Android one:5 Things to know

Google is about to launch Android One smartphones in emerging markets. Yes, Android One will be making its way to India on September 15, 2014. Google announced this new project in its annual I/O event that will launch Android One in partnership with low cost phones such as Micromax, Karbonn and Spice. While this project of Android One launch will be done globally, the initiative will be starting in India.

This initiative is likely to an immensely advantageous move for the whole social media gamut as well. Google will be providing basic guideline references to its leading device making partners members. The feature is being made available in low cost smartphones, but they are loaded with top-end features. Basically, cheaper phones will come with loaded features.

Check out  top 5 things you need to know about Android One:

1. Google services don’t work for all Android based phones, but with Android One, this won’t be an issue anymore. Google will provide the manufacturers with specifications, basic guideline references for hardware parts, up-to-date versions of Android which will result in faster upgrades.

2. Since Google is collaborating with many low-cost domestic phone makers, it will take quality control of the low end market, with the smart phone priced mostly below Rs 6,000. Although a lot of phones come under this bracket of low cost phones, but Android One will provide a superior functionality with better a user interface.

 

3. Although not much is known about the specifications of Android One, some of its features will include dual core chip, 5MP camera, removable SD card, 4.5 inch display and Media Tek processor all in low cost phones such as Micromax, Karbonn and Spice.

4. Android One will set Google on an upscale since the customization of its hardware as well as software it will provide an amalgamation of its own services such as Google’s own search engine.

5. Android one is a new supremacy initiative by Google to stay abreast with Android in India. With the launch of Android One it will ensure a safe play for Google in the tech market. It is also said to bolster Facebook’s growth in India.

This launch of Android One will add to the never ending race of revolutionary device makers and multinational co operations to deliver cheaper smartphones with loaded features. Only time will tell if this will turn out to be a real deal and a game-changer.

Micromax topples Apple in Indian tablet market

New Delhi, Sep 1: Micromax has overtaken Apple and reached the second position in the tablet market in India in the second quarter with 14 percent market-share, data released by the International Data Corporation (IDC) said Monday. ”Strong performance in Q2 2014 allowed Micromax to tip Apple to the second spot,” an IDC statement here said.

Samsung with 19 percent market-share occupied the top position in the Indian tablet market. It was followed by Micromax (14 percent) and Apple (9 percent), the data showed.

According to IDC, the Indian tablet market has indicated early signs of recovery in the second quarter (April-June) of 2014 after taking a sharp hit in the past couple of quarters. Tablet shipments in India stood at 0.86 million (mn) units in Q2 2014, which is a quarter-on-quarter growth of 9 percent over first quarter (January-March) 2014.

“This recovery was fuelled by multiple factors. Business sentiments have shown improvement post elections and near term prospects are anticipated to remain better too. Further, traditional PC OEMs have started making big inroads in the tablet market and most of this success is led by leveraging their vast expanded reach through multiple distribution points,” Karan Thakkar, senior market analyst, IDC India said.

Android continued to be the most preferred operating system (OS). With 89.6 percent market share, Android is expected to sail above the 80 percent mark over the next few years. Windows OS is gaining ground too, it said.

“Improved discretionary spends by end-users and festive buying is expected to drive growth in the tablet market in the coming quarters. IDC anticipates this to be well supported by the optimism witnessed around enterprise IT spending in the recent past,” Kiran Kumar, research manager, client devices, IDC India said.