HTC U Ultra, U Play: All Official Images of Color Variants, Pre-order Details, Pricing, Availability

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Jan 13, 2017

Nokia 6 is proving to be a potentially successful smartphone, even when it is yet to go on sale. The phone was recently announced in China and immediately went up for pre-orders or registration or reservations, whichever you choose to call it. The reservations were reported yesterday to have surpassed 230,000 persons in just 24 hours after it opened for reservations in Jingdong (JD.com).

The latest report from that end says that the figure has almost doubled, as it is reported to be in the tune of over 420,000 persons in just two days. Surprisingly, there is up to four days left before the device goes up on its first flash sales, so the figure may even pass 1 million persons. As stated earlier, there are two categories in the registration. There is a zero yuan reservation and another one which required those making reservations to pay a 66 yuan price with a membership benefit attached. The free reservation package has so far seen 411,470 persons indicating interest in that package., up from 229,000 a day ago. The 66 yuan category has also risen to 9,211 persons but it is no longer available any more. Only the zero yuan registration is still open on Jingdong presently.

Of course, this total figure is expected to rise further in the next few days and bear in mind that the device will go on sale starting from January 19. So, there is still four clear days left for those who are still interested in participating in the reservations for its first flash sale. We must point out that not all of the registrations will translate into actual sales.

The Nokia 6 is a sleek smartphone that comes with a modest specs lineup inside but what makes it a hot, wave-making smartphone is perhaps its sleek but rugged build, as well as durability. It is strong enough to crack a walnut shell even with the screen, so we expect a durable device which could last for ages. The 1699 yun price tag isn’t too much also.

Xiaomi & Huawei Make it to the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies in 2016

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Jan 13, 2017

A new survey by US-based Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has placed two of China’s tech companies Xiaomi and Huawei among the world’s top 50 most innovative companies in 2016. According to the survey, Apple, Google, Tesla, Microsoft, Amazon and Netflix all occupy the top six spots in the annual poll and previous reports show Apple is topping the list for the 11th straight year running.

Apple seems to sit atop the list of innovative companies because of the huge amount it spends on research and development (R & D), with $10 million reported to have been expended in R&D for Apple’s last fiscal year which ended on September 24, 2016. Also, Google sits in the second position due to its huge investment in research and development of its workforce.

Coming to China, the country’s most innovative tech company Xiaomi made it into the list at number 35, beating the likes of Dell, Honda, Intel, and even fellow compatriot Huawei. The company last year, came out with a number of innovative gadgets, the most spectacular being the Mi Mix with its bezel-less display. Apart from being innovative on its own, Xiaomi had been helping smaller startups gain recognition by giving them their platform to launch their products. Huawei on its part, sits at number 46 as one of the most innovative companies last year, Huawei also unveiled a number of new smartphones last year bringing on board, some innovative features as well.

Read Also: Xiaomi Aims To Exceed 100 billion Yuan ($14.5 billion) in Sales in 2017

Apart from Huawei and Xiaomi, China has got a number of innovative tech companies, many of whom are gearing up to break the ranks and get their innovative gadgets into the hands of investors and consumers.

Samsung Galaxy S8 For April 21 Launch?

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Jan 13, 2017

The latest we are getting about the Samsung Galaxy S8 is that the device will go official on April 21. The Galaxy S8 was first tipped to be launched in February during the Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona, just as the Korean giant looks to shake off the thoughts of the Galaxy Note 7 mishap.

The next generation flagship had earlier been rumored as coming in April, with no specific date mentioned. Other rumors had mentioned April 17th or 18th and even April 21st. But we are still not sure how true this latest April 21 launch date is. It is getting more and more certain by the day, though, that we won’t likely be seeing the Galaxy S8 at MWC 2017. We will not rule out the possibility that Samsung may just spring out a surprise out of the blues and unveil the smartphone next month.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 will take the Galaxy series design to an entirely new level and it comes as Samsung’s first premium device after the botched Galaxy Note 7. The company is hoping the design and entire outlook of the Galaxy S8 will help completely erase the Note 7’s issues from our memories and restore any lost confidence in the brand, so they are taking their time to put together a sleek, reliable device.

