Schedule of Top Events at MWC 2017

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Feb 25, 2017

There is hardly any unknown detail about LG’s next flagship, the LG G6. From screen size to screen type, processor, battery and optics, we have covered it all. Notwithstanding, there still seems to be more details cropping up. What we have today is an image of the device in all the possible color variants it will be launched in.

The leaked image comes from Evan Blass (@evleaks) and we can see the LG G6 in Mystic White, Astro Black, and Ice Platinum. The Ice Platinum variant should be familiar already to those who saw the first real life image of the device.

ASUS Zenfone Live Launched: 5″ IPS Display, Beauty Filter, Selfie Flash & More

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Feb 24, 2017

ASUS has added a budget smartphone to its Zenfone lineup going by the name Zenfone Live. The ASUS Zenfone Live recently leaked in renders and specs as Zenfone 3 Go but surprisingly, it appeared officially with a different name. The Zenfone Live bears the model number, ZB501KL, and the images as well as specs align with each other, so there is no doubt they are one and the same smartphone.

Specs wise, the Zenfone Live sports a 5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. The device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset but the exact chipset wasn’t disclosed. There is 2GB of RAM inside the smartphone as well as 16GB or 32GB of internal storage.

Perhaps, the most awesome feature on the Zenfone Live is the main camera setup which has an individual pixel size of 1.4µm pixel, f/2.0 aperture and 82-degree field of view. The rear camera is a 13MP shooter while up front, there is a 5MP sensor with soft light LED selfie flash. More spectacular is the BeautyLive app which the smartphone packs which lets you apply beautification filter on your face and also stream videos live from either the front or rear camera. Obviously, the smartphone is intended for selfie enthusiasts and it sure delivers.

In addition, the ASUS Zenfone Live is kept alive by a rather disappointing 2,650mAh battery which is even non-removable. It runs ZenUI 3.0 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. There is also dual MEMS microphones onboard the device which brings clarity to the voice during conversation, reducing background noise.

ASUS is yet to disclose the pricing and availability details of the Zenfone Live but you can keep a tab on the new device on ASUS’ official page.

Xiaomi is Launching another Crowdfunded Product Feb 28. Can You Guess the Product?

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Feb 24, 2017

Yet again, Xiaomi is churning out another crowdfunded smart home product, with the company revealing a February 28 launch date along with a poster on Weibo which teases what the product would likely be. We don’t know for sure what the product is but perhaps you could check the teaser out and maybe make a wild guess.

Xiaomi seems to be on a releasing spree since the beginning of the year, especially from the crowdfunded platform. We have so far seen products ranging from the Populele (Smart Ukulele), Turok Steinhardt sunglasses, intelligent flower pot, fire alarm/smoke detector, smart rearview mirror, children watches etc, and now this upcoming product.

The product would be launched on February 28 which is just next Tuesday and from the teaser, it is likely a…..Guess this one. Well, if you think this is likely a sofa meant for the outdoors, sunbathing and such like, then we are on the same page.

Last year, the Mijia brand products posted amazing sales figures running into millions in the number of units sold and millions of yuan in revenue. The company has set a tall mission for itself in terms of revenue generation this year in a bid to reclaim its place in the global and domestic smartphone markets. The Mijia brand is a very vital part of that mission.

Huawei P10 Standard version with 4GB RAM, 5.1″ Display Also Spotted on GFXBench

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Feb 24, 2017

A version of Huawei‘s upcoming P10 flagship, likely the standard version, has appeared on benchmark website GFXBench. The Huawei P10 had first made an appearance on GFXBench around November last year revealing some key details about the device. It is now certain that that was the high-end version of the P10.

Among the details listed on the earlier GFXBench appearance include a 6GB RAM and 256GB of storage. Others include a 5.5-inch QHD display, Android Nougat OS and a Kirin 960 chip clocked at 2.3GHz. The camera is listed as a 12MP rear camera and an 8MP front camera.

In contrast, the latest version of the P10 listed specifically as Huawei P10 (VTR-xxx) sports a reduced 5.1-inch 1080p display. The device is listed with the same Kirin 960 processor clocked at 2.3GHz but there is just 4GB of RAM onboard the smartphone as well as 64GB of storage likely expandable. In the camera aspect, this latest version aligns with the previously listed one, packing a 12MP rear shooter and an 8MP selfie shooter.

