In the last week, Nokia had sued Apple for patent infringement in the U.S. and Germany. Following it, Apple has discontinued the sales of products from Withings, a company owned by Nokia.
Withings, a France based company known for making various health devices such as Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor, Activite fitness tracker, digital thermometer, and more was acquired by Nokia on April 26 this year. Withings’ products that were available for purchase on Apple Store is now no longer available because of the ongoing legal dispute over patent infringement and antitrust issues with Nokia.
Apple vs Nokia – Patent Battle History
In 2009, Nokia had sued the Cupertino company for infringing its patents. In 2011, both the companies mutually decided to use the patents until December this year.
Nokia once again started accusing Apple on patent infringements after Apple filed an antitrust suit. It stated that it filed a lawsuit again because Apple failed to reach the expectations of the licensing agreement.
According to Apple’s suit, Nokia and its partnering agencies that filed patent infringements are trying to extort exorbitant money in the form of excessive royalty fees. It has said that the Finnish firm is acting like a patent troll and it by filing an antitrust lawsuit against it, it is only ‘defending inventors everywhere.’
Nokia’s suit that spans across 11 countries accuse Apple of infringing 40 of its patents dating back to the first iPhone from 2007. The lawsuit covers various patents related to cover displays, UI, software, video coding and chipsets.
A poster recently surfaced on Weibo which contained the Mi logo, a boldly written number 6, as well as the date and time of launch of the expected device. Although its not explicitly stated that it is the Xiaomi Mi 6 that would be unveiled on that day, the clues point to the Mi 6. We must point out that the poster could be a fake, as it seems to have emanated from @kjuma who is becoming notorious for fake leaks. All the same, we can’t be so sure about that.
The Xiaomi Mi 6 is touted to come as Xiaomi’s most powerful phone till date and would be fired up by a Snapdragon 835 chip as well as sport a curved display on one of its versions. Several versions are touted such as Mi 6S, Mi 6E and Mi 6P with each of them rumored to have different processors. Xiaomi is yet to officially release any statement about the Mi 6, so we’ll wait for words from China’s Apple.
After the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 debacle, the South Korean company is expected to equip Galaxy S8 with stellar features to get back those customers who have lost faith in the brand. Fresh speculations indicate that the Galaxy S8 may arrive with 8 GB of RAM and UFS 2.1 flash storage.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 that was launched earlier this year features 4 GB of RAM. Previous rumors on Galaxy S8 had suggested that it would be featuring 6 GB of RAM and 256 GB native storage.
However, the S8 is now rumored to arrive with twice the amount of RAM present on Galaxy S7. Ice Universe, who is known for revealing leaked information of Samsung smartphones has revealed on Weibo that the Galaxy S8 will feature 8 GB of RAM built with 10 nm fabrication technology.
The leakster has also said that the Galaxy S8 would feature a newer and faster UFS 2.1 flash storage chip. The Galaxy Note 7 that has been discontinued featured a slower UFS 2.0 flash storage.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Rumors
Recent rumors have also suggested the S8 would be arriving in two editions. The Galaxy S8 is expected to feature a 5.1-inch display and the alleged Galaxy S8 Plus is pegged to incorporate a 6-inch display. Even though ‘edge’ is not present in their monikers, speculations are rife that both are likely to include dual-edge curved screens without Home buttons.
As early rumors have claimed, the Galaxy S8 smartphones for the U.S. and Chinese markets are poised to feature Snapdragon 835 SoC whereas other regions are expected to receive their Exynos 8895 SoC variants.
The larger Galaxy S8 is also speculated to be the first Samsung smartphone to come with a rear-facing dual camera module. The smaller variant is expected to house a single rear-facing camera.
Some of the other expected features of Galaxy S8 include Bluetooth 5.0, Android 7.0 Nougat with Samsung Experience UI onboard along with rumored Bixby (male) and Kestra (female) AI power assistants.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date, Price
The Galaxy S7 was announced in February this year, but new information coming from South Korea have claimed that the Galaxy S8 release date has been pushed to April 2017. It is also speculated that the Galaxy S8 would be costlier than the Galaxy S7.
There is a steady interest in the use of OLED panels for smartphones of late and Apple has been one of those touted as planning a shift to OLED on one of its next generation iPhone models. In the past, Apple iPhones have traditionally launched sporting LCD panels, but in keeping up with the trend and perhaps because of the superior display quality OLED panels offer, the company is said to be tinkering with the idea of using it on one of its up coming iPhone 8 models and in future iPhones.
