HTC May Sell off Vive Business or May Sell the Entire Company

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Aug 25, 2017

Even though the recent smartphones such as HTC U11, U Ultra and HTC 10 have met with good response from the audience, there has been a sharp decline in HTC’s market share. In the last five years, HTC’s market value has dropped by 75 percent and this has been mainly due to its smartphone business that has been consistently declining. At present, the market share of the Taiwanese company has gone down below 2 percent.

HTC Vive VR is one of the most popular VR devices and also the company’s most successful assets in the past ten years. HTC’s Vive business is doing very well, but the entire company is struggling to earn profits. The Taiwanese has been making some impressive phones, but its marketing strategies have failed to reach the right audience.

According a fresh report from Bloomberg, that the Taiwanese company is considering multiple options for its future from selling off the Vive business and even putting the entire company on sale. A source familiar with the situation of the company has revealed that the Taiwanese firm has appointed an advisor to overcome the current crisis and is working on getting a strategic investor. It appears that full sale of HTC is unlikely to happen as there is no single acquirer looking forward to taking over it.

HTC Vive

HTC has come to a point that it has lost its brand popularity. As mentioned before, its poor marketing strategy has caused the average consumer to consider HTC as one of the reliable brands against major rivals as Apple and Samsung. Unless the Taiwanese firm strikes a deal with carriers stores or makes its device more visible to the customers, HTC’s smartphone market is unlikely to improve.

HTC is still making profits in its smartphone business through another way, meaning that the Google Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones that are manufactured by HTC allows it to earn direct profit from Google. However, this may not be the only way the company may want to make profits in the smartphone business. Moreover, HTC had built both the Google Pixel phones last year, but this year it is rumored to be manufacturing one of the two Pixel phones. This has also probably reduced the profits from the smartphones business.

As Foxconn is making iPhones for Apple and the latter is concentrating on optimizing the iOS experience. HTC could also consider selling its smartphone business to Google. This can be beneficial for Google too as it will have a sole manufacturing company to assist it in building the Pixel phones. And then, Google could focus on enriching the Android experience.

What do you think HTC should do to make its smartphones popular? Share us your views by adding your comments below.

(source)

Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ May Arrive with Dual Rear Cameras, Claims Min-Chi Kuo

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Aug 25, 2017

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is the first flagship phone from the company to feature dual rear cameras. It appears that the upcoming flagship phones from the South Korean company will also feature dual rear cameras. KGI Securities analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo claims that the Samsung Galaxy S9 coming in 2018 will also feature dual rear cameras. It may not be earth shattering but since it is Kuo, the information seems all the more reliable.

In the previous month, Kim Rok-ho, an analyst with Hana Financial had claimed that the Galaxy S9 would be featuring a dual rear camera module. This piece of information was seconded by another analyst named Park Hyug-woo from Shinhan Investment. Now, Kuo who holds a very consistent record for revealing features of upcoming Apple and Samsung devices has also made the same claim.

Earlier in this month, Kuo also claimed that the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will continue to feature a rear-mounted fingerprint reader. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have been criticized for the controversial placement of the fingerprint reader. So, it may so happen that the Galaxy S9 duo may have the LED flash placed between the dual camera setup and the fingerprint reader as it can be seen on the Galaxy Note 8.

an alleged image of the Galaxy S8 prototye with dual rear cameras

The analyst also claimed that the Galaxy Note 9 could become the first smartphone from Samsung to come with in-screen fingerprint reader. Kuo has also stated that Samsung is working with semiconductor firm named Himax and Egis to integrate the fingerprint reader under the screen of the Galaxy Note 9. As far as Galaxy Note 8 is concerned, the South Korean company is expected to ship 12 to 14 million units of the phablet.

Recent information has also revealed that Samsung won’t be relying more on Snapdragon 845 chipset for Galaxy S9 duo. In other words, since Qualcomm has assigned TSMC and not Samsung to build its 10nm Snapdragon 845 chipset, the South Korean company has allegedly has decided to use its Exynos 9810 chipset more number of Galaxy S9 and S9+ units.

