Bangalore Central Departmental Store Gets a Complete Makeover

Served as the first home for Central when it was launched 11 years ago. Starting the journey with the vibrant city, the fashion retail chain has brought its customers high definition fashion, world class labels and a high street experience ever since. India’s favourite fashion departmental store is now all set to commence a new, exciting phase. The first Central store, Bangalore Central located on Premium Residency Road opposite Mayo Hall has been redesigned with a layout unlike any other fashion departmental store in the country. The aim is to attract the style savvy individuals from one of the trendiest cities of the country. With a change in the look and feel of the entire space, the new Central will take the customers’ shopping experience to the next level.

With more space, minimalistic fixtures and an aspirational fashion boutique feel, the new Central provides hassle free shopping, right from when the customer enters the store to the billing and cash counters. The space has subtle displays that compliment the store design and aesthetics. The customer service lounge has been detailed & upgraded to serve the shoppers as per international standards.

The fresh and renewed Central will showcase a premium mix of national & international brands in various categories like Men’s and Ladies Formal Wear, Casual Wear, Ethnic Wear, Cosmetics, Fragrances, Handbags, Watches, Men’s and Ladies Footwear, Toys, Kids Apparel, Lingerie and more.

Central has so far housed a wide range of international labels across categories. From brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Guess, Gucci, FCUK to acclaimed designer names like Micheal Kors, Giorgio Armani, Ferragamo, Calvin Klein, Diesel, Roberto Cavalli, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Central will continue to display all of their collections, serving as a one stop shop for the fashion conscious customer of the city.

Speaking at the launch, Kishore Biyani, Group CEO, Future Group said, “We have always believed in staying ahead of the curve and understanding our customer’s needs. We would like to give them experiences that they don’t even know they want yet. The launch of the redesigned Central is an example of that. The amalgamation of world class brands with experiential design at the store provides customers with a global experience while keeping in mind Indian sensitivities”

Vishnu Prasad, CEO, Central, said, “The first Central was launched on this very same day 11 years ago. Re-launching the new and renewed Central on the same day at the same place is our way of saying thank you to the city of fashion which gave birth to India’s favourite fashion store. With the launch today, we are starting a new journey all over once again.”

For the many fashion forward citizens of Bangalore city, the redesigned Central is sure to appeal to their changing taste and meet the need for high definition fashion, through all seasons and for all ages. 

Unique offerings that will enhance customer experience:

·         Assisted shopping

o   Central buddies & ushers at entry – Central buddies at the elevator and ushers at entry will assist customers with store navigation and ongoing offers

o   Fashion stylists – They will help customers with expert advice on latest fashion trends

o   By appointment – Customers will be able to book an appointment with fashion stylists at stores who will help them revamp their wardrobe

o   Fashion attendants – Store staff to double up as fashion attendants for shoppers

o   Reserved – Customers can now choose a product and reserve it for free up to 48 hours if they are not sure about it instantly

o   WhatsApp shopping – They can now send their requirements through a WhatsApp message, get options and have the chosen product delivered to their doorstep

o   Make-up school – Beauty expert sessions will be held for customers where celebrity look make-up tips will be shared

·         Ambience and store facilities

o   Central aroma – A distinct Central aroma will welcome customers at each floor

o   Mother’s room – Convenience hub for mothers that will give them a private space for nursing and changing diapers along with added amenities like milk bottle heaters and food heaters

o   You are special – Various exclusive benefits will be provided to Central Privilege customers, senior citizens and pregnant women

L’Oreal Invests in Technology Startup Incubator - Founders Factory

L’Oréal announces a strategic investment in the Founders Factory, a leading global multi sector digital accelerator and incubator, co-founded by Brent Hoberman, Henry Lane Fox and Jim Meyerle, based in London. As such, L’Oréal becomes Founders Factory’s exclusive partner for investments in Beauty tech startups worldwide. This will allow L’Oréal to deeply connect itself to a global ecosystem of world-class startups and entrepreneurs operating in the field of beauty, in line with L’Oréal’s CEO Jean-Paul Agon vision of the transformative power of digital for beauty.

