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Smartphones Under Rs 10,000 You Can Buy Today
BSNL Singlehandedly Winning the Wired Broadband Sector
Vodafone Group Providing Practical Support to Vodafone Idea, No Additional Funds
Reliance Jio Creeping Into Top Spot of Active Wireless Subscribers
Indian Government Actively Taking Steps to Avoid Telecom Duopoly
Airtel Payments Bank Records 50 Million Cash Withdrawal Transactions
Micromax In 2b Can Break the Market With Its Attractive Price Tag and Specs
Airtel and Vodafone Idea Eye Price Hike to Lower AGR Dues Burden
Amazfit Holds 30% Smartwatch Market Share in India: CP Khandelwal
Mi 11X Pro Review After Two Months: Impressive and Powerful
OnePlus Will Continue to Rule Indian Market
BSNL Announces Free Installation of Broadband, Landline Connections
Verizon New Hotspot Plans Offer 5G and 4G LTE Connectivity
BSNL Broadband Offering 100GB Data for Rs 299
T-Mobile Beats Verizon, AT&T to Offer Best 5G Services

Smartphones Under Rs 10,000 You Can Buy Today

Posted: 30 Jul 2021 09:02 AM PDT

There are ample budget smartphones that have been launched in the Indian market. Renowned device manufacturers like Realme, Xiaomi, Poco and others have launched affordable smartphones under Rs 10,000 range to capture the Indian market. The renowned Indian company Micromax has also launched budget smartphones for its users. In this article, we will list the best smartphones under Rs 10,000 that you can buy today.

Realme Narzo 30A

Realme Narzo 30A was launched alongside Narzo 30 Pro 5G. The smartphone is packed 6.5-inch screen with a 20:9 body aspect ratio. The Realme Narzo 30A is powered by a MediaTek Helio G85 processor with a 6000mAh battery and support for 18W dart technology. As for camera specifications, the Realme Narzo 30A comes with a 13MP dual-camera setup and an 8MP selfie camera for video calling. The 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage variant of Realme Narzo 30A is available for Rs 8,999, whereas the 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage variant is available for Rs 9,999. The phone is available in Laser Blue and Laser Black colour variants.

Realme C20

The Realme C20 2GB RAM and 32GB internal storage variant is available for Rs 6,999. The Realme C20 runs on the MediaTek Helio G35 chipset. There is a single 8MP camera towards the back and a 5MP camera in the front for selfies. The Realme C20 runs on a 5000 mAh battery with the option of expanding internal storage up to 256GB via a microSD card.

Redmi 9 Prime

The Redmi 9 series is one of the most demanded smartphone lines in India. Xiaomi launched the Redmi 9 prime back in August 2020. The Redmi 9 Prime is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio G80 chipset with ARM Mali-G2 cloaked at 95 MHz. The Redmi 9 Prime also features Reading Mode 2.0 for cutting out blue light and reduce the strain in the eyes. Talking about camera specifications, the device features a quad-camera setup with 13MP AI primary camera. The smartphone runs on a 5020mAh battery with 18W fast charging support. As of the price, the 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage variant is available for Rs 9,999.

Micromax In 2b

Micromax In 2b is available for Rs 8,999 for 6GB RAM and 64GB internal storage variant. The smartphone packs a Unisoc T610 octa-core chipset. As for optics, the Micromax In 2b features a 13MP primary and 2MP secondary sensor. Towards the front, users get a 5MP shooter. The smartphone also packs a 5000mAh battery with 20 hours of web browsing and 160 hours of music playback.

BSNL Singlehandedly Winning the Wired Broadband Sector

Posted: 30 Jul 2021 07:28 AM PDT

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the public telecom company, has been going all out with hands outstretched to ramp up its prepaid plans, ship tons of offers, and attract new customers onboard its network. However, due to the lack of the 4G network, its efforts have been mostly in vain. But, that does not mean that BSNL is losing the battle on every front. The public telecom company has been doing exceptionally well in the wireline segment, or the wired broadband sector. We base this on the back of the latest subscriber report put out by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), which has noted that BSNL was the only telecom operator to add more than 10 lakh wireline subscribers to its network in the month of May 2021.

BSNL Far Ahead of Other Telcos In Wired Connections

As per the TRAI report, the total wireline subscriber increase was counted at 20.36 million at the end of April-21 to 21.66 million at the end of May-21. The total increase in wireline subscriber base was 1.30 million with a monthly growth rate of 6.40%, with almost 91% of the subscribers from the urban regions. The TRAI reported highlighted BSNL and MTNL, the two PSU access service providers, held 48.72% of the wireline market share as of 31st May 2021.

