A lot of different versions of the Coolpad Dashen F1 have been released. These include the Dashen F1 Plus. While the specifications have all been upgraded, there have not been any improvements in its design and craftsmanship.
The good news is that Coolpad will release a new version of the Coolpad Dashen F1 (Coolpad 8297N-T00). This version will not only have stronger specifications, but also have a better design and craftsmanship. Recently, more information on this new phone was introduced.
As of now, we will only refer to it as the “New Coolpad Dashen F1”. As said before, big changes were made in the phone’s design. Among other things, it now uses a unibody design. It also uses a double layer Corning Gorilla glass. It also sports a white plastic mid-frame. This new version is also very slim. Its measurements are 144 x 71 x 6.3mm. Not only is it the first Dashen phone to use a dual-glass design, it also the thinnest Dashen phone to date. A phone this thin could still support dual SIM cards.
The basic specifications for the New Coolpad Dashen F1 were also upgraded. It uses the MTK MT6752M octa-core processor (1.5Ghz). It also supports FDD-LTE, TDD-LTE, WCDMA, and GSM networks. It sports a 5-inch 720p display screen and has 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM. It also comes with a 5mp front-facing camera and 13mp rear-facing camera. It is powered by a 2000 mAh battery and its operating system is the Android 4.44-based Cool UI. It can also use HotKnot.
The upgrades made for the new Coolpad Dashen F1 are very clear compared to other versions such as the Dashen F1 Plus. Unfortunately for Chinese customers, it will only go on sale in other countries as there are no plans to release it in China as of now.
When it comes to smart watches, there is no clear opinion about it. Some people still say that it is not necessary and believe that a classic watch will remain at the top for a long time. However, more and more manufacturers make them and try the consumer want it. Even the companies like Apple, which again “reinvented” the watch wants consumers change their habits and buy the smart watch as a must have gadget. Well, indeed these smart devices are capable of much more than you would expect.
The company No.1 has recently launched their new product – the G2 smart watch. It is quite obvious that it has some inspiration from the Samsung Galaxy Gear. Well, ok, it is a clone of this device. However, the design may be the same, but the No.1 adds some own functionality. Anyway, as usual, let’s start with the device’s exterior looks.
Design
As you can see in the pictures the design is the same as the Samsung’s. Actually, the build quality is very good, the choice of materials and construction is solid and well made. What is more, the bands can be easily changed, so the user has a freedom to mix and match it at their choice.
As far as build materials go, the face is made out of metal, the band is made of high quality rubber and the clip is stainless steel. Further, the glass is made out of sapphire glass, which is used in luxury watches and other expensive devices. Remember, even Apple wanted to have the sapphire screen on the iPhone, but failed due to some manufacturing issues.
What is more, the device comes in the choice of silver, gold and grey colours.
Main Specs and Features
The G2 smart watch has 1.54-inch TFT screen, which is touch capable. Also, the dimensions include 36.9 x 58.4 x 10.0mm. We can say that it is not the biggest, but also not the smallest smart watch we have ever seen. Furthermore, it has 2 mpx rear camera, standalone microphone, 350mAH battery capacity, MT2502A processor, which has 128M + 32M configuration. In addition, it supports Bluetooth 4.0, it has USB port and Micro SD slot, IP67 water resistance rating. Finally, it packs a bunch of sensors expected in a smart watch.
One of the interesting features is the ability to make calls directly from the device as it has an integrated microphone and a speaker. The sound quality is quite decent and we could easily make a conversation.
Another great feature is that it has a dedicated camera, which has 2megapixels. Of course, it will not be your main camera, which could replace your smartphone or even a real camera, but it may be helpful if you want to make some quick snaps for social media or even some secret pictures of your friend.
What is more, the No.1 G2 has a built-in infrared port, which lets you control your home devices like the TV. You may amaze your friends by changing channels right from your wrist!
Another great features include the ability to see text messages and choose from a list of preloaded templates to reply. Also, we liked that it can display weather information, which is always useful. Moreover, it has independent music player, which lets you listen to the music directly from the smart watch. Well, it is interesting feature, but we prefer listening to music using the earphones from the smartphone.
In addition, the device has heart a rate sensor, pedometer, which are usual functions in the smart watch. The device helps you track the amount of calories burnt and track your workout information. It counts your steps you take during the day and even gives you some workout programmes. Example could be with walking, where the smart watch define the pace you have. Then you can select the functions like keeping up the pace, slowing down or speeding up.
Another cool feature is that the device works as a remote control for your smartphone’s camera. Also, it works as a reminder if you forget your phone somewhere as it reminds you to get it by beeping. It starts beeping if you are away more than 10 meters from your phone.
We really enjoyed that the device is water and dust resistance. It is not waterproof, meaning you cannot swim with it underwater, but you can easily wash it after a long workout in the beach.
What is more, you can select the watch faces, which are downloadable.
We did like the sound recorder function as it lets you record the voice. It is a neat function if you are in the meeting, lecture or other occasion, where you want to secretly record the sound.
The sedentary meter is one of the motivational functions of the device, which should be useful to form your habits if you work long hours in the office.
The device features the super power saving mode. When the battery is low, it changes the colour scheme to grey scale to save some power.
Another feature includes sleep pattern monitor, where you can watch the length and quality of your sleep. Of course, you need to wear the device during the night to be able to do that.
