Samsung Gets US Patent Approval For A Wearable Having A Bendable Display Panel

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Oct 17, 2017

Wearables are turning out to be one of Samsung’s stronghold in addition to smartphones and tablets. The company has got the Gear S2, Gear S3, Gear Fit, Gear Fit 2 and lately the Gear Sport, all coming with various distinguishing features. There are feelers that the tech giant is working on a new type of wearable design which would see the device having a flexible display. The feeler comes in form of a patent filing by Samsung which is that of a new design depicting a smart bracelet with a display panel that’s not only flexible but partially bendable.

The new design concept has got the nod of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) where it was spotted to have gotten approval. The approval is coming after over two years of reviews as the application was submitted in 2015. As for the design, the wristband looks like what has a circular design and is quite wider than Samsung’s current crop of wearables including the Gear Fit 2 Pro. The display can curve with the wristband, and can even b straightened out, making it stick out from the rest of the device.

We can’t be so sure but it seems the smart wearable will run on Android OS, considering the types of icons that are sketched on the display such as YouTube, Google Photos and Chrome. These are just sketches, no further details were revealed. But Samsung did indicate in the patent that the display can be separated entirely from the band and still function which means we could be looking at a wristband and smartphone in one place. The display is also rotatable and could work in landscape and portrait mode which could be a function of the interface.The patent details include that the wristband can be made of any conventional materials like rubber, silicone, or metal, while the display panel may be attachable to the bracelet using magnets.

We can say when this concept design would see the light of day. We are still expecting Samsung’s first smartphone with a foldable display known as Galaxy X and that may drop next year. A foldable wearable with multiple functions sounds like a nice idea as well.

(source)

Huawei Mate 10 Series Feature Safety Certified SuperCharge Technology Enabled 4,000mAh Batteries

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Oct 17, 2017

One of the common features of the Huawei Mate 10, Mate 10 Pro and Mate 10 Porsche Design is that they all feature 4,000mAh batteries. These batteries can last for two days and the SuperCharge fast charging technology can make these phones last for a day by charging it only 20 minutes.

The SuperCharge technology features 4.5V low-voltage input along with 5A charging current. The technology has received certification from TUV Rheinland for meeting its safety standards for fast charging. TUV Rheinland is a popular company from Germany that inspects and certifies products. The SuperCharge technology for Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro was certified by the agency by successfully carrying out numerous charging cycles for the battery and phone.

World’s first TÜV Safety Certified HUAWEI SuperCharge device. #HuaweiMate10 pic.twitter.com/MFDHpzi3Dd

— Huawei Mobile (@HuaweiMobile) October 16, 2017

The company has also verified the safety of the Mate 10 duo under extreme conditions by subjecting it to hot and cold temperatures. It has also the verified the safety of the phone’s battery through multiple drop tests. The USB-C charging ports are also checked by inserting and retracting charging cables over 10,000 times. Also, both the phones have been tested by the German firm with chargers from third-party companies.

According to TUV Rheinland, the SuperCharge technology driven Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro are the world’s first safe fast charging system. Last year, the battery related issues had led to discontinuation of Samsung Galaxy Note 7. Since then smartphone OEMs have become all the more careful when it comes to meeting safety standards for battery.

The rapid charging feature on the Mate 10 series allows these smartphones to reach zero to 58 percent by charging them only for 30 minutes. Huawei also claims that the Mate 10 phones can charge 50 percent faster than the Apple iPhone 8 Plus. The AI driven by Kirin 970 chipset brings intelligent battery management solution to deliver optimized battery performance on Mate 10 phones.

At the launch event of the Huawei Mate 10 series, the Chinese firm had also unveiled a couple of SuperCharge technology driven accessories such as SuperCharge car charge and a 4.5V/5A SuperCharge Power Bank. The Huawei Mate 10 will be arriving in Europe later this month for 699 euros (~$825). The Mate 10 Pro and the limited-edition Mate 10 Porsche Design will arrive next month in Europe with respective pricing of 799 euros (~$939) and 1395 euros (~$1,640).

(source|via)

BlackBerry Tests QNX-Based Self-Driving Car In Ottawa

By

Jeet

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Oct 17, 2017

A BlackBerry QNX-equipped self-driving car has completed its first road test in the public streets of Ottawa. This is being billed as the first on-street test of an autonomous vehicle in Canada.

BlackBerry QNX had opened an autonomous vehicle innovation centre in Ottawa last year and partnered with the province to advance their vision of becoming a hub for development in the autonomous vehicle tech.

City of Ottawa mayor Jim Watson, City Councillor Marianne Wilkinson, and Blackberry GM John Wall tested the self-driving car around roads in Kanata North Technology Park.

To help the demonstration, test loop around the suburban technology park was upgraded with traffic lights equipped with transmitters. Also, the street lines were repainted and new LED street lights were installed.

We are expecting more drive tests for the software system as the development of BlackBerry QNX advances. The platform was created in partnership between BlackBerry and Delphi Automotive, with an aim to accelerate development of the core artificial intelligence technology that powers autonomous vehicles.

