Letv Le 1s Unboxing and First Impressions

By

Linus

-

Dec 8, 2015

It seems that Letv has just announced their trio of “Le Superphones” but we already have the Letv Le 1s – the successor of the cheapest device from the company’s portfolio. A lot of things have change, some remained the same. Find out more in our unboxing and first impressions article.

Thanks to Giztop for sending Letv Le 1s for a review.

Letv Le 1s: UNBOXING

Letv Le 1s comes in a box, which has some design inspirations from Apple. However, it does not look that premium as the first generation Letv phones.

Still, the contents are very well made and they include a fast charging brick (up to 2.7A), USB Type-C cable, documentation and a fancy SIM ejector pin.

Letv Le 1s: DESIGN

When it comes to the design, we are looking at all-metal phone, which is an upgrade over the previous generation Le 1 model. The device definitely looks and feels like a high-end phone due to a very good construction and some quality materials.

As the majority of the Letv smartphones, the Le 1s comes with a 5.5″ display, which has become a standard nowadays.

On the top we have a 5MP selfie snapper, earpiece and LED notification light. On the bottom, there are 3 nicely backlit capacitive buttons.

On the back there a 13MP main shooter with a single LED flash and right underneath it you can find a fingerprint scanner, which works very well and setting it up is a breeze.

USB Type-C port takes care of charging/syncing and it sits next to the speaker grill and the mic.

Letv Le 1s: FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Overall, Letv Le 1s is well built metal phone and it sits comfortable in the hand. As I just wrote in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 first impressions article, I am very happy about the evolution of budget smartphones – premium looks and great specs for affordable price.

I am familiar with the LeUI, which comes with the Letv phones and the Le 1s is no exception. Everything is running smoothly, apps are opening/closing fast and there are no major hiccups during the daily use. However, I am keeping a final judgment for a full review.

All in all, my first impressions are only positive at this stage. Still, it’s been just a day I’ve been playing with the Le 1s (as well as the Redmi Note 3) and there are many aspects that require a thorough testing. Stay tuned to Gizmochina for upcoming full review.

Buy Letv Le 1s from Giztop

Get $7 Off 1byone iPhone 6/6s Plus Tempered Glass Protector

By

Linus

-

Dec 8, 2015

If you have an iPhone one of the most important things you want to do is to invest in its protection. It is obvious that iPhones have very durable glass on their displays but there is nothing better than adding an extra layer of protection to avoid breaking the screen.

Usually, the problem with regular screen protectors is that they are not durable enough to protect your phone if you drop it. A tempered glass comes handy in these situations as they are made using special technologies to survive even the most severe drops.

Even if the 1byone tempered glass breaks, it will protect the original display of the iPhone.

In addition to that, in has a few extra layers that prevent the glass from being a fingerprint magnet and a special oleophobic coating helps dealing with water drops.

1byone iPhone 6/6s Plus tempered glass screen protector has a transparency rating of 96% and a great level of sensitivity to make sure you have a great user experience.

Finally, the tempered glass is very thin as it measures at only 0.3mm. Also, it has curved edges to match the ones on the iPhone.

Usually, tempered glass screen protectors do not come very cheap but 1byone has a pretty good deal on Amazon.

The company offers a generous $7 off the tempered glass protectors for the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus for a limited time. If you have a friend who is constantly breaking the iPhone, this may be a holiday gift idea.

Deal summary:

Start Date: 12/08/2015 00:01 AM
End Date: 12/11/2015 23:59 PM
Free shipping with Prime or $35 order

Coupon code: OSQRZDZH

Get $7 off 1byone tempered screen protector for iPhone 6/6s with a coupon: OSQRZDZH

Get $7 off 1byone tempered screen protector for iPhone 6 Plus/6s Plus with a coupon: OSQRZDZH

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Unboxing and First Impressions

By

Linus

-

Dec 8, 2015

It seems that it hasn’t been long since Xiaomi released the Redmi Note 2 and a lot of us thought that it will lead the Redmi lineup for quite some time. This is what we are used to and this is what the company usually follows. However, Xiaomi decided to pleasantly surprise us by releasing the 3rd generation “budget Note” – the Redmi Note 3. Find out more in our unboxing and first impressions article.

Thanks to Giztop for sending Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 for a review.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3: Unboxing

We see a slight change in terms of packaging. We have already got used to seeing the recycled paper boxes that come with Xiaomi phones but this time around the company made a better looking presentation.

The contents that come with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 include the charging brick, USB cable, documentation and a SIM ejector pin.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3: Design

It wouldn’t be a Note series if we had a small display. Well, it is not big either as 5.5″ panels have already become a standard. Still, you have to keep in mind that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 is not the most compact phone.

I would say that the Redmi Note 3 has the most drastic design change in the series. It sports a great build quality and it uses all-metal unibody design, which I personally like. That means that gone are the days of a user-replacable battery and even the microSD card slot. It may be a deal breaker for some, especially for the power users.

On the bright side, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 is the first Xiaomi’s phone ever to sport a fingerprint scanner, which is easy to setup, fast, accurate and works from a standby mode.

On the front we have a 5MP selfie snapper and a customisable LED light. On the bottom, there is a usual set of capacitive buttons, which also have a nice backlight.

The buttons, which are located on the right feel nice and they are made of metal too. On the left we have a dual micro SIM card slot.

Besides the usual ports, it is really cool that Xiaomi adds the IR blaster in their budget phones lineup.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3: First Impressions

Overall, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 looks and feels like a premium handset. It is well constructed, it uses mainly metal in its body and no one would ever tell you this is a cheap phone. I have to say that I love the evolution of cheap devices and the current trend – premium look and feel for a low price.

As far as UI, we have the MIUI 7 out of the box, which is built on top of Android 5.0. Hopefully, there will be an update to the 5.1 version very soon. So far the interface is nice and fast (we have a Chinese version for a review). However, the later tests will give a better conclusion.

So far the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 has worked absolutely fine but I have to test every bit of it before writing (and making a video) a full review. Stay tuned to Gizmochina.

