Ever since Ni Fei, the General Manager of ZTE’s Nubia division confirmed the existence of a bezelless ZTE Nubia Z9 flagship, we have been seeing a number of leaks about this upcoming device. Yesterday, we came across beautiful renders which gave us a glimpse of the bezelless display of the device.
Today, a person familiar with the matter has revealed a few set of sketches which claims to be of the Nubia Z9 flagship. From what we can see, the sketches does look similar to the leaked model that we saw back in January. However they further throw in some light about the phone’s materials, button and the overall design.
The sketch shows that Z9 could feature a physical home button. Interestingly, the model which was leaked earlier had capacitive buttons. Traditionally, in this age of advanced smartphones, companies often put in a physical home button on their flagship devices to incorporate a fingerprint sensor. For example, the new HTC One M9 Plus has a fingerprint scanner on its home button. So, ZTE may incorporate a scanner inside this home button, but we can’t be sure of that at the moment.
Coming to the other details, the ZTE Nubia Z9 is said to come in a metal plus plastic body. It looks the sides and the front will be made out of plastic while the back will be metal or at least come with a metal finish. Another interesting feature revealed by these sketches is the 2.5D glass. So, it looks like the Z9 flagship will join the likes of many other premium phones by featuring 2.5D glass display. Finally, the sketches show that the phone will have dual speakers at the bottom with the MicroUSB port in the middle.
While these sketches are said to be made by a person who knows the new ZTE Nubia Z9 flagship, we can’t rely on these completely. But, it does give us an idea about what to expect from the upcoming flagship device from ZTE.
Xiaomi’s festival day promotions ended at 10:00pm yesterday and we were patiently waiting for the official data about the sales amount and units sold by the company. Now, Xiaomi reveals all the details about yesterday’s festival day sales and its pretty impressive.
In fact, this five year old Chinese company made a record yesterday. Today, the company received an official Guinness World Record certificate for the most smartphone sales in 24 hours on a single platform. Xiaomi managed to sell 2.11 million mobile phones in just 12 hours! Many companies often struggle to sell this much in an entire month, so its no surprise that these numbers created a new Guinness World record.
We have more official data from the company regarding yesterday’s sales. At the end of 12 hours of festival day sale, the company sold products worth 2.08 billion Yuan!
The distribution of sales in units were as follows:
Xiaomi Smartphone : 2.12 million
Xiaomi TVs : 38,600
Xiaomi Mi Router : 79,000
Xiaomi Power Strip : 247,000
Xiaomi PowerBank : 403,000
Xiaomi Piston Headphones : 336,000
Xiaomi Mi Band : 209,000
Xiaomi Air Purifier : 3.12 million
As you can see, these number are massive! In fact, over 1420 people were a part of this big festival day sale supporting the company! Xiaomi also reports that it shipped over 500,000 orders yesterday itself, which is once again pretty impressive.
Its really surprising to see Xiaomi managing everything so smoothly. The company had enough stock to last for the day despite these many orders and were well prepared for processing them in time.
Unfortunately, the yesterday’s festival day sale was limited to China. However, with an increasing international customer base, we hope that the company unveils such large scale discounts and offers in the foreign markets too.
OPPO is always known for its beautifully designed smartphones. Yesterday, a new OPPO device was spotted on TENAA bearing the name OPPO A31. The specifications of the device revealed that it could be a new handset in the company’s mid-range A series lineup.
And just a day after hitting TENAA, OPPO has made the OPPO A31 official via its Chinese website. Although the company has incorporated only modest specs for its price range (check out Meizu M1 Note and Lenovo K3 Note), the device stands out from the crowd thanks to its beautifully designed body. In fact, we feel this could be the best looking phone in its price segment.
The OPPO A31 comes with a dual glass design, similar to the ones that we saw on the premium smartphones from the company. A sturdy metal frame holds the device together, further enhancing its looks. The phone will be available in two color options, namely Ice White and Sapphire Blue. The latter particular looks premium for a sub $170 smartphone.
As for the tech specs, OPPO is targeting users who would like something more compact than traditional offerings in this range. The OPPO A31 features a 4.5-inch display with a resolution of 854 x 480. The resolution may be a bit disappointing according to today’s standard, but for the small display, its decent enough. It measures 131.9×65.5x8mm which is pretty compact and slim and weighs 135g.
Under the hood, the A31 features the entry level Snapdragon 410 processor with 1GB RAM and 8GB of internal storage. This is further expandable up to 128GB via MicroSD. At the back, there is an 8MP 1/ 3.2 inch BSI sensor with f/2.2 aperture and up front, it comes with a 5MP shooter. The phone runs on Android 4.4 KitKat OS with Color OS 2.0 on top. There will be a 2000mAh battery on board. Finally, the phone supports 4G LTE networks on both its SIM card slots.
Coming to the price, the OPPO A31 will cost you 999 Yuan which comes to around $160. While considering the specs the price is no way impressive, the phone’s design could attract some users.
