Oppo signs exclusivity deal with Flipkart for flagship Find 7 sales

Oppo has become the latest mobile company to team up with Flipkart to sell its range of devices in India. The company said that all the smartphones it has launched in India till date will now be sold exclusively via Flipkart including its latest Find 7.

Oppo has been looking to expand in India and this deal is a step towards increasing its pan-India footprint. The company also plans to expand more service centers in the next one year. So far, Oppo has launched 10 devices in the India market that range from sub-Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000.

Tom Lu, CEO, Oppo Mobiles India, said “We have been striving to come closer to our customers and become a part of the society. With more and more consumers going online, having a digital presence has become a must. Flipkart is definitely one of the most popular shopping platforms with a very loyal customer base and by partnering with them, we are sure OPPO’s smartphones will reach out to more customers. With our products, Indian customers will get a chance to experience the best in innovation, the way many customers have enjoyed globally .”

Oppo is a Chinese smartphone brand that entered the Indian market earlier this year with the N1 featuring a 206 degree rotating camera, a 5.9” screen, and rear touch panel. Lately, it launched the high-end Find 7 with a 5.5-inch QHD display with 1440×2560 pixels of resolution, and pixel density that goes all the way up to 538ppi. It claimed to be the first phone with a QHD display to be launched in India. The Find 7 gets a top-of-the-line quad-core Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AC) – one of the most powerful SoCs in the market – clocked at 2.5GHz and coupled with a 3GB of RAM. 

Over in a jiffy: Flipkart sells 20,000 Xiaomi Mi3 units in 2.4 seconds this time around

In Xiaomi’s sixth Mi 3 flash sale on Flipkart,  20,000 units were wiped off the shelves in mere seconds once again. This comes as no surprise as the company has been setting some records with its Mi3 flash sale in India ever since the first batch up on sale on July 22. Read our extensive interview with Xiaomi VP Hugo Barra, where he goes over the surprise success of the brand in India. 

Needless to say, as soon soon someone hits the buy button, Flipkart considers the device sold. And those who joined the throngs said they couldn’t find the phone in stock right on the stroke of 2PM. That does indicate that Flipkart managed to pull off yet another quick sell-out. Barra tweeted saying the company had sold out all phones ni 2.4 seconds.

The company hasn’t mentioned anything about the registrations for the next sale. However, at event held inDelhi, Hugo Barra has launched Xiaomi’s budget Redmi 1s for Rs 5,999. The registrations for the Redmi 1s will begin today evening at 6PM.

By calculating the numbers disclosed by the company, Xiaomi is likely to have sold over 90,000 phones in India so far. The first day, it reportedly went off shelves within 40 minutes, while the second batch sold in five seconds, and the third one at a record of less than two seconds. The fourth and fifth batch had a similar tale to tell. Even with the evident demand, Xiaomi has been releasing meagre units, much to the frustration of the masses.

At just Rs 13,999, the Mi 3 packs a Snapdragon 800, which is by far the cheapest high-end phone available in the market. It competes with the likes of the Nexus 5, Galaxy S4, Xperia Z at nearly half the price. Read our Xiaomi Mi 3 review, to find out if it is worth buying.

For those who were unable to get their hands on the device this time, check out four alternatives to the Mi 3.

Flipkart expands tablet portfolio with three Intel devices starting Rs 5,999

Widening its portfolio of devices under the Digiflip Pro brand Flipkart has launched three new Intel-powered tablets. The new range includes a 7-inch Wi-Fi only ET701 as well as 8 and 9 inch tablets with both Wi-Fi and 3G versions.

In fact, the seven inch tablet will be among the most affordable in the market with a price tag of just Rs 5,999. It has an 1024x600p IPS display and is powered by a  1.2GHz Intel Atom Z2520 processor running Android Jelly Bean. The tablet has 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage expandable by up to 32GB. It comes with a 2800 mAH battery.

The 8-inch XT 811 and XT 801 will be powered by 2 GHz Intel Atom Z2580 processors and have a 1280 x 800p HD screen. It will be powered by a 4200 mAH battery and will have 16GB storage. The Wi-Fi only version will cost Rs 8,999, while the version with 3G calling will cost Rs 10,000.

