ago. The CAGR of the smartphone market
from 2009 to 2012 was 80%, and the
true wireless hearables market is expected
to grow at 80% CAGR from 2019 to 2022
as well. Based on future product strategies
focused on voice communications from
global tech companies and their efforts to
create high-added value, the true wireless
hearables are just becoming one of the daily
necessities among consumers.” n
team@mymobile.co.in
january 2020 | 45
Tried & Tested burntest
realme
X2 Pro
Super Display, Fast
Processor, with a Super
50W Charger
R
ealme , the
most disruptive
smartphone brand
at the moment,
has got another first under
its belt, i.e, a 50W Super
VOOC Charger, being shipped
within the box of its latest
flagship smartphone X2 Pro. A
smartphone with quad-camera
set-up at the back and fastest
processor available till now
in a smartphone from the
house of Qualcomm known
as Snapdragon 855+ has
a lot more to talk about. In
this review of ours, we will
provide a deep insight into the
new realme X2 Pro and will
see whether the company’s
entry into a new price range
can make users go for
realme rather than the other
competitors falling within the
same flagship range.
Design
If you have seen OnePlus
7 and OnePlus 7T then the
new realme X2 Pro looks very
similar in terms of its body
shape and body composition
which is the presence of
Corning Gorilla Glass 5 at
the back. The phone feels
premium as well and due to
its metal body, it feels slightly
heavy. The body color of the
phone is very pretty and it
surely attracts a lot of eyes.
The color finish of the phone
has a finish of pearl white
and Neptune blue with prism
effect making the phone look
very attractive. The top side of
the phone has just secondary
mic whereas at the bottom lies
Type-C USB port, speakers
having DOLBY Atmos sound
quality, and a 3.5 mm
headphone jack which is a
good addition to its features
because it the presence of
headphone jack is giving
upper edge over OnePlus 7T.
to the left side of the phone
MYMOBILE

lies the volume rockers and
at the right side lies power
button and dual SIM tray with
no extra slot for microSD card.
The front fascia of the phone
is dominated by 6.5 inches
screen and on the screen, you
can get the fingerprint sensor
which is very quick to respond.
At the rear side lies the quad-
camera sensors bulged a bit
out in a frame. The brand logo
of the phone is placed quite
uniquely as well just below
the camera frame which is
distinguishing it from the rest
of its family members.
Display
The new realme X2 Pro is very
head to head with OnePlus 7T
as it also has the same screen
type which is Super AMOLED
capacitive touchscreen and
the screen size of 6.55 inches.
The phone offers widescreen
space thanks to its 20:9
aspect ratio. The screen
size is something which you
will find very good plus the
HD+ viewing experience of
watching movies or playing
games infusion with a very
smooth touch interface
which is backed by 90Hz and
HDR10+ support is giving a
super smooth experience. At
the top of the phone despite
the notch, there are very sleek
bezels and on the bottom and
at the sides lies very sleek
bezels as well which just adds
more space. The phone has a
screen resolution of 1080 x
2400 pixels and has 402 PPI
density. The phone has 1000
nits max brightness which
is making the screen visible
quite easily under bright
sunlight even with brightness
www.mymobileindia.com
level adjusted to the optimum
level. The colour reproduction
is very good as the colour
which you will get on screen is
very vivid, bright and punchy.
The screen of the new realme
X2 Pro is doing justice with its
price tag.
Platform
The new realme X2 Pro ships
with ColorOS 6.1, based on
Android 9. This version has
some new features such as
a dark mode and Google’s
Digital Wellbeing app. Our unit
had the November security
patch preinstalled, which is
good. With the announcement
of ColorOS 7, we might hope
it to get better with more
Indianised-customisation.
realme X2 Pro has entered
the market with full homework
and the processor of the phone
is the proof of that as it has a
top processor which we have
seen in OnePlus 7T and Asus
ROG 2 and both the phones
are priced higher than realme
X2 Pro. The presence of
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+
is something which is adding
more value and reason to
realme X2 Pro to make it one
of the approachable phones.
The processor handles any
task with super fluency and
smoothly no matter which
application you are using. The
phone does not heat up to an
alarming level while playing
heavy games for hours. Since
we mentioned gaming so
let me tell you that you will
have one of the best gaming
experience with this phone as
graphics of even big games
like PUBG, Asphalt runs in
top level with no downfall in
burntest
it. The internal storage of the
verdict
Tried & Tested
phone is 128GB which is non-
Looks 09 /10
Refracting
expandable in nature.
Cameras 09 /10
Refreshing Cameras
Performance 10 /10 The cameras of the new
Revelation
realme X2 Pro are amazing.
Battery 09 /10 The camera capability of the
Reliable
Value For Money 09 /10 phone will make you fall for
Can Be Considered it and to be very genuine the
cameras of realme X2 Pro
OVERALL 92%
are on at the same level as
OnePlus 7T. The new realme
X2 Pro has quad-camera
Cons sensors with the primary being
PROS
Charger, ColorOS of 64 MP which is the wide
Display lens of the phone with an
(For detailed specifications, aperture of f/1.8, and PDAF.
please refer to My Guide)
The secondary sensor is a
their level and adding more telephoto lens of 13 MP with
to the gaming experience the an aperture of f/2.5, PDAF
refreshing rate of the display and 2x optical zoom. The third
is like cherry on top of the sensor is an ultra-wide lens
cake. The power driven by the with 8MP. The fourth sensor
processor to handles the task is a depth sensor of 2MP. The
comes from the 8GB RAM of images captured were brilliant
the phone which just boosts with proper detailing in every
up the ability of the processor aspect like saturation, natural
to take on anything thrown at color preservation, etc. We
january 2020 | 47
Tried & Tested burntest
compared the images taken
by OnePlus 7T and realme
X2 Pro and the images
captured by both were almost
similar except in realme X2
Pro the images had more
lighting whereas OnePlus 7T
maintained good saturation
and original lighting. The
advantage which the new
realme X2 Pro has over
OnePlus 7T is the optical
zoom of the phone which is
20X as compared to 10X of
OnePlus 7T. The stability,
edge detection of the rear
sensors are so good allowing
you to capture images in
superb quality. The wide lens
of the phone also performs
very well taking into account
more areas without losing any
content and context of the
image captured. There were
no noise effects observed in
the daylight shots plus the
full 20X zoom also brings very
less amount of graining effect.
48 | january 2020
The images captured at night
were equivalently amazing
and the nightscape mode of
the phone adds more value to
the images captured at night
as they are very well detailed
and crispy with proper lighting
effects. In low light with the
help of rear LED flash the rear
cameras capture very good
quality of images which you
will love to see. At night also
there were very less amount of
noise effects and the graining
effect was observed when
we used the optical zoom
beyond 2X. The selfie camera,
on the other hand, is 16MP
with an aperture of f/2.0.
The selfie camera is also very
good as it manages to capture
brilliant selfies with proper
refinements and details. At
daytime, the selfies were
amazing with proper color
saturation and sharpness
whereas at night even in
low light the selfie was very
good. There might be some
softening effects in selfies
which you will find deviating
from original quality but still, I
will say it is good.
Battery
realme X2 Pro has a battery
power of 4,000mAh which
when tested lasted a day
quite easily. The discharging
process of the phone is
very slow and thanks to the
advanced processor of the
phone the battery feels very
less strain on it. The new
realme X2 Pro with its Super
VOOC charger capable of
giving a power output of 50W
is making it one of the fastest
chargers in India and to check
this claim we tested it as and
the phone in just half an hour
got fully charged.
Conclusion
Overall, the newly launched
realme X2 Pro did pass every
test impressively and truly
justify its worth. The 50W
Super VOOC Charger is the
most astonishing factor we
have seen. Starting at Rs
29,999, realme X2 Pro offers
Super AMOLED display
which is vibrant and huge, a
much required 90Hz refresh
rate, fast and agile processor,
diverse quad-camera set-up
that takes 20X closer and a
day long battery. Selfie lens
compliments also it. In short,
all boxes are ticked. Back
design is prone to smudges
and finger imprints, so better
use a cover. ColorOS 6.1
requires refinement a bit for a
lag-free experience which we
might see later with ColorOS
7.0. Phone does generate
heat if used for long. To
summarise, if you’re looking
for a flagship smartphone
under 30K then realme X2
Pro can be a good option. n
haider@mymobile.co.in
MYMOBILE

Garmin
Forerunner 245
Music
Durable, Feature-istic, Lasting Battery with Music
G
armin, a
renowned name
in the field of
aviation, marine,
automotive, outdoor, and
fitness markets, has been
quite focused in India with
its range of fitness and luxury
smartwatches. The US-based
company is known for its
quality and durable products
worldwide that’s because of
its in-house design, R&D of
its products. In this review,
we will talk about Garmin
Forerunner 245 Music and get
to know the intrinsic hardware,
design and functionalities
about this smartwatch. As
the name suggests, it targets
music enthusiasts who are
actively into fitness.
Design
Garmin Forerunner 245
Music design is of a traditional
watch with round dial made of
Corning Gorilla Glass 3 which
is tough and durable and
till now no scratch is being
noticed even tough i used it
for my daily commute in metro
as well as travelled outside of
the city to countryside with it.
The round bezel is reinforced
polymer, hard in nature, yet
elegant. The display measures
1.2 inches in size. The display
of Garmin Forerunner 245
Music is a thing to mention.
It doesn’t let you down even
under the sun with 240x240
www.mymobileindia.com
resolution pixels. It’s bright
and easily visible even without
the lights on. You won’t face
any difficulty in reading texts,
notifications or even the
watch face. The Forerunner
245 Music has a Silicone
strap which is very light and
convenient to wear. There’s
not a single moment of stress
that you may feel around your
wrist. The circular dial holds
five heads; Start/Stop, Back
on the right half and Light, UP
and Down on the other side.
Beneath the smartwatch sits
the sensor that tracks motion
and activities at large. As one
would expect a smartwatch,
Forerunner 245 Music is
resistant to water as well.
Without being noticed, it
just weighs around 38 grams
in total. Being a ‘Music’
smartwatch, Forerunner 245
can hold upto 500 songs, and
comes pre-loaded with Spotify
and Deezer as default music
streaming platforms.
Functions
Garmin Forerunner 245 Music
performs most of the tasks
of being a smartwatch. From
the very basic of timings,
to listening of music, calls,
notifications, heart rate
monitoring, stress counter,
to tracking of daily activities
and steps. Not all, it can even
track your sleeping pattern,
if you allows it do and for
that you have to wear it while
sleeping. You can answer/
reject calls, read/discard
notifications, control music,
check distance travelled
and calorie burnt. You can
also transfer your favorite
music from your computer to
Forerunner 245 Music with
the help of an app called
Garmin Express.
Compatibility
Garmin Forerunner 245 Music
is compatible with both iOS
and Android smartphones.
You can download the Garmin
Connect app and pair the
watch with it. It’s free, simple
and convenient to use even
if you’re a beginner in this
domain. With GPS and Wi-Fi
support, it becomes an ideal
tool for fitness enthusiasts.
Battery
The Forerunner 245 Music
has a good battery life, I must
burntest
say. I have used it extensively
in my home network and in
roaming too when the antenna
changes position every few
hours. In a single full charge,
it can goes upto 4 days with
ease. Garmin claims it to be
the highest battery life among
other competitors and it
turned out so as well. It never
lets you with desperation of
charging even if used
prolong. A good smartwatch
must have an equally good
battery life and hence 245
Music justifies it. Being a
Bluetooth, GPS and Wi-Fi
enabled smartwatch the
battery life is awesome.
Conclusion
Garmin presents a bouquet
of features with Forerunner
245 Music. You will get all the
desired features needed in a
smartwatch such as
heart rate monitor, steps
tracker, notifications and
calls, plus its water resistant,
durable build, light weight,
easy to use and comfortable
strap. The music library
makes it even more desired
smartwatch that we have
today. At around Rs 32,000,
Garmin Forerunner 245 Music
competes with Apple iWatch
and FitBit. The touchscreen
could have been an added
advantage to it plus the
barometer. n
haider@mymobile.co.in
january 2020 | 49
Tried & Tested burntest
vivo
V17
Clear in
Design and
Camera but
Not in
Objective
T
he V series of the
vivo has added
a new member
to its list which
is vivo V17. The launch of
vivo V17 prompts the idea
of comparative analysis in
the mind of the users as the
company only a few months
back launched vivo V17 Pro.
We shall be clearing this
dubious situation by reviewing
the new vivo V17 and will find
out what new V17 will
be offering.
Design
Unlike vivo V17 Pro the new
vivo V17 sports a unique look
both from front and backside.
The shiny finish though has
been retained with the same
color variants which are giving
an aesthetic appeal to the
phone. A unique camera
frame is chosen to put the
rear camera lenses but it will
look familiar to you as it looks
very similar to that of which
50 | january 2020
we have seen in
the iPhone 11 Pro. The
body size is very compact as
it fits the palm quite easily.
The curvy edges around the
corner are offering a better
grip of the phone. The body games or working
composition is polycarbonate
Display with documents. The
One of the interesting
which is giving reasonable notch has been placed very
and catchy aspects of the
body weight. The front side is smartly as it does not cause
new Vivo V17 is that it offers
dominated by the screen with any hindrance while playing
almost the feel of full view
the world’s smallest punch games. The colors reproduced
display which we can say
hole camera. The fingerprint are very bright, vivid and
is if we take out the micro
sensor is an inbuilt display punchy. The visibility of the
size of the space taken by
fingerprint sensor that is very phone is very bright and it
the punch-hole display. The
quick in response. The left allows to make the screen
side of the phone has the
screen has almost bezels
visible even you are using
equivalent to none as they are
triple slot SIM tray which can it in bright daylight. The
very sleek and very hard to
carry dual SIM cards and phone has a screen resolution
notice. vivo calls the display
microSD card. At the right of 1080x2400 pixels and
of vivo V17 as iView Display.
side lies the power button and has a screen rating of DCI-P3
The phone has a 20:9 E3
the volume rockers. At the top 100%.
Super AMOLED screen with
side of the phone
lies the secondary mic for
a screen size of 6.38 inches.
Platform
You will love
active noise cancellation vivo V17 has the new
the experience which you
whereas at the bottom lies Funtouch OS 9.2 running
will get by performing any
a 3.5mm headphone jack, on top of Android 9.0 Pie
task on the screen be it
Type-C USB port, and a which is an update from
watching movies, playing
speaer grille. the previous V17 Pro. The
MYMOBILE

