Grab Great Discounts On A Wide Range Of MECOOL-Branded TV Boxes On GearBest

Get 50% Off On Bakeey M26 Smart Watch

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Jan 9, 2019

It is imperative for us to take care of our fitness if we want to keep up with this fast-paced society.
There’s no dearth smartwatches and bands that can handle this arduous task, but these fitness gadgets don’t come cheap. If you are a fitness purist who’s living on a tight budget, it might interest you to know that Bakeey’s M26 smartwatch has now gone up for pre-order carrying a reduced price tag on Banggood.

The Bakeey M26 is GPS sporty smartwatch that can be described as a smaller version of a mobile phone on your wrist. The M26 supports Bluetooth calling feature that lets you make and receive phone calls without requiring your smartphone.

Furthermore, the M26 is an IP67 rated smartwatch, which means it can withstand nearly 30 minutes of immersion in about a meter or three feet of fresh water. You can wear it while washing your hands or taking a shower and even while swimming.
It sports an easily readable 1.3 inch IPS full touch HD color screen with high resolution of 240×240 pixels. It features GPS+GLONASS, GPS+Beidou triple positioning to enable faster and more accurate positioning and ensure accurate exercise records so that you analyze and enhance your health.

It also has a compass that guides you in real time regardless of where you go. The Bakeey M26 comes with a slew of sports modes that encompasses activities like outdoor run, running machine, walking, cycling, and climbing just to name a few.

Aside from the motion track feature that records your steps, distance, calories etc., the M26 smartwatch is capable of monitoring the height of your location in real time using altimeter and barometer. On top of that, it has can monitor your heart rate and blood pressure when you exercise.

The Bakeey M26 comes with a camera that lets you capture memorable moments without requiring a selfie stick. It can even monitor the quality and duration of your sleep so that you can figure out how to improve your sleep quality.

This feature-rich Bakeey M26 smartwatch will not set you back a pretty penny, unlike the rest of the top-branded smartwatches that are available in the market today. The original asking price of the M26 is $79.99, but you can now pre-order for just $39.99 from Banggood.

This 50 percent discount will be valid for the grey, red, green and the black color versions of the smartwatch for a limited period of time. You can follow this link to avail the discount before the promo comes to an end.

Lenovo Yoga S940 laptop with marvelous edge-to-edge display and $1,500 price unveiled at CES 2019

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Jan 9, 2019

The Lenovo Yoga S940 ultraportable laptop has gone official at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2019 tech expo. The Yoga S940 appears like just another ultraportable laptop from outside. Even the specifications of the new Lenovo notebook are similar to rivaling devices. What’s interesting about the Lenovo Yoga S940 is that it features a marvelous edge-to-edge screen with curved glass on it.

Lenovo S940 Specifications, Features and Pricing

The Lenovo Yoga S940 is fitted with a 13.9-inch IPS LCD screen that offers 16:10 aspect ratio. The laptop comes in two screen models such as an entry-level variant featuring a 1080p display that supports 400-nits brightness and Dolby Vision and a higher HDR400 4K model with 500-nits brightness. It is the first laptop ever to support 16:10 aspect ratio. The laptop weighs 1.2 kgs and it has a thickness of 12.2mm.

The Yoga S940 comes with in CPU variants like Core i5 and Core it 7. It features integrated Intel UHD 6320 graphics. The laptop can be configured with up to 16 GB of RAM. The storage capacity of the Yoga S940 begins at 256 GB NVMe PCIe which can be configured up to 2 TB.

The Lenovo Yoga S940 is equipped with Dolby Atmos powered front-firing speakers. There is a front-facing IR camera placed above the display facial recognition. The AI sensors present on the laptop automatically locks the laptop when the user moves away from the device. AI kicks in during video calls to kill ambient noise. The device comes with two Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports and it features Amazon Alexa and Microsoft Cortana voice assistants.

The Lenovo Yoga S940 has a starting price of $1,500. The Chinese firm will begin its sales in May.

For more CES 2019 coverage, checkout this link

Smartisan schedules an event on 15th January to launch a new product in China

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Jeet

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Jan 9, 2019

Smartisan has announced through its official WeChat public number that the company is scheduling a launch event on 15th January to launch a new product. Further, the company said that the event tickets will not be sold to the public but the company will broadcast the event live.

While it’s not yet known what product the company plans to launch, the “Let’s have a talk” event could indicate something related to the Bullet SMS — an instant messaging app from Smartisan. The service was launched in mid-2018 and many people saw it as a “WeChat killer” in China, which is a huge deal considering the dominance of WeChat in China.

