Huawei Enjoy 5S to be unveiled on December 3

Looks like a new variant of the Huawei Enjoy 5 smartphone will be unveiled this week. Dubbed Enjoy 5S, the device will be made official on December 3, according to a new teaser (shown below) posted by the Chinese smartphone manufacturer on Weibo. The image above suggests that the handset will have an all metal body. Another teaser (see below) posted by the company reveals that the smartphone will offer support for dual-SIM, and also feature a MicroSD card slot. As for the other specs, from what is known till now, the Huawei Enjoy 5S will be powered by a Kirin 935 SoC and sport a 5.2-inch FHD display. It will have 3GB RAM and 64GB storage, and feature 13MP rear camera and an 8MP front shooter. The device will run Android 5.1.1 with the company's Emotion UI on...

Windows 10 Mobile for Xiaomi Mi 4 officially launching this week

Windows 10 Mobile for the Xiaomi Mi 4 will be released this week - on December 3, according to a new teaser (shown below) posted by the Chinese company's Founder and President Lin Bin on Weibo. This comes nearly nine months after Microsoft and Xiaomi entered into an agreement to provide support for the Windows 10 Technical Preview on the Mi 4 handset. For those who aren't already aware, the recently unveiled Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 tablet also has a Windows 10 version that comes only in 64GB memory configuration and carries a price tag of around...

WhatsApp blocking Telegram links on Android

Facebook-owned popular messaging service WhatsApp has been found blocking links to rival messaging app Telegram. Although you can send/receive Telegram links, they appear as non-clickable (just plain text) and you cannot copy/forward them (see screenshot below). In general, it looks like any link having 'telegram' as a sub-domain is affected. Only WhatsApp's Android app is currently exhibiting this behavior, which was first spotted by users on Reddit. A new update pushed yesterday is said to be the culprit - it didn't bump the app version, which remains at 2.12.367. On its part, Telegram has confirmed the situation, but the company doesn't seem much concerned. "Typically after a media backlash, FB steps back and blames their intelligent filtering for the problem," a Telegram spokesperson said. "We expect the same to happen this time as well." Facebook and WhatsApp are yet to comment. It's worth mentioning that Telegram recently received some bad press over the fact that the company knowingly allowed members of the Islamic State terrorist organization to use the...

Teardown of Blackberry Priv shows screen easily replaceable

YouTuber JerryRigEverything has put out a new video. You've probably heard of him as he was recently covered all over the smartphone blogs for his Nexus 6P bend test videos. Anyway, a video of his went live today tearing down the Blackberry Priv. The battery and screen replacements are quite easy to perform. As with any other repair, we don't recommend you try this if you don't know what you're doing. While we are shown that the battery is easily replaceable, the bigger and better news is that the screen is just as easy to repair, all without even having to disassemble the phone. The YouTuber heated up the edges of the screen and used a business card to break the adhesive all the way around. The display completely comes off (digitizer and panel assembly) once a ribbon cable near the center of the panel is disconnected. Then, all you need to do is reheat the adhesive (or apply new adhesive), reconnect the ribbon cable, and snap the display back into place. All without having to remove the rear panels, motherboards or other components from the body of the phone. We can't wait until the iFixIt team gets its hands on the new Android-powered Blackberry handset and gives it the teardown treatment and repairability...

Sony Xperia C5 Ultra (US version) now available for $300

When the Sony Xperia C5 Ultra went on sale in the US last week, only international variants were available for purchase. Now, a US version of the device has been listed on Amazon, and is already available at $50 discount. Having a case of #CyberMonday ? The #Xperia C5 Ultra is currently $50 off at Amazon. https://t.co/S8HrxSdJe3 http://pic.twitter.com/V6HzBylO2g— Sony Xperia US (@SonyXperiaUS) November 30, 2015 This means that the selfie-centric handset - which carries a regular price tag of $349.99 on the e-commerce website - can currently be purchased for $299.99. It's also worth mentioning that the smartphone is being sold directly by Amazon. Specs-wise, the Xperia C5 Ultra is powered by a MediaTek MT6752 SoC, and sports a 6-inch 1080p display. It comes with 2GB RAM and 16GB expandable internal memory, and packs in a 2,930 mAh battery. In terms of camera, the device features a 13MP rear as well as front shooter. Source 1...

Samsung appoints Dongjin Koh as new president of mobile communications business

Samsung has appointed Dongjin Koh as the new president of the company's mobile communications unit. He was previously the head of the tech giant's mobile research and development division. Koh replaces JK Shin, who has been in charge of Samsung's smartphone business since 2011. While Shin - who is also the co-CEO of Samsung Electronics - is stepping down from his current role, he will continue heading the company's overall mobile division. His new role will include developing new growth businesses and long-term strategy. The change comes as Samsung is struggling to turn around its smartphone business for quite some time now. Presumably, the South Korean company is hoping that a change at the helm will do the...

LG announces global rollout plans for the Zero

LG has announced the global roll out of its first metal-clad smartphone Zero. The company says that the mid-range device will be launched in Taiwan this week, followed by key markets in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. There was, however, no word on how much the device will cost - prices and participating carriers will be announced locally at the time of availability, LG says. Also, no specific launch time frame was mentioned for markets other than Taiwan. For those who aren't aware, the Zero was first launched back in September this year in LG's home country of South Korea, where it carries a different name: Class. It's launch price tag there was around $340. Then, earlier last month, the device was spotted listed on the company's Italy website, carrying a price tag of around $320. While there's no official confirmation on this, the handset is expected to be available on AT&T in the US, although it isn't yet known when and at what...

T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 and Note Edge getting Android 5.1.1 update

T-Mobile has started rolling out a new software update to the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (N910) and Galaxy Note Edge (N915) devices on its network. The update bumps the handsets to Android 5.1.1 and brings a couple of new features including Advanced Messaging and T-Mobile Video Calling. If you recall, the carrier started rolling out the Video Calling feature back in September this year, making it available to the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ and Galaxy Note5 first, followed by the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge. It was promised that more devices will be added to the list by the end of the year, so T-Mobile has made good on the promise. Aside from the aforementioned two features, the update also brings some security, performance, as well as battery life related improvements. If you are a T-Mobile Note 4 or Note Edge owner, and haven't received the update yet, you can also manually check for it by heading to your device's settings. Source 1...

Teardown of Blackberry Priv shows screen very easy to replace

YouTuber JerryRigEverything has put out a new video. You've probably heard of him as he was recently covered all over the smartphone blogs for his Nexus 6P bend test videos. Anyway, a video of his went live today tearing down the Blackberry Priv. The battery and screen replacements are quite easy to perform. As with any other repair, we don't recommend you try this if you don't know what you're doing. While we are shown that the battery is easily replaceable, the bigger and better news is that the screen is just as easy to repair, all without even having to disassemble the phone. The YouTuber heated up the edges of the screen and used a business card to break the adhesive all the way around. The display completely comes off (digitizer and panel assembly) once a ribbon cable near the center of the panel is disconnected. Then, all you need to do is reheat the adhesive (or apply new adhesive), reconnect the ribbon cable, and snap the display back into place. All without having to remove the rear panels, motherboards or other components from the body of the phone. We can't wait until the iFixIt team gets its hands on the new Android-powered Blackberry handset and gives it the teardown treatment and repairability...

