Huawei is the next Nexus maker confirms Kevin Yang from iSuppli

By

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Mar 4, 2015

A few days back, we reported that Google might partner up with a Chinese OEM for its next Nexus device. Later, we came to know that that along with this Chinese OEM, Google will also partner with LG for a new Nexus device in 2015.

Now, Kevin Yang, the Director of China Research at iSuppli, a leading market research firm, confirmed on Weibo earlier today that Google has indeed chosen Huawei as the next Nexus maker. This is in line with the previous reports about Huawei entering into a partnership with Google to make this year’s Nexus device.

The major reason why Google went with Huawei could be because its the biggest competitor to Xiaomi at the moment. While everyone would have loved a Xiaomi Nexus device (in fact our recent survey showed that 43% readers would have liked a Xiaomi made Nexus), Huawei too has shown great promise in 2014 with releases like the Ascend Mate 7 and the Honor 6 Plus. Still, its very surprising that Google did not choose Motorola for its new device this year.

Now that we are almost sure that Huawei could be the next Nexus maker, we will have to wait and see whether they go with Huawei’s Kirin processor for the new device or with Qualcomm’s snapdragon range. Both are quite capable but will Google risk putting the new Kirin range in its smartphone/ tablets? Well, only time will tell.

[socialpoll id=”2256611″]

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Meizu to roll out Android Lollipop update later this month

By

Joel Joseph

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Mar 4, 2015

While Android Lollipop update have already started rolling out to a number of flagship smartphones this year, Meizu is yet to update its devices like the MX4 Pro and the Meizu MX4 to the new Android version. The company has been developing its Flyme version based on Android lollipop since November last year, but up till now, there were no signs of an official roll out by the company.

Now, Yang Yan, the chief designer of Meizu’s Flyme OS has said that the company will try hard to release the new Flyme version based on Android 5.0 Lollipop by the end of March. However, the exact date of release will depend upon the progress of development. This is definitely good news for the MX4 users who have been patiently waiting for the phones to be updated to the new Android version. The latest OS brings a ton of improvements, including better battery life on Android devices, so its not surprising that everyone wants the update as soon as possible.

We will let you know when the company starts rolling out the new Flyme version with Android lollipop on MX4 and MX4 Pro smartphones.

Alcatel Pixi 3 (5.5) could be the first MT6580 powered smartphone

By

Joel Joseph

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Mar 3, 2015

Back in January, we saw a leaked image which showed off the product roadmap of Mediatek this year. According to the image, the company was developing a low cost quad-core processor in the MT65xx lineup which was scheduled to release in Q2 2015. Looks like we just saw the first smartphone powered by this MT6580 processor, namely the Alcatel Pixi 3 (5.5).

Alcatel was pretty busy this year announcing a number of gadgets at MWC 2015. In fact, a number of the company’s devices had the same name which made things a bit confusing. For example, the Alcatel Onetouch Idol 3 has two different version and so does the Alcatel Pixi 3 (5.5). There is a 4G LTE variant of the device as well as a 3G variant of the device.

However, the differences does not end there. The processor is different and so is the battery capacity and a lot of other stuff. While the 3G variant is powered by this new MT6580 processor, the 4G LTE one will come with QCT 8909. There will be 1GB of RAM onboard along with 8GB internal storage on both the devices.. Surprisingly, the 3G variant has a larger 2910 mAh battery as compared to the 2800 mAh battery found on the 4G compatible model.

So it looks like Mediatek is right on schedule when it comes to releasing its SoCs and we still have some exciting new processors coming later this year like the 20nm MT6796.

Don’t expect great performance from the MT6580 processor, since its targeted at the low cost budget segment. But we would like to see how the chip ranks in the benchmark tests to get a fair idea about its capability.

Stay tuned for more information.

Letv x600 Android phone leaked with MT6795, scores above 50K in AnTuTu

By

Joel Joseph

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Mar 3, 2015

A few weeks earlier we reported that LeTV, one of China’s top video content provider was planning to enter the smartphone industry with a new high end device. Although the company is new to the smartphone industry, last year Letv launched its own internet Smart TV and it has received very good response. Now, the company is looking to further diversify its portfolio by entering the already crowded smartphone market and it looks like we may have the first glimpse of the company’s rumored device.