Interestingly, the Snapdragon 845 driven Galaxy S9 had reportedly appeared on Geekbench benchmarking site with a model number of SM-G9650. Another report has revealed that Samsung will be using modular design for the Galaxy S9 that may possibly users to add certain modules to the smartphone like the MotoMods accessories on Moto Z smartphones.

(source)

Motorola Moto X4 Undergoes FCC Certification; Full Specs Appear

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Aug 25, 2017

Motorola was expected to debut the Moto X4 on Aug. 24, but it did not happen so. However, its soon arrival cannot be ruled out as the device has just got certified by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S. The FCC certification has revealed the entire specifications of the Motorola Moto X4.

The model number of the U.S. variant of the Moto X4 is XT-1900-1 and IHDT56WK1 is its FCC ID. The handset will arrive with a 5.2-inch AMOLED screen that will produce a full HD resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. The screen will be protected by Gorilla Glass 3. The Snapdragon 630 chipset will be powering it with its octa-core chip and Adreno 508 graphics along with 4 GB of LPDDR4X RAM. The native storage of the smartphone is 64 GB. There will be an external storage slot that will support up to 256 GB of microSD card.

Through the leaked renders of the Moto X4, it has been revealed that the smartphone will be sporting a pair of cameras on its rear panel. The FCC listing has revealed that the dual rear camera setup will include a RGB 12-megapixel sensor and a monochrome 12-megapixel sensor. This suggests that the smartphone would be able to snap impressive shots in low-light conditions. The frontside of the Moto X4 will feature a 16-megapixel wide angle sensor. Renders of the smartphone have revealed that the rear cameras will be coupled with a dual-tone dual-LED flash and there will be an LED flash for the selfie snapper too.

The Moto X4 will include a non-removable 3,000mAh battery with 25W Turbo charging support. It will arrive preloaded with Android Nougat OS.

Previous reports have revealed that it would be coming with a IP68 certified dust and water-resistant body and the FCC documents reveal that it measures 148 x 73mm. The handset is expected to be available in color choices like Sterling Blue, Gold and Super Black and previous rumors have revealed that it would be available in the Europe with a price tag of 350 euros (~$413).

Lenovo has confirmed that it would be holding a pre-IFA 2017 press conference on Aug. 31. However, Motorola does not have any upcoming launch event. Hence, there is a possibility that Lenovo may surprise us all by showcasing the Moto X4 at the end of this month.

(source|via)

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 & iPhone 8 Dummy Compared

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Aug 24, 2017

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 was unveiled on Wednesday, taking the veil off a device that almost every detail was already known. The next “big thing” which would rock the tech world is the iPhone 8 which is equally expected to pack an amazing design. Both the iPhone 8 and Galaxy Note 8 will go head to head in a race for dominance of the premium smartphone market and just in case you are wondering how they square up to each other, GSMArena recently got an iPhone 8 dummy which they compared with the Galaxy Note 8. Here are some photos of both flagships side by side.

The iPhone 8 dummy seems to have been put up from the CAD schematics that have made the round severally. We can’t really say for sure if this would be the final design the device will come with but the dummy comes with a dimension of 143.5 x 71 x 7.5 mm while the Galaxy Note 8 obviously has a larger size with a dimension of 162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6 mm. One common feature expected on both flagship models is a large aspect ratio. The Galaxy Note 8 continues with the bezel-less infinity display utilized on the Galaxy S8 but the iPhone 8 has ultra-thin bezels at the edges which would have gone round if not for the protrusion on the top edge in order to make space for the front camera and facial scanning hardware.

Taking a look at the rear aspect, the Note 8 and iPhone 8 come with dual cameras but while that of iPhone 8 sits in a vertical plane, the Note 8’s are horizontal dual cameras. The Apple model has the LED flash in between the dual cameras while the Note 8 is positioned in the same way as found on the Galaxy S8. In addition, Apple’s dual camera hump is much more pronounced than that of the Note 8.

The duo was also captured from the sides and they are not in anyway similar. The Galaxy Note 8 retained the 3.5mm headphone jack, but Apple offers stereo speakers. In addition, the Note 8 comes with an S Pen stylus but Apple only uses that for its iPad models. So, what do you think? If the iPhone 8 comes with this design will it be a hit or miss?

