Meizu Releases Flyme 5.1.5 Stable ROM: Adds VoLTE to Pro 5 Flagship

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Apr 26, 2016

Meizu has just releasedthe new Flyme 5.1.5.0 Stable release for a number of devices like the Meizu MX5, MX5e, PRo 5, MX4 Pro, MX4, M2 Note, M2, M1 Note and Meizu Metal. So, that’s a lot of devices getting the new Flyme version. While there are some notable upgrades available to many devices in this new version, the biggest benefit will be for the Pro 5 flagship. This new Flyme version will add VoLTE support for the flagship model which enables high definition voice and video calls.

Other features added by this version include browser support for flash to play videos, ad blocking, Wi-Fi network diagnostics, slide to camera from lock screen, power consumption manager and a lot more as mentioned in the change log below.

One thing to note here is that while upgrading the Meizu MX4 model, you might not be able to see the progress on the screen. However, on the background the update will be running. Hence, once you start the upgrade, don’t restart or downgrade until the process is completely finished. You can check out all the details, including the download links from down below.

Download links:

5 PRO: http://www.flyme.cn/firmwarelist-23.html

MX5 / MX5 Classic: http://www.flyme.cn/firmwarelist-18.html

PRO MX4: http://www.flyme.cn/firmwarelist-7.html

MX4: http://www.flyme.cn/firmwarelist-6.html

Blue Charm Metal: http://www.flyme.cn/firmwarelist-24.html

Charm Blue Note: http://www.flyme.cn/firmwarelist-8.html

2 Charm Blue Note: http://www.flyme.cn/firmwarelist-10.html

Charm Blue 2: http://www.flyme.cn/firmwarelist-19.html

Update log | Communication

– Optimization: Update PRO 5 Baseband version

– VoLTE: PRO 5 to increase the support for VoLTE

Update Log | System Upgrade

– Improve the system upgrade mode: Added “experience receiving firmware version” switch ( Click for details )

– Fixed: notification bar even now click “download updates” no response

Update Log | Free flow pass fast

– Free flow pass fast: optimized file sharing experience, increase visualization page

Update log | Desktop

– Desktop editing: adding mobile support under Utility mode icons and widget

– Optimization: prompt desktop editing position adjustment

Update log | WLAN

– Network speed: new network speed function, a key to view the current network speed

– Network Diagnostics: new network diagnostic function, a key to detect the current network status

– Entrance: Settings – Wi-Fi – Click on the currently connected hotspot enters details page

– Fix: After a Wi-Fi switch to the data network will pop up authentication information

Update log | browser

– Intro: increased functionality for the first time to launch a new intro

– Ad blocking: browser settings increase the “ad blocking” switch

– Flash: Support Flash Player mainstream video site

Update log | install external applications

– Optimization: Depending on the installation source and application versions to distinguish between different installation scenarios, detailed display application permissions and chargeback risk

– Optimization: Increase downgrade installations processing

– Optimization: Tips why the installation failed

Update log | voice assistant

– Optimization: Optimizing Home Recommended to avoid screen flicker when loading data

– Optimization: Optimization of alarm to remind user experience, allows you to view all the alarm and turn off all alarm

Update log | lock screen

– Optimization: lock screen camera is called the left slide to slide

Update log | Audio

– Fix: listening to music with headphones, the notification bar switch mute any friction or break the sound

– Fixed: When headphones to listen to music, to micro-channel message or phone, listen to the micro-channel voice, the sound suddenly becomes large

Update log | Mobile housekeeper

– Fixed: notification bar displays information flow switch failure problem

Update Log | Application Encryption

– Fix: micro-channel phone book can be read encrypted messages

Update log | camera

– Fixed: third-party applications do not call the camera OK button and remake after shooting

– Fix: under password lock screen shortcut to open the camera when using the camera flash back Burst

Update log | Music

– Music Comments: Add Comments Reply to comment and thumbs up function

– Local Scan: add a key scan local music, support audio filter

– Folder Management: Add all folders management functions

– FM Radio: New FM radio

– Message Center: New Message Center, you can view comments and bulletins Reply

– Push Message: New “Receive message push” switch

– Manual reordering: playlist support manually adjust the playback sequence

– Version Upgrade: New version upgrade inlet

– Optimization: Optimization of musical support for Talkback

– Optimization: Adjustment template Home Sort, “I guess you like” Move to the fold

Update log | clock

– Online ringtones: set alarm tone increase “ringtone Online” portal

– World Clock: World clock when adding new cities by nationality search function

– Optimization: Merge Ringtones and Flyme music as “local music”

– Timer: timer increases the volume control function

Update log | Calculator

– Optimization: support slide switch mode calculation

Update log | input method

– Symbol: Increase math, special, number three categories of symbols keyboard

Update log | landscaping theme

– Cheap Font: Font support special events

Update log | Search

– Optimization: Click Search plug into the search page, hot words card pre-show

Update log | Toolbox

– Optimization: Optimization compass calibration experience

– Optimization: adjust the measurement scale of initialize

Update log | sweep the

– Adjustment: Remove the “sweep card” feature

– Uninstall: sweep the APP support is unloaded

Update log | Settings

– Optimization: Optimization of power consumption management statistics

Update Log | Download Manager

– Optimization: Reconstruction download interface, remove MD5 calculation function, start speed optimization

AnTuTu Score of ZOPO Speed 8 Powered By Helio X20 Revealed After Final Optimizations

By

Joel Joseph

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Apr 26, 2016

ZOPO had announced the Speed 8 flagship back at MWC 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. However, we still haven’t got a good hands-on with the device, mainly because the phone is still in the pre-sale period. Earlier reports had revealed that the Helio X20 inside the ZOPO Speed 8 only managed to get around 85,000 on the AnTuTu benchmarking app. But that was mainly because the device was not fully optimized.