As part of the agreement, L’Oréal and Founders Factory will invest and scale five early stage startups and co-create two new companies from scratch every year. The in-house team of experts at Founders Factory, many of whom are successful entrepreneurs themselves, will provide hands-on support and advice to participating startups, as well as working with L’Oréal to jointly build and launch new products and services. L’Oréal will be part of the Founders Factory Board of Directors and represented by Lubomira Rochet, Chief Digital Officer and member of L’Oréal’s Executive Committee. Three L’Oréal executives will also hold seats on the Beauty sector Committee of Founders Factory.

“This strategic investment will give L’Oréal direct access to a powerful global ecosystem of exciting startups and innovative technologies at their earliest stage allowing us to invest in and nurture innovative business models based on digital platforms to better serve consumers’ aspirations,” said Lubomira Rochet.“Leveraging the Founders Factory’s ecosystem and experienced entrepreneurs in residence, L’Oréal will provide significant contribution to the development of incubated companies in the beauty sector by bringing our knowledge of the beauty industry, the beauty consumer and our marketing and innovation expertise in all beauty categories.”

Launched by successful serial entrepreneur and lastminute.com co-founder Brent Hoberman, Founders Factory aims to develop as many as 200 early stage technology companies over the next five years. “At Founders Factory we provide ambitious forward-thinking blue-chip companies with a way to develop innovative technology startups away from their day-to-day business and connect them with elite entrepreneurial talent from across the globe. It’s incredibly exciting to be partnering with L’Oréal, the world’s leading beauty company, with a long history of scientific innovation and a champion of entrepreneurship. Marrying our expertise in digital with L’Oréal’s brands, scientific research, and audience reach offers a compelling opportunity to build and scale the next generation of beauty startups,”said Brent Hoberman, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, Founders Factory.

The partnership with Founders Factory will deepen and support L’Oréal’s broader digital innovation strategy. L’Oréal’s Technology Incubator located in San Francisco has spearheaded a number of game changing digital services such as the world famous Makeup Genius, the virtual make-up coach downloaded 20 million times across the world that has changed consumers’ make-up experience. L’Oréal recently launched My UV Patch, the first-ever stretchable skin sensor designed to monitor UV exposure and help consumers educate themselves about sun protection.

L’Oréal is the world’s largest cosmetic company with the highest investment in research in the industry.

Pearson India & Khan Study Group Partner To Set-Up 100 IAS Coaching Centres

ETEN, Pearson India’s network of satellite technology based coaching network, today entered into a strategic alliance with Khan Study Group (KSG), the well-known IAS coaching institute that also mentored the national toppers of the Civil services examination, 2015, AIR 1, Tina Dabi and AIR 2, Aamir Ul Shari.

ETEN introduced the V-SAT enabled learning model in 2008, breaking all geographical barriers to impart CA and IAS training across the country.  Over years, the network has provided advanced and personalized coaching to CA and IAS aspirants in their hometowns, not only at a lower fee as compared to in-person classes, but also saving them the opportunity cost and trouble of migrating to another city for quality training. The success of this blended learning model is reflected in the number of rank-holders that the Institute has produced since inception.

Under the alliance, ETEN and Khan Study Group, will set-up 100 learning centres to impart best-in-class training for UPSC – Civil services examination and various state public service commission exams. By using V-SAT technology, ETEN will make quality coaching, the expertise of India’s foremost panel of faculties including Dr. Khan and a team of about fifteen other faculty members. Each of the faculty members is a domain expert & has a vast experience of teaching General Studies; the core of the most of the competitive examination today. The most-relevant study material will be accessible to IAS aspirants, even in the remote corners of the country.

Announcing the tie-up,  Vikas Singh, Vice President, Higher Education & test preparation and Vocational verticals, Pearson India, said, " With its highlypersonalised and comprehensive product design, ETEN features in the top consideration set of CA aspirants across India. We now aim to expand our offering to the Civil Services space by leveraging our formidable presence across India. Our state of the art technology-enabled coaching will enable students to get the best of inputs, in the most cost efficient manner, from top notch faculty in the comfort of their homes. This tie-up is no less than a breakthrough in the IAS coaching space as the Pearson's expertise in the global education space and Khan Study Group's excellence in IAS coaching would give students the best of both the worlds."

Dr. Khan, (Director KSG) said, “The civil services examination is perceived to be one of the toughest and competitive entrance examinations in the country. In addition to that, an aspirant is constantly struggling to find a systematic teaching module that offers right guidance to clear the exams. Our partnership with Pearson is an effort to give our students an access to the best learning environment, acclaimed faculty panel and the best-in-class content.  Pearson's in-depth understanding and reach in the test preparation market will go a long way in making this a successful initiative."

