2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive

If you've even considered going gasoline-free with a vehicle like the 2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive -- the only way you can get a B-Class in the U.S. -- you’re probably already acutely aware that plugging in, and going all-electric, is a numbers game. Will you have enough available miles for your daily driving and...

2015 Volkswagen Golf

The Volkswagen Golf, with assistance from the GTI that's now wrapped back into this nameplate, may have been one of the first small hatchbacks to transcend humble economy-car roots, but it's by no means a solo act as a class benchmark today. Now, the Mazda 3 and Ford Focus have nudged their way onto that particular stage, while Honda...

2015 Lexus GX

The 2015 Lexus GX 460 is the kind of 'tough-truck' luxury SUV that was all the rage a decade ago; yet today it's a niche product – one that offers a luxurious cabin for family-hauling, as well as a full-fledged off-roading four-wheel-drive system for weekend warriors. For the U.S. it's become an increasingly hard sell, as even...

2015 Toyota Corolla

The focus of the Toyota Corolla has long been basic, trouble-free, and relatively comfortable transportation, without the frills. But that all changed a bit a couple years ago, when Toyota added some more technology and flair to the Corolla, and free of biases that have long pegged the Corolla the blandest of the compact-sedan bunch...

2015 Lexus ES

The 2015 Lexus ES lands squarely between the IS and GS sport sedans in the Lexus lineup, and it serves as a comfort-minded and far less performance-oriented counterpart to them both. The ES 350 and ES 330h hybrid are based on the Toyota Avalon architecture (rather than, a few years ago, the Camry), and with a major redesign a couple of...

2015 Nissan Sentra

The Nissan Sentra gets what we'd call a realignment for 2015; with its features and options a bit reshuffled, in hopes that this compact-sedan family will attract more shoppers to the brand. And in the Sentra's segment of the market, competition is particularly tough, with some of the Sentra's rivals offering new technologies and...

2015 Kia Forte

The 2015 Kia Forte is a great example of how compact sedans are becoming more stylish and attractive on their own, rather than trying to emulate mid-size sedans. With its swoopy profile and sharp styling elements, it delivers a different look than the larger Optima, plus decent performance, an excellent feature set, three body styles...

HTC Desire 620 in the works, Taiwan's NCC reveals

The NCC is Taiwan's equivalent of the USA's FCC, and its documents have revealed a new smartphone that is currently in the works: the HTC Desire 620. Not one, but two versions of this yet unheard of upcoming handset have been certified by the NCC. The Desire 620h will top out at 3G (HSPA) networks, while the Desire 620u will support 4G LTE. Both models will have dual-SIM functionality built-in, and that unfortunately is everything we know about the Desire 620 right now. Given its name, however, we can speculate that it shall act as a successor to the Desire 610 (pictured above), which was unveiled in early 2014. It could also serve the same role for the Desire 616, but that has only arrived on the market in June, and it would be a bit early for a refresh. It's unclear if we'll see the new Desire 620 across the world, or if its release will be limited to a few Asian markets, like many other Desire-branded devices before it. Hopefully we'll find out more about it soon. Source (in Chinese) |...

Tizen-running dual-SIM Samsung phone spotted at the FCC

Samsung's been theoretically launching Tizen smartphones left and right for years. Actually though, we've yet to see one shipping product running the mobile OS that was once seriously thought to be able to take on Android. For the umpteenth time, we might be close to the release of the first Samsung Tizen device. This won't be high-end like the "indefinitely delayed" Samsung Z, rather a low-end offering that might be headed to India as soon as next month. The SM-Z130H model number was first spotted in a few import listings for accessories on an Indian tracker back in July. And now it's been certified for sale by the FCC. The Commission's documents don't shine much light on the phone's specs, except that it will have dual-SIM support, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. According to a different import listing from India, it will come with a 4-inch touchscreen. As such a low-end device, the SM-Z130 will have to be very cheap in order to sell, given that the software platform it will come with hasn't been proven yet. Source |...