Best Buy starts selling Nexus 5X online, in stores December 5

BestBuy.com is offering the same Cyber Monday sale as the Google Store: $80 off the 16GB Nexus 5X. When I checked Best Buy's website, it showed availability in-store for the NYC area of the Nexus 5X on December 5. The Nexus 5X is currently only available in 16GB black and white configurations on Best Buy's website. Presently, the 32GB models are no longer in stock online. The icy minty color will only be available in a 16GB option. This is a great chance for customers to put the Nexus 5X on their Best Buy store cards. Best buy offers 6 month no-interest financing on purchases more than $199. Also you have the option to buy Best Buy's own Geek Squad Protection plan. Source |...

Apple iPad Pro review: Slate of the art

In the rumor mill for two years, with a probability of near zero for the better part thereof, the iPad Pro was made official in September and is shipping worldwide as we speak. Guess we already know what's been going on under the surface but the bottom line is Apple lets you decide about the optional pencil and keyboard.

2016 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

The 2016 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and F12 tdf carry on the brand’s tradition of offering fast, sexy, sleek front-engined cars. The proportions remain classical even though all of the details look to be drawn from the future—or the wind tunnel. Outclassing all of the Ferrari range in terms of power, except for the LaFerrari hybrid...

Cyber Monday: T-Mobile offering 64GB iPhone 6S and 6S Plus for 16GB price

If you are ready to switch to T-Mobile or if you are an existing T-Mobile customer, now is a great time to switch to the latest iPhone models. T-Mobile is offering the 64GB iPhone 6S or 6S Plus for a full $100 off of the retail price. You can get the 128GB model for the price you'd pay monthly for a 64GB model. The catch for the deal is that a $100 or $200 down-payment is due today, however, you will be reimbursed $100 in 6 - 8 weeks via a prepaid Visa card in the mail. So, essentially, you still pay the monthly price of memory one step below. To break it down: 6S 16GB = $649.99 6S 64GB = $649.99 - $100 down, rebate Visa prepaid card for $100 6S 128GB = $749.99 - $200 down, rebate Visa prepaid card for $100 6S Plus 16GB = $749.99 6S Plus 64GB = $749.99 - $100 down, rebate Visa prepaid card for $100 6S Plus 128 GB = $849.99 - $200 down, rebate Visa prepaid card for $100 This offer is only available online or over the phone. As of 3PM EST, the Silver and Rose Gold 6S 64GB configurations are backordered. For 6S Plus, the Rose Gold and Space Gray 128GB 6S Plus are backordered, and the Silver and Gold 64GB 6S Plus are backordered as well. You can still call customer service and do the order over the phone, just keep your fingers crossed that you'll receive the phone before the...

AT&T begins selling 64GB Variant of Samsung Galaxy S6 Active

The Galaxy S6 has been criticized for only offering about 23GB of usable free space on the 32GB model. Some people will want to opt for a higher capacity phone in order to make do without a micro SD card slot. The problem herein lies with those on AT&T who wish to purchase a Galaxy S6 Active. Until recently, the Active only came in 32GB for all color configurations. Now however AT&T is now offering a larger 64GB memory option for those who wish to purchase a Galaxy S6 Active. It is still unknown if Samsung plans to release the Active variant of the phone outside of the US, though It is a little disappointing that this decision was made so late in the life of the S6's product cycle. The Galaxy S7's rumored release is already around the corner and slated for a Q1 2016 launch and even though the rugged version typically comes out a few month later we still wish we had 64GB from the...

Apple Watch total sales for 2015 might top 12 million

According to Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR & Co., the Apple Watch is on track to reach 6 million sales in the last quarter of this year. If true, this means that total sales of the wearable for 2015 will reach 12 million. That's not bad at all, especially when you compare how the Apple Watch has been doing with the original iPad. Apple sold 3 million of those in the first 80 days, but the company has revealed that the smartwatch outsold it throughout the first nine weeks of availability. The aforementioned analyst says his information comes from checks with Apple retail stores, which were performed last Friday. Apple itself still hasn't said anything about exactly how many watches it's sold, which is why we need to rely on such predictions made by analysts to get even the vaguest idea of how well the wearable is doing. While not being anywhere near as important to Apple as the iPhone, the smartwatch is dominating the nascent wearable market, and it's also a bet for the future, when such devices will hopefully become even more useful - and get better battery...

Oppo A53 becomes official in China with metal build, mid-range specs

At the beginning of November we spotted a new Oppo smartphone getting certified by TENAA, China's equivalent of the FCC. It was called A53, and we assumed it would get official soon after that. And now it has been listed on Oppo's Chinese website. The A53 is a mid-range handset - like most of what Oppo has produced recently. The company has focused a lot on such offerings lately, for whatever reason. Perhaps the main claim to fame for the Oppo A53 is its metal build. It also comes with 2.5D curved glass on the front. Spec-wise, we're looking at a 5.5-inch 720p touchscreen, a 13 MP rear camera with LED flash, a 5 MP selfie snapper, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 616 SoC at the helm (with a 1.5 GHz octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU), 2GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, 4G LTE, dual-SIM functionality, and a 3,075 mAh battery. It runs Android 5.1 Lollipop underneath Oppo's own Color OS 2.1 layer. Pricing information hasn't been outed yet, nor has an actual release date for this model. And it's unclear if Oppo plans on offering it to markets outside of China as well. Source (in Chinese) |...

2016 Nissan Maxima

As Nissan's Altima grew in size and stature, mainstream buyers wondered why the nearly-identical Maxima commanded a higher price. Luxury buyers, meanwhile, could get more style and prestige from an entry-level Infiniti. With the 2016 Maxima, Nissan hopes to clear up a years-long corporate identity crisis. Styling Design is critical to the Maxima's...

2016 Volkswagen CC

With more luxury features and a less practical passenger package, the 2016 Volkswagen CC has rivals in vehicles like the Nissan Maxima, the Lincoln MKZ, the Volvo S60, and the Acura TLX--even the Audi A4, another four-door offering from the vast VW empire. Though it started life as a Passat, the Volkswagen CC has taken a different path as it's...

2016 Volvo XC60

Now, in its seventh model year, Volvo's 2016 XC60 continues to offer a safe, sensible, spacious, and practical family hauler for people and their gear. It has more than a dash of design flair, subtly updated two years ago. As part of Volvo's renaissance, it also got new and vastly more fuel-efficient engines last year--but, sadly, only for...