new Funtouch OS 9.2 has
significant upgrades over its
predecessor as it has a new
GUI for a high-tech, dynamic
vibe. The latest OS delivers
smooth usage experience
which further enables you
to keep your interest while
using the phone. vivo has
not made any changes in the
processor section of the new
Vivo V17 as it has the same
old processor which we have
seen in the previous Vivo V17
Pro which is Snapdragon
675 with octa-core where
two cores are clocked at 2.0
GHz Kyro 460 Gold and six
cores clocked at 1.7GHz Kyro
460 Silver. The processor
can handle a plethora of
applications without getting
worked up or overheated. All
the applications ran smoothly
when we tested the phone and
games like PUBG, Asphalts,
COD. One good thing about
the Vivo V17 is that it offers
high graphics modes with no
significant fall in the graphic
level. The Adreno 612 GPU of
the phone keeps the graphics
level at the utmost level.
But there might be some
minor level of heat felt while
playing games continuously
for more than half an hour.
vivo V17 has 8GB RAM which
boosts the working capability
of the phone. The ROM of
the phone is 128GB which
could be further expanded
with the help of a microSD
card. Overall, the processor is
good but the company could
have given a better and more
powerful processor to heat the
competition.
Cameras
The new vivo V17 is breaking
www.mymobileindia.com
the stereotype around its
cameras which is that the
images taken from the phone
over beautify the images.
The new vivo V17 is sporting
the camera lenses which are
capable of capturing the real
portrayal of the world around
you. The cameras of vivo V17
are one of the best cameras in
vivo phones which offer super
fine details with proper color
saturation and no unwanted
beautification. The images
captured by the rear cameras
both at day and night were of
super quality with fine details.
Edge detection of the rear
camera is very good as well.
The main primary sensor of
the phone is 48MP with an
aperture of f/1.8 which is
the wide lens of the phone.
The secondary sensor is the
ultra-wide lens of 8MP with
an aperture of f/2.2. The third
sensor is the dedicated macro
camera of 2MP with
an aperture of f/2.4. The
fourth sensor is the depth
sensor of 2MP with an
aperture of f/2.4. The
selfie camera of the vivo
V17 is brilliant as the selfies
captured by it were amazing
and were in real shades of
color with no over softening
or beauty effects. The 32MP
selfie camera stands strong to
the claim which the company
has made about the camera
of the vivo V17. The selfie
lovers will surely love the new
vivo V17.
Battery
vivo V17 has a 4,500mAh
battery which powers the
phone throughout the day and
when we tested the longevity,
it stood out to last a whole
burntest
version of vivo V17 Pro as one
verdict
Tried & Tested
would imagine. The display
Looks 09 /10
Mesmerising
is almost of same dimension
Cameras
and resolution, having
09 /10
Impressive same Snapdragon octa-core
Performance 08 /10 processor, same quad-lens
Sustainable
set-up at the back but varies
Battery 10 /10 in resolution as compared
Enough
to Pro. The selfie camera
Value For Money 08 /10
Decent Buy also remains the same. The
OVERALL 88% improvement came in battery,
from 4,100mAh to now
4,500mAh despite not being a
Pro version. The price of both
Cons the phones start at Rs 29,990
PROS
Design, Competition which we did not understand
Display because what’s the point
(For detailed specifications, launching a new smartphone
please refer to My Guide) then? The noticeable changes
day with a single charge. come in design of rear camera
The power consumption by module which is now housed
the applications was also in a rectangular frame in
moderate as the processor V17 and the dual rising or
keeps it in check, making the pop-up selfie camera now
battery to easily sustain the shifts into a punch hole
power. The charging speed of design and is reduced to
the phone is also very one. With Snapdragon 855+
fast as the phone supports available at this price point in
fast charging thanks to the smartphones such as realme
Type-C port. X2 Pro, vivo needs to rethink
its pricing strategy very soon.
Conclusion Does this phone not kill its
The newly introduced vivo own predecessor? n
V17 is a not-so toned down haider@mymobile.co.in
january 2020 | 51
Tried & Tested burntest
LG G8s ThinQ
Offers much but, gets caught up in Competition
I
n the field of technology
and innovation, one
company whose name
stands very firm and
strong is LG which has been
making life good for people for
long. LG has a very stronghold
in the Indian technological
market but, when it comes
to smartphone it does not
enjoy that leverage. The
company has launched
G8s ThinQ which is taking
forward the lineage of the
LG ThinQ phones in India.
Through this review of ours,
we will try to provide an
insight into whether this
phone has the power to take
on the top competitors under
the flagship in which it is
launched.
Design
At first glance from a distance
the phone might look like
iPhone 8 due to its
widescreen and a
broad notch. The
phone feels very
premium and
52 | january 2020
has an aesthetic appeal to it.
The positioning of the power
button at the right side of the
phone feels very odd because
of its placement to the
extreme top making you reach
for it but when you are used
to it becomes very normal to
use. Also at the right side of
the phone lies the SIM tray
capable of carrying two SIM
cards and a microSD card.
Towards the left side lies the
volume rockers and Google
assistant button. The rear
side of the phone has a mirror
finish which surely looks
beautiful but at the same
time, it is prone to smudges.
The rear camera placement
does not follow any status
quo meaning the sensors are
placed in a horizontal manner
with a slight
bulged
frame followed by rear
LED flash. Unlike all other
companies, the fingerprint
sensor is not on display rather
there is a proper physical
fingerprint sensor at the rear
side of the phone. At the
bottom of the phone lies a
3.5mm headphone jack,
Type-C USB port, and a
speaker grille. There is also
face unlock on this and that
works pretty well as well to
strengthen the security of the
device.
Display
The screen of LG G8s ThinQ
is a G-OLED capacitive
touchscreen of 6.2 inches.
The display is bright and
crisp. The phone comes
with an HDR10 display and
also comes with DCI-P3
color space. The
refresh rate
of the screen is very good
as well. The notch on top of
the phone could be made
to hide by customizing the
display in the display setting.
The space offered by the
screen is quite good and you
will enjoy performing any
task on screen. The phone
has a screen resolution of
1080x2248pixels with 401
PPI density. The screen
is protected from external
damage by Corning Gorilla
Glass 5.
Platform
Moving to the software
that LG G8s ThinQ runs is
LG customs Skin on top
of Android 9.0 Pie. This
might be the one thing on
this phone that I’m not a
big fan of that UI doesn’t
feel very mature. There
are basic functions that
take more time turning like
turning on and off toggles.
The kind of customization
that it provides is insane
from personalization
using the most
MYMOBILE
 burntest
versatile always on display
verdict

Tried & Tested

options that I’ve seen. The
Looks 08 /10
device comes with the Android Clean
PIL navigation method and Cameras 09 /10
it works pretty well. The Good

processor on the phone is Performance 09 /10

Smooth
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
Battery 08 /10
with 6GB of RAM and 128GB Manages
storage which is the most Value For Money 07 /10
powerful processor under the Spoilt by Choices

flagship in which the phone OVERALL 82%

falls. The 855 processor is
very powerful and it clearly
shows in the way that this
phone functions. Compared
to OnePlus 7T this does very
well in benchmarks score even
and scores 395K on Antutu
which is a crazy number. The
OnePlus 7T scores slightly
lower and the ASUS ROG2
phone again with the 855
Plus which supposedly was
the highest scores, scores
only 393K which means that
this is higher benchmark
scores. I actually love this
phone and if we talk about in
gaming performance then I
played Asphalt a lot on this,
I even played PUBG and
the experience was second
to none I had a wonderful
experience the display is
very nice and the speaker
performance is good and if you
would listen to audio through
it is beautiful and you can turn
on DDS 3D surround sound
and that does make the game
feel a lot more lively than it
would with any other phone.
On daily use it is pretty nice
there were a few times when I
found instabilities but that was
mostly because of the UI.
Cameras
Now coming to the cameras
the G8s ThinQ comes with a
triple camera setup with 12
PROS Cons
Processor, Dated Design
Gesture
(For detailed specifications,
please refer to My Guide)
MP standard lens which is
the wide lens of the phone
with an aperture of f/1.8.
The secondary sensor is a
12MP telephoto lens with an
aperture of f/2.6. The third
sensor is a 13MP ultra-wide
lens with an aperture of f/2.4.
The camera set up of the G8s
ThinQ almost reminds me of
the iPhone 7 pro set up. The
pictures that this phone takes
are fabulous. I especially like
the color signs used by the
rear camera and the details
and sharpness are also quite
on point. The parity between
3 lenses is pretty good too and
there are barely any Android
phones that provide it. You
have the option to choose
between any of the cameras
even for video. The manual
control of the camera for video
recording and clicking photos
is quite good as well. The
images captured at night were
slightly lower in the quality
when compared to daylight
images. The new LG G8s
ThinQ has a dual selfie camera
setup of 8MP and AF TOF 3D
camera. The selfies were quite
good, both at day and night
but if compared to OnePlus
7T, I would say OnePlus 7T
has the upper hand. Overall,
the camera is quite especially
the manual control which the
phone provides.
Battery
The phone has the Quick
Charge 3.0 to charge the
3,500mAh battery of the
phone. The battery power
of the phone makes it last
a day. We tested the lasting
capability of the phone and it
managed to last a whole day
with some 20 per cent charge
left in it.
Conclusion
The LG G8s ThinQ is yet
another smartphone having
Snapdragon 855 platform so
it’s natural for it to perform
brilliantly which it does, tri rear
camera matches expectations
of being a good shooter and
display is bright enough to say
the least. Selling around at Rs
35,990 for the 6GB version,
G8s ThinQ completes the set
of requirements you might
have but there are much better
options available at same price
point like OnePlus 7T and
ASUS ROG Phone 2. Battery
is a bit of downer as it doesn’t
support long sessions of PUBG
and video playback but, can
last a day if used moderately.
Air Motion is a unique
advantage/addition to it which
Google Pixel 4 skipped for
India. n
haider@mymobile.co.in

www.mymobileindia.com january 2020 | 53

Tried & Tested burntest

Infinix S5 Lite
E
ven as we were
Design
trying and testing
The Infinix S5 Lite appears
the Infinix S5
Good for Multimedia Junkie to arrive at a
similar to its elder sibling
and it’s hard to make a
conclusion that it was the
distinction between the two
most affordable smartphone
when looking from the front.
to offer a punch-hole display
Just like the S5, the S5 Lite
and 32MP selfie camera
is slightly taller than usual,
under Rs 10K, the Transsion
and you need to shuffle it in
Holdings online-focussed
your hand. A 6.6-inch display
brand dropped yet another
dominates the face of the
bombshell by launching the
device and it offers a 90.5 per
stripped-down variant of the
cent screen-to-body ratio. The
smartphone. Called the Infinix
company has traded
S5 Lite, the smartphone
the spiralling lines seen
costs Rs 7,999 which is Rs
on the S5 for a glittery
1,000 cheaper than its elder
metallic finish on the S5 Lite,
sibling. Available in shades
and taken off one lens from
of Midnight Black, Quetzal
the rear. The plastic-clad
Cyan and Violet, the S5 Lite
S5 Lite is as glossy as its
too comes with a punch-hole
predecessor.
display, which has been a
On the right, you’ll find the
feature on some flagship
power and volume buttons,
devices, and hasn’t even
with the former sporting a
trickled down to a lot of mid-
textured pattern to make it
range smartphones yet. Let’s
easily distinguishable.
put the all-new S5 Lite to the
These buttons are reachable
test to find out how worthy
when using this phone
it is in today’s cut-throat
one-handed. The left
competition.
side of the device is home

54 | january 2020 MYMOBILE


to the SIM tray, which can
house two nano SIMs and
a microSD card at the
same time. At the bottom,
there is a micro-USB port
accompanied by a 3.5mm
audio jack and speaker on
either side.
As for the rear panel,
the S5 Lite flaunts a triple
camera setup which is one big
difference compared to the
quad-sensor array on the S5.
There is also a quad-LED flash
which seems to be too much.
The fingerprint sensor is
positioned towards the centre
and near the camera module.
Although the fingerprint sensor
is a bit high to reach, it is fast
as well as accurate. Overall,
the smartphone looks decent
from design perspective.
Display
The all-new S5 Lite has got
a good display. It comes
equipped with a 6.6-inch
HD+ Infinity-O display with a
screen resolution of 1600 x
720 pixels, 20:9 aspect ratio
and 90.5 per cent screen-to-
body ratio. The display looks
good and viewing angles are
decent as well. The notch does
not hamper the overall viewing
experience of the screen. It’s
pretty good for watching some
video content or
playing some games.
www.mymobileindia.com
The sad part is that handset
lacks an ambient light sensor,
just like the Inifinix S5. You’ll
have to adjust brightness
manually all the time. The
camera hole is on the top left
corner.
Platform
The smartphone is powered
by a MediaTek Helio P22
chipset along with IMG
GE8320 650MHz GPU. It
offers 4GB of RAM and 64GB
of internal storage, which
is further expandable up to
128GB via microSD card
slot. Performance-wise, it’s
satisfactory. The device can
handle most of the daily tasks
like browsing, watching video
content and more with ease.
However, if you are into heavy
multitasking or playing high-
end games, it’s definitely not
good. You’ll experience long
load times when you use heavy
apps. It supports Bluetooth 5,
Wi-Fi, 4G with VoLTE, GPS,
FM radio and USB-OTG. While
the ambient light sensor is
missing on this device, it does
have other basic sensors. The
fingerprint scanner as well as
face unlock are quick.
Cameras
Cameras happen to another
verdict
Looks 09 /10
Premium
Cameras 08 /10
Excellent in Daylight
Performance 08 /10
Good
Battery 09 /10
Powerful
Value For Money 07 /10
Not Bad
OVERALL 82%
PROS Cons
Design and Processor
Display
(For detailed specifications,
please refer to My Guide)
talked about feature of
this smartphone, like its
predecessor. It consists of
a triple camera setup at
the back – a 16-megapixel
primary camera with an f/1.8
aperture, a 2-megapixel depth
sensor, and a low-light sensor
of unknown resolution. For
selfies, it has a 16-megapixel
shooter with an f/2.0 aperture.
The camera app appears
very basic in terms of the
shooting modes and it
includes HDR, AI Cam,
Beauty mode, Portrait, and
wide selfies. There is no night
mode, which is quite startling
considering the fact that
it has a dedicated low-
light sensor onboard.
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The company has also
Tried & Tested
downgraded the selfie camera
from 32MP to 16MP on the
Lite variant.
Performance-wise, the
daylight photography is
outstanding as it took some
good shots. The photos came
out to be accurate and the
colour reproduction was close
to the source. Even the selfie
performance is good, as the
phone captures skin tone that
looks natural and it’s able to
handle overexposure in the
backdrop. The performance,
however, is not that good, or
say average, in the low light
conditions.
Battery
The Infinix S5 Lite is fuelled
by a 4,000mAh battery and
the company ships a standard
5V 2A charger. The phone
can last up to 1.5 days of
normal usage. Even if you use
the smartphone at length,
it’ll have one day of battery
backup, which is not bad. It
takes around 2 hours to get
fully charged.
Conclusion
Although it happens to be
the most affordable
smartphone at the moment
to offer a punch-hole display
with an interesting premium
design, the S5 Lite faces
a tough competition in
the market, particularly
in terms of processor and
better cameras. It’s good for
a multimedia junkie, but
definitely not for gamers.
Having a massive battery
goes in its favour. Anyway, it’s
something quite enticing at
the given price point. n
ramesh@mymobile.co.in
january 2020 | 55
Tried & Tested burntest
Nubia Red Magic 3S
It’s all about Gaming
I
t not very long but
finally, gaming
smartphones have
started creating a
niche for themselves in the
Indian market as well. Not
56 | january 2020
too long ago, a powerful
processor was considered
to be the only important
factor for gaming. Things
have changed drastically
now, and we have dedicated
gaming smartphones, each
one bringing something
different to the table.
Gaming smartphones
typically offer high
performance, fast
displays, big batteries
and some kind of
advanced cooling
system. Nubia’s Red
Magic 3 offered most of those
and its successor Red Magic
3S is the latest gaming device
from Nubia. The specs of
this device are impressive. It
uses the Snapdragon 855+,
has a 90Hz, 6.65-inch Full
HD display with Corning
Gorilla Glass, and packs at
least 8GB of RAM (12GB
on some models). Plus there
is a 5,000mAh battery, 8K
video recording, a built-in fan,
hardware gaming buttons,
and a dedicated gaming
launcher. As of December
23, 2019, Nubia Red Magic
3S’ (8GB+128GB) variant is
priced at Rs 35,999 for the
Indian consumers. I spent a
week testing the Red Magic
3S (8GB+128GB) and now
it’s time to find out can Red
Magic 3S bring something
extra to the table?
Design
The Red Magic 3S is just
about identical to the Red
Magic 3. The phone is
the same shape and size,
something and it constantly
feels like it might tip over in
my hand and it’s even prone
to sliding out of my pocket.
The biggest change in terms
of design is really in the
colour schemes, with Mecha
Silver replacing the red
variant of the (8GB+128GB)
model and Cyber Shade
replacing the camo look
for the (12GB+256GB)
model. Everything else is
the same. You will find the
volume rocker and power
button on the right edge of
the phone, along with the
two touch-sensitive triggers
that are great for gaming
(more on that later) and
the vent for the cooling fan.
On the left side, the game
mode toggle is still there, as
is the six-pin connector for
the Magic Adapter. You’ll
also find the dual SIM card
slot here. Along the bottom
edge, you’ll find the USB
Type-C port capable of 18W
charging, a microphone, and
a speaker grill. I assume this
is so notifications are easier
to hear when the phone is in
your pocket when you might
have the front-facing speaker
muffled by your legs. At the
top, there’s just a headphone
jack, which some users might
still appreciate. On the back,
there’s still a single 48MP
camera, which we’ll get to
later, and an air intake vent
underneath, which has been
redesigned for some reason.
Below that is the RGB light
strip because that’s what
every gamer need. What’s still
missing is an NFC touchpoint,
which I like to have for mobile
payments. The whole design
of the back is pretty unique,
and I like the all-metal build.
On the front, there’s the 6.65-
inch display flanked by stereo
speakers and a 16MP front-
facing camera.
Display
The display of Nubia Red
MYMOBILE