For the uninitiated, BlackBerry QNX is developing the software foundation for autonomous vehicles. According to John Wall, GM of BlackBerry, fully autonomous cars without a steering wheel are still a long way off.

He added that cars are already incorporating some of the technology such as sensors that keeps the car in its lane, hit the brake when needed or detect another car.

Ottawa’s partnership with Blackberry QNX for testing of new AV technology also includes institutions like Algonquin College, Carleton University, and the University of Ottawa. With more than 70 companies in its autonomous vehicle ecosystem, Ottawa is aiming to become a leader in AC technology in Canada.

In the next phase of the development, there will be contributions from Nokia, which will include the addition of LTE and 5G capability to the route.

Global giants’ interest is increasing in the autonomous vehicle technology, with the likes of Google and Uber already developing the technology. Besides tech giants, automakers are also betting on the self-drive cars.

Recently, it was revealed that Cyanogen — the company known for making operating system for smartphones based on Android, rebranded as Cyngn and pivoted its business to developing software for the autonomous vehicles.

BlackBerry Brand is Saved from Dying; Transformation is Complete, Says CEO John Chen

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Oct 17, 2017

In bid to survive fierce competition from rival brands, BlackBerry had introduced BlackBerry 10 operating system by its QNX division in 2013. Neither the OS nor the smartphones built to run on it had helped the Canadian company to increase its dying market share. To prevent the demise of the BlackBerry brand, the company’s CEO John Chen applied a new strategy in 2016 that has assisted in rebuilding the popularity of the brand.

In 2016, BlackBerry Limited officially confirmed that it will not be competing in the smartphone market directly. The company now focuses on licensing its software and brand. TCL is now manufacturing and selling smartphones with BlackBerry branding. The first BlackBerry phones made by TCL include DTEK50 and DTEK60. In this year, it has released BlackBerry KEYOne and BlackBerry Motion. These smartphones have been well-received by critics and consumers.

In Q2 2016, BlackBerry had earned $15 million in licensing fees. By generating $56 million, it has earned around fourfold licensing fees in the same quarter this year. BlackBerry is now focusing on providing secure software for financial institutions in order to protect them from cyber threats. The company is also concentrating in automotive industry as it is providing software for infotainment systems and self-driving vehicles. BlackBerry’s apps are also available on Google Play Store.

In 2010, Chen the then CEO for Sybase had struck a $6 million deal that allowed SAP to acquire Sybase. With a reputation of a turnaround artist, Chen had joined BlackBerry as an interim CEO in 2013. The BlackBerry brand was about to die, but under the supervision of Chen, the company had launched Android phones like BlackBerry Priv and BlackBerry Passport that received good reviews from critics.

At present, the company’s stock has jumped to 66 percent in this year and since the company is generating revenue, it appears that Chen’s strategy has helped in regaining popularity of the BlackBerry brand in the smartphone market. Since the customers of BlackBerry are mostly companies that are listed with New York Stock Exchange, Chen has moved the shares of the company from NSADAQ to NYSE with BB ticker symbol. He has also stated the transformation of BlackBerry is complete.

Do you like the new BlackBerry phones made by TCL? Share us your thoughts by adding your comments below.

(source)

Snapdragon 636 Announced with 40 Percent Improved Performance than SD 630, Support for 18:9 Display

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Oct 17, 2017

In May, Qualcomm had announced the Snapdragon 630 and Snapdragon 660 chipsets for powering mid-range smartphones. The U.S. based chip-making company has now announced the Snapdragon 636 SoC as an enhanced version of the SD 630 chip.

There are not many smartphones that are powered by the Snapdragon 630 chipset. Some of the phones that feature it include Motorola Moto X4, Asus ZenFone 4 and Sharp Aquos S2. What makes the new SD 636 chip interesting is that it includes Kryo ARM cores. It features the same Kryo 260 cores that can be found in Snapdragon 660 SoC. The inclusion of Kryo 260 cores allows the Snapdragon 636 to deliver 40 percent better performance than the SD 630 which includes generic ARM Cortex cores.

Apart from better performance, the SD 636 can deliver 10 percent better gaming and web browsing performance as it features an improved Adreno graphics. These days many phone makers are releasing smartphones with 18:9 display. Since the SD 636 carries support for it, we may soon see even budget phones with 18:9 screens. The addition of Assertive Display optimizes to display for all lighting conditions.

Snapdragon 636 Specifications

The Snapdragon 636 is a 64-bit octa-core chipset that features eight cores of Kryo 260 that clocks at 1.8 GHz. It also includes Adreno 509 graphics. It supports up to 8 GB dual-channel LPDDR4 RAM. The Wi-Fi standards supported by this chipset include 802.11ac Wave, 802.11n, and 802.11a/b/g.

It is equipped with Snapdragon X12 LTE modem that offers up to 600 Mbps of download speeds and 150 Mbps of upload speeds. With Spectra 160 ISP onboard that brings support for 24-megapixel cameras along with features like 4K video shooting at 30 fps, zero shutter lag, smooth zooming and fast auto-focusing.

