No.1 Note 4 Review: A special phablet with S-Pen and a Heart rate monitor

By

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Dec 23, 2014

No.1 is a company known for its clones and we have seen as well as reviewed several of those clones in the past few months. Today, we take a look at the new No.1 Note 4. As the name suggests, its the clone of the recently announced Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and features the same design as the Samsung flagship. However, like all other clones in the market, apart from the design, most of the hardware and software features from the original model do not make it to the clone. But then these phones are available to purchase online for dirt cheap, which makes them attractive to customers looking for a cheap knock off. No.1 Note 4 features the same 5.7-inch display as the Galaxy Note 4 and comes with a stylus too, unlike other devices in its price range.

Check out our No.1 Note 4 review for a detailed look at the device.

UNBOXING

The No.1 Note 4 comes in the same white colored box as every other No.1 device that we have seen recently. Once you open the box, you’ll find essential items like the charging adapter, USB cable, user manual in English and the phone itself. There are no headphones or rear case for the phone inside the box.

DESIGN

Like the name suggests, the No.1 Note 4 takes inspiration from the Galaxy Note 4. So, the device is huge in size and measures 153.5×78.6×8.5mm, thanks to the monster 5.7-inch screen up front. This is exactly the same size as the original Note 4 which has the same measurements. To be honest is an impressive feat considering this is just a knock off and retails for a very cheap price tag.

Moving on, the front display measures 5.7-inches. There is a camera as well as a few sensors on top of the display, while at the bottom you have the traditional Samsung home button along with other capacitive buttons. The back features a leather like finish. There is a 13MP rear camera on top with LED flash just below it. Around the middle of the rear panel is the No.1 logo and around the bottom, you have two small openings for the speaker grill.

On the top left side lies the volume rocker buttons and on the right is the power button. There is a 3.5mm headphone jack on top + infrared port and a MicroUSB slot with dual microphones at the bottom. Like in the original Note 4, this clone also features the famous S pen which is neatly tucked into its opening at the bottom. The S Pen gets out and gets in pretty smoothly, so it looks like the opening is perfectly built to place it inside the phone.

The phone does have a removable back cover. Once you open it up, you’ll see a thin but long battery along with ports for a SIM card slot and a MicroSD card slot. Let me remind you, this phone supports just one SIM card unlike most other Chinese smartphones which support dual SIM cards. This is not a big issue for me since I just use one SIM card always, but for you this may be a deal breaker.

DISPLAY

The No.1 Note 4 comes with a 5.7-inch display with a resolution of just 1280 x 720 pixels. On the other hand the Samsung device came with 2K resolution on the same size. However, for everyday use, the display doesn’t look too bad. The overall looks of the UI is similar to the Samsung TouchWiz on Note 4 which gives us a feel of the original flagship, even though this is just a cheap knock off.

The first time you’ll boot up the device, you’ll see a lot of bright blue colors everywhere, which looks quite good on the large 5.7-inch display. Like we said earlier, the Touch Wiz like UI makes you feel that you are using a Samsung device. The display produces colors quite well and was bright enough to be used outdoors. So, even though it comes with a low resolution for such a large screen, you shouldn’t worry too much. You can easily fulfill your entertainment needs on the device like watching movies or playing games on its large screen display.

HARDWARE & PERFORMANCE

Despite its size and design, the No.1 4 is not a fast performing device. But it’s good enough for your basic every day usage. The phone comes with a Mediatek MT6582 quad-core processor with Mali-400MP GPU, 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage. This isn’t the fastest processor out there in the market and you’ll know that once you see the AnTuTu benchmark results.

In the benchmark test, the device got a score of 18,999. However, there were some times that the scores dipped to around 18,000. So, on an average, you can expect the scores to range from 16,500 to 18,000. As you can see, this isn’t a very impressive score as we have seen devices, which score above 20,000 in the AnTuTu test.

But in the real world usage, the phone did not lag much and the overall UI loaded pretty quickly. Opening up apps was easy and unless it was a very heavy graphic intensive app or a game, it worked perfectly with very little visible lags. Multi-tasking can be an issue sometimes and the limited 1GB onboard doesn’t really help the cause as well. However, if you limit the open apps on the phone, the phone responds and works quite well.

We never experienced any lag while browsing through the gallery or while watching videos on the device. Even scrolling through the video was responsive. As for gaming, most games worked perfectly fine on the device. The quad-core MT6582 processor does well in this regard and the games had no visible lag. Everything played smoothly and for most games, you won’t have any trouble running it on the No.1 Note 4.

No.1 Note 4 tech specs

Display	5.7 inch HD display
Processor	1.3 GHz Mediatek MT6582 quad-core processor + Mali-400MP GPU
Memory	1GB RAM + 8GB Internal storage (MicroSD: YES)
Cameras	REAR: 13MP sensor FRONT: 5MP sensor
Battery	2,700 mAh (removable)
Size	153.5×78.6×8.5mm
OS	Android 4.4 + Touch Wiz like Launcher
SIM	Single SIM Card only

Price

$139.99

Coming to the provided S Pen, surprisingly, it works very well. As soon as you remove the pen from its holder inside the phone, the Air Command panel pops up giving you a lot of options to play around on the device. The S Pen could select apps on the screen without any trouble. We tried out the draw app on the phone and it was working perfectly. To be honest, we were impressed! With the S Pen in our hands, it really felt like we were using a premium device.

Another highlight of the device is its heart rate sensor. We still don’t know how exactly it manages to measure our heart beat, but still the feature somehow works fine. Of course, it’s not very accurate, but then we didn’t expect it to be, since most Chinese phones with a heart rate sensor didn’t work very well. But still, from our testing, the sensor worked just fine and is a useful addition to the phone.

The in-built speaker is loud but not very clear. Moreover, if you keep the phone with the display on the front, you’ll hear muffled noises since the speaker grill is located at the back.

So, overall the No.1 Note 4 turned out to be a pretty good device. And if you are looking for a decent performing device, add this to your list.

CAMERA

Camera isn’t the greatest of strengths of the No.1 Note 4 smartphone. However, for every usage, its 13MP rear camera snaps pictures pretty well. The company has provided a lot of modes inside the camera UI like the Beauty Face, Rich Tone, Auto, Panaroma, Surround shot, Auto Scene etc. You can change settings like exposure, GPS, Color balance etc directly from the UI. However, other than these, the UI is pretty standard.

Coming to the camera performance, the images clicked turned out to be good when there was lot of light. Focusing does take a second or two but works well. The images captured surprisingly have a lot of detail and the colors are also accurate. The video captured from the rear camera too was good.

However, low light performance wasn’t really good, which isn’t surprising given that most Chinese mid-range smartphones struggle to capture pictures in low light conditions. The night photos lack details and there is a lot of noise which spoils the captured image. So, like always we would suggest taking pictures in broad day light or at least in places where there is lot of light for the best performance from its 13MP rear shooter.

Check out the samples below to get an idea about its camera.

BATTERY

Battery life shouldn’t be a big concern on the phone since it features a 2800 mAh capacity battery onboard. The battery life is just average, but its enough to last throughout the day with moderate usage. We have seen 5.5-inch phones from Chinese manufacturers with batteries as small as 2,000 mAh, hence the battery on this phone feels quite decent.

CONNECTIVITY & SOFTWARE

Along with the standard connectivity features like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, MicroUSB, FM Radio and GPS/ AGPS, you also get additional sensors like heart rate monitor and infrared sensor. Both of them worked fine as far as we tested. As mentioned above, the the No.1 N4 is a single SIM phone and supports GSM/ 850/900/1800/1900 ; WCDMA 850/2100 network bands.