It is likely that this version is the standard version of the P10 considering the differences in the specs. The previously listed P10 is thus likely the higher version of the P10. What brings more confusion into the mix is the smaller display size it features. That may likely be an error but in the long run, both versions may feature the same screen size and would most likely have the same design. The Huawei P10 would meet with us, full specs in tow at MWC 2017 which is just at the corner.

Xiaomi Pinecone Processor: Everything you need to know!

By

Joel Joseph

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Feb 24, 2017

It will be a historic moment for Xiaomi on February 28, when the company will announce its first ever processor, the Xiaomi Pinecone at a conference in China. We have seen Xiaomi’s innovative strategies work out in almost every area where it placed its bets, but processors are not easily developed in-house. If it was easy, you would have seen lots of smartphone chipmakers in the market. But there aren’t many, and it is no surprise that only tech giants like Apple, Samsung and Huawei have managed to successfully develop commercial chipsets for its smartphones. But Xiaomi is nowhere nearly as big as these three giants and it would really be interesting to see the company’s take on its own chipsets.

There are currently a lot of questions and doubts regarding the Xiaomi Pinecone chipset and I’ll try to explain most of the questions regarding the processor in this article. Read on to know more about one of the most important products from Xiaomi till date.

XIAOMI PINECONE

Xiaomi has been eyeing to develop in-house chipsets for quite some time now and we started hearing rumors and reports about this as early as 2015. Lei Jun’s plan to make independently developed chipsets seems to have kick started after the big deal in 2014. At the start of November 2014, a company called Beijing Songguo Electronics (also called as Beijing Pinecone Electronics) entered an agreement with Leadcore Technology Ltd., a Chinese IC design company for ‘SDR1860 platform technology transfer contract’ at 103 million Yuan (~$15 million USD).

Now, initially, when Datang Group (make note of this name as it will come again) announced this deal officially, there wasn’t much thought given to its relation to Xiaomi. But soon, it was found that two of Xiaomi’s employees, who were responsible for research and technical development at Xiaomi also worked at Beijing Pinecone Electronics. This revealed that Xiaomi controlled Beijing Pinecone Electronics, which also meant the company’s plans to develop its own processor got a significant boost.

Fast forward to March 2015 and we saw the first fruit of this deal, the Xiaomi Redmi 2A. It was the first Xiaomi smartphone to be powered by a Leadcore chipset and one of the first steps towards working together with Leadcore to develop its own chip. It was one of the best super cheap smartphones of the time, costing just 599 Yuan ($88).

Since then, we haven’t really seen a Leadcore powered Xiaomi smartphone, probably because Xiaomi was busy developing its own in-house Pinecone processor. But we will surely see the fruits of the past two years on February 28.

So, now you must be wondering why would Xiaomi develop its own in-house processors, when it can continue to rely on established chipmakers like Qualcomm and Mediatek, who are experts in this field.

There are a number of possible reasons for this:

First of all, Xiaomi is one of the world’s top smartphone companies and its sales exceed 50 million each year. Given the high amount of smartphone sales and the prospective growth, it actually makes sense to invest money in R&D for an independent chipset. The cost of developing an in-house chip is huge and it gets distributed among the millions of units in sales. If your scale is not large enough, it wouldn’t make sense to spend so much for a self-developed processor.
Despite the company trying to sell more high-end smartphones, the majority of the phones sold by Xiaomi is from the low-end to mid-range segment. It is a price sensitive market and you have to make sure that your smartphone is priced aggressively in order to have an edge over the competitor. Given the rising cost of components, it becomes really hard to limit the costs to the current levels. Using an in-house chip could help in bringing down the cost. Every dollar counts in the low-end market.
Another good reason for developing in-house chipset is the lack of good choices available for Xiaomi. There are five major chipmakers in the smartphone market today — Qualcomm, MediaTek, Apple, Samsung, and Huawei. Qualcomm chipsets are costly, so not ideal for low-end to mid-range market where prices have to be kept near cost; MediaTek’s chipsets are decent, but they are not really up to the mark as compared to Qualcomm and MTK’s reputation is not really stellar; then comes Samsung, whose chipsets are not mass produced in very large quantities (as compared to the other two) and Meizu seems to be the only notable manufacturer getting Exynos chipset orders. Finally, there’s Apple and Huawei whose processors are exclusively used by their own smartphones, so not something that Xiaomi can get hold of.
In-house chips could also offer Xiaomi better bargaining power from the likes of Qualcomm and MediaTek for its other models, as the two chipmakers know Xiaomi doesn’t have to rely entirely on their processors.
International expansion is also made possible with the help of in-house chipset with its own 4G modem. Remember Leadcore is a subsidiary of the state-owned Datang Group, which has a lot of patents under its belt.
Having your own processor gives you greater control over supply chain and product cycles.
A self-developed processor will help in better optimization of hardware and software which is very important in the best performance of the smartphone.
Finally, to be able to achieve something as making your own processors puts you in the big league, with the big three giants, Apple, Samsung, and Huawei. It’s an elite club and will definitely enhance the overall brand image of the company. Lei Jun wants Xiaomi to be regarded as an innovative tech company and Xiaomi Pinecone along with products like the Xiaomi Mi Mix will definitely help the CEO realize this goal.

