Before you get too excited about getting the flagship phone for free, we must inform you that this is sadly not the case. A few reports on the internet had suggested that the UAE based operator Etisalat is giving away the HTC 10 for free to some of their customers and after some research, they turned out to be expectedly misleading. Don't get us wrong though, Etisalat is still offering a great deal on the HTC 10, but it's just not giving it away for free like the rumors suggested.

The actual offer of the telecommunications company includes zero upfront, two-years of warranty, enhanced screen insurance and offer on Uber rides with every purchase of the HTC 10 smartphone. The lowest monthly payout for the plan is only Dh105 and you will even get a free home-delivery if you order it online. The offer on Uber ride extends up to Dh100 and the added insurance from HTC on display damage will extend up to six months, during which, all broken or damaged displays will be repaired for free.

Khaled Elkhouly, who is the chief Consumer Officer at Etisalat, said that he feels that this new smart pay option will make the HTC 10 more affordable to their customers and will also help the smartphone reach more buyers. Nikitas Glykas, President of HTC MEA expressed his excitement at the newfound partnership between Etisalat and HTC. To us, it sounds like a great deal as well, given the fact that the HTC 10 has received international acclamation. In case, you just want to pick up a HTC 10 free of contract in the UAE, you can do so for a price tag of Dh2,399.

Author: Saikat Kar (Tech-journalist and enthusiast)

"Free" as a word has the ability to get consumer attention instantly. While retail stores usually adopt this sales technique to boost sales, manufacturers are also not behind. For innovative companies pioneering in a field in which others fear to tread, free as a tool can be used to gain and retain competitive advantage against others.

In 2015 Samsung's smartphone arsenal comprising of the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+, and Galaxy Note 5 is gaining eminence for wireless charging capabilities. Samsung played a masterstroke by incorporating wireless charging in the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge earlier this year, but the Korean giant took the game to another level by making wireless charging faster in the Galaxy S6 edge+ and the Galaxy Note 5. This resulted in faster charging times and in turn it would compel customers to adapt wireless charging as a necessary part of their lives.

Right now the only competitor to wireless charging is the USB Type-C technology which is available in flagship phones like Onplus 2, Nexus 6p. One problem with this new technology is the replacement cost, when USB Type-C cable gets damaged. If this gets accepted as a mainstream accessory, wireless charging will be left for the "early adopter". But, we consider that wireless charging is a better technology, as it saves the phone battery from mild electric shock whenever it is plugged in and thereby elongating the battery life.

In order to drive adoption and make wireless charging the de-facto technology of charging phones, Samsung can give away wireless charger as a necessary accessory in the high-end smartphones scheduled for release in the future.

As per reports coming online, the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge have lost a lot of popularity in the last few months. While that is to be expected as the Galaxy S8 and S8+ have already been released to replace them, the speed at which the two smartphones from last year are losing popularity is quite unexpected. Apple outsold Samsung in June mainly because of this reason and it can be considered quite a bit of an upset in terms of expected sales figures.

In other news, the Galaxy S8 is gaining ground on the Galaxy S8+ as the smaller version of the S8 is now selling more than the larger one. This is news because in the initial weeks, the S8+ was leading the race prominently in the US. The various buy-one-get-one free offers that were launched in the US by various carriers recently are doing a lot to keep the sales numbers up in the country. If you live in a nation like India though, you will be paying the exorbitantly high price of roughly $900/$1,100 for the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ respectively; not to mention there are no bogo offers going on in the country either.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)