The controversy surrounding the expected Nokia D1C smartphone continues to grow by the day. We had all along thought it was a 5.5-inch device but it appeared on GFXBench as a 13.8-inch tablet creating some sort of confusion. It is very likely, though, that the GFXBench listed screen size was an error. The latest rumor about the Nokia D1C is that the device would come in two versions that would be different from each other in their display sizes, RAM sizes as well as sensor sizes of their cameras.
According to the source, one of the variants would sport a 5-inch display with 1080 pixels resolution. The same variant is said to pack 2GB of RAM as well as a 13MP rear camera sensor. On the other hand, the second version which is the top most is said to come with a 5.5-inch 1080 pixels display and would have a larger 3GB of RAM onboard as well as a huge 16MP rear camera sensor.
Both versions are said to be powered by the same 1.4GHz Snapdragon 430 chip with the Adreno 505 GPU firing up the graphics. Both versions would also run on Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box. They both are said to also share the same 8MP front-facing camera sensor. These specs look similar to the ones with which the D1C ran through Geekbench and AnTuTu.
We don’t expect the Nokia D1C until next year, perhaps during the MWC 2017 but the source also hinted that the Nokia smartphones are already undergoing testing.
Smartwatches are the new fad these days and there are plenty of cheap options available in the market right now. Although this means that there are many options for potential buyers, you will often end up confused and doubtful about most of the cheap watches. To be honest, there is always the question of whether they work as the company claims or will it die in a couple of days. That’s where we come into the picture, bringing you the review of all the latest Chinese gadgets in the market including smartwatches.
Buying a new smartwatch can be tricky, if you don’t know which brands to look out for. Today, I have got my hands on the popular smartwatch brand from China, ‘No.1’ who is slowly building its reputation in this market. In case you remember, the company first specialized in rugged phones, later expanding their portfolio to smartwatches.
So, today I have the No.1 D5+, which is a classic looking watch, having a very similar design as your regular watch. For me, this is great as the watch blends in well with what you wear, coming with a nice set of features which make it smart. While the No.1 D5+ is costlier than most of the local Chinese smartwatches in the market, from the time I have been using it, it actually makes sense paying a little premium for this watch.
So, enough with the long introduction and let’s move on to things that really matter.
DESIGN
The first thing you notice about the D5+ is it’s classic watch design. In fact, this watch kind of remind me the Huawei Watch, which is said to be one of the best-looking watches in the market right now. Plus, the built quality of the watch is top notch, which adds to its premium looks. So, there’s no doubt that the D5+ is a good looking smartwatch.
You have just one button on the body — the power button, located on the right, near the center. Personally, I would have liked it to be more towards the top for better ergonomics, but you will get used to the button placement very soon. The body is entirely made out of metal, and I have got my hands on the silver version, which looks great. I like that the bezels around the display has a slightly different texture as compared to the rest of the body, which is smoother.
The back is simple and features the heart rate sensor, speakers, and the charging pins. Remove the four screws and the back plate comes off revealing the SIM card slot. Everything is pretty well built and in the design, you will find no complaints. Even the sheepskin leather strap is comfortable and goes well with the overall design.
DISPLAY
The 1.3-inch 360 x 360 display is great on the No.1 D5+. Personally, I have seen better displays on smartwatches, but this one is not too bad either. Sunlight visibility might be a tad low, but other than that the colors come out well. I feel the blacks don’t come out dark enough but if you are keeping any other shade, like silver or even white, you will be able to see what’s on the screen even under bright sunlight.
The touch response is great and thanks to the powerful internals, swiping left or right on the watch is smooth. You can adjust the brightness according to your need. There are two ways you can do this — long press the power button and use one of the 3 preset brightness levels or set it any percentage you like directly from the settings menu.
SPECS
The major highlight of the D5+ is its specs. The watch comes with the internals of an entry level smartphone (which is great) and features MT6580 quad-core chip with 1GB of RAM (yes 1GB!) and 8GB of internal storage. It’s a mini smartphone featuring Android 5.1 Lollipop OS, SIM card slot, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, heart rate sensor and even a pedometer. Note that there’s no camera on the watch, but I personally feel it’s better not to have a crappy camera onboard just for the sake of it.
Settings>About
The watch is IP65 certified (not IP67), so it can handle a few splashes but don’t go around experimenting with water, as there’s a chance that your smartwatch could be damaged. It’s water resistant, so rains won’t be a big issue for the watch. But stay away from the pool!
INTERFACE
If you have used an Android-powered smartwatch before, then the No.1 D5+’s interface will look familiar. Most of the features can be accessed by swiping to the right or left. Going right from the watch face reveals the music player, health app and the weather app. Going to the left from the watch dial brings you to the notifications panel. Swipe from the bottom of the watch face and you get a quick settings panel giving you the option to turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. To access the app drawer, just tap once on the watch face.