The Galaxy S8 is expected with a 5.7-inch WQHD (2560 x 1440) Super AMOLED display, with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC inside. The dvice is also expected to run on Android Nougat out of the box. A recent leak has revealed that the Galaxy S8 will not feature a physical home button up front but will have its fingerprint sensor mounted at the rear. If this is true, then the Galaxy S8 is unlike any of its siblings specs-wise. The rumor also states that the device will not have a dual-lens camera but rather its plus variant – Galaxy S8 Plus will adopt a dual-lens setup at the rear. The Galaxy S8 Plus is expected as a 6.2-inch phablet which would be launched alongside the Galaxy S8.

Samsung’s First Foldable Display Smartphone Looks Beautiful In Concept Renders

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Joel Joseph

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Jan 12, 2017

Many noted personalities have said that the smartphone industry has come to a saturation point when it comes down to innovation. That’s true to a large extent given that the most smartphones these days feature just incremental upgrades rather than something outright revolutionary. The Xiaomi Mi Mix was probably one of the most innovative smartphone products released in 2016, but even that was an incremental upgrade, achieved by reducing the bezels on the screen to a major extent — something that many companies have been trying for the past couple of years.

It is at this time that we hear about the foldable display smartphone concept from Samsung. And according to the latest reports, foldable smartphones may no longer exist as just a concept as Samsung as well as LG are said to be releasing such smartphones as early as Q3-Q4 2017. Initially, it was said that Samsung is developing a tablet-like device with a display that folds into a smartphone. But the company seems to have realized recently that folding-in smartphones are probably not the ideal way to go (since you’ll have to fold the display every time you want to use it as a phone). So, the company is now said to be working on foldable display smartphones that essentially fold outwards. So, it starts off as a smartphone and whenever required, you can open it up to convert it into a large 7-inch tablet. Pretty nifty, right?

Now, we have some pretty good looking concept renders of this foldable display smartphone. While we are not sure whether the final product from Samsung will end up looking anything close to this, it does give us a glimpse of how a smartphone which can enlarge itself into a 7-inch tablet could materialize in real life. Check out all the images below.

While a foldable smartphone sounds like an amazing concept, brining it to real life comes with its own set of technical challenges. We have seen flexible displays but a foldable smartphone requires much more than that. We will have to wait and see how Samsung tackles the rigid parts that are inside a smartphone like the circuit board. The specs on such a phone have to be top-notch and hence, it’ll be interesting to see how the company designs its first foldable display phone. Given that the company is said to roll out more than “100,000″ foldable devices in Q3 2017, it means that Samsung has already overcome these challenges.

With LG also reported to make a similar number of foldable devies by the fourth quarter, 2017 is definitely going to be an interesting year for smartphone enthusiasts.

The “Paper Watch” is a Cheap Fitness Tracker Made from Household Stuff

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Jan 12, 2017

The name “Paper watch” sounds confusing because the gadget isn’t made from paper per se, but that is the name of the smart wearable that is being developed by researchers at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia. The so -called “paper watch” can perform same functions of health-monitoring and fitness tracking performed by smartwatches like the Apple Watch, Samsung Gear and it can do that at a fraction of the price.

The cheap wearable device uses flexible sensors sourced from common household items like aluminum foil and sponge which works with silicon-based chip components to create a semi-recyclable fitness device. Because the materials used are cheap, household stuff, the “paper watch” itself comes cheap.

Presently, the paper watch fitness tracker packs an impressive array of capabilities. It is shown to be capable of measuring body temperature, sweat levels, heart rate, and blood pressure. The soft sensor components of the device could eventually be replaced whenever they wear out, while customers keep the rigid chip and battery parts of their wearable device.

