OPPO F1 Plus Launched In India With 16MP Front Camera & 4GB RAM

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Apr 5, 2016

Last month, OPPO unveiled the OPPO R9 and R9 Plus smartphones in China. Both were pretty decent smartphones with powerful specs and premium design. Now, the company has launched the OPPO F1 Plus in India, which is basically the global version of the OPPO R9. So, despite the “Plus” tag line, this is the rebranded R9 and not the R9 Plus.

The OPPO F1 Plus is primarily a camera-centric smartphone with a powerful 16MP front facing camera. The phone is ideal for selfies, with such a powerful shooter up front, thanks to f/2.0 aperture and 78.1 degrees wide angle lens. At the back, the phone features a 13MP camera with f/2.2 aperture, PDAF and LED flash. It supports 4K video shooting as well.

The F1 Plus comes with a physical home button with a fingerprint sensor. The sensor can unlock the device in just 0.2 seconds. As for the display, the phone sports a 5.5-inch 1080p AMOLED panel with 1.6mm ultra-narrow bezels.

Under the hood, the OPPO F1 Plus comes with the Helio P10 MT6755 octa-core chip clocked at 2GHz. For memory, the phone features 4GB of RAM and 32GB/ 64GB internal storage. This is further expandable up to 128GB via MicroSD (Hybrid). Finally, there’s a 2850mAh battery with the company’s VOOC flash charge.

The OPPO F1 Plus comes in Gold and Rose Gold colors and is priced at Rs. 26,990 which comes to around $400. The phone will go on sale around mid-April in the country.

Vivo Announces V3 & V3 Max Mid-Range Smartphones In India

By

Joel Joseph

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Apr 5, 2016

Vivo has been teasing the launch of its two smartphones, namely the Vivo V3 and the Vivo V3 Max. Now, both the phones have become official in India as the company launched them during an event in Mumbai earlier today. Judging from the specs of the device, they are targeted at the mid-range segment.

First up is the Vivo V3 which will be a smaller and toned down model in the lineup. The phone will come with a 5-inch 720p HD display with the Snapdragon 616 octa-core chip under the hood along with Adreno 405 GPU. There will be 3GB of RAM on board along with 32GB of internal storage which will be further expandable up to 128GB via MicroSD.

At the back, the phone will feature 13MP camera with PDAF and LED flash. Up front, there will be an 8MP shooter. The phone supports Android 5.1 Lollipop with Funtouch UI, fingerprint sensor, dual SIM cards, 4G LTE and a 2550mAh battery.

Coming to the Vivo V3 Max, it will come with a larger 5.5-inch 1080p display with 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass protection. There will be the Snapdragon 652 octa-core chip under the hood with Adreno 510 GPU, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. This will also be a dual SIM phone with a fingerprint sensor and 4G LTE support. Like the V3, the Max version also comes with a 13MP rear camera and an 8MP front shooter. The phone runs on Android 5.1 and features a 3000mAh battery on board with fast charging support.

And yes, in case you are wondering, both phones have Hi-Fi chip inside.

As for the pricing, the Vivo V3 is priced at Rs. 17,980 while the V3 Max retails at Rs. 23,980. This comes to $270 and $360 respectively.

The specs of the Vivo V3 are particular disappointing considering its pricing. We will have to wait and see how these two devices perform in India amongst all the affordable options available in the market.

HTC M10 Live Image Leaks Out In White

By

Joel Joseph

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Apr 5, 2016

HTC has already announced that the HTC M10 flagship will debut on April 12. But long before the event, thanks to the rumors and leaks, we know a lot about the upcoming flagship. Now, a new image of the HTC M10 has leaked online, revealing the front of the device. Unlike other images, this is a white model, which kind of confirms three colors for the device till now, black, silver and white.

