Vivo 1814 images surface as its bags NCC certification

-

Nov 30, 2018

HMD Global had previously confirmed that it will be holding a launch event on Dec. 6. In India. At that time, it was speculated that the company will be launching the Nokia 8.1 smartphone on the said date. Today, the Finnish firm has rescheduled the launch event to Dec. 10 at 5:30 PM. The new invite does not confirm on the name of the device that will be announced on Dec. 10, but the rumor mill is speculating to announce the Nokia 8.1 smartphone.

Today, the Finnish firm announced the Nokia 7.1 smartphone in India with a starting price of Rs. 19,999. The same phone was announced at the beginning of October in London. Rumors have it that the Nokia 8.1 that is speculated to go official in India on Dec. 10 could be the Nokia X7 phone that was recently announced in China. A recent report had revealed that the Nokia 8.1 may hit the Indian markets with a price tag of Rs. 23,999 (~$345).

Nokia X7 a.k.a Nokia 8.1 — Nokia X7 will launch outside China as the Nokia 8.1

Read More: Rumor: No notch for Nokia 6.2, Nokia 8.1 (Nokia X7) is the last with a notch

The Nokia 8.1 is equipped with a 6.18-inch IPS LCD notched screen that produces Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2280 pixels and an aspect ratio of 19:9. It is the first Snapdragon 710 chipset powered handset from the company.

The 12-megapixel + 13-megapixel ZEISS dual optics is present on the backside of the phone. It is fitted with a front-facing camera of 20-megapixel. The Android One version of Android 8.1 Oreo OS is available preinstalled on the device. The 18W fast charging enabled 3,500mAh battery is packed inside the smartphone

The 4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage, 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage variants of the Nokia X7 are respectively priced at 1,699 Yuan (~$245), 1,999 Yuan (~$288) and 2,499 Yuan (~$360) in China. It is can be purchased in colors like Dark Blue, Night Red, Magic Night Silver and Night Black. There is no information on whether all the variants of the Nokia X7 will be heading to India.

(via)

Vivo Y81i is reportedly launching in India on 7th December, to be priced under Rs. 10,000 ($144)

By

-

Nov 30, 2018

Recently, Vivo launched the Vivo Y81 smartphone in India. Now, as we reported earlier, the Chinese company is gearing up to soon launch another variant of the phone, dubbed Vivo Y81i.

According to the latest reports, the Vivo Y81i will be launched in India on 7th December and could carry a price tag of under Rs. 10,000, which roughly converts to $144. It will reportedly be available for purchase through leading online stores as well as the majority of offline retailers across the country.

The smartphone is said to feature a 6.22-inch IPS LCD display with a screen resolution of 1520 x 720 pixels and 19:9 aspect ratio. Under the hood, the device will be powered by MediaTek‘s MT6761 processor, coupled with 2GB of RAM. The 6761 chipset seems to be the lower variant of the Helio A22 which carries model number MT6762.

It will pack 16GB of internal storage and will come with a microSD card slot that will enable users to further expand the phone’s storage capacity. As far as the cameras are concerned, the phone will feature a 13MP camera sensor on the back and a 5MP front-facing snapper with AI-based Face Beauty feature.

Connectivity options on the device will feature 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, microUSB 2.0, and USB OTG. Running on Android 8.1 Oreo operating system out-of-the-box with the company’s own FunTouch OS, the phone will be powered by a 3,260mAh battery and given the specifications, it’s obvious that it won’t support any type of fast charging technology.

In comparison, the Vivo Y81, which was launched in India a few months ago, features a 6.22-inch HD+ display, MediaTek P22 chipset, 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, 13MP rear camera, 5MP front-facing camera, and 3,260mAh battery. It is available for Rs. 12,999, which is roughly $186.

ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M2, Max M2 full specifications and images leaked

By

-

Nov 30, 2018

Popular leakster Roland Quandt had shared vital information on the upcoming ASUS ZenFone Max M2 and Max Pro M2 smartphones around two weeks ago.. Since then, the rumor mill has been consistently leaking information on the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 smartphone that is officially confirmed to debut on Dec. 11 in Indonesia. Today, the tipster is back again with more information on both smartphones.