ETEN provides quality education to the far corners of the country. From state-of-the art central studios in metro cities, the faculty lectures are beamed live to the authorized ETEN centers located across India. In addition to giving access to best faculty panel, ETEN offers structured assessment, e-Learning support and video archives. ETEN centres are a true testament to the path of efficacy that Pearson has undertaken.  

Server Virtualization Market Is Reaching Its Peak Globally: Gartner

The worldwide x86 server virtualization market is expected to reach $5.6 billion in 2016, an increase of 5.7 percent from 2015, according to Gartner, Inc. Despite the overall market increase, new software licenses have declined for the first time since this market became mainstream more than a decade ago. Growth is now being driven by maintenance revenue, which indicates a rapidly maturing software market segment.

"The market has matured rapidly over the last few years, with many organizations having server virtualization rates that exceed 75 percent, illustrating the high level of penetration, " said Michael Warrilow, research director at Gartner

The market remains dominated by VMware, however, Microsoft has worked its way in as a mainstream contender for enterprise use. There are also several niche players including Citrix, Oracle and Red Hat, in addition to an explosion of vendors in the domestic China market.

While server virtualization remains the most common infrastructure platform for x86 server OS workloads in on-premises data centers, Gartner analysts believe that the impact of new computing styles and approaches will be increasingly significant for this market. This includes OS container-based virtualization and cloud computing.

The trends are varying by organization size more than ever before. According to Gartner, usage of server virtualization among organizations with larger IT budgets remained stable during 2014 and 2015. It continues to be an important and heavily used technology for these businesses, but this market segment is approaching saturation. In contrast, organizations with smaller IT budgets expect a further decline in usage through to at least 2017. This is causing an overall decline in new spending for on-premises server virtualization.

Gartner believes that organizations are increasing their usage of "physicalization," choosing to run servers without virtualization software. More than 20 percent of these organizations expect to have less than one-third of their x86 server OSs virtualized by 2017 — twice the amount reported for 2015. However, the underlying rationales remain varied.

The rise of software-defined infrastructure (SDI) and hyperconverged integrated systems (HCIS) are providing new options. It has put pressure on best-of-breed virtualization vendors to add more out-of-the-box functionality and provide a better experience and faster time-to-value.

"What was considered as the best approach to greater infrastructure agility only a few years ago, is becoming challenged by an array of newer infrastructure choices," said Warrilow. 

PTC New Version of ThingWorx IoT Platform Simplifies Developer Use & Integrates with Leading Device Clouds

PTC has announced the availability of ThingWorx 7, the latest version of its Internet of Things (IoT) platform. New features of ThingWorx 7 include an enhanced set of tools for managing connected products, powerful new analytics capabilities, support of public clouds, and simplified platform components that make it easier for developers to use their preferred tools to experiment with, prototype, and develop new IoT solutions.

“ThingWorx 7, rich with new features, allows developers to more easily capitalize on the promise of the Internet of Things by rapidly prototyping and building impactful IoT applications,” said Rob Gremley, president, Technology Platform Group, PTC. “As an open, flexible platform, ThingWorx also gives developers the freedom to build with their preferred tools and create solutions that work with their existing device cloud infrastructure. Smart, connected products and systems are the future, and ThingWorx 7 enables companies to accelerate IoT application development and to fully realize the value of their investment in IoT initiatives.”

Robust, scalable, and easy to use, ThingWorx is an enterprise-ready technology platform that enables innovators to rapidly develop and deploy smart, connected solutions for the Internet of Things. The platform contains one of the most complete sets of integrated IoT-specific development tools and capabilities, making feature-rich solution development simple while accelerating time-to-market.

ThingWorx 7 improves on PTC’s market leadership and technological prowess with new tools and features to help companies get the most value out of their connected strategies.

ThingWorx Utilities

ThingWorx Utilities, formerly ThingWorx Converge, now offers several pre-built tools to help companies manage, monitor, and extract data from their products, including:

·         Connected Device Management Capabilities – Companies can efficiently define and provision the unique attributes of new intelligent devices as they are created and build custom dashboards to visualize the status and performance of their connected products.