As for the software, the No.1 Note 4 runs on Android 4.4 KitKat OS out of the box with a UI like the Samsung Touch Wiz. We have already pointed out that the overall UI experience is almost the same as Samsung, thanks to the color profile, tweaks in settings menu, notifications panel as well as the home screen which makes it a look a lot like Touch Wiz. There are a lot of software gestures available on the device, but now that’s common among recent Chinese smartphones, so its not really a new feature. Still, its good to have features such as air gestures which help you to operate the device.

VERDICT

As you can see, the No.1 Note 4 is a pretty good device. You get a lot of additional features such as the S Pen, heart rate monitor as well as a infrared remote which sets is apart from other Chinese offerings currently available in the market.

The fact that it is build upon the design of one of most loved phablets of the year makes it special. Of course, performance is no way near the original Note 4 but for the price that you pay, this clone definitely deserves some appreciation.

Buy No.1 Note 4 for just $139.99

Xiaomi‘s New Flagship Possibly Leaked in Live Photos!

By

Linus

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Dec 23, 2014

Xiaomi has been on the news lately with the purported leaks of the Xiaomi Mi4s/5. We have reported today that a possible Xiaomi Mi 4s is characterised to have 5.7-inch screen (other sources claim that it may spot a more compact – 5.5 inches screen), which will be covered by the sapphire glass and spot a 2k resolution (packed in a 2.5D screen), Snapdragon 805 chip (other sources claim 810 version, which is less possible knowing the fact that the 810 version of the chip would not be ready for the mass production on the possible release of Xiaomi’s new flagship), will have a higher megapixel camera, will be running MIUI based on Android5.0 and it may have a support for fingerprint recognition.

Right now we have some fresh live pictures, where we can possibly see the new device by Xiaomi in flesh and blood!

Let us admit that these pictures are quite high quality and in the first picture you can clearly see a MI logo, which may be a Xiami’s new flagship device! What is more, the device in the pictures looks a bit different to the previous leaks we have posted today. Here we cannot see that super slim bezel and there are no visible capacitive buttons on the bottom of the device. It may imply the fact that the Xiaomi has decided to ditch the capacitive buttons and go with the on-screen ones.

In addition, it looks like this device is surrounded by an aluminium frame, which is not a big news for the company since it has already been used on the MI4 model. Also, we can see volume up/down buttons along with the power button on the right, which seems to be a right placement. Furthermore, we think that the device in pictures is very similar to the older MI3 model.

The rumours claim that it could be either a Mi4s/Mi5 or a completely new flagship device, which would not be as cheap as previous MI series devices as it may cost 2999 Yuan (in comparison, the Mi4 costs 1999 Yuan). That could mean that the company has decided to throw anything what is possible on the smartphone in the new portfolio of the devices.

Having said all that, it is not clear which phone in the pictures is the real deal and which one is fake. We are curious what do you think about the device in the pictures. Let us know in the social poll or the comment section below.

[socialpoll id=”2240375″]

ZMI’s 10000mAh Power Bank for 99 Yuan to Compete with OnePlus ($16)!

By

Linus

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Dec 23, 2014

Power bank is an accessory, which is getting more and more popularity since it has proved its usefulness in the times, when the majority of manufacturers have non-user replaceable batteries. There is a variety of them and it may be quite hard to choose. As usual, Chinese companies have something to offer at a crazy low price.

After Xiaomi announced their own power banks, which included 5200,10400,16000mAh respectively, they were sold at some crazy low prices in China. However, it turns out that it is possible to make an external battery, which costs only 99 Yuan, which is made to compete against another cheap power bank, which was recently announced by the OnePlus company.

The ZMI may not be that widely known brand as Xiaomi, but they sell some of their products on the Official MI online store in China. One of those products is 10000mAh power bank.

This power bank carries a model number PB810, it has quite a thin body, which is 10.5 mm and it is said to be a thinnest product in this category. Also, it comes in white colour and has a wave pattern on its exterior, which is supposed to help for the good grip. Also, it has a capacity of 10000mAh (voltage 3.6V) , uses ATL lithium-ion polymer batteries, it has a USB and micro USB ports, it supports 5.1V / 2.1A output and 5V / 2A input.

The product is said to charge the Xiaomi Mi4 twice, Xiaomi Red Rice 1S 3 times and the iPhone 6 3.5 times. Also, there are four LED power indicators, showing the juice left in the power bank.

In addition, it uses a Texas Instruments chip and seventh master protection circuit , board ends highest conversion rate of 93%, and more than ordinary mobile power output of about 1000mAh.

All in all, it seems to be a great power bank to buy, which has a huge capacity, great build quality and internals used at a very low price. It seems that it could be quite a threat for power bank makers like OnePlus or Xiaomi.

Any buyers?

A Freshly Announced Blue Charm Meizu M1 Note May Have Some Screen Issues

By

Linus

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Dec 23, 2014

When it comes to the smartphones, there are a few things we put into consideration before buying. Besides the facts like design, build quality, user interface, the price is very important. The lower it is, the more attractive it is to the buyer. However, sometimes the consumer may have a question in mind, if there are any hiccups or some issues with the device if it is sold at the very low price.

As we have just covered the announcement of the new Blue Charm Meizu M1 Note, which is a new budget devices line by the Meizu. It has some serious bunch of specs, which include 5.5 inches screen, octa-core processor, 13mp and 5mp cameras, 2 GB of Ram, 3,140 mAh battery, 4G LTE and some other great stuff and it is sold for an extremely low price, which is $160.

However, no matter how excited you are, it may have some screen issues as the photos below suggest:

It turns out that this particular unit has some screen issues, which definitely affect the whole user experience. We are not sure neither about the number of the devices affected by this issue nor the reason behind it.

Does it show that Meizu decided to use some cheap screen panels for this model? Or maybe it decided to use cheap panels or even other parts for the whole Blue Charm portfolio to make the price as competitive as possible? Let us know what do you think in the social poll or comment section below.

[socialpoll id=”2240310″]

Meet ASUS Pegasus X002, the $130 Redmi 1S killer!

By

Joel Joseph

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Dec 23, 2014

Looks like ASUS is trying to steal the spot light from Meizu today. The Taiwanese giant has just announced a new product in the market called as the ASUS Pegasus X002. Unlike the name which sounds mighty and powerful, the device itself would be a mid-ranger but will be priced aggressively to compete with existing budget offerings like Xiaomi Redmi 1S and the Meizu Blue Charm K52.

Before we move on to the specs, lets take a look at its name. There is something peculiar about the name Pegasus especially for ASUS. Not many would know that the company name, ASUS is inspired by Pegasus, the winged horse from Greek Mythology that depicts wisdom and knowledge. So, even though this is a mid-ranger, the company could be looking to take over the market with this cheap yet powerful offering.

As for the tech specs, the ASUS Pegasus comes with a 5-inch 1280 x 720p display. There’s a 64-bit 1.5GHz MT6732 processor powering the device along with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage which can be further expanded via MicroSD. At the back, there is an 8MP camera sensor while up front, there is a 5MP shooter. The rear shooter comes with ultra-picture quality mode and can synthesize a number of pictures together to form an ultra-high resolution 30MP image. The phone supports a 2500 mAh battery on board. The Pegasus runs on Android 4.4 KitKat OS with Zen UI on top. The Zen UI is smart enough to place your most used apps at the right spot which will save you some time. It supports 4G TD-LTE / TD- CDMA and GSM networks and supports dual SIM dual standby.

ASUS has priced the Pegasus aggressively and the phone will be available for sale for just 799 Yuan which comes to around $129. Pre-orders start today!

This is a great price for a phone with such features and will compete directly with smartphones like Xiaomi Redmi 1S. However, the company has not announced any plans for Pegasus release outside of China but we expect more details soon.

If Pegasus does make it to international markets, do you think the phone can take on Xiaomi’s Redmi 1S which has been very popular among budget customers? Another important point to consider will be its availability, whether the phone will be available without any registration or will it follow Xiaomi’s model. There are lots more questions that needs to be answered, but lets wait and watch.

