Xiaomi Mi A2 Android One smartphone launched in Hong Kong for HK1,999 ($255)

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Aug 2, 2018

Yesterday, XDA Developers had revealed key information on the upcoming Huawei Mate 20 series through the leaked firmware files. Some more information on the Mate 20 series have been leaked unearthed through the supply chain sources, claims a Chinese publication. The new information reveals that the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro will both arrive with triple camera setup. Also, instead of the homegrown GPU, the Kirin 980 is now rumored to feature ARM Mali graphics.

According to the report, the upcoming Huawei Mate 20 is codenamed as Hima and the radio transmission body in China has already approved HMA-AL00 and HMA-TL00 variants. The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is codenamed as Laya. Both the smartphones are now rumored to feature triple camera system.

The Mate 20 may feature 12-megapixel + 20-megapixel + 8-mgeapixel triple camera setup whereas the advanced Mate 20 Pro may come equipped with 40-megapixel + 20-megapixel + 8-megapixel triple cameras. Like the predecessor models, the cameras of Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro will be engineered by Leica.

The Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro are both expected to feature Sony IMX300 and IMX600 sensors. The Mate 20’s third sensor will be a new CMOS telephoto lens. The cost of the triple camera module is expected to reduce to $40 from the current price of $60. Hence, the inclusion of triple cameras will not increase the pricing of Mate 20.

It is obvious that the Kirin 980 SoC that is slated to get announced by the end of this month will be the chipset that will be driving the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro smartphones. The 7nm SoC from Huawei is expected to deliver a maximum clocking speed of 2.8 GHz. Rumors had claimed that the Kirin 980 will be featuring Huawei’s homegrown graphics. However, newer information claims that it will include Mali G72MP24. Huawei has recently bagged 3C certification for a new generation of 40W fast charging adapters. Hence, it is likely that the Mate 20 duo will carry support for 40W fast charging.

The Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro are now expected to come equipped with 3D structured light module which suggests that both the phones may feature notched displays. The Mate 20 Pro is expected to arrive with under-display fingerprint scanner. A recent report has claimed that for better results, the AMOLED screen of the Mate 20 Pro will be embedded ultrasonic fingerprint sensor for accurate results. Even though it is speculated that the Mate 20 will feature capacitive fingerprint reader, the new report states that Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro will both feature in-screen fingerprint reader.

According to XDA Developer’s report, the Mate 20 may feature 6.3-inch AMOLED screen while the Mate 20 Pro may house a larger screen of 6.9 inches. Both the phones may come packed with 4,200mAh battery. Also, these smartphones will come preloaded with EMUI 9.0 flavored Android 9.0 P.

It is advisable to digest the report with a grain of salt since the launch of the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro could be two months. Hence, it is recommended to wait for further reports to confirm on the specs of the Mate 20 duo.

(source)

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Buy UMIDIGI Z2 Smartphone For Just $249.99 On Banggood

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Aug 2, 2018

The 6.2-inch display equipped Z2 smartphone became an instant hit among smartphone lovers after hitting the store shelves in July this year. Aside from a big screen, the Z2 boasts an array of other awe-inspiring features that make it an irresistible smartphone.

If you’ve restlessly been waiting to get your hands on the feature-laden Z2 smartphone but aren’t willing to spend a lot of money, we got good news for you. Banggood is currently doling out a noteworthy 43% off the phone’s original asking price of $435.62.

As a result, you can now preorder the UMIDIGI Z2 smartphone at a heavily reduced price of just $249.99. Banggood, the Chinese online store that guarantees the best bang for your buck will be offering the aforesaid discount for 2 color versions including twilight and light black.

This is a limited offer which will be valid for 42 pieces of the light black and twilight color versions of the Z2 smartphone. Alternatively, you can subscribe to UMIDIGI One and One Pro smartphones in a bid to win One Pro prizes. There will be 4 winners.

If you’re interested in taking advantage of the aforesaid discount and seize an opportunity to win the UMIDIGI One Pro, all you need to do is to follow this link. It is worth noting that the UMIDIGI Z2 smartphone will go back to its retail price as soon as the promotion sale ends.