BSNL Adds Most Wireline Subscribers

Speaking of specific numbers, the net wireline subscriber addition in the month of May 2021 was 13,03,053. Out of this, almost 11.29 lakh subscribers were added to BSNL's wireline services only. The second in rank was Reliance Jio, which witnessed the addition of 1.77 lakh wireline subscribers to its base. Looking at these figures, it can be easily said that BSNL is far ahead of the other telecom operators when it comes to wireline subscribers. This trend remains the same as the last April month, wherein BSNL added 11 lakh subscribers to its wireline pie. As for the other telecom companies, Bharti Airtel managed to add 4,013 wireline subscribers, whereas Vodafone Idea added slightly more than 17,570 subscribers.

Vodafone Group Providing Practical Support to Vodafone Idea, No Additional Funds

Posted: 30 Jul 2021 06:21 AM PDT

Vodafone Group, a leading telecommunications company in Europe and Africa is only offering "practical support" to Vodafone Idea, says Nick Read, chief executive officer at Vodafone Group. Read in the first-quarter earnings call on July 23, 2021, said that Vodafone Idea, the third-largest wireless operator in India, is in a "difficult situation that they are trying to navigate." However, Read said that the parent Vodafone Group will "not" be "putting any additional equity into India." Vodafone Group earlier in the day had reported the first-quarter results of its current financial year, with the England based group highlighting that its service revenue increased 3.3% year-over-year (YoY).

Vi Needs 87% Increase in ARPU Say Analysts

The group said that the increase in the service revenue was recorded "across both consumer and business segments." Further, Vodafone Group said that its roaming and visitor revenue increased 56% YoY but that it is 54% lower than the pre-pandemic levels. "Really, India is a question for Vodafone Idea," Read said in the first-quarter earnings call. "But within the going concern statement, they highlighted very clearly, they are dependent as a going concern on refinancing debts that are coming June in terms of monetisation of assets, in terms of government support, so, AGR or floor pricing, etc., and raising funds." In August 2018, Vodafone Group announced the completion of the merger between Idea and Vodafone India, with the Vodafone Group holding 45.2% in the combined entity. It was also highlighted that the Aditya Birla Group (ABG) will hold a 26% stake in Vodafone Idea. "So, I mean, it is, as you say, a highly stressed situation, a difficult situation that they are trying to navigate," Read said in response to an analyst question on what strategy Vodafone Group has for Vodafone Idea. "I mean, we as a group try to provide them as much practical support as we can but I want to make it very clear, we are not putting any additional equity into India." The Supreme Court in mid-July rejected the applications moved by Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices seeking recomputation of the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues. The apex court decision means that Airtel and Vodafone Idea AGR dues will stay at Rs 44,000 crores and Rs 58,300 crores respectively. In comparison, Airtel and Vodafone Idea calculated the AGR dues to be Rs 13,000 crores and Rs 21,500 crores respectively. Edelweiss Research, a leading domestic institutional brokerage house in a report on July 23, 2021, said that the telecom market in India is "moving towards a duopoly." "Any relief in AGR dues would have abated VI's (Vodafone Idea) debt woes and facilitated a much-needed fund-raising," Edelweiss Research said in its report. The firm said that the balance sheet of Vodafone Idea is "precarious" and highlighted that the third-largest wireless operator in India sought a government nod to raise Rs 15,000 in the capital. "But in absence of any announcement, we see it as an 'enabling approval' to avoid delays once investors come on board," Edelweiss Research said. "According to our estimates, VI must jack up ARPU by 87% to meet its debt obligations."

Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio "Adequately Funded" Says Analyst

The firm said that Airtel and Reliance Jio are both "adequately funded" and that it "gives them an opportunity to grab market shares." "Hence, we believe that Bharti and RJio will be 'net beneficiaries' of the challenges VI is staring at," Edelweiss Research said. The firm highlighted that a "favourable judgement" would have further boosted Airtel but that its "balance sheet is anyway strong enough to bear the AGR burden." "With strong 2G and 4G networks, it is a clear beneficiary of potential market share gains as VI loses out," Edelweiss Research said. Further, the firm said that the largest wireless operator in India, Reliance Jio, enhanced its spectrum portfolio to upgrade its capacity for new users arriving on its network. "Although we expect RJio to be a net beneficiary of market share gains (from VI), the market is overestimating its digital capabilities in our view," Edelweiss Research said. It has to be noted that Airtel in the past week had made "upgrades" to its retail and corporate postpaid plans to "serve evolving" user needs. The minimum plan for corporate users on the Airtel network is now priced at Rs 299, up from Rs 199. Similarly, the operator also increased its retail postpaid add-on pack to Rs 299, up from Rs 249 while its Rs 999 plan serves as its "only family postpaid plan." Multiple analysts have been expecting Vodafone Idea to also tweak its tariffs to match Airtel's price hike.