So, what can we say about the M10 from this picture? Well, first of all, the company will use an oval home button design up front. We can also see a large camera sensor, on top of the display. There are a few changes in the design as compared to the previous generation M9. For example, there’s no HTC logo up front, and there are no front-facing speakers as well.

To be honest, with the physical home button, the chin at the bottom looks large. Given that companies are trying to reduce the space around the display, this isn’t a welcome move. This may not be the best-looking handset in the market, but the company could impress us with the specs.

htc m10 leaked photos — Earlier leaked photos of the M10

It is said that the company will integrate a powerful camera unit at the back of the M10. It should be a 12MP Ultrapixel unit but nothings official as of now. Other features of the device include Snapdragon 820 processor with 4GB of RAM on board and up to 64GB of internal storage. The screen will be compact, much like the Mi 5, featuring a 5.1-inch panel but with 2K resolution.

The company has an event on April 12, where we will meet this flagship. Hopefully, the pricing won’t be as high as revealed by earlier rumors.

Hasbro’s New Toy Can Transform into a Xiaomi Mi Pad Tablet

By

Joel Joseph

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Apr 4, 2016

China is the home of some interesting gadgets and toys. Now, Xiaomi with Hasbro China has together released an interesting new toy, tailor-made for Chinese fans. The new product is a transformer which can instantly transform into a Mi Pad tablet.

Yes, you heard it right. Xiaomi along with the world’s top toymaker, Hasbro decided to release this “Transformers Special Edition” toy to celebrate the company’s sixth anniversary on April 6. The toy will enter the crowdfunding stage and once it hits the goal, it will start shipping to backers from May 13.

Of course, the transformed Mi Pad won’t be a working one (we probably have to wait for a few more years to make something like this work), but still it would be a good buy if you are a big fan of the company. It costs 129 Yuan which comes to around $20 which isn’t too bad for a fake Mi Pad.

You can check out the pictures from down below.

Vernee Apollo Features Ultra-Thin 2mm Bezels (Photos)

By

Joel Joseph

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Apr 4, 2016

Vernee is all set to release the powerful Vernee Apollo flagship in April. The company has been teasing about this device for the past few weeks, and now, it has released a couple of pictures of the Apollo’s front-panel. With this, the company wants to show off the thin bezels on the device.

While some manufacturers are obsessed about bezel-less design, Vernee is aiming to make the bezels around the display super thin. The pictures of the front panel of the device show us that the Vernee Apollo will have ultra-thin bezels. In fact, in one of the pictures, the company has even shown us that the bezels measure just 2mm in thickness, which is pretty narrow.

What’s more, the Apollo will also come with an impressive screen to body ratio of 80%. This could be a big selling point for the device, thanks to its massive 5.5-inch 2K display.

So, in addition to being a beast of a phone, the company seems to have given some thought on the design as well. To recap, the Vernee Apollo comes with the Helio X20 deca-core chip under the hood with a large 6GB RAM module. The phone comes with 128GB of internal storage and features a pressure sensitive display as well. At the back, the Apollo will come with the Sony IMX230 21MP sensor. Other features of the device include USB Type-C port, metal unibody design, 3000mAh battery, and fingerprint sensor.

Coming to the pricing, the Apollo is said to retail for a price tag of $399.99, which will be pretty awesome for a phone with these specs on board. The company is yet to announce an exact release date for the device, but expect more details soon.

Meanwhile, the Vernee Thor mid-ranger is now available for pre-sale at $119.99. You can check out more details about the device from here.

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

Nubia Announces New Conference On April 19, Could Be For Nubia Z11 Models

By

Joel Joseph

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Apr 4, 2016

Nubia smartphone has just released a new teaser for a conference on April 19. While the teaser or the company have not yet revealed the main theme of the conference, it is possible that this event is for the launch of the long-rumored Nubia Z11 series models.

Previously, Nubia had released a teaser for something special on March 29. However, it turned out to be just the promotion for existing handsets, which disappointed a lot of fans. Now, with this new conference in the picture, it looks like fans will finally get to see the new Z11 handsets pretty soon.

