Advertisement

Huawei P10 & P10 Plus Official In China: Much Cheaper Than European Pricing, But In Less Color Shades

Huawei P10 and Huawei P10 Plus, both these models were announced at MWC 2017 held in Barcelona, Spain. Now, these two models and their variants are also official in the company’s home country, China. The Huawei P10 comes with the same specs and features as the European version, however, the company, like tradition, has priced the variants much cheaper than its international price tag.

The phones will come in six different color options here in China, as opposed to eight internationally. The following are the Huawei P10 / P10 Plus colors launched in China: White Ceramic, Graphite Black, Dazzling Gold, Rose Dold, Greenery, and Dazzling Blue. The two colors not coming to China are prestige gold and mystic silver.

huawei P10 greenery

The Huawei P10 and the Huawei P10 will have five memory variants in total, two for Huawei P10 and three for Huawei P10 Plus.

The following are the Huawei P10 Prices in China:

4GB + 64GB version: 3,788 Yuan ($550)

4GB + 128GB version: 4,288 Yuan ($622)

 

The following are the Huawei P10 Plus Prices in China:

6GB + 64GB version: 4,388 Yuan ($637)

6GB + 128GB version: 4,888 Yuan ($709)

6GB + 256GB version: 5,588 Yuan ($811)

MUST READ: Huawei P10 Review: A Premium Dual Camera Monster

Note that, at the conference, Huawei didn’t mention a 4GB RAM version of the Huawei P10 Plus. So, for now, it looks like there will be just 6GB RAM variants of the larger device in China.

Huawei P10 Plus

Huawei P10 Price in China vs Price in Europe

4GB + 64GB variant | China ~$550 | Europe ~$700

 

Huawei P10 Price in China vs Price in Europe

6GB + 128GB | China ~$709 | Europe ~$862

 

So, it looks like there’s about $150 pricing difference between each Huawei P10 / P10 Plus variant in China and Europe.

Huawei P10 Silver
This color won’t be available in China

As for the specs, the Huawei P10 comes with scratch-resistant 2.5D glass with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The fingerprint sensor is now on the front and supports multi-gestures too. The phone is super slim as well, measuring just 6.98mm in thickness. The Huawei P10 comes with a 1080p 5.1-inch display while the P10 Plus features a 5.5-inch 2K display. Both the phones feature 20MP + 12MP Leica certified dual cameras at the back. The larger Huawei P10 Plus comes with a wider f/1.8 aperture. Both the models have Kirin 960 underneath with 4GB and 6GB variants. Other features include fast charging support, Full Netcom connectivity, 4.5G LTE etc. So, basically, the features of the Huawei P10 and P10 Plus China variants are the same as the European models.

You can read the full specs of the Huawei P10 here and Huawei P10 Plus here.

 

Geotel Note Review – A Decent $90 Smartphone!

Geotel is one of the new smartphone makers and they have a pretty nice looking yet a very cheap device that is called Geotel Note. The phone costs just below $90 but it has a lot of cool features. Find out if it is worth your attention in our full review.

VIDEO REVIEW

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

UNBOXING

The phone ships with all the usual stuff and some extras include a hard plastic case.

DESIGN and DISPLAY

When it comes to the design, the phone is made entirely of plastic. It does not feel very cheap but some metal elements would have added a more premium look. The 5.5” display has only 720p resolution but honestly, this is one of the best HD panels I’ve seen on a budget phone. Even the sunlight legibility is decent.

We have an 8MP front-facing camera, notification LED light and customizable on-screen navigation keys on the front.

The backplate is glossy and shiny, and it looks great when it is clean. However, it is a huge fingerprint magnet.

You can easily remove the back cover and underneath it, you will find 2 SIM card trays, a microSD card slot a replaceable 3200mAh battery.

As for optics, we have a 13MP shooter along with a single LED flash.

The buttons are made of plastic too but they are clicky and tactile.

As for loudspeaker, the quality is kind of average and the volume output could be better.

HARDWARE

When it comes to hardware, the Geotel Note has some decent specs for the price.

The phone ships with a quad-core MTK6737 chip, 3GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage.

The gaming performance is decent if you play games like Asphalt 8 on the medium graphics. Still, you should expect some skipped frames but no lag.

BENCHMARKS

USER INTERFACE

The Geotel Note ships with the near stock-looking Android 6.0 with just a few added features.

For example, you can choose from quite a few gesture and motion controls. Some of them work well while others are pretty slow to respond. In general, the user interface is fast and fluid even after installing quite a few apps. It is the most important aspect on a cheap phone, in my opinion.

