Huawei P9: Specs, Pricing, Release Date & Pictures Leaked In The Weekend

By

-

Apr 3, 2016

This weekend was a busy one for Huawei fans. There were at least three different leaks on the internet of the upcoming Huawei P9 family, including pictures, specs and even release date (sale date) of the device. Since a lot of information were leaked in the past two days, here’s a summary of the additional details we came to know about the phone.

Huawei P9 Leaked Picture (Leica Branding):

This weekend, we saw an HD rendering of the upcoming Huawei P9 smartphone which clearly revealed the Leica branding at the back. The company as well as earlier leaks have already confirmed that the phone will come with dual cameras with lens from Leica, so this isn’t a surprise. The picture reveals that the phone will feature the SUMMARIT H 1: 2.2/ 27 ASPH lens from Leica.

Further, we can see dual LED flash as well as Laser Autofocus besides the dual camera setup. It is said that the setup will come with breakthrough technology and that it will be the second generation dual camera tech from the company (first was used in the Honor 6 Plus). Further, we can see a textured metal back as well as the fingerprint sensor.

Leica Certification:

Another important piece of information that we received in the past two days is that the lens on board could be certified from Leica. According to an industry insider, since Leica doesn’t make smartphone camera lens, Huawei could possibly obtain a certification from Leica for its Huawei P9 range. It could work similar to Nokia’s Carl Zeiss lens certification. Further, it is said that the dual camera setup for Huawei P9 comes from China’s leading Sunny Optical Technology, which is one of the best in the country.

Huawei P9 Specs, Pricing & Sale:

Another leak, showing off an official Huawei document confirms the presence of four different variants of the Huawei P9. So, there will be a standard version of Huawei P9 along with, P9 Lite, P9 Max and P9 Plus (high version). The phone will reportedly go on sale on April 16, ten days after being officially released.

The Huawei P9 is said to come with a 5.2-inch 1080p display with the standard version featuring Kirin 950, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage and the P9 Plus version coming with Kirin 955, 4GB RAM, 64GB / 128GB options with Android Marshmallow on board.

Coming to the pricing, it is said that the P9 Max will retail for 4088 Yuan ($631), while the Plus for 3688 Yuan ($569). The standard edition will sell for 3088 Yuan ($477) and the P9 Lite version for 1888 Yuan ($291).

Symphonized Earphones Review – Hand-crafted Wood Earphones for just $25?

By

Linus

-

Apr 3, 2016

The earphones market is flooded with a variety of different options. I’ve tested quite a few earphones over the time but I was really impressed by Symphonized NRG 2.0. They are handcrafted from natural wood, they sound great and the cost just $25. Learn more in the full review.

Subscribe to TechLineHD

Symphonized NRG 2.0 Earphones Review: VIDEO

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF6GztLDyxg[/embedyt]

Symphonized NRG 2.0 Earphones Review: UNBOXING

It all starts with a great presentation. Everything is packed neatly and the contents of the box include the headset itself, some extra earbuds, a clip, some documentation and a really cool carrying pouch.

Symphonized NRG 2.0 Earphones Review: DESIGN

The main highlight of this headset is that the earbuds are made of natural wood to assure a great sound quality and exceptional looks.

The wood housing is really strong and it doesn’t seem to break anytime soon.

The cable is really nice too and most importantly, it is tangle-free.

The controller has a built-in mic for hands-free calling and the call quality is exceptionally great and people I spoke to via this mic didn’t even notice that I was using a hands-free headset.

The controller has only one button. It can play/pause the music if you press it once and skip tracks back and forth if you press it twice or 3 times, respectively. Unfortunately, you cannot control volume output.

The 3.5mm headset jack is actually gold-plated to prevent any sound leakages. My complaint about the jack is that it is quite huge in comparison to some other headset jacks I’ve seen.

Symphonized NRG 2.0 Earphones Review: SOUND QUALITY

As for sound quality, these are simply one of the best budget earphones I’ve ever heard. The sound is crisp and clear, there is a huge amount of bass and the volume output is loud. Overall, I’m really impressed with the sound quality and having tested a bunch of budget earphones, these are definitely one of the better ones.

Symphonized NRG 2.0 Earphones Review: CONCLUSIONS

The Symphonized earphones are quite a unique product if we consider a low price and overall package.

They are hand-crafted from natural wood, the sound quality is one of the best in class, the mic quality is very good and the headset comes with a tangle-free cable.

However, the headset jack could be slightly smaller and although I like the one button controller design, I would love to have the ability to control the volume output too.

All in all, the Symphonized NRG 2.0 is a great headset despite a few shortcomings. In fact, it is an awesome product considering the overall quality, the fact that is hand-made of wood and the low price tag.

Buy Symphonized NRG 2.0 from Amazon US

Buy Symphonized NRG 2.0 from Amazon UK

Ulefone Future Helio X20 Version In The Works, Will Feature 128GB Storage

By

Joel Joseph

-

Apr 1, 2016

Now that the Ulefone Vienna is officially announced and is up for pre-order via various retailers, our focus is turned towards the bezel-less offering from the company, namely the Ulefone Future. We have been hearing a lot about the device in the past few weeks, in fact we also saw the device in action at MWC 2016. Now, the company has revealed more details about the upcoming flagship.

