Heena Sharma Blog

  Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Thursday said it has conducted India's first 5G trial in the 700 MHz spectrum band in partnership with Nokia. The demonstration, which was conducted on the outskirts of Kolkata, also marked the first 5G trial in the eastern India, the company said in a statement. Airtel has been allotted test spectrum in multiple bands by Department of Telecommunications for the validation of 5G technology and use cases. "Airtel conducts India's first 5G trial in the 700 MHz band in partnership with Nokia," the telco said. Airtel used equipment from Nokia's 5G portfolio, which included Nokia AirScale radios and standalone (SA) core. Read More  

  HMD Global new smartphone will be launched in India on Thursday. It is likely to be a new Nokia C20 , according to media reports. The company has not revealed much detail about the smartphone. The Nokia C20 has appeared on many certification websites. The entry-level smartphone will replace the Nokia 1.X series and it is likely to have four variants based on storage capacities. It has bagged Bluetooth SIG certification, meaning the phone will come with a Unison processor under the hood. Nokia C20 specifications HMD Global has not revealed much about the phone yet. However, leaked reports suggest that the phone will have a 5.99-inch LCD IPS display with a pixel density of 269 ppi. It will be a dual sim (nano) smartphone which will support 4G. It will run on Android 10 and will be powered by Unisoc SC9863A processor. It is expected to have 1 GB of RAM and an internal storage of 16GB which can be expanded up to 128 GB. Read More

  Nokia is one of the last few brands that are still selling smartphones based on Android One platform in India. For the uninitiated, Android One is a family of Android smartphones powered by stock versions of Android with a focus on Google services. That said, the Nokia smartphones often come with an up-to-date Android operating system that has advertisement-free vanilla user interface and no pre-installed bloatware. The Nokia 5.4 , a new midrange smartphone from Finnish technology start-up HMD Global, which owns the Nokia brand, is banking on the Android One and select creator-centric imaging features. Priced Rs 13,999 onwards, the smartphone, however, seems to lag peers in price-to-specifications ratio. But how does it work out in real-life usage? Let’s find out: Design and Display The Nokia 5.4 has a striking design, with Nordic colour-themed (polar night – review unit) curved back cover. Made of plastic, the back cover has a glossy gradient profile. It looks good but ea...

  Finnish start-up HMD Global on Wednesday launched in India its Nokia 5.4 and Nokia 3.4 smartphones , and Nokia Power Earbuds Lite wireless earphones. The Nokia 5.4 will be available in polar night and dusk colours from February 17 on Nokia Phones web portal and Flipkart. The Nokia 3.4 will be available in fjord, dusk and charcoal colours from February 20 on Nokia Phones web portal, Amazon India and Flipkart. Starting today, the smartphone will be available for pre-booking on Nokia Phones web portal. The Nokia Power Earbuds Lite will be available in snow and charcoal colour from February 17 on Nokia Phones web portal and Amazon India. Nokia 5.4: Specifications, price in India, and launch offers The smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 processor, paired with up to 6GB RAM and 64GB on-board storage. The phone sports a 6.39-inch screen of HD+ resolution. The Nokia 5.4 boasts a quad-camera array on the back, featuring a 48-megapixel primary camera sensor, a 5MP ...

  Flipkart on Monday launched in India the Nokia PureBook X14 laptop, marking the brand’s entry in to the laptops segment. The Nokia PureBook X14 comes with 10th Gen Intel Core i5 processor, priced at Rs 59,990. The Flipkart-exclusive laptop will be available for preorders from December 18, 2020. The Nokia PureBook X14 is touted to be 1.1 kg in weight and 16.8mm in form-factor. It sports a 14-inch fullHD screen with support for Dolby Vision high dynamic range (HDR). Besides, the Nokia PureBook X14 supports Dolby Atmos for headphones. “Launching the Nokia brand into this new product category is testament to our successful collaboration with Flipkart. We are excited to offer consumers in India a Nokia branded laptop which brings innovation to address a gap in the market, as well as the style, performance and reliability that the Nokia brand is known for,” Vipul Mehrotra, Vice President – Nokia Brand Partnerships said in a statement. Read More  