The event seems to have been organized to launch a new product as well as address some rumors related to Smartisan. Recently, there were rumors related to the company shutting down or being acquired and it looks like Luo Yonghao, founder and CEO of Smartisan, is now planning to address those rumors.

A couple of months ago, it was reported that Smartisan was planning a massive layoff of about 60 percent employees because of the financial difficulties, having more than half of its income gone. That report also mentioned issues with the TNT workstation and that the CEO, Luo Yonghao was suffering from depression.

However, Luo Yonghao claimed the article to be inaccurate and even threatened to sue the publication. Later, Smartisan Weibo account shared a letter claiming that the post was filled with baseless accusations against the company and its CEO. It also requested the publication to retract the post or face legal consequences but the publication said it wasn’t afraid of a lawsuit.

Last month, the Smartisan official website stopped selling smartphones as every model was listed as “Sold Out.” It was also found that the company was experiencing supply shortage in Jingdong, Tmall, and Suning e-commerce platforms. This further sparked the rumors related to the company’s shut down. To know the company’s side regarding this, we’ll have to wait till 15th January.

Redmi Note 7 rumor roundup: Specifications, features and pricing

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Jan 9, 2019

Redmi smartphone brand that was recently born out of Xiaomi will be announcing a new Redmi smartphone tomorrow in China. Redmi series have always featured mid-range smartphones. However, the upcoming Redmi phone could be an upper mid-range phone with 48-megapixel rear camera. Even though Redmi has been teasing the smartphone since the beginning of this year, it is yet to reveal the name of the device. There is a possibility that it could be called Redmi Note 7 since the device with the same name was recently spotted on Geekbench. Last year, Xiaomi didn’t release the Redmi Note 6 handset is China which suggests that the company might have skipped it since it was just an incremental update over the Redmi Note 5 Pro. Probably, upcoming Redmi Note series may include high-end phones staring with Redmi Note 7 whereas forthcoming non-Note Redmi phones may comprise of budget-friendly phones. There are some contradictory reports that claim that the Redmi phone launching on Thursday could be Redmi Pro 2 or Redmi X or Redmi 7 Pro.

Redmi Note 7 Launch Event

At 2 PM (local time) in Beijing, China, Redmi will be announcing the alleged Redmi Note 7 smartphone. Redmi has entered a strategic partnership with TikTok (known as Douyin or Vibrato in China) for the launch of the upcoming Redmi Phone. It is speculated that the company would be also announcing the Mi TV 4X Pro and sound bar alongside the Redmi phone.

Redmi Note 7 Specifications, Features and Price

In the previous month, Xiaomi President Lin Bin had released an image of a mysterious Redmi phone with 48-megapixel rear camera. Bin had also confirmed that the company will be releasing the smartphone in January. After the establishment of Redmi as independent brand at beginning of this year, the company began teasing on the features of the Redmi Note 7. The handset is codenamed as “Little King Kong.”

The predecessor Redmi phones have featured 3-stage metal and polycarbonate combination chassis. The purported Redmi Note 7 launching tomorrow will be the first Redmi phone to arrive with a glass rear. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun has confirmed through a teaser video that it will be featuring 2.5D curved glass panels on its front and rear. A teaser video showing people stamping and jumping on the phone and another video showing a woman with high-heels trampling its display have revealed how durable the Note 7 will be.

Jun has also released official photos of the Redmi Note 7 to confirm that the handset will be available in Black and two color gradient options. There is “48MP AI Dual Camera” mentioned below the dual camera setup of the phone. The smartphone had appeared on TENAA with preliminary specs and images in the previous week. The smartphone measures 159.21 x 75.21 x 8.1mm. It houses a waterdrop notch enabled 6.3-inch display that produces full HD+ resolution.

There is a vertical dual camera setup on its rear which includes a 48-megapixel primary sensor. The handset is fueled by a 4,000mAh battery. The recently spotted Geekbench listing of the Redmi Note 7 had revealed that it is powered by Snapdragon 660 chipset and 6 GB of RAM. The handset is preloaded with Android 9 Pie OS. It could be the first Redmi phone to feature a USB-C port which indicates that it may carry support for fast charging. Lei Jun has also hinted that the handset could be priced around 2,999 Yuan (~$439).

Contradictory reports that have claimed that the company will be launching Redmi 2 Pro have suggested that it could be the first phone ever to feature Snapdragon 675. Hopefully, leaks surfacing ahead of tomorrow’s launch may confirm more details on the mysterious Redmi phone. A Russian tech blogger had shared key information on the unannounced Redmi 7 Pro handset in December. Hence, it is also being speculated that the Chinese firm may launch the Redmi 7 Pro tomorrow.