·         Alert Management – A customizable interface offering visibility to alerts for all connected products, making it easier for companies to identify when a product isn’t functioning as expected.

·         Remote Access and Control – Users can remotely monitor and manage connected devices, and perform actions such as troubleshooting problems, providing operator assistance, performing training, and supporting other IoT product use cases.

·         Software Content Management – Enables simple, secure and reliable mass distribution of digital content to connected devices such as operating system updates, application upgrades, and software patches.

Choose the Device Cloud Provider That Best Suits Your IoT Solutions

PTC recently announced that ThingWorx will integrate with leading public device clouds to provide an open IoT platform for all customers, partners, and vendors to utilize to meet their IoT goals, beginning with Amazon Web Services (AWS) IoT. Companies can use AWS’s device cloud to connect devices, send data to and from a device, and auto-provision the device directly from ThingWorx. As ThingWorx integrates with additional device clouds, enterprises will be able to select their preferred combination of optimal components from these cloud providers and ThingWorx.

More Meaningful Data with ThingWorx Analytics

The real value of IoT is found in the data that is generated and analyzed from connected devices, and the speed at which it can be turned into actionable intelligence for end users. With the release of ThingWorx 7, ThingWorx Analytics now plugs directly into the Thing Model, making it easier and faster to build advanced analytics, predictions, and recommendations within ThingWorx-powered solutions. 

Spotlight on Developers

ThingWorx 7 has been upgraded with modern platform components to make it even easier for developers to build applications for connected products. With ThingWorx 7, developers can use their preferred development tools, such as Eclipse, or source code management tools, such as Git, in an environment that makes it possible for them to quickly prototype and experiment with IoT solutions.

“With these enhancements to the ThingWorx platform, PTC continues to make impressive progress in delivering an IoT platform to the market,” said Carrie MacGillivray, VP, IoT, IDC. “By offering a comprehensive technology portfolio and strong cloud offering – that will appeal to enterprise customers and developers alike – ThingWorx stands to strengthen its position in this competitive market.”

Synechron Acquires Hatstand Creating Consulting Capabilities in Financial Services

Synechron, a global consulting and technology innovator in the financial services industry, today announced the acquisition of Hatstand, a global financial services consultancy and capital markets specialist. This acquisition further builds Synechron’s consulting capabilities for world-leading financial institutions in key areas such as cybersecurity, market data and risk and regulatory compliance.

Synechron is focused on creating the financial services industry’s leading consulting and technology organization; an organization that is able to define and deliver solutions that address the most vexing business challenges brought about by a wave of new technologies. Synechron is helping global financial firms leverage innovations such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and digital.

Hatstand’s capabilities bolster this vision by deepening Synechron’s existing consultancy services while adding data management expertise. Through a shared passion for innovation and a client-centric approach, the combined business proposition will offer financial services organizations access to expert, end-to-end solutions, delivered at scale in an agile and cost-effective manner.

"All industries, and financial services in particular, are feeling the pressure to modernize and leverage new technologies to more effectively compete,” explains Faisal Husain, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Synechron. “As a result, our clients are being forced to rethink their digital strategies. This acquisition addresses the growing need for expert consulting that offers leadership with innovation.”

Brad O'Brien, Chief Executive Officer of Hatstand, added, "Becoming part of a company with Synechron's global footprint and scale will add greater breadth of resources, richer expertise on projects, and true end-to-end service benefits.”

Adam Bennett, President and Executive Chairman of Hatstand, said of the acquisition, "We share the same vision as Synechron, in terms of delivering the highest quality service and investing in our people. This move represents a natural next step in our continued growth, and we are looking forward to being able to offer our clients extended capabilities and reach."

Meizu Unveils Smartphone 'm3 note' in the Sub 10K Category in India

Meizu Technology (MEIZU has expanded its robust product portfolio, by unveiling its latest offering the Meizu m3 note at JW Marriott, Aerocity, New Delhi. Leon Zhang, Marketing Head, Meizu India, introduced the new m3 Note to fans, guests and media. With the launch of m3 note, Meizu is committed to bring its innovative products to Indian customers with minimal time lag from its recent launch in Beijing.

The registration starts on Wednesday, May 11 at 2 pm and the device will be available from Tuesday, May 31 exclusively on Amazon.in.

