1byone has produced a lot of gadgets and accessories and we have reviewed plenty of them. If you have several USB devices but do not have enough ports on your laptop (which is common nowadays), USB hub is probably the best solution. Now 1byone is holding a giveaway, where you can win a few high-quality USB hubs.
The first is a 3-Port USB-C to USB 3.0 aluminum hub with 1-Port ethernet for Apple MacBook (12-Inch), Google ChromeBook Pixel (2015) and other USB Type-C devices. It features an all-metal build and super fast data transfer speeds, which can be achieved using aUSB 3.0 standard ($27.99 retail value).
Another giveaway item is a USB 3.0 4-port hub, which sports the same high-quality metal design and it assures fast data transfer speeds ($12.99 retail value).
Upon winning of one of the 1byone Bluetooth 4.1 Wireless In-Ear Headphones, 1byone would love for you to leave them a review of their products to let them know what you think of it!
Keep in mind that this giveaway is the U.S. only. The winner will be given 100% Amazon US discount codes to purchase the products.
The giveaway rules are simple: just follow 1byone and TechLineHD on Twitter and Facebook and, if possible, share the giveaway on your social networks. The winners will be announced on March 29th.
A few months back, Elephone unveiled a brand new series of high-end smartphones powered by Mediatek’s MT6755 Helio P10 processors. One of the highlights of the lineup was the Elephone P9000 flagship featuring pretty powerful specifications. Now, there’s another Helio P10 powered flagship in town, namely the OPPO R9, so it’s time for a Elephone P9000 vs OPPO R9 specs comparison. Both are similar in many ways, but differ in terms of some specification. Pricing will be it’s biggest difference, which we will elaborate more in the later sections.
Design & Build:
OPPO R9 comes with an all metal design, while the P9000 features a plastic body. Looks wise, we would have to say that the R9 is much better than the Elephone model. In fact, OPPO boasts that the R9’s body features up to 98% metal. Even the build seems to be better on the R9, but it’s going to be a personal choice. So, we better leave that for you guys to decide.
Now let’s look at what we can actually compare between the two devices i.e. specs.
Elephone P9000 vs OPPO R9: Specs
So, in this department, both feature pretty similar hardware. Both the models are powered by the new Helio P10 MT6755 octa-core chip with Mali-T860 GPU. Both come with 4GB of RAM on board, but the OPPO has an edge when it comes to storage, because it features 64GB internal memory rather than 32GB on the P9000.
Both models come with a 5.5-inch FHD 1080p display with narrow borders. In fact, according to official specs, the OPPO R9 comes with 1.66mm border while the Elephone P9000 features a 1.6mm border around the screen. In terms of battery as well, P9000 has an edge, thanks to its 3080mAh capacity battery instead of 2850mAh on the R9. But the R9 does have the super fast VOOC charging. The P9000 can boast of wireless charging.
Coming to the camera department, both models have 13MP rear cameras, but P9000 adds Laser Autofocus. But we can’t really judge the camera performance of both the devices without an official review.
The front camera is definitely going to be the deciding factor. The OPPO R9 comes with a powerful 16MP sensor with the company’s self perfection technology as well as beauty 4.0 software. On the other hand, the P9000 features a decent 8MP shooter.
Other features common in both include 4G LTE support and fingerprint sensor. However, you get NFC on the P9000 model which is absent on the R9.
PRICE:
Finally, coming on the price, the OPPO R9 is officially priced at around $420, while the Elephone P9000 currently retails for around $269. Considering the specs on board, the P9000 is not a bad deal.
Back at MWC 2016, Ulefone had revealed that it was working on a smartphone targeted at audiophiles, called as the Ulefone Alpha. Later, the company renamed it to Ulefone Vienna and now, it has officially announced the device, revealing its full specifications. Given that this is an audio centric device, lets first take a look at the hardware inside the device. The Ulefone Vienna comes with an independent Hi-Fi chip called NXP Smart Audio PA which features both DAC and operational amplifier. The phone supports frequency response range from 20Hz to 20KHz.
