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Welcome to our weekly news digest! Every Friday, we bring the top news stories from the world of e-commerce. Last week, we reported on the launch of Apple iPhone 12 Series. This week has been about the festive sales and we can expect many more offers leading up to Diwali. 

Here is a roundup of this week's headlines from the launch of Nokia's new 4G feature phones to Paytm's new co-branded credit cards. Netflix is also planning to test free weekend access in India. Meanwhile, Micromax is ready to start its second innings in the Indian smartphone market. The company is gearing up to launch new ‘IN’ series smartphones before Diwali. 

1. Paytm to Launch Credit Cards For Young Professionals and College Goers

Paytm has announced new co-branded credit cards in partnership with leading banks. The credit cards will be targeted for young professionals and college-goers.

The co-branded credit cards will come with features instant one-touch services for blocking the card, charging the security pin number, viewing the outstanding credit-limit, updating the address, and issuing a new card. Users will also have easy access to switching off international and contactless payments.

Paytm aims to provide a complete digital experience for the credit card application process as well. Users can also choose their preferred timings for document collection on the Paytm app. The credit card will come with an exciting reward system as well providing cashback on every transaction. The rewards points will have no have no expiration date. Earlier, Paytm had unveiled Paytm first Credit card in partnership with Citibank. 

We will keep you updated with the latest developments on Paytm credit cards in the coming weeks. 

2. Netflix to Test Free Weekend Access in India

Netflix is planning a new promotion in India.The streaming giant will give users in India access to its service at no charge for a weekend. Netflix recently stopped offering a first-month complimentary access to new users. Now, the company plans to experiment with new ways to lure potential customers.

Currently, Netflix is offering a 2nd month free subscription to select users in India. Under the promotion, users have to pay for the 1st month while the 2nd month is free. Users can decide whether to continue using the service before the end of the 2nd month. There is an option to change their plan or unsubscribe at any time. 

Netflix subscription plans start Rs. 199 Onwards in India. Disney, Amazon,  and several other OTTs platforms offer a range of services at a much affordable price range in India.

Netflix is planning to host the weekend free trial in December (4th December) to promote its streaming service. The 48-hour free access will be available without the need for any payment confirmation. 

3. Nokia 215 4G, Nokia 225 4G Launched in India

Nokia has launched two 4G feature phones in India. Nokia 215 4G and Nokia 225 4G support 4G VoLTE and both run Series 30+ OS. There is also support for wireless FM radio. The feature phones provide up to 24 days of standby time on a single charge. Nokia 225 4G also has a camera at the back as well.

The dual-SIM feature phones have a similar list of specifications which includes a 2.4-inch QVGA display 128MB of onboard storage Bluetooth 5.0, FM radio, Micro-USB port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

There is a 1,150mAh removable battery on both Nokia 215 4G and Nokia 225 4G. Nokia 225 4G carries a 0.3-megapixel camera on the back to capture photos and videos in VGA resolution. No camera is provided on Nokia 215 4G.

Nokia 215 4G price in India is Rs. 2,949, while Nokia 225 4G is priced at Rs. 3,499. Nokia 215 4G and Nokia 225 4G will be available through Nokia India online store and Flipkart while offline retailers will start selling the phones from November 6. 

Where to buy: Nokia.com, Flipkart.com

Price: Rs.2,949 Onwards

For More details on Nokia 4G feature phones click here

4. Jio Launches Made-in-India Web Browser, JioPages

Jio has launched a new web browser called JioPages. It is already available for Android and can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. The web browser is built on the Chromium Blink engine.

JioPages web browser supports 8 Indian languages - Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Bengali.The newly launched web browser promises to provide enhanced experience through faster engine migration, faster page loads, efficient media streaming,  Emoji domain support, best-in-class webpage rendering, and encrypted connection. JioPages has been designed in India. 

5. Vodafone Idea Introduce Weekend Data Rollover

Vi (Vodafone Idea) has introduced a weekend data rollover scheme for its prepaid customers. Now, users can carry forward their daily unused data to the weekend. Usually, the unused data at the end of day is wasted, but the weekend rollover scheme allows customers to make use of their daily unused data, on the weekend.

The data rollover is applicable on recharges plans of Rs. 249 and above. Several plans in the Rs. 249 to Rs. 2,595 range come with weekend data rollover. Vi is also providing extra 5GB data on select plans by recharging through the Vi app.The announcement aims to allow the usage of unused data during the weekends. 

For more details on Vi Data Weekend Rollover Click here

6. PhonePe Launches Car & Bike Insurance

PhonePe has launched car and bike insurance on its platform in collaboration with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. The feature is available on the ‘My Money’ section of the app for both Android and iOS. User has to select the desired insurance coverage for his vehicle, fill up the details and make the payment from the app. 

PhonePe users can insure their vehicles without the need for any documents to be uploaded. They can also view their policy documents on the app. Users can also customise their Car insurance plan with a range of value-added offerings which include Zero Depreciation, 24X7 Roadside Assistance and engine protection among others. 

The company had launched travel insurance in January, and followed it with Coronavirus insurance in April. Earlier, Amazon’s payment arm Amazon Pay offered car and bike insurance in partnership with Acko General Insurance.

7. Micromax ‘IN’ series Smartphone to launch Before Diwali

Micromax is all set to make a comeback in the Indian Smartphone market. The announcement came with a video featuring the company's founder Ashish Sharma. During the announcement Sharma teased a new "In" branded Micromax smartphone. 

Reportedly, the first smartphone launched by the company would be Micromax In 1A. The smartphone will be powered by an octa core MediaTek Helio P35 processor coupled with 4GB of RAM. Earlier, in an interview with NDTV Gadgets 360, Micromax founder Rahul Sharma said that the company plans to bring the "In" smartphones before the festival season.

Micromax 'IN' Series smartphones are expected to be priced between Rs 7,000 to Rs 15,000.
 

These were some of the latest happenings of the week from around the web. The biggest highlight of the week is the festival sales of e-commerce companies. In addition to that, there have been some exciting product launches as well. Nokia has launched two new 4G feature phones in the market. Micromax is also set to launch "IN" Series smartphone soon in line with the 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ push initiated by the government of India. Stay tuned for more updates and the best festive shopping offers. 

 

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