The prototype paper watch currently costs $25 USD which is quite cheap, when compared to high-end fitness trackers. But then, the more sturdy and sleek Mi Band 2 comes in even cheaper at around $19.99. The paper watch is still work in progress, though, and the inventors hope to bring down the price further as time progresses. Even though the device cannot show time presently, that is a feature they hope to include in the smart wearable. The inventors hope to spin off a company soon with the device expected later this year, but how well can this fare in an era where Chinese manufacturers are developing cheaper smart wearables with lots of functions is a question that needs to be answered. But the team hopes to target the elderly populace with its cheap product on start up.

Ninety Percent of Phones Sold in China Are from Domestic Manufacturers

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Jan 12, 2017

With a population running into over a billion persons, the Chinese market is one of the markets in Asia with lots of potentials and prospects for startups and other business. The sheer size of the country means products could get sold only within the country and companies will declare profits even without shipping outside. But the Chinese smartphone brands seem to be at the forefront of making an aggressive foray into lucrative markets overseas. This they do while keeping a firm grip on their own domestic market.

A recent report by the China Academy of Information and Communication showing the statistics of phones shipped in China indicates that last year (2016), a total of 559.7 million mobile phones were shipped in China. This figure represents an 8% increase from the previous year. SUprisingly, the number of new model releases was 1,446 which is down by 3.3 % year-over-year (YOY). This then means the OEMs actually sold more of their older models and not necessarily new phones.

Of the total 559.7 million mobile phones shipped last year, local smartphone makers shipped 497.8 million units in 2016, up 16.1% YOY. The figure accounts for 88.9% of the domestic mobile phone shipments, higher than 85.0% achieved one year ago. Also, the market share of 4G and smart devices continues to grow stably. A total of 519.4 million or 92.8% of total shipments in China support 4G networks, representing a YOY increase of 18%.

According to research, the growth of the domestic smartphone market is based on the growth of local companies like OPPO and Vivo which contributed a huge role to the surge in shipments from domestic companies. OPPO and Vivo stimulated sales of their products via extensive offline retail outlets as well as using innovative designs on their smartphones. Both OPPO and Vivo were revealed to have captured the top two spots in the Chinese smartphone market, raking in 17% and 16% shares respectively in Q3 2016.

The amazing thing is that apart from capturing the domestic market, Chinese smartphone brands are rapidly expanding overseas, taking on markets in Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Africa. Last year alone, Chinese brands grabbed a chunk off the $10-billion USD Indian smartphone market by capturing 50% of the market, thus slicing off from the shares of market leaders like Samsung. The Chinese brands are even more poised to do more exploits this year. Brands like Xiaomi are restructuring to enable them to capture more of the market shares which they once controlled, so the competition will even be higher than last year.

Nokia 8 Leaks: Alleged Real Device Spotted In New Videos; Pegged to Launch at MWC 2017

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Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jan 12, 2017

Now that the new videos of Nokia 8 have been leaked, the device seems to be ready to launch at MWC (Mobile World Congress) 2017.

After releasing Nokia 6, a midrange smartphone, the company is expected to soon announce Nokia 8 flagship Android smartphone at next month’s MWC 2017 event. Apparently, the Nokia 8 was showcased by Qualcomm at its booth at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2017 last week.

The Nokia 8 flagship was not announced at CES 2017. The U.S. based chip maker is said to have prevented people from snapping pictures of Nokia 8. However, a leaked video featuring the Nokia has surfaced from CES 2017. Moreover, fresh photos of what seems to be a real Nokia 8 smartphone have surfaced.

Nokia N8 is said to be codenamed as Nokia Supreme. It is expected to come in two variants that will be respectively powered by Snapdragon 835 and Snapdragon 821. Both the variants were seen sitting beside each other at CES 2017.

A new video has surfaced from CES 2017 that shows camera comparison between Nokia 8 powered by Snapdragon 835 and its other variant running on Snapdragon 821.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPi26Ov0n7s

The Nokia 8 with SD 835 is said to be flanked with features like 6 GB of RAM, OIS and EIS 3.0 enabled 24-megapixel camera. These features indicate that this Nokia 8 will be able to shoot the smoothest video on a smartphone to date. Its SD 821 model is speculated to have 4 GB of RAM and a lesser but unknown camera.

