iPhone 6S, 6S Plus pre-bookings begin across India

Retailers have started taking bookings for Apple's latest iPhones and those waiting to get their hands on them should be prepared to shell out a minimum of Rs 62,000 for the lowest storage variant, 16GB, of the iPhone 6S, going up to Rs 92,000 for the 128GB variant of the iPhone 6S Plus.

According to three trade sources, Apple has communicated the indicative prices and given the go-ahead to begin taking advance orders. Industry officials told ET the iPhone 6S 64GB would cost about Rs 72,000 and the 128GB version would be about Rs 82,000.

The iPhone 6S Plus 16GB would be priced at Rs 72,000 and its larger storage model of 64GB would be priced at Rs 82,000.

Apple is yet to declare official prices in India, the company said in response to an emailed query.

Pre-bookings have started at major retail chains across the country. The MobileStore, India's largest mobile phone retail chain, said it will begin taking orders from Friday. The Mumbai-based chain with over 800 outlets will take pre-orders for Rs 2,000 each up to October 13. The devices will become available on the night of October 15.

"The iPhone 6S 64GB variant is the most popular one as of now," said Satish Babu, founder of Chennai-based UniverCell Mobiles, one of the largest retail chains in south India, which has started taking pre-orders across its 300 stores. "Since yesterday we have got at least 100 orders," he added.

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India v South Africa T20 Cricket Match Date of 02-10-2015

After suffering a surprise defeat at the hands of India A in a warmup T20 in Delhi, the South African team, led by Faf du Plessis, will aim to begin their longest ever India tour (72 days) on a positive note at Dharamshala in the first T20I of the three-match series.

Here TOI Sports takes a look at the key battles that may decide the outcome of the series.

Rohit vs Abbott

Rohit Sharma will be donning India colours in T20Is after 19 months, having last played in the 2015 World Twenty20 final against Sri Lanka in Dhaka. Opening the innings, he will be up against Kyle Abott who has had an average outing since a brilliant World Cup 2015 in Australia/New Zealand earlier this year. Known for his accuracy and yorkers, Abbott will be hoping to rediscover the touch that earned him nine wickets from four matches at the World Cup. Right from the word go, the 28-year-old bowler will have to be on his toes for he has to fight for a place in the side with the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Chris Morris, Marchant de Lange and allrounder Albie Morkel. Rohit averages 30.79 in T20Is which climbs up to 45.25 against South Africa and he will be hoping the run continues.


Dhawan vs Rabada

Shikhar Dhawan gave early indications of his form and fitness during the only unofficial Test against Bangladesh A with a strokeful 146-ball 150. He has been among the runs in his last two series for India and will be opening the innings along with Rohit Sharma. His first assignment will be to tackle the raw pace of Kagiso Rabada. Rabada is certainly one of the brightest talents to have emerged in international cricket in recent times. Known for his pace, the 20-year-old is the one to watch out for during the series. Against New Zealand in August, he picked five wickets in two T20Is. However, in a warm-up tour game against India A in Delhi, he gave away 33 runs in three wicketless overs. He will have to adjust to the Indian conditions traditionally known to be a pacer's graveyard but can take encouragement from the fact that he is an unknown entity to Indians and the home side has had a history of being caught on the wrong foot against young pacers (Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rehman, Douglas Hondo among others). In T20s, batsmen have little time to adjust and it will be interesting how much Rabada can restrict the Indian batsmen (especially the top-order) till they figure him out.

Kohli/Raina vs Tahir

For the India series, South Africa have included three specialist spinners keeping in mind the conditions. Leading the pack will be Imran Tahir who is the most experienced among the three (Eddie Lee and Khaya Zondo being the other two). He has a feel of the Indian conditions having plied his trade in two Indian Premier League seasons. He will have to tackle the India middle-order that boasts of Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina among others. Raina is the lone T20I centurion from India and has played 44 T20Is, averaging 32.65. On the other hand, Kohli happens to have the highest batting average (46.28) in T20Is. Tahir has his work cut out against them who will be eager to come out all guns blazing as they feature in their first international T20 assignment in over a year.

Ashwin vs De Villiers

Ravichandran Ashwin is known to be a thinking bowler who keeps on trying different things to keep batsmen guessing. This has often worked for him and sometimes backfired. After a slump in form, the offspinner has worked on his bowling and with a brilliant show in the recently concluded Test series in Sri Lanka, he has become India's go-to bowler. His task will be to restrict, if not stop, the genius of AB de Villiers who is currently, by miles, the best limited-overs batsman in the world. His T20I average of 22.38 belies the destructive capability he possess while in full flow. However, even as his legend has grown, the South African has had failed to go full throttle against India - he averages 19.71 with a highest score of 63 that came way back in 2009 WT20 in England. As Mohit Sharma pointed out recently, when it comes countering De Villiers, bowlers end up experimenting too much when the key is sticking to a plan. It will be quite a battle between the thinking Ashwin and De Villiers who has a habit of manufacturing impossible shots at improbable angles.