Buy Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 from Giztop

Kingzone K10 Leaked Sporting A Super Thin Metal Body & Fingerprint ID

By

Joel Joseph

-

Dec 8, 2015

After Kingzone K2 and N5 smartphones, we haven’t heard much from the company. However, earlier today, we came across a new leak about one of its upcoming smartphones, the Kingzone K10. This is the first time we are hearing about this new device.

The Kingzone K10 seems to be a pretty well-built phone from the leaked image. It looks like the company is following the trend of slimming down the smartphone thickness, as the image shows that the phone will be super thin. From my guess, it could be around the 6mm mark, which will turn out to be thinner than most phones in the market today.

Another highlight of the device is going to be its all-metal body, which is clearly shown in the image. Metal is often considered as a premium material for smartphones, which is why it’s no surprise that more and more manufacturers are opting for metal over plastic for their phones. Further, the Kingzone K10 will be available in at least two colors, namely gold, and silver.

Apart from the good looks, the phone is said to come with a fingerprint sensor at the back. Unfortunately, we cannot see that in the picture above. Also, the screen is expected to be large around 5.5-inches which has become a standard among mid-rangers.

Overall, the Kingzone K10 looks like an interesting model from the company. Slim phone lovers will especially love the thin design and the metal body.

Unfortunately, at the moment, we have no other specs or release details about the device. However, we will keep you guys updated with more details in the coming days.

GizmoChina GiveAway: Win A UMi Iron Pro Flagship From Coolicool

By

Joel Joseph

-

Dec 8, 2015

Another day, another giveaway.

Today, we are going to giveaway a brand new UMi Iron Pro flagship to one of our lucky readers, provided to us by Coolicool.com. If you have been an avid follower of gizmochina, you would know that we like to giveaway a lot of stuff to our readers, especially smartphones. In the past few months alone, we have given away a brand new OnePlus 2 flagship as well as a OnePlus X handset to our readers.

Today, it’s time to giveaway the best of UMi, namely the UMi Iron Pro flagship. It comes with a 1.3GHz MT6753 octa-core processor with 3GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable memory. The display is of 5.5-inches with FHD 1080p resolution. At the back, you get a 13MP sensor with dual LED flash and upfront, an 8MP shooter. The battery is also pretty decent at 3300mAh capacity. Overall a great phone to have at 179.99!

You can check out more details about the UMi Iron Pro flagship from here.

The rules to participate in the UMi Iron Pro flagship Giveaway is similar to the ones we had in our previous giveaways. So, just follow the instructions given in the Gleam Widget and make as many entries as possible to increase your chances for a win.

One lucky winner gets a UMi Iron Pro Flagship For Free!

All the best!

UMi Iron Pro GiveAway

Meanwhile, you can directly purchase the UMi Iron Pro flagship from here.

Buy UMi Iron Pro at Discount Price

New Xiaomi Mi 5 Render Reveals Physical Home Button, Release On Jan 21?

By

Joel Joseph

-

Dec 7, 2015

Just a few hours back, analyst revealed that the Xiaomi Mi 5 will probably go with a traditional fingerprint sensor, instead of Qualcomm’s Ultrasonic scanner. Now, a new Xiaomi Mi 5 render has made it online, revealing the front of the flagship.

According to the new render, the Xiaomi Mi 5 flagship will continue to use a design similar to the one we have seen on the Mi Note series. However, there’s one major difference up front. The phone will feature a physical home button on the front, a first for a Xiaomi device. This actually makes sense since earlier today we heard that the Mi 5 will probably come with a front facing fingerprint sensor. And up till now, we have seen major companies use a physical home button to incorporate a fingerprint sensor underneath the button.

As we cannot see the back of the device, we can’t be sure whether the phone features a metal body. However, according to the previous rumors, the Mi 5 is expected to come in all metal design. Further, the display which will most likely be of 5.2-inches will also come with a Force Touch/ 3D Touch pressure sensitive technology.

Other expected specifications of the phone include 2K resolution on its 5.2-inch display, Snapdragon 820, 3GB + 32GB / 4GB + 64GB memory combinations, 21MP rear camera and an 8MP front facing shooter. As for software, expect the phone to come with Android 6.0 Marshmallow version with MIUI 7 on top right out of the box.

While the company is yet to confirm a date for the phone’s release, recent rumors suggest that the Xiaomi Mi 5 will most likely debut on January 21, 2016, which is a Thursday. It’s possible since we have continuously heard about a Jan release for the device, after which the phone will be available for sale in February.

So, what do you think about the new Xiaomi Mi 5 render? Were you expecting a revolutionary design or did you like this one?

Xiaomi Mi 5 May Not Use UltraSonic Fingerprint Scanner

By

Joel Joseph

-

Dec 7, 2015

We have been hearing a lot about the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 5 flagship for quite some time. However, things have started to speed up in the recently, especially after the Grand Finale event of the company late November. Yesterday, IHS analyst revealed that the Xiaomi Mi 5 will most likely be the first phone to feature Snapdragon 820 chipset. Now, another analyst, Pan Jiutang has thrown some light on the fingerprint recognition sensor of the device.

Since the past few months, there have been reports that Xiaomi will incorporate Qualcomm’s latest UltraSonic Fingerprint Scanner on the Xiaomi Mi 5 flagship. However, Pan Jiutang dismisses these claims saying that the scanning technology is still not very stable or reliable to be used on a popular flagship like the Mi 5.

UltraSonic Fingerprint Scanning technology reportedly does not require any particular sensor or button to work. Instead, this technology can be incorporated under any material such as metal, glass or plastic, opening up a number of areas for available fingerprint recognition, including the display. Moreover, the technology is not as affected by grease, or dirt on the finger as other traditional technologies.

However, it looks like it’s still not ready to be used on a wide scale. So, he adds that Xiaomi Mi 5 will use a traditional sensor on the front. However, we can’t rule out the possibility that it could be a better tech than existing sensors.

The flagship is expected to be announced sometime in January 2016, and will be available for sale after the Spring Festival in China that happens in February. Earlier reports have said that the stock will be in plenty, so the company could be expecting a lot fo demand for the device.