Now, ZOPO has just revealed to us the first official benchmark scores of the Helio X20 inside the ZOPO Speed 8 and the score is much better than before. According to the recent test, the phone managed to score 91,464 on AnTuTu which is pretty good. The company says that the increase in scores was due to the final optimizations being made to the device.

While this might not be the best score by an SoC in the market right now, it’s still pretty good for a mid-range flagship. Performance was never going to be the highlight of the Helio X20 deca-core chip, instead, the power efficiency brought by the use of tri-cluster design was always going to be the focus. We still haven’t seen the phone in action to see whether the battery life is significantly good, but we sure hope that the new chip contributes to a more than average life.

Of course, AnTuTu isn’t the best nor the only benchmark in the market. So, we will have to see the phone’s performance on Geekbench and GFXBench to judge its overall performance. And then, there’s the real life performance, of how the hardware works with software. So, there’s still a lot of tests to be done before we can comment on the performance of the Speed 8.

Since it has been a few months since the phone’s release, let recap the specs. The ZOPO Speed 8 comes with Helio X20 with 4GB RAM, 5.5-inch 1080p display, 32GB ROM, fingerprint sensor, NFC, 3600mAh battery, dual SIM, USB Type-C, 21MP Sony IMX230 rear sensor with dual LED flash, 8MP front-facing shooter, 4G LTE support, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS.

The phone is already up for pre-order via various retailers for $279.

Buy Links:

Buy ZOPO Speed 8 At $279.99 from Banggood

Buy ZOPO Speed 8 At $279.99 From Everybuying

UMi Touch Survives A Drop From 2 meters (video)

By

Joel Joseph

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Apr 26, 2016

UMi’s Touch metal flagship seems to be doing well so far, thanks to the competitive specs inside the device. In the past few days, we have seen the company put the Touch under some stress tests to show that the phone can survive a few hits. Recently, it was the UMi Touch hammer smash test, and now, the company has performed a few drop tests to show that the phone won’t easily break even if it falls out of your hand.

First up, the person in the video carried out the drop test from the waist height (90 cm / 1.3m). The phone seems to take the drop pretty well, surviving the fall with hardly any scratches. Next up, it was the drop test from 2 meters, i.e. above the head. Although such circumstances are rare, it is still good to see if your phone can survive such a fall. In the video, it looks like the phone did well even after falling from such a height.

However, we wouldn’t advise you trying out these tests with your phone. If you are unlucky, you could end up with a broken screen just by a minor fall.

To recap, the UMi Touch comes with a metal body and MT6753 octa-core chip inside. Other features of the phone include 3GB of RAM, 13MP Sony camera, front placed fingerprint sensor, and a large 4000mAh battery fitted inside its slim 8.5mm body.

The company also has a giveaway running right now. You can participate in that from here.

BUY LINKS (Cheapest Price):

Everbuying ($139.99)

Buy UMi Touch For $139.99

Banggood ($139.99)

Buy UMi Touch For $139.99

Gearbest ($158.99)

COUPON: CellPhones8 ($11 Off)

Buy UMi Touch Gold Version For $158 (USE COUPON)

OPPO Find 9 Could Release In June With 4K Display

By

Joel Joseph

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Apr 26, 2016

OPPO seems to be focused on its R9 series flagships for the time being, but we all know that R9 isn’t the true flagship smartphone lineup of the company. OPPO’s Find series have always been the one to bring top-end hardware and innovative software to the public and we are expecting a lot of good things from the OPPO Find 9 phone. However, details about the device seem to be scarce at the moment and the company has showed no sign to confirm that the lineup will be updated this year.

However, that doesn’t stop the leaks and rumors about the Find 9, as the most recent rumors about the phone claim that the device will be announced in June this year. The news comes via some users from China who claim to have recieved info regarding the phone’s release period. However, we still don’t have a specific date. It looks like OPPO is keeping things tight with the Find 9.

Naturally, being a top-end flagship, we can expect powerful hardware inside the OPPO Find 9. Past rumors have revealed that the phone will be powered by the Snapdragon 820 chipset under the hood with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. You should also find OPPO specific features such as Super VOOC fast charging and OPPO’s SmartSensor which comes inbuilt with image stabilization at the sensor level. But these are just some possibilities.

What’s also possible is a 4K display on the top-end version of the OPPO Find 9. Recently, we have seen rumors that OPPO and Lenovo are both planning to launch 4K display phones in 2016 and what better phone to debut this high-end feature than the Find 9.

Given the powerful hardware, don’t expect the phone to be cheap. Rumors say that the pricing could be as high as 3998 Yuan which is a lot (around $616), but still possible considering OPPO’s pricing history.

So, what would be the ideal specs for the Find 9 according to you?

Nokia plans to enter smart products market with Withings Purchase for $191 million

By

Jitendra Soni

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Apr 26, 2016

Nokia seems to be gearing up for a re-entry in the consumer market. The Finish tech company plans to buy digital health firm Withings for $ 191 million. It can be seen as Nokia’s a step to get into digital healthcare segment.

Withings is headquartered in France and was founded in 2008 by Chairman Eric Carreel and CEO Cedric Hutchings. It has approximately 200 employees across its locations in Paris, France, Cambridge, US and Hong Kong.

Withings’ products include activity trackers, weighing scales, thermometers, blood pressure monitors, home and baby monitors and more. Withings’ own products are accompanied by an ecosystem of more than a hundred compatible apps.

“We have said consistently that digital health was an area of strategic interest to Nokia, and we are now taking concrete action to tap the opportunity in this large and important market,” said Rajeev Suri, president & CEO of Nokia.

“With this acquisition, Nokia is strengthening its position in the Internet of Things in a way that leverages the power of our trusted brand, fits with our company purpose of expanding the human possibilities of the connected world, and puts us at the heart of a very large addressable market where we can make a meaningful difference in peoples’ lives.”