Reliance Jio Creeping Into Top Spot of Active Wireless Subscribers

Posted: 30 Jul 2021 05:28 AM PDT

The fight between Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel in the Indian telecom industry is a story of David and Goliath. The two telecom companies have been embroiled in an all-out competition, with little different methods, but both companies are also vying for the top spot in the country. While Reliance Jio boasts of having the most number of wireless subscribers in India, Bharti Airtel boasts of having the most active subscribers. This is a significant difference since the active subscribers are the ones who are going to be paying for the services and returning back for more, thus driving the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). As per the latest report by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on subscribers' data, Reliance Jio seems to be making some solid progress.

Bharti Airtel Active Subscribers

As per the TRAI report, out of the total wireless subscribers (1,176.84 million), 986.11 million wireless subscribers were active on the date of peak VLR in the month of May-21. The proportion of active wireless subscribers was approximately 83.79% of the total wireless subscriber base. The TRAI report also highlighted that Bharti Airtel has the maximum proportion (97.99%) of its active wireless subscribers (VLR) as against its total wireless subscribers (HLR) on the date of peak VLR. Hence, the total number of active wireless subscribers on Bharti Airtel's network amount to 341.28 million.

Reliance Jio Active Subscribers

However, the noteworthy figure is of Reliance Jio, which boasts of having the maximum number of wireless subscribers. The total number of wireless subscribers for Reliance Jio stands at 431.23 million, but it has a comparatively lesser percentage of its subscribers on the active side, with only 78.37% subscribers being counted in the VLR. Hence, the total active subscribers of Reliance Jio come out to be 337.97 million. What's interesting to note is the shortening divide between Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio in active subscribers (VLR), which might mean in a few months, Jio might surpass Airtel in this metric as well. It will be interesting to see how the impact of such an event will yield on the ARPU side.

Indian Government Actively Taking Steps to Avoid Telecom Duopoly

Posted: 30 Jul 2021 04:19 AM PDT

The Telecom sector has been under a lot of stress for the past few years. Since the time Reliance Jio came in, multiple operators have gone bankrupt, and the existing ones, excluding Airtel, are struggling to make ends meet. The operators not only have to expand their network but also pay out their debt to the government and the banks. According to an ET Telecom report, Devusinh Chauhan, Minister of State for Communications, in Rajya Sabha, said that the Indian government is taking all the steps to ensure that the telcos aren't too stressed financially.

Will India's Telecom Industry Become Duopolistic?

Chauhan was asked by a lawmaker whether India is heading towards a possible duopoly in the telecom sector and what is the government doing to ensure that it doesn't happen. Chauhan said that the government had put a cap on the total spectrum that an operator can have in a given telecom circle which restricts it from becoming a monopoly market. The capped amount is 35% of the total spectrum available. Further, Chauhan noted that the telecom operators were given the option to defer the spectrum auction payments instalments for two financial years, including 2020-21 and 2021-22. To help the telcos even more, the government had increased the number of instalments the telco can make their payments in. The minister even mentioned how the Supreme Court (SC) had asked the telcos to pay their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues over 10 instalments in 10 years. Regardless of the comments that come from the minister, it is quite visible that there isn't much help provided to Vodafone Idea by the government. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) can relax and allow Vodafone Idea (Vi) to skip an AGR dues instalment and give the option to pay later so that right now Vi can invest in its networks. But that's isn't happening, and thus the operator's aren't really getting any big help from the government.

Airtel Payments Bank Records 50 Million Cash Withdrawal Transactions

Posted: 30 Jul 2021 02:50 AM PDT

Airtel Payments Bank today announced that it recorded near about 50 million cash withdrawal transactions through AePS (Aadhaar Enabled Payment Services) platform in FY21. The Bank holds around 7% market share in AePS. More than 74% of these transactions were processed by Airtel Payments Bank's neighbourhood banking points located in Tier 5/6 towns. Airtel Payments Bank has India's largest retail network with 500,000 neighbourhood banking points, and 50% of these banking points are AePS enabled. During Covid, customers looked for banking services near their home and Airtel Payments Bank kept its service engine running by leveraging its deep retail-based banking network to ensure that financial services are at an arm's length for millions of Indians. Through the AePS platform, the bank was also able to serve customers of other banks who had an Aadhaar enabled bank account. The Bank registered over 10% growth every quarter in the number of cash withdrawal transactions through AePS in FY21.