(source)

Xiaomi Sets Up Shop In Thailand, Launches The Mi 6 and Redmi Note 4 Series

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Aug 24, 2017

Xiaomi is gradually expanding to other countries. This year alone, it added Russia, Vietnam, and Mexico to the list of countries where you can officially buy its phones. Today, Southeast Asian country, Thailand, is the latest addition.

Xiaomi Thailand — Xiaomi Enters Thailand’s Smartphone Market

Xiaomi will partner with VST ECS, a local Thai company that will handle product distribution and after- sales services. Xiaomi products will be available both online and offline. One of its online partners is Lazada, an e-commerce company owned by the Alibaba Group.

Fans of Xiaomi in Thailand will be able to buy the Mi 6, the Redmi Note 4, Redmi 4X, and Redmi 4A phones only for now.

The 6GB RAM +64GB ROM black variant of the Mi 6 will go on sale tomorrow on Lazada for 13,790 Baht (~$414). The 6GB RAM + 128GB ROM version which comes in blue will be available on September 1.

The Redmi Note 4 variant available for sale is the 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM and the 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM variants. They will be available in gold, black, and dark gray on Lazada tomorrow, 25th of August for 6,790 Baht (~$204) and 5,790 Baht (~$174) respectively.

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Third Batch of MIUI 9 Closed Beta Includes Almost All Xiaomi Smartphones

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Aug 24, 2017

Xiaomi has announced the list of models that would feature in the third batch of MIUI 9 Closed Beta updates and this time around the models are many. The list contains almost all the Xiaomi models that are yet to get the update except the Mi 1 and Mi 2A. Xiaomi had disclosed recently in a Weibo post that it would hasten the third batch of MIUI 9 updates but we never expected it would be so soon.

The list of models for the third batch of MIUI 9 closed Beta update include; Mi 3, Mi Note 3, Mi Note 2 / 2S, Mi Pad 3, Mi Pad 2, Mi Pad 1, Redmi Pro, Redmi Note 4X-MediaTek version, Redmi Note 4 (all versions), Redmi Note 3S / 3X, Redmi Note 3 (all versions), Redmi Note 2 (all versions), Redmi Note (all versions), Redmi Note 1S, and Redmi Note 1.

Xiaomi had already released MIUI 9 Closed Beta updates for the Xiaomi Mi 6, Mi 5X, and Redmi Note Note 4X (Qualcomm version) in the first instance. Later on the Mi MIX, Mi Note 2, Mi 5, Mi 5s, Mi 5s Plus, Mi 5c, Mi Max 2, Mi Max, Mi 4S, Mi 4c, Mi Note Pro, and Redmi 4X were among the second batch of models that got updates recently. The third batch of updates would begin rolling to users on August 28 via OTA but you may need to set your device to be able to get automatic OTA update. Do note, though, that this is the China ROM and not the Global ROM. In addition, your device may not get all the functions of MIUI 9 as Xiaomi recently released a list of models that support Split screen multitasking function and it only included models running Android Nougat based MIUI.

(source)

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 Back Shell Leaks, Metal Or Ceramic?

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Aug 24, 2017

Just last week Xiaomi Mi Mix designer Philippe Starck thrilled us with a concept video of the Mi Mix 2. The video proved to be a very popular one, amassing over 115k views especially due to its full-screen design which is touted to have even lesser bezels than the Mi Mix. Since then more leaks of the device has been making the rounds but leaked photos have been lacking. But now, the rear cover of the Mi Mix 2 has leaked purportedly from the supply chain.

There is no way for us to verify if the casing is actually for the Mi Mix 2 but it indeed looks like one for a phablet device and the design resembles the Mi Mix’s rear cover with two vertical openings another for an LED flash at the side of the first opening. If the Mi Mix 2 will be featuring a dual camera setup which is the rave of the moment, then there isn’t room for a rear fingerprint sensor which suggests the use of a front in-display fingerprint sensor or the 3D face recognition technology Xiaomi is rumoured to be developing for use on its flagships. But these are just openings, so we cannot determine if it is going to house a camera and fingerprint sensor or dual cameras.