Lastly, we really liked the feature that the G2 smart watch includes Micro USB charging port, which makes the device more versatile than others. This time you do not need to cary a proprietary charger around to charge it.
Pairing and Setting Up the Device
As we said, the device uses Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity. In order to make it work you have to download a particular app, which is called Mediatek Smart Device. The company made it easy to install it on your device. Simply just scan the QR code, which is embedded in the smart watch and you will download the app. Then simply install it and you are done.
Inside the application you can do many things. One of them is the ability to easily install apps into a smart watch. You can do it by simply clicking the install button on the smartphone and it takes a second to get it flashed on your wrist.
What is more, the app is used to install the watch faces, check the device status and software, and many other things. Finally, it can be easily downloaded from the Google Play Store and easily installed on any device.
Picture Quality
All right, we left this to the end. We know that we would not use the smart watch as our main camera, but anyway, it may come up handy at certain situations. Let’s take a look at some camera samples and see what we have.
We can say that it has a pretty good camera for a smart watch. Also, it has only 2mpx, so we should also keep that in mind. The pictures above have a decent colour reproduction, quite good white balance and exposure. The pictures taken inside have quite amount of noise, but that is natural if we consider it is not camera centric device.
Conclusion
Well, firstly we liked the design of the device, which includes a great build quality and a great choice of materials. We really loved the fact that it is water and dust resistant. We washed the smart watch a few times to test it and it proved to be working fine. What is more, the sapphire glass is really special. We tried to scratch it with the key, nail and coin and we did not succeed.
It offers a great functionality for a much lower price than the original Samsung Gear smart watch. Our favourite functions included the ability to use the device as a phone and a remote shutter button for camera. Other functions, which are used for active people worked fine as well.
All in all, we think this is a great device and can recommend it.
For more information you can check the NO.1 website.
Most of the iPhone 6 clones that we have seen recently have made sure that its operating system looks exactly like iOS. The Blackview Ultra too will come with a very similar interface to the Apple’s iOS operating system. In fact, this interface along with the exact looks of the 4.7 -inch iPhone 6 makes it very hard to distinguish between this clone and the real Apple device.
Most of the features and apps from iOS makes it to the device. So the inbuilt calender app, weather app, stopwatch, YouTube app etc are all designed to look like the real deal. However, the phone runs on Android 4.4 KitKat OS which as you can see is heavily modified to make it similar to iOS 8. Other notable apps include the Game Center, which takes you to the play store (so its just there for name’s sake), then the iTunes app which is essentially a music player which looks like the original iTunes.
The settings menu on the device is built like Apple’s UI. Even the options inside have the same iOS looks. As for the camera UI, its once again like Apple’s interface. Swiping up or down will take you to different shooting modes like photo, video, square and panorama. There are a lot of other camera options as well such as HDR (although we are not sure whether it works), flash toggle button etc.
Swiping down from the top of the display brings you the notifications center like all other Android devices. But even that is tweaked with iOS like design. Further, swiping up from the bottom will bring you the control center which is a trademark iOS feature. There are options for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Airplane mode, volume level bar, the brightness bar as well as media control buttons. So, its exactly like the real control center.
You can also install the easy touch app on the device which brings in essential functions like back, home and menu keys right on the screen, even when you are inside an app. Given that the phone actually runs on Android, you get all the Android apps at your disposal like Google Maps, YouTube, Google Play Store etc.
While all these UI tweaks and design changes enhances the looks of the Blackview Ultra to the level of an actual iPhone 6, this can cause a small problem. Apart from the apps designed (tweaked) by the company that comes with the device, the other apps are made with Android 4.4 KitKat OS in mind. So, you may encounter some apps which look different from the phone’s OS but I guess that’s something that you must live with given the rest of the features and the cheap price tag. As of now, the Blackview Ultra just costs $119 in the market.
For the past few days, we have received plenty of leaks and information about the upcoming Meizu Blue Charm brand from multiple sources. We even compiled a list of what we know till now in a post, later to conclude that there is a high chance that the Chinese manufacturer will release a number of different products under the Blue Charm moniker.
As we near the possible announcement date, i.e. 23 December 2014, we are seeing more leaks about the two upcoming Blue Charm devices on the internet. Today, we have some clear pictures of the back cover of a Blue Charm device. While it is unclear whether this is the rumored 5.5 inch Blue Charm Note, judging from the images, we could be looking at the larger model. The rear panel has openings for a camera sensor as well as dual LED flash a. At the bottom, there is the Meizu logo along with its slogan. We can see four colored panels in the picture above — white, silver and two variants of gold.
Coming to the second set of images leaked, it looks like the other Blue Charm device will feature a back cover like iPhone 5C. In fact, the glossy finish on the cover looks exactly like the one on the 5C and its possible that this cover is made from same materials as the Apple device. Further, the phone as seen in the pictures will come in bright colors — green, yellow, blue, white and red, which again makes it similar to the iPhone 5C model. This particular device could be the smaller Blue Charm model, expected at 4.6 inches. But this is just a speculation based on the images leaked.
According to a leaked powerpoint presentation, Meizu will release two devices in Q1 2015 at 799Yuan and 999Yuan. Once again, take this news with a grain of salt, because its never easy to trust a news that comes via a ppt presentation.
We hope to see more such leaks in the coming days, before the official announcement expected on 23rd December. So stay tuned to the website for more updates.