IMAGE QUALITY

You can’t expect any good results from cheap phones but the Geotel Note can take some decent daylight images. Obviously, the dynamic range is usually off, the colours may look washed out but in general, photos look okay for a $90 phone.

Naturally, the image quality is not as good in lower-lit situations.

The selfie image quality is not the best but the images will do the trick for social media needs.

The video quality is kind of mediocre, just like on most of the cheap phones out there.

CONNECTIVITY

I didn’t have any connectivity issues with this device and even the GPS lock speeds and accuracy were okay.

BATTERY LIFE

3200mAh battery performs pretty well and I could constantly get over 5 hours of screen on time, which is a decent result.

CONCLUSIONS

The Geotel Note aims to bring a lot of value for the price and it actually succeeds in a lot of ways. It may not be a perfect phone but it definitely deserves your attention if you are in the market for very cheap and quality smartphone.

Nokia 7, Nokia 8 Design Sketch Leaked; Carl-Zeiss Dual Lens Camera Spotted

Nokia is rumored to be working on alleged Nokia 7 and Nokia 8 smartphones that are driven by the soon-to-be-announced Snapdragon 660 chipset. A popular Nokia leakster from China has posted leaked images on Baidu that reveal the design of the rumored Nokia 7 and Nokia 8 phones.

The leaked sketch shows two Nokia devices. The one present on the left seems to feature dual rear camera module with “Zeiss’ text mentioned on it. It may be the Nokia 8 phone whereas the other one on the right may be its single camera variant that may arrive as Nokia 7.

Alleged Nokia 7, Nokia 8

Related: HMD to Release Nokia Phones in Second Half of Q2

The following image seems to show the front and rear of the same handset that is present on the right-side in the previous image. The rear design of these phones look different from Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and Nokia 6. However, the front side of the Nokia phone in above sketch bears resemblance to Nokia 6 with similar design for the Home button. The bezels do not appear to be very thin. Hence, it may not be a flagship phone.

Alleged Nokia 7

Recently, AnTuTu scores of an unknown device running on Snapdragon 660 chipset benchmarks was spotted. The mysterious device was spotted with specs like 2K display, 6 GB of RAM, 64 GB internal storage, 12-megapixel dual rear camera and Android 7.1.1 Nougat. There is no confirmation whether the unknown device is the alleged Nokia 8 phone that is speculated to feature Carl Zeiss dual rear cameras.

As previous leaks of Nokia 7 and 8 have revealed, the former may feature a full HD screen whereas the latter may house a larger screen. The Nokia 8 may come out as the first Nokia phone with support for quad HD resolution.  Both phones are rumored to come with metallic chassis and similar specs.

(source)

iPhones Could Power Future MacBook-Like Devices with a Special Dock, Patent Reveals

Apple has been granted with a new patent that involves placing of an iPhone or iPad into an “electronic accessory device” which appears like a laptop. The laptop-like device would then be powered by the iOS and hardware of the iPhone or iPad docked on it. The patent was filed in September 2016.

iphone-macbook-hybrid

The laptop-like device that can be seen in the image will be dumb device that will only have functional parts like screen and keyboard. It will be a dumb terminal that won’t be featuring a processor, RAM or other such hardware components. It is likely that Apple may include a dedicated GPU on the device for the display of the device.

The dumb terminal that appears like MacBook is likely to feature an aluminum chassis will not feature a trackpad, but instead there will be a docking station in which an iPhone can be placed. The operating system, processor and RAM of the iPhone would power the laptop-like device. This is not something innovative as the same idea can be seen on the Lap Dock accessory available for HP Elite X3 smartphone running on Windows 10 Mobile and Snapdragon 820 SoC. However, it does not involve placing of the Elite X3 phone on the Lap Dock.

Related: Red iPhone 7, 7 Plus Meets Stupendous Demand in China Before March 24 Launch

ipad-macbook-hybrid

A separate idea for the same patent can be seen in the second image that shows how an iPad can be used with the electronic accessory device. It involves placing the iPad in the upper part of the laptop-like device. The iPad’s screen will act as the display for the device. Unlike the previous idea, this one shows a presence of a trackpad and thereby offers a conventional laptop experience.

In 2015, Microsoft had launched the Lumia 950 and 950 XL smartphones. The Continuum feature of Windows 10 Mobile OS along with the supporting hardware on both phones allowed users to connect the Lumia 950 or 950 XL to an external screen, keyboard, and mouse through a Display Dock. This allowed users to get full-blown Windows 10 PC experience.