Elephone P9000 Lite hands-on photos

By

shanos

-

Dec 7, 2015

Elephone P9000 Lite hands-on photos

We have today received images of the Elephone P9000 Lite hands-on photos this time rather than CGI renders.

Whilst the P9000 Lite dose still feature black bezels, unlike other Elephone handsets that have come before, the bezels are not butted up to an additional 1-2mm of metal chassis.

The 5.5″ LG LTPS OGS screen really appears to stand out against this thin black bezel and should help to give a much more ddesirable body to screen ratio.

The Elephone P9000 lite will come with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, running on a Mediatek MT6755 Helio P10 CPU, USB type-C and NFC.

Hopefully the new design statement of the P9000 Lite’s bezels will be the start of greater (or should that be lesser) things to come.

Elephone have provided several images that show the phone next to various other handsets to give a better idea of the bezels size.

Please leave comments and questions below

Regards Shanos

The Elephone P9000 is available to pre order here

Original article posted on Gadgetz.tv

Hands on video of the Oukitel K6000 pro

By

shanos

-

Dec 7, 2015

Hands on video of the Oukitel K6000 pro

Oukitel have today sent over a Hands on video of the Oukitel K6000 pro showing off some menus on of the phone.

Checking out the video it would appear that the Oukitel K6000 Pro’s body and styling are similar to the original K6000, this time Oukitel have included a rear mounted finger print scanner.

Like the original K6000 the handset in the video does appear to be quite thick and large, possibly down to the small hands of the person using it combined with the fact the K6000 Pro like its younger brother features a 6000mAh battery.

Other notable points that help to set the newer Pro model apart from the original K6000 include the increased screen resoloution which has been bumped up from HD 720p to FHD 1080p, whilst the Quad core Mediatek MT6735 running at 1GHZ found in the original K6000 has also been upgraded to an Octa core Mediatek MT6753 running at 1.3GHZ.

If you like the idea of a phone with battery life that could see 2 or more days between charges but want even more processing power to make use of the onboard 6000mAh battery, a third option will also be made available, the Oukitel K6000 Premium which will come with 2k screen but more impressive will be the Deca core Mediatek MT6797 running at 2.5GHZ.

I am currently testing the original Oukitel K6000, the review for this should be finished in the next couple of days.

If Oukitel can get the rom right on either the Pro or the Premium versions of the K6000 running as smoothly as they have on the original K6000 and keep the battery life half decent this phone should attract a lot of buyers.

Check out the Hands on video of the Oukitel K6000 pro and leave questions or comments below

Regards Shanos

Originally posted on Gadgetz.tv

Get The HOMTOM HT7 Smartphone For Just $55 This Holiday Season ($5 OFF)

By

Joel Joseph

-

Dec 7, 2015

Doogee’s sub-brand HOMTOM released some interesting smartphones this year. One of the highlights of the company was the HT6 model which featured a large 6250mAh battery for a decent price tag.

Since the inception of the HOMTOM brand, the company has focused on offering the maximum battery capacity for the cheapest price tag. Even in the super low-end department, the company has continued the tradition.

The recently announced HOMTOM HT7 smartphone features a large 3000mAh battery. Now, for most, this isn’t very large since many mid-range phones feature at least 3000mAh capacity battery these days. However, we would like to remind you that this particular device costs just $59.99, which makes it one of the biggest battery phones in this price range.

What’s more, LightintheBox is offering a $5 coupon on the HOMTOM HT7 taking down the price to just $55.99. This turns out to be a great deal if you are looking for a cheap holiday present.

Coupon code: LITBHT7

Buy HOMTOM HT7 For $55!

Considering the price tag, the specs of the HOMTOM HT7 turns out to be quite impressive. It is powered by the MTK MT6580A quad-core chip clocked at 1.3GHz with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. This is further expandable via MicroSD up to 64GB. There is a large 5.5-inch display on board with 720p HD resolution, which is also quite good. At the back, there’s an 8MP camera while, up front, you get a 5MP shooter.

One thing to remember is that the phone does not support 4G LTE networks. Instead, it’s a dual SIM dual standby supporting 3GB networks. But that’s not really a big drawback considering the price.

Overall, a great deal I would say. Do check out the purchase link for more details.

Buy HOMTOM HT7 For $55!

Xiaomi Mi 5 Should Be The First Snapdragon 820 Phone Says Analyst

By

Joel Joseph

-

Dec 7, 2015

Even before Qualcomm officially unveiled the Snapdragon 820 quad-core chip, there were rumors that the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 5 flagship will be powered by this SoC. However, recently rumors suggested that Xiaomi may go with a chip like Mediatek Helio X20 for its flagship. But IHS analyst Kevin Wang dismissed those claims, asserting that Mi 5 will be powered by 820.

Now, Kevin Wang revealed once again that Xiaomi Mi 5 will probably be the first smartphone to feature Snapdragon 820. This would mean that the phone will meet us very soon since there are a lot of smartphones that’s expected to be powered by this chip. Even the upcoming Galaxy S7 is rumored to feature this Qualcomm chip. So, if Mi 5 is going to be the first smartphone with 820, the release should be sometime before Feb, since the S7 is expected to release at MWC 2016. Other notable phones that are expected to feature this chip includes the upcoming LeTV Le Max Pro.

As for the other specs of the Xiaomi Mi 5, expect 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, 2K 5.2-inch display, 21MP rear camera and 8MP front-facing shooter.

Recently, we came across a bezel less render of the Xiaomi Mi 5. You can read more about it from this article.

Ramos R9 With Fingerprint ID leaked In Rose Gold, Features All Metal Body

By

Joel Joseph

-

Dec 6, 2015

It’s been quite a while since we seen a new model from the Chinese manufacturer Ramos. The MOS1 Max turned out to be a decent phone with a large 5.5-inch display and 3050mAh battery. But after that the company has been quite about its smartphone plans. Recently, the company started teasing it’s Ramos R9 phone, but without giving out a release date for the device. Now, the real device has been leaked online in all its glory.