Recently, the benchmark entries as well as an image of the device was leaked online. First of all, they reveal that the phone will be called as the Letv X600. Unlike earlier predictions which said that the phone could run on Snapdragon 810 processor, now latest reports suggests that the phone will run on the new 64-bit Mediatek eight core chipset, MT6795. This particular processor is one of the best in the market right now and it is proved by the 50000+ score on the new AnTuTu v5.6.1 version. The new chip now called as the Helio X10 is definitely powerful and at par with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810.

The MT6795 is an octa-core chipset clocked at 1.9GHz. Along with this powerful SoC, the phone is said to come with 2GB RAM and 5.5-inch full HD 1080p resolution display. Finally, given that LeTV is a video content provider and distributor it is said that the new Letv X600 will feature high end Hi-Fi chips and powerful camera hardware for the best audio and video performance.

As of now, the release date or pricing details have not yet been leaked, however, Letv usually prices its products low as compared to competitors. The company makes up for this loss with its content, and this particular strategy has been quite successful in boosting the sales as well as the revenue of the company last year.

Stay tuned to the website for more updates.

MTK Pump Express Plus to Take on Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0

By

Frank Tu

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Mar 3, 2015

Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 may be seeing a competitor in it’s midst, with MTK releasing it’s latest “MTK Pump Express Plus” that boasts fast charging as well. It has a charging output voltage of 9V but output voltage of 7V is also provided.

The first mobile phone carrying this technology will be Koobee Halo 3 while MTK has released Pump Express Plus for MT6595, MT6732 and other charging technology platforms. This is a model HF-QC-084 charger and has an MT6732 platform for mounting the first mobile phone, Koobee Halo 3 as mentioned. The charger offers an input of 100-240V and is compatible with the global grid voltage. It offers an output charging voltage of 5V 1.67A(8035W), 7V 1.67A(11.69W), and 9V 1067A(15.3W). It stands at one of the fastest MTK phone charger with it’s capability to charge from 0 to 75% battery in 30 minutes for 2060 mobile battery; charging for five minutes allows call time for up to 2 hours.

In terms of security, MTK and power management chip solution providers offer a range of standard specification dialog. The adapter offers port overload protection, system temperature protection, battery voltage protection, battery fuse protection and a comprehensive approach to cell phone safety.

Pump Express Plus MTK is designed to charge 45% faster than chargers available on the market for smart phones, tablet PCs and other mobile devices. It can delivery power faster to batteries, shortening charging time. There is a big market for charging technology and with that Pump Express Plus is offering, Qualcomm is not the only competitor that should be worried. Mobile and tablet PC users should be looking forward to seeing more fast charging technologies in the market soon!

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Huawei Launches a New Router : Glory Router for 30$

By

Nishant

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Mar 3, 2015

Just after glory X2 was announced, Huawei has Launched a new router to compete with Xiaomi Router, Huwaei has Named it Glory Router

Glory Router has a built-in dual antenna routing design (dual-band 2.4G / 5G), body size of 90 × 90 × 90mm, equipped with a dual-core processor Huawei unicorn, clocked at 1GHz, based on ARM’s Cortex-A9 architecture, providing independent Wi -Fi acceleration engine.

In addition, Huawei official also stressed that the algorithms of the Glory Router provide anti-brute, visitors Wi-Fi isolation, Which makes it one of the most secure router while Huawei security official called it a “laboratory verification”. Glory Router will be one of the cheapest Router with this price. It is directly targeting the Xiaomi Router which was a great hit last year. As the Router is dual band, you can have a great speed. Huawei’s Router’s usually have a great build and a great control panel too. The router will come only in White colour. The shape of the Router is not at all common but rather a Cuboid kind of Router. The router’s apperance make it more like a show peice than a Techy Router. The pure flat looks make it very elegant. The specs seems to be a deal breaker but lets see what it does when it gets released.

This router will begin to make an appointment at March 17, priced at 188 yuan/30$. Let us know what you think about the router in the comment Section below.

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Source: MyDrivers

First batch of Graphene phones up for grabs in China

By

Joel Joseph

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Mar 3, 2015

Graphene is a recently discovered wonder substance which is an extremely good conductor of heat and electricity. Since its discovery, scientists and researchers have been increasingly working on new products based on graphene. The excellent chemical, mechanical and electrical property of the material has opened up several areas where it can be used, one being the smartphone industry.

And it looks like, we have the first batch of graphene phones. The first smartphone made from graphene has unsurprisingly come from China. The country has over 2200 patent applications for the material as of 2014, nearly half of the world.