Get 43% Off On UMIDIGI Z2 Smartphone On Banggood

Buy Pure Sine Wave Travel Power Converter For $59.99 On Amazon And BESTEK Official Store

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Buy The BESTEK Power Converter On Amazon

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Aug 2, 2018

The BESTEK Power Converter addresses your travel voltage concerns with its ability to change overseas voltage from 90-220V to 110-120V and securely power up your US electronic devices. Moreover, you can use it with a slew of other appliances such as an electronic toothbrush, hair straightener, and curling iron.

Touted as the best international travel device, the Pure Sine Wave Travel Power Converter from BESTEK is the world’s first pure sine wave converter that offers relatively safe and more stable charge than other brands by providing sine wave output so you can use multiple devices within 200W. It can charge 6 devices at the same time.

The Pure Sine Wave Travel Power Converter is currently up for grabs bearing a price tag of $59.99 on BESTEK’s official store. Alternatively, you can buy it from Amazon for the same price by heading straight to this link.
The compact and highly portable power converter has dimensions of 6.7X3.1X1.5 inches and it is easy to take and store. Moreover, it offers 3 international adapters including US, UK, and AU, which is ideal for people who are always on the go.

If you’re interested in checking out more details about the Pure Sine Wave Travel Power Converter, just head straight to this link. You can buy the yellow color version of the power converter on BESTEK’s official store.

Buy The BESTEK Power Converter On Company’s Official Store

Get Up To 60% Off On Nubia Smartphones On GeekBuying

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Aug 2, 2018

If you’re an adventurous user looking for a high-end innovative smartphone that doesn’t set you back a pretty penny, look no further. As part of its recently started promotion sale, GeekBuying is giving a big discount on select Nubia-branded smartphones.

Dubbed as ‘Save Big on Nubia Smartphones,’ the promo features the Nubia Z17 Lite smartphone. While the well-received phone normally carries a steep price tag of $449.99, GeekBuying will be selling it at a heavily discounted price of just $158.99.

This is a noteworthy 65% reduction in the Z17 Lite smartphone’s original asking price. On the downside, the discount will only be valid until August 10th. Likewise, you can get $85 off $239.99 retail price of the Nubia M2 NX551J smartphone. Equipped with a powerful Snapdragon 625 processor, the Nubia M2 NX551J is an irresistible smartphone that you can now buy at a dropped price of just $154.99 on GeekBuying. The last day to get this 35% discount is August 10th.

Aside from that, the promo comprises a broad range of other smartphones from Nubia which have been added in a category dubbed ‘Hot Deals’. The section features the ZTE Nubia Z17S smartphone, which you can buy at a reduced price of $469.99 and the Z18 Mini which is up for grabs at a heavily discounted price of just $351.99.

You can follow this link in order to check out the rest of the smartphones and take the massive discounts before the promo ends.

Buy Nubia Smartphones At Discounted Price On GeekBuying

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 launches with Snapdragon 450 and Quad Speakers

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Aug 1, 2018

Alongside the Galaxy Tab S4, Samsung also announced a cheaper and more family-oriented tablet. The Galaxy Tab A 10.5 is its latest offering for those who do not need a tablet as powerful and as expensive as the Tab S4.

The Galaxy Tab A 10.5 has a 10.5” 1920 x 1200 display with a 16:10 aspect ratio. It doesn’t have slim bezels and it also doesn’t have a physical home button. Under the hood is a Snapdragon 450 processor along with 3GB of RAM and thankfully 32GB of expandable storage. Yes, we are glad it doesn’t have 16GB of storage.

There is an 8MP autofocus camera on the rear and a 5MP front-facing camera with flash. It has a 7300mAh battery and charges via a USB-C port. It also comes with Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box.

The tablet may be missing the Tab S4’s S Pen and Iris Scanner, but Samsung has kept the quad speakers. It also has Dolby Atmos support, so audio performance should be impressive.

The Galaxy Tab A 10.5 comes with a kids mode with parental control and is pre-loaded with 8 free children apps. It has support for Multi-User mode so everyone at home can use it. It also supports Samsung’s SmartThings for managing your smart home appliances.

Xiaomi’s upcoming PC is called the Mi Notebook Pro 2 and it may come with a GTX 1050 graphics card

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Aug 1, 2018

One of the products Xiaomi is expected to announce at ChinaJoy on Friday is a new laptop. Earlier, we had thought that the new computer was a gaming PC but a new teaser hints at it being a successor to the Mi Notebook Pro released last year.