Looking for a cheap Apple iPhone 6 clone to buy this holiday season? Now you have one more option to choose, thanks to the new Blackview Ultra smartphone. The device offers the same design as the iPhone 6 at a very affordable pricetag. So, if you wanted a smartphone that looked like the new iPhone, make sure you read further.
Design wise, like we said earlier, the Blackview Ultra looks exactly like the smaller iPhone 6 model. On the front, you have a 4.7 inch display with a front camera and other sensors on top. The right side contains the power button, while on the left you have the volume up and down buttons. The speakers grill, MicroUSB port and the 3.5mm headphone jack are all located at the bottom.
Coming to the specifications, the Ultra features the Mediatek MT6582M 1.3GHz quad-core processor with 1GB RAM and 8GB ROM which is further expandable up to 32GB via MicroSD. There is a 4.7 inch multi-touch 720p IPS display up front. The rear camera measures 13MP while the front camera measures 5MP. The phone supports dual SIM cards (one standard and the other MicroSIM), 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and runs on Android 4.4 Kitkat OS. A 2200mAh battery makes sure that the phone runs for atleast a day.
The device is available in three different color options – Gold, White and Black and will be available for purchase at $119. But at comebuy its even cheaper – $105!
In the past few years, we have seen almost every Apple device being cloned by Chinese manufacturers. Today, we have yet another Apple clone, the Aiwatch. This particular smartwatch is a clone of the yet to be released Apple Watch. Although Apple officially announced its first watch a few months back, the company has still not released the device. The device is expected to be available only around March next year that too at a very expensive price tag (more than $250). So, people who don’t want to wait that long or spend as much as $250 on a new smartwatch can take a look at this new smartwatch which sells for less than $70.
ai-watch
Apple Watch
Design wise, it almost the same as the Apple Watch. However, the Aiwatch features a smaller screen, a 0.95 inch 94 x 64 dot resolution display, as compared to the expected 1.5 inch screen on the Apple Watch. It comes with a titanium alloy finish in four different colors – silver, black, golden, champagne gold and has three different band color options – blue, green and black. Unfortunately, the strap is non-removable, so you’ll probably be better off picking out the right color for the strap as you can’t change them.
Aiwatch has a number of health related functions like a pedometer which can calculate the calories burned or the steps and distance walked. Further, it can keep a track of your sleep cycle to ensure quality sleep with intelligent vibration reminders. You also get a heart rate monitor on the device. Although it lacks an in-built camera, the Aiwatch can control your paired smartphone’s camera to click pictures remotely. You can focus the camera automatically by clicking the large button on the side. It also features a tracker/ anti-theft option which an track down your phone if you have lost it.
At present, the Aiwatch features 7 languages including Chinese, Thai, English, and French. The battery life is also decent, thanks to the 180mAh capacity battery which provides 2-3 days of run time or 7 days of standby time.
Aiwatch is currently available for sale at just 399Yuan ($65). Head over to their official website for more information.
We all heard that the Huawei is preparing to release the successor of the Honor 6 flagship – the Honor 6 Plus, which should feature an interesting choice of dual cameras on its back.
The latest teaser from Huawei on its Weibo account suggests some interesting features the device will have.
According to the latest teaser and some latest info from Chinese bloggers, the device’s launch date is confirmed again to be December 16th. What’s more interesting is that Huawei’s flagship is expected to have the “largest aperture on any smartphone” and very tough shell. What is more, it the shell of the device will have somehow different texture than other devices. Moreover, the flagship will have a very long (if not the longest battery life) on the smartphone, which “will definitely be better than the iPhone 6 Plus”. Furthermore, the Honor 6 Plus will feature the fastest smartphone camera in the world with the ability to quick capture photos at the blazing fast 0,5 seconds. Finally, the Huawei said that the device will have “several best world’s features” and left it for the fans to guess what is could be.
We should say that the latest info about the device makes us really intrigued and wants us to see the device in reality as soon as possible. Besides this teaser let’s take a look what we know more about the Huawei Honor 6 Plus.
The Hardware
This of of the previous teasers suggests that the device will feature very slim bezels, which is always a good thing and makes a device very appealing to look at.
There have been some previous leaks of hardware and we believe that it should be a real deal:
Above we can see an edge of the device and looks like that it will have a metal frame, which is kind of a trend recently by many manufacturers.
Above we see the white colour, which is similar to the one seen on the Honor 6.
The rest of the above pictures do not suggest much as the device is hidden in the case.
Specs
The above previous teaser suggested that the Huawei will use its latest home made HiSilicon’s Kirin 925 CPU chip, which is an octal-core chip run by big.LITTLE process, which has a maximum clock speeds of 2 GHz.
Another specs we know so far include a 5.5 inches display of Full-HD resolution (401 PPI), 3 GB of Ram, a generous pack of power of 3,500 mAh, the 8mpx front facing shooter, and the already mentioned dual setup of back cameras of 8 mpx, which in our thinking should be used for bokeh effects (if we consider the HTC One M8 capabilities), but it may extend further. Finally, EMUI OS, which is based on Android 4.4.2 will be running the show.
Camera
Here are some pictures taken with the Honor 6 Plus showing some bokeh effects capabilities:
The price of this amazing upcoming device is expected to be 1999 Yuan or about $323, which makes it one of the best deals out there. Well, we have only a few days left to see if Huawei can steal the show and makes us want buying the device. The Huawei Honor 6 Plus is expected to be released soon in China. There is no info regarding international availability, but knowing the fact that Honor 6 was sold outside of China, we have high hopes with this device, too.
