Windows 10, the embodiment of the One Windows concept Microsoft is keen to pursue, appears to be uniting users as well. Our weekly poll results are in, and paint a picture of future success for the Redmond giant. At 93% in favor, the desktop vote is very much representative of the actual OS market distribution, [...]
Saturday
Counterclockwise: iPad, Moto Atrix, S40, Nokia 6700 classic
The weekend is a good time to relax or if you're like us, contemplate on the history of mobile devices. A year ago we started putting our musings to paper, to web pages anyway. While you may think the last week of January is just announcements of pink devices for Valentines Day, it has proven much more exciting than that - the launch of the iPad, the sale of the 1.5 billionth S40 phone and the death of Symbian. iPad announced Through the years Apple has had several i-announcements that changed the face of the market. The iPod was announced in 2001, the iPhone in 2007 and in the last week of January 2010, the iPad. Our headline from the announcement reads "Apple iPad announced, is iPod touch on steroids". And in a way it was, just like the iPhone 6 Plus is a smaller iPad mini. But that's the magic of Apple - it knows just the right amount of tweaks that will make a product a top-seller. Apple iPad official photos The iPad was far from the first tablet, it's not even the first tablet from Apple. And yet it's largely responsible for the boom of the tablet market. Microsoft and Intel have been pushing the UMPC - ultra-mobile PC - for a year before the iPad launched, they even had some good ideas. The form-factor never took off, while today many people use "iPad" as a synonym for "tablet," famously the NBA commentators sponsored (and supposed to promote) Microsoft's Surface tablet. Surface sold over $1 billion worth of tablets last quarter and Microsoft's Windows 10 is aimed at tablet/laptop hybrids but things could have been very different if the iPad hadn't come out. The iPad provided the fledgling tablet market with the same jolt of energy that the iPhone delivered to smartphones. It has since spawned a more compact iPad mini version and rumor has it that a larger iPad Pro tablet is in the works. It's an old rumor, but the larger iPhones last year rekindled it. Smartphone brain in a laptop host The iPad is the only thing that propelled tablets higher - the words "post-PC world" were used again and again until people started believing it was true. The desktop was dying (with declining sales for proof) and smartphones and tablets were the way forward. Phones with gigahertz multi-core processors were as powerful as computers from a few years ago, so why not use a smartphone to power a laptop shell, that merely provides a big screen and keyboard (for ergonomic reasons)? As an added bonus, all your data will in one place (no need for a phone-to-computer sync) and you only had to pay for one data plan. That's what Motorola was thinking with the Atrix, which was announced in January 2011. It had a "roaring Tegra 2" chipset and was getting 1080p video recording. It can be attached to the Lapdock - an 11.6" laptop shell that provided an extra battery and a desktop Firefox app, in addition to the roomy screen and keyboard. The project ultimately failed, though Asus is still keeping the "smartphone brain" dream alive. The Asus Padfone takes the concept even further - a smartphone docks into a tablet, which can then be docked to a keyboard. The Asus Transformers use two thirds of that, they are tablets with dedicated keyboard docks. While the Moto Atrix is dead and the Asus devices are fairly niche, Microsoft and Intel see a future into so-called hybrid devices. As we mentioned above, Windows 10 has special support for it with the Continuum feature. Missing the mark Sony Ericsson (now Sony) had Bluetooth watches that display call and message information from your phone. In retrospect those were pretty cool, a regular analog watch with a small digital display. In late 2010 the company launched the LiveView - a smartwatch for the touchscreen era. Soon after (in January 2011) it updated it to support a total of 30 plugins, improve compatibility and stability. Like Apple and the iPad, Sony Ericsson didn't invent the smartwatch (those have been around since at least the 1980's), but unlike Apple the company failed to become the king of the domain. Sony still makes wearables - smartwatches and smartbands, even smart glasses - but it's not a dominant force. By the way, Apple announced a smartwatch but we're still waiting for it to launch (in March apparently). The lost billion In January 2012 Nokia celebrated the sale of its 1.5 billionth Series 40 phone. S40 was...
Cyanogen branding disappears from OnePlus One
OnePlus one no longer ships with Cyanogen branding on its back cover. The Chinese manufacturer quietly dropped the logo of the ROM developer from its flagship killer. When announced a year ago, the OnePlus One proudly sported a Cyanogen stamp on its back. However, due to the tiff between the ambitious startups in India, their relationship appears to have changed. OnePlus will unveil its custom Android ROM dubbed Oxygen on February 12. The Android 5.0 build will be "open, customizable, and free of bloat and unnecessary features." Cyanogen Inc. on the other hand, has bold plans about taking Android away from Google. A recent report in The Wall Street Journal points suggests that Microsoft will become a minority investor in the company. Source |...