Xiaomi is reported to have had around 200-300 people employed to work on the development of its in-house chipset around early 2016. And in the initial stage, the Xiaomi Pinecone chipset is said to power the widely leaked Xiaomi Mi 5C smartphone.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note series would also be an ideal potential candidate for the Pinecone processor given it’s one of the best selling lineups of the company and is priced aggressively.

Now coming to another important part: Xiaomi Pinecone Specs

At this moment, the Xiaomi Pinecone processor is said to come in two variants — V670 and V970.

Xiaomi Pinecone V670

So, the Pinecone 1 (V670) is the less powerful version of the two and will be a mid-range chipset. Here are the rumored details of this chipset:

CPU: 4 x Cortex A53 @ 2.2GHz + 4 x Cortex A53 @ 1.7GHz

GPU: ARM Mali-T860 MP4 @800MHz

Process: SMIC 28nm HKMG

Launch: February 2017

Before we move onto the chip’s expected performance, let’s first wonder why Xiaomi Pinecone 1 is manufactured using SMIC’s 28nm process. Some would argue that Xiaomi should have used much-advanced manufacturing node, something like a 14nm process for its first ever independent processor.

There are multiple reasons for this, the major one being the cost. The Pinecone chipset should be giving Xiaomi an edge in pricing its products and the 28nm process is much cheaper than something like the 14nm / 16nm processes used by rival chipsets. Another major reason is that 28nm is enough to meet the performance of eight Cortex A53 cores. Also, Datang Holdings has invested in SMIC, so it’s easier to get a good deal for manufacturing its chipsets.

Xiaomi Pinecone (V670) Performance:

While the chip is yet to be released and tested officially, leaks suggest that the Pinecone 1 should be placed above MTK Helio P10 and Snapdragon 625 in terms of performance. We have already seen the Xiaomi Meri (another name for Xiaomi Mi 5C) on Geekbench with decent performance.

xiaomi meri geekbench — Xiaomi Meri Geekbench Score

Xiaomi Pinecone V970:

The Xiaomi Pinecone V970, the flagship grade chipset is said to come with impressive specs.

CPU: 4 x Cortex A73 @ 2.7GHz + 4 x Cortex A53 @ 2.0GHz

GPU: Mali-G71 MP12 @ 900MHz

Process: 10nm Samsung

Launch: Q4 2017

Definitely looks like an interesting chipset for Xiaomi’s flagship phones, but for the time being, expect the top-end models from the company to continue using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8XX processors. At this point, we have no info on its performance but the specs definitely instill confidence in the chip.

Of course, these specs, although detailed are rumored and only after Xiaomi officially announces the Pinecone processor, we will know the exact details.

I hope this clears most of the questions regarding the company’s upcoming pinecone processors.

So, what do you think about the company’s move to release self-developed Pinecone chipset?

Xiaomi Mi 5C Hits GFXbench: Specs and Processor Details Revealed

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Feb 24, 2017

The Xiaomi Mi 5C is rumored to be the first Xiaomi smartphone that would feature the in-house Pinecone processor that would be unveiled on the 28th of this month in China. The Mi 5C is also expected to be released along with the Pinecone chipset on that day and ahead of the event, the Mi 5C has made an appearance on benchmark website GFXBench.

The expected specs of the Xiaomi smartphone isn’t a secret one but the GFXBench listing comes as a reminder. According to the listing, the Xiaomi Mi 5C comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p display and would have 3GB of storage as well as 64GB of internal storage. There is also a 12MP rear camera as well as an 8MP front-facing camera. The smartphone runs MIUI 8 based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat.