First of all, the company reveals that there will be a high-end variant of the Ulefone Future that would come with the deca-core Helio X20 chipset. However, given that the chipset is not yet readily available, this particular version will be released later. Also, considering the high-end targeting, the phone will ship with 128GB of internal storage.

Other specs of the phone will be similar to the standard bezel-less edition. So, you can expect 4GB of RAM on board. The screen resolution will be bumped up to 2K. At the back, there should be a 20MP CMOS sensor. No other specs details were revealed at present.

Along with these two editions, there would be another Ulefone Future edition, which will feature less powerful specs. The phone will abandon the bezel-less display, in favor of a regular screen but with narrow bezels. Inside, you can expect the same Helio P10 processor along with 4GB RAM. However, the camera sensor will be less powerful and the storage on board will be reduced as well. With this version, the company is looking to target the affordable smartphone segment, as it will retail for a cheaper price tag than the standard and high-end editions.

Now, coming to the standard edition, Ulefone Future will come with a 1080p 5.5-inch bezel-less display, with a 16MP rear Samsung camera, side mounted fingerprint sensor, Helio P10 octa-core chip and 4GB of RAM.

The company has confirmed that the standard edition will launch in April. The date is not yet fixed, but stay tuned for more details. You can check out the company’s official website from here.

Huawei Had A Strong 2015, Posts Annual Revenue Growth of 37%

By

Joel Joseph

-

Apr 1, 2016

Huawei has been aggressively investing in its smartphone division the last few years. The investments seem to be bearing fruit for the company as last year, it recorded an annual revenue growth of an impressive 37%. This is Huawei’s biggest annual growth in the past seven years i.e. since 2008. The company recorded a revenue of RMB 395 billion ($61.10 billion).

Coming to the net profit, the company posted a total net profit of RMB 36.9 billion, up from RMB 27.9 billion in 2014. This marks a 32% increase in the net profit. Even in the shipments deparment, Huawei did pretty well. Last year, the company reported that it managed to sell over 109 million phones, which was quite impressive. Now, it adds that shipments in 2015 were 44% higher than that of the previous year.

Although most of you may know Huawei as a smartphone manufacturer, 59% of the company’s revenue came from the company’s telecom business. Adoption of 4G in prime regions like China has been primarily responsible for the company growth in this segment. The company’s enterprise business which builds private networks also saw a growth of 43.8%.

In case you are wondering, Huawei spend around 15% of its gross revenue in R&D. The company’s increased focus in the consumer electronic businessness helped it grow by a whopping 73%. As for this year’s revenue’s Huawei expects a growth of over 23%, up from $61 billion to $75 billion.

Things are looking good for the Chinese giant. In fact, Huawei’s CEO Richard Yu aims to surpass Apple and Samsung in the smartphone market in the next five years. Of course, that’s a long way ahead, but considering the company’s growth in the segment, things could get heated up in the top-end smartphone market soon.

Huawei has time and again stressed that it will not fight with other Chinese manufacturers over low-cost smartphone market share. Instead the company is looking to compete with the likes of Samsung and Apple, in the premium smartphone market.

So, what do you think? Do you see Huawei posing a threat to companies like Samsung and Apple in the future.

Meanwhile, the company will unveil its brand new premium smartphone lineup, the Huawei P9 series on April 6. Read more about that from here.

Vivo Announces X6S and X6S Plus With Snapdragon 652 Chipset

By

Joel Joseph

-

Apr 1, 2016

We have seen manufacturers announce more than one flagships within a year. However, these days, the trend seems to be at least three to four flagships in a year. Vivo seems to be following this trend, as soon after announcing the powerful Vivo XPlay 5, the company has now released the Vivo X6S and X6S Plus smartphones.

Both the models have a traditional Vivo design, featuring a body made out of metal and slim form factor. To be honest, from the renders, the phone’s bezels look quite thick, but let’s hope that in real life it’s slimmer. The back features a fingerprint sensor as well.

Both the phones feature a metal body with three color options namely gold, rose gold and silver. Both models come with a 1080p display with different screen sizes. But before we see their differences, let’s take a look at what they have in common. Both have the Snapdragon 652 chipset inside with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. Up front, they have 8MP cameras. Other features include fast charge (twin charging like XPlay 5), Hi-Fi audio, 4G LTE network and fingerprint recognition.

Now coming to the differences, the first major one is the display size. The Vivo X6S comes with a smaller 5.2-inch display while the X6S Plus features a larger 5.7-inch panel. Both have 1080p resolutions. The camera on the X6S is just 13MP while the Plus variant has a 16MP shooter. Also, the latter features a larger battery of 3000mAh as opposed to 2400mAh on the former.

The Vivo X6S is priced at 2598 Yuan while the X6S Plus at 2998 Yuan. The phone will go on sale on April 5 at 10 AM in China.

So, what do you think? Any of these models interest you?

You can check out the images of the newly announced devices from down below.

