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Showing posts from February, 2018

Nokia 1 Android Go Smartphone

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Nokia 1  was launched at the  HMD Global  press conference in Barcelona . It is the first Android Oreo (Go edition) smartphones to have been launched. The Android Go ecosystem is meant to deliver an optimised experience despite budget hardware and is complete with lightweight versions of Google apps and services such as Gmail Go and Google Maps Go. Another highlight of the smartphone is the ability to use Xpress-on two-tone polycarbonate exchangeable covers letting users personalise the look of their smartphones. Price The Nokia 1 price has been set at $85 (roughly Rs 5,500).  It will be available to buy from early April in Dark Blue and Warm Red colour variants.  Xpress-on covers priced at $7.99 (roughly Rs 520) and available in Azure, Grey, Yellow and Pink. Specs Nokia 1 runs Android 8.1 Oreo (Go edition) with the company boasting of its stock Android quality and supports a 4.5-inch FWVGA (480x854 pixels) IPS display. It is is powered by a 1.1 GHz quad-core Medi

Nokia 8110 Slider

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Nokia 8110 4G  was launched by  HMD Global  at the Nokia Mobile launch event at  MWC 2018 . It adds 4G VoLTE connectivity and is meant to serve as a 4G feature phone. The Nokia 8110 4G 'slider' phone runs on a ‘Smart Feature OS’ with access to apps like  Google Assistant ,  Google Search  and  Google Maps . These apps along with  Facebook  and  Twitter  will be integrated into the smartphone after an upcoming update. It also comes with a revamped Snake game. Price The Nokia 8110 4G price has been set at EUR 79 (roughly Rs 6,300).  It will be made available in Traditional Black and Banana Yellow from May. Specs The Nokia 8110 slider runs on a Smart Feature OS powered by Kai OS. It supports a 2.45-inch QVGA (240x320 pixels) display and is powered by a 1.1 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 205 SoC coupled with 512 MB of LPDDR3 RAM. It supports a 2 megapixel rear camera with LED flash and there is no front camera onboard. The smartphone has an IP52 rating for

Nokia 6 (2018)

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Nokia 6 (2018)  has been launched by  HMD Global  at the Nokia Mobile launch event ahead of MWC 2018. Nokia 6 (2018)  is an  Android One  smartphone which happens to be the biggest highlight of Nokia 6 (2018). The smartphone also bears the company’s Bothie feature. Price The Nokia 6 (2018) price has been set starting EUR 279 (roughly Rs 22,200). The smartphone will be launched in three colour variants - Black/ Copper, White/ Iron and Blue/ Gold and will go sale from early April in two variants - 3 GB RAM 32 GB storage and 4 GB RAM 64 GB storage. Specs Nokia 6 (2018)  runs Android 8.0 Oreo as this smartphone is an Android One offering with the promise of stock Android and swift updates. The smartphone supports a 5.5-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) IPS display complete with Gorilla Glass 5 and is powered by the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 SoC with 3 GB or 4 GB of LPDDR4 RAM. The smartphone supports a 16 megapixel rear camera with PDAF, an f/2.0 aperture,

Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9+ Launched

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Samsung Galaxy S9  &  S9+  have been launched at  Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018  in Barcelona on Sunday. The new Samsung Galaxy S9 series smartphones feature improved cameras with variable aperture sensor on the primary rear camera and Galaxy S9+ supports dual rear camera setup. Other new features include face recognition, AR Emojis, Bixby Vision, AKG-tuned dual speakers, reduced bezels on the top and bottom and faster processors. Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9+ launch date is March 16 in select markets and pre-orders will begin in the US on March 2. The two handsets will be available in Midnight Black, Coral Blue, Lilac Purple and Titanium Grey colours. Price The Samsung Galaxy S9 price in the US  starts  at $719.99 (roughly Rs 46,600). Samsung Galaxy S9+ will be available at $839.99 (roughly Rs 54,400). Specs The Galaxy S9 & S9+ is powered by a 10nm 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 845 SoC and will be available in 64/128/256 GB storage options with support

