|In: Technology|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

The National Association of Software & Services Companies [NASSCOM] launched The Future of Internet in India report in partnership with Akamai Technologies. The study was researched and created by YourStory in collaboration with Nasscom and with supporting data from Akamai and other sources. The report, launched by R Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM and Dr. Tom Leighton, Co-founder, CEO Akamai Technologies, aims to understand the impact of the Internet on the way we live, learn, work, shop and connect and focuses on the future trends that will change the landscape of India by 2020.

Speaking at the launch, R Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM stated that

India’s Internet consumption has already exceeded USA to become No. 2 globally. Keeping into consideration the massive impact that the Internet is creating across sectors, it has become the greatest disruptor of our age by changing the way we work, interact socially and live life in general. By 2020, the Internet is expected to penetrate deeper in the hinterlands of the country, helping to create more opportunities for everyone.

The rapid growth of the Internet and its expansion into verticals including e-Commerce, Travel and Hospitality, Public Sector, Financial Technology and Media is a clear indication of the state of things to come.

According to the report, India’s Internet user base is the second largest after China. Globally, the number of Internet users is expected to touch 4170 million by 2020 [Source – DazeInfo]. The growth of the Internet has successfully created a strong ecosystem for new businesses to tap into growing markets and create solutions to address their demands.

Sidharth Malik, Vice President and Managing Director, India, Akamai Technologies said

The start-up ecosystem in India, coupled with the government’s initiatives make the Internet accessible to every citizen across the country, is helping India set the stage to enable large numbers of ‘netizens’ to reap the benefits of the Internet. With the rise of digital natives and the increased adoption of smartphones, Internet penetration in India will stretch beyond the large cities, as more services and devices come online. This is also a great opportunity for enterprises to harness the power of the Internet to innovate and scale operations.

Online shopping will account for two-thirds of the total e-Commerce market, edging out travel

According to the report, the overall e-Commerce market in India was valued $17 billion in FY 2016, and by 2020, India will have an estimated 702 million smart phones in use and mobile phones will emerge as the preferred device for shopping, accounting for 70% of total online shopping. The fashion and lifestyle segment will emerge as the largest e-tailing category with a 35% contribution to e-Commerce GMV by 2020, overtaking the consumer electronics segment which dominates the sales of Indian e-Commerce industry at present.

50% of travel transactions to be online by 2020

Travel across India, for social visits, leisure, shopping and holidays is all set to increase and more people will be booking online, taking advantage of competitive pricing offered by online travel agents [OTAs] and aggregators. An increasing amount of user-generated content online [views on social media, reviews on websites, etc.] is driving aspirational travel, tipping the scales in favour of trips that were once only contemplated, never undertaken.

Media and OTT – All moving online, one app at a time

The availability of affordable smartphones and tablets has encouraged the second screen phenomenon. With the rapid adoption of smartphones and next generation networks, content consumption patterns and consumer engagement channels are rapidly evolving. Even in its nascent phase, the video-on-demand [VOD] market is highly competitive in India.

Financial technology – Disrupting the way India pays online

Fintech is disrupting financial services and is likely to have far more widespread impact on society and the Indian economy, both directly and indirectly. The fintech software market within this was pegged at $1.2 billion [13-15%, Source – NASSCOM Fintech Report].

The remaining 87% focus on services, primarily in payments [60% of the market, including ATM/Point of Sale] and core banking services. Overall, according to the report, India’s fintech market is expected to grow 1.7x between 2015 and 2020. While cash-on-delivery may remain the preferred mode of payment for newer users, keep in mind that use of mobile banking and e-wallets is surging.

Conclusion – The future is bright but there is a greater need to collaborate

In times to come, while mobile will be a key access device, larger devices will continue to be important in areas like education and business. Multiple stakeholders will need to work in tandem to bring the next generation of Internet users [rural based, mobile centric, local language focused] online in India.

