Doogee F3 powered by Snapdragon 810 with 4GB RAM for $349.99 coming soon

Doogee another Chinese brand will roll out Doogee F3 limited edition smartphones by second half of 2015. The F3 Ltd, houses thequalcomm snapdragon 810 processor and running Lollipop with 4GB RAM. This handset is priced at $349.99 (approx Rs. 22,500). The specs as well as the price look impressive. Doogee F3 sports a 5 inch screen with 2K resolution, it’s using LG display 2.5D with corning gorilla glass 3 protection. Inside the hood it is using the qualcomm snapdragon 810 64 bit octa core processor (quad core – Cortex A57 + quad core Cortex A53) coupled with Adreno 430 GPU.

F3 is running customized OS based on Android Lollipop 5.1 with 4GB LPDDR3 RAM and 32GB EMMC5.0 internal storage. There is 21MP camera on the rear using the SONY IMX230 sensor with dual LED flash and a 8MP camera on the front.

This handset supports 4G and gets power from a 3100 mAh battery (SONY make). Doogee F3 will probably be released in October 2015 for $349.99 with optional back cover.

Elephone P8000 for $209.99 (flash sale)

The Elephone P8000 will go on flash sale for $209.99. This is a 64 bit octa core powered handset using a 4165 mAh battery. The P8000 is running Android 5.1 with 3GB RAM over a 5.5 inch FHD screen.

The P8000 is using a metal frame and comes with nice textures on the back. This premium looking handset is powered by MediaTek MT6753 cortex A53 64 bit octa core processor clocked at 1.3GHz with Mali T720 GPU. Screen is 5.5 inches supporting 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution.

Android 5.1 runs out of the box with 3GB RAM, 16GB storage and micro SD card support. There are dual SIM slots with 4G FDD-LTE support. There is a touch ID based finger print scanner as seen on the Elephone P7000. The P8000 also comes packed with 13MP AF camera using Samsung lens for excellent low light photography and there is a 5MP camera on the front for shooting clearer selfies.


Key features are 4G, 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth. The Elephone P8000 gets power from a 4165 mAh Li-Po battery with quick charge support. It will be available for $209.99 for limited period only.

Visit Elephone site for more info.

Oukitel U8 frame-less design, press fingerprint smartphone for $170

Oukitel, a Chinese phone manufacturer, established in 2007 launched the Oukitel U8 smartphone for $169.99. It will be available for $159.99 for limited period only. The U8 is a quad core smartphone but what makes it unique is the frame-less design and fingerprint scanner (press type).
U8 is using a touch ID finger print scanner placed on the back. It houses the MediaTek MT6735 quad core processor clocked at 1.3GHz with FDD 4G support. Android Lollipop 5.1 will run out of the box with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. And yes there is micro SD slot to add up to 64GB external cards.

Handset is 7.9mm thick, it’s dual SIM with dual standby mode. U8 sports a 5.5 inch IPS 2.5D curved screen supporting 1280 x 720 pixels resolution. Also included is a 13MP auto focus primary (rear) camera with dual tone LED flash support and a front camera of 5MP resolution.

Key features are 4G, 3G, 2G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, FM radio and GPS. The handset comes with a 2850 mAh battery.
Oukitel U8 is available for $159 from 2^nd June to 8^th June and after 8^th June it will be priced at $169.99.

How to buy handsets and other electronic devices from Chinese online stores

There are many new handsets being launched in India, unfortunately there are better ones with latest hardware available on Chinese websites. You can buy the handsets from Chinese online stores, and here is what you should know.
Now before you plan to go ahead with the purchase do note that there is a minor risk, it is with reference to the device you order. For example you might face issues with the phone you bought or it does not start at all, in such a case sending the device back / after sales support will not be that easy. But in most cases you will get a perfectly working phone, but yes keep in mind there is this small risk. You should also check the terms and conditions from the site you are buying.