OPPO will start taking orders for the OPPO A31 from April 17 for 999 yuan at 10:00 AM. If the company follows the same routine as its previous entry level handsets, then we may soon see this mid-ranger in international markets like India and some parts of Europe.
LeTV is all set to unveil its two new flagship devices, namely the LeTV X600 and the LeTV X900 smartphones. Both the phones have been leaked previously, with many confirming the bezelless screen on the top end Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 powered version. Today, we have another picture which confirms the beautiful bezelless screen on the X900.
The image comes directly from the COO of LeTV, Liang Jun who revealed that the production of a bezelles smartphone is a big task. We have heard similar words from Nubia’s Manager Ni Fei, who also confirmed that the ZTE Nubia Z9 flagship model will feature bezelless display.
The image that you can see above is actually Liang talking with the company’s partners for speeding up the production of the device. However, in the image, you can clearly see the bezelless display on the device in his hands, which is probably the upcoming LeTV X900.
You can see three other phones on the table, which also looks like the X900 model. And with this image, we are almost sure that the LeTV X900 is bezelless.
The low-end version running a Mediatek chipset, the LeTV X600 was recently leaked online revealing thin bezels. So, it looks like only the top-end X900 will have this beautiful display, while the slightly less powerful X600 will feature an ordinary screen with bezels.
The company has an official event on April 14, which is less than a week away where it is expected to unveil both these devices. It would be interesting to see how LeTV smartphones compete with Huawei’s P8 flagship which will launch a day later on April 15.
Both the phones are expected to feature a beautiful metal design and high-end specs, so we will have to wait and watch to see who will come on top.
Doogee is one of those Chinese manufacturers, which is trying to stay under the sun in the fierce competition of smartphones. We have to take a look at the device to tell you if it is worth your attention or not and this time around we have a brand new Doogee Iron-Bone DG750 as a review unit. Is the “Iron Bone” name worth your attention? Let’s take a look. We wanted to thank Comebuy for providing us with a review unit!
The device comes in a plain box with some pics of the smartphone on it. Also, it says that Doogee is the “King of Design”, so you better be sure what you are dealing with.
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The smartphone comes with a screen protector, quick start guide, USB charging brick, USB cable and the pair of headphones. A fairly standard bunch of contents.
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The initial impression is that the device is well made. It spots a metal-zinc alloy frame and metal buttons. Also, there is a textured plastic removable cover.
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The device has the 5mp snapper on the front along with the 3 capacitive keys on the bottom. They are not backlit, however. Taking a look at the right, you will find a metal volume rocker and power on/off key. On the top of the device there is a micro USB port and a headphone jack.
If you flip the device to the back, you may find a familiar textured plastic finish. It is a copy of Samsung Galaxy Note 3’s white faux leather finish, which is actually a plastic. We actually like it as it gives a comfy grip in your hand. Also, it does not attract fingerprints and smudges like glossy plastic. The cover sits ridiculously tight, so you don’t want to take it off very often unless you want to break your nails.
Under the hood there are two SIM card slots one being a regular and another being a micro SIM slot. Also, there is a micro SD card slot up to 32GB, but I checked it and it works with 64GB cards as well. The battery capacity is 2000 mah.
The back spots an 8mp shooter along with a single LED flash. Also, there is a mono speaker on the bottom.
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The screen is 4.7 inches in size, but the resolution is just 960X540, which is below HD. The display seems to be pretty good for a budget device. It spots decent colour reproduction, but they are very cold. Still, the panel is bright and sharp enough for daily tasks. Anyway, we have to judge it according to the low price.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
The very first immersions are that the device is well made and we have to say thanks to that quality metal frame. The design is not really original, though. The front looks like the Xiaomi Mi4, the back is borrowed from the older generation Galaxy Note series. On the other hand, it is nothing new that Chinese companies like doing design mashups.
The UI seems to be quite fluid and responsive at the first glance. I tried to play a few games and it went quite good.
USER INTERFACE
The device is running Android 4.4.2 Kitkat out of the box. The UI looks to be pretty simple with just some Doogee icons and runs smoothly. In general, it is very close to the stock Android experience.
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I mentioned that the device is running smoothly in the video mini review, but after using it a bit longer, I had a few hiccups there and there. They are far from the deal breaker, but I have to let you know that it is not as smooth as e.g. recently reviewed Zopo ZP530 device with a 64-bit Mediatek chip.
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The settings menu is nothing out of ordinary. Doogee goes with a trend and has some gesture controls. I’ve tested only tap to wake, which works fine. Also, scrolling up to wake up the screen is also working great. Still, drawing gestures are slower than just using tap to wake or clicking the physical button.
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The Doogee DG750 has some basic apps pre-installed. That includes calculator, calendar, torch, FM radio etc. From what I’ve tested the apps seem to be responsive and work great.
MULTIMEDIA
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The music app is fairly standard and has a minimal design. It works smoothly.