[socialpoll id=”2240299″]

Meanwhile take a look at the hands on pictures of the ASUS Pegasus below.

Possible Photos and details about Xiaomi Mi 4s Leak

By

Linus

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Dec 23, 2014

While so many manufacturers are releasing new devices, the competition in China gets more and more intense. In the past few months manufacturers like Meizu, Huawei, Oppo released their respective flagship devices and they managed to change some market trends. Also, the competitors try to occupy the budget devices department as well as some companies like Meizu is expected to release a new Blue Charm budget phones line during the conference today. The Xiaomi, the biggest manufacturer in China may have felt the growing competition level and it may be preparing some new devices.

Therefore, the company is expected to have their own event on January 15th and launch even more than one product.

First, Xiaomi is said to release previously the second generation Red Rice device, which was already spotted in TENNA (Chinese communications office, equivalent to the FCC in the U.S.). The device’s description provided that it will have 4.7 inches 720p screen, it will be equipped with Snapdragon 410 MSM8916 64bit quad-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB of memory, 8GB of storage, 8mp camera on the back and 2mp shooter on the front, 2200mAh battery.

Right now we have some more interesting news. The previously leaked possible Xiaomi Mi5 right now is referred to the new name – Xiaomi Mi4s.

As you can see from the above picture, the device spots near bezel less design, which seems to be a trend, brought by the Meizu. What is more, this exposure of the possible Xiaomi Mi 4s is characterised to have 5.7-inch screen (other sources claim that it may spot a more compact – 5.5 inches screen), which will be covered by the sapphire glass and spot a 2k resolution (packed in a 2.5D screen), Snapdragon 805 chip (other sources claim 810 version), will have a higher megapixel camera, will be running MIUI based on Android5.0 and it may have a support for fingerprint recognition.

All in all, as usual to the Xiaomi, it will be a heck of a device and it will be ready to shake up the market very seriously. We think that device will be a success again as it will have the latest and greatest hardware possible at the bargain price.

Meizu M1 (Blue Charm) Note is official, a 5.5-inch octa-core beast at $160!

By

Joel Joseph

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Dec 23, 2014

Meizu Blue Charm brand is official. We have literally waited for weeks for this launch! It started with two leaked Meizu devices early December and later on, after some investigation we realized that the Blue Charm brand is much bigger than we realized. Today, the company has finally unveiled the brand and its time to look at the pick of the announcements, the Meizu Blue Charm Note.

The phone features a unibody design with practically no connection gap. Its 8.9 mm thin and weighs just about 148 grams. The body is made of the same material as the iPhone 5C. Meizu claims that the overall structure of the phone with its gentle curve at the back helps it better fit in the user’s palms.

Most of the specifications of the device is the same as we predicted. So, the Meizu M1 Blue Charm Note comes with a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080p resolution display. Inside, there is a 64-bit 1.7GHz octa-core Mediatek MT6752 processor with 2GB RAM and 16/ 32GB internal storage options (no MicroSD expansion slot) . At the back, there is a 13MP camera capable of recording 1080p videos as well as slo-mo videos at 120fps. Up front there is a 5MP shooter. Connectivity options include dual band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS + Glonass navigation and 4G LTE support. Inside, there is a 3,140 mAh battery which should be enough to power the device for an entire day.

Unlike a rumor which said that the phone may ditch Flyme UI in favor of a new Jolla Sailfish like launcher, the company today confirmed that the Blue Charm Note will come with Meizu’s traditional Fyme 4.1 UI running on top of Android 4.4 KitKat.

The 16GB model is priced at 999 Yuan which comes to around $160, while the 32GB model is priced at 1299 Yuan which comes to around $208. Like we expected, the Meizu Blue Charm Note turned out to be good. While the pricing is slightly on the higher side as compared to competitors like Xiaomi Redmi Note, the overall specifications is much better then the Xiaomi device, which definitely gives this phone an edge over others. The 16GB model is especially a steal!

The 64-bit processor with 2GB RAM, LTE support and the large 5.5-inch display with 1080p resolution makes this phone a beast in its price range. Moreover, Meizu has built up a reputation of being a quality focused manufacturer and is considered among the likes of Xiaomi. So, the Meizu Blue Charm Note will definitely pose a threat to other mid-range phones currently available in the market.

The device will be available in 5 bright colors — green, blue, white, yellow and pink. Meizu’s online store as well as JD.com will start accepting pre-orders from 5 PM today and will start selling the device from December 30.

Here’s the official intro video of the Meizu Blue Charm Note!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SzxK_Ug1Go

[socialpoll id=”2240280″]

Meanwhile, we have added a number of pictures of the new Blue Charm Note below. Enjoy!

No.1 X-Men X1 rugged smartphone is 7-Proof!

By

Joel Joseph

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Dec 22, 2014

Just last week No.1 released a set of images of the new No.1 X-men X1 ultra-rugged smartphone. However, at that time, apart from pictures, there was very little information about the specifications of the device. But today, the company has revealed some more details on the X1 and judging from the specs, the overall package definitely looks impressive.

On the front, there is a 5-inch 1280 x 720p HD display, which is big considering other rugged phones in the market. The large screen provides enough real estate to play games or even watch movies on the device. Inside, there is a MT6582 quad-core processor, which is now a standard among Chinese phones. On the back, you have a 13MP rear camera with LED flash while on the front, there is a 5MP shooter. The LED flash will especially come in handy when you are out at night and want to click some pictures. It can also be used as a flashlight, thanks to the various apps that you’ll find on the Android app store. To power all these specs, there is a large 5,800 mAh battery on board. Like we pointed out earlier, this battery should be enough for many days and you won’t have to worry about a charger when you are going out somewhere with this device.

The No.1 X-Men X1 is IP68 compliant, so you know that its ruggedness is certified. What’s more, the company claims that the phone is 7-proof! What they mean is that the X1 is resistant against seven different types of damages. So, the phone is waterproof, dustproof , pressure proof, freezeproof, Shockproof, high-temperature proof and Scratch Proof. The strong outer frame makes sure that your phone is protected from any of the above mentioned dangers.

Unlike some rugged smartphones, the No. X-Men X1 doesn’t look ugly too. You have strong design lines with a bright orange shade throughout the device which set its apart from the crowd. Its may be a bit bulky to look at, however, we feel the extra large 5,800 mAh battery easily compensates for the thickness.

Clearly, the X1 is equipped with all the features you need for outdoor use. We’ll update more details like pricing and availability soon.

[Source]

Check out the the gallery below for more images.

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Could this be the Huawei Ascend Mate 7 Plus?

By

Joel Joseph

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Dec 21, 2014

Huawei is once again making the headlines. A new leak on Weibo shows us a new Huawei device. The one who leaked the two images shown below claims it to be the Huawei Ascend Mate 7 Plus / Mate 8, the successor of the popular Mate 7.

As you can see, the images don’t reveal much about the design of the leaked phone. But judging from the pictures, it looks a lot like the current Huawei Ascend Mate 7. The bezels are almost non-existent and we can even say that the phone is bezel less. Mate 7 had a similar design profile with very thin bezels around its display but here, at least in the images, we don’t see those black borders. Another difference is the speaker grill at the bottom of the rear panel that spans across the width of the phone instead of just a small opening on the corner.

ascend-mate-7-back211 — Ascend Mate 7 back panel

Other features are similar to the Mate 7, like the Huawei branding on the rear panel and the placement of the front camera, sensors and the ear piece. So, this definitely looks like an upgrade to the Huawei Ascend Mate 7, but we are not yet sure whether this would succeed it.