The cover is coloured in white and the glossy look makes it look like it has a ceramic body. But the two screw ports by the side of the USB Type-C port suggest this could be having a metal body since the Mi Mx doesn’t have such screws. There is a rumour already that the Mix 2 will be ditching the use of ceramics which usually slow down the mass production process.

As for the specs, the Mi Mix 2 is expected to feature a 6-inch JDI display with a Snapdragon 835 processor onboard. The device is said to feature a 12MP Sony IMX386 sensor at the rear which should be more powerful than the not-so-inspiring 16MP OV16880 sensor on the Mi Mix. The Mix 2 will, however, feature a 5MP OV5675 sensor for selfies and a 3,400mAh battery. The flagship is expected to be launched on September 12 but no word from Xiaomi on that just yet.

(source)

Xiaomi’s Q3 2017 Shipments May Reach 25-30 Million Thanks To Multiple Models

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Aug 24, 2017

Xiaomi’s sales have picked up this year. Last quarter, their recorded shipments propelled them to fifth position globally. Digitimes reports that their Q3 shipments may as well reach 25-30 million units.

The increase in shipments according to industry sources is as a result of the release of multiple models. Xiaomi keeps pushing out newer models with multiple variants that are priced competitively.

Its latest smartphone, the Redmi Note 5A comes in three variants. The cheapest starts at ¥699 ($105) and goes up to ¥1199 ($180) for a 4GB RAM model. This is just the first of the fifth generation Redmi line.

It also released the dual camera Mi 5X last month, which has the same camera sensors as its flagship, the Mi 6 but with a less powerful processor and of course a lesser price(¥1499/$225).

There are rumors that its large screen flagship, the Mi Note 3 may launch soon. Let’s also not forget that there is the Mi MIX 2 and possibly a Snapdragon 836 refresh of the Mi 6.

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Huawei Mate 10 Teaser Reveals Image and October 16 Launch Date

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Aug 24, 2017

In the past week, the Huawei Mate 10 launch invitation had surfaced to reveal the Oct. 16 launch date. Now, the Chinese firm has released a new teaser that not contains an image of the Huawei Mate 10 but also confirms the same launch date.

pic.twitter.com/PasaMCb5cU

— HuaweiMobileAU (@HuaweiMobileAU) August 24, 2017

The above teaser of the Huawei Mate 10 has appeared on the Twitter account of Huawei Mate 10. As it can be seen, the tweet contains all the images of the Huawei flagships with dual rear cameras that have released in 2016 and this year. In April 2016, Huawei had released the Huawei P9 and P9 Plus and in November, it had unveiled the Huawei Mate 9.

This year, the Huawei P10 and P10 Plus were unveiled in April and on Oct. 16, the company will be unveiling the Huawei Mate 10. A previous report has revealed that Mate 10 launch event will be held at Munich, Germany. The tweet takes a dig at Samsung as it contains the #beyondgalaxy hashtag. It suggests that the Mate 10 would be a better smartphone than the recently unveiled Galaxy Note 8.

As the Huawei Mate 9 came with vertically arranged dual rear cameras from Leica, its successor will also sport Leica branded dual rear cameras. The Mate 10’s dual rear camera module is expected to feature a 12-megapixel RGB sensor and a 20-megapixel monochrome sensor. Rumors have it that the Huawei will be launching Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro this year.

The former is expected to house a regular display and a front-mounted fingerprint reader. The latter is pegged to arrive with a full-screen EntireView display and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. Since the picture of the Mate 10 in the above tweet does not feature a rear-mounted fingerprint reader, it seems that the image belongs to the Mate 10. The rumor mill has also revealed that a low-end version of the smartphone will be also available as Huawei Mate 10 Lite.

Huawei has confirmed through a tweet that it will be present at IFA 2017 at 2 PM on Sept. 2 with a #HuaweiMobileAI hashtag. It is expected to unveil a AI processor that will be also powering the Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro along with Kirin 970 chipset.