Further, with digital connectivity, the risk of cyber-crimes also increases. With multitudes of people using e-Commerce and transacting online, there is a huge need for technologies that can prevent data theft. India is witnessing a huge demand for security professionals [technologists and analysts, alike]. In line with these growing demands, security has become one of the key focus areas for NASSCOM Sector Skills Council, working towards creating the right cyber-security skill sets for Indian IT professionals.

|In: Funding|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

While everyone else is claiming it to be a funding slowdown, Indian Angel Network, world’s largest group of angel investors show no such signs. IAN announced an undisclosed investment in Bengaluru based movers and packers startup, Pikkol. Angel Investor, CEO & Managing Trustee B.PAC, Revathy Ashok and Raj Rathi led the round of investment on behalf of IAN with Raj Rathi joining the company board to further guide the team in becoming a leader in the moving and relocation industry in India.

Conceived as the brainchild of a group of enterprising young men, Pikkol is a technology centric relocation service provider where customers can generate tailor-made solutions for their relocation needs. They make use of strong analytics based technological back-end and logistics network for servicing the orders adding reliability and accountability through operational interventions.

In spite of a crowded relocation services market, there are hardly any players who offer standardized and quality relocation services. Pikkol was born out of extensive research done in the logistics and home services segment that helped the team identify the problems that consumers face while relocating.  Since the market is flooded with vendors with minimum expertise, it’s a challenge for consumers to find a trusted mover. With the aim to address this pain point, Pikkol was conceptualized in April 2015 by Deepu Chandran, Suraj Valimbe, Siby Mathew and Jayaram Kasivisweswaran

Deepu Chandran, CEO of Pikkol said

Currently, this unorganized industry is a constant source of dissatisfaction for customers. We felt that many of those problems related to accountability, reliability and transparency could be solved with technology and operational excellence. Customer experience is the key area that we majorly concentrate on. Really delighted that team IAN for backing us up.

The company plans to utilize the raised funds in product development and expansion. They will also be concentrating on enhancing capabilities of moving teams and continual behavioral and transactional training as part of their product enhancement.

The USD 2-3 Billion packers and movers market is highly unorganized and fragmented. With increased mobility of workforce and higher urbanization, relocation market is expected to grow at 10% per annum and reach USD 5 Billion by 2020. In developed markets relocation market is close to 0.2%-0.3% of the total GDP.

Raj Rathi, the IAN lead investor who is joining the board commented on the investment said

Relocating to a new place is already a difficult task. On top of that, when you have to deal with vendors who refuse to understand your situation adds more to the woes. This is where Pikkol will break the cluttered market. While the traditional players redirect their customers to other vendors without providing any post move assistance, Pikkol aims at providing standardized logistic services with both pre move and post move assistance.

They are using technology to create better experience for the customers. What makes them stand out from other vendors in the market is their customer centric approach which is rarely found in this segment. I am pretty excited to mentor them in their journey of being the market leaders.

While most of the online portals and traditional players in the industry claim to provide reliable packers and movers to customers but do nothing more than just passing customer details to vendors, Pikkol choose to be different and intends to usher a new wave of change in the relocation industry in India by being tremendously customer centric. Having serviced more than 10,000 moves to more than 40 destinations in India in the past one year, it incorporates innovative use of technology to identify and solve pain-points of this utility service by setting up benchmarks in service quality and transparency through data driven methodologies.

About Pikkol

Pikkol is a technology centric relocation service provider that offers standardized service experience and tailor-made relocation packages for customers. Its adaptive algorithm captures the inventory and computes the right truck size, packing requirements, and price to ensure that the process is completely hassle free for its customers. Pikkol seamlessly integrates with home service providers to ensure that pre-move and post-move services can be availed by the customer. The pre-move services currently include electrical, plumbing, carpentry, appliance un-installation and installation.