Apple iPad Pro gets its first discount - 15% off for Cyber Monday

If you are eyeballing a new, shiny iPad Pro, then chances are you have already prepared yourself to part with a substantial amount of cash. We doubt that any sale will make the 12.9 inch Cupertino monster a bargain any time soon, but it can still save you enough to make the Pencil or the keyboard effectively free. Target is offering a 15% site-wide discount today and weather by chance or not, the iPad Pro isn't excluded. That brings the price tag of the iOS tablet to the lowest point we have seen yet: $679.15 for the 32GB version, $806.65 and $917.15 for the 128GB without and with Cellular connection, respectively. REDcard holders are even entitled to an extra 5% off. MacMall is also offering a discount, however, it is only about $12. Still, unlike Apple, they accept PayPal and only collect a sales tax in CA, NY, IL, WI, MN, CO, TN, NC and GA, so quite a bit of saving can actually be had there. The price tag is definitely eye-watering, but the iPad is really packing impressive hardware. It has a big 12.9" display with 2732 x 2048 pixel resolution and a brand new A9x chip - officially Cupertino's most powerful mobile chip to date. Four speakers are also on board, as well as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi ac and optional LTE Cat.4 support. There is a Touch ID sensor as well. Source 1 | Source 2 |...

Gionee Marathon M5 Plus to be unveiled next month

Nearly six months after the Gionee Marathon M5 was unveiled, a Plus variant of the smartphone will be made official. According to a teaser (shown below) posted by the Chinese smartphone manufacturer, the unveiling is set for December 21 in the country. Unfortunately, apart from the name and the date of unveiling, nothing else is known about this new variant at this point in time. So, it's currently difficult to say how exactly it will be different from the M5, which is was recently launched outside China. For those who aren't already aware, the Marathon M5 is powered by a MediaTek MT6735 SoC with quad-core 1.5GHz CPU, and sports a 5.5 inch (720 x 1280 pixel resolution) AMOLED display. Its selling point is the fact that it includes two 3,010mAh batteries providing a total capacity of...

2016 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class

The 2016 Mercedes-Benz CLA is the German luxury make’s smallest sedan, and it’s been a big hit in expanding the company’s buyer base. It enters its third year with just a handful of trim, feature, and option updates, accompanied by the similarly-sized GLA crossover utility vehicle—which can be also viewed simply as a...

Meet the vivo X6 and X6Plus - a melding of metal and AMOLED

And the long wait is over - the vivo X6 and vivo X6Plus are official, coming with lovely metal bodies and AMOLED displays. They have 5.2" and 5.7" screens as is the current norm of phone and phablet as a flagship duo. vivo X6Plus Measuring a slender 6.6mm, the vivo X6Plus comes in Silver, Gold and Rose Gold color options. The 5.7" Super AMOLED display has 1080p resolution making for an okay 386ppi pixel density. The software is based on Android 5.1 Lollipop, but has been heavily customized into "Funtouch OS." The vivo X6Plus impresses with 4GB of RAM, though its chipset is fairly standard, a MediaTek MT6752. It has eight Cortex-A53 cores at 1.7GHz and a dual-core Mali-T760. Like the RAM, the internal storage is generous - 64GB out of the box, with an option to add more. Both vivos are dual-SIM phones, but the second SIM slot can accept a microSD instead. This gives you an option of dual-SIM or extra storage (but not both at the same time). Anyways, the phone is secured with a fingerprint reader on the back, which works in any orientation and needs a mere 0.4 seconds to unlock the screen. The camera department features a 13MP sensor with phase detection autofocus and an f/2.2 aperture. There's also an 8MP selfie camera. The camera launches in 0.6s and locks focus in 0.2s. For audio the phone uses a Yamaha Hi-Fi chip and dedicated amp. It also boasts a 3,000mAh battery with fast-charging tech over a microUSB cable. The vivo X6Plus is launching in China on December 7 with a price of CNY 3,200 (around $500/€475). There will be a China Unicom version too that will be slightly cheaper at CNY 3,000. vivo X6 The vivo X6 has a 5.2" Super AMOLED screen with 1080p resolution (that's 424ppi). It's not all that compact at 147.9 x 73.8 x 6.6mm. That's a full centimeter taller than the LG G2 (which too has a 5.2" scree), a bit wider too. It decently light at 135.5g though. The X6 is powered by the same chipset, complete with 4GB of RAM, though the storage has been reduced to 32GB. That's still pretty generous and you do get the same dual-SIM/single+microSD option. The metal body of the phone is made out of an anodized aluminum-magnesium alloy that's milled in 57 steps. Nano injection molding, hand polishing and laser engraving are needed to complete the manufacturing process. A dual-antenna ensures better reception for the 4G LTE modem. There's also Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0. Besides the screen, the X6 also has a smaller battery, a 2,400mAh one. It still has the fingerprint reader on its back and the 13MP back plus 8MP front camera setup. The vivo X6 will start at CNY 2,600 ($390/€385) and a China Unicom version for CNY 2,500. It too is launching on December 7. Source (in Chinese) |...

Asus Zenfone Selfie gets a limited edition with up to 128GB storage

Remember the Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe? Well, it's not the only one that got the fancy treatment, the latest phone in the line is the Asus Zenfone Selfie Limited Edition. There have been such editions for the Laser and Zoom too. Anyway, the Zenfone Selfie Limited Edition gets the tessellated back like the Deluxe and the memory options have been given a boost. You get 3GB of RAM (the regular model has a 2GB version) and up to 128GB of storage (the base model tops out at 32GB). Asus Zenfone Selfie Limited Edition The other specs are unchanged - the 13MP front-facing camera with dual flash for which the phone has been named, the 5.5" 1080p screen, the Snapdragon 615 chipset and 3,000mAh battery. Source (in Chinese) |...

Swatch inks deal with Visa to bring NFC-based payments to Bellamy

Last month, Swiss watch maker Swatch unveiled its NFC payments capable Bellamy watch, which the company said will first be available for purchase in China, followed by other countries including the US and Switzerland. While Swatch has already partnered with China UnionPay in the Asian country, the company has now teamed up with Visa to enable contactless payments in the countries listed above as well as Brazil. Swatch claims that the "pay-by-the-wrist" transactions do not require any energy at all from the watch, so the battery life of the wearable remains unaffected. It's worth stressing that Bellamy isn't a smartwatch, meaning it doesn't connect to the Internet or a mobile phone. Set to launch early next year, the watch carries a $90 price tag in China - pricing information for other countries isn't yet...

BlackBerry exiting Pakistan over government's user data demand

BlackBerry has announced that it will stop all its operations in Pakistan, and will exit the market. In a blog post related to the matter, the company revealed that back in July this year, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority sent out notifications to the country's mobile phone operators stating that BlackBerry's BES servers won't be allowed to operate in the country starting December due to "security reasons". While there's no clarity on what those "security reasons" are, BlackBerry says the government there wanted unrestricted access to their customers' data, which the company refused, and that's the reason it has received shutdown order from the authorities. "The truth is that the Pakistani government wanted the ability to monitor all BlackBerry Enterprise Service traffic in the country, including every BES e-mail and BES BBM message," the company said. "But BlackBerry will not comply with that sort of directive." Although the government's order was only related to BlackBerry's BES servers, the company has decided to exit the market altogether. "Pakistan's demand for open access to monitor a significant swath of our customers' communications within its borders left us no choice but to exit the country entirely," the company explained. Initially, the order required the company to shut the operations in the country starting November 30, but after Blackberry announced the news on its blog, the date has been extended to December 30, the company...