The phone manufactured and made available for sale by the company Galapad will be called as the SETTLER α. It will feature a 5.5-inch touch screen display made of graphene with full HD 1080p resolution. Graphene touch screens are much more sensitive than regular ones. Inside, there will be a 64-bit quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor along with 2GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage. At the back, will be an 8MP camera and up front, there will be a 5MP shooter. Finally, it will also support 4G LTE networks for super fast internet speeds. Retail price is around $406.

There are a number of advantages of using graphene in smartphones. First of all, as mentioned above, the graphene made touch screens are much more sensitive and produce better colors. These touch screen panels can transmit up to 97.7% light. The use of graphene in batteries help increase the overall battery life and standby time of the device drastically. Finally, the material is a good conductor of heat and it helps reduce the temperature of the device to a maximum of 35 degree Celsius.

Meizu MX5’s home button leaked by Meizu’s CEO

By

Nishant

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Mar 2, 2015

MEIZU’s CEO showed mx5’s home button
at his weibo today, it seems that the new phone would be a great upgrade over Mx4.

J.Wong said they can only do something like the home key with fingerprint recognition, but he also stressed that many years ago M8 own Home button on the phone’s shape is similar to that. Lets see what Meizu will bring, It is also rumured that the phone will have a 41MP Primary Shooter.

Last Year Meizu Launched it’s Flagship, Mx4, Mx4 is one of the most popular phone made by Meizu, Meizu has a reputation for making premium devices, and the MX4 is no exception. It caught more attention perhaps when it topped the AnTuTu chart of 2014. A phone with just .2 mm bezels on either side of display and a surprise Mediatek MT6595 octacore processor. It is coupled with 2GB of RAM and PowerVR G6200 GPU. The phone was a big hit.

Mx5 will be available in China in the next Half of the Year.

Source

Gionee Elife S7 domestic pricing still not confirmed?

By

Joel Joseph

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Mar 2, 2015

Gionee announced the new Gionee Elife S7 flagship smartphone back at MWC yesterday. Like predicted, the phone is 5.5-inches thin making it exactly as thin as the older Gionee S5.5. However, the company has smartly focused on other practical aspects of the device like battery life and built quality rather than just slimness of the phone.

The phone features a U shaped skeleton with aviation grade alloy and stainless steel sheet with nano-plastic coating. The company has particularly researched a lot on battery saving methods and has incorporated them on to the new device. For example, the 5.2-inch AMOLED display up front features ACL tech which reduces power consumption by over 25%. A sensor hub directly integrated into the chipset makes sure that the CPU has to wake up 20% less often.

At the time of launch, the company revealed that the phone will be available for sale for 400 Euros which comes to around $447. In the domestic market, Gionee Elife S7 was listed on both JD.com and Suning Tesco retailers. On JD the phone was initially listed at 2699 Yuan which comes to $430, however, now the phone has disappeared altogether. The exact reason of the disappearance is not known, however it could be because the pricing is still not confirmed.

Moreover, the Gionee Elife S7 is listed on Suning Tesco too, but even there the pricing is not yet revealed. It looks like the company has not yet finalized the price tag in the mainland China. Usually, the phone should retail for less than the international price in the home market, so 2699 Yuan seems like a decent price. However, now that the phone has been taken off the website, it may happen that the company may change its price tag.

The phone is expected to go on sale from March 20 starting 10:00 AM. Initially, the Los Angeles Black and North Pole White version will be available for purchase but we expect the midnight blue to start selling a few weeks after the sale opens.

The phone features the 64-bit Mediatek MT6752 octa-core processor clocked at 1.7GHz with 2GB RAM and 16GB of storage. There will be a 5.2-inch display up front with an 8MP selfie shooter on top. The 13MP rear camera unit will be one of the thinnest in the market to fit perfectly inside its 5.5mm thin body. The 2750 mAh battery is capable of providing up to two days of usage time, which is pretty impressive considering the slim design profile of the device.

Tencent new ROM with a Flat Design

By

Nishant

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Mar 2, 2015

Tencent has now made a new ROM, Tencent OS (TOS) officially open beta today, but before the a statement comes from officials, from the look, this is not Tita project started again, but a new Highly Costumized ROM. lokking at the ROM, you will see its very similar with MIUI, with same type of Navigation Bar, the colour scheme and the UI itself, and there is also no app drawer.