Samsung is also rumored to sell a DeX (Desktop Experience) docking station with the upcoming Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones.  The Galaxy S8 duo’s Snapdragon 835 chipset is pegged to deliver desktop PC experience when connect to a screen, mouse and keyboard through the DeX station.

(source)

New Meizu Smartphone with Model Number M621C-S Certified by TENAA

Meizu is one brand that is known for its innovativeness, so we were thrilled by a leaked product schedule said to be that of Meizu was spotted. The product schedule revealed the company would launch a total of six smartphones spread across the months of the year. So far, we have only seen one smartphone and from the schedule, we expect to see the next one in June. But the leaks just won’t stop coming, despite the scanty launch we expect this year.

meizu m612c-s

The latest leak is that of a new Meizu smartphone which appeared on China’s Telecommunication regulatory agency’s (TENAA) website where it has been certified. The listing gave us a view of the device’s render from all four sides and also a rundown of the specifications of the device simply identified as Meizu M621C-S. The renders look very much like those of the  Meizu M5S which touched down last month and considering the model name it is listed with, the device will likely be the Meizu S.

On the listed specs, the Meizu smartphone is listed with a dimension of 153.6 x 75.6 x 8.15mm and weighs just 175g. It sports a 5.5-inch TFT display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The device is listed as coming with 2GB, 3GB and 4GB RAM versions and would be powered by a 1.8GHz processor which would likely be a MediaTek Helio P25 chip. There is also three storage versions of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB respectively and all three can be expanded up to 128GB via microSD.

 

On the camera end, the Meizu phone packs a 13MP rear camera sensor with a round LED flash and upfront, there is a 5MP selfie shooter. The phone runs Android Marshmallow out-of-the-box and keeping the lights on is a 3920mAh battery which is appreciable. Connectivity options like Bluetooth, 3G, 2G, 4G, Wi-Fi and others are also listed.

Read Also: No Flagship Snapdragon Chip For Meizu This Year Says Analyst

We can’t say if this smartphone is the same model that received 3C certification days back and was also granted radio transmission certificate last week but its appearance on TENAA may be an indication its launch is drawing closer. Whenever that happens, expect the device to be available in white, silver and blue colors.

(source)

ZTE Hit By $343 Million Loss in 2016 After Paying Huge Fine for Selling Equipment to Iran, North Korea

Earlier this month, we had reported that ZTE was fined a settlement pay of $892 million for violating U.S. laws by selling its products in restricted regions like Iran and North Korea. It was fined not only for violating the U.S. laws, but also for making false statement by claiming not guilt initially. This has caused the company to encounter a massive net loss for the last quarter of 2016.

The Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturer ended up with a net loss of $760 million. It means that without the fine, ZTE would have recorded a net profit of $132 million in the final quarter of 2016. For the same period, the company was expected to make a profit of $557 million.

In the third quarter of the previous year, it had posted a profit of $158 million. However, because of the huge fine, ZTE has met with a $343 million loss for the entire year of 2016. Without the fine, it would have gained a profit of around $557 million. In other words, it would have earned an increased profit of around 19.2 percent compared to the revenue it generated in 2015.

ZTE-Logo

Related: ZTE Fined $1.19 Billion for Violating U.S. Laws, False Statement for Selling Products to Iran, North Korea

If the company does not adhere to the conditions of the settlement, it will have to pay $300 million more. The agreement became effective from March 22. However, a positive thing for ZTE is that its quarter-to-quarter revenues increased by 24.6 percent and its year on year profits have rose by 1 percent.

In the U.S.  ZTE is the fourth largest smartphone vendor and its smartphones are available through AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint. The Chinese company is also working with leading U.S. companies such as Intel, Microsoft, and Qualcomm. However, if it fails to fulfill the conditions of the agreement, the U.S. government may ban ZTE from working with U.S. companies.

The Chinese firm has recently announced the all new Blade V8 series of smartphones earlier in this year and it is also recently launched the Nubia M2 phone. It is also rumored to release an entry-level ZTE Quartz smartwatch in the near future.