New Lollipop build for Samsung Galaxy S5 gets showcased

A few weeks ago we brought you images and video showing what an early build of Android L for the Samsung Galaxy S5 looked like. Since that point, the Korean company's engineers have been hard at work tweaking things and integrating the TouchWiz UI with the new version of Android. And today it's the turn of a newer build of Android 5.0 for the Galaxy S5 to get showcased in all its glory. Android 5.0 Lollipop on Samsung Galaxy S5 Samsung has refined many design bits, as you can see in the first two screenshots above. The device information page still doesn't say the word Lollipop, but the Android version is now listed as 5.0, instead of the "L" we saw last time. The new leaked build has mostly UI enhancements compared to the old one. A fingerprint lock screen like the one in the Galaxy Note 4 is present, there's a new system font, new animations, a Google Search bar in the Recents menu, the brightness slider in the notification area has a new color, "Interruptions" has been removed from Sound settings, the Gallery has new filters, Contacts has a new search box, and stock apps with Material Design get the colored status bar. The green elements in Google's Lollipop theme have been replaced with Samsung's blue, Settings has new icons, there's a new UI for setting the wallpaper, and better spacing between items in the power off dialog. The Music, Clock, and Calculator apps all come with improved designs now too. Clearly Samsung Galaxy S5 owners across the world are eagerly awaiting this update, and it definitely looks like it's progressing nicely. Android 5.0 Lollipop might hit the Galaxy S5 before the end of this year, according to past...

HTC Desire 510 review: Inbetweener

We're not far from the time when the smart in phone will be implied. Prices are falling, market share is climbing - it's near impossible to keep track these days of all the new entries in the low end and the midrange. HTC's Desire lineup is no...

Samsung Ativ S gets updated to Windows Phone 8.1

The Samsung Ativ S is now ready to enter the Windows Phone 8.1 club. Lagging behind several Nokia handsets, the smartphone launched two years ago is finally starting to receive an over-the-air update to Windows Phone 8.1. Owners of the Ativ S in both Italy and Germany have reported getting asked to perform the update. Furthermore, Samsung confirmed the rollout for unbranded units sold in Italy, so other European countries should see it pretty soon, we assume. As is usually the case with such things, the rollout might take a while, so perhaps don't lose sight of your patience just yet. The update comes with a few new features, such as the Action Center for notifications and shortcuts, the ability to use a background image for the tiled home screen, a swipe-enabled keyboard, an optional third row of tiles, improved Bing search, separate volume levels for ringtones and notifications and for media files and apps, a new layout for the Camera app, live folders, and a screen sharing option (that works only via USB). Music and Videos are now two separate apps. The dialer, calendar, task manager, and Internet Explorer have been updated too, sporting better performance and graphics. Source (in Italian) | Via 1 (in Italian) • Via...

BBM gets Timed Messages and Message Retraction across platforms

BlackBerry’s Messenger app has received an update today, which brings with it two new features. Timed Messages allows you to set a timer when sending a message. When that expires, the message you sent will disappear from the BBM chat.

Samsung Galaxy S5 joins Sprint's device leasing scheme

A couple of weeks ago Sprint introduced its device leasing program, and so far only the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have been in it. Through this scheme, you're able to lease a handset by essentially paying Sprint a monthly sum as 'rent'. And now the carrier has announced it's adding two new devices to the leasing roster, namely Samsung's Galaxy S5 and the Galaxy S5 Sport (pictured to the left). Beginning today you can grab either smartphone through Sprint Lease and pay $20 per month for it. The lease goes on for two years, after which you have four options. You can give back your S5 or S5 Sport and lease another handset, you can purchase the S5 or S5 Sport you've been using, you can continue leasing it on a month-by-month basis, or you can return the device to Sprint and terminate service. Like in the case of the aforementioned iPhones, if you're an existing Sprint customer and you choose the leasing option before January 15, 2015, you'll only pay $5 per month for the Galaxy S5 or Galaxy S5 Sport. The rest of the terms of the program remain...

Google Now and Siri beat Cortana at answering tough questions

Now that all three major mobile platforms have their own personal assistants, we’re all wondering how well each of them performs at different tasks. The latest study doesn’t look good for Cortana, Microsoft’s attempt in this space.

Google Wallet update brings material design and automatic bank transfers

Google Wallet has been updated with several nice features. One of them is the option to set up a recurring bank transfer to automatically add funds to your Wallet account.