As far as the speaker quality, it is loud, but the sound quality is average. Well, for the sub-$100 device it is quite good. The audio output via headphones is above average as well.
As far as 1080p video playback, it runs smoothly. However, if you want to scroll back and forth, there is a noticeable delay. Still, if you want just to hit a play button, sit down and relax, the device gets the job done.
Gallery app is simple and easy to use. I didn’t find any issues with it. Zooming in and out is fast and responsive.
Browsing experience is average. First, the screen is quite small, but that’s not the point. You can read news and stories, but scrolling may sometimes involve a bit of lag. It is not that bad, but it is noticeable.
On the other hand, considering that the screen resolution is not even HD, the sharpness of the text is good.
PERFORMANCE
As we mentioned in the UI section, it is fairly simple and almost a stock Android. Usually it runs smoothly, but, however, there is lag there and there a few times. The hiccups are not that bad and they are not happening all the time, but this does not let us call the performance stable.
BENCHMARKS
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I may sound that I’m repeating myself, but I never care about any synthetic benchmarks. Still, I know that some of you guys are interested in it, so I ran through the Antutu benchmark test. I have to say that the Doogee managed to score a very respectable score, which is close to the LG G3. For the device that costs $100 it is very good.
In the end, who knows – who is cheating and who is not in the benchmark tests?
GAMING
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As far as gaming, I tried to play quite graphically intensive Asphalt 8 game. You can judge it by yourself, but it seems that the device can handle it without any issues. Indeed, the graphics look good and I didn’t get any lags so far.
CAMERA
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Camera app has some basic functions you would find on many Android devices. The app is fairly simple and you can adjust some general settings. Taking pictures and shooting videos is fast during the daylight, but it naturally becomes noticeably slower, when doing the same thing in low-light scenarios.
Picture Quality
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The daylight pictures have average quality. Sometimes you can a decent looking photo, but it is a hit or miss. The white balance and exposure settings are not stable, thus it may not give natural looking results. The colour reproduction is also a hit or miss. In general, the device tends to capture colder looking images, but sometimes it manages to take some images with natural looking colours.
If you take the smartphone inside, situation gets worse. The shutter speed becomes slower and you have to keep your arm steady. Otherwise, you may get a blurry picture, which is unusable.
In the end, this is just average shooter and it is far from being on par with the flagship or even decent midrange devices.
BATTERY LIFE
This may not be the best screenshot as the device was just roughly 2 hours off the charger, but the smartphone tends to take a lot of juice for no reason. I’m talking about “mobile standby” here. The thing is that the SIM card was even taken out for a day, but it seems that the device is still looking for a network coverage.
Having said that, Doogee DG750 manages to last a full day on an average use. If you do too many intensive tasks, it may die much earlier though.
CONCLUSIONS
So there you have it, Doogee DG750 budget smartphone ($99). What we liked is the build quality as it spots a metal frame along with the metal buttons. However, the whole design is not original as it is a mashup of different devices. But we are not saying anything new, this is what Chinese manufacturers love to do (it rhymes! lol). Still, for the $100 price range, you will get a quality looking device, not a chunk of cheap plastic.
As far as UI, it is pretty simple as it looks like almost stock Android. It has some nice looking Doogee icons and some other touches, though. However, we have noticed some minor lags or hiccups there and there. Thus, we cannot say that the device is a stable and smooth performer.
The device can handle some more intensive tasks like gaming. The graphics are not the best, but they are handled without lag, which is great for a budget device. What we have noticed a bit annoying is the 1080p video playback. It is running smoothly and everything is okay unless you start quickly rolling back or forth as a noticeable lag kicks in.
The camera quality is just average. It has an 8mp shooter, but the performance is a hit or miss. Luckily, sometimes you can get decent looking photos, which can be used for social networks.
The battery life is decent for an average user. It can last you a full day if you do not do any intensive tasks all day.
Finally, the device has some pros and cons there and there. For the price of just below $100 it is not a bad offering as the whole. However, we didn’t find any exceptional about it that we could say that is the leader in the sub-$100 devices category.
In case the Doogee Iron-Bone DG750 got your interested, we checked out the lowest prices for you (we will update the article for the lowest prices available):
Back when ZTE announced its ZTE Nubia Z9 Max and Mini models on March 26, the company said nothing about its premium ZTE Nubia Z9 flagship model. This naturally led to many believing that this year we may not see this flagship smartphone.
However, to our surprise, the General Manager of Nubia smartphones, Li Fei said yesterday that ZTE Nubia Z9 is real and it will be bezelless. Yes, he has officially confirmed that the phone will have no borders.
Today, we have come across a picture which could be our first look at the bezelless Nubia smartphone. The pictures reveal extremely thin bezels, and its so thin that we can call it bezelless. The screen to body ratio is impressive and the display reaches out to edges on the sides.