Rumor has it that the OLEDs that would be used by the iPhone 8 would likely be supplied by Samsung who seems to have perfected the technology. However, Samsung’s production capacity cannot meet its own demand for OLEDs for its smartphones and those of external manufacturers. Thus, a number of phone manufacturers do not have access to OLED screens. According to a report by IHS Markit, because Samsung cannot guarantee the supply of OLED panels, Chinese phone brands have already begun testing the local manufacturers of OLED screens.
The report reveals that presently the demand for OLEDs is from two of the biggest brands in OPPO and Vivo – two BBK subsidiaries. It went further to state that in 2017, other big brands like Meizu, Gionee, Lenovo, Huawei, Xiaomi will join the transition to OLED panels such that there’s projected to be a huge market demand that a reliance on only Samsung could lead to disappointment. IHS data put the rate of utilizaation of OLED screens in the domestic Chinese market at 13.6%, up from 8% in 2015.
IHS Markit report also noted that if the domestic manufacturers in China could seize this huge demand/supply gap to improve on their production capacity, they will likely enter Apple’s supply chain. In clear terms, future Apple iPhones OLED supplies could be from local Chinese manufacturers. That is if and only when they upgrade their own technology to meet the standard of Samsung’s OLED. Already, results have not been disappointing, as Xiaomi Redmi Pro was revealed to have used OLED panels sourced from local suppliers and the display was superb.
There have been several rumors surrounding the Huawei P10 which is expected to be launched next quarter. One of the rumors says that the phone will be the first phone in the P-series flagship line to have its fingerprint scanner in front. It appears that might be true, that is if the leaked image below purported to be that of the Huawei P10 is genuine.
The front of the device shares a striking resemblance to the Huawei P9. The front camera, sensor, and speaker are positioned exactly the same way. The only difference is the groove in front which we believe to be an under-glass scanner seeing as it looks very much like the one on the Xiaomi Mi 5.
Another thing we’ve noticed is that the display is flat, lacking the curves we reported it is expected to feature. That doesn’t mean the P10 might still not have a curved display. It might just end up on another variant, probably the Huawei P10 Plus.
The rear of the phone shows a dual-camera setup, LED flash, and a laser focus module. Huawei’s signature branding is missing and there is a single U-like antenna design at the base.
Do you like the look of the Huawei P10? We bet it would look nicer in black seeing as the side bezels look pretty thin.
New spy photos of Nokia’s upcoming android phone has surfaced online and although the images are blurry, it gives us a pretty important detail. The configuration of the navigation buttons.
The images show that Nokia is settling for capacitive buttons as we can see the back and recent apps buttons on the left and right respectively. But instead of the circular home button, there is a cut-out for what appears to be a physical home button which we presume will also double as a fingerprint scanner.
Other details we can make out from the images is the Nokia logo at the top right corner, a front-facing camera and a speaker grille.
Action cameras are great. They are very compact, easy to use and they can produce a high-quality footage. Also, my YI 4K action camera gives me the convenience of infinite focus and wide angle lens, just like a GoPro or any other high-end sports camera.
However, the handheld footage is usually shaky and wobbly but one of the best and the most mobile solutions is a gimbal if you don’t want to carry your bulky tripod everywhere you go. I just came across the Zhiyun Rider-M, which fits most of the action cameras and it is just a fantastic little device… and it’s pretty affordable. Learn more in our full review.
The device ships with all the stuff you need to start shooting videos. Some notable accessories include a high-quality selfie stick that is made out mostly of metal. Also, there are two sets of batteries, a charger, a really nice carrying pouch, video output and charging cables for GoPro cameras and the GoPro accessory adapter, so you can attach the gimbal to almost anything you want.
Zhiyun Rider-M Gimbal Review: DESIGN, FEATURES and FUNCTIONALITY
The first thing you are going to notice is the build quality. The gimbal is made entirely of metal and it doesn’t seem to break anytime soon.
We have some standard ports as the microUSB, GoPro charging and the video output port. The 1/4 screw mount allows you to attach the gimbal to all sorts of accessories. If you attach it to the tripod like I did, you will get some very smooth shoots.
What I love about the Zhiyun Rider-M is that it is very easy to use right off the bat.All you have to do is to put your camera into the bracket, tighten up the screws, turn it on and you are good to go. We have just two control buttons. The power and the mode button.
The default mode is called the pan follow mode and I used it most of the time.
I have to tell you that the footage looks just stunning. I was simply walking normally and didn’t try to hold my hands steadily at all but the footage looks very smooth. Also, the gimbal is very responsive and even if you move it too quickly, you will still have smooth and slow panning or tilting motion. One mistake that I made was holding the selfie stick completely vertically. That’s why one of the axis of the gimbal was caught by the wide angle lens of my YI 4k camera in a few shots. If you don’t make this mistake, you will be able to shoot some awesome-looking videos.