The teaser released yesterday by the official Weibo account of Xiaomi’s PC line shows a drawing of a pen, the chemical structure for Benzene, another chemical labeled “Praseodymium”, and a test tube labeled “Oxygen”.

When interpreted, the pen and the benzene are said to mean a “notebook” while a combination of the symbols of the second chemical and the oxygen-containing test tube gives you “Pr + O2 = Pro 2”. Hence the conclusion that the device is the Mi Notebook Pro 2.

Apart from that, the account also released another teaser. This time it shows a backlit keyboard with the keys 3, 8, C and J highlighted orange. The highlighted keys are said to point at the launch which is on the 3rd of August (8th month) and the venue which is at ChinaJoy.

Other than the image, the caption for the image also holds a hidden message. The caption mentions a string of muddled up characters that holds a secret to the new product. The characters are “!)%)” and they share the same keys with the numbers “1050” on the keyboard.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 is official with slim bezels, S Pen, DeX support and powerful specs

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Aug 1, 2018

Samsung has just unveiled the new 2-in-1 laptop-tablet hybrid – the Galaxy Tab S4 to succeed the Galaxy Tab S3 from last year. The gorgeous screen of the Tab S4 is blessed with slimmer bezels. Like its predecessor, it supports Book Cover keyboard and it is also equipped with an S Pen stylus. It is the first ever tablet from the company to arrive with support for DeX dock for a desktop PC experience.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 Specifications and Features

The Galaxy Tab S4 features a 10.5-inch S-AMOLED display that offers an aspect ratio of 16:10 and has a Quad HD resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. The tablet is equipped with AKG-tuned quad speakers along with Dolby Atmos support.

The Snapdragon 835 SoC powers the Galaxy Tab S4 along with 4 GB of RAM. It comes in 64 GB and 256 GB storage choices. For more storage, it features a microSD card slot. It is preinstalled with Android 8.1 Oreo. The tablet receives power from 7,300mAh battery that is enabled with support for 15W fast charging.

With Samsung DeX, users can connect the tablet to a larger display via an HDMI to USB-C multi-port adapter to take advantage of full-fledged PC experience. The tablet allows users to take write notes even the screen is turned off through the Screen-Off Memo feature. For photography, the Tab S4 is equipped with autofocus enabled 13-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front-facing shooter.

For security, the tablet is equipped with support for iris scanner and facial recognition through Intelligent Scan feature. The other features of the tablet include LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, and 3.5mm audio jack. The Book Cover keyboard optional accessory can be attached to the tablet using the provided pogo pins and magnets on the tablet.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 Pricing and Availability

The Wi-Fi only 64 GB Galaxy Tab S4 is now available on pre-orders in the U.S. through Best Buy with a price tag of $650. The Wi-Fi only 256 GB variant is priced at $750. The pricing of the LTE variants is yet to be revealed. Black and Silver are the two color variants of the Galaxy Tab S4.

LG Phone with SD845, Notched screen & Google Assistant button spotted online may be the V40 ThinQ

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Aug 1, 2018

LG has announced three flagships this year. First, it announced the V30S ThinQ at the beginning of the year, it then launched the LG G7 ThinQ in May, and followed it with the V35 ThinQ in the same month. Its next flagship is expected to be the LG V40 ThinQ and there is a chance it is the device that just showed up online.

The new device was discovered in firmware files gotten by XDA Developers. The device is powered by the Snapdragon 845 and is codenamed “judypn”. Apparently, it is related to two of LG’s other phones that have launched this year as they have similar codenames (LG G7 ThinQ = “judyln” and LG V35 ThinQ = “judyp”).

One XDA comment says the codenames points to their display type and design. For the LG G7 which is known as “judyln” – the last two alphabets mean it has an LCD display and a notch while the V35 ThinQ a.k.a “judyp” has a P-OLED display, and this new device “judypn” has a P-OLED display and a notch. Seeing as LG’s V-series comes with P-OLED displays, this is one proof that it is the LG V40 ThinQ.

Another proof is the presence of a dedicated Google Assistant button. The firmware is said to have the same “hot1_key” present in the firmware files of the LG G7 ThinQ. The V35 ThinQ doesn’t have this button. Android news site, Android Police already reported that the V40 will come with a dedicated Google Assistant button.