Recently we have been hearing rumors about an upcoming car from Xiaomi called as the Xiaomi ‘Mistla’. The reports said that the Chinese giant, Xiaomi was planning to release its own car for a very affordable price tag of $6400. However, we don’t think that company is ready to expand into making something as big as a car.
Here’s are a few reasons why we don’t think Xiaomi will release a car called ‘Mistla’ anytime soon.
1: The rumor was initially posted on wechat at 10th December, and from the screenshot below we can see it got 100000+ views till right now, and after 2 days, it’s been published on Mydrivers.com. My drivers.com’s alexa rank is 1874, it’s a second class press website in China, the news is not spreading to sites like Sina.com, neteasy.com and qq.com, the first class press websites.
And if we search the title of the article “小米汽车内部代号米斯拉 我这算传谣吗?” in the largest online search engine “Baidu.com”, we will find Xiaomi’s fans also re-posted the article to Xiaomi’s official forum “http://bbs.xiaomi.cn/”
The article was initially posted at here, but after you clicked this url, you will see the screenshot below, and the translation of the Chinese is “The post has been removed or under review”.
So even Xiaomi’s official forum is preventing people fromp gossiping about the “Mistla” supermini car. Do we still have the reason to believe it’s true?
3: Back on 5 April 2014, Xiaomi’s CEO Leijun has outrightly said that Xiaomi has no plans to make electric cars right now. And to produce a car takes time, it’s impossible to make a team for cars and start producing in several months without letting people know.
4. Finally, its practically impossible to create an electric car for 39,999 Yuan or just $6400, atleast at the moment. Batteries are costly as well as the technology to make it road friendly. So, you can’t just make a good quality electric car for such a low amount.
As you can see, we have our reasons to believe Xiaomi’s Mistla doesn’t exist. Just because someone said that Xiaomi was working on a car, it doesn’t mean it’s true. So, unless you see some hard evidence, or at least a sizeable leak, don’t go around thinking that Xiaomi ‘Mistla’ actually exists.
This phone sports some pretty interesting specifications. First, its CPU chip is the 1.7GHz 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor. As for memory, it has 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM which can be increased to 128GB using a memory card like a TF card. This is also a dual-SIM 4G smart phone. It sports a 5mp front-facing camera and 13mp rear-facing camera with the Sony IMX214. Music enthusiasts may also be pleased to learn that it has all kinds of karaoke-related features. Its audio chip is the Yamaha YSS-205X and it supports Hi-Fi 2.0. Its operating system is the Android 4.4.4-based Funtouch OS 2.0. The Vivo X5 Max goes on sale on December 22 for 2998 RMB (485.64 USD).
Having said all that, let us now focus on the Vivo X5 Max’s display screen. How does its 5.5-inch 1080p display screen compare with the Vivo X5’s 5-inch 720p display screen. Both of them are not considered flagship phones but the X5 Max’s specs are what you can expect from flagship phones.
Furthermore, to make the X5 Max as thin as possible, Vivo decided to use a Super Amoled screen. Not only is it thinner but the colors and resolution are much better than the regular LCD cell phone screen. Compare the way the colors come out in both phones in these pictures.
Left: Vivo X5, Right: Vivo X5 Max
As you can see, because of its use of a Super Amoled display screen, the colors in the Vivo X5 Max’s screen come out much better than in the Vivo X5.
Here are some other photos:
The smart phone on the left in the three pictures above is the Vivo X5, while the one on the right is the Vivo X5 Max.
Although Meizu’s new brand, the Meizu Blue Charm, has not yet been launched, based on recent reports, their cell phones seem to have good specifications and prices.
The first one that will see its release is the Meizu Blue Charm Note. This phone sports a 5.5-inch display screen and has a 16:9 contrast ratio. Its CPU is MTK’s MT6752 octa-core processor. As for memory, it has 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM. It also sports a 5mp front-facing camera and 13mp rear-facing camera. Of course, we cannot forget to mention that it will also have Meizu’s classic small round Home button. The Meizu Blue Charm Note is expected to cost around 999 RMB (161.39 USD). The other phone in Meizu’s Blue Charm brand is the Meizu Blue Charm cell phone which has a 5-inch display screen and will cost around 799 RMB (129.08 USD). The Meizu Blue Charm brand will be launched on December 23, with the Blue Charm Note being one of the products to be launched.
In the meantime, Meizu has already started to sell the remaining Meizu MX2 in their inventory, probably to make room for the Meizu Blue Charm. You know what they say. “Out with the old and in with the new.” It is now on sale for just 699 RMB, and its specifications still look quite nice.
The Meizu MX2 sports a 4.4-inch 1280 x 800 display screen. Its CPU is the Samsung MX5S quad-core processor. This 3G cell phone also has 2GB RAM and an 8mp camera. It will still use the Flyme4 operating system which is compatible with the Meizu MX2. With specifications like these, it still seems worth paying for.
December 23 will be a big day for Meizu. This is when they will launch their new brand, “Meizu Blue Charm”. The products in this brand include cell phones, smart bands, a router, tablet, and even a television set. Based on the invitation to the launch which was sent out yesterday, it looks like it will be similar to the iPhone 5C. Although Meizu will release a lot of products, the stars of the show will still be, first and foremost, their cell phones. Meizu is planning to release two versions of the Meizu Blue Charm cell phone with different sizes. Only the big-screened version will make its debut on December 23.