Limited edition Gresso Regal encases Android 4.2 in titanium

Form over function becomes more appealing when there's exclusivity involved - only 999 units of the new Gresso Regal will be produced. The Android-powered smartphone follows Gresso's Luxury minimalism design tradition and is based on a Grade 5 solid titanium plate. Gresso tries to hide its snark when it points out that key advantages of titanium are extra durability and resistance to bending. It takes 8 labor-intensive hours to mill the case on high-tech equipment. Gresso Regal "Directional polishing" is applied to the back panel, which takes 3 hours to create the desired metal texture, which the company claims makes the panel light but durable. The Gresso logo (also made of titanium) itself takes 2 hours to machine and then it goes to manual polishing. It's attached to the phone with special titanium screws. The Gresso Regal measures 8.8mm thick, which allegedly makes it the "thinnest luxury phone on the market" (it's certainly not the thinnest overall, Oppo R5 is about half as thick). That's it for the luxury, here are the geek specs: a 5" 1080p screen with Gorilla Glass, 1.5GHz quad-core processor (not clear what kind), Android 4.2, 13MP main camera and a 5MP selfie camera, plus 32GB of storage. The Gresso Regal is already available for purchase through www.gresso.com and will set you back $3,000. The company provides free worldwide delivery. Each phone will be stamped with a number and the numbers only go up to 999. Not that the luxury smartphone market is...

OnePlus one leaks with yellow StyleSwap back, possibly Kevlar

We've seen the OnePlus One in Sandstone black, in white, in wood, bamboo and even in Denim but we haven't seen it in Kevlar, until now. Two images have surfaced showing the OnePlus One with an interesting yellow back that could be the Kevlar back OnePlus teased a while back with its StyleSwap covers. OnePlus One kevlar back (click to expand) StyleSwap was the idea to allow users to change the back panels of the OnePlus One but has proven an issue for the company, which hasn't rolled it out just yet. It means to soon, though - a small portion of Bamboo back covers have been made and could soon become available to users. The OnePlus One is set to go on another pre-order on November 17 so perhaps we'll see this limited edition model along with a Bamboo one then. Source |...

LG G3 Dual-LTE launches in Russia in early November

LG has officially revealed its plans to launch a dual-SIM version of the G3 in Russia. Dubbed the LG G3 Dual-LTE, the phone will make its debut in the country in early November. The suggested retail price is about $640 (RUB 26,990). The phone has been on sale in China and Hong Kong since September. In Hong Kong, the phone retails for a similar price - $645 (HKD 4,998). Just like the single-SIM version, the LG G3 Dual-LTE sports a 5.5" QHD IPS display, a Snapdragon 801 chipset with a quad-core 2.5GHz CPU and 3GB of RAM. The phone features a 13MP camera with laser autofocus and a 3,000mAh battery. Internal storage is 32GB but is expandable up to 128GB more thanks to the microSD card slot. However, don't be fooled by the phone's name, as only the first SIM card slot supports LTE, while the other is limited to GSM connectivity only. LG will offer the device in metallic black and silky white. There's no information if the phone will make it outside the country just yet, but we'll be keeping eye if anything new pops up. Source | Via • Via...

HTC ends Q3 on a $19 million profit, hopes for the best in Q4

Just like its unaudited report suggested earlier this month, HTC continues its winning streak in Q3. HTC's financial report for the Q3 2014 states the company made a profit of $19 million (NT$0.6 billion). Revenue for the period is $1.38 billion (NT$41.9 billion), which is down from $2.17 billion from the previous quarter. The company is content with how the HTC One (M8) held its ground for the period and continued to sell well despite growing competition. The mid-range Desire line-up is also profitable for HTC, but it didn't specify exact shipment figures for any device. In the last quarter, the HTC One (M8) was the main culprit for the company's $92 million profit turnout. HTC is looking up for a similar to Q3 last quarter of the year with a revenue of $1.38 billion - $1.55 billion. Source...