The booking system in Pikool , let the customer enter all details and make a booking in less than 5 minutes while a traditional move involves survey from vendor and multiple rounds of negotiation. The state-of-the-art adaptive algorithm which runs the backend of Pikkol system analyze the details and compute the right truck size, packing requirements, distance and special requirements to automatically quote the charge of the move. The system generated quotes ensures complete transparent pricing and the customer need not shell out any extra charges during the course of move. Assigning a personal move coordinator with every move and tracking the move at every stage ensures that all customer requirements are met and the service quality and standards are maintained. For more information, please visit Pikool

About Indian Angel Network

The Indian Angel Network is the world’s largest business angel group. With close to 400 investors from 10 countries, IAN’s presence spans 7 locations, which includes cities in India and UK. IAN has invested in startups from diverse industries/sectors. The investor group comprises successful and established entrepreneurs as well as dynamic CEOs. They not only invest in innovative startups but also provide valuable inputs on strategy, in addition to providing access to their vast global networks. IAN’s portfolio, with over 100-odd companies, spans 17 sectors across 7 countries. IAN portfolio companies have given 70x returns in 6 years, 21x in 30 months, 22x in 60 months, and 6x in 15 months; with ventures such as Druva, Stayzilla, and Webengage well on their way to become unicorns. For more information, please visit IAN

 

|In: Funding|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Hike Messenger, India’s only homegrown messaging platform and the largest Indian internet company by users, announced that it has raised a Series D financing of over USD 175 Million in a new funding round led by Tencent Holdings Limited and Foxconn Technology Group valuing the company close to USD 1.4 Billion. Existing investors Tiger Global, Bharti and the SoftBank Group also participated in this round. This is the fourth venture capital round and the biggest to date for Hike, taking the total investment to over USD 250 Million so far.

Talking about Tencent’s investment in Hike, Tencent President Martin Lau said

Hike deeply understands India; a highly diverse market with many nuances. It is on a mission synergistic to ours, which is to enhance the quality of human life through internet services. With our investment, Hike will be able to leverage our deep domain expertise in the messaging platform space to provide more value to its users in India.

Talking about Foxconn’s investment in Hike, FIH Mobile CEO, Calvin Chih said

Messaging platforms are where consumers and their social networks reside and represent significant investment potential, particularly in a market like India, where most people will access the internet for the first time on their mobile phones.

As a leading provider of mobiles technology and Internet of Things solutions, FIH Mobile understands the value that mobile platforms, such as Hike Messenger, bring to our business portfolio and our strategy for delivering cutting-edge products and solutions that meet the needs of our customers and consumers, enabling us to achieve sustainable business growth. Hike with its hyper-local strategy is clearly the company of choice for us to co-invest with our partners, SoftBank and Tencent.

Masayoshi Son, Founder, Chairman and CEO, SoftBank Group, the longest standing investor in Hike said

Hike is one of SoftBank’s best performing portfolio companies in India and we are happy to have stayed invested in it from the beginning. The team has reached an outstanding scale in a short span of 3.5 years. As an investor, we share their vision and are happy that they are moving ahead in their journey so quickly in a competitive environment.

Speaking on the occasion, Founder and CEO, Hike Messenger, Kavin Bharti Mittal said

I’m thrilled to announce this new milestone in our journey. Tencent and Foxconn both have pedigrees that speak for themselves and such an investment especially in today’s market just goes to show the strong foundation on which Hike is being built. The new fund raise is going to allow us to push Hike to greater heights and invest in areas that will be key to our long term vision and success

I’m also equally excited to have our existing shareholders Tiger, SoftBank and Bharti follow in this round who continue to show strong support in our long term vision. I must say it’s an incredibly exciting time to be at Hike. Not only do we get to wake up every morning everyday knowing that our work will impact millions of people, we now also have two incredible new partners to do that with, as we further our mission to bring India online.

Hike also has a roster of some of the most prominent people in the technology space as angel investors such as Adam D’Angelo, Founder and CEO, Quora; Aditya Agarwal, Vice President Engineering, Dropbox; Ruchi Sanghvi, erstwhile Vice President, Operations, Dropbox and Matt Mullenweg, Founder and CEO of Automattic Inc. and Co-Founder, WordPress.