The Snapdragon 636 chipset powered smartphones can feature 18:9 displays that support FHD+ resolution. It also includes support for Quick Charge 4 and Bluetooth 5.0. Other features of this 14nm chipset include NFC, audio capabilities like aptX and Aqstic, and up to 3.1 USB. Other details on its specifications are available in the source link.

The newly announced SD 636 is pin and software-compatible with the existing SD 660 and 630 chipsets. It means that smartphone OEMs that are already using these chipsets can seamlessly add SD 636 to their devices. The shipments of the Snapdragon 636 will begin in November.

(source)

Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 2 Launched, Features Rugged Body And Mid-Range Specs

By

Jeet

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Oct 17, 2017

The Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 2 has been 0fficiailly launched by the company. The tablet, which comes with a rugged body design, has been announced by Samsung in Netherlands.

The new Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 2 has a rugged body with military-standard MIL-STD-810 certification, which means that it is strong enough to survive extreme pressures, temperatures, climates, shocks and traps.

Just like its predecessor, this one too comes with a 1.2-meter anti-shock protective cover. It also has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance and comes with better display technology for use with gloves and wet fingers.

The rumours related to the tablet, which is intended for the business use, were making rounds since August this year. Recently, the device appeared on GFXBench benchmarking site and its user manual revealed that the tablet will come with a removable back cover.

As of the specifications, the device comes with an 8-inch LCD display with screen resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, which is quite disappointing. It is powered by Exynos 7880 chipset clocked at 1.6GHz, along with 3GB of RAM.

In terms of internal storage, the tablet comes with just 16GB of onboard memory, but there is a microSD card slot, allowing users to expand storage capacity.

There is an 8-megapixel rear facing camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. The company is also offering S Pen with the device and also supports Bixby (Home and Voice).

On the front, there are three buttons — Recent Apps, Home and Back. The home button has an integrated fingerprint sensor, which, as per the company, is a newly improved version.

It will be available in two options — Wi-Fi only and 4G. The Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 2 4G will be available in Balck colour in the Netherlands by the end of November, at a price of €500.

While it will be first available in Europe and Latin America, the tablet is expected to be made available in Asia and North America.

HTC Sends Out Invites For November 2 Event, Could Launch U11 Plus

By

Jeet

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Oct 16, 2017

HTC has already launched its flagship smartphone of the year — HTC U11. But, as per the reports, the company is now gearing up to launch a new smartphone, which is likely to be HTC U11 Plus.

The company has sent out media invites for an event that is taking place on November 2, in Taipei. Although HTC has not shared any details about the event, the invite has a big “U”, hinting that it will announce a new U-series smartphone.

There were rumours in the past that the Taiwanese company is working on the alleged HTC U11 Plus smartphone. This is leading us to believe that the phone in question is the HTC U11 Plus.

The phone is expected to feature a bezel-less Quad HD+ display with 18:9 ratio. Further, the device is rumoured to come with a 5.99-inch display with a screen resolution of 2880 x 1440 pixels. Under the hood, the smartphone is expected to be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor, coupled with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM.

It is speculated to pack 64GB and 128GB of internal storage options. The phone is said to feature a 12-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. The device is also expected to come with IP68 certification.

It is not yet known if the phone will come pre-loaded with the latest Android 8.0 Oreo operating system. The HTC U11 Plus is expected to be available in two colour options — Brilliant Black and Amazing Silver.

HTC is also expected to launch a few other smartphones by the end of this year, including Ocean Lite, Ocean Harmony, HTC U11 Life and its Android One device, which is expected to be the U11 Life.

(Source)

Here Are The Xiaomi Redmi 5A Camera Samples Shared By Xiaomi’s President

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Oct 16, 2017

Xiaomi Redmi 5A was announced Monday with budget specs and a 599 Yuan price tag (around $90) which is even less than what you can get the Redmi 4A for on some online retail platforms. The Redmi 5A utilizes a metal body which is the major distinguishing feature separating the Redmi 5A from the last year’s 4A which has a plastic back.

The Redmi 5A also comes with a 13MP f/2.2 rear camera and 5MP front-facing camera which is no different from the camera setup of the Redmi 4A. Where the difference lies is that the Redmi 5A’s rear camera comes with Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF) which is expected to add some more quality to the camera. The Redmi 4A received accolades for its nice camera output despite packing budget specs. The Redmi 5A is expected to go even further in its picture quality. Xiaomi’s president Li Bin has now shared some camera samples captured by the Redmi 5A ‘s rear camera. The sample photos can’t really be said to be out of this world but for a budget smartphone, they are very much commendable. The camera looks like what will perform well in bright light but we can’t say how it would fare in low-lit areas. You’ll find the sample photos after the post.

As a reminder, the Redmi 5A sports a 5-inch HD display and is fired up by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset backed by 2GB RAM. There is also 16GB of internal storage which can be expanded up to 128GB via microSD card. The device packs a 3,000mAh battery and runs MIUI 9 based on Android Nougat.

(source)

Huawei Mate 10 vs. Mate 10 Pro: How do they Differ?

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Oct 16, 2017

After months of leaks, the Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro flagship smartphones have been officially unveiled. Even though they sport a similar design and are powered by the same AI driven Kirin 970 chipset, the two smartphones are different in many ways.