The most important part of the listing is the aspect of the processor where the device is listed with an octa-core Cortex-A53 processor with a top frequency of 2.1GHz and a base frequency of 1.4GHz. Powering the graphics is a Mali-T860 GPU. No doubt, the configuration fits those of the Pinecone chip.

Sadly, the device is listed as not having NFC onboard but there are connectivity options like WiFi, GPS and others. It is also coming with a single slot for SIM card. Just to reminder you, though, that GFXbench’s data are not always accurate, so until Xiaomi takes the veil off the Mi 5C, we can’t say for sure if these are the actual specs.

LG X Power 2 with Large Battery, Android 7.0 Nougat Announced

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Feb 23, 2017

Korean electronics giant LG has quietly unveiled a smartphone but this isn’t the much-expected G6. The smartphone somehow deflects attention from expected flagship which would be launched in a few days time. The time around, the LG X Power 2 (specs) is the device launched and it is a successor to the X Power. It could be recalled that LG launched the X Power around this time last year but the display and battery sizes are smaller than the new model.

The LG X Power 2 this time around, lives up to its name by packing a large 4500mAh battery under its hood. The X Power 2’s battery is touted to last all weekend without recharging and as capable of providing up to 15 hours of video play, navigational directions for 14 hours, and about 18 hours of web browsing on a single charge. Even when the battery gets drained, there is fast charging support such that it can get fully charged in just 2 hours.

In other specs, the LG X Power 2 sports a 5.5-inch HD In-cell touch display and is powered by an unknown chip model which is an octa-core chip with 1.5GHz frequency. The processor is supported by 2GB of RAM of which 1.5GB is available, while there is 16GB of storage which is expandable up to 2TB via microSD.

On the camera end, LG has crammed a capable 13MP sensor on the rear camera with wide angle view and LED flash. While on the front aspect, there is an ample 5MP sensor for selfies. The X Power 2 runs on Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box and features a host of network/connectivity features like Wi-Fi (802.11 b, g, n), Bluetooth 4.2, USB 2.0, 4G LTE, 3G, 2G etc. The entire device has a dimension of 154.7 x 78.1 x 8.4mm and weighs 164g.

The LG X Power 2 is available in black, titanium, blue, and gold colors and would hit the market starting from March after it is showcased at MWC 2017. The price is yet to be revealed.

Xiaomi Mi 6 To Get Enough Supply Of Snapdragon 835 Chips, Says Analyst

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Feb 23, 2017

One authentic source of information about the Chinese smartphone market has for a while now been Kevin Wang, research director at IHS China. Recently, Mr. Wang took to his Weibo (China’s Twitter) page to unleash some details about the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 6 and its impending launch with the Snapdragon 835 SoC.

The rumor mills have been spinning consistently in several directions concerning the details of the Mi 6. It is rumored in some quarters that the device would launch with a lower version of the SD 835 since Samsung is reserving the higher version for its Galaxy S8 flagship, while some others say the Mi 6 would come in a number of versions in order to mitigate the shortage of the SD 835 chip that would arise from low yield of the 10nm process and Samsung using it on its own Galaxy S8.

The analyst has come out to reveal that the Mi 6 would not suffer from a shortage of Snapdragon 835 chip when it launches this March. The analyst seems to suggest that both the Galaxy S8 and Mi 6 would be released this March just as rumored. In continuation of his bare-it-all Weibo posts, the analyst also disclosed that the Mi 6 would use the Snapdragon 835 processor with full processor frequency and that there is no low version of the device as rumored.

The Xiaomi Mi 6 is said to feature a 5.2-inch TFT display with 1080p resolution.The device is expected with a flat display, a single camera at the rear and also will ditch the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor on the Mi 5S for the tradition fingerprint sensor. Sales are expected to commence in April this year.

Physical QWERTY Keyboard Slider Moto Mod Arriving Soon

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Feb 23, 2017

Sharay Shams, the Middle East General Manager for Smartphones for Lenovo had confirmed recently that the company would be launching 12 Moto Mods in this year. Recently, a walkie-talkie Moto Mod by Linc was spotted on Indiegogo crowdfunding site. Now, a new Moto Mod with QWERTY keyboard slider has surfaced on the site.

The QWERTY keyboard has a landscape design with five rows of keys and its top line of keys is occupied by numerals. The alphabet keys along with other keys are present on the next three rows.

