OnePlus 5T India Launch, Aircel Offers to Beat Jio, and More: Your 360 Daily

OnePlus 5T has been released in India, going on sale today via Amazon India for Prime members, and will become available for the general public on November 28. The handset is available for Rs. 32,999 for the 6GB RAM + 64GB storage variant and Rs. 37,999 for the 8GB + 128GB model, and comes only in Midnight Black colour. The new features of OnePlus 5T (Review) include the 6-inch bezel-less display with 18:9 aspect ratio, improved cameras, and facial recognition. It comes with a bunch of launch offers, such as complimentary 1,000GB data from Idea, 1-year membership of Zomato Gold, 12-month accidental damage insurance plan, Rs. 500 Kindle ebook credit, and Rs. 300 in Amazon Pay balance on using the Prime Video app, along with Rs. 1,500 cashback on HDFC Bank credit and debit cards.

Aircel launches new plans to take on Jio
Aircel has announced new tariffs for Kolkata circle to take on Jio, providing new and existing subscribers with offers on local and STD voice calls, 3G data and local as well as national SMSes. At Rs. 93, new Aircel users will get local and STD voice calls at 20 paisa per minute, talk time worth Rs. 70, monthly 250MB data, and 50 local and national SMS for 365 days. The Rs. 175 plan offers unlimited local and STD calls, 1GB of 3G/ 2G data, and 100 SMSes for 30 days and 84 days at Rs. 175 and Rs. 349, respectively.

For existing users, Aircel has the Rs. 94 pack that brings down the tariff of all local and STD calls to 20 paisa per minute for 365 days, and provides 1,400 local and national SMSes. Then there’s the Rs. 148 plan for existing users that provides bundled local and STD calls (maximum 250 minutes per day, 1,000 minutes per week), 2GB of data, and 100 SMSes, and validity of 28 days. Subscribers can also choose the Rs. 348 pack with bundled local and STD calls (maximum 300 minutes per day, 1,200 minutes per week), and 1GB data per day, and 84-day validity.

Xiaomi establishes another plant in India, launches Mi Power Bank 2i range
Xiaomi has opened a new manufacturing plant in Noida, its third in India, where it will manufacture its new Mi Power Bank 2i range. Covering an area of 2.3 lakh square feet, the facility can apparently produce seven power banks per minute. 500 people are employed at the factory, and Xiaomi plans to hire more in the near future. Locally produced packaging material is used at the plant, and there are plans for local procurement of SMT (surface-mount technology) next year. As for the new Mi Power Bank 2i range, it will come in 10000mAh and 20000mAh capacities at Rs. 799 and Rs. 1,499, respectively. It will hit Mi.com and Mi Home stores on November 23 and large-format retailers and Mi Preferred Partners in December.

Xiaomi Mi Note 3 gets a cheaper 4GB RAM variant
Xiaomi has launched a new Mi Note 3 variant with 4GB RAM and 32GB storage in its home market. Priced at CNY 1,999 (roughly Rs. 19,500), this model will be positioned below the two original variants of the handset, which came with 6GB RAM and 64GB and 128GB storage options. Not yet launched in India, the Mi Note 3 was unveiled in China in September this year, and comes with a 16-megapixel front camera, dual 12-megapixel rear cameras, and 3500mAh battery. Other key features include 5.5-inch full-HD screen, Snapdragon 660 chipset, AI beautification, and facial unlocking.

India adds 3.1 million telecom users in September 2017
Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) says 3.1 million telecom users were added in October 2017, with the total telecom base hitting 953.80 million. According to COAI, Airtel added 3.15 million users, Vodafone 0.88 million, and Idea 0.71 million; Aircel and Telenor lost 0.01 million and 1.1.4 million subscribers, respectively. As for the total subscriber base, Airtel is still the market leader with 285.20 million total users, with Vodafone, Idea, and Aircel following at 208.32 million, 190.87 million, and 88.25 million, respectively. However, the agency did not release October data for Reliance Jio and MTNL.

Gionee F6, F205 bezel-less smartphones teased officially
Gionee has teased the F6 and F205 smartphones in China, which are among the eight phones the brand will unveil on November 26. While the teaser posted on Weibo did not reveal any critical details of the handsets, it does point to bezel-less design and 18:9 aspect ratio. One of the teasers also hints at the launch of Gionee M7 Plus, S11, S11, and Steel 3 smartphones at the same event. The smartphones are scheduled to launch in Shenzhen, China.

Uber adds live location sharing, send gifts, and more features
The Uber app has added a host of new features in the US. One of these is the option to give consumers the option to share their live location with drivers; the icon used to track the rider will go from grey to blue in colour when the location is being shared in real time. The beacon system that allows users to spot their Uber cab with the help of a beacon (placed on the car’s windshield) is now expanding to New York City, San Francisco, and Chicago.. They will be able to change the colour of the beacon to identify their cab when there are multiple Uber cars in the area. The app will also allow riders to send Uber credits to friends and family members as a gift, along with a custom message. Released first in India, the option to book cabs for others has also been introduced in the country.