As for the main specs of the Ulefone Vienna, it comes with the tried and tested MT6753 octa-core 64-bit processor with 3GB of RAM on board and 32GB of internal storage. It’s good to see that the company is offering 32GB as default on the device, as 16GB would have been just too low to store all your high quality audio files. At the back, the phone features a Panasonic MN34172 13MP rear camera with dual LED flash. As for the display, you get a 5.5-inch 1080p LTPS screen from Sharp. Finally there’s a decent 3250mAh battery on board to power all these specs.
The Ulefone Vienna comes with a unibody design measuring 8.6mm in thickness. It weighs 156 grams. In case you are wondering, the phone does feature a MicroSD card slot along with dual SIM slots.
To top things off, the phone features a fingerprint sensor as well. As you can see in the image above, the sensor will be located at the back. There will be an IR blaster as well. The phone will come in four colors namely, grey, white, black and pink.
Ulefone is yet to reveal release and availability details, but you can expect more information pretty soon.
For the past few days, we have been hearing a lot about the Meizu Pro 6 smartphone, which will be the company flagship device for the year 2016. The company went ahead and confirmed that the Pro 6 will feature the newly announced Helio X25 chipset. The chip will be exclusive to the device for several months, after which probably we will see other smartphones use it.
Now, new renders of the Meizu Pro 6 handset have emerged online, and they are in line with what Meizu VP, Li Nan had revealed yesterday. The new renders show that the phone will feature a similar antenna design to the iPhone 7.
Traditionally, antenna lines are seen on the back of a smartphone which features a metallic body. However, with the Meizu Pro 6, the antenna is going to be at the bottom of the device, making it one of the first ones to use such a design. From the image, it looks like the company has continued with most of the design from last year’s Meizu Pro 5 handset.
So, the back is flawless and the front seems to come with 2.5D glass. The display seems to be nearly bezelless and we hope that the phone does not feature those ugly thick black borders on the sides of the screen. One important thing to note here is that the phone does not come with an antenna line on top. Finally, the company seems to be using a front facing fingerprint sensor embedded into the home button, much like its previous generation devices.
As for the specs, it is said that the Meizu Pro 6 will come with Helio X25 chip clocked at 2.5GHz with 4GB of RAM, 5.5-inch 1080p display, 21MP rear camera, 64GB ROM and a pressure sensitive display. However, at this moment, apart from the processor, no other specs have been confirmed.
In a couple of days time, 360 Mobile formerly known as QiKU will unveil a new range of smartphones in China. To recap, QiKU is a partnership between Coolpad and Qihoo 360 to manufacture and market powerful yet affordable phones targeted at the young generation. The new smartphone called as the QiKU F4 or now 360 F4 (we can confirm the name only after the announcement) recently passed through the Chinese network certification website, TENAA, which helped us get a close look at the phone’s design.
If you had seen our previous coverage on the phone, we had said that the QiKU F4 features a symmetrical design which was also evident on the front of the phone. The ear piece was circular and the sensors were placed besides it neatly. Even the portion about and below the display seems to be proportional.
While it seemed like a brand new design from the company, in reality, this QiKU F4 model could very well be a rebranded Coolpad Dazen smartphone. A few weeks back, a new Dazen phone passed through TENAA which featured this exact same design. Given the relation of QiKU with Coolpad, it’s not unlikely that the company has decided to use a similar design for their next phone.
The Dazen phone came with a 5-inch HD screen, 2GB RAM and 16GB of storage. At the back, it had a 13MP camera while up front a 5MP shooter. Under the hood, the phone featured an octa-core processor clocked at 1.3GHz. As you can see these are pretty low-end specs, which is not what we have heard about the QiKU F4.
In fact, QiKU F4 is expected to be an upper mid-range device, featuring the deca-core Helio X20 chip, a 5-inch FHD display and 2500mAh battery. Of course, these specs are yet to be confirmed. But given the renders and the rumors till now, the phone seems to be a premium offering. So, it’s unlikely that it will end up with less than impressive specs.
Anyways, the 360 Mobile event is just around the corner, on March 21 (same day as Apple iPhone SE is launching!), so stay tuned for more details.
Xiaomi is known to release a number of smartphones in a year. The company now has all the segments covered, right from the super low end (Redmi 2A) to the top (Mi Note/ Mi 5). From the previous reports, we came to know that the company was all set to release a few variants of the Redmi 3 model, but now, thanks to their TENAA certification, we have a pretty good idea of what to expect from each of the devices.