(via)

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Comes with Up to $425 Discount By Trading Existing Phone

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Aug 24, 2017

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was launched in August last year, but due because of the faulty battery problem that caused the phablet to explode suddenly, it was discontinued in October. Soon after the discontinuation of the Note 7, Samsung had claimed that it would be offering some discounts to those Note 8 buyers who owned a Note 7 by trading their current smartphone. The South Korean company has fulfilled its promise as it has confirmed that such Note 8 customers will be receiving a massive discount.

The Galaxy Note 7 came with a dual-edge curved display and a slim chassis with a large battery of 3,500mAh battery. The phablet had to be recalled twice. The investigation of the Note 7 explosions revealed that the phablet featured a small battery casing that led to short-circuiting. It also revealed that Samsung Galaxy Note 7 with different batteries were introduced after the first recall, but these batteries came with wielding defects.

Samsung offered full refunds to customers who purchase the Galaxy Note 7. It had also offer trade-in discounts as well. However, the popularity of the phablet was such that were some customers who held on to their Note 7 as they argued that its benefits outweighed the risks associated with the battery.

The Galaxy Note 8 is unlikely to explode because it is larger device than the Note 7 and it comes with a smaller battery of 3,300 mAh capacity. During its unveil event, Samsung confirmed that customers who bought Note 7 will have to trade-in their existing phone to get a hefty trade-in discount of up to $425 through Samsung.com. This discount will make it will cut the cost of the Note 8 into half, with the U.S. carriers selling it between $930 and $960. The unlocked Galaxy Note 8 is priced at $930 in the U.S.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 pre-orders starts on Aug. 24 and it will be available for buying from Sept. 15. The phablet features a 6.3-inch Infinity Display S-AMOLED with QHD+ resolution. In the U.S. and China, the Note 8 will be available with Snapdragon 835 chipset and the other markets will be receiving its Exynos 8895 version.

The official camera samples of the dual camera setup featuring 12-megapixel wide-angle lens + 12-megapixel telephoto lens have been revealed. It features an 8-megapixel front camera. It features a S Pen stylus, a USB-C port and a 3,300mAh battery.

(source)

Rumor Mill: The iPhone 8 Will Arrive in 64GB, 256GB and 512GB Variants

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Aug 24, 2017

Production for the iPhone 8 is underway and news reaching us from China reveals the storage variants. According to a post by a Weibo user, the iPhone 8 will be setting the record for storage.

The post says the device will have 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB models. It also reveals the suppliers for the flash storage. Long time Apple supplier Toshiba, will produce the 64GB and 256GB flash storage along with SanDisk. For the 512GB flash storage, rival and business partner Samsung, will supply it alongside Hynix.

A previous post by the same user says that the iPhone 7s, iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 will have new storage variants. Although there is no confirmation yet about the above storage variants but even if true, some like the 512GB version might be limited to the iPhone 8 only.

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Azdome DAB211 Official Unboxing Video

By

Linus

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Aug 24, 2017

Azdome is the Chinese manufacturer that specializes in the making car dash cameras and other accessories. The DAB211 is one of the latest company’s products that offers a lot of features for a low price.

DAB211 is equipped with Ambarella A12 chip and OV4689 sensor, which ensures a good experience for users including CPU performance, operation speed, image quality and overall functionality. In addition to this, this camera has a lot of practical functions including 1440p, 150-degree ultra wide angle, built-in GPS, ADAS, HDR, night vision or hidden design.

Check out the official unboxing video learn more about the design, features and the contents that come with this dash camera:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7yONubYb1A[/embedyt]

The dash camera ships with a suction mount, car charger, 3.5m car charger cable, USB cable, 3M mount, and cable clip.

For more details, please check out the official page of the Azdome DAB211 camera.

Nokia 6 Sold Out in Less Than in a Minute on Amazon India; Next Sale Begins on August 30

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Aug 24, 2017

Nokia 6 was launched in China on Jan. 20 and it was showcased at the Mobile World Congress even in February this year. However, the smartphone was made available for purchase for the first time in India through the flash sale exclusively on Amazon on Aug. 23. All the Nokia 6 units were sold out within a minute.

The Nokia 6 pre-bookings on Amazon India began on Aug. 21. Only those people who pre-registered for the Nokia 6 were able to purchase it on Aug. 23. The smartphone is priced at Rs. 14,999 (~$234) in India. Just as the Nokia 6 met with tremendous response during the multiple flash sales in China, the smartphone was sold in a minute on Amazon India yesterday.

