Facebook-owned Oculus VR had its Connect Conference yesterday. At the event, the company announced a new standalone VR headset called the Oculus Go.
The Oculus Go is a gray headset with a power button, a small circular button, and a volume rocker, all at the top. It is made of breathable fabric and has an adjustable strap.
Former Xiaomi VP Hugo Barra, who left the Chinese smartphone maker this year to join Oculus as its head, said the Go is “hands-down the easiest way to get into VR”. The headset has a 2560 x 1440 screen, new lenses, and spatial audio which means users don’t require headphones.
It also has a remote control that has a large circular dial, a back/return key and another button with the Oculus logo. There is also a trigger button in front and a wrist strap.
There is no mention of the battery capacity and the Oculus Go doesn’t have inside out tracking. The headset is expected to ship early 2018 with a price tag of $199 but development kits will be available in November.
HTC is supposed to launch a Daydream VR headset called the Vive Focus before the end of year. So also is Lenovo. Oculus has beat them to it by announcing its own first even though it won’t be available until next year. However, the pricing and specification details of the Vive Focus and Lenovo’s headset will determine which consumers will settle for.
Oculus also permanently cut the price of the Rift headset to $399 with Touch controllers included. Buyers will also get six free apps. This move is probably in a bid to compete against Microsoft’s Mixed Reality headsets which start at $399 and goes up to $499 depending on the brand.
Huawei is all set to launch its Mate 10 smartphone series on October 16. A couple of days ago, the promotional posters of the Huawei Mate 10 Pro got leaked and now Evan Blass has posted press renders of the same.
Evan posted a render of the Mate 10 Pro in Black colour, which shows the phone’s front panel as well as the back panel. Apart from Huawei branding, there is a dual camera setup at the back with Leica branding and a fingerprint sensor just below it. On the front, it features a bezel-less full-screen display.
In the latest render that Even Blass posted on Twitter, the smartphone is showcased in Blue colour. However, the interesting part is that the phone is shown next to a stylus pen drawing something on a notebook. The stylus pen and the notebook appears to be Moleskine’s Smart Writing Set.
This could mean that Huawei has entered into a partnership with Moleskine for some kind of promotional bundle with Mate 10 Pro. However, we are not sure about it and this is just a speculation.
It’s unlikely that the company would include such accessory to be bundled with the Mate 10 Pro at no extra cost, but expect some sort of a combo discount.
The Smart Writing Set consists of three objects — Paper Tablet notebook, Smart Pen+, and a companion app. It enables users to digitally edit and share whatever user creates on paper in real-time without taking a photo, uploading files, or scanning documents.
The Huawei Mate 10 Pro will be powered by the company’s own Kirin 970 processor. It is expected to come in four configurations — 6GB RAM/64GB storage, 6GB RAM/128GB storage, 6GB RAM/256GB storage, and 8GB RAM/256GB storage.
It will run latest Android 8.0 Oreo out-of-the-box, with the new version of Emotion UI on top. The smartphone will be powered by a 4,000mAh non-removable battery, with support for fast charging.
The phone is expected to come in different colour options, including Black, Blue, Rose Gold and Coffee Brown. It will launch on October 16, along with Mate 10, Mate 10 Lite and Mate 10 Porsche Edition.
The pricing of Mate 10 Pro is expected to start from 5,499 Yuan for the base model and could go up to 7,499 Yuan for the top-end variant.
When the Essential Phone launched, it was revealed it will be available in Black Moon, Pure White, Ocean Depths and Stellar Gray. When it finally went on sale, only the black variant was available with a promise to release the white variant soon. Last night, Essential announced that buyers could now purchase the Pure White model.
The Pure White Essential Phone is now available on Essential.com. It is said to be available on Amazon, BestBuy, and Sprint too according to the tweet from the official account. However, Amazon still says shipping is within a month or two, and BestBuy says coming soon. Sprint, on the other hand says it is sold out. I guess they have probably not updated the stores yet. The price is still $699 if you want the unlocked version or $33/month if you are buying on contract.
Apart from the ceramic rear that is white and the titanium frame that is silver, both phones are identical when placed side by side face up. That’s because the front is also black. However, all the accessories are white.
The Essential Phone has a 5.71-inch tri bezel-less display with a cut-out at the top for the front camera. It has 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage and is powered by the Snapdragon 835.
