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Realme is the fastest-growing smartphone brand across the globe and is also one of the most ambitious brands in recent times. In a span of two years, the company has not only made its name in the smartphone market and also has established itself as an AIoT maker with its smart products. Currently, Realme is one of India’s top 5 smartphone maker. 

Back in December 2020, the company also confirmed to launch over 100 AIoT products in India in 2021. Now, Madhav Sheth, CEO of Realme India and Global vice president has revealed the brand’s plan for the year 2021. In an interview with Business Insider, Madhav Sheth shared its plan for 2021 as well as a strategy to launch 5G devices and more. 

• Realme to launch over 100 AIoT products in India
• Realme Watch 2 leaked user manual reveals a very familiar design

More offline presence 

While Realme is having a strong online presence on Flipkart, Amazon, and Realme.com, the company is also planning to launch somewhere between 300 to 500 Realme smart stores across India. Flagship stores will be put up in major cities across India. Recently, the Realme smart store was unveiled in Mysore. In addition to the Realme exclusive store, the company also plans to tie up with other offline retailers to sell lifestyle products. 

Happy to announce that we have launched a brand new #realmeSmartStore in Mysore.Can you guess which city is next? pic.twitter.com/gA8SPP3G4DJanuary 28, 2021

Plans for 2021

In 2020, Realme shipped 20 million units for the first time which resulted in  22% YoY growth. In 2021, the company is planning to sell 25 to 30 million smartphones. According to the latest counterpoint report, the Realme C-series and Narzo series were the prime reasons for its growth. With more offline stores and multiple smartphone launches, Realme aims to achieve the 2021 goal.

Expanding the 5G offering

(Image credit: Future)

With Airtel announcing 5G-ready network and Jio said to start testing 5G in 2021 H2, Sheth said 5G will unlock potential for a wide range of products and services. With that in mind, Realme is launching its Realme X7 series with 5G connectivity on February 4 in India. This is also the company’s first product launch of 2021. Realme X50 Pro 5G was India first 5G smartphone launched back in 2020. 

Realme AIoT products

(Image credit: Srivatsa Ramesh)

Realme will launch over 100 AIoT products in India. The company will expand its offering in India with the launch of multiple AIoT products throughout the year 2021. The company will launch TWS, affordable smart TVs, smart plugs, trimmers, smart bulb and more. The company is also tipped to launch laptops later this year in India. 

Everything else

Lastly, Madhav also spoke about the 'Make in India' program and spoke about the challenges faced in the manufacturing process. He said making a smartphone requires component like screen, chipset, camera module, and more which still being imported and the ability to manufacture these in India will take some time and won't happen overnight. 

While this is all Madhav Sheth said in the interview, Realme's 2021 journey will kickstart in India this week with the launch of Realme X7 series. Later on, we expect a few budget phones, audio products, wearables, and more AIoT products to launch throughout the year. 

• Realme Watch S review
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• Realme Race could come with 125W charging and Snapdragon 888

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Switching internet providers might feel like more trouble than it’s worth, but there’s real money to be saved by jumping ship, and now is a particularly cracking time to swap NBN providers.

Smaller ISPs have been serving up discounts to new customers for quite some time now, and offering AU$10 off each month for six months has become the standard, but these welcome offers have gotten even more aggressive lately, making now a great time to buy.

In a rare move, Telstra has joined the swathe of smaller providers by also offering AU$10 off its NBN 50 and above plans, while others have dropped their welcome discount even further to keep up with rising competition. Below, we’ve highlighted the best deals on offer:

• Compare NBN plans
• Fastest NBN plans
• Cheap NBN plans

Telstra | NBN 50 | Unlimited data | No lock-in contract | AU$80p/m (first 6 months, then AU$90p/m)

Telstra has some of the most expensive NBN plans on the market, which is what makes a discount on this premium NBN plan so tempting. This NBN 50 plan has been knocked down to AU$80 a month for your first six months, after which it will revert back to AU$90. That still makes it a little pricey, but you’ll be setting yourself up with a service that’s proven to be a solid performer. We’d recommend signing up online to have your connection fee waived, and staying with the provider for 24 months to get the Telstra Smart Modem for free (usually AU$216).