The 8.9-inch XT 911 and XT 901 come with a Full HD screen and has a larger 6500 mAh Li-polymer, but has the same processor as the 8-incher. The Wi-Fi model has been priced at Rs 13,999, while the 3G version will cost Rs 2,000 more.

Michael Adnani, VP – Retail & Head – Brand Alliances, Flipkart, told IndianExpress.com that the idea was to offer something for everyone who can afford to spend on a tablet. Fipkart had launched another Android device a couple of months back and Adnani said the new devices made their specrtum pretty wide and plugged all the gaps. “At the moment the premium is all about quality and not the price as before. Our tablets offer affordability and value,” he added.

Sandeep Aurora, Director Marketing and Market Development, Intel South Asia said it is good see that the low quality tablets which had been clouding user judgement for long has started exiting the market. “We can now ensure that the customer is wowed by their first tablet experience, unlike before,” he said, adding that the market will keep evolving till it figures out what are the types of tablets that will sell.

Aurora said the trend of tablets with calling was still quite storng in India as a lot of Indian look at this feature as a fail safe mechanism when their primary phone has an issue. Adnani added that the tablet market in India was unlike the rest of the world. “Our effort is to develop a tablet market for the India consumer that solves his specific needs and problems.”

Oppo Find 7 with QHD screen goes Flipkart exclusive, listed for Rs. 37,990

Oppo Mobiles' entire range of smartphones that have been launched in India till date will be available to online customers through Flipkart. Oppo says its Find 7 smartphone will be exclusively available through Flipkart.

The company believes the tie up with Flipkart will help increase pan-India footprint. It is also planning to set up more service centres in the next one year. Oppo has already launched 10 devices, between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 40,000, in India this year. 

Commenting on the tie up, Mr. Tom Lu, CEO, OPPO Mobiles India says, “Flipkart is one of the most popular shopping platforms with a very loyal customer base and by partnering with them, we are sure OPPO’s smartphones will reach out to more customers. With our products, Indian customers will get a chance to experience the best in innovation, the way many customers have enjoyed globally .”

Interestingly, Oppo has already tied up with Amazon.in to sell its smartphones online.

Oppo's Find 7 was announced in June this year. The Find 7 is among the first smartphones to feature 2k display. Other important features of the device include quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM, 13MP rear camera and 4G connectivity. Read: Oppo Find 7 Review

Of late, we have seen several smartphone companies taking online route to sell their products. Flipkart has had several high profile exclusive tie ups that includes Motorola and Xiaomi. Samsung is also planning to partner with Flipkart for the launch of its next smartphone – Galaxy S5 mini.

Asus Zenfone 4 Now Up for Sale at Rs. 5,999 via Flipkart: 10 Smartphone Rivals Facing the Heat

Asus is one of those companies striving hard to make a name for itself in the Indian handset market. And while the market is anyway an open one, the number of companies already present in the mix is a serious threat for whoever wants to enter it. However, keeping the hopes up, Asus recently unveiled the brand new Zenfone 4. As of now, the handset has been made available for the Indian market. Users can pre-order the smartphone from online retail site Flipkart at a price of Rs. 5,999. However, the Asus Zenfone 4 (A450CG) would ship in the first week of September, which is next week. Recommended: Top 10 Smartphones with Full Metal Body To Buy in India Going through the specs of the handset once more, Asus Zenfone 4 features a 4.5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) capacitive multi touch display with Corning gorilla glass 3 protection. It is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core Intel Atom Z2520 processor with PowerVR SGX544 GPU coupled with 1GB RAM. The handset runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat) with company's Zen UI slapped over it. In the imaging aspect, buyers will get to see 8MP rear camera with LED flash and a 0.3MP (VGA) front-facing snapper. Recommended: 15 Best Smartphones That Cost Less than Rs 15,000 Talking about the internal storage capacity, users will get an 8GB internal memory, which would be expandable memory up to 64GB via microSD. Connectivity options include 3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and a Dual SIM with dual standby (micro SIMs). It is powered by a 1750 mAh battery. The latest smartphone from Asus might be the cheapest smartphone with Android KitKat OS and 8MP rear camera. But then again, this isn't the only handset in the market that sports such specs. Hence we take a look at its top 10 rivals in the Indian market.