Earlier leak reveals the bezelless ZTE Nubia Z9
Making a bezelless display is never an easy task and Ni Fei had said earlier that the architecture, screen alignment and sealing technologies are not readily available as of yet. However, now that he has confirmed the existence of the device, the company may have overcome those challenges by now.
Anyways, it looks like all major manufacturers, including ones from China are keen on releasing a new bezelless smartphone. So, its only a matter of time, we start seeing bezelless phones in the market.
In case you forgot, Xiaomi’s festival day is here and we expect big sales by the end of today. The sale already started at 10 am sharp in China as expected and now, we have some official sales numbers.
Xiaomi is breaking all records today. The company reports that it has sold just over 1.57 billion Yuan worth of goods till now. That’s highly impressive given that the company managed to reach this figure in just 6 hours. What’s more, we have nearly 6 more hours until the sale ends and by the end of the day, this figure will have probably doubled ! That’s nearly 3 billion worth of goods that could be sold in a day’s time.
The company has also shared the individual shipments sold. 1.6 million Xiaomi smartphones were sold today, 32,000 Xiaomi tvs, and 510,000 smart home products. The total values of accessories sold exceed 130 million Yuan.
These figures are expected to increase and even nearly double by the end of the day, but lets wait for official data.
Anyways, whats do you think of the amount of sales made today? Are you impressed?
A few weeks back, we had come across a new smartphone with a unique design called as the Newman button phone. The highlight of the device was its rear fingerprint sensor design which was said to be one of the best sensors in the market right now. Now the same smartphone just went on sale in China for 1199 Yuan.
The Newman Button phone comes with the same fingerprint sensor module as the Huawei Ascend Mate 7. So, you get the same level of precision and speed while unlocking this device as the Mate 7. This also ensures that everything inside the smartphone is secured from intruders.
Other tech specs of the device are also better than competitors in its price range. The phone comes with a full HD 1080p 5.5-inch display. The body is made out of metal and weighs about 165 grams. Its pretty slim too at 7.7mm.
Under the hood, the Newman Button phone features a Snapdragon 615 octa-core 64-bit processor clocked at 1.5GHz along with 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM. There is a 13MP camera at the back and a 5MP shooter up front. Like expected, the phone runs on Yun OS 3.0 with system level security features.
The Newman button phone supports 4G LTE networks and comes with a 3060mAh battery. The company claims that you can charge up to 50% in under 30 minutes and up to 90% in an hour. Full charge takes up to 1.5 hours, which is pretty impressive.
Given that it features good specs and a fingerprint sensor that’s as good as the Mate 7, the Newman Button phone turns out to be a great buy for just 1199 Yuan!
Yesterday, we came to know that Vivo was working on a new flagship that could feature 2.5D round glass and a premium metal built. Now, it looks like the first possible images of the Vivo XPlay5S have been spotted.
Within a day of the confirmation, a user on Weibo has leaked three new images of the possible premium flagship. The device is said to feature a 2.5D curved frame with a double sided glass design.
From the images, we can see that the device is rounder than its predecessors, still looks extremely well built. Once again, like most recent Vivo devices, the body is extremely thin, which you can confirm from one of the images.
As for the display, the bezels on the sides look thin, but still its not as thin as the LeTV X900 or the new OPPO device that we have seen lately in leaks. However, the bezels are slimmer than most phones in the market right now, and the top and bottom bezels are too acceptable, despite the capacitive buttons at below the display.
You can see the Vivo branding at the back as well as the top left corner of the device up front. The speakers will be located at the bottom with the MicroUSB port in between.
Previous leaks have reported that the Vivo XPlay 5S will feature a 6-inch display with 2K resolution and Snapdragon 805 processor. There will be 3GB of RAM and 32GB on internal storage. The rear 13MP camera will have OIS while there will be an 8MP shooter up front.
XPlay series smartphones are known for their high quality sound performance, so expect the Vivo XPlay 5S too to continue this tradition with the top end audio chip.
Unfortunately, Vivo is not exactly an affordable smartphone manufacturer. Instead, the company focuses on quality workmanship and hardware on their smartphones offering at a premium price tag.
Anyways, we just have to wait for a month more to get official details as it is said that the company will announce the Vivo Xplay 5S flagship in May.
Doogee is one of those Chinese manufacturers, which is trying to stay under the sun in the fierce competition of smartphones. We have to take a look at the device to tell you if it is worth your attention or not and this time around we have a brand new Doogee Iron-Bone DG750 as a review unit. Is the “Iron Bone” name worth your attention? Let’s take a look.
The device comes in a plain box with some pics of the smartphone on it. Also, it says that Doogee is the “King of Design”, so you better be sure what you are dealing with.
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The smartphone comes with a screen protector, quick start guide, USB charging brick, USB cable and the pair of headphones. A fairly standard bunch of contents.
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The initial impression is that the device is well made. It spots a metal-zinc alloy frame and metal buttons. Also, there is a textured plastic removable cover.