Today, at a press event in Beijing, China, Nubia has launched its latest smartphone — Nubia Z17S, along with Nubia Z17 MiniS.
The Nubia Z17S comes with a bezel-less full-screen display, which has become a norm these days. Almost every company is now coming out with a bezel-less smartphone — a trend that started with Xiaomi Mi MIX.
It comes with a 5.73-inch display with a screen resolution of 1080 x 2040 pixels and pixel density of 403ppi. The screen has an aspect ratio of about 17:9 and sports DCI-P3 wide colour gamut, with colour saturation of 96 percent.
There is a layer of Gorilla Glass 4 on top of the display for added protection. To make space for the bigger display, the company’s trademark red-circled home button has been removed.
The smartphone is powered by Qualcomm‘s flagship Snapdragon 835 octa-core 64-bit processor, clocked at 2.45GHz along with Adreno 540 GPU. The device is available in two variants — one with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, while other with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage.
Camera department has been the strength of Nubia’s smartphones, and this one too follows the suit. The phone features four cameras — two at the back and two at front.
The Nubia Z17S comes with a dual camera setup at the back. It has a 12-megapixel primary camera and a 23-megapixel auxiliary camera. It has 1.4-micron pixels, f/1.8 aperture, and 6P optical lens. The camera supports 2X optical zoom and 10X digital zoom. It comes with additional features such as 3D noise reduction. It comes with a layer of sapphire protection lens.
The camera comes with the all-new NeoVision 7.0 image engine. It has AI Portrait mode — an algorithm for personality learning for additional features such as face recognition, edge processing, 3D beauty, level enhancement, among others.
On the front, it features a 5-megapixel dual camera setup with an 80-degrees wide angle lens and f/2.2 aperture. It also supports background blur and beauty mode along with multi-effect filter.
The phone supports 4G LTE along with the usual set of connectivity options, which includes Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth, NFC and GPS. There is one port on the device — USB Type C.
It is powered by a 3,100mAh non-removable battery which supports 26W fast charging that can charge the phone up to 50% in 25 minutes. Even though the battery capacity is smaller, the company claims that it can last for up to one and a half day as it is optimized by NeoPower 3.0 — a power saving technology.
The 6GB RAM + 64GB storage model of Nubia Z17S is priced at 2,999 Yuan, while the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant costs 3,999 Yuan. It comes in two colour options — Black Gold and Blue. The phone is available for pre-order and will go on sale from 19th October.
Early today in Shenzhen, Nubia unveiled a new smartphone – the Nubia Z17miniS. The new device packs impressive specs that put it in the upper mid-range category and also features a familiar design.
Nubia Z17miniS Design
The phone is a mixture of metal and glass. The back is a 3D glass that curves to fit your palm that is specially made. Nubia says it is the industry’s first to use a color gradient process that is time consuming with a yield of less than 5%.
Between the two sheets of glass is a metal frame. This is a Nubia phone and there are some signature designs like the red accents around the rear cameras and the red holo circle on the home button. In all fairness, the Nubia Z17miniS is a beauty.
Nubia Z17miniS Specs
The Z17miniS has a 5.2-inch FHD in-cell display supplied by JDI with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. There is 6GB of RAM on board paired with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 653 mobile platform and an Adreno 510 GPU.
The 28nm octa-core CPU is the successor to the Snapdragon 652 and brings a faster modem and a higher clockspeed. There is 64GB of built-in storage with no option for expansion.
Nubia has equipped the Z17miniS with four cameras – two on each side. The rear cameras are two Sony IMX258 13MP sensors in the monochrome + RGB configuration. Aperture size is F/2.2 and there is PDAF and a dual LED (dual-tone) flash.
The dual front cameras is a combination of a 16MP F/2.0 and a 5MP F/2.2 wide-angle sensor. It lacks a dedicated LED flash but the screen lights up for brighter selfies. There is beauty adjustment and real-time bokeh effect along with Nubia’s NeoVision 7.0 camera software.
The Z17 MiniS comes with a 3200mAh non-removable battery which Nubia claims should last 1.41 days. Beneath the screen is a home button that doubles as a fingerprint scanner along with NFC with support for bus payment. It has dual band Wi-Fi support, Bluetooth 4.1, and a USB Type-C port. Sadly, it doesn’t have a 3.5mm audio jack.