(source)

Geotel Note is available for $89.99 on Aliexpress now

Aliexpress anniversary festival on March 28 is approaching, some of Aliexpress stores will bring a huge sale offer. It is likely the best price you can get across the whole year. Geotel Note is one of best budget phones with acceptable specs and wonderful Metal Print surface technology.

geotel note

The Geotel Note’s Metal Print body and shiny either Blue or Gold colors looks gorgeous. It’s own shiny surface on the back cover. Besides the build quality, the phone specs are also above acceptable as well. Here is the main specs:

  • 5.5″ HD screen, 1280x720pixel display resolution
  • Powered with MTK MT6737 SoC, along with 3GB RAM and 16 GB of storage
  • Built-in 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera
  • 3200mAh battery
  • Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Geotel Note

Xiaomi Mi 6 & Mi 6 Plus Prices Leaked, Starts at 1999 Yuan ($290)

This year promises to be a year of spectacular flagships competing at different planes – large displays, powerful hardware, top notch designs and more. The Xiaomi Mi 6 is one of such flagship which would lock horns with the Samsung Galaxy S8 as the first two Snapdragon 835-powered smartphones. The Mi 6 is rumoured to launch next month, after the Galaxy S8 must have been unveiled on March 29.

Xiaomi-Mi-6-Dual-Camera
mi 6 old render

 

 

Ahead of that launch, the Xiaomi Mi 6 pricing details have leaked online revealing the likely prices the various versions of the flagship device will sell for. The price list contains not just the Mi 6, but also the Mi 6 Plus which is probably the bigger 5.7-inch variant. Accordingly, the list reveals three memory versions for the Mi 6 and Mi 6 Plus. The Mi 6 comes in 4GB + 32GB which is listed to start at 1999 Yuan ($290). There is also a 4GB + 64GB version listed with a 2,299 Yuan ($333) price tag and finally, a 6GB + 128GB version priced at 2,699 Yuan ($391).

xiaomi-mi-6
Xiaomi Mi 6 & Mi 6 Plus Pricing

On the other hand, the Mi 6 Plus is listed with 4GB + 64GB on its base version which would retail for 2599 Yuan ($377), a 6GB + 128GB version priced at 2,999 Yuan ($435). Finally, the Mi 6 Plus is listed with a top-end version with a fiery 8GB RAM and 256GB storage priced at 3499 Yuan ($507).

 

 

Read Also: For 2017 Flagships, Glass May Be The New Design Material Not Metal

We can’t verify these price listing but if true, then the Mi 6 would be the cheapest flagship around considering that it packs a Snapdragon 835 chip, dual cameras and several other top-end features. We don’t know if the base versions will pack Snapdragon 835 chip or a lesser Snapdragon 821. Also, there are rumours of the Xiaomi flagship equally coming with several colour variants including the unconventional colours like red. We have a feeling the long wait for the Galaxy S8 and Mi 6 would be worth the while.

(via)

Moto M Meets Midrange Segment Demand; 3 Million Units Sold in Just 6 Months

Moto M, a new midrange smartphone from Motorola was launched in China in the last quarter of 2016. Later, it was also brought to select regions. Fresh information suggests that’ in as short span of six months the company has sold over 3 million units of Moto M.

According to The Jakarta Post, Adrie S. Suhadi who leads the Lenovo Mobile Business Group in Indonesia has said that the sales number of Motorola Moto M smartphone confirm that it has fulfilled the mid-range segment demand. The new smartphone was introduced to supplement its budget and premium smartphones that are already doing well in China.

Lenovo Group Ltd.’s global smartphone sales have increased by 20 percent because of the impressive sales of Moto M in China. After its launch in China, the phone was released in India and now it is also available in multiple markets such as Pakistan, Poland, Malaysia, Thailand and more. The smartphone is going to launch in Indonesia on March 27. Lenovo’s e-commerce partners will run pre-orders for Moto M from March 22 to 26.

Motorola Moto M

Related: Moto Z (2017) Spotted Once Again to Confirm Previous Leaks; Coming to Sprint, Verizon in the US?

The Moto M has a splash resistant body and it features a 5.5=inch screen that supports full HD resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. The MediaTek Helio P10 SoC is present under the hood of the phone. Some markets like India have received has received Helio P15 SoC variant of Moto M.

The 32 GB storage model of Moto M has 3 GB of RAM and its 64 GB storage variant has 4 GB of RAM. Its rear-facing camera is of 16-megapiexel LED flash and its frontal snapper is of 8-megapixel. It is loaded with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow OS. It features a USB Type-C port and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. It houses a 3,050 mAh battery and it comes in color options such as Gold, Gray and Silver.

(source)

Snapdragon 835 vs Other Flagship Chips in Benchmarks- And the Winner is…..