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The device has the 5mp snapper on the front along with the 3 capacitive keys on the bottom. They are not backlit, however. Taking a look at the right, you will find a metal volume rocker and power on/off key. On the top of the device there is a micro USB port and a headphone jack.
If you flip the device to the back, you may find a familiar textured plastic finish. It is a copy of Samsung Galaxy Note 3’s white faux leather finish, which is actually a plastic. We actually like it as it gives a comfy grip in your hand. Also, it does not attract fingerprints and smudges like glossy plastic.
The back spots an 8mp shooter along with a single LED flash. Also, there is a mono speaker on the bottom.
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The display seems to be pretty good, but the resolution does not reach the HD quality. Still, it spots a decent colour reproduction, it is bright and sharp enough for daily tasks.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
The very first immersions are that the device is well made and we have to say thanks to that quality metal frame. The design is not really original, though. The front looks like the Xiaomi Mi4, the back is borrowed from the older generation Galaxy Note series. On the other hand, it is nothing new that Chinese companies like doing design mashups.
The UI seems to be quite fluid and responsive at the first glance. I tried to play a few games and it went quite good.
I will keep my final thoughts for the full review, which is coming soon!
Vivo is one of those Chinese manufacturers, which really want to call themselves a premium smartphone maker in China and, probably around the world. Is is known for releasing very thin or even the thinnest devices in the world like the recently announced X5Max, devices with Hi-Fi audio features, great cameras etc.
It seems that this manufacturer has something really exciting in its portfolio as Vivo’s Chief Marketing Officer Alex Lei Feng answered a few questions to the fans on Weibo social network.
One of the company’s executives confirmed that the next Vivo product may be “a major breakthrough in materials used and workmanship”. To be more precise, Alex Lei Feng said that Vivo will use premium materials like metal and glass. Also, he suggested that 2.5D rounded glass may be used in the next flagship device.
If we follow Vivo’s smartphone portfolio, the manufacturer should release a new flagship – Xplay5s, but it is still not clear if the company decides to use the Snapdragon 810 chip.
What is more, Vivo is said to wait for the release of the new powerful MediaTek MT6753, so we may see it in the next flagship. Also, the new device will be running a highly customised Funtouch OS 3.0 skin on top of Android 5.0.
Moreover, as far as the pricing goes, it seems that the manufacturer will stick to the strategy they have been going for a while – it will be steep. In exchange for the high price tag, Lei Feng promises that the new device will be exceptionally built, may have even more improved hi-fi capabilities, fantastic camera and all-around performance.
We have to wait till May to see what the manufacturer has to uncover.
After the release of the ZTE Nubia Z9 mini, many people were asking where is Nubia z9, the real flagship. Ni Fei, general manager of Nubia smartphones gives the answer.
Ni Fei posted on his weibo, “After the March 26 press conference, Z9 Max and mini have been a lot of attention, but there are a lot of fans and the media asked me where Z9 go in the end is not without borders?? Today I want to reply to Members: Nubia Z9 with no borders is on its way . ”
Seeing this, the ZTE Nubia Z9 is expected to officially be released in April. The phone would naturally feature higher specs than the Max and the Mini and is also said to be priced above these two models.
But will the Nubia Z9 be truly bezelless? Well, we just have to wait and watch!
We all have already heard of another Chinese company that wants to step into the game – Letv. We also know that they have scheduled an event, which will be held on April 14th in Beijing and Silicon Valley simultaneously. The Letv is said to release a few products and one is said to be a “super phone” without bezels. What is more, there may be even two different versions of smartphones – x900 and x600, one being a high-end and another being a lower-end model, respectively.
All the hype is really about the super bezel less device, which is said to be revealed very soon. This time around the new picture is leaked and it is said to show the X600 model (X608 to be more precise, which is designed for China Mobile 4G network).
However, if the above picture shows the device in flesh, it looks like it will have some bezels after all. Well, you may say that these are not bezels, but black bars on the sides, top and bottom. Still, it does not look to be a smartphone without any borders like it was teased before. On the other hand, the design of the device looks very minimalistic as we do not see any capacitive buttons.
The above picture gives us some thoughts for consideration. First, it may not be a real deal after all. Second, it may be a lower end version of the device (since the leak suggests that it is x600 model, not the x900). Third, bezel less device is a myth, which was used to make all the hype!
Well, the April 14th is coming and we will find out the truth!
Boasting of being the world’s first mobile phone with 4GB of RAM, ASUS ZenFone 2 will be on sale officially at 16:00 pm today in China.
ZenFone 2 4GB memory version is priced at 1699 yuan. It is equipped with a 5.5-inch 1080p screen and a 1.8GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3560 processor. The phone has a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera, along with a battery capacity of 3000mAh which will make sure that you can use the phone for more than a day.
In addition, Zenfone 2 with 2GB RAM is also available for 1299 Yuan.
The product page also reveals that there will be an additional model with a better quad-core 2.3GHz Atom Z3580 processor and 64GB internal memory for 1999 yuan. RAM will be unchanged at 4GB.