Read More: Xiaomi ‘Cepheus’ flagship smartphone spotted on Geekbench; packs SD855 SoC and 48MP camera

A listing of a smartphone labelled as Redmi X is up for reservations on JD.com. However, there are no other reports that have claimed the Redmi handset launching on Thursday will be called Redmi X. Redmi is also working on a Redmi Go Android phone. There is no confirmation whether it will be also announced tomorrow.

AliExpress Is Offering Up To 30% Off On Brands That Are Participating In CES 2019

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Check Out AliExpress’ Participating Brands At CES 2019 Promo

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Jan 9, 2019

Tech buffs and gadget lovers who couldn’t attend this year’s CES are in for a treat. As part of its latest promotion, AliExpress is offering up to a noteworthy 30 percent off on brands that are participating in the Consumer Electronics Show, that’s taking place at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The promotion features a wide selection of items from the participating brands like Baseus, Lenovo, FeiyuTech, Sherlock and lots more. More importantly, all items included in the aforesaid promo are currently up for grabs at considerably lowered prices.

In order to check out all items that are available at lowered prices for a particular brand, all you need to do is to click the brand name shown on the promotion page. For the sake of an instance, when you click the ‘ILIFE’ section, you get directed to a new page that’s brimming with top-end vacuum cleaners from renowned Chinese brand.

Likewise, those who click on the Lenovo category will be taken to a brand-new page that features popular mobile devices manufactured by the Beijing-based multinational technology company. Much to the delight of smartphone lovers, all handsets shown in the Lenovo section carry lowered price tags.
Keeping in line with that, you can avail a 31 percent off on the 3GB RAM, 32GB ROM variant of the Lenovo K5 Play L38011 smartphone that usually sells for $203.20. Thanks to the aforesaid discount, you can now get the above-mentioned model for a reduced price of only $94.87 on AliExpress.

Aside from that, the promotion page includes all sorts of accessories for computers, laptops, mobile phones, and other gadgets. From a heavily discounted Delux M618SE USB computer mouse to a FeiyuTech Vimble 2 tripod for iPhone X/8/7, and other Xiaomi, Samsung smartphones, you can buy various accessories for your devices without emptying your pocket.

Fitness purists who fancy keeping a track of their health and monitoring their activities usually end up spending a lot of money on a fitness bracelet or smartwatch. In a bid to make these useful devices that help the wearer lead a healthier lifestyle available to cost-conscious buyers, AliExpress is doling out big discounts on select smartwatches from Amazfit.

You can click here to visit the promotion page and check out the rest of the products and grab the big discounts that are currently available on the original selling prices before the promo ends.

Buy Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 And Xiaomi Gaming Headphones At Dropped Prices On GeekBuying [Coupons Inside]

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Get 32% Off On Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 Smartphone

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Jan 9, 2019

The Xiaomi New Year Sale has launched on GeekBuying. Tech buffs that have restlessly been waiting for Xiaomi products prices to drop are in for a treat.
The Chinese tech giant has teamed up with GeekBuying to offer up to a whopping 70 percent off on smartphones, smart bracelets, headphones and a wide selection of other items. We have listed a couple of Xiaomi-branded products that you can now buy at lowered prices on GeekBuying.

Aside from divulging more details about the product and the discount you can get on their retail prices, we’ll even show how you can get extra discounts at checkout. So without wasting more time, let’s delve straight into the details.

Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 (6GB RAM+128GB ROM)

The long-awaited Mi Mix 3 smartphone was finally made available to the public last year in November. Marketed as the ‘Ultimate Business Flagship,’ the phone comes with a full-screen slider and is housed in a colorful ceramic frame.

Furthermore, it sports an extra large 6.39 inches Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display with a screen resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels and Corning Gorilla Glass on top for added protection. It packs a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor along with a competent Adreno 630 GPU, under the hood.

While the market is rife with smartphones offering comparable features, you’d end up spending a lot of money on these mobile devices. The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3, on the other hand, will not set you back a pretty penny. In fact, it can now be yours at a dropped price of just $529.99 on GeekBuying.

While this is already a noteworthy 32 percent drop in the device’s original asking price of $779.99, you can extend this discount further by applying coupon code GIZ_VQLSGVUR at the time of checking out. The coupon helps you save an extra $146 by reducing the phone’s retail price to just $519.99.

In order to check out the full specifications and take advantage of this unmissable discount on the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 smartphone’s steep selling price, all you need to do is to follow this link. Note that the promo will end in five days.