Nokia 8 Sirocco

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Nokia 8 Sirocco  has been launched by HMD Global on Sunday at the Nokia Mobile launch event in Barcelona. The smartphone is a redesigned version of the  Nokia 8  flagship launched last year featuring a curved glass finish and a precision crafted stainless steel frame. The stainless steel frame of the new Nokia 8 Sirocco is 2.5 times stronger than 6000 series aluminium used in the predecessor. The Nokia 8 Sirocco is an Android One smartphone with the company touting the use of stock Android as well as promising swift updates. Price The Nokia 8 Sirocco price has been set at EUR 749 (roughly Rs. 60,000). Specs The Nokia 8 Sirocco runs Android 8.0 Oreo and support a 5.5-inch QHD (1440x2560 pixels) pOLED display with 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 5. Phone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC coupled with 6 GB of LPDDR4X RAM. Phone comes with  128 GB of inbuilt storage that appears not to be expandable via microSD card. It has a 12 megapixel wide angle sensor on its

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro Launched

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Redmi Note 5  and  Redmi Note 5 Pro  have been launched in India at an event in New Delhi alongside the company's Mi TV 4.  Redmi Note 5 and Note 5 Pro models will be exclusively available via Flipkart in the country apart from Mi.com and the Mi Home retail stores. Price Redmi Note 5 Pro price in India starts at Rs 13,999 for the 4 GB RAM 64 GB storage variant and goes up to Rs 16,999 for the 6 GB RAM 64 GB storage variant. Colour options are Black, Gold, Lake Blue and Rose Gold. It has the same release date as the Redmi Note 5 February 22 and will also be available via Flipkart, Mi Home and Mi.com. Specifications Redmi Note 5 Pro runs MIUI 9 based on Android Nougat. It supports a 5.99-inch full-HD display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, 450 nit brightness, 83 percent NTSC colour gamut and 2.5D curved glass. It is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 636 SoC clocked at up to 1.8 GHz coupled with the Adreno 509 GPU and 4 GB or 6 GB of RAM. It is claimed to be the firs

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Launched

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Redmi Note 5  and  Redmi Note 5 Pro  have been launched in India at an event in New Delhi alongside the company's Mi TV 4.  Redmi Note 5 and Note 5 Pro models will be exclusively available via Flipkart apart from Mi.com and the Mi Home retail stores. Price Redmi Note 5 price in India starts at Rs 9,999 for the 3 GB RAM 32 GB storage variant and goes up to Rs 11,999 for the 4 GB RAM 64 GB storage variant. Colour options are Black, Gold, Lake Blue and Rose Gold. It will go on sale from February 22 via Flipkart, Mi Home and Mi.com. Specifications Redmi Note 5 runs MIUI 9 based on Android Nougat. It supports a 5.99-inch full-HD display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, 450 nit brightness, 84 percent NTSC colour gamut and 2.5 D curved glass.  It is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 625 SoC clocked at up to 2GHz coupled with the Adreno 506 GPU and 3 GB or 4 GB of RAM. It has a fingerprint sensor on the rear panel. Redmi Note 5 supports a 12 megapixel rear camera with

Ola Soft in Australia

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Indian ride sharing  Ola  on Wednesday said it began offering two free rides in Australia's Perth city as a soft launch of its service with local partners.  Customers in Perth can download our app register for our account and book their rides. The first two rides up to $10 value are free as part of our trial service. The company on January 30 announced driving into Australia to foray into the international market.  It also started hiring private vehicles and drivers in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth over a fortnight.  The company has sought feedback from customers and driver partners on their experience and tips to improve the service.  Private hire vehicle owners in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth can register with the company at drive.olacabs.com.

No Huawei ZTE Phones in US

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Top US intelligence officials have reportedly warned Americans not to use smartphones from Chinese tech  Huawei  and  ZTE .  According to a CNBC report, the heads of CIA, FBI, NSA and the director of national intelligence expressed these concerns during a Senate Intelligence Committee  . Huawei responded to the concerns in a statement to CNBC saying the company was aware of a range of US government activities seemingly aimed at inhibiting Huawei's business in the US market. Huawei is  trying to sell  the  Mate 10 Pro  device unlocked in the US but the effort seems to have pushed the company to desperate measures including getting users to write fake reviews for the handset. US lawmakers are currently considering a bill that would ban government employees from using Huawei and ZTE smartphones.

