Facebook Starts Letting You Add A 7-Second Looping Video As A Profile Pic

To keep its decade-old social network lively, Facebook is introducing five big changes to user profiles which are viewed 4 billion times per day: 1. The option to pin Featured Photos to the top of the profile, 2. Temporary profile pics, 3. Easier visibility controls for About info including a new 100 character Bio field, 4. A mobile eccentric design with centered profile photos plus big sections for photos and friends, and most importantly, 5. The ability to use a 7-second looping video as your profile pic. The features begin rolling out and testing today for some users.

Together, these changes should make Facebook more visually stimulating and addicting. As other networks like Twitter introduce auto-play video like Facebook did, and Snapchat adds animated selfie lenses and its own profile GIFs, Facebook has to stay a step ahead in the graphic arms race.

Meanwhile, Facebook wants to cement its profile as the center of your web presence. Snapchat hardly has a profile, and Twitter’s is basically just your most recent tweets. If Facebook can do more to let you customize how you represent yourself, you might be more willing to link back and send traffic to your profile. Facebook’s project manager on the new profile Aigerim Shorman tells me it’s designed to highlight “what’s going on in their life, what’s important to them now in more expressive ways.”

And finally, putting biographical info more front and center could get people to keep this information more up to date, which is critical to powering Facebook’s advertising engine. A similar overhaul of the web profile in 2010 scored Facebook immense amounts of data on where people live, where they went to school, and where they work, which has fueled its ad targeting ever since.

Profile Videos

Soon you’ll be able to click on your profile pic to upload a new profile video. You tap the record button and can shoot for up to 7 seconds with sound. The looping video will auto-play without sound (unless clicked) on your profile and the feed story about you uploading it. A still cover image you select will appear everywhere else, such as the small thumbnail that appears next to your News Feed stories.

Shorman tells me “Earlier this half [year] we were having a brainstorm, and sometimes you find a gem. One of my designers called me over [to look at an engineer’s] Facebook At Work account. But his profile pic was moving. I thought ‘this is going to be a great expression opportunity’. It brought the profile to life. You got to know the person better. So we got inspired to create an option to create a profile video.” She insists the Snapchat Profile GIFs that launched in July weren’t even discussed in the feature’s creation.

In the examples, you’ll see Facebook employees dropping hats onto their heads, blowing their faces with air, or cracking a slow a subtle smile. The profile videos feel a bit like the Harry Potter newspapers, where photos suddenly come alive. They’re sure to unlock a ton of creativity from the user base.

Featured Photos

The next biggest feature is a new option to select up to 5 Featured Photos that will appear pinned to a section at the top of your profile. This is designed to let you give people considering your friend request or who just met you a better clue to your identity. They could show your favorite after-work activities, your pets, or just some extra selfies. Think of them as the extra photos in your Tinder profile. They’re not your main profile pic, but they’ll be used to judge you.

Temporary Profile Pics

The temporary profile pic feature I spotted Facebook testing a few weeks ago is now getting an official roll out. It lets you select a profile pic, but have yours revert to your old pic after a set number of hours, days, or weeks. It’s useful for promoting a cause, like the the 26 million people who set their profile pic rainbow in support to the right to gay marriage.

Visibility Controls And Bio

Facebook is a now adding in-line privacy controls to the big About information fields that appear at the top of your profile. Those set to public will now appear immediately on the profile below your profile pic, rather than buried in the About section. You’ll also be able to describe yourself in words with a new 100 character Bio field, which could also help people figure out if they want to be your friend, as long as you keep that section public.

Mobile Design

Rather than just port the more left-aligned web profile to mobile, Facebook has built a mobile-first design. It makes the profile pic/video bigger and puts it in the center of the screen. Below, rather than small panels that open to reveal details on friends and photos, Facebook is giving both their own big sections pinned below the profile pic and above the timeline.

Google registers two new drone designs with the FAA: Reports

Google might be working on two new styles of delivery drone, according to FAA filings. These two new UAVs could possibly be tested by the company’s experimental division Google X.

