Nokia unveils camera mobile phones priced at $29

New Delhi: With an eye on people wanting to buy their first-ever camera phone, Finnish handset maker Nokia Monday unveiled the Nokia 108 and the Nokia 108 Dual SIM priced at USD 29 (Rs 1,800) excluding taxes.

"There remains a huge segment of the global population that has yet to own a camera phone. For the next billion people and beyond, we aim to bring new mobile experiences to ever-lower price points.

"Nokia 108 and Nokia 108 Dual SIM are examples of this commitment," Nokia's executive vice president for Mobile Phones,Timo Toikkanen said in a statement.

The Nokia 108 and Nokia 108 Dual SIM have a recommended retail price of USD 29, excluding taxes and subsidies are expected to start shipping in last quarter of this year, the statement said.

Though there are many camera phones below this price range but these two models are the first from Nokia in this price range.

Both the Nokia phone models have expandable storage of up to 32GB. The standby time for Nokia 108 single sim models is up to 31 days and up to 25 days for the Nokia 108 Dual SIM. 

Japan LCD screen giant plans $2.0 bn listing: Reports

Japan Display, the world's biggest maker of LCD screens for smartphones and tablet computers, plans to raise $2.0 billion in an initial public offering, reports said Friday. 

The IPO would be the biggest on the Tokyo Stock Exchange so far this year after drinks giant Suntory's food-and-beverage unit raised $3.9 billion. 

The Japanese liquid crystal display maker, whose clients include Apple and Sony, would raise as much as 200 billion yen ($20 billion) from a share sale that would give it a market value of 700-800 billion yen, Dow Jones Newswires quoted a source with knowledge of the deal as saying. 

The IPO is expected during the fiscal year to March 2014, Dow Jones and the leading Nikkei business daily reported. 

Japan Display -- set up last year through the merger of HitachiBSE -1.99 %, Toshiba and Sony's money-losing LCD units -- plans to use the funds to boost production of small and medium-sized screens as it faces tough competition from South Korean and Taiwanese rivals. 

The government-backed Innovation Network Corp. of Japan holds about 70 percent of the firm with the three electronics giants each claiming a roughly 10 percent stake. 

The merger was aimed at helping Japanese firms better compete in high resolution display technology, which has become the standard for smartphones, tablets and other electronic gadgets. 

Japan Display, which declined to comment on the IPO report, remains the global leader in the production of small and mid-sized LCD displays, with nearly 17 percent of the worldwide market, according to US-based NPD DisplaySearch. 

Volvo

Volvo

Volvo’s new V40 hatch will be available in Australia from March.

The small car will bring a raft of new safety technology to the small car segment, including pedestrian airbags and the ability to tell your phone where you left the car.

It has a range of four- and five-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, with maximum power varying between 85kW and 190kW.

It might be joined by the soft-road V40 Cross Country, a tougher version of the V40 which would not be available until the second half of 2013.

Volkswagen

Volkswagen

Volkswagen is set to have a busy year with the launch of its new Golf and Beetle.

The larger but lighter seventh-generation Golf will arrive between May and June, powered by a choice of petrol and diesel power plants.

Launch engines are expected to include a 1.4-litre, 103kW/250Nm petrol engine and a 2.0-litre turbo diesel with 110kW and 320Nm.

A successor to Volkswagen’s successful Golf GTI hot hatch is not expected to go on sale in 2013.

The new bug will be released in February with the brand’s petrol-powered, four-cylinder 118TSI engine. 

Buyers will be able to choose between manual or dual-clutch automatic variants, but the convertible version might not make it here.

Australian buyers might also miss out on the high-performance Beetle R, which was shown in concept form in Germany last year.

Skoda

Skoda

Skoda’s new Rapid will arrive in sedan form for Easter.

The Rapid is smaller than Skoda’s Octavia sedan and will be available with a range of Volkswagen-sourced petrol and diesel drivelines.

The Rapid may also arrive Down Under in hatch form, along with the new Skoda Octavia, which is launched in Europe next month. 

Renault

Renault

Renault will bring an injection of style into its line-up by introducing the fourth generation Clio in Spring.

The new Clio features vastly improved dynamics and class-leading crash performance.

Renault showed off its next-generation Clio RS at the Paris motor show in September 2012 and there’s a chance the turbocharged hot hatch could go on sale before 2014.

Mini

Mini

Mini’s increasingly diverse range will expand in 2013 with the launch of its new Paceman hatch in about March.

The three-door Paceman is based on the all-wheel-drive Countryman – the largest Mini yet – and will be one of the more expensive models in the Mini range.

The Paceman will be joined by a John Cooper Works edition of the Countryman about the same time, as well as the second edition of Mini’s high-performance Cooper S Grand Prix model.