So, there are four major variants of the Redmi 3 that have been certified now, namely 2015810, 2015817, 2015818, and 2015819. From the naming scheme, we can see that the 2015810 is a bit different than the other three models. And the difference is justified because it’s probably the new Redmi 3A variant, that will rule the super cheap low-end segment taking over from Redmi 2A. The other three are basically variants of the Redmi 3S, with only minor differences.
Redmi 3S variants (Above: 2015818 Below: 2015819)
But before we move on to the differences, let’s see what they all have in common. All the four models are powered by an octa-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz and feature 13MP rear and 5MP front cameras. So, the difference is basically in the RAM/ ROM variants and battery on board. Although the Redmi 3A is said to feature an octa-core chip, it probably won’t be Snapdragon 616. But we will have to wait for an official announcement to confirm this.
So, the Redmi 3A, namely 2015810 comes with 2GB of RAM, 16GB ROM and a 4000mAh battery. Like the image suggests, it won’t feature a fingerprint sensor. Also, it lacks the plaid design seen on the other models (as well as the existing Redmi 3 version). The phone support dual SIM cards.
Coming to the Redmi 3S variants, all three feature plaid design at the back with a metal body and a rear placed fingerprint sensor. The 2015817 model has 2GB / 3GB RAM variants but comes with just a 3000mAh battery. On the other hand, the 2015818 comes with the same specs (2GB RAM only), but with a larger 4000mAh battery. Finally, 2015819 model features all the specs as the earlier version (again only 2GB RAM) but adds support for full network connectivity (supports all three carriers in China).
Considering the minute differences in the four devices, they could be priced progressively with a difference of around 100 Yuan. This is what the company has traditionally practiced, so it might continue with the same pricing strategy for the 3A and 3S variants as well. So, the 2015810 (Redmi 3A), 2915817/818/819 variants could be priced at 599 Yuan ($92), 699 Yuan (108), 799 Yuan ($123) and 899 Yuan ($138) respectively. Actually, if we look closely, there are five variants. The 2015817 model also comes with 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM version. It could be priced under 899 Yuan ($138) with the trade-off being a smaller 3000mAh battery.
So, which one of these five versions will you choose?
A couple of weeks back, an anayst from China said that many flagships this year will be powered by the Snapdragon 652 chip instead of the top-end Snapdragon 820. There were two major reasons for this, one being SD652 is powerful enough for the upper mid-range market. The second reason was that SD820 is very costly, which made sense for the cheaper SD652 chip to be used in more devices for keeping the price low.
At that time, we wondered what could be the approximate price tag of SD820. Now, we may have a figure. According to new information, the Snapdragon 820 chip is priced around $70. In comparison, Mediatek’s top-end chip, namely the Helio X20 costs less than half of this figure. The wholesale price of X20 is reportedly only around $30.
We knew that the Helio X20 was cheap, but being less than 2x cheaper than SD820, it makes sense for manufacturers to include this chip inside upper mid-range flagships. According to initial benchmark results of the X20, it manages to reach around 90K on AnTuTu which is pretty good considering its cheap price tag. So, the Helio X20 could be ideal for affordable flagships. No wonder, LeEco decided to use this chip inside one of its upcoming Le 2 variants.
Now, things make better sense. MTK has Helio X20 for upper mid-range flagship and if you are looking for something even powerful, then there’s the newly announced Helio X25 chip. And if you want the best performance and are willing to shell out a few hundred bucks more, you can get a Snapdragon 820 based smartphone. To remind you, it is said that Le 2 does have a SD820 version.
So, what do you think? Will you go with a Helio X20 powered flagship or will you be ready to shell out more for SD820?
After nearly a month of rumors and leaks, OPPO has finally unveiled the new OPPO R9 and R9 Plus flagships in China. The company announced these two devices at its special conference in Beijing a few minutes back.
Given that we still have no word on the OPPO Find 7, the R series seems to be driving the company’s flagship lineup. Hence, both the devices are pretty important for the company.