The overall interface is pretty straightforward. I will give a detailed overview of the interface in the video review coming up soon.
FITNESS TRACKING
Fitness tracking has turned out to be an important feature in smartwatches, tracking our step and calorie count, which ideally helps us to remain fit and focused. Some watches claim to be great fitness trackers but fail when it comes to real life performance.
Health App
The No.1 D5 + is not one of those watches. Both the pedometer and the heart rate sensor work very well. I was happy with the pedometer tracking my step count, as on most days it was quick accurate. In fact, I tried comparing the step count on the Mi Band 2 and the No.1 D5 + simultaneously and the results were quite close. So, I am happy with its pedometer tracking.
Step Count (Pedometer)
Heart Rate Data
As for the heart rate monitor, it works every time. It might take a few seconds to get your heart rate and sometimes, the rate fluctuates, but other than that, the heart rate monitor seems to be quite accurate. I have tried checking my heart rate while running on the treadmill and it showed me a rate of around 130-140, which is close to the figure that was shown on my machine. My Mi Band 2 also revealed a similar heart rate, so it seems to be the real deal. So, once again, I will say that the heart rate monitor on the D5+ is pretty decent.
Heart Rate Sensing
Sometimes the rate fluctuates quickly within seconds, which seems to be the drawback of the sensor. But the fluctuation is not too much, like 2-7 beats at max.
CALLS
Once you insert the SIM card, the No.1 D5+ will transform into a smartphone. You can make and receive calls on the watch just like a regular smartphone and the entire process is smooth and hassle-free. The clarity of the speaker as well as the microphone is decent for making calls on a regular basis. Even the keypad is better than some of the ones that I have seen on a watch, so you won’t make too many mistakes dialing a number. The inbuilt onscreen keyboard is well spaced which helps in quick typing.
Dialer
The placement of the speaker is not really ideal since it’s on the back plate and most of the time your hand will cover it. But if you are planning to use it in a quiet environment, it is loud enough for basic needs. You can even hear a couple of songs on its speaker but don’t expect it to be too loud.
Write A Message
Messages app
COMPANION APP
The companion app is just basic and is literally called the “Watch Helper”. It gives you some basic options for notifications along with additional features such as sending files to the watch and “Find My Watch”.
Watch Helper
There’s an app called as the Watch Helper on the watch’s app list as well and in there you will find a QR code which directs you to link to download the companion app for your smartphone. Note that you will have to enable “Install Apps from other sources” to install this app.
Watch Helper OptionsWatch Helper Options
There are a few seconds of delay in getting the notifications, but it’s not really a deal breaker.
GPS
The GPS works great on the watch. It was quick to track my location and I could even turn on navigation with real-time traffic. There were hardly any lags encountered during the process which was definitely a good sign. The small 1.3-inch display is not the ideal platform for GPS navigation, but it’s good to see that if you ever wanted to play around with Maps and Navigation, it’s possible on the D5+.
GPS
BATTERY
If you are looking for a watch that will easily last an entire day, then the 450mAh battery inside the No.1 D5+ will do the job just fine. In fact, some days where I didn’t use the watch much on the first day, the watch managed to last the entire second day too! But if you are going to play around with the watch like browsing the web, GPS or even heart rate sensor, the battery will drain a bit faster than usual. Still, in my personal usage, I could always get a day with the watch, which I feel is great. Note that the Wi-fi disconnects automatically when the screen is turned off to save the battery. But it turns on automatically in between and also every time you light up the screen.
Battery Stats
The provided charging dock is of good quality and is magnetic. So, attaching the dock will be an easy process and it will instantly stick to the metal back plate. You can then use a regular Android charger to fill up the juice. It takes more than an hour to fill up the battery to 100% if your battery is below 20%.
Screen On Time
CONCLUSION
Overall, I must say that I am quite happy with the No.1 D5+. The watch ticks all the basic stuff that I would want on a smartwatch to work, which is great, making me a happy customer.
What I am surprised with the D5+ is the quality of workmanship that you get for under $130. I have been using it almost daily for the past two weeks and till now, neither the screen nor the metal body has shown any signs of wear or scratches.
If I had to point out areas where the D5+ could improve, it would probably be the display. If the display was a bit brighter, then it would have made this a killer watch.
So, is this the best smartwatch in the market today? Not really, but at this price, it’s definitely one of the best.
After months of what seemed to be an endless wait, Meizu finally released a phone with an Exynos chip. The Meizu PRO 6 was unveiled after the launch of Meizu’s new Flyme OS 6. Although it does not look much different from the Meizu PRO 6s and PRO 6, Meizu has added one or two design changes to set it apart.
Meizu’s PRO 6 Plus has an all-metal body with U-shaped antenna lines. The camera and LED flash are positioned exactly the way it is on the other PRO 6 models. However, Meizu has changed the camera housing and given it a design that reminds you of a compact disc.