House of Marley Liberate XLBT wireless over-ear headphones review
The Liberate XLBT are House of Marley’s first wireless headphones. The headset is the bigger brother of the Liberate on-ear model I reviewed recently.
Jolla Tablet returns to Indigogo with more storage, bigger battery
Jolla’s crowd-funded Jolla Tablet is back on Indigogo. This time, backers will get to choose between the previous 32GB model and the new 64GB model. If you backed it the first time it was on Indigogo, you can now get the 64GB model for just $25, while new backers can get it for $249, with [...]
Benchmarking Android 5.0 Lollipop performance on Galaxy S5, HTC One (M8), LG G3, and Nexus 5
Most major manufacturers recently rolled out the Android 5.0 Lollipop update to their respective flagships and we were more then eager to test how their performance has changed now that Lollipop is here. The speed comparison will be done on our usual battery of synthetic benchmarks.
Android 5.0 Lollipop update rolling out for LG G Pro 2 in Korea
Over a month after the G3 started receiving the Android 5.0 update, LG has started rolling out the Lollipop update for the G Pro 2 in its homeland South Korea. The new firmware brings features like Material Design, rich notifications, better security, and improved performance All three Korean variants of the device - LG-F350S, LG-F350K, and LG-F350L - are set to receive the update. Launched early last year, the G Pro 2 is powered by a Snapdragon 800 chipset with a quad-core 2.26 GHz Krait 400 CPU and an Adreno 330 GPU. It sports a 5.9-inch full HD IPS display and 3GB of RAM, and comes in 16GB and 32GB variants. The device packs in a 3,200mAh battery, as well as a microSD card slot for up to 64GB of additional...
WhatsApp starts rolling out calling feature
WhatsApp’s much requested calling feature has been rumored for a while now but the company has finally flipped the switch on it. One reddit user was able to get the feature activated on his number and it is now rolling out to others as well.
Nexus 7 3G and Nexus 7 LTE finally get Lollipop factory images
The Nexus family is treated like Android royalty and is among the very first devices to get updated to a new software version. That’s great, except the Nexus 7 tablets with mobile data did not get the princely treatment they deserve and their update was delayed.
Malaysia getting the Samsung Galaxy A7 in February
The Samsung Galaxy A7 launched in Russia earlier this month and now it's headed to Malaysia. The slender phablet will cost MYR 1,500 ($410/€365). That's a noticeably better deal than Russia got where the phablet is $530/€450 (as usual tech gets a hefty markup there). The Samsung Galaxy A7 will be available through Samsung Experience Stores and authorized dealers starting in February. It will come in three color versions - Midnight Black, Pearl White and Champagne Gold. The smaller Samsung Galaxy A5 is already available at MYR 1,200 ($330/€290). Both devices have metal frames and 64-bit Snapdragon chipsets, but the Galaxy A7 is bigger with its 5.5" 1080p Super AMOLED screen, has eight cores instead of four and is actually thinner than its sibling - 6.3mm vs....
2015 Jeep Renegade
The 2015 Jeep Renegade is by far the smallest Jeep sold in decades—16 inches shorter than the Cherokee—although it's bigger and a whole lot heavier than the original Willys Jeep that emerged from World War II. The new Renegade is a subcompact SUV that's designed as much for global markets as it is for North America. The...2015 Jeep Renegade
The 2015 Jeep Renegade is by far the smallest Jeep sold in decades—16 inches shorter than the Cherokee—although it's bigger and a whole lot heavier than the original Willys Jeep that emerged from World War II. The new Renegade is a subcompact SUV that's designed as much for global markets as it is for North America. The...Samsung Galaxy S4 (I9500) getting Lollipop in Russia
Following in the footsteps of the Galaxy Note 3, the Samsung Galaxy S4 (I9500) is making the jump to Android 5.0 Lollipop in Russia. The update weighs in at a hefty 1.05GB and has restrictions for the internal storage. The Android 5.0 Lollipop update is over 1GB First off, you'll need around 3GB to complete the update, so you may need to move some stuff off to the microSD card or to a computer. And you may not be able to get all of it back either. After the install completes it will permanently eat 950MB of the storage. This is due to the new runtime, called ART. It compiles your apps the first time you boot your phone and stores the result, which where those 950MB go. Dalvik had an app cache too, but that was smaller. So, if you're in Russia and have a Galaxy S4 - the Exynos one - you can check for updates from the settings menu. Thanks to everyone who sent this...