100 Million Users. 40 Billion Messages Per Month – In January 2016, Hike had announced that it has a user base of a 100 million users. 95% of Hike users are based in India and 90% of them are young and below the age of 30. Hike users, on an average, exchange 40 Billion messages per month and spend 120 min. per user per week on the platform. Hike has been built for these young consumers around 3 key pillars:

  1. Local Expressive Content that includes Hike’s very popular 10,000+ stickers available in 40 languages, themes and multi-lingual user interface. The availability of the Platform adds to this piece as it makes relevant local content available for customers to enjoy and share with their network of friends. The Platform includes News in English and Hindi, Games (Beta) on Hike, Live Cricket, Coupons, Just for Laughs and Hike Daily.
  2. Emphasis on Privacy that includes the innovative feature Hidden Mode that hides chats quickly and elegantly and Favorites so customers can choose who sees last seen, display pictures and status updates.
  3. Data Constraints. Features such as Hike2SMS and Hike Direct are built for India. Hike2SMS helps send free SMS when there is no internet connectivity and Hike Direct helps share files without the use of internet.

Additional information

You can download the app at – http://get.hike.in For more information, please visit theHike Blog

|In: Android|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Google announced the launch of its video calling app Google Duo , a simple 1-to-1 video calling app available for Android and iOS. Duo takes the complexity out of video calling, so that you can be together in the moment wherever you are.

Duo is simple from start to finish. To get started, all you need is your phone number and you will be able to reach people in your phone’s contacts list across device types and platforms. No separate account is required, so you can sign up and start calling in just a few taps. From there, you can instantly begin a video call with a single tap. The roll out of Duo for Android and iOS starts today and it will be live worldwide in the next few days.

The unique feature of Knock Knock in Google Duo is designed to be fun and inviting. It allows people to see live video of the caller before they answer, giving you a sense of what they are up to and why they want to chat. Knock Knock makes video calling more spontaneous and welcoming, helping users connect with the person even before they even pick up.

Duo has been built to be fast and reliable, so that video calls connect quickly and work well even on slower networks. Call quality adjusts to changing network conditions to keep you connected when bandwidth is limited, Duo will gracefully reduce the resolution to keep the call going smoothly. For video calls on the go, Duo will switch between Wi-Fi and cellular data automatically without dropping your call.

Amit Fulay, Group Product Manager, Google said

Video calling is the next best thing to being with someone in person. We have designed the interface to be simple, easy and welcoming. In places like India, it has been designed to adapt to the network connectivity conditions. We hope to make the experience of video calling more personal, inviting easy and smooth.

Duo has been built with an emphasis on privacy and security. All Duo calls are end-to-end encrypted. Google Duo for Android and iOS are available here & here.

|In: Android|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

OPPO kick-started the First Sale of Selfie Expert OPPO F1s at the OPPO store in Jayanagar, Bengaluru. The First Sale was kick-started by none other than the stunning Bollywood actress Huma Qureshi. Taking selfies a step further, the much awaited upgraded Selfie Expert OPPO F1s was recently launched in the Indian market. Pre-orders were taken across India from August 4 to August 10.

Excited on being the first OPPO F1s customer, Huma Qureshi said

The selfie craze in India is just getting popular day by day and I am too completely awestruck with this Phenomenon-I love taking selfies! OPPO has the best Camera Phone technology in the industry and I am very excited to use my upgraded Selfie Expert –OPPO F1s. With its 16MP front camera the OPPO F1s helps capture great selfies even in low light and is taking selfies to a whole new level.

Sirius Liu, Sales Head for Bengaluru said

Being a key market for OPPO, Bangalore as well as major centres in the states are expanding its footprint to meet the demands of growing customer base. Our First Sale initiative is to introduce customers with our latest upgraded Selfie Expert – OPPO F1s which is stepping up the selfie revolution with a 16 MP front camera, a sophisticated beautification feature and whole day use long battery endurance. Currently, we have 6 showrooms and 12 service centres in Bangalore and we aim to provide fast and best services to all our customers

A feature packed product at a price of Rs 17,990, The F1s uses a 16 MP front camera providing high dynamic range and minimizing noise, so that pictures come out with a vivid depth and detail. The F1s is your personalized selfie expert with the latest beautification feature – Beautify 4.0. The front camera and the beautification feature together help you click perfect selfies.  With seven beautify levels, two skins tone modes and upgraded photo-processing algorithms, Beautify 4.0 is optimized to capture selfies with bright, clear skin, vivid eyes and striking features. The F1s is not just about great selfies and photography but is backed with powerful hardware to ensure a flawless experience.