According to Quandt’s latest report on WinFuture, both the smartphones will be sporting a similar design and these devices will mainly differ in specs. In terms of specs, the ZenFone Max Pro M2 features a smaller notch and thicker chin than the M2. The rear shell of the Max Pro M2 is made out of glass and has a shiny appeal whereas the Max M2 has a metallic back panel.

The ZenFone Max Pro M2 and Max M2 are both equipped with 6-inch IPS LCD display that carry support for full HD+ resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels and an aspect ratio of 19.5:9.

Read More: Asus ROG Phone with 6-inch display and Snapdragon 845 SoC launched in India for Rs. 69,990 ($1,002)

The ZenFone Max Pro M2 will be featuring Snapdragon 660 chipset and 4 GB of RAM. It is expected to arrive in 64 GB and 128 GB storage options and a microSD card slot for more storage. For photograph, it will be fitted with dual camera setup that will feature a 12-megapixel Sony IMX486 primary sensor and a 5-megapixel secondary sensor. A recent leak had revealed that it will feature 5,000mAh battery like its predecessor model.

The ZenFone Max M2 is expected to feature Snapdragon 636 chipset and 4 GB of RAM. It is likely to be available in 32 GB and 64 GB storage choices and will also feature a microSD card slot for additional storage. The dual camera setup of the Max M2 will comprise of 13-megapixel primary sensor. There is no information available on the secondary sensor. Also, the exact size of the battery of the ZenFone Max M2 is still under the wraps.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Snow White Version Officially Launched in Taiwan

By

-

Nov 30, 2018

Samsung has officially launched the Galaxy Note 9 Snow White variant in Taiwan. Releasing the model in the Taiwanese market is usually an indication that the model will be made available in the global market in a short while. The variant comes with a price tag of 30900TWD ($1002) which isn’t very much different from that of the other variants.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Snow White variant first popped into the public radar a couple of weeks back, thanks to popular Twitter tipster Evan Blass but he wasn’t so sure of the authenticity of the picture. However, the official launch has put all speculations to rest. The device is coated in back in all aspects except the AMOLED display.

The Galaxy Note 9 will be the first Galaxy Note-series smartphone in recent times to be offered in White color after the Galaxy Note 5 which was launched in 2015. Although the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge were also launched in White colors. Since the new variant will first be unveiled in Taiwan, it is likely it will be made available in other regions too. Do note that with the addition of the Snow White variant, the Galaxy Note 9 is now available in six color options, the others being; Metallic Copper, Lavender Purple, Ocean Blue, and Midnight Black, and Cloud Silver.

Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite Kernel source code officially released on GitHub

By

-

Nov 30, 2018

Xiaomi has officially published the kernel source code for the Mi 8 Lite on GitHub. The Mi 8 Lite was released not too long ago alongside the Mi 8 Pro and it comes with a premium flagship look as well as a decent mid-range hardware setup. The Mi 8 Lite is the cheapest among the past and the sales have been brilliant so far. Thus, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the device is being positioned to appeal to a wider audience with the release of the kernel source code.

The Mi 8 Lite comes running Android 8.1 Oreo-based MIUI 10 and some persons are really not too keen about smartphones that don’t run stock Android. But with the release of the kernel source code, third-party ROM developers can develop more personalized ROMs, bringing more customization features. You can download the kernel source code on GitHub from here.

As a reminder, Xiaomi 8 Lite is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor and comes with a 12MP + 5MP AI dual camera with dual PDAF at the rear. The device features a 24MP Sony IMX576 selfie camera at the front.

Xiaomi announces Mi MIX 3 Forbidden City Edition will go on sale in December

By

Habeeb Onawole

-

Nov 30, 2018

The Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 comes in four color variants – Onyx Black, Jade Green, Sapphire Blue, and a special Forbidden City Edition with a different kind of blue hue and gold engraving. So far only the black and green variants are available for purchase. Xiaomi has now announced that the Forbidden City Edition will go on sale in December.