Up front, there is a fingerprint scanner embedded under the mBack button which is the only button you’ll need for navigating the Meizu PRO 6 Plus. In addition to being a bio-metric scanner, the button can also measure your heart rate.
The bottom part of the phone is where you see the earphone jack, USB Type-C port and speaker grille. The dual-nano SIM card tray is on the left and the power and volume rocker is on the right.
Earlier today, Meizu took off the wraps on their new Meizu X phone. The device features a new design that comes as a welcome relief to those who have complained about the old and boring ones of their other phones.
One of the major changes you notice about the design of the Meizu X is the position of the rear camera. Meizu has always been fond of placing their rear cameras in the middle of the phone with the LED flash underneath it. The Meizu X is the first phone to deviate from that design in a long time. Its primary camera is situated in the top left corner with the LED flash flanking it on the right.
The Meizu X also ditches the polycarbonate/metal unibody design but instead has a separate metal frame that runs around it which gives it a premium look.
The back plate also appears to have a refractive design like when light passes through glass. And from the looks of it, it seems you can only see it when you are looking at the phone from a certain angle. Meizu has done a good job with the design and they deserve to be commended.
Wireless charging pad isn’t a new technology, Samsung has got that for its smartphones and wearables already but then Samsung devices doesn’t use all-metal body but glass, also the wireless charging power is low and the distance is short. Deploying such technology on smartphones with all-metal body has been a difficult task but that seems to have been achieved now. The Huawei Mate 9 has been spotted while charging on a wireless charging pad developed by Ningbo Goose electronic technology in China.
This discovery is coming as a bit of a surprise because the Huawei Mate 9 does not feature support for wireless charging. This is only a third party accessory for the Mate 9 that lets users access this function. From the pictures, the Mate 9 can be seen to be charging eve though it is not connected via its charging port.
The accessories comprises a flat wireless charging pad, an ultra-thin USB Type-C interface, a wireless charging receiver and a power adapter for the wireless pad. The device works perfectly as long as the wireless charging receiver is attached to the back of the phone and the Type-C interface is attached to the wireless charging pad.
The wireless charging pad deploys Wi-Po magnetic resonance wireless charging technology and can also charge two devices simultaneously within a range of up to 50mm. Whereas the ordinary wireless charger uses magnetic induction technology with low power transmission and within a maximum range of just around 5mm. The range though might be meaningless since you still have to attach the wireless charging receiver to the back of the phone.
Meizu’s launch event kicked off over an hour ago and the first thing the company introduced was their new OS, Flyme 6. The new OS was unveiled by the head of Flyme, Yang Yan, and it brings a lot of improvements and new features.
Flyme 6 is a completely redesigned OS from the ground up according to Mr. Yan. The OS uses new main colors and maintains a uniform color distribution across its interface. Flyme 6 has more than 200 new animations including a new charging animation and over 1000 performance optimizations.
Meizu says Flyme OS 6 is powered by their own artificial intelligence engine called One Mind but there is no explanation on how it works.
The new OS is focused on security and privacy. First, you can now set up to three different fingerprints to unlock the phone into different modes depending on the finger used to unlock. The three modes available are normal mode, guest mode, and privacy mode. To get a clearer picture, imagine Xiaomi’s Second Space function that launched with MIUI 8 which allows you to have two different modes on the same phone but in this case, the phone unlocks into a particular mode based on the finger used to unlock the device.
This year, Meizu has been giving us devices which have been good, but not too impressive. This changes with the new Meizu Pro 6 Plus. The company has finally unveiled a flagship worthy of our attention and the new device makes sure that everything we expect from a top flagship phone is taken care of.
It’s actually quite surprising that Meizu managed to keep the Pro 6 Plus under wraps for so long. But our wait for a powerful Meizu flagship in 2016 is now over. Read on to find out why.
The Meizu Pro 6 Plus comes with the powerful Exynos 8890 octa-core chip. Meizu and Samsung have had a very close relationship in the past and the company has renewed its ties this year with its new flagship. We all know how powerful and efficient the Exynos 8890 chip really is and it’s great to see it inside a Meizu device. This powerful chip along with the 12 core Mali-T880 MP12 GPU will make sure that all your graphic needs are met that too without the problem of overheating. In fact, in the conference, Meizu revealed that 30 minutes of NBA2K16 heated up the Pro 6 Plus to just 42.6 degrees celsius, which was much less compared to a Snapdragon 821 powered flagship whose temperature rose up to 47.7 degrees celsius.
The display on the Meizu Pro 6 Plus beautiful, thanks to the 5.7-inch 2K Super AMOLED panel. It further boasts of AOD (Always On Display) technology which will show essential details without having to physically turn on the screen. The phone also comes with pressure sensitive 3D Touch technology. So, overall, it’s a great display!
