The anticipating newcomer Obi has finally entered the Indian smartphone market with its Octopus S520 via snapdeal for Rs. 11,990. Every new brand comes via an e-commerce site. There is a need to innovate. Obi Mobiles is headed by former Apple CEO John Scully.
The company has entered into the Indian market in a very competitive phase, where Xiaomi is likely to dominate the mid-range market with its latest offerings. Xiaomi has another advantage as is a known entity whereas Obi will have to start from scratch.
It sports a 5-inch HD IPS display and the company claims that the thickest part of the device is 8.4mm. As said earlier, it is powered by a 1.7GHz octa-core processor coupled with 1GB of RAM and following the ongoing trend in India, you will find the phone using the Android 4.4 KitKat OS. Moreover, the phone comes with an all-aluminium back panel. The Dual SIM (3G+3G) smartphone comes with support for 3G; 8GB onboard storage can be expanded further up to 32GB. Imaging aspect is taken care by an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and USB 2.0.
 
The device is fueled by an 1800mAh battery that offers 240 minutes of talktime and 180 hours of standby time. Similar to what Gionee is doing, Obi Mobiles is offering a flip cover, screen protector, a charging cable and in-ear earphones with the Octopus S520. And Obi says over 95 service centers for after-sales support have been set up, though details about their location are scarce at the moment. The company is also said to be in the process of launching Firefox OS-based smartphones in the country.
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â By Anand Thakkar
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