Qualcomm‘s latest Snapdragon 835 chipset continues to show prospect which indicates it indeed deserves its place as a next-generation flagship chip and the attention it commands is well earned. The flagship Snapdragon 835 was recently subjected to several benchmark tests but here, we consider its performance on PC Mark and GFXBench, two popular benchmark platforms.

 

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 uses four large Cortex-A73 core as well as four small Cortex -A53 cores in an Octa-core architecture. From the benchmark results, the SD 835 is revealed to have performed better than Huawei’s HiSilicon 960 chip and any other chip around in the multi-core test but in the Single core test, it performed slightly weaker. The Kirin 960 also posted a similar low score as the SD 835 on the single-core test.

When the result is compared to the previous generation Snapdragon chips, the SD 835 performed better thanks to the Adreno 540 GPU  both in the 3D Mark and GFXBench tests. In the GFXBench test, SD 835 outpaced the Snapdragon 821 chip by 30% while in the 3D Mark benchmark app, its lead reached 40%.

However, when the flagship Snapdragon 835 test phone was benchmarked while running Video Editing 2.0 on PC Mark and the result was compared with the test score of different smartphones in the same flagship category, the Snapdragon 835 did not post a very spectacular result. The chip even scored less than some devices like the SD 820-powered Galaxy S7 and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro powered by an Hexa-core Snapdragon 650 chip.

On the other hand, in the highly demanding T-Rex HD score, the Snapdragon 835 chipset topped the chart, displacing the iPhone 7 Plus which used to hold sway at the top with its powerful A10 chip. It also outpaced the Mate 9, Google Pixel XL, Samsung Galaxy S7 and many other high-enders.

Read Also: Samsung Exynos vs Qualcomm Snapdragon: Why Exynos Still Isn’t Commercial

So, the Snapdragon 835 is indeed a new generation chip capable of delivering in performance in all aspects even though it may struggle a little in the single-core operations. But an octa-core architecture, built on a 10nm wafer, means more efficiency and power management. In the end, we’ll have to wait till the chip finds its way into a smartphone before we’ll get its performance in a real life situation.

(source)

Xiaomi Releases Mi Internet Radio Enhanced Version

Last year, Xiaomi released a cute little speaker called the Mi Internet Radio that lets you listen to online radio stations. Towards the end of the year, they followed it up with an internet speaker that is a bigger variant of the Mi Internet Radio with more features. Today, Xiaomi has announced an enhanced version of the Mi Internet Radio.

The major flaw of the original Mi Internet Radio was its lack of a built-in battery, so you had to leave it connected to a power outlet to use it. That problem has been solved in the enhanced version as it now comes with a 1000mAh battery. This means you can take it along with you anywhere and not have to worry about power. Sadly, Xiaomi has failed to give an estimated number of hours the battery is supposed to last.

Apart from the battery, every other feature remains the same as the original. You can still connect it to your phone via bluetooth (alongside WiFi connectivity) and you can configure it using the Mi Home App. Xiaomi says owners will get access to over 300,000 various online radio stations covering various genres.

RELATED: Xiaomi Launches Mi Alarm Clock with Bluetooth Speaker Function

Heavily Blurred Xiaomi Mi 6 Real Image Confirms Rear Cameras and Flash Position, New Teaser Poster Leaks Too

A real image of Xiaomi’s upcoming phone, the Mi 6 surfaced online today. While it doesn’t reveal much info because its heavily blurred, we can make out the design of the dual cameras.

Phones with dual cameras usually follow one of two main designs. The cameras are either stacked on top of each other in the middle of the phone or placed at the top left corner of the phone. Then you might see slight variations such as spacing between both sensors, position of the LED flash, and if the cameras share a single housing.

Xiaomi Mi 6

For Xiaomi’s Mi 6, we see they have settled for the second design. However, what is unusual about the setup is the position of the LED flash. Usually phones that adopt this design have the cameras sitting at the edge and the LED flash beside them but in this leaked image, the LED flash comes first before the sensors.

These image confirms previous leaks we have seen including the recently leaked silicone case. We can also make out the reflective surface of the phone but its hard to tell if the material is glass or ceramic.

Xiaomi Mi 6 Teaser Poster

Apart from the leaked image we also get a first look at a teaser poster. The image shows the Mi 6 with the same dual cameras and LED position. At the bottom of the poster is a text that translates to “In addition to black, what else?”. Is Xiaomi teasing other color options? We can’t tell.