Design

The Mate 10 and 10 Pro are fitted with glass back that are curved at the edges and there is a textured pattern to highlight the dual rear cameras. However, the Mate 10 measures 150.5 x 77.8 x 8.2mm and it weighs 186 grams. The Mate 10 Pro is a longer device as it measures 154.2 x 74.5 x 7.9mm and its weight is 178 grams.

Among the two phones, only the Mate 10 Pro features a IP67 certified dust and water-resistant chassis. Also, there is no 3.5mm audio jack on Mate 10 Pro, but Huawei has made it available on Mate 10. The Mate 10 is available in color choices like Mocha Brown, Black, Champagne Gold and Pink Gold. On the other side, the Mate 10 Pro is available in colors like Midnight Blue, Titanium Gray, Mocha Brown and Pink Gold.

Display

The Huawei Mate 10 has a 5.9-inch LCD display that supports Quad HD resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels. It supports a pixel count of 499 ppi and offers an aspect ratio of 16:9. The Mate 10 Pro has a 6-inch OLED display that produces FHD+ resolution of 1,080 x 2,160 pixels and delivers an aspect ratio of 18:9 along with a pixel density of 402 ppi.

RAM and Storage

The Kirin 970 drives the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro, but the Mate 10 includes 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage and the Mate 10 Pro has 6 GB of RAM along with 128 GB of storage. Another feature that sets the two devices apart is that the Mate 10 has a microSD card slot whereas the Mate 10 Pro does not feature it.

Pricing

The Huawei Mate 10 will be hitting the European markets in this month with a price tag of 699 euros (~$825). The Mate 10 Pro will be arriving in Europe in early November with a price tag of 799 euros (~$943).

Both the smartphones feature the same dual rear camera system that includes a 20-megapixel monochrome sensor and a 12-megapixel RGB sensor. They have the same 8-megapixel front-facing camera. These handsets are running on Android 8.0 Oreo that is customized with EMUI 8.0. Also, both the smartphones include 4,000mAh batteries.

The Mate 10 Porsche Design is Huawei’s Luxury Flagship for The Year

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Oct 16, 2017

Last year, Huawei released a special edition of the Mate 9 in collaboration with design studio, Porsche Design. According to Huawei CEO Richard Yu, the Mate 9 Porsche Design sold 10 times more than they expected. That success has prompted a second partnership resulting in the birth of the Mate 10 Porsche Design.

The Mate 10 Porsche Design is inspired by the Porsche 911. It has a glass uni-body and its exterior is handcrafted. Its UI has also been specially designed to reflect that it is a luxury device.

Just like the Mate 10 Pro, it has its fingerprint scanner on the rear. However, instead of the horizontal stripe design found on the Mate 10/Mare 10 Pro, it features a vertical one that covers the cameras, fingerprint scanner, and the Porsche Design logo. It also ditches the Huawei logo on the lower bezel for that of Porsche Design.

The Mate 10 Porsche Design has the same specs as the Mate 10 Pro – 6” 18:9 OLED display, Kirin 970, EMUI 8.0 based on Android 8.0 and a 4,000mAh battery. It also doesn’t have an audio jack.

Where it differs in terms of specifications is in the RAM and storage. Instead of 4GB RAM like the standard variant, it has 6GB. Built-in storage is also a massive 256GB which should be more than sufficient.

The Huawei Mate 10 Porsche Edition will have dual SIM support, NFC, and Bluetooth 4.2 with aptX/aptX HD and LDAC HD. It will come with 2 chargers (UK and EU), a leather case, 2 USB-C cables, USB-C earphones, a 3.5mm audio adapter, and a VIP card.

Continue

OUKITEL K5000 Full Specs Released: Perfect Combination Of “Big” and “Small”

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Oct 16, 2017

Due to the continuous evolution of full-screen technology, 18:9 full displayed smartphones are becoming more and more exciting to behold with the eyes and really friendly to hold in the hand. OUKITEL has already released the MIX 2 and C8 to provide choices for the high-end and entry-level choices. However, in its “K” series comes OUKITEL K5000 which perfectly combines “Big” and “Small”.

OUKITEL K5000 is yet another smartphone inspired by Samsung Galaxy S8 full-screen design. It combines a big 5.7-inch display and a massive 5000mAh battery with a slim body that can be held in one hand. Also, the device comes with narrow bezels, virtual keys, and concealed proximity sensor. OUKITEL practically inserted the 5.7-inch large display into the body that is smaller than the traditional 5.5-inch phone. Let’s see the full specs. You can also check out the K5000’s design specs in the short video below.