At the moment, we don’t have any details about its specifications or features.But if this is indeed the Huawei Mate 8 or the Huawei Mate 7 Plus (if the company is going with naming scheme as the Honor 6 Plus), then the device has some big shoes to fill. The Mate 7 is probably the best Huawei device till date and has received positive response from reviewers worldwide. The monster 6-inch display and the metal design gives it a premium look and the hardware packed inside makes it one of the best phablets in the market. The phone includes a fingerprint scanner, which reportedly works better than any other scanners on a smartphone till date. Other specifications include a Hisilicon Kirin 925 octa-core processor, 2GB/ 3GB RAM and 16GB/ 32GB memory options, 6-inch 1080p display, 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front shooter, a large 4100 mAh battery etc.

An upgrade would have to best many of these features, which even at today’s stage is quite impressive. Since the phone has finally surfaced online, we expect to see more details via such leaks in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more updates.

Meizu Blue Charm devices may not come with Flyme UI

By

Joel Joseph

-

Dec 21, 2014

We are just one day away from the official event scheduled by Meizu but we are regularly getting new leaks about the upcoming Meizu Blue Charm devices. While the company hasn’t confirmed the existence of such a brand as of yet, we expect tomorrow’s announcement to confirm and make it official.

Today, we have some interesting news about both the upcoming Blue Charm devices. In a set of pictures leaked earlier, there are two Meizu devices running an entirely different looking OS/ UI instead of the company’s Flame 4.0. One is larger than the other, which could be the Meizu Blue Charm Note and the other being the Meizu K52, the 4.6-inch model.

From the pictures, it looks like both the models are running a modified version of Jolla Sailfish OS. The icons at the bottom are similar to the ones seen on the Sailfish OS. Moreover, the overall interface too looks similar to Sailfish, which could mean that the new Meizu device may feature this instead of Android.

However, that is very unlikely and even if Meizu Blue Charm devices did have this UI, it would most probably be just a launcher and not an entirely new OS. Sailfish has been growing pretty steadily, but the app store and the overall operating system still has a long way to go to replace an OS like Android. Another possibility is that this can also be a different variant of the two devices, for those interested in having Jolla Sailfish, but even that does not sound practical. So, for now, we think that this is just a Sailfish launcher on top of Android 4.4 KitKat OS!

Lets recap the Meizu Blue Charm Note which hit TENAA around two days back. It features a 5.5-inch 1080p resolution display, 64-bit MT6752 octa-core processor clocked at 1.7GHz; 2GB RAM, 16GB storage capacity; 13MP rear + front 5MP front cameras, 3050 mAh battery and TD-LTE, TD-SCDMA, and GSM network support. For more information on Meizu Blue Charm Note, check out our earlier post.

This is an interesting new piece of information but take it with a grain of salt. Meizu has been developing Flyme UI for quite some time now and there is no need for Meizu to abandon that in favor of an entirely new UI.

Luckily, we don’t have to wait too long to find out more about the upcoming Meizu Blue Charm devices as the company is expected to announce them both along with a number of other Blue Charm gadgets at the 23 December 2014 event.

Huawei Honor 6 Plus vs. Meizu MX4 Pro

By

Linus

-

Dec 21, 2014

Introduction

More and more Chinese companies are trying to make a splash in the smartphone industry today. They try to be different in certain aspects like design, specs, software implementations, some extra-ordinary features or some innovation, which can make a device stand out from the crowd. However, having in mind that Chinese smartphone market is as hectic as ever, all the manufacturers have something in common – flagship grade specs at the very attractive price.

Two of these devices include two very recently announced ones – the Meizu MX4 Pro and the Huawei Honor 6 Plus. They are both made having a demanding consumer in mind as they are able to offer top of the range specs and great design. Also, they both have a great built quality. We will try to decide which device is worth more of your attention.

Specs

The new Huawei’s flagship features include 5.5″ Full-HD display with the pixel density of 401 ppi, dimensions of 150.46 x 75.68 x 7.5mm (5.93 x 2.98 x 0.30 inches), weighs 165 g, home-made octal-core Kirin 925 processor, clocked at 1.8 GHz (1.80 GHz Quad-core Cortex-A15 & 1.31 GHz Quad-core Cortex-A7), Mali-T628 GPU, i3 Sensor Hub technology, 3 GB of RAM, 32 GB of storage, which can be further expanded via Micro SD card slot up to 128 GB, 3600 mAh battery and it can even work as a power bank to charge other devices,dual-camera setup on the back with dual 8mpx sensors, which are able to produce 13 mpx pictures, 5 mpx front facing snapper. Moreover, it has a dual SIM card slot (the second SIM slot accepts nano-SIM cards and it doubles as a micro SD card slot), Bluetooth 4.0, OTG function, infrared port, NFC support and LTE support.

This device has dimensions of 150.1 x 77 x 9 mm (5.91 x 3.03 x 0.35 inches) and weighs 158 g. Meizu MX4 Pro is a beast of the specs, which include an amazingly high resolution 5.5-inch 2K (2560 x 1536) screen, which is even a bit higher than regular 2k screens, and it is also covered by the Gorilla Glass 3. Also, the device is being run by a powerful 20nm Samsung Exynos 5430 octa-core processor (Quad-core 2 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A7), Mali-T628 GPU, has a 3350 mAh battery and has 3GB of RAM. In addition, it comes in 16, 32 or 64 GB storage flavours, which, however, cannot be further expanded via the Micro SD card slot. Also, it has a fingerprint sensor, which is installed in the square home button, 20.7mp rear-facing camera with a 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor (the same sensor that is being used in Sony Xperia series devices), 5mp front facing snapper, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, Hifi audio chips.

The verdict: both devices are very heavy specced. However, we should give a credit to the Meizu MX4 Pro, which offers a higher resolution display (although some people may argue if we really need that 2k display on the smartphone), more powerful chipset, fingerprint sensor, HI-FI audio chip, which ensures better audio listening experience, higher resolution camera. However, these are just mere specs, so we will give our final opinion in the end of this review.

Design

Both devices spot a great design, which includes a great build quality and good choice of materials. However, the Huawei Honor 6 Plus is a bit more compact device than the Meizu’s offering, as it is a tad narrower, 1.5 mm thinner, but a bit heavier. However, these differences are not significant.

You can see some more pictures in the gallery:

Both devices offer an alloy frame, which always adds that premium look and feel. On the other hand, the Huawei offers a glass back panel, which for some people may look more appealing than Meizu’s plastic back.

You can check out some pictures in the gallery:

The verdict: in the end, it is always a personal choice and you would make no mistake by choosing either of these devices as they look and feel really good in the hand.

Display

Display always matters as it is the first place, where we look once we take a smartphone. At least on paper, the Meizu MX4 Pro offers a better display with higher, Quad HD resolution in comparison to Huawei’s “only” Full-HD. Well, theory is one thing, but how do they compare in real life?

As we have said before, the display on the Honor 6 Plus does not have the highest resolution on the market, but it still comes in Full-HD and has 401 PPI. The colours look vivid, the details are very sharp and the viewing angles are very good. Also, the contrast levels are very good. What is more, we liked the colour accuracy as they look natural on this beautiful LCD screen. Finally, the brightness level is very good as well as we had no issues reading the content on the screen even in the direct sunlight.

Let’s take a look at the Meizu MX 4 Pro and its super high resolution screen.

The MX4 Pro has a wonderful screen, which is bright, vivid and colourful. It is also very sharp, it has great viewing angles and colour look great. Honestly, we did not see a noticeable difference between Full-HD and Quad-HD screens. Anyway, the Quad-HD is for the spec heads and more future proof than Huawei’s more classic approach with a 1080p screen.

Verdict: both devices have great screens,which are vivid, sharp and bright. However, they have different resolutions, where the MX4 Pro prevails. Of course, the difference is negligible, but the Quad-HD resolution shows the latest and greatest what technology can offer. Thus, it is more future proof and puts the MX4 Pro on top of the Honor 6 Plus.