Ulefone Releases Another Video Testing The Hi-Fi Equipped Vienna Smartphone

By

Joel Joseph

-

Apr 1, 2016

Back when Ulefone compared its Hi-Fi equipped Vienna to another Hi-Fi device, namely Vivo X5 Play we saw that the phone could keep up with the latter to some extent. However, the test was not thorough or professional enough to check out the true audio output of the smartphone. At that time, Ulefone had promised to release a new video with better testing equipments. Staying true to their promise, the company has just released a new video showing off the Hi-Fi capability of the Vienna in different environments.

The company reportedly used professional equipments to conduct this test, HiVi M200MKII speakers and recorded everything using Sony PCM-D100 high-resolution personal audio recorded. Ulefone performed the test using 7 different soundtracks, with parameters for test including treble, bass, vocals, positioning, sound field, stereo separation and flexibility with music styles.

You can check out the video from down below.

Inside, the Vienna comes with the NXP Smart Audio PA audio processor with 2HZ- 20KHz frequency response, 109db SNR and 0.01% THD. Ulefone will also be recommending high-quality earphones and speakers to go with its new Hi-Fi device.

Currently, the Ulefone Vienna is available for pre-order for a price tag of $169.99. Retailers will also be sending out a mystery gift worth $10 along with their orders. The pre-sale is already underway and will end on April 12. You can expect orders to start shipping from April 15.

Coming to the specs of the Vienna, it comes with MT6753 chip inside with 3GB of RAM, 32GB storage, a 5.5-inch 2.5D Glass 1080p display, 3250mAh battery, and Panasonic 13MP rear camera. You also get a fingerprint sensor at the back. The phone is up for pre-order in four different colors namely white, black, grey and pink.

BUY LINKS:

Pre-order Ulefone Vienna From Everybuying ($169.99)

Pre-order Ulefone Vienna From Gearbest ($169.99)

Pre-order Ulefone Vienna From Banggood($169.99)

Meizu M3 Note Pictured Alongside The Pro 6, Two Very Different Designs

By

Joel Joseph

-

Apr 1, 2016

Meizu will be releasing its M3 Note budget smartphone on April 6. There’s another event from the company in April, on 12th, but we are not quite sure what’s its related to.

For the past few days, the internet has been filled with rumors and leaks about the upcoming M3 Note. And today, we have a look at the upcoming mid-ranger for the first time, that too alongside the Pro 6 flagship that could meet us a few weeks later.

First of all, before you get confused, the Meizu Pro 6 handset is on the left which is in black and the Meizu M3 Note lies on the right. You may have got confused because the earlier Pro 6 leaks had shown off the device in silver, but this ones in black.

Moving on, it looks like the Pro 6 will have a smaller display as compared to the M3 Note. The Meizu’s Blue Charm Note series have always come with a 5.5-inch 1080p display. We expect the company to continue this tradition with the new update as well. So, this picture could be a good indication that the Pro 6 will come with a smaller display, somewhere around 5.2-inches, which seem to be the sweet spot among flagships nowadays.

The M3 Note features an all metal body with standard antenna lines on top and bottom. On the other hand, the Pro 6 comes with the unique antenna line, similar to the rumored iPhone 7 design. To be honest, the new M3 Note’s design seems to be in line with Meizu’s premium Pro 5 handset, which is not really a bad thing. However, given its similarity, we will have to wait and see whether the company decides to change the design on the MX6 too to make it more unique and premium. MX6 is also rumored to come sometime in the next few weeks.

Coming to the specs, leaks state that the M3 Note will come with 2GB RAM / 3GB RAM options with 16GB / 32GB storage variants. There will be Helio P10 chip inside with Android 5.1 on top.

Blackview BV6000 Rugged Smartphone Specs Detailed

By

Joel Joseph

-

Apr 1, 2016

Blackview has a couple of rugged smartphones in their lineup. Last year, the company announced the BV5000 rugged smartphone which did quite well, and now, this Chinese company is all set to update the lineup with a new model, the Blackview BV6000. The new phone will retain the rugged characteristics of the previous model, and will upgrade the specs to a great extent.

According to the latest information, the upcoming Blackview BV6000 will come with the MT6755 Helio P10 chipset under the hood clocked at 2GHz. This octa-core chip is the one which drives many mid-range flagships in the market, so it’s good to see it inside the new Blackview device. For memory, the phone will come with 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage. This will be further expandable up to 32GB via MicroSD.

Being a rugged smartphone, the phone will be IP68 certified, so it will be dust proof, water proof and shock proof, making it an ideal outdoor companion. Further, the phone comes with a large 4500mAh battery to make sure that it lasts more than a day easily. This should be enough given that the screen is compact, measuring 4.7-inches with 720p resolution.

The BV6000 will run on the new Android 6.0 Marshmallow version out of the box. Other features of the phone include an 18MP rear camera (could be interpolated) and an 8MP front facing shooter. It will support GPS as well as GLONASS. Finally, this is a 4G enabled smartphone with support for FDD-LTE 800/ 1800/ 2100/ 2600 bands. You also get dual SIM dual standby on the device.

The Blackview BV6000 will be announced sometime in the middle of 2016 for a pricing of less than $200. Stay tuned for more details.

Meawhile, the super cheap Blackview A8 smartphone is up for grabs via various retailers. You can purchase it from here.

Blitzwolf VR Review – The Best Cheap VR Headset?