ASUS Zenfone 2 4GB variant is coming to many countries soon, so would you purchase it at the given price?
Zopo is one of those Chinese manufacturers, which is known both in its homeland and internationally (more or less). Actually, it seems that the manufacturer really wants to step into the EU market as they already have physical retail stores in the Netherlands. Also, the company is said to open the European Operations Centre soon and they even had some conversations with the Dutch Prime Minister.
Well, in general it is a good thing for Europeans, but let’s put these things aside for now. This time we have brand new Zopo ZP530, which comes out from the new devices portfolio by the manufacturer. As usual, let’s unbox it and see what we have here.
The box is made out of cardboard, so nothing out of ordinary here. One of the cool things is that you need to pull the sleeve to open it up. The box has a list of specs in case you want to check it out.
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In the box you find a quick start guide, micro USB charging cable, screen protector, a charging brick and a pair of headphones.
DESIGN
Look what we have here… Another iPhone 6 wannabe. Anyway, it looks quite good.
On top of the device you can find a 5mp snapper, earpiece and proximity sensor.
On the bottom, there is a Nubia-like home button, which has a pulsing effect once you touch it or receive a notification. Also, there is a menu on the left and back button one the right. What I have found already is that sometimes you can miss those little capacitive buttons. Maybe it is just me or you need some time to get used to it.
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The device is surrounded by a high quality metal frame, which is painted on gold colour. On the left there is a power key (I never like the placement of this button on the left). On the right, there is a volume rocker. On the top, you can find a Micro USB port along with headphone jack.
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On the back, you can find an 8mp shooter (yeah, you may think “only” 8mp, but you would probably this device, because it looks like iPhone 6 anyway…). On the bottom of the back there is a Zopo logo along with the loudspeaker.
Under the hood you can find a 2100mah removable battery, two SIM card slots (one regular, another micro) and the Micro SD card slot (up to 64GB). One thing worth mentioning is that taking the back cover off is not recommended using your nails as it sits really tight.
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INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
You may already have your own impressions as far as design and you are right. Zopo ZP530 is another iPhone 6 wannabe device as far as design goes. We don’t call it a clone per se, but if you look only at the front, a lot of people would ask you if it is the newest flagship by Apple. We don’t call it necessarily a bad thing, but this shows the strategy company follows with this device.
On the other hand, the device really looks beautiful and very well made. It spots a 2.5D glass, which gives the seamless feeling in the hand. Also, the metal frame along with the metal buttons make it feel premium. What is more, the device is very sturdy overall. Finally, some add ons like a glowing home button makes it quite attractive.
DISPLAY
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The display is just a joy to look at. It is sharp, bright, vivid, has great color reproduction and superb viewing angles. Yes, it is 720p panel, but you cannot notice a visible difference if you compare it to 1080p panels. It gives me a feeling that Zopo either opted in for a higher quality panel or made a perfect job calibrating it.
User Interface
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The UI is fairly simple, but it has a minimal Zopo skin on top of Android 4.4.4 Kitkat. However, the skin is very light and simple without any unnecessary animations. The major advantage is that everything is running very fast and there are no lags, so it makes a pleasure to operate the device.
As it has become usual, the device has some gesture controls like tap to wake and some other ones. The most important tap to wake (at least for me) feature works just fine.
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There are some apps included. They are pretty basic, but run very smooth.
BENCHMARKS
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I may sound that I’m repeating myself, but I never care about any synthetic benchmarks. Still, I know that some of you guys are interested in it, so I ran through the Antutu benchmark test. I have to say that the Zopo ZP530 managed to score a very respectable score over 30k, which is close to the LG G3. For the device that doesn’t cost $200 it is very good.
GAMING
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As far as gaming, I tried to play quite graphically intensive Asphalt 8 game. You can judge it by yourself, but it seems that the device can handle it without any issues. Indeed, the graphics look good and I didn’t get any lags or skipped frames. It looks like 64-bit Mediatek chip gets the job done here. Moreover, the loudspeaker is quite good for a budget device.
MULTIMEDIA
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As far as media consumption goes, I have to say that it is a pleasure. Everything runs smoothly, no lags, no hiccups or anything. The 1080p video playback runs just fine. You can scroll back and worth without an issue. Also, browsing the web is a blast.
CAMERA
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The UI is very simple and it is mostly stock Android experience. Taking a picture is quite fast, although not on par with flagship devices. Still, it delivers for its price category. Naturally, the shutter speed is slower when taking pics in darker areas.
Picture Quality
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The quality of pictures seems to be quite good while taking pictures outside with enough light. The auto-mode seems to go for the right settings and tends to choose a natural looking approach. Sometimes, however, some pictures came out a bit on the darker side. The colour reproduction is not bad, but processing tends to provide a bit punchier colours to give a better impression. In addition, the exposure doesn’t seem to be jumping inadequately.