According to a report by Engadget, the two aircrafts have been named M2 and B3. The M2 made the FAA registry on October 2 while the B3 was listed on October 7. Each of these have been registered with the FAA as a ‘fixed wing multi-engine’ electric aircraft and weigh less than 55 pounds. The report further states that both drones are registered near to the company’s Boulder, CO office, rather than its main campus in Mountain View, CA.

This goes in line with the information uncovered by The Guardian which suggested the craft would “weigh less than 25kg (55lbs), using multiple electric engines to fly at up to 100mph and as high as 120 meters.”

In addition, Astro Teller, Head of Google X, told The Wall Street Journal earlier this year that the company was already working on a design that “moves away from the single-wing-based approach.” Teller had already stated that he plans an update on the drone program at some point this year.

Look’s like we will find out more about the company’s drone/drones sooner than expected!

Israeli engineer designs grounded drone delivery service

Israeli industrial designer Kobi Shikar has come up with the concept of a parcel delivery drone that will never get off the ground – and that’s just fine with him.

The Transwheel Delivery Drone is a sensor-packed motorized unicycle that Shikar says could be an earthbound alternative to Amazon’s futuristic plans to use drone multicopters to deliver packages to your front door.

With a package held on its ‘head’ by two robotic arms, the Transwheel delivery robot – still largely a concept, with no financial backers – would steer its way to its destination, where its Internet-connected camera, tapping into social media sites, would identify the recipient. It’s a compromise, Shikar believes, between the need for speedy delivery and the dangers of flying drones encroaching on commercial airspace.

A series of on-board cameras would help it avoid obstacles and negotiate traffic.

Shikar’s concept video clip showing Transwheel zipping down the road on a delivery run has captured imaginations, receiving thousands of views and shares on has been viewed and shared thousands of times on video site YouTube.

“I worked on a concept that is a robotic autonomous wheel that is directed by GPS and has photography systems and facial recognition with the purpose of transporting packages,” said Shikar, 28, who invented the concept for his graduate project at Shenkar College of Engineering and Design in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv.

In his workshop at Shenkar College, Shikar researched the evolution of the wheel and jotted down sketches. His first prototype was a simple cardboard wheel wired up to communicate with a toy remote control.

Using a balancing mechanism similar to the one that keeps a Segway upright, Transwheel drones could be programed, Shikar believes, to work as a group to carry large loads. Multiple Transwheels could work together to deliver larger parcels. His concept video shows 12 scooters hauling a full-size shipping container.

He envisages a pilot program in which the robots could be put to work at airports or military air bases, and notes that the battery-powered technology is non-polluting.

“Moving to robots, to this type of transportation, can also limit human accidents that happen on roads due to extended driving and also create perseverance,” he said during a summer break at Shekar college. “The pace does not change. It remains the same as opposed to people who often simply need the rest.”

Gilad Davidy, a Shenkar lecturer who rides a personal transporter similar to Shikar’s conceptual robot, said his student’s vision is not science fiction.

“The concept is realistic,” Davidy said. He added: “Today there are drones, there is Google’s project that are all in the same territory, a vehicle, transportation tool, in the air, sea and ground that transports based on data from satellites and from all different kinds of social networks”.

Shikar now hopes to gain financial backing to develop the robot from concept to reality.

Twitter to layoff 8 percent of its global workforce, says CEO Jack Dorsey

Twitter has finally announced to cut eight percent of its global workforce – nearly 330 jobs – to strengthen the micro-blogging site that is facing slow user growth amid tough competition from the rival social media platforms.

In a letter sent to employees on Tuesday, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced several moves including layoffs to get the once fast-growing social media service back on track, Wall Street Journal reported.

“We feel strongly that engineering will move much faster with a smaller and nimbler team, while remaining the biggest percentage of our workforce,” Dorsey wrote.

The job cuts would mostly affect its product and engineering teams in an effort to “organize around the company’s top product priorities and drive efficiency”.

Over the past year, the company’s workforce grew 24 percent to 4,100 employees, about half of whom are engineers.