Rumors have it that the camera lenses available on Nokia 8 variants are from Carl Zeiss. The ‘HRM’ text mentioned near the camera indicates both the devices may feature sensors for heart rate monitor.

Looking at the design of the Nokia 8 variants, it seems that there are physical buttons at the front and they are graced with metal unibody constructions. Both devices are said to be equipped with dual speakers.

The SD 835 and 821 models are expected to come in two storage choices of 64 GB and 128 GB. Both storage choices will also carry support for up to 256 GB of microSD expansion. Other rumored features of Nokia 8 models are 5.7-inch quad HD display, Android 7.0 Nougat OS, fingerprint sensor and LED notification lights.

The following video shows newer images of Nokia 8. Unlike the Nokia 8 models showcased at CES 2017, these fresh photos show its prototype in a plastic build. These images were shot before the smartphone was sent to CES 2017 event. The source of Total Tech has sent these Nokia 8 images from Russia which indicates the company may be manufacturing its phones in the country.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhXHfqlGtHI

As mentioned above, Nokia 8 is expected to get unleashed at MWC 2017. If it is slated to get announced next month, more details on it are expected to surface in the near future.

HTC 11 Canceled? Company to Release 6 to 7 Smartphones in 2017

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Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jan 12, 2017

Since HTC suffered more loss in 2016, it is expected to release only 6 to 7 smartphones this year. Also, there won’t be any device named HTC 11 in 2017.

HTC’s President of Smartphone and Connected Device Business, Chialin Chang, has confirmed that this year will see only six to seven smartphones from the company. Since HTC has now released HTC U Ultra and U Play smartphones, the Taiwanese company are now expected to release four to five new smartphones by the end of 2017.

As far as HTC 11 is concerned, Chang has also said that the company’s flagship won’t release with HTC 11 moniker as rumors are stating. However, he confirmed that the Taiwanese company is working on a new flagship smartphone for 2017. However, he did not reveal any information on it.

Chang has also revealed that HTC is also working on releasing new Desire-line of smartphones that will be aimed towards who wish to buy “fun and affordable” devices. But there is no confirmation on when the company would be unveiling its next smartphone. It is expected to announce the rumored HTC One X10 at the upcoming MWC (Mobile World Congress) 2017 event that will be held in next month.

Even though 2016’s flagship smartphone, the HTC 10, is one of the best smartphones from the company, it recorded the lowest revenue figures in the past 11 years by December 2016. Since it encountered a revenue loss in the last quarter of 2016, it is likely to suffer a loss in the first quarter of 2017. If this happens, it would be the seventh continuous quarterly loss for HTC.

In the September 2016, rumors started swirling that HTC would be introducing three smartphones from its new Ocean line of smartphones by the first quarter of this year. Among the rumored Ocean smartphones such as Ocean Smart, Ocean Note, and Ocean Master, the company has now released Ocean Note as HTC U Ultra.

The Ocean Smart is said to be a basic model. There is no confirmation on whether the company released the Ocean Smart as HTC U Play because the smartphone was internally known as HTC Alpine. The HTC Ocean Master is rumored as flagship.

Speculations are rife that the HTC Ocean Master does not feature any physical buttons on its sides. It is said to be equipped with sensors on its edges that can be touched to access various functions like power, volume controllers, and camera.

Huawei P8 Lite 2017 Edition Official: Sleek Design, Kirin 655, Android 7.0

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Jan 12, 2017

If the Huawei P8 Lite was a car, then we’d have said it had gotten a face-lift but it isn’t, so its safe to say the Huawei P8 Lite has got a new edition and it adopts the moniker Huawei P8 Lite 2017 Edition. The new P8 Lite 2017 is coming as a surprise smartphone because Huawei had already launched the P9 Lite last year, which we thought was a replacement for the P8 Lite. However, the P8 Lite (2017) have surfaced in Germany sporting an entirely different design and specs lineup from its predecessor.