The OPPO R9 and the R9 Plus feature a similar design, with the R9 sporting a larger display. Both the devices are made out of a metal body. In fact, the company claims that up to 98.02% of the phone’s body is made out of metal. The phone features smooth curves around the edges and the body is subjected to zircon sanding to give it a premium look. The company decided to put the fingerprint sensor up front, so that the remained smooth and flawless.
Coming to the front, the OPPO R9 and R9 Plus both come with a fingerprint sensor embedded into the home button. As revealed in one of its earlier teasers, the R9 will come with narrow 1.66mm borders around the display. This makes sure that the display covers a major portion of the front.
The OPPO R9 measures 151.8 x 74.3 x 6.5mm. Yes, it that slim! As for the R9, it comes with the measurements 163 x 80.8 x 7.4mm. Now, compared to the R9, you might feel that this is thick, however, let me inform you that there’s a large 4120mAh battery under its hood, which is pretty impressive. As for the R9, it comes with a 2850mAh battery. This coupled with the company’s super fast VOOC charging will ensure that you don’t have to worry about the charging the device during the day.
Coming to the specs, the OPPO R9 sports a 5.5-inch FHD 1080p display while the Plus variant features a 6-inch 1080p display. The R9 comes with the Mediatek Helio P10 processor while the R9 Plus has the Snapdragon 652 chipset under the hood. Both chips are clocked at 2GHz. There will be 4GB RAM + 64GB storage on both the models, with an option to upgrade to 128GB.
Coming to the camera department, the R9 comes with a 16MP 1/3 inch sensor up front, with the company’s independently developed “self perfection technology”. The company explains that this improves sensitivity and tolerance to light and noise to a great extent. Further, you get the new beauty 4.0 software to enhance your selfies. If you think this isn’t impressive, the R9 series phones now come with panorama mode up front. The phone can automatically capture and stitch together three different photos to create a wide angle image. So, if you think getting everyone in one shot for a groufie is tough, OPPO R9 has got your back.
Up front, the OPPO R9 features a 13MP sensor with 1/3.06 inch CMOS sensor. The setup comes with a dual drive hybrid AF system which includes traditional focus as well as a contrast phase focusing. Further, it features anti-shake 2.0 to capture blur free images.
Coming to the R9 Plus, the phone features 16MP cameras on both the back and the front. This is Sony IMX298 1/2.8 sensor with f/2.0 aperture. At the moment, it seems like the phone doesn’t come with OIS. But there’s EIS i.e. Electronic Image Stabilization to help reduce camera shake.
As for software, the phone comes with the company’s own Color OS 3.0 on top of Android 5.1.1. As mentioned above, you also get a fingerprint sensor up front, which can unlock the device in just 0.2 seconds. The fingerprint sensor improves with time and also supports mobile payments.
Now, coming to the most important part of today’s launch, i.e. the pricing. Both the phones are a bit cheaper than expected. The OPPO R9 will retail for a price tag of 2799 Yuan ($430) while the R9 Plus will be priced at 3299 Yuan ($507).
The OPPO R9 goes on sale on March 24 in China, while the R9 Plus will be available on April 12. There will be two color options available, gold and rose gold. We still have no idea about international availability but hopefully, the company will reveal more details pretty soon.
Although there’s still like six months left for the launch of the next generation Apple iPhone 7, leaks have already started to come in. The latest iPhone 7 leak shows off a unique antenna design, wherein the phone sports a metal body but there’s a single antenna line at the bottom. If you remember, usually, metal phones have dual antenna line at the back.
While Apple fans were pretty happy to see that the upcoming iPhone 7 was going to sport a slightly different look, Meizu VP Li Nan claims that the pictures which were leaked yesterday are actually of the upcoming Meizu Pro 6 flagship. Don’t trust him? Well, he has actually posted a picture of the real Meizu Pro 6 sporting this design.
He further adds that the factory staff who leaked this image most likely made a mistake. The company has been working on this design for quite some time and wanted to surprise fans at the conference.
Well, when he had said that Meizu Pro 6 was going to be an “iPhone 7 killer” we thought he was being optimistic. But after this leak, it looks like both the phones could have a very similar design.