By

Linus

-

Apr 1, 2016

Some say that virtual reality is the next big thing in mobile technology and I agree but most of the VR headsets costs quite a lot. I came accross the Blitzwolf VR headset, which costs just below $27. Stay tuned for a full review.

SUBSCRIBE TO TECHLINEHD

Blitzwolf VR Headset Review: VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxs0Ok3fJYo[/embedyt]

Blitzwolf VR Headset Review: UNBOXING

Blitzwolf VR Headset Review: DESIGN

When it comes to the design of any VR headset, the most important thing is comfort when you actually use it.

The inner side of the headset sports a faux leather finish, which is soft and it didn’t irritate my skin at all. The elastic strap is really durable and it also has some faux leather elements to give you a bit more cushion.

In short, the Blitzwolf VR headset is comfortable to use. However, I’m not really sure if you want to use any VR headset for more than 40 mins without taking a break.

As for actual build quality, it is good but don’t expect anything fancy here. The shell is made of plastic but it does not seem to break anytime soon.

There is a magnetic clasp holding the smartphone tray. You just need to simply open it up, put your phone into the adjustable bracket, and you are good to go.

It is really important that you adjust the pupil and focal distance using the knobs on the sides and on the top of the headset. Make sure to take your time to adjust it to your eyesight to get the best VR experience.

A front cover can be easily removed, which allows you to charge you phone or if your phone tends to heat up, reduce the heat.

All in all, I’m happy with the design and build quality considering that this headset does not even cost $30. Once we have set everything up, let’s take a look at what we can actually do with the VR headset.

Blitzwolf VR Headset Review: FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY

See a video review for features and functionality

If you are not familiar with the virtual reality thing, this headset allows you to watch 360 or 3D videos and gives you that immersive effect or the 1st person view.

Also, you can play a variety of different games, which are designed for VR headsets. Keep in mind that the Blitzwolf headset does not have any buttons, so you would be able to play only the simplest games. I suggest you buying a Bluetooth remote controller if you want to play more advanced games.

The experience of the VR is great and it is much more different than just watching videos on the computer’s screen or playing regular games. I have to tell you that I really enjoyed using the headset. While I’m not a gamer in general but 360 videos is the thing that I liked most.

Blitzwolf VR Headset Review: CONCLUSIONS

Virtual reality is not something that you can’t live without but it is really cool and the Blitzwolf VR headset is an affordable solution.

It has a decent design and build quality, it is comfortable to wear and it doesn’t cost a fortune.

All in all, I can definitely recommend this headset if you want to start enjoying the virtual reality games or watching videos but don’t want to break your bank.

Buy Blitzwolf VR Headset

Vernee Thor’s Pre-order Price Set at $119.99, Features MT6753 & 3GB RAM

By

Joel Joseph

-

Mar 31, 2016

We have been hearing a lot about the Vernee Thor smartphone, which will come with mid-range price at an affordable price of $129.99. Now, the company has announced that it will reduce the pre-order price of the Vernee Thor to $119.99. This is good news for users who were planning to purchase this mid-ranger as it is a good $10 OFF the earlier reported price.

The phone will go up for pre-order today, but we have not yet seen retailers list this device for sale for the above-mentioned price. Hopefully, the presale at this price will start soon.

Also, it is said that Uber users may get a chance to pre-order this smartphone at an even discounted price tag of $99.99. The company is yet to reveal details about how this will work, but expect more details soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0pb_2RVO4w

Coming to the specs, the Vernee Thor features the MT6753 octa-core chip under the hood. The company adds that as compared to the newer chips like the Helio P10 and the Helio X20, the MT6753 seems a bit outdated, however, the company decided to stick with this chip because of its stable quality and reliability making it the ideal choice for phones with high cost-performance ratio. That’s why we are seeing many low-cost mid-rangers use this chipset inside.

The phone comes with a 5-inch Oncell HD display with Gorilla Glass 3 protection. There will be 3GB of RAM and 16GB of ROM inside, further expandable up to 128GB via MicroSD. At the back, there will be a 13MP camera, while up front a 5MP Shooter. The phone features a 2800mAh battery under the hood with 5V 2A Quick Charge. For software, the Thor runs on Android 6.0 version out of the box. There will be a fingerprint sensor at the back as well.

The specs and the pricing of the phone make the Thor a value for money handset. The phone will go on presale very soon, so stay tuned for more details.

Meanwhile, check out Vernee’s website for more details.

Buy Links:

Pre-order Vernee (Discount Code: VENE20, $20 OFF)

Xiaomi Mi 5 Released In India For Rs. 24,999, Only One Variant Available

By

Joel Joseph

-

Mar 31, 2016

Xiaomi has officially released the Xiaomi Mi 5 flagship in India. Fans have been waiting for this beast for quite some time in the country and finally, they can get hold of one for themself. The phone will be first available for sale on April 6, which is an important day given that it’s the company’s sixth anniversary.

Interestingly, Xiaomi has decided to offer only one variant in India, namely the 3GB RAM + 32GB RAM in the country. At the launch back in China, the company had revealed three different variants of the device, a standard variant with 3GB + 16GB, 3GB + 32GB and a high-end Mi 5 Pro variant with 4GB + 64GB RAM.