For Tencent, although Tita projects failed, but they will not sit ideal in this area, while Tencent OS can be seen as they want and a new mobile Internet portal preemptive measures by ROM .

Also See: Tencent introducing microblogging gaming platform

From the current release of the interface map view we can depict that Tencent new ROM is using the now popular flat design (seen in iOS, MIUI), built-in software have weather, document management, browser, etc., looks relatively clean, while the official also expressed the hope that the user has more independent right to choose. The ROM will be customizable in a great Sense, from the icons to the Clock widget, even we can change the colour of the whole interface. The choices are however limited but Tencent has said that they will be increasing it and also be allowing user to put up their customized Themes to the store.

At the same time this new ROM wallpaper, colors and fonts with them, I feel good.

Let us know what you think about the New Tencent OS in the comment section below.

Source : MyDrivers

Vivo Released X5Max+ with a Bigger Battery

By

Nishant

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Mar 2, 2015

Today at MWC, Vivo launched a better version of Vivo V5 Max with a bigger battery. The phone now has a 2300mAh lithium ion battery, which will help the phone to stand in today’s Standards. The additional battery has unfortunately increased the thickness of the phone from 4.45mm to 5.1mm. With 4.45mm. Vivo X5Max is the thinnest phone but some major problems in the phone like battery capacity and Heating issues made Vivo Release X5Max+, Vivo X5Max+ is powered by a Xiaolong 615 facelift for MT6752 processor chip coupled with 2GB of RAM.

The price of the new models and model vivo X5Max will remain same that is 2998 yuan or 480$. The phone still has the same slim feel. Vivo X5Max+ has a full metal frame. The back is also of metal including the bottons, the camera is bulging outwards and it does not destroy the look of the phone, and without it one can’t get that sick macro shots. Overall the phone is great looking and the phone is a good upgrade from the previous version on the same price.

Specs

5.5 inches OGS full 1920×1080 resolution AMOLED screen
1.7GHz clock speed of 64 eight-core MediaTek MT6752 processor
2GB
16GB (supports up to 128GB MicroSD expansion)
13 megapixel/ 5 megapixels
2300mAh
Android 4.4.4 with Funtouch OS2.0

Do let us know in the comment Section below that what do you feel about the phone.

HiSense interested in buying Sony’s TV business?

By

Joel Joseph

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Mar 2, 2015

I am sure almost everyone reading this article would have heard of the big names like Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Sharp when it comes to large screen TVs. However, many may have never heard of a Chinese brand that has been in existence for a long time and is slowly gaining ground. Hisense is the company that we are talking about and according to Display Search data, this particular Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer now holds around 6.4% of the global TV market share, hence ranking fourth just behind Sony.

Back at CES 2015, Kazuo Hirai, the president of Sony had said that the company would be keeping a close eye on its TV and smartphone business. Both these divisions are not doing so well, thanks to the fierce competition . Latest reports suggests that the company is willing to sell the arm off or at least partner up with a suitable company to bring it back to profitability.

If Sony is really looking to sell its TV business, we won’t be surprised given that it had sold off its Viao PC business back in 2014 to a Japanese Investment Fund to focus on its mobile business. Now, since its Bravia TV business isn’t doing so well, the company could be looking for a potential buyer. And latest rumors suggests that China’s Hisense may be interested in the purchase.

Although Sony isn’t making much money with its TV business, it does have a lot of technology patents under its belt and its image processing technology is world renowned. So purchasing Sony would definitely boost the company’s market share and talent pool. Moreover, the take over will enable Hisense to compete with the top two companies namely Samsung and LG who have around 29% and 17% market share respectively. The top four brands Samsung, LG, Sony and Hisense add up to 56.3% of the total global shipment value.

Finally, Hisense has proved that its possible to release quality UHD TVs at a decent price over the past two years. In fact, Q1 2014 data showed that the company ranked second when it came to shipment value of UHD TVs. So, Hisense could bring Sony’s TV business back to profitability.

However, both the companies have not yet announced any plans for such a deal. So, until then these are all just speculations.

Xiaomi Yi Action camera Unboxing!!