Nokia C1 leaks again with alleged specs and a new render

Nokia has been absent from the smartphone scene for quite some time now - a fact that many fans know all too well. But, as CEO Rajeev Suri has confirmed, it is not a withdrawal, but rather a timeout that should end in Q4 2016 when the agreement with Microsoft expires. Rumors of a Nokia C1 have been circulating along with claims that it will, in fact, be the first smartphone to bear the Finnish company logo in years. Today brings a fresh batch of info on the alleged handset, namely a render and possible specs sheets. The new image seems to be made from the same source that we saw a few days ago, so unfortunately it doesn't add much extra credibility. The same tipster also claims to have some insights on the specs of the device. He notes that the C1 might come in two size variants, which, oddly enough, also have a different camera setup. The display is said to be 5.0 or 5.5 inches with FullHD resolution. The first version gets 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, while the other gets 3GB with 64GB of storage. The camera setup will vary between 8MP back plus 5MP front or 13MP back with the same front shooter. It is also interesting to note that the C1 is said to run on Android, with a Windows 10 variant available in select markets. The anonymous source also goes on to explain that the handset has been long in the making, so much so that the original prototype was apparently canceled and replaced with one with better hardware. That could also potentially explain the two distinct sets of specs. In any case, there is still a lot of time to wait until the C1 even has a chance to hit user markets in Q4...

Microsoft announces the Lumia 950 and 950 XL in India

Microsoft has announced its two new flagship devices, the Lumia 950 and the Lumia 950 XL in the Indian market. Both phones will be available in the dual SIM configuration. The 950 duo are the first phones from Microsoft running the new Windows 10 operating system out of the box. This allows them to run the same applications that you can on your Windows 10 desktop through the Window Store, and also make use of features like Continuum, which allows you to connect your phone to a dock and use it as a makeshift Windows desktop PC. The Lumia 950 has a 5.2-inch Quad HD AMOLED display, Snapdragon 808 processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB memory, 20 megapixel camera, USB Type-C with fast charging, wireless charging, and 3000mAh battery. The Lumia 950 XL is mostly the same, but has a larger 5.7-inch display with identical resolution, Snapdragon 810 processor, and a larger 3340mAh battery. The Lumia 950 is priced at INR 43,699 ($654) and the Lumia 950 XL is priced at INR 49,699 ($743). Both come with Microsoft Display Dock as...

Cancelled Nokia Mercury tablet shows up in leaked render

When Microsoft completed the acquisition of Nokia's Devices & Services division last year, several devices including smartphones, smartwatches, as well tablets were reportedly cancelled. However, one of those devices - the Mercury tablet - has now showed up in a leaked render (shown below). From the Lumia graveyard: Microsoft/Nokia Mercury. http://pic.twitter.com/FB24IfKcCz— Evan Blass (@evleaks) November 30, 2015 The render image was leaked by the usually reliable leakster @evleaks. From what can be seen, the tablet features a front as well as a rear camera, and also comes with what looks like a SIM card slot. Overall, the device looks more like a phone than a tablet. Unfortunately, no other details including those related to the tablet's specifications were revealed in the...

Samsung Galaxy S4, S5, and S6 now available at 50% discount in US

If you're in the US, and are planning to purchase the Samsung Galaxy S4, S5, or S6, here is some good news: AT&T's no-contract subsidiary Cricket Wireless is running a Cyber Monday promotion wherein the aforementioned devices are being offered at a 50% discount. This means that the handsets are now available for purchase for just $100, $200, and $250, down from their original price of $200, $400, and $500, respectively. Valid with activation on a smartphone plan, the promotion runs through December 3, and is available to both new and existing customers. Cricket says you can also combine the discount with the Black Friday offer wherein those switching to the carrier by December 6 will get a $100 Cricket Shopping Card. The carrier is also offering discounts on several other devices, including the Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime, LG G Stylo, ZTE Overture 2, LG Risio, Motorola Moto E, and the Nokia Lumia 635. Head to the source link below for more...

BlackBerry Priv gets 24K gold treatment

You can now get BlackBerry's debut Android smartphone gold plated for a more premium look. Karalux - a company based in Vietnam, where the Priv set to go on sale this weekend (December 5) - will get the job done for you. "Unlike the previous generations, it is a little bit more difficult to disassemble BlackBerry Priv," the company said. "Karalux engineers took nearly 2 hours to 'operate' its details, and spent 4 more hours with more than 10 different procedures to complete the first gold-plated BlackBerry Priv in Vietnam." As for the price, users in Vietnam can get their device gold plated for VND 8 million ($355), while both phone and gold-plating will cost VND 25 million ($1111). On the other hand, international customers will have to pay VND 30 million (around $1350) for each gold-plated unit. Source 1...

The Pirate Bay remains accessible in Sweden... at least for now

While notorious file-sharing website The Pirate Bay has been blocked in several countries around the world, it will remain accessible in its home country of Sweden, at least for now that is. A Swedish court has ruled that it can't force ISPs to block the website. The ruling came after the court observed that under the Swedish law, ISPs can't be held responsible for what users do on a website. Also, no fines can be imposed on them in cases like these. As for the case in question, it was brought by several music and movie studios - including Universal Music, Sony Music, Warner Music, Nordisk Film, and the Swedish Film Industry - who want local ISP Bredbandsbolaget to block the website. For those who aren't already aware, The Pirate Bay has been used to distribute copyrighted material. The decision by the district court is likely to be...

Vivo Y51 and Y51L receive TENAA certification

After the Y37A and Y51A, two more vivo smartphones have been certified by the Chinese regulatory agency TENAA. These devices carry a model number of Y51 and Y51L, respectively. Specs-wise, the Y51 is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU, and sports a 5-inch (960 × 540 pixel resolution) TFT display. It comes with 2GB RAM and 16GB expandable internal memory. In terms of camera, the device features an 8MP rear unit and a 5MP front shooter. Weighing in at 157 gms and measuring 143.8 × 71.7 × 7.52 (mm), the handset runs Android 5.0 Lollipop. Color options include white. The Y51L, interestingly, comes with a similar design and exactly same specs as that of the Y51 (except that it runs Android 5.0.2 out-of-the-box). So the main difference between the two smartphones isn't exactly clear at this point. In case you aren't already aware, vivo is expected to unveil the X6 flagship today. Source 1 (translated) | Source 2 (translated) |...

Best Apps and Games of the Week

Opera Max Opera Max is a data compression app for your Android phone. The app monitors all the data going through the device (except for the encrypted stuff) and then compresses it to reduce data consumption on your end. This previous worked on web pages and even videos but now the app has been updated to even support audio streaming apps, so you can now stream music without having to worry too much about data consumption. Price: Free Download: Android Reeder 3 Reeder 3 is a brand new version of the popular RSS reading app for iOS. Version 3 brings new design, support for iOS 9 split view, 3D Touch support, Instapaper as a sync service, font options for article viewer, iPad Pro support, and more. If you are into RSS a lot, this is one of the best apps you can get on mobile. Price: $4.99 Download: iOS Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes It's Star Wars season and EA has dropped a new Star Wars game on the mobile platform. It's not exactly the first person shooter that is Battlefront but more of an RPG, but with Star Wars characters. You play on either the light or the dark side and unlock characters as you progress and form your team. You can unlock additional abilities for characters as you play and use it in the turn-based action gameplay across various locations. The game is free and available on both iOS and Android. Price: Free Download: iOS • Android Snowboard Party 2 Snowboard Party 2 is here with new events, new venues, and new tricks. There's now a new time attack mode where you have to get to the end of the track as quickly as possible while executing tricks to go faster. There are now 21 unique locations to play with 16 riders and 80 outfits, 50 boards, and 150 level objectives and achievements. There's even a multiplayer mode and the game has full support for a controller. If you liked the original, you will like this even more. Price: $1.99 Download:...