The Mi MIX 3 Forbidden City Edition has a blue hue inspired by ceramic vases from the Chinese Dynasty era. It has a gold engraving of a mythical creature on its back and even comes with 10GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

Its retail box is different, featuring the same mythical creature. It also comes with a 24K gold figurine, a Xiaomi data card that gives you access to 10GB of high-speed data every month for three years and free data for 20 days in select countries. Like the regular variants, it also comes with a wireless charger which unfortunately is white.

Continue

Xiaomi crowdfunds the Zero Smart Doorbell with video camera

By

-

Nov 30, 2018

Xiaomi has announced yet another sleek and smart product under the Youpin crowdfunding platform. The product is the Zero Smart Video Doorbell and its pricing starts at 199 yuan ($29) and the response has been overwhelming.

The Zero Smart Video Doorbell was actually developed to function with the Xiaomi Small Love Ai speaker as the receiver for those who have one. In that way, you can skip buying the bell receiver. Buying both the doorbell and its custom speaker will cost 229 yuan ($33) on crowdfunding. The prices may change slightly when it goes on sale.

The Xiaomi Zero Smart Video Doorbell is equipped with a custom PIR human body sensor. It also has the feature of capturing video clips of any object within its field of view as soon as motion is detected within 3 meters outside the door. Notification is sent to the owner’s smartphone when that happens. We believe this feature can be turned on and off so as not to constitute a nuisance. However, it utilises Xiaomi’s XiaoAI face recognition technology and so can accurately identify family members and strangers, and distinguish them in the notification. You can know who is behind the door without looking at the picture.

The smart doorbell can even be controlled from wherever you are if you left your child at home alone. In that case, you can take over the video conversation with the visitor outside the door and you can also set the Xiao AI speaker to sound the doorbell message, reminding the child not to open the door to strangers. The smart doorbell also comes with a feature known as “SafeSound” which when turned on, can change the child’s voice to that of an adult when he or she is responding to the doorbell.

Furthermore, the Xiaomi Zero Smart Doorbell is power efficient and runs on four AA batteries which can last up to six months. This is possible because the device enters sleep mode when not in use and wakes up as soon as the bell is triggered. When the doorbell is triggered, the doorbell quickly starts shooting and completes the video upload, and quickly enters the low power mode.

Alleged Samsung Galaxy A8s FCC approval suggests its international launch

By

-

Nov 30, 2018

The Galaxy A8s is the upcoming A-series phone from Samsung. It is speculated that the model number of the smartphone is SM-G8870. The Galaxy A8s has gained a lot of traction in the recent weeks since it is speculated to be debut as the first Samsung phone with Infinity-O design display. The new screen design will allow the phone to boast a very high screen-to-body ratio since it will feature a small hole for the front camera. The Galaxy A8s may launch first in China in December. The SM-G8870 has also been certified by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which indicates that its international launch may not be far away. Probably, the smartphone may carry Galaxy A8 (2018) moniker outside of China.

The FCC approval of the SM-G8870 has revealed that it is equipped with Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0 LW, NFC, ANT+ standards. The other details that have surfaced through the FCC listing include 158.4 x 74.9mm dimensions, 3,300mAh battery and USB-C port. The Galaxy A7 (2018) is also equipped with same sized battery.

Read More: Exclusive: Samsung Galaxy S10 case images reveal front and rear design

The Galaxy A8s rumors have revealed that it will be featuring a 6.39-inch IPS LCD display. The Snapdragon 710 chipset will be the driving force of the smartphone. The SoC of the phone will be supported by 6 GB of RAM and it will carry an internal storage of 128 GB. For more storage, it will be equipped with a microSD card slot.

For capturing selfies, the small hole on the display of the Galaxy A8s is expected to house a 24-megapixel frontal shooter. The back panel of the phone is expected to include 24-megapixel + 5-megapixel + 10-megapixel triple camera system. The handset come preinstalled with Android 9 Pie OS flavored with the latest One UI by Samsung. It is unlikely to feature a 3.5mm audio jack. It is speculated to hit markets outside of China in January 2019.