Yet another evidence that further confirms that the “judypn” device is the LG V40 ThinQ is found in its model numbers. They are listed as LM-V400N, LM-V405N, and LM-V409N. LG’s other flagships follow a similar pattern for their model numbers. The G7 ThinQ, for example, has model numbers LM-G710, LM-G710N, and LM-G710VM while the V35 ThinQ has model numbers LM-V350 and LM-V350N.

All of the above devices point at the device being the V40 ThinQ but there is also evidence that it isn’t. The cameras, for example, are different from what was earlier reported.

The V40 is reported to come with triple rear cameras and dual front-facing cameras for a total of five cameras. However, the firmware files mention dual rear cameras with both sensors having OIS and one being a wide-angle lens.

V35 ThinQ (Emma) is arriving around the same time as G7 ThinQ (Neo/Judy), while V40 ThinQ (Storm) is the late summer / early fall flagship. https://t.co/dDLeTYwKEf

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) April 20, 2018

Another evidence is the codename which is quite different from what popular leaker, Evan Blass revealed earlier. In a tweet, he mentioned that the LG V40 is code-named “storm” but as you can see above, that isn’t the case. This is probably Mr. Evan being wrong or the phone having two codenames as is the case with the LG G7 ThinQ judging from his tweet.

Lenovo Watch X Plus to be available for buying from tomorrow

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Aug 1, 2018

In early June, Lenovo had held a launch event to announce three smartphones such as Lenovo Z5, Lenovo K5 Note and Lenovo A5. On the same day, the Chinese manufacturer had launched Lenovo Watch X and Watch X Plus smartphones. The Watch X was made available for buying soon after its announcement. Starting from tomorrow, the Lenovo Watch X Plus will be available for purchase at 10 AM (local time) in China.

The Watch X Plus is not very different from the Lenovo Watch model that is priced at 299 Yuan (~$44). The only major difference is that Watch X Plus features a dial with Roman numbers and also it is equipped with air pressure sensor which is not available on the regular version. Also, the Lenovo Watch features a digital display.

Starting from tomorrow, the Chinese manufacturer will be selling the Watch X Plus with a price tag of 399 Yuan (~$58). It comes with Milanese wristband with color options like Black and Silver.

The leather band variants of the Lenovo Watch and Watch X Plus are respectively priced at 329 Yuan (~$48) and 429 Yuan (~63). Since both the leather models are not listed for buying on the official site, it appears that the company may make them available later on.

Like the Watch X, the Plus is a water-resistant smartwatch that features 316L medical grade stainless steel chassis along with OLED display. The screen is shielded by sapphire crystal glass and it is equipped with luminous watch hands. The different sensors that are present on it include barometer, heart rate sensor, blood pressure sensor, gyroscope, geomagnetic sensor and air pressure sensor. The 600mAh battery can last for up to 45 days by charging it once.

The Lenovo Watch X is receiving overwhelming response in China. It was sold out in just 15 seconds in its first sale. Hence, Watch X Plus is also expected to positive reception. There is no confirmation on when it will be made available outside of the home market.

(source 1, 2)

This Xiaomi phone on Geekbench is powered by the SD835 and not the Snapdragon 855

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Aug 1, 2018

The Snapdragon 855 isn’t due to appear in devices until next year but Qualcomm is already working on the chipset. About a month ago, a Sony device said to be powered by the processor was allegedly seen on Geekbench. Now, another device, a Xiaomi this time, has surfaced online.

The device is listed as “Xiaomi SDM855 for arm64” and it was benchmarked on July 27. While the name does have SDM855, Geekbench actually shows the phone is powered by a msm8998 chipset which is also known as Snapdragon 835.

The scores are also lower than that of the Snapdragon 845 which powers this year’s flagships which further confirms this isn’t the Snapdragon 855.

When Qualcomm unveils the SD855 later this year, it will be its first 7nm chipset. It is expected to bring an increase in efficiency and power consumption. It will also come with a new and faster modem called the Snapdragon X24.

Meizu 16 white variant appears in real skin

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Aug 1, 2018

A leaked image showing the frontside of the white variant of the upcoming Meizu 16 has surfaced today. The image reveals that the handset will offer a very impressive screen-to-body ratio.