The Huawei P8 Lite was launched in 2015 and perhaps, Huawei is buoyed by its huge success hence the attempt to bring back another edition. The specs lineup of the P8 Lite and P8 Lite 2017 also has seen some slight changes. The P8 Lite (2017) is powered by Huawei’s latest mid-range Kirin 655 chip with an octa-core A53 processor. Powering the graphics is a Mali-T830MP2 GPU. The processor is complemented by 3GB of RAM and there is 16GB of expandable storage aboard the mid-range device.

The P8 Lite 2017 sports a 5.2-inch LTPS display with Full HD resolution.The smartphone featres a 12MP rear-facing sensor with f/2.0 aperture, as well as an 8MP front-facing camera tailored to deliver cool selfies. The latest edition also packs a large 3000mAh non-removable battery. On the software angle, teh smartphone runs on the latest Android 7.0 Nougat with EMUI 5.0 hovering on top.

The Huawei P8 Lite 2017 will be available in markets across Europe by the end of January and the smartphone carries a EUR 249 price tag. The device is available in black, white and gold color variants.

Nokia Patent Shows Device with Foldable Display

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Jan 12, 2017

News of manufacturers working on a foldable display have been around for years now. The latest report circulating now is that of Samsung’s upcoming foldable phone which is rumored to be launched in H1 2018 and not Q3 2017 anymore. One other company that has been working on foldable displays for over a decade already but has not been mentioned recently is actually Nokia.

As it stands, Nokia may or may not be preparing to launch a phone with a foldable display in the near future but a patent granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office back in 2013 and made public in September is now making rounds on the internet.

The patent’ diagrams show a device with a clam-shell design that looks like a square pocket mirror. The way it is deigned, the display doesn’t bend completely when you shut the device. The patent description says the design makes it possible to have a ‘‘pocket size device with a relatively large display (for example, a 6, 7, or 8-inch display or larger)’’. The device also has a sort of lock that keeps both halves in place, a design found in laptops of old.

Peter Thiel Thinks The Age of Apple is Over

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Jan 12, 2017

PayPal Co-Founder and Facebook board member, Peter Thiel has said in a recent interview that he thinks that the age of Apple is over.

The statement was made during a Q&A session called Confirm or Deny, a segment of the New York Times. Replying to the question of whether the age of Apple is over, Mr Thiel says “Confirm. We know what a smartphone looks like and does. It’s not the fault of Tim Cook, but it’s not an area where there will be any more innovation.”

It seems Peter Thiel is one of those who think we have reached the top of the curve when it comes to innovation with respect to smartphones. Currently, more than half of Apple’s revenue from the last two years is from the iPhone and for the first time in more than a decade, Apple’s annual profit fell in 2016 due to a fall in the sales of the iPhone.

While it is too early to say if Apple’s glory days are coming to an end or have ended, we can all agree that innovation when it comes to smartphones have been a bit stagnant. Google has abandoned Project Ara and LG and Lenovo/Motorola’ stab at modularity was not well received. Though the Moto Z did a better job but the cost of the phone and the individual cost of the mods might have contributed to it not being much of a success.

Nokia 6 Gets Over 230,000 Registrations within 24 hours on JD.com

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Jan 12, 2017

Nokia yesterday held a news conference in Beijing where the Nokia 6 was officially unveiled before a crowd of tech enthusiasts, media practitioners and other invitees. The mid-range smartphone was announced to have gone up for reservation immediately after the launch and would be available exclusively on Jingdong (JD.com).

The Nokia 6 will officially go on sale on January 19 and ahead of its first sale, Nokia has announced that registrations for the device have exceeded 230,000 persons just after 24 hours since it opened for reservations. The reservations are of two types, there is a zero yuan reservation and another one which required those making reservations to pay a 66 yuan price with a membership benefit attached. As should be expected, the free reservation package saw 229,000 people registering in 24 hours, while the 66-yuan package has 6686 persons during the same period. These figures would have increased by now, though.