The camera on the Meizu Pro 6 Plus is great, featuring the 12MP Sony IMx386 sensor with 6P lens, laser focus, PDAF, four axis OIS, and ring flash. Further, Meizu reveals that the ISP is from Samsung and both the companies have worked together to debug the camera onboard, which nearly took 203 days. The company even compared the samples on the Pro 6 Plus with the iPhone 7, which you can check out below.
Meizu has always made sure that its home button up front is multi-functional and apart from the great fingerprint sensor embedded in the button which unlocks in 0.15s, it also functions as a heart rate monitor, revealing your heart rate in just 5 seconds.
The phone also features Hi-Fi custom ad45275 op amp chip and upgraded SoLo amp circuit (2nd gen), making sure that you have great quality audio on the device. Other features include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and NFC.
Inside the slim 7.3mm body, the Meizu Pro 6 Plus features a 3400mAh battery. Thanks to the 8V/ 3A charging (24W) the phone can charge this device up to 60% in just 30 minutes, which is amazing.
The Meizu Pro 6 Plus starts at 2999 Yuan (~$435) for the 4GB + 64GB model with an underclocked 2.0GHz Exynos 8890. If you want the best variant, you will have to shell out 3299 Yuan (~$480) which features 4GB RAM + 128GB storage and Exynos 8890 clocked at 2.3GHz.
Like the Meizu X, the Pro 6 Plus too will go on sale first on December 8 via JD.com.
There are three color options for the flagship — Champagne Gold, Deep Space Gray and Moonlight Silver.
Meizu has just taken the wraps off the first product at its big event today, the Meizu X. Meizu’s product portfolio this year has been less than impressive, but the company aims to change that with the Meizu X. The phone comes with a totally different design seen as compared to the previous Meizu devices, which I feel is a welcome change.
We are not yet sure of the name, as ideally, Blue Charm devices have the ‘M’ Prefix and this could end up being called as the Meizu MX. But that would be confusing since there’s already an MX series, so for now, we are calling it the Meizu X.
First up, the Meizu X model comes with 2.5D curved glass with double ceramic crystal coating process. This will make the phone look super premium, especially when it comes in four beautiful colors namely Black, Blue, Gold, and White. Meizu’s devices had started to look more or less the same in the past couple of years, so I feel this design will be welcomed by fans.
The Meizu X comes with a 5.5-inch FHD display from Sharp and uses TDDI display touch technology for better touch accuracy. Further, the phone’s display uses full Incell technology which will make sure that the panel is thin and looks great.
In the hardware department, the Meizu X doesn’t disappoint. As expected, the phone comes with the Helio P20 chipset (MT6757), which will make it the first phone from an established international manufacturer using this processor. The chip is manufactured on a 16nm process and comes with octa-core architecture with max clock speed of 2.3GHz. The chip looks promising as MediaTek has claimed that offers 40% more performance and reduces power consumption by 60%. Further, the phone supports LPDDR4X RAM memory. There’s 3GB + 32GB and 4GB + 64GB storage options. As for software, the phone will come with Android 6 with Flyme 5.2 (a future update will upgrade it to Flyme 6). The new Flyme OS is said to come with over 400 feature additions and One Mind AI Engine.
The phone comes with a 12MP Sony IMX386 sensor at the back with f/2.0 aperture, 6P lens, and PDAF. The company is also using the new ArcSoft beauty algorithm for better camera quality. Clearly, this is a level up for the camera in the budget Blue Charm series.Up front, there is a 5MP shooter.
camera sample 02
camera sample 01
There’s a fingerprint sensor up front as well, which unlocks in 0.2s and supports payment platforms like Alipay and WeChat Pay. The battery onboard is decent, measuring 3200mAh and comes with mCharge which fills up the juice up to 40% in 30 minutes, thanks to 18W charging. With the efficient chip on board, the company claims that the phone will last more than a day easily.
The Meizu X will go on sale for 1699 Yuan~ $246 (3GB + 32GB) and 1999 Yuan ~ $290 (4GB + 64GB). First sale is on December 8.
Xiaomi has released the MIUI 8 patch ROM, a third-party adaptation tool for MIUI 8, which brings the latest user interface’s firmware to other smartphone brands aside Xiaomi’s in an adaptable form. Although the earlier MIUI versions can be flashed on other smartphone brands like Samsung, HTC, LG etc, this seems to be the first officially available patch for the latest version of Xiaomi’s custom MIUI 8 ROM.
According to Xiaomi, the patch ROM development tools have been adapted for up to 496 models including about 274 domestic models and 222 phone models outside China. The MIUI 8 itself has been adapted for about 100 brands including those in China and abroad as well as popular brands.
A voting line has also been opened on the Xiaomi Mi community forum for fans to vote which of the models running Android 6.0 Marshmallow should get the MIUI third party ROM first and the options include the Samsung S7 Edge, OPPO R9s, vivo X9, glory 8, Huawei P9, music Pro3 Pro, Meizu Pro6, Nubian Z11 etc. Already Lenovo’s VP has expressed his excitement on Weibo that the expected ZUK Edge can have the MIUI 8 installed on it. The MIUI 8 would likely not feature on the ZUK Edge when launched because the device is rumored for next week but this is an indication of better days ahead for users of other brands who admire the innovative Xiaomi UI.