It was recently reported that there is a version with a 5-inch display screen and a version with a 5.5-inch display screen. One will simply be called the “Meizu Blue Charm” phone, while the other will be called the “Meizu Blue Charm Note”. The one that will make its first appearance on December 23 is the Meizu Blue Charm Note which is the one with a 5.5-inch display screen and 16:9 contrast ratio. Its CPU chip is MTK’s MT6752 octa-core processor. As for memory, it has 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM. The Meizu Blue Charm Note also sports a 5mp front-facing camera and 13mp rear-facing camera. Not surprisingly, it will retain Meizu’s classic small round Home button.
Whereas the Meizu Blue Charm Note will appear a few weeks from now, we can expect the Meizu Blue Charm phone to be launched some time during the 2015 Q1 season. The Meizu Blue Charm and Meizu Blue Charm Note may cost 799 RMB (129.08 USD) and 999 RMB (161.39 USD).
In addition, a blueprint of the Meizu Blue Charm cell phone’s design was released online.
2014 has been quite a year for Meizu. First there was the release of the flagship phone, the Meizu MX4 Pro. Now, they plan to close the year by introducing to a brand new line of products. I wonder what is up their sleeves for 2015.
UPDATE: We have increased the coupon value to $167! So, you can buy both the models at a much discounted price.
Looking to buy a flagship this holiday season? Its your lucky day as we have got a number of $167 coupons for the Meizu MX4 smartphone.
All you have to do is send an email to [email protected]. You’ll instantly receive a coupon to buy the device from a reputed retailer. With this coupon you can purchase the 32GB Meizu MX4 Grey edition for $355 and the 32GB Meizu MX4 White Edition for $365. Pretty good deal right?
Make sure you avail this coupon as soon as you receive the mail as it will expire 24 hours after you receive it! Enjoy!
Bad news: The coupon had expired.
Good news: You can buy on aliexpress for just $325, it’s much cheaper now.
As we approach the end of 2014, electronics companies are trying to make one last impact by releasing new products. Xiaomi has just released an air purifier. Then you have Meizu which will soon launch its new brand, the Meizu Blue Charm Brand. Not to be left out, Huawei is also going to release a new product called the Huawei Honor 6 Plus which will be formally launched on December 16. The other day, Huawei released a new poster for the Honor 6 Plus in the official Weibo account of its Honor subsidiary. The poster features a photo of Alan Turing, which Huawei makes a tribute to. Below it is a message that says, “To revolutionize smart chips in memory of Alan Turing”. As of now, most of Huawei’s cell phones use processors made by its in-house CPU manufacturing company, HiSilicon. The Huawei Honor 6 Plus will not be any different as it will use a new processor provided by HiSilicon.
The Huawei Honor 6 Plus will use HiSilicon’s Kirin 925 CPU chip. This octa-core CPU chip has a maximum frequency of 2.0GHz. With a chip this powerful, the Honor 6 Plus could be a good choice.
As HiSilicon continues to grow, it is beginning to make an impact on the market while competing with the likes of CPU giants like Qualcomm and MTK, and it will only grow further.
As for its other specifications, the Huawei Honor 6 Plus will sport a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 display screen. It will also have 3GB RAM. In addition, it will also sport an 8mp front-facing camera and two 8mp rear-facing cameras. Its operating system is the Android 4.4.2-based EMUI OS.
What do you readers think? It could make a nice Christmas gift, right?
It has been quite a year for Meizu with their release of popular cell phones such as the Meizu MX4 Pro. But it is not over yet as they still plan to introduce us to more new cellphones. “No Blue”. This phrase appears in a poster released by Meizu announcing the upcoming launch of their new brand of products. For the last several days, news spread fast that Meizu was planning to release a 1000 RMB (162.00 USD) cell phone. Now, it was announced that Meizu will release a new brand of products called the “Meizu Blue Charm”. Meizu plans to introduce to these products on December 23 in Beijing.
The Meizu Blue Charm will sport a 4.6-inch 1080p display screen. Its CPU processor will be the MT6752 octa-core chipset. As for memory, it will have 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM. This phone is also a dual SIM phone. In addition, the Blue Charm brand also includes the Blue Charm Note. According to rumors, this phablet will have a 5.5-inch display screen with a 16:9 contrast ratio. It will use a one-body design. As for the camera, it will sport a 13mp rear-facing camera with a dual LED flash. This phone will come in many colors but it will still have Meizu’s classic small white round Home button.
Besides cell phones, the Meizu Blue Charm brand will include a router, television set, smart band, and many other products that Meizu will soon introduce to use.
First, they release the Meizu MX4 Pro. Now, they begin a new era with a new line of products. It is pretty clear that Meizu does not plan to end the year without making one last statement. In the meantime, here are photos of the package featuring the invitation to the launch. Notice how it includes an iPhone 5C rear cover.
There have been some reports recently about Xiaomi releasing a new cell phone. Now, it received its network license at the TENAA which released photos of this new phone. Some say that it is a new 4G version of the Xiaomi Red Mi1S, while some say that it is the Red Mi2. Whatever it is, it definitely uses the Red Mi’s style but is slimmer than the Red Mi1S.