As for the specs, Meizu has also confirmed that the Pro 6 flagship will be the first phone to feature the newly announced Helio X25 chipset. In fact, the chip will be exclusive to the phone for several months. This leak confirms a metal body on the design with unique antenna lines. Other rumored features of the phone include FHD 1080p resolution 5.5-inch display, 4GB RAM, 32GB ROM and a home button embedded fingerprint sensor.
So, in short, it looks like we are going to see two very similar looking smartphones in the coming months, one running on Android and the other on iOS. While Li Nan claims that the images are of the Pro 6, it’s possible that the iPhone 7 prototype looks very much similar to the Pro 6. If true, then Li Nan did a pretty good job of revealing Pro 6’s design quite early!
If you are in the market looking for a large screen tablet, then you might have considered the Chuwi Hi12. This particular tablet features a massive 12-inch 2K display, ideal for your business and entertainment needs. The company has also included great powerful specs to go with the device to make sure that the tablet can handle anything thrown towards it.
At present, the Chuwi Hi12 tablet is available at a discounted price of $249.99, which is a pretty good offer. This price includes the free docking keyboard for the tablet. You can also choose a docking keyboard in other languages like Russian, Spanish or even Korean. Plus, there are a couple of discount coupons available to further reduce the price tag.
What’s more, the seller is also gifting a Chinese cutlery set for every buyer who purchases the device during the ongoing sale (March 16-17). So, if you had been putting off your purchase of the tablet, this might be a good opportunity.
Chuwi Hi12 comes with some impressive specs. The tablet is powered by the low power high-performance Intel Cherry Trail Atom X5 Z8300 processor with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. You also get 8th Gen Intel HD graphics on the device. Plus, there are full sized USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports along with a MicroHDMI to connect all your accessories.
The tablet is made out of a metal body and is pretty sleek. Under the hood, it houses a large 11,000mAh battery enough for a day’s heavy usage. Like mentioned above, you also get a detachable keyboard dock with the device. Although tablets are never known for their camera quality, the 5MP front and 2MP back cameras should be enough for your video calling needs. And yes, in case you are wondering, the tablet does take MicroSD cards. Finally, it comes with a licensed version of Windows 10 OS.
Overall, the Chuwi Hi12 is a pretty good large screen tablet. If you are looking to buy one, this could be the right time given the incentives. The deal ends in a day, so make sure you check out it out as soon as you can.
For the past few days, we have been seeing reports about the upcoming smartphone from UMi called as the UMi Touch. The phone comes with a metal unibody design and the company is marketing it as your first choice of a metallic flagship. Well, the design seemed to be quite good in the pictures and from the video released by the company today, the phone also seems to be well built.
From the video, we can see that the UMi Touch will come with a CNC aluminum metal body and curved edges for better grip. The phone features a front-facing fingerprint sensor embedded into the home button, which has kind of become a trend among recent smartphones.
At the back, you have the UMi branding along with the camera and the dual LED flash. All the buttons are located on the right side of the device. This seems to be the final production sample of the UMi Touch and so far it looks pretty good. As for software, we can see the phone uses a UI close to stock. But the final optimized version loaded on the retail units could have some changes.
Coming to the specs, the UMi Touch flagship comes with an octa-core processor with 3GB of RAM on board and 16GB of expandable storage. The phone looks large in the video, owing to its 5.5-inch FHD display. However, to power the device, you also get a large battery, of 4000mAh capacity.
The UMi Touch will retail for a price tag of $149.99, which is pretty aggressive. The company will officially launch the device on March 20 and you will soon be able to pre-order the device via various resellers. As for the UMi Touch X model, which will feature a bezelless display, we will have to wait for a few more weeks to get all details.
Learn more about the UMI Touch, please visit official site.
If you ever thought that bezelless screens were only made for flagships, UMi reportedly wants to change your opinion. According to the latest rumor, UMi, the local Chinese smartphone manufacturer is looking to release a bezelless smartphone that goes by the name of UMi Touch X. The phone will reportedly retail in the affordable $150 segment, which if true, will make it one of the first in the market at this price.
Bezelless smartphones have become a trend nowadays, with most manufacturers trying to reduce the borders around the screen. Even OPPO R9 which is all set to release tomorrow will come with super thin bezels, around 1.6mm in size. There’s also a local Chinese smartphone with no bezels, namely the Elephone P9000 Edge. Although availability is still a big question.