Benchmarks

Both devices are equipped with powerful, yet different processors. Both handsets have octa-core processors, which work under big.LITTLE architecture. The Huawei decided to use its home-made Kirin chip, clocked at 1.8 GHz (1.80 GHz Quad-core Cortex-A15 & 1.31 GHz Quad-core Cortex-A7) and the Meizu decided to keep the relationship with its partner Samsung and used a powerful Exynos chipset, clocked 5430 octa-core processor (Quad-core 2 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A7). Let’s see how they perform in real life.

But before that let’s take a look at he raw power – some benchmark results.

As you can see, the Honor 6 Plus scored 42223 points on Antutu. This is not the best result we have seen so far, but it is still very respectable. Therefore, day to day usage should have no issues whatsoever. For the time being, could only have Antutu testing. We will update the article with other benchmarks in the future.

Right now let’s take a look how the MX4 Pro has to offer in the benchmarks below.

AnTuTu: 45818

Quadrant: 9009

Vellamo (HTML5): 2262

Vellamo (Metal): 1377

Linpack (measured by FLOPS or floating-point operations per second): 130.785

AndEMark (Native): 19356 iterations per sec

AndEMark (Java): 264 it/sec

CF-Bench: 34855

Basemark X: (On-Screen) 8.849fps, (off-screen) 12.568fps

Basemark ES 2.0 Taiji Free: 43.50fps

Basemark GUI Free: (Native) 57.9465, (with 720p, offscreen) 257.0599

Nenamark1: (Last and best) 57.5fps

As we can see, the scores are not the highest either, but they are very good. Thus, the Mx4 will perform without any issues in real life.

Real Life Performance

Huawei Honor 6 Plus

As it is usual that the device has no issues handling daily tasks, but gaming is much more demanding. We tested a few games, including Subway Surfer. We can say that the Kirin 925 handles the gaming very good, without any lags or stutters. The device heats up a little, but not too much.

It is natural, that handling Full-HD content does not impose any issues for the Huawei’s device. The video playback is smooth without any issues.

Meizu MX4 Pro

The Meizu’s device has no issues with the above tests made neither. It managed to perform without any issues in basic tasks. Also, the gaming performance is smooth and lag-free. Naturally, the video playback is smooth as well.

Verdict: both devices are equipped with great processing power under the hood. We should agree that the Meizu’s offering looks better on paper and performs a bit better on the benchmarks, but in during real life scenarios, it is hard to tell the difference, which one is better. All in all, both devices are good at anything you throw at.

User Interface

When it comes to the user interface (UI), both devices offer a proprietary approach and offer a highly customised Android experience with their respective skins.

First of all, the Huawei Honor 6 Plus have made their iteration of Android by using the Emotion UI 3.0. It is heavily customised variation of Android OS, which seems to be odd if we consider that many manufacturers are implementing lighter versions with simple options.

To begin with, we can see a touch-screen back, home and multi-tasking buttons, which are quite usual these days when manufacturers are trying to make the devices, which are as thin as possible and reduce that bezels size. Secondly, there is a usual Huawei’s stuff with a lot of home screens without any app drawer. Thus, you need to get used to making folders with apps or games. Thankfully, besides the classic “drag and drop” functionality, you can also select a “+” symbol to add the apps you want to sit in the folder.

What is more, we may see some similarities with the Windows phone since there is a la tiles style of some basic apps and functions. This is not a bad idea per se, but it is a personal choice of everyone. In addition, there is another thing, which is quite usual for many Chinese manufacturers – many customisation options. You can choose a different theme, icons, screen lock styles, wallpapers etc. Also, you may download new ones from the online server.

It looks like that the Huawei did a bit of a mashup of Android, iOS and Windows phone. Of course, it is a matter of personal taste, but there is a lot of room towards simplicity in the user interface. On the other hand, with such a pack of customisation options, the company managed to make a stutter-free and smooth user interface.

You can check some of the UI pictures in the gallery below:

The Meizu MX 4 Pro also has their own iteration of Android. The device runs on Flyme 4.1 operating system, which is based on the Android 4.4.4. It is quite simplistic user interface, which reminds us a bit of the iOS. You can check how the user interface looks like in the gallery below.

As you can see, the Meizu has taken a simplistic approach. As usual, there is no app drawer, so you would need to make folders as on the Huawei’s interface. What is more, the Meizu MX4 Pro only has a physical home button and there are other buttons are on screen. Also, the device supports swiping from the button of the screen for functions like multitasking. We found that very convenient considering the size of the device.

Moreover, there is a notification centre, which has some transparent looks (similar to iOS). What is more, the UI supports various gestures, which is always a welcome feature.

Finally, the Meizu’s simple take on Android gives a super fast user experience with no lag, which we really like.

Verdict: both devices have quite good user interfaces, but Huawei Honor 6 is a bit different than the MX4 Pro since it does not look that simplistic and minimal. On the other hand, both user interfaces offer a great user experience, which is lag free and super responsive. We can recommend both UI’s, so it is your personal choice.

Camera

This is one of the most exciting parts of each device. Let us start by Honor 6 Plus, which has one of the main hardware features and key selling points on its back – a dual camera setup. This setup consists of two 8 megapixels sensors, but due to the software implementations, it is capable of taking 13Mp photos.

The dual-camera setup can be used for a variety of ways. First, it can be used for bokeh or depth of field effects, when the object, which is far away can be blurred out or vice versa. Second, these two sensors work in tact to capture more detail and more light. Huawei touts it as “human eyes experience”.

Here is a video, which provides a more insightful look at Honor 6 Plus’ camera:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfuCWlrX0K4

What is more, the tandem of two sensors helps achieving an amazing speed of focus, which is 0.1 seconds. Also, the 3IE algorithm helps bringing more light to the sensor and reduces the amount of dark areas.

In addition, the dual-camera setup is very useful for the low-light shots. It lets you capture more details with much less noise and produce natural looking colours.

Here you can see some camera samples, taken by the Huawei Honor 6 Plus:

Overall, we were really impressed by the picture quality of this device. It can produce sharp and detailed photos in many conditions including low light scenes. What is more, the colour accuracy is very good. The pictures are not overexposed and the white balance is very good.

The Meizu MX4 Pro

The Meizu takes a bit more traditional approach, when it comes to camera. Traditional mean that it does not use a dual camera setup, but still uses one of the most powerful camera sensors available – Sony IMX220 (the same sensor that it used on the Sony Xperia Z3). The sensor has a size of 1/2.3”, which equals to some compact cameras.

Without further review, please check the camera samples in the gallery below:

As we can see the MX4 Pro’s camera can deliver some amazing results. It can capture great level of detail, the photos look sharp and vivid. However, we think that the Huawei Honor 6 Plus can produce better low light shots as it manages to capture more detail and produces less noise.

Verdict: both cameras perform well in good lighting conditions. Besides that, the Honor 6 Plus can offer great depth of field effect. Also, it can produce some better looking low light shots. Also, the focusing speed is faster than MX4 Pro. However, the Meizu’s device can shoot 4k videos, but Honor 6 cannot. However, we still do not have many devices that support 4k. In the end, we think that the Honor 6 Plus offers a better overall experience, especially if you care about low light shots.

Battery Life

Both devices are equipped with decent battery packs, which should ensure that you would not run out of juice in the middle of the day. First, the Huawei implemented a juicy 3600 mAh battery. Considering its size and the fact that it does not need to feed a 2k display, it is great news for users. During our testing, we could easily run through the whole day without any issues. Our test included a regular calling, texting, surfing the web, watching the videos, taking pictures and videos, a bit of gaming etc. We can say that the battery is sufficient even for a power user and will last you a full day.

The Meizu MX4 Pro is no slouch in this department either. The company installed a beefy 3350 mAh battery. We did some similar testing and we found out that it can last you a full day without an issue.