This phone sports a 4.7-inch display screen but is quite thin on all sides. There are three buttons at the bottom. The way they were designed is similar to the Xiaomi Mi4. Its weight is 134g and some improvements must have been done with the texture.
The way that the back was designed is also pretty interesting. An LED light is located on the right side of the rear-facing camera, while the speaker is in the middle. This phone has a 4.7-inch 720p display screen and a 1.2GHz quad-core processor (most likely the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410). As for memory, it has 1GB RAM and 8GB ROM. It also sports a 2mp front-facing camera and 8mp rear-facing camera. It is powered by a 2200mAh battery and runs the Android 4.4.4 OS.
This phone will be available in several colors: black, white, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. However, when this phone first goes on sale, only the black and white versions will be released. As for connectivity, this mysterious new 4G phone supports GSM, WCDMA, TD LTE, and LTE FDD networks. We can expect this to go on sale either at the end of the year or early next year. It should not cost more than 699 RMB (113.22 USD). Maybe it will even cost 599 RMB (97.03 USD).
UPDATE: Meizu has just scheduled an event for 23 December 2014, where it will probably unveil the Blue Charm brand. Check out our latest post for more detailed information.
It looks like finally everything is falling into its place. Although Meizu has been quite about its rumored Blue Charm Note phablet, our investigation reveals a much bigger picture.
Meizu’s Blue Charm Note is probably one piece of the puzzle as the Chinese manufacturer is reportedly establishing a whole new sub-brand by the name Blue Charm. Today, we saw more than five VERIFIED Weibo accounts by the name Meizu Blue Charm, each ending in a new product. So, Blue Charm won’t be just a smartphone sub-brand, as you may soon see more Blue Charm products like Blue Charm TV, Blue Charm Router, Blue Charm watch and Blue Charm tablet.
Here’s the list of all the weibo accounts under the Meizu Blue Charm brand. You’ll see the verified icon on top of every account.
Meizu could be adopting a strategy like Xiaomi, i.e. strengthening its smartphone brand and expanding into new product lines at the same time. The recent launch of Xiaomi’s Mi Air Purifier is the best example of the company’s expansion plans. The strategy seems to be working for Xiaomi, so if Meizu was to follow a similar path, we don’t see why it wouldn’t succeed.
The company recently released a teaser giving out the date 12.11,which probably means 12 December 2014, i.e. tomorrow. So, this particular teaser could be for the launch of the its new sub-brand, Blue Charm. Unfortunately, other than the image, the company did not reveal anything about the significance of the date. But with these new verified accounts suddenly cropping up on China’s most famous social networking website, Weibo, its more than likely that some of these products under the Blue Charm banner will be announced tomorrow.
Blue Charm logo
Blue Charm logo 2
Moreover, a few hours back, the Blue Charm logo was leaked and Note specifications were leaked. So, everything points out to a big release.
Unfortunately, without an official company confirmation, we cannot be 100% sure whether this all is true. But as you can see, the bits and pieces are slowly coming together to reveal this big picture. We hope we’ll hear something about the Blue Charm brand tomorrow.
There is a new model called “Che2-TL00” shown up in the popular graphics benchmarks database Antutu, according to the specifications in the picture, we can confirm it should be the first HUAWEI Kirin 620 device ─ Huawei Honor 4x. The device is sported Huawei’s newly announced Kirin 620 64-bit SoC, it’s also Huawei’s first 64-bit SoC on smartphones.
Key specifications of this application processor include:
Huawei Honor 4x’s benchmark is 27741, The Huawei Kirin 620 SOC is definitely not a top-of-the-line chipset, but is nonetheless a solid performer, designed for mid-ranged devices. And the Huawei Honor 4x kirin620 edition’s benchmark score is higher than Huawei Honor 4x Snapdragon edition. It still use the Mali450 MP4 GPU, which is a little dated, but we don’t know why Huawei always use Mali450/ Mali400 on it’s phones. Perhaps, this new 620 is aimed for midranges to low ends.
Apart from the CPU, Huawei Honor 4x(Kirin 620) will use 5.5 inch 1080p display, 1/2GB RAM, 8/16GB rom, 1300/500 megapixel rear/front camera and EMUI 3.0 UI based on Android 4.4.2.
A while ago, someone leaked a photo online of what appeared to be the new logo for the upcoming Meizu Blue Charm Note. As the photo shows, the new logo is basically just a single “M” but the lines are a bit clearer unlike the logo used for most of the Meizu MX series.
In addition, a photo of the invitation to the Blue Charm Note’s launch was released online. From the “Think Young” slogan that was used, it is clear that they are targeting younger users.
Earlier reports have said that this phone will come in two versions with different screen sizes. One will sport a 4.6-inch display screen, while the other will sport a 5.5-inch display screen. They will be available in more than five colors, including blue, orange and white.
The Meizu Blue Charm Note with a big display screen will have a contrast ratio of 16:9, while the one with a smaller screen will have a 15:9 contrast ratio. It was originally reported that it would only support a single SIM card but now, it was revealed that while Meizu will release two versions as reported, both support dual SIM cards. The Blue Charm Note will only have one SIM slot. Users can just insert both SIM cards there.
As for its other specifications, the Meizu Blue Charm Note will use the MT6572 CPU chip. It will have 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM. Its Home button will be the same small white button found in Meizu’s other phones. Its chassis will be less than 3mm wide. Although Meizu vice-CEO, Li Nan, said that their devices cannot cost 799 RMB and the price has been expected to be around 1000 RMB (161.88 USD), it has now been reported that the Meizu Blue Charm Note will cost at least 799 RMB.