However, Twitter’s monthly user growth climbed just 2.6 percent to 316 million in the quarter ending June 30.

In the same time, Facebook has more than doubled the strength of employees but nearly five times as many active users.

Twitter also announced that it expects revenue and a measure of its adjusted earnings to come in above the high end of its previously forecast range for the third quarter.

In his letter, Dorsey said the coming roadmap will entail “a plan to change how we work, and what we need to do that work”.

Micromax invests in music streaming service Gaana

Micromax, the country’s second largest handset maker, has said that it has invested in Gaana, one of the leading India music streaming services owned by Times Internet. No financial details were disclosed.

Under the deal, Gaana will be available on all Micromax smartphones, enabling users to seamlessly enjoy mobile music, a statement issued by Gaana said.

New users of Micromax smartphones will also receive free trials to Gaana+, allowing unlimited downloads without advertising.

“India is a music loving country and today’s youth is hooked on music for at least 2-3 hours a day through their smartphones… we are proud to announce our partnership with them to provide our new users an uninterrupted access to latest tunes and transcend them into the world of music,” Micromax co-founder Rahul Sharma said.

He added that the investment is part of the company’s efforts to build an ecosystem of connected devices in a connected world.

Previously, the Gurgaon-based firm had said it will invest in startups across segments like healthcare, entertainment and gaming as part of its plans to strengthen services portfolio as it looks to stay competitive against rivals like Samsung and Xiaomi.

“In partnership with Micromax, we will strengthen our footprint, helping us reach our goal of 100 million Indian users,” Times Internet CEO Satyan Gajwani said.

Previously, Micromax has invested in travel search engine Ixigo, HealthifyMe and comparison platform Scandid as part of its plans to develop strategically relevant deployments of software that leverage its consumer footprint.

Gaana has a library of over 10 million songs with ad supported streaming in over 45 languages. It has over 20 million active users and has seen over 30 million downloads.

In May this year, Gaana was in news after the site’s user database was breached by a Pakistani hacker.

Flipkart sells half a million mobile handsets in 10 hours

Flipkart claims to have sold half a million mobile handsets in the last 10 hours since sales of mobile phones opened on midnight of Wednesday, 14th October in the ‘The Big Billion Days’ sale. This sets a record for the highest number of mobile phones sold in India within a short period of 10 hours in any platform, either online or offline.

The Big Billion Days also set the new benchmarks of 4G adoption in India as 75 percent of the phones sold during the ten hours period were 4G phones. While metros like Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai were the leading cities in terms of the sales, Flipkart also saw huge surge of interest from Tier 2 cities with Nagpur, Indore, Coimbatore, Vishakhapatnam and Jaipur leading in sales.

The exchange offers put out by Flipkart also saw great customer interest as 25 percent of the buyers used this opportunity to upgrade to a new phone. Bank offers from YES bank, Standard Chartered and Citi Bank offered additional discounts and reportedly saw huge traction with 50 percent of customers availing of the bank offers, says Flipkart.

Mukesh Bansal, Head of Commerce Platform, Flipkart said, “It has been a blockbuster beginning for our mobile category sale.  We are truly humbled by this overwhelming response from the people of India. With Big Billion Days, we have completely re-defined the online shopping space in India. Indian mobile revolution has truly come of age and the half a million mobile handsets sale record is truly a testament to the growing demand for smartphones in India.”

Aircel to offer free basic internet to its subscribers within a year

Aircel subscribers can expect to access basic free Internet in a year as part of the telecom operator strategy to push mobile Internet usage.

“Our intent is that everybody should have access to Internet and it should not be limited to only elites. We have started offering free basic Internet service in Tamil Nadu and it should be available across India in a year,” Aircel Chief Marketing Officer Anupam Vasudev told PTI.

The company under its Free Basic Internet programme is offering service with download speed of 64 kb per second.

“For new customers it is free for three months. After that if they continue to be active, customers by recharging with amount of at least Rs 150 in a month, the free basic Internet will be complimentary for them,” Aircel Vice President for Data, Devices and Online Sunil Kuttam said.