Another interesting thing about this launch is that the Xiaomi Mi 5’s first flash sale will be conducted on the official website of the company, i.e. Mi.com on April 6. But the company has confirmed that the phone will be available via other e-commerce websites a few weeks later.

To recap, the Xiaomi Mi 5 3GB RAM + 32GB storage comes with the Snapdragon 820 chipset with Adreno 530 GPU. At the back, there will be a 16MP camera with 4-axis OIS and sapphire glass protection lens. Further, the phone comes with PDAF (Phase Detection Autofocus), dual LED flash and 4K video support. Up front, there will be a 4MP Ultrapixel camera with large 2-micron sensor featuring f/2.0 aperture.

The phone comes with 3000mAh battery inside a body measuring 7.25mm thickness. Mi 5 comes with the super fast Quick Charge 3.0 standard, which is 20 percent faster than the previous generation QC 2.0. The display will be of 5.15-inches with a resolution of 1080p. Other features include Wi-Fi, VoLTE, Glonass, NFC and USB Type-C port.

Xiaomi Mi 5’s India pricing is pretty close to the Chinese pricing of 2299 Yuan ($351). However, I am sure many would be disappointed to see that the Mi 5 Pro will not be released in the country, at least not at the moment.

So, what do you think?

Huawei P9 Launch Invitations Reveal Dual Cameras With Breakthrough Technology

By

Joel Joseph

-

Mar 31, 2016

Huawei is all set to announce the much anticipated Huawei P9 flagship smartphone series on April 6. We have been regularly hearing about the phone for the past couple of months and most of the specs have been more or less revealed. The company has sent out invites for the event to several media outlets and they once again confirm the presence of dual camera setup on the device.

The invite hints the presence of dual cameras on multiple places. First of all, we can see the usual dual circles, the ones we had seen on the previous teasers, right on top of the invite box. Then, inside, there’s a camera roll, which once again has the dual circles. So, like before, the company is stressing that the phone will focus a lot on its camera performance.

The teasers for the launch claim that the phone will “Will Change the Way You See the World”. Well, this sounds like a big claim, which we hope the company manages to keep up to. Huawei has experience with dual camera setup on a smartphone. Remember the Honor 6 Plus with its 8MP dual cameras?

According to recent reports, the new Huawei P9 will come with the second generation version of the technology that was found on the Honor 6 Plus. So, we can expect pretty good performance from the device.

Recent leaks have showed us that the Huawei P9 will come with 12MP dual rear cameras and the lens setup with be provided by Leica. We expect one unit to be a color camera while the other, a black and white one. But what kind of breakthrough technology will be achieved by this combination is something that remains to be seen.

There have been several manufacturers who have experimented with dual camera setup on their flagships. But till now, we haven’t been blown away by their performances. Maybe P9’s dual camera setup will change out opinion. Let’s wait and watch.

Recently, the specs of the top-end variants in the Huawei P9 lineup, namely the Huawei P9 Max and the P9 Plus were leaked. You can read about them from here.

April 6 is less than a week away. And as we near the launch, the phone looks at the more exciting.

Meizu CEO Posts A Screenshot Of The Upcoming Meizu M3 Note

By

Joel Joseph

-

Mar 31, 2016

Meizu hasn’t had any particular big releases in this year yet. The only new phone that we saw from the company was the Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu edition. However, the company has a number of devices in pipeline for 2016, and Meizu’s executives have been revealing details about its upcoming phones since the past few weeks.

Meizu has confirmed that there will be a new product announcement on April 6 next week and it’s no surprise that we can expect the Meizu M3 Note to be launched at the event. Now, Meizu’s CEO Huang has revealed a new screenshot of the upcoming M3 Note revealing that the phone will come with dual SIM dual standby.

In the past few months, we have seen that company executives play a very important role of revealing features of their upcoming devices. Remember the screenshot of the Mi 5 posted by Xiaomi’s Lei Jun or even the first samples images take from the device? So, this seems to have become a trend among company executives.

Moving on, we already know a lot about the Meizu M3 Note, thanks to the AnTuTu listing of the device. The phone will come with a slightly slower version of the Mediatek Helio P10 chipset (MT6755m) with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. There will be a high version as well featuring 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. At the back, the phone will come a 13MP camera, while up front there will be a 5MP Shooter. Unfortunately, the listing shows that the phone will run on the old Android 5.1 lollipop version. But even if the company releases the phone with Lollipop (which would be unlikely), a Marshmallow update should be released soon after release. The screen size is unknown but the resolution will be 1080p.

Meizu executives have dubbed the M3 Note as not only their first device of the year but also the most beautiful one yet. The phone is said to feature a thin body, large battery and a beatiful design.

The official release of the phone is on April 6, the same day as Huawei P9 will meet us. And yes, in case you didn’t know, the Xiaomi Mi 5 Pro edition also goes on sale for the first time in China the same day. So, it’s definitely going to be a busy day for Chinese smartphone lovers.

Stay tuned for more details.