(via 1, 2)

Teardown reveals the PlayStation Classic is powered by a MediaTek processor

By

Habeeb Onawole

-

Nov 30, 2018

When Sony announced the PlayStation Classic I was really excited about it and added it to my wishlist. Nostalgia does that to you. Now that reviews are out, I am not so sure I want to spend money on it but I won’t mind getting it as a gift. If you want to know what is inside, a teardown has surfaced online that reveals the console is powered by a MediaTek processor.

The teardown which was carried out by HDBlog.it revealed that the PlayStation Classic is powered by MediaTek’s MT8167A processor. It is a 1.5GHz quad-core chipset with a PowerVR GE8300 GPU. Other than Sony’s new console, it can also be found in the Acer Iconia One 10 released last year.

The PlayStation Classic pairs the chipset with 1GB of RAM, 16GB of eMMC 5.1 storage and a MediaTek MT6392A audio codec. It has an HDMI port, two wired controllers, and a virtual memory card to save your progress.

The original PlayStation was powered by a 32-bit MIPS R3000A processor with 2MB of RAM.

Continue

Exclusive: Samsung Galaxy S10 case images reveal front and rear design

By

-

Nov 30, 2018

The Samsung Galaxy S10 series of smartphones are expected to go official in February 2019 just before of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 tech expo in Februry. Rumors surrounding the Galaxy S10 series have revealed that it will include four devices such as Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10 Lite, Galaxy S10 Plus and Galaxy S10 5G. These smartphones are rumored to have respective model numbers such as SM-G73F, SM-G70F, SM-G75F and SM-G75FC. It is speculated that the Galaxy S10 could be equipped with a 5.8-inch display and it will be also featuring a dual camera module. GizmoChina now brings to you exclusive case renders of the upcoming Galaxy S10 smartphone that corroborates with the leaked information.

The Galaxy S10 case renders show that it features a horizontal dual camera setup on the rear. Next to it is the LED flash and heart rate sensor followed by a fingerprint scanner. The left edge of the device is equipped with volume buttons and power key.

The bottom edge of the Galaxy S10 seems to feature a 3.5mm audio jack and a USB-C port. An external speaker cutout also seems to be available on the phone.

The larger edition of the S10 dubbed as Galaxy S10 Plus has recently appeared on AnTuTu through which it has been revealed that the screen of the phone supports Full HD+ resolution of 2280 x 1080 pixels. Hence, the Galaxy S10 Plus is also expected to feature an aspect ratio of 18.5:9.

Read More: Galaxy A8s could be first Samsung phone to ditch 3.5mm audio jack

The above image gives a view of the rear as well as front sides of the Galaxy S10. The frontal image of the phone suggests that the handset is equipped with a tall aspect ratio screen. Probably, the Galaxy S10 may also carry support for 18.5:9 aspect ratio.

The Galaxy S10 could be powered by Exynos 9820 chipset in some markets whereas other regions may receive its Snapdragon 8150 chipset version. It may come with up to 6 GB of RAM and an internal storage of up to 256 GB. The handset is expected to release in gradient color options.

Nokia 7.1 with 5.84-inch PureDisplay and SD636 SoC launched in India for Rs. 19,990 ($287)

By

-

Nov 30, 2018

After launching the Nokia 7.1 at a launch event in London last month, the company had said that the phone would soon be made available in the Indian market. Well, today, HMD Global has officially launched the Nokia 7.1 in India.

Priced at Rs. 19,999, which roughly converts to $287, the Nokia 7.1 will be available for purchase in India from 7th December. It will be available through Nokia’s own online store as well as other leading mobile retailers across the country in two colors — Glossy Midnight Blue and Gloss Steel.

There are also several offers associated with the purchase of Nokia 7.1 in India. Airtel is offering 1TB of 4G data for plans starting at Rs. 199. On the other hand, the postpaid users get 120GB of additional data along with three months of Netflix subscription and one year of Amazon Prime subscription for selected plans.

