Panasonic Eluga I5 Entry-Level Smartphone Launched In India, Priced At Rs. 8,999

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Nov 9, 2017

News of Samsung’s Exynos 7872 processor has been circulating for a while now. The chipset is said to be built on the 14nm design and will power Samsung’s entry level phones.

Yesterday, the Exynos 7872 was seen on the Bluetooth SIG website. According to the info on the site, the Exynos 7872 received a Bluetooth 4.2 certification. Sources say the chip may be released soon following this development.

Previous reports say the Exynos 7872 will have six cores – two Cortex-A73 cores and four Cortex-A53 cores, and will have a Mali G71 for its GPU. The 7872 is rumored to debut in the Samsung Galaxy A3 (2018).

Apple’s AR Headset with rOS Reportedly Launching in 2019

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Nov 9, 2017

Fresh information shared by Bloomberg claims that Apple is working on an augmented reality headset. It will be a new and independent product line from the company that is speculated to debut in 2019.

Like the Apple Watch, the forthcoming AR headset from the Cupertino-based company is expected to feature its own microprocessor. Also, the company will be introducing a new kind of operating system called rOS for its new AR headset. It seems to be a customized version of iOS like watchOS and tvOS. It is also pegged to feature its own version of App Store.

Unlike the existing VR headsets that requires users to make use of a smartphone as an engine, the Apple AR headset that is rumored to debut in 2019 will have its own screen. Apple is yet to finalize on how users will be controlling the AR device. Initial reports claim that Apple is considering options like voice-commands through Siri, head gestures and touch. There is no information on the design of the device. However, initial reports suggest that it may look like Google Glass.

Apple is rumored to be working on this upcoming AR headset since a couple of years. It is speculated that the AR device from the company may be unveiled to the world in 2019 and it could be available for buying by early 2020.

2018 iPad Pro with Full Screen Design, Face ID Arriving Next Year

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Nov 9, 2017

According to a new report on Bloomberg, industry insiders with accurate track record have revealed to it that Apple will be releasing a high-end iPad with full screen design in 2018. Also, the tablet is expected to arrive with Face ID feature.

The Apple iPhone X is the first smartphone from the company to house an OLED panel and Face ID. The rumored iPad is expected to come with a traditional LCD panel and not an OLED screen.

Since Apple is expected to use same LCD screen on 2018 iPad Pro, it is unlikely to feature u-shaped like the iPhone X. The arrival of Face ID on the forthcoming iPad Pro models will result in the axing of the Touch ID home button that the company had introduced in 2014. The removal of the home button will allow Apple to reduce the bezels of the device. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had claimed in the previous month that the 2018 iPad Pro models will be arriving with TrueDepth Camera system.

The new report also claims that Apple may introduce multiple iPad Pro models next year. Among these devices, there will be at least one tablet that will have a size that is similar to 10.5-inch iPad Pro. The 2018 iPad Pro is pegged to come with an enhanced Apple Pencil stylus and improved notetaking and drawing software. It is also expected to be driven by a faster chipset that would include a custom GPU from Apple.

A recent survey by IDC has revealed that the tablet industry has encountered a decline in the sales for the 12^th consecutive quarter. However, Apple’s tablets are still very popular compared to rival devices from other brands. In the Q3 2017, it led the tablet industry with a market share of 25.8 percent by shipping 10.3 million iPad units.

Apple had introduced the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro in June this year. As far as the arrival of the new iPad Pro with thin bezels is concerned, the publication claims that it may debut sometime after June next year.

Asus Zenfone 3 Max Gets Price Cut In India, Now Costs Rs. 9,999

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Visit Global Buy Store on AliExpress, and Follow them

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Nov 9, 2017

Asus — a Taiwan-based smartphone manufacturer, has announced a price cut for its Asus Zenfone 3 Max smartphone in India. The company has reduced the smartphone’s price by Rs. 1,000, bringing the effective price of the device down to Rs. 9,999.