If you press the mode button once, the gimbal will enter the locking mode, which is great for the smooth pan or tilt shots if you want to film a particular object. This mode works great with both landscape and product shots.
If you press the mode button twice, you will enter the pan and pitch following mode, where the gimbal moves towards the direction you point the camera to.This mode works pretty well too. Even if you move the gimbal quickly, you will get a smooth shot since all the axes move slowly. The last mode is the selfie mode and it is triggered by pressing the mode button 3 times. A cool feature is that you can simply point the gimbal to the direction you want and hold it for 1 second andthe Rider M locks that angle automatically.
Another great feature is that you can control the gimbal using your phone via the Bluetooth. Obviously, you can also switch from one mode to another but you can also control the gimbal manually to get that perfect shot.
Zhiyun Rider-M Gimbal Review: BATTERY LIFE
When it comes to the battery life, it’s just fantastic. You can always track the amount of juice left using the app but I have to tell you the batteries last forever and I wasn’t able to kill them in like 5 days. If you need to recharge them, the supplied charger fully recharges the batteries in about 2 hours.
Zhiyun Rider-M Gimbal Review: CONCLUSIONS
In my opinion, the Zhiyun Rider-M is a really great gimbal that has been working absolutely fine so far.
The shots it allows you to take look very smooth even if you don’t hold the gimbal steadily and simply walk normally. Also, the device doesn’t feel cheap at all since it is made entirely of metal.
The last things I wanted to mention again is a great battery life, the ability to control the gimbal using your phone and the ease of use of this device. You just take it out of the box and start shooting.
All in all, I can definitely recommend the Zhiyun Rider-M if you want to step your action camera video game up. I will be using this gimbal in some of my future reviews and I will update the description of this video if something goes wrong with this device. For now, I love the way it works and I think it’s well worth the price of $250.
Honor’s new baby might be the Honor Magic but the phone that really raised its popularity this year is the Honor 8. The Honor 8 is sort of Huawei’s contestant in the High-End Low Price (HELP) category of phones which features contenders like the OnePlus 3/3T and ZTE Axon 7.
The Honor 8 runs Android Marshmallow out of the box but there is a beta version of Nougat for it available for those willing to try it out. But if you prefer the final and stable release, you might not have to wait for too long as Huawei has announced that the Honor 8 will be getting updated to Android Nougat in February 2017 which is technically just a month away since this month is sort of over already.
The Nougat update will also see the phone get the new EMUI 5.0 skin which brings new features such as the option to choose between using an app drawer or not. It will also come with a feature called Private Space which allows you to create a second section on your phone for private apps and files; and another feature called App Twin that lets you setup two Facebook and Whatsapp accounts on the same phone.
Huawei first used the dual Leica cameras on the P9 released earlier this year and perhaps buoyed by the successful outing of the P9, the company did unveil its latest Mate 9 flagship sporting the same Leica camera setup. The Huawei Mate 9 even featured the same pixel size on its dual cameras as those of the P9.
For sake of clarity, the Mate 9 sports a 12MP main color sensor at the rear along with a 20MP monochrome lens which is said to deliver only black and white images and is capable of achieving bokeh effect. The rear cameras came with support for 2X optical zoom and 6X digital zoom, as well as Optical image stabilization (OIS), large aperture, four-in-one hybrid focus, 4K ultra-high definition video.
Right now, though, Huawei has pushed a new system update to the Mate 9. The latest update comes with version number MHA-AL00C00B153 and this update brings in some new features to the flagship. Perhaps, the most prominent of the new features is that the Mate 9’s camera lens is now capable of achieving 10 times optical zoom. What effect that would give to the already powerful Leica dual-lens camera
Also, the update has optimized the display of the drawer desktop as well as optimize the loading time of some of the core processes in order to improve performance. In addition, the system update also pushed the latest Google security patches to Mate 9.
Xiaomi, Friday afternoon, took the wraps off its latest version of the Mi Notebook Air which comes with 4G LTE network capability and some improvements on the specs. The new release was done in conjuncttion with Chinese telecommunication giant, China Mobile in a ceremony held in Beijing.
The Mi Notebook Air 12 and Mi Notebook Air 13 were announced to have gotten 4G enabled versions which do not require the use of SIM card as the connectivity is built-in and activated out-of-the-box. Since Xiaomi is aprtnering ith China Mobile who is offering the 4G connectivity, it is not clear whether the feature is networked locked to China mobile or is capable of being used on other carriers’ network as well.
Well, if you are wondering what the 4G SIM-less module looks like inside the Notebook PC, we just may have got the answer for you. The Mi Notebook Air has got the teardown treatment, coming straight from IT168.