YotaPhone 2 battery life test
YotaPhone 2 is an innovative smartphone with two displays – a regular 5″ AMOLED screen at the front and a 4.7″ electronic-paper display over at the back. It uses a Snapdragon 801 chip and offers a quite capable 8MP snapper. Gionee Elife S5.1 8:55h Nokia Lumia 610 8:51h HTC Rhyme 8:48h Apple iPhone 5 8:42h [...]
Week 5 in review: Galaxy S6, HTC One (M9) and Exynos
With MWC 2015 just over a month away everybody is already itching to know what the mobile world has in store and naturally the news has been overflowing with leaks. Unsurprisingly Samsung once again stole the spotlight with its highly anticipated Galaxy S6 flagship, which might indeed have an edged variant, called simply Galaxy S Edge. The handset allegedly appeared in a leaked photo along with a Spigen case. Other humors suggest that the Korean giant might be planning to release an array of advanced back replacements for the device, which should bring various exciting features, such as additional lenses and e-ink displays. HTC also appears to be on everybody's minds with its upcoming One (M9) flagship and perhaps if rumors are to be believed One (M9) Plus as well. The Taiwanese manufacturer also released the interesting, mid-ranged Desire 526G+ to the sprawling India market last week. Speaking of device announcement they were plentiful. LG premiered the Ice Cream Smart Android smartphone with a classical flip-cover look, Xiaomi was quick to update its Redmi 2 with more RAM and storage and we say new offers by ZTE, Meizu, Asus and Gygabyte as well. In other news Qualcomm recently confirmed that they have lost a big client for their Snapdragon 810 SoC and everything seems to point Samsung. Seeing how the manufacturer's latest in-house Exynos chips are based on a superior 14nm production process and now are equipped with built-in LTE modems, there is really no more incentive for the current leader in smartphone sales to continue using outside chips. Furthermore the Exynos 7420 simply breezes through Geekbench 3.0 test and it is not unfeasible to consider a broader future for the chip spanning outside Samsung devices and being employed by third-party manufacturers as well. Everybody seems to be gearing up for the upcoming major event and working around the clock. B sure to keep a close eye on the news section as from the looks of things it's going to be a busy season. .news-item .n-left { float: left; width: 16%; text-align: center; margin-left: -13px; } .news-item .n-right { float: left; width: 84%; } .news-item a { padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; } .news-item .n-right h2, .reviews-item .n-right h2 { clear: both; padding: 0 0 3px 0px; font: 400 19px Oswald, Arial; margin-top: -4px; } .n-right p { line-height: 155%; } .news-item { padding-top: 20px; padding-bottom: 10px; border-top: 1px solid #ccc; } .news-item p { margin-left: 0; } .n-right h2 a { text-decoration: none; color: #000; } LG Ice Cream Smart flip smartphone goes official in Korea LG took the wraps off the Ice Cream Smart flip smartphone in Korea. The casually characterful handset is the second flip phone from the Korean manufacturer after the LG Wine Smart that debuted in September last year. In terms of specs, LG Ice Cream Smart packs Qualcomm Snapdragon 400... HTC One (M9) and (M9) Plus official photos leak Weeks of leaks and rumors on the HTC One (M9) and One (M9) Plus have inevitably lead us to the first official images of the upcoming HTC flagship duo. The treat comes courtesy of notorious leakster Evan Blass on his twitter feed. The images confirm previous info of an all-glass front panel,... iOS 9 running on iPhone 6 spotted in benchmark results Apple typically announces new iOS versions at the WWDC, which is scheduled for June every year. While there's about four months to go, the first benchmark coming from an iOS 9 running on an iPhone 6 have hit the Basemark OS II database. Performance seems to be on par, except for the web score.... HTC One (M9) appears in Geekbench 3.0 database The upcoming HTC One (M9) flagship made an appearance in the Geekbench 3.0 benchmark database. The smartphone achieved single and multi-core scores of 1232 and 3587 respectively. The device from the benchmark test unsurprisingly packs Qualcomm MSM8994 Snapdragon 810 chipset with 1.55GHz... Samsung may be working on advanced case for Galaxy S6 There's a whole flock of rumors surrounding the Samsung Galaxy S6 and they don't always agree. Earlier we heard that Samsung is likely to seal the battery with a non-removable...
Xiaomi Redmi 2 hands-on
Xiaomi Redmi 2 has paid us a visit recently and we took it for a long spin. The Redmi 1S successor has lost some weight and body mass, it brings a 64-bit processor to the table and its dual-SIM capabilities don’t come at the expense of LTE connectivity.