Magic 3S is
larger than that
of the ROG Phone II,
having a 6.65-inch Full HD
screen (6.59 inches, in case
of the ROG Phone II) with a
resolution of 2340 by 1080
pixels, a density of 387.
5ppi and a 19.5:9 aspect
ratio and a 90Hz refresh
rate. There is an adaptive
brightness feature and we
found the brightness to be
optimum indoors and outdoors
both under full sunlight,
though it has to
be jacked to the maximum
in bright sunlight. The
AMOLED display is vivid and
has three colour modes to
choose from -- Colourful mode
(wide colour gamut) makes
colours pop, while the Regular
mode switches the panel to
the DCI-P3 gamut, and the
Natural mode uses sRGB. A
2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass
covers the display and as
such, the screen is susceptible
to damage if it falls. Our
review unit had a thin
protective film preinstalled on
the display.
www.mymobileindia.com
burntest
Tried & Tested
Camera
The camera on
the Red Magic 3 didn’t
seem that great to me when I
reviewed it, so going into the
3S, which has the same 48MP I ended
Sony IMX586 sensor, I didn’t up pleasantly
expect that much. However, surprised. The camera
delivers fairly punchy colours
verdict and reasonably sharp shots,
and I managed to get some the tree is
Looks 08 /10
Good nice pictures out of it. One contrasting
Cameras 09 /10 thing that’s new here is the against the bright sky. The
Okay
night mode, which is similar first few shots below are one-
Performance 08 /10
Satisfactory to what we saw on the Nubia offs, but mostly you’ll see
Battery 09 /10 Z20. I’d say it works just as comparisons between having
Massive
Value For Money well if not better than it did night mode on or off, with
08 /10
Good option on that phone. It continues to regular shots coming first.
OVERALL 84% do a great job of bringing out Having a single lens does
the colours and details in the reduce the versatility of the
shadows, while also toning camera, so you can’t get any
down harsh highlights so the crazy zoomed-in pictures or
PROS Cons whole picture looks more wide-angle shots since the
Performance, Larger than balanced and natural. Even in lenses required for that aren’t
90Hz most devices,
the daytime, certain shots can here. The phone still comes
display, No NFC,
be improved by night mode, with the array of options you’d
(For detailed specifications, such as the picture you’ll get before, like 8K video
please refer to My Guide)
see towards the end where recording at 15 frames per
january 2020 | 57
Tried & Tested burntest
second, shooting at either
48MP or 12MP and choosing
aspect ratios, and so on. It
also includes a ton of extra
modes like multi-exposure,
LightDraw, and slow-motion
video. That last one is
interesting because, instead of
supporting the more standard
960fps recording, Nubia
decided to have both 480fps
and a 1920fps option that’s
labelled as beta. That last one
extends a two-second clip into
one minute and four seconds,
58 | january 2020
which is cool. I don’t know
why there’s no 960fps option
in between, though.
Sound
The stereo speakers on
the Red Magic 3S are also
really great and they have a
surprising range of volume. If
you set it to the lowest level,
it’s barely audible even in
relatively quiet rooms.
Platform/ Battery
The Nubia Red Magic 3S is
an update to the Red Magic
3 and gets the more powerful
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
Plus SoC. The company has
switched to UFS 3.0 storage
with the Red Magic 3S, while
the model it replaces had UFS
2.0 storage. This puts it on the
same page as recent OnePlus
devices. To keep the processor
at an optimum temperature,
the company says it has used
an active cooling fan, thermal
gel, copper foil, multilayer
graphite, and a liquid cooling
tube. Connectivity options on
the Red Magic 3S include
dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
5, four satellite positioning
systems, and Dual VoLTE.
The Nubia Red Magic 3S has
a 5,000 mAh battery which
should help it stay off the
charger for long periods. In
terms of software, the Red
Magic 3S runs Android 9 Pie
with a custom UI on top. Our
unit was running the August
security patch. We did not
have any issues navigating
through the UI. There are
very few preinstalled apps,
including only a few Google
apps along with an LED
Strip Editor tool that lets you
customise the RGB strip at
the back. Game Space 2.1
is the gaming mode on the
Red Magic 3S, and it can
be turned on by flicking the
physical GameBoost switch on
the side of the phone. Game
Space has a different launcher
that you can add games and
apps to it. There are quick
toggles for RGB lighting, the
internal fan, and the screen
refresh rate. You can set the
refresh rate to Auto, 60Hz,
or 90Hz. The internal fan
has an ‘Intelligent’ setting
that adjusts fan speed based
on the CPU temperature, or
Rapid Cooling which keeps it
turned up constantly. There
are also 4D Shock effects
which claim to improve haptic
feedback in supported games
such as PUBG Mobile and
Asphalt 9: Legends.
Conclusion
The Red Magic 3S is a phone
I’d love to recommend. The
performance of the phone
is fantastic. Added to that
a 90Hz refresh rate, loud
stereo speakers, a pretty good
camera, long-lasting camera,
and unique gaming-oriented
features, it’s an overall
fantastic package. It continues
to be one of the phones that
tempts me the most to buy it.
The Red Magic 3S is a great
gaming phone and represents
amazing
value for the money.
However, the company
should work a little on the
layout and the design of the
icons in the UI of the phone
and try to make them look
different than what you
usually see on other regular
smartphones, like having
sharper and punchier icons
that have been designed
keeping a gaming theme in
mind, though the default
background looks fine for a
gaming phone. n
vivek@mymobile.co.in
MYMOBILE

Philips BASS+ SHB3075
Decent Device, Priced Accordingly
W
ith more
and more
handset
makers
eliminating traditional wires
from their devices, the demand
for Bluetooth handsets is
set to grow faster. The audio
device segment is booming
in India, and there are several
options for consumers, from
wireless to wire and premium
to pocket-friendly. While some
consumers prefer style others
look for extra bass to ears.
Maybe this is why most
of the consumers nowadays
seem confused about which
device to go for, with so
many offerings from multiple
companies. But if you are
looking for a bass treat for
your ears with multiple
functioning’s on your tips, here
is Philips offering for
you the Philips BASS+
SHB3075 wireless
headphone. But are
they perfect for you, let’s
find out!
Design and Body
The Philips over-the-wear
headphone covers your ears
perfectly; the headphone cups
are soft and very easy to wear
for a long time. But the outer
material of the headphone is
plastic, that doesn’t seem to
be there for a long run.
The headphone cups
connected to the headband
via hinge, which allow the ear-
cups to rotate right and left up
to a 90-degree angle, making
it easier to carry anywhere.
www.mymobileindia.com
The plastic headband
makes the headphone
resistant to sweat and
light on the head. Overall,
the headphone is quite
comfortable. The only concern
with the quality is the size of
the speaker drivers, which is
just 32mm, and after a long
usage it can cause pain.
They also don’t fully cover
the ear so it hurts the upper
ear after a continuous use, also
the quality of the headband
could be made better by
adding pads, to make it more
comfortable.
Sound Quality
The Philips wireless
headphone offers a good
sound quality with nice bass
and well balanced treble.
And a good point is that the
sound does not distort on high
volume.
But the only draw-back
with the headphones is that
it doesn’t support Noise
Cancellation, and while calling
you really have to scream
sometimes, still the person on
the other end of the call gets
noisy sounds.
No noise cancellation
with this price and brand is a
disappointment, as the whole
world around you gets to know
what songs you are listening
to.
Also it is very
uncomfortable to wear for your
gym sessions, as it will keep
on slipping from ears and
the cushions can surely get
damage by sweat easily.
Functions
The Philips headphone is
very easy to use and it offers
all the functions on user’s
tips. There’s separate buttons
to on and off and Bluetooth
connectivity on the right
earmuff.
Press holds the power
button for 2 seconds to switch
it on and 6 seconds to switch
off. Since there is a separate
button for Bluetooth, press
hold of that for 2 seconds will
automatically get ready to pair
with devices.
To play and pause the
music there is a center
button along with two volume
buttons, but the same buttons
are used to change the tracks,
and for that you are supposed
to press twice and for volume
just press once. The controls
are very easy to use and you
don’t have to reach out to your
phone every time you want to
change the track.
All these features also used
to answer calls and activate
your Google Assistant; it’s very
easy and convenient.
Battery
The only thing that it clearly
wins is its battery backup,
the company claims that
the Philips BASS+ wireless
headphones offers 12 hours
of battery backup, and that’s
true.
After a continuous usage of
3 to 4 hours the headphones
were still alive, but it surely
becomes a little painful to
wear after an hour. But the
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Tried & Tested
battery is indeed powerful and
gives you a long run for sure
without interruption.
The headphones also take
almost 3 hours to fully charge,
which can be a problem in the
world of fast chargers.
Conclusion
The Philips BASS+ wireless
headphone can be found
online with the price of Rs
1,899, which is a fair price
for wireless devices. But don’t
expect way too much from the
Philips headphones with this
price.
The sound is clean and
distortion free but the lack
of noise cancelation is
a disappointment.
And the quality of
the headphones
also suffers
with the
uncomfortable fitting. But the
battery gives you a long run
and it weighs much lighter,
which makes it easy to carry.
Overall, the headphone is a
fair buy with fair performance
but there are certainly some
points the company could
have worked upon to make
it much better. But it still is
fair good with this amount of
money. n
pahi@mymobile.co.in
january 2020 | 59
Tried & Tested burntest
A
fter back to back
launches of its
budget-centric
smartphones,
Infinix has come up with
the Band 5 smart fitness
tracker in India. The Infinix
Band 5 sports a colour IPS
display for displaying health
metrics and notifications
from connected apps. The
wearable also comes with an
Infinix
Band 5
A Value for Money
Fitness Tracker
IP67 certified build, which
makes it waterproof, and has
a long battery life. Priced at
Rs 1,799, it comes in colours
of Black, Blue and Red.
Although Infinix is the latest
brand eyeing the wearable
segment, let’s find out
whether the Band 5 offers the
best to take on a number of
competitors already available
in the market.
Design and Build
Akin to many fitness trackers
available in the market,
the Infinix Band 5 follows
a generic design. It looks
decent and is not for the
slim-wristed. There are silver
accents above and below
the band’s screen to give it a
unique look. It offers a 0.96-
inch screen nestled into a
plastic wristband. It sports a
colour IPS display and not
an OLED display, which is
definitely unsatisfactory.
The company seems to have
chosen a more traditional
watch grasp, which makes
it easy to wear and even
reduces the chances of it
coming off. Although its
straps are a bit hard, the
Band 5 is quite comfortable
to be worn all through the day
and night.
Overall, it’s a good
looking device at the first
glance. Infinix has improved
its design and given it a
much better look than its
predecessor, XBand 3. The
Infinix Band 5 comes with
an IP67 waterproof rating,
which means the wearable is
rated for immersion in water
as much as one meter deep
MYMOBILE

for about half an hour. It’s a
bit tedious task to remove the
band for charging as you will
not be able to remove the strap
in seconds. It needs a lot of
strength which is definitely a
negative aspect of this device.
User Interface
The Infinix Band 5 doesn’t
offer a full touchscreen display
and there is a capacitive
Home button right below the
display for navigation. The
actual display is pretty small
compared to the tracker’s
overall length, which is not
bad for its price. However,
the text on the display looks
crisp. Even the colours appear
good. Reading it under direct
sunlight is definitely an issue
with this fitness tracker.
Since there is no physical
button on either side of the
band, you need to tap on the
home button or raise your wrist
to turn the display on. One can
jump to any particular screen
by long-pressing the home
button. You can also long-
press the button to change the
band’s face. Infinix has added
only three faces, which look
decent. You can see a lot of
information, including, time,
weather, continuous heart
rate, battery percentage, day,
date and month on the band’s
default screen. What makes
you feel bad about this device
is that if you’re in a different
menu, there’s no direct button
that returns you to the home
screen. Overall, the response
to the touch on this smart
band is fairly fast.
Functionalities and
Software
First of all, use the Infinix
Life2.0 app to pair the Band
5 with your phone. The app
is available on both Android
and iOS platforms and it will
let you setup smartphone
notifications. Interestingly,
the app lets you add as
many notifications as you
want in the “App Reminder”
section. There are a few
ingenious features that the
company has added to its app.
There are different settings
for Call Reminder, SMS
Reminder, App Reminder and
Sedimentary Reminder. The
latter lets you set no-exercise
reminder time. There are also
built-in vibration alarms, a
“find Bracelet” feature if you
misplace it, and a “Shake to
take picture” option. One can
even set on-screen time.
There are four sports
modes, including Skipping,
Running, Walking and Riding
available on the band. The
screen works even when you
have sweaty hands. These
are some basic modes and
are quite useful. The band’s
sleep analysis is quite useful.
It gives insight into sleeping
patterns, including deep,
awake and light sleep. Similar
to other trackers, this app
too gives you suggestions on
getting enough sleep, which
could be helpful for some.
The band automatically tracks
your sleep. Although you never
really get completely accurate
results with fitness wearables,
the Band 5’s step tracking is
accurate enough to rely on.
Battery life
Its battery life is quite decent
by 2019 standards. The
smart band lasted for over a
week on a single charge on
moderate use. You can save
a lot of battery by turning off
the continuous heart-rate
burntest
monitoring, and “Raise Hand
Tried & Tested
to Activate Display” feature.
The band can be fully charged
in about one-and-a-half hours.
The device charges via a male
USB connector.
Conclusion
It’s a very basic fitness band,
and can track heart-rate,
steps and sleep data. Besides,
it offers a decent battery
life, a waterproof rating and
notifications on your wrist.
The bad part is that it doesn’t
offer BP monitoring, OLED
display, music control and full
touchscreen. Besides, the IPS
panel is not that great, as the
brightness and contrast ratio
takes a hit when viewing the
display from an angle. Anyway,
what can you expect from a
device, especially considering
its price. It’s again a value for
money product from the house
of Infinix. n
ramesh@mymobile.co.in
january 2020 | 61
Tried & Tested burntest
HiFuture
OlymBuds
High on Design, Performance
W
hile popular
audio
brands
are busy
churning out premium
wireless earbuds, the entry-
level segment has also
bombarded with plenty of
options to choose from. It’s
now relatively easy to find
inexpensive true wireless
earbuds that sound pretty
decent. Among the list, one
is HiFuture -- that is founded
by veterans and experts
with cumulative experience
of more than 50 years in
the audio or acoustic field
with companies. The new
HiFuture OlymBuds is another
true Bluetooth 5.0 wireless
earbuds that True Wireless
Stereo (TWS) which means
you can connect individual
earbuds or use single earbuds
according to the need.
This product comes with a
54 | december 2019
charging case, is comfortable
and compact. Priced at Rs
3,999, the earbuds come
in White and Black colour
options.
Inside the box
You will get a charging case,
earbuds, user manual, data
cable, earplug cap, ear
support. The USB cable is
USB to TYPE C cable.
Design
The charging case body is
made of plastic and comes
with a button and an LED
indicator. The earbuds are
compact, they have ear
support attached, lightweight
and pretty comfortable.
Each of the earbuds has soft
buttons that can be used
to control the media. When
you remove the earbuds they
switch on automatically.
There is a built-in microphone
that supports Environmental
noise cancellation (ENC).
The earbuds are comfortable
to hold on your ears but you
may need to fix it a little in
between.
Battery
The battery department of the
device is nice. As our review
suggests that, the earbuds,
on a full charge, it can give up
to 6 hours of usage time and
a fully charged charging case
can power up the earbuds
up to 3 to 4 times. Overall a
good true Bluetooth wireless
earbuds, that is compact and
gives a really good battery life.
Performance
The bass is pretty good, the
vocals are clear and have
good instrument separation.
The best part is that you will
not find any leakage even
when the volume is full. The
HiFuture OlymBuds comes
with full touch control.
The touch sensors on both
the earbuds give users full
control, letting them pause or
play music, control volume,
skip tracks and answer or
reject calls. The built-in
global Realtek chipset with
the latest Bluetooth 5.0
version ensures super-stable
transmission speed, higher
compatibility, advanced
instant pairing and up to 35ft
connecting distance. With
an IP rating of IPX5, these
earphones are waterproof and
sweatproof and can survive
all your indoor and outdoor
activities. One can use Siri
and Google Assistant on the
HiFuture OlymBuds when
connected to compatible
smartphones and devices.
Conclusion
They’re extremely lightweight
and compact even with the
charging case, which makes
it easy to carry around. As
important as the sound
quality, the earpieces must
fit well. HiFuture has made
use of high-quality silicone in
the earbuds to give the user
the most comfortable and
secure fit. Its dynamic N42
Neodymium magnet driver
allows HiFi stereo sound
performance and superior
bass. If you’re looking at the
entry-level segment, then
these earbuds will surely not
disappoint you. n
vivek@mymobile.co.in
MYMOBILE

HiFuture NeckLace
A Perfect Choice for Bassheads
P
ersonal audio
brand HiFuture
recently launched
Qualcomm-
powered neckband style in-ear
wireless earphones, called
HiFuture NeckLace, in India.
The NeckLace comes with
some interesting features such
as Ultra Bass Technology and
CVC 8.0 Wind Noise Cancelling
and has support for Bluetooth
5.0. The device is priced at Rs
2,999 and can be purchased
via ecommerce platforms such
as Amazon and Flipkart. Let’s
find out how worthy it is with
this review.
Design
The HiFuture NeckLace looks
good and has an ergonomic
neckband design, made of
100 per cent Silicone. It easily
fits into the ears giving you a
comfortable feel. With a little
push, it simply glides in the
ear and fits in the ear cavity to
have high precision harmonics
and acoustic experience.
The ends of the ear tips on
this neckband have magnets
that allow earphones to clock
securely. They comfortably stay
www.mymobileindia.com
around your neck when not
in use. The earphones come
with three sets of earbuds
to ensure the snuggest fit. It
has built-in microphone and
dedicated control buttons to
wirelessly answer or reject
calls. These buttons can also
be used to control music
playback. The earphones come
with an IPX5 rating and are
waterproof, sweat proof and
dust proof.
Performance and
Connectivity
The NeckLace comes with
the latest Bluetooth 5.0
chip with Qualcomm audio
technology and SBC and AAC
hi-res transmission decoder
for better sound reproduction,
faster pairing and seamless
connectivity up to 10 meters
for a balanced and unfettered
music experience. It uses
10 mm dynamic Neodymium
magnet for immersive
sound experience. It
features the Environmental
Noise Cancellation technology,
thanks to Qualcomm CVC
8.0 that efficiently filters
out background noise so
communication remains
crystal clear no matter which
environment you are in.
This is a perfect device
to have a truly immersive
experience for calls as well
as music for commuters,
bike-riders, joggers and gym
enthusiasts. These earbuds
provide ultra-high performance
for people who juggle with
work and play on the move.
The device is best suited for
those who wish to own stylish
yet comfortable earphones.
The device uses Digital Signal
Processing (DSP) algorithms
to find the optimum voice-to-
noise ratio for perfect clarity.
burntest
Tried & Tested
The neckband easily gets
connected to smartphones,
laptops and PCs. Overall, this
device produces good bass and
seems to be made for today’s
millenials who enjoy music
with high bass.
Battery
The neckband style earphone
boasts a 140 lithium ion
battery, which ensures 12
hours of music playback time/
talktime on a single charge
that takes around one and
a half hours. The NeckLace
features a micro USB port
for charging the device. The
earphone stands tall in this
department, as even after
using it for 11 hours (including
playback and talktime) on
mid level volume, I didn’t
experience any deterioration in
sound.
Conclusion
The HiFuture NeckLace is a
decent product in its price
category. It’s high on ultra
plus soft bass and gives you
a natural, ergonomic fit for
prolonged use. It’s something
quite special for bassheads. n
ramesh@mymobile.co.in
january 2020 | 63
 consumer insight
Showing Robots “Tough Love”
Trendz
Helps them Succeed
Humans acting in an adversarial manner towards robotic systems can
actually improve their robustness, says a team of USC computer scientists.
A
ccording to a new study
by University of Southern
California (USC) computer
scientists, to help a robot
succeed, you might need to show it some
tough love. In a computer-simulated
manipulation task, the researchers found
that training a robot with a human adversary
significantly improved its grasp of objects.
“This is the first robot learning effort
using adversarial human users,” said study
co-author Stefanos Nikolaidis, an assistant
professor of computer science.
“Picture it like playing a sport: if you’re
playing tennis with someone who always
lets you win, you won’t get better. Same
with robots. If we want them to learn a
manipulation task, such as grasping, so
they can help people, we need to challenge
them.”
The study, “Robot Learning via Human
Adversarial Games,” was presented at the
International Conference on Intelligent
Robots and Systems. USC PhD students
Jiali Duan and Qian Wang are lead authors,
advised by Professor C. C. Jay Kuo, with
additional co-author Lerrel Pinto from
Carnegie Mellon University.
Learning from Practice
Nikolaidis, who joined the USC Viterbi
School of Engineering in 2018, and his team
use reinforcement learning, a technique
in which artificial intelligence programs
“learn” from repeated experimentation.
Instead of being limited to completing
a small range of repetitive tasks, such
as industrial robots, the robotic system
64 | january 2020
“learns” based on previous examples, in environments.
theory increasing the range of tasks it can
perform. Human in the Loop
But creating general-purpose robots One line of research that’s been quite
is notoriously challenging, due in part to successful in overcoming this issue is
the amount of training required. Robotic having a “human in the loop.” In other
systems need to see a huge number of words, the human provides feedback to the
examples to learn how to manipulate an robotic system by demonstrating the ability
object in a human-like manner. to complete the task.
For instance, OpenAI’s impressive But, until now, these algorithms have
robotic system learned to solve a Rubik’s made a strong assumption of a cooperating
cube with a humanoid hand, but required human supervisor assisting the robot.
the equivalent of 10,000 years of simulated “I’ve always worked on human-robot
training to learn to manipulate the cube.
More importantly, the robot’s dexterity
is very specific. Without extensive training,
it can’t pick up an object, manipulate it
with another grip, or grasp and handle a
different object.
“As a human, even if I know the object’s
location, I don’t know exactly how much it
weighs or how it will move or behave when
I pick it up, yet we do this successfully
almost all of the time,” said Nikolaidis.
“That’s because people are very
intuitive about how the world behaves,
but the robot is like a newborn
baby.”
In other words, robotic systems
find it hard to generalize, a skill
which humans take for granted.
This may seem trivial, but it can
have serious consequences. If
assistive robotic devices, such as
grasping robots, are to fulfill their
promise of helping people with
disabilities, robotic systems must be
able to operate reliably in real-world