Airtel Payments Bank Recently Launched 'Pay to Contacts' Feature

To make online transactions even more seamless for the users, Airtel Payments Bank earlier this month introduced the 'Pay to Contacts' feature. It will allow the users to conveniently choose a mobile number/contact from their device to whom they want to send money to. With the arrival of this feature, users won't have to manually add the UPI ID of the person they are trying to send the money to. They can just select the contact and his/her UPI ID associated with the saved mobile number will appear. This feature is a big time-saver for the users and also allows them to make transactions without any hassle. Airtel Payments Bank has certainly made the life of the users easier during the time of the pandemic. It allowed users to pay for utility bills online and also enabled one-to-one direct bank account transfers. As more time passes by, the role of Airtel Payments Bank is only going to grow.

Micromax In 2b Can Break the Market With Its Attractive Price Tag and Specs

Posted: 30 Jul 2021 02:39 AM PDT

Micromax's In series of smartphones in India has been in the headlines for all the right reasons. The smartphone manufacturer, which was thought to be in obscurity, has now come back in the market with a bang, following the launch of the In 1b, now Micromax is here with its next in line phone, Micromax In 2b. The phone is said to be a steal deal in the budget segment because of the impressive features it offers and the specifications that it packs for the given price range. Here are more details that you might like to know about the Micromax In 2b.

Micromax In 2b Specifications and Details

Speaking of design, the Micromax In 2b packs a waterdrop notch on a 6.52-inch HD+ display. The phone boasts of having 400 nits brightness, and its screen-to-body ratio measures at 89% with a 20:9 aspect ratio on its display. Inside the hood, the phone packs a Unisoc T610 octa-core SoC. This chipset is paired up with 6GB of RAM by Micromax, and the internal storage option includes a 64GB memory which can be expanded up to 256GB with an external SD card. The camera setup on the rear side of the Micromax In 2b includes a 13MP sensor with f/1.8 aperture, and it is coupled with a 2MP secondary sensor. On the selfie side of things, the buyers will get a 5MP shooter. As for the features available on the camera, we get night mode, background portrait, beauty mode, motion photo, play and pause video shoot, and full-HD front. The connectivity options on the Micromax In 2b include dual Vo-WiFi, dual VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth v5, and USB Type-C port. The phone also packs a 5,000mAh battery which offers 160 hours of music playback and 20 hours of web browsing.

Pricing of Micromax In 2b

Speaking of the pricing of the Micromax In 2b, the company has set the price of Rs 7,999 for the 4GB+64GB variant and Rs 8,999 for the 6GB+64GB variant. The colour options available for the Micromax In 2b include Black, Blue, and Green colour. As for sale, the interested buyers will be able to get the device on Micromax’s official website or Flipkart at 12 noon on August 6.

Airtel and Vodafone Idea Eye Price Hike to Lower AGR Dues Burden

Posted: 30 Jul 2021 01:50 AM PDT

Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel might soon hike the prices in the prepaid smartphone users segments to elevate the resources and increase the cash generation to cater to the upcoming AGR dues burden and other payment defaults. As reported by ET Telecom, a price hike in the prepaid smartphone user segment will be beneficial for the telcos as it generates the bulk of telco revenues. The renowned entity Goldman Sachs has predicted that Bharti Airtel could be the first telecom operator to increase price in the prepaid smartphone segment, which will be followed by Vodafone Idea.

Airtel Discontinued the Rs 49 Prepaid Plan

Airtel has hinted towards the price hike and discontinued the Rs 49 entry-level prepaid plan for prepaid users. Now the entry-level prepaid plan of Airtel starts from Rs 79, which is 60% costlier. It is also expected that Vodafone Idea will walk on the same road and discontinue the Rs 49 prepaid plan at a pan-India level in the upcoming days. The brokerage firm expects that a price hike might happen before the end of 2021 as prepaid smartphone users create nearly 50% to 80% of telcos FY21 revenues.

Airtel and Vodafone Idea has to Clear First AGR Dues Instalment By March 2022

IIFL securities marked that Vodafone Idea has already matched Airtel on post-paid plans. Now both telcos are aggressively eyeing the opportunity to reap monetary benefits from the prepaid segment. Apart from quarterly and debt payments, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea has to pay Rs 4,100 crore and Rs 9,000 crore, respectively, towards the first instalment of AGR dues by March 2022. Goldman Sachs also revealed that Bharti Airtel's balance sheet is more comfortable than Vodafone Idea. It is expected that the telco will face an annual cash shortfall of nearly Rs 2,000 crore if the tariff is not hiked. The telecom regulator revealed that Bharti Airtel had 348.29 million users at May-end while Vodafone Idea had 277.72 million users. Nearly 90% of the user base of the telcos use prepaid services. On the other side, Reliance Jio revealed its June quarter results and stated that it has nearly 441 million subscribers. Airtel and Vodafone Idea are yet to reveal their June quarter earnings numbers.