By

Nishant

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Mar 2, 2015

Xiaomi has again proved that It is not just a smartphone maker company. Today, Xiaomi has Released its new action camera “Xiaomi Yi” very similar to the GoPro Hero 3 but roughly half of the price of GoPro entry level camera. Yi can not shot 4K and neither has image stabilization which you get in GoPro but at this price, this is the Deal Breaker. From the figure the Xiaomi Yi has its appearance and size inspired from GoPro4. It also has a waterproof shell with it, which makes it fully waterproof upto 4 meters (same as GoPro). You can connect it with your phone through a app. It does not have any internal storage, you can insert a memory card upto 64GB. It has got a Sony’s back-illuminated 16-megapixel image sensor and Ambarella A7LS image processor. The maximum Resolution of Footage it can Record is 1080p @ 60fps, 720p @ 120fps and 480p @ 240fps video capture, encoding for H.264, output format is MP4. It has got 2 microphones with 3D noise cancellation. Yi is available in different colours including grey and Lime. Xiaomi Yi is priced at just 60$, with a price like this, this is the most cheap action camera you can get.

Specs

Sony’s back-illuminated 16-megapixel image sensor
Ambarella A7LS Image Processor
Resolution: 1080p @ 60fps and 720p @ 120fps even 480p @ 240fps video capture, encoding for H.264, output format is MP4.
Timelapse is Supported
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0

Unboxing

Buy Meizu Xiaomi Action Cam from giztop

Images : Sina

MediaTek MT8173 Tablet SoC With ARM Cortex-A72 Cores Launched

By

Nishant

-

Mar 2, 2015

MediaTek has launched the MT8173 tablet SoC featuring ARM’s latest Cortex-A72 processor, which is said to be the highest-performing mobile CPU till now, It provides the computing power of up to 2.4GHz. The MT8173 uses two Cortex-A72 cores and two Cortex-A53 cores in a big.LITTLE architecture. MediaTek also pulled off the curtains from the 64-bit octa-core MT6753 SoC. The SoC will be the World’s most Powerfull SoC ever made. According to Mediatek, Due to higher computing performance and low power consumption, MT8173 significantly enhance the performance six times higher than in 2013 released the MT8125.

MT8173 supports 120Hz dynamic image display technology, the screen refresh rate of the screen of mobile devices upgraded to 120Hz, 60Hz display provides than double the smooth scroll effect and clearer images, reducing blur or blurring of text and images. MT8173 has begun to send samples to customers. The first tablet with MT8173 will be available later this year. As the power consuption of the SoC is low, We can expect it in some future Onda tablets. The SOC integrated GPU PowerVR GX6250 model , although not the strongest, but in the current tablet processors are also at the middle and upper reaches. Supports up to 2560 × 1600 resolution display and a 20 million pixel camera.

Features

Multi-core computing 64 big.LITTLE architecture,

Equipped with ARM Cortex®-A72 and ARM Cortex®-A53 64-bit processor
Size nucleus (big.LITTLE) can simultaneously run at full speed in order to achieve peak performance up to 2.4GHz

Imagination PowerVR GX6250 image processing

Support for future OpenGL ES 3.1 and OpenCL application. It help in achieving a great picture quality as well as a greeat Performance

Some Multimedia capabilities

120Hz dynamic screen display technology.
Ultra resolve 30fps H.264/ VP9 video playback hardware solution.
TV-grade image quality support WQXGA display
Supports HDMI and Miracast to achieve cross-screen applications.
20 million pixel camera ISP, with dynamic real beauty and LOMO effect.

MediaTek will be demonstrating the MT8173, which is available now for early customers. It’s expected to appear in commercially available tablets in the second half of the year. What do you think of MediaTek opting for a quad core processor, split between a dual core high performance and a dual core, high efficiency design? Are you interested to see the new tablets with this processor onboard? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: MyDrivers

A new teaser confirms Huawei P8 launch in April

By

Joel Joseph

-

Mar 2, 2015

Huawei is known to be active on Weibo revealing and teasing its upcoming products. Under its “Make it Possible” theme the company had teased two new products for MWC 2015 launch. We had predicted that it could be the new smartwatch and the successor of the Mediapad X1 phone tablet. And we were right indeed as the company revealed both the 7-inch Mediapad X2 as well as the beautiful Huawei Watch at the event in Barcelona.

However, the company did not update its smartphone lineup at the event. But to our surprise, earlier today, the company released a new teaser with the words “Huawei P8”. Along with the teaser, the company said the following.

“If March can not give you more surprises, it is better and we look forward to April,”

As you can see, this confirms the launch of the much anticipated Huawei flagship at a special event in April. An earlier leak had predicted this and looks like it was bang on target.