This deal is expected to be formally completed by the third quarter, after which Withings’ 200 employees will join Nokia Technologies, and its CEO Cedric Hutchings will report to Nokia Technologies head Ramzi Haidamus.

1 Million units of Le 2, Le 2 Pro and Le Max 2 Sold Out In Just 2 Hours!

By

Jitendra Soni

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Apr 26, 2016

As announced at the launch, 1 Million units of 3 superphones from LeEco, Le2, Le2 Pro and Le Max 2 went on 1st sale today, priced at 1099, 1499, 2099/2499 CNY respectively. All these 3 devices are the first ones to ditch the 3.5mm analogue audio jack.

And guess what, a million units of these three devices were sold out today in just a matter of 2 hours! That’s a new record for the fastest sale of 1 million smartphone units. The Le Max 2 flagship was reportedly sold out in just 57 seconds!

The Le 2 comes with Helio X20 processor, 3GB memory +32GB storage, 5.5-inch screen, 16MP rear camera and 8 MP front camera. The device comes with a full metal body and supports full Netcom connectivity. It supports dual sim and VoLTE along with LeEco’s CDLA lossless digital audio technology and has a super snappy fingerprint sensor at the back.

Le 2 Pro, however, has four major upgrades compared to Le 2. It comes with a new bezel-less 3.0 design, equipped with a more powerful MediaTek Helio X25 processor, a Sony IMX230 21MP rear camera, 4GB of RAM and inbuilt 32GB storage.

Le Max 2 is equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 6GB RAM, 64GB body storage, QC3.0 + PD fast charge technology. It houses a 5.7 inches 2K resolution screen and is equipped with ultrasonic metal fingerprint recognition technology. It has a 21 MP Sony IMX230 rear camera with OIS optical image stabilization technology. Le Max 2 comes with dual-band dual-antenna design and offers full Netcom connectivity.

ZTE Axon 2 Spotted On TENAA With Snapdragon 820 & 4GB RAM

By

Joel Joseph

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Apr 26, 2016

Although ZTE had a conference back at MWC 2016 in Barcelona, Spain, the company didn’t release any flagship smartphone at that time. The company’s next major flagship is expected to be the ZTE Axon 2, which will succeed the popular first gen Axon flagship released in the second half of 2015. Now, more details about the upcoming flagship have been revealed thanks to the TENAA listing of the device.

Looks wise, the company seems to be continuing with the design of the earlier generation model. So, the new ZTE Axon 2 will come with the same metal body, speaker grills up front and slightly curved design as the Axon. However, there seem to be a few changes in the hardware. First of all, this particular model ditches the dual camera design on the earlier model. So, just a single camera sensor at the back with LED flash. You also get a fingerprint sensor located just below the setup.

As for the specs, this ZTE A2017 model, most likely called as Axon 2 will come with the powerful quad-core Snapdragon 820 chipset under the hood with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. This is further expandable up to 128GB via MicroSD. At the back, the phone will feature a 20MP sensor while up front, there will be an 8MP shooter. There will be a 3140mAh battery onboard. As for software, it will run on Android 6.0.1 OS.

RELATED: ZTE A2017 Spotted on Geekbench

One interesting thing to note here is the thickness of the phone. According to the listing, the Axon 2 is going to be 9.8mm thick. That’s unusually thick for a phone with such battery capacity which makes us wonder what contributes to the phone’s thickness. Is the camera module going to be large? Or are we missing something else? Well, we will have to wait for more details to see what more hardware the phone has in store for us.

Stay tuned.

OnePlus 3 Spotted With 6GB RAM, Release & Pricing Details Leaked

By

Joel Joseph

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Apr 25, 2016

All major smartphone manufacturers have already released their flagship smartphones for the year. This leaves out only a few companies like the OnePlus who are yet to reveal their big guns for 2016. Last year’s OnePlus 2 was slated as the “2016 flagship killer” and it’s likely that this year the company might call its next phone the “2017 flagship killer”. But to stay true to that name, it will need to come with killer specs, and from the recent benchmark leaks of the device, we can expect powerful hardware inside the new device.

OnePlus A3000 RAIN RAIN model has just been spotted on the benchmarking website, Geekbench revealing key specs and benchmark scores of the device. Under the hood, the phone seems to be running the quad-core Snapdragon 820 chipset that currently dominates the top-end market. In addition to that, the model comes with 6GB of RAM on board. Plus, the phone runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow OS. These are some pretty powerful hardware inside, and should ensure top-notch performance.

As the benchmark reveals, in the single-core test, the OnePlus A3000 does a fine job of scoring 2266 points. The multi-core test score is a bit less impressive, mainly due to the limited quad-core design. Still, at 5012, the score is pretty competitive. But these are not the only set of information we have about the OnePlus 3 yet.

According to the latest rumors, the OnePlus 3 flagship is all set to launch around May 18, less than a month away. The phone will go on sale by early June. There will be two versions, 4GB RAM + 32GB ROM and 6GB RAM +64GB of ROM. The two models will reportedly retail at 2299 Yuan ($354) and 2499 Yuan ($384) respectively. If true, this would be pretty aggressive pricing. The Le Max 2 retails for the same price, i.e. $384 and we would have one more great flagship to choose at this price.

If the launch is indeed in May, expect a lot more details about the OnePlus 3 flagship in the next few weeks.

Meizu M3 vs Redmi 3: Budget Phones Never Looked So Good!

By

Joel Joseph

-

Apr 25, 2016

Gone are the days where you would have to spend upwards of $300 to get a decent powerful smartphone. Thanks to the efforts of the Chinese smartphone companies, powerful smartphones have become cheaper and cheaper, and now we get more bang for the buck than ever before. It is at these times buying a smartphone becomes difficult. You get multiple options, which look equally good that you eventually end up getting confused.