Coming back to the UMi Touch X, which is the bezelless version of the UMi Touch model, we have no clue about its specs or features. Maybe the company will reveal more information after the launch of the Touch which is on March 20. So, stay tuned for more details.
As for the regular model (with bezels) i.e. the UMi Touch, the phone will reportedly come with a 5.5-inch Full HD display along with a fingerprint sensor embedded into the phone’s home button up front. There will be an octa-core chip under the hood along with 3GB of RAM and a large 4000mAh battery. All these hardware will be housed inside a metal unibody design.
Today was a busy day for Mediatek as it announced two chipsets in China, namely the Helio X20 and the Helio X25. The chipmaker had already announced the X20 a few months back, but this seems to be its release event. Anyways, we have seen Helio X20 perform, thanks to ZOPO’s first deca-core flagship, the ZOPO Speed 8. From the benchmark results, we came to know that the company was targeting the upper mid-range market with this chip, while the Helio X25 will be taking care of the top-end segment.
Now that these two chipsets have been released, we are waiting for phones with them inside. We already know that Meizu Pro 6 will be the exclusive smartphone with Helio X25 (at least for the next few months) and now LeEco executives have confirmed that the second generation Le 2 smartphones will feature the mid-range Helio X20.
Although ZOPO was the first manufacturer to release an Helio X20 powered device, it looks like LeEco will be the first true large-scale manufacturer to adopt the chip. What’s more, LeEco’s President of the Mobile department, Feng Xing said that the company will prepare a stock of more than 1 million units of Helio X20 powered products. That’s pretty impressive and shows the confidence of the company in the chip.
However, if you are not a big fan of Mediatek, don’t worry, it is said that there will be a Snapdragon 820 powered Le 2 version as well. And if the phone looks anything like the renders we have come across recently, fans are definitely going to love the overall package.
LeEco is expected to release the Le 2 flagship sometime before the end of March, which means we could see an announcement in the next couple of weeks. Apart from LeEco, manufacturers like OPPO and Qihoo 360 (smartphone division) are also expected to release Helio X20 powered smartphones.
The chipmaker Mediatek has just announced a brand new processor for the top-end market called as the Helio X25. This will be an upgraded version of the existing Helio X20 chipset, clocked at a higher frequency.
The basic design between the Helio X25 and the Helio X20 remain the same, so the new chip will also come with a tri-cluster architecture based on 10 cores. However, the performance cores namely the Cortex A72 cores will be clocked at a higher frequency, from 2.3GHz to 2.5GHz. The other two clusters remain the same, meaning the new chip comes with two sets of 4 x Cortex A53 cores.
Even the GPU will get a bump up in the frequency, from 780MHz to 850MHz. This will make sure that the chip is ideal for the top-end flagship segment which requires much more power than what the Helio X20 offers. Interestingly, MTK says that the power consumption of the chip will not increase.
Now, if you remember, this is not the first time we are hearing about the Helio X25. Earlier, we had reported that Mediatek was preparing a variant of the X20 called as the Helio X25 and today, the company made the details official. Given the performance of the Helio X20, it was not suitable for the high-end segment. But the X25 seems to be the ideal choice.
Other specs of the Helio X25 include Cat 6. LTE connectivity, 4G+ with download speeds of up to 300Mbps and support for the latest Pump Express 3.0 fast charging which can charge a device up to 75% in just 20 minutes.
As for the release of the Pro 6, we may have to wait for a few more months.
Yesterday, as per a WSJ article, we reported that Xiaomi was going to announce a brand new bicycle under the brand name, the QiCycle, sometime this week. Now, one of the Xiaomi’s official weibo accounts has revealed the new smart bike called as the QiCycle R1. This particular bicycle will be enter crowdfunding stage on March 22 at 10PM.
This could be one of the products from the company’s ecosystem, but as of now, Xiaomi has not yet officially revealed how the product is associated with the company. However, we can expect a lot more details when the bike is up for crowdfunding on March 22.
The QiCycle R1 will be the company’s most expensive product to date, retailing at a whopping 19999 Yuan ($3000). According to previous information, the Xiaomi Bike will be made out of lightweight carbon fiber body, weighing about 7kg. There will be a bunch of motion sensors on board to measure the output. Given the exorbitant price tag, you can expect only professional bikers and enthusiasts to actually consider purchasing the QiCycle R1.