Xiaomi is set to launch another new product via its crowdfunding app and the launch is scheduled for December 1. This information was contained in a series of teasers posted on the Weibo page of the Mi App, formerly known as Xiaomi smart home app. The series of Weibo posts contained some encoded texts and attached images which all talks about changing the quality of sleep. Perhaps are they referring to a sleeping bed?
From the posts, we can grab that the product will be the 55th crowdfunded product but the teasers didn’t help matters as it is still difficult to grasp what the product really is. One of the teasers contained what looked like a cat’s head, another a young girl, the third was the image of the cartoon version of the Tin man from legendary film, The Wizard of Oz.
We’ll not also forget that the Mi App was formerly known as Xiaomi Smart home app, so it is possible that this would be a smart home product. December 1 is a day away, so its just reasonable that we wait for the new product that go on a wild guessing spree.
News of a Meizu phone sporting an Exynos processor have been circulating for almost a year now. On multiple occasions did we think that the next Meizu phone to be released would use the Exynos 8890 processor. Just right when our hopes were high, a Meizu official or industry analyst would dash them. However, the Meizu Pro 6 Plus that was rumored to feature an Exynos processor was seen on Geekbench yesterday.
The Meizu Pro 6 Plus first surfaced about 2 months ago when a source said Meizu was working on a new flagship with a 5.7-inch display and an Exynos 8890 SoC. After that article, we didn’t hear anything about the phone, not until yesterday when it was seen on GeekBench.
The Meizu Pro 6 Plus is equipped with an octa-core processor clocked at 1.48GHz and scores 1462 points in the single-core test and 3693 points in the multi-core test. Although the processor is not specified to be an Exynos 8890, it is strongly believed to be an under-clocked version of the chip, hence its low scores when compared to the Galaxy Note 7.
As we know, MGCOOL is Elephone’s newly-established sub-brand covering intelligent wearables, mobile electronics.
Its central goal is to bring the customers a more digital way of life with the latest techs. Also, Elephone has announced this good news of MGCOOL’s establishment in the last month.
MGCOOL’s products lines will include Elephone’s action cameras series, quick chare series, mechanical keyboard series, noise-cancellation earphone, mouse, and MGCOOL smart band. Moreover, MGCOOL is developing some cool electronics, and we will release them in the near future.
From now on, the aftersale of these products will be only provided by MGCOOL, Elephone will mainly focus on smartphone business. So welcome Elephone users to contact us if you have issues about these products. MGCOOL always
The following are the products MGCOOL will include:
The Redmi Note 4 was released a few months ago as the successor to the still fast selling Redmi Note 3. While there is no data yet on the number of Redmi Note 4 units sold, we believe Xiaomi must have sold a few hundred thousand units already. And even if they haven’t, they are sure to sell more following the announcement of a price cut.
On the official Xiaomi website the Redmi Note 4 with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage sells for ¥999 ($145) while the high-end version that has the same RAM but double the storage is priced at ¥1199 ($174). However a third party online store has the high end-version for ¥999 ($145) which is ¥200 ($29) of the official price. The price cut is expected to start showing up on other re-seller sites soon.
The Redmi Note 4 has a more refined design than its older sibling. The screen size is still a 5.5” full HD display but will fit comfortably in your hands due to the curves on the back of the phone. It uses the deca-core Helio X20 processor and is available in multiple RAM and ROM variants. Unlike the Redmi Note 3, the Redmi Note 4 has no snapdragon variant.
There is a 13MP primary camera at the back and a 5MP f/2.0 camera in front. The Redmi Note 4 might be a different in design from the Redmi Note 3 but it still has its fingerprint scanner on the back and gets juice from a 4100mAh battery.
You may better know the XiaoYI for great yet affordable action cameras as we have reviewed them before. This time around we are taking a look at YI M1 mirrorless camera which costs below $400 but it brings a lot of premium features. Learn more in the full review.
The camera comes in quite a premium box where all the items are packed neatly. My review unit came with two lenses and this kit is more expensive as it costs over $500.
Speaking of the lenses, the first one 12-40mm zoom lens with variable f/3.5-5.6 aperture.
The second one I have is the 42.5mm prime lens with a bright f/1.8 aperture for that great shallow depth of field and better low-light performance. Also, you can switch to the macro mode for sharper close-up images. Both lenses are made of quality plastic and metal, and they do not feel cheap at all.
We also have some instruction manuals and warranty cards, USB cable and charging brick, lens cleaning cloth and last but not least ahigh-quality leather strap.