Amazfit Holds 30% Smartwatch Market Share in India: CP Khandelwal

Posted: 30 Jul 2021 01:25 AM PDT

Amazfit is one of the better-known smartwatch brands in India now. The company has brought some of the most affordable and powerful smartwatches to the Indian market. In a conversation with TelecomTalk, CP Khandelwal, CEO and Director of PR Innovations shared that Amazfit has been able to gain a 30% market share in India. Mr Khandelwal shared more about how PR Innovations helped Amazfit grow from scratch in India.

Q1. How Do You See PR Innovation’s Journey in India in Collaboration With Amazfit? What Have Been the Most Notable Aspects of This Association?

PR Innovation initially established the Business by partnering with online platforms such as Flipkart and Amazon and physical channels such as Reliance Digital, Croma, Vijay Sales, Poorvika Mobiles, and many others. With over 100+ suppliers offering better services that cover all over in India, PR innovations are now found in various genres such as fashion, lifestyle, fitness, traditional, and so on. Amazfit has long been regarded as an industry leader, has introduced India’s first budget-friendly smartwatches under Rs 5,000. Prior to this, Amazfit had announced the first smartwatches in India with Bluetooth calling and Alexa functionality, ranging between Rs 5,000 and Rs 13,000. PR Innovations paved the way for Amazfit’s expansion into modern stores, general trade distribution, and the wearable industry. They are the industry leaders in India’s savvy technology sector.

Q2. Briefly Describe Your Role in the Growth of Amazfit in India

Amazfit counted on PR Innovations as a pillar. They oversee all aspects of Amazfit, including new product launches, licensing and certification, after-sales services, logistics support, branding & retailing assistance, and other marketing operations. For Amazfit, we are in charge of all brand-related activities. The company created a network of audiences who shared a common interest in fitness and created the #AmazfitFans campaign.

Q3. How Do You Manage All of These Activities So That Amazfit Can Strengthen Its Position and Establish a Loyal Customer Base?

With the use of creativity, technological innovations, and a distinctive strategy, we have built a foothold for Amazfit in the Indian market. We understand the customer’s perception of the product and therefore convey it to the brand. For a seamless experience, we ensure that all chores are executed promptly.

Q4. How Are You Bridging the Gap Between the Brand and the End-Users? How Have Your After-Sales Strategies Aided Amazfit in Diversifying Its Share in the Indian Market?

Amazfit has a foothold in both retail and online marketing, and as a result, they have a comprehensive vision of what their buyers desire. When customers are satisfied, they engage in the brand and become committed, which in itself is precisely what Amazfit has accomplished in the Indian market by offering after-sales services across cities and meeting their needs. PR Innovations offers post-sale customer care and assistance, supervises the flow of returned/faulty products from the user to the brand, and evaluates and communicates the customer’s view of the product to the brand. We provide door-to-door pick-up services for our customers, the customer just has to share his/her concern with us and our team will get the device picked from their place, fix it, and deliver it back. The entire process is managed by our company.

Q5. How Is Amazfit Looking to Brand Itself in the Indian Market? How PR Innovation Is Contributing to This?

Amazfit wants to provide its consumers with the best health and innovative products. The future products of Amazfit will continue to evolve and iterate around the direction of sports and health care with a touch of technology and innovation, bringing better products and experiences to users. PR innovation will set the base of all these products and continue supporting the grand with its comprehensive strategies both in Online and Offline markets.

Q6. How Has Your Business Graph Altered Ever Since Lockdown?

Wearable technology proved to be a promising alternative for gyms during the pandemic. Amazfit watches packs with features like step trackers, heart rate monitors, blood oxygen levels and are compatible with a variety of sports modes which are great ways for companies to look after employees' health and fitness goals. Following the lockdown, demand for fitness bands and watches hit the peak and sales surprisingly increased.

Q7. Tell Us About Your Success Metrics Since Amazfit Made Its Debut in India.

In less than two years, PR Innovations helped Amazfit in gaining the dominant market share. Starting from scratch, we’ve managed to retain a 30% market share. Advising beneficial strategic business consults, Amazfit was able to maintain its brand sales in the Indian market. Amazfit has climbed to the forefront of online e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart as one of the best-selling smartwatches. In New Delhi, we hosted the first-ever Amazfit Fan Run.

