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Soocoo S33WS Pro Review – A Good Cheap Sports Action Camera

One of the things that we all use during the summer time is our cameras. Some people still believe that DSLR cameras are the way to go while other users rely on their smartphones. Still, these are not the only options available out there and one more is a sports/action camera.

The majority of users know the GoPro, which arguably makes the best cameras but there are a lot of much cheaper alternatives on the market. We know Xiaomi, SjCam and some other companies but one named Soocoo may be worth your attention as they are specialising in the field of action/sports cameras.

I have spent some time with the camera and made a full Soocoo S33WS Pro review:

In case you don’t feel like watching a video, here are my conclusions of what I think about Soocoo S33WS Pro Sports Action camera:

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the Soocoo S33WS Pro camera is a pretty good device for the price of just over $100. It is very compact and lightweight and it comes with a case, which is full of accessories to expand the usability options.
In addition, this action camera has tons of features and most of them work well.
Picture quality is quite good in the daylight but could be better in the low-light situations. Also, the lens are wide but not the widest on the market.
As far as the video quality, it is not bad when there is not a lot of movement involved but once you start moving, the footage suffers from some shakiness. Also, the sound quality is not that great.
I was really disappointed by a poor camera app, which was actually annoying to use. On the other hand, you can adjust all the settings on the camera itself and use it as a viewfinder or a playback option.
To sum up, despite a few shortcomings this camera is definitely one of the better deals out there in this price range. Of course, it is not par with a GoPro series but it does not come even close to that price range either. If you’re looking for an affordable sports action camera or you don’t think that a GoPro is worth the money, the Soocoo camera may be something to look at.

Doogee Valencia2 Y100 Pro starts selling globally for $119.99, Features 2.5D Glass and Revamped UI

Doogee has made some interesting updates to its existing smartphone lineups with beautiful yet affordable smartphones like the Doogee Valencia2 Y100 Pro. The phone comes much more than what you expect from a $120 device. And finally, today, the phone started shipping globally.

doogee y100 pro

The Valencia2 Y100 Pro boasts of a 5-inch 720p display with 2.5D glass and OGS. Thanks to OGS tech and 2.5D glass, the display on the Y100 Pro looks crisp and clear. The metal unibody design and the compact form factor, makes it extremely easy to operate.

doogee y100 pro OGS

Under the hood, the phone features MT6735 quad-core chip with support for a large number of network bands, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, 13MP Sony camera with True LED flash and an 8MP front facing shooter. There’s 2200mAh battery on board along with other features such as OTG, OTA, HotKnot, smart gestures etc.

 

The company has also revamped the UI to include better icons and new wallpapers which seamless merge into the bezels. Other new UI features includes visual layers, and realistic motion. The idea is to make the UI much more user friendly and attractive.

1432493772239-P-2661563

For the $119.99, the Valencia2 Y100 Pro is definitely a steal. You can check out more details from the links below.

 

 

 

Hands On With The Super Cheap Zeaplus Watch S2

Zeaplus has been upping its game in the past few months. We have seen a number of affordable smartphone releases from the company, like the flagship Zeaplus M7. The company has three wearables in its portfolio as well, including a smart band, the Zeaplus Band. Now, its all set to add one more smartwatch, the new Zeaplus Watch S2.

zeaplus-s2-1

This is one of the most traditional looking smartwatches that you can purchase in the market right now. When we say traditional, we mean, it looks like any other regular analog watch. So, people who don’t like the boring square design on smartwatches, can check out this round offering from the company.

zeaplus-s2-2

Zeaplus has made the device quite solid, with an all metal body and thick bezels which makes it look quite rugged. You get a crown (which is the camera) as well as a button besides it, along with all other features that you would expect from a smartwatch. What’s more, the watch comes with a metal band, instead of the traditional leather ones found on most smartwatches.

Under the hood, the watch features MTK6260 processor for wearables along with 32MB RAM and 128MB storage. The camera is of 1.3MP, but don’t expect high quality pictures from this low level sensor. The front features a 42mm 240 x 240 pixel resolution touch screen display. The watch is IP67 certified, which means its water and dust resistant. Finally, there’s a 350mAh battery on board which is reportedly good enough to last about 70 hours.