Both Xiaomi and Meizu are two value for money handset makers, and both Meizu M3 and Xiaomi Redmi 3 phones are the best budget devices that you can currently get in the market. Given that Meizu announced the new M3 earlier today, it becomes necessary to see whether it has an edge over the existing champion, the Redmi 3. Today’s comparison will be solely on the basis of their specs, mainly because we haven’t got the M3 for review yet. So, let’s take a look at the Meizu M3 vs Redmi 3 comparison.

By the way, in case you are wondering why I didn’t compare it with the Redmi 3 Pro version, it’s because it would be unfair. The Pro version comes with a fingerprint sensor and is priced higher than the top-end version of the M3. So, the regular version seems to be the apt competitor for the device.

DESIGN:

Different people have different preferences when it comes to the design, so we can’t really make conclusions in this department. Both are good looking handsets, with the Meizu M3 coming with a custom polycarbonate body while the Redmi 3 sporting a gorgeous metal body, much like the Redmi Note 3. Plus, if you are a big fan of the plaid design, you’ve got that at the back of the Redmi device.

So, let’s take a look at the dimensions. Both are 5-inch smartphones, so technically, they should have very similar sizes.

Meizu M3: 141.5 x 69.5 x 8.3mm

Redmi 3: 139.3 x 69.6 x 8.5mm

Personally, I feel Redmi wins here, because its a bit more compact. And another reason is that with just 0.2mm increase in thickness, you get a humungous battery on the Redmi 3. Can’t beat that.

Meizu M3 Weight: 132 grams

Redmi 3 Weight: 144 grams

You already know why Redmi is heavier among the two. Apart from the battery, the metal body should also be responsible for the heavier weight of the phone.

Meizu M3 vs Redmi 3 SCREEN:

Both have a 5-inch 720p IPS LCD display on board. Even the screen to body ratio is similar, with the Redmi 3 having an edge with a slightly better 71.1% coverage. Nothing else to talk about in this department.

Meizu M3 vs Redmi 3 SPECS:

Meizu has continued its tradition of sticking with Mediatek chipsets. This time it’s the all new MT6750 octa-core SoC clocked at 1.5GHz. You get Mali T860 MP2 GPU inside. Now, the Redmi 3 also comes with a similarly specced Snapdragon 616 with octa-core Cortex A53 based architecture and Adreno 405. In our official review of the Redmi 3, we got over 33,000 points on AnTuTu benchmark. On the other hand, Meizu revealed in its official event today that the MT6750 inside the M3 scores over 39,000 in the same test. Does this mean that the M3 is significantly better than the Redmi 3? Most likely not! Manufacturers are known to reveal the best scores of the device officially, and real life tests scores turn out to be much lower. So, on paper, Meizu could have an edge, but only by a little margin. And this is based on just one AnTuTu test. Real life performance could differ, especially considering we have not yet tested out the Flyme 5.1 UI powered by YunOS on the M3.

Other specs like 2GB RAM, 16GB storage come as standard on both the devices. The M3 has a 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM version as well ($123). On the other hand, there’s the Redmi 3 Pro version which comes with 3GB RAM, 32GB storage but it’s slightly costlier ($138). But for that additional price, you get a fingerprint sensor. One thing to note here is that the Meizu’s storage will be much faster since it is of eMMC 5.1 standard! Also, both have expandable storages but they are hybrid slots (uses SIM2).

At the back, the Meizu M3 features a 13MP f/ 2.2 camera with PDAF and dual tone flash. Up front, you get a 5MP f/ 2.0 shooter. As for the Redmi 3, you have a 13MP f/2.0 camera at the back with PDAF and single LED flash and 5MP f/2.2 shooter up front. Can’t comment on the camera quality of the M3 yet, so we will have to wait for a review, which should be real soon.

If you are confused which one to pick till now, you might finally be able to make a decision in the next few seconds. The Meizu M3 comes with a decent battery, bigger than its predecessor, with a capacity of 2870mAh. Now this is pretty good for a 5-incher and will last a day. But after seeing what Redmi 3 is offering, a massive gigantic 4100mAh battery, the M3 looks like its missing something big. And it is! In our review, we saw that even after super heavy usage, the Redmi 3 couldn’t be drained completely within a day. We got a good 7 hours screen on time on the device, which is just plain amazing. The Meizu M3 doesn’t even come close in this department.

I personally feel Meizu should have done a better job. This is kind of a deal breaker when you have the mighty Redmi 3 as an option. The Meizu M3 Note was a much better competitor in its segment.

As for the software, both run on Android 5.1 Lollipop. Meizu M3 comes with Flyme 5.1 powered by YunOS while the Redmi 3 comes with the familiar MIUI 7.

Meizu M3 vs Redmi 3 PRICING:

Well, Meizu has done a good job in this area, with the Meizu M3 starting at just $92 for the 2GB RAM variant. The 3GB + 32GB variant retails for 799 Yuan which comes to $124. Still pretty cheap. On the other hand, Xiaomi Redmi 3’s official pricing starts at 699 Yuan ($106) for the 2GB RAM version. If you want a 3GB RAM model, you can get the Redmi 3 Pro for $138.

So, the M3 is the cheapest, and for that price you get a lower capacity battery. On the other hand, for $15 more, you get a super large battery on the Redmi 3.

What are your thoughts? Which one would you pick?

Vernee To Build Overseas After-Sale Service Centers, Offering 2 Year Warranty

By

Joel Joseph

-

Apr 25, 2016

The new Chinese smartphone company, Vernee has just informed us that they are planning to set up overseas after sale service centers for its smartphones. The company’s first smartphone, the Vernee Thor was successful during the pre-sale period and it will soon start shipping devices to the customers. Now that the phones will start shipping out, the next logical step is a strong after sales support, which is something that many Chinese smartphone makers lack. This is why Vernee is planning to build a network of centers in important markets for its customers.