Nokia 7 Plus & Nokia 1 Design Leaks

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Compact phone from  HMD Global  on US certification site  FCC,  Evan Blass (@evleaks) has outed the alleged press renders of the  Nokia 1 & Nokia 7 Plus . The photos show a smartphone with a compact form factor for the budget segment. Blass also posted renders of  Nokia 7 Plus . Nokia 1 suggest to support an HD (720x1280 pixels) IPS display along with 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of inbuilt storage with  curved body design in the Nokia 1. Blass also  tweeted  images of the Nokia 7 Plus. The images  reveal  that the phone will run Google's  Android One  out-of-the-box. The renders show the Nokia 7 Plus will support a dual rear camera setup with Zeiss lens and dual LED flash. There is also a fingerprint sensor below the camera.  Rumours around the Nokia 7 Plus suggest the mid-range smartphone will be announced at  MWC 2018 . Nokia 7 Plus is expected to support a 6-inch, 18:9 display and a dual 12 megapixel & 13 megapixel camera sensor on the back. The phone might co

Galaxy S9 Wireless Charger

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Samsung Galaxy S9  and  Galaxy S9+  are all set to launch at the Galaxy Unpacked event ahead of  MWC 2018  in Barcelona on February 25.  User manual has surfaced on Samsung's official website that reveals a new wireless charger that has seemingly been designed for the Galaxy S9. Upcoming wireless charger supports fast charging at several outputs including 9V/ 1.67A, 9V/ 2A and 12V/ 2.1A. Design schematics suggest the charger will resemble the previous variant with a fan vent and USB Type-C port on the back and a charging coil, indicator lights and phone stand on the front. The phone can be placed vertically or horizontally on the charging pad. The user manual also details that the indicator light will blink Red > Green > Orange when the wireless charger is connected to a power outlet, Red when it is charging, Green when it is fully charged and Flashing Red when it is not charging properly. WinFuture further  claims  that the upcoming  Samsung  wireless charg

Snapchat Redesign

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Snapchat 's latest redesign was released last week has not gone down well with many users. This is evident from the fact that an online petition calling for removal of the new update has attracted more than 600,000 signatures. The  "Remove the new Snapchat update" petition  is hosted on Change.org was authored by Australian user Nic Rumsey.  The popular photo-sharing app's latest redesign focused on separating "media content" from that of "friends" among an array of other interface changes.  With the new changes Snapchat videos and photos shared among users that vanish after one day also now appear with individual Snaps and direct messages. There is a general level of annoyance among users and many have decided to use a VPN app to go back to the old Snapchat.  Many users have found that it has not made the app easier to use but has in fact made many features more difficult.

LG V30s Leaks

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LG Electronics  reportedly has plans to unveil  LG V30s  smartphone at  Mobile World Congress 2018  in Barcelona. This new variant is expected to have same design as previously launched  LG V30  with upgrades in the storage and camera department. The phone might also feature the AI-powered  LG Lens  technology which will have functionality similar to  Samsung Bixby Vision  and  Google Lens . This feature is expected to offer a better shopping experience as well as foreign language translation. The LG V30s is reported to have a price tag of KRW 1 million (roughly Rs. 59,300). LG last month  said  it has been taking a break from its annual launch cycle and that it would launch new smartphones as they were needed. The focus will be on variants of its popular G and V series of flagship smartphones. We can expect V30s to be LG's first phone powered by a Snapdragon 845 SoC. The LG V30s is expected to feature 256 GB of inbuilt storage compared to 64 GB on the V30 and 128

iMac Pro in India

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iMac Pro most powerful Mac till date  is finally available in India.  iMac Pro is priced in India at Rs. 4,15,000 for the one and only model that will be available in the country. Specs It has 27-inch 5K (5120x2880 pixels) display with support for wide colour (P3) gamut that's powered by an 8-core 3.2 GHz  Intel  Xeon W workstation class chip with 19 MB cache and Turbo Boost up to 4.2 GHz. The iMac Pro comes with 32 GB of 2666 MHz DDR4 ECC memory and 1 TB of SSD storage. Graphics are powered by an  AMD  Radeon Pro Vega 56 graphics processor with 8 GB of HBM2 memory. iMac Pro can drive two 5120x2880 pixel (5K) external displays at 60 Hz with support for 1 billion colours or four 3840x2160 pixel (4K/ 4K UHD) external displays at 60 Hz with support for 1 billion colours. In connectivity,  802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, 3.5mm headphone jack, SDXC card slot, 10Gb Ethernet port, four USB 3 (Type-A) ports and four Thunderbolt 3 (USB Type-C) ports with support for Dis

Apple AirPods Blast

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Story behind this incident : Jason Colon of Tampa, Florida was listening to a dance mix at LA Fitness in St. Petersburg when he noticed something strange.  He saw white smoke billowing out and left the AirPods on a piece of workout equipment and got help. It is not clear what led to the incident but Apple said it will investigate what it actually happens.