Verdict: both devices are equipped with huge batteries, which are able to provide enough power to last a full day of heavy usage. We think that it is very impressive and neither device would disappoint you.

Conclusions

Both offerings by the Huawei and Meizu are very good devices. They have beautiful designs, which include a great choose of materials, a sturdy build quality and perfect craftsmanship. Also, both of devices have outstanding screens. Meizu MX4 Pro, however, has a higher Quad HD resolution, but we did not find anything bad with Honor 6 Plus’ 1080 panel as it is super sharp and crisp.

What is more, each of the manufacturer has some different approaches, when it comes to the user interface. While Honor 6 Plus and its Emotion UI looks appealing, but we liked MX4 Pro’s user interface more pleasing to the eye due to its simplicity and minimal design.

Furthermore, both devices are equipped with great processing power under the hood. Although, the Meizu MX4 Pro can perform a bit better on the benchmark tests, we did not feel any difference and daily life performance, which included various basic tasks, gaming high intensity games, watching or capturing video etc.

In addition, both devices have excellent cameras, when it comes to day-time shots. However, the Huawei Honor 6 Plus has taken a step further and installed a dual camera-setup. Indeed, it helped achieving better low light shots with less noise and more details. Also, the super fast shutter speeds of 0.1 seconds are really amazing. Last but not least, the duo camera lets you create some great depth of field effects, digitally adjust the aperture size of the cameras and do some other neat things.

When it comes to battery life, both devices perform very well. We are quite sure that they would last you a full day of heavy usage, which is always a great achievement.

In the end of the day, both devices are great choice as the pack a bunch of specs in a greatly designed shell and come at much lower prices than flagships from the Western companies.

If you are looking for some more detailed information about each of the device please check our separate reviews of the Huawei Honor 6 Plus and Meizu MX4 Pro.

Huawei Ascend GX1 hits TENAA, tech specs revealed

By

Joel Joseph

-

Dec 20, 2014

Just a few hours back we saw the upcoming Huawei Ascend GX1 in pictures. But apart from the leaked images, we had little information about the specifications of the device.

Now, the same phone (model no. SC-CL00) has hit TENAA, which means we have lots more details about the tech specs as well as images of the device. Like we predicted, the phone does feature a large 6-inch display. However, the resolution is just HD, which is certainly a disappointment considering its monster size. Once again like we said earlier, the device is larger than the Mate 7 despite having the same display. It measures 161 × 84.5 × 9.55mm which is much bigger as well as thicker than the Mate 7 which measures 157 x 81 x 7.9 mm. As for the hardware, the Ascend GX1 comes with a quad-core 1.4GHz processor with 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage which supports external MicroSD card slots. There’s an 8MP camera at the back along with a 2MP front shooter. It runs on Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system. As far as we know, the phone supports GSM/CDMA 1X/CDMA2000/LTE FDD/TD-LTE networks.

Judging from the specs, you would have known by now that the phone is a mid-ranger. It’s priced at 1590 Yuan which comes to around $255. This is a great price since you don’t have many 6-inch phones in this range.

The phone is currently listed at gome.com.cn but the complete details have not yet been filled. Check out the listing here.

Since the Huawei Ascend GX1 has now hit TENAA, and also listed online, we expect a launch pretty soon. Stay tuned for more updates.

Exclusive: Leaked pictures of Huawei Ascend GX1 surface online

By

Joel Joseph

-

Dec 20, 2014

huawei-ascend-gx1-leak (4) — left= Mate 7, Right = GX1

For the past few weeks, Huawei has regularly been making the headlines, thanks to the numerous Honor 6 Plus leaks. So, after the official Honor 6 Plus launch, we thought things might calm down a little. But today, a new leak has put Huawei back on the headlines. This time around, its a new device in the Ascend lineup of the company, which will most likely be called as the Huawei Ascend GX1.

At present, the Ascend Mate 7 is at the top of the lineup. This device is therefore expected to be placed below the flagship Mate 7. We have some exclusive set of images of the GX1 which were leaked earlier today by one of Huawei’s employees. As you can see in the pictures, the upcoming phone has been conveniently compared with the Mate 7 to show us some of the similarities in both the models.

huawei-ascend-gx1-leak (2) — Mate 7 on the left, GX1 on the right

Judging from the size of the device in comparison to Mate 7, it looks like the GX1 has a 6-inch display too. But as you can see, the overall size is a bit bigger than the Mate 7. It’s even a bit thicker, although it is said that the phone would feature a smaller 3,500 mAh battery. The Ascend Mate 7 had a much larger 4,100 mAh battery, but it managed to stay thin at 7.9mm. Interestingly, the Huawei branding on this new device lies on top unlike the Mate 7 which had the branding at the bottom of the display. There is nothing at the bottom, which hints at on-screen buttons and the possibility of Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box. The Huawei Ascend GX1 also features a slightly different design. The corners are more rounded and the bezels are thicker than that of the Ascend Mate 7.

We don’t have much details about the technical specifications of the leaked device but it is said that the GX1 will support 4G LTE networks and will have a 3,500 mAh battery. It will be cheaper than the Ascend Mate 7 but we still don’t know the approximate price.

This is the first time we are hearing about the GX1 but we are sure that we’ll get more details about the device in the coming few weeks. Stay tuned for more exclusive updates.

Meizu Blue Charm Note Spotted on TENNA!

By

Joel Joseph

-

Dec 19, 2014

Meizu Blue Charm Note?

Earlier today we saw a new Meizu Blue Charm device on TENAA. However, at that time, the certification website did not have any images of the device code named M463M.

Now we finally have a new set of images of the device and judging from the looks, the phone could be the larger variant in the Blue Charm lineup, i.e. the Meizu Blue Charm Note. The images reveal a design similar to the current Meizu MX4. The corners are rounded and the large camera sensor along with the dual LED flash lie around the top middle region on the rear panel. Below these lie the large Meizu logo. On the front too, you have the round home button like the MX4. One thing to note on the front is that the bezels are extremely thin. You can see the ear piece and the front camera on top. On the left you can see the SIM card slot. So it looks like the Blue Charm Note will have a non-removable back cover.

Although this larger version does not borrow its looks from the iPhone 5C, it is said that the phone is made from the same materials as the 5C model. Coming to the specifications, the device will support TD-LTE, TD-SCDMA, and GSM networks. It will also take dual SIM cards. Like previously reported, the front display is of 5.5-inches with 1080p resolution. To support these specs, there will be a large 3050 mAh battery onboard. Other specs include a 64-bit MTK MT6752 octa-core chip, 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM. It will also sport a 2mp front-facing camera and 13mp rear-facing camera.

The Rumored 4.7-inch Blue Charm device

Overall, from what we have seen till now, the Meizu Blue Charm Note looks like a great device. You have high speed LTE support, dual sim cards, a 64-bit Octa core chip as well as a very large 3050 mAh battery to support all these specs. If priced correctly, Meizu could give a hard time to other phablets currently available in the market.

So what do you think about the device? If these leaks turn out to be true, the phone could sell like hot cakes!

[socialpoll id=”2239325″]

CUBOT S168 Review: An outstanding phone under $100

By

Joel Joseph

-

Dec 19, 2014

In the past few months, we have seen a number of new releases from the Chinese manufacturer Cubot. In fact, two of those devices, namely the Cubot S200 and the Cubot S168 made it to our best Chinese smartphones under $100 list recently.

Today, we are looking at the cheapest model from that list, i.e. the Cubot S168. The device is available for less than $80, which is a great price for the features that it offers. But with this cheap price tag, there are many people who doubt the build quality of the device. So, today, we decided to take a close look at the Cubot S168.

In this Cubot S168 Review, we will look at the phone’s design, build quality, hardware as well as its software, thereby helping you make a purchase decision.