Asus Zenfone 3 Max was originally launched in India for a price of Rs. 12,999. Prior to this price cut, the smartphone had received a price cut of Rs. 2,000 — bringing price down to Rs. 10,999, and now 5.2-inch display version of the smartphone has got another price cut of 1,000.

The Taiwan-based smartphone manufacturer has said that the price drop for the ZenFone 3 Max smartphone will be applicable across all major e-commerce sites including Flipkart, Amazon, Snapdeal and other retail stores including Asus exclusive stores in India.

The smartphone features a 5.2-inch HD display with a screen resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. It is powered by a 1.25GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6737T processor paired with 3GB of RAM. It has 32GB of internal storage which can be expanded further using a microSD card.

On the optics front, the phone comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera with f/2.2 aperture and dual LED flash. It also features a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with f/2.4 aperture. The smartphone runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system with the company’s own Zen UI 3.0 on top.

Connectivity options on the device include 4G, LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. It packs a massive 4,100mAh battery that is rated to deliver about 30 days of standby time and upto 20 hours of talktime.

The announcement regarding the price cut for Zenfone 3 Max comes just a few days after Asus announced Rs. 1,000 price cut for the ZenFone Max (ZC550KL) model.

Giveaway – Win a Beats Headphone from Global Buy Store

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Shine Wong

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Nov 9, 2017

Gizmochina along with Global Buy Store on AliExpress is conducting a Beats EP headphone as giveaway gift to one of our lucky readers. Like always, you just have to follow the steps mentioned on the Gleam widget to get a chance to win this amazing product.

How to entry this giveaway? Just follow these steps and Gleam widget:

Visit Global Buy Store on AliExpress and follow them: click here;
Add at least one product in your wish list;
Share this post to your Facebook, Twitter and other social account;

On November 11, there is big dicount for these devices:

JBL CHARGE3 Speaker: 55% off, discount price: $237.57, buy link: https://goo.gl/GsfGQq
JBL T180A Headphone: 55% off, discount price: $25.8, buy link: https://goo.gl/2y29RH
Beats EP Headphone: 44% off, discount price: $120.23, buy link: https://goo.gl/e2JK7a
Beats urBeats Headphone: 40% off, discount price: $111.17, buy link: https://goo.gl/NMqNuZ
Plantronics M180 Headphone: 41% off, discount price: $60.73, buy link: https://goo.gl/W2gqeo
SONY Alpha a6000 Camera: 39% off, discount price: $555.27, buy link: https://goo.gl/JqVBnE
Apple iPad: 37% off, discount price: $433.58, buy link: https://goo.gl/GiwpY2

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Terms & Conditions:

1. The giveaway is an international giveaway.
2. We are not responsible for lost shipments.
3. We are not responsible for any duties, import taxes that you may incur.
4. We reserve all rights to make any changes to this giveaway.
5. The prize will be shipped in a week when the giveaway end.

6. We will pick the winner from who has followed their store on AliExpress.

Just follow the steps mentioned in the Gleam widget to participate in the giveaway.
Once again, good luck.

Giveaway – Win A Beats Headphone from Global Buy on AliExpress

Samsung Galaxy A5 (2018) Appears On HTML5 Test Website, Confirms 18.5:9 Infinity Display

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Nov 9, 2017

Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy A5 (2018) and Galaxy A7 (2018) soon and one of the new features coming on the models is an infinity display that tailored to the Galaxy S8. As a confirmation of the rumour of an infinity display, the Galaxy A5 (2018) has appeared on the HTML Test website bearing the model number SM-A530F.

The HTML5 Test listing shows that the 2018 A5 was tested while running Android 7.1.1 Nougat which is consistent with previous reports that the Galaxy A (2018) series will not get Android Oreo out of the box but Nougat. The Galaxy A series usually come with the conventional 16:9 aspect ratio but the listing shows the device’s display will have a resolution of 846 x 412 pixels. The resolution figures are definitely inaccurate but what we can draw from it is that the 18.5:9 aspect ratio is confirmed which also confirms, albeit indirectly the presence of an infinity display on the A5 (2018).