157 New Emojis in 2018

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The Unicode Consortium has released Emoji 11.0 data with 157 new emoji characters bringing the total number of approved emojis to 2,823. The latest emoji list which is "fixed and final" includes a man and woman emoji in various hairstyles including red-haired curly-haired white-haired and bald as well new superhero and supervillain characters in multiple skin tones. All the newly made emojis should be available on mobile phones and other devices sometime in August or September. Emojipedia is an online encyclopedia for emojis has  developed  a video to give a glimpse of all the new emojis that are coming this year. The nearly two-minute video shows various new faces including a partying face pledging face woozy face smiling with 3 hearts hot face and cold face. There are emoji characters defining living beings other than humans such as a microbe mosquito parrot peacock badger raccoon swan kangaroo and lobster among others. There are also science-centric objects in th

Samsung Galaxy S9 with Headphone Jack

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Samsung's upcoming flagship smartphones  Galaxy S9  and  Galaxy S9+  are expected to retain two key features from the previous generation - 3.5mm headphone jack and the Bixby button. This development comes after a new set of press renders were leaked which were actually meant to display the new DeX Pad that might be launched for the Galaxy S9 series. Blass showed off the rumoured DeX Pad for the upcoming Galaxy flagship duo. One of the renders marks the first instance where in a headphone jack is seen on the Galaxy S9 - at least from a credible source. The  leaked DeX Pad probable successor to last year's DeX can be utilised to convert the Galaxy S9 into a touchpad or keyboard for a PC. Photos show the DeX Pad has a couple of USB ports, an HDMI port and a USB Type-C port. The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are all set to be launched at the Galaxy Unpacked event of MWC 2018 in Barcelona. The phones are expected to be quite similar to the previous

Moto Z2 Force on February 15

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Moto Z2 Force  is set to launch in India on February 15. C ompany is launching the new smartphone bundled with  Moto Turbo Power Pack Mod  that  debuted  in the country in last December carrying a price tag of Rs 5,999. The Moto Z2 Force was  unveiled  in July last year and went on sale in the US through various carriers in August. It comes with a starting price of $799 (approximately Rs 51,460). Moto TurboPower Pack Mod will be bundled with the smartphone. The Moto TurboPower Pack Mod includes a 3500 mAh battery and supports 15 W output to offer fast charging. The Mod is claimed to deliver up to seven hours of battery life within 15 minutes of charge. Specifications Moto Z2 Force features a 5.5-inch QHD (1440x2560 pixels) ShatterShield POLED display. The smartphone has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC paired with 4 GB and 6 GB RAM. Dual camera setup on the rear side with two 12-megapixel Sony IMX386 image sensors. While one of the two sensors captures RGB images the

Google Motion Stills AR Stickers

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Google Motion Stills app for  Android  smartphones will start getting support for  augmented reality  stickers. The  Motion Stills app  is getting updated where users will now be able to add AR stickers into videos. AR stickers became available on the  Google Pixel smartphones via the default camera app . Now any smartphone running Android 5.1 or later can use the feature by downloading the updated Motion Stills app which is currently available for download via the Google Play Store. The app allows users to turn Live Photos into stabilised GIFs and looping videos. Google did not release the app on Android  until July 2017 . When the AR stickers support was first  introduced  on the Google Pixel 2 users got the ability to insert AR versions of characters from popular movies or TV shows directly into pictures and videos. AR mode is powered by instant motion tracking a six degree of freedom tracking system built upon the technology that powers Motion Text in Motion Stills iO

Google Flights and Hotels

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Google  will now let mobile users book hotels and flights right from the search results. The company has also added better price filtering to help you find the best hotel and flight results right from Google Search. The new changes emerge just a week after  Google Flights  received  machine learning algorithms to predict flight delays  even before they are announced by the airlines.  Google will offer multiple tabs once you type your destination. These tabs will list all the available hotels and flights and will let you easily toggle between the available hotel and flight options. Google is set to make travel planning easy on mobile devices and make users ditch third-party travel portals while searching for hotels and flights for future holidays.