Xiaomi Gaming Headphones

Avid gamers, rejoice! It is no secret that headphones play a vital role in creating an immersive gaming experience. While there’s no dearth of steeply-priced gaming headphones in the market today, Xiaomi is offering cost-conscious gamers something to cheer about.

Equipped with 7.1 virtual surround sound, the Xiaomi Gaming Headphones takes you a gaming adventure, unlike any other headphones that you can get your hands on. More importantly, these Xiaomi-branded gaming headphones have gone up for sale bearing a heavily discounted price tag on GeekBuying.

While it usually sells for $99.99 on both online as well as offline stores, the Xiaomi gaming headphones can now be yours if you are willing to shell out just $68.99. This is a noteworthy 31 percent reduction in the device’s original selling price, but that’s not all.

Before placing your order, you can apply coupon code GIZ_2019NEW3 and get an extra $3 off without breaking a sweat. In other words, you can bring the already lowered selling price of the headphones further down to just $65.99 simply by applying the aforesaid coupon during the checkout process.

You can follow this link to avail this discount. It is imperative for you to bear in mind that the promotion sale is slated to end in two days and the coupon will also expire shortly.

Get 31% Off On Xiaomi Gaming Headphones

Check Out Xiaomi New Year Sale

OPPO R15 Pro with Snapdragon 660, 6 GB RAM and Rs. 25,990 (~$370) price announced in India

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Jan 9, 2019

After introducing the OPPO R17 and R17 Pro as the first R-series smartphones in India in the last quarter of 2018, OPPO has announced the OPPO R15 Pro handset in India. The R15 Pro features a notch screen and Snapdragon 660 chipset. It has arrived in the country with a price tag of Rs. 25,990 (~$370).

OPPO R15 Pro Specifications and Features

The glass bodied OPPO R15 Pro features a 6.28-inh AMOLED display. The notched screen supports full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2280 pixels, offers a pixel density of 401ppi and delivers an aspect ratio of 19:9. The R15 Pro offers a screen-to-body ratio of 89 percent.

The Snapdragon 660 chipset and 6 GB of RAM are the driving force of the OPPO R15 Pro. To keep the lights on, it features a 3,430mAh battery that carries support for VOOC Flash Charge. The rapid charging technology allows the R15 Pro to gain 2 hours of battery life by charging it for only 5 minutes.

The OPPO R15 Pro is loaded with Android 8.1 Oreo OS that is customized with company’s Color OS 5.0 UI. It has an inbuilt storage of 128 GB. For more storage, there is a microSD card slot on the device.

The rear panel of the OPPO R15 Pro features a fingerprint scanner. At the top-left corner of the R15 Pro’s back is a horizontal dual camera setup that includes an f/1.7 aperture 20-megapixel primary sensor that is supported by f/1.7 aperture 16-megapixel secondary sensors. There is a selfie snapper of 20-megapixel on the frontside of the phone. OPPO’s AI Beauty Technology 2.0 can enhance the facial features of the subject on the basis of gender, age, skin tone, facial structure and so on. The handset is equipped with usual connectivity features such as dual-SIM support, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth, NFC, GPS and 3.5mm headphone jack.

Read More: Oppo R17 Pro King Custom Edition officially launched in China for 4,299 Yuan ($626)

OPPO R15 Pro Price and Release Date

The OPPO R15 Pro can be purchased by spending Rs. 25,990 (~$370). The sales of the smartphone have started on Amazon India. It can be availed in colors like Cosmic Purple and Ruby Red.

Buy BOYA BY-MM1 Mini Cardioid Microphone For Just $26.99 On TomTop

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Get 49% Off On BOYA BY-MM1 Minin Cardioid Microphone

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Jan 9, 2019

Equipped with top-end electret condenser, the BOYA BY-MM1 Mini is an irresistible cardioid microphone.
It boasts an impressive array of features that breathe new life into the sound quality of videos thanks to its built-in microphones. On top of that, the BY-MM1 Mini comes with TRRS and TRS cable that you can use to connect it to smartphones, cameras, PCs, audio recorders, camcorders and a slew of other recording devices that have 3.5mm connector.

Aside from that, the BY-MM1 Mini features a furry windshield that reduces the wind and other natural noises during outdoor recording. It comes with a shockproof mount so that you can safely and securely mount the mic on phone holder, and camera hot shoe mount.
The BY-MM1 Mini doesn’t require a battery to draw its juices so you can simply plug it and start using it. Despite being housed in a sturdy metal body, this cardioid microphone is compact and lightweight so that you can take it everywhere you go with a portable carrying bag.