Friday
Some HTC One versions will get Android 5.0 later than expected
Some carrier versions of HTC One (M8) and One (M7) will get updated to Android 5.0 Lollipop a bit later than expected. HTC initially promised to update all versions of its 2013 and 2014 flagship smartphone within 90 days of receiving the Android 5.0 code. Mo Versi, HTC's Vice President of product management delivered the news in a dedicated post. The delay is caused by issues Android 5.0 initially contained, which were subsequently fixed by Google with minor updates. HTC is working hard with Google and its carrier partners to incorporate the latter into its OS build. HTC already updated several versions of the One (M8). They include the factory unlocked model, the Developer Edition, and the Google Play variant. Mo Versi promises "good news to share soon" on the rest of the One family. Source...
2015 Rolls-Royce Phantom
Life at the top isn't easy, some say; yet the Rolls-Royce Phantom seems to live gracefully above the rest of the automotive luxury offerings -- with no clear competition, except for the Bentley Mulsanne sedan. The Phantom is available as a Sedan, Coupe, or Drophead Coupe (convertible), and it stands as the flagship model for the...2015 Rolls-Royce Wraith
The 2015 Rolls-Royce Wraith pampers and delights its owners, and blends modern technology with old-world luxury. Like any recent vehicle wearing a Spirit of Ecstasy mascot, it shows utter disregard to the many cows whose hides grace its interior, the fate of the atmosphere, and the little matter of a buyer's wallet. As always, if you...2015 Lincoln MKX
The Lincoln MKX offers the luxury accommodations and high seating position that premium crossover buyers seek out in vehicles such as the longtime favorite Lexus RX, the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and the Mercedes M-Class. The mid-size MKX is joined by a smaller crossover for 2015, the Ford Escape-based MKC. The MKX is itself a near...2015 Honda CR-V
The 2015 Honda CR-V caters to families with safety features and ratings decidedly ahead of the class norm, and offers interior room and cargo capacity that are as useful as as what's seen in many vehicles a size larger. The CR-V gets some significant updates for 2015, which should add to the appeal of a vehicle that's been one of the...2015 Kia Forte
Compact sedans are becoming more stylish and attractive on their own, and some of them aren't just emulating mid-size sedans. The 2015 Kia Forte is a great example of the trend; with its swoopy profile and sharp styling elements, it delivers a different look than the larger Optima, as well as plenty of design finesse inside and out...2015 Lexus ES
The 2015 Lexus 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 model years ago they gained more engaging road manners, a more interesting shape, improved technology features, and a new hybrid model that actually ends up giving the...2015 Nissan Sentra
Nissan has taken aim right at the middle of the compact-sedan market with the current Sentra. It's a competitive landscape where value is important and competition is tough. And with many of the Sentra's rivals now offering new technologies and features that were only available on luxury cars a few years ago, the Sentra gets what we'd...2015 Toyota Corolla
Basic, trouble-free, and relatively comfortable transportation, without the frills, has been the focus of the Toyota Corolla for decades. But that all changed a bit a couple years ago, when Toyota added some more technology and flair to the Corolla, arguably breaking free of biases that have long pegged the Corolla the blandest of the...2015 Lexus GX
Following a format that was all the rage a decade ago -- the body-on-frame luxury SUV -- the 2015 Lexus GX 460 is the kind of 'tough-truck' luxury that's strictly a niche product today For the U.S. it's become an increasingly hard sell, as even while gas prices have kept down, Americans continue to gravitate to more road-bound...Samsung Galaxy A5 and A5 Duos review: Five star
Samsung's newly found love for "premium build" is spilling down the ranks and if the new A-series get half the love and attention the S-line has been getting, it will be a job well done. The Koreans are right to try and stir things up in the midrange...
Google Now gets deep integration with third-party applications
An update to Google Now brought deep integration with third-party apps to the already mighty personal assistant. Initially, there will be 40 apps available as as a source of Google Now cards.
The upcoming LG G4 might feature a 3K display
The yet to be announced LG G4 might pack a 3K display. A screenshot of a user agent profile revealed the possible bump in screen resolution over LG G3. The leaked document reveals an LG handset with the model number LG-VS999, sporting the eye-popping screen resolution of 2880 x 1620 pixels. LG G3 for Verizon features the model number LG-VS985, so we might indeed be looking at its successor. Curiously, another LG G4 suspect leaked out a couple of weeks ago with the AT&T model number H810 and 2560 x 1440 display. This leads us to think that the Verizon model might be more tricked out than its other carrier siblings. Nobody should be surprised in case the above scenario pans out. Verizon has a history of launching versions of popular smartphones with higher specs in the past. Sony Xperia Z3v and Motorola Droid Turbo are two recent examples. Rumored specs of LG G4 include Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SoC, 4GB of RAM, 16MP camera, and 5.5" display. The handset is expected to debut in the near future....