It has a big-sized Enter key that occupy on the second and third row at the right side. The fifth row features a large-sized Space bar. The reason why this Moto Mod comes with a landscape mode rather than a portrait design is that the former can feature larger keys for better typing experience.

The keyboard also features a 2,100 mAh battery. LivermoriumLtd, the developer of the project has expressed on Reddit that if sufficient funds are accumulated, Qi wireless charging feature will be added to the keyboard. There is a Motorola batwing logo present on the Moto Mod QWERTY slider keyboard.

Indiegogo has a dedicated page that says that this Moto Mod is arriving soon. Users who are interested can add their email address on that page to register for it to receive new updates on it. It is expected to be a quality product because it will not only be designed by a professional team but also it will undergo manufacturing at Foxconn. The physical keyboard Moto Mod is targeted to be available for shipping in June.

It seems that when the physical QWERTY slider is in use on Moto Z or Moto Z Play, users will not be able to access the rear camera. The current design of the sliding Moto Mod keyboard suggest that it will slide-out in such a manner that it will be blocking a small part of the rear camera. On Reddit, users can provide their suggestions or feedback on the proposed design.

As of this writing, its pricing has not been announced. LivermoriumLtd is also considering a gamepad Moto Mod, but currently the developer is mainly focusing on releasing a general QWERTY keyboard that can appeal all users. The physical QWERTY keyboard slider Moto Mod will work on Moto Z, Moto Z Force, Moto Z Play and their Droid versions.

(source)

Huawei Watch 2 Press Renders: Complete Sporty Appeal, Cellular Connectivity Revealed

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Feb 23, 2017

The Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017 is drawing near. Huawei has been heavily pegged to announce the P10 and P10 Plus flagships at the upcoming event. Previous rumors have hinted that the company may also unveil Huawei Watch 2 smartwatch. Evan Blass, the well-known leakster has now revealed the alleged press renders of Huawei Watch 2 which reveals that it will be coming with a sportier appeal.

According to the leakster, the Huawei Watch 2 is codenamed as “Leo.” The original Huawei Watch came with a classy appeal, but leaked press renders suggest that its successor appears to have a very sporty look. It has a rugged appeal and it features two physical buttons on its right edge. The strap of the Huawei Watch 2 seems to be made of rubber.

Another render of the smartwatch suggests that it features a SIM card slot for cellular connectivity. A report from the previous month did reveal that the Chinese manufacturer’s upcoming smartwatch would carry support for cellular connectivity.

There is no confirmation whether the smartwatch would be supporting only 3G or 4G LTE networks. With cellular connectivity onboard, Huawei Watch 2 users will be able to use it as a standalone device to make phone and receive phone calls without the need of pairing it with a smartwatch.

The Huawei Watch 2 press renders reveals that it would be coming in three color choices such as black, orange and grey (with white speckles). The device is expected to run on Android Wear 2.0 and rival with the recently announce LG Watch Sport.

Rumors from the January month have claimed that it would be a 42 mm smartwatch featuring a 1.4-inch display. Even though fresh press renders of Huawei Watch 2 hints that it would be available with a sporty appeal, last month’s leaks revealed that it will be also coming in leather and stainless steel versions.

As of this writing, there is no information available on the specifications, pricing and availability of the Huawei Watch 2. These details are expected to get officially announced at Huawei’s upcoming press event on Sunday at 5 AM PST.

(source)

Meizu Heading to MWC 2017 to Launch mCharge 4.0

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Feb 23, 2017

Meizu earlier today announced through its Twitter page that it will be showing off a new technology its been working on for over a year at MWC 2017. The announcement was accompanied by a teaser image.

The image is of a lightning bolt and has the text “faster than ever” below it. Its evident from the image that what Meizu plans to announce is related to charging. But we got a little info from an industry source to confirm.

According to the source, Meizu is planning to announce mCharge 4.0. mCharge is Meizu’s trademark name for its fast charging technology and it will be unveiling the 4th generation of the technology. mCharge 4.0 is said to use 9V4A, offering up to 36W of power.

Comparing that to Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 4.0, Meizu’s mCharge supplies more power. Quick Charge 4.0 on the other hand still uses 9V2A (18W) but is 20% more efficient than QC 3.0 due to its use of Dual Charge technology. It is also better as the charging temperature is lower by 5°c and has support for USB Power Delivery.