Sony posts a quarterly loss, sells 9.9 million smartphones

Sony had a positive quarter three months ago but it's back in the red. The company actually posted increased sales of $17.45 billion (up 7.2% on a yearly basis) in large part thanks to strong PlayStation sales and strong performance of Sony's image sensor business. The company did take a hit in sales after parting with its computer business, though. The end result for the quarter is a consolidated operating loss of $785 million compared to an operating profit of $124 million in the same quarter last year. Still, the loss is about half of what some analysts expected. The "significant deterioration" is to a hefty impairment charge to the tune of $1.6 billion due to the newly formed Mobile Communications segment, which was split off from the computer business. This unit recorded a slight increase in sales but took a massive operating loss. Sony shipped 9.9 million smartphones this quarter, a minor decrease compared to the 10 million a year ago. The company lowered its full-year prediction from 43 million to 41 million sales, still above the 39 million it sold in 2013. The outgoing CFO said Sony will pull out of China (where locals like Xiaomi rule the market), while the incoming head of the mobile division will focus on improving relationships with carriers. The gaming division took in $2.8 billion in sales (up 83.2% year-on-year) but the operating profit worked out to just $200 million (last year the division posted a loss in the same quarter). Sony sold 3.3 million PlayStation 4 consoles during the quarter, increasing its lead over rival Microsoft. The division producing image sensors earned $2.3 billion in revenue and posted an operating profit of $271 million thanks to a higher demand of mobile phone cameras. Imaging products (Sony cameras) brought in an additional $1.6 billion in revenue and $184 million in operating income. The division is reporting a shift away from low-end cameras towards value-added models and a "significant" decrease in unit sales of digital cameras. The TV segment recorded $2.6 billion in sales and $73 million in operating profit (also recovering from a loss). A dropping average selling price was counted with a shift to higher-end models. Financial services remain Sony's most profitable business with $437 million in operating income. You can see how Sony Pictures and Music did in the press release linked below. Source 1 (PDF) • Source 2 (PDF) |...

IDC: Samsung nears Apple in tablet shipments as the market climbs 11.5% in Q3 2014

IDC has outed a tablet market report for Q3 2014 and it’s good news for manufacturers as the market has soared 11.5% compared for the same period last year. Global tablet shipments reached 53.8 million as competitive back-to-school promotions and strong interest in the US have driven shipments upwards. “Although the low-cost vendors are moving [...]

Meizu MX4 Pro to be bigger than the non-Pro after all

The Meizu MX4 Pro leaks suggested a new chipset and higher res screen but almost everything else was supposed to remain the same. A new leak shows the back panels of both the regular MX4 and MX4 Pro and the Pro is clearly bigger. It's hard to tell how much bigger exactly, but a benchmark had it listed as 5.5". Benchmarks are rarely very accurate when it comes to screen size but it sounds about right. The benchmark also showed the resolution of the bigger screen will be upgraded to the unusual 2,560 x 1,536 pixels resolution. Meizu MX4 and MX4 Pro back panels The chipset will be an Exynos 5430 Octa (instead of the MediaTek in the regular MX4), while the camera will still be based on Sony's 20.7MP sensor with 2160p video capture. It seems there will be a choice of FlymeOS or YunOS. We're still waiting for the Meizu MX4 Pro to be officially announced, which the rumor mill says will happen sometime in the next month. Source (in Chinese) |...

Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact gets compared to interesting things in an official infographic

Sony is proud of the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact thinness and has come up with an extensive infographic comparing it to various items from our everyday life. Source

Andy Rubin, co-founder of Android, leaves Google

Andy Rubin has left Google. Rubin was heading Google's robotic division but has now left the company to start his own incubator for hardware startups. He will be replaced by James Kuffner. Andy Rubin is the co-founder and ex-CEO or Danger Inc. and Android Inc. He oversaw the development of Android until March 2013, when Sundar Pichai took over and Rubin went on to manage Google's robotics...

2015 Lexus CT 200h

The 2015 Lexus CT 200h is both the most affordable and the smallest model in the lineup of Toyota's luxury brand. It's a five-door compact hatchback--no sedan is available--and it comes solely as a hybrid-electric vehicle. That puts it in a category of one: It's the only luxury hybrid hatchback sold in the U.S. But as a Lexus, the...

2015 Toyota Prius

The 2015 Toyota Prius is largely unchanged in the sixth model year of the classic five-door Liftback model. The name Prius now actually applies to a range of four different vehicles, with a plug-in hybrid version of the Liftback, the Prius V wagon, and the Prius C subcompact hatchback all added in 2012, two years after the launch of...

2015 Nissan Pathfinder

The 2015 Nissan Pathfinder is now well-established as a mid-size SUV for families, having successfully transitioned from its truck-based SUV roots to become a more refined crossover utility vehicle. It's one of the most useful vehicles in the segment, with seating for seven, and greater interior space than the Toyota Highlander, Honda...

2015 Chevrolet Volt

In its last model year before a revised version is introduced, the 2015 Chevrolet Volt is the only high-volume plug-in electric car from General Motors. The compact five-door hatchback provides 35 to 40 miles of battery power--which covers a majority of trips in the U.S.--and then switches on a four-cylinder range-extending engine to...

