Micromax Dual 5 with dual 13 MP rear cameras and CC EAL 5+ security certified for Rs 24,999/-

Micromax had been away from the limelight from quite a long time, once there was a time when every month or even fortnight you will hear a new phone launched from Micromax there were lot of advertisements, sponsorship and other publicity.  While some predicted that Chinese competitors had got better of it, some other analysts were hopeful that Micromax will return with a bang in smartphone market. It seems that with the launch of Dual 5 the company has hit the right chord. We must say, that we have spent just a few minutes with the device but we are impressed with the end product, I believe you will also agree with us after getting to know about the device. So let's have a look at the price, specifications and features of the phone.

Micromax Dual 5

Well till yesterday there were lot of speculations about the device and we too joined the rumor mills to get and spread the information. However most of what we got was not true apart from the fact that the phone sports dual camera at back. 

Specifications, Price and Availability:

The Dual 5 runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 Octa Core processor coupled with 4 GB RAM, 128 GB on board storage which can be further expanded upto 128 GB via MicroSD card. The phone sports a metallic body. The device comes with two 13 MP Sony IMX258 sensor one for Monochrome and another one for RGB (color) sensor both the cameras have f/1.8 aperture to capture more light. A color temperature sensor is used to combine the images captured from both the sensors to produce a high quality final product. While on the front as well the phone comes with same 13 MP camera with Sony IMX258 sensor and f/2 aperture. The front camera is also accompanied by a soft flash. The device runs on Android Marshmallow though.

The phone sports a 5.5 inch Full HD Super Amoled display with 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla glass protection. The Dual 5 is powered by 3200 mAh strong battery and supports Quick Charge 3.0 for faster charging. The device supports Dual SIM connectivity, 4G, VoLTE, BT 4.1 and Wi-Fi ac.  On sensors front the device comes with a Fast Finger print sensor, ALS, Gyroscope, IR Sensor and proximity sensor.  For charging and data transfer the device comes with USB Type-C port.

As mentioned earlier the phone is priced competitively at 24,990/- which is right between the recently launched Gionee A1 and OPPO F3 Plus. On paper the phone looks to have an upper edge and will compete with other devices in similar price range.

The Dual 5 will go on sale from 10th April, 2017. Registrations for the sale has opened from today itself at http://www.micromaxinfo.com

Features:

The most talked about feature of the phone is its beefed up security. The Dual 5 has a separate chip for safety and security, this chip is said to store all your credentials and other confidential data. The Dual 5 is EAL 5+ security certified device which makes it as secure as banking transaction devices or Military Grade security. The phone allows users to create a private profile to keep their private files, images and applications , different finger prints can be assigned to unlock phone into different profiles. The phone is also anti-theft device as its anti-theft safety switch feature allows one to block anyone from shutting down the phone if the SIM is tried to be removed which enables the tracking of the phone as well if the password is not entered within 60 minutes of the attempt the phone will self destroy the data and ensure that your confidential data is safe and secure.

Apart from security features, as the phone has dual camera setup it allows you to take photos with great details and depth and have modes like pro, pano, anti haze, HDR etc. The IR sensor allows the phone to be an universal remote. The phone will also come with a Micromax Care app pre-installed, the company has also announced 24 hour service promise along with 1 year replacement warranty.

The phone also sports an extra dedicated button on the left (power and volume rockers are on right side). This button can be customized to be used as a flash button, the camera shutter, Quick Photo, Clean App or Disable Virtual Key on screen.

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Micromax Set to launch its first Dual Camera smartphone Dual 5 tomorrow

We discussed in our earlier posts how Dual Camera is a so called tech revolution in smartphone industry that every other brand is launching atleast one of the product with dual camera setup to be in the game. Most recently OPPO launched OPPO F3 Plus with Dual Selfie camera and upped the ante, though a bit late but Micromax determined to catch up with the Chinese OEMs is all set to unveil its very own first smartphone with a dual Camera.

The Coundown has begun!

Micromax is teasing with the about the new device from quite some time and it is very clear that this device sports dual cameras.