Using the watch was pretty easy, thanks to a simple OS that’s running inside. You have plenty of pre-installed watch faces, most of them quite good looking. You can change the face with a single tap on the screen. A swipe to the left brings you to the menu, which includes a lot of different features such as pedometer, remote notifications, bluetooth settings, device settings, sleep monitor, remote camera etc.

What’s more, when connected to a smartphone, the Zeaplus Watch S2 can make calls as well as sync your text messages directly into the watch. You also get a heart rate monitor, which is once again a nice addition.

The original price tag of the Zeaplus Watch S2 is $80, but for the month of July, the company is offering it for just $49.99. This is a pretty good price for the features and the device you get, so make sure you check out the company website for more details.

FULL SPECS:

Model Zeaplus Watch S2
Color Steel (Silver/Gray)
Dimensions 42mm
Weight 90g
Connection Bluetooth 4.0, compatible with Android & iOS
CPU MediaTek MTK6260
Screen 42mm, TFT capacitive touch screen, 240x240pixel
Camera 1.3-megapixel
RAM 32MB
Storage 128MB
Pedometer Caroles calculation, Steps counter
Sleep Monitor Supported
Heart Rate Supported
Standby Time 350mAh, approx 70 hours
Waterproof IP67 class, dust and water resistant
Anti-loss Supported
Music Playback Sync with smartphone
Notifications Calls, Messages,
Clock Face 4 options
Language                                 English, Deutsch, Italiano, Español, Português, Русский, French and more …

 

 

 

Xiaomi cuts down Redmi 2 Price To 599 Yuan ($96)

Xiaomi has just announced that it will be reducing the price tag of its popular Xiaomi Redmi 2 handset from 699 Yuan to 599 Yuan. That’s a 100 Yuan drop from the original price tag, which translates to around $16 reduction. So, now the Redmi 2 can be bought for just $96 which makes it a steal!

redmi 2 price cut 599yuan

It looks like the company is really shaking things up to reach its target sales of 100 million units by this year end. So, slashing the price tag of the already cheap Redmi 2 to 599 Yuan will definitely boost sales.

The Redmi 2 features great specs for its price. It comes with 64-bit Snapdragon 410 chipset clocked at 1.2GHz with 1GB RAM. There is a 4.7-inch display up front with 720p resolution. The rear camera is of 8MP while the front one is of 2MP. There’s 8GB of expandable internal storage along with a 2200mAh battery. It runs on Android 4.4 MIUI 6 and supports 4G LTE networks.

Just a couple of days before, we reported that Xiaomi had managed to sell over 34.70 million smartphones to customers in the first half of 2015. While this is over 33% increase as compared to last year, its still short of company targets.

Earlier this year, Xiaomi had said that it aims to sell around 80 million to 100 million smartphones in 2015. In the first half, the company could not even sell half this amount, which is probably why it will look for ways to increase says to a considerable extent in the second half.

Meanwhile, if you are looking to buy the Redmi 2 outside of China, you can check out the listing on giztop. Its currently in stock in a number of colors and you have the option of choosing the 2GB version too!

 

Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Leaked In An All Metal Body With Fingerprint Sensor

Remember a few days back, we had spotted a render that was reportedly of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2. Now, we have much more than a render, thanks to the picture that leaked earlier today of the actual device. The design looks exactly the same as the render, which makes us believe that this could indeed be one of the various versions of the upcoming Redmi Note 2.

redmi note 2 leak

From the image, we can see that the phone uses an all metal design. There is a round camera sensor at the back along with dual LED flash just below it. You will also find a fingerprint sensor below the camera unit. The ‘MI’ logo lies near the bottom of the back along with the speaker grill. The overall design looks quite good, but if not for the logo, you could have easily mistaken this phone for an HTC or Meizu device.