Q8. What Are Other Brands That You Deal With Both From a Global and Indian Perspective?

Other than Amazfit we are a national importer for ViewSonic LED monitors apart from that, we are distributors of all products of Apple and One Plus, exclusive retail stores and regional level distribution. Not just this, we have started a retail chain of smart gadgets in the name of "Just Everything". We are Sony electronics regional level distributor as well. We manage all aspects of a brand’s presence in India, including product launches, distribution, handling their e-commerce stores, offline stores, after-sales services, logistic support, marketing and retailing, and a variety of other services. We are into IAP and telecom electronics.

Mi 11X Pro Review After Two Months: Impressive and Powerful

Posted: 30 Jul 2021 12:16 AM PDT

Mi 11X Pro has been in the market for quite some time now. People already know what they can expect from the smartphone, and they know how it performs under various scenarios. One thing that's highly appreciable here is that Xiaomi is bringing the flagship experience for users at a considerably lower cost than its competitors. The Mi 11X Pro is powered by top of the line Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC and comes with a 108MP primary sensor at the rear. After using the smartphone for two months, I have only two things to say – It is very impressive and powerful.

Mi 11X Pro Review: Display

The Mi 11X Pro comes with an FHD+ AMOLED display with support for 120Hz refresh rate. The display of the device is HDR10+ certified and can support maximum brightness of up to 1300nits. I wasn't too scared of scratching the screen of the Mi 11X Pro because of the Corning Gorilla Glass 5 at the top. Because of its impressive display, I could watch my favourite content from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and YouTube without any worries about stale colours. The colours are very accurate, and the brightness is never an issue with the Mi 11X Pro.

Mi 11X Pro Review: Design

One of the best things about the Mi 11X Pro is its design. The body of the smartphone looks premium right out of the box. One thing that I noted was that its design is pretty similar to the Mi 11X vanilla variant. The smartphone has curved edges, and that is what I just want from any premium device, and it is slim as well. If you have been using a very light phone, you might find the Mi 11X Pro a little heavy as it weighs 196 grams.

The buttons on the side of the body are well placed and do not feel off at all. One thing that I did want Xiaomi to do was to go for an in-display fingerprint sensor as with the Mi 11X Pro; the fingerprint sensor is located at the side of the smartphone. The stereo speakers are present both at the top and bottom of the device.

Mi 11X Pro Review: Camera

The Mi 11X Pro has a triple camera system at the rear. The primary sensor at the rear is a 108MP lens paired with an 8MP ultra-wide-angle sensor and a 5MP telemacro sensor. In the selfie department, there's a 20MP sensor present at the front. The Mi camera app remains the same and feels very familiar to the ones that we have seen in the company's previous smartphones. The 108MP primary sensor does a great job while clicking pictures in normal daylight. Even the shots that I took in dark light came out to be very good. The video recording feature of the smartphone is just too good. It captures almost every detail, and vloggers can easily take this smartphone to shoot. Camera

Features such as audio zoom and other modes including parallel world, magic zoom and more make shooting videos with the Mi 11X Pro an exciting and fun experience. Talking about the front camera, it's equally good as well. Video calling with my friends and colleagues was a great experience with the Mi 11X Pro.

Mi 11X Pro Review: Battery Life and Performance

The Mi 11X Pro comes with a 4520mAh battery along with 33W fast-charging. I got the charger inside the box, which is a great thing. The Mi 11X Pro ran decently, and whenever I needed to charge, 33W fast-charging never felt slow. Gaming does affect the battery life a bit, but if you are a light user, you will find the need to charge the smartphone only once a day and that too only for a few minutes. Talking about the overall performance, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC allows the smartphone to give a super experience when trying to multitask or play heavy games. The processor is very powerful and can take a lot of load without overheating the smartphone. It has dual speakers with Dolby Atmos support to deliver a strong sound experience. The only sort of con that I felt about the device was the MIUI 12 based on Android 11. I am not a big fan of the UI that Xiaomi and Redmi phones come with.

Mi 11X Pro Review: Connectivity Bands

Mi 11X Pro is a 5G supportive device. It can support the following bands — 5G: sub 6G: n77/n78; 4G: LTE FDD: B1/3/5/7/8, LTE TDD: B40/41; 3G: WDCMA: B1/2/5/8; and 2G: GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz. One of the best things is that the Mi 11X Pro can also support Wi-Fi 6 connectivity.