Like most Chinese manufacturers, Ramos is also following the trend of releasing an all metal device. According to the latest leaked images of the Ramos R9 smartphone, the phone will feature a metal body with a fingerprint sensor at the back. What’s more, there even a rose gold color available for the device.

The leaked images show off the R9 alongside two iPhones, namely the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus. The display size lies between 4.7 and 5.5-inches, so it’s most likely going to be a 5.2-inch smartphone. The front seems to feature 2.5D arc design. Also, we don’t see any bezels on the side, but it’s probably because they are black in color which hides them when the display is turned off.

Unlike the recent surge in the metal bodied mid-rangers, the Ramos R9 is expected to be an upper mid-range device. The overall design looks premium with the camera and the flash on top left corner and the fingerprint sensor at the center.

Since this is expected to be an upper mid-range phone, pricing won’t be as cheap as other budget devices like the Redmi Note 3 or the Meizu Metal. Instead, you can expect the Ramos R9 to be priced somewhere around the 2000 Yuan ($315) mark. Of course, these are just speculations and we’ll come to know the exact specifications and pricing details once the phone is officially announced. Since the company has started to tease the device, the launch shouldn’t be very far off. So stay tuned!

1byone Bluetooth Earphones Review – Awesome Affordable Bluetooth Sports Earphones!

By

Linus

-

Dec 6, 2015

If you are looking for great sports Bluetooth earphones but don’t want to pay the price of Jaybird Bluebuds, the 1byone headset is worth checking out. Stay tuned for a full review.

This review is brought to you by TechLineHD.

Subscribe to TechLineHD

1byone Sports Bluetooth Earphones Review: VIDEO

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rduOXPom5Wo[/embedyt]

1byone Sports Bluetooth Earphones Review: UNBOXING

The headset costs $43 on Amazon and I will leave the links below the video. For this price, you are getting a really nice presentation as all the items are packed neatly. The contents include a nice carrying pouch, USB cable, instruction manual, different sizes of earbuds and secure fit supports.

1byone Sports Bluetooth Earphones Review: DESIGN

When it comes to the design, 1byone Bluetooth earphones are very well-made although it uses plastic and rubber in its build. As usual to this type of product, the earphones itself are bigger than the regular ones since there are batteries, sound drivers, Bluetooth chip and other stuff inside of them.

Nevertheless, they stay great in the ears are are quite comfortable to use. However, you to choose the right earbuds to get a perfect seal.

As far as controller, you can play/pause, adjust volume or skip tracks and the buttons have a good tactile feedback.

Also, there is a mic and the hands-free calling feature is good but not great. I could definitely hear the people on the other end but they rated the call quality just above average.

1byone Sports Bluetooth Earphones Review: SOUND QUALITY

These earphones use Bluetooth 4.1 with apt-X HD codec and that leads to a really good sound quality. What impressed me most is that there is a good amount of bass and a great balance between lows, mids and highs. For the price, I don’t think you can get anything better.

1byone Sports Bluetooth Earphones Review: CONCLUSIONS

So, there you have it, 1byone sports Bluetooth earphones. For the price of just $43, you are getting an affordable headset that doesn’t skimp on neither the build quality nor sound. Also, earphones are comfortable to wear.

As far as battery life, I could get around 6 hours of music playback, which is not the best result but definitely not bad. Also, I didn’t have any Bluetooth connectivity issues doesn’t matter if had my phone in my pocket or in a backpack.

Finally, I can definitely recommend this headset as it is worth the money considering the overall package. Make sure to stay tuned and subscribe to the TechLineHD Youtube channel as I will be giving these earphones away very soon.

Buy 1byone Sports Bluetooth Earphones

Handset Review Elephone Trunk

By

shanos

-

Dec 5, 2015

Handset Review Elephone Trunk

Its been about two weeks since I first received my Elephone Trunk and whilst it would have been easy to jump right in and do a review after a couple of days, I wanted to give Elephone some time to work on a new firmware that was due to be released to fix a some problems.

The Elephone Trunk is aimed at the budget end of the market costing just $120 (£79), its time to take a look and see just what $120 will get you.

Screen

One of the first things that you will notice when you turn on the Elephone Trunk is the bright and vibrant 5″ 720p OGS display.

Its nice to see manufacturers releasing 5″ phones, for some people with smaller hands it is the sweet spot, whilst others prefer the 5.5″ screens found on many other Elephone handsets.

Given the screen size of 5″ the 720p resolution coming in around 250ppi gives enough detail to be pleasing to the eye, the screen size and lower resolution also help to keep the power usage lower and improve performance.

Processor and GPU

Elephone have always been avid supporters of Mediatek SOC’s using them for their entire range of phones, this time round for the Elephone Trunk they have chosen to include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad core GPU (MSM8916) clocked at 1.2GHz with Adreno 306 GPU

The Elephone Trunk feels snappy in every day use, with the Adreno 360 handling menus and most apps at decent fluidity and speed, surprisingly considering the CPU/GPU combination gaming performance is not bad.

Storage ROM/RAM

The Elephone Trunk comes with 16GB Rom and 2 gb of Ram, storage can be upgraded via micro SD card.

Battery

The battery on the Elephone Trunk is a 2100mAh removable battery, the lower power usage from the combination of

cSnapdragon 410 CPU and 720p screen help keep battery usage down.

A full day of usage is possible between charges, if you are not pushing the phone to hard with lots of browsing, gaming or video playback.

Antutu Benchmarks*

1st Run – 22848

2nd Run – 22624

3rd Run – 21890

Average – 22,454

You can see the Elephone Trunk Antutu benchmarks in the following video (Video is sped up to save time).

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcDH6ZWlGOU[/embedyt]

Gaming performance**

The Elephone Trunk is budget a phone, not really something that you would choose specifically for gaming, however all things considered it is capable of providing adequate levels of gameplay.

The video below shows Asphalt 8 running on the Elephone Trunk, gameplay is smooth and playable and would be enough to keep you entertained if you were stuck on a train.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaTKCuazsN8[/embedyt]

Cameras

The Elephone trunk comes with two cameras upfront you will find a 2mp selfie camera, which is adequate but nothing special.