Huawei and Insta360 to Launch Honor VR Camera

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Feb 23, 2017

Huawei launched the Honor V9 and announced a bunch of other items still under the Honor brand earlier this week. In spite of that, the Chinese manufacturer doesn’t seem to be done. Huawei has also announced that it plans to release a 360° camera add-on device called the Honor VR Camera.

The Honor VR Camera is the result of a partnership with Insta360, a company known for making add-on cameras for phones. Huawei bundles the Honor V9 phone with a pair of cardboard-like VR glasses. The Honor VR Camera is probably a nice addition in case you need to make your own VR content.

The CEO of Insta360, JK Liu said during the announcement that “Like us, Huawei is committed to reinventing photography, and they believe in our products as the best way to introduce users to the future of the camera.”

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Chuwi LapBook 15.6″ Review – A Solid Budget Laptop

By

Linus

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Feb 23, 2017

Chuwi is a well-known budget tablet and laptop maker from China. I just came across their LapBook 15.6” model that has a sleek design, decent specs and it costs just about $240. I’ve used this laptop for quite some time and here is my full review.

UNBOXING

The tablet ships in quite a simple box and inside of it, you can find just some paperwork, USB brick and a power cable.

HARDWARE and DISPLAY

The design is one of they key selling points of this laptop, in my opinion. The LapBook is made of quality matt plastic, which is nice to the touch and it does not attract fingerprints or smudges easily.

Also, I love how thin it is but it is quite heavy for an ultrabook since it weighs over 1.8kg. The weight is not an issue for me as I always prefer a larger battery pack. Chuwi implemented a 10.000mAh battery that performs just great but more on that later on.

We have a 15.6” 1080p display, which is good but not great. It is pretty sharp, the colours look pretty nice and it has a matt anti-glare coating, so you won’t get those annoying reflections. However, it could be slightly brighter and the vertical viewing angles are bad. That means that you will end up adjusting the display to avoid washed out colours. Also, the bezels on the left and right sides are not equal, which may look a little bit weird at the first glance.

Just above the display, we have a 2MP camera, which is just okay for video chats as it supports videos of only 480p.

I love the keyboard on this laptop. The buttons are tactile and responsive, and it takes just a few minutes to get used to it and start typing quickly. The one thing that is missing is the screen brightness buttons.

Just above the keyboard, you have two mics and indicator lights.

The trackpads on cheap laptops are usually bad but this one is pretty good. It supports all the Windows 10 gestures and it is responsive.

On the left, we have a DC power input, USB 3.0 port and the micro HDMI out port.

On the right, you can find another USB 3.0 port, a microSD card slot that supports cards up to 128GB and a 3.5mm headset jack. The quality of sound using a headset is decent.

I like that the rubber feet give a good grip with the table and the laptop does not slide at all. Also, we have the bottom-mounted speakers, which are just terrible.

The sound is tinny, flat and to put it simply, the speakers are annoyingly bad.

SPECS and PERFORMANCE

The Chuwi LapBook has a quad-core Atom Z8350 chip, 4GB RAM and 64GB of expandable storage. It’s worth mentioning that the RAM is clocked at 1066Mhz speed, which is kind of slow.

The day-to-day performance, however, is pretty good. The fully activated Windows 10 runs fine once do all the basic stuff like edit word documents, browse the web, watch Youtube videos and so on. However, I noticed that the browsing experience using the Google Chrome is a bit choppy, so I suggest using the Microsoft Edge browser.

The Atom Z83X0 chip is not designed for gamers but you should be able to run some games like Asphalt 8 without any issues if you change graphics settings to medium. Playing the same game on the highest graphics is impossible. Finally, the LapBook tends to get quite warm but I didn’t notice any overheating issues like thermal throttling.

BATTERY LIFE

Obviously, the battery life is very subjective on laptops and it depends on your usage. I was able to get about 6-7 hours of screen on time while keeping the display brightness at 50-75% and doing just the basic stuff like browsing the web, editing a few documents, watching videos and so on. That is a pretty good result.

CONNECTIVITY

As far as connectivity goes, I have no complaints except for the fact that there is no 5GHz Wifi support. Other than that, Wifi range and speed is decent and the Bluetooth works just fine.

CONCLUSIONS

The Chuwi LapBook aims to be a great all-around budget laptop that runs on Windows 10 and it succeeds in a lot of ways.

First of all, it has a great design and build quality, the keyboard is comfortable to type on and the laptop has a large 15.6” display. While it is not perfect, as the vertical viewing angles could be better, it is a decent panel overall.