While you’d normally end up spending a fortune on a professional cardioid microphone, the BOYA BY-MM1 Mini can now be yours at a dropped price of just $26.99 on TomTop. This is a significant 46 percent reduction in the device’s original asking price.

The product’s size is 8.1 x 2.2cm / 3.2 x 0.9″(L x D) and it weighs in at just 50g (1.8oz). You can head straight to this link to check out more details and get your hands on the BOYA BY-MM1 Mini cardioid microphone at an unbeatable price.

Regrettably, there were only 150 pieces remaining for this Flash Sale at the time of writing. Note that the promotion sale is slated to end on February 7th.

Lenovo Smart Tab tablet with Smart Dock and Amazon Alexa unveiled at CES 2019

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Jan 9, 2019

Lenovo has announced the Lenovo Smart Tab Android tablet at the the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2019) tech trade show in Las Vegas, U.S. What makes this Lenovo device different from other Android tablets in the market is that it comes with a speaker dock and it is also integrated with Amazon Alexa voice assistant.

Lenovo Smart Tab M10 and P10 Specifications and Features

The Lenovo Smart Tab features a 10-inch screen and when it set on the Lenovo Smart Dock, it can function like Amazon Echo Show. The M10 and P10 are the two variants of the Lenovo Smart Tab. The P10 model comes with better specs and design when compared with the M10 variant. The tablet is equipped with Dolby Atmos technology driven front-facing speakers. A pair of 3-watt speakers present inside the Smart Dock offers louder audio output. The tablet can be easily attached to the Smart Dock through its pogo pins. The dock acts as a charger for the tablet.

The Lenovo Smart Tab M10 measures 9.56x 3.31 x 0.31 inches and it weighs 1.05 pounds. The M10 which comes with a slate black finish features a 10-inch IPS LCD display that produces full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It is fueled by Snapdragon 450. The 16 GB and 32 GB models of M10 respectively feature 2 GB and 3 GB of RAM. For photography, it is equipped with 2-megapixel front camera and 5-megapixel rear camera. It receives power from 4,850mAh battery.

The dimensions of the Lenovo Smart Tab P10 are 9.56 x 6.57 x 0.27 inches and weighs 0.97 pounds. The P10 comes with an aurora black dual glass design. It also features 10.1-inch full HD IPS LCD display and Snapdragon 450 chipset. It comes with up to 4 GB of RAM and up to 64 GB of storage. There is a front camera of 5-megapixel and rear camera of 8-megapixel on the device. It is packed with a 7,000mAh battery.

Both the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 and P10 tablets come loaded with Android 8.1 Oreo OS. The Smart Dock measures 2.57 x 11.16 x 1.96 inches and weighs 1.76 pounds.

Read More: Huawei launches the MateBook 13 and MediaPad M5 Lite for the US market at CES 2019

Lenovo Smart Tab M10 and P10 Pricing and Availability

The 16 GB and 32 GB Lenovo Smart Tab M10 models are respectively priced at $200 whereas the P10 model has a starting price of $300, The Chinese manufacture will begin pre-orders of the Smart Tab on Tuesday and its shipments will begin later this month or early in the coming month.

For more CES 2019 coverage, checkout this link

Huawei launches the MateBook 13 and MediaPad M5 Lite for the US market at CES 2019

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Jan 8, 2019

Apart from its telecommunication equipment, Huawei is better known globally for its smartphones coming out with increasing innovative features. The Chinese company also has its tentacles spread towards the manufacture of laptops, tablets and other gadgets. At the ongoing CES 2019, the company has unveiled two of its gadgets for the US market. Huawei technically cannot sell its phones in the US so, we are not referring to its latest cool flagship phones but the MateBook 13 laptop as well as the MediaPad M5 Lite tablet.

Both the MateBook 13 laptop and MediaPad M5 Lite tablet were launched no too long ago in China and now the company is making them available in the US. Let’s take a brief look at the features of both gadgets.

Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite

The MediaPad M5 Lite comes with a similar design as the MediaPad M5 but the model is a trimmed down version just as the name suggests. The tablet features an aluminium unibody and a 10.1-inch display but this time around, the orientation of the Huawei logo is changed to a landscape direction while the physical home button is also positioned in the same direction. The display adopts a 16:9 aspect ratio and has a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution. Do note that the M5 Lie resolution is slightly lower than that of the MediaPad M5. The M5 Lite also comes with a less powerful Hisilicon Kirin 659 SoC and is available in two memory variants. There is a 3GB RAM+32GB storage model as well as a 4GB RAM+64GB storage variant. The MediaPad M5 Lite also comes with four speakers crafted by Harman Kardon and they work in sync with Huawei’s Histen 5.0 sound system to deliver 3D surround sound. It is equally bundled with an M-Pen Lite stylus which offers 2,048-levels of pressure compared to the regular M5’s 4,096-levels. The stylus is only available in some region and looks like the US is inclusive.