Samsung Galaxy S7 at Rs 22,990

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Flipkart  is hosting sale in the form of  Samsung  Carnival with discounts on Samsung smartphones, tablets, wearables, headphones, mobile accessories and TVs. The Samsung Carnival sale on Flipkart will also offer discounts on Samsung home appliances including refrigerators, air purifiers, microwaves, air conditioners, washing machines among others. The latest Flipkart sale on Samsung products is being held from February 7 - 9. Samsung Galaxy S7  is available at Rs 22,990 and the  Galaxy S7 Edge  at Rs 35,900. Mid-range phones like the  Galaxy On Nxt 64 GB  are being sold at Rs 11,900, Galaxy On Nxt 16 GB  at Rs 9,999,  Galaxy On Max 32 GB  is priced at Rs 13,900, Gal axy J3 Pro  has a discounted price of Rs. 6,990 . All products under the Samsung Carnival are eligible for a 10 percent instant discount with HDFC Bank debit and credit cards. The card discount requires a minimum cart value of Rs 5,999 and has a maximum discount of Rs. 1,250. Eligibility of the offer will be

JBL Boombox

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Samsung-owned  Harman  International on Tuesday announced the India launch of a new Bluetooth speaker from  JBL . The JBL Boombox speaker is to be the biggest portable speaker in the company's platform and it comes with a big battery that claims to provide full-day playback. The JBL Boombox speaker has been priced at Rs 34,990 in India and is already available via online as well as offline stores. The JBL Boombox speaker weighs more than 5.25 kg and is nearly 20-inches long. The speaker's frame includes four active transducers and two bass radiators. The device supports a 20000 mAh battery that provides 24 hours of continuous playtime. The speaker is also capable of charging other devices like your smartphone while playing music. With the JBL boombox users can connect up to two devices simultaneously via Bluetooth. The speaker features an IPX7 rated waterproof design. With JBL's Connect+ technology users can connect "more than 100" JBL speakers toget

February Android Security Update

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Google  has started rolling out the February Android security patch for Google  Pixel  and  Nexus  smartphones. While the  wider availability of Pixel Visual Core remains the highlight  this monthly update also brings along other features including numerous bug fixes and other software improvements on the smartphones. February Android security patch for Pixel and Nexus phones is now being  rolled out  via OTA. While all the features in the update are applicable for the  Pixel 2  and  Pixel 2 XL  some of them including improved Bluetooth call quality and RSA key parsing are available on the  Pixel  and  Pixel XL . For the Pixel 2, other updates include improved icons in Settings app improved Wi-Fi uplink performance improved Android Auto performance improved battery performance improved data performance for Telus users improved device stability and improved routing during audio output switching.  The update also includes the  opening up  of  Pixel Visual Core  to third-par

Intel Smart Glasses are not Boring

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Intel  is the latest company to jump on the bandwagon with its new Vaunt glasses. The difference is that Intel's new smart glasses look like any regular glasses and have a frame that is built of plastic and weighs under 50 grams. The Intel Vaunt smart glasses - which  The Verge  got exclusive early access to - are devoid of cameras, buttons or touch controls. The glasses are designed to give users simple notifications. Everything is put into the stems that control a low-powered class one laser that projects a red monochrome 400x150 pixels image directly onto the retina. Glasses are better than a smartwatch as it enables users to check notifications without getting distracted. Users will be able to control the glasses with head nods or other subtle gestures.  Intel has said that the Vaunt will reduce work done on smartphones. The smart glasses will support some apps and will work with both iPhones and Android devices. Intel's smart glasses will get voice assistant

Falcon Heavy Test Flight

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The world's most powerful rocket,  SpaceX 's Falcon Heavy, blasted off Tuesday on its highly anticipated maiden test flight, carrying CEO  Elon Musk 's cherry red  Tesla Roadster  toward an orbit near Mars.  Screams and cheers erupted at mission control in Cape Canaveral, Florida as the massive rocket fired its 27 engines and rumbled into the blue sky over the same NASA launchpad that served as a base for the US missions to the Moon four decades ago. "The mission went as well as one could have hoped," an ecstatic Musk told reporters after the launch, calling it "probably the most exciting thing I have seen literally ever."  Loaded with Musk's red Tesla and a mannequin in a spacesuit, the monster rocket's historic test voyage captured the world's imagination. SpaceX's webcast showed the Tesla Roadster soaring into space, as David Bowie's "Space Oddity" played in the background -- with the words "DON'T P

Nokia 1 Leaks

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A new  HMD Global  smartphone with code name TA-1056 has been spotted on the  US FCC  website. This phone could possibly be the Nokia 1 which was  leaked  recently. Images showing the design of the device revealed its dimensions and antenna locations. This phone is sized smaller than the  Nokia 2  with a height and width of 133 mm and 68 mm. The Nokia 2 has a height of 143.5 mm and a width of 71.3 mm. Rumours have suggested specifications such as an HD (720x1280 pixels) IPS display, 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of inbuilt storage. With a price approx RUB 5,990 (around Rs. 6,800) this could possibly be HMD Global's cheapest smartphone in its  Nokia  range.