What this also implies is that there won’t be a front physical home button and the fingerprint sensor would have to be relocated to the back and ma likely be under the rear camera. Samsung is yet to officially confirm any details about the Galaxy A (2018) but we expect the models to drop early next year.

Google Pixel 2 XL Owners Facing Flashing Screen Issue

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Nov 9, 2017

Since Google Pixel 2 XL users have encountered various problems on its display such as blue tint, poor color production and screen burn-in, early reviewers of the smartphone have claimed that its OLED screen is of mediocre quality. The newest problem that has surfaced on the Pixel 2 XL is that its screen flashes for a split second before it is unlocked.

The above video shows the flashing screen issue that Pixel 2 XL users are facing. The user who has uploaded the video on YouTube claims that issue stopped momentarily when the phone was restarted, but it surfaced again next morning. He says that the problem surfaced immediately after he purchased the phone.

Advanced troubleshooting attempts such as starting the phone in Safe Mode or performing a factory reset could not resolve the issue permanently. Turning off the ambient sensor is the temporary fix for the flashing screen issue on Pixel 2 XL. Google is yet to release an official statement on the new issue.

Do you think that Pixel 2 XL’s OLED panel by LG is of dismal quality? Share us your views by commenting below.

(source|via)

OnePlus 5T Will be Lacking Wireless Charging, Confirms OnePlus

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Nov 9, 2017

As usual, OnePlus is teasing and confirming on the features that will be arriving on the OnePlus 5T before its official announcement. In the previous week, it was officially confirmed by OnePlus CEO Pete Lau that the OnePlus 5T will be featuring a 3.5mm audio jack. Today, Lau has again confirmed that the much-anticipated wireless charging feature won’t be available on OnePlus 5T. The reason behind it is that the company’s Dash Charge is better than wireless charging.

Dash Charge is the fast charging technology by OnePlus which allow the OnePlus phones to gain a day’s power by charging for only 30 minutes. Through Dash Charge, OnePlus phones can be charged with a charging output of 20W. On the other side, the wireless charging produces 15W of power. Hence, the existing wireless charging technology is incapable of charging smartphones quickly.

Also, wireless charging is not a truly wireless feature, meaning that the handset needs to be placed on a charging pad. While the smartphone is getting charged wirelessly, it cannot be picked up for enjoying a game or taking a photo. Lau claims that these things can be easily done while charging through the OnePlus phone through Dash Charge cable and charger provided by the company.

He further stated that the company may introduce the wireless charging feature when the right time arrives. The Qi wireless charging standard adopt by various smartphone OEMs does not charge well through metal. Hence, smartphones that are enabled with wireless charging come with glass or polycarbonate chassis

Apple iPhones have featured metallic bodies since several years. However, in order to introduce wireless charging, the Cupertino-based company has launched the 2017 iPhones with glass chassis. Since the company won’t be bringing wireless charging on OnePlus 5T, it is expected to arrive with a metallic body.

After the Nov. 16 unveil event for OnePlus 5T, it will be made available for buying in North America and Europe from Nov. 21. In China, it will be available for buying from Dec. 1. In India, the company will be live broadcasting the event through multiplexes across the country and the smartphone would be available for buying exclusively on Amazon India starting from Nov. 28.

Do you think that OnePlus will introduce wireless charging on OnePlus 6? Let us know your thoughts by adding your comments below.

Lenovo Brings The MIIX 520 With 8th Gen Intel Core Duo SoC To China With A Cheaper Price

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Nov 9, 2017

Chinese tech giant Lenovo has launched its latest MIIX 520 2-in-1 Notebook laptop in its home country China. The product was unveiled at Lenovo’s Innovation and Technology conference held yesterday. The Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 520 was first announced at IFA Berlin in September but this is the first tie it will be available in China.