Unboxing

Before we talk about the design, lets look at what at items you get inside the package. The phone comes in a simple cardboard box with the Cubot logo on top and the phone’s internal design below it. Even though the overall package was plain, we liked the black and white graphics on top.

Inside, you get a phone, a 1,900mAh battery, screen protector, MicroUSB cable with the charging connector, quick start guide and a transparent case. The phone looked quite solid and well built, but we’ll talk about that in detail later.

The quick start guide has instructions in both English as well as Chinese, which is a plus considering many Chinese manufacturers don’t even bother to include an English manual. Interestingly, you also get a free transparent case in the box (atleast we got one when we bought it from GearBest), which offers decent protection to your phone. Given that its quite hard to find a case for Chinese phones especially ones which are not so famous like this model, its good to see that you get a case right inside the box. So, no need to hunt for a case online. We also got a screen protector inside the box for no additional cost. In short, the box contains everything you need for your new smartphone.

DESIGN

You can’t expect much from a $80 phone, but to be honest, the Cubot S168 exceeds our expectation by all means. Although the design is pretty basic with only two color options – black and white, the overall build quality of the phone is impressive. Unlike other cheap Chinese phones that we have seen in the past, Cubot S168 looks like the device which is last. Everything feels sturdy and even the buttons feel responsive. You may have to take special care of the rear panel while removing it because its a bit flimsy and we were afraid that it may break with excessive force. But other than that, there were no loose parts or chipped sides.

The phone has a traditional design profile with smooth edges. Its made entirely of plastic, so don’t be deceived by the silver frame which looks like metal, as even that is made of some kind of plastic. On the front you have a 5 inch display with a front facing camera, ambient light sensor and ear piece at the top. Below the display lies the three capacitive buttons, namely menu, home and back. Unfortunately, these buttons are not back lit, which may cause some trouble while operating the device at night. Also, you don’t get an LED notification light on the device. While we would have loved an LED light on top, which comes standard on most phones today, we think that it is something that we can live without especially considering the price you pay.

The power and the volume keys are placed on the right side of the phone. The left side is completely clean. At the bottom you have a microphone and a slot for opening the rear panel. Finally, on top you have the microUSB port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The back panel has a smooth finish, but its not slippery. So you don’t have to worry about the phone slipping through your fingers. Moreover, its not a fingerprint magnet (atelast the black version wasn’t) like other plastic phones that we have seen recently. On top of the panel, you’ll find the 8MP camera along with a single LED flash besides it. The Cubot logo lies at the bottom alongside the speakers (which are really LOUD). One additional note – the back panel is really tight, so you may want to remove it slowly to prevent it from breaking.Once the panel is removed, you’ll see the two dual SIM card slots along with a MicroSD card slot.

DISPLAY

On paper, Cubot S168’s display isn’t the best in the market but for your everyday use, it should serve you well. The phone comes with a 5 inch qHD resolution IPS display. We know that nowadays most phones under $100 feature atleast 720p display, but from our experience even 960 x 540 pixel resolution looks good on a display under 5.0 inches. Given that its an IPS panel, the viewing angles are great and the colors looks rich and vibrant. In fact, we were quite happy with the images and videos displayed on this IPS panel. To conclude, we are sure you won’t be disappointed with Cubot 168’s 5.0 inch display.

Remember that there’s no Gorilla Glass protection, so you may want to be careful with this display as it is prone to scratches.

HARDWARE & PERFORMANCE

Even though the Cubot S168 is cheaper than most budget phones in the market, it comes with the same processor as its competitors. So you get the MTK6582 quad-core processor clocked at 1.3GHz, which is the same processor that we have seen in smartphones up to $150 in price. This coupled with the 1GB RAM onboard should be more than enough for responsive performance. Apps open up fast, and there is practically no lag. Only when you try to multi-task with more than 4-5 apps that you experience some lag. But that’s mainly because of the limited 1GB memory. Gaming performance is smooth for most of the games and to be honest, we were impressed by the kind of fluid UI you get on such a cheap phone.

For storage, you have 8GB inbuilt. This should be enough for basic games and apps, and for your videos and images, you can use a MicroSD card up to 32GB.

Our AnTuTu Benchmark results gave a score of 17,541 which is in line with phones with similar specs. Anything above 16,000 is good for smooth gaming performance and that’s exactly what we experienced. We tried out several first person shooter as well as racing games like Asphalt 8, and all of them ran well on the phone. So, gaming performance won’t be an issue especially when you stick with the traditional games with moderate graphics.

We liked almost everything about Cubot S168’s hardware except for one thing, the battery. The phone comes with just 1,900mAh battery which you may find a bit small. Agreed that the qHD resolution and the power efficient quad-core processor should help increase the battery life, but according to me, Cubot should have gone with a slightly larger battery, something around 2,200 mAh to 2,500 mAh. That way, you don’t have to worry about charging the device in between the day as there is a very good chance that it would last throughout the day.

Still, if you are using this as a secondary device or very lightly the phone won’t need charging till the end of the day. However, if you are planning to use it roughly, then we’ll advise you to carry a charger with you. Still, for moderate users, its a decent battery.

Full Tech Specifications

Display	5 inch 960 x540 qHD
Processor	MediaTek MT6582, 1.3GHz, Quad-core
Memory	1GB RAM + 8GB ROM (MicroD card slot: YES)
Cameras	REAR: 8MP + LED flash FRONT: 5MP
Battery	1,900 mAh
Size and Weight	145 x 72 x 8.5 mm, 140 grams
OS	Android 4.4
Price	$79.99

Coupon

S168CN

CAMERA

Chinese phones usually come with disappointing cameras. But the releases in the past few months have been somewhat better. Even though they don’t offer extra-ordinary image quality, their inbuilt cameras are good enough for taking occasional photos. The same goes with the Cubot S168.

You have an 8MP camera at the back and a 5MP shooter up front, both capable of capturing decent pictures. For outdoor shots, the camera is good enough. Images turn out clear and bright and even the color reproduction is good to a certain extent. However, like most other budget Chinese devices, the real struggle begins in low light. Night pictures, especially where there is little light turned out to be bad. Noise is high and even the colors are not well produced. However, we are not complaining because, like we said earlier, you don’t buy a Chinese device for its camera, atleast not the budget ones. So, make sure there’s enough light when you click pictures with the Cubot S168. That way, you won’t be disappointed with its camera performance.

CONNECTIVITY & SOFTWARE

Chinese phones these days don’t sacrifice on connectivity features. The same goes with Cubot S168 which comes with Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GSM + WCDMA support (GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz & WCDMA 850/2100MHz), 3G, GPS, Bluetooth and Gravity/ light/ proximity sensors.

When we tested the GPS, the phone could locate over 10 satellites. Tracking down our location was quick and is at par with other mid range phones in the market. So, needless to say, you don’t have to worry about GPS on this phone.

The phone comes with Android 4.4 KitKat which gives almost a stock android experience. It supports over 30 languages which include English, Deutsch, Espanol, Filipino, French, Italiano, Netherlands, Greek, Polish, Korean, Thai and even Chinese.
It supports a number of software gestures too. All you have to do is draw the letter assigned to an app on the screen and the phone will take you directly to the app. Although this is not a very unique feature since most Chinese phones come with gesture recognition, it is still good to see a $79 phone having such practical features.

VERDICT

For a phone that just costs $79, the Cubot 168 looks and feels much more premium than it actually is. The build quality is good (strong and durable), the qHD screen is more than enough for your everyday entertainment needs, the hardware is powerful enough for lag free performance and the software is practical. All in all, the Cubot S168 looks like a great buy especially if you are short on cash.

You can purchase the Cubot S168 at just $79.99 with free Shipping from GearBest.