The company is strengthening its 3G network with target to have around 20,000 mobile sites by end of next year.

“At present data contributes around 14 per cent in our total revenue which we expect to take it to around 30 per cent in three years. With price of 3G handset coming down below Rs 3,000, people are moving to mobile for entertainment from TV and they Will need data for it,” Vasudev said.

Talking about strategy to attract customers to enhance their data usage, Kuttam said that the company has partnered Microsoft, Samsung, Gionee, Micromax, Lava, Karbonn and Intex to offer their move devices at discounted price with some amount of free data.

“We are also partnering Snapdeal, Amazon and Flipkart to sell paper recharge. These recharges be sold under cash on delivery model for those customers who are skeptical of sharing their debit or credit card details online,” Kuttam said.

The company today announced sale of two recharge vouchers in denomination of Rs 402 and Rs 602 through Snapdeal which Will offer 3G and 2G mobile Internet service at discounted price compared with options available through retail channels.

“We are offering 100 minutes talk time and 3 GB of 3G and 2G data, depending on the location of subscriber, which is very less than price available through other channels,” Vasudev said.

Aircel has also partnered Ingram, a mobile insurance provider, for Aircel Cover Plus. Any customer who buys a new smartphone through Aircel Will be able to choose from two variants of this product within seven days of the purchase for getting coverage limited to Accidental and Liquid Damage only.

For new smartphones up to Rs 10,000 customers can purchase Rs 499 pack that offers benefits worth Rs 1,200. This will also include 1GB Aircel data for three months. The other pack available for Rs 799 pack offers insurance for smartphones up to Rs 55,000 and will include 1GB data for three months and Premium Anti-Virus.

There’s a new computer chip that self destructs in seconds

Representation: A semiconductor wafer (Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)

A new computer chip made of tempered glass that self destructs in seconds when remotely triggered could keep sensitive date secure, researchers say.

The new method uses silicon computer wafers attached to a piece of tempered glass that shatters into small pieces when heated in one spot.

The heat can be turned on via a remote, which in the future could conceivably be triggered by anything from Wi-Fi to a radio frequency signal, said Gregory Whiting, a materials scientist and manager of the Novel Electronics Group that produced the chip at PARC, a California-based company.

The new technology could allow for easier recycling of electronics, or help ensure that data on stolen electronics remains secure, Whiting said.

The researchers decided to use tempered glass, an extra strength material also known as safety glass, to make self-destructing electronics, ‘Live Science’ reported.

Normally, glass is tempered by cooling the edges: The glass exterior shrinks, putting the exterior into compression while the warmer interior maintains incredible tensile stress.

Though the glass is stronger than normal, “if you break a piece of safety glass, it kind of explodes, shatters explosively into little pieces,” Whiting said.

Because glass is a poor temperature conductor, the heat-tempering process only works with pieces of glass that are at least 0.03 inches thick, whereas producing tiny particles requires thinner materials.

The team used a different method, called ion exchange, to temper the glass. The researchers started with a thin piece of glass that was rich in sodium ions, or atoms of sodium with one electron stripped off.

Micromax enters the laptop market, launches Lapbook priced at Rs 13999

Foraying into the laptop segment, country’s handset maker Micromax on Thursday said it aims to garner 10 percent market share in the next 12-18 months.

Micromax, which will compete with the likes of HP, Dell, and Lenovo, has priced its Lapbook at Rs. 13,999 that will be available from Friday via Snapdeal.

“Micromax has always strived to bring the best technology innovations to close the gap between consumer needs and available devices,” Micromax Chief Marketing Officer Shubhajit Sen told PTI.

The Canvas Lapbook addresses the need of affordable computing, in line with the PM’s Digital Indiainitiative, he added.

“With our entry into the laptop category, we aim to drive the growth of the category and garner a market share of 10 percent in 12-18 months,” he said.

According to industry body MAIT, the notebook market declined 15 percent to 5.81 million units in 2014-15 from 6.83 million units in 2013-14, impacted by burgeoning smartphone sales.