The IdeaPad Miix 520 is a 2-in-1 tablet/PC which some think is a Microsoft Surface Pro clone. But this goes beyond looking like the Surface notebook to include support for Intel’s latest 8th-generation Core i7 CPUs. It happens to be among the first products to offer Intel’s quad-core CPUs for laptops. The new chips promise up to a 40-percent rise in performance. The Miix 520 also features up to 16GB of DDR4 RAM and up to 1TB PCIe SSD.

The Miix 520 also comes with a 12.2-inch FHD (1920 x 1200 pixels) IPS touchscreen and is fired up by a 39Wh battery which Lenovo claims can last up to 7.5 hours. Other features include several new input options compared to the Miix 510, a fingerprint reader which enables one-touch Windows 10 login as well as an Active Pen 2 having 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity for inking and drawing onscreen.

Tablet PCs are not known for great cameras but the Miix 520 features a WorldView camera which can take 3D images. Lenovo also includes a MagicWindow app that lets you insert 3D images into regular images. In addition, the tablet PC comes with a kickstand similar to that of the Yoga 920 convertible laptop.

The Miix 520 is already on sale on Jingdong for 5,999 Yuan ($904) which is lower than the $1,000 price tag it was announce with in Europe.

(source)

Samsung Galaxy S8 Gets Burgundy Red Color Variant

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Nov 8, 2017

Samsung has announced a new color variant for the Galaxy S8. The new Burgundy Red Galaxy S8 was launched in South Korea and brings the color variants to six.

There is no significant change in the design save for the rear of the phone which is now red. The front is still black, so if you slap a case on it, no one is going to know what color you are rocking.

Samsung has released an official ad for the new color variant and it is easy to see where the inspiration for the color comes from.

The Korean version of the Galaxy S8 has a 5.8” WQHD+ resolution. It packs 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage and is powered by an Exynos 8895 processor. It has a 3,000mAh battery and comes with Bixby, Samsung’s AI assistant.

Moto X4 To Be Flipkart Exclusive In India, Launching On November 13

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Nov 8, 2017

Lenovo-owned Motorola is gearing up to launch its new smartphone in the Indian market — Moto X4 on November 13. The company has now confirmed that the smartphone will be exclusively available via online retailer Flipkart in India.

Flipkart has already created a special landing page for the Moto X4 smartphone launch and mentions the 4 ‘Es’ — Extraordinary, Exceptional, Excellent and Exquisite. The media invite that Motorola sent out last week includes a large X logo followed by a hashtag #ExperiencePerfection. It further reads, “Experience ‘perfection’ crafted into a smartphone as Motorola brings to you the new Moto X4”.

To refresh, the Moto X4 was originally announced at IFA 2017 in Berlin in September. One of the highlight of the smartphone is that it features both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa as voice-based virtual assistants. The smartphone, which comes with IP68 rating, has a metal and glass design.

As of the specifications, the Moto X4 features a 5.2-inch LTS IPS Full HD display with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and pixel density of 424 ppi. For protection of display, there is a layer of Corning’s Gorilla Glass 4 on top. Under the hood, the phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 octa-core processor clocked at 2.2GHz, along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. However, in India, the company might launch another variant with 32GB of internal storage and 3GB of RAM.

In the camera department, the smartphone features a dual camera setup at the back. There is a 12-megapixel primary sensor and an 8-megapixel secondary sensor. On the front, there is a 16-megapixel sensor with f/2.0 aperture and an LED flash. It runs on Android 7.1 Nougat operating system out of the box and has a fingerprint sensor embedded in the home button. The device packs a 3,000mAh battery which the company claims can deliver power backup for the whole day.

Motorola is expected to offer both colors — Super Black and Sterling Blue in India. For pricing and availability information of the Moto X4 in India, we’ll have to wait for the company to officially launch the smartphone in India on November 13.

Apple Reclaims Top Vendor Spot in US Smartphone Market

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Nov 8, 2017

After losing to Samsung in the first 2 quarters, Apple has reclaimed the position of the top smartphone manufacturer in the United States. The report which comes from Strategic Analytics also reveals a decline in shipments compared to last quarter.