Also, I love that the laptop performs pretty well for the basic stuff that is designed for. I didn’t have any app compatibility issues and the Windows 10 has quite a lot of features to play with, just like any other laptop. Finally, the battery life is pretty solid considering the size of the display.

However, there are some shortcomings. In addition to the poor vertical viewing angles of the display, the external speakers are just terrible, the front facing camera supports just 480p video resolution, there is not 5GHz wifi support and finally, don’t expect a great gaming performance. In other words, the LapBook was designed for neither gamers nor video editors.

At the end of the day, every cheap laptop has to have some compromises to justify a low price tag, so does the Chuwi LapBook. I think this laptop offers quite a lot of value for the price, even with all the shortcomings. In fact, it may be one of the best options for under $250 at the moment.. but as always, it all comes to your personal preference and if these shortcomings are important to you or not.

Buy Chuwi LapBook

Apple, Foxconn and TSMC Among Top Bidders for Toshiba’s Flash Memory Business

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Feb 23, 2017

Toshiba plans to sell a part of its stake in its flash memory business to investors. The list of interested bidders are pretty impressive. Big names like Apple, Microsoft, Foxconn, and TSMC are all interested.

The report comes from Japanese stock market index Nikkei, which says Toshiba is asking bidders to value its operations at about 2 trillion yen ($17.6 billion) and make at least a 50% investment.

Initially, Toshiba’s plan was to limit the stake to 20% or less, allowing it to retain control. But it must have changed its mind due to its financial woes. Last year the company recorded a profit of 110 billion yen ($973.5 million) during a physical year that ended in March.

Fast forward to February 14, and Toshiba announced that its net worth would drop to 150 billion yen ($1.3 billion) without swift action. The cause is said to be related to an accountancy scandal and losses from its nuclear operations.

Toshiba is the largest supplier of flash memory to Apple. If Apple invests in the company, it will be to its own advantage as memory shipment prices can be kept low.

Other bidders interested in investing in Toshiba include Western Digital, Micron Technology, and SK Hynix.

(Source)

Dingdong A1 Takes On Amazon Alexa and Google Home with Chinese Voice

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Feb 23, 2017

China is a country filled with talented individuals who are quite innovative in whatever they do. One aspect where the rich intellectual nature of the Chinese is very visible is in the aspect of producing the Chinese version of every product under the sun. If the West have got a Louis Vuitton handbag, chances are that there are thousands of Luis Vitton and other similar names with designs replicating the original product. That is just a minor aspect, though, but China has been able to replicate all products you’ll find in the west, ranging from car, airplanes, televisions, household items, smartphones and other smart gadgets and lots more. That doesn’t take away the fact that China’s has got its own array of amazing inventions.

Of late, Smart homes and smart home gadgets are taking over homes in the western world. Google and Amazon seem to be pioneering this aspect with their gadgets, the Google Home and Amazon Echo. And you know what, China has got its own Dingdong A1 smart home speaker which is said to square up to Amazon Echo and Google Home. The Dingding A1 is the brainchild of a Joint Venture (J.V) partnership between e-commerce guru Jingdong popularly called JD.com and iFlytek, a Chinese voice technology company. The partnership gave birth to Linglong Co which developed the Smart speaker.

The Dingdong A1 is a smart home speaker which comes with a conical shape and the ability to respond to questions , manage schedules, play music and connects with other household smart devices via WiFi. The Dingdong A1 does all that the Amazon Echo and Google Home are capable of but one edge it has over the duo is that it speaksChinese as well as English. Chinese users can even use the Smart speaker to learn how to speak English.

Read Also: Xiaomi 4K Mi Drone Finally Goes on Its First Sale on March 3

Dingdong A1 has a very cute voice command to wake it up. Just like the fictional Alibaba had the “open Sesame” phrase, the Dingdong A1 has “Dingdong, Dingdong” as its own command. The speaker comes with a ridiculously cheap price tag of 798 Yuan ($116) but even at that, it is not known yet if it would perform well in the market and if in the long run it is anywhere close to Google Home and Amazon’s Echo. A closer, hands-on comparison will need to be done to determine that.

Samsung Employee Not Optimistic About Xiaomi’s Pinecone Processor

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Feb 23, 2017

It is still a few days before Xiaomi unveils its Pinecone processor. While some are excited, others are skeptical about its success. A Samsung employee belongs to the latter group and he has his reasons.