Amazon India is given Rs. 1,000 (~$15) cash back for Prime customers who purchase the handset through Amazon Pay balance. Also, all the Nokia 6 customers who sign-up in the Kindle app can take advantage of 80 percent off on Kindle eBooks. In addition to these offers, Nokia 6 buyers can benefit from Rs. 2,500 discount on Make My Trip. Vodafone is also giving 45 GB of 4G data for free for five months.

Those customers who registered for the Nokia 6 but were not able to buy it yesterday are required to register again for the next sale. Amazon India will begin the next sale on Aug. 30. The Nokia 6 is available on Amazon India in three colors like Black, Silver and Tempered Blue.

The Nokia 6 comes with a 5.5-inch full HD display that is protected by Gorilla Glass 3 and it is powered by Snapdragon 430 chipset. The SoC is coupled with 3 GB of RAM and an internal storage of 32 GB. It also features an external storage that supports up to 128 GB of microSD card.

It comes preinstalled with Android Nougat OS. HMD Global has claimed that it will be launching Android 8.0 Oreo update for Nokia 6 soon. It features a 16-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel selfie snapper. It features a Dolby Atoms powered dual speakers. A 3,000 mAh battery provides power to the Nokia 6.

In the past week, HMD Global had introduced the Nokia 8 flagship smartphone. It is expected to arrive in Europe, Latin America, China and U.S. It is expected to debut in India on October.

(source)

Xiaomi Launches 179 Yuan (~$27) Beiwa Beva Children’s Scooter

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Aug 24, 2017

Xiaomi has announced a couple of cool gadgets for the kids and one of them is the Beiwa Beva Children Scooter which is designed for children between the ages of 3 years and 10 years.

The Beva Children Scooter comes in pink and green colours in order to appeal to both male and females and is also manufactured using components that are environmentally safe. It has a thick aluminum tube frame which can withstand a weight of 50kg, ensuring that kids of all weight sizes can be accommodated. The handle frame comes with an adjustable height which can be fixed at 69cm, 79cm and 89cm as desired.

The base is manufactured using flexible polyurethane material and fibre with a widened area which ensures the kids would be stable on top of the stand. It has a surface which isn’t slippery and it has an improved shock absorption property. The scooter has two tires at the front and just one at the front. The tires come with ABEC-5 precision bearing, high-quality ball retainer which would ensure that the scooter can glide for a long distance with each stomp. The handle is designed in such a way that by just tilting it slightly to the left, the two front wheels turn left up to 35 degrees and vice versa.

The Xiaomi Children scooter has a price tag of 179 Yuan(~$27) and is available on the Mi Home crowdfunding portal. The gadget is expected to ship on September 25.

Samsung Gear Fit 2 Pro, Gear Sport Smartwatch May Debut on August 30

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Aug 24, 2017

The Galaxy Note 8 has been unveiled by Samsung. The South Korean company was also rumored to debut the Gear Fit 2 Pro fitness band at the Note 8 launch event. However, it was not unveiled. Samsung would be showcasing the Galaxy Note 8 at the IFA 2017 show. Speculations are rife that the Gear Fit 2 Pro will be also unveiled at the upcoming tech trade exhibition. It appears that the company may also debut a new smartwatch on Aug. 30

Soon after the unveiling of the Galaxy Note 8, the Gear Fit 2 Pro appeared on the Spanish and Malaysian edition of Samsung’s website. It appears that the fitness band had accidentally appeared on Samsung’s sites as there was no official announcement for it. The listings have been taken down, but the product pages had revealed plenty of information on the fitness band.

The Gear Fit 2 Pro seems to be a slight upgrade over the Gear Fit 2. As far as the design Fit 2 Pro, it appears very similar to the Gear Fit 2 as it also features a curved display. One of the USPs of the Gear Fit 2 Pro will be that it will be coming with 5 ATM support which means it can be used safely underwater up to a depth of 50 meters. This will allow users to track swimming related activities. It will be running on Tizen OS and will compatible with iOS and Android devices. And it will be packed with a 200mAh battery. More information on its specifications and features can be found in one of our previous reports.