Vine Kids launches for iOS, it’s exactly what it seems
Today the folks behind Vine, the app that lets you create six second looping videos, have announced a new venture. It’s called Vine Kids, and, like its name implies, it’s basically a special version of Vine, created just for kids.
LG G3 receives a new Lollipop update in Europe
The LG G3 is already rocking Android 5.0 Lollipop, as its initial update has spread across Europe since December. Now though, the Korean smartphone maker is in the process of pushing an additional firmware upgrade for the G3, at least it's doing so in Italy. So presumably other European countries will follow. This is still Lollipop, mind you, but it's a smaller update that's primarily meant to polish things around, making the experience better than before. The update comes in at around 90 MB. After applying it, you'll be running software version V20h, whereas the initial Lollipop update took that to V20e. The new version brings with it unnamed bug fixes and improvements, along with some new icons for the software-rendered Android keys, as well as smoother animations all-round. Source (in...
Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop update delayed due to Gear VR
With the Lollipop craze in full steam and the Galaxy Note 3 already up for a soak test in Russia it is only natural to expect that Samsung will give an equal share of attention to the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge. We already saw a leaked manual for Android 5 with the device model on it so the OTA is getting closer, but no official news is available as of yet. Faryaab Sheikh, Editor-in-Chief of SamMobile might have just shed some light on the issue with a recent Twitter post. According to him the Galaxy Note 4 ROM is still in the hands of Oculus VR who are "tweaking the kernel" to ensure compatibility with the Samsung Gear VR. For anyone unfamiliar with the device it is Samsung's current take on virtual reality headset based on the popular Oculus Rift. Gear VR however takes the experience one step beyond by using a wireless setup. This is achieved with the help of a mobile display, in particular the 5.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED panel of the Galaxy Note 4. While compatibility issues might explain the delay the question still stands why this can't be achieved in a later update. This is supposedly what occurred on the Verizon version of the phone last month. Delivering Gear VR compatibility is most definitely a huge deal in terms of marketing strategy, but the fact of the matter is that a very miniscule percentage of all Samsung Galaxy Note 4 devices will ever be put inside a VR headset. So why make everybody wait for what is essentially a niche...
Nokia Lumia 930 on EE finally getting Lumia Denim update
The Lumia Denim update started rolling out last year, but it reached the Nokia Lumia 930 flagship only recently. Some 930's get it sooner than others, among the unlucky users were those on EE in the UK. The update has been arriving on 930's in other regions for two weeks now, but those on UK's largest carrier are only now joining the fun. Lumia Denim incorporates WP8.1 Update 1 and adds exclusive goodies like 4K video recording (at 24fps), Rich Capture and improvements to the image processing algorithm. By the way, the Lumia 930 will be one of the phones to get Windows 10 eventually. If you have a Nokia Lumia 930 from EE you can check for updates on your phone. If you're using the Developer Preview you may need to leave it in order to...
Galaxy S6 dimensions revealed, port and button layout as well
The upcoming Samsung Galaxy S6 hasn't yet surfaced in live images, but based on numerous leaks, we can now paint a pretty accurate picture. Yet it seems that case manufacturers have precise details ahead of launch. After two rounds of case renderings of yesterday and the day before, now we're being treated to a set of drawings, detailing the dimensions of the future flagship. The schematics put to rest the fears of some that the footprint of the device will grow beyond what's manageable for one-hand use. Samsung have the Galaxy Note 4 in phablet territory, and they're maintaining the differentiation. The case inner dimensions at 143.5 x 70.7 x 7.2mm, which should be more or less the actual dimensions of Galaxy S6, are virtually identical to the current Galaxy S5's 142 x 72.5 x 8.1mm, when it comes to footprint. The 1mm difference in thickness should be pretty tangible, though. Digging down further into the details, the precise dimensions of the cutout on the back reveal a pretty large camera and sensor cluster and confirm the change of layout. In typical Samsung fashion, the left side is home to the volume rocker, while the power button is on the right. The bottom cutout arrangement leaves room for a microphone, USB port and a speaker, which was on the back the previous generation. The top will house a 3.5mm headphone jack and a secondary noise-cancelling microphone. The drawings are accompanied by an actual manufactured unit, which you can see below. Samsung Galaxy S6 Case The three case leaks are very much in concert, so the Samsung Galaxy S6 design may very well be final...