We already know a lot about the upcoming Huawei flagship device. Previous leaks indicate that the Huawei P8 will feature the company’s latest Kirin 930 octa-core 64-bit processor clocked at 2.0 GHz and 3GB of RAM and 64GB of inbuilt storage. At the front will be a 5.2-inch full HD 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution display along with an 8MP camera on top. The rear camera will be of 13MP with possibly the same duo camera setup as the Honor series. Finally, like all flagship releases this year, the phone is expected to run on the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system out of the box.

It is said that the device will be priced around $460 or 2888 Yuan, however, we can’t really confirm any of these information unless Huawei makes the P8 official.

Its already March and we are just a month away from the official launch of the device. So stay tuned for more details.

HTC : Will be one of the 2 last Phone brands in future

By

Nishant

-

Mar 2, 2015

Today, In MWC 15 Barcelona, HTC’s CEO Cher Wang said that HTC is the first smart phone manufacturers, led by the people’s trend,HTC would now would be working on VR, VR would be the next most trending thing in phone market. HTC today in Barcelona Launched HTC M9, HTC Grip and HTC Vive. HTC Vive is a Virtual Reality headset consisting of 90 sensors which could track even a little of your head movement, before HTC Vive, the most talked VR Headset was oculus rift which had a lot of Issues with head tracking and Screen. The Vive seems to have cured it.

htc-vive-pr-630 — HTC RE Vive VR Headset

Wang Said, HTC was the first Smartphone maker with its HTC Dream, Now after 7 years HTC has launched a phenomenal device. According to the market, Only 2 Smartphone companies will survive in future, According to Wang, HTC is one of them. VR technology was out a long back in 90’s when Nintendo had a gaming VR headset, it was the beginning, with a black and white Screen, playing it for more than fiftenn minutes caused headache and all. Virtual Reality has now improved a lot, It can be used in Medical, Engineering and Rocket Science. VR can actually be a source of great fun, you can experience a whole lot of things sitting in your living room. For example, doctors in training interns can practice holding a heart, you can tour the Forbidden City witnessed the Qianlong Emperor, “has become a world without walls,” not only through the experience of others, you can also make your own experience event again experience.

HTC Presented a small Video for HTC RE Vive Headset, which explains why is it soo good, have a look by clicking here

Source: CNA

5.5mm Gionee Elife S7 with glass back and Android 5.0 leaked again

By

Joel Joseph

-

Mar 2, 2015

Gionee will most likely announce the Gionee Elife S7 smartphone at MWC 2015. However, before its official announcement, the device has been leaked a number of times on the internet. A recent image leak reveals some more details about the phone.

First of all, it confirms earlier rumors that the phone will be of 5.5-mm. So, it will be of the exact thickness as Gionee S5.5. So, it looks like the Ivvi K1 Mini with a 4.7mm body will retain the title of the thinnest smartphone.

According to the leaked pictures, the Gionee Elife S7 will feature a metal frame with dual glass design, both on the back as well as the front. This coupled with the 5.5mm thickness gives the device a very beautiful and appealing look.

Another interesting aspect of the device is its 13MP camera unit which blends well with the design. Unlike the iPhone camera, this one does not protrude which is quite impressive at its size. Also, there will be a 2700 mAh battery on board, so battery life shouldn’t be a big concern on this device unlike other super slim handsets.

As for software, a recent leak shows that the phone will run on the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop OS out of the box. On top of this Android version, there will be the new Gionee Amigo 3.0 UI. The picture that we have added above confirms this news.

Full tech specs (expected) are given as below:

5.2 inches 1080P resolution screen
Powered by MediaTek MT6752 eight-core 1.7GHz processor
Built-in 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM, SD card does not support extended memory
Front 8,000,000 + rear 13 million-pixel camera
Support China Unicom 4G networks
Android 5.0 Lollipop with Amigo 3.0 UI
Available colors black, white, blue
Dimensions 148.8 × 72.4 × 5.5 mm
Weight 126.5 grams

It looks like finally a manufacturer has made a smartphone with a perfect blend of beautiful and slim design and powerful specs. Gionee is expected to announce the device at MWC this week, so lets wait for some official details and images.

$64 Xiaomi Yi Action camera to take on GoPros

By

Joel Joseph

-

Mar 1, 2015

Xiaomi has expanded into a number of new product categories in the past one year alone including air purifiers, TV boxes, Game controllers etc. Now, the company has just announced that it will enter a new industry, with its new Xiaomi Yi Action camera. This entry level yet capable model will directly take on GoPros which has been ruling the market since its launch a few years back.