Dhoni vs Plessis

Last but not the least, the battle of wits between teammates turned opponents. The two captains - MS Dhoni and Faf du Plessis - are IPL teammates and know each other quite well. Drawing on the knowledge they have gained from each other while playing together for the now suspended Chennai Super Kings, these two will aim to outdo each other when they take field in the first T20I in Dharamshala on Friday evening. Having played under Dhoni for quite some time, Du Plessis has admitted to have learned from his style and will be hoping to replicate it while leading his country. He has captained SA in 20 T20Is, leading them to victory in 11 while tasting defeat in nine - a decent record. Dhoni will have to get into the groove as he prepares to lead India for the 50th time in T20Is and will aim for nothing less than a win.

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Motorola Moto E Officially Launched in India; Price, Specification Details

When Motorola launched Moto G in India in February, the company upped the ante for all smartphone makers in the sub-Rs 15,000 segment. It has done the same again with the launch of Moto E. The new smartphone will wage the war for Motorola in the entry-level smartphone segment, with an arsenal that comprises better hardware than rivals, the clean version of Android OS, and a price that will be hard to match.

We played around with Moto E at its global launch event to bring you our first impressions and help you decide whether it is the best smartphone at the killer price of Rs 6,999.

The much anticipated Moto E, the 'Priced for all' smartphone promised by Motorola has been officially launched in India.

The new Motorola budget smartphone flaunts an ergonomic curved design similar to Moto X and features 4.3-inch qHD (960x540p) display with scratch-and-splash resistant Gorilla Glass 3 Protection.

Under the hood, It ships with Android v4.4 KitKat OS, 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 dual-core CPU, Adreno 302 graphics engine backed by sumptuous 1GB RAM, 4GB expandable storage (up to 32GB) and also houses a 5.0-megapixel primary camera and 1980 mAh (Li-Ion) battery which can provide power for close to 24 hours under mixed media usage.

By Pricing the phone just under ₹7,000, Motorola has found a winner in Moto E and can expect to shake up the highly competitive budget smartphone business in India, which is dominated by domestic players, like its sibling Moto G did in the mid-range segment.

Motorola Moto E Price & Availability:
Like its Motorola siblings, Moto E will be exclusively sold at Flipkart starting this mid-night (14 May) for just ₹6,999. The e-retailer is also offering 50 percent discount on back-covers (nine colour options) to consumers, if they buy this accessaory along with the phone.


Check out the official video of Moto E detailing features:



The back cover is swappable, but you cannot remove the battery. Though Moto E comes in white and black colours only, Motorola offers back covers and grip shells in as many as nine colours to give users a bit of customization option.

Hardware
This is where things heat up.
Motorola is offering hardware that no other smartphone maker in India offers at this price. Apart from the quality display, you get a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon 200 processor with 1GB RAM, 4GB internal storage, 32GB microSD expansion, 1,980mAh battery and 5MP rear camera.
Connectivity suite of the phone is pretty standard and consists of 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB 2.0.

There is no front camera or LED flash in the smartphone.

Moto E uses a Water-Repellent coating inside as well as outside, so that the phone does not get damaged as soon as a little water is splashed on it. However, be warned: don't expect this smartphone to work once you drop it in the water.

The display is also Covered with Gorilla Glass 3 for added protection against scratches.

Software
Moto E comes with Default version of Android 4.4 (KitKat) sans any customized skin. The phone comes with a few Motorola apps pre-loaded, such as Alert and Assist. But the good thing is that there is no bloatware at all and this results in the smartphone being fast and fluid. There is no heavy skin bogging down the speed at which apps are launched and even the most basic functions are performed. This comes as a breath of fresh air for us because we are used to seeing pretty slow 'smart'-phones at the entry-level segment.

Key Specifications of Motorola Moto E:

Model Motorola Moto E(Model: XT1022)
Display 4.3-inch qHD (960x540p) screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 3Pixel density : 256 ppi (pixels per inch)
OS Android v4.4 KitKat OS
Processor 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 series dual-core CPU
GPU 400MHz Adreno 302
RAM 1GB
Storage capacity 4GB, expandable up to 32GB
Camera Main: 5.0-megapixel camera (no flash)   
Front : no camera
Battery 1980 mAh (Li-Ion);Can provide power for close to 24 hours under mixed media usage
Network 3G
Add-ons Dual-SIM slots, Bluetooth v4.0 (with LE), Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), micro-USB v2.0, microSD card slot, FM radio,
Dimensions 124.8x 64.8 x 12.3 mm
Weight 142 g
Colours White and Black

Price 6,999/-

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