collaboration, but in reality, people won’t
always be collaborators with robots in the
wild,” said Nikolaidis.
As an example, he points to a study by
Japanese researchers, who set a robot loose
in a public shopping complex and observed
children “acting violently” towards it on
several occasions.
So, thought Nikolaidis, what if we
leveraged our human inclination to make
things harder for the robot instead? Rather
than showing it how to better grasp an
object, what if we tried to pull it away? By
adding challenge, the thinking goes, the
system would learn to be more robust to
real world complexity.
Element of Challenge
The experiment went something like
this: in a computer simulation, the robot
attempts to grasp an object. The human,
at the computer, observes the simulated
robot’s grasp. If the grasp is successful, the
human tries to snatch the object from the
robot’s grasp, using the keyboard to signal
www.mymobileindia.com
Consumer insight
direction.
Adding this element of challenge helps
the robot learn the difference between
a weak grasp (say, holding a bottle at the
top), versus a firm grasp (holding it in the
middle), which makes it much harder for
the human adversary to snatch away.
It was a bit of a crazy idea, admits
Nikolaidis, but it worked.
The researchers found the system
trained with the human adversary rejected
unstable grasps, and quickly learned robust
grasps for these objects. In an experiment,
the model achieved a 52 percent grasping
success rate with a human adversary versus
those with a human collaborator, which had
a 26.5 percent grasping success rate.
“The robot learned not only how to grasp
objects more robustly, but also to succeed
more often in with new objects in a different
orientation, because it has learned a more
stable grasp,” said Nikolaidis.
They also found that the model trained
with a human adversary performed better
than a simulated adversary, which had 28
Trendz
percent grasping success rate. So, robotic
systems learn best from flesh-and-blood
adversaries.
“That’s because humans can understand
stability and robustness better than learned
adversaries,” explained Nikolaidis.
“The robot tries to pick up stuff and, if
the human tries to disrupt, it leads to more
stable grasps. And because it has learned
a more stable grasp, it will succeed more
often, even if the object is in a different
position. In other words, it’s learned to
generalize. That’s a big deal.”
Finding a Balance
Nikolaidis hopes to have the system working
on a real robot arm within a year. This will
present a new challenge — in the real
world, the slightest bit of friction or noise
in a robot’s joints can throw things off. But
Nikolaidis is hopeful about the future of
adversarial learning for robotics.
“I think we’ve just scratched the
surface of potential applications of
learning via adversarial human games,”
said Nikolaidis.
“We are excited to explore human-in-
the-loop adversarial learning in other tasks
as well, such as obstacle avoidance for
robotic arms and mobile robots, such as
self-driving cars.”
This begs the question: how far are we
willing to take adversarial learning? Would
we be willing to kick and beat robots into
submission? The answer, said Nikolaidis,
lies in finding a balance of tough
love and encouragement with our
robotics counterparts.
“I feel that tough love – in the
context of the algorithm that we
propose – is again like a sport:
it falls within specific rules and
constraints,” said Nikolaidis.
“If the human just breaks
the robot’s gripper, the robot will
continuously fail and never learn. In other
words, the robot needs to be challenged
but still be allowed to succeed in order to
learn.” n
team@mymobile.co.in
january 2020 | 65
In Conversation face to face

“WK Life takes special care to

maintain the individuality and
uniqueness of its merchandise”
Hong Kong-based WK Life has created a niche for itself in the area of electronic gadgets
and mobile accessories, kudos to their unique designs that add to your lifestyle. Since its
inception in 2013, the company has gone on to become a global brand having 1,000+
stores, 18 factories and 75 patented designs in over 60 countries with more than 4,000
employees. Competing with some of the top-notch luxury players in the given space, WK
Life takes pride in quality of its innovative product portfolio which it keeps expanding. It
has some bigger plans for India to increase its market share, cashing in on the trend of
smart digital devices. Rohit Sahni, Director, WK Life, speaks more about the brand, its
product portfolio, trends, challenges and growth strategy in India, in a conversation with
Ramesh Kumar Raja. Excerpts:
How’s the brand WK Life positioned itself in and marketing of innovative and stylish with the growing consumer expectations.
a hyper-competitive market like India which electronic products. We are one of the We pay close attention to client perception
is already dominated by many small and few businesses in the country to provide and create unique products. Our current
big players? WK Life is a one-of-its-kind holistic product profile in the electronic trend is the Bluetooth products that are
company that specialises in manufacturing segment. All our products can be availed preferred by the customers. They require
under the same roof through our direct hands-free merchandises to support their
outlets and website. busy lifestyles, and Bluetooth items are
the latest hype.
Since you offer a wide range of products, from
portable speakers and earphones to handset How are your products gaining traction in
accessories and chargers, which among the market? Which are the areas from where
them is a dominant vertical for WK Life? Our maximum demand is coming for the WK Life
dominant vertical keeps evolving to cope up products in India? We create consumer-
specific products to meet the particular
demands of the clients. The products
have gained considerable traction among
female customers. Over 70% of the entire
client base is women. Our products are
trustworthy, unique and stylish. Our
marketing team conducts extensive
research on the demand to increase
product visibility and allure.

How is the India market different from other

countries where you sell your products?

MYMOBILE
 face to face

The Indian market has been a

“We create
tad slower in adapting the consumer-specific products
technological advancements to meet the particular demands
compared to their global
counterparts. WK
of the clients. The products have
Life has undertaken gained considerable traction among
the responsibility to female customers. Over 70% of the entire
introduce new products
and also contribute to
client base is women. Our products are
the development of the trustworthy, unique and stylish. Our
technology industry. We marketing team conducts extensive
do not just launch products
but also facilitate the growth
research on the demand to
of the market. increase product visibility
and allure”
Which platform yields maximum revenue
for WK Life – online or offline? WK Life is
currently focussing on the offline stores with big issue in the Indian electronics industry.
10 direct outlets and over 100 partners. We They flood the market with counterfeit
are located at prominent places in major accessories and tamper with the quality
cities. Every store is exquisitely designed of the segment. The government has
to meet the consumer expectations of the implemented various regulations in the
region and yet maintain the brand image of import segment to combat this issue. The designers who work exclusively to develop
WK Life. We are currently in the process of digitalisation aspect would play a crucial our merchandise. We have 18 factories
expansion to all cities across the country. role in curbing the grey market. that are operated with a stringent system
to ensure product quality and style. We are
What is your approach to the “after-sales What are your outreach and investment plans the only brand in the country to maintain
service” which remains an issue for the for India? WK Life currently operates from the uniqueness of the merchandise.
majority of electronics brands? All our 10 direct outlets and also thorough other
products are designed and produced partners in the country. We are planning What are the trends that you foresee will
with utmost caution and dedication. Our to expand our stores to 200 locations in drive the consumer electronics market in
products have a high shelf life and do not the next two years. We are currently in the coming years? The technology industry
suffer from after-sales complications. They the process of identifying the right places keeps evolving continually. The current
are subjected to a stringent testing protocol and analysing the consumer market. This trend is focussed on smart home products
to avoid any problems in the future. All our would help us to provide the ideal product like Google Home, Alexa, etc. This
products are performing exceptionally well, to satisfy the clients’ demands. technology can monitor the performance
and they do not have any issues currently. of all other electronic devices. WK Life
Please tell us something about R&D and is currently in the process of innovating
There is a parallel grey market in India thriving innovation at WK Life? WK Life takes special creative and inspiring revolution in the
on counterfeit accessories and devices. How care to maintain their individuality and segment of smart home electronics. n
do you deal with them? The grey market is a uniqueness. We have a team of 75 skilled ramesh@mymobile.co.in

www.mymobileindia.com January 2020 | 67

 face to face

“We are positioning Visit as a

In Conversation

Super App for Health in India”

Health is something that one cannot ignore, but what if you have to wait for hours, even days
or months, for a doctor’s appointment for even minor issues, especially in today’s context
when you hardly get time to spend with your family on weekdays. Although many patients
use urgent care OPD for minor complications, it’s something that comes at a price and
bothers one and all, one way or the other. Visit is one such platform that takes this problem
head-on by providing round the clock access to healthcare anytime, anywhere. It’s said to be
your personal healthcare assistant to help you with all your health queries and a tele-health
platform to connect to healthcare specialists. Anurag Prasad, Co-founder & Head of
Product, Visit, shares more about this platform, its functionalities and the vision to make it
large, in an interaction with Ramesh Kumar Raja. Excerpts:

How Visit app is offering its services and
making its presence felt in India? We are
aiming to capture a leadership position
in India’s burgeoning $2.2 billion primary
healthcare market. The company plans to
expand its offering by launching innovative
insurance products and geographical
footprint across India. A concerted
outreach to increase retail subscriber base
is already underway. Visit is also increasing
penetration into the institution market
where it already has a strong presence.
With 460 million internet users in India,
there is a huge potential for growth.
We already have some of leading
corporates as customers like IBM
India, Apollo Munich Health Insurance,
HDFC, Times of India, Wipro, Medi
Assist Healthcare Private Limited, Avery
Dennison, Yes Bank, Tata Metaliks, Kohler
India, JCB India etc.
We have a unique offering in the form
of exclusive OPD Insurance (and wellness
subscription). This is not linked to any
other health insurance plan, it is pure play
OPD insurance policy. We are aggressively
promoting it through multiple channels-
Corporates/Institutions; leveraging the
insure-tech platforms; partnering with
leading digital and mobile platforms; and
in-house calling/medical team.
How user friendly is this mobile application
and what are the features that make it different
from other platforms? Visit brings together
the practitioners and the patients. Both
these groups so far have struggled with a
system that restricts access, makes it hard
to control when and where care occurs,
and on whose terms. Using cutting edge
AI technology, Visit facilitates timely,
accurate and cost effective primary
healthcare - preventive as well as curative.
The app is available for free on Android
and iOS platforms.
The platform offers advisory on diet,
exercise and other healthcare regimens,
and also enables you to monitor your
performance. Visit is hyper-local,
committed to providing local access to
quality primary healthcare to wherever you
are in India. It has an in-house network
expansion and doctor empanelment team
for both tele-consultations and in-person
consultation at clinics and hospitals. And
what’s more, you get financial incentives
to log in those details as FITcoins. These
can be redeemed at major ecommerce
platforms like Bookmyshow, Amazon,
Shoppers Stop, Starbucks and many
more. Visit gives you a live picture of your
health and enables you to monitor your
progress across parameters.
How many downloads this app has
accumulated till date and what are you doing
to popularize it among masses? We have
around half a million users (and counting).
These include both corporate and retail
users. We are following a multipronged

MYMOBILE
 face to face
strategy to popularize our app amongst those platforms. We are positioning Visit as
masses. We feel that the exclusive OPD a Super App for Health in India that utilizes
insurance, offered on our platform, is a AI-driven diagnosis, online tele-health and
game changer. Once the financial barrier is offline hyper-local network of hospitals,
taken care of, more and more people would clinics and labs to help all Indians tackle
be encouraged to seek expert primary their health issues end to end.
medical help, nipping what can be a major
health problem in future, in the bud. Can you please tell us about your business
We are expanding the penetration by partnership, if any? As I have mentioned
empanelling more and more doctors, to earlier, we have tied up with insure-tech
provide our users with speedy, economical platforms like Coverfox, among others. We
and nearby access to the desired medical want to rapidly expand distribution and
expert, pharmacy and path labs. Apart
from this, we are aggressively increasing How do you manage data and ensure
“Using cutting
our user base through corporate tie- its security from any sort of fraud? We have
ups, collaborations with insure-tech
edge AI technology, Visit a robust data security infrastructure
platforms like Coverfox and digital facilitates timely, accurate and cost built on top of AWS. At the
platforms like PhonePe, Reliance effective primary healthcare - preventive application level, we follow
Jio etc. All these have triggered a as well as curative. The app is available for HIPAA compliance, which is
national conversation on access free on Android and iOS platforms… The the international standard for
to quality primary healthcare health data security.
platform offers advisory on diet, exercise and
anytime, anywhere. We are also
getting a lot of positive word-of-
other healthcare regimens, and also enables What’s your comment on the
mouth which is adding to our user you to monitor your performance. Visit is poor internet connectivity that
base. hyper-local, committed to plays spoilsport in many parts
providing local access to quality of India? Do you think 5G will
What is your revenue model to keep primary healthcare to wherever be a game-changer in this regard?
going? Visit is currently offering Corporate The Visit Health platform has been
Wellness Subscriptions and OPD
you are in India” designed for mobile, which is agile and
Insurance Policy. Under the Corporate can leverage multiple sources for internet
Wellness Subscriptions, it offers a fully reach via these digital platforms. access. This to a large extent takes care of
scalable primary health insurance cover To further expand our reach across the the connectivity problem. With time, the
for various corporates. The user company length and breadth of this vast and varied internet access is going to get better and
pays a monthly, per-employee subscription country, we have tied-up with leading better, as not just business and commerce,
charge for providing wellness, health and digital and mobile platforms like PhonePe, but the governance is also dependent on
unlimited online consultation services. Reliance Jio etc. This allows us access to a it. This is one key infrastructure that is and
Whereas, the OPD Insurance Policy was vast and ready customer base to promote will be a high on the government radar,
launched recently for the retails segment, our solutions/subscriptions. and already lots of steps are being taken
in an association with Apollo Munich to ensure national connectivity, even in the
Insurance, which covers unlimited online Since Visit has an early-mover advantage to remotest parts of the country.
and offline doctor consultations and be a leader in this segment, what is your I feel that 5G would be a big boon for
diagnostics, all insured throughout the year growth/expansion plan to deal with the whole app ecosystem, Visit Health
for a fixed premium, where Visit earns a part competition, which is very common in included! It would be a great enabler for
of the premium for its online consultations today’s digital world? We are looking the entire ecosystem, as 5G will make
portfolio and servicing the clients. to build the largest available cashless many things possible which are we are not
network of doctors, hospitals and labs, able to do with 4G. With superior speeds
What do you do to ensure a better recall value which are connected with the user’s health and bandwidth, we would be able to offer
of this application? Super Apps such as insurance. We are looking at on boarding much more in form of value, deliver and
Gojek and Paytm have a high recall value 100K doctors in the next 6 months across services to the consumer. n
due to the breadth of services available on top metro cities. ramesh@mymobile.co.in

www.mymobileindia.com January 2020 | 69

 by Invitation
mCommerce
Guest Column
Shaping Lifestyle
Industry in India
By Mayank Jain
m
Commerce, as the name
suggests, stands for
mobile ecommerce and is
a result of growing interest
in ecommerce and its scope across various
industries. mCommerce has helped traders
and customers to do business via mobile
devices and internet facilities.
Here’s a brief introduction on how
companies are capturing consumers’ attention
on mCommerce:
A) Push Notifications: These are the
instant message style pop-ups that any
individual who downloads an application
can pick in to get. With email open rates
consistently declining, the message
pop-up is an engaging showcasing
channel for fashion industry that
draws in individuals! As a rule, buyers
acknowledge pop-up messages: about
90% of downloaders will select in to get
these messages.
B) Geo-fencing: This is the point at which
your mobile knows precisely where you
are, so that applications can send you
80 | december 2019
specific offers, invites and discounts.
For lifestyle brands, it is an exceptional
instrument to intersect customized
online and offline user experience.
C) Personalization: This is the place retailers
can take advantage of clients who have
downloaded their applications, and
make the most of the social web, by
connecting with clients’ Facebook
accounts, to give them what items their
friends have loved, or by monitoring
what items they have surfed and offering
them extraordinary benefits. For lifestyle
brands, there is no doubt that mobile is
going to keep on playing a crucial role.
Researches have demonstrated that
individuals who are 25-34-year old
like to buy items by means of mobile
application. Furthermore, a review by
the Luxury Institute demonstrated that
67% of well-earned mobile phone users
shop on their gadgets.
What do statistics suggest?
Fashion (88 per cent), electronics (78
per cent) and health and beauty (54 per
cent) are driving classifications in India,
empowering about a part of the respondents
to buy items and services two to five times
each month.
A noteworthy 75 per cent of respondents
accept that a terrible retail and shopping
application experience impacts a brand’s
recognition. Then again, around 98 per cent
said that a decent application experience
decidedly impacts their assessment of a
brand.
As indicated by the ongoing overview led
by Criteo, about 80 per cent of customers
reacted that they feel good and secure
utilizing a mobile for online shopping.
More than 38 per cent of respondents
affirmed that accessibility of a wide scope of
items is the thing that they esteemed most
in a retail and shopping application.
These and many more surveys reveal
the potential of mobile phones in the
ecommerce and just as how they can benefit
both retailers and wholesalers.
What are the benefits of incorporating
mCommerce in a fashion business?
1. Cost Reduction
One of the most substantial benefits of online
business is the benefit of reducing overall
expenses. A piece of these expenses could
be given to clients as discounts and offers.
Here are ways in which these expenses can
be decreased with mCommerce:
Publicizing and promoting: Organic
search engine traffic, pay-per-click, and
social media traffic are a portion of the
MYMOBILE
 by invitation