In case you are feeling left out, there is a rumor going around that a cheaper Xiaomi Bike, costing between $450 to $550 will be released soon. If that’s within your budget, then you could soon be riding a Xiaomi bike around.
So, it looks like Xiaomi is basically trying to provide you everything. From smart TV (including curved screen TVs), smartphones, air purifiers, water purifiers, to smart shoes and smart bikes, in a few years time, your house could be flooded with Xiaomi products. Not that it’s a bad thing, considering the quality and the pricing of Xiaomi devices. But just stating that it’s definitely a possibility. In case you missed, Xiaomi is going to release a smart cooker as well, sometime before the end of this month!
Unfortunately, most of these products are still limited to China. Hopefully, that will change in the coming years.
Xiaomi’s Mi TV range is quite popular in China, mainly because they are big and cheap. Now, the company has just confirmed that it will be soon releasing it’s first curved screen TV in China. So, Xiaomi fans in China have one more reason to rejoice.
This is not the first time we are hearing about a curved screen Mi TV 3 from Xiaomi. Yesterday, Xiaomi had released a new teaser via Weibo which revealed a few numbers in the series of Pi. This was a big hint that the upcoming TV from Xiaomi was going to be a curved one.
Previously, two new Xiaomi Mi TV models were spotted on the 3C quality certification website, one featuring a 65-inch display and the other with a 43-inch display. It is said that the Mi TV model with the larger 65-inch display could be the curved screen model. On the other hand, the 43-inch one could be the successor to the existing 40-inch screen model.
Now, if you remember, Xiaomi’s direct rival in the smart TV segment, LeTV (now LeEco) has a curved screen TV under its name. The Super 4 Max65 Curved Commemorative Engineering Edition was the world’s first curved screen split TV and was released back in December last year. The TV comes with Samsung’s 4K ultra-thin curved panel along with Snapdragon 810 under its hood, making it a true entertainment hub. The TV is priced at 6999 Yuan ($1075) but it’s still to be readily available for purchase to consumers.
If Xiaomi prices the TV lower than this figure and manages to make it available for sale pretty soon, then the upcoming curved screen Mi TV could be popular as well.
Well, there’s still 7 days to go till the launch of the first curved screen TV from the company. However, since Xiaomi seems to be keen on teasing the device before it’s release on March 23, we can expect some more information in the coming days. So, stay tuned.
In the first two Xiaomi Mi 5 flash sales, the phone was instantly sold out. So, when it was declared that the Mi 5 was once again sold out in the third flash sale within a few minutes in China, it didn’t come as a surprise. The popularity of the phone is quite high, even after three flash sales in the country. To remind you, there were over 16 million registrations for the first ever pre-order of the device, out of which a good majority may still have not got a chance to get hold of the device.
Also, the third flash sale was without prior registrations, but still the phone was instantly out of stock. Xiaomi is yet to reveal how much stock it offers per sale, but we can expect it to be pretty large since the company is said to stock up Mi 5 in plenty before its official release. There were two version available for sale this week, one being the standard edition costing 1999 Yuan and the other being the high version costing 2299 Yuan. Both black and white versions were available for sale. Black being the popular among buyers was the first one to go out of stock.
In the next flash sale, once again only the standard and the high version will be offered. There’s still no news about the Mi 5 Pro or the gold colored edition which the company had announced during the conference. So, if you are looking to purchase these two editions via third party resellers, you will probably have to wait for a few weeks more.
Ulefone revealed at MWC 2016 in Barcelona, Spain that their upcoming device will be targeted at audiophiles and will come with Hi-Fi audio. The phone was previously called as the Alpha, but was later renamed to Ulefone Vienna. The company has been revealing some of the features of the device in the days to its launch, and now, Ulefone has confirmed that the Vienna will feature a better CPU and larger RAM module than previously reported.
Ulefone has confirmed now that the Ulefone Vienna will feature a much faster octa-core MT6753 processor. This is actually pretty good news since the phone was previously said to come with the low-end MT6735P quad-core chip. Moreover, the company has decided to upgrade the RAM to 3GB instead of just 2GB. The phone will also come with a larger 32GB internal storage allowing you to store all of your flawless audio files without much worry.