MSI GT80 Titan is a gaming notebook with mechanical keyboard

MSI took the wraps off the GT80 Titan gaming notebook. The 18” beast features a mechanical keyboard with Cherry Brown MX switches. MSI is quiet about the specs and the release date of the GT80 Titan. All we know is that the notebook features a dual-GPU setup to match its serious gaming aspirations. We don’t [...]

Xiaomi could be working on a low-end 9.2-inch tablet

Now that it's become the world's No.3 smartphone manufacturer, Xiaomi may be looking to expand its tablet lineup, which so far consists only of the 7.9" MiPad. The Chinese company's next tablet may be a decidedly low-end affair, however. A new benchmark result has surfaced, and with it a spec list for a yet unreleased Xiaomi device with a 9.2-inch touchscreen. The new tablet will have a low-res panel, with 1,280x720 resolution. This isn't standard for Android tablets (which usually go for 1,280x800 and a slightly squarer aspect ratio), then again the MiPad didn't come with a standard resolution and aspect ratio for the Android world either. Powering up the leaked tablet is a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 SoC with a 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU, an Adreno 306 GPU, and 1GB of RAM. Built-in internal storage space is 8GB, of which around 5.8GB will be user accessible. The benchmark oddly doesn't feature any information about this device's cameras, but it does say it will sport a SIM card slot, so it will have mobile data connectivity integrated. It's also got Bluetooth, GPS, and Wi-Fi. If this is a real product that's currently in development by Xiaomi, we'll surely find out more about it pretty soon through subsequent leaks. Source |...

Kantar: Android grows as iOS and Windows Phone decline in Q3

According to the latest Kantar WorldPanel report on mobile operating system market share, Android continues to take the lead marking a slight growth. Its main rivals, iOS and Windows Phone, declined slightly in their respective market share numbers. In both Europe (EU5) and the US, Android leads its competitors with a market share of 73.9% and 61.8%, respectively. In Europe, Apple takes 15.4% of the market, while Microsoft with Windows Phone manages 9.2%. Interestingly, iOS marks a decline in the US of 3.3 percent points to 32.6% compared to Q2. Windows Phone's presence is also shrinking and is now 4.3% from 4.6% As far as manufacturers go, LG and Motorola have been doing great in the US and Kantar sees them in a better position to fight with Samsung and Apple than ever. LG is counting on the G3, while Motorola is betting on the Moto X. In China, Samsung is also feeling pressure from uprising manufacturers such as Xiaomi. It now boasts 30.3% market share whereas Samsung's market share fell to 18.4%. Interestingly, 16% of all smartphones sold in China were with a screen size of 5.5" or larger. Source |...

Samsung Gear S launches on T-Mobile US on November 9

Samsung Gear S is the first smartwatch that is capable of existing even without a smartphone companion. Gear S features a nano-SIM slot and supports voice telephony and data connections, so you don't need to communicate with any other kind of device (you still can if you want to though). Samsung designed the Gear S not to be a full time replacement for your smartphone, but to be perfectly capable to do so when you need the most - like while you are traveling or when you are out partying. The manufacturer announced it was partnering with major carriers for creating suitable plans for Gear S and now T-Mobile US seems to be the first to announce such tariffs. T-Mobile US detailed the pricing and availability of the Samsung Gear S - you will be able to buy the smartwatch for $0 upfront and 24 equal payments of $14.58 (or a total of $349.95). The release date is November 9, where you will be able to order the Samsung Gear S online or get it from some of the selected T-Mobile retail stores. Naturally, you'll have to sing a 2-year contract with the Gear S. The monthly plan will cost you just $5/month and gives you unlimited talk, text and data (500MB of maximum speed). The tariff also includes unlimited music streaming and unlimited data and text via Simple Global. You can check the full specs of the Gear S as well as our hands-on from the IFA expo. We guess now that T-Mobile has announced its Samsung Gear S pricing, other carriers will follow suit...