Registration link: http://www.amazon.in/l/10104514031

Commenting on the launch, Leon Zhang, Marketing Head, Meizu India, said, “It has been an exciting journey for us so far in India. The welcome we received last year from our Indian fans was heartwarming and we took it upon ourselves to bring our global products on priority to India, with minimal lag. The m3 note launch is a testament of our commitment toward our Indian fans. With the m3 note we are striving to re-energize the Indian sub- 10k category by offering a power packed product at an affordable price point. The m3 note is geared towards the Indian youth, who are looking for a seamless user experience, backed by a robust OS and exquisite craftsmanship.”

MEIZU entered the Indian market last year with its flagship phone MX5 in August and since then has made rapid strides in the Indian market by offering two additional products the m2 note and m2. With the launch of the m3 note, Meizu is well positioned to reinforce its position as a leading brand offering top of the line products at an attractive price point.

This year, before the release of new product, Meizu focused on optimizing their service capabilities. In the last 6 months, Meizu has increased their number to more than 100 service centers in India. Meizu has also opened their first exclusive service center in Select City Walkshopping complex, New Delhi. The smartphone brand plans to build more Exclusive Service Center in top cities across India in future.

Long lasting beauty, backed by robust key features:

mback home button design

Continue with the mBack home button, Meizu m3 note also combines the fingerprint identification and fingerprint payment together to make your life more secure and more convenient than ever before. The new fingerprint sensor in Meizu m3 note can make identification as fast as 0.2 seconds.

Meizu mback function, is a great innovation in the Android system, Just one single button, you can achieve home key operation; back key operation; fingerprint identification operation; Once you start using it, you can not drop it.

Octa-core processor

Equipped with the latest Helio P10 processor, which has the best EER (energy efficiency ratio) of all Mediatek processors. The eight A53 cores manufactured by 1.8 GHz CPU ensures the fluency under heavy usage. The Mali-T860 64-bit GPU enhances image rendering and multimedia display.

                    

3GB RAM+32GB ROM +128GB expandable storage Version

Meizu m3 note will bring a long-lasting beauty and better experience for all with a very reasonable price to satisfy the customers.  It is available in Gray, Silver and Gold colors.

4100mAh battery + power optimization

Meizu m3 note is 5mm thinner than the previous generation, while packing a whopping 4100mAh battery, which is 32% bigger than the previous one. With an unparalleled combination of Flyme OS 5.1 and the Helio P10 processor, the Meizu m3 note delivers an astonishing battery life.

Full metal body with1080P screen

Its 6000 Series Aluminum alloy design coupled with an anodic oxidation process makes the Meizu m3 note feel incredible to touch. Meizu m3 note features a Full HD 1080P display with 403 pixels per inch. With a matchless combination of a 2.5D front panel and a metal unibody design, the Meizu m3 note offers a simplified and delicate visual perception while being smooth to use.

13MP back camera＋5MP front camera

The 13 megapixel main camera of Meizu m3 note is equipped with a large ƒ/2.2 aperture while customized 5P film lens in a thin body. With advanced PDAF auto-focus technology and the premium dual LED flash, you can capture even more details. The new 5.0 megapixel front camera is equipped with a large ƒ/2.0 aperture, for optimum performance under low light conditions. FotoNation 2.0 intelligent beautification is now included in combination with the already existing Face AE facial exposure strengthening technology.

Simplilearn & MilitarytoCorporate Partner to Aid Indian Military Veterans Transition into Civilian Workforce

Simplilearn, a large provider of professional online certification courses, and MilitarytoCorporate (M2C), a niche corporate hiring and transition assistance partner for the Indian military community, today announced their partnership in an effort to facilitate the career transition of military veterans into the civilian workplace. 

This partnership between MilitarytoCorporate and Simplilearn will provide training certification opportunity to over 60,000 ex-service men and women who retire every year from active service thus aiding them to transition to civilian life. These training certifications, at discounted price points, will help veterans be better prepared for jobs in the civilian sector and also add skillsets that complement their military skills in industry recognized professional training courses.

Commenting on the partnership, Gerald Jaideep, COO of Simplilearn, said, “After their extensive service to the nation, we would like to support our veterans with critical skills to succeed in the civilian world. Our portfolio of technology, process and digital marketing courses will set our veterans up for the next phase of their career. This partnership with MilitarytoCorporate will help us reach all of these exceptional men and women and also help, in our own way, to give back to all of those who have dedicated their lives to our nations’ and our safety”.