So, for now, the company will have service centers in six major countries, Russia, Spain, German ,UK, France and USA. The company hasn’t revealed any plans for setting up centers in other countries yet. In these regions, Vernee will be providing two-year warranty for its smartphones. But there’s a catch. The company reveals that for the first year, you will get free maintenance. In the second year, the maintenance will be paid. Still better than many other local Chinese companies. What’s more, these centers will reportedly be launched in May itself, so around the time you get your pre-ordered units.

Now that the pre-sale period of the Vernee Thor is officially over, the company has released an official sales figure for the device and it’s impressive. The company managed to secure 21,796 pre-orders by the morning of April 25.

On a related note, Vernee is conducting a giveaway of its Vernee Thor smartphone on its forums. The company will be giving away the Thor to three lucky winners. The contest is currently going on and ends on April 30. So, if interested, check out the link and participate in the giveaway to try out your luck.

More Xiaomi Max Details Leaked: Two Versions, One With Snapdragon 820

By

Joel Joseph

-

Apr 25, 2016

Now that all the major smartphones from Xiaomi are out, our eyes are turned towards the new product from the company, namely the Xiaomi Max. Xiaomi has already confirmed that the phone will be announced on May 10, alongside a couple of other important products. Now, more details about the Xiaomi Max have been leaked.

xiaomi big rumors

According to new rumors, the Xiaomi Max will come in two versions. The top-end variant will be powered by the Snapdragon 820 chipset and there will be other features to play around as well. For example, the phablet is said to come with an all metal body with a fingerprint sensor. Now, while the company hasn’t revealed any features of the device, it is rumored that this could be Qualcomm’s Ultrasonic sensor. If true, it would join the likes of a few handsets announced that come with this sensor like the Le Max Pro and Le Max 2. Other rumored features of the Xiaomi Max include 3D Touch like pressure sensitive display with a lot more options than Apple’s iPhone 6S Plus.

It is said that Xiaomi could be planning to call the high-end version as the Xiaomi Big and the standard version as Xiaomi Max. Further, it is rumored that a Redmi phablet is also in the works and could end up being called as the Redmi Note 4.

Xiaomi Max

So, this was about the high-end Xiaomi Big. But what about the standard version? This particular model should most likely feature a less powerful processor like the Snapdragon 650, as revealed by a recent GFXBench listing. Other features are unknown but considering the chip inside, it should be mid-range.

Remember that most of the details leaked today come via rumors, so take this with a pinch of salt.

Xiaomi will officially unveil the Max, Mi Band 2 and MIUI 8 on May 10. So, looks like its going to be a busy day for Chinese tech fans.

Stay tuned for more details.

MIUI 8 Coming on May 10 Alongside the Xiaomi Max

By

Jitendra Soni

-

Apr 25, 2016

Xiaomi has added more spice to the upcoming launch event scheduled on 10^th May. Xiaomi will not only introduce Mi Max and Mi Band 2 but also will bring the long awaited MIUI 8.

An update on Weibo account of Mi announced, “MIUI 8 will be released on May 10, along with Mi Max, you always wanted new features, there are a whole lot of new designs, new experiences. ” Later Xiaomi also tweeted from Xiaomi Global account and an update on MIUI forum confirmed the same too.

Compared to the current version, MIUI 8’s design has changed all-together. It not only has the material design, but the overall look and feel is refreshing.

In addition to the new design of the UI interface, we also found some interesting features. In the notification bar, apart from a few commonly used notifications, we found a small Cloud music application. In previous versions of MIUI, this app wasn’t there.

This announcement goes in line with morning announcement of Mi Max where Mi had hinted about the launch of a range of new applications and services.

Meizu M3 Budget Phone Announced With MT6750, Starts At $93

By

Joel Joseph

-

Apr 25, 2016

Meizu is on a roll. After a few months of silence early 2016, the company has announced three new devices in three separate conferences in April. Today, the company released the third device this year, the Meizu M3 aimed at the budget customers. This will be the successor to the popular Meizu M2 handset that was announced last year.

The Meizu M3 comes with a familiar design, much similar to the previous generation model. However, the company stresses that this is a custom polycarbonate body and comes with CNC finishing to ensure that you get a better feel and comfortable grip on the device. Further, there will be 2.5D curved glass up front. The company has reduced the thickness of the device to just 8.3mm and it weighs only 132 grams. There will be five different color options, white, blue, gray along with gold and pink colors.

Coming to the specs, the Meizu M3 will come with the new MT6750 octa-core chipset clocked at 1.5GHz. This would be a big upgrade from the entry level MT6735 quad-core chip from last year and should definitely boost up the performance. The company claims that on AnTuTu, the phone manages to score above 39,000 points, which would be pretty impressive. But performance isn’t the only highlight of this entry level chip. The support for LTEE FDD / TDD Cat. 6 with 2 x 20 model with Carrier Aggregation will ensure most networks are available and at speeds around 300Mbps. Plus, you get Mali T860MP2 GPU on board. For an entry level device, this is quite impressive.

As for memory, you get two versions, 2GB and 3GB RAM with 16GB and 32GB ROM respectively. This is further expandable up to 128GB via MicroSD (hybrid slot). You get dual SIM dual standby support as well. Like the M2, the new device also comes with a 5-inch display with 720p resolution. You don’t get gorilla glass, but it does have the protection from the SCHOTT Xensation Cover Glass which is also pretty good.

At the back, the Meizu M3 comes with a 13MP f/2.2 aperture camera with PDAF (0.2 sec focus) and color temperature flash. Up front, you get a 5MP f/2.0 aperture shooter with FotoNation 2.0 Beauty software ideal for selfies. Connectivity features include 802.11 a/b /g/ n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and GLONASS. Finally, you have a 2870mAh battery on board which should be good enough for a day. As for the software, the phone will run on the new Flyme 5.1 OS powered by YunOS.