Apple may have reclaimed the number one spot but it only shipped 12 million smartphones in Q3 2017, compared to 13 million in Q3 2016. However, that figure still gave it 30% of the market share. Reasons provided for the dip include the lukewarm reception of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, in addition to them going on sale in September, and plenty of customers who rather waited for the iPhone X. Sadly, the iPhone X didn’t make the cut as it went on sale this quarter (Q4).

Strategy Analytics Q3 2017 US Vendors — Strategy Analytics Q3 2017 US vendors

Samsung is second on the list with 9.9 million shipments, 200,000 more than what it recorded in Q3 2016. The bulk of its shipment is said to be shared between the Galaxy S8 in the high-end category and the Galaxy A5 in the mid-range category.

LG clinches the third spot with a 17.2% market share and 6.8 million shipments. According to Linda Sui, a director at Strategic Analytics, she said “…LG has expanded its retail presence at major operators this year, like Sprint and AT&T, and this is helping LG to stay one step ahead of ambitious new rivals such as ZTE.”.

ZTE is 4th on the list with 4.6 million units; 1 million units more than the same period in 2016. The Chinese manufacturer’s success is attributed to its success in the prepaid segment, most especially its partnership with Tracfone. ZTE has also been able to capture market share formerly owned by TCL(Alcatel) and Blu.

Xiaomi Launches Mi Air Purifier 2S Bringing New Features To The Mix

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Nov 8, 2017

Xiaomi has announced a new version of its successful Mi Air Purifier. The Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier 2S can be said to be an upgrade of the Mi Air Purifier 2 which was released last year. The new version isn’t superior to the Mi Air Purifier Pro also released last year, but it adds some of the features of the Pro version.

The new Mi AIr Purifier 2S continues with the design language of its predecessors and even features an OLED display just like the Mi Air Purifier Pro. The device’s OLED accurately shows atmospheric particulate matter (PM) that have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres, which is about 3% the diameter of a human hair (PM2.5 concentration) as well as temperature and humidity. It also comes with a WIFi connection and the work patterns so that you’ll be abreast with changes in the air quality. It has a laser sensor which assists in the accurate detection of particles as small as 0.3μm in size.

In addition, the Xiaomi AIr Purifier 2S comes with a built-in light sensor that can automatically sense the ambient light changes in order to automatically adjust the screen brightness accordingly. This ensures the light doesn’t stay too bright at night so as not to disturb your sleep. Further, you get a device with a Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) value of 310m³ / h and can cover a room the size of between 21-32 square metres. This is quite lower than that of the second-gen Mi Purifier 2 and Mi Purifier Pro. For clarity, the Purifier 2 has a CADR of 406m³/h and can cover a working area of 48 square metres while the Pro version has a 500m³/h CADR and is also capable of covering an indoor area of 60 square meters.

The Air Purifier 2S also features a more refined three-layer filter that can pick up particles like allergens, animal fur, formaldehyde, dust, pollen and cigarette smoke from the air. The new product also added RFID smart filter identification, simplifying the cumbersome routine reset operation.

As for the price, the Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier 2S priced at 899 yuan ($135), slightly higher than the Air Purifier 2 by just 200Yuan. The gadget will be available to buy on November 11.

Alleged Xiaomi Mi MIX 2s Renders Surface; Looks Like iPhone X

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Nov 8, 2017

A leakster from China has revealed couple of images of a rumored bezel-less phone called Xiaomi Mi MIX 2s. The alleged phone looks like a modified version of the Mi MIX 2 and it also bears resemblance with the Apple iPhone X.

The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 has the selfie camera located on the bottom bezel of the smartphone. The slim bottom bezel of the phone is visible in one of the renders of the alleged Mi MIX 2s. Even the leakster has emphasized in his Weibo post that the bottom bezel of the rumored Xiaomi phone is slim. The upper bezel has a u-shaped cutout like the iPhone X which houses a selfie camera. The portion of the screen present on the left and right sides of the u-shaped upper bezel displays information like battery status, network strength and so on.