“We have always believed that bringing corporates and veteran communities together for the exchange of ideas, thoughts and opportunities will create diverse, inclusive and vibrant workplaces. We see this partnership as a step towards that vision. We are also certain that this partnership with Simplilearn will help veterans transition seamlessly to the corporate world for enriching second career innings and also help us serve those who have served the nation,” said Sunny Makroo, ‎Co-Founder, MilitarytoCorporate.

MilitarytoCorporate’s extensive experience in veteran hiring highlights the need for certifications and training programs that has both market demand and continuum with veteran’s military career. These certifications will also help veterans in projecting transferrable skills to corporate sector – in a vocabulary that corporate sector understands.

Simplilearn's training and certification programs facilitate online learning and career development which parallels the result-oriented military learning patterns. These programs enhance their existing skills and provide further opportunities in diverse fields like Project Management, Digital Marketing, Big Data, IT Security, among others.

Clean Energy Initiatives by Fullerton India Through Rural Branches

Fullerton India, a leading non-banking financial company in India, took a step towards environment conservation by adopting alternate and clean methods of energy generation. The company has been investing in solar power hybrid systems since 2012, and has made investments worth Rs.4.6 crores as on March 2016. The company is further planning to invest Rs.97 lakhs till July 2016 for the same initiative.

The company aims to drive energy efficiency at its branches through an increased use of solar/ wind hybrid systems.  As of December 2015, the company has installed wind and solar systems in 150 rural branches across 10 states thereby saving 1, 16,000 litres of diesel. It projects to add solar energy systems at another 36 of its branches by the first half of 2016, saving a further 5, 14,000 litres of diesel in the next 5 years. 

Fullerton India is the only NBFC in India that uses solar energy to power its branches, thereby eliminating the need for diesel powered generator backup. Through this initiative, as of December 2015, 280 MWh of clean energy has been generated, reducing the company’s carbon footprint by 310 tons due to the non-consumption of fossil fuels.

Rakesh Makkar, EVP and Head of Business and Marketing, Fullerton India, said, “Energy conservation needs urgent attention as the country’s conventional energy resources are fast being depleted. At Fullerton India, we took the initiative of embracing renewable energy in 2012 and since then have installed solar and solar-wind hybrid systems with total capacities of 196 KWP. Today, more than 56% of our rural branches run on alternate sources of energy. We plan on generating 1,230 MWh of clean energy in the next 5 years.”

The company’s solar energy installations are a first-of-its kind energy-conservation initiative in close to 100 towns, and have driven awareness about solar energy to nearly 1 million people.

As far as cost efficiency is concerned, Fullerton India’s branches that are powered by solar energy work 30% more efficiently than other branches and have helped cut electricity costs by 50%. The annual average power downtime at these branches is less than 5%.

In Karnataka, Fullerton India has installed solar hybrid systems across 18 of its 46 rural branches. It plans on further installing solar hybrid systems across 3 new rural branches by June 2016.

Quick Heal’s Version 17 Protects against Ransomware from Encrypting Any Data

Quick Heal Technologies Limited has released Version 17 of Quick Heal Total Security, Quick Heal Internet Security and Quick Heal Antivirus Pro. The new version is aimed at better equipping our customers to save their data, transactions and computers from spyware, adware, keyloggers, riskware, and other malicious programs. The enhanced Parental Control feature will enable parents to keep better track of what the kids are accessing online.

The new version of all products also include a very important capability of combatting ransomware which has been posing serious threat to data, information and hardware during the past few weeks. The Quick Heal Threat Research Lab has detected nearly 809,872 ransomware samples in the past three months, which work out to approximately 9,000 ransomware detections every single day.

Commenting on the release of version 17, Sanjay Katkar, MD and CTO, Quick Heal Technologies said; “Our aim is to understand the evolving challenges of our customers. This has inspired us to innovate and include new features in our products and empower our customers to work, interact and transact safely in the evolving threat landscape.” He further added; “Version 17 reflects our commitment towards providing safe computing environment to our customers.”

Samsung Expands J Series Edition 2016 with Powerful Make for India Features

Samsung India today announced the launch of the 2016 editions of its popular Galaxy J7 and Galaxy J5 smartphones, offering consumers more choices in the J series, which is currently India’s largest selling smartphone range.