Sony Xperia Z5 Premium battery life test

Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is quite special because of its 4K display, but most of the time it turned out it runs on an upscaled 1080p interface. We know Sony for its optimizations and we've seen Xperia phones does impressively in our battery life test. Yet the hot Snapdragon 810 isn't lightweight on the battery at all. So what's going to be for the Z5 Premium then? The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is powered by a beefy 3,430 mAh battery, sealed-in, as expected. It's 500 mAh more than the battery unit in the Z5, which scored 73 hours, so we are hopeful. The first test is about 3G talk time endurance and the Z5 Premium lasted north of the 20 hours mark. JRGRAPH_EXPANDABLE_VERSION = true;.jrGraphContainer { background: none !important; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee !important;}.jrGraph { padding-left: 0 !important; left:96px !important;} Talk time Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro 33:20h Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G 33:19h Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ 30:29h OnePlus 2 30:29h Motorola DROID Turbo 30:09h Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual SIM 29:46h Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE 29:46h Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM 29:46h Microsoft Lumia 640 XL 29:46h Samsung Galaxy Note5 28:34h HTC One (M8) for Windows 28:34h Nokia Lumia 1520 28:34h Samsung Galaxy Note 4 28:31h Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet LTE 28:25h Samsung Galaxy S5 27:37h Sony Xperia Z1 26:53h Samsung Galaxy S6 active 26:29h Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.7 25:45h LG G3 25:38h LG G Pro 2 25:37h LG G Flex 25:19h Sony Xperia T2 Ultra 25:16h LG G2 25:15h Samsung Galaxy A7 Duos 25:12h BlackBerry Passport 25:12h Huawei Ascend Mate 25:12h Motorola Nexus 6 25:03h Alcatel Hero 25:02h Oppo N1 25:01h Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo 24:52h Sony Xperia Z Ultra 24:23h Apple iPhone 6 Plus 23:49h LG AKA 23:20h Sony Xperia Z3 23:13h Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM 23:09h Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE 23:09h Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE Dual SIM 23:09h Oppo R7 22:58h Samsung P6200 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus 22:42h Motorola Moto E (2nd gen) 22:36h Sony Xperia Z2 22:13h Sony Xperia C3 Dual 22:11h Meizu MX4 Pro 22:09h Yota YotaPhone 2 22:09h Samsung ATIV SE 22:05h Xiaomi Redmi Note 21:41h Samsung Galaxy Note Edge 21:39h ZTE Axon Pro 21:23h Xiaomi Mi 4i 21:02h Meizu m2 note 20:55h LG Optimus G Pro E985 20:45h HTC One M9 20:44h Sony Xperia Z1 Compact 20:42h Sony Xperia Z5 Premium 20:27h Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 20:24h Motorola RAZR i XT890 20:07h Huawei Ascend Mate7 20:06h Samsung Galaxy A3 20:04h Samsung Galaxy E7 20:04h Samsung Galaxy A3 Duos 20:04h Oppo Find 7 20:03h Samsung Galaxy S5 Active 20:01h BlackBerry Q10 20:00h OnePlus One 19:56h Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 19:55h Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 I9200 19:54h Sony Xperia SP 19:49h Samsung Galaxy S6 19:48h Samsung Galaxy S6 edge 19:48h Sony Xperia T3 19:48h HTC Butterfly 2 19:23h HTC Butterfly S 19:14h HTC Desire Eye 19:11h Oppo R819 19:03h Asus PadFone X 18:45h Xiaomi Mi 4c 18:31h Xiaomi Mi 4 18:15h Samsung Galaxy Note 3 18:12h LG G2 mini 18:11h Oppo Find 7a 18:11h Samsung I9505...

Check out the new phones of the week

You know the week was busy in the mobile realm when there are more than a couple of freshly announced devices for us to add to the database. If you were too busy to keep up with the news, don't worry, here's a quick roundup of the new tech you might have missed. First, of course, we start with the big announcement, the handset that we have all been waiting for, ever since we first caught a glimpse of the ambitious Kirin 950 SoC - the Huawei Mate 8. The new flagship offers a spacious 6-inch FHD IPS display, 4000mAh battery, always-on fingerprint reader and is available in 3GB/32GB, 4GB/64GB, and 4GB/128GB variants. But the star attraction is undoubtedly the aforementioned Kirin 950 chipset, which finally promises to end the OEM's long and unfortunate streak of underwhelming hardware with its four high-power Cortex-A72 cores, clocked at up to 2.3 GHz and the additional four power-saving Cortex-A53 ones, working at 1.8 GHz. Moving on to Xiaomi, which announced a pair of new devices sharing one common trait - exception value to price ratio. First up is the Redmi Note 3. With a 5.5-inch 1080p display, MediaTek Helio X10 processor, fingerprint sensor, 13MP camera, 2GB RAM and 16GB storage or 3GB RAM and 32GB. It is said to go for only RMB 899 ($140) and RMB 1099 ($172), respectively. Then there is the all new Mi Pad 2 tablet with an all-aluminum body that is only 6.95mm and weighs just 322g. It runs on a new 14nm Intel Atom X5-Z8500 64-bit processor with 2GB RAM, is equipped with a 7.9-inch 2048x1536 pixel display. The slate will be available running Android or Windows 10 for as low as RMB 999 ($156) for the 16GB model and RMB 1299 ($203) for the 64GB model. Granted, these Xiaomi prices are for the local market, but even then, they seem like insanely good value. LG also has a new addition to its lineup - the Ray. It is a budget-friendly device, with a 5.5" 720p IPS display, MediaTek MT6592M chipset, 1GB of RAM and an impressive 13MP plus 8MP camera setup with a price tag of about $232/€215. Last, but not least, Microsoft has a new featurephone in its ranks - the Nokia 230, available in both a single and dual-SIM variant. .news-item .n-left { float: left; width: 25%; text-align: center; } .news-item .n-right { float: left; width: 75%; } .news-item a { padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; } #review-body .news-item .n-right h2, .reviews-item .n-right h2 { clear: both; padding: 0 0 3px 0px; font: 400 19px Google-Oswald, Arial; margin-top: -4px; } .n-right p { margin-top: 25px; line-height: 155%; } .news-item { padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; border-top: 1px solid #ccc; } .news-item p { margin-left: 0; } .n-right h2 .phone-name { display: inline-block; width: 325px; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: text-bottom; } .n-right h2 a { text-decoration: none; color: #000; } .flat-button{ text-align:center; text-decoration: none !important; font: 400 22px Google-Oswald,Arial !important; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 150%; padding: 20px 60px !important; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; -moz-border-radius: 5px; border-radius: 5px; margin: 10px 0; -webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; -ms-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; -moz-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; -o-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; color: #fff !important; } .flat-button-1 { background: #0CADA7; } .flat-button-1:hover { background: #0A948F; color: #666666 !important; } .flat-button-2 { background: #FF7E47; } .flat-button-2:hover { background: #EE7440; color: #666666 !important; } .n-right .rank-info { display: inline-block; font-family: "Google-Oswald",​Arial,​sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 100; } .n-right .rank-info .current-rank { font-size: 23px; } .circle { background: none repeat scroll 0 0 #8fb28f; border-radius: 50%; height: 23px; width: 23px; display: inline-block; margin: 0px 10px -1px 10px; } .arrow { width: 0; height: 0; border-style: solid; display: inline-block; margin: 0px 10px -1px 10px; } .arrow-up { border-width: 0 15px 25px 15px; border-color: transparent transparent #0cada7 transparent; } .arrow-down { border-width: 25px 15px 0 15px; border-color: #ff7e47...