Xiaomi did indicate on the box casing that this version has 4G LTE connectivity,, if not the box casing look similar to those of those of the first gen Mi Notebook Air. The laptop till retains its ultra-thin, super light weight design but comes studded with even more fire power on the 13.3-inch model which uses a more powerful Intel Core i7 processor. Up to 10% increase in performance is what this brings into the fray.
The teardown images speak for themselves, revealing the internals of the Mi Notebook Air. And by the way, Xiaomi still boast of the Mi Notebook Air having a lighter weight than the Macbook Pro and also coming in faster in 4G connectivity than the iPad Pro with 4G connectivity onboard.
Another thing, the Mi Notebook Air 4G version also pack powerful built-in battery like it predecessors. And from the look of thing, the 4G option will only be available on China Mobile network meaning its not likely to ship internationally soon except Xiaomi decides to unlock it and make it available to her fans abroad in the near future.
The Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 4G version does not come cheap, though, it starts at 4699 yuan for the 12.5-inch model while the 13.3-inch moodel come in at 6999 yuan.
Fitness bands are the best selling wearables, mainly because they are cheaper than a smartwatch and that they provide a lot of important details relevant to someone who wants to stay fit. Xiaomi’s Mi Band and Mi Band 2 are definitely the two top smart bands that come to our mind when you think of cheap wearables, but there are other offerings in the market as well, and given their cheap price, it makes sense to buy one of these for those looking for an entry-level fitness tracker.
If your budget is under $20, you still have a couple of options and out of those, I believe, the Teclast H30 comes out as an attractive device. At present, the smartband is being sold on Gearbest for just $17 which is cheap, especially for the features that you get.
Of course, small time Chinese companies are known to claim big things when it comes to features, which is why many of us are quite unsure about these devices. Hence, I decided to take a look at the super cheap Teclast H30 fitness band, to see whether it works as good as the company claims. So, let’s move on to the Teclast H30 review to find out if it’s any good. Also, I know that we already have a great review by Linas of the same smartband, but if you want another look at the device, reading this review could help you out as the price has gone down since then.
Note that I have been using Xiaomi’s Mi Band 2 for the past couple of months on a daily basis, so I can directly compare the two wearables to see where either of them comes out short.
Design wise, I have to say that the Teclast H30 looks better than the Xiaomi Mi Band 2. Now, note that I am a big fan of the Mi Band 2 fitness tracker and I use it everyday, but when compared to Xiaomi’s wearable, the H30 looks much more stylish because of its curved form factor. It’s bigger than the Mi Band 2 as well, which helps it stand out easily. Plus, the large display helps as the characters are big and easily to read.
The overall design is simple, with one capacitive button on top to reveal different fitness data. At the back, there’s the heart rate sensor. The main module is detachable, unlike the Meizu Band and it’s pretty easy to insert it into the strap.
The strap is pretty decent, and it sits firmly on your wrist. I didn’t have any kind of skin irritation while wearing the band. Also, I personally like the metal lock at the end of the strap, especially because of the Teclast logo that’s etched into it. There are two pins for locking the band tightly to your wrist.
What I like about the Teclast H30 is that it comes with a standard MicroUSB port on the module itself. So, you never have to carry a separate cable for charging your band. Just connect to any standard Android charger and you are good to go.
DISPLAY
The display on the Teclast H30 is larger than traditional fitness bands. It’s a 0.86 inches OLED screen with 96 x 32 resolution. Because of its large screen, everything on the display looks quite big. It’s good for those who have a hard time reading small letters. Plus, unlike the Mi Band 2, the Teclast H30 comes with support for full English characters. On the other hand, the Mi Band 2 has limited character support, and only recently did the company release an update to add new characters which at present is limited to Chinese. So, that’s a plus for the Teclast Band.
Note that everything displayed on the band comes in Blue color. I would have personally liked the symbols and characters to be sharper, but to be honest, everything still looks quite good.
Indoor visibility is great and the blue characters are clearly visible all the time. However, if you are stepping out when the sun is shining super bright, it becomes quite hard to see what’s on the screen. You will have to look really hard in such cases to see the data on the screen. But in all other cases, the brightness is good.
The data on the screen is displayed horizontally. For a fitness band, that’s not the ideal layout, mainly because you naturally look at the band vertically (as the band comes up vertically when you lift your wrist). To be honest, I wasn’t happy with this layout at first but after a day, I got used to it. And I feel, most users would feel the same.