The phone also comes with Smart PA technology for improved audio quality. The Nubia Z17miniS measures 147.5 x 71.2 x 7.6 mm and weighs 155g.
You might forget about Go Pro Action cameras because of the Chinese manufacturer ‘SJCAM’. The company continues to provide breathtaking sports/action cameras under a stupendous price tag. The legends include SJ 5000, SJ 5, and SJ 6 Legend. There’s no denying that SJCAM is no rookie in the action cameras business. But recently, the company is going to do its best under one action camera known as ‘SJCAM SJ8’. The camera will release next month, but for we have the incredible specs and rumored price to keep the anticipation going.
Let’s get into the details and know the upcoming SJCAM SJ8 Action Camera:
SJCAM SJ8 – The First Chinese Action Camera With 4K 60 fps on Dual Screens
SJCAM is going to target the new Xiaomi Mijia 4K Camera and upcoming Go Pro 6. You might think that it’s not the first camera with 4K video recording at a maximum 60 fps. However, it’s the first Chinese Action camera with dual screens to support 4K 60 fps video recording.
Weeks ago, we had the first leaked image of the camera exposed as well. From the leaked image mentioned above, SJ8 appears to be a typical rugged action camera with a stunning 2.33-inch, 360 x 640 touchscreen on the rear and a front 0.96-inch touchscreen. The dual screen appears to be similar to SJ6 Legend but SJ6 is limited to 4K recording at only 24 fps. The dual screen configuration is the selling point of the upcoming flagship apart from the 4K video recording.
Furthermore, SJCAM SJ8 was also leaked on Gearbest as well. It’s available in the Chinese Global store but the stock has not arrived yet. The details mentioned there are interesting as well. According to the specs provided on Gearbest, the camera occupies a space of only 7.00 x 4.00 x 3.00 cm and is super lightweight weighing only 70 grams. It appears to be a rubberized plastic built from the leaked image of the prototype. However, it will be a dream come true if the housing turns out to be aluminum metal with CNC process similar to iPhone 7. You know SJCAM is full of surprises and we might not know what’s the big thing coming.
Moreover, the casing like rest of the SJCAM action cameras is IP68 certified, waterproof up to 30 meters. Gearbest confirms the presence of EIS (Electronic image stabilization) for a non-shaky video. Moreover, another highlight and a dream feature will be the first integration of GPS module under the hood of a Chinese sports camera. Even Gearbest mentions it along with WiFi module working in a range of 10 meters.
As it supports 4K video recording at 60 fps, the hardware indeed will be powerful. We expect it to feature the latest Ambarella H22 chipset coupled with a Sony Sensor (maybe IMX 377). A 1000mAh battery will power the camera. Surprisingly, Gearbest states that the battery life is 1 hour on 4K @60 fps, standby time is 3 hours, and charging time 2 hours via Type-C interface. Other features include:
FPV Mode
Live Streaming
Remote Control
Apart from these, we will love you witness the introduction of PiP (Picture-in-Picture) feature so it can act as a ‘slave’ back camera as a dashcam.
Specification Sheet
Brand
SJCAM
Model
SJ8
Chipset
Ambarella H22
Sensor
Sony
Screen
2.33 inch
Screen resolution
360 x 640
Video format
MP4
Video Resolution
4K (3840 x 2160) 60FPS
Storage
Max External Card Supported: TF 128G (not included)
Battery
1000mAh
Audio System
Built-in microphone/speaker (AAC)
Image Format
JPEG
Working Time
1 Hour
Standby time
3 hours
Charging Time
2 hours
WiFi Distance
10 meters
Waterproof Rating
IP68
GPS
Yes
G-sensor
Yes
HDMI Output
Yes
Anti-shake
Yes
Interface Type
Micro HDMI, TF Card Slot, Type-C
Price & Availability
There are some many expectations from the upcoming SJCAM SJ8. Let’s see which might turn out to be true, next month. As far as the price tag is concerned, it’s tagged at a shocking $439.08 on Gearbest. But that’s the rumored price. Obviously, Gearbest will lower the price once the flagship releases. With all these features we expect it to be around $300 to $400 as a 4K @60 fps, Dual Screen Action camera.