[envira-gallery id=”157292″]

Android apps do not work well with such cutouts. The Essential Phone has a round-shaped cutout to house a selfie snapper at the top portion of the display. Most of the Android apps do not extend beyond round notch, which means the upper portion of the display is a dead area. Hence, developers need to create customized apps to use the entire screen area.

There is no confirmation on the existence of the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2s smartphone. Hence, we advise our readers to digest this report with a pinch of salt as these renders appear too good to be true.

What’s your opinion on the design of the alleged Mi MIX 2s? Share us your views by commenting below.

Apple Facing Yet Another Lawsuit, This Time For Dual Camera Patent Infringement

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Nov 8, 2017

Apple is no stranger to lawsuits. Come on, who wouldn’t want a share of the huge revenue they generate each year a new iPhone joins the family. A new suit has been filed against the Cupertino-based company by Coreophonics, an Isreali company specialized in the manufacture of dual-lens camera technology. This coming on the heels of a recent lawsuit against the iPhone maker by Qualcomm for breach of contract.

The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court in Northern California, within the jurisdiction of Apple’s headquarters.The Isreali company claims that Apple uses its technology on the iPhone 7 Plus and the iPhone 8 Plus. Corephotonics alleges that the two iPhone models copy its patented telephoto lens design, optical zoom method, and a method for intelligently fusing images from the wide-angle and telephoto lenses to improve image quality. Quite Surprisingly, the iPhone 7 Plus is already over a year old in the market.

The iPhone X wasn’t mentioned in the suit despite packing a dual-lens camera. This could be because the 10th-anniversary commemorative flagship only entered the market a couple of days ago. The filing also revealed that Apple has been in talks with the company but no favourable resolution was made hence the lawsuit. Apple obviously has the resources to see this linger for years.

Coreophotonics had demonstrated its dual camera technology last year at MWC in Barcelona. The demonstration showcased how images from both sensors could be combined for a more detailed picture, including an optical zoom up to 5x.

(via)

Honor Play 6 Gets 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM Variant For ¥699 (~$105)

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Nov 8, 2017

Two months ago, Huawei Honor released the V9 Play. Along with the announcement came a cheaper budget phone – the Honor Play 6. With a price tag below a $100, a 5” HD display, 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM, we couldn’t possible ask for more.

However, there seems to be people who want more storage and more RAM but still want the price kept low. If you belong to that category, then you may want to check out the new 3GB RAM model that also has 32GB of storage. All Honor is asking for it is just ¥699 (~$105).

Xiaomi Sells Over 150,000 Units Of Redmi Y1 And Redmi Y1 Lite In 3 Minutes In Its First Sale

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Nov 8, 2017

Xiaomi’s newly launched smartphones — Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite went on sale for the first time in India today and has received an impressive response. The company claims that it managed to sell over 150,000 units of Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite within just 3 minutes of sale going live.

The smartphones were exclusively available on Amazon India and Mi.com — Xiaomi’s own online store. The next sale for the smartphones will take place on November 15 and the phones are also expected to be available through offline stores as well.

The Xiaomi Redmi Y1 is priced at Rs. 8,999 for the 32GB storage and 3GB RAM variant and Rs. 10,999 for the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant. On the other hand, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Lite is priced at Rs. 6,999.

Xiaomi Redmi Y1 features a 5.5-inch HD display with a screen resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. There is a layer of Gorilla Glass on top of the display, protecting it from minor scratches. Under the hood, it is powered by a 1.4 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 octa-core 64-bit processor, paired with Adreno 505 GPU.

The smartphone is available in two different variants — 3GB RAM + 32GB internal storage and 4GB RAM + 64GB onboard storage. There is also a microSD card slot for further expanding the phone’s storage capacity.