10,000 ZenFone 5 units on sale exclusively via Flipkart today, says Asus

Following the footsteps of Xiaomi, Asus has announced that it will put 10,000 units of its ZenFone 5 smartphone on sale exclusively via Flipkart today. The Zenfone 5 is available in 8GB and 16GB versions, and the company hasn’t specified further break according to the storage space. Currently, the Flipkart page still shows the device is “out of stock” and it’s asking users to insert their email addresses to receive alerts about its availability.

The 8GB variant of the ZenFone 5 is priced at Rs 9,999, while the 16GB storage variant costs Rs 12,999.  The device was launched alongside a slew of other Zenfone models like the Zenfone 4, 4.5, and 6. Last month, the company had claimed to have sold 40,000 Zenfone units in a mere four days in India. 

Sitting in between the higher-end Zenfone 6 and low-end Zenfone 4, the dual-SIM Zenfone 5 sports a 5-inch screen.

It features a 1280 x 720 pixel IPS display, and comes with an 8MP rear camera.  There’s the standard 2MP camera for selfies and video calls. It runs on the same 2GHz Intel Atom dual-core processor as on the Zenfone 6, so it should be just as fast. It’s available in both 8GB and 16GB versions and you can add up to 64GB with a microSD card.

The Xiaomi Mi 3 ordeal: Why the Flipkart exclusive strategy is not working

Last month, everyone was excited about Xiaomi. A look at the Mi 3 specs and price, and you wouldn’t doubt the frenzy either. The company decided to go the Motorola way and opted for the online distribution model with an exclusive tie-up with Flipkart, rather than setting up a local sales base or its own online retail channel. However, that arrangement hasn’t quite worked as expected. That’s down to the lack of information about availability, Flipkart’s troubles in dealing with heavy traffic and the new registration process that hasn’t gone down well with several shoppers.

The Xiaomi Mi 3 went on sale on July 22, and the company had claimed to receive around 1,00,000 registrations by July 21 itself. Only registered users could buy the device the next day. However, pre-registration didn’t guarantee you a unit, and it only meant you were eligible to buy the phone. As soon as the Mi 3 went live on the site, Flipkart couldn’t handle the traffic and the site crashed temporarily. Within 40 minutes, Flipkart claimed the Mi 3 was out of stock, but the site promptly said it would bring in the next batch on July 29 while the registration would begin on July 28. And to top it all, the second batch apparently sold in five seconds.

Its third batch sold out at a record less than two seconds. Two seconds may sound unbelievable? This was possible as Flipkart had changed the process for the second batch wherein users simply needed to add the device to their carts, and could make the payment any time later that day.  All the hype has generated one simple question: How many Mi 3 units have been sold so far?

An earlier report by BGR claimed the number to be around 20,000, while Zauba and import-export tracking site, shows that only 10,400 units of Mi 3 units were brought to India on July 25. If these details are to be believed than Flipkart may have put up approximately 10,000 units on sale each of the previous two times. It then put up 15,000 units on sale, and today’s flash sal will see 20,000 units go up on sale. And when it is back in stock next week (which we suspect it will), then we could be in for a re-run of the out-of-stock drama next week too, when the Mi 3 will be back on sale.

It would also be safe to assume that Xiaomi was gauging the response to the relatively new Chinese brand in India and has been cautious about the number of units it has shipped to the country. In that case, the question many are asking is why did the company allow up to one lakh registrations if it had just 10,000 units. It wouldn’t have been able to meet the tenfold demand, anyway. It should also be noted that Flipkart claimed to have around 250,000 potential buyers on the Mi 3 page when the second batch went on sale. So the demand was several times the meagre number of units available, if the actual sales figures are true.