Xiaomi Yi Action camera is just an entry level portable camera for your everyday adventures. It is made by a partner company called as Xiaoyi but will be sold directly via the company’s official Mi website.

The Xiaomi Yi camera features a powerful Sony Exmor R BSI CMOS sensor of 16MP and can record videos at 1080p full HD resolution at 60 fps. To store the videos and images, you get 64GB storage inside. It can also record slow motion videos and time lapse effects.

Like the entry level GoPro Hero, the Xiaomi Yi Camera can be immersed in water up to 40 meters. It is also lighter than the Hero, weighing just 72 grams, making it ultra-portable. Like recently announced Xiaomi products, this particular camera can be remotely controller as well.

The Xiaomi Yi Action camera will be available for sale via flash sales from the Mi Store for 399 Yuan ($64). There’s a special travel edition of the device as well which comes with a selfie mount and stick. With the additional accessory, this particular version will cost $80. At the moment, the sale of the YiCamera is limited to China. But the company may release it in international markets later.

Xiaomi could be looking at 100 billion Yuan in sales in 2015

By

Joel Joseph

-

Mar 1, 2015

Yesterday, we reported that Xiaomi had no plans for an electric vehicle in the near future. Lei Jun had made that clear at the Yabuli China Entrepreneurs Forum Fifteenth Annual Meeting yesterday. During the same event, he also revealed some key stats about the company and gave us an idea as to what the company is planning for this year.

He revealed that Xiaomi manufactured 61.2 million smartphones in 2014 alone and generated about 74.3 billion Yuan in sales. The company’s sales figures have been growing pretty fast since 2012.

In 2012, Xiaomi’s sales were around 12.6 billion, in 2013 it rose to an impressive 32.6 billion and finally in 2014, the sales more than doubled to reach 74.3 billion Yuan. Naturally, with such high sales, the sales tax too is said to be around 100 million Yuan in a year.

With the current growth in sales and shipments, its very likely that Xiaomi will reach at least 100 billion Yuan in sales this year. Previous stats have shown that the figures have more than doubled and if it continues the same rate, the sales could be anywhere around 150 billion. Moreover, Xiaomi has confirmed that it has plans to expand into newer emerging markets such as Brazil and Russia, which will definitively boost shipments and sales. Also, the total shipments could go well over 80 million this year.

So, do you think Xaiomi will exceed the 150 billion Yuan mark in sales this year? Or will the company slow down after registering impressive growth in the past two years?

Mediatek Helio X10 octa-core SoC supports display refresh rate of 120Hz

By

Joel Joseph

-

Mar 1, 2015

MWC 2015 has already started and we have seen some great announcements at the event like HTC One M9, the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. However, before the event started in Barcelona, Spain, Mediatek decided to take things to the next level by announcing its Mediatek Helio X10 high-end chipset at a closed door event.

The Mediatek Helio X10 is the most advanced chipset from the company till date. This 64-bit octa-core Soc (2.2GHz) can support display refresh rates of 120Hz, which is double the rate used by current smartphone chips — 60Hz. At present, there are displays which can support this fast refresh rate, so its good to see that a chip can now facilitate this new tech.

With such super fast refresh rates, the overall user experience is taken to the next level. For example, scrolling through web pages will be a very smooth experience, without any visible motion blur. In fact, in the demo at the event, the videos shown were extremely sharp with zero motion blur, delivering a truly advanced viewing experience.

The new Helio X10 supports slow motion videos at an impressive 480 fps. This is twice the rate used by Apple’s iPhone 6 — 240fps, which means slo-mo videos will be much better using this chip. Further, this octa-core chip can take advantage of the cores in the GPU too during certain tasks, thanks to the company’s Core Pilot technology. Mediatek says that this will enhance the performance of the device to a great extent as well as reduce power consumption.

The company will also unveil a Mediatek Helio P series later in the year, where P stands for performance. However, it has not yet revealed the features or performance stats of this upcoming chipset line.

With this new chip range, Mediatek is looking to compete with current high end chips from rivals such as the Snapdragon 810 and the Exynos 7 series. Unfortunately, we still don’t have real performance details of the chip, so its best to wait and watch how good they are. Company says that the first line of the high-end Helio chip powered phones will be available by the end of the year. However, before that, we expect more information via leaks and other sources.