However, the industry body has forecast a 17 percent growth in notebook sales to 6.80 million in 2015-16. Previously, Micromax has launched a Laptab that features a tablet with a detachable keyboard.

Of the total PC market (desktops and notebooks), HP was the market leader with 25.6 percent share, followed by Dell – 22.1 percent, Lenovo – 15.8 percent and Acer – 11.5 percent in 2014, according to data from research firm IDC.

Powered by a quad-core Intel Atom processor (up to 1.83GHz), the Lapbook will come pre-loaded with the latest Windows 10 operating system.

“The Lapbook is designed to cater the needs of young India in Tier II and III markets,” he said. The Lapbook comes with dual speakers, 11.6-inch HD IPS display, 32GB inbuilt storage (expandable up to 64GB), 5000mAh battery rated to deliver up to 11 hours of battery life, and, a seven-day on-site service. It weighs 1.3 kilograms.

Micromax also launched the second generation of Laptab, called Laptab LT777, priced at Rs. 17,999, that will go on sale on Amazon India portal from Tuesday. It features a 11.6-inch touch display, Windows 10, and offers 8-10 hours of backup.

Make in India: Coolpad to invest Rs 30 crore for making smartphones here

Chinese handset-maker Coolpad will invest over Rs. 30 crores in the country in manufacturing, research and development (R&D) and design as it launched a new smartphone – Coolpad Note 3 – priced at Rs. 8,999 on Friday.

The company also said it will partner with Videocon to manufacture smartphones in the country and will roll out nearly half a million devices from its facility in Maharashtra.

“The first Made-in-India Coolpad phone will be available in the first quarter of 2016,” Coolpad vice president Johnson Luo said.

“India is very crucial market for Coolpad and we believe we will learn a lot from our investments here. We are here to bring affordable smartphones to the users,” Luo added.

Coolpad, which produces nearly 34 million smartphones every year and has $3 billion (roughly Rs. 19,430 crores) revenue, had earlier launched in India with the Dazen brand name which was a partnership between Coolpad and Chinese search engine Qihoo 360.

“Dazen is no longer a part of Coolpad and has been separated due to a change in investor relations,” Luo said alluding that Coolpad’s 18 percent stake is also owned by Chinese giant LeTV which is also thinking of launching its business in India.

Dazen will continue to sell its smartphones in India under the same brand name.

The company, which was the first to invent dual-SIM dual standby, is betting on the 4G revolution, Indian local language support and customisations for India to push sales of its devices.

The new smartphone, Coolpad Note 3, will be launched in an exclusive partnership with e-commerce player Amazon.

Asus launches premium Windows 10 based ZenBook UX305LA with QuadHD+ display

Asus has launched a premium notebook running the Windows 10 OS called the ZenBook UX305LA which will be selling from 15 October starting at an MRP of Rs 97,900 onwards. It will be available across all Asus Exclusive stores as well as online retailers.

The Asus ZenBook UX305LA will come in different configurations featuring the Intel Core M, Core i5 and Core i7 processors. It will run on Windows 10 OS out of the box and will house 8GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. The ZenBook will also sport a 13.3-inch Quad HD+ display with a 3200 x 1800 pixel resolution.

Currently, Asus will be selling the 5th generation Intel Core i7 5500U processor sporting the ZenBook UX305LA. The other variants of the notebook will be launched by the end of the quarter according to Asus. Given below are the exact specifications of the UX305LA-FB055T

Peter Chang, regional head of South Asia and managing director for Asus India said “The UX305LA is a perfect balance of great looks and functionality which delivers a powerful performance with the Windows 10 combination. The Indian consumers are increasingly moving towards ultraportable products and the featherweight ZenBook UX305LA is a real performer that redefines this segment with its svelte design.”

Meet Sanmay Ved: Ex-Googler who owned Google.com for just one minute!

Imagine owning Google.com for sometime, even if it is for about one minute. This is exactly what happened to ex-Googler Sanmay Ved.