Redmi 3 Pro vs Redmi Note 3 Pro: The Pro Versions Compared

By

Joel Joseph

-

Mar 31, 2016

A couple of days back, Xiaomi announced its cheapest fingerprint enabled smartphone, namely the Redmi 3 Pro. This will be an upgraded model to the existing Redmi 3 model which was announced back in January. The specs of the device are now similar to the specs offered by the Redmi Note series, which is why we thought it would be a good idea to pit the Redmi 3 Pro vs Redmi Note 3 Pro in this comparison. Both have slightly different specs, and are targeted at a slightly different market, however, given that the pricing of the Redmi 3 Pro has nearly reached to the level of the Note series, they can now be considered very close to each other.

So, without wasting anymore time, let’s move on to the Redmi 3 Pro vs Redmi Note 3 Pro comparison.

DESIGN:

Design wise, both are very similar looking handsets. That’s not surprising given that they fall in the same family, i.e. the Redmi series. The new Redmi 3 Pro has abandoned the plaid design that was seen on the Redmi 3 and instead features a plain metal back cover with the fingerprint sensor on board. The camera and the flash are located on the top left corner.

Coming to the Redmi Note 3 Pro version, it features a similar plain back design, with a fingerprint sensor on board. The camera and the flash are located around the top center portion. Both the models feature a metal body.

Coming to the dimensions, which is quite interesting, the Redmi 3 Pro comes with a 139.3 x 69.6 x 8.5mm body while the Note 3 Pro features a 150 x 76 x 8.7mm body. What’s interesting here is that despite having a large battery, the smaller and much more compact Redmi 3 Pro is thinner than the Note model. In case you are wondering about the weight, the Redmi 3 Pro is lighter at 144 grams as opposed to 164 grams of the Note 3 Pro.

HARDWARE:

Specs wise there are quite a few differences. The Redmi 3 Pro comes with the Snapdragon 616 octa-core chip, which comes from a series that powered mid-range smartphones. On the other hand, the Redmi Note 3 Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 650 chipset. This chip is slightly more powerful than the SD616 given that it comes with dual Cortex A72 cores. On the other hand, the SD616 is all Cortex A53 cores. Another important difference is the GPU inside, Adreno 405 on Redmi model as opposed to the faster Adreno 510 on the Redmi Note model.

Coming to the memory, the Redmi 3 Pro has just one variant, 3GB RAM + 32GB with MicroSD (hybrid slot) for up to 128GB expansion. On the other hand, the Note model has 2GB + 16GB and 3GB + 32GB variants.

For camera, the Redmi 3 Pro sports a 13MP f/2.0 sensor with PDAF and single LED flash. On the other hand, the Note 3 Pro comes with a slightly better 16MP sensor with PDAF, f/2.0 aperture, and dual tone flash. Both have 5MP front facing cameras.

Coming to the displays, the Redmi 3 Pro is much more compact sporting a 5-inch 720p screen. On the other hand, the Redmi Note 3 Pro comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p display.

Battery is of similar capacity and sufficiently large on both the phones. The Redmi 3 Pro has a 4100mAh battery while the Redmi Note 3 Pro comes with a 4000mAh battery. However, considering the 720p 5-inch screen and the super efficient SD616 with Cortex A53 cores, expect the battery life on the former to be much better.

Finally, both the models run on Android 5.1 with MIUI 7 on top. And yes, as mentioned above, both have fingerprint sensors.

Here’s the specs summary:

	Redmi 3 Pro	Redmi Note 3 Pro
CPU	1.5GHz Snapdragon 616 (eight Cortex A53) Adreno 405 GPU	1.8GHz Snapdragon 650 (2xCortex A72 + 4x Cortex A53) Adreno 510 GPU
Display	5-inch 1280 x 720p screen	5.5-inch 1920 x 1080p screen
RAM	3GB RAM + 32GB ROM (maximum 128G Expandable via Hybrid slot SIM2)	2GB RAM + 16GB ROM / 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM (128GB Expandable via Hybrid slot SIM2)
Camera	13MP f/2.0 rear with single LED flash 5MP front	16MP f/2.0 rear with dual tone flash 5MP front
Battery	4100mAh	4000mAh
Other Features	Fingerprint sensor, dual SIM dual standby, 4G LTE,
Size	139.3 x 69.6 x 8.5 mm	150 x 76 x 8.7 mm

PRICE:

Both the phones are priced quite near to each other. The newly announced Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro retails at an official price tag of 899 yuan ($138). Now, the base variant of the Redmi Note 3 Pro i.e. the 2GB RAM + 16GB storage model also retails at the exact same price. The 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM variant retails for 999 Yuan ($154).

CONCLUSION:

So, both are pretty good smartphones. The Redmi 3 Pro is ideal for someone who wants a compact screen and a very long lasting battery. On the other hand, if you are looking for a larger and better display, a decent battery that will last an entire day and specs that can play almost every Android game out there, then Redmi Note 3 Pro is your best bet.

So, which one do you think is ideal for you?

Huawei P9 Max & P9 Plus Specs & Features Leaked

By

Joel Joseph

-

Mar 30, 2016

Huawei has confirmed that it will announce its new smartphone series, namely the Huawei P9 family on April 6. It’s really going to be a large family, considering that it is said there are at least four different variants in the lineup, starting with the Standard and Lite editions, to the top-end Huawei P9 Max and Plus variants. Today, we have got some new information about these high-end powerful variants.