Apart from the timing of the conference, another good reason why this could be for the Nubia Z11 is because the company is calling it the “2016 New Nubia Conference”. The event will be held in Beijing and after a few months of silence, this would be a good opportunity for the company to unveil its new products for 2016.

Like tradition, we can expect three models in the Z11 series this year.

Nubia Z11 Mini

The phone has already passed through the Chinese TENAA certification which revealed its specs. The Z11 Mini will reportedly come with a 1.5GHz / 1.2GHz octa-core processor wth 3GB of RAM and 64GB of storage on board. The phone comes with 16MP rear and 8MP front cameras. Other features include fingerprint sensor, Android 5.1.1 Lollipop OS and price tag of around $230.

Nubia Z11

Last year’s Z9 had a bezel-less design. So, we can expect the company to continue the design in the new Nubia Z11. The phone is expected to feature company patented dual camera technology and a 5.2-inch 2K display. Other possible specs include 4GB RAM, 128GB storage, and Android 6.0 version out of the box.

Along with these two, we can also expect a Z11 Max version, but information about the device is limited at the moment.

Anyways, it seems like we will finally see the new Z11 series handsets on April 19. Considering there’s still time for the event, we can expect more details via teasers from the company in the coming weeks.

Meizu Silently Lists Meizu MX5e Lite Version For Sale At $231

By

Joel Joseph

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Apr 4, 2016

Meizu’s upcoming smartphone is going to be the M3 Note, but that didn’t stop the company from silently listing the Meizu MX5e Lite version up for sale in China.

In case you are wondering whether you have been out of the loop recently, then worry not. This is an unannounced model and we haven’t seen any details regarding this particular Lite version until now. However, the company has officially confirmed that the phone is real and it will soon go on sale in China via multiple retailers.

So, what’s different in the Meizu MX5e Lite version than the regular MX5? From what we could see, there are two major changes. The company has decided to downgrade the processor inside, from MTK MT6795T Helio X10 high version to the standard MT6795 version. So, the clock speed has reduced from 2.2GHz to 2.0GHz. Another major change in the new handset is the rear camera. It’s also downgraded from 20.7MP to 16MP in this model.

Other specs remain the same as the regular model. So, you get a 5.5-inch display with 1080p resolution, 3GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. Up front, there will be a 5MP camera sensor. Other features of the handset include dual SIM dual standby, 3150mAh battery and mTouch 2.0 Fingerprint ID. At the moment, the company seems to be selling just the white version of the device.

So, the phone is actually available at 1499 Yuan ($231), on Suning.com. That’s too close to competitors like the OnePlus X. There are plenty of other great options in the market at this price. So, we are not entirely sure what Meizu is attempting with this silent release.

So, what’s your favorite Android smartphone under $250?

New Asus Zenfone 3 Model Renders Leaked

By

Joel Joseph

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Apr 4, 2016

Although ASUS has been making some ground in the smartphone segment in the past few years, the company’s phones haven’t been able to take on competitors like Xiaomi or Huawei. This year, the company has been relatively quiet. While other smartphone vendors were busy announcing their flagships and mid-rangers, ASUS was silent, which made us wonder what when will we see the new Zenfone 3 series.

Now, two new renders of the Zenfone 3 lineup have been leaked. The Zenfone 3 is said to come with a thin aluminum design with a 2.5D glass up front as well as the back. The phone will feature Laser Autofocus along with a rectangular fingerprint scanner.

The second render is reportedly of the ASUS Zenfone 3 Deluxe version. The phone will feature an oval home button, which should most likely integrate a fingerprint sensor. You will also find front facing flash on both the models.

This is not the first time we are hearing about the two Zenfone 3 models. A few weeks back, two new Zenfone models namely Z010DD and Z912D were spotted on the benchmarking app Geekbench. The former is most likely the Zenfone 3 Deluxe while the latter will be Zenfone 3.