Guest Column
publicizing sources that can be put to that it empowers the loyalty of the clients.
6. Collaborations via Social
practice. When the clients download and signs in an
Media is Easier
Faculty: By putting checkout, application, he would consistently give first
Social media marketing and the mobile
billing, payments, stock administration,
applications go hand in hand. What’s
and other operational procedures on
autopilot, it brings down the quantity
“For lifestyle more, the lifestyle industry can’t be left out
either. Social media has demonstrated as
of representatives required to run an brands, there is no doubt a great help as it enables the planners
app-based business organization. that mobile is going to keep on to collaborate with each other and
Land: This one is an easy
decision. An online business
playing a crucial role. Researches have become more acquainted with one
another’s structure.
vendor needn’t bother with a demonstrated that individuals who are You can likewise share the
physical area. 25-34-year old like to buy items by means photos, recordings and posts
of mobile application. Furthermore, to remain intact with the most
2. No Geographical
Limitations a review by the Luxury Institute recent happenings in the fashion
and style industry.
If you have a physical store, you demonstrated that 67% of well-earned
are restricted by the topographical mobile phone users shop on 7. Helps in Managing
territory that you can offer goods
their gadgets” Store
and services to. With an online business
One of the greater focal points of having
application, the entire world is your play
area. Moreover, the appearance of m-trade,
i.e., web-based business on mobile phones,
has broken up every single challenge related
to geography.

3. Enabling Deals and

Coupons Becomes Easy
Although there are physical counterparts
to bargains, deals, coupons and group
purchasing, internet shopping makes it
considerably more helpful. For example, if
a client has a profound discount coupon
for jeans at one physical store and jacket
at another, she may think that its infeasible
to benefit of the two limits. However, the
client could do that online with a couple
of taps.
4. 24/7 or 365 Days Open
Store timings are every minute of every
day/365 for online shopping business.
mCommerce business sites can run
constantly. From the brand’s perspective,
this opens a window for more order requests.
From the client’s perspective, a “constantly
open” store is increasingly advantageous.
5. Generate Customer Loyalty
One of the best impacts that the mobile
applications have on the lifestyle world is
attention to your application at whatever
point he needs to make a buy.
In addition, the applications will
recollect the past orders of every client and
send them customized data dependent on
that. The clients will feel happy to have
received customized administration as a
live sales representative.
Applications additionally enable the
potential buyers to arrive at your online store
at any point of the day and from anyplace.
They can choose from the variety of things
available only at a tap of their hand and pick
the ones to purchase within their budget.
The customers also give their feedback
that urges others to peep in; in this way
expanding the client base.
a mobile application for a fashion store
is that it proves to be valuable in
dealing with your store and keeps it
fresh. It might be conceivable that the
clothing that client is requesting isn’t
available in your stock. The application
will in a split second send you the message
that you have to stock up an item in your
collection. This will surely help in better
stock management as you will know what
should be added and which things should
be put on hold.
Hence, mCommerce and lifestyle
industry have a long and a profitable way
ahead n
The author is Managing Partner –
Greenways.

www.mymobileindia.com january 2020 | 71

 in focus

Telecom Sector Outlook

Spotlight

Negative on AGR dues

The Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues overweigh the green shoots in
the form of deleveraging and restoration of pricing power, says ICRA

R
ating agency ICRA has
maintained a negative
outlook for the Indian
telecom industry, which is
grappling with AGR dues, notwithstanding
the green-shoots of recovery.
The telecom industry woes, according
to ICRA, continue as the industry is
required to pay a substantial amount to
the Department of Telecom in the form
of retrospective AGR related dues. These
amounts, as per the Supreme Court order
dated October 24, 2019, are sizeable
(including the interest and penalties)
and in the event of an outflow towards
these payments, it will create additional
pressure on the balance sheet of the
telecom operators, depending on the
funding mix. This comes at a time when
the industry’s health was on the recovery
track, on the back of deleveraging
initiatives, moderation in capex intensity
and restoration of pricing power.
The sector has passed through a
phase of turbulence during the last few
years, with intense competition and
pricing pressures leading to a decline
in revenues and profitability. Consistent
downward revision in prices resulted in
one of the steepest falls in the industry
average revenue per user (ARPU) levels
with the estimated blended ARPU falling
from Rs 169 in Q1 FY2017 to Rs 124 in
Q1 FY2020; the industry adjusted gross
revenue (AGR) fell from Rs 44,570 crore
to Rs 28,650 crore in the same period.
The overall high operating leverage of
the industry meant that the decline
in revenues percolated to pressure on
profitability and cash flows.
Further, the industry is saddled with
elevated debt levels and consistently high
capital expenditure (capex) requirements.
The debt has consistently remained high
owing to reduction in organic cash flow
generation and consistently high capex
requirements. As per ICRA estimates, the
debt as on March 31, 2019 stood at Rs 5.0
lakh crore. The private telecom operators
undertook deleveraging measures during
FY2020, which included rights issue by
Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, IPO of
the African operations by Airtel and hiving
off of the tower and fibre assets by RJio.
While these have been concluded, other
plans like further equity infusion by Airtel,
monetisation of stake in tower companies
and fibre assets are on the anvil for some
operators. These are expected to result in
decline in debt as on March 31, 2020 to
around Rs 4.4 lakh crore (without taking
any incremental debt due to AGR issue).
This financial year also witnessed
 in focus
steady improvement in ARPU levels driven

Spotlight
by weaning of low ARPU subscribers with
the introduction of minimum recharge
plans. Further, the telecom operators
announced a steep tariff hike, first of its
kind in a long time, to the tune of 35-40%,
which will manifest into improvement in
ARPU levels and healthy improvement in
organic cash flow generation. Since the
subscriber base has largely saturated,
the key drivers for growth in the telecom
sector would be: a) pricing improvement,
and b) identifying and implementing new
use cases for the telecom services. The
latter is a longer-term goal and would
require more investments and thus, in by the capex/sales ratio has been
the immediate term, it is the push “The sector significantly higher over 50% compared
for higher realisation which is has passed through a phase to international standards of 17-18%,
achievable and has been especially in the last few years.
attempted.
of turbulence during the last few However, with the telecom industry
However, despite years, with intense competition and achieving a sizeable penetration
the debt reduction and pricing pressures leading to a decline in for 4G, the peak capex cycle for
EBITDA improvement
revenues and profitability. Consistent Indian telcos is over and thus the
attempts, the coverage capex intensity is expected to
indicators are expected downward revision in prices resulted in one witness moderation till the time
to continue to remain of the steepest falls in the industry average there is a technology upgrade
weak, with estimated revenue per user (ARPU) levels with the to 5G. The capital expenditure
debt/EBITDA likely to be incurred by the telecom operators
more than 7x and interest
estimated blended ARPU falling from has remained high on account
coverage less than 2x as on Rs 169 in Q1 FY2017 to Rs 124 of expansion and upgradation of
March 31, 2020. The impact of in Q1 FY2020” network towards 4G, amid increasing data
tariff hikes will be visible in FY2021, requirements, changes in technology and
when the EBITDA is expected to improve spectrum acquisition. The moderation in
by 21% over FY2020 levels. This, along like dividend income, rental income, the capex intensity is expected to improve
with reduction in debt levels, is expected forex gains, etc while computing AGR on the cash flow position, going forward.
to result in estimated debt/EBITDA of a retrospective basis, which along with Among other sources of revenues, ICRA
around 5x and interest coverage of 2.5x interest and penalties on the same resulted believes greater proliferation is expected in
as of March 31, 2021. in sizeable dues for the operators. In case the home broadband and Direct-to-Home
Amid these attempts by the telecom these have to be funded through debt, it (DTH) services. While these services
operators to reduce their debt levels, the has the potential to derail the deleveraging have been provided by many telecom
SC order on October 24, 2019 pertaining attempts by the industry. However, clarity players for many years, a new entrant
to the definition of AGR and inclusion of is awaited on the final amounts and the with plans for widespread penetration,
some non-core revenues while calculating payout timelines as the operators have is likely to provide greater fillip to these
the AGR from retrospective basis has filed a review petition with the SC. The segments. Another emerging trend is
added to the woes of the industry. The government has announced deferral of greater focus on content by the telecom
telecom operators are required to pay a spectrum auction instalment payments operators to increase customer stickiness.
revenue share to the DoT in the form of for FY2021 and FY2022, providing a These developments would mean greater
license fee and spectrum usage charges minor financial succour to the industry. convergence of various means of mobility
which are derived from the AGR. The During FY2019, the industry incurred and entertainment, with telecom networks
SC ruling mandated the operators to a capex of more than Rs 1 lakh crore serving as the foundation. n
include some components of revenues and the capex intensity, as measured team@mymobile.co.in

www.mymobileindia.com january 2020 | 73

 in focus
Why offline retail stores
are failing to maintain
market momentum?
By Pahi Mehra
I
n a large country like India,
retail sector so far has been the
largest employer and the provider
of goods and services. And offline
retail stores have seen a steady expansion
over the years. With the increase in
customer’s choice of products and hunt
for affordable prices, offline retail stores
have been creating history in the retail
industry.
But the scenario is changing fast, the
performance of retail stores are slumping
now. Rising incomes, greater purchasing
powers and increased accessibility and
availability of products has sparked
competition in the market and the offline
retail industry is surely lagging behind.
74 | january 2020
The market is changing fast with
organized retail ways, retailers are realizing
that superior customer experience is
the key differentiator that will increase
conversions and bring the customer back
for repeat purchases.
But ironically, established stores like
Croma, Vijay Sales, Reliance Digital and
Sargam are paying very little attention to
enhance the skill and engagement levels of
store staff. These brands seem to consider
the store staff as undifferentiated and low
skilled work force.
The adverse impact of these factors
have highly effected on customer
experience and productivity at the
stores. Another focus area that effects
the consumer relations is the skill and
knowledge of the store staff.
In India, demographically most of the
buyers are youngsters, and they have the
tendency to ‘touch and feel’ and then buy
the product, also want all the information
related to the products of their interest.
Hence, customer experience and
conversion at the store is highly important
and lack of this factor primarily impacted
by the skill and engagement levels of
frontline store staff. But who should be
blamed for this?
With a slump in giving satisfaction
to the customers, most companies are
stepping up efforts to woo consumers
with discounts and offers. However, such
MYMOBILE

measures are seem to be doing nothing as
there is a massive visible slowdown for the
offline retail chains.
Consumer reviews
The companies are often seen complaining
about the downfall in customer footfall,
but some of the reviews from customers
show us otherwise:
Kuldeep Sharma is a customer of Vijay
Sales in New Delhi; he bought a Daikin AC
1 Ton in July 2019, when he was asked to
share his reviews over his purchase from
Vijay Sales, he said, “I am very unsatisfied
with the after sale service, in fact the
behavior of the staff was not at all up to
the mark. They are not at all approachable
and they had no idea about their products
and services.”
This is not something new; a lot of
customers have the same issue from offline
retailers. Many big offline retail chains lack
in their after service, it’s like they almost
forgets after selling an appliance that
customers can need an after service. This
complaint has been there in the market
from quite a sometime, which results in
bad mouth publicity and degrading of the
brand name.
www.mymobileindia.com
Aradhna Patil is a customer of Croma in
New Delhi; last month she bought a Philips
air purifier, and when asked for the reviews,
she said, “Staff had no information about
the product while they were showcasing it,
and couldn’t answer any query. I asked the
attendee to describe the procedure of the
product, and he just knew how to on-off it,
nothing else.”
This is another big factor why customers
are not repeating their buys from offline
shops, almost every big retail shop lack in
informative staff. The staff wanders around
you and pesters you to make a purchase
but they will not be able to help you a lot
with any information. This can have big
repercussions so dealing with customers
correctly and having all the information
about the products should be in top priority
for the staff and retail chains.
Mahir Kapoor, is a customer of Reliance
Digital, he bought an LCD TV sometime
back and when asked for his reviews, he
said, “Horrible experience at Reliance
Digital, I bought an LCD TV and I was
promised the delivery next day but I got my
product in 3 days, after which I released
that it was not working properly and called
the customer care and asked them to
replace it, which they denied and I had to
spend 3000 to get it fixed, Pathetic!”
This festive season was seen to be a
in focus
Offside
massive failure of business in the market,
despite of giving so many exclusive offers
customers were seen nowhere. Apart from
the economical deprivation in the country
the lack of commitment and bad consumer
relation holds the big blame.
But the question is how these brands
save themselves from this downfall? is it
just the economic situation of the country
or there is something else to blame
upon. According to some media reports
this festive year has seen 60 percent of
downfall in footfall and 40 percent in
business. So is it because of the lack
of interest or commitment of the offline
retail chains that have given them such
outcome?
Conclusion
All the findings states that customers
are not satisfied with the offline retail
chains at all. The market is down and
there is a massive drop in footfall. As the
consumers are now choosing to invest
in experiences rather than products,
retailers need to respond to meet
the needs of their customers. Customers
do not want to just walk into the shop,
buy the product and leave because they
could do this in the comfort of their own
home. n
pahi@mymobile.co.in
january 2020 | 75
 in focus
India Fares Better in Spam Call Ranking
Buzz
I
ndia has dropped down to the fifth
position in terms of number of spam
calls received by users globally, while
Brazil continues to stay on top, says
the latest Truecaller Insights report that
listed the top 20 countries affected by
spam calls in 2019. However, spam calls
received by users in India have continued
to increase to 25.6 calls per user/month,
which is a 15% upsurge from the previous
year, the report adds.
This is the third edition of the report
wherein there has been a significant shift
in the ranking of countries that received
the most spam calls. One of the most
interesting revelations that came from this
year’s report was that 10% of spam calls
came from financial service providers,
a category that was not listed last year.
With regard to spam call categorization,
operators continue to be the top spammers
in India with 67% user calls received for
upselling of various offers and reminders.
However, with the rise of mobile
payment systems and a growing middle
economic class in the country, the study
has witnessed banks and fintech-based
organizations and telemarketing services
emerging as big spammers recording 10%
and 17% respectively.
Additionally, Truecaller also looked
at the trends of spam SMS around the
world and the report has indexed the top
20 countries that receive the most spam
SMS. The data shows that spam messages
are primarily received in emerging regions.
India ranked at 8th position wherein users
received an average of 61 spam SMS every
month. The top three markets that are
affected by this form of spam were in the
African continent.
Digging deeper into the bigger markets,
Truecaller found common categories that
tie all these spam calls together. The
most prominent pattern seen was that
operators across the world are the biggest
76 | january 2020
Top Spammers in India
6%
10%
17%
spammers.
Another pattern noted was that
scam calls are on the rise globally, and
spam calls from financial services are
increasing. Spam calls in Latin America
have been increasing dramatically
over the years. This year, the trend is
even clearer. The countries that are
seeing the biggest increase of spam
calls are in Latin America. Five out of the
top 10 most affected markets are in that
region.
Peru has seen a significant increase
of spam calls. Users are now getting on
average 30.9 spam calls a month, making
Peru the second most spammed country
n OPERATOR
n TELEMARKETING
n FINANCIAL SERVICES
n SCAM
67%
in the world. The biggest increase of total
spam calls comes from Indonesia. Last
year Indonesia was ranked 16th, and this
year the market jumped up to third place,
which makes it the biggest jump we have
seen, says Truecaller.
The country that has witnessed
the biggest increase of spam calls in
percentage is Lebanon. Users in the
market have seen an increase of spam
calls going from 2.8 average spam calls/
user to 8.6 – that is a 208% increase in a
year, the report says.
Another devastating fact Truecaller
found during this year is that 1 out of 3
women in India receive sexual harassment
or inappropriate calls and SMS on a regular
basis.
The US continues to be in the top 10
list of the most spammed countries in the
world. The market saw a 7% increase of
spam calls compared to last year,
where it actually was decreasing.
Earlier this year, Truecaller
conducted a study in the US and
found that phone scams caused
Americans to lose 10.5 billion
dollars in 2018, and nearly 1
in every 6 American adults falls
victim to scam calls. n
team@mymobile.co.in
MYMOBILE
 in focus