To recall, the Nokia 7.1 features a 5.84-inch Full HD+ “PureDisplay” with 19:9 screen aspect ratio and a notch on top. The company claims that the PureDisplay’s internal HDR can convert the SDR content into the HDR in real-time.

Under the hood, the device is powered by Qualcomm‘s mid-range Snapdragon 636 octa-core processor, which is claimed to deliver 40 percent improved performance over its predecessor Snapdragon 630. It is coupled with Adreno 509 GPU and comes in two models — 3GB RAM and 4GB RAM.

However, the company has only launched the 4GB RAM model in India, which packs 64GB of internal storage. It also comes with a microSD card slot that enables storage expansion up to 400GB.

For photography, the phone comes with a new Zeiss imaging solution, featuring a dual camera setup on the back that’s stacked vertically in the top-center position. It comes with a 12-megapixel primary sensor and a 5-megapixel secondary sensor for depth sensing.

The camera comes with features like True Life HDR, Bokeh mode, Pro Camera mode, Livestream functionality, and Bothie. On the front side, it comes equipped with an AI-backed 8-megapixel snapper for taking selfies and video calling.

The Nokia 7.1 is a part of Google‘s Android One programme and runs Android 8.1 Oreo operating system out-of-the-box. The Finnish company has promised the Android Pie update by the end of this month and future updates for two years.

Connectivity options on the device include Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C 2.0, NFC, and 3.5mm headphone jack. There’s also a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor for added security. The phone is backed by a 3,060mAh battery and comes with support for fast charging.

Huawei Official confirms New Independent OS is Under Development

By

Andrew

-

Nov 30, 2018

Huawei recently received a big blow when the US turned suspicious towards its telecommunications equipment business in the country along with ZTE. Huawei has denied any foul play from their part but the OEM has grown wary of the current stance of the US government. Recently, the US also pushed its allies to stop using equipment made by the Chinese OEM. Whatever the actual reason might be, the smartphone maker would make presumptions that other big companies like Google might also be forced towards the same route in the near future. Hence, it would make sense for the company to have an alternative not only in hardware (like SoCs) but in software.

Fresh information is that Huawei is developing its own operating system that will replace Android eventually. Now, this has been reported a couple of times in the past but now, Huawei has confirmed the same. Sketchy reports in the past had revealed Huawei was working on something called KirinOS with almost little to no detailed info on the subject. The new confirmation comes from Huawei’s Mobile Products VP, 李小龙 Bruce_Lee.

RELATED: Huawei CEO Comments On Rumors about its Independent OS

Besides the official’s confirmation on Weibo, there is little to go about more detailed info. As per his replies to the comments below his post, the best we can say is that the new OS is “under development.”

In a more recent development, Huawei has also been testing its recent smartphones with Google’s new FuchsiaOS and the doors are open to further testing with the company’s development team now making it compatible with Kirin 970-powered devices.

(via)

Oppo India’s Managing Director Yi Wang quits amid widening losses

By

-

Nov 30, 2018

Chinese smartphone maker Oppo‘s India Managing Director Yi Wang has resigned from the company and Oppo has accepted his resignation, according to the documents filed by the company with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Yi Wang will relinquish office on November 30. His resignation comes at a time when the company’s loss in the Indian market keeps on increasing.

In the regulatory filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange, the company said, “In a captioned meeting, the Board of Directors of the company discussed and passed the resolutions with respect to the following – resignation of Yi Wang, Managing Director of the Company, with effect from 30 November.”

In a statement, the company’s spokesperson said:

Wang has been an important part of OPPO’s journey in India and has played a crucial role in the company’s success in the country since it entered the Indian market. We thank him for his valued contribution and wish him the very best for his future endeavors.

According to the sources, there was pressure from the Oppo management on the India team as it was not able to get desired results at a time when Xiaomi captured the pole position for almost a year in the country.