On the other hand, the quality goes down as we take the device in the lower light. We can see some noise and the reduced amount of details. Also, the shutter speed declines. Still, we don’t say anything new as it is the illness of most of the smartphones’ cameras.
Overall, the pics turn out to be quite good for an 8mp shooter in a device that costs just over $150 and we couldn’t expect anything better for this price. You may think that there are only 8mp, but people would be probably interested in this device because of the similar looks to the iPhone 6, which also has “only” 8mp.
BATTERY LIFE
I tested out the device with 2 SIM cards with dual standby all the time. I have to say that it does take more energy than usual during the standby time, but this is a trade-off if you want to use 2 SIM cards. Still, on an average day, the device can get you through the day quite easily, which is good for the battery, which has the capacity of just 2100mah. Worth mentioning is that I didn’t try any power saving modes.
CONCLUSIONS
You may already have your own impressions as far as design and you are right. Zopo ZP530 is another iPhone 6 wannabe device as far as aesthetics go. We don’t call it a clone per se, but if you look only at the front, a lot of people would ask you if it is the newest flagship by Apple. We don’t call it necessarily a bad thing, but this shows the strategy company follows with this device – a free riding rather than innovating. I know that a lot of people are looking for cheap iPhone 6 alternatives (lookalikes) and this device could be a great offer for just above $150.
Leaving similarities to the iPhone 6 behind, the device really looks beautiful and very well made. It spots a 2.5D glass, which gives the seamless feeling in the hand. Also, the metal frame along with the metal buttons makes it feel premium. What is more, the device is very sturdy overall and cannot be easily bent. Finally, some add ons like a glowing home button and backlit capacitive keys makes it even more attractive.
I have to say that this is one of the better looking Chinese devices that has a great feeling in the hand. I may even keep using it for some time!
Display is the thing worth another mentioning. It pops out as soon as you turn on the device and it seems that it uses very high quality panel. The overall look of it (color reproduction, sharpness etc.) is a typical LCD panel. It is sharp, bright, vivid, has great color reproduction and superb viewing angles. Yes, it is 720p panel, but you cannot notice a visible difference if you compare it to 1080p panels. It gives me a feeling that Zopo either opted in for a higher quality panel or made a perfect job calibrating it.
As far as performance and software, the device is very fast and fluid. No lags, no hiccups whatsoever. We may want to thank for the 64-bit MTK chip and Zopo’s software implementations. Also, the UI spots some nice looking icons, which are a pleasure to look at.
We don’t say that Zopo nailed the camera department, but it is not bad for the price category. You can capture some good looking pictures in the daylight, but you would need to more effort to do that in the low light situations. Overall, the camera is better than some of the 13mp sensors offered by unknown Chinese manufacturers.
The battery life can get you through the day on an average use, which is good for a budget device.
We can’t really mention any significant drawbacks (considering the price). Well, we would replace the glossy plastic back (which is also quite hard to open with your nails). Also, we would prefer a bit bigger back and menu buttons as sometimes you miss hitting them.
Finally, if you are looking for an iPhone 6 lookalike device, it may be one of the options coming from quite established Chinese manufacturers as we don’t see any major deal breakers after using the Zopo ZP530 for two weeks already.
We are constantly looking for the best deals out there at RELIABLE online stores. This time, Gizmochina readers can get $2 off Zopo ZP530 using a DISCOUNT CODE QWFCXKHM at Geekbuying.com, which is the cheapest you can find on the market.
Like Xiaomi, Huawei also has a number of accessories in addition to its smartphone lineup. This year, the company unveiled a brand new Honor Router just after it announced the Mediapad X2 tablet at MWC. Now, the same router is available for sale on a Chinese e-commerce website for just 188 Yuan ($30).
The Honor router comes with a dual-band design (2.4G / 5G) and a dual-core Kirin processor clocked at 1GHz. The processor is based on Cortex A7 cores. The router also has its own Wi-Fi acceleration engine. The company has made sure that the Honor router is compact as it measures just 90 × 90 × 90mm.
The router comes in white color and is well designed and built to last. The company specifically focuses on its anti-brute security and Wi-fi isolation features which makes the Honor router one of the most secure routers in its price range. However, you won’t have to sacrifice on the speed, thanks to its dual-band support.
The company is directly targeting to compete with the Xiaomi router that was announced last year. Xiaomi recently said that it sold over 1 million Mi routers already, so it will be interesting to see if Huawei’s Honor routers manages to reach anywhere close to this figure.
So what do you think about the new Honor router? Is it good enough to compete with Xiaomi’s Mi router?
Yesterday, Xiaomi released a new teaser on Weibo which showed two ‘Jacks’. Many believed that this teaser was for the upcoming discount on the Xiaomi MiPad tablet. Looks like they were true indeed as the company officially revealed today, the discounted prices of its MiPad lineup.