Furthermore, the tablet packs a mammoth 7500mAh battery which should provide enough juice to power long multimedia and gaming sessions. Providing the interface is the Android 8.0 Oreo-based EMUI 8.0 OS. The tablet also comes with a dedicated “Kids Corner” interface as well as some novel behaviour-focused controls such as the ability to detect when the tablet is too close to a face, the ambient light is below a certain threshold or if the tablet’s being used from an “unhealthy” angle, such as overhead. In such circumstances, it will then pop up a little warning animation in the corner, which expands to the entire screen if not heeded.

The tablet is available in Champagne Gold and Space Grey colours. The MediaPaad M5 Lite is expected to become available at the end of January and would retail for just $299 in the US. This is a pretty good bargain at that price.

Huawei MateBook 13

Talking about the MateBook 13 laptop, it adopts Huawei’s family-style full-screen design, with narrow bezels around it. The left and right-side bezels are just 4.4 mm while the laptop has a screen ratio of 88%. As the name implies, it packs a 13-inch IPS glossy screen with a resolution of 2160×1440 pixels (3:2). The display has a 178-degree wide-angle view, 1000:1 contrast, typical brightness of 300nits and minimum of 240nit, but the screen does not support touch control. The laptop has a thin 14.9mm metal body and weighs just 1.28kg. The body is manufactured using diamond cutting technology, supplemented by delicate sandblasting technology with well-chamfered edges.

The Matebook 13 is powered by the latest eighth-generation Intel Core i7-8568U (Whiskey Lake) processor with the lower model utilising an Intel Core i5-8265 chipset. The laptop is also equipped with an NVIDIA MX 150 discrete graphics, 2GB GDDR5 independent graphics memory, thermal design power consumption 25W, with LPDDR3 memory.

On the internals, it has a shark fin fan 2.0 smart cooling system, dual fan separation heat source, seven sensors real-time temperature control. The battery capacity is 41.838Whr (3670mAh/11.4V), the theoretical battery life is about 10 hours, and it can be used for 2.5 hours after charging for 15 minutes. The interface has only two USB-Cs with data transfer and charging on the left side, data transfer and DisplayPort output on the right side, and a 3.5mm headset. Other aspects, it packs a full-size island chocolate keyboard, power button which also doubles as a fingerprint sensor, dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0, 1MP camera, dual speaker, dual microphone, Dolby Atmos sound.

The MateBook 13 will be available at the end of January starting at $1,000 with integrated graphics and $1,300 for the model with discrete. Because of the discrete graphics option, the MateBook 13 isn’t fanless like the X models, which makes it thicker, and it scales back to two speakers from four. It will come in Space Gray for a Core i7 or silver for a Core i5 with prices starting at just under $1,000.

For more CES 2019 coverage, check out this link.

TCL announces Alcatel 1x (2019) and Alcatel 1c (2019) at CES 2019

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Habeeb Onawole

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Jan 8, 2019

TCL said it would announce new Alcatel-branded phones at CES 2019 and it just did. The Alcatel 1x (2019) and the Alcatel 1c (2019) are its latest unveilings and they are pretty much entry level phones.

Alcatel 1x (2019)

This is a successor to last year’s model. The new model comes with a number of upgrades with respect to design and even some important specs but if you are expecting a significant improvement in performance, then you will be disappointed as it comes with the same MT6739 processor as last year’s model. However, the SoC is now clocked higher at 1.5GHz. You still get 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage (128GB Max).

The Alcatel 1x (2019) now has a bigger and sharper 5.5-inch HD+screen with an 83% screen-to-body ratio. The display is covered by Asahi’s Dragontrail Glass (2.5D). It still has a 13MP rear camera but it is now joined by a 2MP secondary sensor for capturing depth of field details for portrait images.

The 8MP front-facing camera on last year’s model has been swapped for a 5MP sensor which has support for Face Key (Face Unlock) and screen flash. There will be a variant with a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and another without. The phone will also have support for NFC, hybrid dual SIM (nano only), Bluetooth 4.2, and FM radio.

The 1x (2019) still ships with Android 8.1 oreo like its predecessor but it comes with a larger 3,000mAh battery. It will be available in Pebble Blue and Pebble Black in a finish that is scratch and slip-resistant and also hides fingerprint smudges.

TCL will launch the phone in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North America later this quarter and it will sell for €120.