This afternoon, Vivo formally launched the world’s thinnest cell phone to date—the Vivo X5 Max. This 4G smart phone has a thickness of only 4.75mm. At the same time, it also uses the newest Hi-Fi standard, Hi-Fi 2.0. This provides excellent sound quality, making this cell phone one of the best smart phones for listening to music to date. It uses the 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor and sports a 5.5-inch 1080p Super Amoled display screen. As for memory, it has 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM which can be increased to 128GB by Micro-SD. It also sports a 5mp front-facing camera and a 13mp rear-facing camera with a Sony IMX214 sensor and 6P lens. It also runs the new Funtouch OS 2.0. It costs 2998 RMB (485.38 USD) and goes on sale on December 22. This smart phone sports a 5.5-inch Super Amoled display screen that is only 1.36mm thick. It is the world’s thinnest smart phone display screen. The package is just like those of Vivo’s other cell phones. It comes with a pair of earphones, cable, charger, manual, and protector. The earphones are pretty good and music lovers should be pleased with it. This phone sports a 5mp front-facing camera. The wires in the speaker are made of metal. On the right is the light and sensor and proximity sensor. It sports a 13mp rear-facing camera with the Sony IMX214 camera sensor and 6p lens. The lens of the camera is protected by a sapphire sheet. This smart phone has a thickness of 4.75mm. Its chassis is only 3.98mm thick. Although it is only 4.75mm thick, it has a 3.5mm earphone jack. It is a dual-SIM phone. Vivo X5 Max vs. Vivo X5
In the 21st century, it should be no surprise that everything is becoming “smarter.” We have smart phones, smart tablets, etc. Now, we have smart bands. More and more of these devices are hitting the market and it does not look they will slow down anytime soon. Right now, there are two kinds of smart bands in the market.
On one hand, you have the more expensive ones like the Fitbit, and Jawbone. They have very good features and the digital data display is excellent, but we found out that many users, including ourselves, got the same impression after using them. Although the features are very impressive, users can only look at the statistical data collected by the smart band every day. Quite frankly, it gets tiring. You cannot really use them in the long run.
On the other hand, you have a new smart band like the Oaxis Star 21, which is not like the other smartbands we have come to be familiar with. If you are looking for a device that can help you come up with better and healthier habits, this just might help you. Yes, we mentioned habits, which are to be formed by this little device on your wrist. Sounds scary? Let’s start with the overview of the packaging and unboxing first before getting on to it.
Packaging and unboxing
This one of the most beautiful cell phone packages I have seen in a long time. Check out the flashy design.
On the back, there is a simple description of the product. Besides its special features and the fact that you can look at the time with it, it is not that different from other smart bands today.
The idea behind the Oaxis Star 21 is that it is a device that can help you develop good habits in 21 days. We will delve more on that later.
Here are the specifications. Its weight is 18g is one of the highlights, but we will analyze the specs and features later in this review.
The Oaxis Star 21 International Edition Package comes with the outer and inner boxes, the band itself, the manual, charging cable, etc.
Photos and Analysis
Notice how shiny Oaxis Star.21 is. That’s because it comes it comes with 84 triangular folds. No matter what angle you look at it, every surface will reflect light. What is more fascinating is the fact that there are 21 LED lights underneath it, which provide you notifications, according to the different activity or function.
Check out the latch. It even has two triangular folds.
The rubber used to make this band is very soft and comfortable to the touch. The designers at Oaxis had some hard time choosing the right material, which could be a perfect combination of weight, style, durability, but most importantly – comfort to the user. The rubber is made of the thermoplastic polyurethane, which should ensure the latter mentioned features. What is more, this material should perfectly resist dirt, should be capable of resisting sweat and moisture, and be dermatologically safe. During our testing we found out that the smart band does feel comfortable on the hand. Of course, you would need to get used to it (as you would need to any new watch). However, after extensive use in the gym (2.5 hours), we found that there was some sweat underneath the smart band and a bit of smudginess (which is kind of natural to everyone), but overall, it did not itch like hell. Having said that, we can say that it is comfortable smart band for those active ones and it would not become annoying even after extensive periods of time.
We have a black version as our review unit. However, we think that other colour options, which include blue (two variations), red, green, white, are more appealing than this one. Anyway, it is always a personal choice.
There are four screws at this part of the band. The two on the left hold together the small cover, which can be opened. This is where the charging port is located. We do not think that this is the best place to put it. Thus, charging this device may be a bit of a pain. On the other hand, the Star 21 has an advantage over other smart bands by installing Micro USB charging port. Therefore, it eliminates the need of carrying an extra proprietary charger. Thus, you can charge this device with a spare Micro USB cable found in your drawer or use the one provided with your smartphone. Also, other manufacturers find it difficult to manage the Micro USB charging port with the waterproof capabilities. Therefore, we need to give a lot of credit to the Oaxis’ design team.