After launching Nokia 3, 5, 6 and the most recent Nokia 8, HMD Global, the Finnish company is gearing up to launch a new flagship smartphone — Nokia 9. While the phone is not making its way to the market until next year, we now know how it will look.
Nokia is expected to launch three new smartphones early next year, including Nokia 2, 7 and 9. After the images Nokia 2 made its way to the internet, now is the turn for Nokia 9.
Well-known leaker @OnLeaks has rendered HMD Global‘s upcoming flagship based on CAD files, which gives us a look at the phone and what to expect from it.
From the renders, it appears that the company has jumped the narrow bezels bandwagon for the Nokia 9. The smartphone is expected to come with a 5.5-inch AMOLED Quad HD display. Based on the render, it looks like it will come with a curved screen.
It is likely to be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor, along with 4GB of RAM. As per the speculations, it will have two storage options to choose from — 64GB and 128GB.
The smartphone will probably run on the latest Android 8 Oreo operating system. The device is said to measure 140.9 x 72.9 x 7.5 mm, but the camera bump will increase the thickness to 8.9 mm.
The renders show vertically stacked dual-lens camera setup at the back, just above the fingerprint sensor. While the details about the camera sensor are not known, it is speculated to be of 12-megapixel or 13-megapixel.
At the bottom, there is a USB Type-C port along with speaker grille and a microphone. The USB Type-C is the only port on the phone. The company is following the trend of removing the 3.5mm audio jack.
The phone is speculated to have an aluminium frame. It is said to come with an IP68 rating and wireless charging support. Although the device looks beautiful based on the render, there’s always a chance that things could change before it goes to production.
Xolo has launched three new entry-level to mid-range smartphones in India — Era 3X, Era 2V and Era 3. The company seems to be targeting selfie-obsessed users with its new Era smartphones.
Xolo is also offering one-time screen replacement on the purchase of any of these three smartphones, valid for one year from the date of purchase.
Xolo Era 3X
The smartphone comes with a 5-inch HD IPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top. It is powered by quad-core MediaTek MT6737 processor clocked at 1.25GHz with 3GB of RAM. There’s 16GB internal storage, expandable up to 32GB via microSD card.
It features a 13-megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED flash and f/2.2 aperture. There is also a 13-megapixel front-facing camera. It also comes with a fingerprint scanner for added security.
Along with the usual set of connectivity options such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G, it also supports 4G with VoLTE. The device runs on Android 7.0 Nougat operating system.
Xolo Era 2V
This one features a 5-inch HD Oncell IPS display with screen resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. It is also powered by 1.25GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6737 64-bit Processor with Mali T720 GPU.
It packs 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory which is expandable up to 32GB with a microSD card. The phone runs Android 7.0 Nougat OS and features a fingerprint scanner.
There is an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED Flash, f/2.0 aperture, 5P Largan lens, Blue Glass Filter. It also has a 13-megapixel front-facing camera with 5P lens, f/2.2 aperture and LED flash.
The phone supports 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS. It is powered by a 3,000mAh battery.
Xolo Era 3
Lastly, the Era 3 has a 5-inch HD Oncell IPS display with screen resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. Powered by the same MediaTek MT6737 processor, clocked at 1.2GHz, it packs 2GB of RAM and 8GB storage. Running on Android 7.0 Nougat, it supports storage expansion of up to 32GB.
It comes with a 5-megapixel camera at the back and an 8-megapixel front camera. It is backed by a 2,500mAh battery. This one too supports 4G VoLTE along with WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS. The smartphone packs 2,500mAh battery.
The Xolo Era 3 is priced at Rs. 4,999 (~ $76) and comes in Slate Black colour. The Xolo Era 2V costs Rs. 6,499 (~ $99) and comes in Jet Black colour, and the Xolo Era 3X is priced at Rs. 7,499 (~ $115) for Pash Black colour.
All three devices are currently up for pre-orders and will go on sale from 14th October, exclusively via online retailer Flipkart.
In yet another blow to its business model and patent licensing practice, Qualcomm — one of the leading chipmaker for smartphones, has been fined a record NT$23.4 billion ($774 million) by Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission.
The Taiwan Fair Trade Commission is accusing Qualcomm of abusing its dominant position. The commission said that the company’s dominance in CDMA and LTE chips, as well as its key patent holdings for such technologies, let the company abuse its position and refuse to license necessary patents.