MediaTek to Focus on 5G Experiences,

Robust Product Roadmap

G
lobal fabless semiconductor
major MediaTek reiterated
its focus on 5G, AI and
Rich IoT to create new age
experiences across mobile and non-mobile
categories in the year 2020 at the second
edition of the MediaTek Technology
Diaries knowledge forum held in New
Delhi recently.
MediaTek’s efforts to create a balanced
portfolio across smartphones, smart-homes
and beyond resulted in nearly 32%-37%
revenues coming from mobile computing
(smartphones and tablets), 32-37% from
AIoT/Analog/ASIC focusing on connectivity
(Wi-Fi/Bluetooth) for various devices and
28-33% revenues from smart-home and
other categories in 2019.
MediaTek powers more than 1.5
billion devices a year across some of the
world’s leading brands like Oppo, Realme,
Vivo, Samsung, Xiaomi, Lenovo, Sony,
Microsoft, Paytm, Kent, Broadlink, LG,
Google, Amazon, Alibaba.com among
others across products categories such
as smartphones, automobile and
surveillance cameras, smart bulb sockets,
voice-assisted devices, audio systems,
tablets, and portable biometric tablets
among others. With its focus on technology
innovation, the company globally invested
approx. $2 billion on R&D in 2019.
Anku Jain, Managing Director,
MediaTek India, said, “India has been a
key growth market for us both in terms
of business value proposition and talent
pool. We have a strong R&D team in
India, and we plan to continue developing
global and India-specific products around
our key focus areas - mobile, home and,
auto.”
“Being a 5G leader with flagship 5G
chips in the market, we are also looking
at making these premium experiences
accessible across the mid-tier category.
Tapping the potential of India’s fast-
growing gaming market is also going to be
a priority,” he added.
The year 2019 was significant for
MediaTek with a strong focus on R&D,
new launches, and partnerships. Some of
the important announcements included
the launch of:
• MediaTek Helio G90 Series which sets
the standard for superior smartphone
gaming experiences.
• MediaTek Helio P90 Series, the AI
powerhouse for premium imaging and
photography experiences.
• Dimensity 1000 SoC - MediaTek’s
first 5G mobile SoC in its 5G family of
chipsets representing a step towards
a new era of next-gen mobility - the
5th dimension and has an impressive
AnTuTu score of over 511k, making it
currently the world’s fastest smartphone
chip. The single 5G chip solution, with
its integrated 5G modem, is a brilliant
combination of advanced technologies
packed into a 7nm chip and tuned for
5G performance.
• MediaTek S900, the industry’s first 8K
digital TV SoC which helped MediaTek
emerge as the world’s number one
digital TV chipset provider, powering
more than 90% of branded smart TVs
globally.
• MediaTek i700 platform that addresses
the need for new cutting-edge IoT
applications required in smart-homes,
cities and manufacturing among
others.
• New Rich IoT Program is MediaTek’s
effort to accelerate the Design of smart
connected devices based on Open
Standards. The program delivers a
series of AI-enabled chipset platforms
to companies that want to innovate and
develop products across the intelligent
devices market.
The company also recently announced
its partnership with Intel to bring its new 5G
modem to PCs. Through this partnership,
Intel has been working with MediaTek
on the 5G solution for deployment in
key consumer and commercial laptop
segments.n
team@mymobile.co.in

www.mymobileindia.com january 2020 | 77

 consumer insight

Internet Emerging as an
Trendz

Empowering Force for

Indian Women
44% of women in Indian metros access online content in English to stay ‘job-
ready’, reveals a new study by Verizon Media

A
s internet usage becomes
more inclusive and gender-
balanced in India, it is fast
emerging as an ‘empowering
force’ for Indian women online. A new
study, which surveyed the habits of women
internet users across India, has found that
education, career development, women’s
empowerment, health and fitness are key
areas of interest for online women users
in India.
The survey, ‘Spotlight on online habits
of young Indian women’ was conducted
by Nielsen for Verizon Media, which
is home to internet brands like Yahoo,
Yahoo Cricket, MAKERS, HuffPost India
and AOL. Respondents in the survey,
conducted in 12 cities across India in July
2019, included college students, young
working women and women mentors
between 18-35 years of age.
Insights from the survey reveal that
Indian women are honing their skills
to get ahead professionally every time
they go online. 44% of users across Tier
1 cities access online content only in
English to improve their soft skills and
become ‘job ready’. This focus is sharper
among younger women between the age
group of 18-23 years. Across locations,
younger women were found to access
more content related to education,

MYMOBILE

career growth and skill development, while
older women between 29-35 years of age
accessed more online video content related
to personal well-being.
Verizon Media in partnership with
YourStory, recently launched online
women’s platform MAKERS India, aimed
at the country’s growing audience of women
online. MAKERS India is creating new
opportunities online and on the ground for
women to come together as a community,
shaping a narrative that encourages more
women to join the workforce.
“As this survey showed us, the internet is
empowering a new breed of Indian women
who are coming online and preparing to
take their place in the workforce. The right
platform and support as a community
will enable greater inclusion, boosting
participation of Indian women at the
workplace,” said Nikhil Rungta, Country
Manager, India, Verizon Media.
According to a recent study by IAMAI,
women make up a sizeable audience in
India’s rapidly growing internet user base,
comprising 40% of the internet users in
India. But beyond greater representation,
women have an active presence online too.
The study found that 96% of the women,
who were surveyed across age groups and
locations, use the internet daily.
Not surprisingly, given the popularity
of video and OTT content in the country,
there is a clear preference towards watching
videos over reading content online. More
than 2/3rd of women surveyed had watched
videos related to career development or
social causes or personal well-being in the
last one month.
Also, in line with the larger trend,
smartphones are the device of choice
for women users in India, with 60% of
women accessing the internet only on their
handsets. This number spikes to over 75%
of women in Tier 1 cities. According to the
study, women in India spend an average
time of 145 minutes on their smartphones,
every day. Interestingly, women in Tier 1
cities spend about 25 minutes more on the
internet, compared to women in metros.
www.mymobileindia.com
Consumer insight
Trendz
Smartphones are the device of choice for women users
in India, with 60% of women accessing the internet only
on their handsets. This number spikes to over 75% of
women in Tier 1 cities. According to the study, women
in India spend an average time of 145 minutes on their
smartphones, every day. Interestingly, women in Tier
1 cities spend about 25 minutes more on the internet,
compared to women in metros
Top insights on usage the 35+ age group
patterns and trends from • ~70% women share videos/articles
the survey: online when they like what they are
• A nod to India’s language diversity, of reading or watching. The majority share
the total women surveyed, ~80% of videos or articles on social media and
women users access online content messaging apps. The preference for
in Indic languages (English + local ‘average video duration’ was less than
language-Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, five minutes for each video
Tamil, Marathi, Bengali). Only 1/5th of • The propensity to subscribe to various
the women users access online content, online platforms like social media, OTT
only in English etc. is the highest in metros as ~60%
• Women users spend time online of the surveyed respondents followed by
between 3 pm and 9 pm - a signal for Tier 2 towns at ~46%
brands on when to reach and engage • ~40% of surveyed women fear
with women audiences irrelevant comments, being trolled and
• Women are not just building professional followed
skills but prioritizing their personal • Creating awareness, educating and
well-being as well. Health and fitness helping others were among the top
are priority areas. Women across India, reasons cited for creating content both
including metros and smaller towns, offline and online
are becoming increasingly aware of Environmental conservation and child
the importance of fitness and access abuse related content were rated as high
fitness-related information on the affinity content apart from education,
internet for an average of 10 days in a women empowerment and career
month. The health and fitness category development. n
are especially important for women in team@mymobile.co.in
january 2020 | 79
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Devices featured in the My Guide
have been segregated into different
categories based on price and
colour-coded as:

 Up to Rs. 2,499

 Rs. 2,500 – Rs. 5,999

 Rs. 6,000 – Rs. 9,999

 Rs.10,000 – Rs. 14,999

 Rs.15,000 – Rs. 19,999

 Rs. 20,000 – Rs. 29,999

 RS. 30,000 and above.

 Tablets







India to sell Connected Consumer Devices
worth Rs 3.25 Lakh Crore in 2020
While Samsung led the market with 21% share, Realme emerged as
the fastest growing brand, jumping to seventh spot
A
nnouncing the 1st edition of
India Connected Consumer
Devices Report, techARC
has said that Indians will buy
connected devices worth Rs 3,24,960
Lakh crore or US$ 45.7 Billion in 2020.
This would be 11% growth over 2019.
Releasing the report, Faisal Kawoosa,
Founder & Chief Analyst techARC said,
“Users in India are moving beyond
Smartphone connectivity and moving to
other connected solutions which apart from
making them ‘smart’ substantially increase
the utility of such devices.”
“Fundamentally, this is being driven
by two trends of creating a connected
cluster around Smartphones, being the
hub and adding connectivity in consumer
electronics led by Smart TVs and Smart
Speakers,” added Faisal.
Smartphones will continue to lead the
sales of connected devices both in value
and volume. These are sold at individual
levels than household and have higher ASP
(Average Selling Price) among such personal
connectivity devices. However, with normal
growth outlook for Smartphones, OEMs
will explore adjacent products with higher
growth prospects where there is still a lot
of headroom for growth.
The overall growth outlook for connected
consumer devices for 2020 is of normal
growth. techARC defines normal growth as
a range between 10-25% of annual sales
growth. Smart Wearables led by wireless
buds (Earables) will see ultra-growth with
many brands likely to foray in the segment
after Apple’s success in the category.
Realme has already launched its wireless
buds recently.
Smart Speakers will see
high growth in sales as
www.mymobileindia.com
Market insight
Trendz
India Connected Consumer Devices Market - 2020 (Value)
Category Value INR Crore (Rs) Value (%)
Smartphone Rs 2,57,400 79.21%
Laptops Rs 36,750 11.31%
Smart TVs Rs 20,000 6.15%
Smart Wearables Rs 2,800 0.86%
Smart Speakers Rs 2,475 0.76%
Tablet PCs Rs 2,420 0.74%
Smart Featurephones Rs 1,250 0.38%
Streaming Devices Rs 625 0.19%
Smart STBs Rs 240 0.07%
Others Rs 1,000 0.31%
Total Market2020 Rs 3,24,960 1000.00%
US$ 45.7 Bn
Source : techARC’s India Connected Consumer Devices Report 2020
both devices as well as content being homes. However, the penetration is still
made available through them is on the very low. The other segment within these
rise. There is a lot of work happening includes of peripherals and accessories
in enabling lot many use cases through where the wireless connectivity is
Smart Speakers. Enablers like Amazon’s increasingly creating new use cases as
Alexa is expected to have a greater role in well as adding to the digital lifestyle of
expanding the voice computing market consumers in India.
opportunities. The growth for Connected Consumers’
Tablet PCs and Smart Feature phones Devices in 2020 will be driven by
are the two categories expected to show Cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity to
continued decline in sales outlook for Consumer Electronics for mass markets
2020. These two device categories making several ‘luxury’ products available
have not been able to excite the market to masses during the year. However,
beyond a point and there continue to be government must intervene to ensure the
very limited opportunities for them in the standardisation and quality control of such
market. devices and go beyond the present quality
Among ‘Other Connected Devices’, checks and balances in the interests of
Smart Home solutions have started to pick consumers. This will lead to consumers
up. These include smart bulbs, fans and getting maximum value out of the money
other electric and electronics devices for being spent on these connected devices.
The biggest concern will however continue
to be of security as there will be several
endpoints vulnerable for security exploits
for hackers. n
team@mymobile.co.in
january 2020 | 103
 Feature

Most Downloaded
Apptastic

Apps of 2019
and their Controversies
By Vivek Singh Chauhan

I
n the world of technology, the year, 2019,
was a crazy one for instant and social media
platforms. From data privacy scandals to anti-
market practices, players, including Facebook to
short-video platform TikTok, made headlines for
many controversies. However, still, those apps
managed to rule the users and became the most
downloaded apps. According to a report, the year
also saw a steady rise of short-video apps like
TikTok. Another short-video creation and sharing
app Likee was the sole new entrant in 2019 to
the top apps by downloads list, where Facebook-
owned companies dominated the list of most
downloaded apps.
According to App Annie’s year-end report on
app trends published last year, mobile consumers
worldwide will have downloaded a record 120
billion apps from Apple’s App Store and Google
Play by the end of 2019.

#1 Facebook Messenger

O riginally developed as Facebook Chat in 2008, Facebook Messenger was revamped in

2010, and later Facebook subsequently released standalone iOS and Android apps
in August 2011 and standalone Facebook Portal hardware for Messenger-based calling
in Q4 2018. Over the years, Facebook has released new apps on a variety of different
operating systems, launched a dedicated website interface (Messenger.com), and separated
the messaging functionality from the main Facebook app, allowing users to use the web
interface or download one of the standalone apps. According to NapoleonCat, there were
112,250,000 Messenger users in India in November 2019, which accounted for 8.1 per
cent of its entire population.

104 | january 2020 MYMOBILE

 Feature
#2 WhatsApp Messenger

Apptastic
F acebook-owned WhatsApp Messenger is a freeware, cross-platform
messaging and Voice over IP (VoIP) that allows users to send text
messages and voice messages, make voice and video calls, and share
images, documents, user locations, and other media. WhatsApp’s client
application runs on mobile devices but is also accessible from desktop
computers, as long as the user’s mobile device remains connected to the
Internet while they use the desktop app. The service requires users to
provide a standard cellular mobile number for registering with the service.
In January 2018, WhatsApp released a standalone business app targeted
at small business owners, called WhatsApp Business, to allow companies to communicate with customers who use the standard
WhatsApp client. Recently in 2019, WhatsApp was informed by the Indian government that the instant messaging platform had
not informed government agencies about a privacy breach “Pegasus” targetting many Indian activists, lawyers and journalists.
However, in response, the messaging platform said that it had alerted the government by attaching both the vulnerability notes it
filed in May as well as the letter it sent to the government in September. The app has around 400 million users in India.

#3 Facebook #4 TikTok
O ne of the
most popular
among the public,
I f you have heard of
TikTok, then I am
sure you are aware
Facebook is an
of the popularity
American online
of the short video
social media and
platform among
social networking
the youngsters
service based in
and celebrities.
Menlo Park, California and a flagship service
ByteDance-owned
of the namesake company Facebook, Inc.
TikTok, last month,
Facebook executives are facing mounting
published their
pressure, including from inside the company,
statistics for TikTok
to make sweeping changes to how the social
rewind, which
media site runs political ads -- including
showed that Jacqueline Fernandez was the highest followed celebrity in
reversing a controversial policy that allows
the app with 9.5 million followers. Over the past year and a half, TikTok,
politicians to run false ads and how voters are
where under-60-second videos often feature bizarre memes, inside jokes,
targeted on the platform. Not only this, the
and bite-sized sketch comedy, has become
social media giant was among many other
the defining social media app of Gen Z, not
controversies including Cambridge Analytica,
only in the US but around the world in places
political ads and fake news etc. There were
like India and Europe. Though it originated as
325,900,000 Facebook users in India in
Musical.ly, a nearly identical app known mostly
November 2019, which accounted for 23.6 per
for lip-synching and popular with pre-teens, in
cent of its entire population.
2017 the Chinese internet company ByteDance
bought the app and re-launched it as TikTok,
with all Musical.ly accounts migrating over to
TikTok in August 2018. ByteDance is now the
world’s largest startup, estimated to be valued at $78 billion. However, it
could be threatening the comfortable positions of the established social
media companies by scooping up that all-important younger user base – 41
per cent of TikTok users are under the age of 24.

www.mymobileindia.com january 2020 | 105

Apptastic Feature
#5 Instagram

V ideo-sharing social networking service

Instagram was initially created by Kevin
Systrom and Mike Krieger and launched in October
2010. But Facebook purchased Instagram for $1 billion on April
9, 2012. Initially, it was launched for iOS but later on, a version for
Android devices was released a year and a half later, in April 2012,
followed by other updates till now. Instagram remains everyone’s
favourite social media platform. It’s fun, interactive, and best of all,
it allows bloggers and business owners to connect in totally different
ways. On the whole, brands and users have steadily increased sharing.
With the bonus of Instagram Stories you’re able to get a real, behind
the scenes look at those you follow. However, Instagram’s controversial experiment of hiding public likes created a spark among
the users. The experiment is only live in seven countries, but it’s already inspired some freakouts from influencers who claim the
change is crippling their engagement and destroying their livelihood. The experiment began in May when Instagram made likes
private for Canadian users only. Two months later, the social network expanded the trial to six more countries, adding Australia,
Brazil, Ireland, Italy, Japan and New Zealand to the list. In a video posted to her Instagram account, Australian Instagram model
Mikaela Testa had a tearful “meltdown” about the response she received for criticizing the change on Facebook. The post, which
has since been removed, claimed that Instagram was doing “real damage” with this change. However, Instagram was ranked
number 5 in 2019 in the list of most downloaded apps.