One of the most interesting things revealed by the benchmark was that the phones were not using Intel’s chips. Instead, these models came with a Snapdragon chipset. Moving on, the Zenfone 3 (Z012D) will come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. There will be a 5.9-inch display with 720p resolution, which is unusually low for such a large display. Other features include a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera.

Coming to the ASUS Z010DD model, the phone will reportedly come with better specs, including the Snapdragon 650 hexa-core chip with 3GB RAM and 32GB of storage, 13MP rear camera, 5MP front shooter, 5.5-inch 720p display and Android 6.0.

To be honest, these specs are not very powerful as compared to the earlier generations. The screen resolution is very low and the processors aren’t very powerful either. So, we will have to wait and see whether these are the specs that we’ll see on the new Zenfone 3 models.

The phone is expected to be unveiled at Computex 2016 that will start from May 31 and continue till June 4.

Image Showing Off Meizu Pro 6’s Front Leaked

By

Joel Joseph

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Apr 4, 2016

Meizu has confirmed that it will announce the Meizu M3 Note mid-ranger on April 6. Despite that, we seem to be getting a steady stream of leaks about the Meizu Pro 6 flagship which should debut only in the next couple of months. Thanks to a render released by the company’s VP, Li Nan, we got to know about the unique antenna lines on the device. Now, for the first time, the real-life image of the front of the Pro 6 has been leaked.

One of the first things you’ll notice is the lack of visible bezels. The company seems to have trimmed down the bezel size on the sides to a considerable extent, at least, that’s what we can see from the image. However, like most phones, the Pro 6 might have some black borders on the sides, which unfortunately, we can’t confirm yet. Another thing we can see is the presence of what looks like 2.5D glass as well as the mBack home button, which should most likely feature a fingerprint sensor.

The back of the device was already leaked, and this could be the same phone that we saw in the earlier images. The Pro 6 will reportedly feature an updated design with rounder corners and a compact form factor. Like mentioned above, the antenna lines are a bit different on the device. Also, it seems that the phone will come with a ring flash along with Laser Autofocus in between.

Moving to the specs, the Pro 6 flagship is confirmed to come with a pressure sensitive display as well as the new Helio X25 deca-core chipset. Other unconfirmed features of the phone include an all metal design, 4GB of RAM, 21MP rear camera, dual SIM card slots and Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS with flyme UI on top.

Cubot Dinosaur Is The New Smartphone In Town With A Large 4150mAh Battery

By

Joel Joseph

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Apr 4, 2016

Chinese companies are known to release smartphone with unique names. In fact, many of them have very unusual brand names. Now, the smartphone manufacturer Cubot will release a new smartphone and it’s called the Dinosaur. Yes, the phone will be called as the Dinosaur, most likely because it features a massive battery. The phone will come with a 4150mAh battery on board to make sure that it will last long.

Despite its unique name, the phone looks like any other regular smartphone in the market. This includes a plastic body with a textured back. Judging from the specs and the pricing, the company seems to be targeting the entry level segment. So, large battery smartphone lovers who are on a budget can definitely take a look at this device.

Coming to the specs of the phone, the Cubot Dinosaur will feature the MT6735A quad-core chip clocked at 1.3GHz. What’s really interesting is that the company has decided to include 3GB of RAM inside along with 16GB of internal storage. As for the display, the Dinosaur will feature a 5.5-inch 720p IPS capacitive screen. Also, in case you are wondering, the phone does support MicroSD card expansion, up to 32GB.

Like mentioned above, the battery underneath is large, measuring 4150mAh in capacity. It’s removable, which is an added plus. With this battery inside, you can use the phone as a powerbank as well. Also, the phone measures just 8.8mm in thickness. At the back, there will be a 13MP interpolated camera, while up front, there will be a 5MP shooter. Other features of the phone include 4G LTE support, dual SIM dual standby, HotKnot, USB OTG and Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS out of the box.