It cruises on an Octa-core processor with 3GB RAM and 32GB ROM with an industry leading 0.22s fingerprint reader. The triple-slot card tray gives space for two Nano 4G SIM cards and an SD card to expand the storage space by up to 128 GB. With such upgrades, your experience with the all-new Selfie Expert F1s will be faster, smoother and steadier.

After the successful launch of OPPO F1s, the company will also be launching a new campaign titled Review Selfie Expert OPPOF1s to win for OPPO F1s users on the company’s website to bring all the selfies experience at one place. With the objective to engage with the OPPO F1s customer and create word of mouth for the new product, this campaign will be live from 11th Aug to 9th September.

As part of this campaign the OPPO F1s users would be required to submit their reviews/feedback/selfie experience on the micro-site as well as on the social media. All the entries will be visible on main page of the micro-site, so that all the visitors can check the feedback and selfies quality reviews shared by other reviewers as well. Top five winners 5 People will get a chance for a Selfie Photo-shoot by Ace Photographer, Dabboo Ratnani.

|In: Funding|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Joolz, an online jewellery community and a marketplace that facilitates jewellery retail, has taken the Indian jewellery industry by storm.The enterprise has recently raised USD 500K funding as a part of its Pre Series A round from ah! Ventures and others. This current seed round was also led by Mahesh Ahuja – CEO of Brittman India, Sri Peddu – MD of Powerhouse Ventures, M&S Partners, Deepak Kasthwal – Ex-CFO of OLA, PKX Thomas – Ex Technology Head, Cleartrip, Neha Shah and angel round by GSF Accelerator

Online jewellery in India is seeing rapid growth signs in recent times. But that is mostly focused on smaller ticket items ranging between INR 15,000 and INR 30,000. The Indian consumer has been buying jewellery in a certain way for the last decades, and for traditional and larger ticket items, this is not bound to change soon. Through Joolz, Founder Arnaud Lorie is looking to help consumers discover prices and options online and facilitate the offline process of buying the jewellery.

Founded in May 2015 with total team of nine, Joolz is an India-focused community and marketplace that brings together leading jewellery brands on a single platform. The startup aggregates and curates high-quality jewellery inventory and offers its consumers an unmatched discovery and shopping experience. Joolz is more than just an online sales platform, it enables two-way interaction between jewellery buyers and sellers through discussion, discovery and education. It is accessible as a smartphone app on Android and iOS platforms and on the Joolz website.

The primary objective of the recent fund infusion is to boost operations, products, marketing and further build up its team. The plan is to reach a new group of brands and investigate new revenue models and not to be a company solemnly focused on the online traction. The offline jewellery industry valued at over $40 billion, has a large opportunity untouched by technological initiatives.

Commenting on the unique proposition of Joolz, Founder Arnaud Lorie said

Buying jewellery is so closely intertwined with Indian culture that the act of simply selling it online is not going to create any significant impact in the market. We therefore want to be the single biggest facilitator of jewellery commerce, whether online, or more importantly offline.

Born and brought up in Belgium, the diamond capital of the world, Lorie moved to Israel when he was 18 to join the army. He then joined his family’s company International Gemological Institute [IGI], the largest certificate company for diamond and jewellery worldwide and has now been living in India for past 3 years. After training in one of the largest diamond factories in Navsari, Gujarat for 12 months, he started working on this new business venture – Joolz.

Joolz Team
Joolz Team

Commenting on the thriving start up, Powerhouse Ventures Managing Director Sri Peddu opined

What attracted us most was the company’s rich understanding of the jewellery space and the passion with which they are planning to transform the way consumers interact with jewellery, online and offline.