HARDWARE
General
Bluetooth version: Bluetooth 4.0
Language: English,Simplified Chinese
Screen type: OLED
Operating mode: Touch Screen
Compatible OS: Android,IOS
Compatability: Android 4.3 / iOS 7.0 and Above System
People: Female table,Male table
Available color: Black
Battery
Type of battery: Li-polymer Battery
Battery Capacty: 55mAh
Standby time: About 30 Days
Special Features
Functions: Alarm Clock,Avoid phone loss,Call reminder,Calories burned measuring,Camera remote control,Distance recording,Find your phone,Measurement of heart rate,Notification of app,Pedometer,Sedentary reminder,Sleep management,SMS Reminding,Steps counting,Time
Notification type: Facebook,Wechat,WhatsApp
Alert type: Vibration
Dial and Band
Shape of the dial: Rectangle
Case material: TPU
Band material: Silicone
Weight and Size
Dial size: 4.4 x 1.6 x 1.2 cm / 1.73 x 0.63 x 0.47 inches
Band size: 22.6 x 1.4 cm / 8.9 x 0.55 inches
Wearable length: 17 – 22 cm / 6.69 – 8.66 inches
Product weight: 0.017 kg
Package weight: 0.137 kg
Product size (L x W x H): 22.60 x 1.60 x 1.20 cm / 8.9 x 0.63 x 0.47 inches
Package size (L x W x H): 9.66 x 9.66 x 6.00 cm / 3.8 x 3.8 x 2.36 inches
Package Contents
Package Contents: 1 x Teclast H30 Smart Wristband, 1 x Charging Cable, 1 x Chinese-English User Manual
INTERFACE
Using the Teclast H30 is simple. There’s a single capacitive button to browse through the data inside. Lighting up the display will first reveal the time panel. This also shows you the Bluetooth connection as well as the battery status. Click the button again and you get the date menu. Next, you’ll get the step count number and after that, you have the number of calories burned during the day. After that, you have the distance traveled menu. Click the button again and you go to the sleep time tracker. The number on the screen is hours you slept last night. The next menu is for connecting your band to the smartphone via Bluetooth and after that, you have the software version. After all these options, you get to the heart rate panel. It takes a few seconds for the band to calculate your heart rate, but it works fine.
To be honest, it takes a while to get used to so many menus and if you want to get to an option near the end, like the heart rate monitor, you will have to go through all the options that lie before it.
COMPANION APP
So, there are two ways to downloading the companion app for the Teclast H30. You either scan the QR code for the Teclast Smart Bracelet app given on the user manual (it’s in Eng as well as Chinese) or just head over to the iOS / Google Play store and download the TSports app. Both are fine, however, note that if you are scanning the QR code, you are forwarded to the Teclast website and you will have to enable ‘install apps from third party sources’ on your Android phone to install the app.
The Tsports companion app is pretty decent. I could quickly connect my band to the phone via Bluetooth and all the data is transferred to the app. Head first over to the settings menu and connect the band to your phone. I would advise, first take the requied time to make all the settings right in this menu. There are a lot of things to activate / deactive here, like target step count, max heartbeat, sedentary reminder, alarm, remote photo, and even the apps which can send you notifications directly on to the band. This is where the large display and full English character support really plays an important part, as you get real-time notifications of calls, whatsapp, and Skype right on your smartband screen.
There are a few advanced options as well, like time sync, software update, recovery etc. So, I feel, the app is pretty good when it comes to features. However, note that the app does not feature perfect English. There are some areas where the words used could have been better and I feel, the company has used literal translations for some options. But to be honest, it does not hinder the functionality of the app in any way, so there’s no need to worry.
One thing to note is that the battery life is a bit affected with the app running in the background.
FITNESS TRACKING
For a $17 fitness band, the Teclast H30 does a very good job of fitness tracking. The pedometer seems to be decent and the step count wasn’t too high when compared to the Mi Band 2. So, I would say it’s good. If you would ask me whether the step count was perfect, I will say “Not Really”, but if you ask me whether the step count is close to other notable bands in the market that cost much more, then my answer would be “Yes”. I hope this gives you a good picture as to what to expect in terms of fitness tracking.
Heart Rate Sensing
As for the heart rate sensor, it’s just decent. It’s definitely not without flaws, as there were one or two times when I was running on the treadmill and the heart rate shown was just 75, which was clearly not the case. However, when I tried it again, it showed me 100+ rate, so the sensor inside does work. Just don’t expect it to be super accurate all the time.
BATTERY LIFE
The battery life of the Teclast H30 is satisfactory. You easily get more than a week on a single charge, which is pretty decent for a fitness tracker. I have no real complaints in this department, and I am sure most users would be happy with this battery life.