There are two ways to order you can either go for the express shipping or ordinary registered post. The express shipping is costlier but in the end the shipping cost + custom duty comes up to the same as normal shipping, though better to use express shipping as it delivers faster.
Now avoid using gift / lower invoice value especially for mobile phones. It is better to be honest and if possible ask the seller to attach a screen shot of the product with the actual price.
I have used both ordinary post and express shipping and here are my experiences.

Ordinary registered Post
This is cheaper takes a lot of time and the custom duty is always higher, better to avoid it for high cost products (over Rs. 7000).
Express shipping
This will cost you extra, its faster and the custom duty is comparatively lower.
In general the extra charges i.e. shipping + customs will come to near about the same for both express / ordinary post.
Some users / sellers suggest to ship the handset with lower price tag like $30 or under so as to avoid the custom duty for such devices. However it will all depend on your luck if you are lucky you will not have to pay any duty, but if you are not, you will end up paying the actual duty + in some cases extra fine that will be much, much higher will cost you 2x or more the amount you spend on your phone.
How much custom duty you need to pay?
Well you can check it on dutycalculator.com but do note that every time the duty will be different, depending on the custom official inspecting your device. Just to give you an idea. I have paid Rs. 4,000 for a Rs. 7,000 device (using ordinary post), at times Rs. 900 for a Rs. 8,000 device (using DHL). And recently Rs. 6,200 for 2 smartphones totaling to $320 from China using DHL post. Also better to attach screen shot for device + price from the seller website as proof. And guess what I got the OnePlus One from USA (a long time back) – $349, that time I paid Rs. 3,420 for custom + shipping, Customs Duty was Rs. 1,573.
It is safe to assume that for a 160$ handset from China you will end up paying anywhere from Rs. 1000 to Rs. 3000 total custom duty.
Where do you pay the custom duty?
If you have ordered it from normal post you will need to pay it to the postman. And if you have used express shipping you will have to pay to the courier guy at the time of delivery.

Phicomm Passion 660 with 64 bit octa core processor launched for Rs. 10999

Another Chinese company Phicomm has now officially entered the Indian markets. They have launched the 64 bit octa core snapdragon powered smartphone called the Phicomm Passion 660 for Rs. 10,999. This handset will be available on Amazon.in pretty soon.
Passion P660 sports a 5 inch screen with full HD resolution, it also comes protected with corning gorilla glass 3. The handset houses a 1.5GHz MSM8939 qualcomm snapdragon 615 octa core processor with Adreno 405 GPU. It is running KitKat out of the box, however the company will roll out Android 5.0 soon.

This is a dual SIM handset with hybrid SIM slot – i.e. you can either use nano SIM or micro SD card in the 2^nd SIM slot. There is 2GB RAM, 16GB storage and 64GB external card support. A 13MP auto focus camera is packed on the rear using Sony IMX214 sensor with LED flash and there is a front facing 5MP camera too.


Handset is 7.4mm thick. Key features are 4G, 3G, 2G, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and Wi-Fi. The Passion 660 gets power from a 2300 mAh battery. Phicomm Passion 660 will be available on Amazon.in for Rs. 10,999. 

Mi 16000 Power Bank will go on sale on 9th June at 2PM on Mi.com

As you all know the Mi Power Bank with 16000 mAh and the 5000 mAh capacities has already been launched in India. The 16000 mAh power bank will be available on 9^th June via Mi.com for Rs. 1,399. No points in guessing, this surely will get sold out in minutes, oops seconds.
This will be the first Mi 16000 power bank sale. This power bank comes with dual USB ports – it can charge 2 devices simultaneously. The bank is packed in a sleek aluminium casing with a huge battery capacity that can power up iPhone 6 for up to 5 times and Redmi Note 4G for up to 3.5 times.


Max 5.1V/3.6A dual output. This device is temperature resistant and comes with short circuit protection, Automatic charger protection, over-voltage protection for both input/output and over-discharge + over-charger protection. There is a reset mechanism to rest the device in case it becomes unresponsive.
So get ready for the Mi 16000 mAh power bank flash sale on 9^th at 2PM for Rs. 1,399 on Mi.com.