Samsung SM-T239 may be called Galaxy Tab 4 Lite 7.0 LTE, pack a 64-bit Marvell chipset
It seems that Samsung is updating its Galaxy Tab 4 lineup to 64-bit processors – the Galaxy Tab 4 10.1, the Tab 4 8.0 and now the Tab 4 7.0 as well. The 7″ device (model number SM-T239) was recently imported into India for testing.
Full specs of Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 leak
The Xiaomi Redmi Note, released in March 2014, is due for a successor, and one is evidently in the works. A new listing on the site of Chinese agency TENAA reveals its appearance and insides. Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 The new generation Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 is proving to be an incremental update, rather than an entirely new device. The new generation is built around a 5.5-inch display of 720p resolution. The chipset model isn't revealed, but the quad-core CPU rated at 1.2GHz suggests the Snapdragon 410. The new smartphone will feature 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage, expandable by up to 32GB via microSD. Imaging department is represented by a 13MP main camera on the back, and a 5MP selfie unit, much like the predecessor. Overall dimensions have been kept the same at 154 x 78.7 x 9.5 mm, while weight has been trimmed down from 199g to 188g. The new smartphone will run Android 4.4.4 out of the box and will come in a rainbow of colors, including red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple, as well as a more formal black and white version. Availability remains to be confirmed, but the expected price is CNY799 ($128). Source |...
HTC One (M9) Hima DotView cover to feature additional color options
More rumors regarding the HTC One (M9) Hima are inbound and the latest round of them is concerning the DotView case. According to @upleaks, HTC is going to out additional DotView colors for the phone’s launch. Alleged photo of the One (M9) and One (M9) Plus leaked a couple of days ago revealing a familiar [...]
Samsung Galaxy Note Edge hitting Malaysia in February
The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is slowly spreading over more and more markets. It is now set for official launch in Malaysia, where it will be available starting February. To publicize its unconventional phablet offering, the Korean company has released a promotional video with a couple of sky-diving thrill seekers. The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is the pioneer in a current trend of display innovation. Based on the international version of the Galaxy Note 4, it packs the same Snapdragon 805 chipset with quad-core 2.7GHz processor, 3GB of RAM and a choice of 32/64GB storage options. What sets it apart is the 160-pixel display strip that curves around the smartphone's right side, offering additional functionality. The reel barely brushes on the smartphone's features though, but is nonetheless fun to watch. Two exorbitantly rich chaps use their smartphones to set a location where they meet up for a game of tic-tac-toe in mid air. The intense exchange of crosses and circles is disturbed by a call from one's Mom. Had he chosen to ignore her, the game could have remained uninterrupted, showcasing the edge screen's notification capabilities. The Galaxy Note Edge commands a RM500 premium over its ordinary sibling for a RM2,999 asking price ($826). Reportedly, quantities will be...
Huawei P8 may be announced in mid-April, not at the MWC
Huawei has a flagship in the works and a MWC event scheduled for March 1. New info suggests that the Huawei P8 will not be at that event though, instead it will be revealed on April 15 at a separate event in London. The company is mum on hardware details and only says that the phone will be an "absolution beauty." Huawei made it clear that it will focus on delivering premium devices in the mid and high-end markets. The Huawei P8 (no more Ascend) is poised to be at the top of that food chain with a slender metal chassis. It will reportedly have a "porcelain texture", a 5.2" 1080p display (Huawei's CEO says QHD just wastes battery) and a 13MP optically stabilized camera. The flagship is set to be powered by the in-house Kirin 930 chipset, which packs an octa-core 64-bit processor and will be built on a 16nm process courtesy of TSMC. So, what will we see at the MWC? Huawei has plans for tablets (reportedly the M-Series will be introduced) and wearables. There's also room for mid-rangers in the Honor and G series and a fresh rumor (with live photos) of a Huawei Mate 7 Compact....
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 gets free Montblanc pen in the UK
A few months after entering into a partnership with Montblanc, Samsung is running a new promotion that offers a complimentary pen manufactured by the premium writing instrument maker with every purchase of a Galaxy Note 4.