  Finnish telecom company Nokia is likely to come up with its Purebook laptop series in India soon, as per the teaser on Flipkart. There is no clarity over the launch date but news reports say Nokia could launch it by December-end. The teaser on Flipkart does not reveal any specifics about the upcoming Nokia PureBook Laptop series line-up but confirms that the laptops will be lightweight and powerful.   According to a new report citing the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) listing, there are nine models of the Nokia Purebook and it is likely that five are going to be powered by Intel Core i5 processors and four of them by the Core i3 processors. The laptops are likely to be powered by Intel’s 10th-generation Comet Lake series of Core processors. Read More      

  The Nokia 2.4 is a budget smartphone from the stable of Finnish start-up HMD Global, the official licensee for Nokia brand of mobile phones. Like other Nokia smartphones, the Nokia 2.4 boots the stock Android operating system. That said, it is among the few smartphones across price segments that offer vanilla Android user experience, free from bloatware and ads. Also, the Nokia 2.4 seems to be a regular big-screen smartphone. But does it justify its Rs 10,399 price tag? Let’s find out: Design Adding novelty to the Nokia 2.4’s design is its textured polycarbonate back cover with Nordic-themed colour options that look intriguing. For a phone of the size of a phablet, the Nokia 2.4 is lightweight (189g) and comfortable to hold. It, however, is both bulky and tall, so not easy to operate using just one hand. Thankfully, there is no unnecessary bulk here and everything sits well within the frame. Thanks to a uniform built, the phone sits stable on flat surfaces and does not wobbl...

  Flipkart has announced a range of Nokia-branded smart televisions, powered by Android 9.0 Pie TV platform, ahead of its Big Billion Days sale, which commences from October 16. Named Nokia Smart TV, the range will be available in three screen resolution variants – HD, FullHD and UltraHD. “This festive season, Smart TVs are dominating the market like never before. The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of smarter and more digitally-savvy lifestyle, prompting consumers to adopt Smart TVs in an affordable manner - equally from metros and non-metro cities of India. As consumers plan their festive season shopping, we want to ensure that they have a wide range of choices across specifications, variants, and design. Towards this endeavor, we are excited to strengthen our collaboration with Nokia to bring a wider suite of Nokia Smart TVs to India to address the much-needed market gap of value-for-money Smart TV range,” Dev Iyer, Vice President – Private Brands at Flipkart said in ...

  Finnish smartphone maker HMD Global on Tuesday launched in India the Nokia 5.3 . The smartphone comes with a promise to get Android OS upgrades for up to two years, and it is ready to get Android 11 soon. The dualSIM smartphone will be available online at Amazon and Nokia phones portal in cyan, sand and charcoal colours from September 1. It will be available in 4GB/64GB and 6GB/64GB configurations, priced at Rs 13,999 and Rs 15,499, respectively. Currently, HMD Global is taking the pre-orders for the Nokia 5.3 through Nokia.com/phones or notify-me on Amazon. As part of its launch offer, Nokia 5.3 buyers on Jio network will get benefits worth Rs 4,000 on a recharge of Rs 349. The benefits include: Rs 2,000 instant cashback from Jio and Rs 2,000 worth vouchers from partners. This offer is applicable for new as well as existing Jio subscribers. Read More               

  Finnish smartphone maker HMD Global on Tuesday launched in India the Nokia C3 . Made in India and for Indian consumers, the smartphone made a global debut from India. It is a budget-centric smartphone with a large screen and other features that consumers expect from an entry-level smartphone. The dualSIM smartphone will be available across retailer outlets and online at Nokia.com/phones in Nordic Blue and Sand colour from September 17. It will be available in 2GB/16GB and 3GB/32GB configurations, priced at Rs 7,499 and 8,999, respectively. Starting September 10, customers will be able to pre-book the Nokia C3 at Nokia.com/phones. The phone comes with a 1-year replacement guarantee, subject to terms and conditions available at Nokia online portal. Read More               