Qualcomm chip with logo
Regulators claimed that Qualcomm had been violating antitrust rules for at least seven years. They further said that during those seven years, it sold chips worth of around $30 billion to local companies and collected about $13 billion in licensing fees from them.
The penalty is the largest handed out to a single company since the Taiwanese antitrust authority was established. The ruling comes as another blow to the chipmaker which is currently facing an international wave of regulatory and legal challenges.
Besides the fine, the Fair Trade Commission also told Qualcomm to withdraw previously signed deals that forces competitors to provide price, customer names, shipment, model name and other such information.
However, Qualcomm disagrees with the decision and says that it will appeal the FTC’s decision in the Taiwanese court. It plans to call for a stay on “any required behavioural measures”. In a statement, the company said,
The fine bears no rational relationship to the amount of Qualcomm’s revenues or activities in Taiwan, and Qualcomm will appeal the amount of the fine and the method used to calculate it.
Qualcomm has been fined $854 million in South Korea and $975 million in China. It is also facing lawsuits from Apple and the FTC in the United States. European regulators have also expressed antitrust concerns over its $38 billion bid to buy NXP Semiconductors.
While the regulatory and legal attacks over Qualcomm differ in some details, the key matter is the allegation that Qualcomm uses its dominant position in the market to charge unfair royalty rates for its patents.
Razer is known as a gaming hardware maker. It makes gaming laptops, mechanical keyboards, mouse-pads, and gaming mice. It also released two wearables -the Nabu and the Nabu X and a gaming tablet.
Back in January, the company bought smartphone startup Nextbit, makers of the Robin, a cloud-connected smartphone that kept most of its files in the cloud. Today, Razer released a teaser confirming that its first smartphone will arrive on November 1.
CEO Min-Linag Tan confirmed a few weeks ago that the company was planning a phone launch before the end of the year. The smartphone according to him will be focused on “gaming and entertainment”. There was also an image on the internet last week that showed Min-Liang Tan with a Razer-branded device shaped like a smartphone in his pocket.
The official teaser shows a man holding a device to his face sitting against an image carousel background. What better way to depict entertainment?
There is no info on the specs of the Razer smartphone and we are pretty eager to know what it packs and how it will measure up against current smartphones. Nevertheless, the company has done a pretty good job keeping details of the phone from public eye but we believe more details will surface in coming weeks.
After launching Honor 7X smartphone at an event in China, Honor is now all set to host another event. The company has started sending out media invites for an event that is taking place on 5th December in London.
The invite reads “Max Your View”, and mentions the date of December 5. The invite also shows the outline of a smartphone with extremely thin bezels, but it doesn’t reveal anything related to the phone in question.
However, the interesting thing is that while some have received invites with outlines of two smartphones, some invites only shows the outline of just one.
At the bottom, there is a logo which looks similar to “IOOI”. We are not sure what to make of it, but going by the tradition, the symbol “OO” — two Os usually stands for dual camera setup. So, we are assuming that the phone will feature dual cameras.
After dual cameras, bezel-less phones have now become a new thing in the smartphone industry. The trend, which started with the Mi MIX, has followed via many flagship smartphones, including Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Apple iPhone X, LG G6 and V30, and the more recently Xiaomi Mi MIX 2, and Google Pixel 2 XL, among others.
Given the fact that the recently launched Honor 9i features two cameras on the front as well as on the back, it will be interesting to see if the company continues the trend.
Yesterday, Honor launched its new smartphone — Honor 7X, which features a 5.93-inch Full HD+ display with slim bezels and 18:9 aspect ratio. It packs HiSilicon Kirin 659 octa-core processor with 4GB of RAM. The storage options include 32GB, 64GB and 128GB. The camera includes a dual 16MP + 2MP camera setup at the rear and an 8MP shooter up front. A 3,340mAh battery with fast charging keeps it running.
It comes with HiSilicon Kirin 659 octa-core processor, paired with 4GB of RAM. The storage comes in three options — 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB. The camera setup includes a dual 16-megapixel + 2-megapixel cameras at the rear and an 8-megapixel shooter up front. It is powered by a 3,340mAh battery with fast charging support.
The Honor 7X is available in Gold, Blue, and Black color options. The 32GB variant will sell for ¥1699 (~$200), the 64GB version will cost ¥1699 (~$260) and the 128GB model carries ¥1999 (~$304) price tag.