IDC: Xiaomi third largest manufacturer in Q3

IDC has shared its report for the global smartphone shipments in the third quarter of 2014. The numbers tell a familiar story with one big change - Xiaomi. Last year's Q3 saw Xiaomi somewhere in the Others tab under Huawei, Lenovo and LG but this year the Chinese maker sits proudly at third spot, all without leaving Asia. Showing a 211.3% growth over last year's Q3 Xiaomi has shipped 17.3 million smartphones compared to the 5.6 million for the same period of last year. Samsung remains at the first spot with a close to double lead over Apple but has actually seen a decline year over year. Samsung grabbed the first spot with 78.1 million smartphones shipped while Apple managed 39.3 million. However while Apple shipped 5.5 million iPhones more than last year during the same period, Samsung shipped 6.9 million less. Top Five Smartphone Vendors, Shipments, and Market Share, Q3 2014 (Units in Millions) Vendor 3Q14 Unit Shipments 3Q14 Market Share 3Q13 Unit Shipments 3Q13 Market Share Year-over-year Change Samsung 78.1 23.8% 85.0 32.5% -8.2% Apple 39.3 12.0% 33.8 12.9% 16.1% Xiaomi 17.3 5.3% 5.6 2.1% 211.3% Lenovo 16.9 5.2% 12.3 4.7% 38.0% LG 12.0 4.6% 7.0 3.8% 71.4% Others 159.2 48.6% 113.0 43.2% 40.8% Total 327.6 100.0% 261.7 100.0% 25.2% Lenovo also outdid its last year self with 4.6 million units shipped more. LG shipped 4.8 million units more and overall this year's Q3 saw 65.9 million smartphones more, shipped than last year. Earlier today we learned that despite its huge lead, the drop in sales really impacted Samsung's profits. iCharts Source |...

LG outs a display 5.3″ 1080p panel with 0.7mm narrow bezel

LG Display has made a 5.3″ LCD panel with a bezel of just 0.7mm. The display of 1080p resolution sports a pixel density of 415ppi.

Lenovo completes Motorola acquisition from Google

Today, Lenovo announced that its acquisition of Motorola from Google is complete. The deal cost the Chinese company $2.91 million and was announced in late January. Motorola remains headquartered in Chicago and it's brand is intact, but it's now a "Lenovo company". Lenovo will operate Motorola as a wholly-owned subsidiary. It owns the brand and the company's portfolio, including current products like the Moto X (2014), Moto G (2014) and the Moto 360. "Today we achieved a historic milestone for Lenovo and for Motorola - and together we are ready to compete, grow and win in the global smartphone market. By building a strong number three and a credible challenger to the top two in smartphones, we will give the market something it has needed: choice, competition and a new spark of innovation," said Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO, Lenovo. Motorola has nearly 3,500 employees around the world, 2,800 of them are based in the US. As for the company's patents, Google will maintain ownership of the majority of them with Motorola having a license to use them. Motorola does retain 2,000 patents, however. Source |...

Samsung sees lowest profits since Q3 2011

Samsung is one of the phone manufacturers that make a significant profit (the other being Apple), but this last quarter the South Korean giant experienced a downturn. The consolidated revenue came out to $44.7 billion, down from $56 billion in Q3 last year. The company marked its lowest profits since Q3 2011. The mobile division, which has been the most profitable part of Samsung in recent years, saw the biggest drop of 15% in sales. However, the bigger problem is that operating profit slid to $1,653 million, down from $4,179 million in Q2 this year and $6,350 million a year ago. Samsung points to a shift in the product mix - it was mostly cheap and mid-range handsets that sold in this quarter, which lead to a big drop in the Average Selling Price (ASP). The Galaxy S5 sales dropped off and the Galaxy Note 4 only came out too late in the quarter. Tablet sales improved with the launch of the Super AMOLED-packing Galaxy Tab S tablets, but sales in that segment was not nearly enough to compensate for the disappointing phone sales. Samsung expects sales of bot phones and tablets to pick up in the holiday quarter but increased competition will drive prices down. Samsung's TV business saw its profits hit almost zero due to lower ASP and higher prices of the display panels. UHD TVs and especially Curved TV shipments increased, but again not enough. Speaking of display panels, Samsung's OLED shipments were weak and strong LCD demand did not help, profits of this division also nearly zero. It's only Samsung's semiconductor business that posted increased sales and profits (both on a yearly and a quarterly basis). There was strong demand for DRAM and NAND storage for both mobile devices and PCs with increasing shipments of 20nm DRAM chips and 10nm/3-bit NAND. All this made the semiconductor business the most profitable division of Samsung. Source (PDF) |...