The impression of the fingerprint scanner at the bottom portion of the display indicates that it is equipped with in-screen fingerprint scanner. The white variant reveals how slim the side bezels of the Meizu 16 are.

The upper bezel that includes a selfie camera is slightly thick. The handset is expected to deliver a screen-to-body ratio of 91.18 percent. Shown below is another image of the phone that had surfaced in the previous month.

The Meizu 16 features a 6-inch AMOLED display that supports Full HD+ resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18:9. The Snapdragon 845 SoC is present under the hood of the phone. The SoC of the Meizu 16 is coupled with 6 GB of RAM. The handset is equipped with 128 GB of storage. The 12-megapixel + 20-megapixel dual camera setup of the smartphone is expected to support 3x loseless optical zoom. It is fitted with a front-facing camera of 20-megapixel. It is fueled by 2,950mAh battery.

The Meizu 16 Plus houses a 6.5-inch AMOLED screen that supports FHD+ resolution like Meizu 16. It is packed with a 3,570mAh battery. The reset of the specs of the Meizu 16 Plus will be same as Meizu 16. The Meizu 16 duo are preinstalled with Android 8.1 Oreo OS.

Both the smartphones are slated to get announced on Aug. 8. It is speculated that the Meizu 16 will carry a price tag of 3,599 Yuan for its variant featuring 128 GB of storage and 6 GB of RAM. Meizu will be also announcing the Meizu Gravity speaker alongside the Meizu 16 series at the upcoming unveil event.

What do you think about the appearance of the notch-less Meizu 16? Share us your views by posting your comments below.

Xiaomi was the Fastest Growing smartphone company YoY in Q2 2018

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Joel Joseph

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Aug 1, 2018

IDC released its Q2 2018 smartphone shipments and market share data earlier today revealing Huawei has finally overtaken Apple to become the second largest smartphone company in the world. However, the data further points out that Xiaomi was the fastest growing company in the same quarter, with a YoY growth rate of 48.8%.

Back in Q2 2017, Xiaomi managed to ship just 21.4 million smartphones but that increased drastically this year to 31.9 million. Considering the modest growth rate of other companies, except for Huawei, this is indeed a significant jump for Xiaomi. Further, the company now ranks above OPPO (Xiaomi surpassed OPPO in Q1 2018), reversing its position as compared to the same period last year.

Huawei YoY growth has been quite impressive as well, increasing its shipments by nearly 41% this year. While Apple shipments have remained more or less stable around 41 million, Huawei managed to grow its shipments from 38 million to 54.2 million units in the previous quarter. However, the Chinese giant still needs some time to catch up with Samsung’s 71.5 million shipments this year. Fortunately for Huawei, Samsung’s shipments have fell by over 10% YoY and if this trend continues, the company could soon overtake the South Korean giant in the next couple of years!

(Source)

Xiaomi Bluetooth computer speakers with support for lossless audio launched for 399 yuan ($58)

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Jed John Ikoba

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Aug 1, 2018

Xiaomi has gone official with a new product, a Bluetooth speaker for the PC. The Xiaomi Bluetooth computer speaker is presently available on Xiaomi Youpin for just 399 yuan (about $58). Since it is a speaker for the PC, it comes as a pair and can also be connected to mobile phones, tablets, notebooks and other compatible devices.

The Xiaomi Bluetooth computer speaker comes with support for lossless audio playback and also supports voice calls. The two speakers have the same shape and they adopt a minimalistic design. It adopts a rectangular shape with rounded edges. The main speaker has volume control buttons at the top left corner up front. There is also a hidden microphone at the front as well as an LED indicator. The body is made of aluminium alloy which has been subjected to precision machining by extrusion, CNC, fine grinding, quartz blasting, anodizing, and thus, the surface texture is smooth.

Although the some isn’t that big, the output promises to be awesome. It supports a variety of music modes and as stated, it also supports lossless Bluetooth audio. The pair of Bluetooth PC speakers uses a professional audio DSP solution to support lossless Bluetooth audio formats. On the internals, it uses NdFeB dual magnetic circuit design, KAPTON polymer material voice coil which brings excellent dynamic high-frequency effects, allowing users to experience the richest of music effect. The speakers also utilise CSR Bluetooth chip and are compatible with several audio formats such as MP3, AAC, APTX, APTX-LL and other audio formats. The APTX format is said to be capable of bringing CD-level sound quality experience. It also supports AAC audio format of iOS. There is also a 12000mAH rechargeable battery onboard the speakers. Apart from Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity, you can also use the 3.5mm AUX port on the speaker.