The OnePlus 5 is out of stock in several markets and the rumor is that there is a new model in the pipeline. If OnePlus is going to follow the same tradition as last year, then the new device will launch as the OnePlus 5T and next year’s model will be called the OnePlus 6.
While we try not to get ahead of ourselves, some pretty interesting concept renders of the OnePlus 6 have showed up online. Like most concept renders, this one has a pretty thin body and a sleek appearance but we can all agree the final phone will never look like this.
The trend this year is full-screen devices and only a few manufacturers have not released a phone with that design. OnePlus is one of them and will most likely join the train this year if it does release the OnePlus 5T or next year with the OnePlus 6.
The concept OnePlus 6 has a large display with thin bezels. The display size isn’t stated neither is the resolution but from the images, it doesn’t look like its less than 6” (this is the OnePlus 6, 6” sounds right). Aspect ratio is 18:9 and the resolution may as well be FHD+ to keep the price low.
We can’t make out the other features on the front of the phone but we presume there is a camera sitting at the top bezel. The lower bezel is too small to house the fingerprint scanner so that’s missing. However, its not at the back either. According to the source, the scanner is embedded beneath the display.
If OnePlus sticks to its usual Summertime release frame, then it should be able to launch the OnePlus 6 with its fingerprint scanner under the display going by Qualcomm’s release schedule for its embedded fingerprint scanners. Let’s also not forget that Qualcomm’s demo phone for its under display fingerprint scanner is the Vivo XPlay6 – a phone made by OnePlus’s sister company, Vivo.
Fans of phones with a glass back will be disappointed to see that the OnePlus 6 concept renders feature a metal back. It still looks slippery though.
One of the key features is that the watch has a very long standby time of 180 days or 90 days if you use it every single day. Furthermore, the watch has IP68 certification for water and dust resistance.
Also, it has replaceable watch bands to customize the look and feel. One of the key features is that the watch has a lot of sensors and fitness related features: heart rate monitor, pedometer, sleep monitor, barometer, altimeter,
What’s more, the Microwear X2 has quite a few connectivity options and sensors that include Bluetooth, Heart Rate monitor, Pedometer, Sleep Monitor, Sedentary, Message Reminder and so on.
Finally, the watch has a multi-sport mode that supports running, swimming, riding, playing badminton and so on.
One of the key features is that the watch has a lot of sensors and fitness related features: heart rate monitor, pedometer, sleep monitor, barometer, altimeter, thermometer, compass, automatic recognition motor pattern, GPS Route Record and so on.
Also, it has replaceable watch bands to customize the look and feel. In addition, it supports 3G, so you can make calls right from your wrist (the watch supports micro SIM cards).
What’s more, the Microwear L1 has quite a few connectivity options and sensors that include Wifi, Bluetooth, Heart Rate monitor, Pedometer, Sleep Monitor, Sedentary, Massage Reminder and so on.
Huawei’s Honor brand has announced a new, more powerful Honor router with an extended coverage capability and the Honor Router 2 in addition to the Honor 7X smartphone and Honor Waterplay tab. The Honor Router 2 specification is not yet known but the Honor Router with wider distribution comes with a multilayer 3-in-1 design which means all three gadgets can then be placed in different rooms in an apartment, all functioning as a single router. With this arrangement, the Honor Router provides an extended coverage.
With the new Honor Router, there won’t be need for a Wi-Fi extender or amplifier. The router comes with support for smart network optimization and also recommend the best location it should be placed for optimum network coverage. In addition, the router supports 5G network and can be controlled via a smartphone app even though it is a plug and play device.
The new Honor extended router will be open for reservations on Vmall as from October 11 and that would terminate on October 31. The device will go on sale on November 1 at 0.00 hours for 899 Yuan (~$137). The Honor Router 2 will sell for 249 Yuan (~$38).
This year, three devices were launched with an eSim -the Apple Watch 3, the Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 XL. Add them to last year’s Samsung Galaxy Gear S2 3G and the iPad 9.7, the first two devices to come with what is called an eSim and that makes it five. For this new technology, this is just the beginning.
