Smartphone and tablet launches in India this week: Feb 11-16

In the hustle-bustle of everyday life, you might have missed the launch of smartphones and tablets this week. Worry not. Here’s our round-up of this week’s launches. Let’s start with the smartphones.

Swipe MTV Volt
Swipe Telecom announced the MTV Volt, a phablet produced in conjunction with the entertainment channel. The phone is priced at Rs 12,999.

Weighing only 239 grams, MTV Volt sports a white velvet body and textured back for better use and comfortable handling. The Phablet also comes with in-built apps that allow you to network on Facebook, LinkedIn and allows you to download videos. The MTV Volt is equipped with a 1GHz dual-core processor based on ARM Cortex. The processor is backed with 512MB of RAM. The Phablet runs Android Jelly Bean 4.1.1.

Swipe MTV Volt

Other specs include:

• 6-inch display with resolution of 854 x 480.
• 3G with HSPA
• Wi-FI, Wi-Fi hotspot
• Bluetooth with A2DP
• 8MP rear camera with flash and 1.3MP front facing camera
• 4GB of on-board storage, expandanble up to 32GB.

The MTV Volt has a 3200mAh Li-Ion Polymer battery that the company claims provides a talk time of 8-10 hours.

LG Optimus L Series II
LG announced the follow-up to its popular Optimus L Series line-up. The Optimus L Series II has some new design elements such as laser-cut contours, a radiant rear design and LED lighting on the home button. The L Series II also offers an expanded set of features such as QuickMemo, Quick Button and Safety Care.

The Dual SIM version of the Optimus L7II will be the first of the new line-up to launch.

The Optimus L7II specs include:

• 4.3-inch IPS display with WVGA resolution
• 3G with HSDPA up to 21 Mbps and HSUPA up to 5.76 Mbps
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, DLNA
• Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP
• 8 megapixel rear camera and VGA front-facing camera
• 4GB of internal memory which is upgradable via microSD card

The Optimus L7II is powered by a 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8225 chip and has 768MB of RAM. It comes with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box and has a 2460 mAh battery.

LG's Optimus L Series II

LG also updated its L3 and L5 models, but neither has great specs.

Keys specs of the Optimus L3II are:

• 3.2-inch QVGA (320 x 240) IPS display
• 3G with HSPA
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
• Bluetooth with A2DP
• 5 megapixel primary camera

The L3II will be powered by a 1GHz processor and has a 1540mAh battery.

The Optimus L5II is slightly larger than the L3II and has a bigger 1700mAh battery. It’s processor has not been announced by LG yet.

Key specifications of the L5II include:

• 4.0-inch WVGA display
• 3G with HSPA
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
• Bluetooth with A2DP

Surprisingly, the company has not revealed any other details about the phone, including what camera it will be using or which version of Android it will run when launched. Expect a proper announcement at MWC in a couple of weeks.

Micromax Bolt A35
Micromax introduced a new category of feature-rich smartphones on a budget, called Bolt. The first phone to launch in this range is the low-end Bolt A35, priced at Rs 4,250.

The Micromax Bolt A35

Key specifications of the A35:

• 4-inch display
• Wi-Fi, with Wi-Fi Hotspot
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
• 2MP rear camera and a 0.3MP front camera
• Expandable memory up to 16GB

The A35 is kept powered on by a 1500mAh battery. It is powered by a 1GHz processor and comes with Android 2.3 Gingerbread at launch.

XOLO A1000
XOLO launched its A1000 flagship this week, which brings an HD display and a slim 8.8 mm body at an affordable price. The phone is manufactured using a unique One Glass Solution (OGS) display technology that reduces the girth of the phone. The XOLO A1000 is priced at Rs 13,999.

XOLO A1000

Some specifications of the XOLO A1000 are:

• 5-inch HD IPS display with a 1280 x 720 resolution at 295 ppi
• Dual-SIM, 2G, 3G (HSDPA: 7.2 Mbps, HSUPA: 5.7 Mbps)
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
• Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP
• GPS with A-GPS
• 8-megapixel rear camera with LED Flash, BSI sensor and HDR
• 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera with BSI sensor
• 4GB internal memory with microSD expansion slot support up to 32GB

The XOLO A1000 has a 1GHz dual-core Mediatek MT6577 processor and 1GB of RAM. It launches with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and has a 2100 mAh battery.

Plenty of options to choose from when it comes to smartphones, but tablet launches aren’t far behind. Three Indian manufacturers launched slates this week. Here’s a roundup.

Lava Etab Xtron
Lava launched the Etab Xtron, an affordable 7-inch tablet. The Etab Xtron is available at retailers for Rs 6,499. The tablet runs on Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean and is powered by a 1.5GHz Cortex A9 dual-core processor. The tablet has 1GB of RAM.

Lava Etab Xtron

Other specs of the Etab Xtron are:

• 7-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1024 x 600
• 3G with HSPA
• Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi hotspot
• Bluetooth with A2DP
• 2-megapixel front camera
• 8GB of internal memory, expandable up to 32GB via microSD card.

The battery of the Etab Xtron is rather low at 3500mAh and the company claims it will keep the tablet powered on for up to four hours.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 311
Samsung’s tablet range has got a new entry. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 311 was announced on the company’s e-store as available for Rs 13,900.

The Galaxy Tab 2 311 (model number: P3110) has specs similar to its 7-inch sibling, but drops the 3G support of the Galaxy Tab 2 310.
Measuring 193.7 x 122.4 x 10.5 mm, the tablet is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor with 1GB RAM and has 16GB of internal storage. It comes with a 4000mAh battery. The tablet boots Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and an upgrade to 4.2 Jelly Bean is in the works.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 311

Other key specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 311 include:

• 7-inch PLS TFT WSVGA LCD with a resolution of 1024 x 600
• Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi hotspot
• GPS with A-GPS and GLONASS support
• Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP and USB host support
• 3-megapixel rear camera along with VGA front camera
• 16GB of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 32GB via microSD

The tablet is available in two colours, white and black.

Cover image credit: Getty Images