Total minimum cost over 24 months is AU$2,100View Deal

Tangerine | NBN 50 | Unlimited data | No lock-in contract | AU$54.90p/m (first 6 months, then AU$69.90p/m)

Tangerine has recently increased its welcome discount, so you’ll now save AU$15 a month instead of the previous AU$10 on this NBN 50 plan. That will see you pay just AU$54.90 each billing for your first six months, making this the cheapest NBN 50 plan on offer.

Total minimum cost is AU$54.90View Deal

Internode | NBN 50 | Unlimited data | Six-month contract | AU$59.99p/m (first 6 months, then AU$79.99p/m)

Internode has a pretty insane offer on its NBN 50 plan, but you’ll need to commit to a six-month contract to pocket the savings. The discounted rate means you’ll pay AU$59.99 each month for six months, before your contract officially ends the price increases to AU$79.99. All told, you’ll save AU$120.

Total minimum cost over 6 months is AU$359.94View Deal

Superloop | NBN 100 | Unlimited data | No lock-in contract | AU$74.95p/m (first 6 months, then AU$89.95p/m)

Superloop has discounted several of its NBN plans this month, and if you want a fast connection, its NBN 100 plan has been slashed by AU$15 a month. You’ll pay AU$74.95 for your first six months with Superloop, after which your monthly bill will bump up to AU$89.95. Typical evening speeds clock in at 90Mbps, which is at the higher end of the scale for this speed tier.

Total minimum cost is AU$74.95View Deal

Internode | NBN 1000 | Unlimited data | No lock-in contract | AU$139.99p/m (first 12 months, then AU$149.99p/m)

For insanely fast speeds, you’ll want to consider an NBN 1000 plan. Prices on this speed average around AU$149, so this is a good opportunity to pay a little less. Internode’s killer deal will set you up for AU$139.99 a month for your first year on the service, after which you’ll pay AU$149.99. Internode has only recently added NBN 1000 plans to its offering, so its peak evening speeds are estimated at 200Mbps. Only available to fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) and select hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) areas.

Total minimum cost is AU$139.99View Deal

• Best broadband deals

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WhatsApp is now posting status messages to reassure users of its “commitment to privacy” in the latest attempt to keep them from switching to alternate messaging apps. A recent privacy policy update from WhatsApp that mentioned about sharing data with other Facebook products and services has sparked privacy concerns among users.

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Third stimulus check rules could change: How much money would you get if they do? - CNET

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HMD Global, the Finnish company that acquired the rights to the Nokia brand of smartphones, is looking to make India its hub for its global supply chain while also launching affordable 5G Nokia phones in this fast-expanding market. 

Company vice-president Sanmeet Kocchar revealed that HMD Global was looking to launch customized smartphones in the Indian market, where 5G networks are all set to make mobile data-led computing the next rage. For this, they recently tied up with an Indian electronics manufacturing company to make Nokia phones. 

• Nokia 1.4 full specifications leaked ahead of the launch
• A cheap Nokia 5G phone is supposedly in the works

In 2020, HMD Global had secured $230 million from Google, Qualcomm and Nokia Technologies and is now prepared to invest in capacity expansion, which could also include investing in Indian manufacturing and distribution. A report published in the Financial Express quotes Kocchar to suggest that making India the hub of their global supply chain was also being studied. 

"We are looking at India as an important market and the first thing that we are going to do is look at products which are customized for the Indian market. Second is 5G, which is an important space that we have decided to play in, and we are looking at how we can launch more affordable 5G devices this year," he said. 

Dixon Technologies, one of India's largest consumer electronics solutions company, had announced a tie-up with HMD Global last week. In a regulatory filing, Dixon said its subsidiary, Padget Electronics, would be making Nokia smartphones at the Noida facility in Uttar Pradesh.

Kocchar was also quoted as saying by the Financial Express that HMD Global would henceforth focus on product differentiation through future-proofed software. Does this mean that Nokia phones would add its two cents to the Android platform on which their devices work? Well, we are not sure as all that Kocchar says is that future Nokia phones have software that will last longer thus removing the need to change the device frequently. 

One thing the company says it would not get into is setting up its own manufacturing plants in India. "We have different partners, including Google, Qualcomm, Nokia, and others in the ecosystem and we work closely with our partners to see how we can offer the best products to our fans," he says. 