YI M1 Mirrorless Camera Review: DESIGN and FEATURES
Once I fist took the camera out of the box, my initial impressions were that the camera was so compact.
Honestly, it is much more compact and lightweight than the Sony A6300 or Panasonic G7 cameras I work with.
Although the camera does not sport an alloy body, it is very well-made and sturdy.
One of the key selling points is a premium 20MP Sony IMX269 Micro Four Thirds sensor, which is usually used in a lot more expensive cameras. The sensor has 81 focusing points but, unfortunately, it has only the contrast detection auto-focus while more expensive cameras use hybrid-focusing technologies. Another bad thing is that there is no OIS neither in the camera body nor in the supplied lenses. A great thing is that there is a huge variety of lenses and my 14-140mm Panasonic lens that has the built-in OIS work just fine.
Also, the M1 camera does not have so many buttons as traditional micro four thirds cameras as most of the settings can be adjusted using a touchscreen.
Still, we have two dials that allow you to switch from one mode to another and tweak some settings. We have the traditional modes like Auto, aperture or shutter priority, panorama or manual mode. One of the more interesting is the “Super Professional” mode, which offers quite a few templates that help you takesome professional-looking portrait pictures.
We also have a power button, two-stage shutter key, two mics and the hot-shoe mount on the top.
As for connectivity, there is a micro USB port for charging, micro HDMI port and the SD card slot (up to 512GB). Also, the camera has Bluetooth and Wifi but more on those features later. Unfortunately, there is neither mic input nor the headset jack for audio monitoring.
On the bottom, there is a tripod mount and a removable 900mAh battery.
YI M1 Mirrorless Camera Review: DISPLAY
Most of the camera settings can be adjusted using a 3” touchscreen display (720RGBx480), which may not be as good as my Panasonic G7’s screen but it is sharp and bright enough for both indoor and outdoor use. Unfortunately, I could not test it under direct sunlight.
The biggest frustration about the display is that it does not articulate, so if you are a one-man crew like me, consider buying an external monitor for this camera.
YI M1 Mirrorless Camera Review: USER INTERFACE and YI MIRRORLESS APP
The YI camera is designed with the ease of use in mind. You can navigate through the menus by swiping from left to right as there are only two buttons on the front – playback and function. You can adjust most of the basic settings like ISO, white balance, focus mode, resolution and so on. One of the cool features is the touch shooting mode where you simply tap on the screen and camera takes a picture.
You can also connect the camera to your smartphone using the Bluetooth and Wifi. Unfortunately, you can’t really do much within the app and I presume it is still in the beta stage.
It’s great that you can view and download the images you took, download different “Master Guide” templates or easily upgrade the firmware of the camera but I miss some essential features like a live preview or camera remote control. Also, the camera disconnected from the phone a few times without any reason (tested with the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge and the Xiaomi Mi Note 2). Hopefully, we will see some huge improvements with the future software updates.
YI M1 Mirrorless Camera Review: IMAGE QUALITY
IT IS HIGHLY-RECOMMENDED TO DOWNLOAD FULL RESOLUTION CAMERA SAMPLES TO SEE THE ACTUAL IMAGE QUALITY. THE PICTURES UPLOADED ON THE WEBSITE ARE 50% SMALLER IN RESOLUTION.
I have to admit that I am more of a video shooter than a photographer but I’ve taken quite a few product shots over the years. Still, I will focus more on the video side of things since I shoot videos every single day for years now.
In this section, I will show you just a few camera samples but you will see them all at the end of the video. Also, make sure to check out the video description to download the original camera samples.
First of all, let’s check the 12-40mm lens.
The picture quality is pretty good as the camera has a powerful Sony sensor after all. First of all, the colors look very natural. Also, there is quite a bit of detail and sharpness in most of the shots.
The quality decreases in low-light as more noise kicks in but even in the auto-mode, you can achieve some great results. If you master the manual mode, I’m sure you will make the best of the powerful Sony sensor.
When it comes to the 4K video (if you shoot using a tripod and fluid head like I did), the quality of the footage is very good yet not on par with slightly more expensive cameras like Panasonic G7 I compared with. Still, I really love what I see for such a cheap camera. The footage is sharp, detailed and the colors look nice. When it comes to the low-light video, there is quite a lot of noise and the level of detail is pretty low. The sound recording quality is pretty good too.
Now let’s talk about the shortcomings in the video recording. The lack of OIS is quite visible in the hand-held video. The footage just looks shaky. Another con is the continuous auto-focus (CAF), which is not reliable since the camera only utilizes the contrast detection auto-focus. Sometimes it works very well but other times it is just too slow. In addition, I’ve noticed quite a few video artefacts when using zoom while recording a video. See the video review or download the original camera samples to check out the quality.
Let’s see how different the 42.5mm prime lens are.
First of all, you should know that there is no zoom. Also, you can switch to the macro mode for sharper close-up images.