OUKITEL K5000 Full Specifications

Processor: MediaTek MT6750T octa-core Cortex A53 1.5GHz , ARM Mali-T860 MP2

OS: Android 7.0 Nougat

Display:
Size: 5.7 inch HD+, 720*1440 resolution

Touch: 5 points multi-touch

Color: Brilliant Blue, Jet Black, Champagne gold

Cameras:
Primary: Sony IMX135 sensor, 13.0MP, 16MP interpolated, true-tone LED flashlight
Secondary: Samsung 3P3 16.0MP, 21MP interpolated, flashlight support

Memory: 4GB RAM+64GB ROM, 128GB expandable

Network:

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz;
WCDMA: 900/2100MHz;
4G FDD: B1/B3/B7/B8/B20
SIM card type: 1 nano SIM+1 SD card;2 nano SIM

Connectivity:

USB Port: Type-C port

Ear jack: Type-C port

WLAN: Support,802.11 a/b/g/n/,Hotspot

Bluetooth: V4.0

Sensors:

Frontfingerprint sensor/ Gravity sensor/ proximity sensor/ Light sensor/ gyroscope sensor/ geomagnetic sensor

OTG: Yes
OTA: support
FM Radio: support

Dimensions: 152.1*73.1*10.8mm
Battery: 5000mAh, 9V/2A charger

Apart from the large display and large battery, the K5000 also comes with a large flash memory, great camera, and fashionable double curved design. The OUKITEL K5000 will come in 3 colours: Brilliant blue, Jet black and Champagne gold. It will be sold at $159.99 but OUKITEL will offer a discount for pre-orders. Presale for the K5000 will start on October 23^rd. Detail about stores where it will be available and discount offers will be announced on OUKITEL’s official website.

OnePlus 5 Goes Out Of Stock, Is OnePlus 5T Launch Imminent?

By

Jeet

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Oct 16, 2017

Earlier, in June this year, OnePlus launched its flagship smartphone of the year — the OnePlus 5. Now, after about four and a half months, the phone is not available across the world, except India.

Upon checking the availability of the OnePlus 5 smartphone in several markets where OnePlus is officially available, it appears that the device is only available in India. The smartphone is listed as “In Stock” in India while everywhere else, the OnePlus 5 is listed as “Out of Stock”.

OnePlus has not yet provided an official statement regarding this matter. However, the similar situation happened ahead of the launch of OnePlus 3T — an upgraded version of the OnePlus 3, which was the flagship smartphone of the previous year.

Before the launch of OnePlus 3T, the OnePlus 3 went out of stock in every country except India, where the smartphone is still available.

However, it is also possible that the company is having supply issues with the device and will be back in stock as soon as the issue is resolved.

With OnePlus 5 going out of stock across almost all regions, and with rumours related to the OnePlus 5T making rounds, it is believed that the company may soon launch a new smartphone.

Reports suggest that the company’s upcoming smartphone — OnePlus 5T could be released as soon as next month. It is expected to come with a larger 6-inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and a bezel-less design.

As of the specifications, it is expected to retain the same set of specs as of OnePlus 5 given that there is no successor of the Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon 835 processor. Along with the improved display, it is also expected to come with features such as water and dust-resistance.

There doesn’t seem the need to launch an upgraded version within just 4 months of the flagship smartphone’s launch. With almost all smartphone manufacturer now focusing on the display technology, the department where OnePlus 5 lacks, the company might be hoping to fill the gap with the new OnePlus 5T smartphone.

Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro are Official

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Oct 16, 2017

Huawei has taken the wraps of its new flagships – the Mate 10 and the Mate 10 Pro. The new phones have been in the news a lot lately but have now been announced at an event in Munich Germany.

Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro Design

The Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro surprisingly both come with FullView Displays. However both phones are not similar in looks. While the Mate 10 comes with a 5.9” display like the Mate 9, its bezels are slightly larger than that of the Mate 10 Pro.

The Mate 10’s bezels measure 9.6mm thick at the top and 10.6mm at the bottom compared to the Pro’s 8.4mm and 9.2mm thickness. However, the Mate 10 has thinner side bezels.

The slightly thicker bezels of the Mate 10 results in the phone having its fingerprint scanner in front instead of below the dual rear cameras like the Mate 10 Pro. Save for the dual position of the fingerprint scanner, both the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro have a similar rear design.

Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro Specs

The Mate 10 has a 5.9-inch 2K (2560 x 1440) display with a 16:9 aspect ratio and 730 nits of brightness. The display has also been optimized for sunlight visibility. Rather than it being a RGB screen, Huawei says its a RGBW screen which uses the extra white color to achieve better visibility under intense sunlight while still saving power.

There is 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. It has a 3.5mm audio jack and a MicroSD card for storage expansion. It also has an IP53 rating which makes it dust resistant and spill-proof.

The Mate 10 Pro on the other hand has a 6” FHD+ (2160 x 1080 ) resolution and an 18:9 aspect ratio. Even with the large screen, the Mate 10 Pro has the body of a 5.5-inch phone. Huawei says the display has a 70,000:1 high contrast and 112% NTSC color saturation.

It comes in 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM and 6GB RAM + 128GB ROM variants. It has an IP67 rating and comes with Cat.18 LTE unlike the Mate 10 which has a Cat. 16 modem. Sadly, it ditches the audio jack and doesn’t have a MicroSD expansion slot. It however comes with a pair of USB-C earphones and a a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter.

Both the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro come with NFC, Bluetooth 4.2 and a 4,000mAh battery . Huawei claims battery life has a 30% improvement over that of the Mate 9. There is also Superfast Charge allowing you to charge up to 58% in just 30 minutes.

Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro Camera

Once again, Huawei has partnered with Leica on the cameras. The configuration is still 12MP RGB + 20MP monochrome sensors. However, it now features dual F/1.6 and SUMMILUX-H lens. There is 4-in-1 hybrid focus, hybrid zoom, and OIS.

The Mate 10 comes with a dedicated NPU chip for AI tasks. The cameras take advantage of the AI capabilities of the phone to recognize what the object/scene is. There are 13 different object and scene recognition modes including pets, sunset, portrait, flower, food, and text which help improve the outcome of your pictures.

The front camera is an 8MP F/2.2 sensor which takes wonderful selfies.

EMUI 8.0

Just as earlier rumored, Huawei has made the jump from EMUI 5.1 to EMUI 8.0. The new UI is based on Android 8.0 Oreo making the Mate 10 series the first non-pixel device to come with Android Oreo out of the box. We believe that the jump to EMUI 8.0 is so that the version number syncs with that of the Android OS.

Some of the features of the EMUI 8.0 is dynamic wallpaper which changes as the day goes by, smart multi-column display, split screen multitasking, and instant offline translation.

Easy Projection (Desktop Mode)

One of the new features that comes with EMUI 8.0 is a desktop mode. Unlike other manufacturers that use a dock, the Mate 10/Mate 10 Pro connects to an external display with the aid of a USB Type-C to HDMI cable thanks to its USB 3.1 support.

Once you connect to an external display, it takes a few seconds for the desktop mode to show up. You can decide to connect a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse or use the phone itself which can double as a touchpad and an on-screen keyboard.

Some of the features of Huawei’s desktop mode is a start menu, resizeable windows, and a system tray that shows incoming notifications.

Mate 10 Friends

Huawei also unveiled a number of accessories for the Mate 10 phones. There is a SuperCharge car charger, a SuperCharge Power Bank with support for 4.5V/5A low voltage fast charge, EnVizion 360° camera and a smart scale.

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Giveaway – Win A Free Leagoo S8 Bezel-less Smartphone

By

Shine Wong

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Oct 16, 2017

Gizmochina along with Leagoo is conducting a Leagoo S8 phone 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 phone.

LEAGOO, as a newly emerged global smartphone brand, will surely follow the market trend and release high quality full-screen smartphones with affordable prices. Finally, on Sep. 28, LEAGOO has announced two 18:9 full-screen smartphones – LEAGOO S8, apart from popular all-screen design, what is more attractive is that customers have the chance to snatch up LEAGOO S8 and LEAGOO S8 at a 50% discount!

Visit Leagoo S8 Presale on Banggood

How to entry this giveaway? Just follow these steps and Gleam widget, we will pick the winner from who has left comment as request:

Share the Leagoo S8 Presale Page to Facebook, Twitter and other social sites
Leave comment below this article for which features of LEAGOO S8 and S8 Pro you like

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.

Just follow the steps mentioned in the Gleam widget to participate in the giveaway.

Once again, good luck.

Gizmochina Giveaway – Win A Leagoo S8 Smartphone

Yet Another Leak Showing Huawei Mate 10 Benchmark Performance & Specs Surfaces

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Oct 16, 2017

Huawei Mate 10 has featured in yet another leak which showcases more of the device’s real photos. Some of the photos are those of a working Mate 10 and on the screenshots, we could find the key specs as well as its performance in two different benchmark apps – Androbench and Geekbench.

The Mate 10 is expected to come in three different colours of Mocha Brown, Obsidian Black, Pink Gold and Champagne Gold. What we have here looks like the Gold and Black variants and among the specs, there’s the presence of a Full HD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The device is also listed as packing a Kirin 970 chip paired with 4GB RAM and there is 64GB storage of which only 47.26GB is available for use. Sure thing, this is the specs of one of the Mate 10’s variant. Quite surprising is the EMUI 8.0 based on Android 8 which the device is listed to be running on.

The screenshot showing the Mate 10 running Geekbench app reveals the single-core test core as 1941 points while the device polled a multi-core test score of 6339 points. The Geekbench result is hardly different from those of other Snapdragon 835 models we have seen in the recent past. Thus, Kirin 970 may not be so much more powerful than Qualcomm’s latest SD 835 chip. Perhaps, the difference would lie in the features the AI-built Kirin 970 chip would bring to the table in terms of performance and battery efficiency.

(source)

Huawei Mate 9 Gets Price Cut as Mate 10 Launch Draws Closer

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Oct 16, 2017

The tradition is that when a new model is about to be launched or has been released, the predecessor gets a price cut. In a few hours, Huawei will announce the Mate 10. It will come with the latest features but will also have a price tag some may not be able to afford. However, the Mate 9 is an impressive device and can still hold its own against some flagships released this year, so you may want to settle for that and save yourself some cash with these sweet deals.

Jingdong Mall seems to want to clear its stock of the Mate 9 and has reduced the price. The 4GB RAM + 32GB ROM Moonlight Silver variant has been cut down to ¥2899 (∼$440). That is ¥200 (∼$30) less than the retail price on Huawei’s online store.