READ MORE: Xiaomi Launches New PowerLine Wi-Fi Adapter

For 2017 Flagships, Glass May Be The New Design Material Not Metal

In the last 2 years or thereabout, we have seen metal become the new favorite material for phones. Before then, plastic used to be the major material before a switch to glass for flagship phones. One analyst says we should expect a return to glass for flagships this year.

Analyst @Sun Changxu took to Weibo to announce that information she learnt from those involved in the supply chain says that this year’s flagship phones are either made of glass or ceramic.

Xiaomi Mi 5 with Glass Back

It is reported that glass factories have increased production of 2.5D and 3D glass. They also say overall demand for the first half of the year have exceeded expectations.

Ceramic is another material that is starting to gain popularity. Xiaomi has played a key role in that regard. Its concept phone, the Mi MIX features a ceramic body and its next flagship, the Mi 6 is said to feature a special ceramic edition in addition to the standard variant that will have a glass back.

READ MORE: Ceramic Body Production Capacity Should Increase  Soon Following ¥8.7 billion Investment

Last year, the Xiaomi Mi 5 had a ceramic variant but due to production issues, had to be cancelled. They also faced similar problems with the Mi MIX but have managed to keep up its production. There were rumors of a glass variant launching at CES but surprisingly it was a white ceramic version that was unveiled.

What do you think about the switch to glass? Do you prefer metal or are you indifferent?

Xiaomi Anti-Blue Light Sunglasses Launched, Priced at 249 Yuan ($36)

Xiaomi has launched an anti-blue light sunglasses as its 70th product under the crowdfunded MIJIA sub-brand. The new product actually carried the Turok Steinhardt (TS) branding and was indeed manufactured by the company. The Xiaomi TS anti-Blu-ray sunglasses is capable of isolating blue and ultraviolet light and is comfortable to wear.

The Turok Steinhardt anti-Blue ray glasses is made of a yellow nano-material which offers three different level of protection. The glasses can be used for gaming and it protects the eyes from the powerful graphics which extreme games come with. It also offers usage for ophthalmic purposes, helping to absorb blue light rays up to 60%, thus protecting the eyes. It also protects the eyes against glares.

Read Also: Xiaomi Launches 199 Yuan ($29) Turok Steinhardt Sunglasses

The glasses comes in three different design styles which soothe the facial features of Asians. The frame is ultra-light at 7.5g and is very durable. The glasses also comes with adaptable nose pad which adapts to different types of faces whether oval, square or round.  The TS anti-Blue ray glasses costs only 249 Yuan ($36) and will start shipping from April 20.

(source)

Show Your Love for Mother Nature With The OPPO R9s Fresh Green Limited Edition

Last week, OPPO announced it was going to release the R9s in green. The phone, called the OPPO R9s Fresh Green Limited Edition is now official and will be available for purchase starting on the 27th of March.

OPPO R9s Fresh Green Limited Edition

OPPO says the new color was inspired by its popularity during the International Fashion Week Show and the Grammy Awards. Fellow Chinese manufacturer, Huawei also has its latest flagship, the P10 available in the same color variant.

OPPO says the R9s Fresh Green Limited Edition retains the same design language present on the other color variants. Its metal body has undergone an anodic oxidation process and is also scratch and fingerprint resistant.

The R9s Fresh Green Limited Edition still comes with a 5.5*inch 1080p display, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of built-in storage, and is powered by a Snapdragon 625 processor. There is a 16MP sensor on the rear and another one up front. Under the hood is a 3010mAh battery.

READ MORE: OPPO F3 Plus Shows Upon GFXBench: Dual Front Cameras, 4GB RAM, SD 653 but Android 6.0

Samsung Exynos vs Qualcomm Snapdragon: Why Exynos Still Isn’t Commercial

Samsung manufactures the Exynos chip which directly rivals the Snapdragon chip manufactured by US chipmaker Qualcomm. It is obviously a cost-saving measure for smartphone makers to have their own chip. Apple does that with its own A-series lineup, Huawei has got the Hisilicon Kirin range and then Chinese phone maker Xiaomi just joined the fray with its own Surge S1 chip which made ts debut recently on the Mi 5C. Despite the cost-saving nature of having its own Exynos chip, do you ever wonder why Samsung doesn’t use the Exynos chips on all its models? Or why the Korean giant doesn’t commercialise the powerful chip? Read on.

As it stands, the Exynos chips usually make their way to Asia and Europe while the US gets a Snapdragon variant, although sometimes these things change. Despite the fact that Samsung’s Exynos chips have always been shown on benchmark tests to be a little more superior than their Qualcomm contemporaries, Samsung may never be able to market this chip to other smartphone manufacturers. We rarely hear of other brands packing Samsung chips except recently on the Meizu Pro 6 Plus which used an Exynos 8890.