There are many LED lights hidden here! (the total of 21, which matches the number of 21 days – the main concept of the device). When they light up, it is like watching the stars at night. The layout that you see here is the time display mode, in which you can read the time like using a watch. As you may presume, the combination of lighted up LED’s changes according to the functionality you choose. Also, they are used to track your daily progress. The whole idea behind this is that LED’s can show things much simpler and elegant. Besides that, OAXIS believes that opting out numbers or letters lets a user concentrate more on his/her activities rather than competing with other people or having additional distractions. Well, we can say that it is an interesting and quite innovative idea. During our testing, we noticed that it is really less distracting and lets you forget about the numbers when exercising. On the other hand, part of the reason we say this, because it takes some time to get used to seeing only LED’s. Another thing to consider is that we are not sure if it could be really motivating for all the people, as some of us are used to measure their achievements by numbers. In the end, we congratulate Oaxis on taking a different approach.
This layout is for looking at how much calories you burned. When all five light up, it shows that you have reached your goal for burning calories. Honestly, it is a bit hard to reach the goal, as we are not really sports people. Anyway, we always tried to take “smart band motivates us” approach to succeed. Well, it helped, kind of.
The N-shaped layout shows that this band is in night mode.
When in night mode, there is a faint red light.
As we have walked through the design and some notification LED’s functionality, we can see that it is a very attractive device for both women and men. It may be also be suitable for all age groups, as it does not look sporty per se, but more on the fashionable side. We should say that more and more manufacturers manage to produce an appealing design, but what about the features? Are they any useful?
Specs and Functions
To understand what the OAXIS Star 21 is capable of, let’s start with the main specs, which include Bluetooth 4.0, water and dust resistant capabilities (IPX6 rating, which should let you easily exercise during rain), 50mAh lithium polymer battery (non-removable), which should last you for 10-15 days on stand-by (as initial testing proved that the manufacturer delivered its promise, where we were able to reach 10-12 days of stand-by time). Moreover, it has built-in storage, which is capable of recording 7 days of activity data. Furthermore, The smart band works on two most popular operating systems in the world – Android (4.3 and up) and iOS (7.0 and up). What is more, besides the black colour, which can be seen in the pictures, there are White, Red, Blue, Green, Black colours to choose. The smart band has the size of 25 x 1.3 x 0.8 cm and it weighs 18 g.
Some Considerations and Further Functionality
Oaxis made a lot of effort and took great steps in designing the Oaxis Star.21 band’s outer appearance so that consumers could wear it for a long time. Furthermore, this smart band is only 18g and its slimmest part is only 1.8mm thick. As we have already mentioned, it took a bit of time to get used to it, but now, after extensive use for days, it does not cause any inconvenience or discomfort even if you use it for 24 hours. It has a port that was exclusively made for this device that is used to connect the Star.21 band to cellphones via Bluetooth connection.
It can monitor the amount of exercise you get in real time as well as how much sleep you are getting (and the quality of it by measuring your heart rate). It can even notify users it is time to work or rest. 21 lights make up the band’s screen.
As far as the steps counter, not all smart bands are capable of doing it right. During our testing, we found that the Star.21 has achieved very high level of accuracy with counting each step we took.
Many smart fitness bands have this feature that allows users to see and rank how much they exercise and how much progress they are making (kind of Leader Board). Although the pedometer and distance rankings look a bit interesting, can they help you develop workout habits in the long run? The Star.21 armband seems to advocate the idea of following a “balanced workout.” Within a span of 21 days, the band lets users set checkpoints in the Star.21’s corresponding App to develop workout habits as well as create a more balanced lifestyle. This device comes with all kinds of functions. The Oaxis Star.21 can monitor your progress through any kind of weather, as well as measure how much calories you burned and quality of sleep. It can also automatically synchronize data and save 7 days worth of information. It was also designed with IP67 dust and water-proof protection and can last for more than 10 days. However, the core and the band cannot be separated. Users will have no choice but to get another band.
Furthermore, to make achieving your goals easier, the creators decided to include the “game” in to their app. It shows if you are in line with your daily goals and the 21 days habit-changing plan. We think that it is quite amusing way of motivation as you are going up in the road if you succeed and go down if you fail. Who want to go down, right?
Another functionality is one of our favorites. It is an alarm function, which works in tact with the built in hardware vibration motor. We loved the fact that we can use it as a silent alarm without waking up others.
As stated before, the idea behind the Oaxis Star. 21 smartband is that you can cultivate good health habits in 21 days. After you keep doing the same thing every day, it eventually becomes a fundamental habit that you cannot forget. Doing the same thing over and over again for 21 days can get really boring. So, to fix this and make it more enjoyable, Oaxis did some things with the design that can give users a great experience using this device as well as help form healthy habits.
Conclusion
To support the whole concept, the Oaxis use some scientific information. Studies show that you can cultivate good and healthy habits by doing them over and over again for 21 days. The Oaxis Star.21 fitness band can help you do this with its many features. It can monitor your sleep, count your steps, how much calories you burn during exercise and some other nifty things for a healthy lifestyle. You can also use it to look at the time just like with a regular analog watch. In addition, when the all the lights are turned on, it is like staring at the bright starry sky at night. It makes a nice alternative to more expensive fitness armbands.
We left the main question to the end – did it change our habits? Did we become healthy and active people? Of course, it is not a magic pill, which get you ripped without going to the gym. Anyway, the Oaxis Star. 21 indeed helped us being more motivated, but for how long, we are not sure. In the end, it all depends on us.
In conclusion, we definitely recommend the Oaxis Star. 21 smart band as we had no issues with any of its features during the review period, the battery life was almost the same as declared by the manufacturer, it has an appealing design, which lets you wear a device all the time and the price point would not drill a hole in your wallet.
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