You can also grab the 64GB RAM version from Amazon for $450 in either Moonlight Silver or Space Gray. This version also comes with Amazon Alexa assistant but works with AT&T and T-Mobile only.

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The Huawei Mate 9 has a 5.9-inch display with a FHD resolution. It is powered by the Kirin 960. Its dual rear cameras in the 20MP + 12MP configuration were co-designed with Leica. There is also an 8MP selfie camera.

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Nokia Well On Course To Ship 10 Million Phones In Its First Year Back In Business

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Oct 16, 2017

Nokia re-entered the smartphone market with the launch of the Nokia 6 mid-range smartphone in China on January 20, 2017. The Nokia 6 was an instant hit, selling out in its first sales with sales hitting over a million units. Since then, the tech giant has gone on to release the Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and even a remodelled Nokia 3310 feature phone. Nokia has also released its first flagship phone, Nokia 8 which features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor. In case you are wondering how well the HMD Global-controlled Nokia brand is faring in sales and popularity, the company’s Chief Marketing Officer Pekka Rentala has revealed that since the announcement of the Nokia 6 at MWC 2017 in Barcelona, it has sold “millions” smartphones and “tens of millions” features phones. The official confirmation came on September 2nd and covers all four Nokia smartphones on sale.

Related: Finland Gets The Nokia 8 With 6GB of RAM and 128GB of Storage

This lends credence to a recent report by research firm IDC which states that Nokia phones are selling well. IDC estimates that the Nokia brand already ranks number 5 in Finland and has a 0.4% global market share. The agency says Nokia smartphone sales stood at 1.5 million for the first half of the year. A former Nokia staff and researcher Tomi Ahohen has thus put the figures together to come up with a breakdown for the four quarters that make up this year, including a forecast of sales for Q4 2017. The figures are listed below.

The analyst added IDC’s estimate for the first half and then revealed that Nokia sold 2.5 million units globally in the third quarter. Using the expectation that holiday sales are usually higher, coupled with the new Nokia 8 models the tech giant recently added, sales are expected to peak at 3.5 million in Q4. That brings the possibility of sales hitting 10 million units in 2017. We’ll have to wait till the first quarter of next year to get the official figures. No doubt, Nokia would be enthusiastic to share the analysis especially if sales are favourable.

(source)

Xiaomi Redmi 5A Launched Out Of The Blue: Metal Body, PDAF, Priced At 599 Yuan (~$90)

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Oct 16, 2017

Xiaomi Redmi 5A is official. The budget smartphone was released today by Xiaomi without any prior indication. The tech giant skipped rolling out the drums for the launch, perhaps because the model is a cheap device with quite little features that would make it stand out from the others. The Redmi 5A takes over the reins from the Redmi 4A which was launched last year. The new model packs almost the same specifications as the Redmi 4A, save some few differences.

Design

The Xiaomi Redmi 5A features an ultra-light all-metal body which is one aspect where it is different from the Redmi 4A. The design is also very much similar to the Redmi 4A in many aspects like the bottom speaker grills at the back and the rear camera which is tilted to the left side. The little difference in the design at the rear is that the speaker grills are located under the fused antenna band design in this case unlike on the Redmi 4A where it is on top the bottom line which looks like antenna band line. At the top, the line runs through the rear camera and flash on the Redmi 4A but in this case, the antenna line is under the rear camera and flash.

Specifications

Specs wise, the Redmi 5A sports a 5-inch display with HD resolution (1280 x 720p). The device is powered by a Quad-core Snapdragon 425 chipset clocked at 1.2GHz which is paired with a 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable internal storage. There is no 3GB RAM version, at least not yet. It is possible Xiaomi will announce that later just like it did with the Redmi 4A. At the back, the phone features a 13MP sensor with PDAF and LED flash. While the front camera is a 5MP sensor. It packs a slightly smaller 3,000mAh battery whereas the Redmi 4A has a 3,120mAh battery under its hood. That shouldn’t be much of a concern because the SD 425 chip is a 64-bit processor which ensures the phone isn’t power hungry just like the power-efficient Redmi 4A. Besides, 120mAh is a negligible difference. Xiaomi touts the battery of having 8 days of standby time.

Furthermore, the Redmi 5A will get its interface from the MIUI 9 based on Android Nougat. Other features include dual-SIM slots- one micro and one nano-SIM slot, dual Standby support, 4G LTE, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth and lots more. One of the SIM slots doubles as a microSD slot that can take up to 128GB microSD card. The Redmi 5A comes in Champagne Gold, Pink and Grey colours.

Xiaomi Redmi 5A Price & Availability

The new Redmi model will cost 599 Yuan (around $90) and reservation is presently on. Both online and offline sales would commence at 10 AM tomorrow via Mi Mall, Mi Home, JD.com, Lynx, Suning Tesco, Mi Stores, China Mobile Mall and several other retail outlets across China.

Pre-order Xiaomi Redmi 5A Now

Nomu S10 Pro Review – Solid Budget Rugged Phone

By

Linus

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Oct 16, 2017

Nomu is known for producing affordable rugged phones and the S10 Pro is one of the latest offerings. It has a nice water-resistant design and decent specs for less than $160. Learn more in our full Nomu S10 Pro review.

