Cell Phones Guide

With the Budget 2017-18 bringing in a Special Additional Duty (SAD) of two per cent on PCBs or Printed Circuit Boards used in the manufacture of mobile phones, the prices of cellphones are likely to increase. In a bid to push local manufacturing in the country, the government in its budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year has proposed a two percent special additional duty on import of PCBs, the key components of the mobile phones. The government is aiming at companies locally manufacturing the PCBs and provide “adequate protection to domestic industry.” Though the move is likely to result in a marginal increase in the price of handsets, as these components are mostly imported. It is worth noting that PCBs alone contribute to 25-30 percent of the cost of the smartphones. At this moment, it is not certain how the levied duty on PCBs will affect prices of mobile phones in the country. Notably, there has been some back and forth on the Special Additional Duty applicable on the po...

The comeback of Nokia's brand under HMD Global early next year has been highly anticipated and rumours surrounding the upcoming smartphones keep growing day by day. Up until now, it was rumoured that at least three Nokia-branded Android devices will be unveiled at MWC 2017 in February targeting the entry-level, mid-range, and high-end categories. A fresh rumour however suggests that HMD Global will come out with four more models in Q2 and Q3 of 2017, which includes a variant of the Nokia D1C. It looks like  HMD Global  wants to bring back the  Nokia  brand swiftly with a total of at least five smartphones now rumoured for 2017. Digitimes  cites  supply chain sources to claim the four new models will have display sizes ranging from 5 inches to 5.7 inches, at QHD or full-HD resolutions. The sources further added that LG  Display, Century Technology (CTC), and Innolux will be supplying the panels for the upcoming phones with FIH Mobile serving as ...

Digital payments platform Paytm today announced a toll-free number to enable consumers and merchants without an internet connection to pay and receive money instantly and also recharge their mobile phones. Customers and merchants will need to register with Paytm their mobile number and set a four digit paytm PIN, the company said in a statement here. "They (users) can then enter the recipient's mobile number, amount and their Paytm PIN to successfully transfer the money from their Paytm wallet to another Paytm wallet," it said. "We are committed to enabling more and more Indians to transact digitally. The launch of our new toll free payment number (180018001234), is another significant step in that direction. This will allow even non smartphone users across India to go cashless," Nitin Misra, senior vice president, Paytm said. Currently, over a million offline merchants across India accept Paytm as their preferred payment mode, the company claime...

In an interview, Microsoft CEO stated that the company hasn't given up on the smartphone plans. Despite trying again and again, Microsoft just can’t seem to catch a break in the mobile world. But the company isn’t done trying yet — according to CEO Satya Nadella, the next Microsoft phone could be one of the best smartphones we’ve ever seen. In an interview with the Australian Financial Review, Nadella said that Microsoft would “continue to be in the phone market” and that it would pave its own path to create the “ultimate mobile device.” In other words, Microsoft doesn’t even want to create the best phone by today’s standards — it wants to build a device that could herald a new generation of smartphones. Of course, just because Microsoft  wants to have such an impact on the smartphone industry, that doesn’t mean that it will — as we’ve seen time and time again, Microsoft’s mobile attempts have generally always missed the mark in some way. Still, even thoug...

More than 93 per cent of the five lakh people who participated in a survey on  Narendra Modi  App  have supported demonetisation, the  PMO  said today a day after the Prime Minister sought public feedback on the issue. "I thank people for the historic participation in the survey. It's satisfying to read the insightful views & comments," the Prime Minister tweeted along with the results of the survey conducted on  Narendra Modi  App. "Unprecedented response to  App  Survey, record number of citizens share their view," said the title of a write-up on narendramodi.In whose link was shared by the Prime Minister on his twitter account. The survey result was read out by IT and Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad at Cabinet meeting this evening, prompting the Prime Minister to say that it "reflects the mood" of the people. In just over 24 hours of the survey, more than 5 lakh people have participated and ex...