Joolz, in a short span of time has reached an average selling ticket size of about INR 25,000 in an industry where the offline ticket size is still hovering at INR 15,000. It has even managed to clock sales that have ranged up to INR 3 Lakhs.

Giving an investors’ perspective, Harshad Lahoti, Founder and CEO of ah! Ventures, said

The online jewellery market in India is expected to grow at $3.6 billion over the next three years, which in itself makes the sector a lucrative one to invest in. In addition to that, given the background of the founder and their in depth understanding of the business, this enterprise has from the very beginning started off on the best foot possible. Jewelry business in India, as is in any part of the world, closely related to the culture and the emotional binding of the people buying it and only a team with understanding of this fact can successfully drive a business in this sector, to the top. We at ah! Ventures see that spark in Arnaud & his team and we are sure to see them being game changers in this industry.

Commenting on the strong partnership between Joolz and ah! Ventures, Founder Arnaud Lorie said

ah! Venture has immensely helped in quick closure of this round. Fast and efficient, they managed to add great value in terms of executions and and in bringing valued investors on board.

ah! Ventures is in the process of closing 2 more investments in the coming week.

About Joolz

Joolz is an online jewellery community and a marketplace that facilitates jewellery retail, both online and offline. Joolz aggregates and curates inventory to offer consumers an enjoyable and rewarding shopping experience. Through behavior analytics the jeweler will get to know his customers and be able to curate to them, in order to increase sales and set trends. Joolz is not just a sales platform; it is a community that breeds interaction, education, discussion, and feedback analysis. For more information, please visit Joolz

About ah! Ventures

ah! Ventures is a startup focused growth catalyst that brings together promising businesses and investors by creating wealth creation opportunities for both. ah!’s unique model serves investors, entrepreneurs and enablers through a unique blend of customized services, skill, and industry & domain experience.

Founded in 2010, ah! Ventures has systematically disrupted India’s early stage funding ecosystem through its innovative approach toward startup investing. First of its kind initiatives like the CLUB ah! network & platform, ah! Angels (India’s largest angel network), ah! Seeders and ah! VC networks (India’s first seed & VC investment networks respectively), have brought together and integrated the otherwise previously segregated startup funding lifecycle, under one roof. This, coupled with ah! Impact network, an impact investment network for investing in social enterprises and ah! Mentors network, a mentor network to assist startups in their growth and expansion, has today made ah! Ventures not just one of India’s most respected change leaders, but also a formidable industry force to recon with.

|In: Technology|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

With the honourable PM Narendra Modi announcing the Digital India Vision, the country saw various developments in the technological sector. And keeping in line with this, Airtel launched its 4G services in 296 towns across India, in August, 2015. It had promised that it would make further contributions towards the Digital India Vision.

True to its promise, Airtel had signed a deal with Aircel for acquiring 4G spectrum against 8 circles back in April this year [2016]. According to present reports, it has succeeded in acquiring the spectrum of Odisha circle, which completes its acquisition of 7 circles.

What Airtel is saying

According to a regulatory filing by Aircel with the BSE

The acquisition of rights to use 20 MHz 2300 Band BWA spectrum from Aircel, Bharti Airtel has now informed BSE that the proposed transaction has been successfully concluded for Odisha circle following the receipt of all necessary approvals and satisfying all the conditions [including conditions stated in the spectrum trading guidelines].

With this, the company has completed the transaction in 7 out of 8 circles namely Tamil Nadu [including Chennai]; Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, Assam, North East and Odisha.

To acquire the Odisha circle, Airtel was required to give away 1.2 MHz of spectrum with a valuation of Rs. 38 crore. That is because the acquisition deal was crossing the spectrum limit for Aircel. Does this spell a surge in 4G rate? That only time will tell. Airtel had promised that 4G will be available for the cost of 3G. So, one thing is for sure – now we get to enjoy unfaultering speed for less.