Alcatel 1c (2019)

The Alcatel 1c (2019) is an Android Go phone with a 5.3-inch 960 x 540 18:9 screen. It is also covered with a 2.5D Dragontrail glass and it has a micro-texturing finish on the back that is slip-resistant and provides a comfortable grip.

The 1c is powered by the Spreadtrum SC7731E, a quad-core processor clocked at 1.3GHz. There is 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage (32GB max.). The rear camera is a 5MP f/2.4 fixed focus sensor interpolated to 8MP while the front-facing camera is a 2MP sensor interpolated to 5MP. There are a bunch of camera modes including a social mode that makes sharing to social media easy.

There is support for dual SIM (nano only), Bluetooth 4.2, and 2.4GHz WiFi. It packs a 2,000mAh battery with no support for fast charging. It also doesn’t support LTE. The Alcatel 1c (2019) has an FM radio, a 3.5mm audio jack, and an LED flash. It runs Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition) and will be available in Volcano Black and Enamel Blue.

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New test shows most phones’ face unlock can be fooled by the owner’s high-quality photo

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Jan 8, 2019

Face Unlock is gaining wide popularity and that could be attributed to Apple’s use of the technology on the iPhone X and subsequent models. However, recently, the technology has come under close scrutiny due to the penchant to getting fooled by a representation of the owner’s face. Recently, Forbes conducted a test where a portrait of one of its author was 3D printed and the portrait was used to unlock all the Android phones tested. Turns out you don’t even need to go to such hassle as a new study has shown that a high-quality photo of the owner can unlock most of the facial recognition-packing phones around.

The test carried out by the Dutch Consumentenbond organization discovered that out of a total of 110 devices that were tested, 42 could be unlocked with a high-quality photo of the owner. Surprisingly, this figure includes flagship as well as midrange and budget models from Huawei, Xiaomi, Nokia, Lenovo, Alcatel, BlackBerry, HTC and Sony among others. Flagship models such as the Huawei P20 Pro, HTC U11 Plus, and Sony’s Xperia XZ2 series were all found wanting in this regard. The list also contains midrange models like Samsung Galaxy A8, Xiaomi’s Mi A2 etc.

A number of devices also held their ground and came out unopened by the photo such as the budget Alcatel 3V. Others include Honor 10, HTC U12 Plus, Huawei Mate 20 series, OnePlus 5T, OnePlus 6, and Samsung’s 2018 flagships. Do note that most of the phones that were not unlocked came with dedicated hardware for facial recognition. In addition, all Apple 2018 models also came out strong as had earlier been discovered in previous tests. Notwithstanding, it still holds true that face unlock shouldn’t be trusted for digital security. You can check out the list of the models and how they fared from the table below (Credit- Android Authority).

(source)

Mi Bluetooth Earphones Air launches for ¥399 (~$59), first sale January 11

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Habeeb Onawole

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Jan 8, 2019

Xiaomi has taken the wraps off a new pair of truly wireless earbuds albeit quietly. The Mi Bluetooth Earphones Air is its second truly wireless earbuds and just like the first one, it is inexpensive.

The Mi Bluetooth Earphones Air comes in black and white color variants but when it goes on sale on Friday, January 11, only the white variant will be available for purchase. The earbuds each weigh 5.8 grams and 58 grams with the charging case. Unlike the AirDots, this should be more comfortable to wear and shouldn’t feel heavy since it has a stem and weight distribution should be better.

The earbuds have touch controls for answering/ending calls, waking up Xiaomi’s Xiao AI voice assistant, activating noise cancellation, and controlling playback. The Mi Bluetooth Earphones Air will also automatically pause playback when you pull it out of your ears and if they are idle for more than 30 minutes, they automatically go into sleep mode.

Charging the Mi Bluetooth Earphones Air only takes 1 hour and last 3 hours on a single charge for calls and 10 hours for music playback. Xiaomi says the earbuds are compatible with iOS and Android devices and has an IPX4 rating.

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The specification page says the phone connects via Bluetooth 4.2 and not Bluetooth 5.0 and the model number TWSEJ01JY is different from that of the Freedom Buds Pro (TWSEJ03LM) on the Bluetooth SIG website. So this is definitely a different model entirely and not the Freedom Buds Pro/AirDots Pro.

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Qualcomm says its 5G chipset would power up to 30 devices this year, mostly phones

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Jan 8, 2019

Late last year, Qualcomm released a list of 19 OEMs who it says are already committed to its 5G vision for 2019. However, the US chipmaker has expanded its projections of the number of phone models that would use its 5G chip. According to the US fabless chipset manufacturer, “more than 30 commercial 5G mobile devices” are expected to land using the company’s hardware this year, and the majority of them will be phones.