The 2016 editions of Galaxy J7 and Galaxy J5 better the previous benchmark set by the 2015 editions and elevate the consumer experience to the next level. A new design language with a stylish metal frame and an upgraded display with an ergonomic height-to-width ratio are key changes from the predecessors. The smartphones’ performances have also been enhanced by incorporating better memory specifications. The new devices also include the signature ‘Make for India’ innovations that make J-series the most differentiated offering in the affordable segment.

Samsung Galaxy J series is currently India’s largest selling series of smartphones with 4 models across price points in the affordable segment. Samsung has introduced a host of locally developed innovations as part of their ‘Make for India’ initiative. This includes a cost-effective 4G experience with the innovative Ultra Data Saving (UDS) mode. Developed in Samsung’s R&D centres in India, the UDS feature allows users to save up to 50% mobile data through compression technology and by restricting background data consumption from apps.

Samsung India also launched an industry first S Bike Mode, a dedicated bike mode that lets consumers ‘ride tension free’ while encouraging responsible riding. This was based on the insight that two-wheeler riders receive a lot of unimportant calls and notifications while riding. The S Bike Mode’s urgent call alert system notifies callers through an automated answering machine that the user is riding and is unavailable to take calls. However, callers have the option to press 1 in case the call is urgent. As a safety feature, the in-built motion lock ensures that the rider has to come to a halt before they can answer the call.

“The Galaxy J Series has received a tremendous response from consumers. We are proud to share that owing to our consumer-centric approach and ability to bring valuable and meaningful innovations to the Indian consumers, J series has become India’s largest selling series of smartphones. Given the tremendous success of the J Series, we are happy to announce the expansion of the portfolio with the addition of Galaxy J7 and Galaxy J5 2016 that will elevate consumer experience to the next level,” Mr Manu Sharma, Vice President, Mobile Business, Samsung India Electronics, said.

Stunning Design and Display

Samsung Galaxy J7 and Galaxy J5 2016 sport a stylish diamond cut metal frame. The back panel has a brushed metal finish to further enhance the elegant design. All of this comes in an ergonomic, slim & sleek design. The Galaxy J5 2016 has an upgraded display size moving from a 5” to a 5.2” screen. The Galaxy J7 2016 will continue to sport a 5.5” but will have a lower width making it more ergonomic. Both devices feature HD super AMOLED displays that deliver excellent contrast ratio for deeper and more vivid colours whilst also giving consumers an enhanced range of colours for a more life-like viewing experience.

Advanced Performance

·         Galaxy J5 2016 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.2 GHz Quad Core processor while Galaxy J7 2016 has an upgraded Exynos 1.6 GHz Octa Core processor. Both the devices have an upgraded 2 GB RAM for smoother & seamless multitasking. The Galaxy J5 2016 internal memory has been expanded to 16 GB which matches the Galaxy J7. Both devices support expandable memory up to 128GB to ensure consumers never run out of space.

·         The battery backup has been expanded on both devices with the Galaxy J7 2016 sporting an impressive 3,300 mAh and the Galaxy J5 2016 with a 3,100 mAh battery.

·         Galaxy J7 & Galaxy J5 2016 will have the latest Android Marshmallow out of the box.

Superior Low Light Imaging

Samsung Galaxy J7 and Galaxy J5 2016 come with an improved f 1.9 aperture in both front and rear cameras that deliver brighter images in low light conditions. Both devices also feature a front LED flash with a 5 mega-pixel front camera to cater to Selfie enthusiasts. The rear camera is a 13 mega-pixel shooter to capture high quality photos.

Make For India Features

Samsung Galaxy J7 and Galaxy J5 2016 come loaded with the newly launched S Bike Mode that allows riders to enjoy a tension free ride with unique features like urgent call alert and motion lock. They also have the Ultra Data Saving mode whereby consumers can save up to 50% on mobile and Wi-Fi data.

Price and Availability

Samsung Galaxy J7 and J5 2016 will be priced at Rs 15,990 and Rs 13,990, respectively and will be available in 3 colour options – Gold, Black and White. They will also have a double data operator from Airtel for up to six months that will allow consumers to get up to 30GB of free data. These devices will be available exclusively on Flipkart from May 10th 2016 onwards.