This. Is. Just. The. Beginning. Get ready. pic.twitter.com/ab4826wpFs

— Micromax India (@Micromax_Mobile) March 17, 2017

Apart from the obvious dual camera setup not much details are disclosed by the company. However, few other details are derived from a leaked image on Chinese social media platform weibo. As per reports the Dual 5 will be powered by 1.5 GHz Octa core Mediatek MT6750T processor combined with 3 GB RAM. The phone is said to packed with a decent graphics processor and 32 GB memory on board. The phone sports a 5.5 inch HD  display.

The dual camera setup at rear includes a 13 MP and another 5 MP camera, while on the front as well it is said to be sporting a 5 MP camera. For the first time Micromax seems to have got the right software and hardware combination to come with a balanced product which can be concluded by the accounts of Nimish Dubey from TechPP and Bharat Nagpal from iGyaan.

Whatever may be the exact specifications but after a long time Micromax seems to have appeared with the right product in the market. However, the road is not easy as lately the homegrown brand has seen a fierce competition from its Chinese counterparts in last one year. As it is known, we are hoping that Micromax will price it aggressively in market. We are really excited for tomorrow's launch and if you are equally excited as we are, follow us on our social pages and get all the updates related to the product.

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OPPO launches first phone with Dual Selfie Camera for Rs 30,990/- in India

It was in 2014 when we witnessed a plethora of devices focused on Selfies, it was then we reviewed devices with greater than 5 MP front camera. Just a day before Gionee launched A1 which is again a selfie oriented smartphone, Vivo have also launched another couple of months back which means smartphone companies see a lot of potential in this segment and their decision is also backed by the research done on the topic.

In last two years the industry has moved at a high pace and we have seen many innovations in specs as well as the technology overall including the camera in a smartphone. Recently every other brand launched one or more than one smartphone sporting Dual cameras at rear, OPPO having positioned itself as a Camera focused brand in past 3 years, we were expecting a flagship from OPPO carrying dual camera setup. OPPO did as expected but inspite of being late in the Dual Camera race the brand turned up as a leader as it launched first phone OPPO F3 Plus with Dual Selfie Camera on the front.

Deepika Padukone, Mr. Sky Li and Dabbu Ratnani on launch of OPPO F3 Plus

The Cameras:

The Dual Selfie cameras of OPPO F3 Plus are for specific scenarios which are- "One for Selfie and another one for Group Selfie". The camera software automatically recognizes if there are more than 3 people posing for the Selfie and changes its mode to group selfie to work with a larger view area. The 120 degree wide angle, 6P front camera gives 105% larger field of view, than a regular camera. The other front camera with 16 MP resolution, 1/3.1-inch sensor and a large f/2.0 aperture will inherit the advancement seen in previous Selfie Expert phones by Oppo like high dynamic range, vivid depth and minimized noise.

While the rear camera offers high-quality photography performance with fast focusing speed, noise reduction and advanced low-light performance. The 16-megapixel rear camera is powered by a brand-new 1/2.8-inch IMX398 sensor. This sensor is jointly developed by OPPO and Sony, which features Dual PDAF – dual phase detection autofocus technology. This new technology doubles the sensor’s pixel array area where the photodiodes are embedded, necessary for phase detection autofocus. This makes for 40 percent faster focusing speeds even in low light. Paired with the large f/1.7 aperture, the resulting images are clear and breathtaking.

Other Specifications:

The OPPO F3 Plus comes with a 4000 mAh strong battery with proprietary VOOC Flash charge technology which is claimed to provide 2 hours of Talktime in just 5 minutes of recharge. The 6-inch FHD Screen, 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 5 screen features a pre-applied protective screen coating. The F3 Plus is powered by an octa-core processor – the Qualcomm MSM8976 Pro, 4GB RAM, 64 GB ROM backed by the ColorOS 3.0 with Avast scanner.