In fact, here’s the Meizu device in comparison with Xiaomi’s device. You can easily tell that the general design is similar to Meizu.

redmi vs meizu

As for the specs, the phone is said to come in two different variants, one powered by Snapdragon 615 (Pro version) and the standard version powered by Snapdragon 410. The display is expected to be of 5.5-inches with 1080p resolution. There will be 2GB RAM on board with 13MP + 5MP cameras.

Since its been more than a year since we saw the first Redmi Note flagship, expect Xiaomi to release its successor sometime soon. Stay tuned for more details.

 

 

 

UMi Zero 2 to feature dual screens?

UMi is slowly establishing itself as an innovative smartphone maker. We were impressed by the UMi Iron which came with a fingerprint sensor and we are hoping to see more such handsets from the company in the coming months.

image

Earlier today we came across a new Facebook page with the name UMi Zero 2 along with an image which said, “Duplex Life, Best from UMi”.
We can clearly see an e-ink display at the back of the device, just below the rear camera. What’s more, to prove that its a dual screen smartphone, the image also gives us a glimpse of the front with the home button too.

image

Like the Yotaphone, the UMi Zero 2 will probably have a Samsung display at the front and an EPD e-ink display at the back. E-ink displays are known for their stellar visibility even in bright sunlight and is ideal for reading on the phone. If the UMi Zero 2 does feature two screens, it will become the second dual display smartphone in the market, the first being Yotaphone.
According to the picture, UMi will release the device on 1/9 i.e. September 1. So expect more details in the coming months.

First Half 2015 Sales Performance: Huawei vs Xiaomi vs Meizu

We know that everyone is eager to see which Chinese company performed the best in the first half of 2015. Now, thanks to the sales figures released by analysts as well as the respective companies, we can do a comparison on the performance of these three smartphone manufacturers in detail.

Xiaomi had a pretty good first half among these three companies, and it also boasted of the maximum sales in this time period in the domestic market (China). The company managed to sell about 34.7 million handsets overall, which is 33% higher than its previous year’s figures.

Meizu vs huawei vs xiaomi

On the other hand, Huawei managed to sell much higher than Xiaomi, mainly due to its strong overseas sales. The company sold around 50 million handsets in the first half of 2015, which is 44% higher than Xiaomi’s figures. However, in the domestic market, the sales are lower than that of Xiaomi.

Coming to Meizu, the company did quite well as compared to last year. It sold around 8.9 million units in the first half. But as you can see, its nowhere near the amount of sales from Xiaomi or Huawei. The lack of concrete international presence will have definitely hampered the total sales, along with limited production capacity. But since Meizu is expanding its product portfolio in the second half with Meizu M2 Note, Meizu MX5 and possibly MX5 Pro, we can expect better results. Also, the company is planning to enter newer emerging markets like India, which could further boost its sales to a great extent.

Now, lets take a look at the approximate quarterly sales figures of the three companies. Both, Xiaomi and Huawei have increased its sales in the second quarter of 2015 as compared to the first one. Huawei managed to sell about 11 million in Q1 2015 and 20 million units in Q2 2015 in the domestic market alone. We still have no idea about the individual quarterly performance of the remaining 19 million in overseas sales.

Even Xiaomi has a better Q2 2015, generating about 20 million unit sales as compared to 15 million in Q1 2015. However, interestingly, Meizu’s sales decreased by almost 22% in the second quarter. In Q1 2015, Meizu managed to sell about 5 million units, however in the second quarter the sales figure was just 3.9 million. Things may not be as bad as it looks as Meizu had one of the best Q1 2015 sales figures till now. So, the company could not keep up with the growth in the second quarter which naturally led to a decline in sales.

IN Millions
COMPANY Q1 SALES Q2 SALES HALF YEARLY SALES
XIAOMI 15 20 34.7
HUAWEI 11 20 50 (19m overseas sales)
MEIZU 5 3.9 8.9

Source

To conclude, Xiaomi is still going strong in the domestic market, inspite of a slowdown in the smartphone shipment growth.  Huawei is doing well overseas, while Meizu still has a long way to go before it catches up with both these giants.

So, which is your favorite Chinese company among these three?