Buy Cubot S168 for $79.99

Meizu Blue Charm receives TENAA network license

By

Frank Tu

-

Dec 19, 2014

For the last few days, more news and information have been coming out about Meizu’s upcoming sub-brand, the Meizu Blue Charm. Last Saturday, pictures of the Blue Charm device’s rear covers were released online. In addition, a picture of the front of the upcoming Meizu Blue Charm was leaked online showing that it has a 4.7-inch screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio. There are only four days left until Meizu unveils the Meizu Blue Charm, and it looks like one of the cell phones under this brand has already hit TENAA.

This afternoon, a phone from Meizu was listed in TENAA under the model number “M463M”. According to its TENAA entry, it supports TD-LTE, TD-SCDMA, and GSM networks. It also supports dual SIM cards. It received its network license on December 15. Unfortunately, TENAA did not publish a photo so we have no idea what it looks like.

However, based on the photos that were posted by Meizu Vice-CEO Li Nan last night, it has a rear case that looks very much like Apple’s iPhone 5C. You can even say that it is just a larger clone of the iPhone 5C. Previous photos have also shown that it has Meizu’s trademark small round Home button and that it has round edges.

As for its specifications, previous reports have said that this phone will come in two versions, each with a different screen size. One will have a 4.7-inch display screen (Blue Charm ) while the other will have a 5.5-inch screen (Blue Charm Note). Both are 1080p screens. This phone will use the 64-bit MTK MT6752 octa-core chip and will have 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM. It will also sport a 2mp front-facing camera and 13mp rear-facing camera.

Meizu hopes to hit a home run with their latest release, and who knows? Maybe they will.

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Lenovo P70t coming soon, has a 4000mAh battery

By

Frank Tu

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Dec 18, 2014

Lenovo has always been determined to release products that can last for a longer period of time. From the Lenovo P700 to the recently released S860, each device from Lenovo has had better battery life than its predecessors. Now, they will soon release another device that could last long. Its model number is “Lenovo P70t”.

Let’s first take a look at the design. The Lenovo P7t has a nice chassis with round edges. The surface of the rear cover is made of artificial leather. It has a thickness of 8.9mm with no protruding camera. Its length and width are 142mm and 71.8mm respectively, and it weighs about 149g. Even though it is a business mobile phone, it is available in black and white.

The main selling point of the Lenovo P70t is, of course, its battery life. This cell phone has a 4000mAh changeable battery. Official reports from Lenovo say that, theoretically, the Lenovo P70t can last for up to 46 days! So that it could last longer, not only does it have a powerful battery, it also uses some great power-saving technology. When you lock your phone, it will automatically close down all background apps that are not being used. Most importantly, when it is already fully charged and is still charging, it can directly get power from the charger itself to make sure that it remains full. To save power, the Lenovo P70t uses the latest power-saving processor (TI BQ24296M). It has a charging current of 2000mA meaning that when you charge it for 15 minutes, you can make phone calls for 6 hours.

The Lenovo P70t also uses the MTK MT6732 64-bit quad-core LTE processor and can use 4G, 3G and GSM networks as well as dual SIM cards. It has 1GB RAM and 8GB ROM. It also sports a 5-inch 720p OGS display screen. As for its camera, it sports a 5mp front-facing camera and 13mp rear-facing camera. This phone is set to hit stores soon.

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The Latest Poster by Nubia Suggests the New Product Launch Tomorrow

By

Linus

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Dec 18, 2014

Nubia is ZTE’s subsidiary company, which has a great reputation for making quality devices for a decent price. The latest series in their portfolio include Z7, Z7 Max and Z7 Mini. These devices packed great specs, beautiful design, great Nubia User Interface and they were quite popular both in China and internationally. They were all successful offerings by this manufacturer, but it has been quite a while since they were launched. It looks like that Nubia is ready to launch at least one more product before the end of 2014.

The latest teaser by NUBIA leaves some room for imagination. Firstly, there is not too much information about the possible product. Well, it is clear that it will be launched tomorrow, December 19th. What is more, there is a keyboard on the picture and the suggestion that “You do not need to refresh anymore”. We just try to make a guess what it could be. Our imagination gives us an idea that it could be a accessory for a smartphone or a tablet. Less likely, it could be a smartphone itself, which includes a physical keyboard. However, we think that Blackberry days are over and people got used to digital keyboards on their smartphones. The last thing that comes to our mind is a laptop, but it is the least likely scenario as the company specialises in manufacturing smartphones.

Having said all that we just need to wait one more day to see what Nubia has to offer. Until tomorrow, we can just make some guesses. So what do you guys think this company will announce tomorrow? Let us know in the comment section beyond this article!

K-touch confirmed to release WP8.1 phone

By

Frank Tu

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Dec 18, 2014

As early as June 2014, there has been news of Chinese cellphone manufacturer, K-Touch (or Tianyu), releasing WP8.1 cell phones. Their model numbers are said to be Tianyu5703A3-WVGA, 3.0” and Tianyu5705A2. Now, there are new clues as to whether or not the company will release a WP8.1 cell phone.

Recently, someone found out that the company had launched a placeholder app called SIMLockedPopup in Microsoft’s WP8 app store. It is described as “K-touch’s test app. Do not worry about it.” It was first launched back on September 17.

We then discovered a whole bunch of placeholder apps but none of which had any practical use. We do hope that Microsoft does a better job inspecting these apps.

Before the Hisense Nana was launched, Hisense released an app called “Call Settings +” on the Microsoft App store. They soon released a WP8.1 phone after that.

This May, it was announced that Microsoft added two new Windows Phone OEM partners: K-Touch and Blue. Blu has already released two Windows Phones (Win HD and Win JR). Now, maybe it will be K-Touch’s turn.

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ZTE Star 2 officially announced, features Hardware Based Voice Controls

By

Joel Joseph

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Dec 18, 2014

ZTE has finally made the ZTE Star 2 official. The device will have top of the line specifications and is reportedly the first smartphone capable of full voice recognition controls.

Design wise, ZTE Star 2 retains most of the features as its predecessor. So, the edges on top as well as the bottom are smooth and curved as opposed to the other two sides which have sharp cuts. The front as well as the back are made of glass, which gives it a premium look. The 6.9mm slim profile further adds to its beauty.

Inside, the ZTE Star 2 features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor clocked at 2.3GHz with 2GB RAM and storage options starting from 16GB. You even have a memory card slot to expand the storage. On the front, there is a 5.0-inch Full HD 1920 x 1080p OGS (One Glass Solution) display. There’s also a 5MP 88 degrees wide angle camera above the screen. The back is adorned by the 13MP camera sensor with dual LED flash. Interestingly, the single speaker on the device is not on the front or the back, but on the left side. As for connectivity, it supports 4G LTE networks too. All these tech specs are powered by the 2300 mAh battery onboard. Star 2 runs on Android 4.4 KitKat OS with MiFavor 3.0 UI on top.

The voice recognition system on the ZTE Star 2 is not just an app, it integrates voice controls deep inside the device’s hardware. So, you have a number of commands and interfaces which you can use to complete operations just using your voice. This system level integration allows seamless voice control over a wide range of applications. The company claims that the phone can open up multiple apps together using just voice commands. To make these controls possible as well as practical, the voice recognition system on the device can recognize commands perfectly around 90% of the time. Moreover, its quite fast too as it responds in just 1.2 seconds. The system is smart enough to identify different kinds of voice, such as lyrics of a song, or the commands given while driving.

Given the specifications and the features, ZTE Star 2 does look like an innovative device. Some reports even say that ZTE has incorporated over 1000 pieces of patented technology into this device.

ZTE has also priced the device appropriately. The Star 2 will go on sale for 2499 Yuan which comes to around $400. Although this isn’t the cheapest device you’ll find in the market with such specifications, the voice recognition tech (if it works as promised) should definitely give it an edge over other competitors.

Check out the full gallery of the ZTE Star 2 below.