The Chinese company’s net loss in India widened to Rs. 360 crore in 2017-18 from Rs. 40 crore a year ago, according to the documents filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). Industry analysts largely attribute these losses to the company’s huge marketing spends.

Meanwhile, the company on Thursday announced that it will invest 10 billion Yuan (approximately $1.43 billion) in Research and Development (R&D) across its global markets in 2019.

Tony Chen, Founder & CEO of Oppo, announced at its technology-focused ‘2018 Oppo Technology Exhibition’ an increase in Research and Development spending to 10 billion yuan in 2019, which is a 150 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase, and would continue to increase investment on a yearly basis. He also talked about Oppo embracing the 5G trend and said that it is striving to become the first manufacturer to launch a 5G smartphone.

Huami seals deal with watchmaker Timex to explore the US and global market

By

-

Nov 30, 2018

Huami became a New York Stock Exchange-listed company in February this year but apart from bringing in some capital to grow the business, the effect of the NYSE listing on it smartwatch business in the U.S is yet to be seen. Apparently, the company is still struggling to gain a foothold on the lucrative US and global business terrain. That may have prompted the Chinese company to go into an agreement with Timex Group, as announced yesterday. Timex group is a global leader in watchmaking with experience spanning over 160 years.

The new partnership will see both companies attempt to explore opportunities to develop new products and increase global presence in the smart wearables marketplace. Huami will leverage on Timex’s longstanding expertise as watchmakers while utilising its own cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology, App design and manufacturing capabilities, to develop a new generation of smartwatches that deliver on performance, style, craftsmanship and price.

Apart from exploring new markets, the deal will also help both companies to optimize their global market share including both mature markets (U.S., Europe etc.) and emerging markets (China, Southeast Asia etc.). Furthermore, Huami and Timex hope to explore and develop value-added services including e-payment, weight management, sports, fitness, and health care related services for users by leveraging Huami’s cloud service platform and AI Technology, and Timex’s unrivalled vertical integration capabilities in watchmaking.

Meizu India teases Meizu 16th launch; Expected to rival with OnePlus 6T

By

-

Nov 30, 2018

Chinese smartphone manufacturers have been doing exceptionally well in Indian markets. Xiaomi is currently the number one smartphone brand in India whereas OnePlus is Ieading the country’s premium smartphone segment. Other Chinese brands like OPPO, Vivo, Huawei and Honor have good popularity in the country. One smartphone brand that has failed to attract the audience is Meizu. Fresh information reveals that the company is prepping to return to the Indian market. It is expected to launch three new smartphones to rival with popular brands like Xiaomi and OnePlus. Meizu has started teasing the arrival of the Meizu 16th smartphone through its Indian Twitter account.

Meizu has reportedly planned to launch two budget-friendly phones to rival with Xiaomi. It is expected to release the Meizu 16th smartphone in India to rival with OnePlus 6T in the premium segment. In fact, Meizu India has released few teasers that clearly hints that the Meizu 16th is heading towards India. Rumors claim that it may launch in the first week of December.

If it sounds good, then it surely is ! #MEIZU #India #Smartphones #Superior #MEIZU @Meizu_India @Technologyfever #Android pic.twitter.com/UMfByz4UVI

— MEIZU India (@Meizu_India) November 29, 2018

With great camera, you can change the perspective of your shot ! #MEIZUIndia #Smartphones #Superior @Meizu_India @Technologyfever #News #Android pic.twitter.com/HTt5QkndVE

— MEIZU India (@Meizu_India) November 30, 2018

There is no information available on the budget phones that Meizu could be launching in India. The Meizu 16th was announced in the month of August in China. The smartphone features a Super AMOLED display of 6 inches. It carries support for 18:9 aspect ratio and Full HD+ resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels.

The Snapdragon 845 chipset is present under the hood of the device. It comes with up to 8 GB of RAM and up to 128 GB of storage. The handset lacks a microSD card slot. It is fitted with 12-megapixel + 20-megapixel dual camera setup and a 20-megapixel selfie shooter. The handset is backed by 3,010mAh battery.