Gearbest Gadget Sale

Also, check out the special Nomu S10 Pro promotion that’s running on various stores right now.

VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUy4eg6IBoQ[/embedyt]

UNBOXING

The phone ships with all the usual stuff and some extras include a screen protector.

DESIGN and DISPLAY

It is quite obvious that the Nomu S10 Pro is a rugged phone since it is made mostly of shockproof rubber material. The build quality is solid and the phone feels nice in the hand.

In fact, the phone has a MIL-810 standard meaning that the phone is salt, dust, humidity, rain, vibration, solar radiation, transport and thermal shock resistant. Also, the device has an improved IP68 rating that Nomu calls IP68+. The phone can stay underwater of 2 meters for 1 hour, which is really impressive.

The 5” display sports only 720p resolution but I found it to be sharp enough for everyday use. Also, it is covered with the Gorilla Glass 3.

Another key selling point is that the phone sports a huge 5000mAh battery but the device is quite thin, measuring at just 13mm.

As for optics, the phone has an 8MP main camera and a 5MP shooter on the front.

Now a few features in a nutshell: there is no fingerprint scanner and LED notification light. The buttons are nice, the flaps that cover the ports work well. Finally, the loudspeaker is very good and it can get really loud. In fact, it’s probably the loudest I’ve heard on any phone.

HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

When it comes to hardware, the Nomu S10 Pro does not really impress as it has typical budget phone specs. The phone ships with the MTK6737T chip, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage.

The gaming performance is surprisingly good even on the highest graphics settings in games like Asphalt 8. Obisovuyly, there are quite a few skipped frames but the gaming performance is not bad for a budget phone.

BENCHMARKS

USER INTERFACE

What is cool about the Nomu S10 Pro is that it ships with a stock Android 7 out of the box with just a few added features like gesture and motion controls. Some of them work fine while others are kind of slow to respond. Overall, I love that the phone is really fast on the daily basis and that is the most important feature on any phone.

CAMERAS

The pictures taken with this phone look kind of okay. Sure, it’s possible to take some decent-looking photos for social media but do not expect fantastic results. Same can be said about the selfie camera quality.

The low-light camera performance is again, just mediocre.

1080p video looks average like on most of the phones in this price range.

Selfie videos are shot only at 480p and the quality is kind of poor.

Download camera samples (full resolution)

CONNECTIVITY

The call quality is not bad but it could be better. I didn’t have issues with other connectivity options like wifi, Bluetooth or GPS.

However, the phone has only 7 sensors and it lacks a gyroscope, meaning that the device is not compatible with VR headsets.

BATTERY LIFE

As expected, a 5000mAh battery performs really well. You should expect to use the device for at least a couple of days or more. That translates to over 10 hours of screen-on time.

Finally, it takes about 2 hours to fully charge the phone with the supplied fast charger.

CONCLUSIONS

The Nomu S10 Pro is a pretty solid all-around budget phone that can take a beating due to its rugged properties.

I love the way it looks and feels in the hand, the display is decent for every day use and I’m happy with the overall performance of the device.

Obviously, it would have been nice to have better cameras. Also, there is no gyroscope sensor, no fingerprint scanner, and no LED notification light. But if you add one of the loudest speakers on any phone and a fantastic battery life, the Nomu S10 Pro is a decent offering for the price, despite these shortcomings.

Buy Nomu S10 Pro

Huawei Is Skipping EMUI Version 6 And 7 To Introduce EMUI 8.0

By

Jeet

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Oct 16, 2017

Today, Huawei is going to launch the much talked about smartphone line-up which includes Mate 10, Mate 10 Pro, Mate 10 Lite and the Mate 10 Porsche Edition.

The smartphones are expected to be running on the latest version of Android, i.e. Android 8.0 Oreo. Like most other smartphone companies, Huawei too will offer its own custom build of Android, dubbed as Emotion UI or EMUI.

Currently, the latest version available of EMUI is 5.1. However, as per the reports, the new Mate 10 smartphone series will come with a new version of EMUI. Till now, it was believed to be EMUI 6.0, but, as per the latest leaks, the newer version is EMUI 8.0.

It seems that the company is skipping version 6.0 and 7.0 and is directly rolling out EMUI 8.0 to match Android’s version numbers. There were rumours suggesting this changes, but there was no evidence, until now.

Recently, real photos of the Huawei Mate 10 smartphone were leaked. One of the image shows the “About Phone” section of the settings menu, which clearly mentions that the EMUI version is 8.0.

The Huawei Mate 10 will be powered by the Kirin 970 64-bit octa-core SoC. It is the same processor will also power the Mate 10 Pro and Mate 10 Porsche Edition.

It appears that all the models in this series will be made out of metal, and will also sport a dual camera setup on the back, and a rear-facing fingerprint scanner.

We’ll know for sure what version of EMUI is pre-installed on the devices later today as the company is all set to announce Mate 10 series today in Berlin, Germany.

(Source)