Mi 11X Pro Review: Conclusion and Price

The Mi 11X Pro is available in India in three colours – Cosmic Black, Lunar White, and Celestial Silver. The smartphone is available in two different configurations with 8GB+128GB and 8GB+256GB for Rs 39,999 and Rs 41,999, respectively. The Mi 11X Pro is a great buy for anyone who likes the MIUI 12. The smartphone is as powerful as a super-premium device, and its camera is just too good. If you are considering going for a smartphone in the Rs 40,000 price range, the Mi 11X Pro is right up there with the OnePlus 9R and the iQOO 7 Legend 5G.

OnePlus Will Continue to Rule Indian Market

Posted: 29 Jul 2021 11:00 PM PDT

OnePlus is one of the best success stories you will ever hear in the smartphone market. In the initial days, when the company didn't have very strong branding, it garnered eyes on itself through very exciting products such as the OnePlus One and the OnePlus 3. By the time the OnePlus 5T came to India, OnePlus had become a notable smartphone brand. It was directly competing with companies such as Samsung and Xiaomi which had a very big market share in India. Fast-forward to 2021, in the smartphone segment, OnePlus has become as big a brand like Samsung, at least in the Indian market.

OnePlus Is the Best Smartphone Brand in Premium Segment

Regardless of what people say and how many bugs there were in the OxygenOS builds, OnePlus has remained the top choice of Indian consumers when it comes to the premium segment. According to a Counterpoint Research report, OnePlus is the number one smartphone brand in the above Rs 30,000 category in India. The Chinese smartphone maker saw great success with the launch of the OnePlus 9R. The OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro became the best selling smartphones in the ultra-premium segment (above Rs 45,000). The OnePlus 9R garnered 25% of the market share in the premium category of smartphones (above Rs 30,000). This tells us one thing, regardless of what it is, Indians love holding a OnePlus smartphone in their hand. Even the tech enthusiasts who have said that OnePlus hasn't been at the top of its game recently know that the superiority of the OxygenOS over the other operating systems. Even though both Xiaomi and Samsung have smartphones in the same range, they are nowhere near OnePlus. For OnePlus, the second quarter of CY2021 has resulted in 200% growth when compared with the previous year's same quarter. So there's obviously no ruling OnePlus out of the Indian market for a long time now.

BSNL Announces Free Installation of Broadband, Landline Connections

Posted: 29 Jul 2021 10:02 PM PDT

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has waived the installation charge for all the users going for a new broadband or a landline connection. This is a limited time offer and will be in place for 90 days. BSNL operates one of the biggest broadband businesses in India. Even though the telco's mobile network business is slow, its broadband business is bigger than that of Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio. The free installation offer from BSNL will go live on August 5, 2021, and will stay in place for 90 days from then.

BSNL Removing Installation Charges from These Services

Currently, BSNL customers need to pay a fee of Rs 250 if they are getting a new landline connection or a new broadband connection on the existing landline. Further, users going for a new Bharat Fibre connection need to pay Rs 500 for installation. As reported by KeralaTelecom first, this charge will be removed for the users starting August 5, 2021. The offer will be in place for 90 days meaning up till November 2, 2021. Note that the customers still need to pay the charges for getting a modem from the company. For different internet speed plans, BSNL recommends different modems. If you are going for a 100 Mbps plan or more, you should go for a dual-band router that can support 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi networks. This is not the first time BSNL is offering installation without any cost to the users. The state-run telco keeps on coming up with such offers on a regular and is a great competitor to the likes of Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio both of which have expanded their fiber internet business very aggressively. The free installation benefit can be availed by the users on their first month's bill from BSNL. The state-run telco offers multiple plans you can choose from up to 300 Mbps speeds.

Verizon New Hotspot Plans Offer 5G and 4G LTE Connectivity

Posted: 29 Jul 2021 07:57 PM PDT

Verizon is one of the largest telecom operators in the United States (U.S.) market. The company has brought in new mobile hotspot plans for users. Now there are four options for the users to choose from. The plans start from $20, offering up to 15GB of data and range to $80 where the user gets 150GB of data. These plans offer standalone as well as unlimited plan add-on mobile hotspot data so that you can travel or work from home comfortably. Let's take a look at all of these plans.