Motorola Moto G 4G (2015) debuts in Brazil, already on sale
A LTE-enabled variant of the Moto G (2014) has been circulating in the rumor mill for quite some time now and now it's finally become a reality. Motorola has apparently opted out of an official announcement and instead the new handset crept up on us and appeared on the manufacturer's Brazilian page and is already available to purchase. The move was only logical since the first generation Moto G proved to be such a huge hit, both in emerging markets and even in places like the UK with the LTE upgrade only sweetening the deal even more. The budget-oriented, Moto G 4G (2015) offers a slick and clean almost pure-android experience just like its predecessors and comes with a few notable modifications over the base version. First and foremost Motorola has decided to stick with the dual-SIM setup and make it available in the 4G variant as well. The phone comes equipped with two micro SIM slots with presumably only one capable of LTE speeds. Other notable changes over the Moto G (2014) include a larger, 2,390mAh, battery which should compensate for the increased power consumption from the new modem. Onboard storage will be 16GB with no 8GB option available and physically the smartphone will retain its compact dimensions with only about 6g of extra weight due to the beefier battery. The rest of the internals are unchanged. The handset is still powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 400 SoC, clocked at 1.2GHz, has the same 5-inch 720p display and the same camera setup - 8MP main and 2MP front-facing shooter. A small, but significant detail to note is that the new device will be shipping with Android 5.0.2 Lollipop, while previous Moto G phones are still mostly running 4.4 KitKat and despite Motorola's best wishes are still waiting on an update. The new Moto G 4G (2015) can already be purchased from a Brazilian retailer for BRL 899, which is about $345. This definitely seems like a premium for a device that is supposed to be budget-oriented and it is. Brazilian handset prices are traditionally very high and not representative of what smartphones costs elsewhere. Despite its inconspicuous arrival the new Moto G 4G (2015) has all the right ingredients to continue to legacy of its predecessor and if Motorola manages to keep costs low than the handset definitely has a bright future ahead of...
Samsung Galaxy Tab S Pro hinted on the Google Play Store
Samsung has updated its Milk Music app and the description of the app listing compatible devices reveals the company is preparing to unveil a Galaxy Tab S Pro tablet. The upcoming slate is likely to have its launch at the Mobile World Congress in March.
Exclusive: Samsung Galaxy XCover 3 photos and specs leak
Samsung has always aimed to have a few devices on every shelf, top to bottom. Outdoor-targeted smartphones are no exception, but the two most recent offerings, Galaxy S5 Active and Galaxy S4 Active, have been based on the respective flagships. The more affordable Xcover range hasn't seen an update for two whole years, with the latest Galaxy Xcover 2 launched in January 2013. Well, that is about to change, as we've just been treated to an exclusive peek at the entirely new Samsung Galaxy Xcover 3. The device carries a model designation SM-G388F, and is fitted with distinctly average hardware. Samsung Galaxy Xcover 3 The tough smartphone packs a Marvell Armada PXA1908 chipset with a quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU and 1GB of RAM. No other specs have been revealed, but judging by the photos we could speculate that the screen size is close to 4.3 inches corresponding to a total footprint of around 150x78mm. The SoC supports resolutions up to 720p, but achieving that is rather unlikely at this size and price range. Performance isn't the Galaxy Xcover 3's main selling point though, ruggedness is, and by the looks of it, the phone will deliver. Design cues have been borrowed from the latest Galaxy S5 Active, namely the toughened corners, button shape and arrangement and sensor placement. The back reveals its status, however, with flash-camera-speaker layout of more lowly Samsung phones of late. It's also nicely textured and appears to provide a secure grip in muddy or wet hands, a supposedly frequent scenario. The upcoming smartphone will run Android 4.4.4. No word is out on pricing and availability, naturally, but stay tuned. Special thanks to our anonymous...
2015 BMW X6
The BMW X6 was once unusual in its form factor, but it's gained companions, from within the brand and without: the BMW X4 takes the coupe-crossover theme down a size, and Mercedes-Benz will soon follow with its GLE Coupe, a sexier take on what's now called the M-Class. Despite the growing popularity of the curvaceous utility concept...Counterpoint: Apple actually topped Samsung in Q4, 2014
While we know that Q4, 2014 was a blockbuster quarter for Apple, which sold a whopping 74.5 million smartphones during the period, the question whether that was good enough for the Cupertino-based company to become the top smartphone vendor in the world apparently doesn't have a single answer - it depends whom you ask. While IDC acknowledged that it was a close contest, with Samsung ahead of Apple, Strategy Analytics said it was a tie between the two companies. Now, another research firm by the name of Counterpoint is claiming that Apple actually shipped more smartphones than its South Korean competitor in Q4. The Counterpoint report notes that Apple led the smartphone market with 20.2% market share, followed by Samsung, which shipped 73.8 million units, good enough for 20% share of the market. Lenovo, Huawei, and Xiaomi rounded up the top five with 7, 6.6, and 4.6% market share,...