The handset is available in the market in multiple variants such as 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage, 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage. These models are respectively priced at 2,698 Yuan (~$388), 2,998 Yuan (~$432) and 3,298 Yuan (~$475). Probably, the smartphone may arrive with a starting price of around Rs. 26,999 in India.

Read More: Meizu 16S render shows full-screen display, in-display fingerprint sensor and triple rear cameras

By launching the Meizu M1 Note smartphone in 2015, Meizu had entered in the Indian market. In April 2017, the Chinese manufacturer had launched the Meizu PRO 7 smartphone with secondary rear-mounted display. Later in July 2017, it had launched the Meizu M5v budget-friendly smartphone. Earlier this year, the company was rumored to launch the Meizu 16, the company hasn’t launched a smartphone in India. However, starting from next month, Meizu India will take on major brands in the country.

Sirin Labs’ Finney, the world’s first blockchain smartphone, is now available for purchase

By

Get A Big Discount On Xiaomi Mi 8 Global Version

-

Nov 30, 2018

Finney, a smartphone from Sirin Labs, which is the world’s first blockchain smartphone, is now finally available for purchase. The phone, which was in the news since May last year, was originally announced in September 2017.

The Sirin Labs’ Finney is now available for purchase at a price of $1,000, which is around $100 more than the pre-order pricing. After completing crowdsale, the company has partnered with Foxconn and has already signed Leo Messi as its brand ambassador.

Going forward, the company is now planning to join the Amazon Launchpad program in January 2019, which should allow the company to bring its smartphone into customers’ hands much easier.

The device comes with a 6-inch Full HD+ notched display with 2160 x 1080 pixels screen resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio. According to the company, the phone’s display has an oleophobic coating on top. Under the hood, the phone is powered by Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon 845 processor, coupled with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage.

Coming to the optics part, the phone features a single 12-megapixel camera sensor with f/1.8 aperture with focus on low-light imaging. On the front side, the phone features an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera sensor with f/2.2 aperture.

In terms of software, the smartphone runs on the company’s own SIRIN OS which is an ultra-secure and Google-certified fork of Android, based on Android 8.1 Oreo operating system out-of-the-box. The company had earlier said that the secure open source operating system will also be licensed to interested OEMs. It is powered by a 3,280mAh battery.

The interesting offering of the phone is the cold storage cryptocurrency wallet, which isn’t connected to the internet in a measure to prevent hackers from gaining access to Bitcoins and to securely generate transactions. It also embeds a multi-layered cybersecurity suite comprising online and offline on-device cyber threat detection, protection from network attacks, host-based attacks, as well as unsecured device definitions.

Finney smartphone also comes with a unique concierge-like service called TCS (Token Conversion Service), allowing users to make crypto transactions for supported coins and tokens without the hassle of exchanges. At launch, TCS will support ETH (Etherium), BTC (Bitcoin), and SRN (Sirin Labs Tokens).

Big Discounts On Xiaomi Global Version Phones

By

Vinay Patel

-

Nov 30, 2018

Following in the footsteps of its well-received predecessors, the Mi 8 garnered huge popularity among smartphone lovers after hitting the store shelves this year in June.
If you have restlessly been waiting to buy this recently launched phone without emptying your pocket, it might interest you to know that the global version of the Mi 8 smartphone has gone up for sale carrying a lowered price tag on Giztop. There’s more for you to cheer about.

The global version of the Mi 8 smartphone would normally set you back a pretty penny on both online as well as offline stores, but you can now buy it for only $399 on Giztop. This is a big discount considering the phone usually carries a steep price tag of $439.

You can head straight to this link to check out the phone’s full specification and avail this discount before the promotion comes to an end.

In addition to offering the Mi 8 at an unbeatable price, Giztop is giving buyers an unmissable chance to get their hands on global versions of all Xiaomi-branded smartphones without breaking the bank. In order to avail the discount, all you need to do is to apply coupon code MGLOBAL at the time of checking out.
The aforesaid coupon provides an extra 3% off when applied. For the sake of an instance, the global version of the Mi Max 3 smartphone is currently available carrying a $259 price tag of Giztop, but you can use the above-mentioned coupon to save $7.77 more.