Looking to the back of the phone you will find an 8mp rear facing camera that uses interpolation to bring it up to 13mp a single LED flash is there to help when lighting is not at its best.

As mentioned above when the Elephone Trunk first arrived there were a couple of minor niggles and one fairly major one, the camera performance was to say the least not great.

The problem was that the sensor could not achieve an accurate focus lock even in good lighting, with the camera continually hunted for a lock.

Quite often the Elephone Trunk would appear to achieve a clear picture and then as you pressed to take the picture un-focus and take a blurred image.

I spoke with a contact at Elephone who said that they were aware of the problem and had an updated firmware in the works that would fix the camera issue.

The updated firmware arrived last week via an OTA update (which installed without any issues), once installed I fired up the Trunk and took the camera out for some testing.

Thankfully the update has really helped to resolve the issue, I can now pick a focus point on the screen and the camera will achieve lock and take a decently focused picture, the focus and capture times are a little slow compared to newer more expensive handsets, perhaps these times will improve with further updates.

What it will not do however is give you the most detailed image in the world, this is not a class leading sensor by any means, however it is more than adequate and for a phone of this price not much more should be expected really.

The camera is not quite perfect and in my opinion still needs some tweaking, capture speed, low light imagery as well as colour balance could be better.

Firmware development

The Elephone Trunk features the Qualcomm MSM8916 Snapdragon 410 quad core cpu, which unlike Mediatek CPU’s has a decent developer comunity following (mainly due to Mediatek’s choice of not releasing the required developer files as open source).

The Elephone Trunk really benefits from this active developer community, there are a couple of teams on the Russian site 4pda.ru and devs on XDA forums working on custom roms.

The Elephone Trunk (or as the Russians know it the Arc Benefit A3), is getting custom roms such as CyanogenMod 12.1 and even CyanogenMod 13 running well on the $120 handset.

Design

Elephone have done a really nice job with with the Elephone trunk handset, a rubberised texture on the rear leaves it feeling really comfortable to hold and also makes it feel secure with less fear of dropping.

The front of the phone is mostly filled by the 5″ OGS panel (with black boarders approximately 2.5mm wide), the lower chin has three capacitive buttons, the centre is is a circular home button, as yet Elephone have not given the option to use this for notification, but with luck they or one of the other devs will manage to implement this feature in the future.

The top chin is where you will find the ear piece, proximity sensor and 2mp selfie camera, the rear casing of the Trunk has a matte rubberised coating giving it a nice tactile feel, the finish is reminiscent of the earlier Apple Macbooks finish before they went to unibody aluminum construction.

The coating provides great grip and works well with the curved contours of the phones rear.

On the rear of the trunk you will find the Elephone logo and 8mp rear camera with single LED flash, towards the bottom is the built in speaker which is output through to small slots providing fairly decent audio output levels.

The right hand side of the phone is home to the power button and volume rocker, these are chromed plastic and feel fairly nice to operate.

There are no buttons on the left hand side of the phone.

On the top of the phone you will find a standard micro usb port as well as 3.5mm headphone jack.

Connectivity

The Elephone Trunk supports Bluetooth 4.0 and Dual sim slots with support for the following networks
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 800/1800/2100/2600MHz

Battery

The Elephone Trunk’s removable battery is a 2100mAh Li-polymer unit, this is not particularly large but should see you through a day of normal usage.

The 5″ 720p screen and CPU combination help to get the most from the battery, neither of them sucking too much juice.

If you intend to do a lot of browsing, gaming and other intensive tasks on the Trunk I would advise purchasing a spare battery or power bank to keep handy just in case.

Final thoughts

The Elephone Trunk is a decent little phone, whilst not for everyone, it does fit into a niche that has been somewhat ignored by a lot of manufactures recently.

Its small form factor and decent real world performance make it a good option for non power users who are happy with ‘good enough performance’ and just want a phone that fits easily in a pocket and does what its supposed to do.

It’s premium feel and appearance give it the look of a phone costing much more than the $120 price tag would suggest.

The phone would rank a lot higher if it were not for the camera niggles.

But what it does have going for it, is third party rom support, this alone could be a reason to buy as it should see frequent updates and new functionality and tweaks (check out the forums linked above to see some of the great work being done on the Elephone Trunk).

Hopefully with ongoing support for this little phone Elephone and the other Devs will iron out the bugs and make this little phone even better.

For me this phone makes me reminissant of what it was that got me hooked on android, allowing my inner geek to tweak and flash new roms, whilst for non power users and children it offers a good set of functions and quality at a price that will not break the bank this Christmas.

Please feel free to leave comments and questions below

kind regards Shanos

The Elephone Trunk can be purchased here

Original article posted on Gadgetz.tv

*Antutu Benchmarks are provided to give a comparative view of handsets performance.

Whilst they do give an indication of a handsets overall potential. they do not fully take in to account hardware and software optimisation.

Manufacturers have also been known to include cheat software built in to handsets, to deliberately make handsets operate faster in tests than they might otherwise in real world usage.

Antutu benchmarks on gadgetz.tv are run 3 times in close succession to see if any throttling occurs due to heavy CPU/GPU usage.

**Gaming videos are recorded using AZ Screen Recorder

First official teaser for the new smartwatch zeblaze Cosmo

By

Shine Wong

-

Dec 4, 2015

The Chinese manufacturer of smart watches Zeblaze launch a new device that will receive the name of Zeblaze Cosmo and has now shown us a picture of it.

Zeblaze had already made a couple of smartwatches this year, the first was the Zeblaze Rover and then launched the Zeblaze Crystal . The second SmartWatch is much better than the first and having already produced two of them and see the response and feedback from the public assume they will pretty clear what to do with the third one to be an even better device than previously we had seen.

Continue

ZTE Axon Mini Unboxing and First Impressions: Great Phone with Force Touch Display!

By

Linus

-

Dec 4, 2015

ZTE is definitely one of the most respectable Chinese smartphone makers since our reviews have already proven that the company is capable of producing high quality products. We have already reviewed the ZTE Axon Elite and even compared it to other Chinese flagships of 2015.