• No Time To Die may need reshoots so it can include modern Nokia smartphones

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Why do the vacuuming when you can (quite literally) get something else to do the job for you? Heck, it will even mop up after you if you need it to. And that's where robot vacuum cleaners come in.

These days you can get dual-function autonomous droids that not just suck, but wet mop as well – useful if you primarily have hard floors in your home. Some of the best robot vacuums that you can get that do it all for you are from Ecovacs Robotics, and this is your chance to snap one up for a sweet low price of just AU$569.

Available from Amazon Australia right now, this is the lowest price we've seen for the Deebot Ozmo 920 yet – it was AU$599 during Black Friday in November 2020.

That's a great price for a robot vacuum cleaner that will vacuum your carpets and hard floors, and mop up after itself as well. There's enough suction power to suck up hair and fur off low-pile carpets and, with a battery life of up to 130 minutes, it's capable of cleaning a two- or three-bedroom home in one go. In case it can't manage the full space in one shot, it will automatically head back to its charging dock, top up, and pick up where it left off.

For this price, you're also getting a robot vacuum cleaner that can hit corners and edges thanks to two side brushes with long bristles, a bar brush that's capable of getting into cracks in the floor that are up to 4mm deep, and will automatically increase power when it detects a carpet. This carpet-detection sensor also automatically switches off the mopping functionality when the bot climbs onto a rug.

The Deebot 920 also uses Ecovacs' latest Navi 3.0 technology, allowing it to systematically clean a room, leaving no uncleaned spots around the house. If it does miss a spot, you can always send it back by using the companion app, which is also remarkably easy to use and perfect for controlling the vacuum remotely. 

The app also allows you to set a cleaning schedule, so you can do other, more important things. You can even use your smart speaker to control the device by connecting the app to Alexa or Google Assistant.

 The only physical thing you need to do is attach the mopping plate and fill the reservoir if you need the bot to mop, and empty the bin when it's full. Can you already picture the amount of time you can save with this smart device? It's worth the investment right now when it's at its cheapest yet on Amazon Australia.

Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 920 | AU$1,099 AU$569 on Amazon (save AU$530)

When the Deebot 920 first arrived, it cost over the one grand mark. Now, however, it's possible to get it for much less – 48% less to be precise – a price that's lower than its Black Friday offer. So suck up this deal and earn yourself some free time to do the things you'd rather do than vacuuming the house.View Deal

• Need more vacuum options? These are the best vacuum cleaners available in Australia right now.

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Optus announced in November that it would be acquiring the fourth-largest mobile provider in Australia, Amaysim, and today the telco has completed that acquisition. Amaysim was founded in 2010 and already operates on the Optus 4G Plus cellular network.

This purchase (which cost the telecommunications giant a cool AU$250 million) is part of a two-pronged approach at bolstering its status in Australia against its major competitor, Telstra.

The other prong of this strategy is the introduction of new virtual telco Gomo – a budget mobile provider that Optus' parent company, Singtel, has been running in Singapore since 2019 and is also available in the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand.

• The best Optus plans available in Australia

How does this affect Amaysim?

The good news, for both new and existing Amaysim customers, is that it will remain a standalone brand and "customers will continue to benefit from Optus’ premium, nationwide network".

Given the extra power behind Amaysim now, we can likely expect it to present a more affordable alternative to Optus' more premium plans, much the same way Virgin Mobile did previously.

While this means we're unlikely to see 5G connectivity with Amaysim in the immediate future, we expect it to continue offering affordable SIM-only options with decent data inclusions, no lock-in contracts, and the occasional promotion for new and existing customers.

• Australia's best phones: a handset to suit every need and budget

Getting on Gomo

As mentioned, the other element in Optus' new mobile strategy is the launch of Gomo in Australia, and although the telco presently only has one available prepaid plan, it offers a solid balance of data and cost with a great introductory offer. Here's more details on exactly what's included:

Gomo | 30-days prepaid | 18GB data | AU$25

This prepaid subscription plan from Gomo nets you 18GB of data and unlimited international calls (to 15 select destinations) for just AU$25 per 30 days. You'll be able to roll over unused data each month, up to a massive total of 200GB, and you can purchase a 5GB data booster for AU$5 via the app. Until Feb 21, new customers can get the first month for just AU$10, and if you purchase three months you'll get the next three for free.View Deal

• The best SIM-only plans available in Australia

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