In other words, you can use the coupon to bring your grand total down to just $251.23. You can head straight to this link to check out the Xiaomi global smartphones that you can buy for a lowered price using the coupon.

Buy Global Versions Of Xioami Phones At Lowered Prices

Oppo successfully attempts WeChat video calling using a 5G smartphone

By

-

Nov 30, 2018

Today, Oppo’s Vice President Shen Yiren announced on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo that the company has successfully conducted the world’s first WeChat video call using a 5G smartphone.

Announcing this development, he said in a Weibo post, “Hello Oppo! Hello 5G! Sharing an exciting news. At 0:57 on November 30, we successfully made the world’s first 5G mobile phone-based WeChat video call. Oppo’s six major research institutes are connected globally and 5G is one step closer!”

The announcement from the company suggests that the video call was made using a completed and commercially available form of a 5G smartphone with fully integrated 5G supporting components, to demonstrate the ability of a 5G-enabled smartphone.

Oppo is one of the leading contributors to the 5G standards and is reportedly providing a large amount of support to ensure that the standardization work gets completed on time. The China-based company is aiming to become a leading promoter of 5G product development and commercialization.

The company had established its 5G Communication Standard team at the beginning of 2015. It is also among the fore-front members in the international standard organization 3GPP, based on the number of documents submitted by the company.

Earlier in May, the company had announced that it had successfully implemented the first 5G video call demonstration using 3D structured optical technology. The demonstration based on FPGA prototype verification platform carried out downlink 1.4Gbps and uplink 160Mbps transmission rate.

Oppo recently announced the completion of 5G signaling based on commercial mobile phones and the connection of data links, determining the basis for 5G mobile phones to achieve reliable communication functions. Recently, Oppo also announced the completion of the first 5G Internet access.

Meanwhile, Oppo’s Product Manager Chuck Wang has reportedly confirmed that the company will announce its first flexible smartphone at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, in February next year.

Poco F1 Armored Edition for 64 GB and 128 GB editions tipped to launch soon

By

-

Nov 30, 2018

Xiaomi had introduced the Poco F1 budget-friendly flagship phone in August. The highest version of the smartphone that features 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage is priced at Rs. 28,999 (~$416) in India. The same model also comes in Armored Edition that features a premium looking Kevlar rear. This model is priced at Rs. 29,999 (~$430). Fresh information reveals that Xiaomi may soon release Armored Editions for the other variants of the smartphone.

According to the latest information, the 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage and 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage models of the Xiaomi Poco F1 will be also coming in Armored Edition. Currently, these models are only available with polycarbonate rear.

There is no information available on the pricing on the upcoming Armored Edition variants of the Poco F1. Since the Armored Edition of 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage model costs only Rs. 1,000 more than its regular model, there is a possibility that the Armored Editions of 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage and 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage models could be priced at Rs. 21,999 (~$315) and Rs. 24,999 (~$358). At present, the regular versions of these models are selling for Rs. 20,999 (~$301) and Rs. 23,999 (~$344).

Read More: Xiaomi to soon launch Qualcomm Snapdragon 675-powered smartphone

The Poco F1 is the cheapest Snapdragon 845 chipset powered smartphone. The handset features a 6.18-inch IPS LCD notched screen that supports an aspect ratio of 18.7:9 and full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2246 pixels.

The 12-megapixel + 5-megapixel dual camera setup is placed on the rear side of the phone. For shooting selfies, it is equipped with a 20-megapixel front-facing shooter. For security, the Poco F1 is equipped with a rear-mounted fingerprint reader. For easy unlocking under dim light conditions, the phone carries support for IR face recognition. The Poco F1 is packed with a 4,000mAh battery that carries support for Quick Charge 4.0. The handset is available in color choices like Graphite Black, Rosso Red and Steel Blue.

Would you be interested in buying Armored Editions of 64 GB and 128 GB Poco F1? Let us know your thoughts by adding your comments below.