Weekly poll: Sony Xperia Z5 Premium - did it live up to your expectations?

Well, the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is finally here and with units already hitting international markets you can finally see for yourself what 4K looks on a mobile phone. What Sony did with the handset is definitely groundbreaking, there's no denying that, even if there are certain limitations to UHD on the device and its real-life visual benefits are hard to spot. That is what the Z5 Premium will go down in history with, but the handset is far from a one-trick pony. Hopefully, you already read our in-depth review on Sony's latest gem that can hopefully help you decide whether the Z5 Premium lives up to expectations. Then afterwards, be sure to tell us what you think in the poll below. We are dying to know! As for our two cents on the matter - the steep pricing aside, the Z5 Premium is an exquisitely built device that encompasses perfectly all that Sony currently brings to the mobile market. That might not be enough for some, but is still the epiphany of smartphones for a lot of loyal fans. It looks great, performs like a champ and shows significant promise in the camera department, not to mention some long-overdue improvement after the recent app...

Top 10 trending phones of week 48

In this edition of our weekly Top 10 trending phones chart, we finally witness the Samsung Galaxy J7 get dethroned. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 enters the chart this week, and storms straight to number one mere days after its announcement. Long-time champ Galaxy J7 needs to settle for silver this week, still closely followed by the J5 in third. Ushered in by the Redmi Note 3, the previous-gen Xiaomi phablet joins the trending list in fourth, comfortably ahead of the Galaxy J2 - another regular. Next comes the Galaxy Grand Prime in sixth, showing no particular sings of loosing user interest week after week. The Samsung Galaxy S6 and Note5 have swapped places since last week, and the former is now in seventh, while the S-Pen-packing phablet is now in eighth. The Sony Xperia Z5 had the weakest week-on-week performance, losing a total of 6 places, now in ninth. In a bit of surprising development, the Samsung Galaxy A5 enters in tenth, keeping the iPhone 6s out by a few hundred hits. .news-item .n-left { float: left; width: 25%; text-align: center; } .news-item .n-right { float: left; width: 75%; } .news-item a { padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; } #review-body .news-item .n-right h2, .reviews-item .n-right h2 { clear: both; padding: 0 0 3px 0px; font: 400 19px Google-Oswald, Arial; margin-top: -4px; } .n-right p { margin-top: 25px; line-height: 155%; } .news-item { padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; border-top: 1px solid #ccc; } .news-item p { margin-left: 0; } .n-right h2 .phone-name { display: inline-block; width: 325px; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: text-bottom; } .n-right h2 a { text-decoration: none; color: #000; } .flat-button{ text-align:center; text-decoration: none !important; font: 400 22px Google-Oswald,Arial !important; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 150%; padding: 20px 60px !important; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; -moz-border-radius: 5px; border-radius: 5px; margin: 10px 0; -webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; -ms-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; -moz-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; -o-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; color: #fff !important; } .flat-button-1 { background: #0CADA7; } .flat-button-1:hover { background: #0A948F; color: #666666 !important; } .flat-button-2 { background: #FF7E47; } .flat-button-2:hover { background: #EE7440; color: #666666 !important; } .n-right .rank-info { display: inline-block; font-family: "Google-Oswald",​Arial,​sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 100; } .n-right .rank-info .current-rank { font-size: 23px; } .circle { background: none repeat scroll 0 0 #8fb28f; border-radius: 50%; height: 23px; width: 23px; display: inline-block; margin: 0px 10px -1px 10px; } .arrow { width: 0; height: 0; border-style: solid; display: inline-block; margin: 0px 10px -1px 10px; } .arrow-up { border-width: 0 15px 25px 15px; border-color: transparent transparent #0cada7 transparent; } .arrow-down { border-width: 25px 15px 0 15px; border-color: #ff7e47 transparent transparent transparent; } Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 RANK: 1NEW IN specs gallery Samsung Galaxy J7 RANK: 2WAS: 1 specs review Samsung Galaxy J5 RANK: 3WAS: 2 specs review Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 RANK: 4NEW IN specs review Samsung Galaxy J2 RANK: 5WAS: 4 specs gallery Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime RANK: 6WAS: 6 specs review Samsung Galaxy S6 RANK: 7WAS: 8 specs review Samsung Galaxy Note5 RANK: 8WAS: 7 specs review Sony Xperia Z5 RANK: 9WAS: 3 specs review Samsung Galaxy A5 RANK: 10NEW IN specs...

Weekly poll results: Apple iPad Pro gets lukewarm reception

The Apple iPad Pro didn't have it easy all week, taking hits from the majority of our readers. It's been a while since a "Hot or not" poll of ours turned out not in favor. The iPad Pro gathered a total of 37% of upvotes - less than 2 out of 5 people hit the thumbs up. Apparently, the productivity benefits of the large screen failed to entice most of you. There's also the matter of the Pencil that needs to be recharged every now and then, and the Smart Keyboard that can only stay in this one position. And that's before getting to the less than affordable price tag, which certainly helped steer you to the downvote side. The additional $270 that the accessories will set you back aren't particularly hot either, even if their currently limited availability might lead you to believe otherwise. In all fairness the 12.9-inch Apple tablet is not exactly a mainstream device, so a widespread appeal was never part of its game plan. And certainly 37% of people aren't designers and on-the-go video editors, so the iPad Pro still manages to speak outside of its target...