Moto 360 in gold surfaces on Amazon, quickly pulled

A Champagne gold color option of the Motorola Moto 360 smartwatch was briefly available on a pre-order on Amazon but it seems the product pages were pulled. The smartwatch was up with two strap sizes - 18mm (shown below) and a 23mm one, both matching the color and both metal. Motorola started shipping Moto 360s to owners in two color options - silver and black - and with only leather watchstraps, leaving the metal ones for the fall. Moto 360 in gold, 18mm strap It seems we're getting closer to the metal bands, which Motorola will soon offer with its smartwatch or as an accessory at $80 a piece. Moto 360 in gold, 23mm strap For those interested in the price, before Amazon pulled the product links, both the more feminine golden Moto 360 with 18mm strap and the golden Moto 360 with 23mm strap had a price tag of $299 with shipment expected in the 1 to 2 months range. Finally a silver Moto 360 with brown leather has surfaced but, again, was quickly pulled. Source 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |...

HTC Desire 820us with 64-bit CPU goes through TENAA

HTC is having a field day at the Chinese TENAA and following the certification of its Desire 816h, now the Desire 820us is the latest to visit the government agency. The HTC Desire 820us packs the latest MediaTek MT6752 chipset with an 8-core 64-bit CPU running at 1.7GHz and 2GB of RAM. The phone carries a similar design language to the HTC One (M8), but is much thinner at 157.7 x 74.4 x 7.74mm. The phone is built around a 5.5" 720p IPS display and runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat. At the back, there's a 13MP camera with a distinctive and large glass covering the lens. Selfies are taken care by an 8MP shooter, which is likely to have a wide-angle lens akin to previous HTC models. There's an microSD card slot for expansion and the 16GB internal memory of the phone. TENNA lists the available colors as black, white, gray, blue, orange, green, pink. Sadly, it hasn't confirmed the battery capacity yet. We suspect the HTC Desire 820us to go on sale in China in the coming month or so. An international release could be on the cards, but there's no indication yet if this will happen. Source |...

Microsoft: Want an iPhone 6? Better get a Lumia 635!

Microsoft posted a picture via its Nokia USA Twitter account, which shows why a Lumia 635 is a better deal than an iPhone 6. You have to admit Microsoft has a point here, but then again premium devices were never meant to offer the best bang for your buck. Source | Via

Microsoft Band goes official with ten sensors and $199 price tag

The freshly leaked Microsoft Band is now official and will work with iOS, Android, and Windows Phone devices. Redmond’s wearable device is made for the right hans, packs ten sensors, and will cost $199 when it hits the shelves on October 30 online and in Microsoft stores in the United States. Users will read data [...]

Lenovo announces Yoga Tablet 2 with 13-inch display and Windows 8.1

Lenovo took the wraps of a Yoga Tablet 2 model with 13” display and Windows 8.1. The slate will hit the shelves in November for $699. The price tag includes a bundled keyboard cover. The screen of the newcomer is a 13” IPS unit with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. A 1.6MP front-facing [...]

HTC Desire D816h with 5" display visits TENAA

Unannounced HTC Desire D816h made a visit to TENAA. The 5" smartphone appears to be a more compact version of the 5.5" HTC Desire 816 we already know. HTC Desire D816h features MediaTek MT6592 chipset with 1.7GHz octa-core CPU and a gig of RAM. The rest of its specs include 8GB of expandable memory, 8MP main camera, 5MP front-facing unit, and Android 4.4.2. There's no LTE on board. Measures of HTC Desire D816h are 156.6×78.7×8 mm. Its weight tips the scale at 162 grams. We don't when will HTC Desire D816h debut just yet. We'll keep you posted when we find out. Source (in Chinese) |...

Upcoming fitness band by Microsoft makes another appearance

The previously tipped upcoming wearable device by Microsoft appeared ahead of its scheduled unveiling. The gadget’s dedicated sync app landed in the Mac App Store had of schedule. The Microsoft Band Sync app will sync data from the device to the cloud. It will be able to connect to the Mac both wirelessly and via [...]

Google Nexus 6 already sold out in the United States

It appears that sales of Google Nexus 6 are off to a robust start. The Motorola-made Android 5.0 Lollipop phablet sold out in the United States several hours after it became available for pre-order. All memory and color configurations of the device are listed as out of inventory. There is no timeline on when will the device be available again. Google only prompts the shoppers to check back soon. Nexus 6 will be available from all major wireless carriers in the United States in the near future. Each service provider will announce pricing and availability separately. Earlier today, a word got out that the European pre-orders of the Nexus 6 have been delayed. The device will be available for pre-order on November 18 instead of November 3 in the UK and Netherlands. Source...