[socialpoll id=”2280537″]

EC00 05 leaked phone specs and images

tu1

I have today received leaked images and information about the upcoming EC00 E05 handset, the follow up to the successful E04.

The phone will come with an MT6753 soc (clock speed not confirmed in leak) a 5″ FHD 2.5d screen featuring 5 point multi touch, 3gb ram and 16gb rom (expandable via micro SD).

The cameras are said to be 8mp rear facing and 5mp front facing, no confirmation on supplier or part number has been given yet.

From the leaked front screen shots a funky home button can be seen, but no finger print sensor, leaving me to believe that the confirmed sensor will be a rear mounted unit as seen in phones like the P7000 or M7.

tu3

The chassis appears to be of aluminium construction and the bezels appear to be very slim (hopefully with the screen on further bezel will not become visible), overall the images leaked look nice and if the phones Android 5.1 rom* is fully optimised this could be a great mid range phone.

tu2

* My source advised that versions of CM12.1 and other roms are also being worked on for the phone.

What do you think of the leaked images and spec? are you looking forward to a smaller 5″ phone or are you a phablet convert?

feel free to comment below

 

Regards Shanos

Elephone P8000 durability test

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJsd8AUy_1Q

Elephone have been receiving a fair amount of criticism over the P7000’s build quality, some people have indicated that under pressure the phone suffers a similar bendability to the iPhone 6 (it takes a considerable amount of pressure to bend the metal chassis).

They have advised that for the P8000 they have been running the phone through a lot of testing to ensure that it does not have issues with durability.

Please check out the video to see what they have been doing.

As always feel free to add your comments below

 

Giztop Is Now The Official Partner Shop Of GizmoChina

Giztop, the e-commerce site specializing in high-end smartphone and accessory sales is now the official partner of GizmoChina. So, from now onwards, we will strive to bring the best deals and offers to our customers from our partner shop.

giztop

Giztop has all the major flagships from China listed on its website. So, if you are looking to purchase any new flagship device such as the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro or the Honor 7, you can buy it directly from this shop without any worries. What’s more buyers from Europe no longer have to pay any customs taxes on the products bought from Giztop as they promised. You also get free expedited shipping for phones bought from the site.
Moreover, you can purchase these devices without fear because they have a repairing center in Europe too. This means that in case you come across some problems with your device, you can send it to the European repair center instead of sending it all the way to China. This saves a lot of time as well as money for both the buyer and the sender, which we feel is an added advantage.

giztop deals

Giztop will also be offering a number of deals on famous flagship smartphones in the coming weeks, which means you can take advantage of the best prices on the hottest products. Just check out their deals page for the updated offers on the latest products.
Also, as of now, the shop is offering $10 OFF on all its products sitewide for our readers. Just use the coupon: GIZM10. You can check out your favorite Chinese smartphones on the site.

We are sure with this partnership, our readers will benefit to a great extent.

 

OnePlus Two In All Metal Body Leaked In Renders

While most of the features of the OnePlus Two are already known to us, thanks to the various leaks from the company, we still have very little idea about its exterior appearance. Recent leak had revealed that the company was going to ditch its plastic body in favor of an all metal one. And earlier today, we came across a new render on Weibo which could possibly be of the OnePlus Two flagship.

oneplus two renders

As you can see in the picture above, the device does retain a few design aspects from its previous generation. However, instead of a plastic body, the phone comes in an all metal design. You can see the OnePlus logo at the back, and above that the camera sensor and the dual LED flash. The overall phone looks quite thin too and is gently arched at the back. This should provide better grip to the user while holding the device.

Interestingly, we don’t see any fingerprint sensor at the back. So, either it could be at the front integrated into the home button like the Meizu MX5, or this is just a basic prototype design. The company is yet to confirm anything about the design of the new flagship as of now. But given that we are going to see the new handset, probably in two variants on July 28, we don’t have to wait too long to have a look at the new company flagship.

oneplus two

So what do you think about this design? Is it good enough to replace the popular OnePlus One?

