Huawei has launched two Android powered handsets, along with a 3G handset in India. It aims to supply devices to 30,000 retailers by the year end.
Huawei has finally entered the handset market in India, on its own. Earlier it sold its phones by bundling them with mobile operator services only.
The company has announced the launch of two Android smartphones along with one 3G GSM phone and one CDMA handset.
Its Android handsets U8500 and U8300 will be priced between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000. And its GSM CDMA handsets will be priced between Rs 4,000 to Rs 6,000.
It will sell its handsets through two authorised dealers namely Ingram Micro and Bright Telecom. The company aims to supply phones to between 20,000 and 30,000 retailers by the end of the year.
Huawei U8500Huawei U8500 is an Android 2.1 based smartphone with a 3.2 inch full touch screen. It supports 3G+ capabilities, as well WiFi and Bluetooth. Its features include push mail, Facebook and Twitter integration; A-GPS; 3.2 mega pixel camera, video calling etc. Users will also be able to buy applications through the Android Market. The phone’s memory can be expanded up to 16GB through Micro SD. The phone is based on a Qualcomm chipset, and the price is expected to be below Rs 15,000.

Huawei U8300Huawei has introduced another Android 2.1 phone named U8300. This is a full QWERTY phone with a 2.6″ QVGA 320×240 resistive touch TFT display. It is a 3G+ handset with built in WiFi and Bluetooth. It supports connectivity capabilities such as Bluetooth and also supports Android Market downloads. The U8300 has a 3.2 mega pixel camera with flash at the back and a smaller camera on the front for video calling. It also includes Google Maps and A-GPS support for navigation. For music, it has a 3.5 mm Headphone jack and plays video as well as most music formats. Memory can be expanded up to 16GB through Micro SD. A unique feature of the phone is inclusion of ambient light Sensors which adjust the backlight of the screen according to the ambient light.

Huwaei U9130For the lower end of the segment, Huawei has introduced a 3G phone U9130. The phone has a 2.4 inch display with 320×240 pixel resolution. The phone supports video calling and has a 3.1 mega pixel camera at the back and a smaller camera for video calls on the front. It doesn’t have WiFi, but does support Bluetooth. One of the important omissions from the U9130 is radio. However, GPS is included along with Google Maps and YouTube. The phone’s battery backup is another important aspect which, as per the company, gives a 350 hour standby time. The U9130 is expected to cost less than Rs 6,000.

Huawei CDMA C5600C5600 is the CDMA handset in the new line up. It has a 2″ screen with 240X320 pixel resolution. It supports Bluetooth, has a 3.5mm jack, FM radio, and expandable memory. It supports most music formats. Battery backup is this phone’s strong point with 400 hours Standby time and 6.5 hours talk time. The phone also includes social media apps.

Partners with Citibank, HDFC Bank, Standard Chartered and ICICI Bank to offer the scheme.
With an aim to boost flagging sales and falling market share, Nokia has launched an EMI scheme in eight cities. Nokia and other established brands are facing competition from new low cost local brands such as Micromax, Lemon and Karbonn.
Nokia announced the launch of its Easy EMI scheme that will allow customers to buy Nokia handsets and accessories and pay for them in three equal monthly installments (EMI) at zero per cent interest. Customers can purchase Nokia handsets and accessories that cost between Rs 7,000 and Rs 35,000 under this offer.
The scheme will be available in over 176 Nokia Priority Partners (NPPs) across eight cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmadabad and Chandigarh.
Nokia has tied up with Citibank, HDFC Bank, Standard Chartered and ICICI Bank for the Easy EMI scheme and the offer will be available to consumers with credit cards (only) from any of these four banks.
Shankar Subramanian, head of retail, Nokia India, says, “Mobile customers today are far more evolved in their aspiration, expectation and usage of a mobile handset. This trend is visible across segments from entry to the high end. Our insight shows that many customers don’t end up buying their preferred handset model as it tends to be marginally above their pre decided budget, making upfront payment difficult. Our easy EMI scheme at 0 per cent interest addresses that challenge and will allow customers to actually buy the handset they desire.”
Nokia still has a good brand value in the market, but low cost handsets have started eating into the market shares of established brands. Nokia hopes to lure these buyers in by making it more convenient for them to buy costlier handsets than they would have otherwise bought.
Service charges for the Easy EMI scheme will be borne by Nokia and the customer, and the NPPs will not bear the cost of the EMI transaction. All NPPs across the eight cities will have point of sale terminals representing the four partner banks, allowing customers the choice of making the transaction with a credit card belonging to either of these four.

Vodafone has launched VF 247, a solar powered eco friendly handset. The device was launched on Tuesday at the Vodafone store in Fort, Mumbai.

The VF 247 comes with an extended solar powered battery which charges by itself on exposure to ambient light.
The phone comes with Sun Boost, an inbuilt hardware and software that ensures that the phone charges in a room, as well as under normal daylight.
Marten Pieters, managing director and chief executive officer, Vodafone Essar, said in a press statement, “Vodafone’s solar powered phone is launched for people residing in areas where electric supply is unstable, so that consumers can rely on solar charging to remain connected. This launch is likely to enable more people in rural India to go mobile and thus increase penetration from the current 20 per cent.”
The company statement said that Vodafone has the second largest rural subscriber base in the country.
The VF 247 solar powered phone comes with essential mobile phone features such as FM radio, color screen and a powerful torch light, and will shortly be commercially available.

Huawei, a company providing next-generation telecommunication network solutions for operators around the world, will launch an Android smartphone on July 29 in India.
According to sources, the smartphone is slated to be entry level in design, with a 2.8 inch touchscreen, a 3.2 megapixel camera, and HSDPA (high speed downlink packet access) 3G connectivity.
Huawei had some time back showcased the HSPA smartphone powered by Android at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. U8800, the smartphone, will be commercially available in the third quarter of 2010, and will be able to support high speed internet access, and will be faster than existing 3G smartphones.
In the recent past, Huawei has been encountering some rough weather. Equipment orders placed by Indian mobile phone operators with the Chinese equipment manufacturer have not been cleared by the Indian government for the past six months due to security issues, and most recently, Motorola has accused Huawei of stealing its technology.

Karbonn Mobiles announced the availability of Karbonn K25, the latest multimedia device in its portfolio, on Sunday.
K25 is a QWERTY device which can support two GSM connections. The phone is pre loaded with social networking applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo Messenger and MSN.
Other features include FM radio; video recording; torch; expandable memory up to 8 GB; a 2 Megapixel camera; A2DP Bluetooth; and an optical trackpad. K25 is priced at Rs 4,400.