Tylt announces a duo of VÜ wireless chargers

The designer and manufacturer of mobile accessories Tylt announced a duo of Qi wireless chargers. Tylt VÜ Solo and and VÜ Wireless Charging Car Mount will hit the shelves before the end of the year. The VÜ Wireless Charging Car Mount is priced at $79.99. Like the VÜ Solo, it will be available in a [...]

2015 Hyundai Santa Fe

The 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe spreads one crossover nameplate across two vehicles of different sizes. The Santa Fe Sport is a compact to mid-size five-seat model, while the larger Santa Fe has seven seats and is meant to replace the slow-selling Hyundai Veracruz. The Sport model is built in Georgia while the larger model is imported from...

Motorola Nexus 6 has been delayed in Europe

The Nexus 6 was announced a couple of weeks ago, alongside the Nexus 9 and Nexus Player. The first Nexus phablet is due to become available for pre-order in the US today, but so far there's been no word on when we should expect it in Europe. According to a report from the Netherlands, the Nexus 6 was initially supposed to go up for pre-order over there starting on November 3. However, that has now been postponed, with the new prospective date for the start of pre-orders being November 18. That's quite a delay, and we're only talking about getting the chance to pre-order a Nexus 6. We still have no indication as to when the device will start shipping - and that could be some weeks after the pre-orders start. It's unclear whether this information applies to the whole European continent. However, an online retailer from the UK has confirmed that it has received word from Motorola saying that pre-orders won't start before November 18. With two countries already affected by the delay, we assume the situation is the same in the other big EU markets. So if you're in Europe, even if you do pre-order one, it's entirely possible that you'll only receive your Nexus 6 in December. That's perhaps later than many had hoped. Over in the Eurozone, the phone should start at €569, according to past leaks. Source 1 (in Dutch) • Source...

7-inch Panasonic Toughpad FZ-B2 rugged tablet gets official

Complementing the two 5-inch tablets it announced back in June, Panasonic has today unveiled the Toughpad FZ-B2. This is a 7-inch extremely rugged tablet that is “designed for business”.

Samsung Galaxy A series lands in November to fight Xiaomi

Samsung's incredibly oft-leaked Galaxy A series is going to get official pretty soon, it seems. A new report from the company's home country of South Korea claims that the Galaxy A3, Galaxy A5, and Galaxy A7 smartphones will go on sale at some point in November. The three handsets have so far been rumored to emulate the design of the Galaxy Alpha (pictured below), which uses a metal frame. On the other hand, the A series consists of low-end and mid-range offerings, so they will be more affordable. Interestingly, Samsung is said to challenge Xiaomi with these models, releasing them on the Chinese market. By one account, Xiaomi has already become the world's third biggest smartphone maker, following Samsung and Apple, and that's mostly thanks to its sales in China. Obviously Samsung can't just sit idly by and watch as its numbers in China start collapsing, so apparently the A series was created to compete head-on with Xiaomi's products, which are known for pairing decent specs with incredibly low prices. While the A3, A5, and A7 may have the decent specs, we're not sure they will be cheap enough to make a name for themselves in the notoriously competitive Chinese market. Samsung reportedly thinks that these three devices are equal in terms of specs to Chinese smartphones which cost around $475, but that's quite exaggerated. Source 1 • Source 2 |...

OnePlus One pre-orders will return on November 17

A couple of days ago OnePlus took pre-orders for the One smartphone for the first time ever. Things went anything but smooth, though. The company extended the pre-order time frame from one hour to three, but apparently that still didn't allow everyone who wanted to pre-order the phone to do that. So there's going to be a new round of pre-orders next month, on November 17 to be exact. They will start at 3 pm GMT, though it's unclear how many hours you'll have to get your pre-order through. OnePlus' first attempt at doing the pre-order thing resulted in "tens of thousands" of handsets now being on the way to people. However, there were many problems too, since OnePlus' servers "had difficulty with the surge of traffic". Obviously, the company is promising to take steps to make sure that something like this won't happen during the next round of pre-orders. In fact, OnePlus says that by waiting a few weeks, it will have more time to prepare the necessary phone stock as well as implement the infrastructure changes needed so that everything goes...