I have to say that I really like these lenses. The pictures come out very sharp and detailed, and they have a very nice shallow depth of field.
Also, the low-light performance is a lot better than using the zoom lens. Overall, you can achieve some great results with these lenses if you know what you are doing.
When it comes to the 4k video, I really love these lenses for close-up product shots as this is my main style of shooting. The video comes out very sharp and detailed and the bokeh effect is just beautiful. You can also achieve some decent results in low-light, which is awesome for such a cheap camera.
However, there are two major shortcomings when it comes to shooting video on this camera using either lens.
First of all, there is no dedicated video mode, meaning that you enter the “video mode” by simply clicking the record button. Secondly, once you frame your shot and click the record button, the crop factor is so huge that it may ruin quite a few shots before you get used to that.
Finally, the biggest frustration for me, as a video shooter, is that there are no manual controls for video as everything has been done automatically by the camera. The only things you can control is the focus mode and the resolution. Other settings like ISO, white balance, shutter speed etc. can be applied only to the picture taking modes. Well, this shows the entry-level nature of this camera.
YI technology claims that you can take up to 380 images per charge using the 900mAh battery. My usage involved taking some pictures, shooting quite a lot of 4k videos and navigating through the menus. I got about 2 hours of battery life, which is a decent result for such a compact camera.
YI M1 Mirrorless Camera Review: CONCLUSIONS
After spending a good amount of time testing the YI M1 mirrorless camera, I can say that it is a pretty good budget device for starters or for those, who want to achieve great image quality without breaking the bank but don’t mind quite a few shortcomings.
The camera is very light and compact, and it uses a premium 20MP Sony sensor with a huge variety of micro four thirds lens options. Speaking of the lens, the included YI lens are very good for the price.
Also, the image and video quality are great in most cases and you simply can’t ask more at this price point.In addition, the user interface is quite intuitive and it makes the camera easy to use. Finally, the battery life is pretty good.
On the other hand, the YI M1 camera has quite a few shortcomings worth your consideration. First of all, there is no OIS neither in the body nor in the lenses, so if you shoot a lot of handheld video or take lots of low-light pictures, consider buying the optically-stabilized lens.
Also, the continuous auto-focus can be slow at times but I believe this can be improved with firmware upgrades. Speaking of the upgrades, I hope that we will see the upgraded app as right now it seems like it is still in beta version.
Another thing that may be actually a deal breaker for some is the lack of articulating display since you cannot monitor yourself. Also, the camera lacks the mic input and last but not least there are no manual controls in the video recording mode.
All in all, the YI M1 mirrorless camera brings a lot of features and it has a good image quality, and we may see its full potential with some future firmware upgrades. However, you have to consider if the previously mentioned shortcomings are important to you or not.
Samsung just went official with the Galaxy C9 Pro recently but the company is still not relenting in trying to move past the Galaxy Note 7 debacle. This time around, the Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro has been spotted on benchmark website AnTuTu today.
This latest appearance is coming on the heels of the device hitting associate benchmark website Geekbench a couple of days back. As usual Geekbench database doesn’t list a lot of the specs , it just revealed the presence of an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chip clocked at 2GHz, 4GB of RAM and Android Marshmallow OS onboard.
The AnTuTu data takes it a tad higher than that, revealing that the device would sport a display with resolution power of 1920 x 1080 pixels. Well, the display size wasn’t revealed but earlier appearance of the C7 Pro on India’s import/export tracking website Zauba revealed a 5.7-inch display. An Adreno 506 GPU will also be onboard to power the graphics.
One contrasting aspect between both Geekbench and AnTuTu listings is the processor. While Geekbench listed a Snapdragon 625 chip on the device, the AnTuTu data gave the SoC as a 2.2GHz Snapdragon 626 chip, perhaps one is a mistake. The device also features 4GB of RAM as well as 64GB of internal storage. Also listed is a 16MP camera at the rear as well as a 16MP front-facing camera.
The Meizu M5 Note has been in the news a lot these past few days. Earlier today we covered the leak about the phone having multiple variants and their respective prices and just a few hours later more details of the upcoming phone have been leaked.
The new leak comes in form of a specification sheet leaked on Weibo. The most important info on the page is the RAM of the new phone which is stated as 2.5GB. Yes, not 2GB or 3GB but 2.5GB!!!
Now this exact RAM size is quite unusual but devices that feature this ”kind of RAM” are common from one manufacturer and that manufacturer is Samsung. Samsung has quite a number of devices especially tablets that have 1.5GB of RAM. I’ve still not been able to get someone explain why they wouldn’t just settle for 2GB of RAM. However for those who wouldn’t buy a device with 1GB of RAM and can’t afford those with 2GB of RAM or higher, I guess 1.5GB is a middle ground for them.
The spec sheet also states the price of the plastic and metal variant of the Meizu M5 Note. The Meizu M5 with a polycarbonate body will sell for ¥999 ($145) and the Meizu M5 Metal will be priced at ¥1099 ($160).
