PhoneRadar Report – Episode 6

Welcome back for the episode 6 of the PhoneRadar Report, your ultimate source for all things mobile.

News Report:

Starting with announcements in India:

• This week we saw the release of LG G Flex 2 smartphone in India, at the LG Tech Show in Delhi. We were present at the event and got to test the LG G Flex 2. The device would be available for sale in the country later this month for INR 55,000. It features a 5.5-inch Full HD display, Snapdragon 810 chipset, and yes the beautiful flex design. We got first look at the device during CES 2015 and tested it out too. You can check our hands-on with the G Flex 2. Other notable features of the device include Android Lollipop OS, 13MP rear camera, a 2.1MP front facing camera as well as OIS+ with dual LED flash support. All this is powered by a 3000mAh battery, making it to the list of ideal phones. (LG G Flex 2 Specs)
• Moving on further, there are a couple of announcements lined up for the coming week. One of them is by Samsung. The South Korean giant is all set to launch its latest flagship in the country. There will be two variants, the Galaxy S6, and Galaxy S6 Edge. Though, the device will be going on sale in April, and we expect a price tag somewhere around INR 55,000. To remind you, S6 and S6 Edge comes with 5.1-inch Super AMLOED Quad-HD display, Exynos 7420 Octa-core chipset, and packs 3GB of RAM, while they will come with different options for Internal storage ranging from 32GB to 128GB. These new flagships sports 16MP rear camera with OIS and LED flash, while at the front you’ll find a 5MP shooter. The only difference between these two devices is the dual curved display on S6 Edge, which makes it an attractive device. I’m not sure how useful this dual edge screen would be, as i’m using the Note Edge and not much happy with that. (Samsung Galaxy S6 Specs)
• Talking about other launches in the country, Huawei is all set to bring its latest flagship, the Honor 6 Plus to India. Company is going to put the device on sale from March 24th. It has partnered up with Flipkart for exclusive online sale, although, the pricing of the device is still a mystery. In China, it is priced at 1,999 Yuan, which roughly equates to around INR 20,000. The Honor 6 Plus packs 5.5-inch Full HD display, and is powered by a HiSilicon Kirin Octa-Core chipset, along with 3GB RAM. You can find 16GB internal storage, microSD card support, Android Kitkat OS, and the dual 8MP rear shooter while it has 8MP front snapper.

International Announcements:

• This week we saw the launch of Microsoft’s most affordable phone, the Lumia 430. It is priced at $70 and would be available for sale in the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and few other regions in April. The Lumia 430 is another attempt by the company to increase its demand in budget range of smartphones. We saw the launch of Lumia 435 and 532, couple of weeks back; now there is another new budget Lumia you can be able to buy. Though, the most interesting point about this device is that, it will be upgraded to Windows 10, when the new mobile OS releases in the summer by Microsoft. (Microsoft Lumia 430 Specs)
• Talking further about international announcements, Huawei has sent out invites to publications in London where company is holding an event on April 15th, to launch its new device, and according to the reports it would be the Huawei P8. The device may come with a HiSilicon Kirin Octa-core chipset, 3GB RAM, 5.2-inch Full HD display, and 13MP camera with OIS. All this is supposed to be powered by a 2600mAh battery. For confirmation of these specs, you’ll have to wait for the launch.
• Sony on the other hand announced its new compact device, the Xperia J1 compact, which is priced at around $490. It features a 4.3-inch 720p display and looks kind of similar to the Z3 compact. There is a Snapdragon 800 chipset powering the device along with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. Other notable features of the device include 20.7MP rear camera, 2.2MP front camera, and 2300mAh battery. The Xperia J1 compact will only be available in Japan, and we might not see it hitting in any other country.

Review Report:

This week we reviewed the Lava Iris X8. The Iris X8 is brilliant with the performance, has a good camera on the back, and the overall build quality making it look more than just a budget phone. If you are someone looking for a great battery life, a good display, the Iris X8 isn’t the one you should be looking for. We felt the Xiaomi Redmi Note and Asus ZenFone 5 to have a better display, and the battery in Redmi Note is easily the winner, but as an overall package, the Lava Iris X8 is totally worth the price. Head over to read the detailed review of the Lava Iris X8. (Lava Iris X8 Specs)