It features a 16-megapixel front-facing camera, with 76.4-degrees wide-angle lens, “LED Selfie” light, and f/2.0 aperture. On the back, there is a 13-megapixel camera with phase detection autofocus, dual LED and f/2.2 aperture. There is also a circular fingerprint sensor at the back and also comes with an IR blaster. It is powered by a 3,080mAh non-removable battery.

On the other hand, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Lite features the same set of specifications as Redmi Y1, apart from processor and memory. The Redmi Y1 Lite is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 425 processor, with 2GB RAM along with 16GB of internal storage.

Both Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite comes with Android 7.1 Nougat-based MIUI 8 out-of-the-box, but the company has assured that the smartphones will receive MIUI 9 updates this month itself.

Amazon Fire TV Stick Basic Edition Launched In 100 Countries, Costs $49.99

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Nov 8, 2017

Amazon’s Fire TV Stick has been a popular device when it comes to dongles for streaming media content. Now, the company has announced another device — Amazon Fire TV Stick Basic Edition.

This Fire TV Stick Basic Edition appears to be the renamed version of Fire TV Stick with Alexa Remote that is currently being sold in the US for $40. Nothing has changed about the Basic Edition from its predecessor, not even the physic dimensions.

The only difference is the Basic Edition’s remote, which no longer supports Alexa voice control integration. Another difference could be the operating system. The Fire TV Stick that was launched last year runs Fire OS 5 based on Android Lollipop, but it is yet unknown what Fire OS version the Basic Edition runs.

The new Amazon Fire TV Stick Basic Edition is a HDMI-dongle which plugs into the television. It allows users to access variety of media and streaming services, including Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, etc.

It is powered by a MediaTek Quad-core ARM processor clocked at 1.3GHz, coupled with Mali 450 MP4 GPU. The dongle has dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi that supports 2×2 MIMO 802.11a/b/g/n/ac.

Coming to the memory, it packs 8GB of internal storage and 1GB of RAM for fluid and smooth operations of apps and games, says the company. The Fire TV Stick Basic Edition also comes with a dedicated remote.

Since this is a “basic” edition, it does not have voice support for Alexa or other voice-based search functionalities that are available with the original Fire TV. The device also has support for 1080p Full HD video streaming with the High Efficiency Video Codec, as well as Dolby Audio for a higher-quality audio experience.

Priced at $49.99, the product seems to be aimed at getting more users for the Fire TV Stick dongle and dominate the market. Amazon would also be hoping that more folks will be motivated to subscribe to Prime or Prime Video. The device will be available in more than 100 countries worldwide.

The Yeelight Candlelight Lamp Gives Candles A Modern Twist

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Nov 8, 2017

Yeelight is one of the companies under the Mi ecosystem. They are best known for their smart lamps, smart bulbs, and light strips. Their latest product, the Yeelight Candlelight Lamp takes things up another level as it brings a modern twist to the millennia-old candle.

The Yeelight Candlelight Lamp can best be described as a product born out of the need to replicate the age long candle in a modern and safer way.

The lamp has a similar design to the Yeelight bedside lamp but swaps the translucent lampshade for a transparent one. The glass does more than just protect the wicker-like LED lamp. It is also doubles as a control.

Twist it clock-wisely and it turns on the lamp. Turning the aluminium base also does the same. Though, it seems you can only do the above if the switch beneath the lamp is on. There is also a reset button and a charging LED below the switch.

The Yeelight Candlelight Lamp has a built-in 2,100mAh Lithium-ion battery that can last up to 8 hours on a single charge at a 60% brightness level. The battery is recharged via a Micro USB port at the base. Just like other Yeelight lamps, there is app support where you can choose from a variety of preset modes which include dinner mode, bathroom mode, and sleeping mode etc.

What’s more is that you can also pair up several lamps together and control them with a single lamp thanks to Bluetooth Low Energy Mesh Technology. So if you are trying to recreate that “candle down the hallway that leads to the bedroom” without setting your house on fire, this lamp is your best bet. To sum things up, this lamp will surely spice up your romantic life.