Latest reports suggest that the Huawei P9 Max and P9 Plus smartphone will have the same specifications as revealed in the AnTuTu listing yesterday. However, the biggest different between the two will be in screen size. The P9 Plus is expected to come with a 5.2-inch 1080p display, much like the other variants, however, the P9 Max will be the biggest in the lot with a massive 6.8-inch display. Given the large screen size, the display will sport a resolution of 2K.

Another highlight of the Max version will be the presence of pressure sensitive display. Huawei has a couple of phones with Force Touch displays, so it won’t be a surprise. Other features of the Max include dual cameras with Leica lens.

Now, coming to the pricing of the P9 Max, it is said that the phone will retail for a whopping 4088 Yuan ($633) while the P9 Plus should retail for 3688 Yuan ($570). The P9 Standard edition will retail for 3088 Yuan ($477) while the P9 Lite at 1888 Yuan ($292).

To recap, yesterday’s AnTuTu listing revealed powerful hardware inside the P9 Max and Plus models. The phone will come with Kirin 955 chip (upgraded version of Kirin 950) with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. there will be 13MP dual rear cameras with an 8MP front facing shooter. The phone was running on the new Android 6.0 Marshmallow platform.

The Huawei P9 launch event is exactly a week away. So stay tuned for more details.

Mpow Wolverine Review – Great Cheap Sports Bluetooth Earphones!

By

Linus

-

Mar 30, 2016

The Bluetooth earphones market is pretty busy but I found the Mpow Wolverine pair of earphones to comfortable to wear, great sounding and affordable. Stay tuned for a full review.

Check out the product page

Subscribe to TechLineHD

VIDEO REVIEW:

[embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=legn8Sb2vkE [/embedyt]

UNBOXING

The headset comes with some extra earbuds and ear supports, a charging cable and some instruction manuals.

DESIGN, FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY

For just $20, the earphones are really well made and the I like the design of them. The actual earphone part is made out of rubberised plastic and the top has a somewhat vinyl-like finish.

The earphones are not the smallest I’ve seen and therefore I highly recommend you using the ear supports or stabilisers (whatever you call them). Also, make sure to select the right size of the earbuds. Once you do that, I found that the headset is comfortable to use and it does not fall out of the ears.

Also, I love the flat tangle-free cable design and the placement of the controller. Speaking of which, it has 3 nice and tactile buttons, which allow you to skip tracks, answer the calls and so on.

TEST NOTES AND SOUND QUALITY

I didn’t have any issues with pairing the headset with my phone. Also, the Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity and range are fine.

When it comes to the sound quality, this is definitely one of the better sounding $20 Bluetooth headsets. The sound is crisp and clear, there are no distortions at the max. volume setting and there is a decent amount of bass.

As far as call quality, it is good and I had no complaints from anyone I talked to via this headset.

The battery life is surprisingly good. I could get over 6.5 hours of music playback and you simply cannot ask more from a headset this cheap.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, I was pretty happy with this pair of Mpow earphones. Of course, you can’t expect some stellar sound quality but for $20 it is really good for the price.

Also, I love the fact that they actually stay in the ears while jogging but you have to be patient to find the right earbuds and ear stabilisers. Well, these rules apply to each and every sports headset. People are just impatient to find the right fit for their ears and they think that the headset is crap.

All in all, I can definitely recommend this pair or earphones as I didn’t find any major shortcomings. These are definitely one of the better ones I’ve tested if we talk about $20 price point.

Buy Mpow Wolverine from Amazon US

Buy Mpow Wolverine from Amazon UK

Never End Up With A Dead Smartphone Battery, Thanks To AnkerBox’s Charging Service

By

Joel Joseph

-

Mar 30, 2016

Smartphones have come a long way in the past few years, from being a brick-like electronic gadget for the sole purpose of making and receiving phone calls, to a device that can potentially replace computers.

Almost every part of the new age phone has seen some kind of upgrade for a better experience, but I am sure many would agree that battery life is still one of the biggest issues among smartphones today. Of course, there are large battery phones, but sometimes even they don’t as last long as you want.

Then, there’s the option of a powerbank, which almost all heavy smartphone users seem to resort to nowadays. But that may not be ideal for many, given that you have to carry an additional gadget around (which weighs a bit) and then there’s the possibility you forget to bring one in your bag or worse, you forget to charge the powerbank itself. For people, who always seem to be struggling with their smartphone’s battery life, AnkerBox seems to have come up with a solution.

ankerbox-rent-charging-service — ankerbox

We have seen Chinese companies come up with some innovative ideas in the past, but this one’s unique. AnkerBox aims to provide charging-as-a-service. Yes, you heard it right, this company thinks that providing a charging station for your smartphone at a small cost is a great idea. It’s literally renting the charging for your smartphone.

So how does it work? Well, AnkerBox (a subsidiary company of Anker) will install its AnkerBox Charging stations (filled with many 6700mAh Anker powerbanks) in prime locations like malls, stores, cafes etc, where you can go and charge your phone. The idea is simple, you install the special app for this service and go ahead and rent a powerbank on the Ankerbox. You can get up to 30 minutes of free charging for your phone. But if you want more charge, you can take one of the many Anker powerbanks in the Ankerbox for a rent of $1.99 per day. If you want to go a step further, you can keep the powerbank for yourself, by paying $30. Pretty neat, right?