We were definitely impressed by an affordable yet premium handset and this time around we are looking at a little brother – ZTE Axon Mini. It turns out that it is not only another mini version of a flagship but it is one of the world’s first Android smartphones (along with the Huawei Mate S Luxury Edition) that has a force touch display technology. Find out more in our unboxing and first impressions article.

Thanks to the ZTE Official for sending ZTE Axon Mini for a review.

ZTE Axon Mini: UNBOXING

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The ZTE Axon Mini comes in a premium looking packaging where all the items are packed neatly. The contents include the charging plug, USB cable, a pair of earphones, which actually sound pretty good; SIM ejector PIN, some documentation and a soft plastic case.

ZTE Axon Mini: DESIGN

As far as the design, we are looking a really premium and well-made design. It is made almost entirely of metal except for those top and bottom parts on the back, which imitate a leather finish with some fake stitching. It is very subjective and many people may not like it but I have to say that they are okay to me. As a matter of fact, they have a somewhat rubberised finish, which definitely helps with the grip.

The front top and bottom parts may give you an impression that the Axon Mini sports a dual stereo speakers setup. However, the top part is dedicated only for the earpiece, usual set of sensors, LED light and 8MP selfie snapper.

The bottom is the place where you can find a front firing speaker along with the main mic.

The ZTE Axon Mini keeps the same design language as its bigger brother but this time around it ditches the dual-camera setup and opts in for a more conventional 13MP shooter with dual-LED flash.

Underneath the camera there is a fingerprint scanner. I’ve setup it up since the first minute I had the phone and I have to say that it is super easy to setup and very fast, and accurate to use. Also, the placement of the scanner feels much more natural than on the front. However, it may be just my habit I acquired after having reviewed tons of phones.

ZTE Axon Mini in pictures:

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ZTE Axon Mini: FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Honestly, I was pretty excited to test the ZTE Axon Mini but I have no reasons why. It may be due to the fact that I really liked the regular Axon phone.

Well, the reasons I like this phone start with a great presentation, which makes you believe that you have an expensive phone.

Of course, none of the presentations/packagings has ever made a phone great but as soon as you pick the ZTE Axon Mini up, you feel a well constructed device, which is compact due to its 5.2″ display, and it definitely feels great in the hand.

Also, I’ve played with the UI, camera (at the first glance the pictures seem to be pretty good), did some other stuff and everything seems to be running smoothly.

The force touch? Yes, it is working on the phone and it seems like a pretty neat feature. However, I need to spend a little more time with the device to tell my opinion.

All in all, the ZTE Axon Mini seems like a really decent offering for the price of just over $300. Stay tuned to our full review.

Buy ZTE Axon Mini

Get $20 Off the Best Affordable Vintage Vinyl Record Player by 1byone

By

Linus

-

Dec 4, 2015

Vinyl records may not be your first choice when it comes to listening to music but there are still a lot of music lovers out there who do that. However, neither the records itself not the players are cheap but there are some affordable solutions. We have previously reviewed the one made by 1byone and you may check out the video review below.

Keep reading as you will find all the info how to get $20 Off with a coupon code!

The Best Affordable Vinyl Record Player? 1byone Vintage Turntable Review

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF1fomoFHTE[/embedyt]

1byone Vintage Turntable Review: UNBOXING

The device comes in a huge box and the contents include the turntable itself, AC adapter and instruction manuals.

1byone Vintage Turntable Review: DESIGN and FEATURES

The 1byone turntable comes in a luggage style case and the exterior is made of PU leather but there are other colour options or even a denim finish. I will leave Amazon links in the description below this video for that.

The first thing you’re going to see is that the device is very well made and doesn’t look cheap at all. Also, all the corners of the luggage are protected with metal plates, which also add a little bit of style.

On the bottom side there are rubber feet to prevent the turntable from sliding and on the front side you can find a metal buckle, a handle and two speakers.

The right side is where you can find all the controls like power on/off switch, which doubles as a volume knob, a headset jack if you prefer listening to vinyl music via headphones and a power input. Also, you have an option to connect the turntable to external speakers and you can even connect your phone or any mp3 player and use it as a source of the sound input.

1byone Vintage Turntable Review: MUSIC PLAYBACK

Allright, so if you want to start listening to your vinyls, it is very simple even for the first time user. All you have to do is to plug the power cord and turn on the device.

Then you have to open up the luggage with a buckle, which looks very sturdy and will not break anytime soon.

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What you want to do here is put a record on the turntable platter and select the desired speed, which includes 33, 45 or 78 RPM according to your record. Usually, the speed is written on the vinyl itself. Keep in mind that if you want to use the 45 RPM record, you have to use the included adapter.

In order to start playing music you have to open up the tone arm clip to release the tone arm. Then you have to push the lift lever backwards to raise the tone arm and gently move the tone arm to the desired position of the vinyl.

Keep in mind that the turntable will start spinning when the tone arm is moved towards the vinyl.

Finally, you have to push the lift lever forward and the tone arm will start moving towards the vinyl record nice and gently.

1byone Vintage Turntable Review: SOUND QUALITY

To be honest, I don’t usually listen to vinyl records, so I have borrowed some very old ones from the 70s that my friend had in his basement.

The sound quality is like listening to vinyl records. The sound is very live and you can hear a lot of rich tones.

As far as the volume output, it could be a bit louder but it is loud enough to fill a large room even if you are playing very old records.

1byone Vinyl Record Player Review: CONCLUSIONS

So there you have it, the 1byone vintage turntable. For just over $70 you are getting an affordable solution to play your old or maybe new vinyl records as they are still being widely used in the music industry.

The 1byone vinyl record player is stylish and has a great build quality. Also, there quite a few options like the ability to play music via headphones, connect the turntable to the external speakers or even connect your phone or any mp3 player.

Also, this turntable is super easy to use and it has an auto power off switch, which stops the music playback automatically as soon as the vinyl record finishes.

A few shortcomings would be that the inside of the turntable feels a bit plasticky as the platter and tone arm parts are wobbling a little. Also, the speakers could be a little bit louder.

