Articles about India

Facebook is on a mission to get more people to use the internet. Through Internet.org -- a global partnership between the social networking service and six mobile phone technology giants, nonprofits, local communities and experts -- the company today took its biggest step in that direction. Internet.org is now available in India, the world’s second most populous nation.

The company has partnered with Reliance Communications, an Indian broadband and telecommunications company, to provide access to 38 services (products and websites) for free. To get things started, the service has been launched in six Indian states -- Tamil Nadu, Mahararashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, and Telangana -- and will work for both existing and new RCom subscribers.

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In yet another major push into the Indian technology sector, Google has kick-started its Launchpad startup mentorship program in the country. The company has announced plans to offer three-month mentoring to 20 shortlisted startups. The move signals the search giant’s growing interest towards Indian startups.

Launchpad -- which was started two-and-a half years ago -- is run by Google’s developer team. They examined more than 1,450 ventures and shortlisted 20 startups from it. Half of the startups in the curated list are in the B2B space while rest of them cater to businesses. A few of them focus on education and healthcare verticals.

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Motorola has started to seed out the Android 5.0 Lollipop update -- the latest iteration of the Google’s mobile operating system -- for both the first and second generation Moto G handsets in India. In a blog post, the Lenovo-owned smartphone manufacturer noted that users who purchased the affordable handset from Flipkart or Airtel store will be able to snag the update.

Announced in October, Android 5.0 Lollipop is one of the biggest updates to Google’s mobile operating system since its inception in 2008. The update brings in a range of features including improved notifications, revamped user interface, support for ART runtime by default, and advanced security features, among others.

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Half a year after it unveiled Mi 4, Chinese smartphone vendor Xiaomi is bringing its "fastest & most gorgeous Mi Phone ever" to India. Starting February 10, local consumers will be able to get their hands on the flagship device through retailer Flipkart.

Mi 4 is one of the most interesting smartphones unveiled in 2014, in no small part thanks to its $320 starting price. Handsets from rival makers such as Samsung have price-tags twice as high, so it is easy to understand what makes it such an appealing option in the flagship segment. Fortunately for those wanting to get their hands on Mi 4 in India, its price-tag is still as attractive as ever.

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With Windows Phone still struggling to gain considerable traction, Microsoft is trying to boost its operating system's market share by focusing on the low-end of the market, which has real potential of attracting consumers, especially those in emerging markets. And, so far this year, Microsoft has introduced quite a few affordable Windows Phones, with the latest of the bunch being the still-Nokia-branded Lumia 638.

Lumia 638 is a new Windows Phone 8.1 handset that is designed for India. It is touted to be one of the most affordable smartphones with 4G connectivity available in this Asian market, which is sure to attract the attention of price-conscious local buyers. What else does it have to offer?

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The High Court in Delhi has temporarily banned the sales of smartphones built by Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus.

The ban comes after Micromax, an Indian consumer electronics company, filed a lawsuit alleging OnePlus violated an exclusivity agreement it signed with Cyanogen.

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Xiaomi has enjoyed great success in its home market of China, becoming the largest vendor in the country in Q2 2014, beating Samsung for the title. The company also was the third-largest smartphone maker worldwide in Q3 2014. And things appear to only be looking up for Xiaomi, with shipments expected to grow at a still rapid pace.

One of the reasons why Xiaomi has managed to reach the top spot in its home country is the permissive local legal system, in relation to patents. The company hasn't really been challenged locally by any of the big non-Chinese players, as quite likely any suits filed against it for patent infringement would be lost by the plaintiffs. Western companies have been dealing with this problem for (too) many years. However, as Xiaomi expands into India, it has to deal with a different legal system, one which just sided with Ericsson in a case of patent infringement. The outcome?

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Chinese smartphone vendor OnePlus just launched its One flagship in India, where it is available to purchase exclusively through the local arm of retailer Amazon. Prospective buyers are only able to scoop up the top-of-the-line 64 GB version of the smartphone, as the lesser 16 GB model is nowhere to be seen at this stage.

OnePlus appears to be committed to the Indian market, as it says that it has already set up a service network of 25 walk-in centers for its prospective local customers. Speaking of customers, the number of local buyers who will be able to buy One is still controlled by OnePlus, as the company is continuing to enforce its invite-only system.

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New figures show that global smartphone shipments for 2014 are set to be 19 percent higher than the previous year. Juniper Research reports that handset shipments are forecast to jump from 985 million in 2013 to 1.2 billion this year.

Smartphone popularity continues to rise, and this has been driven -- at least in part -- by the appearance of handsets with bargain basement prices. While the likes of Apple push premium-priced smartphones, emerging markets are lapping up handsets priced at $150 and under.

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The increasing popularity of smartphones in emerging markets coupled with Google's desire to gain control over its open-source mobile operating system have resulted in Android One. It's a new program, designed with low-end devices in mind, that will see more consumers enjoying the benefits of a close-to-stock Android experience on inexpensive handsets. It's also Google's way of making sure that billions of first-time smartphone users will be exposed to its services and become long-term customers.

"If we look at how people are getting online and accessing information today, increasingly it’s through a smartphone", says Android and Chrome & Apps SVP Sundar Pichai. "While 1.75 billion people around the world already have a smartphone, the vast majority of the world’s population -- over five billion more -- do not. That means most people are only able to make simple voice calls, rather than connect with family through a live video chat, use mapping apps to find the closest hospital, or simply search the web. We want to bring these experiences to more people".

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Microsoft is slowly expanding the number of territories in which it’s possible to buy its new game console, a move which will no doubt help in the sales battle against rival Sony’s PS4. The Xbox One is set to go on sale, officially, in China in September, and it will be launching in India soon too.

Rather than pushing the console out to brick and mortar stores in India, Microsoft has chosen instead to launch it exclusively through Amazon.in. While it might seem a rather strange move to limit the console’s availability to a single online retailer, it actually makes a lot of sense. The Xbox 360 flopped badly in India at launch, and Microsoft will be keen to avoid a repeat of that experience.

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