This idea could potentially solve the problem of dead batteries on smartphones when you are out, but its success really depends on how well consumers find it useful.

Initially, AnkerBoxes will be installed in over 200 gyms, bars, stores in the city of Seattle. For now, there’s no information about availability in other cities/ countries. But if it works well, expect such boxes to come to your favorite bars and stores.

So, what do you think? Does it sound like a good idea to you?

ZTE A2017 (Possibly Axon 2) Now Hits AnTuTu With SD820, Performance Is Amazing

By

Joel Joseph

-

Mar 30, 2016

ZTE seems to be working on a new flagship smartphone, most likely the ZTE Axon 2. Recently, a new model from the company, namely the ZTE A2017 was spotted on the benchmarking website GFXBench revealing the specs of the device. However, at that time, we couldn’t see the performance of the phone. Now, the same phone has been spotted on the AnTuTu benchmarking revealing specs as well as the performance of the device.

According to the AnTuTu benchmark of the A2017, the phone comes with the powerful quad-core Snapdragon 820 chip inside with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The display sports a resolution of 2K, and it will most likely be a 5.5-inch panel. At the back, there will be a 20MP (most likely 21MP) sensor while on the front, there will be an 8MP camera sensor. As for software, it will run on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.

These are some pretty great specs and are in line with what we saw on the GFXBench a few days back. With SD820 and 4GB RAM on board, the phone managed to score an amazing 140,086 points on the AnTuTu benchmark. This is even better than the scores posted by Xiaomi Mi 5 and Galaxy S7.

Overall, this looks like a powerful flagship in the making. While all we have is the model number, i.e. A2017, it’s possible that this is the Axon 2. The first generation ZTE Axon was a great flagship (check out our review from here | Axon Mini Review) and with these specs, the upcoming phone seems like a powerful device as well. One of the plus points of the Axon series is its pricing and we hope that ZTE can price its upcoming products competitively.

Anyways, stay tuned for more details. If ZTE plans to release this device anytime soon, we are surely going to hear more about it in the coming days.

Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro Now Available For Pre-order On OPPOMART

By

Joel Joseph

-

Mar 30, 2016

Xiaomi officially announced the Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro smartphone during the company’s press conference yesterday. The Pro version will be an updated model in the low-end Redmi lineup, with the biggest upgrade being the fingerprint sensor. The design of the phone, especially with the fingerprint sensor, reminds us of a smaller variant of the Redmi Note 3.

Just a day after the launch of the device, the Redmi 3 Pro is available to purchase on OPPOMART. The phone is now up for pre-order on the website for a price tag of $169.99. Considering the official price tag of the phone is 899 Yuan ($139), this price isn’t too bad.

In the specs department, the Redmi 3 Pro doesn’t disappoint. Apart from the fingerprint sensor at the back of the device, the Redmi 3 Pro comes with larger memory modules. The model features 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, an upgrade from 2GB + 16GB on the standard Redmi 3 model. Further, the storage is expandable up to 128GB via MicroSD.

The display remains the same as before, a 5-inch 720p screen. As for the processor, you get Snapdragon 616 octa-core chip under the hood. Other features of the phone include a 13MP rear camera, 5MP front facing shooter, 4G LTE support, dual SIM dual standby and a large 4100mAh battery. Finally, for software, the phone runs on MIUI 7 based on Android 5.1.

At the moment, the phone is available in gray, gold and silver colors on Oppomart. You can check out more details about the device from the link given below.

Pre-order Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro from OPPOMART

Vernee Thor Could Support Fingerprint Payments, Thanks To FIDO Certification

By

Joel Joseph

-

Mar 30, 2016

Vernee’s two smartphones, namely the high-end Vernee Apollo with 6GB RAM and the mid-range Vernee Thor have been making the news recently. The second device, i.e. the Thor is confirmed to retail for an affordable price tag of $129.99 with MT6753 octa-core chip on board.

Now, Vernee has just revealed to us that the Thor has been FIDO certified, which opens up the possibility of fingerprint payments using the device. The FIDO (Fast Identity Online) Alliance was formed way back in 2012 to change the nature of authentication by developing a mechanism that was open and scalable, in order to potentially replace the need for passwords. Given that the Thor is now FIDO-enabled, the phone could be potentially used to make payments secured by its fingerprint sensor.

Apart from this, the Vernee Thor features pretty decent specs. The phone comes with the MT6753 octa-core chip with 3GB RAM and 16GB of eMMC 5.0 storage. There will be a 5-inch on cell display on board and a 2800mAh battery at the back with 5V 2A Quick Charging. As for the optics, the phone features a 13MP rear-facing camera and a 5MP front-facing shooter.

All this inside a compact body with is coated with a special black rubber paint to improve grip. The company will officially release the device in April, which will be its first smartphone in 2016.

Apart from the Thor, there’s the Vernee Apollo that we are all excited for. The phone will reportedly feature the Helio X20 deca-core chip with a whopping 6GB of RAM on board. The Apollo is rumored to feature pretty exciting hardware and you will be able to purchase the phone for around $399.99, which is not at all a bad deal.

So, what do you think about the Thor?