Despite a few disadvantages, the 1byone vinyl record player is a great offering if you are looking for affordable solution to play your old or new vinyls and $70 would probably not break your bank.

If you think that 1byone vinyl records player is something you have to own or it would be a great present, you can grab a generous $20 OFF with the Amazon coupon code: T4FZXUOH.

Deal summary:

Start Date: 12/04/2015 00:01 AM
End Date: 12/11/2015 23:59 PM
Free shipping with Prime or $35 order

Coupon Code T4FZXUOH.

Buy 1byone Vintage Turntable from Amazon US with $20 OFF coupon code T4FZXUOH

Is This Our First Look At The Xiaomi Mi 5 Flagship With Bezel-less Display?

By

Joel Joseph

-

Dec 4, 2015

Many expected Xiaomi to unveil its latest flagship smartphone, the Xiaomi Mi 5 at the Grand Finale event on November 24. However, at the event we met only two devices, the Redmi Note 3 and the Xiaomi Mi Pad 2. So, it meant we had to wait for a couple of months more to meet the flagship Mi 5.

However, at the interview after the event, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun revealed that he was currently using the device and he found its to be great. So, it looks like the Mi5’s design has been finalized.

Now, we have our first glimpse at the Xiaomi Mi 5 flagship and from the image, the phone looks really beautiful. The image shows that the phone will come with a bezel less design, which means no black borders on the side. Nubia has shown us that its possible with its Z9 flagship back in May this year, so it won’t be surprising to see the Mi 5 come with such an amazing design.

On a closer look, the phone does look like the Mi Note. But the bezels on the Mi Note flagship are not as thin as this. So, we will have to wait and see whether this is the real design of the upcoming flagship.

The image comes directly from Xiaomi’s official account. It was posted a few days back, but till now went unnoticed. Our best guess would be the Xiaomi Mi 5!

Further, the phone is said to come with ClearForce Touch technology from Synaptics which is similar to Apple’s 3D Touch. So, the display will be able to measure the force with which a user presses the screen. This would come in handy in things like gaming where the phone will be able to distinguish between a hard press or a soft press on the throttle.

As for the specs, the Xiaomi Mi 5 is expected to come with a 5.2-inch 2K resolution display with 4GB RAM, 64GB storage and Snapdragon 820 chip under the hood. At the back, you can expect a 21MP camera and up front, an 8MP shooter.

According to earlier reports, we can expect the release of the phone to be around January-February period next year. So, expect a lot more details about the device in the coming weeks.

Stay tuned!

Mediatek Helio X12 Chip May Not Exist According To Insiders

By

Joel Joseph

-

Dec 4, 2015

Remember a few days back, we got a report that Mediatek was working on a slightly upgraded variant of the existing MT6795 chip called as the Helio X12. Well, according to insiders who told the Chinese media website IT68, this chip may not actually exist. So, the rumors about the MT6795X aka Helio X12 could have been fake.

The same report had said that the X12 chip will be used in the Redmi 3 handset which is expected to be unveiled early 2016. However, it was surprising even at that time, given that Redmi 3 lies below the Note series and, it would really be crazy for Xiaomi to incorporate such a mid-range chip on an entry level device which may cost just about 599 Yuan ($94).

While the Helio X12 chip may not be real, we are quite positive that Xiaomi will launch the Redmi 3 early 2016. So, it would be interesting to see which processor Xiaomi plans to use inside this device.

What do you think? Will we see a Helio X10 powered Redmi 3 handset next year? Or maybe it will be powered by the Helio P10 chip, which will make more sense.

Ulefone Paris Golden Version Starts Presales for USD169.99

By

Shine Wong

-

Dec 3, 2015

Ulefone starts today to list the golden version of Ulefone Paris on retailer sites for presales at the price of USD169.99, the same with the original price of the white and grey versions.

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It seems that Letv has just announced their trio of “Le Superphones” but we already have the Letv Le 1s – the successor of the cheapest device from the company’s portfolio. A lot of things have change, some remained the same. Find out more in our unboxing and first impressions article.

Thanks to Giztop for sending Letv Le 1s for a review.

Letv Le 1s: UNBOXING

Letv Le 1s comes in a box, which has some design inspirations from Apple. However, it does not look that premium as the first generation Letv phones.

Still, the contents are very well made and they include a fast charging brick (up to 2.7A), USB Type-C cable, documentation and a fancy SIM ejector pin.

Letv Le 1s: DESIGN

When it comes to the design, we are looking at all-metal phone, which is an upgrade over the previous generation Le 1 model. The device definitely looks and feels like a high-end phone due to a very good construction and some quality materials.

As the majority of the Letv smartphones, the Le 1s comes with a 5.5″ display, which has become a standard nowadays.

On the top we have a 5MP selfie snapper, earpiece and LED notification light. On the bottom, there are 3 nicely backlit capacitive buttons.

On the back there a 13MP main shooter with a single LED flash and right underneath it you can find a fingerprint scanner, which works very well and setting it up is a breeze.

USB Type-C port takes care of charging/syncing and it sits next to the speaker grill and the mic.

Letv Le 1s: FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Overall, Letv Le 1s is well built metal phone and it sits comfortable in the hand. As I just wrote in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 first impressions article, I am very happy about the evolution of budget smartphones – premium looks and great specs for affordable price.

I am familiar with the LeUI, which comes with the Letv phones and the Le 1s is no exception. Everything is running smoothly, apps are opening/closing fast and there are no major hiccups during the daily use. However, I am keeping a final judgment for a full review.

All in all, my first impressions are only positive at this stage. Still, it’s been just a day I’ve been playing with the Le 1s (as well as the Redmi Note 3) and there are many aspects that require a thorough testing. Stay tuned to Gizmochina for upcoming full review.

If you have an iPhone one of the most important things you want to do is to invest in its protection. It is obvious that iPhones have very durable glass on their displays but there is nothing better than adding an extra layer of protection to avoid breaking the screen.

Usually, the problem with regular screen protectors is that they are not durable enough to protect your phone if you drop it. A tempered glass comes handy in these situations as they are made using special technologies to survive even the most severe drops.