#6 SHAREit #7 Likee

S HAREit is a free file-sharing

app that transfers files
L ikee is a short video platform for creating and
sharing contents established in August 2017.
As of the second quarter of 2019, Likee’s mobile
across different platforms and
monthly active users reached 100.2 million. Before
operating systems, without an
June 2019, Likee was known as Like. Likee owns
Internet or Bluetooth connection
special effects ranging from Music Magic, 4D Magic
that was founded in April 2015.
to dynamic stickers. The application is available
Users can use SHAREit to
on the iOS and Android app marketplaces. In
transfer files including photos, videos, music, contacts, apps and
September 2019, it introduced parental controls
any other files. Currently, it is ranked at number 6 among the most
feature, allowing parents and guardians of Likee’s
downloaded apps of 2019. SHAREit application allows Windows,
users to remotely control or restrict access to the
Windows Phone, Android, and iOS devices to transfer files directly.
content in the app. It has won the Google Play Best
It is currently available in 45 languages including English, Hindi,
Entertainment Application Award in 2017. Between
Bangla, Indonesian, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese.
2018 and 2019, Likee, from YY Inc., becomes
The SHAREit application uses a secure connection protocol and has
the number 1 “breakout” app of the year by App
transfer speeds faster than Bluetooth and NFC. The other methods
Annie as the largest absolute growth in downloads or
for file transferring are either through Bluetooth, NFC, or USB drives.
consumer spending app. And now, it is among the
SHAREit also offers its users a range of digital entertainment from
top 10 most downloaded apps.
videos, music, films, GIF, meme, etc. within its app by collaborating
with partners such as Times Music. SHAREit has more than
1.8 billion users worldwide, with more than 600 million users
in India and Indonesia. SHAREit’s Monthly Active Users (MAU)
has exceeded 500 million users with presence in more than 200
countries and regions around the world. The owners of SHAREit
also own various other utility apps such as SHAREit Lite, LOCKit,
LISTENit, CLEANit, CLONEit and S-Player.

106 | january 2020 MYMOBILE

 Feature

Review
#8 Snapchat

S napchat is a multimedia messaging app used globally,

created by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie
Brown, former students at Stanford University, and developed
by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of Snapchat is
that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time before they
become inaccessible to their recipients. The app has evolved from originally focusing
on person-to-person photo sharing to presently featuring users’ “Stories” of 24 hours
of chronological content, along with “Discover”, letting brands show ad-supported
short-form content. It also allows users to keep photos in the “my eyes only” which
lets them keep their photos in a password-protected space. Snapchat has become
known for representing a new, mobile-first direction for social media, and places significant emphasis on
users interacting with virtual stickers and augmented reality objects. As of October 2019, Snapchat has
210 million daily active users. Back in 2017, while Indians were increasingly downloading Snapchat on
their smartphones, the company’s CEO felt India is “too poor” to seriously consider expanding its user base.
According to media reports, the disparaging comment was made by the CEO of Snapchat, Evan Spiegel,
allegedly during a meeting to discuss the growth of the app’s user base in 2015. When an employee raised
a concern about the app’s slow growth in a market like India which has a growing mobile penetration,
Spiegel cut the employee mid-sentence saying, “This app is only for rich people,” Spiegel said, Variety
quoted the employee’s revelation. “I don’t want to expand into poor countries like India and Spain.”

#9 Netflix #10 Spotify

H eadquartered in Los Gatos, California,

Netflix was founded in 1997 by Reed
Hastings and Marc Randolph. The company’s
S potify Technology is an international media services provider of Swedish
primary business is its subscription-based
streaming service which offers online
streaming of a library of films and television
programs, including those produced in-
house. As of April 2019, Netflix had over
148 million paid subscriptions worldwide,
including 60 million in the US, and over
154 million subscriptions total including
free trials. It is available worldwide except in
mainland China (due to local restrictions),
Syria, North Korea, and Crimea (due to US
sanctions). Netflix does not share country-
specific numbers, but third-party research
reports estimate that its India subscriber
base would have crossed 1.2 million in
2019. That is next to Amazon Prime Video’s
two million-plus paid subs, and domestic
OTT market leader Hotstar’s three million.
origin. It is legally domiciled in Luxembourg and is headquartered in
Stockholm, Sweden. Spotify has long avoided India but a couple of months
ago, the service launched on our shores and the prices were on par with Apple
Music and YouTube Music. That made Spotify among the most premium
music streaming services in India. Also, as usual, the competition responded
with lower prices for annual plans and Spotify does not want to be left behind.
This platform is quite popular among the millennials and
is growing very fast in the country. According to PwC’s
Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2019-2023
report, music, radio and podcasts are an ‘emerging’
segment in India and projected to surpass US$1.5
billion by 2023. Monthly podcast listeners in India
totalled 40 million at the end of 2018, a 57.6 per cent
jump from 25.4 million the previous year. As per the
report, this makes India the third-largest podcast-listening
market, after the US and China, and listener numbers are set to rise at 34.5
per cent compound annual growth rate by 2023, to 176.1 million. Against this
backdrop, Swedish audio-streaming service Spotify, which entered the Indian
market about eight months ago, has announced original podcasts in India, as
part of its localisation strategy.
Among 1,000 of apps, only these made to the top 10 list of most
downloaded apps of 2019. However, this year, it will be interesting to see if
this Facebook dominated list will be replaced by other apps or will continue to
be same.
vivek@mymobile.co.in

january 2020 | 107

Gadget Corner add-ons
Blurams Snowman and
Home Lite
Monitor your home and
loved ones with these security
cameras even when miles away
I ntelligent imaging solutions provider Blurams has
come up with the two new smart security cameras –
Snowman and Home Lite – in India. They are available for
purchase on Amazon. The Blurams Snowman and Home
Lite allow the user to monitor their loved ones with the
help of a built-in Bluetooth chip. The users can view four
cameras on one screen via their Android / iOS phones
and Web app even when miles away. The products also
provide optional 24/7 continuous video recording feature
to its users, which helps in ensuring safety of their family
members. The Blurams Snowman and Home Lite come
with 1080P and 720P resolution respectively.
Other features include distortion correction, 3D Noise
Reduction, Motion / Sound and Facial Recognition, 2-way
Garmin Venu and Vivoactive 4
Give wings to your active lifestyle with these two smartwatches
W earable major Garmin has launched two new
smartwatches – Venu and Vivoactive 4 – in India.
Both come with the broadest available range of all-day
health monitoring features like advanced sleep with
Pulse Ox, new respiration tracking, abnormal heartrate
Price: INR 37,490 (Venu);
INR 32,590 (Vivoactive 4)
108 | january 2020
Price:
INR 4,499 (Snowman);
INR 2,499 (Home Lite)
audio, Built-in microphone and speaker, up to 128GB
microSD cards, 24 hours free cloud storage services for
the lifetime. For night vision, Blurams Snowman and
Home Lite security cameras come with 8-meter range
with 8pcs IR-LEDs and 7-meter range with 6pcs IR-LEDs
respectively. The security cameras work with Alexa and
Google Assistant and offer two-way audio, “listen and
talk back” through the camera from a smartphone.n
alerts, menstrual cycle tracking, stress tracking with
relax reminders, new hydration tracking, new breathwork
activities and more. Garmin Venu is the company’s first
ever smartwatch with an AMOLED screen. It features
1.2-inch circular AMOLED display, which helps in saving
battery life for longer period. The company claims up to
five days of battery life in smartwatch mode and up to six
hours in GPS + music mode.
On the other hand, Garmin Vivoactive 4 GPS smartwatch
comes with 1.1-inch display which is sunlight-visible,
transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) type panel. It also
comes in stainless steel dial with Corning Gorilla Glass
3 protection for the screen. The Garmin Venu comes
in Granite Blue with Silver Hardware, Black with Slate
Hardware, Light sand with Rose Gold Hardware and Black
with Gold Hardware colour options. It’s available online at
Amazon, Tata CLiQ, Myntra, Flipkart and Paytm Mall, and
also at offline retail stores across India. Whereas, one can
purchase the Vivoactive 4 at offline retail stores, besides
Tata CLiQ, Myntra, Flipkart and Paytm Mall.n
MYMOBILE
Gadget Corner add-ons
Digitek DBE-021 Neckband
Enjoy music on-the-move with
smart power off feature
H omegrown consumer tech firm Digitek has launched
a new earphone, called DBE-021, which comes
built with A2DP/AVRCR technology to deliver high-quality
stereo sound. The sturdy device supports Bluetooth V
5.0 and offers exceptional performance with a stable
connection, sound frequency and long-distance control
protocol. The Digitek DBE-021 sports a robust design
for a comfortable fit, especially during high-intensity
activities like gym exercises, running or other sports
activity. It comes with easy-to-use and comprehensive
control buttons for wireless operations. The built-in
microphone facility enables the users to manage hands-
free calling easily. When charged for 1 hour, users can
enjoy music up to 5 hours or 5 hours of calling. In case of
low battery, the built-in Voice Prompt acts as a reminder
to charge the device.
The neckband-built allows the earphones to safely
remain around the user’s neck and avoid falling off,
when not being used for music or calling. Using the
HiFuture TidyBudsPro
A battery-powerhouse which makes it stand out from the rest
P ersonal audio brand HiFuture has come up with its
battery-powerhouse true wireless earphones called
the TidyBudsPro in India. It has a very unique
charging case that boasts of massive 3,000mAh
battery and can be used as a mini power bank to
charge a mobile phone as well. In terms of the
battery life of the earpieces, they give an 8-hour
playtime from a single charge and 100 extra hours
via the charging case. The
TidyBudsPro adopts a global
high quality Realtek chipset
with the latest Bluetooth 5.0
technology and graphene
driver, ensuring an excellent
listening experience with deep
bass sound and a more stable
connection up to 10 meters.
The earbuds come with an IPX4
rating which makes them dust,
110 | january 2020
Price: INR 799
comprehensive control panel, users can also receive or
reject calls, put calls on hold and perform auto-redial
with single button-press action. The other notable
features include echo cancellation as well as noise
reduction technology to enjoy music seamlessly, smart
power off function to automatically turn off the device
when not connected to any smartphone within 8 minutes.
The Digitek DBE-021 has signal coverage of 10m. The
neckband comes in shade of Black and you can grab
it from nearby stores or via leading online ecommerce
platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart.n
sweat and splash-proof.
Another unique feature of the earphones is the intuitive
touchpad technology built-in both earbuds
which enables you to control your music,
calls and voice assistant with just one touch.
They are devoid from physical buttons, so
there is no hassle of pressing the earphones
and you can play/pause, answer/end calls or
summon your virtual assistant with just one
tap. The device is compatible
Price: INR 4,499 with both Android and iOS
devices and supports Google
voice and Siri. The earbuds
are chic, compact, lightweight
and super comfortable. The
TidyBudsPro comes in shades
of White and Black and is
available at Amazon and
Flipkart.n
MYMOBILE
 add-ons
Cadyce Wireless Charging USB-C Dock CA-WCHP
Free yourself from hassle of cable chargers for your iPhone
or Android
F or high-speed and efficient charging
without much use of space, Cadyce has
introduced a Qi Technology based Wireless
Charging USB-C Dock CA-WCHP, which adds
HDMI and USB ports to computers and charges
your compatible smartphone wirelessly. What’s most
convenient about the wireless charging dock is its cable-
free functionality. Cables and wires, albeit highly useful,
can become a nuisance from the cleanliness perspective.
The Wireless Charging Dock saves you from the trouble
of taking care to keep your wires organized. All you need
to do is place your phone on top, without the use of any
additional devices, and your phone shall begin charging
immediately. the case for charging your phone. Reasonably priced,
What’s more, you can charge your phone without even highly convenient and freeing you from practically all
removing its case. The high-speed wireless charging inconveniences that come with the traditional cable
dock, Cadyce CA-WCHP, can work with most cases, charging systems, this product is really a great catch in
thereby sparing you the inconvenience of even removing the market.n

Boat Stone 200A

Voice control your world with the all new Alexa
built-in speaker
P opular audio brand Boat Lifestyle has expanded its
product portfolio with the launch of a new Alexa
built-in smart speaker called Stone 200A, which claims
to be not only portable and powerful but smarter too. With
this all-new speaker, you can ask to play music, hear the
news, check the weather, control smart home devices
and access over 30,000 Alexa skills across genres. The
Price: INR 1,499
Boat Stone 200A is said to be robust, intricately made
and yet absolutely idiot-proof making it hard to damage
externally. It is also IPX 6 water resistant, making it the
perfect poolside accessory. The 1.96” x 1 full range
drivers with 3W power output brings the sound of a
lifetime with HD clarity that integrates into pure audio
bliss. The Bluetooth V4.1 enhances wireless connectivity
up to 10 meters.
Users can simply download and install the Boat
Lifestyle app from the Play Store/iOS and voice control
their world through Alexa. Further for full functionality,
users can register using the Amazon Alexa app to make
their experience even better. The Boat Stone 200A comes
with a power-packed 1,500mAh battery that can give
you up to 8 to10 hours of play time, courtesy with only
a 3-hour charging time. The speaker can be wirelessly
connected to smartphones, tablets and computers to
playback any music collection stored on it. One can
purchase it at Amazon.n

january 2020 | 111

Gadget Corner add-ons

Roav Dashcam C2 Pro

Enhance your driving
experience with this
connected in-car device

A nker sub-brand Roav has come

up with the Dashcam C2 Pro in
India. The connected in-car device
promises to enhance the Indian
driving experience. It can be easily
installed with the suction mount.
The camera supports the total
night vision with the cutting-edge
Sony Starvis sensor and NightHawk
technology that provides incredible night time definition.
The camera captures rich and clear video with every drive
in remarkably crisp 1080p high definition, thanks to
the Ambarella A12 chipset, 5 lens elements and Wide
Dynamic Range image balancing. The wide-angle view
aided by an f/1.9 wide-angle aperture lens captures
4 lanes of traffic at once that allows driver to see the
whole road and not just the car. It also allows recording
speeding license plates up to 30 feet away in low-light
conditions.
Price :
INR 15,490
With built in GPS, the device automatically tracks and
indexes the route and speed of every journey. Equipped
with G-Sensor (Gravity sensor), it automatically records
incidents even when you are not in the car. You can
manage all this and much more via the Roav app that
quickly downloads and manages videos for easy viewing
and sharing, even on Facebook or Instagram. The
dashcam is packaged with a 32GB microSD card that
allows ample recording and storage. It is available with
Amazon India.n

Stuffcool WB110 Power Bank

Charging your device was never this easy

T ech accessory brand Stuffcool has launched a

power bank, dubbed WB110, in India. The power
bank, having 10,000mAh battery, is equipped not only
with a Qi-certified 5W/7.5W/10W wireless fast charging
protocol, but is also equipped with the fastest wired
charging protocols, such as PD18W Type C port and
a QC3 Compatible USB A Port. This power bank can
provide a total of 36W in terms of output which means
you can use the wireless charging feature, the PD Type
C Port or the QC3 Compatible port to super-fast charge
two devices at the same time.
The Stuffcool WB110 wireless power
bank delivers
reliable
and safe
wireless charging having received the prestigious Qi
certification. While you recharge this power bank,
you can also charge your devices simultaneously. The
power bank offers intelligent protection – in terms
of Auto Cut-Off feature, Over voltage protection and
Over Current protection. The WB110 wireless power
bank is unsurprisingly the lightest and most compact.
Its build quality and overall feel are really premium. The
textured body gives firm grip to hold the power bank.
There is an LED indicator to notify battery level and
functionality of the device. The power bank is available
at stuffcool.com, Amazon and
Flipkart. n
Price : INR 3,999

112 | january 2020

 Gadget Corner
Tenda AC8 AC1200
The dual-band gigabit
wireless router
N etworking devices and equipment brand Tenda
has launched the AC8 AC1200 dual-band gigabit
wireless router in India. The AC8 claims to provide
Price: INR 4,900

secure, reliable and blazing fast Wi-Fi speed of 1167

Mbps, fully utilizing the gigabit fibre ensuring stable
online gaming and 4K video streaming. The Wi-Fi router
is designed in accordance to support broadband account
automatic transfer. The Tenda AC8 comes with 28nm
RealTek 1GHz Core CPU which improves the performance
up to 40% perfectly handling all data stream smoothly
and delivering an impressive internet experience.
For delivering enhanced gaming and streaming which prevents virus attacks and protects your online
experience, the AC8 comes with 4*6dBi External Dual transactions simplifying data transmission and reducing
Band External Omni-Directional Antennas covering 90 processing time. The AC8 also comes equipped with
square meters and can penetrate two layers of Walls “Smart Tenda Wi-Fi App” which helps in real-time
aggregating Wi-Fi signals directly to the users. The Tenda management of your network. One of the unique features
AC8 is equipped with MU-MIMO and Beamforming+ that make Tenda AC8 stand apart from its competitors
Technology features which help you to get unrivalled is its “Smart Traffic Prioritisation” feature. This wireless
coverage and stable performance. It supports IPv6 router is available exclusively on Amazon.n

SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive Go USB Type-C Pendrive

Empowering you to create, manage and preserve your
digital content

H ard disk drive maker Western Digital has expanded

its product portfolio with the launch of SanDisk
Ultra Dual Drive Go USB Type-C pendrive for mobile,
available in storage options of 32GB, 64GB, 128GB a n d
256GB. The SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive Go is
a 2-in-1 flash drive that lets consumers
nimbly move files between USB Type-C
smartphones, tablets and Mac
computers as well as USB Type-A
computers. This high-performance
USB 3.1 Gen 1 drive offers a read speed
of up to 150MB/s.
The all-new pendrive comes preloaded
with the SanDisk Memory Zone
app, a powerful content
management tool.
Once installed on
the smartphone,
the app helps organize content from different devices,
whether it’s on your phone, a microSD card, or the
cloud, in one view and backs up photos, videos, contacts
and social media accounts. It also helps in finding files
across your devices via geo-tagging or timeline. The
SanDisk Memory Zone is a powerful app; it can free
up space on consumers’ phones by cleaning
up downloads from other apps or by easily
offloading files to a SanDisk Dual Drive
or microSD card. The pendrive is
available with a retail price of Rs
1,050 for 32GB and goes up
to Rs 5,300 for a 256GB
capacity. It is available
at select retailers
and e-commerce
websites across
India.n

january 2020 | 113

Gadget Corner add-ons
Pioneer TS-WX400DA
A compact yet boisterous
subwoofer with built-in
Class-D amplifier
J apanese car infotainment and DJ equipment brand
Pioneer has launched TS-WX400DA, a highly
compact active subwoofer with built-in 250 Watts output
Class-D amplifier in India. From the dimensions of this
active subwoofer, which are 300mm (W) x 200mm
(D) and 100mm (H), it can be easily understood how
compact is this product and leaves enough room in the
boot for luggage and other important articles. Utilizing a
“down fire” speaker design, the TS-WX400DA is able to
produce richer low-frequency reproduction that sounds
incredible with such a compact sub-woofer.
Users of this product can enjoy two selectable bass
modes – Deep and Dynamic. On both modes, one can
experience the rich sound even at the low volume level.
Pebble Urbane
It goes beyond what you think earphones can do
Price : INR 1,999
114 | january 2020
Price :
INR 21,890
While Deep mode is ideally suitable for classic, jazz,
country music, etc, the Dynamic mode stuns music
lovers on EDM, hip-hop, rock music, etc. All the
functions can be availed using a wired remote control.
Some other remarkable features of TS-WX400DA are:
Phase control, Frequency and Gain control to adjust
the musical style, compatibility with CarSoundFit app
which simulates in-car sound when Pioneer speakers
are installed into vehicles, and CLASS-D amplifier
technology which ensures low power consumption. n
L ifestyle accessories brand Pebble has introduced a
new member to its audio lineup called the Urbane
wireless neckband in India. The Pebble Urbane comes
with soft and flexible silicone neckband that is skin-
friendly. The neckband also comes with a magnetic
interlock feature, which is a good move. It comes with
IPX5 certification making it water-resistant and sweat-
proof.
The neckband comes with Deep Bass technology
that the company claims to deliver crystal clear and
balanced sound output. The earbuds also isolate
background noise. The voice assist enabled wireless
neckband works with Siri and Google Assistant. With
this, one can ask the assistant to read the news, have a
number dialled or ask a query and more. The neckband
comes with 150 mAh battery that the brand claims
to deliver 300 hours of standby time and 12 hours of
playtime. The earphone allows hands-free calling and
easy switch between music and calls. The device is
available for purchase from leading online and offline
stores.n
MYMOBILE
 add-ons

Gadget Corner
Toreto Remix
A charger that can entertain with
its in-built Bluetooth speaker

D igital lifestyle brand Toreto has launched its all-new

product portfolio – Remix chargers – that not only
charge your devices but entertain you too. It’s, in fact,
a wall charger with an in-built Bluetooth speaker, which
makes it a must-have accessory for all your travel plans.
The Remix series comprises three products – Remix,
Remix 2 and Remix Duo. All the three products come
with a 2.4 fast charging USB output with a 3W wireless
speaker offering a very good sound quality. It can also
be paired with another Remix charger for a TWS format
and also boasts of a 400mAh speaker battery to enjoy
the music on the go.
All these products come with the latest Bluetooth
V5.0 and are only available in white colour. The Toreto Price : INR 1,799
Remix comes with a multi-circuit protection and is
loaded with a stereo sound feature to provide surround price of Rs 1,299, Rs 1,499 and Rs 1,999 respectively
sound experience. The Toreto Remix, Remix 2 and Remix at the leading ecommerce platforms and retail stores
Duo are available at an introductory, yet pocket-friendly across India.n

Portronics Yogg Kronos

Your fitness guide

E xpanding its smartwatch portfolio range, portable

digital product maker Portronics has launched Yogg
Price : INR 3,999
Kronos, a smartwatch cum fitness tracker that helps you
set and achieve your daily fitness goals with swift tracking
notifications. The Yogg Kronos has a touch-enabled 1.3-
inch colour screen that helps you track your heart rate,
your daily activity goals for steps, calories, distance,
sleep time and can set reminders too. It also helps you
track your social apps, emails, and missed calls. You can
synchronize your daily data with your smartphone using
the VeryFit Pro app.
The Yogg Kronos is water and dust resistant: its IP68
design ensures that you can wear it even in harsh weather
conditions. The watch weighs only 40.8 grams and the
material quality of the watch is very comfortable and skin-
friendly. It goes well with every look, formal and casual.
The watch has super easy charging, long playtime. Using
its magnetic charging cable; one can easily charge its
inbuilt 210mAh battery. Once fully charged, it can work
up to 8-10 days. The all-new Yogg Kronos is available
both online and offline. n

january 2020 | 115

 add-ons
Sony ICD-UX570F Digital Voice
Gadget Corner
Recorder
Your recording companion on the go
S ony India has launched a sleek and portable digital voice
recorder, dubbed the ICD-UX570F, which is designed
to offer high quality and reliable on-the-go recording
features, especially to those looking to record lectures,
phone calls, interviews, and more. The ICD-UX570F digital
voice recorder measures 102.8 mm × 36.6 mm × 12.2 mm
and weighs just 48 grams. Sony offers long range skipping
on this recorder, allowing users to quickly scrub through
and listen to certain parts of the recording. The device
includes 4GB of built-in storage but is expandable using
compatible memory cards like microSDHC or microSDXC
card. There’s a high sensitivity S-microphone in tow here
and can even record faint, distant, muffled voices without
capturing excessive background noise. It records the audio
in MP3 and LPCM formats.
The company has optimized the ICD-UX570F to auto-
detect voice and music recordings. The best part is that
BenQ GW2480T Monitor
It takes care of your eyes
E lectronics firm BenQ has expanded its product range
in India with the launch of GW2480T monitor in
India, which is claimed to reduce eye fatigue and comes
with the company’s own eye-care technology. The BenQ
GW2480T features a 24-inch full HD IPS panel display
Price :
INR 11,990
116 | january 2020
there’s a built-in
USB-A port to
make it simpler for
users to grab their
recordings. This
voice recorder
comes equipped
with a lithium
battery that offers
up to 20 hours
of record and Price : INR 8,490
playback time on
a full charge – which is also the time it takes to fill the in-
built storage. Sony states that a ‘3-minute quick charge is
good for 1 hour of recording’ on the ICD-UX570F. One can
purchase it at e-commerce stores, Sony exclusive outlets,
and retail stores across the country. n
with 250 nits of brightness. It comes with built-in
speakers and offers 178 degree wide viewing angle for
clarity. The screen is aligned with an optical viewing
distance of 60-70 cm.
The company says that the monitor has a built-in
ambient light sensor which “detects the brightness levels
in the environment, and automatically
adjusts the brightness of the screen to
deliver the most comfortable viewing
experience”. Other notable features are
flicker-free technology to remove screen
flickers and low Blue light technology to
filter Blue light. There is also a separate
Colour Weakness mode that is said to offer
natural by offering filters for red colour
deficiency and green colour deficiency. It
also offers adjustment function with an
extensive range of height, tilt, pivot, and
swivel monitor adjustments. The product is
available online at Amazon.in and at offline retail stores
across the country.n
MYMOBILE
 add-ons
Soundcore Icon Speaker
Designed for adventure

A udio brand Soundcore by tech firm Anker has

expanded its product portfolio in India with the
launch of an adventure speaker, called the Icon, which
comes with IP67 rating and is claimed by the company
to be water resistant. The Soundcore Icon is both
shockproof and dustproof and offers ‘comprehensive
protection with super tough proofing’. The speaker
features a ‘hand anywhere design’ and comes with a
detachable strap. “Strap to any tree, bike, bag, or rail
and play the soundtrack to your outdoor adventure,” the
company said.
The speaker can deliver 12 hours of playback time on
a single charge. You can connect two Icons via a single
phone or tablet for souped-up sound and cranked-up
colour. Icon’s removable straps are a chance for you
to get creative, link two Icons together in any way you
can. The product comes in playful pop colours and is
available with leading retail and ecommerce stores
across India. n

Ziox Roar
Take the party wherever you go with this trolley speaker

F ollowing the launch of its TV segment in India, Ziox

Electronics has now come up with a wireless Bluetooth
speaker called Roar, which has a trolley design. It is a
compact, rugged and portable speaker system and comes with
a 2,000mAh inbuilt battery which offers the back-up of 6-8
hours. With built-in amplifier and audio crossover, the speaker
boasts a power output of 120W. It comes with RGB Lights that
matches the on-board lighting effects with beat control. It also
has wireless mic connectivity (with 10m range). The speaker
apart from the manual control is fully functional via a remote.
The Ziox Roar speaker can be connected to multiple
smartphones and tablets to play music via Bluetooth. It comes
with an AUX input and cable which allows you to connect your
headphones, smartphones and MP3 players to it. Additionally, it
also comes with FM support letting you tune into your favourite
radio station. The Roar trolley speaker sports the 3 way sound
designs, along with 8” subwoofer for powerful bass. Outfitted
with the powerful 120W total RMS power, the speaker delivers
full range music experience with extra deep bass. It is available
with leading retail and online stores across India.n

january 2020 | 117

Gadget Corner add-ons

Prana Air Cair and Cair+

Track the air anywhere,
anytime with the all-new air
quality monitors

P urelogic Labs-owned brand Prana Air, which makes

devices and products to protect people from pollution,
has launched a new series of air quality pocket monitors
-- Cair and Cair+ -- in India. Both Cair and Cair+ measure
the air quality and air pollution in any environment and
show all collected data in real-time. With newly-added
functionality such as Wi-Fi connectivity and an SD-card
slot for storing data, they allow the user to track the air
anywhere, anytime. All data is stored in the cloud and
accessible through the mobile application- AQI India.
Both the monitors measure PM2.5, temperature and
humidity along with PM1 and PM10 (equational) with
high-quality sensors, to check the air quality. They come
with an in-built 1,000mAh battery.
All data is seen on the monitor’s LCD screen in real-
time and in graphs, or through the mobile application
where the data is also stored. With the mobile application,
hourly, daily, weekly and monthly data can be accessed,
and alerts can be set for different air quality levels to
ensure safety when air pollution spikes. The monitors
come with a charging cable and adapter and are meant to
be connected at all times for continuous measurements.
The display shows the values for each parameter together
with colours to analyse if the levels are safe or not, ranging
between green, yellow, and red.n
Price: INR 4,990 (Cair);
INR 7,490 (Cair+)

Honor AM115 Earphones

A smart option to enjoy high
fidelity music experience

H uawei’s sub-brand Honor has launched its semi-in-ear

earphones called the AM115 in India that is available on
Amazon. The Honor AM115 claims to deliver high fidelity music and
call. The latest Honor earphones come with an ergonomic design for
high comfort, efficiency and adaptability, making them a smarter
option than others in the given segment. The diamond-cut sheen
Price: INR 399 and metallic finish on the earphones gives them a premium look.
Moreover, Honor has also introduced an anti-oxidation coating over
the earphones leading to an increased lifespan.
The Honor AM115 offers numerous call and music control
functions such as a feature to reject or mute the call through pre-
programmed buttons, double-tap the button to change track and
much more. Furthermore, the earphones also come bundled with
strong bass and frequency, clear and resonant mid-range
sounds which render textured timber to vocals and
high-frequency response and
balanced sound ecosystem. n

118 | january 2020 MYMOBILE

6XSSRUWHGE\ 0HGLD3DUWQHUV
Gadget Corner add-ons
Devialet Phantom Reactor
Experience premium audio with the ultra-
compact speaker, which now comes in
a brand new Black colour option
F ollowing their international debut more recently,
France-based premium audio brand Devialet has
now come up with a new Matte Black colour variant of
its Phantom Reactor speakers in India. Until now, the
Devialet Phantom series has been available only in White
colour.
The two new ultra-compact wireless speakers, the
Phantom Reactor 600 and Phantom Reactor 900, have
been introduced by Luxury Personified and will retail for
Rs 1,09,000 and Rs 1,29,000, respectively. They will
be available in New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad,
Bangalore and Chennai.
The result of a year’s design efforts, the speaker’s sharp
matte finish is achieved with an aqueous solution, creating
a soft touch and a smooth finish capable of handling
intense power and pressure, the company claimed.
According to Devialet, the Phantom Reactor delivers
unprecedented power with zero distortion, saturation or
background noise, fully immersing you in your favourite
music, movies and games and letting you experience sound
as it should be heard. More than ever before, the Matte
Black Phantom Reactor disappears into your surroundings
- but it still promises a thrilling audio experience.
Setting up in solo or stereo mode is simple using
the Devialet app. Music can be enjoyed wirelessly from
your connected device (phone, TV etc.) through Airplay,
Bluetooth, Spotify Connect, UPnP or through analog or
optical jack connection. Its open architecture lets you
120 | january 2020
listen your way.
The Phantom Reactor, like the Phantom Premier
series, is unique. “In addition to Devialet’s 160 existing
patents in acoustic and mechanical engineering, a further
11 patents have contributed to the Phantom Reactor’s
disruptive design, allowing for powerful sound from an
impossibly compact package (it is less than 22cm long
and under 17cm tall),” the company said.
The breakthrough Devialet innovations, pushed even
further for the Phantom Reactor, include:
• Analog Digital Hybrid (ADH), Devialet’s core innovation
in sound amplification, combining the sophistication
of Class A analog amplification with the power and
compactness of Class D digital technology
• Speaker Active Matching (SAM), the mathematical
model that ensures perfect control of the mechanics
of the speakers and high acoustic fidelity of Phantom
Reactor
• Heart Bass Implosion (HBI), the revolutionary acoustic
process that emits bass sounds with phenomenal depth
and physical impact
• Active Cospherical Engine (ACE), the spherical design
and the perfect acoustic shape to reproduce a sound
and diffuse its energy linearly in all directions
• Software systems that improve every day, thanks to
free or paid upgrades as Devialet is opposed to the
obsolescence of systems. n
team@mymobile.co.in
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 Vantage Point
Trends driving
TechTalk
Audio Market
in 2020
—By Achin Gupta
O
ver the years, India has
emerged as a promising
market for the audio industry
thereby compelling many
leading global brands to set up operations
in the country. India’s unique demographic
positioning in respect of having the largest
youth population in the world and an ever-
burgeoning Media and Entertainment (M&E)
sector are two of the most critical factors
that have buttressed the growth of this
sector.
2019 was an exciting year for
the audio industry. As the industry
consumer attention through premium sound
looks forward to welcoming a brand quality experience. Additionally, there is also
new year –2020, fresh goals and
a determination to build upon the Wi-Fi compatible speakers being introduced
learnings of 2019 invoke excitement
and hope. Against this backdrop, let
us dwell on trends that one foresees as
making an impact on the audio industry
in 2020. There is no denying the fact that
entertainment and broadcast sectors will
remain the audio market’s biggest consumer
drivers. Add to this, the rising popularity
of house parties or pool parties in young
millennials, have created a lucrative niche
for waterproof, portable, Bluetooth speakers.
Going forward, one foresees huge growth
potential in the party speakers segment as
well.
Similarly, headphones and speakers that
are compatible with AI-based voice assistants
or AI-assisted devices, are also witnessing a
huge surge in demand, therefore, one expects
that this category too, shall remain one of the
prime-focus areas for audio brands in 2020.
While customers would be concerned about
the cost-effectiveness of the products, one
122 | january 2020
believes that quality and excellent
sound experience will still take
precedence over the price-point of a product. to provide flawless sound experience to the
Trendy designs, all-weather usability, easy users. On the same lines, exponential growth
portability, sound quality, longer battery of the mobile handset industry is expected
backup will matter more than ever. to trigger a race in wireless Bluetooth audio
brands for capturing consumer attention
through premium sound quality experience.
“Exponential growth Additionally, there is also a huge possibility
of the mobile handset industry of video speakers and Wi-Fi compatible
is expected to trigger a race in wireless speakers being introduced in the
coming time which will be an exciting
Bluetooth audio brands for capturing
addition to the catalogues of major
audio brands.
For the audio industry in
a huge possibility of video speakers and India, 2020 could also be a
watershed year if more brands
place emphasis on launching eco-
in the coming time which will be an friendly products. Given the rising
exciting addition to the catalogues awareness of global warming and
of major audio brands” reducing plastic usage among consumers
and organizations alike, one predicts audio
brands to simultaneously work on innovating
A report by EY-FICCI in 2019 predicts products manufactured using recyclable
the M&E sector in India to cross Rs 2.35 material without marring the overall sound/
trillion by 2021 at a CAGR of 11.6 per cent. audio experience of the end-user. Although
It further expects stupendous growth of the definitely a challenge, this proposition could
sector to come from digital, estimating how make a marked difference in a brand’s overall
approximately 2.5 million consumers in India positive perception.
are digital-only. This digital customer base is Technology is one magic wand one
expected to grow to 5 million by 2021, the can rely upon to make this a reality. On
report adds. These findings present a very the whole, 2020 would most likely be yet
positive opportunity for the expansion of the another growth fueled year for the industry
audio industry. Increase in growth of digital with the spotlight being on products that are
infrastructure would mean a parallel rise in not just technologically sound but also fare
demand for best audio equipment. well on overall consumer satisfaction and
Furthermore, the rising use of immersive environment-friendly aspects. n
audio in M&E sector while creating content will
The author is Country Head-India at Zoook.
create the need for quality audio equipment
MYMOBILE
RNI REG NO. DELENG/2005/15033
DL (ND) : 11/6100/2018-19-20
Posting Date 26th to 31st every month
Publishing Date : 22-12-19