Earlier on, the company had reeled out the 19 partners to include popular brands such as ASUS, Xiaomi, OnePlus, OPPO, Vivo, HMD, HTC, Sony, Sharp, LG and Motorola. Others include Fujitsu, computer networking firm Netgear, wireless communications equipment maker Sierra and a couple of names that don’t sound familiar as far as mobile phones are concerned. The company didn’t disclose the other company that would jack up the number of gadgets that would pack a Snapdragon 855 processor to thirty. The SD 855 chipset features the Snapdragon X50 modem which will power the 5G technology.

The number of 5G partners Qualcomm already has onboard looks higher than those who were early adopters when 4G LTE started landing back in 2011. This massive push to 5G may be a way OEMs and carriers hope to counter the slumping smartphone market. The company believes its SoC, modem, and RF solutions, are the best and doesn’t think any other chipmaker can mount any competition in that regard. Already, MediaTek has exited the flagship chipset segment and may be a long time away from 5G. So, Qualcomm believes virtually all 5G mobile devices launched in 2019 will be built on its 5G solutions.

(via)

Xiaomi drops new teaser for its Redmi 48MP dual camera smartphone

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Habeeb Onawole

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Jan 8, 2019

Last week, Xiaomi announced that its Redmi line of affordable smartphones will become a separate brand much like Honor is to Huawei. On Thursday, the very first Redmi smartphone following the announcement will be unveiled and there is already so much anticipation in the air.

Although we already know what the Redmi phone looks like thanks to official images shared on the web by Xiaomi’s own executives, that isn’t stopping them from dropping more teasers of the phone.

48MP AI Dual Camera. Only two days left until our Redmi launch in China.#Redmi pic.twitter.com/anGAKlv6Iq

— Donovan Sung (@donovansung) January 8, 2019

The latest teaser was shared on Twitter by Donovan Sung (@donovansung), the global spokesperson for Xiaomi. The tweet confirms the Redmi phone will have 48MP AI Dual Camera setup and also includes a picture of the black variant of the phone.

The picture shows the dual cameras which are arranged vertically and slightly raised. There is a LED flash below the setup and the words “48MP AI DUAL CAMERA” are engraved right underneath.

A similar poster was shared on Weibo but it reveals more details such as the phone’s nickname “King Kong” and also the time for the launch which is 1400hrs China local time (0600hrs GMT).

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LG Q9 packing a SD 821 SoC, QHD+ screen, 4GB RAM, IP68 waterproof body launched in Korea

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Jan 8, 2019

Three months after the device first popped up in leaks, LG has officially unveiled the LG Q9. The Q9 is basically a rebranded G7 Fit but it enters the market under the Q series.

Specs wise, the G7 and Q9 are very much identical but the colour options have been enhanced to be more appealing especially to the young folks. The phone is aimed at students and isn’t billed to go on sale until July 11 (that’s not a mistake). Since the new school term commences in August, the timing may just be perfect. The price tag is also pretty decent considering the features. The Q9 will cost KRW 500,000 in South Korea which around $445.

The LG Q9 sports a 6.1-inch FullVision display that is pretty sharp due to the QHD+ resolution of 3120x1440pixels it packs. The screen is HDR10-enabled to boot. The device also utilises the 19.5:9 aspect ratio which means it fits the palm comfortably. The device comes with a dimension of 153.2×71.9×7.9mm while it weighs 159g. On the camera end, the LG Q9 packs an 8MP wide-angle sensor at the front for selfies while at the rear is a 16MP shooter. The device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chipset paired with 4GB of RAM and there is 64GB of storage onboard. The Q9 gets its interface from the Android 8.1 Oreo OS and packs a 3000mAh battery under its hood.

Further, the Q9 comes with LG’s trademark Quad DAC for high-quality wired audio as well as a powerful Boombox speaker if you want to play the music loudly. The phone also comes with IP68 waterproof build as well as the MIL-STD-810G build standard which makes it drop-resistant. There is also a microSD slot, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type C with Quick Charge support, a rear fingerprint reader, a dedicated Google Assistant key, LG Pay support and a 3.5mm audio receiver.

Pricing and Availability

The LG Q9 comes in three cool and attractive colours namely, Carmine Red, New Aurora Black and New Moroccan Blue. The device will become available on the three big Korean carriers on July 11 ahead of the start of a new school year in late August.

(source)

Uber’s partner Bell showcases its Nexus flying taxi design for the first time at CES 2019

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