OnePlus To Launch OnePlus Two Flagship In China On July 28

OnePlus has just announced that they have a special event scheduled for July 28 where it will launch the next generation model of its flagship, the OnePlus Two. The event will be held at the Beijing Convention Center in China at 10:00 AM.

oneplus two

Thanks to the numerous teasers from the company in the past couple of weeks, we have a fair idea as to what to expect from the OnePlus Two. First of all, it will come with an all metal body, a deviation from the plastic finish on the ‘One’. Under the hood, the company has used Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 v2.1 (third generation) chipset, which hopefully won’t overheat as much as its previous generations.

oneplus two fingerprint

Another important feature confirmed by the company is the fingerprint sensor. This will be the first time OnePlus is using fingerprint recognition on its phone and it is said that it will be faster than Apple’s Touch ID. The OnePlus Two is also confirmed to come with USB Type-C port.

Unlike the previous generation, where we saw just one model with different storage variants, the OnePlus Two is expected to come with at least two versions with different specs. The higher-end version (possibly the one that we saw yesterday) will most likely sport Snapdragon 810 and 4GB RAM with a 2K 5.5-inch display. On the other hand, the standard edition is expected to come with 1080p display and 3GB of RAM. Other possible specs include 16MP rear camera, 5MP front shooter, Android 5.1 and 3,300mAh battery.

 

 

Snapdragon 820 Spotted On GeekBench With Four Custom Kryo Cores

Qualcomm would be in a hurry to release its latest chipset since its current Snapdragon 810 chip is in all sorts of trouble. The company had earlier confirmed that its new chip will be the Snapdragon 820 and since then, we have been patiently waiting for some concrete details about the SoC.

snap-820-benchmark

At the end of last month, a Geekbench test revealed some of the specifications of the Snapdragon 820 and earlier today, we came across another Geekbench listing which shows that the chip will come with four cores instead of eight.

Yes, unlike Mediatek, which is aiming to release its 10-core beast (Helio X20) in the coming months, Qualcomm is reportedly concentrating on individual core performance rather than increasing the number. So, the Snapdragon 820 chipset that we may see later this year could be a quad-core chipset.

The test results reveal that the device was running Snapdragon 820 at 1.46GHz clock speed which is way lower than what we will see in the final product. It is said that the chip will be built using Samsung’s 14nm process and will be clocked at 3.0GHz when its released publicly. So, this could be just an initial test of performance.

qualcomm-snapdragon

The device running this chip had 3GB RAM on board, but with such low clock speeds, the results are less than impressive. In the single core test, this Snapdragon 820 version scored 714 and in the multi-score test around 1942, which is way below other flagship chips like Samsung’s Exynos 7420.

But given the fact that Qualcomm is reportedly using custom Kryo cores instead of stock ones from ARM along with the much better 14nm manufacturing process, the final version of Snapdragon 820 should definitely be impressive.

Also, we have already seen the Qualcomm Snapdragon 620 chipset in another leak which showed that it will boast of superior performance than most other rival chipsets. So, the much higher-end Snapdragon 820 chipset should definitely be more powerful than 620.

Anyways, we are sure that we will see more information about Snapdragon 820 in the coming days, so stay tuned.

Higher-End OnePlus Two Version Spotted On GeekBench With 4GB RAM

Remember back in May, we came across One A2001 model which was most likely the OnePlus Two flagship. Just moments after three new models (A2001, A2003 & A2005) were found on the Bluetooth SIG website, the second model, namely A2003 hit GeekBench website, revealing a few details about the device in question.

oneplus two a2003

The One A2003 came with octa-core Qualcomm processor (which is going to be Snapdragon 810) clocked at 1.55GHz. As you can see, the clock speed has been reduced to a great extent during this test, either because this is a prototype model or to avoid overheating issues. Even the Snapdragon 810 v2.1 is being accused of overheating, so OnePlus will have to be careful to avoid such issues in its new flagship. The company will most likely increase the clock speed to around 2.0GHz for the ideal performance.