Although, the reservation figures may not really turn out to become actual sales, it sometimes help project how a smartphone would fare in the market. The Nokia 6 isn’t one for the geeks who are interested in having a device with a wonderful performance but perhaps, for those who wouldn’t mind the fire power but are just content in having the sleek and rugged smartphone, as long as it bears the Nokia moniker.

Press Image of Moto G5 Plus Surfaces?

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Jan 12, 2017

Specification details of the Moto G5 surfaced a few days ago alongside some images and a possible pricing. Today another image of the upcoming phone has leaked online.

The image is said to be a press shot of the Moto G5. Lenovo/Moto is going for a Moto Z kind of look which is evident from the camera design. Though the glass is all metal and not black which is nice as the Moto Z is a fingerprint magnet.

Another notable difference is the fingerprint scanner. The Moto G5 plus ditches the square scanner for one that is pill-shaped. It also appears that the SIM tray has also been moved to the top as a groove with a hole can be seen on the top left part of the phone. The Moto G5 plus still has the rounded corners but the rear doesn’t curve to meet the metal frame anymore.

One thing we are actually quite disappointed about is the Snapdragon 625 processor that is said to be present in the phone. It is not a bad processor but considering the fact that the Snapdragon 653 and 626 have already been announced since last year, we expected the Moto G5 to sport either of the newer chips. The Moto G4 Plus from last year was no different as it launched with the Snapdragon 617 processor released back in 2015.

Jia Yueting Hints About Faraday Future FF 91’s Price & It’s Probably Costlier Than Tesla Model S

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Jan 12, 2017

LeEco-backed Faraday Future unveiled its FF 91 concept electric car at CES 2017 in Las Vegas which it says will ship in 2018. The company had hinted that those interested in having the car would be required to register their interest by making a down payment of $5,000, but the company failed to disclose the likely price of the Faraday Future FF 91.

Even without knowing what the FF 91 would cost in the long run, registration for the electric car was reported to have reached 64,124 in just 36 hours. Previous rumors had suggested that the Faraday Future electric car would be priced around $150K – 200K USD but in a recent interview, LeEco’s CEO revealed that the FF 91 will be priced under 2 million yuan (around $290,000). This is way more expensive than the Tesla Model S P100D which is currently the fastest accelerating electric car (the FF 91 will soon replace that). The Tesla Model S starts at around $130K in the US. Even at that, the FF 91 is still not as expensive as we thought it would be but sure it is a price that is profitable to the company as the model isn’t tailored after LeEco’s cheap flagship phone sales model where they make money from content sales.

The Faraday Future FF 91 features lots of innovative technology, with superior performance and superior handling. It is an SUV which is touted as having the ability to hit 60 mph in just 2.39 seconds, a few milliseconds faster than the Tesla Model S. The car also has a self-driving feature and is capable of parking itself. The car, in addition, comes with lots of smart connectivity features inside.

In a related development, Faraday Future has opened its official website in China and is now accepting booking from those interested in having the car which it called “Dream Partner” version. All they’ll need to do is to make a deposit of 50,000 yuan. It is also expected to ship in 2018 in China.

HTC Announces The HTC U Ultra and U Play

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Jan 12, 2017

HTC unveiled two new phones at an event in Taiwan today: the HTC U Ultra and U Play, and just the way the Moto Z Force and Moto Z Play belong to the same series but are targeted at different categories so also are HTC’s new phones.

The new U series are the pioneers of a new design from HTC. Both phones have a curved glass back HTC calls liquid surface. Their fingerprint scanners are front-mounted and like the HTC Bolt, they are also missing audio jacks.

HTC U Ultra

The U Ultra is the higher variant with a 5.7-inch Quad HD display with corning gorilla glass 5 and a smaller 2-inch (160 x 1040) display at the top just like that of the LG V20 and pretty much does the same work too. There is a Snapdragon 821 processor underneath the hood, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and a SD card slot.

The primary camera of the HTC U Ultra is a 12MP UltraPixel sensor with a f/1.8 aperture and 1.55-micron pixels, PDAF,and laser focus. The front facing camera is a 16MP shooter.