HMD Global on Monday launched the Nokia 5310 feature phone in India at a recommended best buy price of Rs 3,399. This is a third feature phone from the Finnish smartphone maker under its ‘Originals’ series; the other are the Nokia 3310 and Nokia 8110. The phone’s pre-orders start today, June 16, at Nokia online portal, whereas, sale commences from June 23 at Nokia online portal and Amazon e-commerce platform. The feature phone will be available in retail stores from July 22. The Nokia 5310 is a music-centric feature phone with front-facing dual speakers, wireless FM radio, dedicated music control buttons and microSD card storage. Based on original Nokia 5310 Xpress-music, the Nokia 5310 2020 edition has rounded design, curved display and alpha-numeric keypad with D-pad for navigation. It ships with Nokia Series 30+ featurephone operating system. The phone is touted to have a 22-day on-battery time. Read More

Nokia last week suspended operations at a telecom gear manufacturing plant in Sriperumbudur of Tamil Nadu, the company said on Tuesday, after some employees tested positive for Covid-19 . Nokia did not disclose how many workers at the Sriperumbudur plant tested positive, but a source familiar with the matter said they were at least 42. The Finnish firm said it had already implemented measures such as social distancing and changes to canteen facilities. The factory had begun operations in a restricted manner over the past few weeks, Nokia said in a statement, after India eased the world’s biggest lockdown to kick-start its economy which has been pummelled by the shutdown. Read More

The year 2020 seems more about nostalgia than anything else, especially for the kids of the 1990s. Old phones are making a comeback in new avatars (we're talking about the Moto Razr (not Nokia, as it's long gone, and people have moved on), Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag opening the innings in a cricket match together, even if not for the national team (in the Road Safety World Series), and yes it’s happening: the F.R.I.E.N.D.S cast is reuniting for an exclusive special on HBO Max. In the middle of all this, Sony has brought its new Walkman, the Sony NW-A105 , which has a nostalgic appeal that takes us back to the good ol' days when things were simple and easy. One might wonder... what's the deal with Sony? Why would it launch a Walkman in the streaming age? We had the same question, so we spent a month with Sony's first Android Walkman and tried to find the answers. Read More

Nokia on Wednesday postponed its annual shareholders meeting which was scheduled for April 8 and set to approve the appointment of Sari Baldauf as chairman of the Finnish telecom equipment maker. Nokia said in December it planned to appoint its former networks chief, Baldauf, 64, as chairman, to lead Nokia's fight against rivals in 5G Huawei and Ericsson. Baldauf's appointment requires the approval of shareholders, but this week Finland started to close its borders and banned larger public gatherings as it tries to slow the spread of coronavirus. Nokia said it would convene the annual general meeting as soon as it is practical to do so and called for measures to allow fully virtual general meetings. Nokia was not available for immediate comment. Read More

E-commerce platform Flipkart, in partnership with Finnish technology company Nokia, on Thursday launched a 55-inch smart television. Named Nokia Smart TV , it is a Nokia-branded television that will be manufactured and serviced by Flipkart and its affiliate groups. Priced at Rs 41,999, the smart television will be available on Flipkart from December 10. As for the launch offers, the company is offering flat 10 per cent discount on prepaid transactions. Moreover, it is also offering its complete protection plan -- three years warranty against manufacturing defects and accidental damage -- at a subsidised price of Rs 999. Nokia Smart TV specifications: The Nokia Smart TV has a 55-inch screen, which the company claims to use an advanced in-plane switch (IPS) panel. The screen has 4K resolution and supports Dolby Vision. It has a peak brightness of 400 nits, according to the company. Additionally, the screen supports adaptive dimming to automatically balance the screen contrast...