Along with the chipset, the phone also comes with 4GB of RAM as opposed to the 3GB found on the A2001 handset. So, this one’s probably the higher-end OnePlus Two model. We still don’t know what to expect from the One A2005 model, but we hope to get more details pretty soon.

oneplus two

As of now, we know that there will be Snapdragon 810 v2.1 chipset inside OnePlus Two, along with an all metal body, USB Type-C port and fingerprint recognition that’s reportedly faster than Touch ID. The company is expected to reveal the handset on July 27, which is still three weeks away. So, until then, stay tuned for more details.

Unfortunately, you still need invites to purchase the device, but the company says its going to be in greater number this time.

 

 

Durovis Dive A professional alternative to Google Cardboard

dive_news_3

Google Cardboard is once again hitting the gadget news, One Plus One are now giving away headsets free so that users can watch the launch of the One Plus One 2 in virtual reality.

One Plus One Cardboard

Google also recently announced a larger version to work with bigger screened phones and have also released Cardboard API’s for Apple phones.

Apple Cardboard SDK

Given the Google Cardboard resurgence I spoke with Durovis regarding their Dive headset and they were kind enough to send out a review unit.

In the box 

The dive comes in a nice looking white box with product branding and images and an invite to Dive in to a new gaming experience, something I am hoping to do.

It also has a QR code on one end and a warning on the rear covering safe usage and handling etc.

Inside the box is the Dive headset with lens arms and lenses already in place, a black pull string storage bag, a white pull string storage bag (the label on the bags advises that it can be used to clean the lenses), Durovis Dive manual (in English and German), dive owner’s card (this has your personal private Drive Key in QR format and text and is used to authenticate you as a Dive owner for licensed content), Durovis Dive magnet upgrade kit (used to make the Dive compatible with Google Cardboard).

dive_news_2

My kit also included an iPhone 4 case but I am not 100% sure if this is a standard thing, or just came with the review unit.

Whilst I was tempted to just get hands on and figure it out on the fly, I decided to read through the included user manual first (if you would like to check out a copy it is available online at http://www.durovis.com/manual ), the first pages are a thank you for purchasing, a quick start guide and explanation about the Dive owners card, reading this it would appear the they have some cool plans regarding networking features in the future, it then goes on to advise where Dive ready apps can be found (these are on the Dive launcher, Google Play store and also the iTunes store.

The next pages cover insertion of smartphone and alignment of the lenses, unlike the original basic cardboard units the lenses can be moved towards or away from the eye as well as further apart to allow you to find the sweet spot for 3d viewing convergence, this is especially helpful if you do not have 20/20 vision.

The final page covers the same warnings as found on the box.

With the manual read its time to get hands on with the headset, the lenses are in the headset but have small plastic bags covering them for protection, the lenses had small specs of dust on but this was easily removed using the carry case 9this is a really clever idea and ensures you always have a cloth to clean them).

The lenses are 25mm acrylic units and are optically a lot clearer and higher quality than the ones in the Google Cardboard kit I originally tried.

I have run in to a problem, I had not checked compatibility on the Durovis website, if I had I would have known that my Galaxy S5 was not compatible.

http://www.durovis.com/product.html?id=1

I have managed to squeeze the phone in but it is very tight and when closing, more often than not is pushing the power button or volume buttons on the side of the phone, this means I have to unclip and start again.

From the brief successful attempts with the S5 I can advise that the image is a lot better than my original cardboard unit, I assume this is down to the superior quality of the lenses, also thankfully the Dive is really comfortable and I have not been left with deep cardboard dents in my nose like the google unit did.

I have an S3 around here somewhere and will charge that up and continue the review, I will also try the Dive with my wives iPhone 6 (when I can get it away from her).

I will hopefully have more time to play with the unit and my S3 tomorrow.

Ok I managed to dig out my old S3 complete with cracked front glass and constant reboots!

This time around the phone fits perfectly in to the Dive unit and is held securely by the foam at the rear.

I installed the Dive launcher as well as a few other bits of software from the play store.