Week 48 in review: Huawei Mate 8 and Nokia devices

Last week was quite busy in the mobile realm with at least a few exciting new offers on the horizon. While major-league player Samsung is working on the revamped Galaxy A line with a new A5 (2016), A7 (2016) and A9, perhaps also an A8 (2016), Chinese OEMs are wasting no time putting out offers of their own. This week Xiaomi brought us the Redmi Note 3. It more than lives up to the legacy of its predecessors and offers a 5.5-inch 1080p display, MediaTek Helio X10 SoC and 3GB of RAM for the almost unbelievable price of RMB 1099 ($172). And if you are willing to settle for 2GB RAM and 16GB of storage, the deal is even better at RMB 899 ($140). These are local prices, but still quite impressive. The OEM also refreshed its tablet family with a new addition - the Mi Pad 2, which is just as interesting with its full-metal body and Intel Atom CPU, capable of running Android and Windows. But it wasn't only budget-friendly Chinese offers that made headlines. On the opposite side of the spectrum, we finally met the Huawei Mate 8. It promises a huge leap forward in performance, thanks to the company's next-get Kirin 950 chip. Nokia also made headlines this the week. The C1 has everybody excited for the alleged possibility of dual-booting Windows 10 and Android from the original Finnish company. And then, there is the Nokia 230 featurephone by the mobile division acquired by Microsoft. There has been no shortage of rumors either. The Samsung Galaxy S7 flagship already has everybody excited and industry sources claim that it might bring back the microSD card slot, which has definitely been missed. Speaking of Samsung, its Exynos 7420 SoC was spotted powering a BlackBerry device, so that is something else to look forward to. Feel free to hit the following links for more details on the hot topics of the week. .news-item .n-left { float: left; width: 28%; text-align: center; } .news-item .n-right { float: left; width: 70%; } .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 !important; font: 400 19px Google-Oswald, Arial; margin-top: -4px; } .n-right p { line-height: 155%; } .news-item { padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; border-top: 1px solid #ccc; } .news-item p { margin-left: 0; } .n-right h2 a { text-decoration: none; color: #000; } New render claims to depict upcoming Nokia C1 running Android and Windows 10 Mobile The much-rumored device is supposed to be Nokia's first after having sold its smartphone business to Microsoft. 2.8-inch aluminum Nokia 230 is official Front and rear 2MP cameras, both with an LED flash, in this latest Series 30+ feature phone. Samsung Galaxy S7 to bring back microSD card slot The rumor also says that the Galaxy S7 will sport a 5.2-inch flat screen, while the S7 edge will feature a larger 5.7-inch curved display. Huawei Mate 8 goes official with 6-inch display, Kirin 950 SoC The device comes with 16MP/8MP camera combo and a large 4000mAh battery. Gionee Marathon M5 with 6020mAh battery and 3GB RAM launched in India Carrying a price tag of INR 17,999 ($270), the device will be exclusively available via Flipkart starting today. Xiaomi announces Mi Pad 2 all-metal tablet with Intel chipset Thinner and lighter than before with a new aluminum body. Nvidia Shield Tablet X1 has Tegra X1 SoC, gets benchmarked running Android 6.0 This tablet is going to be the much-delayed successor to the original Shield Tablet with a Tegra K1 chipset. Samsung Galaxy A9 spotted on GeekBench with Snapdragon 620 Unlike the old entry from 2 and a half months ago, this time the chip is tuned for single-core performance. 2018 iPhone might have a Samsung-made OLED panel A Samsung Display executive has hinted at the possible Cupertino partnership with first results expected in 2018. The alleged Nubia Z11 is looking fine with a curved glass and possibly a Snapdragon 820 SoC The handset was spotted in...

Lenovo partners with Razer to sell special-edition Y series gaming machines

Lenovo and Razer are partnering to bring you special co-branded gaming machines. For now, it is limited to Lenovo's existing Y series of desktop gaming computers, which have been given the Razer touch with a green backlit front logo instead of red, and Chrome RGB lighting underneath the chassis. If that sounds underwhelming, that's because it mostly is. It seems for all intents and purposes this is entirely a Lenovo machine with Razer's green lights tacked on, and not even in the Razer logo. Of course, this is not entirely new, as Razer has previously partnered with companies like NZXT, which resulted in products that were nothing more than the standard version with some green lights. Razer has a big name in the gaming industry and as such it's not uncommon for other companies to tag along and try to get some additional mileage from their same old products by slapping on some lights and stickers. Of course, there is nothing inherently wrong with the product itself, but do you really need to pay the premium for the additional Razer branding that this product will undeniably come with over its non-Razer branded...

Statistics show a record high in mobile shopping, iOS users are leading the frenzy

The holiday season is almost upon us and with it comes the annual shopping craze and retailers are wasting no time, especially online with deals already flying all over the place. Be it Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday or simply good old-fashioned Christmas shopping it is no secret that an increasing number of us are doing an ever-growing portion of our shopping online and as it turns out, this year people are reaching for their smartphones for online bargains more than ever before. The first set of numbers comes courtesy of Adobe, which has been monitoring around 4,500 sites, including 80% of the top 100 e-tailers over the past few frantic shopping days. It turns out, from a total of $2.72 billion spent on Black Friday and $1.73 billion on Thanksgiving, a whopping $1.6 billion were wired via a smartphone. Mobile devices are still not as popular as PC's for online purchases, but these numbers show a huge increase over last year. According to IBM, 60% of all online traffic on Thanksgiving was via mobile devices and 54.4% on Black Friday. That is a yearly increase of 14.8% and 16.6%, respectively. As for actuals sales, the same statistic says 40% were completed via a tablet or phone on Thanksgiving and around 35.5% on Black Friday. Overall, smartphones continue to be the device of choice, outweighing tablets with about 23.9% of all registered sales, compared to 16.1%, so we seem to favor portability over a bigger screen. And another study, conducted by Custora's E-Commerce Pulse on more than 200 online retailers claims that iOS devices amount for a lot more sales than their Android cousin. According to the numbers, iPad and iPhone orders this Thanksgiving made up 78.3% of all mobile purchases. This is about 1.6 percent down from last year, but still overwhelmingly more than the 21.5% Android users tallied up. It is also interesting to note that while overall sales, mobile or otherwise, have risen year-over-year as well, the average value per order has dropped. So, we are definitely ordering more, but paying a bit less for each purchase. Also, it comes as no surprise that iOS users generate more than 3.6 times the commercial online revenue of Android users. Source 1 | Source...

Marshmallow is rolling out for the LG G4 across Europe

LG is definitely working hard on bringing Android 6.0 Marshmallow to its latest flagship offer. After what was essentially a soak test in Poland and a bigger staged rollout on the company's home market, users are now reporting that the update has started seeding across Europe as well. The package weighs about 1.55GB and can be obtained through LG Bridge (the OEM's new PC synch software). Judging by user feedback, the update is not available for every unit in Europe quite yet. The lucky few who have obtained the software mostly seem to be from Germany and own the H815. We also came across a list of G4 models that will, allegedly, be part of this first roll-out, but can't really confirm its authenticity: LGH815 PRT PORTUGAL PT Portugal Europe 2015-11-26 LGH815 POL POLAND PL Poland Europe 2015-11-26 LGH815 ROM ROMANIA RO Romania Europe 2015-11-26 LGH815 DEU GERMANY DE Germany Europe 2015-11-26 LGH815 EAP AMAZON ES Spain Europe 2015-11-26 LGH815 ESP SPAIN ES Spain Europe 2015-11-26 LGH815TR TUR TURKEY TR Turkey Mid. East/Africa 2015-11-26 LGH815 VDS VODAFONE ES Spain Europe 2015-11-25 LGH815 TWN TWN TW Taiwan China 2015-11-25 LGH815 VDF VODAFONE GB United Kingdom Europe 2015-11-25 LGH815 VIP VIP HR Croatia Europe 2015-11-25 LGH815 VDH VODAFONE HU Hungary Europe 2015-11-25 LGH815 VDP VODAFONE PT Portugal Europe 2015-11-25 LGH815 SWC SWISSCOM CH Switzerland Europe 2015-11-25 LGH815 VDR VODAFONE RO Romania Europe 2015-11-25 LGH815 VD2 VODAFONE DE Germany Europe 2015-11-25 We already have a fairly good idea of exactly what changes Android 6.0 brings to the handset. Apart from core Marshmallow features, like Dozing and the new app permission model, the LG G4 also has updated Knock Code settings and a few app renames, like QMemo+ in the notification panel, which is now Capture+. An official list of changes, along with screenshot can be found at the second source link. Source 1 | Source...