VERDICT
To be honest, I was a bit skeptical about the band at first, mainly because I am quite used to my Mi Band 2 and this one’s a lot different from the Xiaomi Wearable. The horizontal character display actually takes a day or two to get used to and I would have liked the layout to be vertical, as it feels more natural to look at. Also, I feel the heart rate sensor could have been better. But apart from these two things, I have no major complaints with the H30.
I like that it uses a standard MicroUSB port, IP67 certified, has a large display with full English Character support and it’s super cheap. At $17 right now, you can’t go wrong with the Teclast H30 as an entry-level fitness tracker.
So who should buy the Teclast H30?
Want a super cheap smart fitness tracker
Want a cheap band which can show notifications as well
Don’t care too much about the accuracy of the pedometer and heart rate
Looking for their first smart tracker
Who shouldn’t buy the Teclast H30?
Heart rate’s accuracy is super important
Willing to spend a lot more than $30 for a smart fitness tracker
One of the major shocker the financial sector got this year was the fluctuation in the price of the Chinese Yuan to the US Dollar. Both currencies had consistently traded at fairly stable price but the Chinese economy seems to have experienced some turbulence occasioned by mounting debt which sent the Renminbi (RMB) crashing in the face of the US Dollar. China’s Foreign Exchange Trade Centre has already warned that the Yuan will soon exchange for 7 yuan to a dollar as it stands around 6.9435 yuan to 1 US dollar presently.
Accordingly, a rise in the exchange rate could lead to increase in prices of the parts used in smartphones and even though the effect won’t be hard on those who ship overseas, the prospect doesn’t look too good in the overall. While the phones are manufactured in China, parts such as the chip, camera, screen, memory etc are imported from other countries and paid for in US dollars. A higher exchange rate means the manufacturers pay more for the parts than before. This has led the major phone manufacturers to warn that there might be an increase in phone prices next year.
China’s domestic manufacturers have been making efforts to shift the focus to high-end, lucrative market like the US and European market as well as India. This strategy can be seen as the only way out of this looming financial crisis.
Xiaomi has today launched the 4G enabled version of its first notebook PC, the Mi Notebook Air and it is released in conjunction with telecoms giant China Mobile. The Xiaomi Mi notebook Air was first launched in August this year in China and it came as a real challenger for the Apple iPad Air with a sleek design and equally stunning hardware bench.
Xiaomi did retain the sleek design on this new version with the major difference being that this new version comes with 4G LTE capability and there is also a new processor on the 13.3-inch version. The Mi Notebook Air still doesn’t feature the Mi logo on this version. Xiaomi also used the conference to announce that the original Mi Notebook Air has recorded a huge sales figure of 220,000 units in just three months.
Hardware & Specification
The Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 4G version also retains the two variation in sizes that Xiaomi unveiled the Mi Notebook Air with. One of the versions feature a 13.3-inch size and pack the new Intel Core i7 processor inside, while the second version is 12.5 inches in size. Both versions come with built-in China Mobile 4G capability without the need for a SIM card. This ensures the laptop is capable of delivering high-speed internet from anywhere within China where there is China Mobile network. China Mobile is also offering buyer free 48GB of internet data for one year.
The 12.5-inch Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 4G version has a thin all-metal body and aside the support for 4G network that it brings to the table, the version also packs a strong, long lasting battery touted to last up to 11.5 hours. The version is also equipped with an Intel Core M3 processor and equally has onboard, 4GB RAM as well as 128GB SATAT SSD hard drive which can be expanded. All other cool features like built-in custom AKG speakers, Dolby surround sound support etc are also featured.
On the other hand, the 13.3-inch Mi Notebook Air 4G version comes with a more powerful Intel Core i7 processor clocked at 3.0GHz which is an upgrade from the initial version and is said to bring up to 10% improvement in performance. The processor is backed by a massive 8GB DDR4 memory and the laptop also features a 256GB PCIe SSD hard drive which can be expanded as well. On its part, the 13.3-inch version can last up to 9.5 hours of steady usage. It also pack custom AKG speakers.
As stated earlier, buyers of the 4G-enabled Mi Notebook Air versions get up to 48GB of data free of charge yearly worth 1560 yuan and this is broken down as 4GB free data each month. Remember this is 4G connectivity so you are not likely to grow grey hair while waiting for webpages to load or for downloads to be completed. Xiaomi also touts that the 4G enabled Mi Notebook Air versions go as high up to 80Mbps in download speed. This is said to be faster than the 4G version of Apple’s iPad Pro. Combine the notebook’s processing prowess with the high-speed, wide coverage and wider bandwidth of China Mobile’s network, you get a blazing fast download speed. Using the built-in 4G network also brings in an extra level of cyber security that public Wi-Fi can’t offer and you don’t need to buy a SIM card to use, it is all pre-installed inside the Notebook.
