AIRCEL, SNAPDEAL TIE UP FOR DATA-ENABLED PHONES The Financial Express | The Economic Times | Financial Chronicle | The

Asian Age | Deccan Chronicle Aircel has tied up with online marketplace Snapdeal to offer free data package to customers buying a data-enabled phone on the portal. The offer, 3GB of free 3G/2G data with a phone, will be valid for a period of three months, the two companies said in a joint statement. "... the intent of this partnership is to increase data penetration and usage amongst our user base, especially the youth," Aircel CMO Anupam Vasudev said.

HANDSETS/ACCESSORIES ANDROID MAY REJUVENATE NOKIA Venkatesh Ganesh, Bangalore The Hindu Business Line While analysts are not calling the Nokia X Series smartphones a gamechanger, they are upbeat about Microsofts strategy to tap into the sub- Rs 10,000 phone segment. In the age of smartphones powered by Googles Android operating system, Microsoft seems to have half acknowledged that if it has to succeed in phones, it makes sense to ride on Googles open technology. The company launched the Nokia X smartphones, which for the first time are using Androids open -source software, and are priced in direct competition with Samsung, Sony and Indian phonemakers such as Lava, Karbonn and Micromax. Tony Cripps of Ovum seems to have concerns around how the X-range of smartphones will tilt the balance in favour of Microsoft. However, he believes that Nokias strength i n emerging markets will help the company get back its lost glory and, more importantly, further the cause of adoption of Windows phones in India.

NEW SMARTPHONE BY GIONEE The Tribune Gionee Smartphones announced the launch of its new flagship smartphone, ELIFE E7, on Saturday. Anil Sharma, managing director, UT Electronics Pvt. Ltd, said ELIFE E7 was powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and android-based operating system AMIGO 2.0.

WILL ENTERPRISE FOCUS HELP TURN AROUND FORTUNES AT BLACKBERRY? Leslie DMonte, Mumbai Mint BlackBerry, which till a few years back was among the most sought smartphones, now has less than 5 percent market share in a rapidly expanding smartphone devices and operating system (OS) market, and a negligible presence in the tablet market. Global smartphone sales to end-users rose 42.3 percent from a year ago to 968 million units in 2013, according to research firm Gartner Inc. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd dominated the market with a 31 percent share, followed by Apple Inc. with a 15.6 percent share. In the same period, the market share of Google Inc.s Android OS rose from 66.4 percent in 2012 to 78.4 percent; that of Apples iOS grew from 15.6 percent to 19.1 percent, but the share of BlackBerry OS fel l from 5 percent to 1.9 percent. John Chen, who took over as executive chairman and chief executive officer of BlackBerry on 4 November, said his plan to turn around the fortunes of the company revolved around four pillarsenterprise services, messaging (BBM), QNX-embedded business and the existing devices business.

NOKIA BANKING ON ITS NEW ANDROID SMARTPHONE 'NOKIA X ' TO REGAIN MARKET SHARE Gulveen Aulakh, New Delhi The Economic Times | The Financial Express | The Hindu Business Line | Financial Chronicle | Mint | Business Standard | Deccan Herald | The Hindu | The Pioneer | The Indian Express | Hindustan Times | The Asian Age | Mail Today Nokia expects its Android smartphones to help regain some of its lost market share in the crucial midrange segment in markets like India, managing director for the country P Balaji said, adding that the premium Lumia smartphones and new Asha models which will be priced even lower than the existing ones will complete the company's portfolio. The Finnish handset maker launched its first Android smartphone - Nokia X - in India on Monday, priced at 8,599, which however won't have Google Play store for apps, Google Search, Google Maps or Gmail services. "Our primary strategy on smartphones is Lumia and the Nokia X will be a feeder platform into the Lumia. We see the opportunity for Nokia X in the affordable smartphone category where most consumers want the apps from Android," Balaji said. Nokia will launch the X+ and XL variants within the next two months that are likely to be priced higher than Nokia X, but under Rs 12,000.