The base model with 2GB RAM + 16GB storage retails for 599 Yuan ($93) while the high-end model with 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM will go on sale for 799 Yuan ($123). These are pretty aggressive pricing for an entry-level device with these specs.

So, what do you think about Meizu M3?

Nubia X8 Specs Details Leaked: Four Editions, Top-End Comes With Snapdragon 823

By

Joel Joseph

-

Apr 24, 2016

Nubia X8 has been making the rumor rounds for the past few months. However, as of now, we haven’t received any official confirmation from the company. Nubia seems to be focused on the Z11 series for now, so X8’s launch should be a while later. However, leaks about the phone continue to come in, and today, we have a lot of new information about this flagship smartphone.

According to the latest rumors, the Nubia X8 flagship will come in four different versions, Nubia X8 lifestyle, X8 standard, X8 high and X8 PPT. The Lifestyle version will be the less powerful model in the lot, coming with the hexa-core Snapdragon 650 chipset with 3GB RAM and 16GB ROM. There will be a large 6.4-inch 1080p display. The phone will be the cheapest model in the series and will feature excellent battery life.

Next up is the Nubia X8 Standard Edition which will feature Snapdragon 820 chipset with 3GB RAM, 32GB ROM, and a 6.4-inch 1080p display. The high version will upgrade the RAM, ROM, and resolution to 4GB, 64GB and 2K respectively. Finally, there will be a top-end PPT version which will feature the still unannounced Snapdragon 823 chipset with 6GB of RAM. Details about the new Snapdragon 823 and other chips were leaked before, and you can read more about them from the above link.

nubia x8 leak 02 — earlier leaked Nubia X8 model

Till now, we have only seen a single smartphone from Nubia in 2016, namely the Nubia Z11 Mini. Two other models with better specs are expected to be released soon, called as the Z11 and the Z11 Max. And possibly in the second half of the year, we could meet these four rumored Nubia X8 models. Unfortunately, as of now, nothing is official, so remember to take this news with a pinch of salt.

Mi Confirms 10th May launch for the Xiaomi Max

By

Jitendra Soni

-

Apr 24, 2016

As reported earlier, Xiaomi has officially announced that “Max” will be launched in Beijing on May 10, at the National Conference Center. There will be other highlights too apart from Xiaomi’s first phablet, in this conference. Going by the preparations, it seems Mi is really excited about this product launch.

Mi Max comes equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor clocked at 1.8 GHz. Although there are rumours that Mi has developed a custom processor called “Rifle” and may use the same in Max. However, we would prefer to wait and see if that is at all true. The phone will feature 2GB RAM and 16GB internal memory along with a 16MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. The device is running Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 and houses a 6.4″screen . We strongly feel that Max will be priced at 1799 yuan or $275, whats your thought on the pricing ?

Huawei’s First 2K Smartphone, Honor V8 Spotted In Two Versions

By

Joel Joseph

-

Apr 24, 2016

After the release of the Huawei P9 flagship with dual cameras, the Chinese giant is all set to announce another new series of smartphone called as the Honor V8. Given that the phone is from the Honor lineup, this should be much more affordable than the former series. The company has already confirmed that the phone will launch on May 10, and now, more details about the Honor V8 have cropped up online, thanks to its TENAA listing.

So, there will be two different versions of the device, KNT-AL10 and KNT-AL20, with the former being the low-end version and the latter, the high-end better-specced model. One of the biggest difference between the two devices is the screen resolution. For the first time, a Huawei flagship smartphone will use 2K Quad HD resolution display. On the other hand, the AL10 version comes with 1080p resolution. This information doesn’t come as a surprise as just last week, we had reported that Huawei CEO, Richard Yu said that 2K displays were a possibility on upcoming Huawei phones. But, what’s surprising is that the company has decided to use a 2K screen on the Honor lineup instead of the much more powerful Huawei P9 series. Both the versions come with a 5.7-inch display.

Moving on, in terms of the looks, both the models look identical. So, the difference is just in the specs. The overall design looks premium, with the body made out of metal and the front covered by 2.5D glass with the Honor logo just below the display. The phone will be quite thin, measuring just 7.75mm and weighing about 170 grams.

Coming to the specs, the Honor V8 low-end model will come with a 2.3GHz octa-core processor which should be the Kirin 950 along with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The high-end version will feature a 2.5GHz octa-core chip (should be Kirin 955) with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Both models run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow version and come with MicroSD card slot. Also, like revealed in the teasers, the Honor V8 phones comes with 12MP dual camera setup at the back. You’ll also find a dual tone flash and Laser Autofocus to aid the rear camera. Up front, there will be a single 8MP sensor. The battery is also pretty decent, with a capacity of 3400mAh.

From the specs and the design, the Honor V8 is turning out to be a pretty good flagship. Given that it’s placed in the Honor lineup, we can expect the price to be affordable as well. The Honor 7 retailed for around $300 and with these specs on board, we can expect the V8 to be announced for a slightly higher figure, maybe around $350? We will have to wait for a few more days to get official details, so till then, stay tuned.

Meizu M3 Note Review – One of the Best in Class

By

Linus

-

Apr 23, 2016

Meizu is one of those Chinese manufacturers, which produces some great yet affordable smartphones and the M3 Note is one of their latest offerings. It is pretty cheap, it has an all-metal unibody design and some great specs. This is Linus, learn more in the full review.

Thanks to Giztop for sending Meizu M3 Note for a review.

Buy Meizu M3 Note

Meizu M3 Note Review: VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqsa2tXqehQ[/embedyt]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlCkny83UFA[/embedyt]

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD05ShR-w1w[/embedyt]

Meizu M3 Note Review: UNBOXING

The phone ships with the some paperwork, a charging brick, USB cable and a SIM ejector pin.