In addition, the Mi Notebook Air can be used to run Photoshop, CAD and other professional softwares. The Notebook also responds well to extreme gaming, including 3D games. Both versions comes with built-in NVIDIA GeForce 940MX graphic card which supports DirectX 12, CUDA, PhysX and Boost 2.0 game effects and has up to 1GB GDDR5 new memory standard.
Pricing
As for the prices, the 12.5-inch Mi Notebook Air 4G version carries a price tag of 4,699 yuan ($676), while the bigger and more powerful 13.3-inch Notebook Air 4G version starts a 6,999 yuan ($1007).
Nokia is all set to make a comeback to the world of smartphones early in 2017. Fresh information suggests that the Finnish company is prepping a special smartphone with impressive internals exclusively for Chinese audience apart from the other rumored Nokia Android smartphones.
The Nokia D1C midrange smartphone has been in the rumors for quite some time. It may not be the real name of the and is likely to come with a different moniker at launch. However, apart from Nokia D1C, the company is rumored to be working on a special smartphone for its fans in China.
Special Nokia Smartphone Arriving Exclusively for China
Leaked information coming from China that the mysterious Nokia smartphone has impressive configuration but it is not a flagship device. Like the rumored Nokia Android flagships for 2017, this special phone is expected to come loaded with Android 7.0 Nougat OS.
It will be powered SD 6XX series chipset. However, it is unclear whether it will feature Snapdragon 625/626 SoC or the more powerful Snapdragon 652/653 chipset from Qualcomm. The SoC will be coupled with 4 GB of RAM along with a native storage of 64 GB.
What’s interesting about the upcoming special smartphone from Nokia is its design. The phone is said to feature a non-round design, so maybe it’s similar to the Lumia design with sharp corners. Its chassis is rumored to be entirely made up of metal. The placement of the antenna bands on the device will be similar to what is present on iPhone 7.
Nokia will be returning to the world of smartphones to take on newer rivals by the end of January or early in February 2017. As far as the pricing of the mysterious Nokia smartphone is concerned, it is expected to launch with an affordable pricing to attract the home market.
Blackberry smartphones were once the cynosure of all eyes, a masterpiece that everyone just wanted to have. But all that is all gone now, as the company has been forced out of business by more innovative and dynamic competitors. Recently Blackberry announced it was selling its smartphone business arm to TCL – owner of the Alcatel brand.
However, before the announcement, Blackberry was already rumored to be working on a flagship device which will takeover from DTEK 60 as the next gen DTEK 70. The device is said to go by the codename – Mercury. Report has it that the Blackberry Mercury will be the last smartphone Blackberry will release by itself and it would come with full QWERTY keyboard.
Now, renders of the Blackberry Mercury have surfaced online, giving us a glimpse of the sleek device, cool QWERTY keyboard-sporting device that Blackberry has put together. The device sort of comes with a small display which falls around 4.5 inches. This is due to the presence of the physical QWERTY keyboard which took some part of where the screen should have been. So we’ll likely get a small screen flagship on this one. But then, the device is said to use an hyperbolic or curved display screen in order to enhance the looks and viewing experience.
According to information at our disposal, the Blackberry Mercury will likely be powered by the flagship Snapdragon 821 processor and would cram a large battery which is expected to have a maximum life of 2 days. The device is yet to get an official confirmation, though, so we’ll wait for that.
Xiaomi has released a new promotional video that not only advertises its new products but also its physical retail location that is dubbed as Mi Home.
Xiaomi Mi Home Ad
The promotional video has a futuristic touch as it is set in Galaxy Year 1128992 AD. It shows that the company has invited World Order Humanoids from another time to visit their Mi Home. Just to let you know, World Order is a famous Japanese band who are known for their choreographed robotic performances.
It shows the reaction of humanoids who handle the various Xiaomi products that are packed with tech breakthroughs. Well, what are the futuristic devices in the video?
Why has Xiaomi released such a video? We are not sure, but it certainly tells that Xiaomi is not just a smartphone manufacturing company and makes a wide range of devices.
Just as Xiaomi has millions of satisfied customers on earth, in the same way, the humanoids can be seen happily walking out of Mi Home with futuristic tech devices to their world.
Have you purchased any of the futuristic Xiaomi devices?
Chinese company Red Pepper has released a new smartphone which is officially known as Red Pepper Note 5. Red Pepper is better known for manufacture of phone cases but this recent launch perhaps is an indication the company is set to expand its portfolio.