After a failed $7 billion acquisition of Nokia's smartphone business five years back, Microsoft has announced a strategic collaboration with the Finnish company to accelerate transformation and innovation across industries with Cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT). The new partnership brings together Microsoft cloud solutions and Nokia's expertise in mission-critical networking, to help enterprises and communications service providers (CSPs) transform their businesses. "Bringing together Microsoft's expertise in intelligent cloud solutions and Nokia's strength in building business and mission-critical networks will unlock new connectivity and automation scenarios," Jason Zander, executive vice president, Microsoft Azure, said in a statement on Tuesday. BT is the first global communications service provider to offer its enterprise customers a managed service that integrates Microsoft Azure cloud and Nokia SD-WAN solutions...

The Nokia 3.2 , a budget smartphone from the stable of Finnish smartphone manufacturer HMD, is the second of the series — first to be launched in the series was the Nokia 4.2. Priced at Rs 10,790, this smartphone, like its predecessor, was first unveiled at the Mobile World Congress 2019. On paper, the phone seems to be value for money in the budget segment. But is it really? Let’s find out: Design and display Most Nokia-branded smartphones have a sturdy build and the Nokia 3.2, despite its budget moniker, carries the legacy forward. It has a polycarbonate unibody that covers the entire back and chassis, giving the phone a flat look. On the front, it has a big 6.26-inch HD+ screen covered under glass with a waterdrop-shaped notch on top to accommodate the front camera. The display is stretched in a tall 19:9 aspect ratio, which is good for content rendering and accommodates more information on-screen. The display has relatively thin bezels on three sides, but a thick one at ...

The use of virtual assistants in the workplace is growing manifold with 25 per cent of digital workers likely to use a virtual employee assistant daily by 2021, as against less than 2 per cent in 2019, said a global research and advisory firm. According to a report by Gartner, Inc, the contact centre was the pilot and testing ground for many adopters of virtual assistants (VAs), but with the democratisation of artificial intelligence (AI) and the development of accurate and clever conversational user interfaces (UIs), different types of VA have arisen: virtual personal assistants (VPAs), virtual customer assistants (VCAs) and virtual employee assistants (VEAs). We expect VEAs to be used by an increasing number of organisations over the next three years, said Annette Jump, senior director at Gartner. "Industries such as insurance and financial services are showing strong interest in piloting VEAs internally. We've also witnessed VAs being used in IT, customer servic...

Domestic e-commerce platform Flipkart is currently hosting a four-day sale of smartphones where the portal is offering deals and discounts on mobile phones from the stable of Asus, Samsung, Xiaomi, Apple, Realme, Honor, Nokia, etc. During the sale, the online shopping platform is also offering 10 per cent instant discount on SBI credit cards, subject to terms and conditions. The midrange smartphone from the stable of Chinese smartphone manufacturer Realme is currently available with Rs 1,000 instant off on prepaid payments, bringing down the effective cost of 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant to Rs 12,990. The phone is also eligible for 10 per cent instant discount on SBI credit cards.  The recently launched Redmi Note 6 Pro smartphone with dual camera module on the back and front is currently available on the e-commerce platform at Rs 13,999 for 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage variant. The phone is eligible for 10 per cent instant discount offer on SBI credit card....

Mobile phone brand Nokia , owned by Finnish company HMD Global, is gearing up to launch the Nokia 8.1 in India on December 10. The smartphone is expected to be a renamed version of the Nokia X7, which was launched in China recently. The phone made a global debut in Dubai last week, so most of its specifications and features are already out in the public domain. The Nokia 8.1 is the company’s first smartphone powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 system-on-chip (SoC). The phone features a 6.18-inch notch-based screen, which supports Nokia’s proprietary PureDisplay, and HDR10 technology. The international model comes in three RAM and storage configurations – 4GB/64GB, 6GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB. The phone sports a dual-camera module on the back, featuring a 12-megapixel primary sensor mated with a 13MP depth-sensing lens. The primary camera supports optical image stabilisation for shake-free shots. On the front, the phone sports a 20MP sensor, which supports pixel-binning technology f...