So, this looks like an entry level handset with a large battery. It should be cheap, but the official price tag has not yet been revealed. The phone will meet us in April. Check out the official Cubot website for details.

So, what do you think about the Cubot Dinosaur?

Vernee Thor Showcased In A New Video, Priced at $119.99

By

Joel Joseph

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Apr 4, 2016

Vernee Thor has been making the new for the past few days, thanks to its impressive design and mid-range specifications. Although the company came into the spotlight for its Apollo smartphone, which was revealed a few week back, the Thor will be the first one to go on sale.

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

Now that the Vernee Thor is finally up for pre-order on multiple websites, the company decided to showcase the device in a video released recently. The phone features a body with baby skin black rubber paint to give it a different look and better grip as compared to other smartphones.

At $119.99, the Thor features a good design. The phone features a 5-inch display panel with 2.5D glass on top. The screen is coated with a special anti-fingerprint oil. The power and the volume buttons are located on the left side of the device. At the back, the phone has a fingerprint sensor, camera sensor and a LED flash. You will also find the Vernee branding on the back cover. The video also reveals that apart from black, the Thor will also come in a grey shade.

Coming to the specs, the Vernee Thor will sport the tried and tested MT6753 octa-core processor that powered many mid-range flagships last year. There will be 3GB RAM and 16GB of storage on board along with the option to increase the storage to up to 128GB via MicroSD. As for the display, it comes with a 5-inch on-cell LCD panel with 720p resolution and Gorilla Glass 3.

At the back, the Thor will come with a 13MP shooter with f/2.0 aperture while up front, you get a 5MP Front facing sensor. You will also get a fingerprint sensor which can unlock the device in just 0.1 seconds. To top things off, you get the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow version on the device, right out of the box.

The phone is already on pre-sale, and you can check out the links below for more details.

Buy Links:

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

Meizu M3 Note’s Price For 16GB Version Leaked via New Poster

By

Joel Joseph

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Apr 3, 2016

Meizu M3 Note will release alongside the Huawei P9 series on April 6. Despite being just an entry level mid-range smartphone from Meizu, the M3 Note is going to sport an upgraded design with powerful specification to take on competitors like the Xiaomi Mi 4C and the Mi 4S. Now, thanks to a leaked poster, we have the pricing of the device.

According to a new poster leaked online yesterday, the upcoming Meizu M3 Note will start at 1099 Yuan ($170) for the 16GB version. So, we can expect progressive pricing for larger storage variants like the 32GB and maybe even a 64GB (although unlikely).

When compared to the previous version, namely the Meizu M2 Note, the phone starts at 100 Yuan higher. The M2 Note’s 32GB version retailed at 999 Yuan ($154), while this poster shows that the 16GB version will start at a higher price. We still have no idea whether the phone will come with a MicroSD slot, but considering the M2 had one, we can expect a hybrid (SIM2 Slot for MicroSD) on the phone.

So what will you get at this price? According to previous information, the Meizu M3 Note will come with an upgraded all metal body (confirmed via official teaser) abandoning its polycarbonate design. As for the specs, the M3 Note will feature the Helio P10 MT6755M processor with Mali-T860 GPU. There will be two versions, one with 2GB RAM + 16GB storage and the other with 3GB RAM + 32GB storage.

The screen is expected to be of 5.5-inches with 1080p resolution. At the back, there should be a 13MP camera while up front, a 5MP shooter. The phone will come with a 3500mAh battery and fingerprint sensor embedded into its front placed home button. For software, the M3 Note is reportedly coming with Android 5.1 out of the box. And yes, it will feature dual SIM dual standby as confirmed by a previous screenshot. However, it will most likely be a hybrid one (MicroSD / SIM2).

So, for $170, do you think the Meizu M3 Note is a good buy?

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

By

Joel Joseph

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.