Meizu M3 Note Review: SPECS

Display	5.5″ 1080p (Full-HD)
Processor	Mediatek MTK6755, 64-bit, quad-core (up to 1.8GHz)
RAM	2GB
Camera	5MP Front/13MP Back
Connectivity	Bluetooth, 3G, 4G, GPS, WIFI, GSM,EDGE, GPRS, UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+, dual-SIM.
Battery	4.100 mAh (non-removable)
Dimensions	153.6 x 75.5 x 8.2 mm / 163g
OS	FlyMe OS 5.1 (Android 5.1.1)
Storage	16GB (expandable via microSD card slot up to 128GB)

Meizu M3 Note Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

I’m really impressed with the design and all-metal build. The phone is very comfortable to hold in the hand but it may be a bit slippery as most aluminium phones.

The M3 Note is quite huge due to its 5.5” 1080p display, which is sharp, vibrant and you can adjust colour temperature to your liking in the settings menu. The only shortcoming is that it could be slightly brighter for outdoor use.

We have a 5MP snapper along with the LED notification light on the top.

On the bottom there is only one button but it has quite a few features. Firstly, it can be physically pressed as it acts as a home button. Also, it has a touchpad and it is a feature that I love and miss on some other phones. E.g. you can simply tap they key and it acts as a back button. Last but definitely not least, we have a fingerprint scanner, which is fast, accurate but it does not work straight from the standby mode. That means that you have to physically press it to wake the screen up and then use your fingerprint to unlock the device. A really cool feature that you can use your fingerprint for other purposes, e.g. you can lock certain apps.

A 13MP camera with dual-tone dual LED flash is on the back and we have plastic top and bottom parts for antennas.

The buttons are nice and tactile, and they do not rattle at all.

However, a hybrid dual-SIM or microSD card tray does rattle quite a bit.

We still have a regular micro USB port, which sits next to the loudspeaker. Speaking of which, it is pretty good but the sound could have more depth. However, the main issue is that sometimes it starts crackling at the highest volume setting.

Overall, I’m really happy with the design and the way the M3 Note is built except for the rattling SIM card tray.

Meizu M3 Note Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

Our review unit has a quad-core Mediatek 6755 Helio P10 chip with the max. clock speeds of 1.8GHz, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage.

To be honest, this is the first Helio P10-powered phone we are reviewing and I have to say that I was not impressed by its performance.

Asphalt 8 is one of the most versatile tests to check phones’ abilities and the M3 Note does not perform well. Firstly, I made sure that the phone is set to performance mode and tried playing the game on the highest graphics setting. The performance was horrible. There was a lot of lag, stutter and it was practically impossible to play the game.

Then I switched the graphics to medium, things have gotten a lot better but still, there were quite a few skipped frames.

Meizu M3 Note Review: BENCHMARKS

Meizu M3 Note Review: USER INTERFACE

Meizu M3 Note ships with the FlyMe OS 5.1, which is built on top of Android 5.1.

If you are familiar with the FlyMe OS, you will feel right at home. There is no app tray but there are some neat features. For example, you can swipe down anywhere on the screen to open up the notification shade. Swiping up brings a search bar. If you swipe from the bottom, you will open up your recent apps and this is one of my favorite features.

We have a bunch of other features, plenty of customization options, various tweaks and settings to play with. Just to name a few, you can use choose from a variety of themes, use gesture controls, which work fine and so on.

However, you have to keep in mind that the Chinese version of the phone ships with some bloatware, you would need to flash Google services manually and there are no multi-languages.

On the other hand, the FlymeOS runs fast and fluid, I didn’t have a single hiccup and it may be may be a personal preference but I really enjoyed using it on a daily basis.

Meizu M3 Note Review: CAMERA

The camera app is simple, easy to use and it is fast to take pictures. You have a few shooting modes, including a manual mode, and some settings to play with.

Meizu M3 Note Review: IMAGE and VIDEO QUALITY

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkvTIA_gYhg[/embedyt]

When it comes to the daylight image quality, it is pretty good and you can get some nice looking pictures with a decent amount of detail, natural looking colors and even pretty accurate dynamic range.

However, the quality decreases in lower-lit situations. You may still get some very good looking images but there will be a bit more noise and slightly less detail. Still, the image quality is pretty good for the phone this cheap.

The night camera performance is kind of a letdown. It is not the worst I’ve seen but I expected a bit more from this phone. The images are not bright enough, there is a low amount of detail and a lot of noise.

The selfie camera is pretty good and you will be able to take some decent looking selfies with it.

As for 1080p video, the quality is actually pretty good. Sure, the footage could look a bit sharper but the biggest downside is that the camera does not have continuous auto-focus feature.

Meizu M3 Note Review: CONNECTIVITY

As you may have expected, Meizu M3 Note has no connectivity issues. In fact, I was really curious how the Helio P10 works when using the GPS and I can assure you that it is very accurate.

Meizu M3 Note Review: BATTERY LIFE

We’ve come to the battery life and it is great. A 4100mAh unit allows you to use the phone for at least a few days depending on the usage. I could constantly get over 6 or even 7 hours of screen-on time on a mixed use.

Meizu M3 Note Review: CONCLUSIONS

So, there you have it, the Meizu M3 Note. The device is well built, it has a nice metal design, the display is sharp and vibrant, the UI has tons of features and it works fast.

Also, the camera can take some good looking daylight images, the battery life is great and the fingerprint scanner is fast and accurate.

However, the Helio P10 chip does not handle 3D games at the highest graphics settings the way we expected. Well, at least on the M3 Note.

Also, you have to know that the fingerprint sensor does not work straight from the standby mode, the device ships with some Chinese bloatware, the low-light camera performance does not impress and the SIM card tray rattles quite a bit.

All in all, Meizu M3 Note is still a great offering for the price and it can be highly recommended for those who don’t mind a few shortcomings.