Motorola has sold 3 million devices in India since Feb 2014
Back in February last year, Motorola made India's largest e-commerce website Flipkart its exclusive online retail partner, and now, the Economic Times is reporting that the Lenovo-owned company has sold 3 million smartphones in the country since then, with Moto G and Moto E smartphones making up for more than half of the sales. According to Amit Boni, head of Motorola's India operations, the company considers India as a "critical market," and is planning to increase its efforts in the country. Starting this year, the company will set up several Motorola experience centers that will also double up as service centers. The report also notes that moving forward Motorola is planning to launch new handsets in India before other global markets, and may also bring Moto Maker to the country - China is the only Asian country where the create-your-own-design store is available as of...
Thursday
OnePlus names its Android ROM 'Oxygen'
After things with Cyanogen went a bit sour, OnePlus announced that it is working on its own Android ROM for the OnePlus One. The company also released an alpha version, with a stable version arriving in February. The company has now announced the name for the ROM, and it will be called 'Oxygen'. Oxygen, OnePlus says, is, "all around us. It's part of us and everything we do. It creates the water that carves out valleys and moves mountains. By itself, it's simple and pure—a fundamental building block. But, as a part of something greater, it can do amazing things. Just like us." The company says the OnePlus ROM will be "open, customizable, and free of bloat and unnecessary features." OnePlus has promised more details on Febrary...
This could be a case for the upcoming Apple iPad Pro
Purported live photo of a protective case for the yet to be announced Apple iPad Pro made the rounds online. The image was posted by Nowhereelse and is said to come from a reliable source.
Alleged image of Samsung Galaxy S6 in a Spigen case leaks
Purported images of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S6 made the rounds online courtesy of Spigen. The Korean manufacturer of mobile accessories has already listed several cases for the yet to be announced smartphone on Amazon. The latest leaked images of Samsung Galaxy S6 fall right in line with renders from another case maker, which emerged a couple of days ago. They confirm that the Galaxy S6 will have its LED flash and heart sensor on the right side of its camera, not below it like in the case of Samsung Galaxy S5. If the images are to be believed, Samsung Galaxy S6 will have the same back texture as the Galaxy S5. We doubt this will be the case when the device debuts. The handset is all but certain to feature an all-metal body a la Samsung Galaxy A series. The case maker's product listings point at a potential mid-April availability for the smartphone. Two of the accessories are going to be in stock on April 13. Considering the track record of Spigen in revealing devices before their launch through product listings, there is little room to doubt the credibility of the renders you see above. The company has leaked a number of high-profile devices in the past including Nexus 5 and iPhone 6. Purported specs of Samsung Galaxy S6 include Exynos 7420 chipset with octa-core CPU, 5.2" QHD display, 3GB of RAM, and 20MP camera. The device is expected to launch during MWC in Barcelona. Source 1 | Source 2 | Source 3 |...
Jolla Tablet returns to Indiegogo with 64GB of built-in memory
The Finnish manufacturer Jolla resumed the crowdsourcing campaign for its first ever Sailfish OS slate. The original Indiegogo campaign for the Jolla Tablet ended on December 9 last year with 480% funded. Jolla Tablet returns to Indiegogo with slightly improved hardware and special $249 price tag. The changes in the tablet include 64GB of built-in memory (up from 32GB on the original offering) and support for 128GB microSD cards. Laminated display, built-in gyro and compass, and slightly larger 4,450mAh battery are also features that were missing in the last campaign. The slightly improved Jolla Tablet will begin shipping to backers in June. Users who already ordered the Jolla Tablet with 32GB of memory should not despair - a $25 perk is available for those who are willing to upgrade their existing order. The 32GB version is still available to order for $219. Jolla's latest Indiegogo campaign will last through February. Source...
2015 BMW M4
With the new 4-Series taking the previous 3-Series coupe’s place in the BMW lineup, the M4 is a new name for an all-new version of the previous M3 Coupe. What makes the new M4 special enough to deserve the vaunted M badge? Many, many things, but foremost among them is a new, potent twin-turbocharged engine. Stylistically, the new...2015 BMW M3
The latest generation of the BMW M3 changes the prior formula considerably, but is still bred from the same stock. With a new turbocharged six-cylinder engine, a new look, and less weight, the new M3 seeks to claw back old ground, as well as blaze a new path forward. From the outside, the M3 doesn't veer dramatically from the 3-Series...
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