The U Ultra comes with some cool features such as four omni-directional microphones that records sound in 360° for immersive audio. It also has a new software feature called HTC Sense Companion that learns about your usage over time and improves how your phone works, sort of like an AI assistant. The U Ultra has a 3000mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0.

HTC U Play

The U Play tones down things a lot. There is a single 5.2-inch 1080p display and the processor is Mediatek’s Helio P10. Dependng on the region, there is a 3GB + 32GB model or a 4GB + 64GB model. The rear and front camera are both 16MP sensors but the front facing camera also has a special 4MP UltraPixel shooting mode. There is a 2500mAh battery inside which is pretty small considering the display is 5.2-inches.

Xiaomi Aims To Exceed 100 billion Yuan ($14.5 billion) in Sales in 2017

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Jan 12, 2017

Chinese innovative tech company Xiaomi has set a tall figure for itself this year, aiming to rake in more than 100 billion yuan ($14.5 billion USD) of revenue in 2017, Bloomberg reports. This is coming even as the company pledged to go slower at its pace of business expansion and to completely change its online-focused retail strategy which had been successful but unable to sustain the company’s growth.

Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun is credited to have laid down the company’s strategy for 2017 in a memo posted on WeChat. The Chief Executive of China’s most valuable startup, in the memo, talked about drastically increasing its store network with additional 200 outlets established. He also envisioned a global expansion for the brand, as well as deepening research into artificial intelligence and online finance. The CEO admitted that Xiaomi had tried to expand too rapidly in past years.

The company even failed to consolidate on the success of its online-only sales model which fostered the bond with its fans and reduced cost for the company. When rivals copied the strategy and created competition as well as focusing on their own offline sales strategy, the company was left in the lurch without making efforts to add other channels to its sales model. Now, according to Lei Jun, Xiaomi plans to build on a network of about 54 outlets around the country. Another strategy the company seems to be pursuing is a shift outside the Chinese market, especially North America and India. While it may be difficult breaking into the US circuit, India holds lots of potentials for the company. In 2016, smartphone sales surpassed $1 billion USD for Xiaomi in India. That figure could more than double if the right approach is employed because the company enjoys teeming support from fans globally.

Read Also: Xiaomi Denies Rumors That it is Planning a Fundraiser

Another avenue the company hopes to explore this year is its other products aside smartphones. The company has in its arsenal, a wide range of electronic gadgets like air purifiers, robot vacuums, smartTVs, washing machine, scooters, bikes, and several others which are manufactured by its ecosystem-partners. Mr Lei Jun did disclose that the company garnered over 15 billion yuan from such sales in 2016 and as such would continue with the partnership system. Xiaomi is an innovative company with lots of potentials, it is hoped the company can find its bearing this year and get back right on track soon.

FENWATCH Is The World’s first White & Blue Porcelain Smartwatch Coming To Kickstarter

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Alex Wang

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Jan 11, 2017

Most smartwatches aim to be gender neutral, but the FENwatch takes a different route. It’s looking to capture the attention of all the ladies out there, especially those who are looking to add a fashionable watch to their collection. The elegant looks and the blue flowers decorating the dial are clear indications that the company is targeting the female crowd. Never need to charge, the world’s first White & Blue Porcelain Smartwatch FENwatch coming to Kickstarter on Jan 10.

The brand of Fen has emerged from HK and is eager to bring some cultural influence into the smartwatch market. The new smartwatch, called simply as the FENwatch, aims to bring a blend of Chinese and Western cultures together. The FENwatch comes in a unique round face in blue and white porcelain. The front of the FENwatch is made out of ceramic, making it stand out among other watches in the market today. From shaping the clay to drawing the unique designs, over 80 different processes are involved in progressing from raw material to finished product. Hand painting each dial provides each watch with a unique personality and history, allowing each wearer to maintain their individuality.The rest of the FENwatch body is made out of 316L Stainless .K1 glass with

Hand painting each dial provides each watch with a unique personality and history, allowing each wearer to maintain their individuality. The rest of the FENwatch body is made out of 316L Stainless .K1 glass with a sapphire coating which is pure, clear, hard, and wear-resistant. FENwatch’s unique movement combines Swiss precision gears and smart technology together, thereby, integrating traditional craftsmanship with modern technology in one present.