Although both phones are expected to be available in different storage options ranging from 16GB up to 64GB with support for SD card, so expect the price to be higher than the above. The Meizu M5 Note is said to be available in four colors: a grey unit with black bezels, and a white, silver, and blue unit all with white front bezels.
LeEco and Coolpad’s first collaboration resulted in the birth of the Cool1 Dual, a phone with dual rear cameras and mid-range specs but a low price. But it seems the company is not done blowing our minds as they launched a new phone called the Cool1C today which has the same features as the Cool1 Dual save for the double cameras on the back of the latter.
The Cool1C which we guess might be the short form of the phrase ”Cool 1 (Dual) with one Camera” has a 5.5-inch full HD display, a Snapdragon 652 SoC, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and a 4060mAh battery. It’s main camera is a 13MP sensor with an f/2.0 aperture, 6P lens, and PDAF. It can also shoot 4K videos at 30fps!!! There is an f/2.2 8MP camera in front for selfies.
The Cool1C has dual SIM slots with Full Netcom support. There is Bluetooth 4.1, dual-band WiFi, an IR Blaster, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a fingerprint scanner below the camera.
Design wise, they are identical if you place them side by side facing up. The position of the sensor and front facing camera is the same with that of the Cool1 Dual and it still has that annoying black frame that runs around the screen. If you placed them with their screens flat on the table, you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart from afar as LeEco decided to still use the same camera housing design, tricking your eyes into believing the Cool1C has dual cameras. It’s only when you take a closer look, you’d notice that the second 13MP camera is missing.
The OnePlus 3T already launched in other regions such as Europe and North America but it just launched today in its home country, China. Before it went on sale in other regions, OnePlus had released the pricing for their new flagship but had kept that of China secret. Now that it has officially launched, the pricing has been revealed.
The OnePlus 3T (OP3T) is sort of a Turbo version of the well received OnePlus 3 (OP3). Its new features include a Snapdragon 821 processor clocked at 2.35GHz, a larger 3400mAh battery, a 16MP front facing camera, a new storage variant, a new color, and the rear camera now has EIS and is covered by sapphire glass.
Every other thing is the same as that of the OnePlus 3. Before its launch, the rumor going round was that the company was releasing a new device because of the low supply of AMOLED displays for the OP3 and would switch to an IPS display instead. However when the OP3T launched, it still featured the optic AMOLED display.
After holding several launching events in Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand, etc. in sequence, the Southeast Asia Prince, LEAGOO, with its CEO’s leadership, kicked off Nepal market by holding a LEAGOO Nepal Grand Launching Ceremony on November 25th.
With 500 local distributors ,more than 40 journalists from Nepal mainstream media and many admiring LEAGOOers got together in Bouhda, the ceremony was really kicking!
Ms. Nagma Shrestha (MISS NEPAL 2012) was invited to be the emcee of the ceremony, besides, there are hot models show, Brand Opening Ceremony, LEAGOO product shows, fabulous dancing shows and lucky draws were awaiting! Now ,let’s take a glimpse of the fast!
The ceremony was held at Hyatt Regency in Boudha, Kathmandu. At the beginning of the ceremony, three senior executives of JSS GROUP (LEAGOO’s authorized Exclusive Regional Agent) has introduced the history of their group and the current smartphone market situation in Nepal.
Then CEO of LEAGOO Mr. Johnson made an important speech of LEAGOO’s strategy in Nepal and spoke highly of its importance in LEAGOO’s expansion process. He also expressed his confidence to lead LEAGOO to become Top 10 in Nepal market within one year and to be Top 5 within three years. Mr. Johnson indicated, by adopting the strategy of ”Local Operation + Channels Building”, LEAGOO plans to enter into the market by combining with Online and Offline, i.e. to combine online shops with traditional stores, and using the Internet+ business model to meet the demands of local people.
Want to realize LEAGOO more? Please click this link.
The Meizu H1 Smartband isn’t new, it first leaked before the launch of the Meizu M5 and we thought it would be released along with the M5 but that didn’t happen. Again, several images were spotted online yesterday revealing the box casing as well as the Smartband itself. There is a new twist, though, as image of what is said to be a high-end, premium version of the Meizu H1 Smartband has leaked online.
While the H1 Smartband is expected to launch on December 6 along with the M5 Note, the high-end version may likely come in the first half of next year. The high-end version is also rumored with a huge price tag of 1599 Yuan ($232). That is way above the 299 Yuan ($33) the low-end version is expected to carry on launch day.
According to the leaked info, the high-end version of the Meizu Smartband uses a flexible screen design. The display is even more unique in that when it is not lit, the screen will be transparent. The high-end version will also feature heart rate monitor, sleep monitor, as well as a variety of sports mode. In addition the gadget is said to emit light of different colors depending on the pace of the user’s motion.
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