The PC speaker is presently available on Xiaomi Youpin and outside China, you get it from online retailers like GearBest, Geekbuying and Banggood but at a higher price.

(source)

OPPO F9 official posters confirm dual cameras and rear-mounted fingerprint scanner

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Aug 1, 2018

Ahead of the release of the OPPO F9 duo, two new official posters have surfaced online. The official posters show the OPPO F9 in two color variants and also reveal the rear of the device.

When the OPPO F9 launches, it will be available in Sunrise Red and Twilight Blue. The back appears to be made of glass and has a diamond pattern design. The phone will come with dual rear cameras arranged horizontally with a dual LED flash on the right. Around the setup is a silver colored ring.

[envira-gallery id=”204098″]

Another feature the posters reveal is a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. Initially, we had thought the OPPO F9 won’t be coming with a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner based on TENAA images seen last week. However, it appears those images are not of the OPPO F9.

The F9 has its power button on the right and volume rocker on the left. It also has curved corners. We already know that the front of the device is home to a full-screen display with a new notch-design. OPPO calls the new display Waterdrop Screen.

Deciwatt’s GravityLight gets an update: nowlight lamp adds 1 hour of light by pulling the cord for a minute!

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Aug 1, 2018

Remember GravityLight, the weight-powered dynamo lamp from a few years ago? The company behind it, Deciwatt, has a new lamp called nowlight. The new lamp brings newer features and improves on the design of the GravityLight.

Unlike GravityLight which is powered by an electric generator which is in turn powered by a bag filled with rocks or sand, nowlight comes with a pull cord that charges the lamp’s built-in battery.

According to Deciwatt, pulling the cord for a minute provides 1 hour of light. Compare that to the GravityLight lamp that only provides illumination for 25 minutes before you have to reset the weight. If you don’t want to use the pull cord, nowlight also charges via a 3W solar panel or even a DC outlet. The time it takes to charge the 3200mAh built-in battery for each method is listed below:

Manual charging (pull cord) – 24 minutes
Mains (DC Outlet) – approx. 4 hours
Solar panel – approx. 5 hours

The nowlight lamp has five brightness levels (10, 20, 40, 80, and 160 lumesn). It also has a display that shows the hours of light remaining depending on the brightness level you choose. Apart from illumination, the lamp can also charge your USB-powered device as it has a 5V/1.5A USB output port.

If you want to illuminate more rooms with nowlight, there is a smaller lamp called SatLight that can be connected to the main lamp.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XcI5XA_V6E[/embedyt]

The lamp is listed on Indiegogo and has met its crowdfunding goal but you can still go on and purchase one. For $90, you can get the lamp with a solar panel and a SatLight. $8 more will get you an additional SatLight. If you don’t need the solar panel or SatLight, the price is $74.

For $140, you can buy one lamp and give one to a refugee family. There are also packages in case you only want to donate to refugee families. Deciwatt says it is partnering with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to distribute to refugee families.

Xiaomi Mi 8 SE 6GB+128GB variant officially goes on sale for 2299 yuan (~$338)

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Jed John Ikoba

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Aug 1, 2018

Xiaomi had announced a 6GB RAM + 128GB storage variant of the Mi 8SE some days ago and reservations for the new variant was opened on Xiaomi Mall and Suning Tesco. The new memory variant of the premium mid-range smartphone has now officially gone on sale in China. The new Xiaomi Mi 8 SE memory variant comes with a generous 2299 yuan ($338) price tag.

As would be recalled, the Mi 8 SE was launched alongside the Mi 8 and Mi 8 Explorer Edition on May 31. The Mi 8 SE was available in 4GB+64GB and 6GB+64GB versions. This new variant expands the options buyers have to choose from. The price isn’t too costly at 2299 yuan considering the 4GB variant has a price tag of 1799 yuan ($264) while the 6GB + 64GB version comes in at 1999 yuan ($293).