The Samsung employee decided to air his thoughts about the Pinecone processor through his Weibo account @Galant V. According to a loose translation of his post, he isn’t optimistic about Xiaomi’s decision to go into chip manufacturing. He believes the company is not yet at the right stage and also has strong opponents to compete against. In addition to those reasons, he adds that chip development is a really big deal and costs a lot of money.

His points are valid but we think Xiaomi must have considered all the possible ways it might go wrong and found solutions to them. Xiaomi makes tons of stuffs, a majority being smart home products. Having its own chip inside all these products is something they must be certainly looking at.

Xiaomi Selfie Stick / Tripod With Bluetooth Remote Released For 89 Yuan ($13)

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Feb 23, 2017

If you think the selfie stick is cool, wait until you see the latest accessory Xiaomi just added on the Xiaomi Mall without any formal launch. It is a selfie stick which also doubles as a tripod stand for snapping selfies. Selfie snapping couldn’t get any easy and comfortable with the device which is priced at just 89 Yuan ($13).

Specs wise, the Xiaomi selfie stick also comes with a tripod stand and can be set on the table to snap a selfie pose without holding on to anything. Most of all, it comes with a Bluetooth remote control which enables it to connect to smartphones running Android 4.3 KitKat as well as iOS 5 and higher. It also has a self-counting timer such that it gives users time to pose properly before triggering the shutter. The remote control is attached to the stem of the device but can be removed and moved about as long as it is within the Bluetooth’s range.

From the hardware point of view, the Mi selfie stick comes with a lever made from aluminum alloy but with a handle pad for firm grip, making it impossible to slip off your hands. There is also a durable bracket meant to hold the smartphone which can rotate 360 degrees. Like other selfie sticks, it is foldable and very portable. Can fit easily into a small bag or even a pocket.

The Xiaomi Selfie stick with tripod comes in gray and black colors and as stated earlier, it goes for just 89 Yuan ($13). The device is available for purchase on Xiaomi mall.

Samsung Unveils Exynos 8895 Octa-Core Processor: First Exynos 9 Series Chip

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Feb 23, 2017

Samsung, today unveiled its first processor in the Exynos 9 Series. The new chip, called the Exynos 8895 is Samsung’s first 10nm processor. Samsung says the chip is already in mass production.

The Exynos 8895 brings a number of improvements such as a 27% increase in performance and a 40% decrease in power consumption. The SoC uses a combination of four second-gen custom CPU cores and four Cortex-A53 cores. For the GPU, it features a Mali-G71 MP20.

The Exynos 8895 has Cat. 16 LTE, offering up to 1Gbps in download speeds and 150Mbps (Cat. 13) in upload speeds. There is also a gigabit LTE modem that supports five carrier aggregation (5CA).

Samsung says its new chip comes with advanced Multi-Format Codec and supports 4K UHD recording and video playback at 120fps. For the cameras,the Exynos 8895 supports up to 28MP sensors for the rear and front cameras and a combination of a 28MP and 16MP sensor for a dual-camera combo.

There is also a Visual Processing Unit (VPU) designed for machine vision technology. This will be used to improve the recognition of an item or its movements by analyzing the visual information captured by the camera.

Key Details of New Nokia 3310 Leaked: Larger Color Display, Same Design and More

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Feb 23, 2017

The internet was in a frenzy last week when news of the Nokia 3310 being revived was broken. You might have thought people would be less excited about a feature phone that was first released 17 years ago. I guess HMD Global must have been surprised about the way people took the announcement.

Today we have new details about the upcoming phone. According to the source which was one of the first to report the revival of the Nokia 3310, the phone will have the following features:

It will remain a feature phone: even before HMD thought to re-release the Nokia 3310, there have been multiple renders of a new Nokia 3310 phone running android. Sorry to burst your bubbles, but this legend will remain a feature phone.
Same Design Language: the design of the phone will not look much different from back when it was released in year 2000. The only changes will be in the weight and thickness. That should not come as a surprise as phone components have shrunk in size allowing for slimmer and lighter phones to be made.
Larger Color Display: the original Nokia 3310 was released with a 84 x 84 monochromatic display but that will be upgraded to a larger color one. This new display will likely not be a high resolution type, so battery life should still be pretty strong.
Colorful Variants: Grey/black, blue and ash were the default colors of the Nokia 3310. However you could swap them for a variety of colorful cases made by third party manufacturers. This time the phone will be launched in multiple color variants including red, green, and yellow.