Xiaomi has a big promotional event on April 8, wherein most of its products are being offered for discounted prices. Till now, the Xiaomi MiPad was the only product left out of the promotion which is why this move does not come as a surprise.
On April 8, the 16GB version of the Xiaomi MiPad will be available for sale for just 1299 Yuan which is much less than the original price tag of 1499 Yuan. The 64GB version will also get a price cut, from 1699 Yuan to 1499 Yuan. This will make the already cheap tablet, much more affordable to customers.
Xiaomi has announced that all of its products will go on sale on April 8 without any need for previous reservations.
Aside from Blackview Alife S1’s other high-end features and specifications including 4G LTE Dual SIM connectivity and a 64-bit MediaTek MT6732 Quad-core 1.5GHz processor, it also plays host to one of the best mobile cameras in the world. This is due to the Alife S1’s camera sensor and camera technology utilized by both its high-resolution rear 18-megapixel camera and 8-megapixel front-facing camera.
The Blackview Alife S1’s camera sensor, the Samsung ISOCELL CMOS image sensor, is considered by many to be the best camera sensor in the world. It utilizes top-of-the-line 1.1um pixel technology which enables the camera to take quicker shots, capture wider light rays, and have a higher resolution (as seen in the S1’s 18-megapixel and 8-megapixel cameras).
The ISOCELL CMOS image sensor is also capable of amazing performance in Night Scene mode making it capable of shooting low light and backlit scenes where other smartphone cameras can’t. Lastly, the sensor’s technology enables the camera to use less power during operation which ultimately increases the battery life of the S1 and lead to more photo taking.
The Alife S1 amazing camera sensor is coupled with SWDR (Super Wide Dynamic Range) technology which improves overall exposure and color reproduction in photos. It also comes with an F2.0 aperture lens, electronic anti-shake system, image stabilization, and a wide-angle dual LED flash.
All these technologies combined make the Blackview Alife S1’s camera comparable to even large and bulky DLSR cameras and ultimately making it one of the best cameras on a smartphone.
You can check out another smartphone from the company, the Blackview Omega.
A set of leaked photos showing a black box with Meizu’s logo and the box’s interior with a piece of foam packaging with a cutout in the shape of a pair of headphones could signify that the company plans to release their first pair of headphones during the company’s event on April 8. No other details other than the images have been released so no information on what kind of headphones the company plans to launch if they do launch them at all.
Meizu could be trying to follow in the footsteps of its major competitors like Xiaomi and OPPO by also producing and releasing other products aside from mobile devices as both companies have released headphones or earphones in the past.
Zopo is one of those Chinese manufacturers, which is known both in its homeland and internationally (more or less). Actually, it seems that the manufacturer really wants to step into the EU market as they already have physical retail stores in the Netherlands. Also, the company is said to open the European Operations Centre soon and they even had some conversations with the Dutch Prime Minister.
Well, in general it is a good thing for Europeans, but let’s put these things aside for now. This time we have brand new Zopo ZP530, which comes out from the new devices portfolio by the manufacturer. As usual, let’s unbox it and see what we have here.
The box is made out of cardboard, so nothing out of ordinary here. One of the cool things is that you need to pull the sleeve to open it up. The box has a list of specs in case you want to check it out.
DESIGN
Look what we have here… Another iPhone 6 wannabe. Anyway, it looks quite good.
On top of the device you can find a 5mp snapper, earpiece and proximity sensor.
On the bottom, there is a Nubia-like home button, which has a pulsing effect once you touch it or receive a notification. Also, there is a menu on the left and back button one the right. What I have found already is that sometimes you can miss those little capacitive buttons. Maybe it is just me or you need some time to get used to it.
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The device is surrounded by a high quality metal frame, which is painted on gold colour. On the left there is a power key (I never like the placement of this button on the left). On the right, there is a volume rocker. On the top, you can find a Micro USB port along with headphone jack.
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On the back, you can find an 8mp shooter (yeah, you may think “only” 8mp, but you would probably this device, because it looks like iPhone 6 anyway…). On the bottom of the back there is a Zopo logo along with the loudspeaker.
Under the hood you can find a 2100mah removable battery, two SIM card slots (one regular, another micro) and the Micro SD card slot (up to 64GB). One thing worth mentioning is that taking the back cover off is not recommended using your nails as it sits really tight.
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INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
You may already have your own impressions as far as design and you are right. Zopo ZP530 is another iPhone 6 wannabe device as far as design goes. We don’t call it a clone per se, but if you look only at the front, a lot of people would ask you if it is the newest flagship by Apple. We don’t call it necessarily a bad thing, but this shows the strategy company follows with this device.
On the other hand, the device really looks beautiful and very well made. It spots a 2.5D glass, which gives the seamless feeling in the hand. Also, the metal frame along with the metal buttons make it feel premium. What is more, the device is very sturdy overall. Finally, some add ons like a glowing home button makes it quite attractive.
Well, so far so good, but our full review is coming soon, where it will be clear if this device is worth your attention or not.
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