VR Calibration

Dive City Coaster

The Height

360 Speedflying

The first thing I tried out was the VR Calibration app, I was hoping that it would be little more advanced as it was pretty much just a screen showing patterns.

calibrate vr

Using the patterns you can align the lenses by moving them backwards and forwards on the sliders and also moving them closer together or further apart.

I achieved a good level of calibration and from there was able to start testing the other apps.

The Dive uses a fully 3d imersive menu system that allows you to select between apps, games, photos etc.

It is easy to use, simply look at the object you want to select and wait the drive will sense the selection and fire up the menu or game/app.

360 launcher 2

Looking at your photo collection and selecting is more fun in 3d!

360 launcher

Dive City Coaster was very engaging using the Dive, more so than the Google Cardboard headset I had previously tried, I think this had a lot to do with the headsets padding and adjustability, as well as much improved optics.

360 coaster

I found that I was looking around and swaying more with the Dive, something that my children found very amusing to watch.

The Height is a fun and engaging game that relies only on the headset to guide you around the platforms collecting items along the way, it is surprisingly fluid and gives a great example of what is possible without using an optional controller.

the height

360 Speedflying is not actually a game nor is it truly interactive, but then again it does not claim to be.

360 speed-2

It is actually an example of a video shot in full 360 degrees, from the viewpoint of parachuting skiers, as such you can look around all the way up in to your parachute or down to your skis.

The problem with this is that it is not in very high resolution and therefore does not fully engage you or give you a sense of speed, with a few minor improvements this could really have showcased the possibilities of the Dive.

There were several other games that I really wanted to try but unfortunately I have not got a compatible bluetooth hand controller.

This is good news as there are now many apps available on the Google Play store.

Dive compatible Apps and Games

The Dive unit also comes with a Magnet Kit that attaches to the side of the Dive using very secure double sided adhesive, once this is installed the Dive has full access to Google Cardboard apps as well as those specifically designed using the Dive APK.

magnetkit_shop

I also had access to an NFC sticker that I temporarily placed on to the Dive allowing the phone to switch automatically when inserted in the Dive, perhaps this is something that Droves might consider including with the Magnet Kit.

Compatibility with the iPhone was tested using my wives Iphone 6, again there are Dive compatible apps and games available on the Apple App store as well as various other non Dive 3d side by side ones that will work.

One of the big advantages to the Dive system is the software development kit that Durovis have made available, it features a low-latency head tracking plugin that can be used for Android and iOS applications making it easy to get real time movement.

Dive SDK

Hopefully with the ease of integration and support people will start to push the boundaries and take advantage of the latest CPU and GPU advances that we are now seeing.

Another really interesting thing that Durovis have done is to make 3d printer files available, they call this the OPENDIVE project, you can if you have access to a 3d printer make your own set and either purchase a set of lenses from Durovis or source your own items, I can’t think of many other companies that give you the option to print off a copy of their product free .

Open Dive 3d printing page

What I liked-

High quality adjustable optics

Very comfortable with foam padding.

High build quality with sturdy plastics.

Compatibility with Dive apps as well as Google Cardboard.

Native IOS and Android Apps.

Developer SDK availability.

3d Printer files to make your own headset.

Improvements that I would make-

I would include an NFC tag in the box for Cardboard compatibility.

I would include a calibration app on the home screen to help best setup the Dive.

I would offer a bluetooth compatible hand controller perhaps something similar to a Wii nunchuck.

Overall I have been very impressed with the time that I have had with the Dive and really look forward to seeing what is to come. 

If your looking for something between the inexpensive but uncomfortable Google Cardboard and the very expensive Oculous Rift, the Dive could be just the headset your looking for.

Durovis Dive Homepage

Feel free to comment below

Regards Shanos

Xiaomi Had An Impressive First Half Of 2015, Sold 34.70 Million Handsets

We all know that Xiaomi is expanding its foothold, both in China as well as International markets such as India with a number of new product releases. Looks like, the strategy is working for the company as it sold over 34.7 million handsets in the first half of 2015. This marks an impressive 33% increase as compared to last year’s first half sales.

xiaomi sales

While we can say that the company’s growth rate may have slowed down a bit, these figures are impressive because, for the first time, Chinese smartphone market slowed down this year. So, even in this slow market, Xiaomi managed to post good figures.