Apart from a beautiful design, the main standout feature of the Mi 8SE is definitely the Snapdragon 710 chipset onboard. This is Qualcomm’s latest premium mid-range chipset with some level of improved performance and energy efficiency over the SD 660 chipset. Xiaomi Mi 8 SE equally comes with a 5.88-inch display, dual cameras and fingerprint sensor at the rear, a powerful 3120mAh battery and more.

The

OnePlus is aiming to expand its offline presence in India

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Jeet

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Aug 1, 2018

OnePlus, the China-based smartphone manufacturer, which has now grabbed the top spot in the Indian premium smartphone market, surpassing Samsung, is now aiming to expand its offline presence.

This development comes after it was revealed that OnePlus is planning to make India, which is the world’s second largest smartphone market, its second headquarters by the end of this year.

oneplus offline store india — OnePlus Experience Store in India

In an interview with Reuters, OnePlus India General Manager Vikas Agarwal had said that the company is planning to establish around 10 retail stores across the country in the second half of 2018. Currently, the company is operating five retail stores in India.

Along with the expansion of its retail stores in India, OnePlus is also planning to start a Research & Development (R&D) unit in the country. Apart from the fact that India is the world’s second largest smartphone market, it also accounted for one-third of OnePlus’ revenue of $1 billion last year.

The Chinese smartphone brand sells the majority of its smartphones through Amazon India, with which it has entered into an exclusive partnership, as well as on its official online store in India.

Vikas Agarwal had said that all the OnePlus phones sold in India were manufactured locally. He also added: “We’ve already upgraded to local production of the components and will continue to look at further plans as the government announces the next wave of localization.”

Last week, OnePlus opened three new experience stores in India — one each in Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bangalore. Thanks to this offline stores, the sales of OnePlus 6 grew by 91 percent compared to the sale of OnePlus 5.

According to the report from Counterpoint, OnePlus is now the leading smartphone brand in the premium phone segment in India with around 40 percent market share. Reflecting on this development, Pete Lau, CEO of OnePlus said that India has become a benchmark for creating successful global products.

Huawei surpasses Apple to get the second spot in global smartphone market share

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Jeet

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Aug 1, 2018

While Samsung continues to dominate the global smartphone market share, Huawei has surpassed Apple to get the second spot in terms of market share of the global smartphone shipments for the second quarter of 2018.

According to the latest numbers revealed by IDC, Canalys, and Strategy Analytics, the China-based company shipped more than 54 million devices in the second quarter of this year while Apple managed to ship 41.3 million iPhones. Samsung, which ranked first, shipped over 73 million units.

The report from International Data Corporation (IDC) reveals that Samsung had 20.9 percent market share in Q2 2018 while Huawei managed to grab 15.8 percent market share, which is a new record for the Chinese company.

On the other hand, Apple had 12.1 percent market share while Xiaomi managed 9.3 percent market share and Oppo received about 8.6 percent market share. As Apple will be releasing its next-generation iPhone in the coming months, Huawei’s ranking in the second spot might not be for a longer time.

The report says that Huawei’s shipments grew by 40 percent year-on-year, while Apple’s shipments grew by just 0.7 percent year-on-year. Huawei’s shipment growth was largely driven by its sub-brand Honor which reportedly accounted for two-thirds of nearly 16 million jump that Huawei made.

Also, Huawei’s recent flagship smartphones — Huawei P20 series found strong demand in the $600-$800 price segment, which helped the company in building a high profile in the market. The Chinese firm continued to get a good reputation, thanks to the launch of new technology “GPU Turbo”, reports IDC.

While Samsung maintained its top spot in the global smartphone shipments market share, its shipments saw a decline of 10.4 percent. The flagship phones S9/S9+ witnessed slower than normal sales, which Samsung believes is due to intensified competition and overall sluggish smartphone market. The South Korean-giant is all set to launch the next-generation Note series smartphone on August 9th to gain a foothold ahead of pending fall launches from Apple and others smartphone manufacturers.

Huawei is ranked first in its home market with around 26 percent market share in smartphone shipments with 22 percent year-on-year growth. Oppo is at the second spot in China with around 19 percent market share, followed by Vivo, Xiaomi, and Apple which has 18 percent, 13 percent, and 9 percent market share, respectively.

(Sources – 1, 2)

Get Up To 40% Off On Various Tech Items For Kids On AliExpress

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