Chromecast owners being offered 3-months Spotify Premium subscription for free

If you're an owner of Google's Chromecast streaming stick (first gen or the 2015 model), here is some good news: now you can get 90 days of Spotify Premium subscription without shelling out a single penny from your pocket. Officially, the offer is only available to Chromecast users in the United States and Malaysia, but those in other countries like Portugal have also been able to redeem it. So, there's a strong possibility that the offer can be availed in almost all the regions where Spotify is available. Aside from the free 90-day Spotify Premium subscription, you can also redeem 3 months of Google Play Music for free, if that's what interests you. Source |...

OnePlus Icons earphones landing in India next week

Unveiled last month, the OnePlus Icons earphones were launched in the Unites States carrying a price tag of $50 - the accessory is currently on sale for $45 as part of a special Black Friday promotion. Now, the company has announced that the earphones will be launched in India next week. As you can see in the teaser above, the accessory will be available in the country starting Monday - November 30. You'll be able to purchase it from Amazon India website. There's currently no word on the pricing though. "Inspired by the king of Instruments, the organ piano, OnePlus Icons is not only a design marvel but an instrument made for a richer sound experience," OnePlus said in a forum post. "Composed of smooth aluminium, it feels sturdy and metallic, yet incredibly light." Head to the Source 2 link below to learn more about the earphones. Source 1 | Source...

Sony Xperia Z5 Premium goes on sale in Canada

Sony has launched the Xperia Z5 Premium smartphone (which sports an eye-popping 5.5-inch 4K display) in Canada, where local carrier Bell is selling the flagship device for $749.99 outright or $299.99 on a regular 2-year contract. Although not officially, the smartphone is already on sale in the United States, where third party retailers including Amazon and Expansys are currently selling it for around $780 for the standard model. The handset is also available for purchase in Europe through Sony as well as third party retailers. As for the price, it carries a tag of £629 in the UK, €829 in Italy, €899 in Greece, and €799 in most other countries. The device is also on sale in...

2016 Toyota RAV4

The 2016 Toyota RAV4 is the latest update to the smallest utility vehicle in the company's lineup. This year, there's a mild refresh of a handful of styling and interior features, but the big news is the addition of a RAV4 Hybrid model. That gives the RAV4 not only a version with better fuel economy, but the only hybrid in the smaller SUV segment...

Newly-launched Fossil Q Founder spotted listed on Google Store

Launched just a few days ago, the $295 Fossil Q Founder smartwatch is currently only available for purchase from select Fossil stores as well the company's website. However, you'll soon also be able to purchase it from the Google Store as well. The wearable is now listed on the Mountain View, California-based company's online store, available in two model options: Light stainless steel case with silver-finish steel bracelet and Light stainless steel case with leather band. There's, however, no word on the price tag as well as when exactly the Android Wear-powered smartwatch will be available to...

Official CyanogenMod is in the works for the OnePlus 2

Initially geared towards Android enthusiasts and tinkerers, the OnePlus One definitely managed to find its way in the right hands and has become a legendary favorite of the dev community. Its successor - the OnePlus 2 has also retained a special place in the hearts of the modding community, but many loyal fans have found one vital piece of the puzzle missing - CyanogenMod. Well, this might soon change, as the OnePlus 2 can now be spotted on the CyanogenMod official Git repository. And while, some eager XDA developers have already delivered their ambitious ports of the OS for the OnePlus 2, this is a whole other cup of tea. At least in theory, any future builds that come out of this repository will benefit from the community's support and quality control. Yes, it might be an open-source port, self-driven by its community, but support and a proper workflow are still present for the user's benefit. If you don't know the backstory, a pretty quick version would be the following: The OnePlus One originally launched with CyanogenMod - an ambitious AOSP ROM, supported by an active community, but was later involved in a series of calamities that led to an end for official support. Since then, OnePlus has been using its own Oxygen OS platform, but eager developers have persisted in their efforts to often singlehandedly port CyanogenMod on to OnePlus handsets. Last, but definitely not least, it is worth noting that the aforementioned repository already features not one, but two separate branches of CyanogenMod. One is 12.2 and is thus based on Android 5.1.1, while the other one uses the latest CM 13, or Android 6.0 Marshmallow code base. So, if and when actual builds start coming in, chances are that OnePlus 2 users will be treated to Google's latest and greatest mobile OS core, with all the CyanogenMod bells and whistles on top. Source |...

Google Glass could be reincarnated with an even more sci-fi second version

Google has tried its hand at quite a few outlandish projects over the years with Google[x] labs constantly trying to push technological innovation to the next level. But, for a number of reasons, few of said projects actually get much exposure to the general public, but one definitely stands out as an exception - Google Glass. Back in the late 2015 and early 2016, it seemed like the tech world was completely obsessed with Google's augmented reality endeavor and most everybody wanted a piece of what was hailed as the next big tech revolution. Sadly, despite all the hype and user exposure, the early access Google Glass Explorer Program came to an abrupt end this January. Many people believe that Glass was prematurely displayed to users and inevitably killed by inherent initial imperfection and there was also the reoccurring theme of social awkwardness and even moral dilemmas the technology raised. But, luckily, the ambitions project survived, despite receding from the public domain. The Google Glass team graduated Google[x] and currently has its own division. Ever since, fans have been eagerly awaiting a new product from the renamedProject Aurora and a new patent might actually offer a first glimpse of what appear to be Google Glass 2.0. The device described and even sketched in said document looks even more sci-fi than its predecessor. It uses a sort of half-glass design with a frame extending from the back of the user's head, over the year and into a familiar-looking main projection mechanism, complete with a button and camera. The description also mentions touch input capabilities for the band, as well as hints that a prism or other optical setup could extend the display to both eyes - now that would be impressive! While the patent does suggest the Glass project is alive and well, we can't really say when and even if it is going to land on user markets a second time. There have been rumors of the technology being repurposed as a professional tool to be used in healthcare, aeronautics and other prospective areas for augmented reality implementation. Still, in a job offer, posted back in June, the search giant was indeed looking to hire specialists to work on Google Glass, or rather its successor, so there might still be hope yet. Source 1 | Source 2 |...