Kevin Yang, an analysts of IHS Technology further adds that these figures are the actual devices sold to the consumers. He also says that Xiaomi managed to sell about 19.72 million handsets in the Q2 2015, taking the total to the above mentioned 34.70 million. Despite the increase in competition from new flagships from Huawei and Meizu, he expects the performance in the second half of 2015 to be the most crucial.

Xiaomi had earlier told us that it aims to sell a lot more handsets this year, around 80 million to 100 million. If it were to reach anywhere near this figure, the company will have to sell at least 45 million handsets in the second half of 2015. 

To be honest, this looks possible, given the fact that we will soon see multiple smartphone releases from the company like the new Xiaomi Mi5, Redmi Note 2 (possibly two variants) and even the Snapdragon 820 powered Xiaomi Mi5 Plus.

Anyways, lets see if the company manages to reach its goal of 80 million in the second half, especially with the increased competition from domestic manufacturers.

 

New version of Ele Flash Available

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If you currently own one of the following phones and are looking for an easy way to update the firmware, you may not be aware but Elephone are making things easier for you with the Ele Flash APK.

G7 P3000s  P5000 P6000 P3000S-64bit

Once installed it will search through a library of available roms for each phone and guide you through the upgrade process (including backing up your data etc).

This is the latest version to come out, unfortunately Android 5.0 is not supported ye and your phone must be rooted to use the APK.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKpimmTxrPY

New version of Ele Flash

New budget Snapdragon phone costing just $79.99 (£50) coming soon

elephone bwI have today received reliable information on an upcoming budget phone, little information has been provided but I can confirm that it will come with a 64bit Snapdragon SoC running at 1.2ghz and feature a 2gb of ram and a 5″ HD display.

My guess is that it will probably be the Snapdragon 410, whilst this is not the newest or fastest SOC it would be fast enough for most basic tasks and would allow LTE on an $80 phone.

Unfortunately no design details have been released, but as I get more information I will update you all. 

Regards Shanos

Xiaomi Mi Band 1S Leak Reveals Heart Rate Sensor

Xiaomi is having one of the best years since its inception. The company has been doing well in almost all fronts, thanks to its aggressive pricing. A few weeks back, we came to know that Xiaomi became the second largest wearable maker in the world, with a total share of around 24 percent as of Q1 2015. As per the latest info, the company shipped over 6 million wearables, which is a tremendous achievement in its first year.
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Now, its about time, we see the second generation model of the device and earlier today, we came across some exciting news. A device named Mi Band 1S was spotted on the Taiwanese NCC website. The application was filed by “Taiwan millet Communications Limited” which kind of confirms that this is the second generation Mi Band 1S.
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One of the new features of the upcoming Xiaomi band is expected to be a heart rate sensor. According to the leaked picture, we can see the sensor just below the device. In spite of some new additions, we don’t expect the pricing to increase significantly. Also, it could be possible that there will be multiple version of the Xiaomi Mi Band 1S, because that’s what the company has been doing in most of its previous lineups.

Anyways, given the timing of the leak, we could see the new generation model in the coming months. So expect some more information pretty soon.

 

 

Nubia Expanding Its Lineup This July With A Special Smartphone

A few days back, Nubia Manager Ni Fei had hinted that the company was preparing for another smartphone launch in July. This comes just a month after we saw the release of Nubia Z9 bezelless smartphone, so the news came as a bit surprising.

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But earlier today, Nubia confirmed that the company will launch a new smartphone series. It looks like the new series will be different from the traditional offerings by the company. The launch will be held at Prague, the capital of Czech Republic instead of its domestic market, China.

The conference will be held on July 8, which is just a week away at 14:00 PM. While the details of the phone is unclear at the moment, rumors suggest that the phone will focus on its design and will be targeted at the female crowd.

Nubia smartphone have always been praised for its beautiful design, so it would be interesting to see which phone is launched next week in Prague. We hope to receive more information pretty soon, so stay tuned.