When looking for Google domains, he was surprised to see that Google.com was available to buy. He noticed a happy green face next to the domain name that indicated that the domain name is ready for purchase.

“The purchase got completed and the card was charged (which would not have happened unless I actually successfully completed checkout, as otherwise I would have received an error). The charge was not a pre-auth,” Ved has explained in a post.

On completing the purchase, he got two emails from Google, which isn’t the usual procedure. “Additionally, my Google Search Console (aka Google Webmaster Tools) was auto-updated with webmaster related messages for the Google.com domain which actually means ownership was transferred to me,” he further explained.

He also got messages in Search Console that one gets only for those domains for which one is the verified admin/verified owner, confirming that he owns the domain name now. “Of course access was removed when domain was taken back by Google,” he added.

Though the payment had gone through and Ved managed to buy Google.com for $12 that is roughly Rs 800, the purchase was soon followed by a cancellation email from Google Domains. As the registration service used by Ved belonged to Google, it could cancel the registration easily.

This isn’t the first time that a giant has accidentally put its domain name on sale. In 2013, Microsoft forgot to renew the Hotmail UK domain registered with Nominet UK which resulted into returning it to the open market for purchase by anyone. As Microsoft wasn’t the registrar, the company couldn’t cancel or retract it once the domain was picked up by someone else.

However, it is still unclear how Googles domain name was available for purchase in the open market. However, Ved considers himself lucky for owning the giant’s domain name for at least one minute.

Alphabet aims to ‘do the right thing’, drops ‘Don’t Be Evil’ from Code of Conduct

On October 2, Google completed the process of its transformation into a holding company called Alphabet. With Google having transformed into Alphabet, a new code of conduct for its employees has been posted by the holding company on its website. However, Google’s famous creed “don’t be evil” is now absent from Alphabet’s new code of conduct.

A report by the Wall Street Journal pointed out that the corporate code of conduct now entreats employees to “do the right thing – follow the law, act honorably, and treat each other with respect.”

According to the report, the Google code, which was written for its 2004 IPO, is much longer and includes rules relating to co-worker relationships, pets, and at-work alcohol consumption, while Alphabet’s sticks to the basics, like  avoid conflicts of interest, maintain integrity and obey the law.

In conversation with Wall Street Journal, a Google spokesman said, “Individual Alphabet companies may of course have their own codes to ensure they continue to promote compliance and great values. But if they start bringing cats to work, there’s gonna be trouble with a capital T.”

In addition, the vast majority of Alphabet employees will still be Google employees, part of the core search-and-advertising unit that is the new holding company’s biggest division.

Google has officially turned from being a company to being a part of Alphabet, a holding company that builds upon the strengths of what Google used to be. Nothing has changed as far as work that Google used to do. But as a corporate, Alphabet will lead a group of companies where each one of them aims to be billion dollar businesses.

As per a report by Reuters, “After U.S. markets closed on Friday, Alphabet replaced Google as the publicly traded company that will house Google’s search and Web advertising businesses, maps, YouTube and its “moonshot” ventures such as driverless cars.”

However, what has caught popular attention is the new Code of Conduct put up by Alphabet on its website. It says, “Employees of Alphabet and its subsidiaries and controlled affiliates (“Alphabet”) should do the right thing – follow the law, act honorably, and treat each other with respect.”

Clearly, Google (and now Alphabet) has gone from the omission of ‘evil’ to adopt a new corporate philosophy based on the commission of ‘good’. It may not seem much, but many are reading between the lines and wonder at the corporate stand Alphabet would take on controversial issues.

In areas of antitrust, dominating market share which have been areas that Google has been under heavy scrutiny, it is noteworthy that the new Code of Conduct focuses on doing the right thing. We’d wait and watch on how this pans out in the months to come.

OnePlus X, iPhone 6s, Nexus 6P and more: Smartphones to look forward to this month

If you are looking to buy a phone, then you could probably hang in there, as a plethora of new phones are on its way to India. With the Indian festive season just around the corner, companies are gearing up to launch their recently announced phones in India, be it Google, Apple or Chinese vendor OnePlus.