If this can be coupled with some great recharge deals that are easily available online, it would be a complete win-win situation for the consumers. There are quite a few coupon sites that are popular today for instance Happy Sale. Using coupon codes is a great way to save on everyday needs, be it recharge or bill payments. Yet, if there’s doubt as to why it is better to migrate to Airtel 4G, check out articles that aptly answers this question.

How is this deal beneficial for Airtel ?

Till date Reliance JIO has been the only brand to hold the 4G spectrum in 22 circles all over the country. Now, Airtel becomes the second largest company to hold 4G spectrum with a bandwidth of 2300 MHz, with this latest acquisition. And the acquirement of the Odisha circle is not the only latest accomplishment by Airtel. They have also launched 4G services in West Bengal, Kharagpur; it being the second city to enjoy 4G services after Kolkata.

The Kharagpur services were introduced on the basis of dual spectrum bands. One is of a bandwidth of 1800 MHz [FD LTE] and the other is of a bandwidth of 2300 MHz [TD LTE]. FD is the one in which there is less interference, which helps with better reception. TD is in which transmission happens alongside reception, at the same time. As per the company, this combination will help with improved user experience. And the 4G services are compatible not only with mobile phones, but also with dongles and 4G hotspots.

The news of the Aircel 4G spectrum deal along with the launch of 4G services in Kharagpur has increased the stock value of the company. It is reportedly said to have closed at a rate of Rs. 346.20 on Thursday.

|In: Android|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Coolpad unveiled the Coolpad Mega – a smartphone with an unparalleled style and design. Coolpad Mega is a light weight phone, with 5.5-inch HD Sharp display and a 3GB RAM. It is priced at INR 6,999. It will be exclusively available on Amazon.in in variants of gold, white as well as black. The phone will go on sale starting 24 August 2016 via flash sale, registrations have started from 10th August 5 PM.

Coolpad Mega is the perfect blend of elegant design matched with revolutionary technology at a great price point. Weighing a mere 140 grams Coolpad Mega is extremely comfortable to hold, a design oriented towards the USP of this phone and a 5.5- inch display that makes it ideal for playing games and watching videos.  One of the distinctive feature of the phone is the 83.6°FOV [Field of View], which makes it very easy to cover maximum number of people in a single frame. Mega is powered by a 2,500 mAh battery and has powerful 8 MP front camera for selfie obsessed fans.

Syed Tajuddin, CEO, Coolpad India

Syed Tajuddin, CEO, Coolpad India said

A successful company always need to align its objectives as per the expectations from the market, it has to listen to the customers from wherever, whichever medium it may be. At Coolpad transition is a constant process and voice of users is the opinion accepted with supreme importance. We are raising the bar with every new product and constantly strive to better ourselves so that we can spoil our consumers for choice. With the launch of “Coolpad Mega”, we aim to capture 13-15% of under 8K online smartphone segment which is growing at an astounding 100% rate YOY. 

In the initial phase, the first batch of Coolpad Mega phones will be imported from China and later they will be manufactured in India under our Make in India initiative. We are confident that we will sell 50 K phones in our first flash sale on 24 August, 2016. We will continue in our endeavor to bring customized smart devices to the Indian consumers and will be surprising our customers with a disruptive product before Diwali this year

Coming to specifications, it features a 2.5D curved screen with 5.5-inch IPS LCD HD [1280 * 720 pixel] resolution. Under the hood, it comes powered by a 64-bit MediaTek MT6735P Quad-core processor clocks at 1.0 GHz paired with Mali-T720 GPU. The device runs on the latest CoolUI 8.0 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box. It supports dual SIM dual standby with VOLTE support and offers 4G LTE network. The device is measured by 7.85 mm of thickness and is the weight around 140 grams. More information on Coolpad Mega is available here

About Coolpad

Coolpad Group Limited was founded in 1993, and was listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in December 2004. The Group is a leading developer and provider of integrated solutions for smartphones, mobile data platform systems and value-added business operations in China. The Group provides its products and services to enterprises, government organizations and mobile operators as well as individual consumers in China.For more information, please visit Coolpad India