Buy Meizu M3 Note

Meizu M3 Specifications and HD Images leaked, to be priced at 599 Yuan

By

Jitendra Soni

-

Apr 23, 2016

Meizu will be officially releasing the Meizu M3 soon. However, apart from its official price, everything has been leaked right from configuration to HD images of the device.

From the real images once can make out Meizu M3’s basic design easily. Its design has been derived from Meizu M2, It has the same 2.5D glass screen, a fingerprint sensor housed in the rectangular home button as spotted on TENAA website.

The back panel of the device is made of polycarbonate material. On the bottom of the device, one can see the speaker grill on either side of USB type-C charging interface, which ideally should also allow fast charge technology.

Meizu M3 measures 141.5 × 69.5 × 8.3 (mm) and weighs around 130.69 g. It will come in white, blue, grey, pink, gold colour options. The battery capacity of Meizu M3 has been upgraded to 2800mAh compared to 2500 mAh on Meizu M2.

Antutu benchmark leak shows a benchmark score of 39,000 and it also states that Meizu M3 has a Mediatek 6755 processor, 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM. It will have a screen resolution of 720P, a 13 MP rear camera and a 5 MP front camera. The phone is running on Flyme 5.1.3.0 on top of Android 5.1

Apart from the upgrade in battery department and processor, the biggest upgrade from Meizu M2 is on the network side. Meizu M3 will support full 4G Netcom and LTE Cat. 6 and supports dual sim standby. Also, it is rumoured that this device will be sold at 599 Yuan, then it is definitely a steal deal.

Xiaomi Max release date confirmed, Xiaomi Mi Band 2 coming too

By

Jitendra Soni

-

Apr 23, 2016

Today afternoon, in the annual conference, held in Jinan, Mi CEO Lei Jun, used an app called Mi Live to initiate the broadcast. In the process, Lei Jun accidentally leaked 2 heavily anticipated Mi products, the Mi Max, and second generation Mi Band.

Lei Jun later stated that the biggest phone in the history of Mi will be released on May 10th. It is said that in addition to screen large (expected 6.4 inches), the battery capacity will be a pleasantly surprising factor.

Earlier, Mi’s official a/c on Weibo, shared a real image of the device which only revealed, the top front corner of the device was visible. What we could make out of the image were the symmetrical design and the missing Mi logo.

In addition to Mi Max , Mi band II also appeared for the first time, it is likely to be released along with Mi Max. Live shots of the event show up ll reveal Lei Jun wearing the smart band on the left hand, the new Mi band comes with a screen and can display time. Next to the screen there is a button-like design, we are pretty unsure of its functionality at the moment.

It also needs to be noted that Mi has developed custom processor named “Rifle” and it is supposed to be launched along with other Mi products, next month. Mi Max is supposed to be carrying the “rifle” processor, however, let’s wait till the launch of the processor to assess the performance and applications.

Elephone S3 Reservation Event from 12th of April

By

shanos

-

Apr 22, 2016

Elephone S3 Reservation Event from 12th of April

Elephone S3 Reservation event will start from the 12th of April and run through till the 27th of April

No actual price for the phone has been given yet but Elephone have given a clue to the price by putting $1?9.99 on their post.

What do you think the question mark will be replaced with? I am guessing they will be fairly agrressive as they normally are with their pre-sale pricing.

Personally I would like to see Elephone put the S3 up for pre-sale around the $140-$160 price point, as this would put it in a great position to compete with other mid range handsets.

The S3 comes with a 2.5d Bezel-less 5.2 inches display, with an 83% screen to body ratio making it look very premium.

The phone has an all metal chassis and curved back to help make the body feel even more sturdy and comfortable in the hand.

With the great screen to body ratio and the curvaceous design, this should be a phone that looks as good as it feels in the hand.

elephone s3 reservation-3

As far as specs go the phone features a Mediatek Octa-Core MT6753 clocked at 1.3Ghz and will come with 3gb of ram and 16gb of rom (expandable with up to 128gb micro SD) and will run Android 6.0 out of the box.

Whilst the specs for the CPU and memory configurations are not exactly cutting edge, the phone should certainly have the looks and style to compete favourably with phones like the Redmi Note 3.

You can register here for the Elephone S3 Reservation event hopefully if the price is competitive, this could be one of the best looking mid range handsets of 2016.

Please feel free to leave comments and questions below

Regards Shane

Original article published on gadgetz.tv

Buy Links:

BUY LINKS (Cheapest Price):

Everbuying ($139.99)

Banggood ($139.99)

Gearbest ($158.99)

DESIGN:

Meizu M3 vs Redmi 3 SCREEN:

Meizu M3 vs Redmi 3 SPECS:

Meizu M3 vs Redmi 3 PRICING:

Meizu M3 Note Review: VIDEO REVIEW

Meizu M3 Note Review: UNBOXING

Meizu M3 Note Review: SPECS

Display

5.5″ 1080p (Full-HD)

Processor

Mediatek MTK6755, 64-bit, quad-core (up to 1.8GHz)

RAM

2GB

Camera

5MP Front/13MP Back

Connectivity

Bluetooth, 3G, 4G, GPS, WIFI, GSM,EDGE, GPRS, UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+, dual-SIM.

Battery

4.100 mAh (non-removable)

Dimensions

153.6 x 75.5 x 8.2 mm / 163g

OS

FlyMe OS 5.1 (Android 5.1.1)

Storage

16GB (expandable via microSD card slot up to 128GB)

Meizu M3 Note Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

Meizu M3 Note Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

Meizu M3 Note Review: BENCHMARKS

Meizu M3 Note Review: USER INTERFACE

Meizu M3 Note Review: CAMERA

Meizu M3 Note Review: IMAGE and VIDEO QUALITY

Meizu M3 Note Review: CONNECTIVITY

Meizu M3 Note Review: BATTERY LIFE

Meizu M3 Note Review: CONCLUSIONS

Elephone S3 Reservation Event from 12th of April