Price and Availability:

The F3 Plus will be available in Gold and Black. Priced at Rs 30,990, the Gold variant of the F3 Plus will be available from 1^st April 2017 both online and offline. It will be available in OPPO stores across India and online stores on Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal. The pre-order starts from today till 31^st March 2017. OPPO is also giving a special gift pack for all pre – orders purchases made both online and offline. There is also a Black color variant for the F3 Plus which will be available later.

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All you need to know about 'Super Selfie, Super Battery' Gionee A1

Gionee India launched its new Smartphone A1 with 16 MP Front Camera sporting a dedicated selfie flash on the front for selfies. The phone is promoted with the tag line of 'Super Selfie, Super Battery'. As the tag line suggests the phone does have sport a high end selfie camera with the flash support and is powered by 4010 mAh strong high density battery, which company claims can be charged to Full within just 2 hours using its powerful 18W charger.

Gionee A1 Launch

The Gionee A1 presser was rather a different one, starting from invite and registration like in immigration counter (story for another day), most surprising part was the company didn't disclosed the price of the device. Mr. Vohra , Country CEO and MD India on being asked about the price of the phone just commented that its priceless, well we were left speechless with this comment as why would a brand not unveil the pricing on the launch day. However, from reliable sources the price of Gionee A1 is said to be Rs 22000/- in India. The pre-orders will start from 31st of March and if you pre-order it then you will also be getting a two -year warranty and a JBL headphone or a Swiss Military Bluetooth speaker.

The dual-Sim 4G LTE phone comes with a 16 MP front camera equipped with a flash light to lighten up the selfies, whereas on the rear you have  a 13 MP camera. The A1 runs on an Octa-Core 64 bit process that gives better performance and less power consumption. Powered by a 4GB RAM, The A1 enables smooth multitasking and easy operation, while 64GB internal storage (Expandable up to 256GB) provide ample storage space. The Gionee A1 is based on the latest Android 7.0 and comes with the improved Amigo OS for a holistic and satisfying smartphone experience.

The A1 is equipped with the fastest fingerprint sensor as claimed  by the company unlocking the phone in just 0.2 seconds, for top-notch safety. For the humid Indian conditions, the sensor unlocks the device even with moist fingers. The finger print sensor also activates ‘Edgebar’ allowing users a hub for quicker access to their favorite apps. A1 boasts of a full metal body made out of A6000 aircraft grade material that is used in making premium cars and aircrafts.

4G and VOLTE enabled smartphone also offers a host of amazing features such as Split Screen, Maxx Audio, Virus detection amongst other key features.

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[Infographic]: Selfie Usage pattern amongst the Indian consumers

In past few years the word selfie has transformed from a jargon for taking one's own photo in early 2005 to becoming one of the "Top 10 buzzwords" of year 2012. In 2013 selfie went on to become the "word of the year" by the Oxford English dictionary. At the time of writing of this post #Selfie had more than 293 million search results. All these facts and data indicates how popular Selfie is in today's  world for social media users. It's no surprise that smartphone companies have focused themselves on front camera more than ever. OPPO is one such company with a proven track record of producing one of the finest quality selfie focused /camera centric smartphones in market. In its continued effort to listen voice of customers and understand the usage pattern amongst Indian consumers, OPPO recently conducted a survey with the leading market research company Nielsen, on The Selfie Usage Patterns amongst the Indian consumers, to deep dive into the unique patterns, characteristics, challenges and their definition of a ‘perfect selfie’ .

An infographic is compiled based upon the research done by Nielsen for OPPO India. All findings are based on Online Research in Delhi, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin and Kolkata in February 2017 among 1001 consumers who purchased a smart phone after Year 2014 and took selfie at least once a week.

Below are some of the interesting facts extracted from above infographic.

 At an overall level, out of 10 pictures taken with mobiles, 6 are selfies.

 Out of 10 selfies taken, 6 are group selfies with two or more people

89% of consumers are more willing to take selfies when with family and friends!

96% of consumers take more than one selfie every time to get a perfect one

66% claim that the biggest issue they face while taking a selfie is the difficulty in fitting all people in one frame! This directly correlates to the fact that a wider angle camera is going to be the future of perfect group selfies – a feature that most Indian consumers are demanding in their smartphone cameras.

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