Image Source: emnify.com
An eSIM/eUICC (embedded SIM or embedded UICC) is a replacement for the current physical SIM cards that we use in our smartphones and a bunch of other devices. While users can remove the physical SIM cards in their phones, an eSIM cannot be removed. Most people do not know how an eSIM works, this post is aimed at explaining how it works and the benefits it brings to consumers.
Evolution of SIM Cards
Ever since mobile phones became mainstream, users had to buy a SIM card from their preferred network operator to be able to use their services. The SIM card had a number attached to it and a security key that allowed the network to identify and authenticate subscribers of its services. It can also store contacts and text messages. Over the years, the physical SIM card has reduced in size. Starting first as what is today called the Mini SIM, then getting a reduction to what is called the Micro SIM and finally the Nano SIM. All three SIM types are still in use but the last two are the common ones used by smartphones.
Samsung’s Gear S2 Comes With eSIM support
So why has the size of the SIM reduced over time? To create space. Smartphones have gotten thinner over the years and space has become so precious. The Mini SIM takes a lot of space along with the tray and the reduction in size makes it possible for manufacturers to fit more components on the device or better still, create a thinner device.
How eSIMs Work
With the use of an eSIM which is a fraction of the size of a nano SIM and the complete elimination of the SIM tray, there is more space for other components as well as an overall thinner device.
Apart from space, eSIMs will also allow users switch between networks with ease. This is different from roaming (you don’t pay roaming charges) and is done over the air. eSIMs will be able to store different network profiles and consumers will be able to switch easily between networks. How this is supposed to work is that you should have multiple profiles on your eSIM and switch between any of them easily. So you can have a data plan on one SIM profile and a voice plan on another SIM profile, and because it is the same number, calls and SMS are not missed.
For easy switching, there has to be a unifying standard that makes it easy for SIM profiles to be loaded on the eSIM. The GSMA has a standard called Profile Interoperability which simplifies the process and makes the relationship between operators and OEMs more flexible. There are hundreds of operators all over the world with different SIM profiles, so it is only logical that there is a standard that everyone can adopt. The two videos below explain how this is supposed to work.
While the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL’s eSIM works on only Google’s Project Fi network for now, the Apple Watch 3 can be used on Verizon, T-Mobile, or Sprint. Users should be able to keep their mobile numbers when they switch but they may be charged a fee when moving to a new operator for the first time. This fee will be similar to what you pay when you purchase a SIM but may include free data and voice calls too in the package.
The Future of eSIMS
It may take a while for eSIMs to be adopted widely for smartphones, but it will be easier to adopt into devices like wearables, cars, and computers which require mobile connectivity. Microsoft and Qualcomm’s upcoming ARM-powered computers are expected to have eSIMs for on-the-go connectivity. Microsoft also announced that its new Surface Pro will come with LTE via an eSIM but that version won’t arrive till Spring next year.
For Windows PCs with eSIMs, users will be able to purchase data plans from the Windows Store. T-Mobile, AT&T and some other foreign operators have already signed on to work with Microsoft on this.
There are still some concerns associated with the use of eSIMs. Let’s say your phone is low on battery and you have a traditional SIM card, you could simply remove the SIM and put it into the other phone. For devices with eSIMs, you can’t do that.
We have all been at the beach to have a great time but it’s not always fun to stay there if it’s hot. Obviously, you can go and take a swim in the sea or ocean but if you don’t like doing that, you may feel uncomfortable simply lying and sweating. The TOYCOOL came up with the solution that serves as an outdoor air conditioner and it has a ton of other cool features.
Here is a quick summary of the features this multifunctional device has:
TOYCOOL is a portable and multifunctional air conditioner that also functions as a Bluetooth speaker, a radio player, a mosquito repellent, a night light, and a charging station. TOYCOOL is small in size and portable to carry that can be placed in a tent, a boat, an RV, on a beach, a tailgate or any other places where heat may be an issue.
This is quite a unique device that has a lot of features packed into a compact body. This device is made by young and forward-thinking entrepreneurs.
TOYCOOL multifunctional outdoor AC in pictures:
About ToyCool:
ToyCool is a young team formed in 2016. We’re a group of people dedicated to the development and production of smart AC, smart cooler and other portable cooling equipment. Our cooling products are small in size and portable to carry that can be placed in a tent, a boat, an RV, on a beach, a tailgate or any other places where heat may be an issue. We keep in faith with “customer first, quality first, the pursuit of excellence” and look for to service you with sincerely.