The company has also confirmed that the Ulefone Vienna will come with a 5.5-inch Sharp Full HD 1080p display. The screen will get oleophobic coating while the back will get anti-brasion treatment which will ensure that the phone is protected by fingerprints, scratches and dirt.
To recap, the Vienna will come with the Smart Audio PA chipset offered by NXP which is a comprehensive DAC and amplifier solution independent of the CPU. The phone will launch in this month itself, but the company is yet to reveal an exact release date.
So, what do you think? Does a Hi-Fi equipped affordable Ulefone device interest you?
LeEco has turned out to be one of those manufacturers who we all expect to release something revolutionary in the market. It’s not only because LeEco was the first company to announce a Snapdragon 820 powered flagship, but also because of the way the company has grown and attracted fans within a very short timespan. Phones from LeEco are affordable, feature rich and looks amazing.
Although we haven’t really got our hands on the LeEco Le Max Pro flagship, mainly because it’s not yet readily available in the market, our eyes are all focused on the next phone from the company, namely the Le 2 flagship. This should be another device with Snadpragon 820 chip on board. But that’s not just what excites us. LeEco executive has said that the phone will come with some revolutionary technology. Moreover, according to recent rumors, the design of the phone will also be a lot different than previous releases, featuring a new body material like double glass design or ceramic.
Now, 9to5Google has got their hands on some official Le 2 renders and they look pretty amazing. While these are just concept images for now, the source reveals that the design is basically what the company is aiming to provide with its upcoming phones.
As you can see in the pictures, the Le 2 comes with a non-metal body, probably glass or ceramic. Then there’s a solid metal frame. Another highlight of the phone is the display which curves around the sides like the Galaxy S7 Edge. We have heard rumors about Samsung supplying its curved display panels to Chinese manufacturers, so this could very well turn out to be a reality.
The phone also features a magsafe like charger on its USB Type-C port. Further, the concept phone is said to come with a fingerprint sensor that hides underneath the body. We know that’s possible, thanks to Qualcomm’s Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor.
Well, this may just be a concept, but if the LeEco Le 2 flagship is anything like this in terms of looks, we could have a best seller. With Snapdragon 820 and other powerful specs, the phone seems to be one of the most anticipated devices of this quarter. Rumors say the release could be as soon as March, but we are yet to hear anything official about an event from the company.
Lenovo has announced the K5 Plus smartphone in India. The phone was first unveiled at MWC 2016 in Barcelona, Spain, and now the phone will be available in India via the retailer Flipkart. The K5 Plus is priced at just Rs. 8499 which comes to just $126. In case you are wondering, there are hardly any differences between the K5 and the K5 Plus, with the major one being the screen resolution.
Coming to the specs, the Lenovo K5 Plus comes with a 5-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. Given the compact display, this translates into pixel density of 441 ppi. Under the hood, the phone will come with Snapdragon 616 chipset clocked at 1.5GHz and Adreno 405. You get 2GB of RAM on board along with 16GB of internal storage which is further expandable up to 128GB.
At the back, you get a 13MP camera sensor with 5-piece lens and up front, you get a fixed focus 5MP shooter with 4-piece lens. The phone is pretty slim as well, measuring just 7.9mm and it weighs 142 grams. One of the highlights of the phone is the Dolby Atmos supported speakers. You also get a 2750mAh battery on board.
Another feature highlighted by Lenovo is its TheaterMax technology. The K5 Plus supports this tech which provides an immersive cinematic experience. This technology can reportedly convert any content like videos, games, live streaming, youtube etc into a large screen virtual experience once you pair it with the AntVR glasses.
The phone will go on sale from March 23 on flipkart in an open sale exclusively on Flipkart. On the first sale day, the company is providing an exchange and upgrade offer for Lenovo A6000 and A6000 Plus users.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Given that this is an audio centric device, lets first take a look at the hardware inside the device. The Ulefone Vienna comes with an independent Hi-Fi chip called NXP Smart Audio PA which features both DAC and operational amplifier. The phone supports frequency response range from 20Hz to 20KHz.