[envira-gallery id=”146429″]

In related news, Samsung has confirmed that it will be holding pre-IFA press conference on Aug. 30 in Berlin, Germany. DJ Koh, the president of Samsung Mobile has told CNBC that the company would be launching a new Gear S smartwatch. He has neither revealed its moniker nor any information on its specs and features. Speculations are rife that the device could be either arrive as Gear S3 Pro or Gear S4. It is likely that the aforementioned Gear Fit 2 Pro will be unveiled through the same press conference.

In related news, Samsung is also rumored to working on a new hybrid smartwatch that is expected to launch as Gear Sport. The device has already received FCC and Wi-Fi Alliance certification which suggests that it may debut soon. The Samsung Gear Sport could be the first smartwatch from the company to run on Tizen 3.0 OS.

Koh had said that, “If we can put in place properly a smartwatch that can monitor everything for your health and provide information, then the market will grow. Today’s sensor do not look like enough.” This suggests that the smartwatch is expected to launch on Aug. 30 will have some health-centric features. The Gear Sport is also rumored to be a hybrid of a smartwatch and a fitness tracker.

(source 1,2,3)

Mediatek Powered Alcatel A7 Hits GFXBench, Official Renders Show Stereo Speakers

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Aug 24, 2017

Alcatel or rather TCL is preparing for this year’s edition of IFA Berlin. A few days ago, there was a leak that revealed some of the phones expected to be showcased at the event. One of them is the Alcatel A7 XL, a 6-inch phablet with dual rear cameras. A smaller version called the Alcatel A7 has been seen on GFXBench.

The Alcatel A7 was actually benchmarked as the Alcatel 5090. Unlike the A7 XL which has a larger HD screen, this comes with a 5.5-inch full HD screen. Geekbench shows two RAM variants: a 3GB version and a 4GB version. Built-in storage is 32GB.

The Alcatel A7 is powered by a MT6750T, an octa-core chip clocked at 1.5GHz. It has a 16MP rear camera, an 8MP front facing camera and runs Android 7.0 Nougat with Alcatel’s own UI overlay.

Popular leaker Roland Quandt has provided images of the device which reveal more details. The phone comes in black with gold accents in certain places.

There is a front LED flash for brighter selfies and it also has dual front facing speakers. The latter isn’t something you usually see on a mid-range device. There is a volume rocker on the right, just above a textured power button. No image of the rear was provided but Roland Quandt said he believes it has dual cameras.

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Google Pixel 2 Launches October 5, Will Come With Snapdragon 836

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Aug 24, 2017

Now that the Galaxy Note 8 is out of the way (check out the launch article and camera sample photos), another highly anticipated Android device is the Google Pixel 2 (and Pixel 2 XL).

We already have some details about both devices. The Pixel 2 will be made by HTC. It will have a 4.97-inch Full HD display and a squeezable frame just like the HTC U11. The larger Pixel 2 XL will be made by LG and will have a larger 5.99-inch QHD display. What we didn’t know was a release date, until today.

Google's second-generation Pixel handsets, powered by Snapdragon 836 SoC's, will be unveiled on October 5th.

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) August 24, 2017

Earlier this morning, Evan Blass tweeted that the 2017 Pixel handsets will be launched on October 5. He also mentioned that they will be powered by the Snapdragon 836. Now this is some exciting news!

The first gen Pixel devices were released on October 4, 2016. Exactly a day after the one year anniversary, the second gen Pixels will be released. It is also interesting to see another source confirm that the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will be powered by the Snapdragon 836 chip.

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Sony Xperia XZ1 Images Reveal Pink and Black Variants

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Aug 24, 2017

Sony’s next flagships are the Xperia XZ1 and Xperia XZ1 Compact. Both devices are scheduled to launch exactly a week from today at a special event in Berlin.

In the last few days there have been lots of leaks regarding the pricing details and specifications of both phones. Less than 24 hours ago, the Xperia XZ1 was listed on Amazon UK, revealing a black and pink variant. Though the images and other info about the device have been taken down, we were able to get our hands on the photos thanks to Roland Quandt.