The TOYCOOL multifunctional outdoor AC is now on Indiegogo campaign and you can now get it for much lower ($599) than the final retail price.
Following the recall of the ill-fated Galaxy Note7, Samsung relaunched the phone in July with a smaller battery and under a new name – the Galaxy Note FE. The Galaxy Note FE’s release has been limited to Samsung’s home country but report says it could be making its way to Malaysia soon.
Proof of a possible launch is an image that lists the supported 4G LTE devices of Malaysian network operator, YES. Underneath the section that has Samsung devices is the Galaxy Note8 and the Galaxy Note FE with a “NEW” text bubble on both devices indicating that they were just added. It is also important to note that YES only lists devices sold in the country.
Samsung has not yet announced when the launch will be, but it should be around the corner. Prospective buyers may also want to take note of stock being limited seeing as how quickly it went out of stock in its home country.
The main difference between the Galaxy Note FE and the Galaxy Note7 is the battery, since that was what caused it to be recalled in the first place. The 3,500mAh battery has been replaced with a smaller 3,200mAh battery.
In the previous month, Vivo had unveiled the Vivo V7+ smartphone with full screen design in India. A new device with Vivo Y79 has received TENAA certification in China. Its specifications suggest that Vivo V7+ may launch as Vivo Y79 in China.
The images of the Vivo Y79 shows that it resembles the Vivo V7+. The TENAA listing show that the Vivo Y79 measures 155.87 x 75.74 x 7.7 and its weight is 160 grams. Like the Vivo V7+, the Y79 features a 5.99-inch display that supports HD+ resolution of 720 x 1,440 pixels. It may boast a high screen-to-body ratio of over 84 percent.
The Vivo Y79 is fueled by 1.8 GHz processor and 4 GB of RAM. It appears that the smartphone would be driven by 1.8 GHz Snapdragon 450 SoC that powers the Vivo V7+. Both the handsets feature 64 GB of storage. The Vivo Y79 will be coming preinstalled with Android 7.1.2 Nougat OS that will be probably overlaid with FunTouch OS.
A 16-megapixel camera will be present on the rear side of the Vivo Y79 whereas its front may feature a 24-megapixel Moonlight selfie camera. The back panel of the phone features a fingerprint reader. The only major difference between the Vivo V7+ and Vivo Y79 is that the former includes a 3,225mAh battery and the latter has a 3,150mAh battery.
TENAA has also certified another Vivo phone with Vivo Y79A moniker. Except for support for CDMA 2000 network on Vivo Y79A, both the Y79phones seem to carry the same specs. Like V7+, the Y79 may come with similar features like Hi-Fi audio chip and face scanning. It is expected to arrive only in gold color.
After a year, Huawei has released a successor to the Honor 6X. The Honor 7X brings a bunch of upgrades and an entirely new design but makes sure to keep the dual cameras of its predecessor.
Honor 7X Design
The Honor 7X has a metal unibody similar to that of the Honor 8 Pro but with a few changes. The dual camera has moved from the vertical setup of the Honor 6X to a horizontal one. The sensors sit along the antenna line along with the LED flash in an attractive fashion.
The fingerprint scanner is rear-mounted and that’s not because Honor is trying to keep it in the same spot as that of the 6X but because there is no space in front for it thanks to the 5.93-inch 18:9 display. The bezels are not super thin but are significantly reduced. Overall, this is a huge improvement over the 6X.
Honor 7X Specs
The 5.933” screen has a 2160 x 1080 resolution. Like the Maimang 6, Huawei’s other 18:9 smartphone, the Honor 7X is powered by the Kirin 659. There is 4GB of RAM and buyers will be able to choose from 32GB, 64GB, or 128GB of storage.
The processor is not the only feature the Honor 7X shares with the Maimang 6, its dual rear cameras are also the same 16MP + 2MP configuration. However, it doesn’t get dual front cameras but a single 8MP sensor instead along with a LED flash.
There is dual SIM support (hybrid, nano only & 256GB max. card), Bluetooth 4.1, and Wi-Fi. The battery capacity is still 3340mAh and can be recharged via the micro USB port at the bottom. Sitting on the left of the port is a 3.5mm audio jack.
The Honor 7X runs Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box with EMUI 5.1 on top. It is 7.6mm thick and weighs 165g.
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