Samsung being the largest manufacturer of smartphones in the world, cannot meet its own demands for chips but even if thy were able to satisfy their needs, they cannot commercialise their chip. It has now been revealed that Samsung actually tried to sell its Exynos chipsets but Qualcomm blocked the smartphone giant. This was revealed by a report released by the Fair Trade Commission which accused Qualcomm of abusing its market power. Qualcomm does this through its stronghold in the 3G and 4G patent it controls.  With these patents, Qualcomm was able to get Samsung to sign a license deal which prevents Samsung from selling modems and integrated chipsets for the next 25 years.

Read Also: Qualcomm Snapdragon Processors to be Rebranded as Snapdragon Mobile Platform

Qualcomm has been on the receiving end of accusation regarding anti-competitive practice. Now that this resolution is coming out from the Korea-based commission, it is hoped Qualcomm’s excesses could be curtailed in order to create a more competitive market. Who knows, we may find another which would dwarf the Snapdragon.

(source)

Red iPhone 7, 7 Plus Meets Stupendous Demand in China Before March 24 Launch

Apple has launched the iPhone 7 and iPhone7 Plus in a color variant of red. An estimated number of 73,410 iPhone 7 and 7 Plus units are expected to be available in China. The (RED) iPhones will be available for purchase from March 24 in China. JD.com, an online retailer from China has received more than 3,55,000 registrations for the red colored iPhones.

Even though over 3,55,000 people have registered on JD.com for the (RED) iPhones, it is unlikely that all of them will purchase the red iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. Since these are not pre-orders, registering for it does not charge any money and no units are reserved.

These special edition iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have the same specs as the original iPhone 7 models that were introduced in September last year. However, a diehard iPhone fan may not want to miss the opportunity of purchasing a special edition of iPhone 7 in red.

Red iPhone 7

Related: Color Me Red: iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Gets New Color Variant

Apple has launched the red colored iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in collaboration with a non-profit organization called Product (RED) that creates awareness and gathers funds for eradicating HIV/AIDS in Africa. In the past, Apple has worked with Product (RED) to release (RED) variants of accessories like iPhone cases, Apple Watch sports bands, and more.  It has also released (RED) options for iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano and iPod Touch.

Red iPhone 7 and 7 Plus

The (RED) iPhone 7 with 128 GB is priced at $749 and the iPhone 7 Plus with 128 GB storage is available for $869. in the U.S., Apple has confirmed that every customer who purchases (RED) iPhone 7 and 7 Plus phones will be provided with free Personal Setup in-store or online. Every purchase of (RED) products from Apple contributes directly to global fund to eliminate AIDS. So far, Apple has raised more than $130 million by selling its (RED) products.

(source)

Mysterious LeEco XiubalerR Phone Spotted with Android 7.1.2 Nougat, Helio X20

A new LeEco smartphone has appeared on Geekbench benchmarking platform. The mysterious LeEco phone is listed with a codename of LeEco XiubalerR on Geekbench.

It seems to be running on Android 7.1.2 Nougat OS and it is fueled by MediaTek MT6797 Helio X20 chipset. The SoC features a deca-core processor that clocks at 1.85 GHz and it is coupled with 3 GB of RAM.

The LeEco XiubalerR mobile has recorded a score of 1,619 on single-core test of Geekbench. On multi-core test, it has scored 3,833 points. As of this writing, there is no information available on the display, camera and battery of the mysterious LeEco XiubalerR phone.

LeEco-XiubaleR-Geekbench

Related: LeEco To Focus on TV Business in India with Offline Marketing; Confirms on Not Quitting the Country

It is interesting to see Android 7.1.2 Nougat running on the phone as Google has released its second beta earlier this week. It is currently available to select devices like Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel C, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X and Nexus Player. Hence, rumors are also hinting that it may not be a new phone, but a LeEco prototype that is being tested with an upcoming Android 7.1.2 Nougat version.

Meanwhile, the Chinese manufacturer has started teasing a new smartphone that is pegged to deliver better performance and battery life. It is speculated to be driven by Helio X27 chipset that offers impressive performance with less power consumption. This new phone is expected to get official in the next month, but the company has not revealed any information on its upcoming smartphone. Other sources have revealed that the company would be launching a new device on April 11.