Verizon New Mobile Hotspot Plans

Verizon offers four mobile hotspot plans, namely – Essential, Plus, Pro, and Premium. All of the plans are different in nature. The most basic mobile hotspot plan called 'Essential' offers users lowland nationwide 5G and 4G LTE connectivity. Talking about the 'Plus', 'Pro', and 'Premium' plans, all of them provide the users with ultra-wideband 5G that encompasses mid-band spectrum as well as mmWave spectrum to give the users both great coverage and super fast 5G speeds. All of these plans have a fair usage policy (FUP) limit, which will force the users to consume low-speed data once the FUP limit is reached. Both the Essential and Plus plans are available to Verizon customers while the Pro and Premium plans can be added to an unlimited plan or even purchased as a standalone product. Unlike the Indian operators, Verizon doesn't allow its users on low-grade unlimited plans to turn on the mobile hotspot and share data to other devices. To create a mobile hotspot, users either need to switch to an expensive unlimited plan or purchase an add-on mobile hotspot plan. This is a good way for the operator to ensure that its average revenue per user (ARPU) is high if the end-user is trying to go for a mobile hotspot. Fortunately, the Indian operators are more lenient than this.

BSNL Broadband Offering 100GB Data for Rs 299

Posted: 29 Jul 2021 06:41 PM PDT

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) runs a very big broadband business in India. The company has been offering broadband internet services for a long time now and earns a substantial amount of money from DSL broadband services. While users can choose fiber broadband plans now, there are many who still feel comfortable about what they get with a DSL broadband connection from BSNL. There's a broadband plan of BSNL that offers users 100GB of data for only Rs 299. It is not a fiber plan and offers less speed than what you may like, but is still a really good offer looking at the price.

BSNL Rs 299 Broadband Plan Details

The first thing that you should note here is that the Rs 299 plan from BSNL is only available for new customers. Any of the existing customers can't subscribe to this plan. For the first six months, users will continue paying Rs 299 per month against which they will get 100GB of data at 10 Mbps speed. After the 100GB of data is consumed, users can continue browsing the internet at 2 Mbps speed. With the DSL connection, users are also eligible to receive a free landline connection from the company that offers unlimited talktime to the users. There is no over-the-top (OTT) benefit offered with the plan which is honestly understandable looking at its price. Note that since this plan is an introductory offer for new customers, after six months, the users will be automatically migrated to the 200GB CUL broadband plan if they don't opt for another plan manually. The 200GB CUL plan offers the same 10 Mbps speed with 200GB monthly data for Rs 399 per month. At Rs 399 per month, you can even get the 30 Mbps plan from JioFiber and unlimited data for the month. Regardless, users will have the option to switch to another plan manually if they don't want the 200GB CUL plan. Users can also opt for the BSNL Super Star 2 DSL broadband plan that comes with an OTT benefit of Disney+ Hotstar Premium. This plan offers 1,110GB of data at 10 Mbps speed for Rs 949 per month. There is also a free landline or fixed-line voice calling connection with unlimited calling benefit provided to the customer. All of these plans are available in the telecom circles BSNL is offering its DSL broadband services in. It is worth noting that BSNL's fiber business is not as big as its DSL broadband business. There are more plans that users can choose from which are available on the company's website.

T-Mobile Beats Verizon, AT&T to Offer Best 5G Services

Posted: 29 Jul 2021 12:48 PM PDT

T-Mobile, one of the prominent telecom operators of the United States (U.S.), has become the best 5G network service provider in the country. Beating the likes of Verizon and AT&T, T-Mobile has been recognised as the most reliable 5G network services provider in the U.S. The test results have been shared by umlaut, a global consultancy company and leader in mobile benchmarking and network testing.

T-Mobile Offers Most Reliable 5G Services in the U.S.

umlaut took the 5G networks of the prominent operators based out of the U.S., including AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, for testing. After completing its assessment, the company said that T-Mobile offers the most reliable 5G network services in the country. In umlaut's test, T-Mobile scored 707 points out of 1000, which was the most by any operators' included in the test. Just behind T-Mobile was Verizon with 632 points and AT&T at the third position with 599 points. In the 5G reliability test, T-Mobile scored the highest, which is 664 out of 800 points, followed by Verizon with 560 points and AT&T with 520 points. umlaut conducted its tests over 24 weeks which started from January 25, 2021, and carried on until July 11, 2021. Using the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G smartphone, umlaut tested the uplink and downlink speed provided by the networks of different operators. Under this test as well, T-Mobile's 5G network came out to be on top of its competitors and was at least 2.2 times faster. In all the major cities of the country where umlaut tested the 5G networks of the concerned operators, T-Mobile's 5G availability was the highest (88% in all the tested cities). The other operators, including Verizon and AT&T, have a lot of room for improvement when it comes to offering 5G network services to the users. T-Mobile is surely way ahead of its competitors in the U.S. and will stay ahead of the other operators don’t invest in their networks soon.