The 467 days of development cycle was not just for perfecting its design. The company reveals that the FENwatch has all the basic features of a regular smart wearable inside its unique body. The FENwatch comes with features such as UV monitoring, sleep monitoring, acts management, step tracker, as well as a pedometer which ensures that all the vital health data are being tracked. While this is good, what’s really the best feature of the FENwatch is its super long 12-month battery life. So, unlike traditional smartwatches, the FENwatch is good to go for nearly one year once its charged completely.

The FENwatch app is available for iOS and Android. It includes the pedometer data, monitors sleep patterns and provides exercise tips to improve health. Features like remote camera, call alert, call reject, phone location services make interacting with the FENwatch in a natural and enjoyable experience.Wear it, you are unique.

FENwatch’s Kickstarter page will kick off on January 10. Stay tuned for more details from this link: Kickstarter

Nokia 6 Proves It is Built to Last, Smashes Walnuts with Ease (Video)

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Jan 11, 2017

Nokia was synonymous with rugged phones way back in the days of feature phones et al. It seems the brand under HMD’s management still intends to retain this high build quality on its smartphones. A few days back, Nokia teased the Nokia 6 as featuring a military grade body which can withstand a wide range of extreme condition. Conditions the device is touted as capable of withstanding include extreme temperature, high humidity, snow, water etc.

The Nokia 6 smartphone is yet to go on sale but it is already in the hands of some crazy testers who did test the ruggedness of the Nokia smartphone by smashing a walnut with the phone. Of course, the Nokia 6 comes with an all-metal unibody so anyone would expect the back of the smartphone to successfully smash a walnut shell but the front screen? Well, the tester in the video used both the front screen and the back casing to smash the walnut and it did break the shell without any damage to the Nokia 6’s display or body, not even a scratch.

Read More: Nokia 6 Unboxing & Hands-on Images

Despite its tough, rugged body built, coupled with its decent specs lineup, the Nokia 6 is pocket-friendly. The smartphone carries a price tag of 1699 yuan ($245 USD) and is already up for pre-order exclusively on Jingdong (JD.com) in China. The device will go on sale starting from January 19.

Nokia 8 Details Leaked: Snapdragon 835, MWC 2017 Launch & More!

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Jan 11, 2017

Although Nokia had unveiled its first smartphone under HMD Global which signalled the return of the Nokia brand, many are still expectant of that true flagship smartphone that we had all been waiting for all these while. Indeed, during the launch of the Nokia 6 in China, HMD did tease that a true flagship device would be coming our way on February 26 at the Mobile World Congress 2017.

Not much is known about the expected flagship device but it has been revealed that it is known with the codename Nokia Supreme and may likely enter the market as Nokia 8, continuing the naming tradition of the Nokia 6. Curiously, the purported flagship was said to have been on display at Qualcomm’s booth at CES 2017, but only a few noticed it.

On the specifications, the leak reveals that the Nokia 8 would be powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 chip. Perhaps, that it is the reason it found its way into Qualcomm’s booth at CES. The flagship device is also expected with a large 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with QHD resolution (2560 x 1440 pixels) resolution. The display is a flat-screen and not a curved display.

https://youtu.be/RbQSJMFwZvY

In addition, HMD is also said to be putting together a Snapdragon 821-powered version of the flagship device with a slightly cheaper price tag. Going further, the device is also said to sport a powerful 24MP rear camera with OIS, and super EIS. There is also a 12MP sensor up front for selfie snapshots. On the memory aspect, the Nokia 8 is rumored to pack just two storage versions, one with 64GB storage and another with 128GB storage, both of which are expandable via microSD up to 256GB. It is expected that the Nokia Supreme will come pre-installed with Android 7.0 Nougat, since the Nokia 6 ships with Google’s latest mobile OS.