The LeEco Le X850 is another rumored smartphone from the Chinese firm. It has already received approval from TENAA and 3C certification bodies in China.

It is rumored to feature 2K resolution supporting 5.7-inch display and Snapdragon 821 SoC. It is pegged to come in RAM options like 4 GB and 6 GB. It is also speculated to be available in storage models like 32 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB. A 3,900 mAh battery is rumored to house the Le X850.

(source)

Two New Meizu Smartphones with 18W Fast Charge Support Receive 3C Certification

Meizu has been receiving a lot of attention lately centred around the use of a Qualcomm Snapdragon chips on its smartphones this year. But that has been shown to be a product that would launch towards the end of the year. Right now, two new Meizu smartphone models have appeared online after receiving 3C certification, showing some details.

meizu

The two models include the Meizu M741Y which had earlier appeared online when it received radio transmission approval and the M714A which we are meeting for the first time. As usual, the 3C certification page often reveals very scanty details and in this case, it shows the two Meizu models would come with 18W fast charge. The identity of the two models are still not clear but they are believed to be two versions of a particular model.

Specifically, the smartphones are touted to be versions of the Meizu S which is likely to drop next month. While one of the versions may run on YunOS, the other one may be Android-based. Also, the radio approval showed the model M714Y will have entire network support which is likely applicable to the M714A. Even though we think this may be the Meizu S, there are sources who say that Meizu will launch the Meizu E2 next month with a MediaTek Helio P25 processor onboard. So it’s possible this would be the Meizu E2.

Read Also: Meizu To Release Qualcomm Powered Phone By The End of 2017 Reveals VP Li Nan

So it’s possible this would be the Meizu E2 equipped with the Helio P25 chip which MediaTek just announced recently. The Helio P25 is an upgrade over the P20 built on a 16nm manufacturing process. The chip is an Octa-core SoC which brings in a substantial increase in data transmission efficiency while also reducing heat and power consumption. We’re not sure how true this is.

Meizu sure seems to have a lot of surprises lined up for release this year and more details or rumours about their products are still coming out. The first Snapdragon-powered Meizu phone is said to likely pack a Snapdragon 625 chip which analyst Pan Jiutang believes is good enough. The analyst also thinks there may be other Snapdragon models but not likely any flagship SoC. The details keep getting more interesting. We’ll certainly serve you more details as they emerge.

Casio Pro Trek WSD-F20S, a Limited Edition Smartwatch Announced With Premium Features

In January, Casio had announced the Casio Pro Trek WSD-F20 smartwatch running on Android Wear 2.0 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2017. It is a rugged smartwatch that comes with MIL-STD-810G rating that can withstand harsh climatic conditions. Casio has now announced its new and powerful edition called Casio Pro Trek WSD-F20S smartwatch that is built for outdoor activities.

The WSD-F20S Casio smartwatch is a limited-edition model as the company has planned to produce only 500 units. It is fundamentally the same smartwatch as WSD-F20, but it now comes with some advanced rugged features.

The Casio Pro Trek WSD-F20S comes in a refreshed black case decked with blue elements and it is flanked with a sapphire glass display. The buttons, screen, buckle and free loop of the smartwatch is fortified with ion plating. The strap of the WSD-F20S has a semi-glossy appearance. These premium features have been added to the smartwatch to make it a scratch-resistant luxurious timepiece. Apart from these changes, its other specs are same as the original model.

Casiio Pro Trek WSD-F20S

Related: Android Wear 2.0: Top 8 Features and Complete List of Smartwatches to Get New Update

The Pro Trek WSD-F20S has a 1.32-inch dual-layer screen with color and monochrome modes. It automatically switches to the monochrome mode when its battery goes low. It is packed with various sensors such as pressure sensor, compass, gyrometer, and accelerometer. It is water resistant smartwatch that can remain undamaged even if it is submerged in 50 meters deep water.

Like the original model, the Pro Trek WSD-F20S has a low-power consuming GPS with offline functionality. Since it is running on Android Wear 2.0, it is compatible with Android phones running on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean or higher and iPhones with iOS 9 or above. Once charged, the battery of the smartwatch can last for more than a day with normal use. It measures 61.7 x 57.7 x 15.1 mm and its weight is 105 grams.

The limited-edition Casio Pro Trek WSD-F20S will go on sale across the world from June 2017. The new Casio smartwatch is expected to be priced at $500 and it will be available in a special case with a triangle-shaped lid. It will be showcased at Baselworld in Basel, Switzerland later this week.

(source)