The Red Pepper Note 5 comes with a full-metal body design with 2.5D curved glass over the screen. There is a front fingerprint sensor on the device which unlocks the device in 0.2 secs and the entire design is spot on. Curiously, the Red Pepper Note 5 has a similar design, and specs as the Meizu M5 Note.
Talking about the specs, the Pepper Note 5 sports a 5.5-inch display with 1080 pixel resolution. The device is equipped with a MediaTek Helio P10 MT6755M octa-core processor clocked at 1.8GHz and there is a memory combination of 4GB RAM + 64GB storage on the phone. The device also pack a large 4,000mAh battery under the hood with fast charging support.
On the camera end, there is a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash on the smartphone, as well as a 5-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies. The Red Pepper Note 5 equally comes with full network support and on the software end it runs YunOS 5.1.
The Red Pepper Note 5 comes in gold color only and carries an affordable 999 Yuan price tag. Reservations are already being accepted for the device but the smartphone will officially go on sale on December 28.
Most android phones that come with custom firmwares designed by the manufacturer usually come with apps you don’t need at all, or that you have a better alternative for. These apps, usually referred to as bloatware can sometimes be uninstalled completely or hidden. But what if the app you want to uninstall is a system app like the calendar or calculator or notes app? Uninstalling them, that’s even if you can, may cause your phone not to function properly. Xiaomi wants to put an end to that in MIUI 9.
According to MIUI Product Manager, Ma Ji who spoke at the Global Tech 2016 event, he said MIUI 9 will allow users uninstall system apps without them having to deal with issues cropping up due to the removal of such app(s). The benefit of this is that you can now have only your preferred apps on you phone. An example is if you prefer using Google Keep as a note taking app instead of the default notes app. You will be able to uninstall the notes app completely and have only Google Keep on your phone instead of having both apps even though you use only one of them.
Another piece of information revealed is that more Xiaomi apps will now be available for non-MIUI users. Xiaomi already has its calculator app available for all android phones and we should expect more to come following this announcement.
BBK Learning phones brand – Imoo seems to have got something up its sleeves as a new Imoo smartphone dubbed Imoo C1 has surfaced on TENAA. The device got the nod of the Chinese Telecoms regulation agency and along the line, we got to see some of its specs.
According to the TENAA listing, Imoo C1 sports a 5.5-inch idsolay with a resolution of 720 pixels. The smartphone also has a 2.5D curved glass over the screen. The Imoo C1 is powered by an octa-core processor clocked at 2GHz and it is backed by 3GB of RAM and there is 32GB of internal storage onboard.
In addition, the Imoo C1 features a 13MP rear camera unit as well as an 8MP front-facing sensor for cool selfies. Keeping the lights on is a generous 2,945mAh battery and the phone will run Android Marshmallow 6.0 out-of-the-box.
In keeping with the latest trend, the Imoo Learning phone comes with a dual camera setup at the rear but the details of the pixel sizes are not yet known. There seem to be no antenna band lines at the back which is an indication that the device is using a plastic back or that it has hidden antenna design if it turns out it uses a metal fuselage. Up front, there is a physical home button which should also function as fingerprint sensor since there is no fingerprint sensor mounted at the rear.
Many of you have heard the company, Ivvi, which was actually a sub-brand of Coolpad. This is no longer the case since the company sold off 80% of its share in the company to another company, called SuperD. Now, there is a remote chance that you might have heard this name before, because the company had released its first smartphone in September in China, the SuperD D1 which was a VR-centric device featuring dual front 8MP cameras for eye tracking.
Now, a new Ivvi smartphone, the Ivvi V1, has just passed through the Chinese certification website, TENAA revealing its design as well as the specifications. This will make it the first smartphone from Ivvi after the transfer of equity to SuperD. So, will this transfer finally make Ivvi into an interesting phone brand? Well, at least, this Ivvi V1 won’t be helping the brand name, since the specs as well as the design, are just average.
But it is worth noting that we couldn’t see any antenna bands on the device. Given that the phone looks like it’s made out of metal, this would be an interesting design for an entry level handset. As for the specs, the phone comes with a 1.1GHz quad-core processor with three variants, 1GB RAM + 8GB ROM, 2GB + 16GB and finally, there’s a 3GB RAM + 32GB version as well. The display is a 5.5-inch panel with 720p resolution. At the back, there is an 8MP camera while up front, you get a 2MP shooter. Unfortunately, there’s no fingerprint sensor on board. As for OS, the phone is running on YunOS 5.1.1.
Not really an interesting device in terms of specs, but the no antenna design does give this entry-level handset a true unibody look. But it will take much more than these specs for Ivvi to get back our interest. We really hope that SuperD, with its years of experience in Vision technology, manages to rebrand Ivvi into a unique and interesting smartphone brand.
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