Even if the 1byone tempered glass breaks, it will protect the original display of the iPhone.

In addition to that, in has a few extra layers that prevent the glass from being a fingerprint magnet and a special oleophobic coating helps dealing with water drops.

1byone iPhone 6/6s Plus tempered glass screen protector has a transparency rating of 96% and a great level of sensitivity to make sure you have a great user experience.

Finally, the tempered glass is very thin as it measures at only 0.3mm. Also, it has curved edges to match the ones on the iPhone.

Usually, tempered glass screen protectors do not come very cheap but 1byone has a pretty good deal on Amazon.

The company offers a generous $7 off the tempered glass protectors for the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus for a limited time. If you have a friend who is constantly breaking the iPhone, this may be a holiday gift idea.

Deal summary:

Start Date: 12/08/2015 00:01 AM End Date: 12/11/2015 23:59 PM Free shipping with Prime or $35 order

Coupon code: OSQRZDZH

Thanks to Giztop for sending Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 for a review.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3: Unboxing

We see a slight change in terms of packaging. We have already got used to seeing the recycled paper boxes that come with Xiaomi phones but this time around the company made a better looking presentation.

The contents that come with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 include the charging brick, USB cable, documentation and a SIM ejector pin.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3: Design

It wouldn’t be a Note series if we had a small display. Well, it is not big either as 5.5″ panels have already become a standard. Still, you have to keep in mind that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 is not the most compact phone.

On the bright side, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 is the first Xiaomi’s phone ever to sport a fingerprint scanner, which is easy to setup, fast, accurate and works from a standby mode.

On the front we have a 5MP selfie snapper and a customisable LED light. On the bottom, there is a usual set of capacitive buttons, which also have a nice backlight.

The buttons, which are located on the right feel nice and they are made of metal too. On the left we have a dual micro SIM card slot.

Besides the usual ports, it is really cool that Xiaomi adds the IR blaster in their budget phones lineup.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3: First Impressions

As far as UI, we have the MIUI 7 out of the box, which is built on top of Android 5.0. Hopefully, there will be an update to the 5.1 version very soon. So far the interface is nice and fast (we have a Chinese version for a review). However, the later tests will give a better conclusion.

So far the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 has worked absolutely fine but I have to test every bit of it before writing (and making a video) a full review. Stay tuned to Gizmochina.

Elephone P9000 Lite hands-on photos

Hands on video of the Oukitel K6000 pro

If you are looking for great sports Bluetooth earphones but don’t want to pay the price of Jaybird Bluebuds, the 1byone headset is worth checking out. Stay tuned for a full review.

1byone Sports Bluetooth Earphones Review: VIDEO

1byone Sports Bluetooth Earphones Review: UNBOXING

The headset costs $43 on Amazon and I will leave the links below the video. For this price, you are getting a really nice presentation as all the items are packed neatly. The contents include a nice carrying pouch, USB cable, instruction manual, different sizes of earbuds and secure fit supports.

1byone Sports Bluetooth Earphones Review: DESIGN

Nevertheless, they stay great in the ears are are quite comfortable to use. However, you to choose the right earbuds to get a perfect seal.

As far as controller, you can play/pause, adjust volume or skip tracks and the buttons have a good tactile feedback.

Also, there is a mic and the hands-free calling feature is good but not great. I could definitely hear the people on the other end but they rated the call quality just above average.

1byone Sports Bluetooth Earphones Review: SOUND QUALITY

These earphones use Bluetooth 4.1 with apt-X HD codec and that leads to a really good sound quality. What impressed me most is that there is a good amount of bass and a great balance between lows, mids and highs. For the price, I don’t think you can get anything better.

1byone Sports Bluetooth Earphones Review: CONCLUSIONS

So, there you have it, 1byone sports Bluetooth earphones. For the price of just $43, you are getting an affordable headset that doesn’t skimp on neither the build quality nor sound. Also, earphones are comfortable to wear.

As far as battery life, I could get around 6 hours of music playback, which is not the best result but definitely not bad. Also, I didn’t have any Bluetooth connectivity issues doesn’t matter if had my phone in my pocket or in a backpack.

Finally, I can definitely recommend this headset as it is worth the money considering the overall package. Make sure to stay tuned and subscribe to the TechLineHD Youtube channel as I will be giving these earphones away very soon.

Handset Review Elephone Trunk

Screen

Processor and GPU

Storage ROM/RAM

Battery

Antutu Benchmarks*

Gaming performance**

Cameras

Firmware development

Design

Connectivity

Battery

Final thoughts

ZTE is definitely one of the most respectable Chinese smartphone makers since our reviews have already proven that the company is capable of producing high quality products. We have already reviewed the ZTE Axon Elite and even compared it to other Chinese flagships of 2015.

Thanks to the ZTE Official for sending ZTE Axon Mini for a review.

ZTE Axon Mini: UNBOXING

The ZTE Axon Mini comes in a premium looking packaging where all the items are packed neatly. The contents include the charging plug, USB cable, a pair of earphones, which actually sound pretty good; SIM ejector PIN, some documentation and a soft plastic case.

ZTE Axon Mini: DESIGN

The front top and bottom parts may give you an impression that the Axon Mini sports a dual stereo speakers setup. However, the top part is dedicated only for the earpiece, usual set of sensors, LED light and 8MP selfie snapper.

The bottom is the place where you can find a front firing speaker along with the main mic.

The ZTE Axon Mini keeps the same design language as its bigger brother but this time around it ditches the dual-camera setup and opts in for a more conventional 13MP shooter with dual-LED flash.

ZTE Axon Mini in pictures:

ZTE Axon Mini: FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Honestly, I was pretty excited to test the ZTE Axon Mini but I have no reasons why. It may be due to the fact that I really liked the regular Axon phone.

Well, the reasons I like this phone start with a great presentation, which makes you believe that you have an expensive phone.

Start Date: 12/08/2015 00:01 AM
End Date: 12/11/2015 23:59 PM
Free shipping with Prime or $35 order