Here’s a quick look at the smartphones to watch out for this month:

Apple iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus

The new iPhones are all set to roll out in India by mid of the month on October 16. There have been reports about the indicative prices revealed by Apple – iPhone 6s 64GB at Rs 72,000 and the 128GB at Rs 82,000. The iPhone 6s Plus 16GB at Rs 72,000 and the 64GB model at Rs 82,000 respectively.

The Rose Gold iPhone 6s is turning out to be popular

Built with 7000 series aircraft-grade aluminium, the company has ensured that the devices are more sturdy and don’t face the bendgate issue. The iPhone 6S comes with a 4.7-inch screen along with a 1334 x 750 pixel Retina Display whereas the iPhone 6S Plus comes with a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 pixel Retina display. Dipped in silver, gold, space gray and rose gold, it features a 3D touch display, the next-gen Force Touch. A 12MP iSight camera and a new photography called Live Photos is here. It will be powered by a new A9 processor.

Google Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X

In a bid to give its arch-rival some competition in the Android-dominated Indian market, Google decided to introduce Huawei built Nexus 6P and LG-built Nexus 5X in India even before the new iPhones. Though that shouldn’t make any difference to Apple loyalists as the device compete in different segments, its still a great news for those looking for pure Android running devices.

According to the information available on Google Play Store, Nexus 5X will be priced at Rs 31,900 (for 16GB variant) and Rs 35,900 (32GB), while Nexus 6P will be available at Rs 39,999 (32GB) and Rs 42,999 (64GB) in India. Know more about the devices and how they stack up against competition.

OnePlus X

Accompanying the popular OnePlus2, the Chinese vendor is set to introduce a new device dubbed OnePlus X. Going by reports, the OnePlus X will feature a 5-inch full HD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset and will be made available in the sub-Rs 20k segment. Some other specs include dual rear-camera setup, a circular finger-print scanner, USB Type-C port and a refreshing new design.

Image: GizmoChina

Vikas Agarwal, General Manager of OnePlus India had said in an interview with ET Tech, “We’re introducing a new device by the end of this year. Diwali would be the ideal time, but next quarter for sure. It would be a global launch, but India will be the biggest focus.” So, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the device enter the Indian market anytime soon.

Motorola Moto X Style

Another device that is expected to enter Indian market anytime soon is the Moto X Style. The company has hinted that the device could  make it this month, just in time for the festive season. With an indicative price in India of Rs 26,000, the Moto X Style features a 5.7-inch QuadHD display offering a 515ppi pixel density. The phone houses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 SoC with a 1.8GHz hexa-core processor paired with 3GB of RAM.

It will come with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop on board with Motorola’s proprietary features such as Moto Voice, Moto Assist, Moto Display, Moto Actions and so on. The Moto X Style will come in 16/32/64GB storage variants with microSD card slot to add in an additional 128GB.

On the camera front, you get a 21MP rear camera with an f/2.0 aperture and a 5MP front-facing camera which will be accompanied with a flash as well. The camera is capable of shooting 4K videos. It will be powered by a 3,000 mAh battery.

Gionee Elife E8

Gionee will be bringing the next iteration in its Elife portfolio – the Elife E8 – to the Indian market this month. At an event to be held on October 8, the company will be launching the new device with a 6-inch WQHD Super AMOLED display, Mediatek octa-core processor clocked at 2GHz and more. Gionee seems to have upped the game with a 24MP rear snapper and 8MP front camera. Some other specs include 3GB RAM, Amigo 3.1 based on Android Lollipop, 4G support, 3,500mAh battery, 64GB onboard storage and more.

The above image shows Elife S5

Other rumoured smartphones 

Microsoft’s event is slated for tomorrow and finally we will also see the Lumia flagships. However, there is no word on when and if these devices will make in time for the Indian holiday season. Similarly, HTC is also all set to launch its new Marshmallow running device anytime this month. Let’s wait and watch if these companies decide on bringing their devices to India anytime soon. After all, the festive season is one of the best time to launch products in India.