The images are of both color variants mentioned above and give us a good look at the device before the official launch.

The Xperia XZ1 shares nearly the same design with the Xperia XZ Premium released earlier this year. The easily notable differences are the length of the speaker cut-outs up front; the design of the frame; and the position of the NFC chip. The NFC chip is placed in the middle of the phone on the XZ Premium but sits at the top in the Xperia XZ1. You can see the NFC logo that indicates the position of the chip sits next to the LED flash and laser focus module.

The rest of the design is the same. Power button, volume rocker and a dedicated camera button sit on the right and the SIM tray sits on the left.

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OPPO R11 Is The Best Selling Android Phone In Taiwan For July 2017

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Aug 24, 2017

OPPO continues its strides in the International scene with the latest report from Taiwan showing the company has again recorded some success in the Taiwanese market. Market data released by Taiwan Science and Technology Media showed the smartphone sales for the month of July 2017 was topped by the OPPO R11 in the Android segment but Apple had the largest market share.

The statistical data contains the performance of the top 20 models in the Taiwan market and it shows that Apple made a strong showing with the iPhone 7 Plus 128GB re-emerging as the top selling model in the month under review. On the Android scene, the OPPO R11 emerged as the most popular Android phone in the entire country. Oppo also had two models on the list; the OPPO A57 and OPPO A77 which were ranked 7th and 9th respectively.

The most spectacular thing about the R11’s performance in Taiwan is that the device just went up for sale about a month before then and surprisingly the smartphone raked in enough sales to become the second highest selling brand.

Samsung fell from the top spot but still stayed in the top 5 spots with the Galaxy J7 Prime and J2 Prime clinching the third and fourth spots. They Korean giant, however, had the most models on the list with a total of five different models including the Galaxy S8+. This is closely followed by Sony with the Xperia XZ Premium, Xperia XA1, Xperia XA1 Ultra, Xperia XZ.

(source)

YotaPhone 3 is Official with $360 Pricing & Features Like Dual Screens, SD 625, 4 GB RAM

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Aug 24, 2017

In the previous week, the rumor mill had revealed the renders and pricing of the YotaPhone 3. It had been showcased at the China-Russia exhibition that was held in Harbin in June, but for some unknown reason the company decided to keep its details under the wraps. The smartphone has now been officially introduced. It has arrived to replace the YotaPhone 2 that had debuted in February 2014.

The YotaPhone 3, also known as YOTA3 in China and Asian markets, is fitted with a 5.5-inch AMOLED display that produces full HD resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. The backside of the smartphone is flanked with its USP of a 5.2-inch secondary e-ink display that supports HD resolution of 720 x 1,280 pixels. The secondary grayscale screen is an always on display that consumes less power and does not strain the eyes.

The company claims that over 100 specialists from China and Russia have worked for 10 months to develop the YOTA 3. The presence of the Snapdragon 625 chipset under its hood confirms that it is a md-range device. A fingerprint scanner can be seen below the display.

The rear side of the YOTA3 features a 13-megapixel camera and it is coupled with dual-tone LED flash. On the front is the 12-megapixel selfie snapper. The smartphone is running on YotaOS 3.0 that is a customized edition of the Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS. It also features a USB-C port. A 3,300mAh battery powers the YotaPhone 3.

The YotaPhone 3 will be available in two models. The base model has 4 GB of RAM and a native storage of 64 GB. The other model features 4 GB of RAM and an inbuilt storage of 128 GB.

The 64 GB YotaPhone 3 is priced at 2,398 Yuan (~$360) and the 128 edition of the smartphone carries a pricing of 3,098 Yuan (~$465). JD.com will begin the pre-orders of the Yota3 will start from Sept. 5. The actual sales of the smartphone will start from Sept. 18. It will be also made available in the market later on through offline stores.

The smartphone will be also hitting the Russian markets with a pricing of 21,500 RUB (~$365) and 27,900 RUB (~$473) respectively for the 64 GB and 128 YotaPhone 3 models. It is likely to hit the Russian markets by the end of this year. The company expects to sell one million YotaPhone 3 phones in the first year.